StLouisCruisers

Sorry I'm so late tonight but I've been pretty busy working on my stitching project and thinking about insurance for cruises this year. I have a whole list of things I have been putting off and need to get at them. I haven't even kept up with all the "live from" threads on the Grand voyages I'm sorry to say. I hope your wife continues to feel better and there are no surprises at her doctor appointments. I have been thinking more of end of life details like you mentioned because it seems everywhere I turn there is bad news for others our age. Another thing on the list mentioned above! 😊 It must have been sweet! Just try to get as much sleep as possible in the mornings. We can wait! I hope you can get some answers with your phone calls. Seems like no one is in a hurry to call YOU! Twin says she is better now too, but her DH is not getting there as fast as she is. He's still on my prayer list. DS says he is staying in Texas until Monday the 29th! I thought he'd have to fly back to Ann Arbor tonight but he will work from Frisco and do meetings remotely. More time with the family which is nice. Bruno, thank you for coming around to let us know the update on DD. Many of us have had family members in hospice care and the suggestions by everyone for respite for you are good ones. You have been such a huge help to him already, but please take care of yourself as well. God bless you both. How wonderful you and DD got to see Singapore together. I'm sure those memories will be a comfort later on. Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser I hope you and Steve can get back to Singapore sometimes to see the latest fabulous additions in the Marina Bay area. Just the hotel alone is out of this world!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments on the Singapore photos. It's certainly a shining star in Asia and everyone could find interesting things to see and do there. I'm glad you're considering it on a future trip @Mr. Boston! Joy @Seasick Sailor until you get your bird seed the cardinals will have to dine in a neighbor's backyard! Cardinals are so beautiful you must enjoy seeing them at your feeders. I believe I forgot to congratulate the celebrants today so here's a toast to all enjoying major events in their lives and those wonderful cruises you're on! 🥂 And I forgot to mention the FC Dallas youth soccer team Ren is on beat Austin FC yesterday 3-2, scoring that last point late in the game so it must have been a nail biter. Strange how Austin is called Austin Football Club and Dallas is named Football Club Dallas. 🤷‍♀️

Bruce @aliaschief nice photos of you and Sue! Thanks for the update and the great memes. Have a great day!

Yay for Singapore! We have spent time on land trips there as well as cruised through or from Singapore due to DS's sabbatical there twice, a year at a time. Our first time in Singapore was in January 2007 when DGS Ren was born there. I was able to stay 3 weeks and DH stayed about 8 days and went back to the US to work. Our DS was taking his first sabbatical from his U-M position over in Singapore because that is where our DDIL's parents lived. They were able to spend a lot of quality time with the two of them during that time period. Right in the middle of their 10 or 11 months there was Ren's due date, so we made plans ahead of time to arrive a week or so later and it worked out fine. We had a great visit and were able to get some good cuddling in with him even though they lived so far from us. Second trip was a cruise with friends from Myrtle Beach on Diamond Princess from Bangkok to Anchorage. We had a really nice time with them. DDIL's Mom picked us up on our port stop in Singapore and she spent the day showing us (and our friends who hadn't been there before) some great sights, and both DDIL's Mom and Dad were able to be there for a nice lunch at the American Club. The last time we were there was in 2013 during DS's second sabbatical. We found a group of cruises that left from Singapore, and went to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. At the end of the cruise we flew home from Auckland on Christmas Eve. At the beginning of the cruise we flew over to Singapore and spent about 8 days visiting the kids before they dropped us off at the ship. I have some nice photos from that trip. The first day in 2013 (after a good sleep) we went to the boys' school (just down the street from their apartment) which was having an International Day assembly. There were students from about 80 countries represented and all the parents would cheer when their children and the other children from that country marched out. This school was called the Canadian International School. DS and DDIL checked out several schools before they moved over to make sure they got the type of education they needed. Here is a photo after all the students marched out and sat down. We enjoyed our visit to the school that day. Some of the American kids. Ren is in that picture. We took the MRT train downtown one day to see the Orchard Road shopping area. It was quite nice. Another day we visited the Nanyang Technological University where DS was a visiting professor during his sabbatical. It was all very, very nice. They like things neat in Singapore! One night we went down to the Marina and ate dinner. Here is the Merlion near the restaurant. We saw the beautiful Marina Bay Sands hotel lit up at night. Gorgeous! Another day we went to the Singapore Botanic Garden. We spent most of our time in the orchid section and I must have 50 photos of orchids so can't share them all here. The following day DDIL, DH and I went downtown on the MRT to see the National Art Museum. The art exhibits on the grounds were really interesting. Later that day we went to the far western side of the little island nation to Raffles Marina to celebrate DS's birthday. His in-laws had a membership there. The kids really enjoyed the pool before dinner. You can see the bridge from Singapore to Malaysia from the marina there. A better photo from 2007. You can see the bridge in the background. Our last full day before the cruise DS took us up to the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Wow, what a view! Here's the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest seen from way up high. The amazing Gardens by the Bay I zooomed in to show the new, at the time, International Cruise Ship terminal. We would be there the following day boarding Diamond Princess. Holding my camera way out The Singapore Flyer Guests in the infinity pool. Can you imagine what that view is like? Merlion is down there I have a couple of interesting (to me) photos to show you from the 2007 "baby" visit. The reason for the visit! Older brother Kai is in college now at UCLA! Ren was 8 days old. We went to breakfast at East Coast Park and saw a strange sight. Water skiing by cable instead of boats in the lake there. We went out to eat for every meal it seems like. But we also stopped at Raffles Hotel and had a Singapore Sling in the bar there. I was amused at the gravel driveway there. But it was beautiful inside. An impressive facade too. Standing near the Merlion at the marina. This was 2007 so the Marina Bay Sands Hotel wasn't built yet. We went everywhere that trip including the U.S. Embassy to get Ren's passport. First we dressed him in a white outfit and got his passport photo taken. One day while driving we saw this amazing sight far from the University of Michigan. You know I like to photograph mail carriers around the world. Here is one in Singapore outside an apartment building. Pizza Hut had similar delivery motor bikes as seen here. Pizza Hut had a "set" meal you could order. A bowl of soup and pizza. Odd don't you think? Yet we ordered it! 90F outside with 90% humidity but we had soup before pizza. To me Singapore is the most amazing place to visit in the entire region. Glad I could spend so much time there.

Good morning friends! Really cold again today with a temp of 15F. However it will be sunny today and a lowly 41 for a high temp! It's going to warm up this week and then we will see rain. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily plus the maps. Some frivolous days to recognize IMO. Playdates, sweatpants and cheesy socks! Sweatpants are closer to my heart though because I wear something similar around the house, yoga pants. Not quite so baggy but warm and comfy. I don't own any cheesy socks. Thank goodness we're not celebrating Squirrel Appreciation Day! (yes, it's on the list for today). I don't care how cute they are we they're a nuisance to us with our acorn-bearing pin oak. I suppose I don't know what rapini pasta is so I'd better pay attention to the F&B reports today. I'm clueless also on the Seattle Sidecar and the wine. Since it's a Sauvignon Blanc I would give it a try though. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers for DB, twin sister and DBIL with Covid, friends Scott and Bob and their fabulous wives. Niece Amy says she has recovered from probable Covid and doing well. Prayers too for Israel, Ukraine, the hostages held and our military under fire (142+ attacks) and those who have already been injured. And for all here on the Daily who are in need of prayers, we've got you covered! Hoping for less pain, quick healing, and improved outlooks! Stay off those icy surfaces. Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for the lists today. I hope you got more sleep last night and less leg pain today.👍 Yesterday was interesting. DH saw a dog running loose on our street which is highly unusual. While we were trying to identify whether it was really a lost dog or a wolf (!) a large white delivery van (Prime) zoomed up our street and made a delivery at the end of the cul-de-sac. Then he drove back down just past our house and decided he'd missed the house across the street from us. So he made a turn into neighbor Linda's driveway and backed out again to turn around. I said uh-oh because he didn't appear to be looking where he was backing up, and sure enough backed into the neighbor's mailbox two doors down from us The heavy decorative metal post is tilted and slightly bent so he broke that, plus the mailbox and newspaper box went flying and the scroll work under it broken off. Good grief! He should have just stopped and parked going on the street and walked back two doors up to deliver the package. He did the right thing and rang Denise and Mike's doorbell to report his misdeed. If they call the company who installed all our mailboxes it will cost a pretty penny to replace and install a new one. If he hadn't broken the post Mike probably would have gotten the parts and installed it himself. When you're sitting home staying warm this is a lot of excitement in one 5 minute period. Never saw the dog again! The port of the day is Singapore! What an amazing spot to land! The two times we've had it before on Dec. 24, 2022 and July 25, 2023. Links are below. We've been there three times. Have a good one!

NA moving now?

Just as I expected, I would love to visit Bari sometime. You never know when it will happen to pop up on an itinerary. Thanks for posting your great pics!

Thank you Terry. I'll be sure to let everyone know when they feel like their old selves again. 🤞 I understand what you're saying about getting out of the house and doing something different. That sounds like my kids. They never seem to stay put and are always out and about doing something. I, however, like to just lounge at home as does DH. We are real homebodies! 🏚️

Ooohh! I just found out it's National Penguin Day! Don't we all love seeing penguins? This one was coming right at me! Out of my way... Photos taken at Yankee Harbor, Antarctica

Good morning friends! Back down to 19F overnight and a high of 33 today with sunshine. I'll be glad when this spell of cold weather is over. Hope everyone has remained safe from dangerous falls or frostbite this past week. Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily plus the maps for Rich @richwmn. We appreciate it! Three lovely days to recognize in very different ways. The Day of Acceptance is especially nice. The actress has a funny self-deprecating quote. No thanks to the curried chicken stew. Wonder if it has butternut squash in it? No idea what a Jack Rose is. Think I'll skip the Moscato. Interesting days in history. Thanks go to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the food and beverage reports. Prayers said this morning for my DB, twin sister, DBIL, niece Amy, and DGD Morgan. Today is 4 weeks since Morgan was robbed at gunpoint and it will be a while before she is not afraid to move around alone. Also friends Scott and Bob. Scott is still recovering from his heart attacks and Bob is suffering from dementia. We won't forget to pray for Israel and Ukraine citizens, hostages still held, and the safety of our troops in the region. And last but not least my friends here on the Daily with health challenges, worries, depression, loss of loved ones and unrelenting pain. 🙏 For those celebrating happy events and those wonderful cruises, enjoy them while you can. 🥂🚢 We're cheering you on from here! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for our list keeping and I hope you are feeling just a bit better today. 🥰 The port this morning is Bari, Italy (Puglia). That was the port only once before on August 4, 2023. DH and I have not had the pleasure of visiting there but I'm sure it's beautiful since it's in Italy. 🙂 Here's the link for your convenience. Hope today is a good one for you all! ❤️

Thank you Graham. She said they wore masks on the plane ride down to Houston and around his sister, but may have caught it in the airport on the way home. They wore them on the plane ride home too.

I hope so too. She told me she picked up a Paxlovid prescription for him. He's the sickest. 🤞 He has some lung damage from his past workplace.

I've just heard from my twin that she, her DH and daughter Amy are down with Covid! They went to Houston a week ago to see DBIL's terminally ill sister and must have caught it there or on the plane. Her RN DD Megan told her this new strain takes longer to show up. She felt ill Sunday, her DD Amy felt ill on Tuesday and her DH felt very ill yesterday. Hoping they are all back to good health soon. Seems like they've had Covid at least 3 times now over the years. Maureen, I'm so sorry to hear of your friend passing away suddenly. Prayers for her family and friends, including you.🙏 Same message to Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser on the loss of her friends who passed this week. Seems like we get bad news like that way too often these day. Prayers for their families and friends, too.🙏 Happy birthday and retirement DB Bill! Have a great time celebrating.🎉 Gerry, I'm very sorry to hear your DH has to have a heart procedure and you will be missing this cruise! Once he's well I hope you can enjoy a new one with the knowledge his valves are working perfectly. Your alternate menu looks great. Probably something I would have picked. Sorry to see your new signature message but we eventually have to decide what is best for us. I'm glad you have the wonderful memories and are continuing to be here on Cruise Critic. Thanks for your photos today! I like the beach and lighthouse photos a lot. I did a double take when I read Elephant Island. Slightly different location but an interesting island to see too. 😄 Vanessa, I'm really glad you cancelled that appointment today with the snow you're getting. You wouldn't want to be walking OR driving in it. Apparently DC is getting some snow today too because the Delta plane DS was scheduled to take this afternoon was very late because of the DC snowstorm. Therefore his flight to Austin is late getting there this afternoon. Ren has a game there tomorrow. You're smart to be weaning yourself off the Prednisone slowly. I sure wouldn't enjoy the side effects you had this week. I hope both you and John can enjoy the remainder of your cruise in good health. Oliver is such a cute little guy! Love the sweater. Very sweet of you to take some soup to your friend who is ill. No one wants to cook when they're sick and that's when you need good nutrition.❤️ Prayers for your DH Ann! I hope the cardiologist has a good plan and a reasonably open schedule to get this taken care of so you two can enjoy cruising again. 🚢 Wonderful news! I'm so happy you got the offer and decided to take it. You need to celebrate tonight!🥂 It's definitely time to find a team to clean your house for you, quickly and as scheduled! Nothing worse than a worker or contractor who misses their scheduled time over and over. At least the house is clean now. I hope you and Jim will have a relaxing, warm cruise!

Good morning friends! Temps this morning sit at 45F which is an amazing improvement over the past few nights. However the high will only be 46 and then the temperatures dive back down into the teens for overnight. Thankfully we will see sunshine! After this next arctic chill we should see a major warmup next week. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily plus the maps for Friday, Jan. 19. I don't plan on brewing a potion, but I would gladly celebrate Good Memory Day or National Popcorn Day! The quote is nice. I think I'd pass on the stew, strangely named cocktail and the unrecognizable (to me) wine. A good day for electric lighting and Indira Gandhi but Lance Armstrong was not a good example for athletes. My DSIL is a cyclist and I can't imagine him doing such an awful thing. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the reports on food, cocktail and wine. Prayers for my DB and DGD, friends Scott and Bob and their caregiver wives, to the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages kept against their will, and the US troops under fire daily at sea and on bases in the region. Something needs to be done about that! And last but not least, our Daily family members in pain, undergoing medical procedures and awaiting test results, under stress and grieving the loss of their loved ones and friends. Sending congratulations to everyone with good news, happy events to celebrate and cruises to enjoy. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the great job keeping up the Care and Celebration lists! The port today is Kangaroo Island, Penneshaw, South Australia. This was the port on July 15, 2022, March 14, 2023 and 5 days later on March 19, 2023! A glitch in the system I'm sure! We have not visited that Australian port but wouldn't have objected to it. Here are the three links for you. Hoping everyone has a great start to their weekend. Stay warm, stay safe and stay well!

Have a great cruise!

I thought this ship looked like a former Princess ship and see it was once the Sun Princess which we sailed on Down Under for 62 days in 2017. We had a great time. Now it's officially called Pacific World. Hope you continue to enjoy your Azamara Onward world cruise, Bruce!

Coming home from my hair appointment I stopped at the waterfall at the entrance to our neighborhood and took a photo of the ice. Always interesting even though we see that quite a few times each winter. Temp is only 44 currently, rising to about 50 so it will melt some and then freeze again tonight. Yep, the grass is dormant and its dull tan color lasts all winter long.

Good morning friends! I've finished my exercise and breakfast and now it's time to check in on you all. Outside it's 21F but will be a nice sunny 50 degrees today. Good day to go to my hair appointment and stop to stock up on wine. 🍷 Thanks to Jacqui @kazu for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for Rich today. And thanks to Roy @rafinmd for the maps of the fleet. I see it's Maintenance Day which is perfect for my hair appointment. While I'm there my hairdresser will get to know me further through our varied discussions, and that's the best I can do because I don't have any customers myself. No recognition for gourmet coffee from me though because I don't drink it. I feel like we've had roasted garlic mashed potatoes before but that's fine. We have ports over and over again. But let's add something to those potatoes and make it a meal. No thanks to the drink or wine of the day for me. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your F&B reports. Prayers for my DB and DGD, friends Scott and Bob and their caring wives, the people of Israel and Ukraine and the many hostages still held, and our men and women overseas being attacked on ships and on bases. Also for our friends here on the Daily needing help with physical and mental stresses and pain. Hope Chuck @catmando is doing well this morning as well as Vanessa @JazzyV. A much better day for Nancy @ottahand7 and Paul @kochleffel. 🙏 Cheers to our celebrations of happy events, and to those cruising! 🚢 Good luck to @seagarsmoker on that 3rd interview for the new job today. Fingers crossed for you! 🤞 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping up the lists everyday! We appreciate your hard work. 🥰 The port this morning is Newport, Rhode Island, US and we had that port before on Jan. 29, 2023. Almost a year ago. I don't think I've ever been to Rhode Island before so have no photos today. Finally a day off! Here is the link to Jan. 29, 2023 for you. Looks like I was posting the Daily that day. Oh goodie! Charlie Brown and Lucy for our entertainment! Hope everyone has a good, productive day today. Please stay safe and well!

I've worked for hours today cross stitching and finally had to stop and rest my shoulders. Yesterday it was my right arm that ached after working so long. Basically all I've worked on today is straw in baby Jesus's manger. Such slow work! Thanks for the photos today of Edinburgh and South Queensferry @Quartzsite Cruiser and @Overhead Fred. Wow, your hallucinations sound wild! I hope reducing the prednisone helps to calm your nights so you can get some good rest. Thank you Graham! Excellent news about your lowered fasting blood sugar. Hope that trend continues for you. It's unfortunate you lost your table and were treated so poorly by the dining room staff. It would be nice if you could get your old wait staff back. That poor passenger! I can't imagine how frightening the whole experience must be for them. Meanwhile, I hope you are feeling much better. Nice place to do your banking in! Welcome to the Daily! So good to hear Chuck is now home and hopefully doing well. I love the bird photos. Bluebirds are one of my favorites because my Dad loved them. He built me a bluebird house that I used for years and it hosted many bluebird families. I could watch when the babies learned to fly. They sort of hopped out onto the grass and kept practicing using their wings until they got the hang of it. I looked up where the winter bluebirds in Georgia come from. Some live here year round, but bluebirds from southeastern Michigan to New Hampshire fly to Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina. Around here they like to sit on the corners of the deck railings and look out towards the trees. They usually leave a little evidence of their stop here unfortunately!😄 Good news for Steve! I hope he continues to do okay and listens to Denise! Vanessa, for your sake I sure hope the weather isn't as bad as expected Friday. Don't take any chances in the snow. I'm glad you'll be able to get the backyard shoveling taken care of for you.

Bon Voyage!!

Regarding our port of the Day, South Queensferry, we were there in 2011 on Emerald Princess and in 2015 on Royal Princess. On the Prinsendam in 2018 we docked across the bridge in Rosyth. In South Queensferry we took a tender to the pier and were greeted by a band of bagpipes. The weather was a little drippy but at least it wasn't pouring. Instead of a tour in 2015, we paid for 2 tickets on a shuttle bus to Edinburgh. It was a private company that ran the buses back and forth. This red bridge is the one that crosses between South Queensferry and Rosyth, Scotland. Since South Queensferry is on the south side of the River Forth, along with Edinburgh, we didn't have to cross it. Our welcoming committee We arrived in Edinburgh and given the location to pick up the return bus when ready. Then we headed to Edinburgh Castle. There were military personnel there holding things up for a bit but we were lucky to get to watch them for a while. This was in May, not in Tattoo time (August). But back in 2011 we bought tickets for a tour of Edinburgh Castle and it was a nice sunny day. It was also September right after Tattoo in August. The Tattoo stands from the back side We had a guide who was quite informative. A beautiful view from the Castle. In the far background is the River Forth. Back in cloudy 2015, we left and walked down The Royal Mile passing St. Giles Cathedral. With the gray skies and gray buildings it sure looked gloomy. On a sunny day it's a whole other story. We walked the entire length of The Royal Mile but I have hundreds of photos and can't share them all here. At the other end, we planned on visiting the Palace of Holyrood House. But someone else had plans for Holyrood House so it was closed for the day. Sticking my phone and camera through the iron gates I got this photo of the palace. And moments later we got to see the hoopla as the royal guest left for a meeting somewhere. Holding my phone overhead I got this photo of The Royal Mile. We walked quite a bit around Edinburgh and I was able to find a spot to take this photo of Edinburgh Castle. My goodness, I have hundreds more photos but have to stop. But this last photo was one of the most enjoyable moments of the day - looking out from our balcony as our ship left South Queensferry later in the day and seeing sights like this beautiful hillside. And Edinburgh as seen from the ship sailing along the River Forth, Edinburgh Castle on the right

Good morning friends! Today is our coldest day so far this winter. Only 14F, and today will be around 40 with mostly sunny skies. Hoping for about 10 degrees warmer - low and high- for tomorrow's forecast. Good to hear from you again Graham @grapau27 and thank you for the link to Father David's last sermon. Thanks Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily and the maps you posted today. Two great individuals celebrated this morning. Benjamin Franklin was a very smart man and made a huge impact on this country. Betty White was a lovely woman who made us all laugh and who loved animals. Cable cars are certainly a good way to get up and down a mountain. I guess you'd have to say Katharine Hepburn was right! I don't think I'll try the stew, cocktail or wine, and will stick to the tried and true. Two important events at the South Pole and the continent of Antarctica. Thank you to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers for our Daily family and I hope Annie's @marshhawk's DH Chuck @catmando does well during his procedure. May all of you experience improvement in pain, and from feeling unwell. Prayers again for my DB, friends Scott and Bob and their helpful wives, the citizens of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages held so long, and the US troops in danger at bases and at sea. My deepest sympathy to the families of the two Navy Seals lost last week. 🙏 Cheers to all cruising 🚢 or celebrating happy events today. 🎂 Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for compiling the lists and keeping them updated. Hoping for good news from you soon on sleep and pain issues. The port today is South Queensferry (for Edinburgh), Scotland, UK. Last times posted here were March 12, 2021, Aug. 12, 2022, and July 10, 2023. Links are posted below and my photos afterward. They have disappeared and I will repost as soon as I can. Interesting photos showing up in some of the links, eh? Hope you all have a good Wednesday and stay safe and well!

Nancy, I'm happy to hear you're out of quarantine. And I was going to ask if you'd had the vaccine. I got the RSV vaccine in October and DH didn't because he doesn't have lung issues and I have this horrible chronic cough. Glad to hear it worked for John but sorry you had to catch it from that irresponsible woman on the bus. I saw on my EOB that the RSV vaccine was $318 and my insurance paid it all. 😯 Jacqui just copy and paste the title for your initial post from Rich's halfacts.com/daily from now on. It's at the top. If Rich gets it right, you will too!😊 Today is two weeks since I started the latest Christmas stocking. Here's my progress in 13 days. What it will look like.

Good morning friends! Rain moved in between 5 and 6 am but the temperature is still 42F Predictions are the temperatures will drop quickly now with a possibility of mixed precipitation around 9 or 10 when it finally stops. Bad timing! We've already had our high temp of 48 during the night and it's going to get COLD! We planned on running a couple errands today but will have to wait and see how the roads dry up or melt as the case may be. The sun will be out for a while today. We have to return a damaged item to Amazon therefore a stop at the UPS store. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily including maps for Rich @richwmn. I don't know any dragons to appreciate 🐲, salute book publishers and can't eat hot & spicy food at all. A big question mark on the quote. Debbie @dfish will have to borrow Ann's @cat shepard's decoder ring on the Swiss chard. Just kidding! No thanks to the drink and pinot noir.🍷 Good days in history. Thanks to the F&B ladies mentioned above and our good friend Dixie @summer slope. Prayers for all our Daily friends in need of them. Nancy @ottahand7 I'm so sorry to hear you didn't sleep last night and hope you begin feeling tip-top very soon. Get some rest! Prayers also for my DB and DGD, friends Scott and Bob and their supportive wives. And always the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held including babies and children, and for the safety of our military under fire at bases and on ships in the region. 🙏 Congrats to all celebrating their happy events and cruising! 🚢🎂 Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration list keeping! Feel better soon! The port of the day is Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia and it's only the second time here for that great port. First time was April 26, 2022. We were there twice and had a great time. Here's your link: Hope you all stay safe and warm today! On April 18, 2014 we arrived in Papeete on Golden Princess for an overnight stay. Well, sort of overnight. We had to be back on board by 3 am April 19 to sail for Moorea. Not a big problem for us because we aren't out at the clubs all night anyway! LOL The welcome band/singers It's a good thing these shops on the dock were open because it was Good Friday and the local Market was closed. We thought we'd take a walk around town since it was so nice out. We happened upon the Presidential Palace. This is the gate to the main Market in town, which I mentioned was closed. But some enterprising women set up tables on the street corners to sell these beautiful flower head bands. A beautiful scenic street On our second visit to Papeete we were on the Maasdam and it was April 15, 2017. The same group of singers/band were there for us again. This port is a major re-supply stop. In addition to the shops on the dock, the Market was open this day! This is the entrance. Next we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral. This was the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Helpful to tourists It was a beautiful evening in the marina. We had a Polynesian dance show on the ship that night. Another fun day in French Polynesia.

Today's port of Albany, Australia was a nice place to visit. We got off the Sun Princess in October, 2017 during our circumnavigation of Australia cruise and walked around the city. It has a small town atmosphere. Along the waterfront Heading to the downtown streets St. John the Evangelist church The shopping district There were some vendors who had set up shop in this grassy lot so spent some time looking around there. Woodworkers, knitters, and the like. There was a bus stop nearby where we could ride back to the ship, and as we walked there we saw this sign. Watch out for the magpies! We ran across a bagpiper in Albany. I like to take photos of menu boards outside restaurants and bars. It says "Buy 1 beer for the price of 2, and get your 2nd beer FREE!! Mail carriers around the world always interest me. The Albany War Memorial This monument lists those who died in WW1, WW2, Korean War and Vietnam War. When we left the Sun Princess earlier in the day we noticed a fire truck at the marina. Somebody was having a bad morning! That's it for today!