StLouisCruisers

Good morning friends! Weather here is 40F and partly cloudy. It will be a wintry 49 for a high today. I just heard a tornado went through downtown Ft. Lauderdale yesterday at about 6 pm so I hope there is no damage. Any reports from people here on Cruise Critic? Thank you Jacqui @kazu for your posting of the Fleet Report and Daily for Rich. Today we can enjoy celebrating the Harlem Globetrotters, being or having a mentor, and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore Day! I've always enjoyed the antics and skill of the Globetrotters. Mentors help to teach and inspire others and I feel like I am doing that for my eldest DGD as she moves into her adult life. And not taking it anymore means we have decided to empower ourselves. Hurray for all of us! I wish the quote today was true but I don't think so personally. The meal today will need something else as an accompaniment in my opinion. No thanks to the cocktail and wine. Nice day for Galileo and Mr. Henry Mill who patented the typewriter which we still use today and couldn't do without. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your great reports each day. Prayers will be said by me for my DB, youngest DGD, and friends in need. Also Israel and Ukraine as they continue to fight for their countries, the hostages still held and the troops in harm's way. Prayers also for my friends here in need of them and for @Norseh2o after the loss of their DM. 🙏 Hoping for better news from Vanessa @JazzyV. I also would like to celebrate those on the Celebration list and all who are sailing or planning to board their cruises soon. 🚢 Bon Voyage to Paul @kochleffel! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the updated lists each day!❤️ The port this morning is La Goulette, Tunis, Tunisia. I may or may not be there on Dec. 7, 2024. It's still booked but not as exciting without Haifa and Ashdod on the itinerary. That was the reason we booked it. Anyway we've had that port here before three times. October 25, 2021, July 11, 2022 and May 16, 2023. Here are the links for you. Safe travels for all of you here. Also for my DDIL and DGS Ren as they head "home" to Frisco after their wonderful Christmas holiday and Cozumel vacation. Elder DGS flew back to L.A. last night to return to college. I hope the weather in the northeast isn't affecting Dailyites' travel plans. Be safe and stay well!

I'm getting a lot further along today on my cross stitch work which makes me feel a lot better. Things are very quiet today! My condolences on DM Ruth's death. I remember you speaking of her often and the nice visits with her on special days like her birthday. Safe travels to you. Prayers for your friends Ron and Debbi. My friends Sandy and Bob are going through that exact same thing. You don't wish that on anyone. Thank you Debbie. It would have been her birthday today. 😢 A beautiful day in Milford Sound, Tony. Terri, good luck with your skin cancer removals on Tuesday. And with Jim's neurologist appointment. Fingers crossed for you both. 🤞 Welcome home (soon)!! Vanessa, if Atlanta had that much snow they would close the airport! Happened to us in 2017, I believe it was. After a loooong flight from Sydney we were told we could go no further because the airport was closed in Atlanta. We ended up spending the weekend at a hotel next to LAX until they could get us rebooked on Delta. Sheesh! By the way, I like seeing your American flag at your doorway. Also, thanks for your Milford Sound photos. Always an amazingly beautiful scenic cruising day. And to @tjcox9 thank you for your photos taken at Salisbury Plain. I may have forgotten to tell you earlier. Great memories for us both. Thank you Sharon - I'm glad you enjoyed them. Roy, best of luck to you on Monday with your first treatment.

That might explain why I'd never seen the blue parkas before. In thinking back on how crowded it was on shore, and the mud and "muck" there must have been there I'm a little relieved to have seen it from the Zodiac. Thank you Graham. 😇 Cooper is looking rather regal with such great posture. Happy Standard Poodle day to him. Today will probably be the day we take down our Christmas tree. I see a couple of people on our block have their decorations out still and assume they were waiting for Epiphany.

Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the mention of my DD DS Nancy's heavenly birthday. I think of her constantly and appreciate you remembering her too. ❤️ Ann @cat shepard I'm glad to hear the secret decoder ring is still working well. It does come in handy some days! Graham @grapau27 I see by your posted explanation of I am a Mentor Day that you agree that it will be celebrated tomorrow. Plenty of time to get ready for it! I see you're having cold weather over there today. You need to get out of there and head someplace warm! 😉 Have a good weekend! Joy @Seasick Sailor prayers for an easy time with Covid for your niece and her fiancé, and your poor friend taking several falls yesterday. Hope they are unharmed and not too sore from it all!

South Georgia Island January 6, 2017 Continuing my cruise report with Jan 6, 2017- Seabourn Quest Antarctica-South Georgia Island Today began at Salisbury Plain on the north coast of South Georgia Island. It has the second largest breeding site of King penguins. Literally 500,000 King penguins. Then there are seals, both elephant and fur seals. The penguins stood shoulder to shoulder, sort of like a rock concert crowd. Crazy! Look carefully – that dark grey color running down the hillside to the water is penguins (and probably some seals). We were supposed to land on the shore starting at 6 am but at 5:45 that famous Captain of ours announced (in our cabins!) that due to the waves breaking at the shoreline they would be unable to land but instead we would do a Zodiac tour of the shoreline. The poor blue group got the worst of the draw today, too because we were last. By the time we went it was spitting snow out there, not large flakes but pellet-like snow. Just before we boarded one man fell halfway into the water due to the swell tossing the Zodiacs around at the loading platform. He was fine, but they gave the rest of us a refresher course on how to lock hands onto the arms of the loading personnel. The trick is to lock your grip around your helper’s forearm, while they lock their grip around your forearm. If you were to grab each other’s hands, they might end up with your glove in their fist if you were to start to fall into the water. So we had at least three people helping us into the Zodiacs after that. We had no problem and away we went to the shoreline to see the penguins and seals. I have never seen more penguins together at one time in my life! from the Seabourn video These predatory birds are called northern giant petrels (or Halls giant petrels), and were busy feasting on some poor penguin or seal. I wish I knew what the lineup was for. Haven’t they heard of social distancing? That’s better. Now we need to work on wearing a mask! At the end of our ride the decision was made to get the Zodiacs on board quickly so we could leave the area because bad weather was moving in between South Georgia and Montevideo. Our Captain (who used to introduce himself on Prinsendam at the noon announcements as “the disembodied voice from the bridge”) as well as Ice Captain Larsen and the rest of the bridge team were ever vigilant in watching for bad weather. Heading in we got a good look at the rear “marina” feature. I know they can fold that door out and have a deck for water sports like swimming, kayaking and jet skis in warm weather climates. The starboard Zodiac crane can be seen here. There’s one on the port side, too. Here’s what stacked Zodiacs look like. For the life of me I can’t figure out who all the people in the blue parkas are. Everyone was given the orange Seabourn parkas to wear, so having all those blue parkas on those Zodiacs confuses me. The Expedition Team wore red or yellow parkas. When we left South Georgia it was rather sunny, but the bad weather was ahead of us. That afternoon I spent time with my knitting and stitching friends in the Observation Bar where I worked on a counted cross stitch Christmas stocking; what else? Is it time for champagne yet?

Milford Sound, New Zealand photos On December 18, 2013 the Diamond Princess made its way into Milford Sound for some scenic cruising. Unfortunately it was not the best weather but you make the best of it. Some of our crew were out and about and I thought this was a cute photo of them. This was what the morning looked like for the most part. To get a better look, I'll move on to the Sun Princess Milford Sound visit on Nov. 29, 2017. Entering Milford Sound. It was interesting to see the rings of clouds surrounding some peaks. I must say it was pretty cold out on the decks with the ship's movement and the chilly air giving you quite a wind chill factor. From there the ship sailed through Thompson, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds. I think Milford was my favorite. This is the type of weather you dream of when scenic cruising but we take what we can get!

Good morning friends! It's been raining overnight and should continue this morning for a few more hours. Temp currently is 40F and the forecast is for a high of 58 with partly cloudy skies the remainder of the day. Thanks Jacqui @kazu for posting the Fleet Report and Daily this morning. This date is Epiphany, Bean Day and is not I am a Mentor Day. That will be tomorrow the 7th. Instead I'll add National Cuddle Day so try to find time to cuddle with your loved one or furry friend. Interesting quote, and here comes the butternut squash again. I can say for certain I've never thought of putting it on pizza! The drink today sounds dangerous. Not sure if I'd like the chenin blanc but would take a sip of it and find out. A good day for Astronomy but a bad day for Charles I. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today on the food and beverages. No plans for today except Laundry Saturday. Yesterday afternoon was a lost cause because there was so much happening on our street due to an Estate Sale. It was at neighbor Linda's house. She was the one who lost her husband in that horrific accident in 2022 in Tennessee where their car drove off the highway, went airborne and hit a cement bridge abutment. She has made a terrific recovery from her broken back and rescued a little dog to keep her company. In November she listed her home for sale and I believe it is still for sale at the moment, but apparently is ready to move on and is selling unneeded items. The traffic confusion and congestion here right in front of our home was a bit too much. I couldn't concentrate on my cross stitching at all. I hope to get a lot further along today! Prayers for all our Dailyites and our loved ones who may be in pain, recovering from surgeries or procedures, depressed or in need of help. Extra prayers for Vanessa @JazzyV. I'll include some for my DB and DGD and my friends who need my support. And not to forget those in Israel and Ukraine at war, the lost hostages, and our soldiers and sailors under fire at bases and ships in the region. I will cheer on those celebrating happy events in their lives like birthdays and anniversaries and especially wonderful cruises. Enjoy! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated with all the busy lives we lead here. The destination today on the Daily is Milford Sound, New Zealand. This was also our destination on March 21, 2022. DH and I have enjoyed that destination twice before and I have a couple of photos to show you coming up. Here's the link for your convenience in finding your photos. I hope you all have a great Saturday and keep safe and well. Watch out for dangerous, slippery roads and sidewalks during the East coast storm.

I should have clarified. Before they went to expedition style ships for Antarctica, Seabourn only had South Georgia Island on the Christmas-New Years cruise. The ones before and after our cruise went to Falklands instead. Now I'm not sure how often they go to South Georgia Island. The expedition style ships that have come out in the past few years, carry fewer passengers than Quest did and getting to be extremely expensive cruises. Out of most of our reaches.

I've enjoyed reading about his exploration too. Incredibly difficult journey and unbelievable (almost!) that no crewmembers died. I believe he passed shortly before his 48th birthday which I agree is very young. I'm pretty sure South Georgia Island was only included on the Christmas-New Year's cruise. The remainder of the cruises to Antarctica during the season went to the Falklands. We've been to the Falklands three times and know that the cruises to South Georgia Island are rarer. It was worth missing Christmas at home with family that one time. Amazing what 5 to 6 hours of sleep can do. I hope that continues! I'm really sorry to hear about the miscommunications with your paperwork. No excuse for that kind of mix-up really but it happens way too often.

We went to get groceries this morning and on the way home had a dozen or so police cars from a county south of us went past us. That reminded us that we got an neighborhood email yesterday about donations for a local police officer shot and killed last Friday when he went to a domestic abuse call. The man pulled out a shotgun and killed the officer Sgt. Marc McIntyre. Police cars and motorcycles from all over Georgia met up at Atlanta Motor Speedway and started filing out of the parking lot there about an hour ago. There were about 50 police motorcycles first and now I've seen hundreds (perhaps a thousand) police vehicles driving to my small town. A distance of about 7 miles. The front of the line made it to the church where the service is before the last of the police vehicles left Atlanta Motor Speedway!! Cars on the opposite side of the road stopped and watched. It's been going on now for over an hour and they're still driving into the parking lot at the church. All their sirens are going and it's quite the spectacle. I've been watching it all on a TV station live stream. Quite the showing of respect for this slain officer who was beloved by many in the area.

Have a great cruise!!

Part 2. We visited the tiny church and then the museums, one of which included a replica of the James Caird. Shackleton’s James Caird never looked so good! This shows the type of modifications Shackleton made to the small boat before he set out on his long, cold, wet journey. He built up the sides and tried to cover most of the top except for the hatch to get in and out. Also shown are some types of clothing they would have worn. This photo shows Sir Ernest and a few of his crew leaving Elephant Island in the original James Caird. If I was standing in that gift shop right now I think I’d buy one of those blue South Georgia hoodies Here I am in front of the museum along with a tag along King penguin All along the path were seals, grown ones and pups alike, and King penguins which are quite attractive with their patches of yellow on their heads. Large, too! We saw a few South Georgia Pintails, the only variety of duck in this part of the world. They seemed to be the only creatures afraid of us and would walk away quickly when we came near. one nearly finished molting Here’s a South Georgia pintail running off. Eyes closed – time for a nap. At the end of our visit we had to clean our boots on one of these contraptions before stepping into a Zodiac. It was a wonderful visit and everyone was raving about it the rest of the day. In the evening hours we sailed past two abandoned (thankfully) whaling stations, Leith and Stromness. Can you imagine climbing for more than 36 hours over that mountain range in deep glacier snow to reach help, after the James Caird landed on the other side of the island? It was truly a miracle. Stromness whaling station I hope you have all enjoyed our visit to South Georgia Island.

Continuing travelogue on South Georgia Island January 5, 2017 Seven years ago today on January 5, 2017 our travels took us to South Georgia Island after we left Antarctica early on the 3rd. This was a very fortuitous day to come ashore there. Sir Ernest Shackleton died there on January 5, 1922 on the vessel Quest and was buried in the Grytviken whaler’s cemetery. Did you notice the coincidence of Shackleton’s date of death and the vessel he was on? DH and I were there on January 5, 2017 on the Quest, same date and same ship name but exactly 95 years later! I’m sure the majority of the sailors here know this but for those who haven’t, here is my version of his story. Pardon any errors you may find here. Shackleton’s mission when he came to Antarctica was to be the first to land on the continent and then cross the entire continent. Others had landed, trekked to the South Pole and gone back the same way they came. But his mission failed when his ship Endurance became stuck in the ice in January 1915 and they lived either on Endurance or on the ice in tents after Endurance broke apart. After that they were able to use small boats from Endurance (lifeboats which were 20 to 26 feet long) to sail to Elephant Island arriving in April 1916. From there Shackleton took a small group of men with him in one of those little boats and sailed over to South Georgia Island which is around 800 miles away. I’m surprised they weren’t swamped! And they were freezing to death with all that icy water spraying them. It’s a miracle they survived and even found South Georgia Island at all. Finally on August 25, 1916 he sailed back to Elephant Island and rescued the remainder of his crew. He didn’t lose a single crew member in the two years they were together. It was a true story of survival. So seven years ago today we arrived at Grytviken where we had to anchor in King Edward Cove. Unfortunately the morning started off pretty foggy out so all were concerned we wouldn’t be able to tender. Our Zodiac time for the Blue group was set for 12:30 pm so we were all praying the weather would improve. The weather in Antarctica was so much nicer than we experienced at South Georgia Island. Who would have thought? We were not the only ones excited to finally be here in Grytviken. In July of 2016 our Captain (seen below) on the Prinsendam told DH and I he was especially anxious to get to South Georgia Island on this cruise, to see the site of the whaling station his great grandfather helped found in 1904. Lucky for everyone the fog started lifting and when the time came we tendered over to shore. We were delighted to be met by some very curious seals. The remainder of them snoozed nearby. The first thing we wanted to see was the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the whaler’s cemetery was right there near our landing site. An inscription on the back of the headstone. There were quite a few other graves there as well, back in the 1800’s Then we walked toward the rusting ruins of the buildings and equipment from the whale processing plant of 100 years ago. The end of part 1.

Good morning friends! Weather report here is 30 degrees and partly cloudy. High will be 53 and partly cloudy with rain coming in tonight and into tomorrow morning. Today is go to Kroger day, and more work on the stocking. Since the exact middle of the project on the aida cloth was the cow's face in the manger, that is all I've been doing so far. Not exactly the most exciting start! Thanks to Jacqui @kazu for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for Rich @richwmn. And thanks to Roy @rafinmd for the maps. Today's quote is decent, and a toast to the birds of this world, keto dieters, and screenwriters. No thanks to the broiled tilapia. No idea if I'd like the drink yet, but would try the sauvignon blanc. It was a bad day in history when Benedict Arnold burned Richmond. We used to live an hour away from the Virginia capital when we lived in Williamsburg. And Harry Truman (a Missouri native) had a lot on his hands when he took office unexpectedly. Thanks to all our F&B people Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reporting. Prayers for our Care list people, especially Vanessa @JazzyV and all of you in pain, feeling under the weather, depressed or grieving losses. May you soon find better health and happiness. 🙏 Three cheers to all celebrating life events such as anniversaries, birthdays and amazing cruises! Bon voyage Bruce and Sue @aliaschief and anyone else embarking their ships. 🚢 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the lists today! The port today is Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. This port must be popular among us as this is the fourth time seeing it in this spot. I'll post the links to the previous three dates below. DH and I haven't stopped in Sharm el Sheikh before. Hope you all have a great day! Keep safe and stay well!

I can see no reason the tray should have been left in your cabin. He must have forgotten! Yay for the chocolate though. 😛

Bon Voyage!!

Arrived just in time!

I saw the Zaandam coming into Port Everglades this morning. Hope the ailing crew member they left in the Bahamas is back on the road to good health soon. And that not too many people miss their flights today because of the delay. Thanks so much Graham! Jen is the niece who had the fall down the stairs with head trauma about 2 years ago. Years prior to that she had a skydiving accident. Permanent damage of course. She has some brain damage that causes her to act out by saying or doing hurtful things. It's a shame. We just enjoyed a lovely visit with DGD Ashley and her fiancé over Christmas. She was a millennium baby due on Dec. 31, 1999 but arrived 4 days into 2000.👶 So glad you liked them Graham. You can view them in the warmth of your living room and not have to shiver at all! ❄️ Good luck getting all the decorations put away. I haven't done that yet. I really had better get back to my stitching on the Christmas stocking. I think I'll take a photo every day after I work on it to show my progress and encourage me. DH says I should write down how many hours I work each day but I am interrupted so much it wouldn't be accurate. 🕰️

Continued travelogue on South Georgia Island January 4, 2017 Jan. 4, 2017 on Seabourn Quest. In South Georgia Island we had reduced the color groups to four since the restrictions on the number of passengers ashore were not as stringent. In Antarctica a total of 100 were allowed on land but here we could have more. We were placed in the blue color group since the white color was eliminated. They had delivered two new blue armbands to our cabin the day before. Blue was the second group scheduled to go out on Jan. 4. The plan for the day was to take groups out in Zodiacs to view the scenery and wildlife. Early that morning we were on the southern tip of South Georgia with Cooper Island nearby. Sorry for the glare in this photo of a map they had on display in Seabourn Square. But then the Captain (who goes by the initials D.D.) updated us at 9:40 am that due to winds and swells we would just do scenic cruising today from the ship, not the Zodiacs. He turned the ship into Drygalski Fjord where it was much calmer due to the surrounding mountains blocking the wind. There were three nice glaciers to view at the end of the fjord named Risting, Jenkins and Philippi Glaciers. I notice I have the penguin pendant necklace on here. Below is a photo of the Quest in the Drygalski Fjord. The glass atrium I mentioned yesterday is shown. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to cover all that glass at night for bird safety. After cruising the fjord for a while the Captain and the Expedition Team decided it was calm enough in the fjord to do some Zodiac sightseeing so they called the first group scheduled for the day, which was the Red group. It seemed pretty calm in this photo. Next up was our new color, Blue, so at the appropriate time DH got dressed in his gear to prepare for the ride. I wasn’t feeling well that morning so I was on the balcony watching. He went downstairs to get in line for Blue, got his boots on and was scanned off the ship because he was in the first boat of 12 leaving in the Blue group. I was watching from our port side balcony as the Zodiacs came back with the Red passengers. But by now the winds were increasing and it was getting difficult to control the Zodiacs as they dropped off people since the winds and swell were getting dangerous. They were bobbing up and down and from port to starboard, and so was the ship. The last Red people back had quite a time of it. You wouldn’t want anyone falling into the drink in these freezing waters! I saw the Captain up on the bridge with his binoculars watching the process carefully. I told myself, they’re not going to continue this operation today and sure enough a few minutes later they announced that the winds and swell had picked up and they had to stop for the day. DH and the other 11 passengers already checked off the ship had to be checked back on, remove their boots and call it a day. All of us on the ship who didn’t get to go out were pretty bummed about it. Lucky for us the videographer on board had taken footage which was then shared with us via our Seabourn cruise video. He went out with the Red group. Here are several of them. King penguins Kings with their wooly chicks This is what we saw from the ship. The Captain did give us a thrill later in the day when he sailed right between two icebergs dead ahead. Lots of photo opportunities there. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We picked up pizza that evening for dinner and enjoyed it in our cabin. That's all for today. Tomorrow's date is a special date in South Georgia Island history and we will be in Grytviken to tell you about it.

Good morning friends! Weather report here is 31F and clear. High will be 53 and sunny all day. Thanks Jacqui @kazu for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for Rich @richwmn. DH and I both celebrated yesterday's Festival of Sleep Day last night and this morning. He said he felt like last night was too short and slept in a bit this morning. I on the other hand woke up around 3:30 as I usually do but dozed here and there after that. Unfortunately I slept 25 minutes after my usual "get out of bed time" and had to cut my miles down to 2.0 instead of 2.5 on the treadmill. What a slacker! Holidays are pop music chart day which is fine, and trivia day for those who engage in that. Props to Tom Thumb, the miniature entertainer who worked with P. T. Barnum. It's also World Braille Day and National Spaghetti Day. I think the quote today is dumb. Sorry! The meal suggestion might be good, WOW on the cocktail name and I probably wouldn't like the wine. A salute to the New York Stock Exchange opening in NYC and the colt pistol sales to the U.S. government. Thanks to Debbie/Tina @dfish and @0106, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports this morning. Prayers for all here in need of them with pain, healing, loss of loved ones and depression. Also for Israel and Ukraine, the hostages held and our troops in harm's way on ships and bases. Also for DB and DGD, and friends Scott and Bob. Cheers to those with celebrations today and the sailors among us! Have wonderful cruises! And happy birthday Jen and DGD Ashley! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration lists that you keep so well. Hope you are getting some sleep and get some answers to your pain issues. The port today is Loreto, Mexico. Apparently it's popular since this is the fourth time we've seen it listed here. Dates were July 31, 2021, April 28, 2022, and May 19, 2023. Here are all the links for your convenience. I won't need them since I haven't been fortunate enough to see this Mexican port of call. This afternoon we will go to see our "old" dentist and see about getting a chip in DH's newest crown fixed. Then perhaps pick up some barbecue for dinner tonight. (note - "old" dentist did not install the crown, the "new" dentist did and we don't care for his work). Hoping all here have a wonderful day. Keep safe and stay well!

Report it to Guest Services and ask if they have someone on the ship who can repair it. I've often read here that they will do that for you. If it's possible to repair that wheel they will do it.

Me neither Vanessa! I did see someone on the top deck waving a piece of cloth. Too bad they didn't zoom in. She was lit up somewhat.

Talk about a pokey pilot!!

Wow, who would think someone would chance flying in and getting to the ship on time for a World Cruise leaving today? Takes guts!😲

You know, if you look in the middle of that display they had one penguin sitting on some small rocks with an egg in front of it, and another penguin appearing to be adding more rocks. Just like real penguins do! Oh, yes, I see a second penguin sitting on rocks nearer the front. So funny!