ilikeanswers

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

but do not get on a scooter under any circumstances, you will not be covered.

I was told if you have a motorcycle licence you would be covered for a scooter accident. Is that not true? 

4 hours ago, Galesa said:

I'd have to look it up but I would have thought it was reasonable for the insurer to ask for some supporting evidence that there was actual damage to the car which resulted in the car rental company withholding the excess.

Evidence of damage for sure, the rental companies I have used always gave me a car diagram with the encircled damage along with a summary page providing further description and with cost outlined. But I have never been asked to prove the rental company actually fixed the damage. I'm not really sure why an insurance company would care since I am their client and I'm being charged whether or not the rental company goes through with the repairs🤷‍♀️. 

3 hours ago, Galesa said:

I had 3rd party rental car insurance. To assess the claim they needed evidence of damage and repair. I suspect the damage was never repaired. 

Now I'm curious who was your insurer, because none of my claims they ever asked for evidence of repair. Sounds like an insurer I need to avoid😬. 

19 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, that does seem a little strange.

 

I do know that although markets on some of the smaller Pacific island will accept AUD they are so grateful when you offer to pay in the local currency. It can be hard for them to get currencies changed and it costs them quite a bit. One guy on one of the PNG island was pleading to people passing by to change a AUD $5 to Kina. We had a bit of extra cash so I changed it for him. He was so thankful. 

Kind of reminds me when I was flying out of Bali these Balinese men would walk around our check in lines asking if we would take their accumulated $1 and $2 AUD coins they had been given in exchange for notes of the same value since they couldn't exchange coins at all. 

18 hours ago, Over from NZ said:

 there's no way the average retail assistant is versed in spotting counterfeit money from foreign currencies they very rarely see if at all. 

Not just counterfeit but out of date money. Unfortunately I heard on the Carribean Islands tourists who had out of date foreign currency would use it there and the retailers wouldn't find out they had been tricked till they went to exchange it and were told it can only be exchanged by a bank from the currency's country which obviously the island didn't have😕. 

22 hours ago, Galesa said:

Only for 1 day. Pay the extra for the rental companies' insurance. Yes. I know you may have 3rd party insurance from your TI provider or your CC coverage but small price to pay for total piece of mind and not having to gather a whole heap of "evidence" from a not totally cooperative car rental company in a land far, far away should the unthinkable happen.

Are the USA rental companies known for being uncooperative? I have made three claims in my travelling life and so far all rental companies have been very cooperative however none were in USA. If anything the process seems to be automated, they know what documents the insurers will want and fill everything on site. Only once I had an insurance company request a document I didn't already have and the rental company sent it quickly. 

1 hour ago, colourbird said:

It's unbelievable sellers in a tourist market near a cruise port won't accept anything but their local currency. It wouldn't have hurt to have accepted our $US40 along with everyone else's money and taken it to the bank at the end of the day to exchange it. She would have lost a lot of sales as nobody would have changed money to CI$ for a half day port visit.

I don't think a local asking for local currency is the most unreasonable request😂. In China they are one step away from asking tourists to open a local bank account😜. It would be easier on the locals if they didn't have to exchange their earnings everyday. I can only imagine the seller has had some negative experiences that have put them off foreign currency. With ATMs readily available and increasingly with the ability to withdraw smaller amounts a little guest hospitality towards our hosts might be just a nice thing to do🤗.

50 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I was referring to markets in Australia and NZ. However I take your point, developing countries just don't have the technology developed countries do.

I'm think most markets in Australia do draw the line at foreign currency😝. I always though Cayman Islands was a developed territory🤔. 

On 1/7/2024 at 6:41 AM, MMDown Under said:

I'll not make the mistake of getting $100 bills, like I did for USA once.  Every shopkeeper held the bill up to the light and looked at the $100 suspiciously like I must have been a bank robber.  Dirty $1 bills they don't give a glance, but a new crisp $100 bill you must be up to no good.  

If you think $100 note is problematic try a $2 note. Americans don't believe it is real money😂. 

All the cars I have rented included CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) or LDW (Loss Damage Waiver). My travel insurance covers the excess cost up to $4000 or $6000 depending on the company. 

23 hours ago, arxcards said:

- Check around for any put aside/party used gift cards and use them up,

Gift cards should be treated like cash when you receive them put them straight in the wallet. Had a friend who was doing a house clean out found $600 worth of gift cards, more than half had already expired😭. 

2 hours ago, lyndarra said:

I had a thought (usually painful when that happens😁). With the rounding up of prices, e.g. ending .99c, people paying in cash are paying extra whereas if using a card one pays the exact amount. Surely that would add up over the years.

But if it is 92c you save with cash since that rounds down. 

16 hours ago, Mareblu said:

 He’s a B blood type, can’t remember which specifically atm, but when I researched this topic, I found that Os are targeted, while Bs are generally ignored if there’s an O around.

Maybe try some coconut scented soap. Apparently mozzies don't like coconut scent:

You really are a mosquito magnet. Here’s what you can do about it.

On 1/5/2024 at 7:41 AM, MMDown Under said:

Does anyone remember those glass "things", where the flies can get in, but not get out?.  I thought they were revolting, sitting on the kitchen table, but I'd love one now.  

For small flies we would use to get take away containers punch little holes into the lid and fill the container with a mixture of vinegar and water. Hated emptying that thing out🤢. 

5 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

What is even worse is that I was reading this morning where there are unconfirmed reports of looting on Mt Tamborine. Some people are absolute GRUBS!!! And I hope the authorities catch up with them and throw the book at them. Thievery is bad enough, but stealing from people who are already suffering deprivation is the absolute lowest of the low. Bring back the stocks, I'd happily throw rotten eggs at them (and those would probably be in abundance with all the food spoilage).😠

I haven't read the Mount Tamborine story but are we certain they are not cut off people who ran out of resources? Sometimes looting can be out of desperation if you are cut off for longer than expected. I remember that happened during one of Florida’s hurricanes, people were pretty peeved about being labelled looters😂. They even paid for the stuff they took when the shop owners returned. 

On 12/22/2023 at 3:35 AM, MMDown Under said:

It amazes me that other cruise lines haven't developed their markets here.  Australians are amongst the top travellers.  Australian have recreation leave of four weeks annually, plus longer if they work in the bush (eg miners).  We are used to flying long haul to travel, but people are less keen now following Covid.

I suspect it is all about population. Australia and New Zealand pop is only about 30 million combined compared to USA with 332 million or Europe with 741 million. The reality is not everyone cruises and if the cruising population is 10% it would be significantly more people out of 332 million than 30 million. Combine that with the trend towards bigger and bigger ships the cruise lines need a population they know can fill those ships. Unless we can convince the growing middle class of China and India to hop on a Pacific cruise I just don't see how we could have the numbers to sustain year long cruising🤷‍♀️. 

On 12/22/2023 at 3:26 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

- I suspect a good travel agent would be an asset, but it's hard to know who's good vs. who's mediocre.

That is really the main point. If the OP doesn't see value in the travel agent then perhaps either find another travel agent or start booking direct. Personally I have yet to find one of these amazing travel agents that offer anything better than what I find myself or go above and beyond to service me. My experiences have been either exasperating or disappointing. 

I'm always curious why people with severe sea sickness chose to cruise. I see threads pop up all the time asking what drugs to take to alleviate sea sickness and I wonder is a trip really worth being drugged up to survive it?

I suppose it is not that different to having to take Malaria tablets at some destinations, though personally I wouldn't be repeating that trip again and again😂. 

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

Add to that how some countries might treat possession of weed.  This person seems stupid enough to keep is stash on him if he had to leave the boat.  

I suppose that would assume what the cruise ship crew tell the authorities is the reason for wanting to disembark the passenger. They may choose to leave out the part about the drugs and only tell them it was because of his behaviour towards other passengers. 

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

While disembarkation may seem fair, the Master needs substantive evidence and the punishment also needs to fit the crime.

Out of curiosity if a ship wants to disembark a passenger would they need permission from the country they want to send the passenger to? I would assume the country would want some proof that said passenger can realistically make their way home in a timely manner from their forced disembarkation point🤔? 

8 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

On a major line like Costa, I find it very unlikely that the only working cameras were in the casino.  In fact, there's no way that's true.  Nowadays, almost every square inch of public space is captured on one camera or another.  

If there are cameras something must have been wrong with them because the OP was asked to ID the perpetrator from a selection of photos. The OP even said the first selection of photos were of black and Asian men when they specified it was a white man. If there was video then the staff should not have made that mistake🤷‍♀️. 

44 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Often called a Ned Kelly pie, and one of my local bakeries does a good one - Ridgey Didge Pies

That is lucky. The last place I knew that made that pie closed down. As such is life🤷‍♀️. 

Fancy pie last night butcher made chicken and tarragon. Ver nice flaky pastry and really nice succulent chicken. Definitely one to buy again. Tomorrow trying the lamb ragu pie. 

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Agreed, definitely Vietnam with all that junk

Sadly Vietnam will have less junk soon:

Vietnam's popular sailing junks face extinction

4 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I hate to pop another popular forum bubble, but I do not believe those stores are actually owned by the cruise lines.  Certainly not 80% of them.   What I understand is they pay a pretty price to be listed among the places recommended by the cruise lines and to be included on the rather vague port maps provided by the cruise lines.  It is bad for passengers who don't realize they are probably paying more at those places and bad for the community because those kick-backs are not staying local to multiply.

 

I believe in the free market.  I don't agree that some gov't body should dictate quotas on what businesses are allowed. 

The residents definitely said the businesses are owned by the cruise companies subsidiary corporations. I know cruise companies can contract local operators to work for them but the residents were complaining that cruise companies let those contracts end and replaced them with their own businesses providing the same services. Maybe the 80% was an exaggeration on the person interviewed then again if you could keep all the profits instead of sharing what corporation would ever want to contract a local business? 

11 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I think the bigger issue is local stores catering to residents are replaced by stores catering to tourists.   Not necessarily cruise company owned stores.   I personally think the dynamic is going to vary significantly by cruise port.  Some will die without cruse ships.  Some will feel better off.  

Unfortunately that does seem to happen in tourist hot spots. I remember an article years ago of central Amsterdam residents complaining about having to travel to the outer suburbs to get their grocery shopping because all the local shops had been replaced by souvenir shops. Maybe local councils in places like that need to consider quotas on tourist stores so there can be space for businesses that cater to local needs. 

The only reason I had focused on the cruise owned businesses is because I had seen a couple of days ago a news piece of one of the Alaskan ports (can't remember the name and having never travelled there I am not familiar with the area) where the residents complained that 80% of the tourist business was owned by the cruise company and they had effectively pushed out most the local businesses. One of them had said they would be quite happy for those businesses to shut down so the locals could "take back the tourist dollar". Maybe there is a conversation to be had about whether cruise companies should be allowed to run on shore businesses🤔. 

In case it is not Iceland I'd guess Tel Aviv? 

12 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

The ' Locals" may enjoy the more peaceful environment ( without thousands of cruise ship passengers clogging the streets for a few hours a day), but once they start seeing business close, due to lack of activity, and city revenues going down, I bet they will start accepting cruise ships again.  

From what I read a lot of locals seem to complain about local stores being replaced with cruise company owned businesses so they might actually be pleased with those businesses shutting down😂.