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Thank you , great information. Do you know if the 'single-reduced' rate is valid for older people (non EU)? Thanks

we are in port from 0800 to 2200. Thinking it may be better to wait until the first rush/crush is over before going over to Oia. Has anyone been there from early afternoon and found it quieter than say midday? according to cruise mapper there are only three ships in Santorini including us. The other two are small ships

Thanks, I proberly didn't make myself clear but wondered if there is a shop actually in the terminal area as we will be getting dropped here by the car we have booked from Rome Airport on the day of departure. We haven't got the drink package and will be nice to have a glass of wine in our cabin

I'll have to join you from my bed if it's going to be USA cocktail time 😁

Oh wow, wonder what went wrong Someones going to get into trouble!!!

Dani, your DH is so talented

Happy Birthday to your grandson Dani. Best wishes to him for lovely day. Your cheesecake looks lovely. I love cheese but never buy it apart from Christmas, so enjoy it on cruises. Gary absolutely hates it though will reluctantly eat 'cooked' cheese on pizza 🍕

Definitely successful weight loss is an attitude of mind

Gary and I are doing Slimming World, which I think is only UK based diet plan. Basically veg, fruit, protein with a bit of carbs. It's not perfect and I am a little concerned there's no or little fat/oil, but I find I can only stick to the plan when I have a weekly weigh in. Lost 3.5 Stone in 2016 but still have a ways to go. Well done to all who don't put on weight on cruises, tell me your tips. We walk a lot but I still managed to put on 5lbs on the Norwegian Fjords cruise a couple of weeks ago. I think we need to refuse the bread basket and drink more G&Ts instead of wine 🍷 🤔

Dani, I saw on the X app that there's a captains curated tour of Oia with lunch. Would be interesting but I bet super expensive

We're flying into Rome late the day before our cruise, staying at a airport hotel and travelling to Civataveccia the day of our cruise straight to the ship. Does anyone know if there is a wine shop in the port area before boarding Thanks

My son walking back from work snapped this pic of The Mall, getting it ready for the jubilee celebrations next week

Thanks for the info. Was it easy to get a taxi in Oia? And if you don't mind, how much was it? Cheers

Hello, and welcome 😊 Dani's thread got us all through the lockdowns in the last couple of years

Sorry you've caught the dreaded bug and now stuck in quarantine. Did you have to isolate on the ship too? Hope it's mild and you can get home soon Sue

Plus teas, coffee,hot chocolate, iced water flavoured water, Plus if Elite or above free alcoholic drinks between 5-7 Plus you can bring two bottles of wine on board per cabin Plus free bottle of bubbles in concierge class Plus included entertainment If we're in the Med I'm happy with WiFi on land during the long port days with only maybe one or two sea days Always prepay our gratuities Personally I can't drink as much now as when I was younger and happy to just pay as we go for a couple of drinks in the evening

In the UK a lot of companies, once you've been with them for a while, will give you up to six months paid sickness benefit. In 48 years of work I never had more than a week or so off (apart from maternity leave) so I'm not quite sure how it works. If the company pays out or if some is claimed back from the govt 🤷‍♀️ You do have to be regularly assessed and they can ask you to see the company doctor. You also have to be signed off work by your doctor.

Unfortunately we aren't allowed by CC rules to talk about travel agents but it's extremely well known in the airline world. Google may be your friend. I do think cruise lines offload under selling cruises. I always check prices between this industry agent, an American travel agent I've used a couple of times, and the cruise lines direct prices. The UK travel industry agent isn't always the cheapest. And of course there is no OBC or perks such as diamond balcony discount on Royal Caribbean as the price is already discounted. The 'best price' and price drop promo aren't included also. I've mainly sailed Royal Caribbean. I haven't cruised on Celebrity Edge class yet. Our Beyond cruise will be a first for us.

It was half the price on my basic airline travel agent rate. Saved £1000's and we always include gratuities. Happy to use WiFi in ports We get the Elite drinks 5pm to 7pm, otherwise its pay as we go. For me its difficult to sustain a high alcoholic intake day after day, especially with a cruise with a lot of long port days I happy with the free iced water, take my own water bottle to fill, though I agree the free coffee isn't the best

I'll have a look at the tours again. We were thinking of maybe taking the bus from Fira. Don't you get priority tendering anyway as concierge class?

Containing the chat on whisky, our youngest son is getting into single malts and bought a bottle of Japanese whisky for Gary for birthday. Its quite strong 43% proof but smooth. TBH single malt is wasted on Gary as he drowns it in ginger ale

When Gary worked at offices near Heathrow he often cycled the 22 miles each way to work. He's also done numerous charity bike rides London to Paris. But his longest bike ride was Victoria Island to Halifax. He got knocked over in the prairies and broke a rib so took a train part way to Ontario. Then cycled back to Stratford to stay with friends and then carried onto the Maritimes. He now uses a electric bike, helps with the hills

Our last two trips we've come up with a new solution, more for Molly the Collie than the house. The original deal when we got molly was our son would co-parent, but times change and with a new baby on the way and a crazy pup who molly doesn't really like we had to come up with a new solution. So one of his school friends who we've also know since childhood lives in a house share and is more than happy to have sole occupancy of our house with garden. He WFH so is there all the time, and walks molly twice a day. We trust him and our son is around to keep an eye on things. Win win for us and him, though we also give him £20 a day to keep it on a semi formal basis

Thanks for your blog. I haven't been on Brilliance but I've heard she's a great ship. Looking forward to hearing more, enjoy !

Great blog and pics. Thanks for taking the time. We nearly bookef a last minute cruise on Wonder a couple of weeks ago but the flight costs were crazy high because of the last minute. I may of missed it but where is your first port?