P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[Adawn47]

13 hours ago, zap99 said:

Sound like a good tour. DW likes the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan. I can see why. Just a lot of young men with no shirts and rippling muscles. Yuk.

Guess which cruise I shall be booking for 2022?😉

Avril

[Angel57]

16 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Guess which cruise I shall be booking for 2022?😉

Avril

Ha ha. Can thoroughly recommend an Alaska cruise on Princess. 
If you like the sound of the Lumberjack men Avril then I can more than recommend going to watch sheep sheering from an Australian port like Melbourne.
The owner of the homestead also demonstrated playing the didgeridoo with on a Hoover hose  (not joking either!). 

[wowzz]

From memory,  only Princess and HA have the rights to access certain parts of the Alaska coastline,  which would put them at the top of my list for any Alaska cruise.  I'm sure others with more knowledge will give more information. 

[mrsgoggins]

17 hours ago, zap99 said:

We like to go from Vancouver. Our preferred are RC, or Celebrity. Once you wait to look at the deals from each there is not much to choose price wise. Celebrity is a bit better IMO. From Vancouver you could go with Disney or HL. Not too sure about from Seattle. NCL sure. Some go from both. We like Celebrity, but at the moment would go with ANYONE.😁

 

Celebrity is my favourite cruise line, but for Alaska I'd definitely recommend Princess, and I've been there with both.  Glacier Bay is not to be missed for a one-time trip/first visit and Celebrity/RC do not have permits to visit - the numbers of cruise ships allowed into the bay are strictly controlled and Princess and Holland America have a long history with cruises to Alaska.  Glacier Bay is the jewel in Alaska's crown IMO.  Agree also that the Princess lodges, if you choose to add on a land tour, are very good.

[terrierjohn]

49 minutes ago, wowzz said:

From memory,  only Princess and HA have the rights to access certain parts of the Alaska coastline,  which would put them at the top of my list for any Alaska cruise.  I'm sure others with more knowledge will give more information. 

I believe the main part is Glacier bay that Princess and HAL have exclusivity to, which is supposed to be the jewel in the crown Of Alaska's glacier cruising. Unfortunately it was cold and cloudy with a misty drizzle when we were their, however the next day in College Fjord it was sunny and much warmer, and a great spectacle. If Glacier bay is more spectacular, then in the sun it must be magnificent.

[indiana123]

Years ago I did a small ship (very small approx 68 American passengers and us).    It was on Spirit of Columbia.  We left Anchorage across country on the big train with the cattle thing on the front to meet the ship.  Amazing.

 

Because we were so small the bergy bits and small icebergs looked huge.  We could get right up against them and see the iceberg below the surface which was awesome.

 

Some of a glacier crashed before us.  We thought we were close but apparently we were 6 miles away.. that's how vast it all was.

 

The strange thing was I was expecting  freezing swirling mists etc but they had a bit of a mini heatwave.  Well heatwave compared.

 

We learned a lot about Alaska and also a lot about the  American culture from all the fellow passengers.  The Captain was part of the gang, and the bridge was open  all the time.. you just walked in and out at leisure!!!  Probably all changed now.

[Vampiress88]

On 10/7/2020 at 8:54 AM, Harry Peterson said:

It's a very serious point, Wowzz (hope you're both over your colds quickly, by the way) and it's starting at last to surface. 

 

There's a reasonably simple solution, of course, but it's political dynamite - keep the highest risk groups protected, but allow everyone else to carry on more or less normally to build up herd immunity.

 

I think we'll inevitably come to that (and as one of those most likely to be impacted, I accept it) - just a matter of time.

I think that could be the only way and I know you said it long ago. Unfortunately however cold it sounds it will be risk the few to save the many. 
 

I read other day apparently this time last year there were 9000 people waiting for cancel treatment or operations etc And now we have 57000 people waiting. 
 

everyone is so worried about this virus that they have forgotten those with other illnesses and the nhs seems to become Covid or nothing. It’s sad when anyone has to leave this earth but I really feel for those that could have lived with treatment but are neglected because of this virus. 
 

 

[Adawn47]

10 minutes ago, indiana123 said:

Years ago I did a small ship (very small approx 68 American passengers and us).    It was on Spirit of Columbia.  We left Anchorage across country on the big train with the cattle thing on the front to meet the ship.  Amazing.

 

Because we were so small the bergy bits and small icebergs looked huge.  We could get right up against them and see the iceberg below the surface which was awesome.

 

Some of a glacier crashed before us.  We thought we were close but apparently we were 6 miles away.. that's how vast it all was.

 

The strange thing was I was expecting  freezing swirling mists etc but they had a bit of a mini heatwave.  Well heatwave compared.

 

We learned a lot about Alaska and also a lot about the  American culture from all the fellow passengers.  The Captain was part of the gang, and the bridge was open  all the time.. you just walked in and out at leisure!!!  Probably all changed now.

That sounds like an amazing experience, the kind we would love. Since we don't fly now, it's impossible to find 'real' places to explore anymore, just the 'touristy' ones. 

Avril

[Josy1953]

20 hours ago, brian1 said:

We used Princess as they are 1 of only a few of cruiselines allowed in Glacier Bay plus they have their own land based lodges if you want to add a landtour.JMO,cheers,Brian.

We would also recommend Princess for Alaska. Our first time entailed a pre-cruise tour from Calgary to Vancouver, we loved the tour and the cruise so much that we did Alaska again 2 years later from San Francisco, we flew out early and had a few days in San Francisco before the cruise.  We enjoyed San Francisco but if any one asked me which was the best pre-cruise experienced I would definitely say the Rockies.  Anyone considering the Rockies I would recommend looking when the Calgary Stampede is and try to go early just to experience it.  We found that Princess were very flexible in helping us to add extra days to the package before joining their scheduled package.

[wowzz]

22 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I read other day apparently this time last year there were 9000 people waiting for cancel treatment or operations etc And now we have 57000 people waiting. 
 

everyone is so worried about this virus that they have forgotten those with other illnesses and the nhs seems to become Covid or nothing. It’s sad when anyone has to leave this earth but I really feel for those that could have lived with treatment but are neglected because of this virus. 
 

I think more and more people are coming to the same conclusion,  however callous it may sound. We need to acknowledge that we have to live with the virus, not try and eradicate it totally. 

[Bloodaxe]

17 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

That sounds like an amazing experience, the kind we would love. Since we don't fly now, it's impossible to find 'real' places to explore anymore, just the 'touristy' ones. 

Avril

 

Like you we really don't want to fly anyone, certainly not long distance.

Some of our best holidays have been when we have flown somewhere hired a Car and set off with no real preset plans.

We always tried to visit out of the way places away from tourist traps.

Our first ever cruise was around the Barrier Reef in Australia on a very small cruise ship.

We came across a advert in a travel agents window in Cairns and got a great late deal that was supposed to be just for locals but they let us book it.

 

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think more and more people are coming to the same conclusion,  however callous it may sound. We need to acknowledge that we have to live with the virus, not try and eradicate it totally. 

Can't we do both?. We will get on with life best we can. If a vaccine comes along and works, sorted. If by trying to get along fairly normally we catch it, unfortunate but by then treatment may improve. Staying indoors, isolated and then coming out to find everyone else has gone.........should the ATM still work?🤔

[Dermotsgirl]

15 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think more and more people are coming to the same conclusion,  however callous it may sound. We need to acknowledge that we have to live with the virus, not try and eradicate it totally. 

I think that’s what most people are doing - learning to live with the virus. 
 

It may well involve altering our  behaviour, and wearing masks, social distancing and better hygiene, but if everybody did this, it would be a way of living with it for now. 
 

If everybody had lived like this, and if we had an effective Test and Trace system, we may have been able to keep the virus to the low levels seen in the summer. 
 

However, Test and Trace is less than effective, and for what ever reason, whether it’s ineffective government messaging or general selfishness, less people are onboard with the group effort that is needed to allow us to live with the virus.

 

indeed, there is a growing narrative that ‘living with it’ means people getting on with their lives completely normally, whilst ‘shielding’ the ‘old and the vulnerable’. When thy say ‘shielding’ they normally mean let them stay at home indefinitely. Not sure how this helps people in those categories to ‘live with it’! 

[Eddie99]

It’s been wet but is brightening now

I’ve cleaned the oven, which just shows how dull things are here 🙂

 

Puppy walk this afternoon.  She was soooo good on her very first walk yesterday.  

[Harry Peterson]

47 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I think that could be the only way and I know you said it long ago. Unfortunately however cold it sounds it will be risk the few to save the many. 
 

I read other day apparently this time last year there were 9000 people waiting for cancel treatment or operations etc And now we have 57000 people waiting. 
 

everyone is so worried about this virus that they have forgotten those with other illnesses and the nhs seems to become Covid or nothing. It’s sad when anyone has to leave this earth but I really feel for those that could have lived with treatment but are neglected because of this virus. 
 

 

You’re right. I did float the idea a very long time ago - not as a suggestion, more as a discussion point.

 

And as a result of complaints from certain members here, I was banned for a few days.  
 

There are arguments on both sides, no correct answers, but muzzling a perfectly reasonable discussion seems bizarre.  

[Vampiress88]

3 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

You’re right. I did float the idea a very long time ago - not as a suggestion, more as a discussion point.

 

And as a result of complaints from certain members here, I was banned for a few days.  
 

There are arguments on both sides, no correct answers, but muzzling a perfectly reasonable discussion seems bizarre.  

didn’t know you were banned? 
maybe I should have been too then cos we were both saying things on a similar line. Just wish we would have been proved wrong and that all these measures wouldn’t have effected these people. 
 

saying that I have a hospital appointment later and it was only booked a few weeks ago. Maybe some are actually avoiding the hospitals too that really need care cos they are scared they will catch it. 

[Bloodaxe]

1 minute ago, Vampiress88 said:

didn’t know you were banned? 
maybe I should have been too then cos we were both saying things on a similar line. Just wish we would have been proved wrong and that all these measures wouldn’t have effected these people. 
 

saying that I have a hospital appointment later and it was only booked a few weeks ago. Maybe some are actually avoiding the hospitals too that really need care cos they are scared they will catch it. It 

 

It probably depends on your location, I was due for a annual check up at York Eye Hospital in August.

I had a letter the other day telling me I was still on the list but with no date for the appointment.

[brian1]

2 hours ago, Angel57 said:

Ha ha. Can thoroughly recommend an Alaska cruise on Princess. 
If you like the sound of the Lumberjack men Avril then I can more than recommend going to watch sheep sheering from an Australian port like Melbourne.
The owner of the homestead also demonstrated playing the didgeridoo with on a Hoover hose  (not joking either!). 

Casualty is full of blokes with their didgeridoo stuck in a hoover hose.

[wowzz]

39 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Can't we do both?. We will get on with life best we can. If a vaccine comes along and works, sorted. If by trying to get along fairly normally we catch it, unfortunate but by then treatment may improve. Staying indoors, isolated and then coming out to find everyone else has gone.........should the ATM still work?🤔

That is more or less what we are doing. Eminently sensible and logical, so no chance that the policy will be adopted by the government. 

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

I read other day apparently this time last year there were 9000 people waiting for cancel treatment or operations etc And now we have 57000 people waiting. 

And according to goverment mdelling figures, 73,000 people will die prematurely due to lack of medical attention during  the March lockdown.  

Which is why I get annoyed when, every day we get told how many people died yesterday from Covid19. The should announce at the same time how many people will die because they are not receiving timely medical attention for cancer,  heart conditions,  or due to poverty caused by being made unemployed as their business was closed down for absolutely no scientific reason.

[Vampiress88]

39 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And according to goverment mdelling figures, 73,000 people will die prematurely due to lack of medical attention during  the March lockdown.  

Which is why I get annoyed when, every day we get told how many people died yesterday from Covid19. The should announce at the same time how many people will die because they arenot receiving timely medical attention for cancer,  heart conditions,  or due to poverty caused by being made unemployed as their business was closed down for absolutely no scientific reason.

so say we save 100,000 (random figure btw) people from Covid then possibly 150,000 others will die from As wowzz says not receiving timely medical attention for cancer,  heart conditions,  or due to poverty caused by being made unemployed as their business was closed down for absolutely no scientific reason and more suicides also. 
 

Maybe the cure has been worse than the illness. We will see in 20 odd years

[Harry Peterson]

1 minute ago, Vampiress88 said:

so say we save 100,000 (random figure btw) people from Covid then possibly 150,000 others will die from As wowzz says not receiving timely medical attention for cancer,  heart conditions,  or due to poverty caused by being made unemployed as their business was closed down for absolutely no scientific reason and more suicides also. 
 

Maybe the cure has been worse than the illness. We will see in 20 odd years

And add to that the vast cost to the exchequer of lockdowns, including lost taxes and increased support payments.  That’s real money, whether borrowed or not, and it’s money not going to the NHS, education, social care etc etc.

 

Tough decisions to be made.

[kalos]

13 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

There are arguments on both sides, no correct answers,

 

There lies the problem Harry , we are dealing with a virus that is new , not even a year old yet .

(Well in the UK anyway ) 

I think we have to look at ourselves and ask when will we learn to take viruses seriously  like 

the Sars/Mers which are part of the Covid family , which to a certain extent we chose to ignore .

DermotsGirl makes very valid points when it comes to hygiene,we need to up our game .

The best part of us have seen the antics of some in the ships buffet area's that vouch for this .

Talking to some family members we recalled how our mum's & dad's would not let us near our

meals until we had washed ,no matter what time of the day -No excuses .

We have seen wedding reception's ,buffet in gardens kids and adults where it's " Come on ,stop playing ,

the foods ready "  Not everyone but standards have fell over the years .

Then there's the ones who think it's ok to let a sneeze just rip !  In our days Harry we had TV adverts 

with logo's "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases" Not these days ,they are too busy munching a 

McDonalds and throwing the rubbish from it down our country lanes. What ever happened to ..

"Keep Britain Tidy" ?    

When it comes to the NHS ,sure there is backlogs and I am one of them but I think they do try 

to look after people when they can .One side of the coin you have people who should use the 

A&E but are fearful to visit and the otherside ..Like my SIL who has had full cancer treatment

at the Hallamshire and is there today having a full MRI bone scan .

Talking to her today she says she has never felt let down by the NHS , That's not to say 

some people are waiting  or should be getting checked out by a doctor.

The newspapers ..Well they chose which group of scientists fit their agenda that given week .

I'm sure it was John who said "The best thing to come out of a newspaper is Fish&Chips and even

that should be taken with a pinch of salt .  Wise words 

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, Harry Peterson said:

And add to that the vast cost to the exchequer of lockdowns, including lost taxes and increased support payments.  That’s real money, whether borrowed or not, and it’s money not going to the NHS, education, social care etc etc.

 

Tough decisions to be made.

The argument for going down the road of letting the majority of the population get back to normality, and open up the entire economy, and at the same time safeguard the vulnerable and elderly, does seem to make sense.  BUT how do we achieve this safeguarding, hospital admissions are rising rapidly at present and presumably these are mainly the elderly even with the limitations on most of the country.  So what additional measures do we need to take to fully achieve this safeguarding whilst still allowing everyone else to freely mingle and develop some sort of herd immunity, which would inevitably mean the incidence of the disease would be far more widespread.

 

[Harry Peterson]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

The argument for going down the road of letting the majority of the population get back to normality, and open up the entire economy, and at the same time safeguard the vulnerable and elderly, does seem to make sense.  BUT how do we achieve this safeguarding, hospital admissions are rising rapidly at present and presumably these are mainly the elderly even with the limitations on most of the country.  So what additional measures do we need to take to fully achieve this safeguarding whilst still allowing everyone else to freely mingle and develop some sort of herd immunity, which would inevitably mean the incidence of the disease would be far more widespread.

 

A properly funded and staffed NHS would be a good starting point, and that’s been the problem since the virus hit - years of underfunding and understaffing, meaning that it could barely cope with a normal winter, let alone what we have now. The likelihood of a virus like this has been predicted for several years, but the warnings ignored.

 

The NHS is there to protect us. And properly funded/staffed it would be. It should not be necessary to ‘protect the NHS’.

 

The mantra that the NHS wasn’t overwhelmed by Covid is patent nonsense. It was, and it still is. Not through the fault of the extraordinarily dedicated and hardworking staff, but because it wasn’t given enough to enable it to survive. Nursing and doctor cuts were just plain ridiculous, and it’s too late now to reverse them, particularly as we’re no longer able to bring people in from Europe to fill all the gaps.