drron29

But not at all related to the other troubles in the Middle East. It was a tanker that was seized by the USA last year during Sanctions against Iran. they unloaded it's oil. Now the Iranians have seized it and intend to unload it's oil. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/uk-shipping-authority-receives-report-vessel-boarded-by-armed-persons-off-oman-2024-01-11/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&utm_term=011124&user_email=42c279be87db2e6b362e5c5af53114ca6a8bab3e0d36948cf7872b29529df7e9

And if you go in the middle of August the river is pretty much full of Beluga whales. They are very inquisitive and come very close to your boat. When we went we were in Zodiacs. They swam right beside us.

Though cruises involving the middle east around the UAE or Saudi Arabia are not yet involved in this danger. It is basically the narrow part of the Red Sea off Yemen that is the problem. However it is already creating problems beyond 2024. We were booked on back to back cruises on the Muse Singapore to Doha and then to Athens in May 2025. We got an email just before Christmas saying the Singapore to Doha cruise was being shortened by 2 days arriving 21/5 instead of 23/5 but the Doha, Athens cruise was postponed now leaving Doha on 27/5 but the same itinerary. We were offered $1000 OBC for continuing on to Athens and a 15% reduction on the Singapore to Doha cruise. We have to make our decision by January 18th. No compensation for having to now spend 6 days between cruises and the inconvenience of having to pack and get off then go through boarding again. However the cruises disappeared for awhile and now the Singapore Doha shortened cruise is back on the website but the next cruise for the Muse is now an Athens to Athens cruise on June 20th. How to we make an informed decision when we don't have all the information?

I prefer wildlife to cities so we did a Svalbard cruise on the Explorer in 2010. It was so good that since then we have only booked one non Silversea cruise. The most memorable part for me was sitting in a zodiac when it was snowing whilst watching 8 Polar Bears feasting on a Fin whale carcass. It included a mother with her cub. So when we did an Inside Passage cruise we did so in an 8 passenger boat. Once again some magic moments such as a humpback whale surfacing beside our kayak whilst we were watching a bear on the shore. So if those things don’t interest you then a big ship in Alaska would be best for you.

We didn’t need one as Australians in October 23. So unlikely that Americans would need one.

The Osanbashi international cruise terminal is where we boarded the Muse in October last year. We will be on the Muse next March. We will be in Yokohama twice and it is on the terminal timetable on the 3rd and 17th of April at that terminal.

The original didn't have a caption but you have nailed what it would be.

It’s a pity that many don’t do that. As in many places tipping wasn’t the culture until large scale American tourism began that tipping was introduced because they did not do as the Romans did.

Actually although some groper have been called jewfish it really is not Australian Jewfish. The commonest australian jewfish is the Mulloway on the east coast. https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/659 However Davey might have had a West Australian Dhufish which often wrongly are called jewfish. https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/513493-Glaucosoma-hebraicum But the best eating jewfish comes from Northern Australia. https://nt.gov.au/marine/recreational-fishing/types-of-fish/fish-species/black-jewfish And the most commonly caught jewfish by commercial fisheries comes from South Australia. it is usually Mulloway and not the Southern Yellow jewfish which is found mainly in the Northern Territory. https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/2ac9ec33-5c2a-4c31-9648-2fc69a69819e Of course this shouldn't be confused with the yellowtail jewfish from Australia's north. https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/a652ea41-c27b-493e-927b-5bffad00f51c Note all the different scientific names. No wonder you get most Australians not knowing what jewfish actually is. But if you see it on a restaurant menu it usually is pretty good eating no matter which one it was.

If he hasn’t done a good job and he stands at the door with his hand out I will shake his/her hand. Then I will give them my tip- do a better job next time. There is a lot of the world who don’t share the ways of the USA. Strange but true.

Those who normally tip do. Those that normally don’t tip don’t. And for us only tip for excellent service.

I try to work it out by looking at the ship I am interested in and looking at the voyages. I will look at a year and tick every month. If 2 months are grayed out it is likely to be a refit

As someone who has a knack of getting along with birds and having a connection to some wild birds and also being a consumer of foie gras I don’t see any problem and I have seen foie gras produced as well as seeing animals slaughtered in abbatoirs. I have also seen skuas kill young penguins. I have seen blue footed boobies kill young boobies that are not their own. Watched lions kill a zebra and many more such scenes. Nature is brutal but beautiful at the same time.

I don't know they don't breed them as tough as they used to. Here is me aboard what is now the National Geographic Orion when she was in Antarctica in January 2011. Coming back from Macquarie Island to New Zealand we ran into a storm. Waves were 15 metres with occasional ones to 18 metres - 49 -59 feet. To make it a little more interesting the stabilisers were knocked out for an hour or two. We were strapped into bed. Only 3 passengers made it to breakfast the next day. Myself, Rojaan and 1 other. And your Captain wants to miss the storm!

I used to stay in Tauranga as one of my mother's Bridesmaids lived in Tauranga. The cruise port is near Mt. Manganui and there is a fair bit of developement there. But the CBD and shopping and restaurants are basically on the other side of the Bay which is what I would call Tauranga. No shuttle went there.

First you will get an absolute avalanche of opinions on the dress code but business casual should be fine on the classic ships,too good on the Expedition ships and possibly a bit better dressed than most on the new Nova and Ray. Included excursions are very variable from being boring to excellent. A lot depends on the local guide you get. There is entertainment but basically a song and dance show after dinner. They have started bringing some more variety by having guest entertainers on for a short stay. We though don't cruise for the entertainment. Food is very subjective and depends on your likes and dislikes. It can be very good but there certainly are some failures from time to time. Staff are nearly always good to excellent. more problem with the way some guests think they should treat the staff. I would think the majority of passengers don't tip on board. We do make a donation to the crew fund when we board and usually tip our Butler and Room attendant.

Yes Hobart you are in town. Picton is the same. In Eden there was no shuttle -an easy walk to town but the locals put on a bus every 20 minutes for seeing the"highlights" of Eden. We didn't visit Kaikoura or Geelong. We visited Port Chalmers instead of Akaroa and there was a shuttle into Christchurch. Akaroa was out of action following the Christchurch earthquake. However the locals were enjoying the peace and quiet and were campaigning to have cruise ships banned from Akaroa. Tauranga did't have a shuttle.