Oh Dear!

Isn`t the pointy end the bit that hits the iceburg first??

Glad I`m not in steerage, aren`t you!!

I hope she can sing better than Celine Dion

Great news about the tickets Lilac, boy you kept us in a sweat there! That's everyone sailing on 3rd/4th now except Tresha, hope she has hers too!

I hope you have been practising your hornpipe boys, much is expected from you! Will Phil be the official photographer? Is anyone taking a video cam?

We are now up to 60% who have cruised or received their cruise tickets! Wow!

magsy i will be a photographer for sure.... that way iam not in any pics!!!

I have no doubt the others will abuse you of that notion Phil - there's no show without punch!

didnt know we were going with a judy

Great news about tickets for all sailing soon!

Anyone changed their mind? ........I will pay double what you did for your tickets - now how can anyone refuse an offer like that !!

The Melody is a very confusing ship to find your way around (before even having a :glynis!). You must always remember that all odd numbered cabins are on one side and even on the other. You will notice I haven't said left or right or port/starboard because that's no help. It's difficult when you are at the centre of the ship, say at reception, to know which is the front (sorry, bows) - (not that sort!).

Sometimes you may find yourself walking through the middle of the dining room at the wrong time just to get to the right disembarkation point as you will have tried every possible other means........They have plonked a large table in the middle to discourage this but just ignore it (and the stares of the staff) and keep going and you will eventually be able to get off the ship. Most times you get off near reception, but a couple of times you have to go to the far end (I'm not saying which, I haven't fathomed it out, even now) and you could spend all day trying to do this if you don't take the short-cut mentioned!

I am so pleased to know someone else was as confused as I was! It doesn't help knowing odds and evens on different sides when you don't have a notion which way you or the ship is pointing. By the end of a week, there was still just one bank of lifts where I knew which way to turn, either immediately outside the lift or when I reached the corridor! Thank heavens for the ship's deckplans on each deck!

hi 4/7 cruisers
could'nt keep up with all the exitement on tescos daytime so have had to upgrade to tescos anytime to keep up with you all. for you all.
aslemma, I don't like horlicks either, but a drop of the old ding dong now thats a different matter. vivien
sorry this should have been on the 4/7 forum

Thank heavens for the ship's deckplans on each deck!

We carried copies of deck plans round with us all the time and that still not help when we had to disembark right at the other end. As you can't walk round the perimeter of the ship you have to find the right staircases and this can prove quite tricky.

Don't be as dopey as me: - to add to my confusion of sense of direction, I didn't realise until about 4 days in that there were symmetrical buffets each side. I thought I was going crazy as I was alternating from one side to the other without realising!

Oh dear, and here's me with no sense of direction. Actually I'm not worried about getting off the ship - if I can't manage to disembark at the end of the cruise I'll just have to go round again.

Aslemma

Joking aside! Nearly missed excursion :

Alli

Hi Vivien,

could'nt keep up with all the exitement on tescos daytime

I gave it up too, though as I was having nightmares with Tesco's keeping shutting down on me I switched provider as well. Trouble is that I now spend even more time on here.
Good heavens, I've even managed to put a quote in correctly - things are looking up.

I hadn't thought of that Allisu. Although I don't think I'll do many of the organised excursions, I do want to have a wander around some of the places. I'm checking up on what others have said about the various ports of call but I know many can be done independently, with less regimentation (and cost).

Valletta,St Tropez and Ibiza are the best to do independently - you don't really need to go on anything organized as the ship docks centrally and you can walk round all the towns very easily. I had intended to go to the Medina in Tunis by myself as having consulted a map, thought I'd be able to walk part way, and get a bus or taxi. No way! You definitely can't go ashore here, as far as I could see, without having transport arranged. Also, the reception staff were amazed I was considering it! And, having taken the excursion, I can see why! The port is a very long way from the town and I don't think I would have felt very safe anyway. Naples could be ok, maybe, so long as you carried no bag or wore jewellery. I am usually quite adventurous but felt uneasy there too.

Thanks for that Allisu. Tunis holds no fears for me, though we will obviously need a taxi to get to the Medina. It is not really 'my' town, though I've been there a couple of times. I'm more at home in Sousse or even Port El Kantaoui. I'll print off the Tunisian train timetable in case we want to get up to Sidi Bou Said independently though. Fellow DE cruisers will just have to realise that if people say 'Aslemma' they are not actually speaking to me, but just saying 'hello'. Incidentally, 'la, gali barcha' means 'no, too expensive' which will undoubtedly come in useful.

Finding your way around the ship can be a nightmare .... know on the sunday we walked wot seemed like miles ..... probably was lol ..... on the opera as on most of msc ships there are mirrors everywhere .... one day needed the loo .... so asked member of staff who said through there ... so went through there ..... which was one of the many lounge/bars .... looked for the loo and saw the ladies room sign which was down to the left ... walked in that direction ... no loo .... realised wot i had seen was reflection in a mirror and it was actually down to the right and no was not intoxicated lol xxxx ps can someone please advise me how to get an avatar and also how one downloads photo's thank you xxxx

Aslemma,

I will get us off the ship (will pack abseil equipment!) and you can be the guide around Tunis. Fair exchange is no robbery.

Thanks Tony - I can't promise not to get us lost, but that will be part of the overall experience and definitely not to be missed.