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?
  
   

On 11/24/2023 at 9:14 AM, Heartfelttraveler said:

When planning keep in mind the Yellow Fever vaccine requirement for most of Africa.  South Africa is not a yellow fever area.

Until your comment, I had not even considered that as I am fairly healthy and already have COVID shots.

I saw this https://www.go2africa.com/african-travel-blog/vaccinations-need-africa

Is it expected that I get all these vaccines before I go?

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.

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.

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?

Which one is better for adults?

We love Disney parks, and are looking to try something new.

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?

2 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Which ship and itinerary?  That could make a difference in the tips and advice!

What do you hope to enjoy on the cruise?

What type of cabin have you booked.

Do you have a drink package?

 

Food is subjective, of course.   But, I would say that that it is mostly about the same level on these similar mass market lines.  Not as good as the more upscale lines.

 

On Princess, the Piazza, the International Cafe, and the coffee shop there, are something you should check out.  Everything from the breakfast, coffees, food, snacks, bars and entertainment in the main Piazza might be a different thing than you have experienced before.

 

The Aft (wakeview) bar, (and small pool area) on most ships, as well as the Adult Retreat Pool area and bar might be more to your liking than the central pool deck, and the MUTS screen.

 

Depending on what ship you are on, some of the alternate dining might be different.

So, people can give you their thoughts on that if they know which ship.

Most would say definitely check out the Alfredo's/Gigi's pizza italian.

NO upcharge for that.

Some ships also have some different food options,

 

The same goes for the main shows in the Princess Theater.

Some ships have newer and different production shows.

 

Princess Caribbean to Panama Canal + Costa Rica

Prefer to go by cruise vs flying in and going around on land tours.

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?

On 10/21/2022 at 2:12 PM, njhorseman said:

Your favorite cruise search website is wrong.

There are a few cruises from Manila in 2023 . Silversea has two departures from Manila in February 2023, one each on Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit. They're listed on cruisetimetables.com, along with two other cruises. I verified on the Silversea website that the two February cruises from Manila do indeed exist and are available for purchase. I didn't bother to verify the other two cruises.

1. thanks for sharing this site

2. via another site, I discovered that NCL (a more affordable option) has something going on

@njhorseman

@Joebucks

21 minutes ago, dolittle said:

Have done many cruise ship excursions. My best was not on a cruise but from the hotel in the Grand Canyon . For one hundred dollars each a bus ride to and all day raft down the Colorado river with lunch on the river . Best money ever spent my grandson still talks about it (this was 2004).

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.

1. per head

2. all-in, including:

• cruise fare
• fees + taxes
• flight
• excursions
• tips
• wi-fi
• hotel
• taxis
• drinks and specialty restaurant upcharges
• taxis

Pretty sure I spent 3000 per person on my last vacation out of London => Iceland.

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.

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?

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.

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!?

On 9/9/2022 at 3:41 AM, mandwcruise said:

 

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.

3 hours ago, Underwatr said:

A table with Vermont on one end and DC on the other and you conclude that DC is the safe end?

 

From that site "Higher crime index value means more crime." 

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.

32 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

I understand that but it was a number that I could come up w easily.  I did a further search and came up with this.  New York is #11 at the low end of the number of violent crimes.  Take a look at the ones at the bottom that are the worse state.  How about we all move to Vermont.  Sort of interesting that Illinois which has Chicago which is the murder capitol of the country is right about in the middle.  I guess that my home state of Nevada is not so good on this list.

 

Check out this site - http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm.  Lots of neat stuff on it.

 

U.S. Crime Index State Rank

A total of 51 results found. Show Results on Map. The crime index value is calculated based on the data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the crime level in a region. Higher crime index value means more crime.  How about we all move to Vermont.  

Rank	Crime Index ▲	State / Population
1.	950	Vermont / 626,358
2.	956	New Hampshire / 1,321,069
3.	985	North Dakota / 704,925
4.	1,017	Maine / 1,328,535
5.	1,042	South Dakota / 834,708
6.	1,068	Idaho / 1,599,464
7.	1,125	Virginia / 8,185,131
8.	1,136	Wyoming / 575,251
9.	1,171	Connecticut / 3,592,053
10.	1,180	New Jersey / 8,874,374
11.	1,194	New York / 19,594,330
12.	1,203	Iowa / 3,078,116
13.	1,227	Wisconsin / 5,724,692
14.	1,230	Montana / 1,006,370
15.	1,235	West Virginia / 1,853,881
16.	1,268	Rhode Island / 1,053,252
17.	1,298	Minnesota / 5,383,661
18.	1,305	Kentucky / 4,383,272
19.	1,335	Pennsylvania / 12,758,729
20.	1,368	Massachusetts / 6,657,291
21.	1,390	Nebraska / 1,855,617
22.	1,405	Utah / 2,858,111
23.	1,497	Oregon / 3,900,343
24.	1,526	Colorado / 5,197,580
25.	1,584	Mississippi / 2,984,345
26.	1,599	Indiana / 6,542,411
27.	1,608	Hawaii / 1,392,704
28.	1,616	Illinois / 12,868,747
29.	1,670	Kansas / 2,882,946
30.	1,691	Ohio / 11,560,380
31.	1,701	California / 38,066,920
32.	1,757	Michigan / 9,889,024
33.	1,855	Washington / 6,899,123
34.	1,858	Missouri / 6,028,076
35.	1,869	North Carolina / 9,750,405
36.	1,884	Maryland / 5,887,776
37.	1,911	Georgia / 9,907,756
38.	1,938	Oklahoma / 3,818,851
39.	1,941	Alabama / 4,817,678
40.	1,962	Texas / 26,092,033
41.	1,974	Delaware / 917,060
42.	1,986	Alaska / 728,300
43.	2,025	Arizona / 6,561,516
44.	2,065	Arkansas / 2,947,036
45.	2,095	Florida / 19,361,792
46.	2,167	Louisiana / 4,601,049
47.	2,180	Nevada / 2,761,584
48.	2,194	Tennessee / 6,451,365
49.	2,241	New Mexico / 2,080,085
50.	2,253	South Carolina / 4,727,273
51.	3,747	District of Columbia / 633,736

 

DON

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.

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

The state of New York is 8th on the list of the number of mass shootings with 5.  The top ones in order numbers are California (23), Florida (12), Texas (12), Washington (7), Colorado (7), Wisconsin (5), Pennsylvania (5).  Do you plan to completely avoid all those states?  Yes I do realize that these numbers are total and not per capita but they are still useful numbers.  My home state of Nevada has only 2.

 

DON

Violent crime =/= mass shootings

2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

The fact that NYC is on your list means your reason for not going isn't based on actual data or violent crime rates, as NYC's violent crime rate is shockingly low for a city of its size...so I'd love to know your reason for avoiding cities where you have a very small chance, as a tourist, of something violent happening to you. 

According to neighborhoodscout.com's data, NYC violent crime on a per capita basis is absolutely higher in Manhattan than the national average. 

The notion that NA cities are also dangerous is non-sequitur: nobody here is cruising to Detroit or Chicago

The question at hand is how to avoid dangerous ports

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Land trip?

@LHT28No, cruise only.

Curious to hear how that would impact your thinking though.