StLouisCruisers

Dennis and I have had a lovely day and evening. He thanks you all for your kind wishes and we also thank Debbie @dfish for stopping to see us tonight in Ocean Bar before our Pinnacle dinner. Love your photos Debbie! Dennis received texts from our beautiful kids and fantastic grandkids wishing him a happy celebration. Dinner was delicious! Terry @smitty34877 I’m thankful you know what the issue is with Lou and he is getting proper treatment. Prayers for him and your whole supportive family. 🙏 Denise @DeeniEncinitas prayers for the Maui residents and for those lost. We are so glad you and David are fine and safe. Thank you for all you’re doing to help out. Annie @marshhawk it was such a nice story today about you getting Chuck out of the house to have an adventure! Even with all the storms it seemed to work out. You are a great gal and you prove it to us every day. We’re moving our clock backwards an hour tonight so plenty of time to relax, read, and digest before slumber time. Good night all!😴

Grundarfjordur, Iceland

Good morning friends! We are anchored right off Grundarfjordur, Iceland and the sun is shining again! Current temp is 52 and it may rise to 58 later today. We have had outstanding weather during this cruise. I have a feeling that may change as we spend time in Maritime Canada in the next week and a half. We can always hope though! Thank you Rich @richwmn for today’s Daily and Fleet Report. I can certainly embrace Left Hander’s Day since that is what my DH has always been. As a child he wanted to play the guitar left handed but his instructor forced him to learn right handed and he regrets not sticking to his guns about it. But he was only a youth at the time and that would have been frowned on. Middle Child’s Day is a fun way to celebrate the kids who are “in between”. If you consider half siblings from my parents' first marriages I am a middle child. If you consider only the children my parents had together I am eldest by 6 minutes! Garage sales are fun sometimes but I doubt anyone in Grundarfjordur is having one today. The menu suggestion of air fryer cauliflower tacos sounds unique. And Black Sunset cocktails sound rather dismal. No thanks to the pinot noir – it’s a red and not for me. Thanks to Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their reports today. Prayers for our friends and loved ones suffering from surgeries, chemo or immunotherapy, disease or injury, not forgetting fire and explosions. So many need our prayers and we hope for improvement soon. 🙏 Congrats to the celebrants of cruising, happy events in your lives, visits with family. More anniversary wishes to John @Copper10-8 and his child bride! Happy birthday wishes for my DH as he makes it to 75! He really doesn't look it!❤️🎂 The port today is Mazatlan, Mexico which was included here before on Aug. 13, 2021 and Nov. 4, 2022. Same date two years later! I have been there a few times and probably have a picture or two to share. Here are the links for your convenience. Here are my photos of Mazatlan. We've only been to Mazatlan twice, once on the Regal Princess in 2005 on a Mexican Riviera cruise. The second time on the Westerdam in 2016 as part of our Panama Canal cruise. I'm sure the better photos are from the second trip so I'll check on that. There's one photo from 2005 that I will show you from our Mazatlan trip. That's of the cliff divers. My 2016 photos of that event weren't as good. In 2016 when we got off the Westerdam, we were told there were many expats in Mazatlan who would be standing on the streets in blue shirts to help all the cruise passengers find their way. They even had a blue line painted on the street from the cruise ship dock to the central business district. Helpful expats The Teatro Angela Peralta The interior courtyard of the Teatro. The stage The town square Many cruisers stopped along here to get a beer or some appetizers The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Wow! It was beautiful! Just look up! Amazing work on this altar Close by was El Mercado where you could find just about anything - meat, produce, handicrafts, souvenirs, clothing, etc. walking toward the shore we saw these colorful houses This is when we went to watch the cliff divers. It was clouding up so we thought it might rain. As you can see we were in the wrong spot to see the diving perfectly. Then we went into this restaurant the Shrimp Bucket for a beer. The family next to us ordered this huge bowl of shrimp. We turned around and headed back to the ship, walking past the square again where a group of dancers were entertaining the crowds. Back to the ship and a view of the town from the upper decks. We intend to head over to town shortly and enjoy our first time here in Grundarfjordur. Have a good day everyone.

Vanessa, don’t worry about the early birthday wishes for Dennis. He’s pleased we can celebrate two days in a row like we did mine one year due to crisscrossing the International dateline! What a sad event in the nearby town with the probable gas explosion. Such a dangerous thing to happen and especially how far and wide the damage is. Sorry about the loss of life. 🙁 It was a gorgeous day in Reykjavik and we enjoyed our walk downtown. Tomorrow Grundarfjordur, Iceland.

Dixie, I'm sorry to hear the medical "experts" can't diagnose a problem with all that testing. I hope something positive comes up in the future that will help you live a more normal life. Like you said, it's not life threatening but that doesn't mean it isn't a problem in your life. Good luck! And thank you for the cocktail recipe for today.

My post from Dec. 4, 2022 while on our Amazon River cruise on Volendam. We decided to go ahead today and take the short tender ride to Boca Da Valeria. This village has 100 or so native residents but apparently folks from other nearby rural areas show up when a ship comes to call. CD Ryan says the first time a ship dropped anchor there to make a repair they sent the restless passengers ashore for a little look around while the repair was in progress. The locals ran for the hills not knowing what to expect. Now they come running FROM the hills to greet passengers with dollar bills in hand. Here is an early morning photo of our destination. Captain Arno Jutten wanted to stop in and pay a visit so here he is driving our tender to shore. One of the other drivers was quick with advice on moving a little closer to the dock (which appears to be a recent addition to the village). The children were lined up to adopt you for a while and I quickly had a boy hanging on my left arm and a girl holding my right hand. I allowed it because I had those dollar bills ready for their reward. We walked along the dirt path towards the church and school. Here’s the church and inside where the wooden pews are a new feature. My adopted daughter sat on one to pose. We continued on and saw the school, the local watering hole, a display of artwork and many pet sloths, parrots, and even a large turtle. There is a small tributary running along the village to the Amazon and some people took boat rides for a small fee. I rewarded this young lady for taking a picture with me. I said goodbye to my new family and they took off clutching their reward and got back into line to adopt another new Mom or Dad. It was fun and more like what I imagined the Amazon River cruise would be like. Another bonus today was seeing a few pink dolphins cavorting beside the ship from my room. You can see just a speck of pink in this photo. The dollars being given out to the children was on the recommendation of our CD Ryan. I know that others have said you should not give them money, but who is to say what happens to the cash when given to local establishments. The families may do what they wish with it, IMHO.

Good morning friends! At 9:30 am we were docking in Reykajavik, just ahead of our scheduled arrival time of 10 am. The weather here is sunny with some clouds moving in later and a high of 63. A great day to arrive in Reykjavik! There is a shuttle bus that will take us closer to downtown and drop us at the Harpa Concert Hall. Having been here many times I don’t really need to get off the ship, but for some reason I always want to. Thank you Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report. We have a variety of days today, such as perseid meteor showers, Kool-Aid, and vinyl records. I doubt if any of those things show up in my life today. An interesting quote about memories. Thanks to Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for information about the Lo Mein, Pineapple Smash drink, and the Cabernet. Thanks to Isaac Singer for the invention of the sewing machine, an excellent time saver. Hoping each day for fewer Care list people as their health improves. Special prayers for Baby Murphy, Lou, Chuck and the people of Maui who lost loved ones or their possessions in the horrific fires there. Sincere congrats to all the Celebration people. And thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for posting the lists for us all. Happy Birthday to Rich @richwmn and happy anniversary to @Copper10-8 . Tomorrow is actually DH's birthday but we can celebrate as long as we want to, right? He was born on Left Handers Day which is Aug. 13 and he is left handed. How appropriate! The port today is Boca da Valeria from the Amazon region of Brazil. I was finally able to visit there on Dec. 4, 2022 while on the Amazon River cruise on Volendam (with Dixie). It was the port of the day on Aug. 3, 2021 and Sept. 1, 2022 so I didn’t have photos on those dates. However here are the links to help you retrieve yours. I did post photos of Boca da Valeria on Dec. 4, 2022, the day we were there in port. Hope your day is extra special, no matter what you do or where you are. I'll try to post photos now.

Debbie @dfish those are cool photos from your excursion today. So many different things to do and see in Iceland. I’ve checked and I don’t think I posted a photo taken at our CC meet and greet on July 31. I’ll include it here. Last night Debbie and Sue came into Ocean Bar right after we did and we had time for a drink and chat before our dinner plans. We’re all keeping busy here but it was fun to catch up!

A report on our stop in Djupivogur...Aug. 11, 2023. We had a foggy beginning but it eventually cleared some though it wasn't what you would call sunny. It was at least a 10 minute tender ride to shore. Here is a pic of the town of Djupivogur from the ship. And then the scene from shore. The red building is called the Langabud building from 1790 and the black one is the Faktorshus from 1848. The red one is now a cafe - bar - museum and the black one contains the WC's. We immediately headed to see the outdoor art display of eggs representing the local birds. This explains it. A good example of one of the eggs. The row of eggs. An interesting place along the road to the eggs. Typical topography around the town and an example of a neighborhood. It was really cold due to the wind chill but worth a bumpy ride over there.

Prayers for Lou and your whole family Terry @smitty34877. Hoping to hear things have stabilized soon. 🙏🏻

Good morning friends! This morning we are anchored outside Djupivogur, Iceland and it is quite overcast. You might even want to call it foggy. I’m hoping for a miracle with the sun burning off the fog, and no rain occurs. We are waiting a bit to see what happens, but all aboard is 2:30 so we can’t wait too long. We were awakened at 6 am by preparations being made for the tender operation and tender lowering. No wonder we take naps most afternoons!💤 Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. We have a common sense quote from Cary Grant. I am happy to celebrate my Son and Daughter any day of the year. I can’t comment on Presidential Joke day or I might get in trouble! I doubt there’s any sand to play in here in Djupivogur – probably rocks. Thanks to Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their food and beverage reports today. I’ll pass on the black bass, tequila and red wine. Prayers for all on the Care list this morning. So glad to hear Chuck @catmando is feeling fine after his treatment. Good luck Annie @marshhawk getting all that water into him each day! Hoping Sam is in and out of that rehab facility lickety-split. My thoughts are with Baby Murphy and her family and hoping all is progressing well this week. A salute to all on the Celebration list especially cruisers, birthdays and anniversaries.🚢 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your list keeping!🥂 Good news from FC Dallas. The 17 and 18 year old boys have been invited to a major tournament Aug. 17-26 in Mexico City! ⚽ In the short time Ren’s been there in Dallas he has proven himself worthy of a spot to go to that tournament with the team. And he’s only 16 so that’s an honor in my book. No time to acclimate to the extreme elevation. They will have 9 games in 7 days! DS will go with him the first three days, then DDIL will join him there since DS does have a job to do in Michigan. DDIL has been staying with older DGS and taking him to UCLA orientation this past week. Time to switch parents next week. We have been emailed links to watch some of the action in Mexico but we will be on the ship for most of those dates. Hope we can follow along as best we can! Port today is Port Elizabeth, South Africa which was our port on April 24, 2021. I have not been before so no photos from me. Here is a link to that date for you to re-capture your photos. Hoping everyone has a wonderful Friday and great start to their weekend.

Thank you Graham! Your fish, chips and peas looked really good too.

Here are a few more of the town and buildings along with the beautiful water here. a pedestrian street The indoor pool The roof of the Art Center and Bistro being painted by that guy on the roof. Metal roof and a long pole. The meager produce department at the supermarket. That's all for right now. Loved the sunshine!

Here are some photos taken today in Seydisfjordur which DH moved from my phone and camera to his laptop. Hope it will be easier to post them. The Zaandam Work being done on mountain side behind houses The church, which wasn't open this morning at 10 am like the sign posted said it would. I may go back to see the inside after lunch.

Good morning friends! We have a balmy 48 already after a low of around 40 when we awoke. It actually could have been in the 30's but I never saw that on my weather app. The SUN is shining for us! It actually may get up to 54 and let's hope so. I have seen people dressed for Antarctica here in Iceland already. They even have scarves tied around their face so that only their eyes show! Must have thin blood. Anyway we went out immediately after breakfast so I wouldn't have to wait till after 11 am to go, taking a chance on the nice weather leaving and not so nice taking its place. We are in Seydisfjordur and this is my first time here. I enjoyed just wandering around observing the early morning goings on. I saw one man dressed in reflective garments walking around pulling trash bins out of back yards to the street. You don't even have to take out your own trash barrel for pick up! Yes, we had a good time already here in Seydisfjordur! Thanks Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report. Today is Lazy Day, National S'mores Day and World Lion Day, all worthy of celebrating. Well, maybe not lazy day but sometimes I feel that way as do we all! The Dangerfield quote is quite funny. I will enjoy seeing the Easy Grilled Shrimp recipes from Tina @0106. Sounds yummy! Thanks to Dixie @summer slope for the Basil Berry Mojito recipe but I shall pass. Not sure what kind of wine that is but thanks go to Ann @cat shepard for describing it to us. And good to know the last King Charles (II) was doing a good job laying foundation stones back in 1675. I enjoyed visiting the Observatory during a London visit. Prayers for all on the Care list which unfortunately seems to add something every day. Those affected by the fires in Maui have my prayers and good wishes. So glad Denise @DeeniEncinitas is okay and hope that continues. Happy Birthday @Tbay and congrats to those also on the Celebration list with you. Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated and posting for us each day! Today's port is Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island. This port holds the honor of being our first Port of the Day listed here back on March 1, 2021 by Rich @richwmn He asked if we would like to try this feature and we all seemed to concur! It was also listed here on Jan. 19, 2022 and April 6, 2023. I have been there a several times so probably posted a photo or two. I'll add all the links so everyone can grab their photos promptly. When checking out my photos on the first date, March 1, 2021 they are not showing up on the Daily for that date. Must be too long ago! But the photos I posted on the Jan. 19, 2022 and April 6, 2023 show up, so here they are. In Dec. 2004 we first went to Georgetown on the old Dawn Princess. Here is a photo taken from the tender as we approached the town. We walked around but didn't take many pictures. I had no idea at the time I would be making photo books for all my cruises, so those early books had a very short supply of photos to choose from. That is the trip we met our late friend John and his wife Jean. We hit it off so well we decided to dine together all 10 days. It was amusing to see him scan the menu, then pick the "always available" steak, baked potato and a hot fudge sundae every single night! Might as well live it up when cruising, right? In Feb. 2019 we boarded the Rotterdam for a three week Caribbean cruise. We arrived in Georgetown after a 21 knot cruise from Curacao. While walking around the town we checked inside the Elmslie Memorial United Church. And the outside of the church. Then we saw the Peace Memorial Building with the historic clock tower outside it. The cenotaph where Remembrance Day ceremonies are held. Here's the Aspiration monument which is a tribute to Caymanian women located in Heroes Square. The Legislative Assembly Building. Another hot day in the Cayman Islands. I wonder what Debbie @dfish and Sue have on the schedule today here in Seydisfjordur? It will be fun waiting to see what she has to say and show us. I can probably get some pics of the little village off my phone posted here though it is a frustrating experience doing it that way. Sure wish I could get photos from Shutterfly and post them here on the laptop but that won't happen! See you all later!

We had a nice walk though it was pretty cloudy and cool today. We were surprised to see the huge church has the steps removed and it looks like they will have a lot of work rebuilding them. So we walked up the steep street to the right of it. Then over to the Botanical Garden. They still had flowers but no spring ones like the tulips we saw in June 2022. The troll everyone was taking photos with and me in the Akureyri heart. DH is not the finest photographer around and he only takes one! A trash can on a light pole with a knitted cover for it. This was the cutest one we saw. We came back to the ship and had lunch and wouldn’t you know it. The sun peeped out a few times! The three ships here today are Zaandam of course, Windstar Star Pride and a tiny expedition ship parked to our aft the Le Bellot from Ponant. Yesterday in Isafjordur we had Le Boreal from Ponant and Rivages du Monde World Explorer.

Good morning friends! We are here in Akureyri, Iceland where the temp is 49 and very cloudy. We hope to get up to 52 later on and it would be nice if the sun peeked out. As soon as I'm finished here we will walk into town and do what we did last June while here - walk to the big church on the hill and then see what the Botanical Garden has growing. My photos from June of 2022 show lots of pretty flowers but we are two months later this year so who knows? Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. A good group of days to celebrate - books, indigenous people, and the polka. I can't dance the polka but encourage others who like to, to go ahead and do it. I think I would like to be both loved and understood, Mr. George Orwell. The chicken dish sounds good but I am not sure about the drink or wine. Good for Mr. Diesel patenting his amazing new engine. Thanks go out to our wonderful reporters Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard . Prayers for our extensive Care list folks. I enjoy the good news we hear from those who have been in pain, or chemo, suffering all kinds of ills. 🙏 Congrats to those celebrating something, or cruising. Today is the first day of school for DD as she begins another year teaching 4th grade math, and no doubt science too. It's also the first day at the new Texas school for Ren who will be a junior this year. I wish both my family members well as they start this new school year. I'm betting Ren will find many new friends even though he misses his old ones. He's a fine young man.❤️ Thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping up with the lists for us. The port today is Cape Town, South Africa. We have only had it here once before, on March 18, 2022. I have not been though was scheduled to go there several times. I may just have to skip it! The link to March 18, 2022 is below for your convenience. I glanced through and see Lenda's photos on page 3 post 62 so that should make it easier for you Lenda! Graham @grapau27 your hydrangeas are beautiful! Even better knowing they were in your parent's garden years ago. I hope everyone has a great day, and pretty flowers to look at, too!

Your photos are beautiful today Debbie! Thank goodness the fog burned off. Praying this weather continues. 🙏🏻 Wonderful news today Annie!! Thanks to you and all who explain the differences in frozen custard and frozen yogurt. There’s a famous frozen custard place in St Louis called Ted Drewes I think. Never really went there.

Good morning friends! We arrived in Isafjordur before our 9 am official arrival time, to find they are in the process of building a dock here. Last summer we tendered over from Island Princess. They are still filling forms with concrete even as we are docked here and had to fashion a make-shift walk over the gravel and rebar where the dock isn't finished yet. Progress being made in this small town. Temp is around 52 according to my phone app but the TV still says 48. A layer of fog keeps appearing and disappearing at the base of the mountain. We'll get ready for a walk around town in a while. Thanks to Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. Many will be happy about it being International Cat Day. Frozen custard, is that the same as frozen yogurt? I guess I'll have to pass. And today is the day to unload some of those zucchini on your unsuspecting neighbors! Wear a disguise so you're not found out.🤣 The chicken enchiladas sound good, the drink and wine are probably not my cup of tea. The quote is a good one from old Abe. And the days in history excellent. Thank you Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your food and beverage reports! Our port today is Kanazawa, Japan Ishikawa. This was our port on Dec. 16, 2021 and May 28, 2022. I have no photos since I've only been to a couple of Japanese ports so please show your photos if you can. Here are the links for your convenience. Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for the C&C lists already this morning. Prayers for the many in need on the Care list. 🙏 Cheers to those celebrating and cruising. Thanks to Terry @smitty34877 for the amazing photo of Miss Camilla yesterday. She's all grown up and such a beauty. Hoping for good news for Baby Murphy now that the doc is back. Hoping for a fun jaunt around Isafjordur, our third visit here, then maybe a nap because this clock changing ahead so often is tiring me out considerably! Hope all have a great day ahead of them!

Sharon, glad to hear about the ocean views but sorry your cabin wasn’t upgraded yet. I agree the big showers are so nice. Sorry I don’t have info on F 1919 @mailmama.

Good morning friends! Well the clocks moved forward another hour last night and we're getting tired now! The time changes can stop! Thanks Rich @richwmn for posting our Daily and Fleet Report. We are at sea and every time I leave my cabin I'm notified I've left my air tags behind in the Greenland Sea. Thankfully they stay put and I always return to them. Such nice days today, friendship, forgiveness and lighthouses! I applaud them all. Love the quote too. Want to say thanks to our food and beverage ladies even if I don't mention the items. Thanks Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports. Also thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV for the lists today. Prayers for our group and others not mentioned that we know need our good wishes. Cheers to the celebrants and cruisers! Report from DS that last night's game with Miami and FC Dallas was a good one. The score was tied at 4-4 until penalty kicks took Miami over the edge. Messi is just too good, DS says. They had a wonderful time at the game. Port today is Heraklion (otherwise known as Iraklion), Greece. We had that port Sept. 2, 2021 and Sept. 26, 2022 so here are the links. And guess what? My photos appeared in those posts! I'll post them below too. Thanks to all who post their pics today! I had to check our 2014 Prinsendam Holy Land cruise itinerary to see if I had actually been to Iraklion (Heraklion), Greece. Yes, we had on Oct. 30, 2014. So I looked at the photo book I made to see what the story was for that port. Apparently it rained very hard, but we and our two friends walked off the ship anyway. I don't remember much except I believe we stood under an overhang for a while to escape the downpour. Luckily it didn't rain hard all day so we were able to walk around the town some. This would be a great port for a re-visit so I can learn more about it and see things through fresh eyes. Iraklion, or Heraklion Greece. This is the Koules fortress on the western pier of the harbor. It appears that you should build with what you have, so they did. Must be a lot of rock/stone here! The Town Hall also called the Venetian Loggia A marketplace STAY! A good place for people watching The Cathedral of Saint Minas is a magnificent Greek Orthodox cathedral which took 33 years to build due to major political interruptions. Can you believe the woodwork? It's beautiful inside. As we left you see the front elevation. The rain had stopped! This is the older, smaller Saint Minas. It was too small to meet the needs of the community so they built the larger cathedral next to it. Yes, I'd like to go back. I'm sure there's plenty of things we missed that day. Watch for Iraklion or Heraklion on your Greek itineraries. Have a great day today!

Have a great time!

Jacqui, we have also just booked the Nov. 9, 2024 Volendam 42 day Ultimate Mediterranean & Atlantic Passage cruise (see above posts). Could you please add us to the Bon Voyage list? Thanks!

Thank you. That sounds reassuring. We’re on Zaandam and the tub/showers are slippery and have more complicated hardware.

No, I’m sorry that you felt I was dismissing you! I agree and the deck plan website agrees that other categories got the upgrade. They flat out avoid mentioning the D category which is what I have booked. Your opinion has always been helpful to me in the past and I deeply apologize that you felt dismissed. 😕