Has the new Omicron variant delay the restart of cruising?

[possum52]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

No wonder the ballkids all looked well groomed.  Nice souvenirs of the Tennis Open for the ballkids.

Experience as a ballkid for Aust Open would look good on their CVs for first jobs.  

Yes, it probably would be good on a CV. They certainly learn patience and resilience while on court. My grandson was rostered on Rod Laver yesterday for 9 hrs - 45 minutes on and 45 off. He had the two fabulous women's 4th round matches between Collins & Mertens and Halep & Cornet, and and also the Sinner v De Minaur men's match late in the afternoon into the evening. He was meant to finish his shift at 7 when the evening roster take over. He volunteered to continue on, perhaps someone didn't show up for their shift. 

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, possum52 said:

Yes, it probably would be good on a CV. They certainly learn patience and resilience while on court. My grandson was rostered on Rod Laver yesterday for 9 hrs - 45 minutes on and 45 off. He had the two fabulous women's 4th round matches between Collins & Mertens and Halep & Cornet, and and also the Sinner v De Minaur men's match late in the afternoon into the evening. He was meant to finish his shift at 7 when the evening roster take over. He volunteered to continue on, perhaps someone didn't show up for their shift. 

Oh that was the hot day wasn't it?  I was always on interview panels and I know they look for more than academic, such as sport or volunteering. 

[LittleFish1976]

3 hours ago, possum52 said:

Yes, it probably would be good on a CV. They certainly learn patience and resilience while on court. My grandson was rostered on Rod Laver yesterday for 9 hrs - 45 minutes on and 45 off. He had the two fabulous women's 4th round matches between Collins & Mertens and Halep & Cornet, and and also the Sinner v De Minaur men's match late in the afternoon into the evening. He was meant to finish his shift at 7 when the evening roster take over. He volunteered to continue on, perhaps someone didn't show up for their shift. 

 

I was watching the tennis yesterday and I did wonder how long those poor kids had to stand in the blazing sun which was so very hot yesterday. 45 minutes is a really long time to have been out there standing stock still a lot of the time, especially since they have to stay so alert!

 

 

[possum52]

6 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I was watching the tennis yesterday and I did wonder how long those poor kids had to stand in the blazing sun which was so very hot yesterday. 45 minutes is a really long time to have been out there standing stock still a lot of the time, especially since they have to stay so alert!

 

 

It is harder for the ballkids on the net, as they kneeling down when on the opposite of the court and have to get to their feet very quickly to collect balls. They also don't have any shade or very little. As the sun comes around, the baseline ballkids usually have some shade. They are provided with cold water and drinks.

[NSWP]

On 1/22/2022 at 1:08 PM, possum52 said:

The jacket retails for around $319, the shorts and tops $139, the sunnies $200-$250 plus the socks, shoes, masks, caps, back pack etc. They have two pairs of shorts and socks and two tops. All the clothes and shoes are Ralph Lauren. The shoes are made especially for the ballkids and I don't think are available for the public to buy. Similar tennis shoes would cost up to $250. The backpack retails for $50.

Wow, I wonder how many ballkids sell their gear on E Bay, make some pocket money.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Well, we decided to take a punt on cruising restarting in spring. I just sent an email to our PVP asking her to book us on the 8 night Sapphire Princess cruise to Tasmania, Sydney return, in October.  We've got plenty of FCCs available for the deposit so why not. I've been trying to do a cruise on Sapphire for a while but they kept getting cancelled. Maybe this will be third (or is it fourth) time lucky.

 

Anyone else here tempted by this cruise? We could have a forum get-together onboard.😊

Edited January 27, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[Chiliburn]

23 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Well, we decided to take a punt on cruising restarting in spring. I just sent an email to our PVP asking her to book us on the 8 night Sapphire Princess cruise to Tasmania, Sydney return, in October.  We've got plenty of FCCs available for the deposit so why not. I've been trying to do a cruise on Sapphire for a while but they kept getting cancelled. Maybe this will be third (or is it fourth) time lucky.

 

Anyone else here tempted by this cruise? We could have a forum get-together onboard.😊

You dreaming.

There maybe a Princess ship in Singapore soon. A much better bet that Australia.

[possum52]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Wow, I wonder how many ballkids sell their gear on E Bay, make some pocket money.

Perhaps, although I don't know if there would be a market for the ballkids gear Les. My GS will wear the shorts, jacket, sunnies and shoes again. 

 

I just looked on Ebay, there are a few items but not too many.

Edited January 27, 2022 by possum52

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

You dreaming.

There maybe a Princess ship in Singapore soon. A much better bet that Australia.

Unless there is another Covid variant of serious concern the governments are going to have to bite the bullet and restart cruising.  After this "let it rip" debacle they've run out of excuses and there is an election coming up.

 

Anyway booking the October cruise doesn't cost us anything whereas cruising out of Singapore involves airfares and hotel costs on top of the cruise, plus possibly a lot more hassle.

[possum52]

19 hours ago, NSWP said:

Wow, I wonder how many ballkids sell their gear on E Bay, make some pocket money.

 

17 hours ago, possum52 said:

Perhaps, although I don't know if there would be a market for the ballkids gear Les. My GS will wear the shorts, jacket, sunnies and shoes again. 

 

I just looked on Ebay, there are a few items but not too many.

Les, I was speaking to my ballkid GS earlier and he said he was going to put his AO tops and the jacket on Ebay and earn some dosh! 🤣 It will be interesting to see if they sell and how much he gets.

[NSWP]

Now we have the 'son of Omicron' arriving. 22 cases in OZ already.  Media is going off again. Where will it end.

[Chiliburn]

On 1/29/2022 at 8:37 AM, NSWP said:

Now we have the 'son of Omicron' arriving. 22 cases in OZ already.  Media is going off again. Where will it end.

And a forth wave during winter which is expected to be the worst.

[NSWP]

I did the lurgy sums today, just for NSW.   So if we are averaging 11,000 to 15,000 new cases day, then that is around 100,000 new cases a week, multiplied by 52 weeks that is about 5 million new cases per year.  Now NSW has a population of about 8 million I believe. So more than half the NSW population is going to catch it in a year.     Frightening.

Edited February 2, 2022 by NSWP

[By The Bay]

The ABC is reporting that Australians can travel to NZ quarantine free by July

That's according to the NZ PM Jacinda Ardern. She says the border will fully reopen to all visitors from October.

 

Will that mean cruise ships will be allowed to visit?  🤔 I certainly hope so. 😉

[GUT2407]

On 2/3/2022 at 9:29 AM, By The Bay said:

The ABC is reporting that Australians can travel to NZ quarantine free by July

That's according to the NZ PM Jacinda Ardern. She says the border will fully reopen to all visitors from October.

 

Will that mean cruise ships will be allowed to visit?  🤔 I certainly hope so. 😉

Whereas another station, sorry not sure what was on, said there’d still be a 10 day quarantine.