StLouisCruisers

Good morning friends! It is 69F with an expected high of 93 and sunny skies. Again! Thank you Rich @richwmn for posting our Daily and Fleet Report this morning. We spoke with DS last night. He made it to Springfield in 10 hours and said if he didn't have a hotel room reserved he could have gone on further to Joplin, Missouri. He was enjoying dinner and would be tackling a day's worth of email and watch some soccer on TV. Today he continues on to Hot Dallas. Ren arrives by plane around 6:30 pm and then the adventure begins for him. All or Nothing Day sounds intriguing. Since we are going to be packing all day, we may not get it ALL done but certainly we don't want to get NOTHING done! It will probably be somewhere in the middle. We are almost out of aunts and uncles. I have none and DH has one aunt left. We had quite a few of them to begin with. I hope all the tofu eaters have a great day celebrating tofu all over the world. I'll pass. What a quote! Wow! The meal suggestion is Korean Beef Steak Tacos which I'm sure is very good. The cocktail has an interesting name. Another red wine I see. Thanks Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for reporting on them for us. More English history regarding modes of transportation. All important in people's lives at the time and to improve on for the future. Prayers said this morning for our Care list, DB and friend's DB Mark. Special prayers for Baby Murphy, Sam after his fall, and Chuck with his health issues. Also I want to remember my Twin who had to send Madi over the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. Of course she's heartbroken. 😪 For those with happy events in their lives, congratulations from me and I hope you enjoy your cruises, too. I certainly hope to! 🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your hard work keeping up the lists. Well, the port today is Pulau, Langkawi Island, Malaysia Kedah. Back on Feb. 14, 2023 Ann @cat shepard posted a different Pulau Penang Island, Georgetown Malaysia and that would be on a different Malaysian island (there are many). So I won't be linking to Feb. 14. Looks like if you've been to today's port of the day you will have to look for your photos on your own and please do post them for us. Hoping you all have a safe, cool, and wonderful Wednesday!

A parking light not being accurate in Singapore is probably not allowed!🤣

Speaking of Singapore being organized but regulated, have you seen their parking garages? They put lights over each parking space and you can stop at the end of the row, take a look down the row looking for a green light, meaning an open space. You can see one in this photo right next to the Mercedes. Also notice the local custom of backing into the parking space. DS was driving his in-law's second car while living there (nice bonus!) and it is the grey sedan parked on the other side of the Mercedes. He was always a rebel and pulled in front end first like he normally does at home in the U.S. Not against the law though! Hair appointment accomplished and I should be packing or making a list or something. But here I am reading Cruise Critic! Just wanted to clarify to Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser DS is driving alone to Texas (he claims he likes driving alone). DDIL will arrive next month and is staying home in A Squared (commonly known as Ann Arbor...LOL) with the elder son. DS will be with Ren in the meantime in Texas. Ren arrives tomorrow night. We spoke with DS and all is well on his drive so far. Yes, I hope they both can handle the heat down there. However, they are heading out to Virginia at the end of next week for a 3 day University of Virginia soccer camp he was invited to. Another chance for coaches to get a look at him. He's mostly interested in Notre Dame and UVA. DDIL is a graduate of UVA. Well, that's all the news on that front. I haven't spoken to Twin yet today. I'm a little afraid to find out what's happening there. She will be so distraught if Madi is gone. Better bite the bullet and get this over with though.😔

Our first time in Singapore was in January 2007 when DGS Ren was born there. I was able to stay 3 weeks and DH stayed maybe 8 days and went back to the US to work. Our DS was taking his first sabbatical from his U-M professorship over in Singapore because that is where our DDIL's parents lived. They were able to spend a lot of quality time with the two of them during that time period. Right in the middle of their 10 or 11 months there was Ren's due date, so we made plans ahead of time to arrive a week or so later and it worked out fine. We had a great visit and were able to get some good cuddling in with him even though they lived so far from all of us. Second trip was a cruise with friends from Myrtle Beach on Diamond Princess from Bangkok to Anchorage. We had a really nice time with them. DDIL's Mom picked us up on our port stop in Singapore and she spent the day showing us (and our friends who hadn't been there before) some great sights, and both DDIL's Mom and Dad were able to be there for a nice lunch at the American Club. The last time we were there was in 2013 during DS's second sabbatical. We found a group of cruises that left from Singapore, and went to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. At the end of the cruise we flew home from Auckland on Christmas Eve. At the beginning of the cruise we flew over to Singapore and spent about 8 days visiting the kids before they dropped us off at the ship. I have some nice photos from that trip. The first day in 2013 (after a good sleep) we went to the boys' school (just down the street from their apartment) which was having an International Day assembly. There were students from about 80 countries represented and all the parents would cheer when their children and the other children from that country marched out. This school was called the Canadian International School. DS and DDIL checked out several schools before they moved over to make sure they got the type of education they needed. Here is a photo after all the students marched out and sat down. We enjoyed our visit to the school that day. Some of the American kids. Ren is in that picture. We took the MRT train downtown one day to see the Orchard Road shopping area. It was quite nice. Another day we visited the Nanyang Technological University where DS was a visiting professor during his sabbatical. It was all very, very nice. They like things neat in Singapore! One night we went down to the Marina and ate dinner. Here is the Merlion near the restaurant. We saw the beautiful Marina Bay Sands hotel lit up at night. Gorgeous! Another day we went to the Singapore Botanic Garden. We spent most of our time in the orchid section and I must have 50 photos of orchids so can't share them all here. The following day DDIL, DH and I went downtown on the MRT to see the National Art Museum. The art exhibits on the grounds were really interesting. Later that day we went to the far western side of the little island nation to Raffles Marina to celebrate DS's birthday. His in-laws had a membership there. The kids really enjoyed the pool before dinner. You can see the bridge from Singapore to Malaysia from the marina there. Our last full day before the cruise DS took us up to the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Wow, what a view! Here's the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest seen from way up high. The amazing Gardens by the Bay I zooomed in to show the new, at the time, International Cruise Ship terminal. We would be there the following day boarding Diamond Princess. Holding my camera way out The Singapore Flyer Guests in the infinity pool. Can you imagine what that view is like? Merlion is down there To me Singapore is the most amazing place to visit in the entire region. Glad I could spend so much time there.

Good morning friends! What a pretty morning here! It's is 66F and we will see sunny skies but a high temp of 93. As long as I stay in my air conditioned environment, I'm fine with that. I have a hair appointment this morning and my stylist texted me she is good to go today after a knee procedure last Tuesday. She can always pull up a stool and sit down to work if her knee starts to bother her. She's a trooper and as owner of the salon, a dedicated to work individual. Thank you Rich @richwmn for today's Daily and Fleet Report. Interesting group of days to celebrate. But first let me add a very important day - Hire a Veteran Day. We want those who serve our country to find good jobs after their service. Now let's talk about Culinarians Day which honors cooks, chefs, bakers, etc. I certainly appreciate those individuals. National Chili Dog Day deserves a little praise once in a while. We only have them occasionally here at my house. And Threading the Needle Day...I would bet this has many different meanings. But the task of just threading a needle gets harder all the time. I'm sure I've heard that term regarding sports too. Now the quote from Mark Twain is one of my favorites of his. The meal suggestion, garlic shrimp stir fry sounds great. I'm not a fan of espresso so will leave the cocktail to others. And thank you to the red wine. Thanks go out to Tina @0106 . Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your hard work reporting on the food and beverages. The day in history in 1814 must have been very important in the world of transportation way back then. Prayers abound for our people on the Care list, especially Lou and Chuck, DHs of our Terry @smitty34877 and Annie @marshhawk. Also to Baby Murphy and her family, my DB and my friend's DB Mark. 🙏 Joy @Seasick Sailor I'm sorry to hear of the runaround the VA is giving you and Allen. As for celebrations, three cheers for all on the Celebration list and for Roy @rafinmd who has set his sights on travel again!🥂 Interesting news in our family is today DS will drive his DW's SUV to Springfield Missouri where he will spend the night. Then tomorrow he finishes the drive to Frisco, Texas where they are renting an apartment for Ren and his DM to live during his time at FC Dallas Academy. Ren will arrive by plane tomorrow evening and begin workouts Thursday. I'm not sure when his high school classes begin but probably before too long. Safe travels to DS and my prayers go with him as he travels. Oh boy, today's port is once again Singapore! Last and only time we had it here on the Daily was December 24, 2022. We were on our drive to Cincinnati for Christmas so I was a late poster that day. Here is the link to Roy's post on December 24. We have spent time on land trips there as well as cruised through or from Singapore due to DS's sabbatical there twice, a year at a time. I think I will post the photos in a separate post. Hoping everyone here has a fabulous Tuesday!

No you're not an idiot! HAL makes it very hard to find things. @zelker provided the link (see above in her post) or I never would have found it on my own.

I just applied for both of us, same AARP number of course, but at the last second I used a different email address for myself than for him, and it went through immediately. I may not have needed to do that but thought they might reject us with same email address. We board a HAL ship on Saturday and there's no way we get any extra OBC that soon. I could ask my agent to look into it though she will think it's a wild goose chase.

For Terry @smitty34877, Graham @grapau27, Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, Susan @durangoscots thanks for your warm wishes for dear Twin and Madi. Also to Annie @marshhawk hoping and praying Chuck can get that eye infection under control, and the Wednesday MRI and doctor appointments go better than expected. Meanwhile, take care of yourself! Hope the appointment with PT goes okay, whatever time it actually turns out to be.🤷‍♀️ Rich @richwmn Chick-Fil-A would be my first choice too, though I wouldn't turn down a drive thru at Wendy's, McDonalds, Burger King, or even Taco Bell. I've only eaten at Zaxby's a couple of times but it was enjoyable too. Edited because I forgot, but thanks @1ANGELCAT for some good news today! I'm very pleased the PA State trooper is out of the hospital and into the rehab facility. I wish him and his family the very best!

I can concur that some are having a really tough time right now. My twin is beside herself with concern and sadness about a loved one's situation. In addition to that, her 14 1/2 year old Golden Retriever Madi is in very poor health right now, not eating and barely drinking. Having had some tests done they are awaiting word from the Vet on whether today is the day for precious Madi to go over the Rainbow Bridge. She describes her life as h e l l right now and nothing I can say will make it any better. Hoping everyone here that is going through "something" has a brighter day on the horizon.

Melisa, we knew what you meant. We all have that Oops moment, and sometimes pretty often! I too, hope Roy @rafinmd has great outcomes after his appointments this week. Time to get some cruising in! I've started pulling clothing and toiletries together. It's a start! I have a hair appointment tomorrow morning unless my hairdresser isn't recovered from her medical procedure last Tuesday. She was taking a week off and tomorrow is her first day back. Fingers crossed all goes as planned.

Carol @mamaofami I'm very sorry to hear about Sam's fall out of bed. I sincerely hope he doesn't require surgery, and that he recovers quickly so he can get back home to you. 🙏 Prayers for both of you.

Good morning friends! We are at 67 and clear with a high of 85 and sunny skies expected. A typical summer day. Thank you Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report for Monday. Interesting days! I would be happy to honor Amelia Earhart for the part she played in aviation history. It's so unfortunate how her life ended though. I have many cousins but they all live in my former state so I don't see them often. Twin hears from some of them occasionally. What a brave group of people our pioneers were! Moving across our land to new and unknown places looking for a better life. As for the quote, I enjoy life more than reading though it plays an important part in my daily existence. The meal today is quite descriptive but I would probably prefer something simpler. No idea about the drink but the wine sounds like a red. I guess I will pass on all three. Thanks to Tina @0106, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your valuable insight into the food and beverages. Another important day for Canada in the day in history mention this morning. Prayers were said this morning for our Care list people which I hope is getting smaller. Also my DB and my friend's DB Mark. Extra prayers for little Baby Murphy so let's hope we get some encouraging news about her this week. 🙏 Cheers to all on the Celebration list, and I hope the cruises are going well! Right now I have neighbors on one side on the Volendam, and the neighbors on the other side of me headed to Rome to join the Oceania Vista for the next few weeks. Then we are leaving at the end of this week. Cruising is well represented here in my little section of the 'hood! Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for the time you spend keeping track with us all!🥂🎉 Burnie, Australia in Tasmania is the port of the day. We have seen it here twice before on June 4, 2021 and December 4, 2022. We visited there twice in 2017 and though we didn't do much more than walk around and explore the town, it was worthwhile to us. Here are the links to the prior dates to retrieve your photos. Whenever I see June 4, 2021 I remember that is the day my DS died. I was very close to her and miss her a lot. In October, November and December 2017 we enjoyed B2B2B2B cruises on the Sun Princess, taking in all of Australia, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Bonus was the number of times we got to spend a day in Sydney. It was our initial embarkation port, turnaround days port, and disembarkation day port so we were able to sail in and out of there many times. It was a great trip and I'll always remember it fondly. The first day in Burnie was Oct. 11, 2017 and the ship had a shuttle bus to run us into downtown and back. This made it easy for shopping trips. We like to get things like bottles of water, toiletries, chocolates, snacks, etc. The drop off point was at the visitor's center/museum/art center shown here. Next to that building was a walkway along the shore. DH calls himself my pack mule. He has the water, the umbrella, the extra gloves, hats, rain jackets etc. in his backpack. The weight makes for extra help with his cardio though! A look over our shoulders at the visitor center. At the end of the boardwalk was this strange looking fountain/sculpture. The fountain wasn't on but it had jets where water would shoot up in the air. An interesting spot we passed. Fish market or restaurant? 🙄 Not a lot of pedestrians here but the ship passengers made up most of the crowds on the street. The grocery store we shopped in. After this we went back to the ship. Our next stop in Burnie would be in 27 more days. After our circumnavigation of Australia (fantastic cruise) and a lovely turnaround day in Sydney we headed south again to Tasmania. It was November 7, 2017. This was a sunny day. We were dropped off at the regional museum (and library) this time. There was a monument nearby for the Van Diemen's Land Company. I found this description of their purpose on the internet: The Van Diemen ’s Land company was first formed in 1824, with a group of wool merchants and mill operators, coming together with bankers and investors in London, with the aim to develop northwestern Tasmania as productive farming land, primarily for the export of wool. Near here was the Burnie Arts Building. And this church. I noticed the SUV parked out front with the exhaust that goes up to vent out near the roof of the vehicle. Someone must be doing some off road driving in deep water! By this time we needed to head to the grocery to pick up more water and other goods since we still had a long way to go on this cruise. Next day we were at Port Arthur which is a favorite place of mine to visit in Tasmania. Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

I wasn't aware of this app but it looks like it could be helpful. Thanks for pointing it out. Chuck wishes his delay in the security line was only 30 minutes! Fingers crossed for good weather and smaller crowds this Friday!🤞 That's beause you are an honest, caring human being. Some people could care less, or worse!

How awful for your great nephew! I do hope he fully recovers from this accident. Youngsters heal so much faster than we do, don't they? I know, right?? They deserve at LEAST a tongue lashing!

Rich, I really appreciate your input on the curbside check in. Our driver says that is on the lower level, and once the bags are checked we just go straight thru a tunnel and up to security. DH said maybe it is on the lower level because then it's a straight shot out to the baggage sorting area. Who knows? Every time we check bags upstairs at the check-in desks, it's a madhouse of people at the kiosks and long lines waiting for the agents to take the bags. What a waste of time! And we will definitely try to find the shortest TSA pre-check entry point.

Terri, I'm glad to say we purchased air tags and will have them in our luggage just in case something goes missing. Even carry on pieces that stay with you can go missing such as in your case. Thank goodness that concierge was persistent with those people who insisted they didn't have your carry on. Did they really have no idea your bag was in their room? I wonder... Thank you for Chuck's warning about TSA. Does he have TSA pre-check? We do and that may help us but I am concerned about long lines at ATL Friday morning. Before I saw this I had just written an email to our driver (lives in neighborhood), and had told him to come an extra 15 minutes early but even now am debating how much time we need. I don't want to miss that flight! Has anyone used curbside check in for checking your bags, especially at Atlanta's airport? I wonder if that would save us time versus inside the terminal. It's usually a zoo in that area! If it were up to me I'd go 4 hours ahead of flight time but DH says I'm obsessing.

Enjoy your amazing Alaska cruise!

Thank you everyone! It's going to be a blast meeting up with our dear Daily friends.

A very special week in your family! Happy birthday wishes to your son and daughter. I hope you get to see them to help celebrate. Thank you Graham. You are a very thoughtful person!

Good morning friends! I have 69F with the sun recently risen. High will be 89 and sunny today. Thanks Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report. Hmmm. The Day of the Cowboy probably won't affect me at all, but all the cowboys out there should have a roarin' good time. Vanilla Ice Cream Day will be celebrated this evening when I have a little treat after dinner. And drowning prevention would be a great goal, I just wish I knew of all the ways that is accomplished besides life jackets. Better read up on it. I would probably pass on the Tempeh Buffalo Wings but appreciate the effort it takes to research them Tina @0106, and the time it takes to prepare them. Wow, what a name for the cocktail today! And I could say the same thing about the wine! Thank you Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard. Interesting tidbit about Upper and Lower Canada. Prayers for our people in need, especially poor little Baby Murphy who continues to have setbacks after going forward a step or two. 🙏 Today would have been my DMIL's 97th birthday. Her mother and one sister lived to those ages, but sadly DMIL did not. Still a long life! Hurray for the lucky people celebrating happy events in their lives! Happy Birthday Dixie @summer slope. Smooth sailing to the sailors, and I hope the new cold Terri @Cruzin Terri has isn't too awful. Also that there is nothing seriously wrong with her new HVAC unit at home which doesn't seem to be working properly. Maybe it's just the thermostat Terri. Good luck! The port of the day is Naha in Okinawa, Japan. We had this port previously on March 21, 2021 and April 14, 2022. Here are the links to those dates. I went to Okinawa once and may have posted some photos and if so will post them afterward. We were there in 2010 on Diamond Princess on our Asia cruise. That is where our ship docked and we got off to look around a bit. I'm happy to see some photos posted here of the many attractions others have enjoyed. These same dancers greet all the ships it seems. Costumes up close. Everyone's favorite shopping street. I can't imagine picking this jar of snakes to take home as a souvenir. Look at those fangs! The covered pedestrian street. Heading back to the ship. I hope today is a pleasant and calm day here at the Daily and in your own lives as well. Stay safe!

Thank you Jake @Crazy For Cats. I was thinking the hotel staff might have some good idea of the best way to handle the trip to the ship Saturday morning. I'll give them a call when hopefully they aren't too busy. I hope all our prayers for sweet baby Murphy are being heard and helping her.

Lorraine @cruising sister it breaks my heart to read about the latest setback for Baby Murphy. Prayers abound for her and the medical team in charge of her. Precious baby. Vanessa @JazzyV happy birthday wishes to your BFF. Hope the dinner tonight is great! Denise @Denise T what a sweet dog! The name Fancy is so cute. Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser your offer is gladly accepted to find the links each day. Thank you! Yes, Friday is travel day and we leave here very early. Flight is at 9:44 and we need to be sure to leave enough time to navigate the crowds at the Atlanta airport. We're having someone drive us who lives in the the development and has done this for many residents over the years. Better than the rental care routine which is 3 times higher cost than it used to be. Gerry @ger_77 I'm sorry to hear of the bad news today about your friends. I join you in cursing cancer--it took my Dear Dad. Jacqui @kazu the same sentiment for your friend's DH's diagnosis. So sorry! DGD Ashley found her wedding dress today. I saw photos and she will be (and already is) stunning! Simply gorgeous. I talked to my friend whose brother Mark has bile duct cancer. Apparently the doctor who placed tubes for drainage of the bile did not do a great job of it, and the second doctor is very upset. Having to go back to get the tubes done properly is delaying the radiologist who has plans for Mark. He's been fighting this cancer for 4 years now. Jake @Crazy For Cats have a great cruise! Sounds like an awesome start. I wondered if you knew how bad the Ted Williams Tunnel is to get from the airport to the cruise port. I might try that plan next Saturday morning (hotel shuttle to airport then taxi to port). My friend said she'd buy transfers from HAL instead of a taxi though. What are your thoughts?

Zaandam is just starting to move. Looks like the journey has begun for Debbie, Sue, Jake and Juan.

YAY!! I'm excited for you two. I hope that will be me and DH onboard by noon next week! Better get that packing started...

I've remembered a happy event for me to celebrate this weekend. DGD Ashley (one with the German Shepherd) is wedding dress shopping today! Little sis is home from college in Tampa to go along since she is Maid of Honor. DD and the future DMIL, along with bridesmaids will make up the rest of the entourage. I hope she gets to say YES to the dress today!👰