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Crayons are today's day. In Boca da Valaria I had brought about 40 boxes of crayons for the children. Here I am distributing them to the kiddos. I think I am handing out an Effy necklace here.

Good morning from stormy SW Michigan. We began with such hard rain the Direct TV pixelated and went out for a while. Off an on sever weather all day today and then we return to snow flurries tomorrow. Sandi thanks for starting us off again with our Daily and Fleet Reports! Vanessa thank your for our Care and Celebration list. Today's wine is another obscure one, the drink too sweet but the clams will probably be great. @Seasick Sailor I am sorry that you are not feeling well and sorry that your luggage was damaged. Ours made it back fine and the only thing that came out of that is the UPS guy asking me when he delivered wine a few days later "where did you go" after delivering all of our 6 bags. @seagarsmoker Thanks for sharing the views of your PS on the NS. Very nice but I would have been driven to distraction by room service delivering so many cookies and milk the way you didn't want it. We feel really fortunate that we had good food throughout our time on the Volendam. The only thing that we were missing for a few weeks were the cookies made from pre-made dough, somehow a pallet got stolen. @StLouisCruisers I read your comments about the food on the Zuiderdam being off too. Yesterday on CC a man was asking for help to repatriate his dear GF from Angola. I took a look at Bill & Mary Ann's blog on their WC and they also brought up some of the food problems they are having. One major port like South Africa that fails there is little to catch up with in West Africa. Today's Day is Crayons, I will try to send a crayon picture from my phone from our last cruise. Today's port is Robinson Crusoe and we made it to the dock but did not go ashore. There was a glitch in the scheduling of the tenders and they allowed everyone to go ashore at once at 10am. There was a 40 minute wait in the hall to get on our tender. Then we had to wait 20 minutes for our tender to go to the dock. It had started raining and we saw the line to reboard the tender and many of us decided to keep our seats in the tender and head back to the Volendam. There were so many experiences we didn't or couldn't do on GSA we would repeat that itinerary again anytime they offer it in January to give us a winter getaway.

We are recently off the Volendam after 81 days aboard. I would call the food we had across the board better than any other HA ship we have been on (100 days on HA prior to this cruise). We were worried about variety on such a long cruise but I didn't notice too much repetition.. Food quality in the MDR was beautifully presented and almost always hot, a couple of cold starters because of probably the first order out of the kitchen when we dined early. It was promptly replaced. Lido food was often tied to the ports we were in but the large primal cuts of meat at lunch were top notch, such as a whole roasted leg of pork. Specialty restaurants were also well staffed and excellent quality. Only fails were an hour wait for PG lunch entree and an hour wait in the Canaletto for our main course because they booked a large Seattle based tour group at 5:30 and couldn't prepare the food fast enough. We got a refund. We ate lunch in the Lido for breakfast and lunch because the service in the MDR for breakfast was so slow and the coffee cold we opted for a little clatter but excellent food.

Good morning. It is 19 degrees out right now but the sun is bright. Good day to wait at home for wine deliveries from Fedex and UPS. All ordered on the Volendam than goodness the internet didn't fail or the orders come in when we were in the Antarctic. Sandi, thanks again for starting us off each day! @richwmn sorry you will miss your port in Senegal but thankfully you can get your supplies. Hopefully a few more hours in the Canary Islands. Another obscure Kiwi wine today but the cocktail and the ham recipes look wonderful. Prayers for all on our care list and the people of Ukraine. Have a wonderful Thursday! Nancy @USN59-79Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday to @Suslor and @Cruzin Single !

I agree with smitty, it is a really engaging series with personal stories into the fantastic surfing. @Cruznsingle, @Vict0riannand @sailingdutchy Bon Voyage! Third doctor's appointment in three days. Not much time to get caught up. My late husband's business in Baltimore was a Mom & Pop janitor supply business that grew into a large family business. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Report Sandi. The cocktail is a pass but the ham recipes look lovely. @cat shepard you sure at put through your paces finding those obscure wines for us! Prayers for all on our care list and for the people of Ukraine. Have a wonderful day! Nancy

Terry @smitty34877, I am so sorry you lost Tana's aide. It takes so much time to get one used to the procedures and it has to be upsetting to Tana too. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports Sandi. All the comestibles look like something I would like, thanks for doing these each day. Prayers for all on our care list, the families of those who perished in the Nashville shooting, the storm damaged families in the south and the people of Ukraine. A beautiful sunrise but it is 28 degrees. The poor Robins are digging through the leaves to find some morsel to eat. Snow expected tomorrow and again on Friday but not measurable. This would really be getting old if we hadn't missed most of the winter. We are heading to Battle Creek for my rheumatologist appointment. We will probably stop for lunch somewhere on the way home. Have a nice day! Nancy

Good morning. We had a brief thunderstorm last night but it still is in the 40s. We had hoped for spring when we returned but seems like we will have another week of cool weather. @StLouisCruisers Congratulations on Ren's team's win! I hope you shoulder and back pain is only temporary. Thanks for starting us out each day! The only Joe I know is our President. The meatballs look tasty @dfish but I will also pass - I am doing strict Atkins again due to diabetes like issues I had on the Volendam. Too much enjoyment of their fabulous pastry. I have a doctor's appointment to see if I have righted myself by diet. @summer slope that cocktail looks wonderful but again too sweet for me. @cat shepard the Merlot looks like a real winner, I love Merlot - thank you for your cat memes. Prayers for all on our care list, thank you for doing this @JazzyV! Prayers for the people of Ukraine, Mississippi and others damaged by those tornadoes. Thanks for the photos of Montreal, it looks like a beautiful city. We were scheduled to go there on the Zaandam in 2020 but it was cancelled due to Covid. Have a nice day! Nancy

Good morning everyone and congratulations for starting such a wonderful place to wake up to most days for me! Sandi thanks for starting us each days as @richwmn enjoys his world cruise. Roy thank you for giving us newbies a more complete history of the genesis of the group. All the comestibles are winners today and thank you for researching these for us each day, @luvteaching Prayers for your DH. @JazzyV thank you for keeping our celebrations and care list each day. Prayers for the people of Ukraine, Mississippi and West Reading, PA. @StLouisCruisers, @marshhawk and @lindaler praying that those severe storms predicted for Alabama and Georgia pass you by. My DS is coming over for ribs tonight and will give us more time to share our adventures on the Volendam. Have a wonderful Sunday! Nancy

I was at Guest Services about 2 weeks ago on the Volendam and they were staging groups for tours in that area. The Chief Engineer was there. I was not part of it so I would guess it was something for 5 Star Mariners though there must have been 300 of them on our 74 day cruise.

Good morning everyone. We have cold temperatures and off and on driving rain. We are home for the day and my goal is to stow everything from our trip and start working through filing mail that came in our absence. Perhaps I can get to my photos too. Sandi thanks for starting us out each day with the Fleet and Daily reports. @0106 thank you for filling in for Debbie so we can get our food inspiration each day. @summer slope today's drink looks a bit too sweet but @cat shepard thanks for researching the obscure wines that show up rather frequently. Vanessa thank you for keeping the Care and Celebration reports for us. Prayers for all needing them, the people in Mississippi who were affected by the tornadoes and for the people of Ukraine. John just came in and said there is a tornado watch for Dothan, Alabama which is one of the cities we usually stay on our drives to FL. Have a wonderful Saturday!

Good Friday morning. We are getting ready to go to Costco to restock. Our 6 bags arrived yesterday and I have one unpacked already in addition to two giant tubs of mail dealt with. My afternoon will be unpacking and getting my nails dealt with. Thanks for doing the Daily and Fleet Reports for us Sandi! Vanessa thanks for doing the Celebrations and Care Reports! All of today's comestibles look wonderful. The Volendam had Vegetarian Enchiladas as an MDR offering a couple of weeks ago and the feedback on them was wonderful. We had a great Spanish Chef for the entire cruise. Debbie and Carol I am glad that your surgeries went well. Prayers for all on our care list and for the people of Ukraine. So sad that MSU lost to Kansas State in overtime last night. Have a wonderful Friday!! Nancy

So cute!❤️

Good Thursday morning! We arrived home yesterday afternoon and that was followed by a visit from DS who watched my place while we were gone. We got everything unpacked we took home with us on our drive home, the big load will come today when luggage forwarding is delivered. I have a hair appointment and I hope I can get my nails done, they are so long I can barely type. @mamaofami I hope your cataract surgery goes well today. @seagarsmoker Happy birthday aboard the NS. Thanks for the Daily Reports Sandi and Vanessa for the Cares Reports. Prayers for all who need them and for the people of Ukraine. We were in Punta Arenas but I recall it was a tender port with not the greatest weather so we may have passed on going ashore. I wanted to go to the Magellan replica ship. Last night on our public television they had an acted documentary on Magellan, it was very well done. I forgot he died in a battle with natives in the Philippines. His crew was able to take one boat and found the Spice Islands and return to Spain with the spices to repay the investors. Thanks for the pictures of the pups, Bindi looks like she was looking for a treat. Sadie and her friend look like they were waiting for treats too. So cute!

We just left it attached. We bought a new battery last September for our 2017 Silverado. It turned right over. We have another one in the garage at home, I hope that one starts.

Good morning from Florida. We were off the ship at 7:45 and in a taxi at 8. Off to the Hyatt place where our truck had been parked for 82 days. I wish I had taken a picture of it. We had to use our snow brushes to get the oak flowers and pollen off it. We finally found a car wash and we were on the turnpike by 9:30. A slow slog up the Turnpike but we made it to my friend's house in the Villages by 2. Seems like we are always driving home post cruise with returning spring breakers. We never use their center highway rest areas. About as crazy as a Buc-Es gas station in Alabama. Heading home early tomorrow. Thanks for the Daily Reports and the Care reports. Prayers for all needing them and the people of Ukraine. Have a wonderful Sunday! Nancy

@StLouisCruisers we are just stopping long enough to evacuate the patient then since we are so far ahead of schedule we can dawdle to FL for tomorrow's arrival. No Princess ship in port here. One was at HMC. We were cleared through US customs onboard in St. Thomas.

Good morning. We are off Half Moon Cay on our way to Princess Cruise private island to do an emergency evacuation of a passenger Their island can accept a jet which will evacuate the patient to Miami. We have been sailing 22 knots to get to the island. Bon Voyage Redneck Bob! 🍾 Sandi great news for your DB.

Sorry too late after posting from tiny photos I had added f a duck. 😳

From our January visit in Coquimbo. We shared an Uber to the lighthouse then walked to the Japanese Gardens.

Good morning everyone. A lousy day at sea so final packing then a clean out the cellar wine event at 2 with friends in the Crow's Nest. @dfishI am sorry about both your assessment battle and that you have to fight your PO again. Our crew member who passed was 34 years old named Devon Campbell. The 2 memorials were well attended I understand. Prayers for all on our Care list and the people of Ukraine. Walk for a Cause is tomorrow hopefully with better weather than today. Sandi thanks for starting our Daily off each morning. Nancy

@StLouisCruiserswe decided to remain aboard. We were here in December. We looked at the traffic in San Juan on Waze and it looked horrible plus it has rained off and on all day. We are so remote from the city they have to run shuttles then they will get hung up in traffic. N

Simply gorgeous flowers. @StLouisCruisers I do not recognize that band. We have a black guy with our group. John and I aren't dancers so we only spend 4 o clock happy hour in there. Things are disjointed towards the end of the cruise. Program says casual tonight but with chocolate parade and Formal in our Entertainment guide. Tomorrow is actually Formal but Caribbean Party tomorrow evening. Kind of crazy planning. Makes things easy for us. I will wear my orange Caribbean style shirt to Canaletto tonight and maybe wear it again for the Caribbean party tomorrow night. That way I can pack more in advance. We will definitely be dining in our cabin tomorrow night. Have a nice day! Nancy by

Good Wednesday morning! We had a sad event on the Volendam two night's ago. On our way to Dominica an entertainment crew member became critically ill. The captain sped toward Dominica but the man had passed away before we arrived. We were asked for discretion until family could be notified so today they are having 2 memorial services, one for crew and one for passengers. I understand it was a younger members of the Ocean Bar Band. Sincere sympathy for his family and his bandmates that knew him well. I just went down and picked up my last 2 doses of RA medicine from the medical center. My dose for next week's drive can survive in the cooler in the cabin. I just can't forget it. In San Juan today and we are berthed in the hinterlands by the jet port. We were here in December, once per cruise is enough. It appears at least 4 other massive ships are in port. I am missing one suitcase but all haven't been delivered from storage. We are shipping all 6 back, 3 shipped and three carried aboard in FL. Thank you for the Daily Reports Sandi and congratulations on you DG. Sorry about your bump in the night. Ouch. Prayers for all on our Care list and the people of Ukraine. I signed up for On Deck for a Cause for the 17th. Thank you for today's comestibles, I'll pass on the salmon and the minty cocktail. Here is today's wine with our favorite wine steward, Carl on New Years Eve 2022 on the Volendam. It is a wonderful champagne. Have a wonderful day. Nancy

I think I should have thought a little bit more about my caterpillar pictures. They are from Home Grown National Park. More about caterpillars being eaten by birds. Have a great Tuesday. We were some of the last 95 to get through immigration. I couldn't believe how long the line was this morning when I went down to Guest Services. It began at the Main Stage and snaked double back to the aft elevator and then back again to the forward elevators. Everyone wanted to go ashore. I will spend my afternoon at the pool watching yachts go by lime this one just arriving.