StLouisCruisers

Good morning friends! It's is 5 hours later here than the east coast of the U.S. so quite a little wait each day now. The weather here in the Atlantic is 57F with partly cloudy skies. We are moving right along at 19 knots due to fairly smooth seas. As Rich @richwmn said we are en route to Cobh, Ireland due to arrive Tuesday. I'm happy to visit that lovely little city again having missed it our last time due to bad weather. Thank you Rich for the Fleet Report and Daily for today.👍 All good days to celebrate today, and I hope the quote is not true! I'll just skip the meal, drink and wine today (though that is the most vague wine name ever). I'm sure Ann @cat shepard is prepared for it. Quite a big day in history for the formation of our country in the early days. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reporting today. Prayers for our Daily Care list people, DB, Alex's twin boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, any hostages still held, and the troops in the region. Good luck to all with procedures upcoming, and hoping those who recently had surgeries/procedures are progressing well. Congrats to all celebrating special events and cruising. We need more cruisers out there besides Bruce and myself! Many of you are just taking a quick breather and will be back on a ship again soon. Thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV for your list keeping today! The port today is Conflict Islands, Papua New Guinea. This was the port before on June 20, 2023. I've decided I haven't been to Conflict Islands even though I've been to several places in PNG. Too difficult to pinpoint so I've just decided no! Here's the link for you. I've already met up with a couple knitting ladies this morning. Soon it will be lunch time here. Tonight is dressy night with a nice menu so need to save room for that. Last night was good in Canaletto and we had a very good wait person named Loren. She was nice and oh so attentive! Hoping all are well and having a good day!

Bon Voyage!!

Looks fantastic Debbie! Great work! Your yard is pretty too. Zuiderdam. We’ve asked for her each visit to Pinnacle.

According to HAL's website that is not true. Elite Beverage Package has a daily limit of 15 beverages, which includes all beverages priced at US$15 or less and beverage service charges. The Elite Beverage Package includes wine, beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, sodas, bottled water (sparkling or still, 400ml or less) and coffee. Nowhere does it say unlimited non-alcoholic drinks.

Happy Anniversary, Katherine and Bob @Norseh2o! Thanks so much, Graham! Glad you enjoyed them. Meanwhile, your poppy photo was gorgeous! I hope all the buds open and present a fantastic view in your garden for you. We had lunch and then headed over to town since we were busy this morning. Praia da Vitoria is the same place we saw 6 years ago on the Grand Med and Africa cruise. I noticed all the knit "scarves" around the trees in the park were missing. Maybe the trees got too big! The big white and gold church in town was having the paint power washed off the building where it is cracking badly, and they are redoing each section with new paint soon after so it's starting to look good again on some sides. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air and exercise.

We stopped in today's port of Rarotonga, Cook Islands in 2017 on the Maasdam. That was the cruise my birthday was celebrated onboard two days in a row. What fun that was! We didn't schedule a tour here but heard from the destination expert that you could take a bus ride around the island quite easily and decided to do that. Being greeted upon arrival. Beautiful hillside views from our port town of Avatiu. Views from the bus along the route. Near the end of the bus tour. Back in town off the bus, we could browse all the goodies for sale at the market. Then we walked past the Catholic church. You could see the Maasdam from the church windows Heading back to the tender to the ship. I wish we were all there right now.

Good morning friends! Today we are docked at Praia da Vitoria, Azores where it is 62F and partly cloudy skies. No rain expected (hopefully). There is a free shuttle to the center of town which I assume means here locally in Praia da Vitoria. Last time I was here was on a grand voyage and the free shuttle took us to Santa Cruz. We will head out mid morning after the rush. Thank you Rich for the Fleet Report and Daily for Saturday, May 18. Some nice days to recognize but a silly quote by Joan Rivers. I'll pass on the meal, drink and wine today. But thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports on them. Prayers for DB, Alex's twin boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still remaining and for those 3 whose bodies were recently found and our military in the region. Many prayers for our friends here on the Care list! Wishing for good news on all fronts there. Speaking of Alex, my niece Lisa reminded us that she and her DH brought Alex to visit Williamsburg when we lived there, and stayed at our home. She said Alex rolled over for the first time at that house. He was about 5 months old. My, how time flies. Vanessa, @JazzyV thank you so much for the lists you keep so fastidiously. Hoping your BFF is behaving and ready for that surgery next week. He is lucky to have you now to help him, as you were lucky to have him assist you after your surgery. The port today is Rarotonga (Avatiu), Cook Islands. This was the port on Mar. 26, 2021, April 17, 2022 and May 27, 2023. My photos have disappeared from my posts after first posting over 3 years ago so I'll have to find time to redo my posts. The links follow: Last night was an excellent dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. Yulia is who we ask for and she was very attentive. Tonight is dinner in Canaletto. Hoping everyone enjoys this day. Please stay safe and keep well. Sorry about all the spacing on my posts today! All wonky!

We are currently on Zuiderdam across the hall from 1018 in 1026. We are under the casino and hear nothing above us. 1018 should be quiet as well since they are under the carpeted craps tables. There is very little music or noise in the corridor from World Stage and none of it in our cabin. On the starboard side cabins 1015 and 1019 will be closer to the casino bar where they may have music happening. I would stick to port side and cabin 1018. Those cabins are quite large and I wouldn't mind staying in one at all.

Debbie, make sure it really is a large inside, such as the ones on deck 1, cat. J. Those are the ones with the L-shaped sofas and lots of floor space. Aft to forward insides on deck 6 are miniscule, and the insides on 7 port to starboard are average size.

BON VOYAGE!!

Good morning friends! It looks like a nice day outside the Zuiderdam today. The TV seems to be stuck on 64F so I'll go with that. Today is day #6 of sea days on our way to Praia da Vitoria, Azores. Thank you Rich @richwmn for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for everyone. How did your cats react to your long absence? Were they happy to see you again or did they ignore you completely? 🐈 Prayers for all on the Care list and everyone experiencing difficulties in their lives. I hope there is improvement in your conditions. Also for DB, and Alex's twin boys. The people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held and the men and women of our military in harm's way. Three cheers to those with special events and cruises to celebrate! Thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV, Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope,and Ann @cat shepard for your fine reporting today. Today's destination is Surabaya, Java, Indonesia. This was shown here on March 23, 2021 and Oct. 21, 2023 so the links will be next. I have not been to Surabaya before so no photos from me. Thanks in advance for posting yours. I'm meeting up with the knitting ladies again this morning. There is Ask the Captain at 11 a.m. in the World Stage, a movie called Wild Mountain Thyme, with popcorn at 2 p.m. and an Ice Cream Social at Lido pool at 3 p.m. Tonight we have dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. I hope you all enjoy your day no matter what you do!

Good morning friends! The temp is 64 with some rain showers, 91% humidity and light winds from the SW. Thanks Rich @richwmn for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday. I'm currently sitting with some knitting ladies in the Atrium obby near Guest Services because we've been allocated a bad time in the Art Studio in Crow's Nest. 11:30 am? Nearly lunch time! So we are going to meet elsewhere at 9 am and continue our work and nattering. Trying to get a few stitches in each day on this Christmas stocking! Last night we endured the table next to us at dinner discussing politics loud enough for us to hear. We're hoping they get off the ship in Ijmuiden on May 25th. Then we went to a Country Crossroads show in the World Stage. DH was disappointed they only had 3 country songs. It started out with 3 Elvis and a Whitney Houston song. But I enjoyed the singing. We don't attend every show but at least we've gone to some this cruise. No big plans for today yet. Prayers going out for all in need especially Chuck @catmando and Annie @marshhawk, Pennie @Nickelpenny, Vanessa's @JazzyV BFF, Richard and Maureen @RMLincoln, @57redbird, and Jacqui @kazu! Also for DB, Alex's baby boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our military in the region. Cheers to all celebrating including Bruce @aliaschief and Sue, and our cruisers! Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration lists, and to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. The port today is Incheon, Seoul, Korea, which is the very first time for it. So no links today, and we have not been there before. Our only port there was Busan, S. Korea which was enjoyable. Well I hope everyone has a great day today. Keep well and stay safe!

As you can see my photos today are of Piraeus, but that's because most here will be posting Athens photos. You will be very happy with Athens when you get there. But we like Piraeus too. I hope you get to see your bucket list countries.

Yesterday I went to a Beatles matinee at 4 pm which was performed by the Zuiderdam Stage Band. It was a great show and well attended. Then after dinner we went to hear the comedy routine by George Casey from Ireland. We've seen him in the past and he's good for quite a few laughs. Who knows what will happen today!

On our first cruise to Athens on Crown Princess in 2012, we toured the Acropolis and Plaka. On the Prinsendam in 2014 we were there twice, once at the beginning of the Black Sea cruise, then at the beginning of the next cruise to the Holy Land. We stayed at a hotel a block from Pasalimani Harbor in Piraeus. Here's a photo of the harbor taken from our lunch restaurant. And our lunch In December 2018 we were crossing from Europe to the U.S. on the Pacific Princess. Our stop in Piraeus was on Dec. 1. We walked from the ship's dock to Pasalimani Harbor again to do some wine and water shopping. If only I could speak Greek I'd know what these stores sold. No clue! I loved the little tree on the sidewalk with a pretty explicit warning. These kitties lived right in the doorway of this residence. In Greece you park anywhere your car will fit, even if it's at the intersection of two streets. We saw a lot of double parking too. This was the grocery store. They had moving escalator ramps you put your cart on and it moved on up to the second or third floor. We passed by an archaeological museum on the way back to the ship. This was the site of an ampitheater and they had all these stone objects lining the lot. The Piraeus dock where our 2019 cruise began. It was the Emerald Princess and we enjoyed 14 days onboard. At day 7 the rest of our family joined us in Barcelona to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversay. We had to celebrate it during mid-summer due to everyone's school and work commitments since our true anniversary date was Sept. 6.

Good morning friends! It's about 66F with fair skies here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily today. We lost another hour last night as we head east towards the Azores. I'm so sorry to hear of all the difficulties encountered by our Dailyites recently. Prayers for all of you on the Care list especially Chuck @catmando and Annie @marshhawk, Pennie @Nickelpenny, Richard and Maureen @RMLincoln, Vanessa's @JazzyV BFF and @57redbird. Jacqui @kazu I hope to hear some healing news from you soon. Prayers too for DB (yesterday was his 25th wedding anniversary), Alex's twin boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our men and women in the military in harm's way there. Congrats to all celebrating special events and cruising, like me! Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV, Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reporting today! Our port this morning is Piraeus (Athens), Greece. This was the port before on Dec. 24, 2021, July 14, 2022 and Feb. 9, 2023. I'll post the links for your convenience, and then my photos. Have a great day everyone!

Here's photos from Pinnacle yesterday. We forgot to photograph our starters, beefsteak tomatoes with basil pesto and a grilled prawn bruschetta. I had a filet mignon, medium with no blue cheese, please. Salmon with no sauce, just melted garlic butter on the side. Everything seems to come with a sauce! For dessert, the warm brownie with vanilla ice cream and popcorn crunch. DH had coffee gelato And a cute flower arrangement in the Guest Services area while we waited for stewards to complete morning room cleaning. Here's a rubber ducky I spotted sitting on a statue at the entrance to the Lido. I'm going up to the Art Studio again today to work a bit on the Christmas stocking.

Hamburg was a nice place to visit in 2017, too. We did some scenic cruising along the Elbe River as we approached Hamburg. Somehow they even found the wherewithal to make a beach on the river. Nearing the city center This SUV atop two shipping containers caught my eye. How did it get up there? Crane? The Louisiana Star would appear to be a long way from home. I'm guessing it's not really from the Bayou. A unique building with a whole lot of people enjoying the balcony. On Sundays like this everyone must spend their day together with family and friends. We were docked there overnight so on Monday we went for a walk around town and stopped at a botanical garden in Hamburg. I noticed a fancy doorway on a church (for my door people). We continued on and saw an actor taping a scene The impressive Town Hall. Next we came upon Alster Lakes in the middle of the city The botanical garden was quite large but the flowering plants were fairly ordinary. I've seen some great botanical parks in my travels so this one wouldn't compare. However, it was nice to find a calming spot to stroll. There were a couple of greenhouses as well. This greenhouse had a more desert landscape. Going back to the ship we passed by the bridge of love. We came right by the Philharmonic building which is where all the people were standing on the balcony the day before. Our little home A few hours later we were visited by an oompah band! Where else would you rather be? Nowhere!

On May 23, 2017 we were headed towards the Kiel Canal after visiting Hamburg the day before on the Elegant Explorer, Prinsendam. Hamburg was a beautiful city and we had a great time there just looking around. We approached the lock we had to go through to get into the Kiel Canal. People sat on the benches and waved to us. This would continue on along the canal. Leaving the locks. Some of our "fans". These people had a Welcome flag, a Prinsendam flag and a U.S. flag. Some people would stop at a pullover, wave to the Prinsendam, then hop in their cars and drive along further to stop and wave some more. It was really fun keeping an eye out for them that afternoon. I made a comfy spot in the window sill of our room so I wouldn't miss anything. The window wasn't clean enough for good photos though, so I'd run outside once in a while to take some pictures. More new friends! I'll never forget our journey down the Kiel Canal. Not that many cruise ships are able to navigate that busy waterway. Photos of Hamburg will be next!

Good morning friends! I'm not sure of the temp this am. Around 69F I believe with partly cloudy skies. It looks like we're near Bermuda according to Rich's @richwmn maps today. Thanks Rich for the Daily and Fleet Report this morning. Yesterday we had the best Pinnacle Grill lunch! Photos are on my phone so I may do them separate from this post. Then we went to early dining last night and ate a small portion of the lasagna, which was not great. Nothing else appealed on the menu. Good thing I wasn't hungry! We turned our clocks ahead one hour last night. Just before bedtime I saw the host from our Pinellas Park home rental for graduation weekend, had posted his "rebuttal" to my review. He was a real jerk about it and mentioned "2 live roaches" in quotes, like that was ridiculous and said that guests sometimes leave the doors open for extended periods of time, as though we had done that and it was all our fault those poor roaches ended up in the house. He claimed we tried to blackmail him into a reduced price! What a liar! Needless to say I didn't need to read that before bedtime, but the Zuiderdam rocked me to sleep anyway. Happy anniversary Dixie @summer slope and George! 58 years is a good amount of time, don't you think? I'm sure many people thought some of our marriages wouldn't last, but we showed them Cheers to all celebrating special events, and to the cruisers!🚢 Prayers for all in need of them, especially Chuck and Annie @marshhawk, Pennie @Nickelpenny and Richard. Also for DB and Alex's little babies, those in Israel and Ukraine, the hostages, and the military members in the region. 🙏 Thanks also to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your excellent reporting. And a big thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated each day! Port of the day is Kiel (Hamburg), Germany. This was the port twice before on March 28, 2022, and Oct. 11, 2023. Links are below and photos to follow. Hope you all have a great day! Stay safe and keep well!

Good morning friends! It's 70 with scattered clouds here at sea. Welcome back Rich @richwmn. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for all your work keeping the Fleet Report and Daily going while Rich was cruising. I want to thank all of you who posted photos yesterday of your Moms. It was fun to look back to those days long ago. Also, I send prayers for all here in need of them, those undergoing surgeries and procedures this week, everyone in pain, and feeling loss of some kind. Also to my DB, Alex and Jordan's baby boys who I heard yesterday are growing and healthy, and all in Israel and Ukraine. Still praying we get those hostages back, and for the safety of our troops over there. Congrats to those celebrating something and having a good time on their cruises. Yesterday afternoon I meant to go to the Meet & Greet, but we got distracted with the movie "Boys in the Boat" showing on the World Stage and completely forgot! We did however enjoy the movie and popcorn. A very tall couple walked in just before the movie started and sat down two seats in front of us and I had to watch the movie missing seeing the lower part of the screen. Why does this always happen? 🤷‍♀️ We didn't find a good fit for waiter/jr. waiter last night so will try something different tonight. They found us a table in early seating and we hope to eat earlier (much earlier) with some decent waiters. Sitting for more than 20 minutes waiting to place food and beverage orders is a big waste of time. I'm hoping my tummy likes having more time between meals and bedtime, too. Looking online we think the U17 FC Dallas team tied yesterday but won points in penalty kicks. No matter what occurred they are doing well. I hope they're all having fun, too, at the same time. The port today of Gaspe, Quebec, Canada was the port once before on Aug. 1, 2022. I'm pretty sure I haven't been there before. Here is the link for you to retrieve your photos of it. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

we were just in there and it was like a meat locker. So cold! But good to keep in mind.

The knitting/stitching group in the Art Studio was a good group but whoa, uncomfortable chairs and a table in front of me. I need a sofa with a window behind me. We will have to see if I can continue there or move to a better spot. I would miss the company of others though. We also had nice conversations at the 3, 4, and 5 star Mariner reception. I’m resting and reading until lunch. Last night I slept well. We will probably eat lunch at the Lido. That’s all for now. 👋

That is so interesting, Graham. I’m glad everything worked out safely all these years later.

Good morning friends! At sea off Florida somewhere it is 75F and a few clouds. Last night two hours after leaving Port Everglades we must have gotten into a big storm. We tried to avoid it but it caught up with us anyway. The lightning was so intense the entire sky lit up white. It affected "technology" according to the young lady presenting us with our wine orders, finally. Things were a bit hectic in the MDR as usual the first night. We need to get a system and find the right spot in the dining room then things will go smoother. First of all, we heard Ren's team won their first game 3-0, Ren played the entire first half and no idea what he played after that. Just glad they won! Go FC Dallas! Today's port is Himeji, Japan, and it's the third time for it. Aug. 5, 2021 and March 17, 2022. I haven't been to that port in Japan before. Here are the links. Prayers for our Care list individuals and wishes for improved health soon. Also for DB, Alex's twins, people of Israel and Ukraine, the poor hostages, and for the safety of our military in the region. Cheers to all who celebrate something today, cruisers and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Thanks to Jacqui, Roy, Rich, Vanessa, Debbie, Dixie and Ann for your contributions to the Daily. Today I am going to take my cross stitch to the Art Studio which is supposedly in Crow's Nest, at 9 a.m. That is where the knitters and stitchers gather. Then a Mariner reception from 10:30 to 11:00 at Billboard Onboard, which we haven't seen yet. This ship is very difficult to get around. I miss the Zaandam and Volendam! At 2:30 p.m. there is a roll call M&G. Dressy night this evening for Mother's Day. So a busy day! Hope you all have a great day today!