Great Article on Overtourism - Shouldn't Cruise Lines Mix Up Their Itineraries More?

[clo]

44 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

but not sure I'd eat rat.

Because I knew where s/he had come from I didn't have any qualms.  I've never had balut or durian and not sure I'll try. But we eat with locals so we eat the local food.  It's a good part of why we will no longer do escorted land tours.   Here's a typical lunch in Rio that's completely tame.  Frango milanese..  A whole boneless skinless chicken breast with the typical side of rice, beans, fries and farofa (toasted manioc flour).  And most people aren't fat 🙂

 

[Tom47]

In 1993, I volunteered to be a SAM(Sanctions Assistance Monitor) during the Bosnian war.  The countries surrounding Serbia protested that they didn't have the facilities/manpower to enforce UN sanctions and were still trying to rebuild after 50 years of communism.  Volunteers were solicited from other countries, including me.  I spent a week in Washington, DC for training .  One of our group was assigned to Macedonia.  He was afraid of food poisoning.  He bought 60 days of MREs at a military surplus store and another suitcase to transport them.  He had to pay an extra baggage fee of $100.  He also brought a portable smoke alarm and a portable burglar alarm.  I went to Bulgaria and don't know how he fared.  I still go to a local imported cheese store to buy Kashkeval, Bulgarian sheep cheese, 26 years later.  He may have had a bad experience with food poisoning.  DW had food poisoning twice from 2 precruise hotel stays in S, America.  There are no more cruises to S. America in our future.

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 hours ago, clo said:

We actually did that in Dubrovnik.  This wasn't hidden but it was perhaps a tad higher end than some want.  It had a lovely view of the harbor.  We had a super lunch with sparkling wine.

We did that too but obviously a different restaurant. No views as it was tucked away in a dead-end side street, but the food was amazing. Definitely high end. Great wines too.

Edited August 23, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[clo]

15 minutes ago, Tom47 said:

There are no more cruises to S. America in our future.

Oh boo hoo.  Knock wood the only time I've been sick when traveling was from US made salmonella tainted peanut butter that hadn't been removed from the shelf in a Rio grocery.

[clo]

8 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We did that too but obviously a different restaurant. No views as it was tucked away in a dead-end side street, but the food was amazing. Definitely high end. Great wines too.

Here was the view from it.  Can't believe I didn't take pix 🙂

 

[Tom47]

30 minutes ago, clo said:

Oh boo hoo.  Knock wood the only time I've been sick when traveling was from US made salmonella tainted peanut butter that hadn't been removed from the shelf in a Rio grocery.

Do I detect a touch of arrogance or just a lack of empathy?

[clo]

Just now, Tom47 said:

Do I detect a touch of arrogance or just a lack of empathy?

Not at all.  For either one.  That totally sucks.  And as one who had salmonella on a trip I feel her pain.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

There are certain things, including types of fish, that I do not eat.  I rarely seek it out and think I can enjoy a place without total immersion with the locals. 

Pretty much anything well cooked is OK to eat anywhere. However,  I will not eat cod fish or scallops in Europe (of course I do not eat them here - or anywhere - due to allergic reaction). Other than that - and turnips, of course, which I do not believe can be made edible anywhere - I enjoy new foods, and new slants on familiar foods.

[clo]

55 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

However,  I will not eat cod fish or scallops in Europe

So can you eat other fish and shellfish but not those two?  

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Other than that - and turnips, of course, which I do not believe can be made edible anywhere - I enjoy new foods, and new slants on familiar foods.

 

I have had crispy fried turnip, baked turnip, pureed turnip and dehydrated turnip (that was a really fancy restaurant 😜) . All have been delicious so don't give up on the humble turnip just yet. 

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I have had crispy fried turnip, baked turnip, pureed turnip and dehydrated turnip (that was a really fancy restaurant 😜) . All have been delicious so don't give up on the humble turnip just yet. 

 

Haha, you sound like the Benjamin Buford Blue of turnips!

 

I never liked them.  I had kind of forgot they existed until it was brought up here.  

[slidergirl]

I'm sorry we hijacked the thread.  but I'd love to see the faces of those who do the excursions and end up at the "authentic" restaurant and have exactly 42 minutes to eat before heading to the next site to be seen for 10 minutes... 😉

 

cruisemom - You'll never see me even get near quinto quarto in Italy!!!  And no menudo in Mexico, either...

 

Heading out on my own and finding my own little slice of local life in <name the overcrowded port> is what I'll always do!!

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, clo said:

So can you eat other fish and shellfish but not those two?  

I really enjoy clams, lobster, mussels, shrimp, many kinds of fish: fresh tuna, swordfish, sole are favorites - we regularly get Block Island Sound swordfish fresh from the sea - grilled with just olive oil and a touch of salt, pepper and paprika is the best.

 

[K32682]

13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

In global tourism today I see a distinct trend toward elitism in terms of "oh we went (insert exotic name) and we ate (insert exotic food) and it was great."  I tend to be brutally honest most of the time. In Romania for example we ate fish fresh out of the local lake a couple of hours earlier and grilled at the restaurant beside it. I ate them and grinned but those bottom feeding suckers tasted like dirt. 

 

I'd rather eat the occasional dirt-tasting fish than be the timid sort whose idea of exotic cuisine is McDonalds in a foreign country or would rather scurry back to usual onboard buffet than sample local food.   

[Mike981]

Since I was in grade school I have been susceptible to food poisoning, so I have to be careful. I've had it enough I can tell right away of it is food poisoning or something else.
I still push the envelope, but nothing like I would if I wouldn't have to worry.

[ilikeanswers]

10 hours ago, slidergirl said:

... 😉

cruisemom - You'll never see me even get near quinto quarto in Italy!!!  And no menudo in Mexico, either...

 

I am curious but what is so bad about quinto quarto? Is it the way they cook it? Or serve it? Do they do something weird to the offal?

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I am curious but what is so bad about quinto quarto? Is it the way they cook it? Or serve it? Do they do something weird to the offal?

 

No, it's just that Italy is where I've encountered it most often because I travel there more frequently. I am not a big fan of tripe -- have tried it in several forms and presentations in Italy and France and while I am perfectly able to manage a few bites, it just doesn't appeal.

[ducklite]

On 8/22/2019 at 8:40 AM, K32682 said:

 

There can also be fears, often irrational, of "local" food.  I've been ashore with cruisers who were appalled at the suggestion of having lunch at a local restaurant or recoiled in horror when I bought a snack from a sidewalk food cart.  That type prefer to scurry back to the boat for lunch because they never eat food in foreign countries and are adamant that the ship's food is "safe." 

They obviously haven't read the latest Carnival Fantasy Health Inspection.

[ducklite]

On 8/18/2019 at 9:54 PM, chipmaster said:

 

If and when demand exceeds supply then there are only two trajectories

  1) Free market:  raise prices till supply meets demand, highly likely to result in pricing out the lower / and lower middle class 

  2) Quota: then of course those who plan early and pounce once tickets become available will win, but in the end penalizes the larger majority of less planning.  I guess this is fair, no issue with this path.   A natural result will of course be if places like Santorini or Machu picchu or say Everest limit based then prices will certainly rise, or a black market develops for the tickets.    

 

We are lucky some of the places like Sagrada and other's aren't yet gotten to the extreme in 2) but for the very most popular if they do put quotas and demand far exceeds supply while desire remains high, the secondary black market will explode.    Then of course people like you who plan ahead and get lucky scoring tickets at opening moment will do well, but the natural Econ101 will result in a exploding black market of higher priced tickets.  For example if for example someone would offer you 10x what you paid for your entrance ticket would you sell, how many others would, likely the richer get access like all things in life money talks, econ 101

There are ways to sell limited tickets without them appearing on the black market.  Require each person to show ID that matches that on the ticket (I want to think the Titanic Experience does that) and limit the number of tickets sold to tour companies.

 

[ducklite]

17 hours ago, Tom47 said:

In 1993, I volunteered to be a SAM(Sanctions Assistance Monitor) during the Bosnian war.  The countries surrounding Serbia protested that they didn't have the facilities/manpower to enforce UN sanctions and were still trying to rebuild after 50 years of communism.  Volunteers were solicited from other countries, including me.  I spent a week in Washington, DC for training .  One of our group was assigned to Macedonia.  He was afraid of food poisoning.  He bought 60 days of MREs at a military surplus store and another suitcase to transport them.  He had to pay an extra baggage fee of $100.  He also brought a portable smoke alarm and a portable burglar alarm.  I went to Bulgaria and don't know how he fared.  I still go to a local imported cheese store to buy Kashkeval, Bulgarian sheep cheese, 26 years later.  He may have had a bad experience with food poisoning.  DW had food poisoning twice from 2 precruise hotel stays in S, America.  There are no more cruises to S. America in our future.

I have to admit we bring a smoke detector/CO2 alarm when we travel--even domestically.  That little device could be the difference between life and death.  Many hotels and rental flats don't have one, or it's battery operated with batteries that have been dead longer than Frank Sinatra.  Often there is a smoke detector but no CO2 detector--and that stuff is even more deadly.

[slidergirl]

4 minutes ago, ducklite said:

I have to admit we bring a smoke detector/CO2 alarm when we travel--even domestically.  That little device could be the difference between life and death.  Many hotels and rental flats don't have one, or it's battery operated with batteries that have been dead longer than Frank Sinatra.  Often there is a smoke detector but no CO2 detector--and that stuff is even more deadly.

My hotel and the last hotel I worked at have plug-in CO2 detectors and little plug-in flashlights.  But, I never thought of traveling with a CO2 detector.  Thank you for that little tidbit!! 

[navybankerteacher]

45 minutes ago, ducklite said:

...

 

Often there is a smoke detector but no CO2 detector--and that stuff is even more deadly.

Isn’t the real risk from CO, not CO2?

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Isn’t the real risk from CO, not CO2?

 

Fizzy drinks can kill you too.

[ducklite]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Isn’t the real risk from CO, not CO2?

 

HAHHA  Got me!!

[clo]

16 hours ago, slidergirl said:

menudo

Love, love, love menudo!  We have a fave local place.