Live from the Regal - July 2-23 - Med Cruise - R/T Barcelona

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

I do not know if the Princess tour included a knowledgeable guide leading the group and explaining everything that was seen in the museum and gardens, but a guide would be extra if you booked the Museum on your own.

In our case on the PCL Vatican Behind the Scenes excursion, we had an awesome tour guide! She was an independent guide authorized and trained by the Vatican to give the tour.
 

BTW just for reference for those arriving on a B2B in Civitavecchia, our 9 hour tour from/to the ship was $209 pp (without lunch) which we thought was quite fair.

[Esprit]

Afraid to say the Medallion app is a bit hit and miss!

Ordered our drinks and it worked great. Then tried to order a burger whilst at the Mermaids Tail bar which is right next to the Burger bar. No luck. It would be easier and quicker to shout my order across the 20 feet distance😂

We ate at Sabatini’s last night. Food always nice and the service was exemplary. Had a window table so could watch the sun setting across the sea.👌

 

[Anubi]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Thanks for the report.

 

For those who will be in Rome pre- or post-cruise, you can have the same experience at a much lower cost than the Princess tour.

 

Just go online and book the Vatican Museum in advance at a selected time. When it is your time, you can enter without waiting on the long tourist line. You can also book visiting the gardens in advance.

 

I do not know if the Princess tour included a knowledgeable guide leading the group and explaining everything that was seen in the museum and gardens, but a guide would be extra if you booked the Museum on your own.

There is also a tour called the Pristine Sistine where you are in the Sistine Chapel at 7:00am before the crowds.  You then have breakfast in the Pinecone Courtyard and do the rest of the Vatican Museums.  And did you know you can climb St. Peter's Dome??  

Edited July 10, 2022 by Anubi

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s a tidbit for those that like hot chocolate that prefer it with almond, rice, soy or lactose-free milk rather than whole or skim milk. Go to the International Cafe and ask for it. One note, there is a charge if you don’t have a beverage package. 

[vjmatty]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

And that is very, very important.

 

By the way, if you do have the charge processed in your home currency, there will still be a foreign transaction fee added by your card company unless it is a card which does not have such a fee.

 

Also if you are using a debit card to get the local currency again make sure to select the transaction to be in the local currency.

 

Other cards that do not have a foreign transaction fee include those issued by CapitalOne. You really get the current official exchange rate with those cards and there is no annual fee on most of them.

Also, before you leave home check the currency conversion rates so you have an idea what they should be close to. Banks always mess with the percentages in order to make a profit. Right now the Euro is 1.02 and sterling is 1.20 against the US dollar. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Anubi said:

There is also a tour called the Pristine Sistine where you are in the Sistine Chapel at 7:00am before the crowds.  You then have breakfast in the Pinecone Courtyard and do the rest of the Vatican Museums.  And did you know you can climb St. Peter's Dome??  

I remember our tour guide pointed out the stairs when we were in the Basilica, but we were on a schedule and didn’t have time. But what you said got me thinking and for those Do It Yourself folks, here’s a link you might be interested in.

 

https://www.vaticancityguide.org/visit-dome-st-peter/

[Manderius]

Hey Ken, did you have to download any app or do anything special to fly into Barcelona?

[Esprit]

The Love Boat competition winner! Sorry the picture hasn’t attached itself!

Edited July 10, 2022 by Esprit

[Esprit]

Just now, Esprit said:

The Love Boat competition winner!

 

 

[caribill]

   .

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after another tasty dinner, we went to the theater to watch a singer, Nik Page. 
 

 

Then, as usual, we went to Princess Live to watch the Yes/No Game Show. But Dan and Kenta were tough to beat tonight as it seemed over 25 people competed with only one person going the full 3 minutes. But first, Dan our CD decided to photo bomb one of my shots. 😂

 

 

And here is the sole winner of a bottle of champagne!

 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 10 - July 11 - Sea day

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Before dinner while we were standing out on the promenade, we noticed we were passing the island of Capri as we head towards Crete. 
 

[Ken the cruiser]

Fun fact: the drinking age for passengers onboard this cruise is 18. That explains why there are so many happy young adults onboard! 😂
 

Did another internet speed test around 10:30 pm tonight as the download speed seemed a little slow, but workable, with regards to email and surfing the web. But uploading pictures to CC was no problem whatsoever.

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, Manderius said:

Hey Ken, did you have to download any app or do anything special to fly into Barcelona?

No. All customs required at the Barcelona airport was to see our passports and proof of vaccination and booster documents.

[PacnGoNow]

51 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Before dinner while we were standing out on the promenade, we noticed we were passing the island of Capri as we head towards Crete. 
 

One of our favorite islands. Isle of Capri is beautiful. 

[Adventures ahead]

17 hours ago, Alanr204 said:

Lucca is amazing. tuscanybus.com has a very inexpensive tour to there from Livorno, stopping in Pisa on the way back. 

Used that company twice. Once on our own, and once again with friends. Very good, as is Lucca! Climb the tower!

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That explains why there are so many happy young adults onboard! 😂

There have been comments on other SM boards about youngsters drinking on dance floors, wearing robes into dinner etc. 

Have you seen anything similar? 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Fun fact: the drinking age for passengers onboard this cruise is 18.

Welcome to Europe.

Fun fact  - you can buy a gun in the US at eighteen, but you cannot buy a drink !

[PacnGoNow]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Welcome to Europe.

Fun fact  - you can buy a gun in the US at eighteen, but you cannot buy a drink !

That’s not a fun fact at all. 😞  Very sad.

[karabear15]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Before dinner while we were standing out on the promenade, we noticed we were passing the island of Capri as we head towards Crete. 
 

Beautiful!

I am living vicariously through these pictures, just counting down the days...38 to be exact, until we board our flight!

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

There have been comments on other SM boards about youngsters drinking on dance floors, wearing robes into dinner etc. 

Have you seen anything similar? 

We don’t hang out in the Vista lounge, but we haven’t seen anyone anywhere in a bathrobe. But that’s not saying much. Although there was a teenager at the Yes/No game who got called up to play and would not give up his drink until he took the microphone. Then once he lost, they gave him his drink back and he kept drinking it as he walked back to his seat. 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

Woke up this morning and there was actually multiple white caps and very mild 1-3’ swells. Wow, it almost felt like we were on the high seas! 😂 But as you can see, it’s otherwise pretty peaceful out there. 

 

 

Then after breakfast at CC Dining we went to watch Julio, the port guide, as we are just going to walk around Heraklion on our own tomorrow. 
 

 

[Esprit]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Woke up this morning and there was actually multiple white caps and very mild 1-3’ swells. Wow, it almost felt like we were on the high seas! 😂 But as you can see, it’s otherwise pretty peaceful out there. 

 

 

Then after breakfast at CC Dining we went to watch Julio, the port guide, as we are just going to walk around Heraklion on our own tomorrow. 
 

 

We could feel the ship’s motion in the night. 👌
We’re just walked through the Outrigger bar and they are still filming the Love Boat competition so I was wrong yesterday about the winners disembarking in Naples. They must have quite a few TV film crew still on board them!

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, Esprit said:

We could feel the ship’s motion in the night. 👌
We’re just walked through the Outrigger bar and they are still filming the Love Boat competition so I was wrong yesterday about the winners disembarking in Naples. They must have quite a few TV film crew still on board them!

When we were on deck 7 this morning on the way to the theater, they were filming a bar scene next to the International Cafe. It was funny because the lady bartender was dressed in a Red Coat and loaded up with make-up. Definitely not the look of most of the regular bartenders on the cruise.