Now for something completely different

[Blackduck59]

20 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

Say a prayer for us then🙏

 

Have vaccine?  Will travel 😉😁

[valantine80]

China currently requires all incoming passengers to present a negative covid test and has mandatory quarantine in hotel for 5 days and then 2 days at home. These conditions are in place until 8th January.

[BRANDEE]

4 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I am finally able to get my 2nd booster for covid and also my flu shot. I was scheduled for my booster back in October but of course I contracted covid 3 days before so no booster, that was 3 months ago. I get both shots next Tuesday. I think that the testing of travelers coming from hot zones is justified whether that is China or Europe or anywhere. I also think it is better for everyone to get vaccinated as required and live life with the virus as best we can. Lynn and I both had covid and many of my friends have as well. I think many of us on the thread have also had covid and most of us have come through with only mild symptoms.

Not happy that cruisers no longer need to be vaccinated to cruise  (except Australia)  Ridiculous judgement call as far as I am concerned.  Testing travelers from any country is a no brainer. Unfortunately common sense is not being used.  And yes, we do have to learn to live with covid and it's variants, by why take away any helpful protocols.  Maybe we should stop vaccinating for all childhood disease, as well as flu and pneumonia to accommodate all the naysayers..or as I like to call them a holes.  

Good luck Lyle on your upcoming booster..we are due for our next the end of this week.  Next cruise in two months! 

Happy New Year's to all my Aussie and NZ cc friends.  Health and Happiness to All!

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Mareblu said:

Say a prayer for us then🙏

Bon Voyage Linda and Mario, now remember no shorts and T shirt on formal nights on Cunard or you will get the stare from the Brits, lol.

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Bon Voyage Linda and Mario, now remember no shorts and T shirt on formal nights on Cunard or you will get the stare from the Brits, lol.

😂thanks, Les.  

[GUT2407]

19 hours ago, valantine80 said:

China currently requires all incoming passengers to present a negative covid test and has mandatory quarantine in hotel for 5 days and then 2 days at home. These conditions are in place until 8th January.

And yet they complain about us requiring a negative test, go figure.

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

And yet they complain about us requiring a negative test, go figure.

The goose and the gander come to mind.

[MicCanberra]

56 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

The goose and the gander come to mind.

The bigger question is - who is the Goose?

[Blackduck59]

I'm not sure that HAL is getting their monies worth from Don and Tony who do VLOGs on youtube. They have been on the cruise since New Years day. no room reviews, dinner reports, ship tours...nothing. There was a live stream from Tony with video of a rainy day in Milford sound.

@OzKiwiJJ Julie your reports on your thread were far more informative than anything those two have reported so far. The other thing that comes to mind is that the American guy is woefully un-informed about where he is going or what he is doing. The Canadian guy just comes off as a whiner much of the time.

[Mareblu]

23 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm not sure that HAL is getting their monies worth from Don and Tony who do VLOGs on youtube. They have been on the cruise since New Years day. no room reviews, dinner reports, ship tours...nothing. There was a live stream from Tony with video of a rainy day in Milford sound.

@OzKiwiJJ Julie your reports on your thread were far more informative than anything those two have reported so far. The other thing that comes to mind is that the American guy is woefully un-informed about where he is going or what he is doing. The Canadian guy just comes off as a whiner much of the time.

Sounds like a comedy series🤔

[Blackduck59]

5 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

Sounds like a comedy series🤔

I sometimes watch both of these guys, they have found a way to make money from cruise travel and that's good for them. I'm still not sure if either of them is all that informative. Being that they have had a "complimentary" cruise they aren't doing a good job of reporting the cruise. So far we have seen reports on their business class flights, clearly the free cruise made for an expensive flight. They also were on one of the harbour cruises for the fireworks, Tony either didn't know or didn't care to share what that cost. They stayed at the Marriot close to the Harbour and he didn't know or didn't share what that cost. So far HAL isn't getting their monies worth from either of these guys.

[Mareblu]

7 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I sometimes watch both of these guys, they have found a way to make money from cruise travel and that's good for them. I'm still not sure if either of them is all that informative. Being that they have had a "complimentary" cruise they aren't doing a good job of reporting the cruise. So far we have seen reports on their business class flights, clearly the free cruise made for an expensive flight. They also were on one of the harbour cruises for the fireworks, Tony either didn't know or didn't care to share what that cost. They stayed at the Marriot close to the Harbour and he didn't know or didn't share what that cost. So far HAL isn't getting their monies worth from either of these guys.

How can we get their jobs?😆

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm not sure that HAL is getting their monies worth from Don and Tony who do VLOGs on youtube. They have been on the cruise since New Years day. no room reviews, dinner reports, ship tours...nothing. There was a live stream from Tony with video of a rainy day in Milford sound.

@OzKiwiJJ Julie your reports on your thread were far more informative than anything those two have reported so far. The other thing that comes to mind is that the American guy is woefully un-informed about where he is going or what he is doing. The Canadian guy just comes off as a whiner much of the time.

Thanks Lyle. I've started to post my detailed "verdicts" of our cruise. I've still got a few topics to cover.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I sometimes watch both of these guys, they have found a way to make money from cruise travel and that's good for them. I'm still not sure if either of them is all that informative. Being that they have had a "complimentary" cruise they aren't doing a good job of reporting the cruise. So far we have seen reports on their business class flights, clearly the free cruise made for an expensive flight. They also were on one of the harbour cruises for the fireworks, Tony either didn't know or didn't care to share what that cost. They stayed at the Marriot close to the Harbour and he didn't know or didn't share what that cost. So far HAL isn't getting their monies worth from either of these guys.

Maybe they can't think of enough nice things to say about their cruise! 🤣

[Blackduck59]

So, I have watched a few of the videos from the afore mentioned Don and Tony. They aren't bad. Tony did a walk through tour of Noordam that was almost an hour long. It gave me a look at the ship but the commentary wasn't that informative. I'm still not sure HAL got their money's worth there. Of course they had crap weather and had to run away from the cyclone so maybe they didn't get quite the "free cruise" they had planned on. Of course they did fly business class at their expense.

I got my 2nd Covid booster and my flu shot the other day (one in each arm) no ill effects.

On another slightly concerning note I have a small skin cancer on my nose. This spot that just seemed like a pimple that wouldn't heal had been bothering me for some time. I have regular visits to a dermatologist and with the mask on I forgot to show it to her on my previous visit and almost forgot about it again a couple weeks ago but I did have her look at it then. She took one look and the next thing I know she's taking a biopsy. The results came back as cancer so I will be referred to a plastic surgeon to remove it. For now I have a bump on my nose and there doesn't seem to be a great urgency to get it removed. I guess they will just fit me in to the queue.

[LC1950]

I find that most of these cruise vlogers are just talking heads ... "it's ALL ABOUT ME!!!!!" sort of stuff.  I just take a brief look and then ... kaput / delete.  They really don't give you useful information.

 

Best of luck with your procedure with the plastic surgeon Lyle.  Here in Oz we are very aware of this sort of thing.  I wish you well and have fingers crossed for you.

[boeckli]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

So, I have watched a few of the videos from the afore mentioned Don and Tony. They aren't bad. Tony did a walk through tour of Noordam that was almost an hour long. It gave me a look at the ship but the commentary wasn't that informative. I'm still not sure HAL got their money's worth there.

 Is that Tony as in 'La Lido Loca'? I just want to watch as I'll be back on Noordam next month.

[Blackduck59]

6 hours ago, boeckli said:

 Is that Tony as in 'La Lido Loca'? I just want to watch as I'll be back on Noordam next month.

That's the one.

[NSWP]

12 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So, I have watched a few of the videos from the afore mentioned Don and Tony. They aren't bad. Tony did a walk through tour of Noordam that was almost an hour long. It gave me a look at the ship but the commentary wasn't that informative. I'm still not sure HAL got their money's worth there. Of course they had crap weather and had to run away from the cyclone so maybe they didn't get quite the "free cruise" they had planned on. Of course they did fly business class at their expense.

I got my 2nd Covid booster and my flu shot the other day (one in each arm) no ill effects.

On another slightly concerning note I have a small skin cancer on my nose. This spot that just seemed like a pimple that wouldn't heal had been bothering me for some time. I have regular visits to a dermatologist and with the mask on I forgot to show it to her on my previous visit and almost forgot about it again a couple weeks ago but I did have her look at it then. She took one look and the next thing I know she's taking a biopsy. The results came back as cancer so I will be referred to a plastic surgeon to remove it. For now I have a bump on my nose and there doesn't seem to be a great urgency to get it removed. I guess they will just fit me in to the queue.

Good luck with your procedure Lyle. Over here many GP's cut out the Melanoma's in their surgery rather than referring you to a plastic surgeon.  I have had 3 taken out by my GP in the past 3 years. big chunks arms and chest.

 

My GP does his cutting on a Monday, he calls it 'Melanoma Monday Monday, lol.'  He would do a dozen or more victims on that day.

 

So Lyle, remember on your next cruise, stay away from Melanoma Deck (the sunny one.)

Edited January 18, 2023 by NSWP

[Blackduck59]

31 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Good luck with your procedure Lyle. Over here many GP's cut out the Melanoma's in their surgery rather than referring you to a plastic surgeon.  I have had 3 taken out by my GP in the past 3 years. big chunks arms and chest.

 

My GP does his cutting on a Monday, he calls it 'Melanoma Monday Monday, lol.'  He would do a dozen or more victims on that day.

 

So Lyle, remember on your next cruise, stay away from Melanoma Deck (the sunny one.)

Thanks Les, I actually stay out of the sun. I always wear a brimmed hat, either a Tilley or my Acubra.

The reason for the plastic surgeon I think is the location on my nose.

[MicCanberra]

Good luck Lyle, as you are aware, it's best to get onto these before they spread.

[OzKiwiJJ]

5 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks Les, I actually stay out of the sun. I always wear a brimmed hat, either a Tilley or my Acubra.

The reason for the plastic surgeon I think is the location on my nose.

Yes, probably. It's easy enough for GPs to cut skin cancer out of some parts of the body but some areas need a bit more expertise. I had to see a plastic surgeon with an SCC I had cut out of my lower leg a few years ago. 

[Blackduck59]

Around here very few GPs do surgery in their office anymore. I think the liability insurance is crippling to a private practice. There are many problems with our medical system and I'm not sure what if anything can be done to fix it. For now I will wait for my turn with the plastic surgeon.

[mr walker]

Good luck with it all Lyle. I can empathise with you and the others posting about skin cancers, but they need to be got rid of. I have had maybe 50 done in the last 15 years, either by the ointment stuff, excision by skin doctor & one by plastic surgeon (graft as the location was one with little blood flow??), a combo of the not bad ones, bad ones & the real bad ones. Also countless 'sun-spots' burnt off with liquid Nitrogen. 

I currently have stitches in my upper cheek where I had a skin cancer cut-out last week. The doc said he could cut it out for me, or, based on being on my face I could have it done by plastic surgeon. I said I was old enough & ugly enough that it won't matter 🙂 

 

Good luck to all of you. 

 

[GUT2407]

Good luck Lyle, our medical system has its fair share of problems too but on the whole better than many I read about.