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Last part is online with lots of photos of the naming ceremony and more. steamboats

No, it doesn´t make sense. And it shouldn´t be handled differently. It´s never been a Spanish tax... it´s just that the percentage of the VAT is a regulation of the country. That you have to collect the VAT is an EU regulation. The regulation is pretty complicated and obvioulsy ever country is interpreting it differently. Spain wants it for all EU-only cruises starting in Spain for the whole duration of the cruise and on any other cruise as soon as the ship enters the 3 mile zone of a Spanish port. I have different experiences regarding Italy - some cruise lines add the VAT, some not. I never found out a system. MSC does not charge it extra but includes the VAT in the price (so they simply earn less). Same for Costa, AIDA or TUI Cruises. As the Europeans are not used to pay VAT extra (EU law is that it has to be included) those Europe based cruise lines don´t charge it extra. steamboats

I just returned from the new MSC Euribia. And I've been on a couple of MSC cruises - Med, Arab, US - and the only cruise USD was accepted onboard and the casino was the US one. So just personal experience 😉. steamboats

The actual trip review starts in part 8 covering days 1, 2 and half of day 3. steamboats

@RobInMN as the OP was open for both cities as starting point I just listed the pros and cons without any personal preferences ;-). As for me I prefer to feel like on a regular cruise and not like a passenger who jumps on mid cruise. That´s why I would always prefer Barcelona as starting point for the Oasis class ships in the Med (I´ve been on all of them and did 3 Med cruises on them). Another disadvantage of interporting is that the RCI app doesn´t get it and usually you can´t make any reservations ahead of the cruise when you board in Civitavecchia. The roll call is based on Barcelona. The weekly entertainment is based on Barcelona. There are much better cruises for a pre or post cruise stay in Rome. steamboats

MSC World Europa has Euro an onboard currency therefore also the casino is Euro. Only the MSC ships departing from US port have USD as currency. All others do have Euro. There might be some cruises focused on UK where they do have GBP as onboard currency. But that´s only one ship. steamboats

@RobInMN while the port of Barcelona is close to the city Civitavecchia isn't close to Rome. You can spend a week or more in both cities. BTW for Sagrada Familia you need an appointment which can be made online. steamboats

But we were not talking about Penthouse Suites but about Concierge Level balconies. steamboats

It is immediately added to all purchases. If they charge the VAT it´s mentioned in the daily. It´s basically a problem with cruises out of a Spanish port. For Italy it´s a bit inconsistant. We had to pay the Italian VAT on Oceania Vista in May out of Civitavecchia (and back). Read that NCL does not charge it out of Civitavecchia. steamboats

The main embarkation port is Barcelona. So all entertainment is geared to this port (like welcome show). Barcelona airport is only 25 min from the port and easy to access. Fiumicino is about an hour and you need an expensive transfer. Rome is about 1.5 hours by train. It´s the same cruise - it´s just that they do interporting in Civitavecchia. steamboats

Onboard currency is US Dollar - so why should there be Euro in the casino? steamboats

EU is working on ETIAS similar to ESTA. UK has their own system being buildt up. But both won´t be available until the end of 2024. Anyway this is only a pre registration and doesn´t say anything about the date of entry. So they still have to check the passport (scan it). steamboats

We were able to visit 12 different cabin categories - have a look in part 7. steamboats

@graphicguy that´s totally correct. When I buy a package online ahead of my cruise I don´t have to pay any taxes as I´m charged via Miami (and I don´t have to pay any additional US taxes as I´m from Europe and I get Euro pricing). When I buy the package onboard in Barcelona I have to pay the additional Spanish VAT. Same when I pay per drink on an EU cruise. That´s what all other US cruise lines are doing on EU cruises. But actually EU law also requires that all fees/taxes are already included in the marked prices. Therefore nowhere in the EU any taxes are added to the marked price - only on cruise ships in the Med... Neither MSC, Costa, AIDA or TUI Cruises (all Europe based cruise lines with AIDA and Costa being subsidiaries of Carnival Corp) do charge EU VAT on their Med cruises. They might add a service charge (MSC does). But that´s it. steamboats

There are two dishes by Giada in Toscana. You can see the menu here. We tried both of them: Capri-Inspired Lemon Spaghetti and Branzino Pomgrenate. steamboats

BTW your 16 yo is no problem at all. My DD was on her first European river cruise at the age of 5 y. The main problem is to find a river cruise ship with accomodations for 3. Otherwise you need to book 2 cabins. steamboats

There should have been a Schengen (EU) passport control on your TA cruise either onboard or at the first EU port (or the last which would have been Civitavecchia). Then you should have received your Schengen stamp (visa waiver program). The rest of your trip was all within Schengen countries. This can be compared to a domestic flight within the US. There is no passport control within the Schengen countries. Even your Baltic cruise should have been totally Schengen. The airline might want to see your passport but they usually don´t check your visa status. They only check your identity. Some countries like Spain also check your ID when boarding the plane. So I totally understand the border control agent in Sweden when she didn´t see any Schengen stamp in your passport. So legally you were traveling without a visa or a visa waiver program and you were an illegal alien. I was only on one Eastbound TA from Port Everglades to Barcelona and this cruise had only one stop in Malaga (Spain). Nevertheless the passport control was in Barcelona. As I´m EU citizen I could go to the EU line and only had a passport check. The non EU passengers had to use the other line where their passport got stamped with the Schengen "visa". Legally this should have taken place in Malaga as first port in the EU but it was moved to our last port Barcelona. steamboats

Usually short cruises are only done during the Advent season. During summer the ships are usually busy with 7 night cruises. But there might be some shorter ones but only with German based cruise lines. All US/CA/UK cruise lines don´t do any shorter cruises as the people usually have to fly over and want a 7 night or longer. steamboats

The review continues with part 6 covering our Fantastica Deluxe Balcony cabin 14255. steamboats

I have a couple of more names for you. My DH bought the 2022 edition of the Gambero Rosso Gelaterie d´Italia: Cremeria Buonafede Cremeria Sestri Gelatina Genovesi Massimiliano Chiumeo Gelateria Profumo Those are the ones mentioned for Genova. steamboats

According to Gambero Rosso (they have a yearly list of the best 100 gelaterias in Italy) it´s Gelateria Profumo in Genova. steamboats

Sorry, I haven´t been on Virtuosa. But as Bellissima and Grandiosa have the free sauna in the gym changing rooms too it´s pretty likely that Virtuosa has a free sauna. steamboats

Part 5 is covering the bars and lounges onboard MSC Euribia. steamboats

Part 4 is covering the restaurants on decks 15 to 19. steamboats

As Jacques Pepin has reached a certain age he´s not doing any new restaurants onboard. But regarding the fact how the announced Ember I was expecting a little bit more... steamboats