THANKS TO ROYAL CARIBBEAN

[SilkySal]

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Just keep your wick dry, no problem

That just gave a whole new meaning to wiki leaks!🙄

Sorry, my bad!😌

[Iamcruzin]

12 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Isn't "the villages" like a suburb to the cemetery... just with a fancy name ? 🤔

Up North we refer to Florida as God's waiting room. With that said I look forward to waiting there for a long time.

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

We hear, over here on the coast, that in addition to all the great things at the Villages, they have the highest STD rate by sq/mile than any other location in Florida. Any truth to these rumors?

We hear that a lot when we go down to Florida. But it's not exclusive to the Villages. It seems to be on the rise at many of the Adult communities.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

25 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

This area. Look at the density. This is in the middle of nowhere, or was. Lol

 

 

OMG 😱

 Barely alive  but still stupid enough to spread STD but maybe we are seeing this wrong a d it is not the inmates  but  the so frustrated caretakers.... that just can't hold it back! 🤔

The US is the only country in the world  running such large-scale asylums... have to check it out if I ever get that old! 👍

[travelplus]

7 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I thought they were still EU.🤔

 

For now 😉

The UK was never a part of the EU in the sense of customs. When you fly from London to Paris  and vice versa whether by air or train you go through customs. If you were to fly from Paris to Frankfurt you do not have to go through customs.

 

There is a EU trade agreement perhaps between the UK and EU but they do not have the EU currency and are independent in many ways. Just like Canada and US have NAFTA but their customs are separate and you need a passport to go between the two countries. 

 

In the EU if you are a EU citizen all you need is your EU Drivers License or ID but foreign travelers must present their passport to board the flight. 

 

[John&LaLa]

4 minutes ago, travelplus said:

The UK was never a part of the EU in the sense of customs. When you fly from London to Paris  and vice versa whether by air or train you go through customs. If you were to fly from Paris to Frankfurt you do not have to go through customs.

 

There is a EU trade agreement perhaps between the UK and EU but they do not have the EU currency and are independent in many ways. Just like Canada and US have NAFTA but their customs are separate and you need a passport to go between the two countries. 

 

In the EU if you are a EU citizen all you need is your EU Drivers License or ID but foreign travelers must present their passport to board the flight. 

 

 

So what's the big deal with BREXIT🤔

[Thorben-Hendrik]

29 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

So what's the big deal with BREXIT🤔

They promised their voters a wall and that Mexico will pay for it! 😱

[123funcruiser]

1 hour ago, travelplus said:

The UK was never a part of the EU in the sense of customs. When you fly from London to Paris  and vice versa whether by air or train you go through customs. If you were to fly from Paris to Frankfurt you do not have to go through customs.

 

There is a EU trade agreement perhaps between the UK and EU but they do not have the EU currency and are independent in many ways. Just like Canada and US have NAFTA but their customs are separate and you need a passport to go between the two countries. 

 

In the EU if you are a EU citizen all you need is your EU Drivers License or ID but foreign travelers must present their passport to board the flight. 

 

 

You are confusing customs and Immigration. Of Course the UK was and still is part of the EU. 

 

They have not been part of the Schengen Area, which is why you Need to present your ID´s at the borders of the UK and when traveling between the Shengen area and non-Schengen area EU states.

 

UK is part of the Economic and Monetary Union as well, but they opted out of introducing the Euro as their currency.

 

A trade Agreement like NAFTA is part of the BREXIT negotiations, as it would be needed to replace the current EU regulations between EU member states. If there were just a trade Agreement between EU and UK the BREXIT deal probably would be much easier.

 

If a No-Deal Brexit would happen the Need for custom checks would re-appear, which don´t exist Right now.

 

[villager70]

I posted to Thank Royal for refunds and can't believe the topics have gone  into post. Those  looking at Villages can go on site  

TheVillages.com  and  see for yourself .  32 square miles, in three counties ,over 62,000 homes and closing around 225 per month. Have bridge over 27,441 for golf carts,  and building one over turnpike and sr44 just for carts.

[KmomChicago]

40 minutes ago, villager70 said:

I posted to Thank Royal for refunds and can't believe the topics have gone  into post. Those  looking at Villages can go on site  

TheVillages.com  and  see for yourself .  32 square miles, in three counties ,over 62,000 homes and closing around 225 per month. Have bridge over 27,441 for golf carts,  and building one over turnpike and sr44 just for carts.

 

I agree.  I understand how threads go off on tangents, but I wouldn't have expected personal opinions on the Villages would have gotten all stirred up here or that there was such disdain within the topic in the first place.  I will tell you, about 9 years ago when my mean old teenager was just a cute little wee preschooler, she saw one of those musical commercials about it being "America's friendliest hometown" and came to get us to tell us we should move there.  Marketing fit for a four year-old! :)

[Thorben-Hendrik]

3 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

I agree.  I understand how threads go off on tangents, but I wouldn't have expected personal opinions on the Villages would have gotten all stirred up here or that there was such disdain within the topic in the first place.  I will tell you, about 9 years ago when my mean old teenager was just a cute little wee preschooler, she saw one of those musical commercials about it being "America's friendliest hometown" and came to get us to tell us we should move there.  Marketing fit for a four year-old! 🙂

Is the STD spread in the villages an opinion or a fact? 🤔

[KmomChicago]

29 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Is the STD spread in the villages an opinion or a fact? 🤔

 

Since we are all so fascinated with this topic, apparently diagnosis rates among senior populations across the board are rising, but still lower than younger populations.  There is a lot of speculation why this is happening - these are the Baby Boomers; many of them may have been in long marriages and now due to loss of a spouse, single but unable to become pregnant, may not be thinking about safe practices once they date again.  Or some of it may be long term things like, um, that thing that causes cold sores, except you know, in a different part of your anatomy.  They may not have been formally diagnosed in the past even though they were aware they had picked something up a long time ago. 

 

I work in the pharma industry and though this is not mentioned in the research I looked into, I might speculate that declining immune function could also be a factor - just because someone is exposed to a pathogen doesn't mean they become infected. They may fight it off.  Immune function declines with age, so any pathogen is more likely to cause infection.

 

Apparently when this trend of increasing diagnosis rates was reported in Orlando FL several years ago, it was somewhat sensationalized by a couple of local papers, and because the Villages are nearby, statistics in their story came primarily from that area.  But it does not appear to be accurate that this particular community is more affected by this than other senior communities.  See, good thing we have the internet.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

4 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Since we are all so fascinated with this topic, apparently diagnosis rates among senior populations across the board are rising, but still lower than younger populations.  There is a lot of speculation why this is happening - these are the Baby Boomers; many of them may have been in long marriages and now due to loss of a spouse, single but unable to become pregnant, may not be thinking about safe practices once they date again.  Or some of it may be long term things like, um, that thing that causes cold sores, except you know, in a different part of your anatomy.  They may not have been formally diagnosed in the past even though they were aware they had picked something up a long time ago. 

 

I work in the pharma industry and though this is not mentioned in the research I looked into, I might speculate that declining immune function could also be a factor - just because someone is exposed to a pathogen doesn't mean they become infected. They may fight it off.  Immune function declines with age, so any pathogen is more likely to cause infection.

 

Apparently when this trend of increasing diagnosis rates was reported in Orlando FL several years ago, it was somewhat sensationalized by a couple of local papers, and because the Villages are nearby, statistics in their story came primarily from that area.  But it does not appear to be accurate that this particular community is more affected by this than other senior communities.  See, good thing we have the internet.

On 4/19/2019 at 5:46 PM, Milwaukee Eight said:

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

You sure did not answer my question! 🙄

[KmomChicago]

10 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

You sure did not answer my question! 🙄

 

Sorry! It does not appear that there is an absolute answer.  Unless I travel to the Villages and test every resident today, I can't confirm this rumor that apparently started about 9 years ago.  However, nobody else can either, as there does not appear to be any evidence that this rumor is a proven fact.  Several separate articles simply state that the rate of reported STIs in seniors is rising.  Since I really couldn't care less, I don't intend to research further. I didn't realize I even cared enough to look it up in the first place.

 

Happy Easter to all aboard, and I sympathize with any impacted by the damage to the Oasis and hope you will cruise again as soon as possible.

[Milwaukee Eight]

I have the proof but sorry, I can’t share that data. 

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I have the proof but sorry, I can’t share that data. 

 

We've  heard that before 😉

Edited April 22, 2019 by John&LaLa

[4774Papa]

On 4/18/2019 at 7:49 AM, villager70 said:

We started cruising with Royal Caribbean in the nineties. Over the years  much has been written  both pro and con on different matters that have  occurred. We were booked on the Oasis  for April 9th and experienced the cancellation  along with the 14th. & the 21st TransAtlantic. This time Royal  stepped up and went beyond their requirements. We have already received our 100% refund for the entire purchased price including  taxes, insurance , and non refundable deposit.  Also in the offer was a  full amount future  cruise credit  ( less taxes)  on  future cruise which we have already used  for the Harmony. This kind of response to a   problem that arises  shows the kind of Customer service  that  other lines can use as a bookmark.  We  want to express our   concern for all the people  that missed that special week, such as weddings,1st cruisers, anniversaries,   etc.  but there will be another  sometime in  your future .

       Thanks again Royal Caribbean for stepping up and doing the right thing.                   

                                                                                                                                                      Bob & Nancy  The Villages, Florida       71 cruises and counting

Our New Zealand cruise from Sydney was cancelled due to mechanical problems three days prior to the cruise last year.  We received a full refund and credit for that paid amount (minus taxes and port fees) toward another cruise.  We appreciated that sound policy.  Looking forward to our cruise in June.