FionaMG

I think you probably meant to say "ate" your sandwich rather than "hate". 😂 Anyway, yes, those are traditional dishes. I like duck rice but I am absolutely not a fan of the cod. It's salt cod, as opposed to fresh, and the Portuguese love for it goes all the way back to olden days when it had to be salted in order to prevent it from rotting in the heat. It's said that there are at least 365 different ways to prepare so a minimum of one recipe for every day of the year. Lisbon Airport has that benefit: a mix of traditional and cosmopolitan. So you can get the typical international fast food that you'll find pretty much anywhere in the world but you can also get truly authentic (and good) traditional food. Seating is indeed woefully inadequate. This is because the airport has long outgrown its usefulness and a new bigger one is urgently needed. However, the politicians have been arguing for 20 years about where to build it and if it actually materialises in the next decade it'll be something of a miracle.

TAP are actually OK as an airline. Their fleet is pretty modern and the crew are usually very professional but also very nice. As a company, they do unfortunately tend to shoot themselves a bit in the foot with their customer service when things go awry, which is why you'll see a lot of people saying never again. Assuming your transatlantic flight is with them too, there'll be decent seat-back entertainment on your transatlantic flight and, depending on which aircraft they use, you may get free wifi messaging (whatsapp and FB messenger, text only, no images). You'll also get food. On transatlantic flights you'll usually get a main meal shortly after boarding and a snack shortly before arrival. I think wine is free with the main meal but not 100% sure, as we don't drink alcohol, but soft drinks and juices are definitely free with the meal. The bit with the bags is normal for TAP. I didn't realise that's who you were flying with or I'd have alerted you to it.

This looks wonderful. Duly noted for future use. 😍

Sorry to hear about all your post-cruise trials and tribulations Rogue. 😕 Hopefully your return travel will be uneventful. Definitely agree with @Tyler414 regarding the use of a travel e-sim. I have used these on our last couple of trips to the US to ensure that I have data when out and about so if you are planning further travels outside the US in the future you should definitely look into them. My preferred provider is called Roamless. They're a fairly new kid on the block so their coverage is not quite as widespread as some of the more established operators but they have one huge thing in their favour as far as I am concerned and that is that they don't have "plans" that can only be used in certain areas and which expire after a certain amount of time even if you haven't used up all the credit (like when you have to put an hour's worth of coins in a parking meter because you're not sure how long you're going to be and then you end up only needing the spot for 15 minutes). Instead, what Roamless do is a pay-as-you-go type thing, where you put a certain amount of credit into your account and you can use it wherever and whenever and it never expires. Then you just top up your credit as and when you need to. My daughter is currently working on a cruise ship in Europe and has been using it throughout the Med and the Adriatic with no issues at all. If you think you might want to use them in the future, I have a referral code that will get both of us a little bit of free credit: XN58Y. Safe travels.

If you haven't done so already, check the sticky at the top of the British Isles page here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

Seriously need an angry reaction emoji on here. What a lousy end to your trip! 😡 I hope you are able to get everything sorted out promptly.

Safe travels home @little britain. 😊

I like the idea of a later disembarkation. Having to be up at 6 am on departure morning is always a real downer for me. Enjoy your time in Barcelona. It's a great city and you're going to want to return for a longer visit.

Safe travels home tomorrow Laurie and thanks for another great live report. 😊

Fabulous pics @LooneyCruzer. I love Cinque Terre. 😍

Night night. Sleep tight. 😴

Solarium Bistro?

Feel your pain. 😕

You won't go through US customs until you arrive in the US. Passport control is immigration and since you are already in the Schengen zone that formality will have been taken care of by the ship, who will have passed your details onto the relevant Portuguese and Spanish authorities. That said, the authorities in Barcelona have the right to make additional checks if they wish so do keep your passports to hand when disembarking. When you get to Barcelona Airport, you will have to show your passport several times - when checking in for your flight, possibly when going through security and also immediately prior to boarding - but these are straightforward ID checks, not formal immigration or customs. You go through outbound passport control (the electronic passport gates that I mentioned) in Lisbon because that is where you will be exiting the EU. The passport check at the gate prior to boarding your flight in Lisbon is a secondary check required by the US authorities. For you, as US citizens, it is a minor formality.

Yes, I'm checking them daily. Really hoping to finally cross a Panama Canal cruise off my bucket list in the not-too-distant future. 🤞