StLouisCruisers

We've only visited Mykonos once in 2012 on Crown Princess. I remember seeing Petros the Pelican, mascot of Mykonos. I think he wishes he could get away from all the tourists sometimes. Folks, could you please get out of my face? The "windmills" of Mykonos. The back alleys The good... And not so good. And one of my favorite photos from our day there.

Good morning friends! It has dipped to 44 this morning. Today will be sunny and 66 degrees. A good day to celebrate Earth Day and the beginning of Passover tonight for those who observe it. Thanks Roy @rafinmd for the fleet location maps. As I mentioned today we will think about the planet we live on, Earth. Also Girl Scout Leaders Appreciation day because they give up a lot of their time to see to helping educate and lead young girls. The quote is a lovely thought, and the coleslaw recipes should be interesting. There must be quite a few ways to make variations of that popular dish. I have no idea what a Fujiyama is and would pass on the red wine. Barbara Walters was an interesting lady so hurray to her on attaining that ground breaking position. Thanks today to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports. Dixie is going on a Disney cruise so if there is a sub today we will want to thank them also. Prayers abound today for our Care list people including Vanessa @JazzyV who will finally undergo surgery which we hope will eliminate all leg pain for her. We wish you a quick and full recovery. Also for Carolyn @Cruising-along's family member Amber who had a frightening turn and surgery. Let us pray for improvement in her condition. I'm thankful to hear Tana had a better time of it over the weekend and hope that continues for her. It would be great to have her at the dinner table every day. Safe travels today for Maureen @RMLincoln and Richard. We hope Graham has good memories today of his late Mam on what would have been her 94th birthday. Also prayers today for DB, twin Linda, great nephew Alex's twins, the people of Israel and Ukraine, hostages still held, and our military in the Middle East. 🙏 Cheers to all our cruisers and everyone with birthdays and anniversaries including Sue @Rowsby. 🎂🎉🚢 Bon Voyage Dixie @summer slope. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for continuing posting the Care and Celebration lists even while having and recovering from surgery! You are unstoppable! The port today is Mykonos, Greece, an interesting and lovely spot to see. Three previous showcases of that port were on Oct. 4, 2021, Aug. 27, 2022 and June 25, 2023. Here are the links for you if you need them. I hope today is a successful and pain free day for us all. Stay safe including our travelers and keep well.

Today is Chemists Celebrate The Earth Day, Earth Day, and Girl Scout Leaders Day You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.--Dr. Seuss Meal Suggestion for today - Coleslaw Recipe Drink of the Day - Fujiyama Wine of the Day - Casado Morales 2018 Alonso López de Familia Crianza Red (Rioja) Destination of the Day - Mykonos, Greece Today in History: 1976 Barbara Walters becomes 1st female US nightly network news anchor (ABC News) Ship Locations Eurodam Huatulco, La Crucecita, Mexico Riviera 12:00 - 18:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Victoria BC, Vancouver Island Canada eta 04-26 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination San Diego, California eta 04-23 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Funchal, Madeira Island Portugal eta 04-25 Noordam Nawiliwili, Lihue, Kauai Island Hawaii 07:00 - 18:00 Oosterdam Civitavecchia-Rome, Italy 07:00 - 19:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Brest, France eta 04-23 Volendam At Sea Destination Newport RI, Rhode Island eta 04-24 Zaandam At Sea Destination San Francisco, California eta 04-23 Zuiderdam Walvis Bay, Namibia 08:00 - 17:00 Eastern Hemisphere Westerdam Sakata, Japan

On the far left of the photo was someone Jacqui met on the ship, Jacqui's friend Debbie, then Jacqui with shorter hair and a skirt on, and then Rich is standing next to Jacqui. He's the tallest person in the pic with the dark shirt and long beard. Excuse me for butting in!

I was on the phone with DD and didn't get a screenshot but was definitely watching. Told her I must watch the Volendam sail away because my friends were on board. Thanks for the picture. Great shot of Jacqui @kazu and Rich @richwmn!!

She arrived on my screen at 5:57 am. I saw several people on the Promenade deck and lots of windows and balconies lit up, unlike the OOS where I literally saw no one moving around. Are they all still asleep over there? lol

Vanessa @JazzyV thank you for keeping us informed on special days in everyone's lives. You do a superb job of paying attention to what we all discuss and getting those details included. Who is going to be your substitute on the Lists, and how long will you be on "sick leave"? Happy 50th wedding anniversary Brenda @bennybear! I know this is a very special occasion for you and your family to celebrate. Happy birthday wishes to Tony @sailingdutchy! I hope there are many happy returns of the day.

The ships are lined up just like airplanes ready to land.

Good morning friends! It's raining and 55 here this early a.m. I expect intermittent rain most of the day with thunder possible. A high temp of only 60F. Thanks Roy @rafinmd for posting the fleet location maps. There's lots to learn about hemp. Kindergartens and chocolate covered cashews are both a good thing (unless you're allergic to tree nuts). A silly quote by Douglas Adams. I would say yes to the stir fry and Sauvignon Blanc but not to a martini. I remember Heartbreak Hotel. My older sister was an Elvis fan. Thanks to everyone for the F&B reports, Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard. Prayers today for DB, twin Linda, great nephew Alex's twins, and friends Scott, Susan and Sandy. Also for Israel and Ukraine, hostages still held, and the military members at sea and on bases in the region. And for all here on the Care list with pain and suffering, awaiting surgeries or recovering from one, feeling the loss of loved ones, and with stress and worry. You're all important to us and we'd love to see an improvement in everyone's life. 🙏 Congrats to all celebrating important events such as birthdays and anniversaries, and those cruising. 🥂 Good luck and bon voyage to those boarding ships today (Jacqui @kazu and BFF and @VMax1700 ). Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your work on the lists and I'm hopeful you were able to grab some more sleep last night. Best wishes and prayers for you tomorrow! The port today is Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, which was our port before on July 10, 2021 and April 19, 2022. I haven't been to Scarborough, just Port-of-Spain. Here are the links for your convenience. Thanks for your photos! I haven't heard any details nor seen any video yet but it appears from online reports that FC Dallas U17 beat Austin FC U17 2 to 1. Today they play Houston Dynamo FC U17 at 11 a.m. central time in Houston. That is my sports report for today!⚽ Have a great day today no matter what you do. Stay safe and keep well!

Today is International Hemp Day, Kindergarten Day, and National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day I'm spending a year dead for tax reasons. - Douglas Adams Meal Suggestion for today - Steak, Pepper & Sugar Snap Stir Fry Drink of the Day - French Martini Wine of the Day - Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc Destination of the Day - Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago Today in History: 1956 Elvis Presley's 1st hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel", becomes #1 Ship Locations Eurodam Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 08:00 - 16:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Victoria BC, Vancouver Island Canada eta 04-26 Nieuw Amsterdam Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Mexico 08:00 - 14:00 Nieuw Statendam Rotterdam, Netherlands South Holland 07:00 - 15:00 Noordam Honolulu, Hawaii d 23:00 Oosterdam Livorno, Florence-Pisa, Italy 07:00 - 17:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Brest, France eta 04-23 Volendam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 7:00-15:00 Zaandam Catalina Island, California 0700-1700 Zuiderdam Luderitz, Namibia 08:00 - 17:00 Eastern Hemisphere Westerdam Kanazawa, Japan

Yes but at least they won't have to go further than the terminal. Many times I've been able to turn around and go right back on board. Like someone said, how long you're tied up is dependent on others not following directions. They will hopefully still have plenty of time to enjoy the peace and quiet.

You can stay on board and enjoy having the ship to yourself for a few hours.

I agree with you Mary. They should stay in Santiago and get that tour lined up.

Your cruise leaves from Valparaiso? I thought San Antonio was the preferred departure port for HAL now.

I'll happily follow along and hope you both have the best time together! 🥂🚢

Elizabeth @Haljo1935 it sure looks nasty out there! DS and DDIL are in Austin for a noon soccer game. Hope Ren and the team don't get wet. My weather app says rain at 4 pm there. Then they drive down to Houston for tomorrow's soccer game. Hope they avoid getting wet tomorrow too.

Thank you Roy. You can see the town of Niigata on your map, which was port of the day on April 6. A new port on the Daily just like Akita. I feel for you, having experienced no internet yesterday for a lot of the day. You should fill out the survey and blast them!

Good morning friends! It's 66 this early a.m. and we shall have a partly cloudy day and a high of 81. Looks like our nighttime temps will go down quite a bit in coming days and I'm ready for that. Too warm right now. Thanks Roy @rafinmd for taking care of the fleet location maps today. The Daily has some interesting days to recognize and a thoughtful quote. I would skip the menu suggestion because of the scallops. The drink name is rather risqué and I don't know what to think of that wine yet. Hurray for Danica Patrick back in 2008! Thanks to our F&B ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their reports today. Prayers for DB, twin Linda, great nephew Alex's twin boys, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy. Also for the people in Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still away from home, and the troops in the region in harm's way. And finally our Care list group and any others in need of prayers. Tana who I hope had a better night along with Terry @smitty34877, Vanessa @JazzyV, Jane @lazey1, Annie @marshhawk recovering from her fall, Pat awaiting word on his valve replacement, and all here in pain or suffering losses.🙏 A salute to all cruising, preparing to cruise or leaving on land vacations, having birthdays and anniversaries, or any other special event.🫡🎉🚢🎂 Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping up with our comings and goings. Extra prayers for you Vanessa for Monday. 🙏 The port of the day is Akita, Japan and I found no other references to it so assume it's another new port. No links today and no photos since that is a port we've never been to before. I hope someone here can fill in the blanks for us. Hoping you all enjoy your Saturday and please, stay safe and keep well.🙂

Today is Chinese Language Day, International Cli-Fi Day, and National Cheddar Fries Day The Indian Summer of life should be a little sunny and a little sad, like the season, and infinite in wealth and depth of tone, but never hustled. - Henry Adams Meal Suggestion for today - Creamy Pasta with Scallops & Brussels Sprouts Drink of the Day - Skip and go naked Wine of the Day - Fontanafredda 2019 Vigna La Delizia Lazzarito Nebbiolo (Barolo) Destination of the Day - Akita, Japan Today in History: 2008 Danica Patrick driving for Andretti Green Racing wins the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi Ship Locations Eurodam At Sea Destination Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala eta 04-21 Koningsdam Hilo, Hawaii Island 07:00 - 17:00 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Mexico eta 04-21 Nieuw Statendam Dover, England 08:00 - 17:00 Noordam Honolulu, Oahu Island Hawaii 07:00 - 21 Apr 23:00 Oosterdam Villefranche-sur-Mer, Nice, France Riviera 09:00 - 18:00 Rotterdam Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island Azores Portugal 08:00 - 17:00 Volendam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 07:00 - 15:00 Zaandam San Diego, California d1600 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination Luderitz, Namibia eta 04-21 Eastern Hemisphere Westerdam At Sea Destination Kanazawa, Japan eta 04-21

I believe the problem must have been related to installation of fiber optic cables elsewhere in the neighborhood. The HOA office sent out an email that our Amenity Center had no phones or internet today and theirs came back on when ours did at 4:05 pm. We should be fine until they tear something up again, and I doubt they will be working on the digging again until daylight tomorrow. But I was thinking that if I do ever have problems I would call you after an hour or so of waiting in the morning. If I don't post some morning by 6:30 a.m. though you can go ahead and post the Daily for me. I've been posting before workout time at 5 a.m. but that time may be later when we are in Florida May 3, 4, 5, and 6. I'm an early riser but might not get up until 6. Let's see how it goes. Thanks for preparing for the worst!

Bon Voyage and hope it's a great cruise!🚢

Jacqui @kazu I'm glad you are on your way and hope the rest of the trip is uneventful. Sharon @Sharon in AZ well wishes sent to your DM after her ER trip. A better day tomorrow!

This morning we went to pick up some groceries and when we got home we had no internet. Yes we had Wi-Fi but it was all messed up, no computer, no landline, TV was working on the station it was set on, but no DVR so couldn't watch recordings and couldn't change the channel or use the on screen guide. Eventually after lunch the screen froze so no more watching the news all day. Nothing going on that I liked to hear about over and over agnyway! So basically I could read a little bit on Cruise Critic with cellular on the phone and cross stitch for hours. I finally threw in the towel and took a nap downstairs in the nap room. All I can say is I'm sorry I didn't get to reply to everything. I do recall lots of things going on today, especially that Vanessa's @JazzyV surgery was finally approved. Now you can relax and prepare mentally and physically for Monday. Vanessa, I echo everyone's hopes that this will finally take care of that relentless pain and you will be back to your old self very soon! Roy @rafinmd glad to hear the monitor brought good news about your heart and the meds being cut in half. Brenda @bennybear I hope the oncologist appointment worked out the way you wanted it to. Karen @luvteaching thinking of you during this difficult day as well as the remainder of the family. I'm sure there are things I've missed mentioning but I hope you know I still care. Prayers for all!

Good morning friends! Today is a warm one at 68 but will reach 84 this afternoon. Clouds giving way to sun this afternoon but a slight chance of rain here and there. I see yesterday's Daily has been locked before 4 a.m. which is mighty early. I read Jacqui's @kazu post from last night just now and want to wish her a good day traveling and hope she will let everyone help move her long distances today so that foot can rest. I'm very happy the cruise is ON! Thanks Roy @rafinmd for the fleet location maps. Days to recognize include congenital diaphragmatic hernia action day which we could all learn something about. John Parker Day takes us back to the Revolutionary War in the U.S. Garlic Day - well I like a little in my food but can't overdo it. What a quote by Stephen King! I'd rather pass on the salmon and couscous. Anything coffee is not on my radar, and prefer other white wines to Chardonnay. What an exciting find by Capt. James Cook. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the reports each day on food and beverages. Prayers this morning for our Care list group, DB, twin Linda, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people in Israel and Ukraine, hostages still held, and troops in the region in harm's way. Praying for Tana, Vanessa @JazzyV, Jacqui @kazu, Annie @marshhawk, Jane @lazey1 and all the others in pain, recovering from procedures and surgeries, the loss of loved ones, worry and stress. Congrats to those traveling and heading to their cruises especially Jacqui @kazu. Also to all our birthdays and celebrations. 🎂🎉 And thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping for us. Hoping you had a good night and not much pain, as always. The port today is Porto Malai, Langkawi, Malaysia. When I looked it up for prior dates I found Pulau Langkawi Island, Malaysia Kedah on July 23, 2023. Further research showed Porto Malai is the cruise port on Langkawi Island so I will post the links for you from July 23, 2023 in case you posted photos there. I have not been to this port before. I am wishing you all a safe and well day, and safe travels to you all!

Today is Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Action Day, John Parker Day, and National Garlic Day Get busy living or get busy dying.--Stephen King, Different Seasons Meal Suggestion for today - One-Skillet Salmon with Fennel & Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous Drink of the Day - Coffee Sambuca Wine of the Day - Keswick Vineyards 2021 Chardonnay (Monticello) Destination of the Day - Porto Malai, Langkawi, Malaysia Today in History: 1770 British explorer Captain James Cook first sights Australia. Writes in his log book that “what we have as yet seen of this land appears rather low, and not very hilly, the face of the Country green and Woody, but the Sea shore is all a white Sand.” Ship Locations Eurodam Puntarenas, Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica 08:00 - 16:00 Koningsdam Honolulu, Oahu Island Hawaii - 18:00 Nieuw Amsterdam Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera 13:00 - 23:00 Nieuw Statendam Le Havre-Paris, France 07:00 - 19:00 Oosterdam Barcelona, Spain 07:00 - 16:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island Azores Portugal eta 04-20 Volendam At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Carnival private island eta 04-20 Zaandam At Sea Destination San Diego, California eta 04-20 Zuiderdam Cape Town, South Africa - 23:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Honolulu, Oahu Island Hawaii 07:00 - 21 Apr 23:00 Westerdam Sokcho, South Korea