BRANDEE

7 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

TripAdvisor says that the best tour in Sydney.

You can do it your self.

Catch the train to Katoomba and on the way back get of at parramatta.

There’s a bus or a 10 minute walk to parramatta wharf.

But you wouldn’t get the tourist stuff and the guide.

Considered taking the train, but very happy to have the guide all day.  We learned a lot about Australia and the history of your country. The Blue Mountains were beautiful and the guide drove us to many off the beaten path places.

13 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

 

On your tour did they drop you off at parramatta ferry and catch the river ferry to circular quay.

Yes.  The ferry took us back to Circular Quay.  In the morning we were picked up a block from our hotel (Marriott at Circular Quay) by a small 10 seater mini bus and a tour guide jam packed with info.  We even got boomerang lessons and got to frolic among the kangaroos and koalas.

15 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Some think they are a cult, some call them heroes :

‘Insane and dangerous’: Inside the Miami school that told teachers not to get vaccinated

You and Leigh are right.  They are a cult going under the guise of multi billionaire philanthropists.  The teachers who are teaching at the school also get housing.  So now David and Leila are in control of their lives. Pretty dangerous.  Don't follow our doctrine and you lose your home and job.  Pretty scary.

16 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Yes Picton is on our itinerary for the cruise. They showed the "mail boat" cruise which may be interesting depending on the cost.

Regarding your time in Sydney.  I highly recommend a small group day trip to the Blue Mountains..In addition to the Scenic Railway and Featherdale Wildlife Preserve and more, you get to cruise back to Sydney Harbor and go under the bridge.

12 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

So the shot went without incident, I chose my left arm. It was Pfizer and the nurse was excellent, I didn't even feel it. As it turns out in her normal job she specializes in pediatric inoculations. I have warned my boss that I may not be in tomorrow, but we will see what comes over night.

Glad all is well and congrats on now being part of the solution!! 

Thought you would be interested in a US news article regarding the Covid 19 vaccine. 

There is a private school in Miami, Florida, called Centner Academy, that will not employ anyone who has taken the vaccine and also has notified all its teachers and employees that they must wait until the end of the school year to get vaccinated and (possibly not be rehired).  The reason is "Tens of thousands of women all over the world have recently been reporting adverse reproductive issues from being in close proximity with those who have received any one of the Covid 19 injections".  You just can not fix stupid.  

8 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm glad to hear that Lyndon, I think that there needs to be a big push to educate the population just how rare the blood clot syndrome is perhaps by comparing the risk to other every day situations or medications.

Going around on FB in US....So..you've been eating hotdogs and Mc Chickens all your life, but don't want the vaccine because "you don't know what's in it"?

6 hours ago, jhannah said:

We sailed her in May, 2003. It was a fantastic 10-day sailing in the Baltic. We, too, lost power for about four hours one day while we were at sea. No lights, no flushing, etc. Being daylight, it was fine.

 

At one port (I forget which) we met her sister. The captains had a good time hailing each other with their horns.

 

We loved the ship. The photo shows what was under the "porpoise" dome.

We sailed her in 2000 to Mexico, she was and still is the classist ship I ever sailed on.  Her wood trim interior was so elegant. I remember one night dancing on the dance floor when a big wave gave a huge roll..that white pole saved me from joining a dozen others who ended up on the floor or sitting in the lap of a stranger drinking their cocktail..Our first of 25+ Princess cruises!

 I was on the Ruby in Australia last March.  The cruise was cut short and we came home early.  Hubby came down with a bad case of covid the next morning. High temperature (103) for 10 days followed by chest congestion for two weeks.  I got sick ten days after we got home. 

Yes ,we will both cruise again, but only if everyone who can, gets vaccinated.  I can honestly say that in 11 days on the cruise we never saw a sick person..so you have no idea who will get you sick!! I still say it spread through the ventilation system..good way to spread anything.

We are booked for 2022 for a 20 day cruise.

@khoffman

Regarding meds..we always take at least one week extra.(On a long vacation ,30 days + , we take a list of all prescriptions with doctors signature)  Before we left on the Ruby cruise..Princess told us to take two weeks worth.  (a sign?)  As an insulin dependent diabetic I always take two weeks extra insulin.  Just in case you want to stay an extra week before going home..lol   I understand that passengers stuck on the Diamond in Japan had their meds filled by ship/gov't doctor if they ran out. We always keep a list of meds names and amount in passport folder.

10 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, you did but you also continued to blame the honey farm.

"Mi arrendo" as my grandma would say, I've enjoyed your camaraderie over the past year too much, to let a little honey get in the way. 

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

But as pointed out earlier you can bring honey into Australia and, presumably, into the US. That was not the issue. You had containers of honey that were over 100ml so violated the carry-on liquids rule.

 

You can't blame the honey retailer for that and you are being unfair in trying to do that.

I did say it was my mistake. More than once.    

6 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Be fair, BRANDEE, it's not the responsibility of the Bee Farm to advise their customers on airline security restrictions. If I went to a small maple syrup farm or outlet in, say, Vermont, would you expect them to tell me to pack it in my checked baggage?

 

 

In Vermont, they would be very helpful...in NYC they would say..Sure honey, whatever!!

Of course it is not their responsibility, as I said we were wrong to forget, but a reminder would have been well appreciated and left a very positive impression. Mistakes happen..and probably won't be our last!

Honestly, we were more concerned if we could bring the honey back into Australia because we knew there were so many restrictions and did not want to break agricultural laws.

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

If you marked the leftover sandwich as 'food' you would have alerted the quarantine officials and you would have had to throw it away (if you were lucky), or been reprimanded and maybe fined (if you were unlucky.

 

I  have never been asked for prescriptions for medicines, in Australia or anywhere else. However, I would be cautious with some countries where pain meds that contain codeine aren't allowed.  

We were told to specifically have either the original prescription bottle or a prescription authorized by our doctor for each medicine we had.  We were also told to declare each prescription on our list plus any loose meds (tylenol).  We were also told if we had an open bag of m&ms we could not take it off the plane..we had to throw it away because it violated the agricultural/immigration laws of Australia.  Quite honestly, we were pretty surprised when we got off the plane, got our luggage and bam out to the taxi.  I still had all my paperwork in hand when we left the airport..waiting for someone to ask me for something..lol

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

The restrictions weren't Australian airline restrictions, they were international restrictions. The people who sold the honey could not be expected to consider what the customer might do with the product some time in the future. The customers were on a cruise ship where such restrictions don't apply.

But the people purchasing the honey were specifically asking can I bring this back to UK, US, Canada, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland to name a few.  To make a sale a quick.."of course" was said to all.  Not good PR, but probably no one there that day would ever return to complain. So I'm doing it here!!  Honesty is the best policy..so good thing I was never in retail.

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

I have been checking on what you can and can't bring in to Oz, it is an interesting list.

 

Yep, I read that list too and was told how strict the immigration was in Oz on arrival.  Nope..Didn't check anything.  We were welcomed right in.  Didn't need visa, perscriptions for our medicine  chest of drugs and didn't have to throw out the leftover sandwich from snack time on the flight.

22 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

It doesn't matter if the item you present to security officials is sealed. Terrorists would able to seal items and make them look legitimate. 🙂

Totally agree.  But It sure would have been nice if someone at the Hawkes Bay Bee Farm noted restrictions.  There sure was a lot of honey sold that day.  The tour bus had to wait for the last passengers and their shopping bag.  Water under the bridge as we say..almost a year ago!

We were bringing it home for my son and daughter in law who make an Italian (Neopolitan) Christmas delicacy every year.  It consists of 2 pounds flour 28 yolks, 6 whole eggs made into tiny fried balls and coated in boiled honey then covered in sugar confetti.  Struffoli

4 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

As others have pointed out, the restrictions on importing honey apply only in some states in Australia and apparently not in New South Wales. Therefore there was no problem when you arrived in Sydney. When you disembarked from the ship, the authorities did not know or care that you were proceeding to an international flight. It would not be their business.

 

However there is an absolute limit on the volume of liquids/gels that a person can take onto an international flight in their hand luggage. That was the problem. If you had packed the honey in your checked luggage it would have been OK or if you were a domestic flight within Aust, it would also have been OK.

My brother and I know the rules, but obviously not thinking the morning of March 19. He told me as we were eating breakfast (on the Ruby) that he put the honey in his hand luggage to protect the glass jars.  Didn't even dawn on me that was a no no.  We were so anxious waiting for the NSW Health to come on board to check us.  Expensive lesson.  But we were allowed to buy more honey at the airport (duty free) and take it on board in our hand luggage.  It was put in a plastic bag sealed with a "seal a meal" machine and dated.  Still felt ripped off ,the original honey was sealed too.   But that was the least of our worries that day   lol!!  

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

The size of your honey jars would definitely have been the problem. Presumably you had the honey jars in your hand luggage, not in your checked cases. I was puzzled why they were confiscated before your boarded your flight, not on arrival into Australia as a quarantine issue. Yesterday OzKiwiJJ mentioned the 100ml limit on liquids for flights - a light bulb moment for me 🙂. An 8oz jar is 236.588 mls, and a 10oz jar is 295.7ml. The limit is 100mls, by the way a limit introduced by USA after the 9/11 event. As OzKiwiJJ said, the limits are strictly enforced on flights to USA.

Yes, they were in hand luggage. Should they have been confiscated when we got off the ship?  

6 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Honey is allowed into Australia. 

"Honey products are permitted into most Australian states and territories. Honey products must be inspected by a biosecurity officer on arrival, to confirm the honey items are free from contamination.

Items that do not meet these conditions will be exported or destroyed at the importer’s expense.

Western Australia currently has a higher quarantine status for bees and bee products. Honey or bee products imported into Western Australia must meet Western Australia state quarantine entry requirements. For more information contact the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. Passengers arriving at ports outside of Western Australia should be aware that Western Australia has state quarantine entry requirements which will also apply should they travel domestically to Western Australia."

 

I suspect it wasn't the honey itself which was the problem but the quantity of liquid that was being taken as carry-on. It comes under the liquids rule. Each container can only be 100ml. If the honey had been packed in checked luggage it wouldn't have been a problem. 

We purchased a Gift Pack.  Three jars of various flavors. I think each jar was 8 to 10 ounces .  It was a sealed pack.

10 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Just get on a drinking binge for 2 weeks Lyle, I’m pretty sure you can get alcohol delivered.

 

 

 

 I did a mock booking for you and the one way surcharge is about $AU700

 

 

We found the same one way surcharge last year for Sydney to Gold Coast/Brisbane so we decided on a roundtrip instead to save about $AU800.  It looked like a nice itinerary on paper but never did it.  We are doing a one way cross country in the US this late spring and our surcharge is $1000. We are two couples in a large SUV for three weeks..crazy but best way to maximize our plans.

4 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The people at the bee farm in Napier should have known that honey was a prohibited item to take into Australia. Maybe they did know, but if they told people that, they would have no sales. 😁

Of course, we ended up buying honey at the duty free shop at the airport..with many other Ruby passengers.

12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Honey in a 'no-no'. I am surprised they confiscated it at Sydney airport when you were leaving the country. If you declared the honey as a food item on your entry card for arrival into Sydney on the Ruby Princess, it should have been confiscated at that time. The restrictions on honey are so severe, that for people entering Western Australia, if they have a container that once, in the dim past, contained honey, it will be confiscated.

 

Meat and meat products are prohibited, but many other processed food items are OK.

The day we returned to Sydney was a real "show" to say the least (March 19th)  We were pushed off and out so quickly.  What is upsetting is we did ask at Napier if we could take it back to Sydney and back to USA and we were told yes.  There were many of us from the Ruby buying honey at the "bee farm".  Today is one year ago we landed in Sydney for our ill fated vacation of a lifetime.😒

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So far many excellent suggestions thank you, with the ferry suggestion that gives us some time on the Mornington Peninsula and more time around Geelong. It also saves us from the Melbourne traffic on the way to the Great Ocean Road. We also get to see what the ferry service is like there. 

Just a heads up..we purchased honey in Napier NZ on our cruise but the Australian immigration confiscated it at the Sydney airport before we got on the plane to go home.

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks everyone for all the input so far, Looks like we have are set up to Philip Island.

After a couple days in Sydney we will hire a car and drive to Canberra for an overnight there (Mic we would appreciate recommendations for accommodation, nice not posh). We will proceed to Bateman's bay and overnight there. The next leg is via Eden with the overnight at Lakes Entrance, from there we will proceed to Phillip Island, I think that may be 2 nights. I have read some rumours that the Moto GP may switch time slots with the F1 race in 2022 (just a rumour for me Lyndon I know you follow the bikes is there any traction on that move?) if so that may cause a bit of difficulty for accommodation at Phillip Island. I would love to see the track, maybe something local will be happening.

Now we need to work out the last part of the road trip. From Phillip Island we will head towards Geelong (on the map it looks like a manageable hop) we had a place booked for the trip that got cancelled and we may try to book that again (assuming they are still in business). Then it is off to Port Campbell via the great ocean road, on the cancelled itinerary we were coming from Ballarat to Port Campbell and we were staying 2 nights in Port Campbell. That my go down to 1 night to give us more time in Melbourne. From Port Campbell it's off to Ballarat for 1 night at Craig Royal Hotel (our splurge night) From Ballarat we will drive to Melbourne. 

In Sydney we found the Big Bus two day pass a great way to see alot.  Day one is the city route and Day two the Bondi route.  Hop on/off at whatever you want to see.  Or just do one day bus tour and go on an all day Blue Mountain tour. Highly recommend !

15 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

I'm pretty sure that the border will open by year's end. The Rockies are pretty majestic. I drove through them one winter in 1977 so that was my winter adventure travelling to Saskatchewan for Christmas with my Grandparents,

Just got back from getting my second Pfizer vaccine.  Hope that makes me acceptable for travel !  Have you gone any of the riverboat cruises out of Vancouver..are they week long or only day trips.  I heard that the states of Oregon and Washington have riverboat trips on the Columbia River.  We did a riverboat cruise in Europe (Amsterdam to Budapest) and loved it..very different that the usual cruise.

2 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Well we are cautiously optimistic that the trip will happen. Our adventure starts in Auckland, the cruise is 14 days and ends in Sydney. So many things to do, not enough time, we want to travel more after we retire, the plan is to downsize and use the substantial equity we have in our house to make for a more comfortable retirement and more travel. We don't have kids so in a perfect world we will have enough money to cover the final expenses and maybe a bottle of good rum for a final toast.

We do have kids and grandkids, but we are spending their inheritance now 😎

Told my kids, if the time comes that we have to decide between our contribution to the grandkids college fund or a vacation.  Pack the suitcase, and off we go!!

Seriously, we did have to change from Plan A to Plan B twice due to health (my mom's and daughter in law) so take advantage of what you can while you can.  Tomorrow is not a guarantee!

One of our cancelled trips was Baniff and Lake Louise.  So if I bring a suitcase of Pfizer will Trudeau let me in?