StLouisCruisers

A report back on DGS Austin's allergy emergency last week. He went to the allergist today and they tested him for tree nut allergies. He had an immediate severe reaction to walnuts, but they have advised him to not take a chance on other tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, filberts/hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and shea nuts). They called it a very severe reaction. He actually had every side effect possible last Thursday. He will have to be very careful from here on out. Excellent news, Graham! I'm glad all the appointments seem to be coming along quickly and without much hassle. Thank you for the excellent photos today, both the eclipse photos and the Denali photos. I hate to hear of your pain levels though after yesterday's problems getting home. I hope you get more rest tonight and less pain tomorrow.

Karen, your cake truly does look decadent! Your DS did a great job making it from scratch. I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry to hear about your DSIL passing away. She must have gone through quite a lot battling brain and breast cancer. The quilts are a lovely legacy to leave behind. Enjoy your lunch at Olive Garden!

Thank you for all your zen aft balcony wake videos. Very relaxing! Thanks for the great photo! Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser thank you for your very nice photo of Mt. Denali, too. Gerry @ger_77 I loved the wedding photo today. What great memories it must bring back.

Wonderful photos of your anniversary celebration and our good looking group of Dailyites! Thanks for posting it! Thank you Bruce for the birthday wishes. It was a fun day. Your photos of Sabang are colorful and show the true life conditions of the citizens. I'm appreciating my air conditioned grocery store more after seeing the market photos from there. Enjoy some sea days before arrival in Sri Lanka. Should be another interesting port for you.

Good morning friends! Here in north central Georgia it's 58F and raining lightly. The drizzle will end by 9 am and the remainder of the day will be cloudy and a high of about 70. We could use a little rain to water the new sod over the lawn disruption after laying the new fiber optic cables. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn. I read about Jenkins Ear Day and hoped Graham @grapau27 would report back here on that matter. Oh my! We also recognize Jumbo Day named after an elephant and National Cherish an Antique Day. The quote seems true to me in many ways, and I'm going to pass on the meal, drink and wine. Good for John Hancock standing up for himself and the colonies. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the F&B reports. Prayers said for everyone here with extra prayers for those most in need. Also my DB, the precious babies of great nephew Alex, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our military in the area. 🙏 My niece sent me an Easter photo of herself with son Alex, wife Jordan and baby Elliott Rose and it was just gorgeous. Jordan looked fabulous in her delicate condition. She is going to the doctor tomorrow and is approximately 22 weeks along. 🙏 Cheers for all celebrating special events today and for those cruising! 🎉🚢 Happy birthday Karen @luvteaching and happy anniversary Gerry and Maurice @ger_77!! Hope you all have a wonderful day! 🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for continued excellent work on the Care and Celebration lists! Many prayers for you each day! The destination today is Denali National Park, Alaska. We have several dates with Denali and Anchorage/Denali. Nov. 24, 2021, Feb. 7, 2022 and Sept. 29, 2023. I have not personally visited Denali National Park so will present no photos today but would really enjoy seeing yours. Here are the links for your convenience. Yesterday I heard from all 6 of my precious grandkids, my kids and their spouses, my niece and most of my friends. In addition the good wishes from all my friends here. Priceless! Hope you all have a great day, and please stay safe and keep well!

Thank you Sharon @Sharon in AZ and @erewhon! It was quite the day for both of us. 🙂

Thank you Jake! I love Oreos so appreciate this set up immensely.😉

Thank you so much Maxine! Wine time starts in 30 minutes or so! I appreciate all the hoopla everyone had for us.🤣

A big disappointment for twin Linda. They tried to get south to see the eclipse from the old cemetery 8 family members are buried in. They couldn't get there due to traffic jams on the highways! They turned around and went home. She said it was the only thing she wanted for her birthday and cried! Very sad for her. Here it barely got gloomy out (80%). DH was outside watering the sod over the recently dug up yard and it was plenty light out. The house looked dim inside though. I watched coverage on TV. It looked exciting in some cities. Ren texted birthday wishes and just flew into Dallas this afternoon with his soccer team and said he caught it from the plane. Something we will all remember for a while. DS said he remembered the last one in 2017 and I said I didn't. So checked it out and we were in Dubrovnik last time on Aug. 21, 2017. It was about 95% coverage here that time apparently. Roy @rafinmd, good luck getting your appointment with the valve clinic and hope everything goes well in that regard. Thank you to Terri @Cruzin Terri, Karen @luvteaching, Pennie @Nickelpenny, Eva @superoma, Carolyn @Cruising-along, Brenda @bennybear, and Debbie @tupper10 for your birthday wishes!

Keeping busy today with lots of texts, emails, and calls so I keep getting interrupted here! I wanted to make absolutely sure my spreadsheet listing was correct with Kathy @Norseh2o's birthday being today too and found her post on April 9, 2022 when she mentioned it. She said it was the day after her DM's birthday, who has unfortunately passed away recently. I asked DD if D.A.R.E. was still active in their school and she said yes. I'm happy to hear that. Anything we can do to keep kids safe and try to turn them away from harmful behaviors. I'd like to thank all of you who have sent your warm wishes since my last post. Elizabeth @Haljo1935 yes, Linda almost had a different birthday from me. I have a hunch the doctor or nurses discussed the time and just gave her April 8 as the date so we would share a birthday. Nowadays I think they'd go by the actual time but times were different then. Thanks also to Terry @smitty34877, Denise @Denise T, Dixie @summer slope, Nancy @ottahand7, Graham @grapau27, Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, Annie @marshhawk, @seagarsmoker, Mauren @RMLincoln, Gerry @ger_77, Karen @quilty964, Joy @Seasick Sailor, @RedneckBob, and Jacqui @kazu. So nice to enjoy all my friends here wishing Linda and I happy birthday today. I can't wait to hear about her picnic and total eclipse watching when we chat later.

Thanks so much everyone for the birthday wishes. That includes Vanessa @JazzyV, Roy @rafinmd, Melanie @puppycanducruise, Ann @cat shepard, Charlene @cunnorl, Debbie @dfish, @MISTER 67, and Elizabeth @Haljo1935. Here's a photo of twin and I which I posted last year. I am on the left and Twin (Linda) is on the right. We are fraternal twins. Twin Linda and I are 6 minutes apart. 11:53 pm for me and 11:59 pm for her. From what I remember hearing, our parents had no idea there were twins arriving until birth. I'm sure Dad was sitting in a waiting room and a nurse or doctor came out and announced the news. Shock! Big sister Nancy was thrilled with her Easter gift. At the time we all 5 were crammed into a 1 bedroom flat until they could find something bigger. 😳

If you don't like heat and humidity, be glad that you haven't been to Darwin! 🥵 I was there twice, in Nov. of 2013 on Diamond Princess and in October of 2017 on Sun Princess. And even though I hate heat and humidity I'm not sorry I was there because I love seeing Australia. When you arrive in Darwin, you walk off the ship and head through a park-like area towards an ELEVATOR so that you can head into the downtown area. Yes, an elevator. It's a very unique place. Walking through the park Approaching the glass elevator area Leaving the elevator looking back towards the park and water. Christmas decorations seen along our walkways, since this picture was taken in late November. Heading towards the shopping areas of town we passed by statues and town hall ruins. We also walked near the Parliament building Wanna go for a boat ride? When we reached the downtown area, we noticed the overhead sun protection and misting stations to keep people comfortable while they shopped. Something I haven't seen too often in my travels. I don't suppose they'd mind if you slipped off your shoes and cooled your feet in this spot. You could even learn a little history if you took the time to read this bronze plaque. By this time we were ready to retrace our steps and enter the cool air conditioned interior of our cruise ship. Even with their tropical climate, I am willing to visit the capital of the Northern Territory anytime!!

Good morning friends! This morning it's 50F so not too bad. Today it will be 77 for a high with a sunny morning and a partly cloudy afternoon. I think I'll sit on my porch during the eclipse and watch the darkness appear. I don't have a pair of special glasses so won't be looking at the sun. I'll record the news reporting of the eclipse and watch it afterward to see as much of it as I can. I do think my twin and her DH are going to go to a good spot 2 hours south of her home in Missouri to take part in it. They will be in the 100% totality area, we are around 80% totality here.🌞 Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for us. Isn't it cool that HAL has 3 ships in the area of Mexico where the solar eclipse will be? 🚢 Koningsdam, Volendam and Zaandam! Anyway today we can celebrate D.A.R.E. Day, artists who draw birds, and Roma. From Wikipedia this is what the D.A.R.E. program is all about. "Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., is an education program that tries to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior." So you can see how important that is to our schools. I think the quote is a good one, will skip the meal today for something else, pass on the Cotton Candy drink and the wine. Hurray for Hank Aaron's batting abilities. Thanks to our F&B Dept. ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports! Prayers said for everyone here on the Daily in need of them. Special mentions made for many of you. Also for my DB, great nephew Alex's twin boys, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people in Israel and Ukraine still fighting for their countries, hostages held 6 months later, and our military members in the region. 🙏 Congrats to all celebrating happy special events and to our cruisers! 🎂🚢 I wish my twin Linda a very happy birthday. 🎉 She is 6 minutes younger than me. Also happy birthday to Kathy @Norseh2o! Happy anniversary to @erewhon. 🥂 And happy anniversary to Fred @Overhead Fred and Mitzi! 🥂Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your excellent list keeping and the mention of me and my twin. Prayers for you daily!! The port today is Darwin, Australia, an interesting and hot spot Down Under. We had that port before on July 3, 2021, Oct. 24, 2022 and Dec. 24, 2023. I've enjoyed Darwin twice before and have some photos to share again. Here are the links for you. Have a great day! I think we'll go out for lunch today. I prefer to be home for dinner. And of course time spent outside during the eclipse! Stay safe and keep well everyone!

Really? I had no idea, but that makes more sense. Thanks for the correction.

Jane, I'm sorry to hear about how you felt this morning upon awakening. You should definitely mention this at your medical appointment if not sooner. Hopefully this is a one time occurrence. Karen, the official due date is Aug. 15, but they will be born 3 weeks early on July 25. The couple is 20.5 weeks right now. Last set of twins came early, around 22 weeks and died shortly after birth. Both sets of twins have been identical boys, naturally conceived which to me is a miracle. Their sister is Elliott Rose. Your, and everyone's prayers, are very much appreciated!

Awesome to see 6 Dailyites on one balcony! They spent a good deal of time on them, too. Even though I've never met any of them in person I can name each one of them. After all, we've spent several years together on the Daily. Bon Voyage to you all!

I was here for Rotterdam, Caribbean Princess, and Ascent so looks like I missed all the waiting too. Turned it on just as Rotterdam was moving forward.

Great photos Bruce! Someone in the red car really likes the American flag, eh? Hoping you continue to send photos and cruise reports. Can't blame you for enjoying this fantastic cruise so much. There would be something wrong with a person who wasn't having a good time.😉 Thank you so much for these fascinating photos! I'm glad you enjoyed your wonderful cruise Carolyn. But not surprising you missed seeing the kids and grandkids. They will enjoy hearing first hand about the many places you saw. No need to apologize for not keeping up while on your cruise. There were so many other things to do. Hope you see Fred and Mitzi soon. Yes, I bet the tourist were wishing they could sail away with you! We'll be looking for you! I made a note of your upcoming birthday and the anniversary of you and your DD DH on the same date so was thinking that was why you're in a funk. I hope you can come here and let us know how you're feeling anytime. Tuesday is the birthday of my late friend Bob who passed in February and I was thinking I would talk to his widow Sandy to let her know we haven't forgotten him. Their anniversary would have been 4/26, too so another sad day for her. By the way, your DM walking all around IKEA with her walker is amazing! Let's hope you follow in those footsteps at 97.5.

Just shows I'm paying attention, but no, sorry, I'm not available right now for spell check services. 😉 I need to start making lists for my cruise next month. Lots going on between now and then. I agree the sugar free ice cream isn't as good but sometimes we can't be choosy. Still, you did great.

Bon Voyage to Jack's DW and DSIL @Heartgrove, Fred and Mitzi @Overhead Fred, and Ann and Pat @Vict0riann. Also an early Happy Anniversary to Fred and Mitzi @Overhead Fred since you will be at sea tomorrow. A great way to celebrate! Thank you Graham! Don't forget the shopping there. I'm glad you and Pauline are safe at home after the cruise, and enjoyed being pampered all week. The crew on Iona must know you both quite well by now. Back to cooking and cleaning up after yourselves. I think most of us understand why you don't go public with your time spent away from home. Also thanks for Father David's message today.🙂 Oh my @RedneckBob! I know you meant chicken instead of children for dinner! But congrats on doing so well with your diet while on your cruise. I am too tempted by the ice cream to deny myself on cruises. And no alcohol even with a drinks package? Kudos to you! Joy @Seasick Sailor thank you so much for your continuing prayers for my family and friends. You are a special person! ❤️

Costa Maya, Mexico is located on the Yucatan peninsula. What was at one point a fishing village is now a tourist destination for cruise ship passengers. You can stay right by the pier and lay by the pool, go shopping, eat at restaurants or even see the dolphins and flamingos they keep on the property. We have been there twice. The first time I took a tour of the Chacchoben Mayan ruins and the second time walked around the immediate pier area and even outside the walls to see a Mayan ruin replica we saw from the ship. On Dec. 10, 2015 we arrived on Regal Princess and I got off the ship to join my tour. This is what the area looks like from your ship. You walk through the “village” and get on your bus for a tour. Once we left, we saw this replica of the ruins outside the walls of the village. I had seen it from the top deck of the ship that morning. Arriving at Chacchoben. This area was excavated by an American archeologist in 1972. My grandson’s Flat Stanley (school project) was excited to be this close to the ancient ruins. Here they are, what looks like stairs, all uncovered Our tour guide Pablo telling us about the ruins’ history Carved stones uncovered Last looks at the Chacchoben ruins Then on Feb. 8, 2019 we sailed to Costa Maya on the Rotterdam. This time we simply walked off the ship and explored what was available there. At breakfast I saw this huge ship, Allure of the Seas arriving. It looked like they were going to run us down! Walking between the two ships, you can see there’s not much space between the overhanding sections of each ship From this view you can see how freaky the two ships so close together look. Here’s some shopping for you The pool area Walking outside the walls we went about a block or two away and found the ruins replica seen in 2015. Back inside, we found a lovely group of flamingos And a dolphin pool Not to mention a healthy looking iguana A good comparison between “just right” and “way too big” If you prefer the ocean to swim in I recommend the right side of the dock and not the left Actually, I’d stick with the pool!

Good morning friends! It's a cold 36F this morning with clear skies. But today we will reach 74 and enjoy mostly sunny weather.🌞 Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Daily and Fleet Report as well as the fleet location maps. I guess beavers get their own day today, as well as newspapers (snail papers), and of course the metric system which a large part of the world uses. Ha Ha to the quote by Richard Lewis. I can't wait to see the potato salad recipes. I would like some key lime pie even if it was a cocktail but would pass on the chardonnay. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the food and beverage reports. Prayers for my DB, great nephew Alex's twins, my friends Scott, Susan and Sandy. Also to our Daily friends on the Care list and those not on it, for pain relief, healing and improved mental and physical health. Tana and Vanessa are at the top of the list. Also praying for those in Israel and Ukraine, the hostages now held 6 months, innocents killed, and our troops on bases and ships in the region. 🙏 Cheers to those enjoying special events in their lives, and cruising. 🎂🎉 We have many Dailyites away on cruises and that's a good thing! 🚢 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the excellent job keeping the lists updated. Praying you feel less pain and get more sleep in the very near future. The port of the day is Costa Maya, Mexico. It was our port only once before on Oct. 12, 2023. I enjoyed a couple visits there. Here is the link to that date for your convenience in retrieving your photos. I hope you all have a great day! Stay safe and keep well!

Bon Voyage!

I hope the foot pain hospital visit and the skin cancer checks go well for you. I'm sorry to hear about the foot pain and hope they can resolve the issue for you quickly. On Friday I am seeing the ENT about my cough. I visited him several years ago and he did a laryngoscopy but found nothing out of the ordinary. Since the cough seems worse to me they will take another look, is my guess.

Graham @grapau27's Mam raised him right! He is a very kind gentleman. Glad to hear you are in Fort Lauderdale safe and sound. Enjoy breakfast and have a great cruise!