StLouisCruisers

Today is Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday, Card Reading Day, and International Mother Language Day You don't have to be the Dalai Lama to tell people that life's about change. - John CleeseMeal Suggestion for today - Flank SteakDrink of the Day - Bakers Midnight ManhattanWine of the Day - Nalle Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 2019Destination of the Day - St John Island USVI, Cruz Bay, US Virgin Islands Eurodam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 3-04 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island eta 2-24 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 2-22 Nieuw Statendam Grand Cayman Island, George Town Harbour 09:00 - 18:00 Oosterdam Puerto Chacabuco, Chile 07:00 - 15:00 Rotterdam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 23:00 Volendam Salvador de Bahia, Brazil 09:00 - 23:00 Zaandam Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera 07:00 - 15:00Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Tauranga, Rotorua, New Zealand 13:00 - 23:00 Westerdam Celukan Bawang, Bali Indonesia 08:00 - 17:00 Zuiderdam Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia 17:00 Depart I don't see Eurodam on the map this morning Sandi for Roy and Rich

Sorry for the bad news again, Terri. Once this bathroom is finished you are REALLY going to appreciate the beauty of your brand spanking new bathroom. And I can relate about 95 but we didn't have to suffer quite as long as you did. Try to get some good sleep tonight.

We may have missed that 70 degree Christmas because I don't remember anything like that. We departed the state of Michigan in September 1979. There was never a lack of snow during the winters we lived there (1973 to 1979). The City Forest had plenty of snow, and the ice skating rink out there was frozen solid when we went out there.

Thanks to all for the welcome back messages. I appreciate you all! After shopping and lunch we went outdoors to trim some ornamental grasses before the spring growing season. Their location at the top of the slope out back made it a little dangerous so I'm glad that's done. I've been checking in during the day but didn't get to comment so here we go! Nancy @ottahand7I'm sorry to hear Santos was so dirty. Like Lenda said when we went there in 2015 (Ruby Princess) it was pretty nice. But I'm aware things can change in a short period of time. Our first time in Montevideo in 2012 was very disappointing due to dog waste all over the city sidewalks. It was awful! In 2015 it was very nice and we wondered if they had passed a law mandating you clean up after your dog. Or maybe they rounded up the stray dog population and put them up for adoption so owners would take care of the problem. I hope you enjoy Salvadore de Bahia. I know we did! Great news your house is safe from damage after the late delivery truck escapade. You must have caring neighbors watching out. Maureen @RMLincolnwhat a relief your son's passport came on time. I was worried about the fact today is a USPS holiday so fewer delivery days left. Whew! You will be so happy you are taking a family cruise! We had a fantastic time with our family in 2019. The grands are getting so much older and have changes in their lives coming up that will make it much harder for us to get together. Enjoy!! Jacqui @kazuI sure hope that icy weather isn't returning! Enough is enough! Hopefully you get through all the paperwork necessary for your claim. And the memes were great as usual. Bruce @aliaschief your memes were so funny, too. Love them all. Debbie @dfishit's great to hear how happy you are back in your hometown. It's a great place to live (if you don't mind a little snow! lol!). I hope the weather people are way off on this week's forecast. When we moved there in the 1970's I was amazed there was snow on the ground from November to March or April. It just kept piling up. Back in Missouri we had snows and sometimes BIG snows but it always melted soon after. It was quite a shock. Is it still that way? Vanessa @JazzyVI'm sorry to hear about BFF's uncle nearing the end. Prayers for him and the family. And great job on the lists as usual. We all appreciate your hard work on them. Hope the doctor appointment went okay. Terri @Cruzin TerriI hope the drive was okay today. And when you got home you found your bathroom work completed and to your satisfaction. Now you can finish up your unpacking work. We want photos! Gerry @ger_77did you find a computer yet? Not a fun chore, or at least to me. In the meantime clean up the cookies, etc. It worked for me, and my thanks for that go to my DH! Laura @TiogaCruiserthat's a nice use of HAL tiles. Very clever! And good luck on the event planning. Annie @marshhawkyou did a very good job planning for your stay in Vancouver. It's a beautiful city. We enjoyed a walk in Stanley Park so if you have time maybe think about that. It does sound like you might have everything booked up though. I know you'll have fun! Graham @grapau27 my thoughts go out to Pauline today on what would have been her late Dad's 96th birthday. I'm sure she misses him immensely. Lenda @Quartzsite CruiserFour times to Ijmuiden! Not like four times in Sydney, is it? But you made the best of it fortunately. Looks like you found some interesting places to head out to on your turnaround days. Thanks for the photos. It's a beautiful country and makes me proud to have Dutch ancestry. @erewhonit's my pleasure to post the Holland America Line ship locations for you. I hope your family is doing well. The loss of life from New Zealand is simply staggering. Prayers for the families and friends of the many, many affected. Lorraine @cruising sisterI hope you are feeling better every day. Joy @Seasick Sailorhope all is well on your cruise! You asked what our favorite thing about our Sky Princess cruise was. It's hard to say one thing. DH and I were stunned to see a special crew member from our 2017 Sun Princess B2B2B2B cruise Down Under. He walked by our table at lunch in the main dining room and I recognized him. When he turned around and came back by DH stopped him and he recognized us, too! Ernesto! He was so nice getting DH his special iced coffee at breakfast every morning because only one person on Sun Princess seemed to make them just as he liked. We also had a great cabin stewardess this trip, Maricris. The food with one exception was very good (didn't like the pot roast). The buffet had lots to choose from. Cons were the ship was too large and crowded. The itinerary wasn't much of a factor since we didn't take the cruise to get away from winter. We like colder climate cruises! We also liked all the special loyalty events Princess has gotten back to. I hope you have as great a time as we had last week, on Koningsdam. Enjoy the South Pacific!

On our Nov. - Dec. Volendam cruise we were onboard 28 days, and ended up getting those 28 days plus another 28 days for our onboard spending which was HIA and crew appreciation. Charges for drinks don't show on the statement nor did shore excursions and specialty dinners that came with the package. We paid crew appreciation which amounted to $868. No suite, just an oceanview room. 56 equivalent days for that cruise was very generous on HAL's part.

Good morning friends! It's 45F in north central Georgia with a high today expected of 71 with both sun and clouds later on. After exercise on the treadmill and breakfast we will head out for some groceries because the refrigerator is bare. We got by over the weekend but it's time to do that chore. Yesterday I kept busy around the house and got a lot done. Today is President's Day which reminds me that exactly one year ago was my latest Mohs surgery on the upper left corner of my forehead. Remember the numbness I experienced there and on the top left side of my head? I've regained most of the feeling these past couple of months. There was one area on the scalp that had some tenderness still but it seems to be better now too. Even two months ago I didn't think it would happen but it has. I'm grateful for that! I love cherry pie, and remember we had discussions about hoodie hoo day before. The definition for it is as follows. " Hoodie Hoo Day. Hoodie Hoo Day is a day that is celebrated every year on February 20th. It is a day designed to help people overcome the winter-time blues and to prepare them for the coming of Spring". I love the quote and the food sounds interesting, if you can call ramen interesting. The port today is Ijmuiden, Netherlands and I've only been there once. It was the port outside Amsterdam on our 2016 Prinsendam cruise which was a great one! Since there is no link today I will post a couple of photos for you. Really, there wasn't much to see since you basically take your transport/transfer there, get on the ship, then it leaves. It is close to the mouth of the North Sea and saves that journey down the canal from Amsterdam. Photos along the ride from the Amsterdam Airport to the ship. Our beloved Prinsendam That is all!! First I thank Rich for creating our content today. Without it Roy, myself, Ann and Paul, or anyone else would not be reading it or printing it. Thanks to Vanessa for handling the Care and Celebration lists for us now because that is such a big help! Prayers for the many on the Care list and that includes those needing help in Ukraine and New Zealand, as well as the many in Turkey and Syria. These are trying times!🙏 Three cheers for those able to enjoy good news, or cruises!🥂 Hoping everyone has a wonderful day! Time for that treadmill!

Today is President's Day, Cherry Pie Day, and Hoodie Hoo Day When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.--Jess C. Scott, The InternMeal Suggestion for today - Birria RamenDrink of the Day - Emerald DaiquiriWine of the Day - G�rard Fiou Sancerre Terroir Silex 2021 (Gerard?)Destination of the Day - IJmuiden, Netherlands North Holland Eurodam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 3-04 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island eta 2-24 Nieuw Amsterdam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 09:00 - 16:00 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Grand Cayman Island, George Town Harbour eta 2-21 Oosterdam At Sea Destination Puerto Chacabuco, Chile eta 2-21 Rotterdam Kralendijk Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 23:00 Volendam At Sea Destination Salvador de Bahia, Brazil eta 2-21 Zaandam At Sea Destination Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera eta 2-21Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Wellington, NZ 12:00 - 20:00 Westerdam Benoa, Bali Indonesia 08:00 - 18:00 Zuiderdam Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia 08:00 Arrive Sandi for Roy and Rich With big thanks to Ann and Paul for their help last week

That's a shame hearing that news. I doubt she would mind us admiring her photos several years later so I'm glad I posted them. It looked like quite an interesting port to visit.

checking in!

Bon Voyage to all!!

I checked my Daily port spreadsheet and found yesterday's port listed as Ishigaki Island, Japan on August 31, 2021. Yesterday it was listed as Ishigakijima Island, Sakishima-Yaeyama, Japan so a lot more detail nowadays. I scrolled through the Aug. 31 post and found a person who posted photos and that was @CJcruzer. I really can't remember if they are occasional or one time posters but I figure they wouldn't mind us reposting what they had shared back then so here are those photos. In 2017, we were on the Volendam visiting Ishigaki. A group of us arranged a private tour to Taketomi Island. Carol In addition @Sir PMPposted these photos/map. Ishigaki island near Okinawa:

Good morning friends! Sorry I haven't been around since Friday but as Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiserexplained we had that long drive yesterday and I've been keeping busy doing laundry, etc. this morning. Thanks Graham @grapau27for your concern over me. ❤️ I'm so sorry to hear one of Sarah's good friend passed away. My condolences to her, and her friend's family. Never easy for anyone to comprehend especially if the friend was young like Sarah is. Yesterday we were up very early and headed to the buffet (actual name is too long to type) for a quick breakfast. We had told our stewardess Maricris we would be out bright and early so she could begin with our cabin. So at about 6:35 we left the cabin with our luggage and headed to deck 5 to await disembarkation. But when we got down there the first few passengers were leaving so we headed out the door. Once cleared at immigration (facial recognition only) we hailed a cab and took the short drive to the Hyatt Place FLL Cruiseport. Loaded our luggage into our car and on our way around 7 am. There were some bad accidents on 95 which delayed us some but we still made it home by 6 pm. I hope everyone involved was okay. One accident had two cars involved with one wrapped against a light pole. Yikes! Thank you for all the help with posting the Daily for Rich and Roy, Ann. Also huge thanks to Vanessa for taking on the C & C lists for us all. I'll get back to work on the Daily and map posting tomorrow, and Vanessa has agreed to continue on with Care and Celebrations. We will take care of that when Vanessa goes sailing in April. It's nice we have so many great people here! Prayers for all on the prayer list. It's way too big and there are too many disasters going on worldwide as well. 🙏 Cheers to our friends celebrating and going on cruises. A late bon voyage to @Seasick Sailorand @57redbird. There are no photos from Zanzibar from us, but hopefully someone here has some. Hoping all have a great day!

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiseryour plan to continue through Sunday works for me. I can resume on Monday. Thank you for your help!

Good morning friends! It looks very nice this morning outside. I bet there will be a lot of people by the pool today. Temp is 77 currently, and we're north of Cuba on the NE coast. We will do a little packing and then have a Most Traveled Guest luncheon in Sabatini's at noon. I like the way Princess has returned to their old events like the champagne waterfall and presentation of officers, the Captain's Circle cocktail party and luncheons for high number of days guests. Hope things are soon back to normal on HAL. Thanks Ann for the Daily and Fleet Report this morning, and Vanessa thanks for the excellent list keeping. Prayers for all in need there and for the people with disasters on their doorsteps. So many of those nowadays. Cheers for all with good medical reports, and cruises to enjoy. Speaking of that, our room stewardess is a real happy-go-lucky gal, and spreads the fun to her section of the ship. This is what we found last night when we returned after our evening out. There must have been many of those left in rooms because we kept hearing people laughing in the hallways as they went back out to let her know they enjoyed it. Here's her message to us on Valentine's Day. . A great group of days to celebrate and a wonderful quote. I want meat on my sandwich, too. Scrabster was our port on Nov. 18, 2021. We haven't been to Scrabster before but would love to. Thanks in advance for any photos. Talk to you later, and have a nice day everyone!

Good morning friends! Eating a late, light breakfast since we stuffed ourselves last night at Sabatini’s. We expected to dock at Costa Maya by 7 am but we went on past. The Captain announced conditions were to rough for that unprotected dock so we will miss our port today. Two sea days before we get back to Ft. Lauderdale. Tonight is Captain’s Circle cocktail party and dinner in the MDR. Formal night also. Hope all have a great day. Prayers for our list and all around the world suffering from disasters. Cheers to the rest of you🥂🥂

My advice is hold on to your bag so it doesn’t get lost, then walk outside and grab a cab like @0106advised. Inexpensive and fast.

@Cruzin Territhat was a beautiful sunset! Thank you for sharing. We are in the Vista Lounge at the Platinum, Elite, Suite happy hour (5 to 7 pm). As we came in we felt the thrusters rumbling so I guess we’re heading out now for Costa Maya. At 7:30 we have reservations at the Italian restaurant Sabatini’s. Way too many courses! I may not eat again until lunch tomorrow!😋

Annie @marshhawkin getting a closer look at the large beach and the protective barrier to keep swimmers safe, I'd say they would need a net beneath the surface to prevent the nasty fish from coming into the swimming area. It's looking more like one of those barriers they put out when oil is leaking from a boat and floats on the surface. We walked over there and it looks like a nice area for cruise ship passengers. I searched Mahogany Bay and found out it's a port which Carnival Corporation developed for their cruise ships to visit. Further on up the coast was where the Royal Caribbean ship is located and I think they must have something similar for their cruise ships to visit. Graham @grapau27showed the photos from his visit earlier this month and it looks different from this dock.

Annie, the little beach is shown partially in the first photo. It only has ropes with floaty things on them to show you the limits. There is a lifeguard under the red umbrella. So a mean fish could easily invade your swimming area. The large beach in the second photo has a sort of breakwater to keep the mean fish out and seems safer. It’s very busy now and has a couple of lifeguards under red umbrellas.

View from balcony. We're overlooking a beach and resort type facility.

Happy Hump Day everyone! Our stay in Roatan, Honduras was set for 9 am so we slowly made our way down the coast of Belize to Honduras overnight. I see by searching cruisemapper.com that Roatan is an island off the coast of the Honduras mainland. A second ship is here as well, Allure of the Seas. The sun is shining brightly and our balcony is on the sunny side right now so rather hot to sit or stand out there. Hopefully it will be a shady, cooler spot later on. We will probably walk ashore later. Yesterday we learned that Belize is making an island out in the deeper waters where the big ships anchor, and it's about 3 miles away from Belize City necessitating a long tender ride over. They have dredging equipment adding to the size of the small island, where they will put a dock for the larger ships. Then guests can step ashore and get on the large local tenders to Belize City if they want to. We also saw they are building structures where they can no doubt sell us souvenirs and even places to eat and drink I would guess. Interesting concept! Thanks to Ann @cat shepard for posting for Rich and keeping us all one big happy family. Also to the F&B ladies, and everyone who posts here each day. A salute to the days, the quote, the drink and wine. We have not been to the port of Semarang before so thanks in advance for any photos posted. Thanks also to Ann @Vict0riannfor the photos yesterday of Georgetown, Pulau Penang Island. Cheers to everyone on the Celebration list and to Vanessa @JazzyVfor compiling it. That reminds me there is a large picture hanging on our cabin wall of a photo a Princess guest took of King penguins. A close-up! Strangest piece of art I've seen in a ship's cabin. It's nice but after a day or two of seeing three foot high penguins looking at you it's a bit much! @Lady Hudsonyour DH is a gem! Thank you Graham @grapau27for the lovely photo of Pauline @Paw13 , your Valentine. You two are lucky to have found each other. Prayers for everyone on the Care list, and hope Jacqui, Tana, Roy, Kathi and the rest of us improve day by day. Safe travels to Joy and Allen @Seasick Sailorhave a good visit in San Diego pre-cruise. Terri @Cruzin Terrifingers crossed your ship isn't "sick". Take care!

Very good news Graham! What a lovely photo of you Vanessa! Your BFF is a keeper! Such beautiful flowers. The sun came out and we took the local tender to shore and back in Belize City. We didn’t spend a lot of time there. A couple of women had too much to drink today and were pretty rowdy on the trip back to the ship. I’ve never seen that type of behavior on Princess before. 🤪 Hoping for a nice dinner in Soleil (MDR) tonight with a yummy dessert to celebrate Valentine’s Day. 🥳🥰

Thanks to all for your concern about DB’s pulmonary fibrosis issue. I know his condition is not nearly as bad as Tana’s but it does cause some breathing issues. Paul you may be right about danger to elderly donors like us. Photo of Captain and Maitre’d starting the champagne flowing

Good morning friends! We moved our clocks back one hour last night so I'm on central time. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!❤️ To any of you who have sailed Princess before do you remember on the first formal night they had the champagne waterfall and Captain presenting his officers? I enjoyed watching that last night, and another treat was the Elite canapes they sent - chocolate covered strawberries! Organ donation is extremely important but like others said, who wants our old broken down parts? 🤕 For decades I've been a bone marrow donor but no one wanted my donation and I guess I'm too old to donate anymore! 😏 Thanks to everyone who brings us the Daily each day. Prayers for the many on the Care List and cheers for everyone celebrating. I have not been to Pulau Penang Island before and I don't see it listed as a previous port on the Daily. Lastly, safe travels home Bruce and Sue @aliaschief.

Bruce thanks for the picture! Nice of you to remember to wave at us today. Waving back! We’ve eaten dinner and listening to music in Crown Grill Bar with a glass of wine for me and Gentleman Jack for DH. They have lots of music, singers, bands and dancers on this ship. Last night they had two violinists in here and tonight a guitarist/singer. Excellent!