ilikeanswers

In defence of Mexico I did a self drive trip through South Mexico, Belize and Guatemala just before Covid. Never felt unsafe though I did take precautions in informing myself the dos and don'ts of journeying through those countries but I also do that for anywhere I travel. Found expat blogs particularly useful since as foreigners living in those countries they had the knowledge of both worlds. I didn't want to be blasé but I am not interested in insulated holidays either. I grew up in an area that was deemed dangerous so I am not quick to be put off by a travel advisory (unless it is an active war or disaster) as my experiences are things are usually a bit more nuanced. At the end of the day we all have to travel to our comfort level and holidays are meant to be enjoyable so if a place really makes you uncomfortable probably best not to visit but I have always thought as long as you have good information you can be safe in any destination🤗

I saw the ad for that on ABC. A serial killer in a duck suit got my attention😂. Kind of reminded me of Scream Queens which I did enjoy so will probably give it a go. Anyone interested in watching here's the link: Wrecked Speaking of ABC, did a catch up of Gruen and ep 6 has a segment about cruising. If anyone else wants to know about cruises marketing strategies here's a link to the episode list: Gruen

Here's some articles that might answer your questions Below Deck: We asked real luxury yacht stewardesses how accurate the show really is The Reality Behind ‘Below Deck’ A GUEST'S BELOW DECK EXPERIENCE ON BRAVO TV How Below Deck Crew Life Differs From Real-World Yachting Careers A few more Below Deck facts Happy reading 😁

I think you will be pleased to know that emergency protocols have been updated since the Titanic😂

I haven't seen this documentary but I did see an interview not long after the incident from a cruiser who witnessed the eruption as they were returning to the ship and they said because it was a tour sold through the cruise line their perceived risk of the tour was very low. It got me thinking my perception is kind of similar. Tours being sold through a cruise line I saw as being a stamp of safety, it does lull you into a sense of security. If I was buying that same tour as an independent traveller I would be doing a lot more research. And really isn't the reason most people cruise to have a carefree, think free everything organised for you holiday. We do have an expectation that cruise companies, even land tours or any packaged holiday the leg work is being done for us. And I guess the assumption that these companies would be so risk adverse further lulls ud into a sense of security. So it doesn't really surprise me that people's perception of risk is lowered on a cruise to the point they would accept gas masks on a tour.

It was one of the reasons we were drawn to it. Duck itself has a bit of a gamey flavour, I think that is why it complemented the veal so well.

It might work better than you expect😜

Got a butcher made duck and veal pot pie for Christmas eve. Very delicious French style gravy, probably the last thing I'll be baking this year with the heat wave coming🥵

Four N Twenty meat pies were on SnackMasters this week. You can watch the ep if you want to see how these delicacies are made. Unfortunately you do have to log in: Snackmasters Four'N Twenty Classic Meat Pie & King Sized Sausage Roll Went to a Christmas market last night got a Christmas pie with roast chicken, pork, gravy and breadcrumbs stuffing. It was really nice.

My mum renewed her passport thinking it would take a long time and she has a trip planned next year. Sent her application last week recieved tracking details from post yesterday. No priority or express so I reckon the passport office must have cleared the backlog.

Sounds like you probably should have done an expedition style cruise if you were looking for something with less big cities. Only the smaller ships can stop at the little towns or wilderness areas.

Not everywhere. Depends where you go. I spent two weeks island hopping Hawaii and only paid for parking twice, both in Honolulu.

I have tried! Maybe the tongue twister is the universe's way, of telling us there is something underhand going on😜.

This situation requires a card If only you could give one to the universe to make it leave you alone😔. In the meantime let the love and support of family and friends carry you. You will never be a burden to them so don't ever feel guilty for leaning on them.

Oh sorry I must have mixed up the zeros😳. I don't usually exchange $1000 or over so my mind went straight to $100. My debit card has no fees whatsoever along with market rate exchange. I use an app to locate fee free ATMs which usually are bank ones or companies my card provider has a deal with so I haven't paid foreign exchange fees on my debit card transactions in many years. That is why when comparing I focus on the exchange rate and probably why I can't remember what the fees were in my examples assuming there were fees as I notice many foreign exchange businesses just bundle the fee into to the exchange rate just so they can advertise as "fee free"😬.

I have to admit US$10 for US$100 does look a bit too much for me😂. I suppose it is also a matter of perspective, you see the difference as paying for something you value which I assume is a sense of security. I'm not as worried about my debit cards so to me that is money I could be spending on other things I more enjoy. As for numbers I can't remember all details but I remember some of the losses I calculated on AU$100 vs market rates For XPF was about AU$12, PLN was the worst around AU$20 but also AUD was dropping at the time so it could have impacted and HRK was around AU$14. Without remembering the US exchange rates for my experiences it makes it hard to compare to your example but I guess it is not too bad, though it wouldn't convince me to give up a debit card😂.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I did understand your point I just thought it is interesting how different the US experience is. For you there is little difference between a bad and good exchange rate but for me the gap between good and bad exchange rates is much bigger. If there aren't any bank ATMs around I won't even exchange anything below AU$100 because the exchange rates I experience usually makes the value just not worth it.

If you were exchanging AUDs you might think twice 😜. As Americans you're lucky your currency is basically desirable every where so your exchange rates aren't as bad. Unless I am exchanging for USDs, Euros or NZDs I have found converting AUDs to local currency is on average a big loss even for small amounts (two exceptions was NOK and JPY where we got great deals). Now I almost exclusively use ATMs since I get market rates and either no or low fees. With how much I have saved in fees and unfavourable exchanges even if I didn't get reimbursed for a compromised debit card I'd still come out ahead😂.

Reading the original post the OP said after making a report the Chief Security Officer told them that only plumber and cabin steward entered their room and that he would investigate but expected them to deny. It seems to me the Chief Security Officer is making the insinuation that plumber or cabin steward committed the fraud and the OP was just going along with what they were being told.

To be fair there are certain medical conditions that make touch technology very difficult to use. My father use to work with computers so he is fairly technologically adept but his condition means phone screens don't respond to his touch and his voice is unrecognisable by those virtual assistant apps so mobile phones are difficult for him to use and not by choice. I have modified his phone so it is better suited to his condition but unfortunately many apps don't support these modifications. I understand that people like my father are a tiny minority and for a lot of these companies including cruising it would not be profitable to make more disabled friendly apps but I do still find it a bit sad that society doesn't want to carve out a little space for these people☹️.

I don't know if I would describe it as a class system but I do agree there is a gap between the tech literate and illiterate. I heard someone once describe the gap as equivalent to reading writing literacy at the turn of last century. I see it personally with my own parents, the things they miss out on because they cannot understand modern tech on top of which their disabilities make some technologies really difficult to use. In Uruguay they are trying to close the gap with a government funded program to teach seniors how to use tablets. Apparently results have been good with participants able to use many apps they couldn't before.

I personally have always found eating food that I enjoy to be a much more pleasurable experience than eating food that others may like but I am not as fond of. Call me crazy if you like but if the choice is there I would always chose my own taste buds preferences over another person's opinion😜.

I still follow the local tipping customs no matter what is expected/hoped of foreign tourists and when I visited French Polynesia I did what the locals do which was not to tip and no one batted an eye. The prices are already high, they have covered all their costs and factored in profits, not to mention most of the tour companies are family run businesses or sole traders so they are practically owner operated. Tipping in countries where it is not the norm just jacks up prices and can cause discrimination against local patrons. There is really no reason to tip where tipping is not the norm.

My unusual/unpopular opinion: I, would be happy to sail on a no frills ship. I'm not attracted to the resort style amusements of mass market cruises and I'm not too keen on the luxury of small ship cruises. I'm strongly motivated by itinerary so I don't really care too much about ship features. Simple entertainment, usually enrichment activities are enough for me. As long as the cabin is comfortable enough to sleep in, the food edible and there is at least one deck for taking in the views I wouldn't really need anything else.

My first cruise technically was a 5 night yacht trip around the Whitsundays. First actual ship trip was 13 nights around the Marquesas.