vaccine

vaccine for covid that appears to be 90% effective. 50M doses by the end of the month. 1.3B 2021. Travel/Leisure stocks exploding.

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  • Here is a link to an article that speaks to the vaccine (not exactly what wildcat03 describes but similar). Hopefully this all happens sooner rather than later.

    https://msn.com/en-us/news/us/pfizers-early-data-shows-vaccine-is-more-than-90percent-effective/ar-BB1aPHMB?OCID=ansmsnnews11

  • No no no, it’s going to still be months away before the likes of us get any vaccine!

  • It may be awhile before the average person gets the vaccine, but this is still very hopeful.

  • Here's an idea (pipe dream). Once a vaccine starts to become available, then Tauck includes the cost and more importantly access to the vaccine (assuming you desire it) when you have totally paid for a tour, accounting for time lag if the vaccine turns out to be a two part vaccine. That would eliminate a lot of the stress that likely will be there when we are all trying to plan when/if we can get a vaccine so that we can travel again. Hopefully access to the vaccine goes smoothly with a well coordinated plan and that it doesn't turn into something like, way back when, when we had to wait in line for hours to get gas and you could only get it on certain days of the week.

    That's my Christmas wish!

  • The vaccine is going to be free to all

  • That's great, if true.

  • I heard that on the news, too.

  • I think the only way to get more people to take the vaccine is for it to be free. Some people just won’t have the vaccine, whatever.
    Look how reluctant people are to have the Yellow fever vaccine for Africa and other exotic tours.

  • Since the Federal government is buying the vaccine, timing will depend on availability and how your state prioritizes distribution. The good news in my state is that those of us over 65 are third in priority, after health care workers and long-term care facilities. The bad news is that they expect their first allocation won't cover the first two groups. So I'm thinking sooner than some, but not soon.

  • Here’s a comprehensive explanation about Where we are now with the the Pfizer vaccine
    Covid vaccine: what does the Pfizer vaccine news mean? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54876756

  • edited November 2020

    If Fauci and his family takes it, I'm in.

    And back to travelin'

    Ashford Castle. We were told that we were very fortunate -- most tour companies give a one night's stay, we had two. This image was taken from the ferry, on approach.

  • Only the 'Best of Ireland, Small Groups' tours stay at Ashford Castle (for two nights), neither the standard 'Best of Ireland' tour nor other Ireland tours stay there.

  • edited November 2020

    I don't recall which tour it was, Alan, not sure if we've taken Small Group Tours. The tour we took was in August, 2015. I do recall grabbing my tripod and running outside at dinner to take this shot. My wife thought I was a bit rude to leave. But I returned for dessert.

  • I'm scheduled to take this small group tour next June, but I'm not confident it will be happening. I've been to Ireland on my own, but am looking forward to the Tauck experience. I've been watching the Great Courses lectures on Irish history and culture to whet my appetite (not that it needs whetting).

  • I haven’t been to Ireland, but I think It’s possible that both tours stayed at the castle in the past. I’m beginning to wish thst I don’t routinely throw the old brochures away so I could compare how the tours change. Some changes in my opinion are not for the better. Some of my favorite parts of past tours have been eliminated. The emphasis seems to be on accommodation more and more....that there is no time to enjoy because of touring all day and only staying in a place mostly two days. At one time, it was more common to stay in a location for three nights.

  • Good thought. It'd be less rushed if there were more three night stays, would suit my way of traveling more, and more time to take photos, including sunrises and sunsets.

  • Depends on the length of the tour. Can't imagine a three night stay if the tour was10 days or less (knowing that the first and last days aren't real tour days). Unless, of course, the tour was something like 'The Paris Experience', 'In Depth London', or some similar singular destination tour. If you're on a tour to see an entire country in 10 days a three night stay wouldn't work. For me, a three night stay wouldn't likely work on anything short of a three week tour, and then I'd want at most one of those.

  • They call the three day stay the hub and spoke way of touring I think....staying in one place and driving out each day to different sites, so sometimes covering the same roads, more likely the way people do touring when they are on their own. Tauck did do this a little more when we first started touring with them. Advantages and disadvantages...you may have to get up early both ways but, on change hotel days, we have noticed more and more that bags have to be ready earlier and earlier for pick up. We find the extra organization for that a bit annoying even though we are organized type people. Mr. B. needs more sleep than me especially when you factor in time changes. There might actually be more time to enjoy fancy hotel facilities instead of spending the time when you get back to your room repacking for the next move. Anyway, Tauck travelers clearly prefer the mainly two night method....and if they don’t, they river cruise or small ship cruise.

  • 'Best of Ireland' and the small groups subset both stayed at Ashford prior to 2017 or 2018(?). After that they split out the small group tour as 'Best of Ireland, Small Groups' the standard tour stopped staying at Ashford, except for a few small group departures that were still listed in the separate tour during the transition year. It was a strange season- I think either Joycesw or Claudia Sails experienced that strange season. Other changes have been made to one or both tours since then and include not going to Blarney Castle or the Waterford factory, starting and stopping the tour in Dublin, and traveling counter-clockwise instead of generally clockwise direction.

  • Seems like a lot of changes. The Waterford factory was interesting in that the workers were highly skilled and represented a level of craftmanship that was disappearing. I wonder if a younger generation values works like that.

  • The tours of the Waterford crystal and Beleek factories were some of the reason I questioned the Ireland tour in the past. With so much beautiful scenery, who would want to spend it watching glassware and pottery being made? If the tour was maybe three weeks long, I’d be up for it but otherwise to me that’s crazy, even though I enjoy seeing such places.

  • Maybe it's a guy thing? LOL. We like to see how things are made, like Alan's chopping boards.

  • Yes, we took the Best of Ireland tour 2018 when they introduced a separate Small Group tour but still had small group starts under the original tour. We started in Dublin (at the Hilton since changed hotels thankfully), went counterclockwise, didn't stay at Ashford or go to Waterford. We did visit Beleek and the Jameson distillery which I enjoyed. But then I like watching the tv show "How It's Made" on the discovery channel. Even without Ashford it was a great tour. Don't not take it just because of that.

  • I enjoyed the Waterford tour as much or more than the Murano glass tour that was part of the Venice and Dalmatian Coast tour. I like diversity of sights within a tour. I don't want to see just one type of local attraction, eg. beautiful scenery. I enjoyed the tour of the Guiness factory also. But mixing that in with things like the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, etc. provides for the diversity of sites that I enjoy so much. I think that some of the European tours could use some additional different sights/activities beyond a standard fare of churches, cathedrals, and castles. As an example, on the Berlin, Danube, and Krakow tour we visited a piano factory. I found it to be quite interesting and not at all within the normal attractions that you see.

  • I like the diversity too -- I get a bit bored and restless with just scenery, especially on long bus rides. And, probably what I like most is having contact with the people -- both the Tauckies and those in the culture. I thought the Irish were particularly enjoyable for their talkativeness and love of joking around. The beer helped, LOL. You can see their humor here -- it's almost Rockwellian:

  • And you can always celebrate with the Irish . . .

  • Here was our favorite character from an Irish pub.


  • Here's another.

  • Images of Ned Devine!

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