StLouisCruisers

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit! 🐇 Good morning friends! It's 42F and cloudy here this morning. If rain hasn't started already it will shortly and we will have rainy conditions most of the day along with a high temp of only 49. I wanted to go grocery shopping but not if it's raining, darn it! Anyway, happy first day of March! Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Daily and Fleet Report plus the maps posted every day for Rich @richwmn. Hmm, baby sleep day. I wish we could all sleep more but perhaps not 12 hours a day. My sympathy to those afflicted with endometriosis. I like peanut butter. The quote is so true! I'm interested in seeing the recipes today for the slow cooker turkey Bolognese. Not sure what the drink is and would drink the wine since I love rosé and white zinfandel. Nice days in history especially Yellowstone National Park becoming the first national park in the world in 1872. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your awesome reports on food and beverages. Prayers have been said already this morning for DB and DGD, Bob's family and friends, Scott and Susan, the people of Israel and Ukraine, hostages held so many months later, and our troops in the region in harm's way. Also for our Daily Care list and I hope for improvement in all your lives. I mention you all by name as much as possible. 🙏 Hoping for better health for Annie @marshhawk and Chuck @catmando, Jane @lazey1, Jacqui @kazu, Roy @rafinmd, Maurice, Pat, Richard, Tana, and so many others. My prayers for Laken Riley, her family and friends on the day of her funeral. Such a tragedy! 😭 For the Celebration list, happy birthday to Bruce @aliaschief and happy cruising to our huge group at sea or preparing for cruises. 🚢 Thankful to see Joy @Seasick Sailor released from CC jail! 🎉 Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the updated lists each day. We appreciate you and are glad to see you feeling better. The port of the day is Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy for the fourth time. The previous times were March 19, 2021, September 18, 2022, and Sept. 9, 2023. I'll post the links here for your convenience in retrieving photos. I'll also show my photos and hope you all will too. There are so many places to see around Livorno and they are all beautiful and interesting. No matter what the weather does today where you are, have a great one! Stay safe and keep well. Safe travels to all, including DS and DDIL flying back to Dallas from Madrid today. ✈️ They've had a fabulous week there.

I LOVE the photo Roy! Thank so much sharing it, and I'll check out your blog post right away. Thanks for linking that here. Great photos Ann! Finally we can see what they actually look like.

Joy, it's wonderful to see you back here on the Daily! We missed you! Sorry to hear Allen has a flare up of eczema but it sounds like you and the doctor are right on it. I hope you and the girls enjoy game night tonight and that paella. Your doggie outfits for Oliver are adorable. That is a lucky pup to have found such loving parents! Roy, your comment about not sailing on February 29 on a BHB got me curious. I checked and there was only one time we've been cruising on February 29 and that was in 2012 on Star Princess. On that actual date we were scenic cruising at Amalia Glacier, Chile. What a beautiful sunny day it was! And you were right, we have never had a port in Vanatu before. Your comment about Mystery Island also reminded me that DH and I have that port of call listed on a new Princess booking of ours in April 2026. Can't wait to see it! How was it? So nice to hear your pain is so much better! Let's hope you can go pain free before long. Sorry to hear about the stranger walking through your property and hope they don't try to make a habit out of it. Good idea to check that gate to be sure it is locked. Those pink dolphins are so elusive. I could barely get a glimpse of them which makes for difficult photography! Magnificent photos Brenda! It's good to hear the Lab is doing okay after the surgery. Sounds like her recovery is going well. I hope the A-fib is not a huge problem and the cardiologist has some good ideas for her care. I hope you are taking it easy now, Ann!

Another leap day birthday! Warm thoughts sent to you on this special day in your family history. 🎉 Very cool that you have your grandmother's heart necklace to wear. I see they didn't include toast in the breakfast martini (thank goodness). 😂 Interesting about the marmalade though. Ann, try to get some rest now. It's so good of you to be with your Sis in her time of need on surgery day, and the help with cleaning and laundry at her apartment. I hope she continues to recover and heal so she can come home quickly.

Melanie, @puppycanducruise so sorry to hear that your DB passed at such a young age. I'm sure you must miss him very much but hope your memories of him are good ones.

Good morning friends and happy Leap Day! Another cold morning at 38F. It will be mostly cloudy and perhaps 57 for a high. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn each day. At least we still have a few days to recognize on Feb. 29 including Digital Learning and Toast Day! I also saw that it is International Rare Disease Day. Must be another last Thursday in February holiday because I doubt anyone would choose Feb. 29 as the date for their celebration. I'm sure the slow-cooker jambalaya will be of interest, and wonder what the breakfast martini has in it. No thank you to the pinot noir (red). 🍷 Thank goodness for the Panama Canal commission's work. Hattie McDaniel did a fine job acting in Gone With the Wind. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their work on the food and beverage reports. Prayers for all on the Daily Care list and yes I named names! Also for DB, DGD, friend Scott and wife Susan, and for friend Bob's family and other friends. Also for the people of Israel and Ukraine, the poor hostages still held and the U.S. troops on ships and on bases in the region. Please keep them safe! 🙏 Congrats to everyone on the Celebration list and the cruisers! 🎂🚢🎉 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for taking care of the lists each day! The port this morning is Port Vila, Vanatu, which is another new port for the Daily. I have not been before and there are no links to post so that takes care of that! If you've traveled there before and have photos please post for us to see. DD's school talent show was yesterday for the students' viewing pleasure and though nervous, they did a great job. Tonight they will do it again for their parents who I'm sure will be very impressed with the talent shown. Then DD, who was in charge of the event, can relax and get back to her other teaching duties. ✅ Hoping you all have a super Thursday. Stay safe and keep well!

Enjoy your anniversary cruise!!

Joy @Seasick Sailor last posted on Feb. 10 and stated she may be "voted off the island" for comments made on a thread. It seems like longer to us because we miss her contributions, but I certainly hope she will be back very soon! And Linda @lindaler hasn't posted since Dec. 10 and stated she was dealing with a minor family crisis. I believe Roy mentioned that just yesterday or the day before. Hoping that it's not too serious and we see her back on the Daily soon as well.

Good morning friends! Today it is 61F this early A.M. Later on we will experience a windy, cloudy day with afternoon thunderstorms and a high of 77. I'll turn on more lights and continue with my cross stitched Christmas stocking. Making progress though I do spend less time here. Sorry!! 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 always find it fun to see a HAL ship sitting in the middle of Brazil! Those are some unique days to recognize today and thanks to Graham @grapau27 for the explanations. Great quote, nice menu suggestion, not sure what the drink is all about, but would love to try the Rosé. A good day for the Republican party and DNA but I do remember the impact of the MASH finale. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the reports today on the food and beverages. Prayers were said before hopping out of bed and onto the treadmill. First for my family (DB and DGD) and my friends especially for Bob's family. Then for the people of Israel and Ukraine, hostages not yet released and the troops on bases and ships in the Middle East. Prayers for the family of Laken Riley as I try not to imagine my two DGD's going for a run like she did, in broad daylight. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for placing her on the Care list so we are reminded of her in our prayers. And finally I prayed for our family here on the Daily and included all your names. Wishing you all improvement in your situations. 🙏 A salute to all here cruising or preparing to cruise, and for all with special events to celebrate. Happy 54th anniversary Eva @superoma! Ann @cat shepard sending my good wishes to your DSis and I hope she has a complete and quick recovery. I want to say HI to our friend Joy @Seasick Sailor and hope you are reading the Daily to see we miss you! Pennie @Nickelpenny I'm glad you are enjoying the Amazon. Did you see where they cover the air intakes up on the deck above the pool? Trying to prevent the bugs from gumming up the works as the old saying goes. We have many of those shot glasses from Princess cruise line because they gave them away at the wine tastings. A nice souvenir. Bruce @aliaschief I'm glad you're enjoying the side trip to Ayres Rock but am glad you have a face net to wear over your hat. What an unpleasant aspect of the area! Thank you for all the photos! And more thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for getting up and posting the Care and Celebration lists even while trying to catch up on her sleep. So glad you are feeling less pain now! The port today is Vava u, Tonga. This was previously the port on May 28, 2021 and March 10, 2023. I have not been there before but wouldn't mind at all! Here are the links for your convenience. Sending our prayers and good wishes for all experiencing wildfires in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma area. Stay safe there! And hope the rest of you have a wonderful Wednesday!🤞

So great to see you posting again Annie! I love the penguin photos today Maureen! Exciting that some of us have actually been there before. The same for you Charlene. It seems the penguin parade is the thing to see or do there. It's so interesting how tiny these penguins are!

Ann, I'm very sorry to hear your dear sister is so ill and having to go to the ER. I pray she's back on her feet and feeling fine ASAP.🙏

Good morning friends! I had a whole post typed up and something strange was happening with it and it is now gone. Will start over. The weather today is a another example of the crazy weather we've been having. It is 56F and will be 72 and cloudy later today. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps. Interesting days today to celebrate or recognize. Anosmia awareness is important, plus that can really affect your appetite. Polar bears may be cute but they are quite dangerous. Closest I've come to one is at a zoo or Longyearbyen. I don't care for Kahlua. The quote by Twain is a good one, lamb and rice sounds okay but I don't eat lamb usually. No the drink and yes to the Brut. I'm trying to picture ladies in London in 1693 reading magazines! Prayers for old friend Bob and his family, DB and DGD, and Scott and Susan. Also for the people of Israel and Ukraine, the loved ones held as hostages, and our troops in the region. Prayers too for the Care list people and I named as many of you as I could recall.🙏 Wishing you all better days ahead. I'd also like to urge prayers for Laken Riley from Georgia who was killed the other day while out on a jog on the UGA campus. Just horrific and I can't imagine the pain for the family and friends. 😭 Cheers to the Celebration list people cruising and celebrating special events. Thankful that Annie @marshhawk and Chuck @catmando are back on line and can get back to work. What an ordeal! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for updating our lists for us. It's great to hear you are feeling a little improved since your procedure. 🙂 The port today is Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. This is another new port. Phillip Island is located about 125 km or 77 miles from Melbourne. There are no links to post, and I have no pictures since I've only visited Melbourne. Interesting that it's a port for the cruise lines now. I saw photos from Madrid where DS and DDIL met up with old friends from Ann Arbor. They were enjoying churros with chocolate and from the photos I believe one of Ren's old soccer teammates was there with his parents. Small world! Hope you all have a great day. Stay safe and well. Also hoping this posts with no problems!

Annie @marshhawk I'm so happy to hear they finally got the repair done. I too can't believe in this day and age it took them this long to get out there. I hope your boss wasn't too upset with you since it wasn't your fault you were away from the job that long. Good luck with the sales!

ditto!!

We just booked the 2025 Alaska Arctic Circle cruise and it says Alaska Legendary when I sign into my booking to "manage" it.

Thank you for your good wishes Maureen. And my best wishes to you and Richard! Safe travels today! I agree completely about Nashville traffic and trying to avoid it. We lessen some of the pain by taking Briley Parkway instead of going right through downtown on 24. It might be a tiny bit longer in distance but the stress level is way down and far less traffic.

Thanks Graham!

I have to agree with @SusieKIslandGirl that readers or game players during peak lunch hour periods is not just irritating, it's rude and "not okay". Are diners supposed to eat standing up with a plate in their hand while others are engrossed in their books at the dining table?

Wow, that soccer ball does look pretty lethal. I wouldn't want to hit my head on that, and I'm sorry to hear about the dementia cases that they feel could have resulted or worsened due to head injury. I forgot to mention that DS said Ren and 5 other teammates trained with the FC Dallas professional team Sunday morning. He said they scrimmaged the pros with the academy teams (youth like Ren). He said Ren did well and it sounds like they all had fun. I knew you would enjoy hearing about it.⚽

Beagle Channel 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.

Dixie @summer slope my good wishes to you as you head into Mohs surgery today. I hope they finish up in one pass and you heal quickly.🙂

Good morning friends! It's about 40F here and we will have a very nice day with sunny skies and 71 degrees. In a few days time we will experience rain along with a lot of others in the U.S. so I hope it doesn't stick around long. We get enough rain in Georgia unlike parts of the U.S. Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn. Three interesting days and a quote by C. S. Lewis to ruminate on. No thanks to the menu suggestions, the yucky named cocktail, and the red wine. The pound note and radar seem very important to me and I know little about the Berlin conference. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers to everyone on our Care list today and I've named names but included anyone who is shy and doesn't want to talk about their issues here. No word from Annie @marshhawk and Chuck yet on their internet/phone system. Prayers also for Bob's family in their time of grief. I wish they were holding a service so we could go pay our respects, but will honor their decision and think of him privately. Also praying for other family and friends, and the people of Israel, Ukraine, hostages held and our troops in the region. 🙏 Congrats to everyone cruising and celebrating their happy days whether birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, new jobs, graduations, what have you!🚢🎉🥂 Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping. I was happy to hear of some improvement in the pain and sleep patterns. Keep up the great work!❤️ The port today is Beagle Channel located in the strait between Chile and Argentina. That was the port before on May 7, 2021 and April 3, 2022. We've been through there four times but once was at night. Here are the links to the past dates. It looks like DS and DDIL made it safely to Madrid on a nonstop flight from Dallas, an overnight flight. I'm already seeing photos on DDIL's Instagram account. I was informed yesterday that Ren's FC Dallas team played Saturday and won 8 - 0. Ren scored one goal with his head instead of his foot, aptly called a header. I imagine I would have a headache after that but I'm old! 🤕 Good job, Ren! Also, today is the day DGD Morgan will go in for her "deposition" on what occurred on Dec. 23. I hope it doesn't bring back the nightmares. She is still searching for an apartment she can afford on her own and we've told her to take as much time as she needs because we don't want more pressure on her right now. I'm sending her my prayers and best wishes for a good day today.🥰

Bon Voyage Tina!

Majestic Princess is in Hobart with you, a very large ship by Princess standards. Your side trip to Ayres Rock sounds like an excellent adventure. I hope you enjoy it very much. Thanks for the link today Graham. Hoping you and Pauline are well and have a great day.

Good morning friends! It is 31F and we will have a sunny 64 degree Sunday. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps. I suppose it wouldn't hurt us to all eat right today and to me that means chocolate, so chocolate covered nuts sounds great! I don't care for clam anything so that's off the table. The menu suggestion of broccoli and cheese egg muffins sounds strange but I might try it, no thanks to the drink, and yes, I'll try the rosé. A good day in 1862 for the U.S. Dollar. Thanks to our F&B Dept. Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard or Laura @Lcubed. My first prayers today are for Sandy and family after losing Bob Friday night. Then my DB, DGD, Scott and Susan. Next I'll send prayers to Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held and our military members at sea and on bases in the region. Many prayers for my Daily friends on the Care list, and I hope for improvement in your lives each day. 🙏 For everyone celebrating happy events and cruising my wish for you is to enjoy every minute of it. 🎂🎉🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping our lists updated. You are appreciated! The port of the day is Tanjung Priok (Jakarta) Indonesia. We had that port before three times on July 26, 2021, June 23, 2022 and Nov. 26, 2023. I haven't been there before so have no photos to share today. Here are the links for your convenience in retrieving your photos. Hoping you all have a great Sunday! Stay safe and well everyone! Wishing DS and DDIL a safe flight to Madrid tonight.✈️