Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[alc13]

Our restrictions here in Maine were lifted last week, and I ventured into the supermarket and hardware store without a mask.  I expected it to feel strange but the feeling only lasted a few minutes. I'm suddenly feeling very forward-looking.

 

A more pressing problem than covid for me right now is water, or lack of it.  Rainstorms have been detouring around our state and the garden was starting to look parched.  We installed some drip tubing as back up.  Like washing the car, that had the immediate effect of bringing a good inch or so of rain to our area.  Yay!

 

A nice article in the paper this morning describes how dogs can be trained to detect covid in people.  Could make air travel safer if they were stationed in airports.  

 

Hope you are all well, and vaccinated!

[Essiesmom]

Hmmm...can you imagine how many people will try to bring their dog along, claiming they are covid detection dogs...  Things have been bright and sunny and hot here.  88 yesterday.  Hasn't rained in three weeks.  How come the grass stays brown but the weeds grow?  EM

[Lanky Lad]

I have managed to bring my second shot forward but only by three days.  As this was Monday to Friday, I have sort of gained a weekend. The real bonus is that I have managed to change the venue from one 5 miles away to one about half a mile away so an easy walk.

Edited May 31, 2021 by Lanky Lad

[Bigmike911]

22 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

I have managed to bring my second shot forward but only by three days.  As this was Monday to Friday, I have sort of gained a weekend. The real bonus is that I have managed to change the venue from one 5 miles away to one about half a mile away so an easy walk.

Congrats on your forthcoming Jab, LL. 

[Lanky Lad]

3 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Congrats on your forthcoming Jab, LL. 

 

Thanks Bigmike I hope I don't feel as ill as I did after my first one. Even if I do, it will be worth it.

[Tonopah]

We're starting lessons for Viennese Waltz and Quickstep to prepare for our next voyage. We know there are some sequence dances but there are no options to learn those. In 18 months we'll be ready to be on the dance floor all night long. 

[Lanky Lad]

2 hours ago, Tonopah said:

We're starting lessons for Viennese Waltz and Quickstep to prepare for our next voyage. We know there are some sequence dances but there are no options to learn those. In 18 months we'll be ready to be on the dance floor all night long. 

I hope you get plenty of chances to show off your new skills.

[Camgirl]

19 hours ago, Tonopah said:

We're starting lessons for Viennese Waltz and Quickstep to prepare for our next voyage. We know there are some sequence dances but there are no options to learn those. In 18 months we'll be ready to be on the dance floor all night long. 

Oh my goodness, best of luck with the lessons. We started learning around 7 years ago and still haven't conquered the Viennese waltz! If you want to dance in the Queens Room, I would suggest starting with the more standard slow waltz first. Particularly as you will only get one or two Viennese in an evening, as opposed to lots of slow waltz. The quickstep will also come up pretty often. The cha cha cha is also popular and is rather fun to dance.

 

It's always lovely to see more people taking up ballroom dancing, enjoy the lessons, it is great fun to do and is also good exercise.

[Tonopah]

48 minutes ago, Camgirl said:

Oh my goodness, best of luck with the lessons. We started learning around 7 years ago and still haven't conquered the Viennese waltz! If you want to dance in the Queens Room, I would suggest starting with the more standard slow waltz first. Particularly as you will only get one or two Viennese in an evening, as opposed to lots of slow waltz. The quickstep will also come up pretty often. The cha cha cha is also popular and is rather fun to dance.

 

It's always lovely to see more people taking up ballroom dancing, enjoy the lessons, it is great fun to do and is also good exercise.

Oh, thank you but it is fine. We’ve been dancing for several years. We started, with only 3 months’ lessons under our belts, for our first crossing and we never stopped. We did an absolutely basic quickstep that we learned on the ship and it was so much fun. Deciding to take a few dance lessons so we could step foot on the Queen Mary 2 dance floor literally changed our lives. We dance almost every day, now.

 

We slow waltz, swing, cha cha, rhumba, foxtrot, salsa, hustle, a little tango. We know quickstep and V. Waltz basics and a sprinkling of other dances. We’ll add a couple of  Viennese waltz and quickstep steps just to expand our options. 

 

But I completely agree. If anyone is traveling on one of the Queens, they should take a few dance lessons. Even the few we had at the beginning were enough to give us the confidence to get on the floor. It’s a great experience.

 

[Camgirl]

37 minutes ago, Tonopah said:

Oh, thank you but it is fine. We’ve been dancing for several years. We started, with only 3 months’ lessons under our belts, for our first crossing and we never stopped. We did an absolutely basic quickstep that we learned on the ship and it was so much fun. Deciding to take a few dance lessons so we could step foot on the Queen Mary 2 dance floor literally changed our lives. We dance almost every day, now.

 

We slow waltz, swing, cha cha, rhumba, foxtrot, salsa, hustle, a little tango. We know quickstep and V. Waltz basics and a sprinkling of other dances. We’ll add a couple of  Viennese waltz and quickstep steps just to expand our options. 

 

But I completely agree. If anyone is traveling on one of the Queens, they should take a few dance lessons. Even the few we had at the beginning were enough to give us the confidence to get on the floor. It’s a great experience.

 

We did the same. Having sat watching the dancers in the Queens Room for several cruises, we decided to take the plunge and take some lessons. We then took to the dance floor a few months later. It was nerve wracking at first as I am rather shy. However, we thoroughly enjoyed it and have continued learning ever since. 

 

Unfortunately, Viennese waltz is very unpopular with our class, so we rarely get to have a practise.

 

About a year before the pandemic our teacher added a beginners sequence class, so we started learning a few of the most popular sequence dances as well, which are great fun.

 

Then came the pandemic......😕 We restart dancing with a private lesson this Sunday. We both think we have probably forgotten more than we ever knew 😧. I just hope our teacher is feeling really patient 🤣!!

[Host Hattie]

The results of our next review are due tomorrow. Cases are still low in Wales, we've had a few outbreaks of the Delta variant but only 100 cases in total and no ongoing transmission yet.

We were already being asked not to travel abroad for holidays and now one of the few accessible countries which was on the green list (Portugal) has been moved to orange.

I do feel sorry for my colleague who was supposed to be going on Saturday but it seems like good news for those of us with holiday lets in Wales.

Mr HH has hurt his back so he's feeling a bit sorry for himself. He had physio yesterday and it seems to have helped a bit.

[Bigmike911]

On 6/3/2021 at 1:38 PM, Host Hattie said:

The results of our next review are due tomorrow. Cases are still low in Wales, we've had a few outbreaks of the Delta variant but only 100 cases in total and no ongoing transmission yet.

We were already being asked not to travel abroad for holidays and now one of the few accessible countries which was on the green list (Portugal) has been moved to orange.

I do feel sorry for my colleague who was supposed to be going on Saturday but it seems like good news for those of us with holiday lets in Wales.

Mr HH has hurt his back so he's feeling a bit sorry for himself. He had physio yesterday and it seems to have helped a bit.

Sorry to hear that Mr. HH hurt his back, nothing serious I hope. 

[Host Hattie]

Thanks, he's going in the right direction but he did take his own chair when we went across the road to the pub for lunch today !

[Bigmike911]

As many of you know I listen to Classic FM from the UK on the internet. The news recently announced that Portugal went from the green list to the amber list. I understand what the implications are for travelers, but look as I can I cannot find the criteria for a particular country being on one list or another.

 

As the US is currently on the Amber, I would love to be able to understand the metrics the UK Government use for placing countries on a particular list. I can look at them and hopefully be able to predict when the US will move to green and when Germany is likely to go to green. 

 

I would appreciate any help any one can give me to help me understand the criteria. Thanks in advance. 

[bluemarble]

14 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

As many of you know I listen to Classic FM from the UK on the internet. The news recently announced that Portugal went from the green list to the amber list. I understand what the implications are for travelers, but look as I can I cannot find the criteria for a particular country being on one list or another.

 

As the US is currently on the Amber, I would love to be able to understand the metrics the UK Government use for placing countries on a particular list. I can look at them and hopefully be able to predict when the US will move to green and when Germany is likely to go to green. 

 

I would appreciate any help any one can give me to help me understand the criteria. Thanks in advance. 

 

Without trying to be political about this at all, from what I've been reading, those in the UK might also like some help to understand the details of the criteria. Here's what I've found for some of the factors being used to evaluate which list (red, amber or green) each country is assigned to.

 

Coronavirus infection rate

Percentage of the population that have been vaccinated

Prevalence of variants of concern
Reliability of the data

Access to genomic sequencing
Passengers connecting through key hubs

 

Of course what's missing here are details about the specific thresholds that trigger each level and how each of these factors is weighted to make the decision. I'm not sure that level of detail is available to the general public. If it is available, I'd be interested to learn about that as well.

[Host Hattie]

I don't think it is but if it's any consolation the US isn't letting us in without quarantine either !

BBC News - Travel: US eases travel rules for 61 countries - but not UK

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57403216

[Bigmike911]

3 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

I don't think it is but if it's any consolation the US isn't letting us in without quarantine either !

BBC News - Travel: US eases travel rules for 61 countries - but not UK

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57403216

No Hattie, it's no consolation but I wish they would come up with a protocol for vaccinated people. Today at the barber shop if you have been vaccinated (I have both Moderna jabs) you can enter with out a mask. If not you, cannot. I know the medical privacy issues (HIPA in the US) but you can show proof to anyone you choose to show it too. 

[bluemarble]

For a little change of pace, how about a cruise terminology trivia question?

 

In the excerpt below, I've highlighted an acronym found within the terms and conditions of a Cunard promotion. I imagine those with travel agent experience will know all about it, but I didn't know what it meant without doing some research to figure it out.

 

Without researching it yourself, what does the highlighted term stand for and what does it mean with regard to cruise bookings?

 

"Offer is only for past guests ... This offer may be shared with Friends and Family who are new to Cunard, however both bookings must be TWID and booked on the same voyage."

[navybankerteacher]

49 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

For a little change of pace, how about a cruise terminology trivia question?

 

In the excerpt below, I've highlighted an acronym found within the terms and conditions of a Cunard promotion. I imagine those with travel agent experience will know all about it, but I didn't know what it meant without doing some research to figure it out.

 

Without researching it yourself, what does the highlighted term stand for and what does it mean with regard to cruise bookings?

 

"Offer is only for past guests ... This offer may be shared with Friends and Family who are new to Cunard, however both bookings must be TWID and booked on the same voyage."

Isn’t that “Travel With I D” - some mechanism whereby people who originally booked separately can be subsequently linked so as to be assigned same table?

[navybankerteacher]

Our premature heat wave (back to back days in the 90’s F) has finally passed.  It was tough - the breeze off the water was good, but the 59F seawater temp kept people out of the water - heat waves should not be permitted when it is still Spring.

Edited June 10, 2021 by navybankerteacher

[bluemarble]

4 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Isn’t that “Travel With I D” - some mechanism whereby people who originally booked separately can be subsequently linked so as to be assigned same table?

 

That's it, an "Identification" number to link bookings for parties that are going to "Travel With" each other. As you say it's typically used to link separate bookings for those that wish to dine together. In this case, it's apparently also being used to link a booking for new Cunard passengers with a booking for a past passenger to allow those new Cunard passengers to receive a past passenger discount as friends and family of the past passenger.

[Host Hattie]

I'm venturing out of Wales for the first time tomorrow since March 2020. It seemed a good idea when I made the arrangements a few weeks ago but now I'm not so sure !

I'm meeting 2 friends from school for dinner at The Cinnamon Club in Westminster tomorrow night and then a group of 6 of us are meeting for lunch near Piccadilly Circus on Saturday.

 

[Tonopah]

10 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Our premature heat wave (back to back days in the 90’s F) has finally passed.  It was tough - the breeze off the water was good, but the 59F seawater temp kept people out of the water - heat waves should not be permitted when it is still Spring.

 

Summer hit hard and fast in our little corner of Florida. Temps over 90°F and super humid. We had three days of rain. One would imagine that would freshen things. Instead it just makes it smell like laundry forgotten in the washer. The ducks are happy. The chickens not so much. 

[Kynance]

@Host Hattie - enjoy your weekend in London. Let us know how busy you find it.  My opticians is based in the Bloomsbury area and I need to book an overdue eyesight test once their new premises open this summer. I haven’t been in central London since January last year or to our nearest big town, Reading, since last March. I’ve left Berkshire a few times but not to spend any time in big towns or cities. I can’t say I miss them.

[LewiLewi]

We took our first plane ride since the pandemic. Went to our granddaughter’s high school graduation in Colorado. The plane was totally full, every seat filled. It was uneventful; everyone wore masks except for eating a snack or sipping a drink. The weather was hotter than in Florida. It feels good to be able to travel again. I don’t see cruising in our near future, especially from Florida, but we are waiting to see what happens between our Gov. and the cruise industry.