StLouisCruisers

We have no passes at all since we don't usually need one. I guess people in Atlanta have passes if they use the Express Lanes that reverse direction for morning/evening commuter traffic. They don't have toll roads in the Atlanta area though that I'm aware of. In our state they have something called Peach Pass. Guardian angel is right!! I'm glad you viewed it Graham and I hope Father David likes it too. Everything happened at just the right moment to protect the priest. It didn't even look like his car was scratched! Thanks. I'm glad too. And he just continued on and led the mass that day. Amazing!

I know you are a lot more organized than I am! However I did get my Christmas cards written, addressed and stamped and they are waiting at my next door neighbor's house for December to arrive so she can mail them for me. Are you driving your own car to Dania? Where will you park it for a month? Thank you! I am woefully out of practice! When we cruised every month or two it went a lot easier. Joy, we are going to the Amazon with French Guiana and some Caribbean ports mixed in beginning and end. So it's either because of the 28 days or the countries require it as to the reason why the testing ahead of time. And yes I am packing home tests to go with us, like we did in the summer Island Princess cruise. I used one then to confirm I was positive before I called Medical. Really, really hoping that won't happen again. I heard about the 800 cases on Majestic Princess down under. Yikes!

Good morning friends! It was about 32F this morning and we hope to make it up to 52 for a high but at least the sun is back. Everybody I talk to in the midwest and north are complaining about how it was warm one day and cold the next. That's fall for you! Thanks Rich @richwmnfor the Daily and Fleet Report. Funny quote. I like the days to celebrate especially Sadie Hawkins Day. I'm sure the turkey sliders would be tasty. Roy @rafinmdthanks for taking the time to post while busy cruising. Solemn prayers for all on the Care list and any others in need including Ukraine and hurricane survivors. A shout out to all on the Celebration list (and I guess that includes me and DH as we prepare for our cruise). So much to do! Recife, Brazil is port of the day. We last had that port on October 30, 2021. That is a Brazil port I have not seen before and it's not on the upcoming Amazon cruise either. I hope if you have photos you will share them today. Here is a link to Rich's post that day in order to retrieve them. Well, off to change sheets, wash sheets and begin collecting clothing to pack. All we have done so far is bring the suitcases upstairs. Dixie @summer slopeI bet you two are far ahead of us in preparing for this cruise. 👍 I see the Volendam is at sea destination Fort Lauderdale. Exciting! Have a great Sunday everyone!

Enjoy your cruise!!

So sorry about your neighbor. Prayers for her! Lots of work to do but at least there is some movement on the house. Hope you get it all done in time.

OMG! My DD just sent me a news story about a priest at her church who had a guardian angel watching over him on the way to mass one Sunday recently. You won't believe the video! https://www.insideedition.com/media/videos/ohio-priest-left-uninjured-after-suv-flies-over-his-car-during-high-speed-crash-77999

Really? I've heard the rental car company has to wait for the bill to come in, then they charge your credit card for the total tolls. They go by the license plate if there is no transponder. Maybe that's what you meant by paying at the end. It's great to hear that Steve is doing so much better today. I do hope they can figure out the BP problem while out of bed. That's pretty important!

Made it!

same here.

We don't have an electronic pass. Neither Florida's nor Georgia's Peach Pass. Since we're driving a rental car down I was hoping to avoid the whole toll road thing. Just another thing to arrange or worry about. Sigh... We have done no packing yet at all and drive to Florida Friday. We did get the suitcases brought upstairs and are open on the guest room beds. Guess we'd better get started!

Bon Voyage everyone!

Dixie, I got an email from my TA the other day (8th) with an attachment from Holland America reinforcing the vaccination and testing requirements. I'll copy and paste the testing info for him. Guests ages 5 and above must produce a negative viral COVID-19 test (medically observed PCR or antigen test) taken within three days before cruise embarkation.

I wish we didn't have that test to do either! We're doing ours Wednesday because Thursday is so packed with last minute stuff. It says 3 days so Wednesday should be alright I guess. Anyone have any opinions on driving I-95 south (especially after Nicole) to get to Ft. Lauderdale? Is the road clear? Are there often traffic jams? Any suggestions on side roads in case something like that happens and causes delays?

Oh, I love this ornament! I'm going to send that to my DD for a good laugh! She is very creative and crafty and therefore has a side business (she's a teacher) making decorative arts. Started out doing string art but now has branched out doing wooden pieces using her Glow Forge machine. Next Saturday is a Christmas craft fair that she is going to participate in so she has been making pieces to sell for months now. One of her pieces is a dog ornament that she can personalize with the dog's names. She can do about 200 different breeds of dogs. Here's some examples. When she put it on Facebook she got many orders! My niece bought 5 different ones for herself, her siblings and her parents (my twin). Aren't they cute?

Roy, my condolences to the family of fireman Andy on his recent passing. Congrats to you on arriving at 5 star status! And also thanks for the mention on the Celebration list. Neighbor Linda is holding a Celebration of Life service for her late DH on Dec. 3 at a church in a nearby town. Unfortunately we will be on our cruise then but intend to donate to our local food pantry in his name. Congrats to your nephew John on his engagement! Have a good time tonight.🥂 Love the meme! And the wine sounds decent and affordable today. I'll have a glass please! Hope your finger is doing okay today. I agree they need to rework their election process in Arizona and Nevada. Start counting absentees earlier perhaps or set an earlier deadline for absentee ballots (or do both). Other states can do it. Look at Florida! In our state we need to rethink this 50% of the votes policy because of the havoc it has caused the last two elections. Just pick whomever has the most votes, like other states do! Thanks for the reminder! Happy birthday Jake!🥂 This looks like such a fun event! Enjoy cooking with your grandson. I can tell how happy you are with your new life in Mobile and I'm happy for you. Thank you Graham! I like that Princess ship birthday meme. Very cool!

Good morning friends! It's foggy and 60F right now. Clouds and a high of 69 today. Still in the aftermath of Nicole. Happy birthday wishes to my fantastic son today. He would make any parent proud! Thank you Rich @richwmnfor posting our Daily this morning. I see the port of the day is Fukuoka (Hakata), Japan which is the second time we've seen that one. First time was on May 27, 2021 and I will post the link to that date below. I have not seen that port before so appreciate any photos anyone has to post for us. French dip is a tasty sandwich. I hope World Pneumonia Day casts a light on the dangerous condition. I think we can all stand behind happy hour here on the Daily. The autumn squash salad sounds healthy but I'm not a fan of squash unfortunately. Watching Volendam making her way across. Thanks Roy for the update on the itinerary of Eurodam. Have a good day in Aruba tomorrow. Prayers for all on our Care list which I'm sure will be posted momentarily. So prayers for all of you as well as those in need due to war, and hurricanes. Congrats to all on the Celebration list! Enjoy your happy day! Have a great day everyone.

The crew member dressed in a special uniform who stood outside the dining room with a display of mints and ginger which he would serve to anyone in a napkin who stopped at his table. Also at the beginning of the seatings (first and main) he would walk through the hallways near the dining room sounding notes on a small xylophone to call the masses to the dining room (from the nearby bars!). Something you wouldn't see on most cruise lines I bet. We were on the Prinsendam a lot and they always had a yum yum man.

As Dixie @summer slope said, she and I will be on Volendam, and it appears the 7 day Caribbean is the Nieuw Statendam. Thanks to all for your kind bon voyage wishes!❤️

Oh, I'm so glad your Afib was found during your pre-op visit. Hoping the meds take care of the problem and happy you feel fine regardless. Good luck on the 22nd with your cataract surgery! I hate to hear your DB has such bad bed sores. I hope someone there is working on relieving him of his pain and healing the sores. Hope you have a nice visit with him. Sharon, this sounds like quite a nasty cold! Probably a good idea to stay out of the hair salon right now. I hope the cough gets better soon! Roy, your dinner last night looks very good. I'm looking forward to that meal, possibly on embarkation night like you had. Thank you for continuing your list keeping even while cruising. It can't be easy sometimes with cruise ship Wi-Fi being what it is. Enjoy the journey down to Costa Rica! Thanks for the photos of Manaus, Lenda! Looks very interesting to say the least. Have fun with the little ones! It's awesome the boys' school put on the assembly honoring veterans. Children need to hear that freedom isn't free.🎖️

Morning, Lenda! I hope today is a better day for you and Steve. I checked the March 27, 2021 post on Manaus and that was a travel day from I believe Quartzsite to your Texas abode. You mentioned getting things out of the motorhome. Since you posted late in the day you didn't post any photos but you did explain when and where you went in Manaus. The following is what Lenda said that day about Manaus, Brazil. We were in Manaus in 2006 on the old Regal Princess doing b2bs making it a round trip from FLL. Since Manaus was a turn around port for those doing only 14 days, we were there 2 1/2 days. The afternoon we arrived, we took a riverboat tour that also included a small boat through the jungle. We saw the pink dolphins then. The next day we did a city tour that included the opera house and the zoo. in the afternoon we took a shuttle out to a resort. We were lucky to be there when it was safe to go out on your own. The last day, we wandered down to the market. Four of us took one of the small boats out to the back waters. They stopped the boat at a relative’s house. He and his kids came out with a anaconda, a three toed sloth and a green parrot. I was surprised at how soft the sloth’s fur was.

I beg your pardon for saying happy birthday to your granddaughters earlier -- I misread your post. It appears your family was blessed with boy and girl twins! I hope they have a wonderful day!

I'm just catching up on all the posts from last night. Lenda, @Quartzsite Cruiserwhat a tangled mess at that hospital. I can't blame you at all for wanting to stay for more tests and to get a better idea of what's going on. Praying for you both, and hoping someone will start listening to you two.🙏

Good morning friends! Happy Veteran's Day to all our Dailyite veterans, as well as all in my own family. We thank you all for your service to our country! We've been getting rain on and off since yesterday noon. It might stop around 2 pm today and right now the winds aren't bad at all. I hope everyone has been safe from Nicole so far. Thanks Rich @richwmnfor the Daily. I see Volendam is slowly making her way over to the U.S. We are supposed to see Manaus on the upcoming cruise like Dixie @summer slopesaid. I'll post the link to the last time Rich posted it on March 27, 2021. We have tried to get there at least 3 or 4 times and hopefully this will be the time it happens. Does anyone feel that it is unsafe to walk around in Manaus? I'd rather not take a tour into the jungles or into the water (pink dolphins), so wanted to stick around the city instead. Thanks for any advice or photos today. I may go back and read what was said back in 2021 and look at the photos there. Today as Rich said, is Angola Independence Day which should be celebrated. Not a fan of origami, but always support education. I hope districts start going back to the basics because our young ones are going further down the hole in what they are being taught these days. Teachers are trying hard but are restricted in what they can teach anymore. Parents are going to have to pick up the slack. Not a fan of the quote, the menu suggestion, drink or red wine. I'm a simple person obviously. 😁 I have said my prayers already for our Care list people and hope you feel them coming your way. Cheers to the people cruising and those with happiness in their lives. Terry @smitty34877congrats to your 12 year old twin granddaughters today! I thought having my son on 11/11 would be a great birthday but it turned out he arrived the following morning, so happy birthday wishes to him tomorrow. No mail delivery today everyone so no need to watch for that mail carrier! Here's Rich's post last year including Manaus photos.

Don't forget the food photos!

Don't worry about it. We all struggle with CC sometimes. Sharon @Sharon in AZI hope it's nothing serious and the Covid tests remain negative. It could still be a flu variant the flu shot manufacturers didn't include, from what I hear. Get lots of rest.