TSmith48

On 9/10/2021 at 1:31 AM, uktog said:

There has been the most wonderful thread from Huntingdon, who as a first time cruiser on Azamara took time to tell us so much about the first cruise that sailed on Quest post pandemic.

 

<snip>.

 

After 21 months away from Azamara I think you can guess how excited we feel tonight (although packing was stressful, we have lost the skill for overseas trips).  It will be special to go home to our sailing family.

So envious! I hope you have a brilliant time, and will be following closely from Western Australia. Take care and enjoy!

Thanks for the update, @Docker123. They (fed biotech & NSW Health) certainly did not cover themselves in glory, did they?

Also done and dusted. Seemed much less fussy that last one, and no system crash. Yay!

We had our first Covid (AZ) jab 2 weeks ago.  I had a bit of a sore arm for a couple of days, husband had a few days of sore arm and flu-like symptoms.  Now we hope to have the normal annual flu and pneumonia jabs this coming week.  

I would love to cruise again, preferably around Aus - Fremantle to Fremantle would be lovely! But husband has totally lost interest in overseas travel and any form of long-haul flights.  Ah, well, perhaps he will come good later this year....

Thanks for the great photos, @jpalbny!

Hubby and I had our first AstraZenica jab late last week, and I had a very sore arm for a couple of days but all good now.  We have to wait 12 weeks before the 2nd jab, though.

And caravan or camping holidays aren't much of a holiday in my eyes. They are too much work.

Our May 6th Viking river cruise was cancelled by Viking on 31st March, and we requested a refund on 6th April. We received 100% of the monies we paid on May 18th, so not quite 6 weeks. Viking were good to deal with, as was our TA.

Now we wait to see what the cruising world will be like in the future. A big disincentive for us is the many hours of flying to get from Perth to Europe (or almost anywhere, for that matter!).


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Just in case you are wondering where we stand as regards tourism in Germany and river cruises on the Rhine in particular, here is a brief summary of relevant measures that have been extended to 3 May. All hotels are closed for the purpose of tourism. All restaurants and cafés are closed except for pickup or delivery. No congregating in public with more than one other person who is not part of your household. Upon new arrival or after returning following a time abroad of more than 24 hours 14 day quarantine if your travels were for leisure or are for leisure purposes. This basically rules out river cruising till said 3 May date. After that who knows.
 
And if you had a river cruise planned that includes a special event you might want to check up on that as all large-scale events are cancelled until 31 August. No Rhine in Flames fireworks, no music at Rock am Ring, etc.
 
notamermaid
 

Yesterday was cloudy and humid here in Perth, and a max of only 27c. A big relief from Saturday’s high of 39c!
Not Catholic, or even religious at all, but I watched the amazing Andrea Bocelli singing from the empty Duomo Di Milan. Breath-taking.

I trained myself to enjoy small amounts of some things. It doesn't work with hot chips though. 🤣

Cherry blossoms galore!
Bonn's trees are blossoming, so here is the picture gallery: https://m.dw.com/en/bonns-famous-cherry-blossoms-are-here/g-53056489 
 
And here is the website again that I had linked some days ago: https://www.kirschbluete-bonn.de/blog-3/ 
 
notamermaid
 

We get the flu shot every year at our medical centre. The last two years we have had to wait more than an hour past the scheduled appointment time. When I phoned to make an appointment for this year's shots, I nicely said that we didn't want to want an hour and a half in a waiting room full of people when we are self-isolating at home the rest of the time. The receptionist then said they give everyone the same time - the time the flu vax clinic starts!!! No. We are not going down that road! They declined to let us wait in our car, then they phone us when it is our turn.
 
Anyway, we have our names on the waiting list when they get more supplies of vaccine and will then discuss with the receptionist our options without waiting in a room full of people, some of them sick.

My report card on the government would be, "Short attention span, likes to be the centre of attention, fails to listen, is selective in application, slow starter but gets there eventually, shows potential,"
 

Thank you, Respbj and Moonlion, for your responses to my query. Much appreciated!

Is this also the case on the river longboats? And are there fridges in the cabins with sodas? 

DH and I are on the May 6th Grand European Amsterdam to  Budapest this year, and are getting excited!

Thank you 😎

Hi. Is the app only for ocean cruises or also for river?

We will be cruising Amsterdam to Budapest 6th May, and are already getting excited. I will be following this thread closely between now and then!

(1) In verandah staterooms the VERY useful wash line in the shower stall has vanished, so drying your "smalls" or your swimming costume is a bit challenging. Our neighbour resorted to a line strung across their balcony.

(2) The coat hooks are also missing from the wall in the stateroom.

I really hope these will both be re-instated soon.

Thanks, Phil. We will!

When are you next cruising?

Thanks for the info, Lesley. Ralph and I are looking forward to trying them all in a week or so!

We are on a b2b in late August. Has anyone posted a review of these two verandah staterooms, or travelled in them (especially since the refurb)? Any comments would be much appreciated. :)

Thank you for the update, Bonnie.

Thanks for the update, Phil.

We are sailing from Rome on 22nd August - I hope the repairs will be done by then! Sadly, we had 2 shirts badly damaged by the laundry on Quest on our last cruise in Feb/March 2015, so self-service is my preferred option.

17 Feb ... TSmith48 ... Azamara Quest ... Bali to Osaka 16 nights