How are things where YOU are? (in relation to the Corona Virus)

[NSWP]

I was just out having my essential exercise, a walk. About 70 boat trailers with attached vehicles down at Hanging Rock boat ramp,(Batemans Bay.)  People down here are thumbing their noses at the government restrictions, locals and tourists alike. Plenty of cars NSW, ACT and VIC plates driving around, not going to church are they. Probably out hunting for the elusive TP.   I think a complete lockdown is needed for a couple of months to clear this virus.

Edited April 5, 2020 by NSWP

[lyndarra]

51 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I think the public will adapt to not cruising as often.  I made a choice to cruise less, so I could afford to cruise on smaller ships, which are much more expensive.  I understand with a lot of passengers the ship is the main attraction, whilst I am destination driven.  There is a cost to cruising on mass market cruiselines.  They will need to rebuild trust with their market.  I used to cruise in inside cabins, because I travel frequently and our Aussie $ has been so weak in recent years.  After Diamond Princess, I will only cruise in balcony cabins, which will be much more expensive.  Assuming Aust ships would be all inclusive, you may find they could be competitive, if all cruise ships have to pay their crew a living wage. You may find Aussies willing to pay more to cruise on a local cruise line.  I hope to cruise on the return ferry from Cairns to Thursday Island later in the year.  My future wish list includes a cruise on Australian small ship, 

Scenic is an Australian cruise line. Where is Eclipse at the moment? I'm sure it would be looking for a safe market when things get better.

[Docker123]

Scenic Eclipse is in Brazil. Not somewhere I would want to be at the moment.

 

Appears to be sailing under the flag of Malta.

 

[MMDown Under]

13 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Scenic is an Australian cruise line. Where is Eclipse at the moment? I'm sure it would be looking for a safe market when things get better.

I followed a blog on Eclipse to Antarctica, but don't know where it is now. I haven't heard it is in trouble.

So is APT which is part owner of cruise ships.  I asked to be on their local list but it didn't happen.  I am on Noble Caledonia's list (? they are part owner).

Edited April 5, 2020 by MMDown Under

[Obilix]

I haven't been following this thread too closely, but here's my take on things.

 

Cruise lines will be suffering, and some may go bust, but their ships will still be there.

 

Someone else will buy them, rename them, sanitise them, refurbish them, change their country of registration, and open for business as soon as it is practical and financially viable to do so.

 

Australia has had a huge appetite for cruising, and I doubt that will change. The ships will return with the same itineraries as before, with some variations and additions, in order to exploit this battered but lucrative and cashed up market. Travel agents will be back in business to earn their cut.

 

We are all wary, careful and concerned at this time. Many of us (most?) are on the elderly and most at risk side of the Covid equation..But the vast majority of us, including the elderly, will survive it, that's a promise.

 

A new form of normalcy will return, and we will continue our lives, including our cruising activities.

 

In the initial stages of recovery I expect there will be travel bargains to be had, and hopefully I will take advantage of them.

 

Take care, and see you on the other side.

[MMDown Under]

26 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

Scenic Eclipse is in Brazil. Not somewhere I would want to be at the moment.

 

Appears to be sailing under the flag of Malta.

 

Me neither.  Is it cruising or berthed?

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, Obilix said:

I haven't been following this thread too closely, but here's my take on things.

 

Cruise lines will be suffering, and some may go bust, but their ships will still be there.

 

Someone else will buy them, rename them, sanitise them, refurbish them, change their country of registration, and open for business as soon as it is practical and financially viable to do so.

 

Australia has had a huge appetite for cruising, and I doubt that will change. The ships will return with the same itineraries as before, with some variations and additions, in order to exploit this battered but lucrative and cashed up market. Travel agents will be back in business to earn their cut.

 

We are all wary, careful and concerned at this time. Many of us (most?) are on the elderly and most at risk side of the Covid equation..But the vast majority of us, including the elderly, will survive it, that's a promise.

 

A new form of normalcy will return, and we will continue our lives, including our cruising activities.

 

In the initial stages of recovery I expect there will be travel bargains to be had, and hopefully I will take advantage of them.

 

Take care, and see you on the other side.

I wish I shared your optimism. My circle of seniors don't want to get on a cruise ship again.  They might not get a choice, if the over 70s have to produce a letter certifying they are fit to travel, a few days before travel.  All my friends do land travel with their overseas cruises.

Neither of my daughters (the future market) are interested in cruising.  In fact, after one cruise each neither will cruise for free (with their mother).  Both are frequent travellers. (would have been in Europe now, except for virus).

My question is, if the market reduces, how are they going to fill those huge ships?

I believe small ships, like Viking, will be a growth industry. They do also, because they have built new ships. 

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

So far our strict lockdown in NZ appears to be working . Projections indicated 4000 cases by now, so far only 1000 . No of deaths on NZ still only 1 .

We are into week 2 of stage 4 , 2 weeks to go . Borders are closed only citizens coming home are coming through the airport and then into self isolation .

I am glad that your government took the warnings and such seriously, we are tracking okay but it should have been started much earlier and there is still plenty that can be done to make it better.

My biggest fear with this is that the Gov is treating it like a road death toll, they know they can stop nearly all road deaths but are willing to compromise by allowing some deaths for a certain speed limit to enable the economy, society etc.

[MMDown Under]

4 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I am glad that your government took the warnings and such seriously, we are tracking okay but it should have been started much earlier and there is still plenty that can be done to make it better.

My biggest fear with this is that the Gov is treating it like a road death toll, they know they can stop nearly all road deaths but are willing to compromise by allowing some deaths for a certain speed limit to enable the economy, society etc.

I hope not.  I can't understand why Australia didn't follow NZ to Level 4.  I understand that it may've been too hard in a bigger country.  

Our PM is improving, but he is held back by his core beliefs.  If he would just learn to put the people first, rather than an afterthought.  I'm trying to give him some slack, because being PM, at this difficult time, is a thankless task. I think all the State and Territory leaders are doing an excellent job.  Did you see the State Premier ? and his signer failing trying not to laugh about someone being fined for eating a habab whilst riding?

[Docker123]

40 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Me neither.  Is it cruising or berthed?

It is berthed. Been there a couple of days, not sure if going to move on.

 

[dizzy1948]

12 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I hope not.  I can't understand why Australia didn't follow NZ to Level 4.  I understand that it may've been too hard in a bigger country.  

Our PM is improving, but he is held back by his core beliefs.  If he would just learn to put the people first, rather than an afterthought.  I'm trying to give him some slack, because being PM, at this difficult time, is a thankless task. I think all the State and Territory leaders are doing an excellent job.  Did you see the State Premier ? and his signer failing trying not to laugh about someone being fined for eating a habab whilst riding?

Ha ha...I saw Mark McGowan laughing about the kebab thing, doubly funny when his signer was laughing as well, it was funny. He said he couldn't understand the reason for NSW fining someone walking and eating a kebab, but said they were "different"

'Sitting down somewhere in public to eat it, yes.

We here in WA be come an island within an island at midnight tonight.

Edited April 5, 2020 by dizzy1948

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Family Lockdown. Boogie
How to do a family lockdown.

This Kiwi family’s video has gone viral

Enjoy. 
Good luck with your own self isolation 
 

 

[NSWP]

Pure Gold video David, thank you.  Is that you in the video? 😆

[Kiwi Kruzer]

28 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Pure Gold video David, thank you.  Is that you in the video? 😆

No ...It was done by a family in Wellington. . Very clever. 

[MMDown Under]

46 minutes ago, dizzy1948 said:

Ha ha...I saw Mark McGowan laughing about the kebab thing, doubly funny when his signer was laughing as well, it was funny. He said he couldn't understand the reason for NSW fining someone walking and eating a kebab, but said they were "different"

'Sitting down somewhere in public to eat it, yes.

We here in WA be come an island within an island at midnight tonight.

Yes I was thinking of tonight's deadline.  What time would that be in the East?  Have they had any news of people en route cutting it fine?

[MMDown Under]

43 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

Family Lockdown. Boogie
How to do a family lockdown.

This Kiwi family’s video has gone viral

Enjoy. 
Good luck with your own self isolation 
 

 

Good sports!  (Can't watch unfortunately)

[Aus Traveller]

59 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I hope not.  I can't understand why Australia didn't follow NZ to Level 4.  I understand that it may've been too hard in a bigger country.  

Our PM is improving, but he is held back by his core beliefs.  If he would just learn to put the people first, rather than an afterthought.  I'm trying to give him some slack, because being PM, at this difficult time, is a thankless task. I think all the State and Territory leaders are doing an excellent job.  Did you see the State Premier ? and his signer failing trying not to laugh about someone being fined for eating a habab whilst riding?

I feel that our PM and the other leaders have an incredibly difficult task. They will make mistakes, but we have to hope these are corrected quickly. We know about the Ruby, but probably our international borders should have been shut down earlier. However, that step would have been unthinkable even a week or so before it happened.

 

The way I see it is that our PM and the NZ PM are approaching the lock down from different directions. Our PM and the National Cabinet have shut down places where people congregate and therefore risk passing on the virus. They want to keep as much of the economy (that is jobs) rolling along as they can. This helps everyone. The NZ PM (and incidentally the Aust Opposition) have decided that the best approach is to shut down all but essential services. I don't know which approach is best, but I can see the logic of keeping as many businesses and government departments (that is jobs) going as possible.

[Aus Traveller]

12 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

No ...It was done by a family in Wellington. . Very clever. 

The Lockdown Boogie is fantastic. 😁

[dizzy1948]

11 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes I was thinking of tonight's deadline.  What time would that be in the East?  Have they had any news of people en route cutting it fine?

It would be 2.00 am. EST.  Nothing heard yet about people rushing back. No doubt we will hear something on the news somewhere, possibly in the morning when they do the stats, like, who made it, who's stuck. The usual media hype.

[The_Big_M]

7 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I feel that our PM and the other leaders have an incredibly difficult task. They will make mistakes, but we have to hope these are corrected quickly. We know about the Ruby, but probably our international borders should have been shut down earlier. However, that step would have been unthinkable even a week or so before it happened.

 

The way I see it is that our PM and the NZ PM are approaching the lock down from different directions. Our PM and the National Cabinet have shut down places where people congregate and therefore risk passing on the virus. They want to keep as much of the economy (that is jobs) rolling along as they can. This helps everyone. The NZ PM (and incidentally the Aust Opposition) have decided that the best approach is to shut down all but essential services. I don't know which approach is best, but I can see the logic of keeping as many businesses and government departments (that is jobs) going as possible.

 

Agreed, they are taking different approaches. The goal here is not to eradicate it, just to keep it a level that the health system is not overwhelmed so can handle the cases coming through. I understand NZ is trying to eradicate it.

 

Note that neither approach will remove the risk of opening borders, so doesn't advance the ultimate 'restoration to normal'.

[OzKiwiJJ]

21 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes I was thinking of tonight's deadline.  What time would that be in the East?  Have they had any news of people en route cutting it fine?

The son of a friend on another forum is racing to get back to WA. They were in Tasmania and had hoped to stay there for a few months but that, of course, was impossible. Last I heard is they were taking a break in Minnipa (SA) after going pretty well non-stop from Melbourne. Hopefully they will make it over the border in time. 

[dizzy1948]

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The son of a friend on another forum is racing to get back to WA. They were in Tasmania and had hoped to stay there for a few months but that, of course, was impossible. Last I heard is they were taking a break in Minnipa (SA) after going pretty well non-stop from Melbourne. Hopefully they will make it over the border in time. 

 

We have neighbours in similar situation, last heard of in VIC last week, so if they made their run, they may have to do the 14 days isolation in SA.?? Not sure about that part though.

 

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The son of a friend on another forum is racing to get back to WA. They were in Tasmania and had hoped to stay there for a few months but that, of course, was impossible. Last I heard is they were taking a break in Minnipa (SA) after going pretty well non-stop from Melbourne. Hopefully they will make it over the border in time. 

They were lucky to get on a ferry with a vehicle, if they weren't booked  My daughter missed the Aust Open one year because she tried to book the ferry too late.

That will make a good story later on. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by MMDown Under

[VK3DQ]

I am beginning to loose it it seems the whole world is against cruise ships , well perhaps its time for LINERS to come back . many airlines are going to fail and there nay not be so many cheap fares about and there may be a shortage of capacity also ... so the trans Atlantic , Trans Pacific and Kangaroo Routes may stand a chance with a liner service 

 

Nothing like the grand days of course but 3 or 4 sailings a year

 

 

Oh well .... I am so peeved with the outright stupidity of those who have no knowledge of ships or shipping , who are just lashing out at the first large white ship they see

 

Better stop now before I get upset

 

Regards

John

Edited April 5, 2020 by VK3DQ

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, VK3DQ said:

I am beginning to loose it it seems the whole world is against cruise ships , well perhaps its time for LINERS to come back . many airlines are going to fail and there nay not be so many cheap fares about and there may be a shortage of capacity also ... so the trans Atlantic , Trans Pacific and Kangaroo Routes may stand a chance with a liner service 

 

Nothing like the grand days of course but 3 or 4 sailings a year

 

 

Oh well .... I am so peeved with the outright stupidity of those who have no knowledge of ships or shipping , who are just lashing out at the first large white ship they see

 

Better stop now before I get upset

 

Regards

John

Oh I've always wanted to cruise on a liner. 

My first cruise set the benchmark for all future cruises.  Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland (all with streamers) across the South Pacific, through the Panama Canal, to NY, Rotterdam to Southhampton. 

Chandris Lines Queen Frederica

Edited April 5, 2020 by MMDown Under