ilikeanswers

4 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

I don't understand this? Wasn't the problem that the passengers on Diamond Princess couldn't get off the ship? If sick passengers had been offloaded the situation had been completely different.

Sick passengers were taken to hospital. I think you are confusing the ships, there were situations like Westerdam that couldn't offload their sick passengers and were barred from docking but Diamond Princess the people couldn't leave in case they were sick. They were quarantined on the ship. Shorex bubble is not going to prevent a country if they wish to from quarantining a ship, sure it will make contact tracing easier but if a ship has sick people it still doesn't mean they will let everyone out. The Shorex bubble is to try and prevent passengers from catching Covid-19 on shore so they don't end up in a quarantine situation in the first place. 

6 hours ago, hallasm said:

Status on vaccinations from an European perspective

Criticism of the EU vaccine program is well known, and justified: Vaccines were bought too late and in too small quantities last summer, when other countries entered into contracts with manufacturers.

Israel, UK and the United States have long looked like the immediate winners, who, thanks to early agreements with producers and efficient rollout since the start of the year, have been at the forefront of vaccinating their populations.

But there are more and more indications that the situation is changing: Deliveries of vaccines have been gaining momentum in the EU since the beginning of April, and Member States are currently vaccinating at a rapid pace.

On Friday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU is heading towards this summer's goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the adult population.

The EU has a very large vaccine production and has exported around 150 million doses to the rest of the world.  The United States has imposed export restrictions on vaccine manufacturers.

In the United States, the roll-out of vaccines has also been taken off recently.  The reason is not lack of vaccines, but rather that part of the US  population is skeptical about the vaccines - authorities are facing a tougher task of vaccinating the remaining part of the population.

It is not inconceivable that the EU could end up overtaking the United States and gaining flock immunity first or at least EU will not be significantly later than the United States.  As early as June, it appears that everyone over the age of 50 will be vaccinated, after which the economies are expected to open.

In that case, it leaves the British and Israelis as the only ones to reach the finish line faster than the EU.

Thanks for this it good to have non American perspective🤗. The way I see it the vaccine roll out is a marathon not a sprint. Certain countries did great out of the starting block others have had a few stumbles but to me no country or region has had a complete and utter failure roll out. They all are doing the best they can and it seems in my opinion most places have found a system that is working and are forging ahead. I think it is not unreasonable to predict that most populations in the developed world will be vaccinated by the end of the year regardless of how their roll outs started. 

9 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

One way to make the decision to drop the rule easier is if the ports can guarantee that the ship will be allowed to offload sick passengers.  Then the cruiselines can be less worried to get an outbreak onboard.

The shore bubble is more about preventing an outbreak in the first place as the biggest fear people have is being on a Diamond Princess situation. Offloading sick passengers is not going to prevent that. 

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I hope you are correct. OTOH, cruise lines make a lot from their shore excursions, and just might try to keep them as the only way off the ship in ports as long as they possibly can.

But if the ports and destinations don't feel they are getting value from the cruise industry they will be less likely to be invested in the industry and more willing to kick the ships out😂. The shore bubble severely restricts where people can spend. If most locals are not making money from cruisers but still feel the impact of cruise ship tourism it will likely lead to locals pushing the industry out or placing more restrictions on them. 

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

This topic has been discussed for many months now. It seems our current administration really dropped the ball by not getting a vaccine registration system in place. My vaccine record from Walgreens is just a little sheet of paper that could so easily be falsified. 

Not sure they dropped the ball but probably realised it was impossible. From what I read a few states were opposed (vehmently so, I read some states threatened to sue😳) to the idea to have some sort of national vaccine registery. Without their cooporation it sounds like it is a non starter.

I think at the end of the day the destinations and ports would have a lot to complain about if cruise lines kept the mandatory shorex rule when the pandemic has past. Cruise lines make a big song and dance about benefiting local economies but if passengers are forced into shorex bubbles there will be a lot of people not making any money. I would think destinations and ports will put pressure on cruise lines to drop the rule.

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

I agree with you that that many cruisers are naive but lots of cruisers also overpay without being naive. I'm not naive about the local pricing but as long as the price is okay, for me, I don't think that it's worth to negotiate about it. Maybe they need the money more than me. I should never pay more than I think something is worth so if the first price I get is too high I just leave.

😂

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I do not understand why Western Europe is so far behind

Simply put supply issue. The EU just assumed once production started cranking the vaccines would come thick and fast but as we have seen getting the vaccinces made in a timely manner has been more complicated than expected. Add to that the countries that are manfacturing vaccines have started hoarding them instead of sending out the orders and then came all the furore with the AstraZeneca and increase in vaccine hesitancy. But anyway the EU roll out is picking up pace and may end up overtaking the UK by July if the UK's roll out keeps slowing down as they too now are finding it hard to secure more supplies since the EU and India stopped the UK shipments😳.

37 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

My understanding is Florida cannot force a foreign cruise line to comply.

I thought so too but apparently the Florida governor wants to issue it as an executive order which means it would apply to cruise ships

4 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Future cruising List of Cruise lines in US all require passengers to be vaccinated.  I would think it could be a cruise line requirement.    

In the USA it is the cruise line making it policy. Biden has stated there will be no federally issued vaccine passport/certificate and it will be up to the states if they wish to create some sort of certification policy. Florida has made it clear that they will not allow any business to dictate a vaccinated only policy. Already Carnival Cruises is wavering on their stance😳. 

4 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Harold's Rune Jutland, Denmark?

3 hours ago, lyndarra said:

That was the one on the right. The other was Gorm's?

Very good 👍I was just going to accept Jelling Stones so your answers exceeded my expectations👏🤗. For anyone curious Harold's rune stone is considered the baptism of Denmark, the stone tells of the Harold's converting to Christianity which led to the creation of Denmark as it is today and the beginning of the end of the Viking era. On the back is pretty spectacular crucifixion scene but my photos weren't too good ☹️though they do use it on the front cover of the Danish passport. Gorm's runestone is a dedication to his wife Thorvi who led an army against invading German tribes. She was buried in the mound behind the stones but they moved her to the church next door. 

Identify these monuments:

25 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

Getting rid of plastic straws on cruiseships because of microplastic pollution was a very hot topic and an issue that forced cruiselines to take note and take acion.

Now that there are more and more reports of microplastic pollution of the oceans caused by disposable masks, are there concerns about unleashing a fleet of hundreds of ships, each having thousands of pax wearing masks?  Maybe cruiselines should wait to resume sailings until masks are no longer needed, for the sake of the oceans?

Like straws it would be good to move towards a reusable model. I haven't used a disposable mask since the pandemic started. To me it is no different to your socks or your underwear, you don't usually throw them out after one use😂. 

4 hours ago, clo said:

Again, and I swear I'm not trying to be argumentative, what is considered a "significant issue"?

I would say anything that stops or limits everyday activities. If it is affecting decisions you make in life then it is significant.

6 hours ago, NSWP said:

How did they escape NZ? Probably working in Singapore.

According to their bio they live in Singapore. They also do a lot of videos about life in Singapore. 

4 hours ago, lissie said:

But realistically who wears masks for hours and hours - and hour or 2 on a plane is one thing - but I can't even imagine doing  it everyt ime I  left my cabin!   That's not living - its hell. Its never been a requirement in NZ (or in Oz I think?) I certainly won't be paying good money for the "privledge" of doing so.  

In Singapore it seems they are willing to pay for it:

On 4/22/2021 at 6:01 PM, NSWP said:

Valletta, Malta, GC?

@NSWP Not sure you noticed but it is your turn for pic 😉

2 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Couldn't read the NYT article, but it looked from the video that people were sitting by the pool without a mask.  I guess RCL is trying to get as much money as possible charging $40 to ride their North Star attraction.  I would pass on that one.

Try erasing cookies? Well at least the video worked for you👍, though the article went into more detail regarding the covid safe rules on the ship. 

27 minutes ago, vada_9 said:

What and Where is this

Looks like one big a$$ gourd😜. 

3 minutes ago, qbay46 said:

Dettifoss waterfall, Iceland

You got it. Find it on the Diamond Circle tourist trail. Really magnificent wild part of the country though the roads are a little rough compared to the Golden Circle but at least not F roads so you can self drive 😉. 

2 minutes ago, Tom47 said:

Iceland?

You are in the right country 👍. 

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

Is that the expected policy for cruises with masks?  I thought the ships currently cruising allowed people to not wear masks while sitting at the pool.

Here's some reports from Singapore:

A Covid-Free Cruise Takes Planning, but the Strip Show Goes On

Video on board:

Identify this waterfall:

Egg Coffee?