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There won´t be any trains going to Garmisch for the next few days.... Unfortunately a train derailed today - so far 4 people are accounted dead and 30 injured. The train derailed shortly past noon and lots of school kids were in the train (last day of school prior to the 2 weeks Pentecost school break). There are also reports of soldiers having been on the train who did help others to get out (not sure whether US or German soldiers). The train was on it´s way from Garmisch to Munich and the accident happened shortly past Garmisch. Two cars derailed and also the engine (which was pushing the train not pulling). Currently trains from the South have to turn around in Garmisch, trains from the North turn around in Oberau. There are busses going between Oberau and Garmisch. The reason for the accident is unknown so far. But I expect that part of the rail system to be closed for at least a week or two until they were able to salvage the derailed cars and engine. After that they have to repair the tracks. Not mentioning the investigations. steamboats

We had 1197 pax and 530 crew on the May 14th sailing. And there never was a line in the Aloha Café and I never had to struggle to find a table. There´s plenty of space with an occupancy of 45% max. Be happy they didn´t cancel your cruise! Due to the limitation of the passenger capacity NCL had to cancel some passengers for the upcoming cruises. BTW this is the fact since the restart on April 9th - so nothing new or surprising: Only Cagney´s and Jefferson´s Bistro are open as specialty restaurants. Main Dining Room is Skyline Restaurant only - only for dinner and no reservations. Cadillac Diner is open and also Aloha Café. Open Bars: John Adams Café, Ocean Drive Bar (until 6 pm) and in the evenings Pink´s Champagne Bar and Napa Wine Bar. Mardi Gras Lounge is only open during aktivities there. steamboats

Seems like this information was only for TAs. There was no press release about the further cancellations (or the christening). steamboats

It´s not that much money so I thought I could help them out with that amount ... (I think it´s 120 Euro). I got my prepaid stuff back plus the flights (which were app 2 K Euro). steamboats

I also received the second email which says that I loose the 25% by the end of the year. So all they are doing is to "extend" the FCC regarding the money they were supposed to pay back anyway. In may case they have my money for more than 4 years now (2018 booking). Now I´m loosing the bonus of the 25% for borrowing them my money for 2 years. I should have asked them to pay my money back by the time they cancelled my Sep 2020 cruise. steamboats

Yes, they are dropped... except for the masks in public transportation which includes flights (according to my latest information). steamboats

That´s correct, no masks in the terminal. Anyway KLM is not obeying the German laws which require masks for flights to and from Germany. steamboats

We´ve been on the May 14th cruise. There were no reservations for Skyline available. We had to go, get a paiger and wait. Longest wait was 40 min. You might better get a drink ahead as the closest bar is the John Adams Café. We boarded late due to a pre cruise tour. We almost missed the safety drill. So past 5 pm it was not easy to get a reservation. We were lucky and got one for Jefferson´s Bistro the same day. But most times which were availble were 8 pm or later. So better get you reservations done as soon as possible. steamboats

For my search it showed up with a starting price of 9 Euro. And when you click on the specific train for further details there would be a disclaimer "9 Euro ticket not valid on this train". steamboats

Munich to Dachau is S-Bahn - so you´re fine. Berchtesgaden to Garmisch... I think you have to go via Munich. There should be regional trains but also excluded trains. Garmisch to Munich airport. The last part Munich Central Station to the airport is S-Bahn. Garmisch to Munich Central should be a lot of regional trains to chose from. steamboats

New Zealand, more than 30 were killed. steamboats

Italy skips all Covid-19 regulations by tomorrow. So you don´t need a proof of vaccination anymore (or a test or a certificate of recovery) for traveling to Italy. But they keep the FFP2/KN95 mask obligation for public transportation (the article did not mention whether flights are regarded as public transportation like they are here in Germany). steamboats

Just received a letter from DB telling me that my yearly ticket is now a 9 Euro ticket by tomorrow. Just for fun I checked a train connection from Munich to Bremerhaven. I have to take the train leaving at 6:44 am at Munich central station. Lunch break of an hour is in Gera (so I would go East first instead of straight North). After changing trains 4 times I would arrive in Bremerhaven at 8:31 pm. steamboats

Actually it´s not the airline... It´s the country... Here in Germany the mask mandate in public transportation is still on and includes flights. Therefore on all flights from/to Germany you need to wear a mask. Until recently Lufthansa did enforce this but decided that due to conflicts between passengers and flight attendants the staff now does not have to enforce it anymore. steamboats

Actually it depends on the country you are flying to. In Germany there´s still a mask mandate in public transportation which includes flights. Therefore on all flights to and from Germany you have to wear a mask. Despite that LH just announced that the cabin attendants are not enforcing this anymore due to conflicts with passengers. As far as I know Italy has the mask mandate on flights too. steamboats

Since a couple of years only licensed bus drivers are allowed on that road along the Amalfi Coast. And you definitely have to know it and the rules. As a driver you have to stop immediately when you hear another vehicle honking. Then it´s usually a bus or a truck which has the right of way. I definitely do not recommend to drive on your own with a rental car. Almost 40 years ago traffic was bad and my dad was an experienced driver on mountain roads. But not everyone was experienced... and even back then the traffic was bad. A very nice ride is the ferry boat from Salerno either to Amalfi or Positano. A completely different view of the Amalfi Coast. But even in August 2020 the streets were packed (those you can drive on and those you can only walk). steamboats

Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast but on the way from Naples to the Amalfi Coast. The drive from Naples to Sorrento is a boaring one ... a highway through all those cities and villages along the gulf of Naples. The scenic ride starts way after Sorrento. steamboats

I totally agree! I spent a total of two weeks there (2 visits) and never found it very apalling... Good place to start excursions to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Naples, Amalfi coast but that´s it. The rest... way to many people in that main small tourist street. steamboats

@vistaman there should be lots of testing sites in Hamburg. For us an Antigen test is still free (and for those testing sites it´s been a good and big business). My pharmacy on the other side of the street is still doing tests (although they limited the time frames for testing - currently 2 hours in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon). For our recent trip to Hawai´i we did a test the day before we flew to Honolulu and the morning (8 am when they opened) on flight day. The second test was for the ship. Although by the time of check-in this test was more 72 hours old regarding the time change it was still within the 2 day limit (looking on the date of the test). We also did a proctored test in our hotel room in Honolulu using Testifly.de but we didn´t show that certificate (this was just in case they said at check-in that our 2 days old is too old). With Testifly you use your own self test (you can check whether the brand is o.k. with them). You take photos with the app and a video while poking your nose and another photo 15 min later. It´s not live but "recorded" and uploaded. Funny thing... as they check the tests between 8 am/8 pm German time our certificate was dated with embarkation day (although we took the test a day before). The price was 9.90 Euro plus the price of the test kit (less than 2 Euro). It´s a bit tricky to place your cell phone so you plus the test kit are in the video while taking the test and some kind of tripod/stand comes in handy. Actually I have a selfie stick which double acts as a tripod. I had this on the table in the hotel room and kneeled on the floor to take the test. steamboats

There are some things to consider... 1. You need to fill in your name on the ticket - otherwise it´s not valid!! 2. Not all regional trains (RE) are covered by the ticket! Only those operated by DB Regio but not those operated by DB Fernverkehr. You can only see this when you download the DB app (or on the DB website) and check the details of each train. There it shows up when the 9 Euro ticket is not valid on the train. RE trains are not that frequent on long distances. You might travel to odd times (early in the morning) and you might have to change the trains several times (including the risk to miss your connection). So from Regensburg to Hamburg you need more than 10 hours on 5 different trains starting prior to 7 am. Using the ICE trains it takes you only 5 hours (either direct connection or just one change of trains). As I do have a yearly ticket for public transportation in Munich I will save some money for the next three months. Not sure whether I will try out the regional trains... It´s a bad idea that they started the ticket during the main school summer break months. I expect the trains to be pretty crowded. steamboats

Check the Italy board... Sorrento is highly overrated. For Capri you only have to walk 5 min to the ferry landing and buy a ticket there. The ship tours use the regular ferries too. I love Naples as there is so much to do and explore. Done a food tour, did Naples underground and more. steamboats

@Catlover54 there was a press relase on May 19th about the drop of the mask mandate. No masks anymore inside or outside (and TUI Cruises had the same press release that day). I assume that HL had to "adopt" the TUI Cruises computer system which includes the tip line (and with TUI Cruises tips are included too). steamboats

@Catlover54, 1. By May 19th HL dropped the mask mandate onboard. 2. I could say the same about Americans - I just returned from Hawai´i on Monday. 3. The tip line is common practice with many cruise lines. I don´t remember exactly whether HL had it before but they might have adopted the system from TUI Cruises which has the tip line (as well as RCI or X). I never fill in that line for a single drink or a glass of wine during dinner especially when tips are included in the fare. I do give tips in cash to certain staff but I do not tip for every coke, water or whatever. steamboats

I haven´t seen any press release... steamboats

Back from Hawai´i ... on our last leg from SFO to MUC with LH there was an announcement that masks are still mandatory on this flight to Germany and I saw one flight attendent telling one passenger to put on a mask. The flight attendants did hand out medical masks when boarding the plane to those without a mask or a fabric mask. steamboats