Now for something completely different

[BRANDEE]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Love grows where my Rosemary goes.

And nobody knows like "you".  Been years since I heard that song by Edison LH!

[GUT2407]

3 hours ago, BRANDEE said:

And nobody knows like "you".  Been years since I heard that song by Edison LH!

 

[NSWP]

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by NSWP

[BRANDEE]

2 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

 

So glad to hear you are going on a cruise.  You have had some major life changing events the past two years and are allowed to have some "why the f in me" moments.  Sending you a hug from around the world. Take care!!

BRANDEE

[Aus Traveller]

6 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

I am delighted to hear from you again, but sorry you have been feeling down. Top marks to your family for standing by you and encouraging you to get back to cruising.

[Blackduck59]

@NSWP Outstanding news Uncle Les. What better way to get out of a funk than plan something you enjoy. It's good that you have insurance and are able to travel by your favoured method and maybe see some parts of your own country you haven't seen before or in a different way than you've seen before.

We will be trying Holland America to explore parts of New England and eastern Canada. Neither of us have been to any of the paces on our itinerary.

Be well, your humour and insight are always appreciated by a couple of Canadians in (The Other) Victoria.

[Ondine]

19 minutes ago, NSWP said:

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

 

Good on you Uncle Les, that's the spirit.  So pleased to hear that you are going to give it a go.  All the best - have a great trip.

[NSWP]

11 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

@NSWP Outstanding news Uncle Les. What better way to get out of a funk than plan something you enjoy. It's good that you have insurance and are able to travel by your favoured method and maybe see some parts of your own country you haven't seen before or in a different way than you've seen before.

We will be trying Holland America to explore parts of New England and eastern Canada. Neither of us have been to any of the paces on our itinerary.

Be well, your humour and insight are always appreciated by a couple of Canadians in (The Other) Victoria.

Thanks Lyle and others. I have been to all the places except Kangaroo Island, but what the heck.  At least HAL still has ye olde cruise card not that infernal Princess Medallion which is always being slammed on CC, lol.  I am a dinosaur, lol.  I think you will like HAL.

[Blackduck59]

3 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Thanks Lyle and others. I have been to all the places except Kangaroo Island, but what the heck.  At least HAL still has ye olde cruise card not that infernal Princess Medallion which is always being slammed on CC, lol.  I am a dinosaur, lol.  I think you will like HAL.

 

Everybody loves Dinosaurs Les 😉, be careful you may have throngs following you with cameras hoping for the perfect shot of their illusive quarry 😁.

[MicCanberra]

I think the real issue is not so much that there are dinosaurs on cruise ships but what type of dinosaurs are on them. Are they diplodosauruses  or T Rexes, one just gets on with life with others while the other seeks to take the life from the others.

[Aus Traveller]

23 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Thanks Lyle and others. I have been to all the places except Kangaroo Island, but what the heck.  At least HAL still has ye olde cruise card not that infernal Princess Medallion which is always being slammed on CC, lol.  I am a dinosaur, lol.  I think you will like HAL.

Maybe you will have to look out for the cougar-sauruses.

[GUT2407]

58 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

 

Great to hear Uncle Les, was getting a tad worried.

[GUT2407]

Similar to the itinerary we have booked in Match 2024 on Royal Princess. So will be following closely when your rolls around, been to all our ports, but one by car not cruise ship.

[OzKiwiJJ]

58 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

 

Glad to have you back, I was a bit concerned over your absence. {{{{{Hugs}}}}}}

 

Great news that you're going to cruise again. That Westerdam cruise sounds good and their fares for singles seem a lot fairer to me. I don't buy into the "two people in a cabin spend more than one" excuse as it very much depends on the individuals. After all they don't put a surcharge on people who don't buy many drinks onboard, who don't go to the speciality restaurants, who don't shop in the stores, or play Bingo, or book excursions.

[OzKiwiJJ]

31 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Thanks Lyle and others. I have been to all the places except Kangaroo Island, but what the heck.  At least HAL still has ye olde cruise card not that infernal Princess Medallion which is always being slammed on CC, lol.  I am a dinosaur, lol.  I think you will like HAL.

Kangaroo Island is gorgeous but everything is spread out over a large area so it is a place where doing an excursion makes sense. Even after spending three nights there we didn't see everything we wanted to see so will probably do an excursion on one of the two cruises we have booked that go there.

[Aus Traveller]

32 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Kangaroo Island is gorgeous but everything is spread out over a large area so it is a place where doing an excursion makes sense. Even after spending three nights there we didn't see everything we wanted to see so will probably do an excursion on one of the two cruises we have booked that go there.

Agreed. Kangaroo Island is a place where you would need to book a ship's excursion. We went there with our own wheels so we could get around, but the island is very large.

[MMDown Under]

48 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Agreed. Kangaroo Island is a place where you would need to book a ship's excursion. We went there with our own wheels so we could get around, but the island is very large.

We solve the long distances by booking accommodation at both ends of the island.  Then you can meaner and enjoy what the island has on offer, rather than spending a lot of your time driving.  

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

We solve the long distances by booking accommodation at both ends of the island.  Then you can meaner and enjoy what the island has on offer, rather than spending a lot of your time driving.  

We were travelling in a motorhome so we spent a couple of nights at each end of the island. The only problem was the very high cost to take the motorhome on the ferry. It was more than taking a large motorhome and five adults across the English Channel.

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

 

That is a great itinerary Les, with two overnights.  Nice to have a cruise to look forward to in Australian waters;

[MMDown Under]

Just now, Aus Traveller said:

We were travelling in a motorhome so we spent a couple of nights at each end of the island. The only problem was the very high cost to take the motorhome on the ferry. It was more than taking a large motorhome and five adults across the English Channel.

We have taken a regular car across to the island as well as flown to island and hired a car.  Once on my own, I paid for a transfer to and from the flinders chase national park, my favourite place which was badly burnt in the bushfires.  Kangaroo Island deserves a long visit.  

[dillpickle48]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Good afternoon my friends, well I have been AWOL on here for two weeks, been on a downer, all these events hit me, mothers day, wife's 2nd anniversary of passing, wife's birthday, 50th wedding anniversary, so been munching on Prozacs.

 

Anyway, getting better and my family have pushed me back into cruising, I was not going to do anymore, so finally I got some some domestic cruise travel insurance from 1Cover at a decent price, $238.20, disclosed my conditions with a supporting letter from my GP.

 

So Uncle Les has deposited a mighty $99 deposit on HAL's Westerdam, 23 November 2022, 'South Australia Discovery Cruise, 13 days, Sydney - Eden - Port Arthur - Hobart (overnight) - Adelaide (overnight) - Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island - Melbourne - Phillip Island - Sydney.   Lashed out on a Balcony Cabin and HAL is fairly decent, not doubling the twin share price for a solo occupant. I reckon the loading is about  50% for sole occupancy. They also gave me US$200 obc, buys a few vinos. #My daily rate for cruise is AU$355, bit pricey yes, but that's life travelling solo.

 

I have only done 1 HAL cruise prior - on Noordam, sister ship of Westerdam, to Honolulu mid 2019, I liked HAL and the Vista Class ship.

 

So that is the news folks.😀

 

 

Looks like we have too much alike. My May is the same as yours except for anniversary of passing dates where mine wife’s is 3 months later. Her birthday today. A s**t  month. Thanks for wine.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

Agreed. Kangaroo Island is a place where you would need to book a ship's excursion. We went there with our own wheels so we could get around, but the island is very large.

We took our car over and drove around as much of the island as we could manage in the time we had. We really enjoyed the full day loop we did down to Seal Bay, Admirals Arch. But there were still places we missed and the downside to driving yourself is it limits wine tasting etc. 😝

[possum52]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

So that is the news folks.😀

 

Sorry to hear about your mental wellbeing Les. I was wondering where you were and hoped all was well. Glad the family has convinced you to cruise again. Sounds a great trip. 

[possum52]

Last Sunday we had been out watching grandson play football and Rob was feeling unwell later in the day, cold symptoms. As he had a medical appointment Monday morning, thought he should test - he was positive. I started to feel unwell a few days later and tested positive last night. I am feeling quite fatigued and have a very sore throat. Yesterday had a shocking headache, but not today. 

[Aus Traveller]

29 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Last Sunday we had been out watching grandson play football and Rob was feeling unwell later in the day, cold symptoms. As he had a medical appointment Monday morning, thought he should test - he was positive. I started to feel unwell a few days later and tested positive last night. I am feeling quite fatigued and have a very sore throat. Yesterday had a shocking headache, but not today. 

Sorry to hear you have COVID. Rest, rest, rest and drink plenty of water. Get well soon. 🙂