StLouisCruisers

Hi Brian, Tromso is a city above the Arctic circle at nearly 70 degrees latitude.

Well, look down there! A long line of people waiting to go up the mountain via cable car, and the buses that brought them! Leaving the cable car we headed back to see the Arctic Cathedral up close. Whoops! Still lined up! It has an impressive exterior but we wanted to see a little of the interior. Unfortunately since it was Sunday church services were about to commence, so we ducked back outside. Being Sunday was going to haunt us again later. Time to walk back Looks like a fun way to travel We decided to go find the Olhallen brewpub again and passed the Bibliotek (library) and the Tromso Domkirke on the way. And here we are in front of the brewery and pub we visited last trip. Oh no! Closed on Sunday!! So I took a photo of DH in front of the pub door with our Holland America umbrella right next to him. We take it with us if there’s a threat of rain and it always chases those raindrops away. Guess we saved our $14USD this trip. In fact as the Prinsendam sailed away that afternoon here is what the sky looked like. We even chased the clouds away that day! And under the bridge we went That's quite enough! I hope you enjoyed Tromso, Norway.

On our 2016 visit it was a cloudy morning but generally those skies turned sunny in the afternoon. At least it wasn’t raining. When we headed out for our adventure that day, we walked as straight as we could to the base of the Tromso Bridge. As the bridge curved I was able to take this photo of the Arctic Cathedral and even where the cable car goes up the adjacent mountain. At the end of the bridge we passed by the cathedral in order to get to the cable car before the crowds. There was another ship in port with us. But I couldn’t pass these beautiful flowers without a photo. For our Garden Club! The base of the cable car and not a bus in sight! 10 minutes later this is where I was Without using zoom you can see how high up we were Shots of the Arctic Cathedral and the bridge, this time with the zoom! The beautiful Elegant Explorer, Prinsendam More from the 2016 visit coming up next! I told you there were a lot of photos!

We have visited Tromso three times over the years. First was July 8, 2013 on a Crown Princess above the Arctic Circle cruise, round trip Southampton. Our friends Susan and Scott were with us that cruise. The second time in Tromso was during the 2016 Prinsendam Best. Norway. Cruise. Ever!! Thirdly, we were physically docked in Tromso in July 2022 while we were under Covid quarantine on the Island Princess. However being “locked up” we were unable to actually go off the ship to see it once again. Our first time there it was rainy unfortunately but that didn’t stop us from walking around town. Check out the Tromso Domkirke, circa 1861 And a closer look at an obelisk surrounded by beautiful summer flowers Typical street scenes You could ride around on this tram but I noticed the windows were all fogged up! Across the water was the Arctic Cathedral but we wouldn’t get to that side of town until next trip in 2016 For the Garden Club, this beautiful variegated-petal hydrangea We stopped at the oldest watering hole in Tromso, the Olhallen brewpub. We also saw a display about the Mack brewery. We were too early for a tour. Also a picture of an old time delivery truck Inside the pub DH enjoying his $14USD beer That concludes the 2013 Tromso visit. On to 2016!

Good morning friends! This morning I have a temp in north central Georgia of 58F. Today will be 81 and partly cloudy. I have a morning hair appointment so will head out by 9 a,m. Thanks to Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report! All good days of celebration today. Doing something nice is an excellent idea and I feel should extend to every other day. I'm interested to hear how random acts of poetry happen. Hmmm. And finally World Teacher's Day! Hurray for all the hard working, dedicated teachers out there. I'll notify DD and tell her how much parents and students appreciate her. I know her students do because she recently received many emails from last year's students telling her how important she was to them. Their assignment was to email a former teacher to tell them how they made a difference in the student's life. She said it was so special! DS is not teaching this year due to his current interim dean position and it is not allowed. But he still has a lot of knowledge he can extend to his graduate research students so I will thank him too. Next, we have a nice quote this morning. The stuffed butternut squash sounds interesting. Can't wait to hear about the drink/cocktail, and a little more about the wine of the day. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Lots of interesting things have happened on this date in history. Many are positive like Harry Truman's 1st presidential address, The film "Dr. No", and of course the Beatles song Love Me Do dropping. But a sad day in Calcutta's history. Prayers said immediately upon starting up the treadmill earlier. 🙏 So many in need of help! Hoping for further good news about Scott, and anything in the way of improvement for DB and Mark. Prayers said for all of you here too. Hoping for great days for our cruisers, and all who have a nice celebration this morning. 🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration lists. I hope you had an enjoyable evening spent celebrating your birthday!🎂 Hurray, another new port! I love any port in Norway and that includes Tromso. No links today, but lots of photos. Thank you Rich for adding this port for us. I will post my photos when finished here. On one of our three visits there DH and I were locked up in Covid jail - June 2022 on Island Princess. The first visits were in 2013 on Crown Princess and 2016 on Prinsendam. Hoping all here have a safe, healthy and happy Thursday!

could have been aisle! LOL!

Another update on Scott, Susan's DH. He is off the ventilator! The late birthday gift for Susan is he was able to whisper her name. He's congested and they pray pneumonia doesn't set in. The are sending in the respiratory therapist, the nephrologist (still in dialysis), a speech therapist and electrophysiologist among others. He may even get a feeding tube due to weakness caused by all the meds. Sounds like he has a long way to go still, but baby steps (like Steve and Lenda).

Very cute name for your car! Thanks for checking in on the Daily and you're welcome here anytime.

Hoping for good news for your DH's stress test today. And that your surgeon, PT and chiropractor visits go well. Sorry to hear the URI is still hanging on. When it rains it pours, doesn't it? What a big relief you have new flights and still get your premium seats. Hoping everything goes smoothly and you have a wonderful cruise!

An update from Susan on Scott. He's still on the ventilator and slowly being weaned off drugs. He is awake, mostly alert and moves all limbs. According to cardiac cath. he has no need for stents or bypass but has an electrical issue. She's hoping once he's off the ventilator he can get an EP (Electrophysiology study). It might show the need for a pacemaker, ablation, or ?? Prayers are appreciated!! She also said Viking refunded almost $20,000 (except $250) for her cruise she just paid for, and Allianz refunded the $2700 insurance they bought just before final payment. Amazing and very grateful for their compassion for them. Annie @marshhawk even though it's a Wednesday it is still National Taco Day, all day long. I hope you and Chuck get to stop for tacos later. Terry @smitty34877 so happy to hear the aide is doing a good job, sorry to hear about Tana's increased coughing though. Nice to have family coming though.

Lorraine, you can go to your post office and ask to talk to the supervisor. Explain the length of your cruise and ask for a hold for longer than 30 days. Sometimes they're in a good mood and agree. Usually they write out the yellow card while you stand there. For a longer cruise like a Grand Voyage, I have done two holds. First I go online (or you can write out the yellow card) and stop the mail the first 30 days. When delivery begins again, I have my neighbor/friend pick up the mail that day at my mailbox. The following day they put a filled-out yellow card in the box with flag up for the carrier. When the carrier stops they take the yellow card back to the post office and begin another hold period. Neighbor can check the mailbox for more mail that same day. That's how I do it.

@Smmessineo Welcome to the Daily! Hope to see you around here again. Say, isn't today Taco Day? Look for free tacos at your local Mexican restaurant or fast food place. Or prepare them at home!🌮

Tina @0106, I'm so sorry to hear your flight is cancelled! You have the right number for Flight Ease so I'd remain there. But I'd look at some options on a flight website like Google flights or matrix.itasoftware.com. Tonight at JFK there is a flight on Aer Lingus at 9:05 pm, Singapore Airlines at 8:55 pm, United at 9:50 pm, etc.

In October, 2013 we were excited to be sailing on the Maiden Transatlantic voyage of the new Royal Princess. We began in Venice and proceeded to visit lovely Mediterranean ports. When we arrived in Cannes, we took a tour of St. Paul de Vence which was absolutely charming. It’s a medieval village on the French Riviera. We had a lovely time there, then they bused us to Nice for a little look-see. Unfortunately it was rather cloudy that day. It would have been extra beautiful with sunny skies. These two photos were taken through the bus windows. In Nice they let us board an open air tram and drove us around to cover more ground. The opera house of Nice Compare our tram to this modern train We went up to an overlook for a short break from the tram. Again, way too cloudy but at least it wasn’t raining. Heading back to our bus we saw the beach… And this flag display including the U.S., French, European Union, and Nice flags. Nice was fine but we really enjoyed St. Paul de Vence!🤗

Good morning friends! I'm having a nice 57F morning and will experience sunny skies and 83F later today. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report for Wednesday, Oct. 4. First I want to wish Vanessa @JazzyV a very happy birthday! And to Terri @Cruzin Terri and Jim happy anniversary today! I wish many more for you all! For our golfers, enjoy National Golf Day! I should put a banner on my deck wishing that to everyone passing by down on the golf cart path below us. I hope the frappe lovers have a great frappe day. World Animal Day sounds like a worthy cause. The quote is quite poetic but I haven't figured it all out yet. The creamy tortellini soup with sausage sounds like something DH would like so I should show him the recipes later. No thanks to the Roku Gin Sonic or the rioja wine. Interesting facts about this date in history regarding the 1883 Orient Express and the change in calendars back in 1582. No birthdays that year between Oct. 5th and 15th, eh? Thanks to the Food & Beverage ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard Prayers for our Daily group included on the Care list (or not mentioned but needed anyway). Hoping Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser are resting well and Steve is feeling much better. Wishing for pain free days for Vanessa. Hoping for good news about Melisa's @HAL Sailer's DH. First prayers today went to Scott in Arizona and Susan's DB Mark, as well as my own DB. Cheers to those on the Celebration list and our cruisers, present and future! Fingers crossed that Jacqui @kazu has safely arrived at her destination and has a wonderful pre-cruise stay. Sending good wishes to all celebrating happy events. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration list. Our port of the day is Villefranche-sur-Mer, Nice, France, a first timer here. Therefore I have no links today. On a cruise in October, 2013 on Royal Princess we stopped in Cannes and took a tour which included a look at Nice. Villefranche-sur-Mer is only a few kilometers from Nice so I think I can safely add some photos today. I'll get on that when I finish this post. Hoping everyone has a great day today. Stay safe and please stay well!

Wonderful photos today, Tony @sailingdutchy. The ones of the children are amazing! Thank you! Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser it's good to hear you two were able to go home last night. I really hope things are looking up on the health front now.

Jacqui, have a wonderful cruise and pre-cruise stay. Best of luck to you!

Good morning friends! Here it is 56F and we expect more sunny skies and a high of 82. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. Isn't it a great day to live in Georgia? Wow, three good days to celebrate and/or honor. I will consider my DH my boyfriend today. Child health is of utmost importance so I am praying for a miracle for Baby Murphy today. Techies are such smarties and needed in this day and age. Today's menu suggestion sounds interesting and it will be fun to see Debbie's report on it. I'll have to pass on the cocktail but would love to try the Rosé. I recall what a very big deal it was in 1990 with the reunification of East and West Germany, and it was an important day in NZ rugby history. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your fabulous reports each day! Prayers were said this morning for my DB, Susan's DH Scott and DB Mark, Baby Murphy, Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, Allen and Joy @Seasick Sailor, Vanessa @JazzyV, Melissa @HAL Sailer and DH, all the DH's in poor health at the moment, Debbie @dfish, Terry @smitty34877 and family, Dixie @summer slope and @Haljo1935. If I've forgotten anyone be assured everyone on the Daily is mentioned each day. Hooray for all the cruisers and those preparing for one!🚢 Hoping everyone is feeling well very soon. Best wishes to Annie @marshhawk and Chuck as you prepare for your wonderful cruise and work on better health. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration lists.❤️ Grateful today for my DSIL who was able to troubleshoot and run diagnostics on DD's new phone which allowed her to phone us without the dreaded "this party is not accepting your calls" message. It's a miracle! She is relieved to know her parents haven't disowned her!🤗 The port of the day is Shimizu, Japan (Shizuoka), That was the destination on June 8, 2021 and July 17, 2022. I'll post the links below for you. I have not been to Shimizu before. Thanks in advance for your photos! Hoping for better health for us all. Have a great day everyone.

Eva, I love the photo especially your buddy the canine with the ball in his mouth! lol! I have a chronic cough too, reason undetermined, and think I will ask about the RSV vaccine. In my state you have to have a prescription to get it. Debbie, good to hear you have an appointment for your tummy lump. You want to find out why and get something done for it. Good luck, fingers crossed and prayers for you!

Oh no Joy! I hope you can get some relief from the pain somehow and get yourself seen tomorrow if it doesn't feel better. Is Allen all right?

Lenda, prayers for both you and Steve as the doctors figure out a way to help.🙏 I'm sad to hear he feels really bad. 😢 Paul I don't think any of us carry big wads of cash on our trips abroad. I think credit and debit cards would cover most things. Then there's the ATM. Besides if you have travel insurance you would contact them immediately and they generally take care of the charges right then and there. I'm sure everything will be fine. As for luggage, I would try to keep the luggage right with me. Yes, I would always lock the bags. And for further protection, try getting some air tags to track them. Vanessa, I'm glad the doctor had some ideas and has referred you to pain management for further investigation. We want you pain free! I wish you didn't have to mow the yard while hurting. Hoping and praying for more answers for you.🙏

Thank you Debbie @dfish for the recipes and sweet words about Elliott Rose. The mac and cheese looks delish! Your yard light looks great now and I know Sue will make your mailbox spiffy. Joy @Seasick Sailor you are very kind! Thank you for your prayers and inclusion of those little baby boys in your prayer book.🥰 Linda @lindaler have a wonderful trip. How exciting to see the ship come in and you being up to see it. Thanks to Nancy @ottahand7, Annie @marshhawk and Gerry @ger_77for your compliments of Elliott Rose. She's bringing a lot of joy to that family. Lorraine @cruising sister that's a beautiful red Mustang, and the grandkids are awfully darn cute, too! I know you enjoy them immensely. I heard from my friend Susan about Scott. She sends out update emails to her "pack" of friends and neighbors. Early this morning she said he seems to be slowing coming out of it and responding to "wiggle your toes" commands. However he's still very sick and the cardio ICU docs will do a cardiac cath. today. The original doctors said his heart is too sick to pump blood properly but the catheter procedure will determine if he needs a stent. Praying for good news for Scott! Also, I heard from someone else on Saturday about their husband's recent heart pains and what tests were done for him and sometimes I think I am confusing both friends' messages. I'll do my best to keep them straight. The other person's DH is doing okay. I've been wondering when my next door neighbors Paul and Brenda will be coming home from their summer motorhome trip around the country and to Canada. They said October, but when? I'll give her a text to find out. The past two months they've allowed a friend in the area live in their guest room while her house is under construction. She sold her old home too fast! (I wish everyone had that problem now - seems houses are just sitting on the market nowadays with interest rates so high). It will be nice to see Brenda and Paul again. I don't envy them all that driving but I know they have seen some beautiful sights this summer and fall.

Thanks Ann. She is much loved and welcomed after her twin brothers passed away at birth the year before she was born. I'd love to get a chance meet her in person. We haven't been back to St. Louis since DMIL's funeral in Dec. 2021 I'm glad you liked the photos Terry. Great news the aide passed inspection by everyone including the dogs! 🐶 Love that and I hope she works out well.

Thank you Graham! I really hope you get there, and don't forget beautiful New Zealand! Melanie @puppycanducruise thank you for your comments on yesterday's Daily (this morning) about the Elliott Rose photos. She really is cute, isn't she? Just didn't want to confuse anyone by posting on yesterday's Daily right at this time.

My second visit to Brisbane. After our circumnavigation cruise we sailed on a Tasmania cruise followed by a Papua New Guinea cruise. The PNG cruise included Brisbane on its way back to Sydney. So several weeks later we were picked up at the industrial port, called Fisherman's Island Grain Terminal, by our Seabourn friends. When they asked ahead of time what I wanted to see, I said kangaroos and koalas! The first place we drove to was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which had a lot more animals than that! First we saw some lace monitors, water monitors and parentie A dingo taking a nap freshwater crocodiles A wombat And this cagey cassowary. I never could get a good shot of him/her because it shifted around so much. They are considered dangerous! Looking for the kangaroos! Here they are! Time for some koalas! This one was looking at me funny! He doesn't look that comfortable to me. But whatever, buddy! We also saw a Laughing Kookaburra, a Bush Thick-Knee, and the megabats of Australia. These guys are huge! That was it for the koala sanctuary. Onward to our next stop. Which is Mt. Coot-tha Summit Lookout. The city of Brisbane in the distance. We ate lunch here at Kuta Cafe and really enjoyed the view while dining as well as our friends' company. From there we headed to the Brisbane River where one of our hosts dropped his wife and the two of us off for a ferry ride. He met us at the other end. We road for 45 minutes enjoying the great weather, the river and our friend. After we three got off at I believe Hawthorne they drove us back to the ship to say goodbye. What a wonderful day in Brisbane we had! Getting on the Spirit of Brisbane The Hawthorne stop Saying goodbye at the industrial port after a fantastic visit.