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@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

I just started my photo extense review of the pre inaugural of the Wonder of the Seas (May 4th - 6th, 2022) out of Barcelona. It´s as usual a deck by deck description (text is in German but automatic translation works pretty well). Restaurants, bars and lounges will have separate entries and are not done yet as we are leaving in two days for another cruise. All finished entries (deck 3 til 18) will go online day by day (with a break after May 17th). The rest will follow when we return. Enjoy! steamboats