Category: Travel

It is 3.45pm on board Queen Mary 2, and until a couple of hours ago it was Tuesday March 1 until we crossed the International Dateline. Which means it’s now March 2, I think.

No big fuss was made about the crossing or time change apart from the ships time going back an hour over the past few nights. Breakfast was when we were ready, I made it to line dancing at 11 and even managed to nag Greg to join me for a jive lesson at 12.15. Pool time after lunch and now it’s time to start preparing for another formal night.

Life on board moves slowly but the days fly by, and although the dateline crossing is doing my head in right now I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

Is it just me, or is the online media suddenly full of bad cruise stories?

Last night a story about a ship being hammered by a hurricane showed up on my news feed, an outbreak of gastro on board a Christmas cruise was all over the news, and even a ‘brand new’ P&O Australia vessel wasn’t immune from an outbreak of norovirus.

Or is it that the old adage ‘no news is good news’ applies?

Think about it, in the age of Social Media everyone with a phone can get online and share their stories, but it’s mostly only the bad stuff that goes viral and gets picked up by the media.
Reports of hundreds of people being struck down on the “cruise from hell” certainly don’t present a favourable picture of the industry, but it won’t stop people like me from planning and looking forward to my next cruise holiday.

Norovirus is associated with cruising because the international health regulations require the reporting of any notifiable diseases on board a vessel, which is not the case for hotels, restaurants, and other places where people share living and eating areas.

Maybe I have been lucky, but to me it simply comes down to good hygeine and common courtesy that applies in any shared space; cover your mouth if you need to cough or sneeze, wash your hands, try to avoid touching anything that others might have like railings, lift buttons and bathroom doors, and only eat food at the temperature it is meant to be eaten.

The weather of course is not so easy to control, but I board with the knowledge that the Captain and crew have families they want to go home to as well so they are not going to deliberately steer the vessel into troublesome waters.

So for anyone contemplating a cruise holiday who may have been put off by the bad news stories I highly recommend trying one for yourself, and in the meantime will continue to share my personal good news cruise stories.

Thinking of feeding pigeons in San Francisco or carrying your shopping in a plastic bag in Rwanda? Think again.

I can get arrested for that? Some acts that could get you in hot water overseas

Of the many advantages of a cruise holiday, for me the information that is provided in advance of arriving at destinations is priceless. Taking time to review the literature or watch the presentation on board means that travellers can step onto foreign soil without fear of causing offense to local residents or even worse breaking local laws.

I was well prepared with suitably modest clothing and a scarf for the tour of Abu Dhabi on our recent cruise which included the local mosque, yet despite the warnings on board the ship and the tour coach others were not which resulted in public humiliation and no doubt reinforcement of negative attitudes towards foreign cultures and customs for some.

You would think that someone planning an extended stay overseas would want to be especially well informed and wary of the culture,
customs and laws; apparently not if the recent media coverage of the Australian arrested in Abu Dhabi for a Social Media post is any indication.

In the age of Social Media it pays to think twice before publicly broadcasting your personal opinion on foreign soil, and do your research if you are steering your own ship overseas.

For me the opportunity to see and experience another way of life, even if ever so briefly, is the whole point of travel; along with some chill time for relaxation and reflection of course.

Don’t let a negative encounter influence or worse still determine your travel experience.

A proposal that would try to shrink the size of carry on-luggage is getting “a comprehensive reassessment” after American backlash.

Source: America Just Saved Your Carry-On Bag | Money.com

Headlines about travel always catch my eye, and I have been following this story with a lot of interest over the past few weeks.
For people like me who plan for and embark on a big trip on average once every two years, the prospect of further restricting the amount of carry on luggage to a specific size smacked of yet another way for the ‘fat cats’ to maximize their profits and minimize our comfort on board a plane.

Until recently the guidelines were more about weight than size, and yes I agree it is a big fat pain to have to wait in line while everyone crams their hand luggage into the overhead lockers.
According to my research online, we only started to be charged for our checked in luggage relatively recently too, which is apparently how the problem with cramming the overhead lockers came to pass.

I guess the ‘fat cats’ aren’t really fussed if their checked in baggage goes AWOL, easy enough to get what you need at the other end with your trusty credit card.
But those of us who scrimp and save and plan for their holiday obviously can’t afford to be so complacent, hence the desire to carry my most
treasured possessions with me onto and off the plane personally.

If the airlines are looking for new ways to maximize their profit, why is it that we have to pay more for our luggage and not our seat based on weight?
Anyone who has had the misfortune to sit next to, behind or in front of an ‘oversized’ person knows what I mean.

In the meantime, my tip for anyone planning their next big trip is to keep an eye on the headlines.