T8NCruise

14 hours ago, sail7seas said:

 

 

Frankly, so few people  care to  travel now, openborder? closedborder?   makes little difference to most "former"  travelers............

 

 

Some of our 'experts'  are hedging around speculating, we'll  be locked down far into the New Year...   

 

I had my seasonal flu shot this week and as soon as my doctors approve, I'LL  be eager to get vaccine to protect me from ' the plague'.

 

Given that I am among those designated 'high risk' I am extremely  careful even with which neighbors I socialize and all are very  careful  about being out of their houses.

 

 

 

 

To your first point - no, but I think cruisers are justified in dreaming of being able to travel again!  I know I am, even though it may be unlikely I ever will again.  But I can dream.

BTW, that seems awfully early for a flu shot - they typically last 6 months, so hopefully it will see you all the way through flu season. 

49 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

I saw a car this morning from BC.  I only took notice of the car because the idiot driver flicked a cigarette butt out the window on I5.  I noted the plate in case her butt sparked yet another wildfire.  You'd think, driving through all this smoke, she'd know better. 

 

Anyways, my point is, I'm still seeing BC plates in the Seattle area.   

I find that totally unforgivable, anyone from the west coast of either the US or Canada should know better - we have enough TV ads addressing this.  I hope you reported it anyway, regardless of whether it started a fire.  It carries a hefty fine, here.
On the same topic, we seem to have a free flow, then, of vehicles from one country being in another.  I have lost count of the Texas, Oregon, and many other state licence plates in my little corner of BC - just this morning, another from Washington State.  And I definitely do not live on the route to/from Alaska.  I do know of several BC residents being stuck down in Blaine and Bellingham areas since pre-border closure because they had no idea it would last this long!  But quite happy to be staying there in the trailer parks right now, so that accounts for some of the BC licence plates.

On 8/31/2020 at 4:29 PM, FrankieSue said:

Yes I am... and I am very proud of it... apart from acquired experience through many cruises, 4* Mariner shows dedication and loyalty to Holland America... it means appreciation for all the great people who make the Holland America family. It means feeling very grateful on the day that the ship’s captain and ship’s general manager presented me with my pin and medal, it means being part of an exclusive group of people who appreciate the same things I do... so yes I am a 4*Mariner and You bet I am proud of it... 

Hmm.  I'm a few days short of 5*, and I definitely don't consider myself an expert on all things HAL, or part of an exclusive group, or even feel any dedication or loyalty - nor even think to mention it whenever I post.  So I just did, and probably won't ever again, LOL.  I sometimes still learn things I wasn't aware of when I read this forum.

3 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Apparently there are some valid reasons for US plates in Canada as well as Canadian plates here.  A friend of mine has dual citizenship.  She has lived here for decades, her Mother and sister live in Canada.  She hasn't gone to see her elderly mother because of the 14-day quarantine on both ends, but I think I'll tell her to be sure not to drive her car with US plates if she does ever go.  (By the way I never said all the plates were from BC, some were from other provinces).

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-u-s-border-harassment-u-s-license-plates-banff-1.5634534 

Yes, there are valid reasons both ways.  I was just reporting back on my own experience here in my town.  Plus there have been so many from the US hanging out in Whistler and Banff, but apparently that has been clamped down on now.

5 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

I agree with you wholeheartedly about being stricter.  It goes the other way too.  Here in NW Washington we're still seeing Canadian license plates.  A lot less than normally, but still too many.  

BC Plates in Washington state I understand because I know, myself, of people stuck down there when the border closed (some are still at their trailers near the border), but plates in BC from Texas - it just doesn't fit.

I agree with keeping the border closed, but they have to stop everyone, because there is so much abuse of the "I'm going straight to my home in Alaska".  In one day alone in my little town - which is nowhere near the route to Alaska - I saw 2 license plates from Texas and one from Oregon.  They are getting more strict but not enough, in my opinion.

14 minutes ago, Himself said:

I would say she is the Claasist of the HAL Ships built by Fincanntieri.. I would say the only HAL ship I did not care for Was the WESTERDAM II which was purchased  from Homeric.  

Did several cruises on the W'dam - one of my favourites!

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

There are ways to protect older family members that do not require shutting down the economy.  For example, one might consider not sending those infected with the virus to nursing homes.  Or, one might consider providing N95 masks that do protect those wearing them instead of making everyone else wear masks with limited effectiveness.

One might also consider following the lead of the rest of the world.  No, it is very well known that masks do not protect the wearer, but protect others.  However, ever a slight amount of avoiding droplets is well worth the "bother" of wearing one.  For heavens sakes, the virus is totally out of control in the US, with 160K plus dead already - is opening up everything for the sake of the "economy" worth that without first having a shut down to control it.  Short term gain might be painful but worth it in the long run, as evidenced elsewhere.

1 minute ago, drsel said:

Russia claims to have completed all the clinical trials of the world's first covid vaccine and is planning to launch it as soon as next month

Oh gawd.

8 minutes ago, drsel said:

The stock market doesn't seem to think so.

 

See the stock prices of Tesla Facebook Amazon Apple Microsoft and Google

 

 

Well I guess the stock market knows better than all the scientists and medics.
I'm just happy the border between Canada and the US is remaining closed.

2022 unless a vaccine comes available, but then late 2021, when everything is up and running properly again and all the kinks ironed out!

What a shame you didn't enjoy Cartagena - we had a great time there, and a wonderful excursion.

My least favourite port is definitely Corinto.

I've done both those cruises, and the full transit of the Panama 4 times, never tire of it.  So I would opt for that, and do the Circle Hawaii later on.  You've got to love sea days for that one, which fortunately I do.

On 7/4/2020 at 7:45 AM, HappyInVan said:

Here's a positive example for our American friends to follow. British Columbia has a seventh of Canada's population. But, only 3% of the confirmed cases, and only 2% of the deaths. How was it possible when it has a huge Asian population?

 

No miracles here. We are not a Teutonic model of deep organization and preparation. Rather, our residents pulled together like soldiers.

 

This was a positive precondition.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/team-of-rivals-united-front-1.5570696

 

The government allowed the Provincial Health Officer to be the public face, and lead the campaign. The Premier was there to announce the lockdown and the reopening. The health minister worked behind the scenes, and credit must go to him for the strategic wins.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/long-term-care-crisis-covid19-pandemic-1.5589097

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-ontario-recovery-stage-1.5586557

 

The Provincial Health Officer is widely admired and trusted. That said, she had focused too much on the hospital program. Displayed signs of inflexibility, and had to be overruled by the health minister.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-coronavirus-metro-vancouver-hospital-icu-death-rate-1.5589695

 

Moreover, BC has only done a modest amount of testing. So, we were fortunate that our residents didn't mess it up.

 

The interesting point is that the government did not impose shelter-in-place. Bars, salons, gyms and parks were closed. Factories and warehouses continued to operate. Offices did close their doors to the public. The courts were closed.

 

Most retail shops closed themselves and did not reopen till June. The media provided information without gratuitous political editorials.

 

The public was asked to avoid non-essential movement, and social distance. This they did like champions. The Premier didn't take credit for our success.

 

Everyone had a part to play, and they didn't trip over each other. Actually, I was really surprised by how smoothly it went. Our residents are known to be independent minded and prone to demonstrations.

 

Remember this important point. No one has a perfect game. What matters is how you recover from your mistakes. Hopefully, we will soon join our American friends on the cruise ships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As another Vancouverite, I do wish you would insert the words "in my opinion" before criticising our Medical Officer of Health - you seem to have an axe to grind, while the majority of us do not agree with you in your opinion of her.   She has done a remarkable job - in my opinion and that of the rest of BC, I believe.
I apologise for having to post such a long "quote" but cannot abbreviate your original post. 

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Any estimate as to when HAL might be confirming this projection? We have a cruise booked on the Westerdam on Nov 27th with a FPDD of Aug 28th. As we really don't want to tie up a significant amount of cash if this cruise is actually cancelled and since HAL doesn't seem to be backing off of their 90 day minimum for final payment date like Princess has, we're hoping HAL is going to reveal this decision before then. Any additional insights?

This has put many into a state of flux - what to do, what to do.  It seems very odd to me that HAL would announce it's plans and intentions to a relatively small group and allow them to announce it to the world, with complete silence on the issue from HAL.  Strange way to run a corporation.

4 hours ago, Indianadaytripper said:

Their have been a few that have been hoping to read more on Captain Mercer blog. I’m just thinking maybe Holland has tongue tied him. If you remember their were  some disgruntled passengers onboard when we were disembarked. I’m thinking there could be some lawsuits forthcoming and the way attorneys work there reading anything and everything he’s written. I don’t know anything but it’s funny he stopped writing nearly two months ago, and I enjoyed his works. Great Captain 

 

I'm inclined to think he's taking a well earned rest and vacation with Karen.  He will eventually surface.

6 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

I was in Toronto last week. The mask scene was no different than the US. Probably 75% wearing and 25% not.  So I know you love to fly your flag a lot on this board, but stop pretending everyone up there is together on this and everyone is wearing masks. It’s not true. In fact, some of the people I met who own fish and hunt resorts in western Ontario, were anti-mask and only wore them when mandated. 
 

And before anyone questions me ref the border closing, the nature of my work exempts me. In fact, I was there on invitation. And yes, I wore a mask in all public spaces except when dining. 

Oh dear how dare we Canadians fly our flag, LOL.  The figures speak for themselves.  Long may the border be closed and those US citizens claiming to be driving back to "their homes" in Alaska stop going through Vancouver Island  or Quadra island or Whistler.  Quite the detour.

15 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Perhaps because it will start a new round of refunds to be processed, and they are attempting to stagger the workload. Not to mention the draw on the assets needs to be staggered, too. 

Then I wonder how they feel about what was likely a confidential announcement to just some being announced on Cruise Critic.  Word must have gotten back with many CC members asking about their bookings, etc.  So time to fess up!

20 hours ago, cccole said:

Well, I hope he is doing something fun and I look forward to the next/last post on his blog.  Beginning retirement after the career he has had must be full of possibilities and reflections.  I hope his first priority is not satisfying CC members disappointed that he is not posting post haste.  But, possibly you have more info than me and know that he will never post again.  I throughly enjoy Captain Jonathan's writing and am hopeful.  Cherie

Was that really necessary?  The comment made was not demanding or showing disappointment.  Simply a comment.  And it wasn't sarcastic, either.  I do believe we all enjoyed Captain Jonathon's blog, and it is only natural to hope for an epilogue, whenever he has time.

You can't blame the EU at all given recent events that encourage the spread of the virus, the fact that it is already out of control over most of the US, and now support for the test centres is being withdrawn.  I just hope the Canadian border remains closed indefinitely.  Each country has a duty of care for its own citizens, and I'm sorry that does not seem to be happening in the US at the moment, especially for those states which are trying to do their best against the virus. 

26 minutes ago, Petronillus said:

AOSUSA has to schedule and vet the chaplains. That requires a long lead time. I'd say it's a reputable and reliable source.

 

On the other hand, we can all hope and pray for a miracle cure and/or vaccine popping up and running all the bureaucratic trap-lines in the next few months. . . .  Anyone want to sell me a lakefront vacation home in Louisiana, sight unseen?

I don't doubt this is a reputable and reliable source!  My point is, this is a strange way for HAL to let the information trickle out.

I don't understand certain groups or individuals getting an email with such important news, and no release from HAL.  You would think they would handle it better than this.

3 hours ago, Happily@Sea said:

Lots of Bald Eagles within a short distance - we have 3 good-sized fresh water lakes surrounding the area - they are great fishing birds - but sometimes thieves, too.

 

 

We have lots here, too, backing onto farmland with a salmon-bearing creek.  There are many young and juveniles right now, and one day last week we had many of them soaring over our home.  Wonderful to watch.

17 minutes ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

You do realize you are insulting a priest !

I would normally never take time to defend that poster but I have to ask - how so?  There really wasn't an insult directed at Himself.  But I also have to say that - unless someone has a direct line to the Almighty - we all have exactly the same connections.

16 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

Funny how the NA would be considered a smaller ship.

Where did you get that impression?  In fact, if you read my post, I said "of the bigger ones the Nieuw Amsterdam is my favourite", and KK (who you quoted) didn't reference the NA being a smaller ship, either.
I've not had any desire to cruise the new class of HAL ships - Koningsdam, Niew Statendam - and likely never will, but perhaps the NA is considered smaller when compared to those.