StLouisCruisers

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't even read the Nieuw Statendam part I was so interested in the food! I knew you were on Prinsendam that spring and assumed. No, it wasn't the final voyage. We got off after 26 days on May 20, 2019 in Amsterdam. We couldn't book the final voyage due to previously made plans with our children and grandchildren the last week of June to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on a Princess cruise. The Prinsendam was turned over to Phoenix Reisen on July 1, 2019, a very sad day. 😢

Roy, we joined you on the Prinsendam that day, April 24, 2019 in Rome. Your dinner looks very tempting. Joy @Seasick Sailor great news that Allen's meds arrived, but have to agree about that ridiculous pricing. Prayers for your friends in need.🙏 Remember back in January when we saw the filming being done on our street, with the SWAT vehicle and all? Last night my twin texted me there was a program on ID channel about it. I turned it on and it was all about the incident in 2020 up the block from us. Very interesting to see actual footage from that time period mixed in with interviews and video taken in January. Never thought I'd get to see any of it. Sis must be watching a lot of TV. She says she's doing alright but seems to have more pain in the afternoons than at night which sounds like the better alternative. At least she's sleeping. Which reminds me Vanessa @JazzyV it's so good to hear you are catching up a little on your sleep and NO PAIN! It's good that you and BFF have each other to help out during your surgeries!

I wish we had a frowning face reaction to click sometimes! That's a bummer. 🌨️ Maureen @RMLincoln hoping and praying your day goes well starting with the doctor's eye check. Safe travels! Sorry to hear about your rainy Lofoten Islands visit but the weather is changeable there I suppose. I note my 2013 photos had a very cloudy morning with a very sunny afternoon. And the 2022 photos had a very sunny morning and a cloudy afternoon, but no rain!

Leknes, Lofoten, Norway In June 2013 we took a Norwegian fjords cruise on Crown Princess. After a nice pre-cruise stay in London we headed to Norway to see the Midnight Sun. Our second port was to Gravdal-Leknes, Norway. The dock was about 2 kms. from Gravdal and 4 kms. from Leknes. The local info on a sign at the visitor center. On this cruise stop we took a shuttle bus to the town of Leknes along with friends Scott and Susan. To go to Gravdal turn left, to Leknes turn right. We did our usual looking in shops, supermarkets, checking out churches and just taking photos of interesting buildings and sights. I bought a Norway hoodie here. Very expensive to buy anything in Norway. We checked out food in the grocery. So empty! I see one person in this photo. Looking for a snack? Where are all the gallon jugs of milk you see in U.S. supermarkets? We ventured into a café. Best of all was seeing the preschoolers from a day care. Adorable aren’t they? By 2 pm the skies were beautifully blue. Beautiful Buksnes Church in Gravdal. I’d love to see it close up. That night we went up on deck to see the Midnight Sun. It was actually only 11:40 p.m. but still. The sun never even got close to the horizon overnight. And here were all these people cuddled up on their lounge chairs trying to watch a movie on the Movies Under The Stars screen. That Midnight Sun was shining right on the screen. Good luck, folks! Nine years later it was a beautiful June day, 2022. We were anchoring off Gravdal-Leknes on the Island Princess. I had been in Covid jail for 8 nights and finally tested negative and was free to roam on shore. So I tendered over to the dock near Gravdal. Note the mask wearing. Aww! Mr. Troll welcoming me back! There was no shuttle available at the moment to take me to Leknes, Gravdal was too far for me to walk in my weakened condition so I explored the shoreline near the dock/visitor center. Heading back to the dock I noticed the flags. It was time to say goodbye Gravdal-Leknes! I needed lunch and a nap. But along the way to the ship I spied the Buksnes church again. Whew! Sorry about the length of this post.

Good morning friends! Here in Georgia I have a temp of 49F and expect sunny skies today with a high of 76 degrees. Very nice! Thanks go to Roy @rafinmd for his help with the fleet location maps and to Rich @richwmn for the content. Ahh, Sauvignon Blanc day will be popular with many of the wine drinkers including me. I can celebrate St. Mark's Eve Day and hope for good conditions for the laboratory animals. Good quote. I'm not a fan of salmon but hope others find this recipe a good one. Mimosas are okay and I don't know a thing about the wine. A big day in TV advancement in 1962. Thanks to those doing the reports today! Prayers said (and in several cases answered!) for those on the Care list. Hallelujah for Vanessa @JazzyV and Richard getting past their surgeries. Hoping for even more good news today. For all still in pain, awaiting surgeries and procedures or recovering from one, feeling the loss of loved ones, and suffering anxiety and worry, we pray for improvement ahead. Also praying for DB, twin Linda, great nephew Alex's twins, and my friends in need, also the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and all our troops in the region. Cheers for the cruisers, and those celebrating happy events! 🚢 Wish we had more of those to add to the list so keep 'em coming! Congrats to everyone! 🥳 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for continuing your fine work listening and updating the lists. Hope you had another sleep-filled night and no pain! Today we have a new port for the Daily which is Leknes (Lofoten), Norway. No links to publish but I will have to gather and post my photos since I was there twice. Second time was the day I got out of Covid jail so I didn't go far past the dock. The first time we ventured to town for a look-see. There are two ways to go at the tender dock, one way to Leknes and the other to Gravdal. Both very cute. I'll get to the photos a little later since it is time for my treadmill routine and exercise. Meanwhile, stay safe and keep well! And don't forget to enjoy your Wednesday.😉

Today is Sauvignon Blanc Day, St. Mark's Eve, and World Day for Animals in Laboratories I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.--Anaïs Nin Meal Suggestion for today - Easy Salmon Cakes with Arugula Salad Drink of the Day - Mimosa Wine of the Day - Pertinace 2020 Marcarini Nebbiolo (Barbaresco) Destination of the Day - Leknes (Lofoten), Norway Today in History: 1962 Massachusetts Institute of Technology sends TV signal by satellite for 1st time: California to Massachusetts Ship Locations Eurodam Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera 09:00 - 17:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Victoria BC, Vancouver Island Canada eta 04-26 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Astoria OR, Oregon eta 04-26 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Funchal, Madeira Island Portugal eta 04-25 Noordam At Sea Destination Vancouver, BC Canada eta 04-30 Oosterdam Giardini Naxos-Taormina, Sicily Italy 08:00 - 17:00 Rotterdam Isle of Portland, Weymouth, Dorset England 09:00 - 17:00 Volendam Newport RI, Rhode Island 07:00 - 13:30 Zaandam San Francisco, CA depart 16:00 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination Takoradi, Ghana eta 4/27 Eastern Hemisphere Westerdam At Sea Destination Hakodate, Japan Oshima eta 4-25

Today we went out and did a little shopping for some shoes/clothing items DH and I needed to take along on our upcoming cruise. Plus I spent several hours finishing up the lamb, kitten and straw on the right bottom part of the cross stitch stocking. Time to move on to the other lamb. It's moving along nicely. My monthly update photo will be posted the first of May. Thinking of you both today as you wait, and the surgeon does their work. Vanessa, I'm so excited to hear about NO PAIN and getting so much sleep last night! I hope things continue on this route and you are back to your old self again. Our prayers really were answered! BTW, thanks for your historical park photos. It looks like a very interesting place. Brenda, your photos are always great but these are over the top fabulous. It can't just be the subject! lol The spider one did scare me, I gotta admit. But if he was there 2 months at least he didn't make any fast moves. 😬 Debbie that is the best meme of the day. So appropriate, too! First real photos DH and I have ever seen of the green flash. Two of them! Excellent photography skills. Thank you!

Annie @marshhawk thanks for the kitty pictures! You have your hands full! Debbie, we agree with you that we like Iceland too. In fact before Covid we had been there 3 times and since Covid have gone there in 2022, 2023 and are going again (several times actually) on our upcoming cruises (70 days). We get 2 overnights in Reykjavik in June and July. I'll bring some ink if we can use your money printing press, too! LOL

Finished with the treadmill and a few exercises afterward, ate breakfast and now checking the Daily. Good to see Vanessa @JazzyV has posted and thank you for all the new information. Hope you are resting comfortably.😑 I see it's also Charlene @cunnorl's birthday so happy birthday to you and many happy returns of the day! Elizabeth @Haljo1935 somehow I missed your eye procedure today so I send best wishes and fast healing to you, since I see you are off on a cruise in only 4 days time. The cruise sounds like a good one so early Bon Voyage wishes for you.🚢 Enjoy your birthday celebration onboard the Westerdam!

We visited Kona twice, in 2007 on Diamond Princess and in 2017 on Maasdam. On Dec. 9, 2007 we stopped in Kona on a Diamond Princess Hawaii cruise, our first trip there. We had an outrigger canoe shore excursion planned so tendered to shore with time to spare. The view when we arrived on the dock. And the lagoon on the opposite side of the dock. Our tour would leave from here. Seated on my side of the outrigger. It wasn’t an ideal place to take photos once we were away from shore so I don’t have many. One of the few photos taken during that tour. An hour later we stopped at this restaurant for a refreshing beverage In 2007 we saw the Hulihe’e Palace which is a museum but a former home of Hawaiian royalty. 9.5 years later we visited on Maasdam and it looked like this. A whole new color scheme and roof color More photos from our April 2, 2017 visit on Maasdam. The lagoon again on the side of the dock. This time there were kayaks there. As you leave the dock this is the main road along the shore looking towards the Hulihe’e Palace Museum and the MoKuaiKaua Church, established in 1820. The former BHB Maasdam The last time I saw Kona A great place to visit in Hawaii.

Good morning friends! It's 41F and clear this morning. High will be 73 and abundant sunshine later on. Thanks to Roy @rafinmd for the fleet location maps, and to Rich @richwmn for today's Daily content. I celebrate the English language and English muffins, and think Impossible Astronaut Day is an odd one. I don't care for the quote, and am not in the mood for sheet pan chicken.😜 Let's just wait to see what the cocktail and wine are before any decisions are made. It was a big change for English people and their coins in 1968. Thanks to the reporters today, Debbie @dfish, Paul @kochleffel and Ann @cat shepard with their F&B reports. Prayers for our Care list individuals and their family/friends in need of them. I see that Vanessa @JazzyV made it home after a longer, more difficult surgery than thought, and hope she is sleeping in and has a quick and easy recovery. We're praying for no pain once the healing is done! Good luck and many prayers for Richard and Maureen @RMLincoln with his surgery today. Hope Annie @marshhawk and Chuck @catmando are doing okay, best wishes for Terri and Jim @Cruzin Terri, and a good consultation for Roy @rafinmd yesterday. Waiting to hear some good news for Maurice and Gerry @ger_77! Prayers for DB, twin Linda, great nephew Alex's twins, and my dear friends. Also for Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our troops in harm's way. Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for agreeing to keep up the lists, and take however much time you need for it. Let us know if we can help in any way. ❤️ I send congratulations to those celebrating anniversaries and birthdays today, especially Annie @marshhawk who is turning 70 years young today! Also to the cruisers in our group, and hope Dixie and George @summer slope, Jacqui @kazu and friend Debbie, and Colin and Ellen @VMax1700 are enjoying theirs. The list of cruisers is too long to name you all but we've been cheering you on all along. And welcome to the Daily @shadow 123 ! The destination today is Kailua, Kona, Hawaii. This was the port three times before on May 30, 2022, Nov. 5, 2023 and Feb. 23, 2024. Here are the links to back then for your convenience in obtaining your previously posted photos. Hope everyone has a very good day, and try to stay safe and keep well!

Today is English Language Day, English Muffin Day, and Impossible Astronaut Day Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.--Oscar Wilde, De Profundis Meal Suggestion for today - Sheet-Pan Sesame Chicken & Broccoli with Scallion-Ginger Sauce Drink of the Day - Campari Spritz Wine of the Day - Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2020 (750ML) Destination of the Day - Kona, Hawaii, US Today in History: 1968 1st decimal coins issued in Britain (5 & 10 new pence, replacing shilling and two-shilling pieces) Ship Locations Eurodam At Sea Destination Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera eta 04-24 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Victoria BC, Vancouver Island Canada eta 04-26 Nieuw Amsterdam San Diego, California 07:00 - 16:00 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Funchal, Madeira Island Portugal eta 04-25 Noordam Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island 08:00 - 18:00 Oosterdam Naples, Italy 07:00 - 17:00 Rotterdam Brest, France 10:00 - 18:00 Volendam At Sea Destination Newport RI, Rhode Island eta 04-24 Zaandam San Francisco, California 07:00 - 24 Apr 16:00 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination Takoradi, Ghana eta 4/27 Eastern Hemisphere Westerdam Aomori City, Japan Aomori 09:00 - 19:00

I'm so sorry to hear of the change in plans but understand you must do what is best for you and Jim. You have the courage to see that and do what you needed to do. Sending prayers and hugs to you both.

Ditto from me, @1ANGELCAT. So sorry for your loss.

We've only visited Mykonos once in 2012 on Crown Princess. I remember seeing Petros the Pelican, mascot of Mykonos. I think he wishes he could get away from all the tourists sometimes. Folks, could you please get out of my face? The "windmills" of Mykonos. The back alleys The good... And not so good. And one of my favorite photos from our day there.