Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[DWhit]

Well be sure and stay safe!   I heard one expert on the news today say that he thought a timeframe for completion of distribution of vaccine by end of year for health care workers,  and end of April for general public was feasible.  So I am hoping things will be OK for a June departure.

[Kynance]

We’re back from our Cornish idyll. Here are a couple of further photos - the second one is the view from our hotel window (we combined a hotel stay with a cottage break). I’m arranging to book our 2021 visits now.

 

Sadly, I don’t see us retuning to cruising until life has really returned to the way it was and the cruising experience is “back to normal”. At the moment we don’t know for sure what the onboard experience will look like, though we can make plenty of informed guesses and I don’t think that experience will be something either of us will find attractive. We also have the added complication that one of us has a well-managed health condition which may make obtaining travel insurance a challenge. It might therefore be 2022 until we are back on a Cunard ship but in the meantime, we will look forward to returning to the wonderful Cornish coast. 
 

 

[Lanky Lad]

Looks lovely, although I think it might be a bit chilly for a dip in the pool.

[Host Hattie]

That looks gorgeous @Kynance.

The matter of time was 48 hours in the end ! It was announced this afternoon that additional restrictions will be in place from 6pm tomorrow in the county we live & also where we work. It won't make much practical difference yet.

It's been a lovely sunny weekend, the wind was a bit chilly but very pleasant for the time of year.

We went to the pub across the road for Sunday lunch today, it was the first time I had been inside since they re-opened. The inside has been totally reconfigured to separate the tables and perspex screens installed. 

Back to working from home tomorrow at least for the day.

[naturelovergirl]

Hello from Central Florida:

We are still fine here. Still being cautious... Still being socially responsible.

We took another work trip up to the Appalachian Mountains, this time staying in Northern Georgia/North Carolina. It was lovely and started to have inklings of Fall weather. 

Of course, we are back now, and it does not feel like Fall yet in Florida. It is still very warm here.

I'm sure most people have heard about Florida moving to "phase 3"... I hope that people here (and the tourists who come) will be reasonable and smart... I cannot guarantee anything- but I do know that my husband and I are personally taking the safety of our loved ones, ourselves, and our fellow citizens very seriously. 

We still have not eaten out at a restaurant. Luckily we are very good cooks- so that truly has not been a hardship during the pandemic. Our main things that we miss are foods that we do not cook... so we have picked up some delicious Thai and Greek food from our favorite small businesses.

We had originally been booked on an Cunard Alaska voyage (of course cancelled for August 2020)... We are looking towards, hopefully, having that voyage in 2022 (Cunard is supposed to return there in 2022... no dates yet... but that was what the Cunard announcement said). Although I am, by nature, a trip planner extraordinaire, I have been hesitant to want to do much future "vacation" planning in all of this- but I am starting to feel like there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. So I'm thinking that I will start to plan a road trip for next summer's holiday and then plan for Alaska for 2022. Honestly, I need for my soul some hope for future travel... and I need to start planning again. I love planning trips... and I need to resume dreaming.

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by naturelovergirl

[Bigmike911]

Hattie, the new lock-downs in Wales and some other areas of the U.K. are not good news. Right now, there seem to be way to many issues that could prevent me from traveling on my 22 July Westbound from Hamburg. I expect to be able to get the vaccine before then, but will the U.K. let me in? Will Germany? So I will have to look at my options as we get closer to final payment in March. The weather is slightly cooler here, and we will have even cooler weather in October. We don't even think cold until December at the earliest here in South East Texas, and only a few leaves have turned and fallen. I am looking forward to a color show from my Japanese and other Maples as well as the Sassafras trees which get a burgundy colored leaf before they fall, likely late next month. Next up Halloween. 

[LewiLewi]

2 hours ago, naturelovergirl said:

Hello from Central Florida:

We are still fine here. Still being cautious... Still being socially responsible.

We took another work trip up to the Appalachian Mountains, this time staying in Northern Georgia/North Carolina. It was lovely and started to have inklings of Fall weather. 

Of course, we are back now, and it does not feel like Fall yet in Florida. It is still very warm here.

I'm sure most people have heard about Florida moving to "phase 3"... I hope that people here (and the tourists who come) will be reasonable and smart... I cannot guarantee anything- but I do know that my husband and I are personally taking the safety of our loved ones, ourselves, and our fellow citizens very seriously. 

We still have not eaten out at a restaurant. Luckily we are very good cooks- so that truly has not been a hardship during the pandemic. Our main things that we miss are foods that we do not cook... so we have picked up some delicious Thai and Greek food from our favorite small businesses.

We had originally been booked on an Cunard Alaska voyage (of course cancelled for August 2020)... We are looking towards, hopefully, having that voyage in 2022 (Cunard is supposed to return there in 2022... no dates yet... but that was what the Cunard announcement said). Although I am, by nature, a trip planner extraordinaire, I have been hesitant to want to do much future "vacation" planning in all of this- but I am starting to feel like there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. So I'm thinking that I will start to plan a road trip for next summer's holiday and then plan for Alaska for 2022. Honestly, I need for my soul some hope for future travel... and I need to start planning again. I love planning trips... and I need to resume dreaming.

 

We are wary of Phase 3 in South Florida. Our numbers have improved a little, but now that bars and restaurants, gyms, etc. are opened at 100% capacity, I am afraid that numbers of cases will start to rise again. My husband is facing Hip replacement surgery in two weeks, so we are especially as careful as we can be.

I am hoping for a vaccine sooner rather than later. Of course, we will not get vaccinated until our doctor feels that it is safe to do so.

[naturelovergirl]

Absolutely. We are watching it all with a wary cautious eye too, LewiLewi.
Best to your husband with his hip surgery.

[Ray66]

Well not good news now for parts of North Wales which are to be put in lockdown from 6pm on Thursday - Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.  And they only have an infection rate of 42 in 100,000 compared with other parts of Wales which have 300 in 100,000 (Blaenau Gwent). I can see a lot of businesses in those counties going bust now.

 

We have a holiday in Gwynedd next week which fortunately has low rates but we were also planning to go to Conwy.

[Kynance]

2 hours ago, Ray66 said:

Well not good news now for parts of North Wales which are to be put in lockdown from 6pm on Thursday - Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.  And they only have an infection rate of 42 in 100,000 compared with other parts of Wales which have 300 in 100,000 (Blaenau Gwent). I can see a lot of businesses in those counties going bust now.

 

Ray66 - I absolutely agree with you about businesses going bust. My partner’s daughter works in the hospitality business in one of these areas. The extremely popular restaurant she was working at before lockdown never re-opened & has now formally closed for good because the owners couldn’t make it pay with social distancing guidelines. Fortunately, she managed to find another post in a hotel so I hope they are going to be able to keep her on once the the new restrictions make an impact. 
 

[navybankerteacher]

On 9/27/2020 at 7:33 PM, LewiLewi said:

We are wary of Phase 3 in South Florida. Our numbers have improved a little, but now that bars and restaurants, gyms, etc. are opened at 100% capacity, I am afraid that numbers of cases will start to rise again. My husband is facing Hip replacement surgery in two weeks, so we are especially as careful as we can be.

I am hoping for a vaccine sooner rather than later. Of course, we will not get vaccinated until our doctor feels that it is safe to do so.

It does seem that numbers are spiking up in many areas shortly after restrictions ease - Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey are all seeing some localities with bad trends.

We did have a great couple of days on the South shore of Long Island - with mid 70’s (F) seawater temps.

[Colin_Cameron]

12 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

We did have a great couple of days on the South shore of Long Island - with mid 70’s (F) seawater temps.

That brings back memories of an amazing holiday a few years ago. We drove out Long Island and took the ferry across to New London. Then Newport, Cape Cod, Boston, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and back down through New York to JFK. It was this time of year and the weather was outstanding.

[Host Hattie]

Happy Friday everyone, I'm glad to have got here, it's been quite a week .....

It's pouring with rain and doesn't look as if it's going to dry up anytime soon so I don't expect to be doing much this weekend.

I was supposed to be going round to a friend's on Sunday for another socially distanced picnic. It's still allowed under our local lockdown as we all live in the same county but the hostess decided to cancel. Having seen the weather forecast it was probably for the best.

Have a good weekend everyone

[Lanky Lad]

Thanks HH and you too.

 

The weather is not as bad in the North West, well not yet anyway. 

[alc13]

Fall is here now; the nights are colder and it's dark outside at dinnertime.  The leaves put on a muted show this year because of a drought, and they fall almost as soon as they turn color.  We're almost finished with vegetables from the garden, so it's back to supermarket produce soon.  Not sorry to see the last of the green beans, but the melons have been wonderful.

 

I used some of the travel budget to upgrade my sewing machine and buy a proper desk chair.  The chair arrives in another few weeks and I can't wait.  Between Zoom and just internet surfing I spend more time in front of the computer now.

 

Hope everyone is staying healthy out there.

[Lanky Lad]

Very wet here in North West England today so I am staying in for the rest of the day. 

 

Our virus figures are still not good, but they don't seem to be be getting worse.  Hopefully, that means they will start to fall again soon. 

 

Saga have been advertising cruises all day on Classic FM.  Gives a sense of hope that things might get back to normal.  I read that a vaccine could be given to everyone in the UK by Easter.  This was on Twitter, so I have taken it with a pinch of salt.

[Lanky Lad]

I was looking at some old pictures and found this one.  A CC get together on QE2.  No prizes for guessing which voyage.  There is at least one other person in this picture who is still a regular poster on here.

 

[Host Hattie]

Great photo, how nice to see you all looking smart.

[Etta1213]

I have yet to cruise with Cunard but very much want to. The people who post here seem so delightful, genteel, gentle.

[Bigmike911]

2 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

I have yet to cruise with Cunard but very much want to. The people who post here seem so delightful, genteel, gentle.

Astute and correct observation Etta. You will like Cunard. 

[Bigmike911]

Well it's Tuesday and we have another hurricane blowing into the Gulf of Mexico. This time Delta, the fourth Greek name this year. I believe a new record. It looks like the upper Texas coast will have higher than average tides, and the road along the Bolivar Peninsula from Bolivar to High Island will be covered with rocks. I have yet to figure out why TexDot puts that stuff along the water line so it can cover the road when the storm surges. I guess so they can spend a few hours bulldozing it off the road again. 

 

The poor citizens of Louisiana are likely to get it again. That poor state cannot seem to get a break, but that is life along the Gulf Coast. There has been a noticeable change in the leaves now. The Sweet Gums have big clusters of yellow, and the green of the Oaks is fading to grey green. The berries on the Fire Thorns are bright orange going to red. There will be a flock of very happy birds soon.

 

Every year since 1980, I have had a leather bound day-per-page diary from Harrods. Last year, I got it from their web site, but this year it was not there. So after several e-mails and calls to London (not easily done with a six hour time difference) I finally received the Diary today. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can enter the details of my 22July westbound Trans-Atlantic from Hamburg in the diary, assuming the stars align.

[Colin_Cameron]

17 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

I was looking at some old pictures and found this one.  A CC get together on QE2.  No prizes for guessing which voyage.  There is at least one other person in this picture who is still a regular poster on here.

 

Apart from you and I, I think I can only put partial names to three or four others.

 

On the front row, with the dark hair, was transatjon (I bumped into him in a hotel in Leeds a few years later). Next to him was Gavin. At the front right I think might have been Cornus. And behind him was Stowaway2k. Just remembered that the woman in purple was juliecat.

 

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by Colin_Cameron

[bluemarble]

36 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Apart from you and I, I think I can only put partial names to three or four others.

 

On the front row, with the dark hair, was transatjon (I bumped into him in a hotel in Leeds a few years later). Next to him was Gavin. At the front right I think might have been Cornus. And behind him was Stowaway2k. Just remembered that the woman in purple was juliecat.

 

Quite a distinguished group of CC contributors there. Which one is you @Colin_Cameron if you don't mind me asking?

[LewiLewi]

13 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

I have yet to cruise with Cunard but very much want to. The people who post here seem so delightful, genteel, gentle.

I definitely agree with you. There is a big difference when cruising on Cunard as compared to many other cruise lines. It brings us back time and time again.

[North West Newbie]

17 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Quite a distinguished group of CC contributors there. Which one is you @Colin_Cameron if you don't mind me asking?

 

I trust @Colin_Cameron will not be offended by this clue. 😆