Shawnino

4 hours ago, Sea42 said:

[...]

 

We can take all the precautions that are advised on our end but the records of our actions are numerous. I do what I can to protect my financial interests but most of it is out of my hands.

Fair comment, all of it, but one still has to try.

This week the Sixth Circuit smacked down the CDC's request for an emergency stay on a District Court ruling that said the CDC could not halt evictions. So gar, ScOTUS has not taken this up on Shadow Docket.

Given the makeup of SCOTUS one gets the sense that the US federal government will have rather limited say in all this.

32 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

 

Huh? How do they know the efficacy of the current vaccines? Isn't that, by your logic, proving a negative. Of course there are scientists, data modeller, etc working on determining the how effective a vaccine is in controlling the spread of the virus by those already vaccinated.

 

Your comment is "is logically troubling..."

 

(Oh, and your hate speech if sneaking out again.)

Are you serious?

Poster asked "So far  has anyone proven that fully vaccinated people cannot get or spread  the new variants of the Covid  virus ??"

And the literal answer is "of course not--such a negative can never be proven". But to poster's point, various variants seem to have different transmissibility rates among the vaccinated. We're still learning, but the early evidence is generally good.

I don't know what you're blathering on about with hate speech, but, hey, educate yourself.

CDC is already getting smacked down in two different federal court districts over their evictions moratorium, but

1) these things take (too much) time

2) US Circuit/SCOTUS generally prefers that litigation percolates--they are loathe to jump in out of turn 

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

 

 

So far  has anyone proven that fully vaccinated people cannot get or spread  the new variants of the Covid  virus ??

 

JMO

Well, you're asking for proof of a negative, which is logically troubling...

But to the heart of your question, there is early evidence:

--Wuhan (old school) virus seems to have much lower transmission rates among the vaccinated. That said, there is the largest percentage of "wow, I caught that bug but I never knew about it" in this group.

--South African variant similar, although some vaccines less effective vs. South African variant (if the vaccine 'takes', results are on par with Wuhan)

--Brasilian/UK variants not enough known yet, but on the UK one the extremely early returns are encouraging.

More variants to certainly follow 😞 

Ah, the three big lies...

"This won't hurt a bit"

"The check is in the mail" 

"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Just a question from a newbie.  Can we book reservations for two with with two different menus (such as Odyssey and  Cuisine Bourgeoise) ?

 

Hank

Each night has one set menu for 24. You can book for 1 or 2 or more, 100% prepaid.

Fills quick.

4 hours ago, RJB said:

Too bad.  We had a great day in Halifax a few years ago including wonderful lobster at a lobster pound. Feel sorry for the people that can not make a living for another year.  It sucks.

Yeah, like in a lot of other places, we're staying closed so long, many businesses are gone.

I live in a mixed use building on the boardwalk (retail first floor, apartments above). All kinds of empty retail in our building and all along the waterfront.

Everyone on the Waterfront here in Halifax has been told there will be NO cruises stopping here in 2021. Another tourist season wiped out.

The current goal is to re-open the 'Atlantic Bubble' for residents of the four Atlantic Provinces to travel around freely inside from April 19 but no tourists from the rest of the country yet:

https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-news/premier-says-province-not-ready-to-open-up-to-rest-of-canada-3555946

Right now it's still about trying to keep Wuhan Virus out. The last death in Nova Scotia was June 9th with an August death unconfirmed, but politically, keeping everything sealed off is by far the path of least resistance. An election needs to be called here by 2022 and the government holds a two-seat majority.

Quebec is not part of the Atlantic provinces of course, so in theory the cruise could go. But there'd be no stops between Bar Harbor-ish (ME) and Quebec.  

41 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

 

In essence, Oceania has created a flexible efficacious rhythm of responsiveness that protects us and them. Woven into that new fabric is O’s ever present willingness to consider reasonable exceptions to booking policies on a case by case basis. 

 

 

Mmm. Kool-Aid.

This is the company that charges your credit card immediately for a deposit but takes 90 days to refund said deposit on a cruise they cancelled.

This is the company that gives webinars to the select few rather than sharing this info openly, so its most ardent pax rely on leaks. 

There's not just efficacious rhythm woven into that fabric, there's also a Bras d'Honneur aimed at the clientele.

For the seasonal stuff, one wonders how much of the season has to be able to sail to make it worthwhile.

For instance, just suppose Canada West Coast said "OK" from Sept 1. Would the larger ships bother doing what's effectively a month in AK-themed cruises, or say 'a month is not enough'. Is two months enough etc. 

NYC-Montreal "works" because most of those ships sail the Med in the summer and the Caribbean from November, so they find NYC--Montreal convenient inbetween (Sept-Oct). Similarly, if that opened up just for Oct, I doubt many ships would sail it.

Is the Southern Ocean expedition season on, if they can't get the full four months?

I think we're all modestly disappointed you didn't post a picture of yourself actually eating the corndog.

Deposited myself this a.m.

If you want the cruise , giddy-up.

As the chap on the business channel said this morning, shrouds have no pockets.

Starboard 100%.

If you're flying from the US/Toronto and want to save a little money, consider Copa Airlines.They are Panamanian and all their flights hub up in Panama City at roughly the same time. They seem to pretty much run the aeroport, so departing flights will wait for any late arrivals so that people make their connections. It also means that their longest flight is only 5.5/6 hours. I've always found staff to be very gracious. 

Economy class is what it is, but on Copa, it's less expensive.

Pre-pandemic the Business class was about half the cost of the US carriers. To be sure, it's business-class-minus (no flat bed, no pods, minimal IFE) but the recliners are comfy, food runs roughly equal to other carriers, drinks flow, and there is ample personal space.  

One man's opinion but if I'm looking at the right one, I'd choose another itinerary if this is your first time in that part of the world. One day budgeted in the Falklands isn't really enough (and may quickly turn to zero) and a drive-by of Antarctica and a no-see of So. Georgia will be disappointing at best.

Buenos Aires: Take a proper "remise" (car service) booked inside the aeroport to your hotel. We always used Manuel Tienda Leon, but it's been a few years. Try to stay in Recoleta district. As others have written, no jewelry, no flashing money around. Do not go to Republica Boca, period, unless you are on guided tour with security. (Not too much to see there anyway...La Bombonera for soccer fans...) Stick to well traveled streets. 

The town of Ushuaia itself is underwhelming, but if you can get out of town to the National Park, do that. Beautiful. 

Time in Falklands would be tight, so pick just one of (seeing the town; out of town adventure without penguins; trip to penguins). You're somewhere between 50-75% of being able to get ashore at all. 

Drake Passage: This could be the wildest sea you've ever experienced: rolling, thumping, breaking glass (windows; portholes), ropes in the corridors...or it could be the Drake Lake, smooth as a baby's bottom. Or anything inbetween. 

Disembarkation in San Antonio is not so hot--they used to call on Valparaiso, but the port is a chaotic mess. San Antonio is more stable--but nothing to see there. Very industrial port, like Livorno. Get to Santiago, or better yet get up to Valpo/Vina del Mar to look around. If you need a guy, I know a guy.

Thanks for the straw Susiesan... I'll happily grasp at it. (Oct 18, Riviera, Istanbul to MC)

Autumn (post-molt) lobster is a very pale copy of Spring lobster in Maine/Canada. 

I have written this story at least once on one of these boards; it might be worth retelling.

Growing up, lobster was my grandmother's favourite food, bar none. She was forbidden from eating it in public.

That, was food for poor people.

My family was plenty poor (think: Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen poor...) but there was no way in hell my great-grandparents would ever let it be displayed. 

When my grandmother moved out, she would bring a lobster sandwich to work for lunch. Rebel. 

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Boiled? Don’t you mean steamed?

You, sir, are a connoisseur. 

Some people actually use a pot of boiling water.

I would rush to call these people plebs but for the fact that where I'm from, we take it steamed--but cold. Four hours in the fridge preferably. And yeah we get funny looks.

3 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

 

How can you possibly conflate yellow fever with covid vax?  Could the method of transmission be more different?  I don't think it can.  There is no consistency because there is no comparison.

 

In late 2019 I sailed around most of South America.  Before I went, I had a long conversation on the YF vax with my doctor.  We discussed what ports, what activities, what the likelihood of getting bitten, and what I could do to prevent it.  We also discussed the possible complications associated with receiving the YF vax.  Together, we decided the risk of adverse side effects (for ME - not everyone) overrode the possible benefits.  Had I been travelling up the Amazon instead of circumnavigating, we would have come to a different conclusion.  

 

Really glad you discussed the YF situation with your physician.

Ideally of course we'd all have long discussions about everything with our health providers.

But YF, among all vaccines, is possibly the one that requires the most case-by-case assessment. 

Thanks for sharing your positive example here.

21 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The Amex Platinum benefits for Oceania include $300 OBC plus a Premium Wine Tasting event, plus a complimentary bottle of wine from the Wine Tasting Event.  I sure hope they let me know where it is!

This card is so much better for US cardholders. Total waste of time in Canada. Did try it for a year. So many perks, like this one, simply not included.

8 hours ago, babysteps said:

In 2019 (not long after the Dom event was introduced), you could enjoy a 'preview' with by-the-glass choices in a 'wine bar' style event (drop in iirc) at La Reserve a couple of different evenings before the Dom dinner. This was a 21ish day cruise if that matters. We enjoyed both the wine bar event and the full dinner very much. Might be a couple of wine geeks lol

Our last O cruise was late 19 and they had this wine-bar night a couple of times...but it was almost completely unadvertised. The chap who was acting as Sommelier at La Reserve was the Breakfast leader in Waves as his "day job"--he sashayed up to our table one morning to ask why we hadn't been at Wine Bar the night before (held in same room as La Reserve). Well, we simply didn't know about it. Apparently, nobody did, he replied with regret. 

The second night they ran it we were in port overnight, so we didn't dash back for it that evening either. Kind of odd, as this type of thing has "Sea Day" written all over it.  

Has anyone done "All Dom, All the Time" yet?

That's the one we haven't tried...

15 minutes ago, Kate-AHF said:

[...]

 

Under My Account, Dining tab.... it lists Specialty, La Reserve,  La Privee.  When I click on either La Reseve or La Privee, it gives a brief description and states I have zero reservations.  It does NOT allow me to book either one, and it always has before let me before now.  For specialty restaurants, it says I may book at day 75, which is normal.  But I've never had to wait to book La Reserve until I can book the specialties.  

 

[...]

 

Well described. Seeing exact same.

Well, far be it from me to claim that the phone reps know their stuff, but she confirmed it with two other people. Who knows, perhaps maybe they are all wrong.

I hope so.

What prompted the call was that we (allegedly) sail in eight months and I kept checking back on the site to book La Reserve... no button. So I called.

I understand we are in special times, but La Reserve, in the past, had always offered more than eight months' lead time on my cruises. Sometimes, over a year. 

I'll hope you guys are right, and keep checking.

Thanks.

10 minutes ago, susiesan said:

This is why there will be no Europe cruises in 2021:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/travel-restrictions-continue-in-europe-leaders-worry-about-covid-variants-.html

 

For the foreseeable future, no one can fly to Europe for a land vacation let alone a cruise. Since Europeans cannot fly to the US and Canada that ban will likely remain in effect though the end of the year,  Europe is not going to allow Americans and Canadians in as a reciprocal move.

Fear you may be right but still holding out faint hope for our Oct/Nov in the Med. Vaccine availability should be much improved by summer.

Something I don't understand is how much flexibility individual Schengen countries have on admitting tourists, and how much flexibility non-Schengen-but-still-EU/EEA countries have as well.