ilikeanswers

Park Güell? 

2 hours ago, woodscruise said:

Qantas is flying to London direct from Darwin.

Thai is flying from Sydney via Bangkok and Phuket with connections to Europe.

Singapore Airlines is flying via Singapore (from Sydney & Melboure)

I am sure some other airlines will be flying via either Asia or US to get to Europe.

Thanks for that. Europe via USA I think would be a little long for me😂 but Asia would be more doable. For certain countries it can be the more convenient than via Arabian Peninsula😉. 

15 hours ago, Docker123 said:

The govt has removed the blanket Do Not Travel warning. It will be a country by country determination from now on.

 

However, the current list of approved countries is rather short:

• The United Kingdom
• The United States of America
• Canada
• Italy
• Greece
• Germany
• South Africa 

Singapore to be added soon, with moves by Fiji and Thailand.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-27/where-fully-vaccinated-people-can-travel-without-quarantine/100573556

No UAE on the list? That is going to make getting to Europe a little complicated. 

11 hours ago, stki said:

Arn't the current cruises from Singapore, only for Singaporeans?

 

Now to be able to get travel insurance for cruises

I read an article from American who did one of their cruises to nowhere and a NZ couple on YouTube posted their experience as well so I think internationals are allowed. According to the American, Singapore is enforcing all cruise companies to include covid insurance in the fare price though they didn't detail the terms and conditions of the insurance. 

Snake Island😂? 

Are we in the Caribbean? 

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

I don’t see how it can be shut down without replacement as lots of Alaskan towns inc the capital can only be reached via water.

They would have to go back to the pre ferry system of private boats and water taxis which locals say would be too expensive and infeasible but for some reason the Alaskan government is so determined to shut it down🤷‍♀️. They were supposed to slash routes this year but with the pandemic I'm guessing the government didn't want to come across mean spirited😆. Fingers crossed it is still operating when I finally get to visit Alaska. 

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

We did this on Alaskan Marine Highway ferry. Staying at each town a few days then a truck camper trip from Anchorage.  Was a great way to see Alaska.

That is something I would love to do, though I hear they are potentially shutting it down😔. 

There is a cruise that starts in NZ and goes along the length of the Antarctica coast to end up in Ushuaia. Only runs once a year and very $$$🤑. The second one I would love to do is a Northwest Passage cruise and the third is actually becoming more financially with in reach thanks to some new companies in the market so a Congo River cruise maybe in my future after all🤗. The real killer for me in all these cruises are the single supplements. Nearly equal the cost of the cruises puts it further out of reach for me😔. 

20 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

What I want though is to be able to stay at each place for a few days then move on to the next which is why I said I'd need to charter a yacht!

We did Croatian Islands via ferry. A poor man's luxury yacht cruise😂. We got a few hours cruise and got to stay on the islands for a few days. 

16 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

I am wondering if that is realistic given that any non-EU country would likely have different Covid entry requirements. 

Covid regulations are managed by the individual countries not the EU so you  still need to check the individual countries rules of entry and don't assume that rules are the same just because they are in the EU. This is an EU run website that lists all the regulations for EU countries:

Re-open EU

4 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Don’t forget that now days anyone is a Media commentator, with social media giving space to all sorts of opinions, and unfortunately it seems the ability to think things through logically is almost non existent 

I saw an article last week about Sky News hiring some famous commentator and they listed all the commentators he would be joining at Sky News. The list was so long it made me wonder is there any time left in the scheduling for news😂. It feels like news itself is nothing but commentators🙄. In one way the internet has been good that you have these websites that are niche news focused. So if you want science news there are websites dedicated to science news, not just commentators giving their opinions on things their assistants researched aka googled😜. 

6 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Personally I would be very surprised if the antivaxer population were more than 2% of the eligible vaccination population (16 and over), of course they also include their kids into it as well. This may expand  the percentage  to 3 to 5.

I think the problem is more the vaccine hesitant. They are not opposed to vaccines but are worried about the Covid vaccines. Unfortunately the media stoking fear about super rare side effects or in the UK and USA linking vaccine developent to particular politics is as much making the public second guess Covid vaccines as the anti vaxxers spew.

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

And he's now in the US and still making a fortune from is anti-vaccine claims. In fact the anti-vaccine movement is big business there are there are some serious financial heavies behind it. Seriously? Money gained by fake claims is more important to these greedy arseholes than people's health?

Saw a doco about the big business of anti vaxers and it is hundreds of millions of dollars. They have mechandising, seminars, their own pay tv channels, it is crazy stuff😱. One interviewee whose mum was anti vaxer made an astute observation. All his life he had been told that the government is trying to profit from people's health but he said one day something clicked when he realised his mum was paying US$300 for so called healthcare advice lectures from anti vaxers while he found free healthcare advice from government websites. Didn't take him long to conclude who really is profiting from people's health😂.

6 hours ago, Porky55 said:

So, we oldies who got the AZ double dose would get Pfizer or Moderna (mRNA) boosters  - while those who waited patiently for Pfizer double dose would get AZ boosters - that’s here in Aus of course? 
Interesting 🤔

Depends. According to the studies in the article there was a dramatic increase in immune response from Pfizer booster after a course of AZ but the opposite wasn't as effective. In America a small study mixing mRNA vaccines didn't achieve a dramatic increase in immune response however those who had a J&J shot then a mRNA shot saw a huge increase in antibody activity but mRNA then J&J didn't do much. It seems we need way more research in terms of getting the most effective mix. But one thing the studies seem to suggest is mixing vaccine is so far pretty safe however we are talking pretty small studies.The research is really useful for developing countries to be able to mix vaccines, it would help with their supply issue though no one seems to have studied much about mixing the Russian and Chinese vaccines. So much still to learn🤓.

Maybe we should be taking both:

Should you mix and match COVID-19 vaccines? Experts weigh in.

2 hours ago, adelaidefc said:

Looking at the overseas experience (and trawling through some OS policy documents), it looks like the insurance industry is definitely offering Covid cover for cruises. 

The general exclusions seem to be things like needing to be fully vaxxed, not travelling against health advice or Gov warnings, and cost of quarantine if required at home. 

But they do include things like cabin confinement due to Covid (or being a contact), plus medical expenses etc. 

 

I'm not sure of the pricing for those policies, but judging by the fact many thousands of people are back cruising every day already, they can't be too onerous beyond normal. 

The thing though that the article mentioned that is worth noting is that if you are in country that changes it covid regulation mid trip you could find yourself uninsured. With so much in flux that is an issue. Plus while they might cover medical they won't cover things like extra accommodation even if it is enforced quarantine or any charges for changing your itinerary if it is due to Covid. I have read on some of the forums at the moment a lot of cruise lines are paying for these costs in order to convince people to get back cruising but everyone is pretty certain this is only temporary in which case you have to wonder if cruise lines withdraw this support will insurance fill the gap? 

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

BTW, I called the one on the right Flower.

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

BTW, I called the one on the left Kohli

So they're vegan steaks🤪. 

Somewhere in India? 

I would rather an easing of restrictions see how things go, adjusting accordingly rather than this throw caution to the wind and hope for the best approach. We didn't even finish home quarantine trial to see if that is option we should consider. 

52 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Hint.

It's not the biggest in this country.

Is it in France? 

Somewhere in Hawaii? 

42 minutes ago, Porky55 said:

Small change if subject; the attached turned up on a group I am following  on the book of faces - is it true or false??
Some say it is a fake, others say it must be real as it has Cruise Critic in the title ……… but I can find no such story searching CC so, what do you think?

And who the heck is the bloke at the bottom & signature??

 

I would suggest posting this in the news sub forum. The moderaters there would be able to confirm if this is a real article on this site 🤔 

The page does look a little weird to me. The "Visit OneSource" in the top left hand corner is not something I have seen on CC before and it says May 18 at the top though I suppose someone could have the date set wrong on their phone. 

41 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I was on the fence with this, I think for me using the word meat is a bit of a problem. I think they should be labeled as Vegetable based savoury pies. Put the no meat part as an afterthought on the label.

Perhaps the Green banner should read plant based and the plant based above the banner could read Meat Free and the place where it says "Meat Free Pie" in the red banner could read Savoury Pie.

I agree the wording bothers me. If you are vegetarian fine but why do you need to pretend something is meat? There was a vegan pie stall at a market I visited and they didn't use meat substitute on their label. They labelled it chickpea pie, seitan pie etc. I found it so refreshing that they weren't trying to convince me it was just like meat. They treated it as its own unique product and that's how IMO it should be. 

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I haven't tried Kestrel potatoes, I must look out for them next time we go there.

Hopefully they still sell them. My last Harris Farm visit was about three years, happen to be in an area they serve and thought I check if they still had some of the products I liked and there were still the Kestrels conveniently at the front too. I really stocked up that day😜. 

2 hours ago, By The Bay said:

Not only Pies, but rolls also. 😟  It is un-Australian. 😉

I've tried one of these however from a different brand. Wasn't great, hopefully Four n Twenty does a better version🙄.