wearesiamese

Thank you Mark Farris for your Christmas 2020 edition of Mark's Quarantine Cabaret! I have not finished watching it, but it has put a much needed smile on my face today! 🙂

https://fb.watch/2CfqxlZSZJ/

Ok folks in case you   do not follow Mark Ferris on FB, there is a new Thanksgiving episode scheduled to premier in just a few minutes,at 2pm PST or as it says on his webpage, 4pm CST.I can't wait.He always makes me smile and laugh, and miss listening to him  at the Avenue Saloon  very much 

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

My penultimate photo from my 2010 Alaska cruise on Cruise West's Spirit of Columbia.  On September 8 we visited Petersburg:

 

 

Roy

I think I would like to hire Roy and Keith as my future travel  photographers  ❤️

Ok, Here is a WAY  off topic, off topic !!!

    I just got my invite for the upcoming pro football season picks from KZOK Seattle/CBS for the CBS national pro football challenge( I listen to Danny Bonaduce in Seattle so have joined via their group and pay attention to their results)  .You just need to pick the winning team per week, with tiebreaker determined by your pre chosen scores  $$cash prize for grand prize winner I am no foot ball or sports follow for that matter, other than tennis, so I picked some who statistically look like they have a better chance of winning,  but also chose  some underdogs or  you have no chance in winning the overall  contest, as inevitably there are upsets in every "bracket" in basketball so I assume there would be here too !! And the most interesting thing to me is it is MOL an even playing field because there has not been any real training season  due to covid 19 and the stats shown are from last year and due to trades in off season, and lack of pre season(I assume) that those stats don't mean a hill of beans/diddly squat for 2020-21 LOL I am posting this contest,  for entertainment purposes of course,  as most of us are really in need of having something to look forward to until we can cruise again, and I find playing brackets(basketball college level) and now here with pro football, a way to do just that and enjoy some friendly rivalry/competition between   friends/cities etc I think you can replace the city name by your favorite team's city where it says Seattle-just check the CBS local website Good luck!!

https://seattleprofootballchallenge.cbslocal.com/#/registration/login

1 hour ago, almostretired said:

We were.  Quite a ride and a little excitement when my wife, an RN, saved a lady who was choking then had her heart stop right before the voyage ended --- on formal night no less.  The Captain invited us to join him as we sailed into Sydney Harbor pre-dawn.

Thank God your wife was there to help save a woman's life on that cruise. One does not like to hear the words "code blue" on a Crystal cruise:(  🙂 Did any of the dining room windows break on our cruise? It seems to me some  windows may have broken, as well as  pod(aakk) on my 2009 cruise from Auckland to Perth, after we left Melbourne. I had been forewarned by the friend of my dad's I had dinner with in Melbourne, about a pretty large storm coming in, but didn't think anything about it at the time.. I also had not previously known about the weather in the Australian bite being prone to bad weather since there was basically no land  to break  bad weather, waves etc  from Antarctica to the coast of Australia in the GAB 🙂

We were an entire day getting into Perth ate as poor Serenity had to limp along to Perth on 1 pod. Another memorable cruise, rocky ride ,some broken dishes I think , as well as a major item-the pod!  My dad had a PS and he and my sister got off in Melbourne and flew to Pert a few days early to spend some time with some dear old Rotary friends, and re-boarded in Perth. So I got to stay in the PS instead of my former  7036, for the rest of my trip, and boy do you feel movement so much  more in the upper decks    I did not know what to do with a butler  who was very nice but actually seemed a bit sad that I didn't have more for him to do LOL so I had him do  just a couple of things. The room attendants put my dad's computer, printer, wine bottles etc on the floor in his  closet and the bottles between the cushions of the sofa of the living room, to ride out the storm.. I am grateful he was not on the ship for this portion of the world cruise, as it got rough in some ways worse than # a year later, and likely would have fallen.bdown...

4 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

After 2 planned trips and 2 pandemics I've decided that my planning a round the world adventure is a sure jinx.

 

Roy

(((awwwww))  😞

These pictures are mainly for Roy, but also for anyone else who was  onboard the infamous #0205 in 2010.   Note the date and or time of day as we progressed from a nice day ,,to the first(?) of 2 cyclones between Fiji and Sydney(sorry not in order and my other pics are too similar to take up any more real estate in this thread LOL

14 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Is the third photo Tauranga NZ, but not a recent photo?

Actually it is Hakodate, island of Hokaido, Japan  🙂

Many of those cruises will not even be sailing so I wouldn't  even worry about any cruise  before Summer 2021 😞

6 minutes ago, 57redbird said:

I'm trying to book a cabin on the Volendam for a January, 2022 cruise.  When I get to the # of people in the cabin & click continue, the page just reloads.... any ideas how to get past this page?

Are you sure they are even taking bookings for 2020 yet?

9 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I was trying to figure out when you got to Paris.  Sure looked like the Eiffel Tower to me.

 

Roy

That would have been  during  the  summer of 1977  for me-I have only been there once:)

2 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

Me too, nice shot!  I’ve mainly seen it at night, but I still recognized it from underneath.  I’m better with architecture than any other area.  🙂
 

Vince

I am no architechie, but I do find various structures, bridges etc very interesting when traveling:)

34 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

Is the fourth picture Tokyo Tower?

 

Vince

Yes !! Good job!    I loved the view -looking up inside it !

 Not your typical view of it 🙂

Any guesses where  these were taken?

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

But now, the cruise lines might embrace less personal choice.   COVID is a very unfortunate event, but we can already see signs, around the world, of politicians and businesses finding ways to exploit the virus as an opportunity.  In most cases there is a trend of taking away personal liberties and choice (in the name of COVID) but the evidence (if one opens their eyes) is that COVID is only part of the story.  I have spent my lifetime taking advantage of personal liberty and personal choices.  Now, I see a society that seems willing to follow the leaders over a cliff and give up lots of freedoms. Tis very sad.

 

Hank

Oivay

6 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Royal Viking Line's Royal Viking Star (1974-current) She was also NCL's Westward and, since 1996, has been operating as Black Watch for Fred Olsen Cruise Line. Fred Olsen just recently announced that 2020 will be this ship's last year with the line, four years short of a 40-year career

Fond memories of this ship  Especially for my Mom. .Both times  that  cruised on the Star, her I was a young teenager and then a late teenager in winter in late 1979.. My love of cruising started pretty young for me ,at   13 and 18/19 xxxooo to this much loved cruise line and to all three of their ships(The Star, Sun , an Sky) and ship

1.A lot of people do not want to fly far or take long trans ocean crossings atm due to concerns about getting home or getting quarantined on board even after cruising is allowed  again theses days and I would speculate the  vast majority of cruisers come from Europe and the USA/Canada 

.2. even just as likely, they need to move ships around the world for the start of the summer season, most likely without passengers in 2021, 

3. those itineraries are popular with families(read more revenue for CCL) 

3 hours ago, Himself said:

Since I don't gamble I get no such offers.

That explains ,maybe, why I didn't hear of or see the offers🙂

I would love to have gotten one  of those offers!! LOL But now because of FCC's those of us who do not have those, are not finding any bargains out there. And given the companies needs for cash flow, it will be  along time until there are any..  But I have won/earned cruise by playing MyVegas on Facebook, so I will continue acccruing points  there, to earn another "free" cruise(jport taxes and aa small admin fee excluded)

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Isn't Seabourn considered luxury?

 

Anyway, I think the point of the post referenced was to show that each of the 3 major cruise lines already has a luxury brand and possibly a premium brand (not sure exactly where I would place Cunard...). And because of this they are unlikely to be in the market for yet another luxury brand.

sorry I left out Seabourn.. and I do understand what the op was saying, but the fact remains that is apples to oranges comparing the premium to luxury lines 

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Today's sunrise will double as a where am I.  I have been there on HAL and Crystal has been there but not me aboard.  It  was August 23 but for now I won't say what year:

 

 

Roy

I am going to zoom in on that license plate  to check that and  which side of the car the steering wheel is on(one way street could be either ) LOL

Flag looks like Canada?

To Roy, re picture #1  you   were on this cruise with me LOL--->giveaway now LOL

Another where is this post?

I hate to be the negative Nelly here but it is unlikely anyone will be cruising in 2021 an therefore an y cruise line can offer great  cruise deals because they will not be sailing!Given that not all crew have been repatriated even now from what I  have heard- and even if that is not the case,

1.How many potential and past crew members wush to risk getting COVID-19, especially given th etiny cabins they are given and with a roommate they don't know or live with shoreside

2. No guarantee there will be a vaccine in 2021 an even if there is the  first ones will be going to the first responders, then the most vulnerable (who are not likely to risk cruising, even with a vaccination as it will not be 100% effective from what the health officials warn

3.People are not keen on flying anytime soon for the same reason-re wanting a safe, proven vaccine

4.The experience itself is going to be different and no guarantee there won't be another outbreak until a vaccine is available to cruise travelers(way down the list of  people to receive the vaccine early on unless over 65 and many of us are under 60... 

's board

5. The amount of time needed to restart operations an getting crew to return to the ship , if they choose to do so at all-which is a distinct possibility  and even with the greatly reduced passenger count allowed for the indefinite future, might mean finding, hiring, and possibly training new people as many will not just transfer from another cruise line(?)

6.  When will the countries with low or at least controlled rates of  covid -19 even going to allow people from hot spots to enter their waters,at this time is very unpredictable as  there are still so many places where COVID-189 i s still out of control, with no end in sight for even  leveling or much  less decreasing the number of new cases Nor close to  what will be an acceptable level(whatever that will mean in 2021)of new cases (read the risk of catching  the disease low enough risk to be tolerated by the CDC to open up cruising again

7. Solvency of the cruise lines

8.*What about  the need to  be able to get cruise insurance to cover cruise cancellations due to the  current pandemic and in the future..and many other   reasons 

Time will tell , as they say,but it is time for people to learn  about delayed gratification, and find other things to do until this wretched virus gets under control 

On 8/21/2020 at 3:49 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

If Genting were to try and spin off Crystal to a new owner who would want them?  Their ships/product are currently in direct competition with brands CCL, NCLH and RCG already own (Cunard, Seabourn, Regent, Oceania, Silversea and Azamara).  Why dilute those offerings with another Luxury brand in your portfolio?  The expedition ships might be of value to NCLH for the Regent Brand or CCL for Seabourn, but the two big ships are too dissimilar to the existing fleets of other luxury operators.  Perhaps RCG might want the two big ships for Azamara and bring them decor wise into the Azamara look, but who has $$ to spend on ship rehabs right now?  Unless Genting can raise additional capital I fear Chapter 7 in the cards for Crystal and Star both.

I beg to differ but only a couple of    he lines you mentioned are luxury lines-only Regent and Sivereas.The others are considered premium  mass market due to their size,  passenger capacity, amenities(or lack thereof).  And unlike the days when my grandmother sailed with HAL,(the 1960's to possibly early 70's) HAL is no longer considered a luxury line, an has en away with many if not most of the things she loved about it😞