Returning from Europe

[Cruisers47]

Hi fellow cruisers,

 

though I would drop a note about our cruise with RCL IN UK.  First since Covid struck!

 

We did a 12 day around UK.  had a lovely time.  We were Diamond for the first time and had our four free drinks each, every day so no drinks bill.

 

enjoyed meeting all the others in diamond and above, really different, everybody very friendly.

 

was worried about losing our cases so we had a carry on which held 3 days clothes, but no trouble. Emirates got all our cases at the final destination in Paris.
 

we went to Le Train Bleu in Paris…so lovely….Highly recommended..,sat next to a young couple from Brisbane!
 

we travelling from Paris to Amsterdam…fast train…booked three months ahead and it was terrific.    Quite cheap if you book early.

 

was worried about our flight home from Amsterdam to Paris.   Separate flight.   Had a One and a half hour trip through security …started outside the airport but moved quickly and no trouble!    Downloaded all our Covid documents and EU stuff but nobody asked to see anything.  
 

prior to cruise we needed a negative test!  Every pharmacy seems to do Covid test and only €20 in Paris, cheaper than Amsterdam.   Only took 30 minutes.  Negative!  Such a relief!  
 

very few people on the cruise wore masks but we did in the theatre and buses!

 

as long as you are patient and accept that there are lines you will go ok with travel!

 

looking forward to our next trip in September…back to Europe on RCL.

 

we will be home soon.

 

Eileen

 

[lyndarra]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time.

In a few weeks I'll be going to France (Bordeaux) via Barcelona. Any tips re COVID protocols? 

[Chiliburn]

7 hours ago, Cruisers47 said:

Hi fellow cruisers,

 

though I would drop a note about our cruise with RCL IN UK.  First since Covid struck!

 

We did a 12 day around UK.  had a lovely time.  We were Diamond for the first time and had our four free drinks each, every day so no drinks bill.

 

enjoyed meeting all the others in diamond and above, really different, everybody very friendly.

 

was worried about losing our cases so we had a carry on which held 3 days clothes, but no trouble. Emirates got all our cases at the final destination in Paris.
 

we went to Le Train Bleu in Paris…so lovely….Highly recommended..,sat next to a young couple from Brisbane!
 

we travelling from Paris to Amsterdam…fast train…booked three months ahead and it was terrific.    Quite cheap if you book early.

 

was worried about our flight home from Amsterdam to Paris.   Separate flight.   Had a One and a half hour trip through security …started outside the airport but moved quickly and no trouble!    Downloaded all our Covid documents and EU stuff but nobody asked to see anything.  
 

prior to cruise we needed a negative test!  Every pharmacy seems to do Covid test and only €20 in Paris, cheaper than Amsterdam.   Only took 30 minutes.  Negative!  Such a relief!  
 

very few people on the cruise wore masks but we did in the theatre and buses!

 

as long as you are patient and accept that there are lines you will go ok with travel!

 

looking forward to our next trip in September…back to Europe on RCL.

 

we will be home soon.

 

Eileen

 

What ship where you on again Eileen?

[Rassa]

Sounds like Eileen was on Jewel of the Seas around the UK.   We have been watching it as it is on our to do list with the Icelandic  cruise straight after.   Waiting for the world to settle a little more before we venture overseas but glad it worked out for her.

[Chiliburn]

4 minutes ago, Rassa said:

Sounds like Eileen was on Jewel of the Seas around the UK.   We have been watching it as it is on our to do list with the Icelandic  cruise straight after.   Waiting for the world to settle a little more before we venture overseas but glad it worked out for her.

We did a domestic flight the other week to Cairns and that was bad enough. There was one flight we saw in Cairns that was delayed for 7 hours.

Food on qantas was a stale meat pie ,just couldn’t eat it ,they run out of coffee. The toilet was disgusting,even the flight attendant said enter at your own risk.  Its a different world.

If things aren’t to bad next year,I’m hoping to do Icon of the seas out of Miami.

 

[Rassa]

21 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

We did a domestic flight the other week to Cairns and that was bad enough. There was one flight we saw in Cairns that was delayed for 7 hours.

Food on qantas was a stale meat pie ,just couldn’t eat it ,they run out of coffee. The toilet was disgusting,even the flight attendant said enter at your own risk.  Its a different world.

If things aren’t to bad next year,I’m hoping to do Icon of the seas out of Miami.

 

Yup, flight attendant's are sick etc. etc.   Icon sounds wonderful.   Eileen was very lucky to have nothing go wrong.   You are probably aware that Purple Traveller got to Spain and had to forego her cruise and spend the time in Spain - real shame.   I am just not ready to go through all that this year at least.  Hope all goes well with your trip to the US.    If Premium Economy is not grossly overpriced, we are thinking of doing that.

[NSWP]

My son and family flew Qatar from Athens to Sydney on Monday, no masks on board.  Mind you 10 days ago they all had covid and were denied boarding in Athens on Qatar via Doha to Sydney. It seems Doha wants covid free pax in transit.

 

Absolute mistake in my opinion allowing pax to fly without masking up.🤐

Edited July 27, 2022 by NSWP

[NSWP]

35 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

We did a domestic flight the other week to Cairns and that was bad enough. There was one flight we saw in Cairns that was delayed for 7 hours.

Food on qantas was a stale meat pie ,just couldn’t eat it ,they run out of coffee. The toilet was disgusting,even the flight attendant said enter at your own risk.  Its a different world.

If things aren’t to bad next year,I’m hoping to do Icon of the seas out of Miami.

 

The flight attendants should have got off their backside and cleaned the toilets.  How could they run out of coffee and serve cold meat pies, pathetic.

[Chiliburn]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

The flight attendants should have got off their backside and cleaned the toilets.  How could they run out of coffee and serve cold meat pies, pathetic.

I thought that about the attendant but they have the upper hand at the moment.

 I think it was Sydney Airport needs 5,000 workers but can’t get them.

[Chiliburn]

24 minutes ago, Rassa said:

Yup, flight attendant's are sick etc. etc.   Icon sounds wonderful.   Eileen was very lucky to have nothing go wrong.   You are probably aware that Purple Traveller got to Spain and had to forego her cruise and spend the time in Spain - real shame.   I am just not ready to go through all that this year at least.  Hope all goes well with your trip to the US.    If Premium Economy is not grossly overpriced, we are thinking of doing that.

United has got some good prices to Florida.

[Rassa]

Yes that price looks good @Chiliburn to Florida.   We are going to Japan in 2024.   A flight back on Jetstar is only $300AUD more for premium economy.   It's fun shopping, more fun going.

[Cruisers47]

2 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

What ship where you on again Eileen?

Jewel of the seas.   An older ship but pleasant.   I think it was only 3/4 full. Many US people.   

[Cruisers47]

5 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time.

In a few weeks I'll be going to France (Bordeaux) via Barcelona. Any tips re COVID protocols? 

I entered our details on the EU information but nobody asked for anything.  I printed all our Covid testing but nobody asked for that either.

 

we wore masks in the airport etc but very few people did.

 

I was worried that we would get Covid before we got to the cruise but we were ok.

 

we did take precautions and we are flying back with Emirates , we are in the lounge just now, and they require masks on the plane.

 

enjoy your trip.  I am sure you will.

 

eileen

[MicCanberra]

Cheers for the information 

[gogo65]

We leave in 2 weeks, 12 days in the UK then off to Tromso Norway, for a 29 day north west passage cruise.

I’m  just recovering from Covid (thanks heavens I didn’t get it while I was away as I was so sick), so have some comfort in knowing I will likely test negative before the cruise. My husband however still hasn’t had it, and the pre cruise test is the one that is a major concern.

Fortunately Ponant have Covid insurance for $45, it covers any cancellations, medical and repatriation for Covid related issues, which gives us some comfort.

We will mask up, take precautions and keep our fingers crossed. We have a hire care in the UK and staying in small boutique hotels or air bnb’s, so will try to stay away from people. 
the flight from Edinburgh to Tromso is my one risk factor, fingers crossed masks will be worn! 

 

[Porky55]

21 hours ago, gogo65 said:

the flight from Edinburgh to Tromso is my one risk factor, fingers crossed masks will be worn!

No reason you can’t wear a mask yourself, just to be sure.

 

I found that going through checkin and security at any airport here and overseas to be more of a challenge - other passengers just don’t consider personal space during this time.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Porky55

[OzKiwiJJ]

32 minutes ago, Porky55 said:

No reason you can’t wear a mask yourself, just to be sure.

 

I found that going through checkin and security at any airport here and overseas to be more of a challenge - other passengers just don’t consider personal space during this time.

Wear a mask with some pepper sprinkled inside it so you sneeze a lot. They'll give you plenty of space then! 🤣🤣🤣

[gogo65]

2 hours ago, Porky55 said:

No reason you can’t wear a mask yourself, just to be sure.

 

I found that going through checkin and security at any airport here and overseas to be more of a challenge - other passengers just don’t consider personal space during this time.

Of course we will wear masks, anything to get on the bloody ship! Just not sure if they are mandatory.
 

[ilikeanswers]

On 7/27/2022 at 12:26 PM, NSWP said:

The flight attendants should have got off their backside and cleaned the toilets.  How could they run out of coffee and serve cold meat pies, pathetic.

 

To be fair the flight attendants might not have had any cleaning equipment and they are not responsible for supplying the plane with food. Read an interview with a Qantas pilot who said the process of getting all the equipment and supplies onto the planes has become chaotic and ad hoc and is the reason for many delays. One plane he was flying had to wait for 2.5hrs in tarmac because someone had forgotten to send a meal delivery to the plane. Most of the time the flight attendants are forced to make do with what they have. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by ilikeanswers

[NSWP]

8 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

To be fair the flight attendants might not have had any cleaning equipment and they are not responsible for supplying the plane with food. Read an interview with a Qantas pilot who said the process of getting all the equipment and supplies onto the planes has become chaotic and ad hoc and is the reason for many delays. One plane he was flying had to wait for 2.5hrs in tarmac because someone had forgotten to send a meal delivery to the plane. Most of the time the flight attendants are forced to make do with what they have. 

Not blaming the flight attendants for running out of coffee etc that is for the catering mob. But cleaning of toilets inflight is a cabin crew responsibility, well in my experience with international and domestic flights it has.