In case you missed the last videos, catch up by watching the Mediterranean Cruise playlist here: ua-cam.com/play/PLl0Gx5WgtQ15xlBcT4YpX2JJI6yyTuX79.html
Ughhh…what a story! Thankfully the VAT process was sooo smooth and easy. If we only knew! Long story, but it was when there were still testing requirements to enter the US and everything was changing by the minute. We were flying Spain > Portugal (24hr+ layover) > USA. They lifted the testing req. (ie- there was no requirement) from Spain > Portugal, but there was a req. from Portugal > US. We planned to use our telehealth kits (requires wifi & video) to test in Portugal BUT because of the requirement to enter the US, the airline would not let us fly from Spain > Portugal!! We arrived a few hrs early so once they denied us, we tried to use the telehealth kits but the airport Wifi was down and you can’t do it over cellular connection. Then we went to the testing line…which was really LONG and full of angry people who were also denied. Then the testing systems stopped working. Then there was confusion between the medical professionals and airlines over which test was necessary (if at all!) They bickered. Gates shut down an hour before people’s flight time instead of the usual 30min. Chaos ensued as people started missing their flights. It was not pretty. By the time everything was back in operation AND test results received, a ton of folks missed their flights and had to rebook - including us. All flights of the day were sold out. Next flight was the next day. Also had to cancel and try to rebook plans in Portugal (hotel, activities) while trying to find a last minute hotel in the city while some sort of racing event was happening. Seventy and Monument were sold out. I was salty about it 😑 but there was no sense in letting it ruin our extra time in Barcelona. It was a blessing in disguise cause we had a good time!
@@FrolicAndCourage Wow Antoinette! That was crazy! You guys definitely made the best of it - went back to the park and saw a little more of Barcelona. Glad everything worked out for you guys. I’m sure the hardest part was making sure your parents were alright during all that. Thanks for elaborating on that story! I liked that Benz you rented for your husband on his birthday in Miami (saw that video yesterday). That was sweet!
Oh yeah, it was madness! The stress trying to get everything back in order was crazy. I didn’t want my folks to have a negative experience for their first time in Europe, but they were pretty level headed throughout it all. Haha, yes! He loooved the Benz! I should’ve joked and said I bought it to see his reaction, haha 😆
@@FrolicAndCourage I'm doing just fine, waiting for my vacation, I canceled my trop to Vegas, I'm just going to go down to Atlantic city for my birthdays and stay a few days, much love guys
Hi Antoinette! We just returned from Barcelona and our Med cruise aboard the MSC World Europa. We had a fantastic vacation. Thank you so much for all of your helpful tips! The trip was fabulous!
@@FrolicAndCourage I think the best part was the cruise itself. We LOVE cruising, and prefer sea days. So this was a big shift as you know because Med cruises are port intensive. But, the ship was so beautiful. And we're Diamond MSC Cruise members and are very familiar with them. The language barrier was noticeably higher with both passengers and crew than on MSC ships sailing the Caribbean and that was a bit of a bummer. But, I'm using it as a lesson to get serious about learning Spanish. We learned that we are Caribbean cruisers and probably won't do another Med cruise. We definitely prefer the beach, umbrella drinks, slow relaxing sea days, but we had a great time overall. And having the experience will help us guide our clients on the cruise that's best for them (we operate our own travel agency).
Understood, Fred! It looks like there were a lot of valuable lessons learned about the type of cruise you want to be on and your cruise travel style 👍🏽 Plus, I hear MSC has a pretty incredible product which makes sea days that much more enjoyable 😊 Did you spend much time in Barcelona?
@@FrolicAndCourage yeah we really like MSC, especially their Yacht Club suites. Butler and the whole 9-yards. We love Barcelona and may go back there one day soon to spend a week eating tapas and drinking wine. We spent a fair amount of time on the hop on hop off bus tours taking in the sights around town. We had two days before the cruise and three days after to relax and see the town. The InterContinental was fantastic. We took taxi to the beach one day and laid out in the sun, and just had a nice relaxing vacation. We flew Business class too, so even the flight to & from Spain was not bad at all.
In case you missed the last videos, catch up by watching the Mediterranean Cruise playlist here: ua-cam.com/play/PLl0Gx5WgtQ15xlBcT4YpX2JJI6yyTuX79.html
So, what's the tea on how you all missed the flight? Was it caused by the time spent trying to get the VAT refunds processed?
Ughhh…what a story! Thankfully the VAT process was sooo smooth and easy. If we only knew!
Long story, but it was when there were still testing requirements to enter the US and everything was changing by the minute. We were flying Spain > Portugal (24hr+ layover) > USA. They lifted the testing req. (ie- there was no requirement) from Spain > Portugal, but there was a req. from Portugal > US. We planned to use our telehealth kits (requires wifi & video) to test in Portugal BUT because of the requirement to enter the US, the airline would not let us fly from Spain > Portugal!! We arrived a few hrs early so once they denied us, we tried to use the telehealth kits but the airport Wifi was down and you can’t do it over cellular connection. Then we went to the testing line…which was really LONG and full of angry people who were also denied. Then the testing systems stopped working. Then there was confusion between the medical professionals and airlines over which test was necessary (if at all!) They bickered. Gates shut down an hour before people’s flight time instead of the usual 30min. Chaos ensued as people started missing their flights. It was not pretty. By the time everything was back in operation AND test results received, a ton of folks missed their flights and had to rebook - including us. All flights of the day were sold out. Next flight was the next day. Also had to cancel and try to rebook plans in Portugal (hotel, activities) while trying to find a last minute hotel in the city while some sort of racing event was happening. Seventy and Monument were sold out. I was salty about it 😑 but there was no sense in letting it ruin our extra time in Barcelona. It was a blessing in disguise cause we had a good time!
@@FrolicAndCourage Wow Antoinette! That was crazy! You guys definitely made the best of it - went back to the park and saw a little more of Barcelona. Glad everything worked out for you guys. I’m sure the hardest part was making sure your parents were alright during all that. Thanks for elaborating on that story!
I liked that Benz you rented for your husband on his birthday in Miami (saw that video yesterday). That was sweet!
Oh yeah, it was madness! The stress trying to get everything back in order was crazy. I didn’t want my folks to have a negative experience for their first time in Europe, but they were pretty level headed throughout it all.
Haha, yes! He loooved the Benz! I should’ve joked and said I bought it to see his reaction, haha 😆
Hey there, I'm sorry I just saw this vlog, I'm glad you guys made it home, but over all you had a wonderful holiday,
Thanks Valerie! We waited so long for the trip and we were sad it was over, but it’s all good until the next trip! How are you doing?
@@FrolicAndCourage I'm doing just fine, waiting for my vacation, I canceled my trop to Vegas, I'm just going to go down to Atlantic city for my birthdays and stay a few days, much love guys
Sorry to hear Vegas is cancelled, but glad you are taking a vacation somewhere fun!
Hi Antoinette! We just returned from Barcelona and our Med cruise aboard the MSC World Europa. We had a fantastic vacation. Thank you so much for all of your helpful tips! The trip was fabulous!
Hey Fred - I’m so glad you had a fantastic vacation! Yay!! What was the best part of your experience? And how was sailing MSC??
@@FrolicAndCourage I think the best part was the cruise itself. We LOVE cruising, and prefer sea days. So this was a big shift as you know because Med cruises are port intensive. But, the ship was so beautiful. And we're Diamond MSC Cruise members and are very familiar with them.
The language barrier was noticeably higher with both passengers and crew than on MSC ships sailing the Caribbean and that was a bit of a bummer. But, I'm using it as a lesson to get serious about learning Spanish. We learned that we are Caribbean cruisers and probably won't do another Med cruise. We definitely prefer the beach, umbrella drinks, slow relaxing sea days, but we had a great time overall. And having the experience will help us guide our clients on the cruise that's best for them (we operate our own travel agency).
Understood, Fred! It looks like there were a lot of valuable lessons learned about the type of cruise you want to be on and your cruise travel style 👍🏽 Plus, I hear MSC has a pretty incredible product which makes sea days that much more enjoyable 😊 Did you spend much time in Barcelona?
@@FrolicAndCourage yeah we really like MSC, especially their Yacht Club suites. Butler and the whole 9-yards.
We love Barcelona and may go back there one day soon to spend a week eating tapas and drinking wine. We spent a fair amount of time on the hop on hop off bus tours taking in the sights around town. We had two days before the cruise and three days after to relax and see the town. The InterContinental was fantastic. We took taxi to the beach one day and laid out in the sun, and just had a nice relaxing vacation. We flew Business class too, so even the flight to & from Spain was not bad at all.
I like the way you travel, Fred 😎 great hotel, relaxing activities, and a fabulous cruise experience!