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mandwcruise
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Everything posted by mandwcruise
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Dubai started flooding April 15th. I was planning on going to Dubai April 27 and maybe Abu Dhabi May 1st. Was looking forward to things like: the aquarium in the Atlantis water park in the Atlantis Ferrari World/Sea World/ Warner Bros in Abu Dhabi Now I'm wondering if all the tourist locations, restaurants and hotel lobbies are flooded and/or filthy with floodwater that mixed in with whatever trash/sewage. I can't tell what % of Dubai was actually flooded because the media has a habit of sensationalizing things. Any boots-on-the-grounds updates? How long should it take the UAE people to clean this mess up, based on other floods in history?
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Thanks for the replies so far. This is helpful. I am beginnining to see that a lot of these countries are flat-out unsafe, and I have concerns about even connecting through South Africa where tourists are getting targeted inside the airport. I was thinking Tanzania and Botswana. Botswana has Victoria Falls, but might be difficult to get to/back within a 2-legged flight. Defaulting to Tanzania until another viable option shows itself.
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I want to go to Africa and obviously see the offerings centered around South Africa. However, I have some concerns: 1. Safety - where can a solo female safely travel to in Africa? 2. Accessibility - is there going to be a major airport nearby, or am I going to have to pay thousands for a 6 hour flight that would cost $300 in the USA? 3. Sightseeing - I want to be near a place I can do a 3-7 day safari tour 4. cleanliness and pests - outside of the safari, where's a place I can avoid mice, scorpions, and oversized insects? Which African countries have you guys visited and what would you recommend? Since I am so new to this, I am open to something completely land-based. It doesn't have to be a cruise around Africa.
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bringing Passport book vs Passport card
mandwcruise replied to mandwcruise's topic in Ask a Cruise Question
thanks guys -
We are 2 US Citizens, with residences in the USA, with active Passports and Passport cards. The plan is to take a Celebrity cruise from Florida to Nassau to Cozumel and back to Florida in December. My friend would prefer to sandbag the passport book (leave it at home so it doesn't get lost before international flights) and use the passport card if possible. Will the cruise terminal or Celebrity have any problems with the passport cards for getting onto the boat or returning to the USA?
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Which one is better for adults? We love Disney parks, and are looking to try something new.
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COVID testing in Rio for pre-boarding (COSTA)
mandwcruise replied to mandwcruise's topic in South America
It's moot for me thankfully - I cancelled my Costa cruise. By the time I go to Rio, it might be with a different line or Costa might have backed off on their covid testing. -
https://www.costacruises.com/cruising-soon/safety-above-all.html Costa is requiring vaccinated passengers to a COVID test within 24 hours before boarding. I will land in the Rio airport (GIG) 24 hours before boarding and then heading to my hotel near the Copacabana beach 1. What do they mean by an "antigen" test. How is that different from a non-antigen test? Is one more expensive, accurate, or faster than the other? 2. Once I figure out what's an eligible exam, where can I find a place in Rio (preferably within the safety of the airport) that is going to get me a same-day result so I can be ready next morning? 3. Will Costa ever have emergency last-minute Covid testing for the passengers who couldn't get their act together at the terminal?
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Princess Caribbean to Panama Canal + Costa Rica
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I've done Carnival, NCL, Royal, Holland What should I expect from my first Princess Cruise? How's the food gonna be compared to other lines? What (tips) are unique to Princess?
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cruises *OUT* of Manila, Philippines
mandwcruise replied to mandwcruise's topic in Ask a Cruise Question
1. thanks for sharing this site 2. via another site, I discovered that NCL (a more affordable option) has something going on @njhorseman @Joebucks -
Interesting that you said this because I was thinking the same thing as I typed up this survey: I had a wonderful bus tour that was $100/head. Spent maybe 11 hours from Las Vegas hotel to Grand Canyon and back. Had some good photo ops, guide was amazing, wasn't paced too slow, and they even threw in a drive-by of Hoover Dam. Excellent use of time and money.
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Call out the 1. the excursion 2. the port 3. what made it memorable A few of mine are below: STINGRAY CITY Grand Cayman I'm an animal lover and my family had never seen this kind of close encounter with marine life before MT. VESUVIUS + POMPEII Naples Growing up, our Latin teacher talked about this all the time, so it was nice to see the volcano behind the story.
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I know some cruises visit PH. What I'm asking as if any cruise lines depart from PH? Or do the cruise lines believe the people there can't afford them anyway?
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My worst vacation was spent traveling across Asia by airplanes: constantly riding on planes/buses worrying about being late unpacking and repacking the next morning I want to see a wide range of places without the hassle and without a surprise cost popping up. The fact that I can get a fixed cost on my cruise vacation is just the cherry on top.
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I would love to take my family to see a unique part of Africa, pyramids, and where Indiana Jones was based. Then I read things like this: 1. https://www.france24.com/en/20171016-cairo-deemed-worlds-worst-city-women 2. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220713-egyptian-women-are-fighting-desperately-for-a-safe-nation-and-a-political-voice/ 3. https://www.jtgtravel.com/africa/egypt/is-cairo-safe/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_in_Egypt The country is ahead of other Middle Eastern nations in terms of women’s rights, but Cairo remains one of the worst megacities for female harassment, and solo travelers can receive unwanted attention. an estimated of 99.3% of Egyptian women said they faced some form of sexual violence. Women of this forum, is this going to be a disaster!?
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Thanks for the call out, @Underwatr. I was confused because my eyes saw "New York" and thought it was comparing cities instead of states. This chart only shows that "new york state" as a whole is safer than DC as a whole...it does nothing to refute the other guy's suggestion that New York *city* is unsafe, an idea that appears to be supported by the stat I posted.
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What is the methodology behind this "ranking", one that claims that DC is the safest? LOL Without additional info, we can only assume that "crime" is literal, meaning it includes non-violent crimes. Murderers, rapists, and armed robbers (the violent ones that were the focus of that image I posted) pose a far more relevant threat than shoplifters.
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Violent crime =/= mass shootings
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According to neighborhoodscout.com's data, NYC violent crime on a per capita basis is absolutely higher in Manhattan than the national average.
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Some cruise lines (NCL + Celebrity for example) are advertising free airfare. I've never taken up a cruise line on any of these offers and wanted to see if anyone had good experiences with them: how much money did you end up saving? how much advance notice did the cruise line give you as to your flight plan? how many connections were there each way? how much time was there between the plane's arrival and your time to board the ship? was customer service good about resolving issues? did the cruise line offer flexibility e.g. letting you move your arrival flight up a day or your departing flight back a day? My major concern is that I save a few bucks and the cruise line gives me a 3-leg trip that has way too many points of failure i.e. I end up missing the cruise departure or I end up way too exhausted from unnecessarily long air travel.
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Luckily, I haven't had a problem cruising so far. As I'm widening my search for new cruise routes, I wonder which ports are more dangerous than others. Would be interested to hear which cruise ports you stay away from, and why. For example, do you have any experiences there being harassed, pickpocketed, or attacked? BTW, I know there is going to be at least one person responding that all places are equally safe so long as you have common sense. I don't think the statistics support that way of thinking.