StLouisCruisers

Even though it still looked like rain we headed out after lunch and posting on the Daily today. Quite a breeze, too. We enjoyed just walking around to the usual places, and the pics from inside the Kristiansand Cathedral are very nice. So ✔️ on Kristiansand! Hmmm. Could be, just a little bit! 😁🤪 Wow, sorry to hear Furnando was scared right out of his window sill! Be careful out there! I hope everything is okay at my house. I have several neighbors watching over it for me and haven't heard anything bad so far.

Here are the photos I lasted posted for Beagle Channel. I see I also included Cape Horn so please excuse the run on to a different place. I always enjoy a cool weather cruise, especially if there are glaciers to view. Our first time in Beagle Channel was on Star Princess in 2012 (Rio de Janeiro to San Francisco). We were denied entry to Ushuaia's harbor due to the fact we had visited Stanley, Falkland Islands. This was the 30th anniversary year of their famous conflict. Because of the harbor master's decision we spent the day cruising Beagle Channel in the daylight hours instead of evening and night time. Two 2012 photos: That was quite a collection of glacier ice right at sea level. I'll bet it began calving shortly after to relieve the pressure of the encroaching ice. Star Princess served coffee and hot chocolate on deck that day. We could listen to the destination expert over the loud speakers out there or slip inside to warm up. Next visit to Beagle Channel would have been our 2015 Ruby Princess cruise (Ft. Lauderdale to L.A. 49 days). This time we were able to stop at Ushuaia, so our trip through the channel seeing the glaciers took place after departure. We got up and down from the dinner table (late dining) and ran outside to take photos every 10 minutes or so. Here is one of them. This glacier and waterfall photo was taken at nearly 9 pm. One exciting visit to Beagle Channel was our third time there on the Seabourn Quest in 2016 (Valparaiso, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina). The day was Christmas Eve. Here’s the same glacier and waterfall, seen a year and a half later on the Quest in the early morning hours. Hopefully not much change! Photo taken from Seabourn video Hot chocolate was consumed on my balcony this cruise! Along with a delicious muffin from Seabourn Square. Final visit was on Coral Princess in January 2020 (my latest visit there). That one was from San Antonio, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We left Ushuaia around 6 or 6:30 pm and 12 hours later we were viewing Cape Horn. I have NO photos of the Beagle Channel from that cruise. The last photo I took in Ushuaia was of another ship leaving for an expedition cruise to Antarctica. In fact, it is actually named Expedition! Cruisemapper.com says it hold 134 passengers and is located in the Mediterranean today. A little over 12 hours later we were at Cape Horn. And here is the albatross monument at Cape Horn instead.

Happy Memorial Day and good morning friends! We are in Kristiansand, Norway and of course the weather this morning has been rainy and about 62F. The last time I was here we had similar weather, maybe worse! The rain seems to have stopped and we had a quick lunch so we can head outside for a long walk. Thank you Rich @richwmn for posting the Daily and Fleet Report for this Memorial Day, and thank you to all who served and perished for our country. We honor you on this day of recognition. Well, no need for sunscreen here in Kristiansand, and I never liked a grape Popsicle. Any other flavor was fine. Who doesn't like a player piano? Interesting concept by John Lennon, will pass on the meal, drink and wine but thank Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports on them. What a big day in history for the British and the Allies! We just checked the movies on demand here on Zuiderdam and it is in the selection so perhaps we can watch that movie today or tomorrow. I’ve wanted to see it. Prayers to all here in need of them especially Jacqui @kazu and Tana. Hoping for improvement for all who recently underwent procedures and surgeries. Prayers too for DB, Alex and family, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the suffering hostages still held, and the troops in danger. May they all come home safely. Cheers for all celebrating a happy event today and cruising! Hope you’re all having fun! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping and getting up early to post even though you may want to sleep in. It will take a while to catch up on all the sleep you lost! The port of the day is “Daylight cruising Glacier Alley”. In my opinion this can only refer to that section of Patagonia in Chile where Beagle Channel is. Since there are no earlier Port of the Day references to Daylight Cruising Glacier Alley, there won’t be links to that date. But we do have three prior dates with Beagle Channel so here are the links to those dates in 2021, 2022, and 2024. Tonight we have dinner in the Pinnacle Grill so I’m saving my appetite for that. Dinner service in the MDR has been slower since the turnover day Saturday. Our waiters have more passengers in their section this time. More patience is needed for sure. Have a great day today all! Stay safe and keep well!

Thank you for posting this today John. This message is more important than ever.

Debbie @dfish , I really enjoyed seeing the photos Sunday of River and of Dow Gardens. One pic reminded me of one taken there in the 1970's when twin Linda and Mom came for a visit. We were walking across a creek with the large flat rocks as our stepping stones. Four year old DS's leather sandal slipped on one rock and his feet slid into the creek. I turned around and lifted his sandals up out of the water as he lay on that flat rock just as Linda snapped a photo of us . DS's face was comical but I was laughing at it all. Wish I was home to take a photo of the one in my photo album to show you. Dow Gardens is a great spot to relax and commune with nature. Nice to see it's still kept up so well. I echo all who commented on how lucky River is to have these days spent with you and Sue. But not surprising the feeling goes both ways.

Good morning friends! It’s 59F with fair skies. I hope the weather reports on the TV screen for the next week are wrong since it shows a chance of rain every day! Praying for no rain on our Baltic parade! Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily. I like all the days to recognize today. Love Erma Bombeck quotes. I think I’ll skip the quinoa bowl, B&B and Chardonnay. The end of an era for Ford Motor Company in 1927. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope,and Ann @cat shepard for your F&B reports. Prayers for DB, Alex’s boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, the men and women of our military in the region, and our friends here on the Daily in need of them. Big wishes for improvement in health so we can add you to the Celebration list! Cheers to all celebrating and cruising. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your fine work keeping the lists updated. I really enjoyed all the precious notes from the little ones, and photos of the DGC and Baby Murphy yesterday. Really brightens up our day seeing those sweet faces. I see lots of cute photos on DGD Ashley’s Instagram because she and her bridesmaids are having a fun bachelorette weekend in Nashville. They really do things up BIG these days, don’t they? Port of the day is Douglas, Isle of Man, UK. We had that port once before on June 8, 2022. No, I can’t say I recall having been there before. Here’s the link for your convenience if you posted photos last time. We only have a few days at sea this 14 day segment to the Baltics. Today is one of them. Wines of the World wine tasting is at 1 pm. Captain’s Welcome on the World Stage at 7:15 pm. I guess since it’s a sea day I will go back to work on the Christmas stocking. Little to nothing done on it these past 5 or 6 days. I hope everyone has a wonderful day, keep safe and stay well!

Good morning friends! It is Saturday afternoon in IJmuiden, Netherlands where those who are supposed to get off the Zuiderdam have finally left and new passengers are filing on. At 9:55 they had to announce 7 names and cabin numbers of some folks who were supposed to be gone and hadn’t departed. Basically said please leave the ship!🤷‍♀️ It was raining this morning, then stopped and now? Temp is 63 with mostly cloudy skies. Another chance of rain this afternoon. We are not planning on leaving the ship today. Thank you Rich @richwmn for today’s Fleet Report and Daily. Good days to remember and an interesting quote. Yes to the meal and wine but no to the cocktail. A tremendous day for space travel advancement. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the fine reports on food and beverages. Prayers for DB, Alex’s baby boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and the troops in the region. Special prayers for our Care list, including Tana, Jacqui @kazu, Chuck @catmandoand Annie @marshhawk, Maurice, Richard and anyone recovering from their surgeries/procedures. Hopeful for improvement for all.🙏 Congrats to those celebrating special events this day. And to all cruising fair winds and following seas! 🚢 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your list keeping work during this busy and stressful time. Happy half year birthday to Gerry @ger_77! Bon Voyage @MrSnuffleupagus! The port today is Maputo, Mozambique. This was our port before on Aug. 4, 2021, Feb. 4, 2022, and Nov. 27, 2023. I haven’t been before so have no photos to share. Here are the links if you would like to search for your pictures. Have a wonderful Saturday! Stay safe and keep well!

Congrats to the new parents and big brother! She is gorgeous no matter how puffy and scrunched up she was.

Thank you Brenda. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Brugge twice and absolutely loved it. DH enjoys the beer there too.

I did find a photo on the IPhone I took from the bus of the two ships. Zuiderdam on the right and Rotterdam left. Just after dinner started they announced a band playing outside before our departure tonight. I ran out to see and take a pic. Then I heard toots as Rotterdam left and Zuiderdam answered. A fun addition to the day!!

Well we didn’t get to Blankenberge today. They said take a shuttle to the cruise terminal then a shuttle to Blankenberge from there. But once at the terminal they said to catch a bus from the ship! We went back to the ship and they said they only had 2 shuttles this morning, not all day long every 30 minutes. By then it was too late to figure out trams, etc. so we stayed onboard all afternoon. We’ve found so many mixups and poor planning by the staff on this ship. Disappointing! Tomorrow is the end of the first segment so we will see a lot of new passengers. There will be a blank picture in my upcoming Shutterfly book unless I use a photo of the Rotterdam docked next to Zuiderdam I took with my camera, not IPhone, when I got off today. 😳

I see on Rich's @richwmn list today that Rotterdam is in port with us today in Zeebrugge. Turned on the aft camera on the TV and can't even make out the name due to a dirty, salty camera lens. But it's back there!

Good morning friends! Today the Zuiderdam is in Zeebrugge where it is 61F with partly cloudy skies. We may take the shuttle bus to Blankenberge or we may not. We did that once but got on a train to Bruge so didn’t see the town. Or we may not do anything. Our first time here we took a tour to Brugge and the second time the train there. Yesterday was a long day in Cherbourg and I was wiped out last night. Sorry I didn’t post at all yesterday! We had a nice visit to Normandy, saw Omaha Beach, the Overlord Museum, the American Cemetery and Arromanches for lunch. It began to rain some at Arromanches but was hit and miss. I’m so glad we got to go! I didn’t sleep well the night before, maybe due to those cold meds I took, and went straight to bed after a brief dinner. I couldn’t even finish my Sauvignon Blanc! Whoa! Thanks Rich @richwmn for posting the Fleet Report and Daily today. Cheers to brothers everywhere, tiaras and Morse code! That’s an interesting quote, LOVE German Chocolate cake, hope the Italian Margarita is good, and pass on red wines. Congrats to Samuel Morse on his achievement. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your daily reports! Prayers for all on our Care list especially Tana, Maurice Gerry's @ger_77 DH, and Jacqui @kazu. Late happy birthday wishes to dear Tana! Just keep on celebrating today. Glad to hear all went well with Maurice’s surgery and hope his recovery is swift and without problems. Jacqui, sorry to hear there is so much going on with your foot diagnosis and hope they come to some consensus on what to do to help. Prayers also for DB (on Brother’s Day), Alex’s little ones, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages and our military members in harm’s way. Cheers for the Celebration list folks celebrating anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, wedding, all the good times. Happy Birthday wishes to Jack @Heartgrove. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your work on the lists each day. Hope to hear more good news about BFF! We heard a call for medical this morning while in our cabin. About 8 or 9 cabins down the hall. Three women medical team members came running past our room within 30 seconds. There was a walker outside the door down there so I hope it wasn’t a serious fall getting into their room. Prayers they are fine and will be back on their feet today. I forgot to mention we heard about last weekend’s game between KC and FC Dallas which Dallas won 2-0. Ren scored the second goal and the first goal was by a penalty kick teammate after Ren was fouled. Apparently the person fouled doesn’t get to take the penalty kick, a different player does that. So he helped get the first goal by an infraction against him by a KC player. Hopefully nothing too egregious! Carolyn @Cruising-along, I hope you continue to enjoy the visit with the DGS’s to Great Wolf Lodge! Looks like you’re all having a ball! The port today is Kagoshima, Japan, the third time for it. First was Oct. 5, 2021 and the second on June 24, 2023. We have not been to Kagoshima before. Here are the links for you. Have a super Friday everyone! Keep well and stay safe.

Bon Voyage!!

Thank you Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser!

Thank you Elizabeth! Tomorrow the ship will be in Cherbourg, France and I will be on a tour in Normandy called Omaha Beaches. It will be 8 hours long and I won't be here to post links for folks. If anyone would like to do that tomorrow the port is Baie-Comeau, Quebec Canada. The dates for the prior links are Aug. 28, 2022 and Nov. 18, 2023. They are located on page 306 and page 88 of the HAL pages shown on the front page of the HAL board. There are a total of 5127 pages of prior posts, so I hope the numbers I've given help someone out some! I haven't been to Baie-Comeau before but would certainly love to!

Jacqui @kazu I'm so sorry to hear about Ivan being attacked by the vicious dog. I hope he will be alright and didn't sustain an injury. Must have scared you both tremendously!

The following photos were taken prior to a 2017 Hawaii, Tahiti, and Marquesas cruise on the Maasdam. Our cruising friends who live in La Jolla picked us up and took us to their lovely home to spend the night prior to embarking. But first we went to lunch at Bali Hai on Shelter Island. Here's the view across San Diego bay from our table at the restaurant. Following that we drove to Port Loma peninsula where we viewed the Cabrillo National Monument. Nice views from up there. Then the view from their front deck at their beautiful home. You could hear the waves from there. The next morning before they dropped us off at the ship we drove to Coast Boulevard Park for a final look at the coastline. We even got to watch a wedding taking place. Leaving port later that day on the Maasdam. The restaurant we ate at the day before, Bali Hai. And a U.S. submarine

Good morning friends! Sorry I'm late, I was in Falmouth walking around enjoying the day. It is 64 and mostly sunny with a breeze. We just finished a quick lunch and it's a little after 1 p.m. here. Thanks Rich @richwmn for posting the Daily and Fleet Report for us. I'm sure there are plenty of good things to celebrate and recognize today. Sad day when Johnny left the Tonight Show! Thanks to our gals, Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports. Prayers for Maurice, @ger_77's DH today as he goes through surgery, for Jacqui @kazu who is still looking for answers for that painful foot, and those recuperating from surgeries and procedures. Also for DB, Alex and sons, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages, and the military members in the region. Congrats to all celebrating happy events and cruising. Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for posting today and hope you have good news on BFF's recovery so far. I haven't had time to read the above posts. My cold is still with me, but not terrible. I should take a cold remedy to help with the nose blowing. After all, we carry that stuff with us for a reason each cruise, don't we? We met a nice couple from Scotland who live in Denver on our tender ride back to the Zuiderdam. They are President's Club two times over! Over 3000 days on HAL. Wow! Her name was Sandra too. Hope to run into them again during the long voyage back to Boston. Port of the day is San Diego, California. This was the port before on Sept. 17, 2021 and Jan. 4, 2022. Links will follow with some photos too. Have a great day, y'all! Stay safe and keep well.

Rabaul, Papua New Guinea On Nov. 18, 2017 we stopped at Rabaul on the Papua New Guinea portion of our Australia/New Zealand B2B2B2B Sun Princess cruises. The smaller island ports were much more interesting to me than the two larger ports of Rabaul and Alotau. The view from the ship of the “town”. Left side, right side, and a zoom to the action outside the port gates. Our entertainment Local volcanoes caused havoc in 1994 when they erupted and buried the town, once known as the Pearl of the Pacific. In the second photo you can see some evidence it is still active. They are Mt. Vulcan and Mt. Tavurvur. When we left the port gates we headed left on this main road where everyone in the region seemed to have set up their wares to sell to the gullible tourists. Photos taken prior to departure from the port A nice fishing boat

Good morning friends! It is 59F and partly cloudy in Cobh, Ireland. It was somewhat foggy/misty early this morning. There is a chance of afternoon rain. After immigration we walked around the town a bit and looked in the shops here at the pier in the old train station. Thanks Rich @richwmn for posting the Fleet Report and Daily today for us all. Interesting days to celebrate, no comment on the quote, and nice meal, drink and wine today. Another great day in aviation history and for women in flight. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the reports today. Prayers for our Care list folks, especially Vanessa’s @JazzyV BFF as he undergoes surgery this morning. I hope all the rest of you are improving, or get better news on health conditions. Prayers too for DB, Alex’s baby boys, the people of Ukraine and Israel, the hostages still held, and the men and women in the military in the region. Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping. I’m betting today was a tough one to post being at the hospital. Let us know how he’s doing as soon as you know. The port of the day is Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. This is a first time appearance for that port of call. We have been there once and I have some photos to post. No links however today. I definitely have some kind of cold. Mostly nose blowing and not a lot of extra coughing. I ate a very light dinner but my sensitive tummy was bothersome. Feeling better this morning. I sat at home except for Christmas for 9 months and wasn't sick at all but a week into the cruise I catch a cold! Tonight's dress is casual with a splash of orange. I can handle that! The Orange Party is at 9:30 pm in the Rolling Stone Lounge. I doubt if I attend. I'm nearing the end of a good book and want to finish it. Hoping you all have a good day! Praying for good news from Jacqui's @kazu doctor visit today.

I sampled two of the cakes today. I asked for a tiny slice of Black Forest and got what I consider a full slice. Then I asked for a smidge of carrot cake. She gave me the pointy portion of a slice. The petite baby carrot sticking out of the icing turned out to be a sugary confection, not a real carrot as it looked like. It was delicious! When I finished my cake, the lady at the next table in the Lido pool area asked if they were good and I said yes, as good as they look. She normally doesn't eat much cake she said, but would today! Happy to help with cake research today...😋

Love the cakes and all the work involved!!

Good morning friends! It is only 54F with partly cloudy skies here on the Zuiderdam. It was lots cloudier earlier but at 11 a.m. it seems to be getting sunnier. Pretty chilly though. I felt like I was catching a cold yesterday early with a little bit of sore throat so have been following everyone's advice and using the zinc lozenges we carry along in our pharmacy items. Hoping it doesn't get too bad. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily. In 20 minutes we have Cake Me Away and I want photos so have to hurry along here. This afternoon is On Deck for the Cause at 1 p.m., benefiting Ukrainian refugees. Interesting days, quote, meal suggestion, drink and wine. A big day for aviation when Lindbergh flew in the Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic ocean for the first time nonstop. Thanks for the reports F&B ladies! Prayers for our Daily group in need of them, DB, Alex's baby boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the remaining hostages, and our military in the region. Cheers to those cruising, preparing to cruise, and celebrating their own special events. Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for your list keeping! We sent our laundry out yesterday morning after breakfast and it was back during dinner time. Great work! DH says Ren's team FC Dallas U-17 beat Kansas City over the weekend. They met in Tulsa to play the game. There is a huge championship game in Nashville in June and I'm not sure if KC qualified. FC Dallas will be there. The port today is Miyako, Japan. This is the third time for it, first being Nov. 3, 2021 and second July 3, 2022. I haven't been there before. Here are your links! Time to get upstairs for some photos of those cakes! Have a good day, stay safe and keep well!

Yep,we went to the bar stewards and asked point blank. We get unlimited non-alcoholic beverages with the Elite beverage package! Not that I need that many. Good discussion!! I learned something. Plus HAL needs to clear up this on their website. As usual conflicting information at each turn.