Blackduck59

Well the final report from the investigation into the incident that saw 6 police officers injured was released today. As I suspected from the start this was far from a botched bank robbery, it was a planned attack in which the perpetrators "robbed" a bank but rather than making the clean getaway that was open to them they waited for police to arrive and ambushed them as they arrived. In the end both perpetrators were dead and 6 police were wounded, some very badly. Even now months after the firefight only 3 of the wounded are back on the job, 3 of the wounded are still recovering and 3 others are struggling with post traumatic stress.

Raspberry Easter bunnies, I would probably give them a try. I tried a Cadbury, cream egg once, I'm not sure how they got some "iconic" status. I do like the Caramilk eggs though. This far after Christmas shouldn't those crackers be like one buck?

Apparently you are immuned from the thieves that steal from people which you have used to describe HAL in several posts on this thread.

My first priority is the itinerary. Second is cruise line (does my preferred line and ship class do that itinerary). Then I look at pricing as to what I can afford. After those factors are in then I try to get the best deal I can. If someone throws in some OBC that's a bonus.

Thanks for the clarification, I'm sorry that you feel "cheated". Just a question, was that OBC the thing that made a go or no go in purchasing the cruise? I look at OBC as a bonus, found money if you will, it isn't the make or break for my cruise purchase.

I think we have it pretty good here in Canada but there is many staffing issues and funding issues from different levels of Government and our federal governing party is so busy giving Canadian dollars to foreign countries they are failing Canadians at home. Meanwhile nurses and other unions are continually running advertisements that imply that the job is pure hell and they need "Government Help" i.e. a raise in their $45.00/hr. pay rate to make it better. What any young person thinking of a career in health care sees is that the job is horrible and no sane person would want it.

I figured as much but I noticed you were in Lobster country so why would anyone a the ship care about some tropical crustacean when the real thing is readily available ashore. I can easily get east coast lobsters from the live tanks in several stores close by and dungeness crab is also in the live tanks. I would rather pay for fresh lobster than have some crappy crayfish included in the fare.

Um when we go on our first HAL cruise in the summer and it has stops in Maine, and all of the Maritime Provinces I figure lobster on the ship will be a moot point. We will be having that ashore. What is the big deal about lobster included in the fare? More often than not it is poor quality and poorly prepared.

Around here very few GPs do surgery in their office anymore. I think the liability insurance is crippling to a private practice. There are many problems with our medical system and I'm not sure what if anything can be done to fix it. For now I will wait for my turn with the plastic surgeon.

Thanks Les, I actually stay out of the sun. I always wear a brimmed hat, either a Tilley or my Acubra. The reason for the plastic surgeon I think is the location on my nose.

That's the one.

@lyndarra Hey Lyndon, that's why I keep a journal on our long trips. It was just something to do, every once in a while it's interesting to read back and not just rely on the photos.

So, I have watched a few of the videos from the afore mentioned Don and Tony. They aren't bad. Tony did a walk through tour of Noordam that was almost an hour long. It gave me a look at the ship but the commentary wasn't that informative. I'm still not sure HAL got their money's worth there. Of course they had crap weather and had to run away from the cyclone so maybe they didn't get quite the "free cruise" they had planned on. Of course they did fly business class at their expense. I got my 2nd Covid booster and my flu shot the other day (one in each arm) no ill effects. On another slightly concerning note I have a small skin cancer on my nose. This spot that just seemed like a pimple that wouldn't heal had been bothering me for some time. I have regular visits to a dermatologist and with the mask on I forgot to show it to her on my previous visit and almost forgot about it again a couple weeks ago but I did have her look at it then. She took one look and the next thing I know she's taking a biopsy. The results came back as cancer so I will be referred to a plastic surgeon to remove it. For now I have a bump on my nose and there doesn't seem to be a great urgency to get it removed. I guess they will just fit me in to the queue.

We looked at the Viking option for our upcoming New England/East Coast Canada adventure and we could be in a Neptune suite on Zaandam for less than the cost of a standard veranda on Viking. Fortunately for us we had already tried a Viking Ocean cruise and for us it did not live up to the hype or the price. We chose a Vista Suite (basically a regular veranda on any other line) on Zaandam and we hope that it will be a good choice. If it is we may choose HAL for our twice cancelled down under adventure. That was originally on Celebrity Eclipse and we would have stuck with that but of course Celebrity has put the "Edge" on that itinerary for 2024, we are not interested in sailing on that class of ship.

I always wondered what those shelves looked like when installed. Years ago I worked for a company that did a lot of the refit work for HAL. I think I probably made millwork components for much of the fleet back then. We would make the stuff here in Victoria and it would be shipped to wherever the ship was (usually the Bahamas) and between us and the primary contractor we would send a crew to install the products. Of course there were times when the ship was in our local graving dock and the installer just worked on it there. I was a shop guy so I never did any of the installing.

Thanks again for your observations Julie, always fair and balanced. We will have our first HAL experience in August, we'll see how that goes. A New England/East coast Canada itinerary means we will be having Lobster ashore and sampling the chowders on offer as well. Who needs lobster night on the ship, we're going to Halifax 😁. Lucky for me that coffee isn't my thing as it seams to be a common complaint on most cruise lines. Lynn does enjoy a Latte but she would never be able to handle espresso.

I sometimes watch both of these guys, they have found a way to make money from cruise travel and that's good for them. I'm still not sure if either of them is all that informative. Being that they have had a "complimentary" cruise they aren't doing a good job of reporting the cruise. So far we have seen reports on their business class flights, clearly the free cruise made for an expensive flight. They also were on one of the harbour cruises for the fireworks, Tony either didn't know or didn't care to share what that cost. They stayed at the Marriot close to the Harbour and he didn't know or didn't share what that cost. So far HAL isn't getting their monies worth from either of these guys.

I'm not sure that HAL is getting their monies worth from Don and Tony who do VLOGs on youtube. They have been on the cruise since New Years day. no room reviews, dinner reports, ship tours...nothing. There was a live stream from Tony with video of a rainy day in Milford sound. @OzKiwiJJ Julie your reports on your thread were far more informative than anything those two have reported so far. The other thing that comes to mind is that the American guy is woefully un-informed about where he is going or what he is doing. The Canadian guy just comes off as a whiner much of the time.

Grow a sense of humour, Les was joking. I think most of us got it.

Have vaccine? Will travel 😉😁

Unfortunately it has turned into a political issue in pretty much every country, some more than others.

I am finally able to get my 2nd booster for covid and also my flu shot. I was scheduled for my booster back in October but of course I contracted covid 3 days before so no booster, that was 3 months ago. I get both shots next Tuesday. I think that the testing of travelers coming from hot zones is justified whether that is China or Europe or anywhere. I also think it is better for everyone to get vaccinated as required and live life with the virus as best we can. Lynn and I both had covid and many of my friends have as well. I think many of us on the thread have also had covid and most of us have come through with only mild symptoms.

We are doing fine thanks. Flooding is not a problem for us, we live on a hill. They just completed several new water control measures on our road so that made the possibility of flooding on our road even less likely. When we eventually sell this place we will be aware of flooding and snow issues when looking for a new place. A short driveway with a gentle slope away from the house and a snow blower in the garage.

Yes the snow is gone and it is a balmy 5 degrees celsius. There have been several very high tides recently that have caused flooding in some areas when combined with the rapid snow melt and rain. Not nearly as bad as it was in 2021 though.

Weather is something the cruise line has no control over and having what for many is a highlight of a cruise altered by weather is understandable. Having that highlight missed because the cruise line failed to prepare is something else altogether.