ilikeanswers

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

At the moment but some ports are starting to kick back over the number of passengers coming ashore each day and will probably limit numbers. Santorini already has a limit of 8000 pax, and that is still too many. Venice may do that too, if it hasn't already. 

Venice's problem is mostly all the day trippers on bus tours. Surprisingly pre Covid cruise passengers only made up 7% of visitors to Venice. That city just has too many visitors full stop.

18 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Something different, how would you like a cruise on the ship below 'Ocean Swagman' Livestock Carrier.

 

My Granddaughter's boyfriend also a Vet is on board, Townsville to China looking after the 2000 animals, due at Gladstone to load today then onto NZ to load then to China to unload the livestock for the woks, lol.   38 crew onboard, including one vet and two stockmen.  From reports it is no luxury cruise. This is the second trip he has done. Big money, I kid you not $50,000 wage for the 6 week trip and they fly him back from China and into quarantine. He is working 24/7.  One of these ships sank in big seas last year remember with large loss of life inc the Aussie vet and stockmen.  From all reports not all crew covid jabbed, they are not permitted off the vessel.

 

Hopefully as a vet it will more pleasant than the ships to the Middle East.

11 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Lotus Lake, Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 

Google is my friend 

And what a good friend it is 😂. Correct all yours. 

45 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Perhaps itineraries with interesting port stops will be done with smaller ships, and the mega ships will just cruise the oceans with no port stops.

In the USA I have read that many cruisers would love cruises to nowhere but certain legislation makes this impossible if they also want to employ foreign crew. At the moment the biggest cruise market is still Americans so I think mega ships will still be needing somewhere to stop, but perhaps the sea days will increase. 

Identify this place :

20 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm all in favour of limiting numbers. Some of the ports we visited on our Med cruise in 2017 were quite unpleasant. 

 

I wish cruise lines would refocus on building highly efficient and economical smaller ships that could go to smaller ports to spread the load around, and still keep prices reasonable. Mega cruise ships might end up being white elephants if there is a swing away from ports allowing them in. Certainly in our region, especially some of the smaller NZ ports and South Pacific ports, smaller ships would mean much more pleasant port days. 

I don't think mega ships will be disappearing. When I look around CC one of the things that stands out is cruisers who like mega ships regard the ship as the destination so they aren't really fussed about where the ship goes. I don't think they would care too much if the itineraries are limited. There is an increasing number who don't even get off the ship at each stop. This in turn makes it more profitable for cruise companies as it literally keeps the money on board. Mega ships target a different market to smaller ships, those who want a floating resort experience with amusement parks and full scale theatrical productions. Personally I think we will see more of these ships in the future. 

17 minutes ago, qbay46 said:

 It is Japan, now which port are we coming into.

Nagasaki? 

It is true that certain things are better experienced with other people but that does not mean upper limit should be infinity😳. Ships in general I reckon are just too crowded that having people becomes the opposite of enjoyable. I've yet to hear anyone say they miss being packed like sardines😂. 

On 9/26/2021 at 4:52 PM, ekka49 said:

$$$$$ the only reason lawyers would be interested. Please tell me I'm wrong.

Or that lawyer is also an anti vaxer🙄. You'd be surprised how many supposedly well educated people are in the movement. 

Is it on the East Coast? 

People were wondering if the forced break from Covid would lead to destinations rethinking their tourism capacity, it seems that actually happened for FP. I think in a way this was always inevitable, over tourism is becoming a problem and when the world gets moving again those same destinations are going to fill up again. No matter what they do with infrastructure there was going to be point where caps on visiting numbers would be the only solution. Now, before the tourism gets into full swing is really the best opportunity to install these caps. 

On 9/25/2021 at 2:37 PM, MicCanberra said:

Is it in the USA? 

Is it in Italy? 

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

Yes it is out of control over there, Brits do not care, pubbing, clubbing, dining, I have relos there, they think it is all over over. I watch BBC every morning, 36, 000 new cases yesterday with 180 deaths.  Could end up like that here after Freedom day unless we keep some restrictions in.

 

Five million Brits have declined the vaccination, that is a lot of people even with population of 75 million.

From what I have read and heard the whole concept of Freedom day is considered a little deluded by many health experts. The reality is some practices should be kept, some places and circumstances we probably should be always wearing masks, some places should have their maximum capacities reduced. On top of that we need to rethink ventilation and how buildings are built in terms of crowd movement. Freedom day is kind of like pretending covid didn't happen and trying to go back to the past when really we should be thinking how do we live in a world where covid exists. 

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I would be very interested in learning what you experience so that I can compare it with my experience.  I would never think of using the words "lush and green"  as a result of my visit to Salalah.  

The lush and green is only during the monsoon season during July, August and a bit into September and then it turns back into desert. If the rains don't come or not enough you don't get the lakes, waterfalls and greenery. Like the Aurora Borealis you need a bit of luck to see the pop up rainforest phenomenon😂 so I may end up with the same view as you, not that would be totally bad for me. Dhofar Mountains is still pretty spectacular looking and being the most ecologically diverse place on the Arabian Peninsula makes it still interesting🤗. 

I don't see the advantage of going out of your way to clean your clothes before you get home. The time and effort to clean your clothes if you do it in Miami vs home isn't going to change and if you have to pay for the laundromat then on top of not saving time and effort you're spending more money. Logistically it doesn't make sense. If you are doing it because psychological it makes you feel good to travel home with a suitcase of clean clothes, then the intangible value that gives you would make it worth the effort. For me I don't get joy out going home with clean clothes so it isn't really something I would do unless there were exceptional circumstances. 

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Oman? “One and done”

If I am understanding correctly I think you are trying to say you didn't like Oman? For me personally I have a fascination with the Dhofar Mountains and it is kind of my bucket list experience to visit during its famous Salalah Monsoon season. I find the whole pop up rainforest thing so intriguing. 

7 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

My memory of colors that that I saw in Oman was monochromatic:  tan.  I did not find it to be a colorful country whatsoever.  

Next time I go to Europe I am hoping to stop in Oman so I guess I'll see how much truth was in those travelogues. I especially want to visit Salalah, it is supposed to be lush and green though with my luck of weather it will probably be the one year it doesn't rain😂. 

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

You don’t see head-to-toe PINK with bleach blond hair at an Omani mosque very often- in fact, how about never.

Oh well that makes more sense now. I never been to Oman so I didn't make the connection but I suppose if they are anything like the UAE bright colours would be unusual around a mosque, though on the street I always thought Oman was more liberal about colours than their neighbours? At least that is how they present in the documentaries😂. 

They are trialling a vaccine passport in NSW:

NSW to begin vaccination passport trial

It will be interesting to see how the technology goes, though they will still have to integrate into a national system and then somehow make it compatible internationally. I forsee many problems😂. 

33 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not familiar with Barbie Dolls outfits???

I have never seen a Barbie Doll dressed like that woman. Usually they're less covered up😂 unless it's a ball gown Barbie which if that was what the pictured woman was wearing I would consider over the top. Perhaps our market has different Barbie varieties to yours probably why the reference went over my head. Still I can't say that pictured outfit looks extravagant to me🤔. In my world it looks pretty mundane, different strokes for different folks I guess. 

4 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Everybody has a story and every story is interesting in it's own right. 

I reckon I'm pretty boring compared to everyone else. I don't have a life anywhere near as memorable as the stories I've heard😂. 

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The comment about the lady with the extensive wardrobe reminded me:

 

Though we never actually met her, we did cross paths with the pictured lady at a mosque in Oman. She wasn’t on our cruise. But I had to take her photo.

Not meaning any disrespect to Islam, I’ll always have the mental caption of Muslim Barbie.

Truly, apologies to anyone who might be offended. But, the picture is just “so overboard.”

Not offended but confused😳. Why is her dress considered "overboard"? Is this a reference to something I'm missing? 

6 hours ago, gerryuk said:

What is the biggest dealbreaker for you?

 

Masks

Testing 

Bubble excursions 

Int travel with testing

 

If they got rid of one of the above that would get you back on a ship, which would it be?

I suppose bubble excursions if I wasn't doing an all inclusive cruise. If I am paying extra for something I would like to have choices. The rest for me are minor inconveniences compared to the joy I get from my travels.

7 minutes ago, clo said:

What about well water?

This explains it better than I can:

Where does water come from?