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BRANDEE

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Everything posted by BRANDEE

  1. Hi Lyle. So sorry to hear about Lynn's mom..hugs and thoughts to both of you. May memories of mom put a smile on your heart at this time. I was answering your question about insulin... .I used Frio Cooling Wallets for my insulin for my trip to Australia four years ago.. It was a 32 hour trip from my house to Sydney hotel. The large wallet holds 4/6 pens and the xl holds 8 pens. Very easy to use. Also you can ask the stewardess to put in refrig but not necessary . They are "reactivated" by putting in cold water in sink, for 10 minutes, travelling from place to place is no problem. For extra protection in very hot weather you can put them in an insulated lunch bag in the inner pouch. You can get them for best price on Amazon. I purchased one in every size for length of trips. Hope this helps. Caio..Chris
  2. Sorry to hear about your upcoming surgery. Be well and good luck, in the mean time enjoy your upcoming cruises.
  3. Sending good thoughts and prayers from around the world to you and your husband Rob. Hope his healing is speedy. Take care of you, too. Best Wishes Brandee (aka Chris)
  4. Sorry you feel I am arrogant but I lived through it and also watched every minute of the Special Commission proceedings to understand who should have been responsible for protecting passengers as well as the citizens of Australia.. The Special Commission found NSWH to be negligent but did nothing. But Carnival was found to be negligent and has to pay.
  5. Why didn't the government stop the sailing? They were on board only a few hours prior checking passengers disembarking from the prior cruise. NSWHealth is to blame..their job is to protect and they did nothing. All they had to do is say "no go". They had the right and the legal responsibility..didn't you hear what the special commission findings said? In the end the Australian judges blamed Carnival/Princess and did nothing to their own government agency who did nothing. Scapegoating and corruption is what I see. And if temperature checks were placed around the world, why didn't I get a scan when entering your country at Sydney airport? (2/28) Want to blame Carnival for that too .? How about sitting at Quantas on March 19th for 8 hours waiting to go home and no one temperature checked us their either. What about Celebrity and RCCL? They were sailing too.
  6. I disagree that Carnival was guilty. The Australian judges used their interpretation of the law to find a scapegoat to take the pressure and limelight off the inept NSWHealth Agency. One government branch covering up another's guilt. Regarding an appeal. I'm sure Carnival wants to get out of Australian before the judges come up with another bogus ruling.
  7. The NSWHealth Department did not do their job. Where were they to check passengers going on the cruise. (I was notified by e mail that I would be checked by health officials at the airport and prior boarding.) and where were they at disembarkation? (Princess notified guests that they expected NSWH to come on board in am so do not get early flights home) Nowhere to be seen. Inept and derelict of their duties and their own newly established covid policies. Eight hours at the Sydney airport to go home and no one checked passengers. So why is Carnival only held responsible?. What about Celebrity and RCCL..their ships also had covid cases after returning. Why only Carnival...guess the Australian judges just needed someone to blame so no one would remember the "mock" special commission that found the NSWH guilty of dereliction of duties but only slapped them on the wrist..no consequences for their actions. I want to sue them!! And why did the Australian judges refuse American passengers to join the lawsuit if they wanted? . Quite honestly this case should have been thrown out of court. Never allowed. Carnival is a business that sold a product and people bought it. BTW Carnival/Princess refunded every penny for cruise, even though 11 out of 13 days were completed. No one held a gun to the head of any adult who walked up the gangplank and got on the cruise ship. Adults made a decision to go and they should accept their responsibility. Just like NSWHealth should be held responsible for abandoning their post at a time(s) when they should have been protecting the people. Australians as well as foreign passengers.
  8. Sorry to hear this news. Condolences to his family and friends. RIP Mr GUT
  9. Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise. Since you have only a short time in Montreal try to do the hop on/off to see the city. If you have to choose one or two things to go inside, I suggest the Notre Dame Basilica and at night go to L'Oratoire St Joseph ..a beautiful view of the city. What hotel are you staying at?
  10. Birdland Jazz Club ( 315W 44th St) is a favorite of a good friend of mine, she enjoys Arturo O'Farrill who plays there often, Also the Rose Center at Lincoln Center. The 2024 schedule is not out yet to tell you who is playing when in town next year.
  11. Make sure you visit Little Italy in the North End of Boston for a pizza pie and other great Italian food. Another must is The Union Oyster House for clam chowder. But do not try the clam pizza pie..... Enjoy!
  12. As of mid March, Elites ability to exchange the mini bar from liquor to coffee package changed. I see that as benefit taken away. Our next cruise we went to plus plan so it will not matter to us..just unused liquor left behind. Also, Elites no longer receive cruise reward OBC after 20 cruises. These are all perks/gifts, that are appreciated but can be taken away whenever Princess pleases. Just like one person can no longer get Military OBC and Stock OBC for the same cruise.
  13. On our transatlantic in mid March (Sky) we were not allowed to exchange for coffee cards. We were allowed to exchange for bottle of wine, or all soda or all water. You could also ask to change reg soda for diet and gin for vodka, etc. But no more coffee cards. We were allowed to exchange for coffee cards on earlier March 14 day cruise(Emerald) It was not a card but put on our Medallion.
  14. Elites get a bar set up in their room but it no longer can be exchanged for two coffee cards.
  15. Just to let those who need to watch their sugar.. Usually nothing sugar free available on Princess cruise ships regarding specialty coffee. Most ships have 12+ coffee flavors plus chocolate syrup, but only twice in the past ten years has their been anything other than a plain sugar free sweetener. I now bring my own Jordan's Skinny Flavors (mocha, salted carmel and vanilla) if I want to have a specialty coffee. I have written to Princess and even had a personal conversation with the "Head of Food" on my last cruise in March...he claims he was shocked to see how little sugar free was available for diabetics. I would appreciate anyone currently on a ship or going on a cruise in the next month to see if anything has changed. Sugar free flavorings for coffee...sugar free soda at the bar for mixers (club, tonic, ginger ale, seven up, cranberry juice) ... sugar free jelly at breakfast and sugar free jello. BTW, I was lucky the last cruise a jar of sugar free jelly was found in the food locker and it was kept hidden every day (28 days) so I could go to one person to find it and give me a spoonful for breakfast.. To many it means nothing, but to an insulin dependent diabetic these little things make a difference in enjoying my time on board. And please do not respond..just take more insulin..that is insulting!
  16. Not sure where on the east coast you are located, but we flew Delta to Sydney in March of 2020. There were quite a few options on times and connecting flights. We found the prices to be reasonable . We also used the cruise company airline department to secure our flight and it gave us the ability to get a lower price up to balance due. You might want to look into that too. We did Princess and they offer EZAir. ( We chose the airline we wanted, times, and dates) I'm not sure what other cruise lines offer. I also flew Qantas and found them to be a very good airline.
  17. Regarding your plan to stop in Hawaii to get use to time change: We flew from NYC to LAX had a 4 hr layover and than on to Sydney. We were not as tired as you might think. We checked into the hotel, had a shower, lunch and spent the rest of the day touring. A stop in Hawaii for two days really isn't necessary and would give you more time in Sydney. ( You will be confused what day since somewhere over the ocean we lost a full day. the time difference between NY and SDY was 16 nrs.) Sydney area had a lot to do. The Blue Mountains is a must and it is a full day tour. All my info regarding touring came from so many of the great Aussies here on CC. We toured for 6 days then a two week cruise to NZ. You will need to pack layers especially for the cruise. South NZ was chilly. And at night on the cruise the Aussies were dressed , some even in formal attire. BTW we were in our late 60's and early 70's at time of cruise
  18. Our Canadian friends in Ottawa have been experiencing the haze smoke skies recently, but never expected it to reach New York City with such thick yellow smoky air. Used our value respirator masks today just to go out to water the plants, and get the mail. Air quality tonight was 484 out of 500. Not looking good for tomorrow, but rain on Friday will help. Just got home three days ago from another road trip..we went to Grand Canyon as well as Antelope Canyon (narrow slot canyon on Navajo Nation). Some elevations in Arizona were harder to breath for my husband, but nothing like what we have at home now. Amazing how far reaching smoke can be!!
  19. When I visited your country back in February/March 2020, I was told to bring masks with valves incase the air quality in Sydney was still suffering from the Blue Mountains fires. Never used them, but did give 18 of the 20 to the nurse in our family to help her during the beginning stages of the covid fight in New York City hospitals. Well today, I got the remaining two out of the closet and had to use them to leave the house. The yellow haze covering New York City and suburbs is unbelievable and scary. The powerful smell of wood burning stung the eyes. All outdoor activities were canceled and an emergency air alert in action. I live over 550 miles south of Quebec..Unbelievable! It is reaching as far south as Tennessee.
  20. Thanks Julie for asking about my long term fatigue.. The sudden fatigue is still with me but the incidents are less often. We just returned from a five week vacation of two cruises and land trip and had only two severe incidents of fatigue. One time I got up and went to breakfast ..got fatigued eating oatmeal (my face almost went into the bowl of porridge)..just about got back to our cabin (I was actually crying at this point thinking I just had to lay down in the hall) and went back to sleep for two /three hours. Twice a month is fine with me, but just concerned it will happen on the long drive to my son's house when alone. It happens so quickly I'm worried about having time to pull over and find a safe spot to sleep for a few hours. Crazy!! We are booked for a 20 day Caribbean cruise in March. Paying almost 40% more for a lesser category cabin than this year. I hate the expression" it is what it is" but we both know prices will not go down. Once the cruise companies see people will pay anything for a cruise.. they will jump for joy and charge more. We cruised Princess and the first one (Caribbean on the Emerald) saw a tremendous decline in the quality of food and spirits. Our waiters acknowledged that the choices of meat and fish were not quality cuts. On the menu was klingklip twice the first week. It is in the family of eel. We did not get quality food until the last 4 days. The wine by the glass was terrible. I do not judge all wine by the price of a bottle but the wine they served for $14 a glass was from a $4.99 bottle. Top of the line spirits were not available even to pay for. Our second cruise on the Sky which was a transatlantic had better food choices, quality fish and slightly better wine by the glass. Yes the cuts are noticeable by seasoned cruisers. We only do cruising in March. Something we started 24 years ago with an additional cruise here and there with our big group of friends. I love cruising and would love to do a world cruise but that is not on my husband's bucket list. So far, 30 days is the limit on a ship for him. We also do the month of October in Aruba..total relaxing (30 day limit there, too). A few years ago we started doing road trips (May and September) around the US. Last September we did Canada (2nd time) Leaving for another long road trip to the west with friends mid May. Love the road trips but nothing like a cruise where you unpack once. But I will admit there are so many beautiful places to see in my own country. Aiming for all 50 states. At the halfway mark! Glad you had an easy time with covid. Princess had passengers confined in their own cabins, but flu was more a concern. This time we saw a total lack of encouraging passengers to wash hands before using buffet. More was done pre covid. Enjoy your upcoming cruises. Stay healthy! Keep in touch!
  21. Will your OBC be 1:1 ratio. That will be great! Hi Julie, Hope all is well with you and family' Glad to see my Aussie friends catching up with cruising. Just finished our first Transatlantic and loved it. So smooth..we were very lucky. I'm not sure how the cruise prices in Australia are for next year, but prices have gone sky high here in US. Trying to make up all Covid lost revenue now! We are booked for next year but will seriously consider going or not. Got to convince my husband these are the "new" prices and they are here to stay. Take care and be well and Happy Sailing!! Chris aka Brandee
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