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Thank you. And, it appears it is not limited to one glass per person, lol!

What’s the deal? Do you have to wait until a certain time to get a glass of bubbly?

No pearl clutching required. It makes you totally relatable! I am really enjoying your review. I’m so curious about Virgin but the lack of a drinks package holds us back. I looked at a 4 day out of Miami 12/26 to12/30 and a balcony was $2600 for two. I know that week is expensive, but we are looking at NCL Epic transatlantic departing Rome to Port Canaveral on 10/17 and 13 nights is the same price as the 4 night Virgin cruise and we get the free at sea drinks package. It’s a hard sell to my husband to pay the same for 4 nights without a drink package as 13 nights with the free at sea perks. I know it’s not exactly an apples to apples comparison, Epic is an older ship, time of year, etc., but until Virgin offers some type of drinks package, I don’t see being able to convince my husband. Is there a status match or anyway to get some drinks included? I did a mock booking, but didn’t see anyway to get sailor loot or anything towards drinks. Enjoy your cruise. You need to relax after all the walking in Barcelona. Curious as to what else was on your Barcelona list that you missed? You seemed to hit the highlights. The only thing we did than you missed was a tour to Montserrat. Next time I’m there, I want to tour the Frexinet cava house. It’s just outside Barcelona and for an inexpensive cava it’s one of my favorites! Like you, I enjoy the champs, as long as it’s brut and not sweet! Thanks for the great review!! I’m in Orlando and we are getting the rain and wind from Tropical Storm Debby, so having a quiet Sunday at home and your review is very entertaining!,

How are you accessing the internet in Europe? We do the AT&T day pass, but I wondered if there is a better alternative. Thanks so much for taking the time to do the review.

There are outlets near Florence, Italy. You take a bus from the Florence train station. I know people who go to Florence just for the designer outlets. I have not checked them out yet, but hear they are amazing. And, you get the VAT back when you depart the country.

I believe the idea for the Star Wars costumes came from the people in the photo above. I didn’t think about the church not having a/c and being hot in summer. We toured in April and it was rather cool. I purchased timed tickets directly from the website prior to our trip and we did the audio tour provided at the cathedral. I did mess up and did not purchase the tickets that included going to the very top of the tower via the elevator, and they were sold out the day of our visit, so we just have to return. I so agree about the Instagram photo shoots. We saw so many of those and it’s frustrating when you just want a souvenir photo of a spot, but these influencers are spending 20 minutes there trying for the perfect shot!

Love a full Irish breakfast! Best sausage ever!

Great review! Barcelona is one of our favorite ports. The ride in from the airport is quick and the port is so close to downtown. Public restrooms in Spain are hard to find. One we saw in Alicante had a QR code to scan, presumably to pay, but it didn’t work for us. I love Spanish cappuccino so we took to going to a cafe for a quick cup when we needed a restroom. It’s one price if you sit and occupy a table, and another price if you just stand and drink it quickly. Got to love the efficiency. We also loved the great prices on cava! There is no place is USA where 2 glasses of cava is under $10!! I’m really missing Barcelona now!!

Loving this review. My only time on a spirit class ship was my honeymoon cruise on Miracle in 2009. Looks like she has held up well.

lol, great minds think alike.

Maybe while you are there, ask about the excursion credit? I have a feeling as the cruise nears the end, the lines are going to get worse.

Didn’t your FAS include some specialty dining?

You two have some great photos from this cruise! You need to print and frame some of these!

My husband bought both the blue and grey on our Epic cruise. They had a sale. Don’t remember the cost, but less than $45. Double XL are not easy to find, so we tend to purchase when we find it, lol!

Love @HelloItsMeB’s dress!,

NCL needs help in this area. We had the same experience in Alicante, Spain. A NCL rep directed us to the wrong bus twice for our excursion. Went to the first bus she directed us to only to be told by the driver that was the wrong bus. Went back to ask her again and again we were directed to the wrong bus. Finally, a bus driver directed us to the correct bus. It should not be this difficult! With the $50 shore discount, there is an incentive to use NCL tours, but they could be better organized.

Love me some British rashers!

I’d be interested in your comparison of Carnival vs NCL. We have not sailed Carnival since 2013 and have kind of settled on NCL as “our” cruise line after also sailing Celebrity and MSC. But Paul’s Venezia review has me rethinking maybe trying an Italian themed Carnival ship. We don’t get Casino deals, so the cheers package added to the Carnival fare is always a bit of sticker shock compared to NCL. Enjoy your cruise! I’m loving this review!

We were on the Epic in April and would have loved an Epic t-shirt. Everything was branded "hooked on cruising." Glad to see some ship specific merchandise!

We spent 4 nights in Rome in April after a transatlantic cruise and I ate cacio e pepe everyday. It was heavenly!

We bought air tags after your Barcelona experience. I’m sure you are responsible for the sale of a few of them!

I live in FL and they sell the white chocolate covered Oreos here at Christmas. I think they have dark chocolate covered ones too, but I always go for the white chocolate. Those things are sinfully delicious!

On NCL Epic, it’s called Posh. We just sailed Epic in April, so I’ve got Posh in my head. I know what Havana is, but have not sailed Carnival since 2013, so have no first hand experience. I must admit though that the Italian themed ships are tempting. The ship looks beautiful!

What is the Terrazza? Is that like Posh Beach Club on NCL?

What’s with the drug sniffing dogs? Is this a Carnival thing or a Miami thing? We have cruised out of Port Canaveral twice this year, once on MSC and once on NCL and saw no evidence of drug sniffing dogs. Our last cruise from Miami was 12/2022 on Celebrity, but do not ever recall seeing drug sniffing dogs.