Snoopkat

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

BTW if you live anywhere near Chatswood the deli in Chatswood Chase usually has truffles during the season at quite reasonable prices. Usually much cheaper than some of the online places.

Thanks for the heads up, we're all the way down in Sutherland Shire though. As much as I love fine dining on the odd occasion, I don't think my palate is refined enough to make truffle a regular thing on our menu. Wagyu from Vics Meat on the other hand, I can never get enough of that. Washed down with a basket press Shiraz from Rockford...is it dinner time yet? 😋

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yuck, frozen truffle wouldn't be worth eating.

We did a truffle hunt in Canberra in May and it was really fun! Bought a small truffle and made our own truffle butter when we got home. Which I have completely forgotten about until now...

It's the thought of what would now happen to the young girls and women in Afghanistan that really get to me 😞  What happened to them when the Taliban was last in power was atrocious to say the least and I fear it would happen all over again.

35 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

🤣      Knowing what it is, it would not enter my digestive tract.  It took some "bravery" on my part to try octopus and squid.  (As a Zoology major, I know too much about these creatures.)  Baby octopus:  OK.  I found that I like it.  Squid?  It depends on how it is prepared, I guess.  My introduction to this item, I thought I was chewing tasteless rubber bands.  Other preparations?  More palatable, but it is a seafood that I would never prefer ordering. 

Out of curiosity, how was the squid prepared? In Australia, salt and pepper squid is a really popular yum cha (I think you call them dim sum in the US) dish. It's basically tenderised squid, dipped in batter, deep fried and then sprinkled with salt and pepper. I used to like baby octopus prepared Greek style or BBQ, but I've stopped eating them ever since I found out how intelligent they are.

3 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Thank you Ilike.  Can you give us a more in depth explanation of what poison cru.  It literally translates to poured fish?  

Poisson cru is similar to ceviche but with the addition of fresh coconut milk. It has the tang of ceviche with the richness from the coconut milk. It's a very unique dish and one of my favourite when I was in Bora Bora several years ago.

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Do it, it is affecting more than just Sydney, NT going into lockdown.

Thanks all, wasn't sure who to dob them into but will try Crime Stoppers. I'm going to the park again on Friday and if they're still there, I'll try and take a video and submit an online report.

Has cruising completely stopped since March 2020? Or have some cruise ships been operating back when we were allowed to travel interstate (so the period after the COVID first happened but before the current Delta outbreak)? I'm very new to cruising so haven't really paid much attention to this type of travel until now.

I have a March 22 cruise which is looking more and more unlikely to happen so your May cruise is probably also doubtful. Oct could happen though if it's just a domestic cruise. That's what I'm pinning my hopes on as I also plan to book another cruise then. I can't see NZ happening before 2023 but hopefully I'm wrong.

13 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes every time NSW Premier said NSW had

toughest restrictions I laughed out loud at her audacity. 

#1 rule to political BS - say it enough times and people will believe you.

28 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Too many people escaping from the cities into Regional Areas, so they just shut the whole state down.

I am appalled and a little embarrassed to be a Sydneysider right about now.  Our local Anytime Fitness has been shut so all the trainers took up an entire quiet side of our local park for their PT sessions. Tempted to be THAT person and dob them in. 

Sydney has hit another record with the daily number of cases and we're not coming out of lockdown anytime soon. Meanwhile I'm avidly reading up on everyone else's cruise reviews and watching cruise videos on YouTube while counting down to my Feb 2023 cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. Surely things would be back to normal by then..??!

16 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I can't see the Federal government allowing cruise ships in until after the next Federal election, due before the middle of 2022. I think Morrison will hold off calling the election for as long as possible to get past any lingering resentments over his handling of the pandemic as well as not risking anything that reminds people of the Ruby Princess debacle.☹️

 

At the moment I am working on the assumption that 2022/2023 will be a (relatively) normal cruise season. Even then I have doubts about PNG and the South Pacific being accessible.

Thanks, good point. Hoping to book another cruise in Oct 2022 but will wait and see if things go back to normal. My prediction is the borders won't reopen for overseas travel until 2023.

Not sure about this year but we're keeping our fingers crossed that our March 2022 cruise will go ahead. 

1 hour ago, windsor26 said:

You will fit in very well  There are not drunken slobs nowadays as the bar tenders are very careful about serving too much.

There is something to do for every age   we are in our 80's and still enjoy P&O although we do not take part in the dress up evenings but they are fun to watch   The pantry is better than the buffets on other lines but you need to organise your dining requests as soon as you get on board as each night can be different

That's a relief, I was having a mental image of a Bali gone wild type scenario. 🤞🤞 the cruise goes ahead as planned. Thanks for the dining tips!

What's the typical demographic like on P&O? Partner and I are both in our early 40s, this will be our 1st cruise and we're really hoping it's not going to be a ship full of drunken yobs.

We did ours yesterday afternoon, I was expecting more questions. Looking forward to reading the results when they eventually get released.

Took advantage of P&O's $1 deposit to book a 4 night cruise in March 2022. Fingers crossed NSW will be out of lockdown by then and we don't get another variant to force us back into lockdown.

557 days till my 1st cruise as an adult...sigh