2BACRUISER

I completely understand that as a solo you might want the security of a package put together by Cunard.Not sure if it's any help but we have booked 11nts in June 25 on QE Alaska, we intend to fly in 2 days prior and spend a day on Seattle we are arranging this ourselves as Cunard wanted £3k for just flights and on checking round we can do for half that. There are lots of options for airport transfers etc worth a wander over to the west coast departure page. Hth

Hmm my DH took his wedding/funeral suit for our first cunard he owned no other formal jackets, he's now the proud owner of 2 more jackets and we have QE booked for next year so never say never. 😉

We went to Northumberland show from north yorkshire and the roadworks on A1 added 45 mins to our journey time so beware if you're planning to fly from newcastle airport too (Eg Marella cruises) as its the other side of them.

Cable car opened last May Austrian built think going to be a big outdoor adventure centre eventually. Yes wld like to hear about Yr princess trip enjoy xx 😊

Entertainment Phil the cruise director was pretty good compared to the usual sort, not overpowering at all, plenty of good acts The Beats from Columbia and Christian the piano guy from Argentina. Only gripe technicians on sound TURN IT DOWN just a notch so you can't least converse with the next sun bed lol 🙄 The shows a mixed bag. On whole good but Gaby one of the main leads has a fab voice but persists in shouting and screeching tip lovey you're wearing a microphone wecan hear you with out all the foghorn lol 😆 likewise most of the other singers we know you're told to project darling but blimey, ear drums took a hammer 🙄😮, Thought the fantastic dancers Alex and Andrii were so under utilised for example in Revive they were prancing about on edge like rag dolls whereas they could have had a couple of separate solos with an Argentine Tango and a Paso Doble fitting the theme would also have given us poor audiences a rest from the shouters 😆 In summary we had a great week just what we needed and we'll probably do another Marella at some point. Thanks for reading hope it's been of interest and help cheers 🥂🌞

Some thoughts and observations 🤔🤔 MDR every time used Latitude or Vista had to have a buzzer, warnings in cruise news about 7.30pm to 8.30pm being busy. The main reason imo is lack of staff in there, tables not being turned around fast enough, at least 5 tables around us sat uncleared meanwhile more buzzers handed out and people clearly not happy with wait which wax up to 45mins at times (we learnt to go get a buzzer at 7.30 to eat at our preferred time of 8.15) Marella would do well to try some set dining or employ more staff (drinks and table clearing staff) also on entering MDR they no longer ask your room number so they don't know if you're PAI or just AI so the wait staff don't know about your drinks package, we were PAI and not once offered a bottle of wine with dinner and ALWAYS had to chase refills. Another bug bear was the ice cream machine in the market place was permanently broken so if you wanted it you had to go pay for it on the pool deck€1.25 scoop! Staff worthy of note Ivan, Saiman, Naik, Wassim and Michael in Flutes Cheke in Surf and turf Cabin kept immaculately by Rahul, Rona and Fadil who earned extra tips for finding extra pillows, decaff coffee and extra milk.❤️ We did have a balcony clean but it was just a man in wellies with a hosepipe which as it was a hot day left all the glass blotchy and worse thanb4 he "cleaned" it lol 😆

Wednesday 5th June Kotor 3 ships Viking Sea on dock with Ex2 and Seven Seas Grandeur tendering. *** re tendering you MUST be able to get on and off the tenders by yourself, crew cannot help you. If u have a wheelchair or mobility scooter your carer/companion must be able to assist you and lift alone the scooter or chair by themselves *** Ex2 used 2 lifeboat tenders and 3 local boats. We took a Marella tour to the cable car then walk round old town thinking quickest way to get off ships OMG what a shambles 3 ships worth of tours in one small area, chaos not helped by fact tour organiser took you whole tour ticket instead of just the tear off end so they didn't know who belonged to what to tour 🙈🙈 eventually got away cable car was awesome woth spectacular views of the peninsula, our guided walk round the town was OK but no audio aids so if you weren't stood near the guide you couldn't hear anything! We then walked round the outer walls of kotor For our last dinner we went to Vista food great but again same drinks scenario but we had a lovely evening chatting to a couple at the next table, we went to the finall show Revive (see separate post later about thoughts on entertainment)

Cont...d Mon Suf & Turffor dinner well worth the extra supplement but again slow with drinks. OH had rib eye stk and scallops lamb chops and lobster for me 😋 9/10 Tuesday 4th Corfu port shuttle bus for about 1 minute ride to terminal thereafter €4 return bus to town or a 30 min walk, 27c heat we took the bus 😊 got a bit lost initially but found our way to the old fortress (€6 entry each) worth it imo we climbed right to top on some well dodgy stone steps, we then wandered round the,streets usual souvenir and tat shops Vista for dinner, good food but yet again had to ask for wine glasses to be filled every time. Elvis act in theatre not our cup of tea heard mxd reports.

Apologies for lack of live reports, phone and Internet issues, mainly with Albania lol 😆 🙈 will continue tomorrow so watch this space..... 😄

A few other observations No tissues in cabin bathroom. Sauces are all in pump dispensers no sachets. Decaf coffee and tea both readily available The barman in Flutes told us they get thro 75 bottles of prosecco a night 😮🥂 (I've helped lol 😆) Sailaways very quiet and pool deck not banging with music all time like it was last time we were on. Will add more as I think of them Cofu tomorrow 😊

Taranto

Mon 3rd June Taranto Puglia Last night we went to Vista (it's closed DTI night and MDR also closed at lunchtime every day) vista was good as usual except buzzer and 40min wait, drinks service poor, the staff in MDR are working flat out just not enough of them to do everything , tables not turned fast enough hence all buzzers out by 8pm. Show was Icons basically shouting performances of dead popstars songs. OK. No repeat performances of last nights shenanigans next door thankfully. Taranto was dreading it after experiencing Ancona but what a pleasant surprise 😮 firstly ship docked in industrial part so its €5 each for shuttle bus to town approx 2km but can use ticket all day back and forth. Interesting castle and stunning cathedral to look at as well as a tree lined promenade, some very high end shops in centre very easy to navigate as grid system layout. 9.5k steps today sunbed beckons surf & turf tonight 😊🌞

Sun 2nd June Messina 🌞 Last night tried the Beach Cove, not our usual type of fare, we tried both the starter and main combo's which were tasty but a liitle lukewarm for my liking, didn't have room for dessert. I dont do food pics. 7/10 Went to bed after the 10.30 show Musicals to be rudely awoken by our neighbours coming in at an ungodly hour and having a barney with language a navvy would have been shamed to use 🙄😤 Had a late breakfast and headed into Messina around ten to find a big military ceremony for the WW2 liberation of Italy, it was quite sobering and thoughtful. We then visited a few of the cathedrals and waited for the noon clock display after which we went back to the ship for a lazy afternoon on the sunbeds on deck 12. The captain sunbed announcement seemed to have donecthe trick so a good few to choose from 🌞

Sat 1st June Valletta Ex2 parked in the industrial part of harbour with free shuttle ferry across to cruise terminal, we waited a bit and then headed to the lift to Barraka Gardens, then a walk round to Grand Masters Palace (€14 each) water taxi across to Birgu and a mooch round marina done 17k steps 13km walking absolutely pooped, back on board for afternoon tea and sailaway at 6. 🌞🙂

Thurs day 30th Well off yo a good start flight out of LBR on time ish 😊 landed Dubrovnik 5.45pm local time collected bags and took them to coach on ship for 7pm. Cabin 8077 ideally placed mid ships still get lost lol 😆 Ex2 in good shape for her age few telling signs are shot double glazing but otherwise immaculately clean and staff are friendly and on the ball. Fri 31st Sea day sunbed bingo as usual with stuff onbthem but no peeps. Cpt Richard Watkins made an announcement that beds with stuff on them would get a time noted chatty and if after an hour no occupant had appeared stuff wld be removed. Seems that has done the trick lol 😆 DTI night 95% participation I'd say bars heaving buzzers at Latitude vista closed on DTI night. Odd bits of cut backs showing we have premium plus and never been offered those options without asking. No teapots at breakfast, yogurt in a bowl not individual pots, portions smaller. Staff has definitely declined in numbers no drinks waiters or bus boys so the waiters are having to do it all tables go uncleared so can't be reused, drinks service very slow to refill.