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In general our first cruise with a German cruise line TUI has pleased us
well.
Mein Schiff2 (formerly known as Celebrity "Mercury" recently refurbished by
50 Mill. Euro investment from TUI Cruises) has an ideal size for us and
corresponds to our idea and needs in terms of layout and ship design. She
also represents a rather classical cruise ship that we do like most.
Remarkable above all is the outstanding service and the excellent cuisine
on board which *have surprised us most. The newly arranged crew with young,
also many German service staff members is highly motivated and shines by
friendliness and good service quality despite an all inclusive setup.
Different to other club cruises Mein Schiff 2 offers an all inclusive
concept including 24hrs beverages / alcoholic drinks. You may like it or
not.
Because of non-holiday season and the specific Northern Europe route the
passengers were mainly represented by silver generation and only few
kids/teens were on board.
We as Germans have missed the international atmosphere on board caused by
the German-speaking community with their typical German habits around us.
No doubt, this ship is now German and so are the passengers themselves.
Therefore our perception was to have vacation in Germany rather than
crossing inter-national borders.
Consequently deck chairs we reserved with towels, the breakfast area
(Anckelmannsplatz) was a racing course and particularly older pax were
pushing restlessly at the buffet and stormed promptly all entrances and
exits.
It does not seem to give any dress code. It prevails the multi-color
variety of T-shirts and leisure shirts also in combination blue jeans.
As probably most of the Germans are not prepared to wait at front desk of
restaurants in order to be seated by friendly hostesses the main restaurant
"Atlantik" is conquered by table and friends-looking visitors. Under this
impression the good service and taste of the high quality meals are
noticeably impaired.
Thank God there still the outstanding specialty high cuisine restaurant
"Richards" so that we could also still fulfill ourselves the desire for
maintained and distinguished atmosphere.
An absolute highlight of our second cruise to Norway was to encounter the
midnight sun.
At this time of the year the midnight sun predominates beyond the polar
circle. We've really enjoyed this natural illumination at night from our
spacious balcony "Veranda".
Unfortunately only less entertainment is offered on board. Even decent
music in the background is missing. Especially on sea-days good life music
and any other kind of entertainment could give the right spirit to the
ship.
Also the stage performances at the grand theatre are mainly conducted to
meet the national taste. Of course as long as you are prepared to find
seats 45 minutes prior to the show act.
Two issues are also important to know:
(1) Non smokers and smokers are not separated at the open air area at the
back (Aucenalster). Also TUI allows smoking on the balconies.
(2) Tendering: Be prepared for longer waiting periods when tendering. You
may get tender ticket upon request but unfortunately the time ashore is
extremely reduced on this route.
Result: We recovered well on Mein Schiff 2 *cruise but were missing the
international atmosphere that he have made with other cruise lines.
Nevertheless, it was worth to make such an experience.
Kind regards from Stuttgart, Germany
FMR
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