Host Jazzbeau

Who else made their own wine following the Whole Earth Catalog recipe? [Welch's frozen grape juice, baker's yeast, sugar and water – mix in an empty jug wine bottle, put a balloon on the opening and store in a cool, dark place; the balloon will inflate; when the balloon deflates: you have Manischewitz!]

Scotland sets its own rules for borders and travel compared to England (much stricter). So you need to watch that carefully too. Iceland seems much more likely 😉

Consumer Reports used to do wine ratings. Gallo Hearty Burgundy came in #1. [I no longer subscribe to Consumer Reports...]

There is good news from England about cruising: https://www.cruisehive.com/uk-releases-framework-for-resuming-international-cruises/49543?fbclid=IwAR3dgkqKPhouaW0gsto51EAXi07fiEhAhxkGjuN4s3h7qQtzD-Io7Ua2zlw This report is good news all around for traveling, but the best part (IMHO) is that they are treating cruising the same as other forms of travel. "The Department of Transport has been engaging with all the travel industry sectors, including Carnival, MSC, Viking Cruises, Ports, and Cruise Lines International Association in coming up with the new guidelines." "A new 20-pag

So sorry to hear about your father, @TrulyBlonde

There is good news from England about cruising: https://www.cruisehive.com/uk-releases-framework-for-resuming-international-cruises/49543?fbclid=IwAR3dgkqKPhouaW0gsto51EAXi07fiEhAhxkGjuN4s3h7qQtzD-Io7Ua2zlw This report is good news all around for traveling, but the best part (IMHO) is that they are treating cruising the same as other forms of travel. "The Department of Transport has been engaging with all the travel industry sectors, including Carnival, MSC, Viking Cruises, Ports, and Cruise Lines International Association in coming up with the new guidelines." "A new 20-pag

That's not the case for the Jan. 23, 2023 Australia-New Zealand cruise I was looking at. As shown below (this is typical of all port calls on this cruise) there is a choice of 3 free excursions but the other 4 (which do not include any private car excursions) have an unstated charge. Looking at earlier Silversea NZ cruises I can figure out what the costs were for each of these excursions – but they haven't posted the prices for 2023 so I can't tell if they will reduce the cost of the optionals to reflect 'payment' for the basic ones in the cruise fare.

Even if I have to experience these same side effects with a yearly booster – it will be worth it.

I haven't hard of anyone getting their money back by contacting the US DOT. And the Ponant board has many complaints from people who were not able to get help through their own power. What I do know is that I succeeded because of my TA, and this other passenger because of the NYS AG [PonantUSA is a New York Corporation].

Good guess, and helpful. Not sure why NCLH wouldn't choose to experiment with Oceania or Regent [smaller footprints, more mature passengers more likely to be vaccinated, Regent already has shore excursions built in] – but that doesn't seem to be their thinking. I just hope they have early success in whatever they choose, so that our January 2022 Oceania cruise can sail out of Miami.

Your family is blessed. My experience, and that of my friends and neighbors, is that all three of these vaccines can provoke side effects similar to Shingrix – but there is no pattern to predict who will get them and who will not. I have read that women are more likely, and thought it might be because women are generally smaller than men but all doses are the same size [and DW suffered more than me, which seemed to fit my theory] – until some very slim women we know had no side effects but a really obese one suffered greatly. There is just no knowing!

Maybe we're all kind of sleepy and will leave it for @notamermaid – she should be getting up tomorrow before most of us hear the ***** crow! [wow – the CC computer censor doesn't even allow biblical quotes!!!]

There is a new review of a Mississippi cruise on AQSC where the reviewer was surprised that river cruises aren't really set up for people in wheelchairs or on scooters. There have been many posts here about that in Europe, but it seems to be similar in the US despite ADA. Once you get off the ship and onto the cruise bus, things here should be pretty manageable – but the ramps and jetties are apparently not that easy, at least at low tide.

I agree that flexibility is key at this point. After all, if you are only able to book a B2B after calling several times – don't you think there's a good chance that either a supervisor or the computer will cancel your booking?