StLouisCruisers

Good morning friends! This Thursday morning I awoke to a temp of 77F, and see that they predict a high of 97 with sunshine. We’ve been here over a week and seen no rain or even sprinkles yet. First let me say Happy 43rd Anniversary today to Graham @grapau27 and Pauline @Paw13! May you enjoy many more! I’m sure your lovely dinner with Sarah and her boyfriend last night was a huge success and gratefully welcomed. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the ship location maps. There are several interesting days to recognize on this date. I don’t have any peaches available but will celebrate with a glass or two of peach tea. Surgical oncologists are very important in the treatment of cancers. I’m not a fan of dumplings so will pass on National Bao Day. Today is also National Burger Day and National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day! I think the quote sounds true. I enjoy the French Onion soup on BHB’s and would try the Silver Beach Sauvignon Blanc, but no rum drinks. I applaud the “This Date in History” events! Thanks to Eva @superoma(substituting for Debbie), Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your food and beverage reports today. Prayers for our Care list group, including Tana and Terry, Chuck and Annie, Melisa and her DH, Joy’s DS Bonnie, Nancy’s DB, Edi, Jacqui, Elizabeth, Roy, Jane’s DS, Debbie, Terri and Jim, @doobieb’s DH, and Vanessa. Also for my DB, twin sister, DD, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our military members in war zones. Cheers to all celebrating special events like Graham and Pauline, cruising and preparing to cruise. Hoping it’s a wonderful day for all! Thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV for her hard work on the lists every day even with health issues. The port this morning is Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It’s an important one for Holland America. This was the port before on Feb. 25, 2022 and June 18, 2023. I’ll post the links for you, and repost my photos. Hoping all who enjoyed that port will share their photos too. Happy Birthday today to Eva's @superoma DH! Welcome Home Katherine @Lady Hudson! Have a great day today everyone! Stay safe and keep well!

Yep, here's the photo she sent me. I needed that once when I had tendonitis and it required surgery and a splint and sling. I hope you, Debbie, Sue, Jake and Juan have a fantastic cruise! Safe travels to all of you.

That's fantastic! I know you and Allen, Rich and Linda will enjoy this special cruise. But we'll miss you so stay in touch. The Wi-Fi works very well from what I've experienced.

Prayers Pat, DD and you get through these days and are all feeling better before long. You WILL be cruising again, soon! Hope you are on the right side of the weather ASAP. She says she's been keeping the pain pretty much under control and slept late this morning. Her DH has been keeping her fed. She got a hair dryer stand so she can blow dry her hair with one hand wielding the brush. Apparently he hasn't figured out how to do hair! lol I'm staying indoors as much as possible and the AC works great!. DH takes Ren to PT and school. He gets a ride home after school. DH also went to the grocery to pick up a rotisserie chicken and some other items while I stayed home doing laundry, vacuuming, etc. Teenagers and athletes produce a lot of laundry! I hope your DS Bonnie is up on her feet soon, with little to no pain. Prayers for her each day. Glad you have the luggage taken care of. How long is your cruise?

Good morning friends! Today we’re only 79 before dawn. The high will be about 98F with more sunshine. Last night we went out to eat and turned down sitting on the covered patio so had to wait 25 minutes for a table inside with AC! Afterwards took Ren to a store to get some notebooks and folders for a class. I spent the entire day at the apartment working on the stocking and it is slow work! Thanks Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the ship location maps. A worthy day of remembrance for all who are victims of terrorism. We use the internet for everything so why not self care? I should try some spumoni since I usually avoid it. Too many other flavors I like. The quote seems cynical to me, and I’ll pass on the pasta and cocktail. Not sure if I’d like the wine. Hurray for adding machines and Hawaii was a nice addition to the Union. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reporting every day. Prayers for our Care list group, including Tana and Terry, Chuck and Annie, Melisa and her DH, Joy’s DS Bonnie after surgery, Nancy’s DB, Edi, Jacqui, Elizabeth, Roy, Jane’s DS, Debbie, Terri and Jim, @doobieb’s DH, and Vanessa. Also for my DB, twin sister, DD, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our military members in war zones. Hoping for improvement for all on the list and any of us who keep their pain a secret. Hip, hip hooray for all celebrating their special events and cruising. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for helping us out by taking on the Care and Celebration lists. Feel better! The port for today is another new one, Sokcho, South Korea. I haven’t been to that city and Busan was pretty far away from it. There are no links today. Please feel free to share your photos and experiences there with us. Day before yesterday Ren came home from school telling us he and about 4 or 5 other FC Dallas Academy kids were called out of class to pose for photos with the principal and administrators. There’s going to be an article in a local publication (Frisco Style?) about the school district's relationship with the athletes at the soccer Academy and how it works. He said luckily he made it back to class in time to take an Econ test (and he got a A on it). Only in school for a week and tests already! Have an enjoyable day, and please try to stay safe and well. We need to whittle down our Care list!

We had it on our dessert menu twice on the Zuiderdam this past summer. I've not sailed on a Pinnacle class ship (I like smaller ships).

Yes, except I got mine with mustard only and on a bun. I sneak a few of DH's fries instead of ordering my own. The dogs are crisp and I liked the celery salt seasoning they claim to use. Delicious!

Are you hanging out in HOT Texas too RNB?

Tina @0106 you're a trooper for sticking it out in all that rain! So glad you enjoyed the day though anyway. We've been pretty lucky on our stops there and most of the time we get some sun or a lot of sun. Thanks for letting us in on your daily activities.

Thanks Graham. I'm happy you enjoyed them. I found it too and agree there was nothing meant by it. Like you said an observation. I was told once that Whittaker's chocolates were better than Cadbury's so I bought some Whittaker's chocolate bars for my favorite bar staff, Lido staff, and our room steward while Down Under. They were most appreciative. Delicious! I can see no disrespect or malice at all in that comment and hope @MISTER 67 will realize you were only asking if he enjoyed our company here. Please come back to the Daily @MISTER 67 !!

Another beautiful day in Port Chalmers on Nov. 30, 2017. On this trip we were on Sun Princess for 62 days seeing all the sights in Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. I believe I booked a private tour from Good Company, so we waited in this special area for our group to gather. We would visit Larnach Castle, Speight's Brewery and a Dunedin city tour. Along the way to Dunedin we saw the Forsyth Barr Stadium, third largest in New Zealand. We passed a different brewery named Emerson's. One place we stopped at seemed pretty popular for tourists guessing from the number of people already there. The so called steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street. I'm not so sure. I feel like I've been on steeper before. The tour stopped at the Dunedin Railway Station which was nice because I'm sure many on the bus had never been there before. Out on the Station lawn, you can see the former Cadbury candy company across the road. Some tours actually included a Cadbury tour and it was quite popular. I know the crew made sure they got a good supply of Cadbury chocolates while in town. I have read that the factory was torn down in 2018 and a hospital put in its place. That's our bus parked in front of the train station. Time to head downtown to pick up more passengers. We stopped near St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral which is right next door to the Town Hall. I'm not sure why this statue of poet Robert Burns has an orange cone on his head. Pranksters?? We enjoyed a lovely view of the countryside as we headed out to Larnach Castle. That's Dunedin in the distance. We pulled over at this scenic view. I was enjoying this part of the tour a lot. Beautiful Larnach Castle. This was a residence and is the only "castle" in New Zealand. We had an extensive tour of dozens of rooms. This is the type of decor we saw inside. I won't bore you with a dozen photos like it. I enjoyed the outdoors more. Well, maybe a photo of this floor in the foyer, which proclaimed this home The Camp. I'd love to see what their city home looked like! There was a rooftop terrace we could enjoy the view from. The entrance to their garden. I used this photo as the cover of a wall calendar I made documenting our Down Under cruise. more for the Garden Club Next door was the Ballroom Cafe where we enjoyed lunch. We of course had the same beautiful scenery leaving the Castle and heading back to the city. We made our last stop at Speight's Brewery, the largest one in New Zealand. We began our tour in the production area, but everyone had that tasting room on their mind. Our guide took us through the history of the company and its place in Dunedin's background. Our guide Keith went through the whole process. I don't remember much he said, but DH could probably give the tour for him with 29+ years experience in engineering at Anheuser-Busch. On to the tasting room! Since I don't drink beer I took small sips of lighter beers. I would never want to waste a whole glass of beer like that. We had a full day on this tour and enjoyed it a lot. If I were going back I would check out their tours and no doubt find something new to do in Dunedin.

Here are my photos from Dunedin. We first visited Port Chalmers on Dec. 19, 2013 on Diamond Princess. We took a tour on the Taieri Gorge Railway train which came right to the ship for pickup of passengers. It was a comfortable ride and some seats had a table at them sort of in a booth configuration which came in handy at lunch. Four of us ate at the table and they even provided wine with refills if you wanted it. Made for a crowded table but no one minded. Along the way on our tour of the Taieri Gorge. The scenery was great and we saw a lot this yellow plant growing there. We saw horses and sheep and either alpacas or llamas. You could step off the car and take photos between the cars if you wanted to. We made a stop or two along the way at tiny little outposts, but the train stopped and reversed course at Pukerangi. Locals set up tables displaying good for the tourists to buy and enjoy. This guy was set for Christmas with his little hat on. I think he would rather have been at home taking a nap. The train station in Dunedin is famous and they stopped there long enough to let you take a little self guided tour. It's beautiful as you'll see especially on the opposite side from the tracks. At the end of the tour we decided to walk around Port Chalmers. There is a tall hill near the ship which we walked up, on a residential street, so we could take photos from that viewpoint. This is the sign along the steep street. Photos of the timber along the shore. and Diamond Princess The view from Upper Port Chalmers as a sign up there named it. And a crazy statue someone placed up there. A local church with scaffolding That's it for that visit in Port Chalmers. The next time we would do another tour which we also enjoyed. Photos of that visit coming up next.

@MISTER 67 please don't let one person's comment ruin your experience here on the Daily! We want you here and I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it. Come back again tomorrow please?! Good luck at your appointment for the follow up with the vascular surgeon. Glad to hear you got what you felt your house is worth and have only a few conditions to meet. A busy time for you! I hope you can move when you wanted to. Keep us updated when you get two seconds. LOL!

Good morning friends! Today it’s 82 with a high of “only” 100F expected. Sunny skies again too. Yesterday it was around 106 in late afternoon. 🥵 We did go out yesterday morning after we dropped Ren off at school. I wanted to look for some shoes to wear at DGD’s upcoming wedding. The ones I liked online are not available in the store so they ordered them for me and will ship them home. I did find a pair of sandals I liked though and purchased them so the drive over wasn’t a total waste. We were home at 11:30 and it was nearly 100 by then. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the ship location maps. I’m pondering why we need a World Mosquito Day, but agree with Accessible Air Travel Day and Radio Day. Did you know it’s National Bacon Lovers Day too? 🥓 What a sense of humor George Carlin had. What could a Chicago style carrot dog be? I don’t like the name of the cocktail, and pass on the Shiraz. Nice that Alaska was sighted on this date and I’m sure Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture roused its audience awake in their seats. 😲 Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers for our Care list group this morning including Tana and Terry, Chuck and Annie, Melisa and her DH, Joy’s DS Bonnie on her surgery day, Nancy’s DB, Jacqui, Elizabeth, Roy, Jane’s DS, Debbie, Terri and Jim, @doobieb’s DH, and Vanessa. Also for my DB, twin sister, DD, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our military members in war zones. Hoping for good news from Jacqui @kazu on her offers! Good luck to Terri @Cruzin Terri at her appointment at Mayo Clinic and hope Jim’s rash is gone. Cheers to those cruising, preparing to cruise, and all celebrating special occasions. Bon Voyage Laura @TiogaCruiser! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping work each day! The port today is Dunedin, Port Chalmers, New Zealand, an enjoyable port to visit. We had it here before on Oct. 5, 2022, March 13, 2023 and Sept. 25, 2023. I’ll post the links to help you find your photos. Mine will show up next. Have a super day today, and try to stay safe and keep well!

I was under the impression flights are ticketed at 45 days out, not final payment date.

You're not sent a notice ahead of your renewal date. I happened to think about it because we had some new bookings, and went into the website to renew on the exact first anniversary of applying. Then the AARP credit was applied as soon as our agent requested it. I need to put the date on my calendar for next year. I'm not sure if they would removed OBC you've already applied for and been granted. Perhaps someone else would know?

Sounds like you have a busy week ahead getting everything ready to cruise. Thanks for your thoughts on twin sis and Ren. We noticed him scratching an itch on his back with his healing arm so he is doing well working it back into shape. He does his PT exercises here at home on the weekend so we know he's serious about keeping it up. Twin said she was in a little pain yesterday when we texted. It was time for another pill. I know she hopes the 3 weeks of no movement will go quickly so she can put her own deodorant on! LOL! Prayers for Bonnie! 🙏 Good news about Belinda and Ron too. 👍 Hugs to you and Allen! 🤗 I saw the flooding on the news and agree it's a good idea for DS and DGS to wait to drive through Connecticut. I bet the spinach lasagna will be welcome come dinner time! Glad to hear you got some rest. I know you are appreciated for all you do for Tana and the teenager. We are in awe of you!

Good morning friends! Another hot day here. Currently it's 84 and we will be sunny again and 107 for a high. We just stay inside - forget doing anything outdoors!🥵 Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the ship location maps. I like root beer floats, but the other two days I don't have any interest in recognizing. Funny quote by Chris Rock, no thanks to chickpeas, can't drink straight alcohol so I guess a martini is out, and don't know about the wine yet. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for telling us about them. Prayers for DB, twin sister, DD, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held there and our military members in the region. 🙏 Many prayers for our Care list group, and I pray for improvement in everyone. Good luck today Jacqui @kazu with your offers! Cheers to everyone cruising, preparing to cruise, and those celebrating special occasions! Enjoy! Thanks to dear Vanessa @JazzyV for the list work today. I hope you are feeling less dizzy again and find a way out of the vertigo and nausea. The port today is new - Toyama, Japan. I've never heard it mentioned anywhere and have not been there. No links for today. Please feel free to post your photos and experiences there if you have any. Today all Ren's teammates are back to practices, and he has early PT so he will be up soon. DS and DDIL are enjoying their time in Singapore and took a side trip to Malacca, Malaysia with her family members. We hear from him each day by call or text. Hope you all have a great day today! Stay safe and keep well!

Terri, ask the doctor and nursing staff what other patients with no one at home to help them, do. There have to be resources. Or do you have a friend nearby, or a good neighbor? Where there's a will there's a way.

We bought a house in another state to rent to our DD when she was getting a divorce because she wanted the kids in the same school district and couldn't afford a house or even an apartment with her scrooge-like ex-husband trying to steal every penny out of their joint bank account. But I digress!! The seller was a realtor and agreed to a closing in two weeks. We got it all done on time and the seller moved out right on time. So it can be done if folks want to do their job and not try to gum up the works. I feel Jacqui @kazu and her realtors can work out the deal so everything is done on a schedule everyone can live with. Let's not worry yet.🤞

The Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, 2024 Volendam cruises are sold out, and I believe there may be a dry dock between Oct. 19 and Nov. 9. Seems like I heard that before. You can check the dry dock thread. Edit - I just checked the dry docks and yes it is out of service then.

It looks so nice! Sarah and her boyfriend are in for a fine dining experience. Early congrats on your anniversary Thursday!

@Mr. Boston the wedding looks absolutely beautiful and the guests so elegant in their formal attire. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Have a great cruise!

Thanks for the info, Rich. Good to know, Roy! Thanks so much, Graham!