A sparkle to the Eye

[Doc Vernon]

No doubt this bit of News will bring a sparkle to the Eye of one John the Strange one in Oz? LOL

His long awaited and beloved Cruises it seems are at last going to return to Aussie Ports, where they have been dormant for some 2 Years now!

So up and at it John, there is o time to waste LOL
cHEERS

Australia's ban on cruise ships to expire on April 17 (msn.com)

[j.sabourn]

There was one Australian couple interviewed on TV this morning Vernon, where the bloke said there was no safer place than on a cruise liner. I cringed at his words, I think with all the fancy brochures they put out they should also put out one also of all the ship accidents and all loss of life for shipping world wide just for that year. Among the glossy photos they could also put a few of the crews quarters and their terms and conditions of work. I am not a connosieur of passenger liners , but the wilful ignorance of some of the passengers amazes me . JS
Probably from the same group that denounce Nelson as a slave trader JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Yes Vernon, we have three already booked.
But within an hour of the statement received an e-mail to say one has been cancelled, then within minutes another to say there is a replacement for it.
Took up the offer.

S to crew accommodation on cruise ships.
Have seen some of it unofficially and can tell you it far beyond anything we ever knew.
Only one problem, some of it is below the water line.

As to food, glorious food, with plenty for all with menus of all nationalities for the various crew members.

[j.sabourn]

#3 Plenty of Crayfish then ? JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

The NSW State Govt lifted all restrictions including the wearing of masks, so I cannot see why they didn't start the cruises anyway, unless it was for the Fat man to make the announcement prior to the elections, after the fiasco of the flood relief he's no longer fooling people.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Think they now think they can put Dettol through the Air Conditioning System. Every passenger will be issued with 12 RATS for the voyage of discovery. The RATS check for Covid was very aptly named for shipboard life . Think Morrison must have put a lot of thought into that one Des. The story about rats leaving a sinking ship is untrue. I remember on one ship when putting the after ropes away on leaving an Aussie port after a very long stay, there was a nest of them uncovered , they all immediately jumped over the side. To prove the story about them is a fallacy we didnt sink. I reckon they heard she was a bad feeder. JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John
WE took a load of wheat from Galveston to Hamburg, sweeping up after leaving the rats we killed were in the hundreds, but to be truthful never saw many on other ships, maybe they had faster cooks.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Put in a post way back. I used to think when younger that ratguards were put on the ropes to keep rats from coming on board. this is not true, they are required by port health to keep the rats from going ashore .They come on board through the grain shutes . Think I believed the first one because saw a picture in an Aussie magazine where someone had painted on a ratguard “ Dear rat please use gangway” plus the fact we used to paint the bottom half of the gangway white in the mistaken belief that a rat would not cross over it. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

The ban on cruise ships coming was not from the gov.
It was a directive from the Department of health secretary who was complying with some international rules at the time.
It was due to restart Feb 17 but the department put two more months on it.
There are still some international restrictions with some countries still not allowing them in.

The conditions for being allowed to sail on one changes almost weekly as countries rules change.

NZ will not fully open until next week, following Oz on this one.

I know Des you blame Scomo for this but he has to go by advice from the public service

[Des Taff Jenkins]

JS
I was always taught to put the pointy end towards the wharf as the rats couldn't climb over the guard, but as you say there was nothing to stop a rat coming up the gangway, providing he had a nice suit on of course.
Des