Heartgrove

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

The last occurence was the end of April which is when I took her to Urgent Care. She saw the Nurse Practitioner about two weeks later but it took until yesterday to actually examine her with the echocardiogram and to begin the monitoring. Spooked us last night as the phone that is paired by bluetooth to the monitor buzzed last night at 3:00 am - telling us that it was fully charged! ☺️

I have my eye on the 2024 MSC Preziosa 11-night cruise up to Honningsvag. Trouble is I like to sail on different ships and we will already have sailed on the MSC Preziosa this September. If we sail from Italy we are going to sail on two 7-night cruises, MSC Divina from Civitavecchia and MSC Opera from Bari. But holding out for initial reviews of the MSC Euribia as well.

I know I sound contradictory but do realize how difficult it is to plan an overseas trip. We face the same thing only in the opposite direction when we travel. Our 2023 plans are complete. Currently I am trying to plan our 2024 trip to Europe to include a MSC cruise ending with a booked HAL Transatlantic starting in Rotterdam on October 12. I would enjoy a MSC cruise to Norway while my wife wants to spend time in Italy with a Med cruise. The seven-night will deter the college/family crowds more than the shorter cruises (party,party!) so the end of the ten-night may be busier with rambunctious passengers. There is also weather in February versus March although with the way the climate is changing even that is not certain. We live in the Western end of a Mid-Atlantic state and had a colder December than January-February this past year. Enjoy your travels! - Jack

The March date would definitely see more crowds in the area however you have a B2B seven night cruise paired with a 3-night cruise. The short 3/4-day cruises normally see an influx of the party crowds. That said, I think that I would keep your original booking. We make a point to not sail during Spring Break in the US which is March-April. Of course, when we were in Venice last year we never thought of Italian holydays. Surprise, surprise there was the crowds on All Saints Day, November 1 in Venice!

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Sue has been having occasional periods of rapid (160 bpm) heart beats about 1-1/2 - 2 months apart. She had an echocardiagram yesterday and was fitted with a 30-day monitor to wear. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We called on Siracusa last October while on our MSC cruise which is the next port south of Catania. It was our first time in Sicily. I need to make our final payment today for our upcoming September MSC cruise from Hamburg to Scotland and Ireland. We had it booked but then MSC ran their Labor Day sale last year which dropped the price by almost 1/3rd. Called MSC and were able to rebook both of our connecting balcony staterooms with a very helpful MSC agent. Booked the "Fantastica" experience for the three of us and have WiFi plus the Easy-Plus drink package. Even with my single supplement (Sue and DSIL are in the other stateroom) it is only $178/per night for me. Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Vanessa! And thank you Eva for filling in.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! My father was part of the "Greatest Generation" that landed on Normandy the second day of the Invasion. He fought until seriously wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. Like many, he never spoke of his experiences. Stay Safe! - Jack

Have you tried taking 400mg Magnesium capsules at night? That alleviates leg cramps for me due to damaged veins thanks to an Ortho repairing my broken ankle.

You need to be on a cruise that includes the Sea of Cortez. and that calls on Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico.

You might find that you can pay your tols online. We had a transponder when we lived in Illinois but gave it up when we moved to Maryland as we didn't have a use for it. Now when we travel back to Illinois, I have registered my car's plate and my daughter and son-in-law's car plate for when they travel back for visits. Very simple as Illinois has moved to unmanned toll booths and we don't need to worry about it post-trip.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @1ANGELCAT So sorry for your two losses. It is always hard to lose just one pet. Sam seems to be on a rebound today. Last night after doing his business he took his time to climb the stairs before bedtime. Today he bounded up the stairs for his walk making it in one shot! I wish that he had more days like today. Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Yesterday we did some shuffling of our Transpacific cruise in 2025 with our PCC. I have a good friend in Melbourne that we haven' seen since him and his wife visited us in Chicago in 2008. Sue and I were last there in 2007 so he is always asking me when we are visiting next. Originally planned for a visit in Spring 2024 so had booked the Noordam sailing EB from Sydney in March 2024 to return. But our friends decided to instead visit her parents in Croatia during that time. Contacted our PCC who switched us to the 2025 sailing as we had quite a few benfits and OBC that we would lose. That sailing has the Westerdam scheduled. Sue has not been very keen on sailing the route from Sydney doing the island hopping. I made a passing remark to my friend regarding possibly sailing from Japan. He loves visiting Japan so suggested that we incorporate that into our visit. Fly to Australia for our visit, then fly to Japan, and sail home from there. So now we are scheduled for the B2B 14-Day and 15-Day cruises that make up the 29-Day Collector voyage using our FCC. Why book it that way? We were able to pick a better location for the stateroom we wanted, and actually have better gratuities and benefits compared to booking the 29-Day Collector which is considered only one cruise. The other plus for me is sailing on the Noordam which is the only Vista-class we have not sailed on. I feel it is the "Plus" of working with a good PCC. Have a greatweekend! Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @dfish Debbie, glad to see you back "working", and @0106 Tina, thanks again for filling in. Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @kazu Jacqui, Happy Birthday! I have never been a gambler but for some reason have been quite lucky the last two out of three cruises with quarter slots. One cruise netted just over four figures and the other high six figures. The third - oh well - was a bust. The trick is to walk away after winning, and come back the next day. Stay Safe! - Jack

Actually Canival Sunshine (former Carnival Destiny), HAL Nieuw Amsterdam, and Viking Sky were all built by the same builder, Fincantieri S.p.A. So all should have been originally designed with similar sea-keeping capabilities. As an interesting aside, the fifth Vista-class ship was to be the Cunard Queen Victoria but was instead completed as the P&O Astoria. A new hull that became the Queen Victoria was built with a strengthened bow for transatlantic crossings so in theory should be better sailing in storms.

Sorry but the Viking Sky incident in 2019 was far worse. It lost propulsion with about one half of the passengers airlifted by helicopter hoist. Think of a cork on rough water. It still sails today, and we were aboard the Viking Sky in 2021 for a cruise without a qualm. This photo is similar to what I use to be subjected to while in the USCG - and we had to be out there. Also why I don't sail in an aft-facing stateroom.

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

@ger_77 Happy Alternate Birthday, Gerry!

A few of the photos of our time in Gibraltar, Octoberr 2019. The Barbary Macaques are very mean and tourists were warned to keep their distance. One thing that they enjoy doing is jumping on tourists' backpacks and tearing out the contents. Best to carry your backpack across your front chest.

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @dfish Debbie, I hope you have a quick recovery. Thank you all for the birthday wishes yesterday. It really is a great community we have here! We have been to Gibraltar once while aboard the Nieuw Statendam. I will try to post some photos from that visit shortly. Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @dfish Prayers for you with your surgery. Sam enjoys most of the day lording outside over our yard. Yesterday the lady that walks him when we are away surprised us by stopping by to visit him. He really likes her and seemed to pep him up as she always brings treats. Just like us at our age he seems to have good days and bad days. We booked our excursions yesterday for our upcoming MSC cruise from Hamburg which is in 112 days. Their ship excursions are just as good as HALs for about 1/2 to 2/3rds the cost. DSIL is really getting excited as it will be her first time in Europe. And today is my birthday so Sue is treating me to lunch at our local German restaurant. I am calling it a rehearsal for September! ☺️ Stay Safe! - Jack