Thank you gkendal for the info about casino and visa. Much appreciated.

Hi Barbj1

gkendal has already answered your queries about visas/cash on board etc. Should just mention that before you board the Melody at Genoa your card is swiped and your photo taken for the swipe card system to pay for everything on board, although I wasn't charged for anything until 2 weeks after I had returned!

Also, disembarkation was very smooth and easy at every port although a little more complicated at Tunis. The military/police boarded the ship here and everyone that wanted to get off had to present their passports for inspection in the lounge - sometimes quite a queue but if you want to get off it has to be done - they stamp your passport too. Whilst in Tunis I foolishly attempted to take a photo of some military guards in traditional costume - this didn't go down too well and I was confronted by two said guards brandishing 3ft swords - the moral of this story is not to attempt to take photos of anything remotely military-like!!!

The time will fly by and before you know it you will be sailing away

Scarlet.

Hi Scarlet
Thanks for the info and advice. I definatley will be very choosey at what I point my camera at now. A good bit af advice that. I dont think I will be using credit card , I intend to use cash. How does that work as you were saying that your card is swiped before you board?

Thanks for that info. I've already got a Tunisian stamp in my passport from April, though not as many as in my last one. At least we won't have to fill in the little slips you do when you arrive by plane then. I mislaid my 'return half' once, and though I managed to get out of the country it certainly caused confusion next time I wanted to get back in as according to their records I had never left.

do you reckon scarlet i will get my own set of tickets.david

Barbj1 - your card is swiped before you board and then on the night before last of the cruise an itemised bill magically appears through your cabin door. If you have any queries about the items on the bill you can visit the info. desk and they will go through it with you. There were some mix-ups with excursion costs but the staff are very good at sorting it out. Once you are happy with your bill you leave a signed copy at the info. desk and then your card will be charged with than amount. If at all possible it would be a good idea to keep all your receipts for stuff that you have signed for then you can double check them against the bill. Duty frees are really cheap on board and there are loads of photos taken that you may want to buy. The rest of my bill was effectively my bar bill .... ahem, won't go into that!!!! Never had to buy any food at all, not even on the excursions as we were so well fed on board

BigDaveK - just sent you a pm.

Scarlet.

Sorry Barbj1 - misread your post. You will be using cash - I didn't do this so maybe someone else could help out here. I know that you have to deposit cash with MSC - not sure when, though, - and then you sign for any purchases until you have run out of funds when you have to top up again. Pretty sure you will still get a bill on the night before last so you can double check things.

Scarlet.

In the back of the MSC brochure, under Currency, it says "Passengers without credit cards must deposit a minimum of £150 cash per person or the equivalent with the cashier on day 1 of the cruise. This amount must be replenished during the cruise when expenses exceed the deposit. If all the deposit is not used then the balance will be returned with the bill."
It looks, therefore, as if you will get an itemised bill towards the end. Hope that helps.

Hi

Also just a word of warning when taking photographs, I recently was 'chased out' of the local market (souk) in Morocco because they thought I was taking photos of the local women. Only after local views, honest.

LL

Luci - recently I've had a couple of Private Message alerts by email (one just now), yet when I check my inbox I have no new messages. Is it me? Or are there some problems?

Juliet

Hi Juliet

There have been several reports of this lately. Van has checked and found nothing amiss. The only answer he came up with was that perhaps the sender deleted the message from their Outbox between the notification being sent and the recipient trying to read it.

If this continues to happen I suggest anyone with this problem posts in the Help and Assistance forum so that Van can see how widespread the problem is.

luci

Good Evening from the 'Plastered du Paris'

Is int it good news about the French and Dutch, if there is a Frenchman on our Cruise, I'll stand him a Pint

aslemma
Please SWAP PLEASE SWAP I would love one of the coven to do anything like Iron, washup, hovver, all they do is raid my fridge and freezer. Where did I go wrong even in my predicament at present 'Dad it must have been your fault, you must have been pissed' (well I had had a few, but what blithering idot puts great lumps of iron on the edge of a canel and then paints them black )

Phil Morris

Having just returned from a wonderful cruise on the Melody I can answer some queries
You will only need passport, dont worry about visas.
When you register your credit card or pay in cash when booking on to the Melody you wont then need any money on board at all, you will be given a 'cruise card' which you use for everything, and then you get an itemised bill 2 days before end of cruise which you can check, and then a final bill at the end. I was worried when I checked my bill and 250 euros had been added for 'cruise package' - but when I checked with reception it had been a mistake! Also you dont need money in casino. You take your cruise card to cash desk and they give you tokens or chips for any amount you ask for.
I only received my tickets 2 days before my cruise because I was given a cancellation, and only had 6 days notice for the cruise, so I was expecting things to go wrong right until I was on the ship.
Marie

Hi Magsy,
The Arcadia closed long ago, but has recently been turned into a restaurant. Not the football result I wanted but not unexpected.
All thank for all the info on the Melody,as I havn't cruised before I'm grateful for all the info being given. Though I don't go until October I'm sure it will fly by.
Only 1 week to my Libya cruise on Louis and I still have not been told its off. I wonder how many not helped by a forum like this will turn up for it, maybe having arranged their own flights to Marseille?

Life aint fair is it Phil. All you need is a little sympathy and tender loving care and what do you get and grief I'm sorry I can't send you my bunch as they are fully occupied but we are all rooting for you though and glad to see that you haven't damaged your sense of humour, whatever else you may have hurt. Get better soon me old mucker. I'm off to bed but talk to you all tomorrow I expect.

phil

i work in community care as a home help

every morning i go to a man who has had a heart attack three years ago
he has three daughters who ring him every day
so he has to go over the same questions each day three times

however as regards looking after himself !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

each morning he has
strong black coffee with two sugars
an egg and white bread
and butter with lots and lots of salt
sitting in a cloud of cigarette smoke

he takes a taxi three times a week to the pub

each morning he has
strong black coffee with two sugars
an egg and white bread
and butter with lots and lots of salt
sitting in a cloud of cigarette smoke

he takes a taxi three times a week to the pub

Must be nice to be able to afford the taxi fare to the pub
Tell the coven to do the house work and leave the ding dong alone (not you Phil ) so you can enjoy your plaster du paris cruise in peace

Good Morning for the Plaster du Paris Cruise

Bit murky this morning, just been to the Local Doss House - Hospital, for a check up - what a performance, 'Mr Morris this cast is wet' - "Its raining in the real world Darling" was my reply, "and I had to come on the bus and walk 1/2 mile here because no bus passes this hospital - so of course its wet,". Whats happened to Ambalances or Hospital cars (she proberley thought I'd swam to the hospital)

Good Morning da mama and welcome to our little fold, are you waiting for an alocation on a galley :rofl :rofl Or do you already have one

"each morning he has
strong black coffee with two sugars
an egg and white bread
and butter with lots and lots of salt
sitting in a cloud of cigarette smoke

he takes a taxi three times a week to the pub"

Has this guy lost the will to live or what. If he is so fit, why do you visit him,

I agree with you MickC the taxi fare would be nice, but then those around here on the 'Social' seem to live O.K. I think it is the workers who are the mugs in life sometimes.
But that is another topic for another site. (to Luci)
So lets all attempt to support each other and forget the groaning of an old fool like me and the few others.

I paid for an upgrade (£150) for an outside cabin etc.. :pele :pele :pele :pele
I for one will not resent it for a second if on our cruise, someone who has stuck to their guns for a £10 cruise, has the same grade cabin as I or an even higher one.
Whats the point lifes to short, some people shop for food at Marks, some at Lidi, Do Marks can beans ? of bake Bread but some are happy to pay the premium - so live and let live.

End of lecture tour, I'm a bit grumpy as they have re-placed the caste, and I have to return tomorrow to have it checked, if the weather's bad I might forget it and try and get on the 'social'

da mama how do I get you, or your like to visit me,

I eat Porrage, with Bran for Breakfast followed by Eggs & Bacon with a large pot of Tea and Toast and Marmalade I dont bother with lunch (Except on Sundays)

Byeee for now

Phil Morris

Phil,
Do please tell where you have the cast!!!!!

Phil you should shame one of the coven into chauferring you to and from the hospital. It is the very least they should be doing.

Hope all of our new crop of cruisers have all made it onboard their respective ships.xxxxxxxxxxxx

dizzy