cheone

22 hours ago, wowzz said:

Just watched the first episode of Frozen Planet 2 on BBC tonight, narrated by David Attenborough.  Make the most of the views,  they won't be around much longer !

Why won't the views of Hubbard Glacier be around much longer?  Hubbard Glacier has advanced 2 miles in the last 100 years.  Half of the Glaciers in Alaska are advancing and 50% receding.   Mendenhall Glacier has even stopped receding 3 years ago.  

On 6/2/2022 at 8:54 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

With a quick search you will find a number of other threads discussing binoculars.

 

The binoculars used on most ship's bridges have 7 or 8 magnification, which is the first number. As ships are constantly moving and vibrating, this is considered a happy medium between bringing objects in close and avoiding vibration. The 2nd number is the light gathering capability, with a bigger number being generally better in low light.

 

Personally, having used binoculars for many years, my preference is 10 x 50, with the 10-magnification working well on most cruise ships.

 

Another feature I have grown to like is the "Perma Focus" option. When viewing wildlife, you don't want to be messing with getting them focussed. The perma focus provides a focus from a few feet to infinity.

 

In addition to perma focus, another key specification is field of view. The wider field of view assists in spotting wildlife quickly, without having to scan.

 

My preference, over many years of use, is the Bushnell 10x50 Perma Focus. They are reasonably priced, so if they get damaged during travel, I have no problem throwing them away and buying replacement. With perma focus and a large field of view it helps spotting wildlife.

 

Cons - they are a fair size, which is necessary for the included features.

I have used the highly rated Bushnell 10X50 Perma Focus in Alaska. It has been the best binocular I have had.  Walmart.com has the Busnell Spectator Sport 10x50 Perma focus for $68.99.  

16 hours ago, brewcrew said:

We are planning on flying into Seattle before our Alaskan cruise next summer.  We would land in Seattle around 10:30 am and then spend the day in Seattle.  We really would like to see the Space Needle and Pike Place Market on that day.  We then plan on taking the 7:45 am train to Vancouver the next morning to spend 2 days in Vancouver.  We are looking at Marriott Courtyard  in Pioneer Square since it is close to King Street Station.  I just don’t know if that is a very  hilly walk.  Does this sound doable?  Any helpful tips or ideas would be appreciated.  Taphanks!

Walk to King Street Station-5minutes slight downhill. Pike Place Market via 1st Ave -15 - 20 minutes-moderate uphill.  Space Needle is a 25 minute walk past Pike Place Market.  Your best bet is take city bus to Space Needle and on the way back get off at Pine or Pike St and go over to the Pike Street Market and then downhill to your hotel.   Your in a very bad crime area at the location of your Hotel-alot of Assaults and Robberies.   The King County Courthouse, announced three days ago that employees can work from home because of the assaults against the employees.  Judges in the Courthouse have been pleading with the city for 2 years  to provide police protection because of Jurors, Judges and court employees are being assaulted, raped and assaulted  and the Jurors quit in the middle of Trials.  Your best bet is to stay in your hotel room.  Another option you can look into is get a hotel in Edmonds, just north of Seattle and walk to the Train Station there.    

8 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

 

 

Two different takes on Belltown! Here are the stats on Cleveland, where we live in a western suburb:

With a crime rate of 60 per one thousand residents, Cleveland has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 17.

From the same source here is Seattle:

With a crime rate of 52 per one thousand residents, Seattle has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 19.

Safer in Seattle!!

Correct,  Cleveland  per FBI statistics, 98% of the cities in USA are less dangerous.  Seattle, 96% of the cities in USA are less dangerous.  

2 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

Belltown is not dicey at all. It is one of the hottest neighborhoods and housing markets in Seattle, especially for young professionals.

 

The Sound Hotel is at 2120 4th Street. Two blocks up at 1920 4th Street there is a $7 million dollar, 3 bedroom condo for sale.

 

For P.A., I'd use Uber or Lyft from the airport. If you don't have a Smartphone, then I'd use Shuttle Express.

Seattle has one of the highest rate of crime in America.  96% of the cities in United States have lower crime rate  Belltown is the most dangerous area in Seattle.  All retail stores in Downtown have closed due to shoplifting that goes unpunished. The Stolen Goods Flee Market is located in Belltown.   

Great advise from Gardyloo.  The Ballard locks (25 ft) drop is another site to visit.  It is 6 blocks west from The Fishermans Termainal.  The Ballard locks has a Fish Ladder which is full of Salmon in the summertime, can see the sea lions at the base of the dam feeding on the salmon and the boats going through the Locks, including fishing boats heading to Alaska.  It is snowing up at Paradise now with 2 inches overnight.  

16 hours ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

What was the cause of the wildfires before the climate changed?

Before -the Climate Change controversy-lightning. Now-arson caused by Antifa and other terrorist groups.  2 years ago in Southern California when there was Santa Anna winds, 20 wildfires were started within a 20 minute period. 1000's of homes are lost every year in California due to these arson caused fires.    Where I live, there has been 8 arson fires with several homes burnt down, including a 2 year old girl killed.  Getting back to this subject, write your congressman and Senators to open up Alaska cruises without a required stop in Canada.

3 hours ago, cruisernh said:

I am scheduled on a B2B in December. Interesting. I would like to know how that will work. We have to leave the ship and re-check in so I would think we are doing 2 7 day cruises vs a 14 day cruise. We have never done a B2B before.

I have done B2B many times.  All passengers have to get off and clear immigration usually around 10AM.  After you clear immigration, you go to a designated area waiting for customs to let  the B2B passengers to come back.  They will not let you back on until  all passengers have gotten of the ship. One time we waited 90 minutes for 2 passengers to clear immigration.   They had to hunt them down to leave the ship and clear immigration.  In most cases, you are back on board within 15 minutes  

5 hours ago, John99 said:

I agree --- great news.

The benefit (OBC) has been extended through July 31, 2022.

Again, available to shareholders with 100 shares of Carnival Corp. or Carnival plc. 

 

The Shareholder Benefit notice that comes out once a year has always increased the benefit date by one year forward.  Phone numbers sometimes will change.

Johnson and Johnson asked for FDA Emergency use authorization 3 weeks ago.  Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were approved in 7 days.  Just watched Pres Bidens news conference at the Pfizer manufacturing plant, he said that he had to order  an additional 200 million doses to vaccine 300 million.  No mention of the 1 shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine.   Anybody know why the Johnson and Johnson  vaccine request will not be considered. USA has already purchased 100 million doses back in July.  

Up $1.50 today to $24

On 2/9/2021 at 5:12 PM, JimmyVWine said:

Wait.  What?  We went from "Anyone in the USA will be able to get a covid shot by April,..." to "... anyone that wants the [sic] to be vaccinated will be able to do so by May."

Thank you for proving my point.  And just watch.  Your "May" will become my "End of June" at best.  Mark it down.

 

And: "Moderna Corporation developed the vaccine.  Oxford is working on its own vaccine that was also funded by Operation Warp Speed."

 

Ummm. No.  Just  no.  Please read the link I posted earlier.

Dr Fauci just announced that there will be enough vaccine supply by April to allow anyone who wants a shot to begin getting one.

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

So much is wrong with these "facts".  But let's stick to the math.  With two doses per person needed for complete vaccination, we would need 656 million doses to vaccinate everyone in the United States by April 1.  Your post above promises us 100 million doses each by Moderna and Pfizer by March 31.  That is 200 million doses that will vaccinate 100 million people.  You go on to say that each will then add another 100 million doses, (200 million doses covering another 100 million people) by June 1.  So by your own aggressive math, 200 million people out of 328 million people will be (can be) vaccinated by the end of June.  (Remember, having the doses available on June 1 does not mean that the doses are in the arms by June 1.  You have to add in at least another month for distribution.)  So you have in one breath told us that anyone can have a shot by April 1, but you then laid out math that shows that only two-thirds of the country can be vaccinated by June 30.  

 

Warp Speed is a slogan, not a solution.  I don't think that the good people in Oxford working on the Moderna vaccine even heard of the phrase.  https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55041371  The term isn't even mentioned in this piece.  

JimmyV, So much wrong with your analysis.  Moderna and Pfizer requires 2 shots.  400 million shots equal 200 million people  that can get the vaccine. Johnson and Johnson requires 1 shot.  100 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson equals 100 million people can get the vaccinated .   Population in United States 323 million.  CDC says that 60% to 70% of the population  will want to be vaccinated.   Sticking to the math, based on the above data and facts, anyone that wants the to be vaccinated will be able to do so by May.

You say that Operation Warp Speed is a slogan and not a solution. Have you read the government web site for Operation Warp Speed.  If it wasn't for Operation Warp Speed, we would not have vaccines, we would not have the distribution system from manufactures the  McKesson distribution centers and out to the vaccine sites.  If it wasn't for Operation Warp Speed,  we received a vaccine was developed  in 5 months  instead  of 5 to 10 years that it took in the past.  JimmyV, you stated that "the good  people at Oxford working on the Moderna vaccine never heard of the the phase (Operation Warp Speed).   Again, you have the wrong facts.  Oxford is not working on the Moderna vacinne,   Moderna Corporation developed the vaccine.  Oxford is working on its own vaccine that was also funded by Operation Warp Speed.  

9 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Our cruises are starting in Feb 2022 ,Sept 2022 & April 2023  . We did not book in 2021 because we felt that the vaccines   & vaccinations would be not sufficient through  out the cruising world

 

 What say you?

 

 

Anyone in the USA will be able to get a covid shot by April, thanks to Operation Warp speed, where we funded the research and ordered vaccine that was guaranteed to be delivered as follows:

Moderna and Pfizer 200 million doses each,  Each will deliver 100 miilion doses by March 31st and each will deliver another 100 Million by June 1st. Both have said that they are on tract in meeting their guaranteed deliveries.  Johnson and Johnson 100 million doses purchase and will be approved in the next 10 days.  Johnson and Johnson said they will deliver 100 million doses by June.  100 million doses of Noravax vacinne has also been purchased by United States.  The above information comes from Operation Warp Speed web site , plus the websites of Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson. 

13 hours ago, njhorseman said:

If such a bill were to be signed into law before the ink was dry on the president's signature I think American Cruise Lines would be in court and  obtaining an injunction preventing that because of the irreparable harm it would cause to their business .

What harm would it cause to the Cruise Lines.  I cannot understand your reasoning.  The cruises out of Seattle would be able to have a full schedule this summer. 

15 hours ago, memoak said:

Until Canada and the US of open the borders there will not be any Alaskan cruises 

386  Alaska cruises out of Seattle and Vancouver this summer.  Cruises will happen, unless the new Administration continues the border restrictions.  Seattle and Vancouver depends on the Billions of dollars that come into their economy.  

3 hours ago, pmCruiser said:

Is this cruise really cancelled?

 

I did receive the email from Princess saying that it was cancelled.

 

I never did receive the official notice that was posted, above, by  Cruise Wonderland.

 

When I go to my cruise personalizer on the Princess website, it is still shown as an upcoming cruise.  And, it still shows all of my information (i.e., cabin, dining selection, onboard services, payments, credits, travel summary, etc.).

 

Again, I ask, is this cruise really cancelled???????
 

I received a email from Princess yesterday that they cancelled the cruise.  If you book another cruise by Dec 15th,  Princess will reward you for their cancellation of the cruise $50-OBC per person.  It is amazing how generous Princess is for cancelling the cruise for no reason.

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

18.37. 

The stock price high today was $19.86 or up 44%.  The good news from the Independent Committee that is studying the Pfizer vaccine is the reason the stock is up.  The Pfizer vaccine will be approved by the FDA in the next 10 days, followed by Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.  Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, 300 million doses have been purchase and will be available in December.   

1 hour ago, HappyInVan said:

 

As we can see from this thread, there are numbers of people willing to endorse the vaccine without access to the data. or understanding the limitations.

 

Anyway, I'm sure that the public won't be thrilled to learn that millions of lives will be put at risk because of a study on just 150 (or 32) cases (out of a population of 44k).

 

 

Pfizer had 41,000 volunteers, Moderna had 31,000 volunteers and Johnson and Johnson had 62,000 volunteers.  These 3 Companies will have 100s of million doses available in USA in December.   I don't know where you get 150 cases.  Is that in Canada?

5 hours ago, MissP22 said:

So far this seems to hold true but we'll be waiting until it's either common practice by everyone to accept the vaccine or they require it to board.

I've see to many cases of Noro over the years to think that they can control the covid-19 virus so easily.

 

Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, Pfizer vaccines will be available in the third week of this month, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson will be available in Dec.  Altogether with the three,  300 million doses will be available in December, most of which have already been manufactured.  The cruise lines will probably have 2 groups  and how they treat them on the ship.  Group 1. those that got the vaccine- No restrictions and back to normal, and Group 2. those that have not got the vaccine.  Group 2 will have to practice social distancing and wear masks and probably be prohibited to go onshore except for Princess tours.   

I just looked at my credits for my Feb Cruise, the Shareholder credit dropped off.  Called Princess and asked them why my Shareholder OBC was not on my account.  After a 5 minute delay, the Shareholder OBC was restored. 

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

Sure keeping my fingers crossed that this will be true.  Unfortunately, I live in California and our governor will not allow distribution of the shot until his independent task force deems it safe for use.   I have pushed back one of our Alaska cruises from May to July in hopes that this whole mess will all be sorted out.  Missed out on two Alaska cruises last year and not looking forward to repeating the same in 2021.

Here in Washington State, I am worried about our Gov. Inslee doing the same.  Last week on the day of the Governors debate  he opened up our county to Phase 2, where restaurants can open.

On 9/25/2020 at 11:00 PM, Ashland said:

I had been considering May 2021...but will now look toward 2022 instead.

Thanks to the $12 Billion Operation Warp Speed Initiative  and ignored by most of the networks, Pfizer and Moderna recently announced that their vaccine will be available in the 3rd week of November.   Our government has purchased 100 million doses from each company and they are manufacturing millions of doses every day.  The US govt has the military with special equipment to handle the Vaccine distribution to Mckesson (100s of Distribution centers).  Alaska cruises next summer will happen and I would say that you will need proof of a Covid shot to cruise to Alaska.    

21 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

The Pfizer CEO has  stated that their vaccine will be ready the end of this November 

Today. Moderna announce that they will be ready in December.  Thanks to Operation Warp Speed,  100 million doses from Moderna and Pfiser will be available and ready to be distributed this year.   The US govt has the military with special equipment to handle the Vaccine distribution to McKesson (100's of Distribution Centers).   I am 100% sure that I will be getting a Covid 19 shot by the time of my cruise in March.

1 hour ago, arizonaperson said:

Good luck. 🍀 You do know that if and when a vaccine is available, it probably won’t be available to most of us at first. Think of all the healthcare workers, firefighters, police officers and the list goes on and on .( a large number to be offered the vaccine at first)I’m sure there will  be some sort of a system in the USA and other countries,but too many unknowns at this point. (  I am a retired healthcare worker)  I doubt the vaccine at first will be sped  up to give to all of us that just say that they want to cruise or go on vacation ,not happening. 

 

 

I think this post has  totally gone off-topic -as the question was posed :will you cruise in January or February 2021 .

My post wasn't  off topic.  I said we will be cruising in Feb with our corona Virus shot and the reason is "Operation Warp Speed".  I think the 200 million of the vaccines that will be available in Nov.  will be enough to give to the 51% (Pew Research survey 9/17/20) of the people that will get the Corona virus shot .   USA has confidence in the vaccines to preorder 200 million doses.  Canada has confidence in the vaccines to preordered 100 million doses. Both USA and Canada preorders are being manufactured right now and will be ready when approved.  Other Countries have confidence in the developed vaccines and have preordered  over 1 Billion  doses. 

Princess and other Cruise lines will probably have a policy for those that received the vaccine and those that did not get the vaccine.   I would say that all cruise members will receive the vaccine.   Operation Warp Speed made the process of getting a successful vaccine in 5 months vs 5 years or no development at all (Look at the Swine Flu vaccine failure).  Again, I will be cruising in Feb with a Corona Virus shot and most of the people on our cruise will have gotten the shot.