Do you even want to cruise again?

[Lvshack]

6 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

 

I'm afraid Harry's Bar is precisely the sort of tourist trap we avoid.

Very sorry I'm sure !!! Just a figure of speech... Have you ever been???

[Lvshack]

12 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

 

We last went to Venice in February 2019 and stayed a week - it was fabulous and almost empty of tourists.  I'm afraid Harry's Bar is precisely the sort of tourist trap we avoid, though we did have an al fresco lunch at Quadri's on the square.  

But you were a tourist!!!! Or are you someone special??? We all like to think we own these fabulous places but sorry we don't ..or maybe you do.... I started cruising in 1990 & hardly any large ships were out on the ocean at that time but wether we like it or  not it's not just for us anymore... Lots of people wanting to explore & we enjoy what we have been able to do for s long time...

[Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Lvshack said:

But you were a tourist!!!! 

 

Yes, of course.  

 

My cruising began in 2003 and to begin with it was always on small ships.  And by small ships I mean 100 passenger expedition vessels such as Noble Caledonia's Island Sky and what was originally an Australian-owned ship Orion.  I did maybe a dozen cruises on ships like these, going to some of the remotest places on the planet, before I ventured on to bigger ships such as Seabourn and Silversea.  Of course I'd like to cruise again but at least Mrs Fletcher and I can look back on our seafaring years and be happy that we went (almost) everywhere we wanted to.  

[Lvshack]

2 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

 

Yes, of course.  

 

My cruising began in 2003 and to begin with it was always on small ships.  And by small ships I mean 100 passenger expedition vessels such as Noble Caledonia's Island Sky and what was originally an Australian-owned ship Orion.  I did maybe a dozen cruises on ships like these, going to some of the remotest places on the planet, before I ventured on to bigger ships such as Seabourn and Silversea.  Of course I'd like to cruise again but at least Mrs Fletcher and I can look back on our seafaring years and be happy that we went (almost) everywhere we wanted to.  

I didn't mean any harm on the post ... You have been very lucky to experience the quantity cruise experience.... Much different from mine.. I've just  posted a thread on royal Caribbean take over post & it was just my experience of first time cruising back in 1990  which back then was a dream for me on royal Caribbean out of Miami & did 15 plus with them which we did enjoy ( I was not really interested in where I went it was just the experience of a cruise ship..) you sound a very interesting man & would cry help if we were ever on the same table on silversea ( never done seabourn one of my brother's favourite lines) but I think you might like me😉 I posted that after our very first cruise in 1990 with rccl I'm back where I started..🤔

[MJN1]

For MJN1, I also love your Salzburg, Austria.  That's an amazing location with such exciting history, architecture, people, etc., etc.

 

Terry,

many thanks. The city is filling up with tourists again and "life" here looks deceptively normal. Even the Salzburg summer Festival will take place in August, albeit in a much reduced format.

When can we cruise again...? Given that USA, UK and Australians usually accounted for close to 75% (or more) of passengers on Silversea and/or Seabourn and the first two countries now "banned" from entering in many places and Australia reluctant to allow anyone back-in the outlook for a viable operation without such cruisers isn't very bright...

[Bucephalus53]

On 7/14/2020 at 12:10 PM, MJN1 said:

For MJN1, I also love your Salzburg, Austria.  That's an amazing location with such exciting history, architecture, people, etc., etc.

 

Terry,

many thanks. The city is filling up with tourists again and "life" here looks deceptively normal. Even the Salzburg summer Festival will take place in August, albeit in a much reduced format.

 

Is that festival the one with the painted cows (IIRC)?

[Randyk47]

On 7/14/2020 at 11:10 AM, MJN1 said:

When can we cruise again...? Given that USA, UK and Australians usually accounted for close to 75% (or more) of passengers on Silversea and/or Seabourn and the first two countries now "banned" from entering in many places and Australia reluctant to allow anyone back-in the outlook for a viable operation without such cruisers isn't very bright...

I live in Texas and given it is one of the virus hotspots in the United States I can’t even move everywhere freely around in my own country.   Add that as much as I wish I could wake up tomorrow to news that COVID-19 has magically disappeared I don’t see that happening anytime soon.   I agree the near term future is not very bright.  

[Stumblefoot]

57 minutes ago, Randyk47 said:

I live in Texas and given it is one of the virus hotspots in the United States I can’t even move everywhere freely around in my own country.

 

I sure wish all of the Texans gallivanting around in Colorado would return home.  During our time traveling around the high country of our state over the past 2-1/2 weeks, we tracked all of the out of state license plates that passed us on the roads.  Over 90% were from Texas.  It was the craziest thing we've ever seen here.

[Randyk47]

34 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

 

I sure wish all of the Texans gallivanting around in Colorado would return home.  During our time traveling around the high country of our state over the past 2-1/2 weeks, we tracked all of the out of state license plates that passed us on the roads.  Over 90% were from Texas.  It was the craziest thing we've ever seen here.

I’ve heard more families are driving to vacation locations this year than in many years.   At the same time airlines are struggling and reporting drops of 70%+ over previous years.   I know San Antonio International is running around 25% of their typical flights/passengers.   Mrs K and I really don’t like long distance driving so typically fly but since we’re not cruising for awhile we’re thinking of driving to our friends’ house on a lake in Georgia.   About a 10-12 hour drive and better yet we’d not be exposing ourselves on a plane.  

[Lois R]

Speaking of cruising again, did any of you receive a new email from SS today? From the CEO? He spoke about Royal

now owning them in full and the SS experience will not change and the health and safety of everyone is the most

important thing and they look forward to seeing us all back on board whenever it is safe to sail again.

[TLCOhio]

13 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Speaking of cruising again, did any of you receive a new email from SS today? From the CEO? He spoke about Royal now owning them in full and the SS experience will not change and the health and safety of everyone is the most important thing and they look forward to seeing us all back on board when it is safe to sail again.

 

YES, just looked at this video.  Since the RCCL final purchase was announced last week, parts of this announcement are not exactly "news" this week.  BUT, both of them did a decent job reading off their teleprompter scripts.  To Silversea's credit, they did not hype and/or spin too much in claiming that sailings would be happening "soon".  All of us are just waiting to see when conditions actually improve to allow our exploring to resume. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Wonderful scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 239,885

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[TLCOhio]

On 7/14/2020 at 12:10 PM, MJN1 said:

Terry, many thanks. The city is filling up with tourists again and "life" here looks deceptively normal. Even the Salzburg summer Festival will take place in August, albeit in a much reduced format.

 

Great follow-up info and update regarding Salzburg.  Glad to hear that things are somewhat approaching "normal" there.  First visited there in 1970 while in college and doing a EuroRail adventure.  Loved being in this town then and when we came back in 1997.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 251,756 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

BUT, both of them did a decent job reading off their teleprompter scripts.

 

I appreciated that Silversea provided a "settings" option that allowed us to pick the audio/video speed.  Since both gentlemen are not native English speakers, it made the length much more bearable. ☺️

[silkismom]

Stumblefoot, we just returned from camping at Westcliffe, gorgeous mountain chain, while we walked around the campground we noticed very few rvs from CO, most from other states, a lot of Texas, SD, VA and FL. It is less than 100 miles from home but sometimes you really have to go ANYWHERE. Our area is greener, the green in the photo is grazing land and only green for miles. 

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, silkismom said:

Stumblefoot, we just returned from camping at Westcliffe, gorgeous mountain chain...

OMG!  Silkismom, we were just there too!  Thanks for sharing.
 

We camped just outside Lake Isabel and did the Frontier Pathways drive over to Westcliffe.  It was our first time there and we were shocked we had never heard of it before and we’ve lived in the state for two decades.  We found it absolutely stunning.  

 

I picked up a few real estate books and couldn’t believe how cheap the land was, relative to other Colorado locales with views like that.  We even stopped in and checked out the Grape Creek campground for a potential future return trip.

[Emtbsam]

What type of camping are you doing?  Tent, trailer, rv?  We are thinking of downsizing our rv and are looking for ideas.

[Stumblefoot]

34 minutes ago, Emtbsam said:

What type of camping are you doing?  Tent, trailer, rv?  We are thinking of downsizing our rv and are looking for ideas.

We have a 38’ “Reflection” pull behind travel trailer.  The manufacturer is Grand Design.  We pull it with a one ton RAM.  LOVE IT!
 

Here is a pic of us in Telluride, CO.

 

[silkismom]

We have a 36' Winnebago gas motor home--we were staying at Grape Creek RV pk. Last fall we stayed at Ridgeway St. Pk and drove several passes, in car not RV (Dallas Divide, Owl Creek pass) looking at aspens--WOW. 

[MJN1]

First visited there in 1970 while in college and doing a EuroRail adventure.  Loved being in this town then and when we came back in 1997.  

 

Terry,

yes, the times of Europe on $5 a day..... I guess today one may make it on $50/day, but $500 (and more) may be more realistic. 🤣

 

Is that festival the one with the painted cows (IIRC)?

 

Bucephalus53,

not sure what you mean with "IIRC". The Salzburg summer festival was founded in 1920 and focuses on classical music, operas and theater plays.  I can't recall any "painted cows" being featured, but Salzburg's "painted bull" story goes back to the middle-ages. When the city was under a siege and had only one bull left, they citizens decided to paint this last bull in different colors and shades every day. They then walked the animal along the ramparts to show the enemy  that they had enough supplies to hold out and the enemy finally left. "Fake news" several centuries ago....

[Randyk47]

IIRC is Internet shorthand for “If I recall correctly”.

[Bucephalus53]

4 hours ago, MJN1 said:

First visited there in 1970 while in college and doing a EuroRail adventure.  Loved being in this town then and when we came back in 1997.  

 

Terry,

yes, the times of Europe on $5 a day..... I guess today one may make it on $50/day, but $500 (and more) may be more realistic. 🤣

 

Is that festival the one with the painted cows (IIRC)?

 

Bucephalus53,

not sure what you mean with "IIRC". The Salzburg summer festival was founded in 1920 and focuses on classical music, operas and theater plays.  I can't recall any "painted cows" being featured, but Salzburg's "painted bull" story goes back to the middle-ages. When the city was under a siege and had only one bull left, they citizens decided to paint this last bull in different colors and shades every day. They then walked the animal along the ramparts to show the enemy  that they had enough supplies to hold out and the enemy finally left. "Fake news" several centuries ago....

Thank you...I remembered that story from our visit to the castle almost 20 years ago. Obviously, I did not recall correctly that it was a bull and not a cow 😉

I loved my visit to Salzburg. 

[Lvshack]

5 hours ago, silkismom said:

We have a 36' Winnebago gas motor home--we were staying at Grape Creek RV pk. Last fall we stayed at Ridgeway St. Pk and drove several passes, in car not RV (Dallas Divide, Owl Creek pass) looking at aspens--WOW. 

 

Oh my .. all your lovely photos of your journeys  look amazing...

But the thread was  do you even want to cruise again???)  So what are you saying??? No I'm happy just driving around in our motor home . Rv's  sorry if I'm missing the point on this topic .. but I just want to get back to cruising when it is safe to do so..

I'm ready but it's not going to be 2020 realistically 😢 I luv cruising I don't have a camper ( UK talk) and I don't even want  ONE.. but that said the best  of your outdoors looks so good across the pond ... & Terry is there anywhere you have not been???

You have so much knowledge it's amazing... Anyway I  know that you have seen several of my  treads I have made comments  on ( no response usually  no worries I'm thick skinned)  well it's late in the  UK& maybe to much wine & worse of all watching very anti English Mel Gibson BRAVE HEART... Need I say more ..luv you all 

 

[Emtbsam]

Sorry to have hijacked the thread.  The photos are lovely.

[silkismom]

Sorry, but we have to do something while waiting for the world to stop spinning. I can only sit and watch TV so many days without going crazy. We've had 2 cruises canceled in the past few months and not holding my breath for the Dec or Apr 2021 ones. 

[crusinbanjo]

21 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

We have a 38’ “Reflection” pull behind travel trailer.  The manufacturer is Grand Design.  We pull it with a one ton RAM.  LOVE IT!
 

Here is a pic of us in Telluride, CO.

 

I like that.  Mrs Banjo and I are thinking of doing a similar setup.  We had a travel trailer some years ago that we loved...... now I wonder why we ever let it go!