Sharon in AZ

Thank you Joy. The Oosterdam might be a rust bucket but the service and food are great. We were on her last year in the Med. They took wonderful care of DH during his covid quarantine and me when I was by myself. Many times the MDR managers would check on me especially if I wasn’t eating much (I’m a light eater). The food was fantastic and the staff was great. Just remember it isn’t a Pinnacle class ship and it’s older. Enjoy it for what it is. BTW, the style and design of the Ocean Bar is my favorite. Thank you Maxine. I’m hoping we can see her one more time but with our company coming it might be tight. Not sure how long someone can survive without water or food.

Thank you Lenda. No, Craig’s sister and husband bought this in Show Low as their retirement home and their brother lives there also. I think it’ll do her good to just get away to a lower altitude. Thank you Jacqui. Thank you Debbie.

Good early afternoon from a hot Tucson at 96F and the humidity is 27%. It really isn’t that bad but if you are out and about it feels worse. We got some news yesterday, good and bad. Good is that Craig’s DS & DBIL are coming for the weekend from Show Low. She is his sister who had covid early on and almost died and then got it again. Her lungs haven’t been good since. They need a change of scenery so are coming to Tucson. Bad news is that my DM’s sister, who is 3 years younger than she is, is not doing good. She had several falls this past year and after the last one when she broke her leg refused PT and hasn’t walked since, so about 6 months, and she was released from rehab center in early June. I knew she was having a hard time with eating but now it’s become nonexistent. Hospice says she has days. My cousin said yesterday she was unresponsive. I took DM to see her this morning and oh my she perked up. My cousin and uncle said that she hadn’t acted like that in days. She was kissing and touching and opening her eyes and smiling. Cousin and uncle said it was a miracle. However, of course, it won’t last. My DM is heartbroken. But it was the best thing to do. I think both sisters feel better just being together. There are only 3 siblings left out of 13 and all 3 are in their 90’s. Have a great day everyone!

I did a bit of research looking at maps and Halibut Cove and Halibut Point are different places. Halibut Cove is near Homer and Halibut Point is the Sitka cruise dock in Sitka Sound. The road into Sitka is called Halibut Point Road. So I guess today’s port is just another way of saying Sitka cruise port. The first time we went to Sitka we anchored and tendered and it was right at the town in the bay. I believe some ships still do that if the cruise port is full. We saw a cruise ship anchored when we were there September 2021.

Happy Anniversary @grapau27Graham and Pauline! You two were as cute and photogenic then as you are today.

Bruce, I am so sorry for your family’s loss.

Good evening. We are currently having a thunderstorm but doesn’t sound like a lot of rain yet. Spent all morning and the early afternoon with DM at a retina appointment and then lunch. The appointment took over two hours. I love making sheet pan nachos. It’s great for using up leftovers. I might save some carnitas for some soon. I retrieved my only picture from Avalon. I have been to Avalon, Catalina twice. Most recently this past October on the Koningsdam, Jane @lazey1, Maxine & DH @AncientWanderer, Linda @lindalerwere also on that cruise. Linda arranged for Seth Wayne to join our M&G, he was very entertaining and has quite a history with cruising. (Sad he’s no longer with HAL.). Wejust walked around the waterfront area and had lunch. Itwas a very enjoyable day. I went to look at the pictures Itook and Craig must have taken them because I only have our food. Calamari and Sand Dabs. Have a great evening!

I actually had just checked the weather and we are forecasted for rain about 10 tonight and all night. It wasn’t like that earlier. Maybe it’s the tail end of the storm. So sad about the saguaros falling! I hope your yard is okay. I’ve seen pictures of huge saguaros falling on houses and causing damage. We’ve been concerned about our fruitless Olive tree in our front yard. It has split near the base and one side was really loose. We had the yard guy trim it back and he thinks it’s stable but Craig doesn’t. He keeps talking about taking it out. I hate to start over with a new Olive tree. We also have one in the backyard but it’s fine and I don’t think it’s going anywhere.

Good morning and Happy Sunday. We have a wind advisory starting about now from the storm. I can hear it getting stronger. Supposed to last until 10pm. I don’t think we will get rain though. @cruising sister, be prepared for a bumpy landing at the airport. The meal suggestion today looks good. I love sun dried tomatoes. I made a pork shoulder overnight in the crockpot for carnitas today. We will have carnitas burrito bowls for lunch and I’ll freeze most of the leftovers. It’s good for all kinds of meals. I haven’t been to Bonaire but have been to Aruba and Curaçao. Someday I’ll get the ABC islands checked off my list. Have a great day everyone.

Good morning and Happy Saturday. It’s only supposed to be 96F today but the humidity is high. I’m not sure how the hurricane will affect us if at all. Be safe @Nickelpenny when you drive to CA. I hope So Cal doesn’t have too much damage. I like all the days and the meal sounds good too. Best I ever had was made by my BFF’s mother, very authentic, and her family owned several Chinese restaurants. One was in SF’s Chinatown but isn’t there any longer. Bruce @aliaschief and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser , thank you both so much for your wood chip recommendations. I have so many mesquite chunks left but will now only use them on beef to use them up. I have some chips and I think one is cherry so I’ll try that next. Lenda, we don’t have a smoker we just use the Weber and I put the chips on top of the briquettes after Craig starts them. Sometimes I put them in foil and sometimes I’m lazy and just put them directly on the coals. That’s one reason why I really like the chunks now because they last longer. Have a great day everyone!

We were on the Volendam in May and Tracy Arm was canceled due to lack of participation. We still arrived in Juneau at the scheduled time. I always love the “Express Lunch” that day in the MDR because it’s fish and chips.

I’ve done the ferry and then taxied to the Hotel del Coronado and it didn’t take that long. It’s fun taking the ferry because you get to see more of the harbor. However, since you want to get back to the ship early you might want to taxi or Uber over and then take the ferry back if you have the time.

Good evening all! Had a busy day taking DM for pedicures and getting her new glasses and lunch. Lunch was difficult because she couldn’t hear me over the sound system. We ordered pizza and salad each and I asked for mine to go and then forgot about it until I got home. Happy Birthday @Mr. Boston! Enjoy. We visited St Thomas on our very first cruise in 1987 on the Noordam. Since then we have been many more times and a few watches too. With final payment day coming in October on our Hawaii cruise I finally have started to do some work on excursions. I have been waffling about whether to even go, mainly due to a certain poster being on the same cruise, but after looking at current prices decided that we should do it now. We haven’t been to Hawaii since 1984. Thiis is who is on our cruise. I finally stopped reading the roll call. I decided that I can’t let one person determine my enjoyment and will actively avoid said person. I won’t be attending the M&G. Have a great evening!

Lenda, I’ve been meaning to ask you what type of wood you use to smoke, and also, do you use chips or chunks? I recently discovered chunks and like them so much better than chips. But I’m having trouble with flavor. I’m using mesquite but I didn’t like the flavor of my ribs this last time, however my chicken and steak are wonderful. I’m thinking that I need to try a different wood for ribs. Today I’m doing Cornish Game Hens and using the mesquite.

@VMax1700, I’m really enjoying your Live From thread. I remember watching a Netflix special about the Castle. I believe it was a series about castles. It looked interesting. Thank you for taking your cruise time to share.

I found only videos of Hubbard Glacier on Craig’s phone so did a screenshot. However, it doesn’t compare to what others have posted. And spectacular pictures of all the calving! Wow, wow, wow!! That’s a bummer Joy. We’ve been there just once and I’d love to go back. Debbie, I hope you feel better tomorrow.

We have been to Hubbard Glacier once on June 5, 2019 on the Oosterdam. It really feels like the glacier is floating in the sea because it’s so big. Absolutely beautiful. I’ll have to check Craig’s pictures to see if he has some close up ones. All of my others are videos.

This is from my post on January 19, 2022: (sorry for the repeats) ***************************************************************** We have been to Grand Cayman at least twice. Most recent was January 2015 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We just walked around and then had lunch on an outside patio with views of the ships. It was a nice relaxing day. Have a great day everyone!

From March 1, 2021: ************************************************************************************** @richwmn I love the idea of Port of the Day! We’ve been to Grand Cayman twice. The first time was around 1999 and we ate lunch at a British restaurant and I don’t have a clue what else we did. We like to search out local restaurants. The second time was January 2015 and we went to a little cafe for coffee (me) and coke (DH) and pastry. We were really just interested in their WiFi. After walking around a bit we went to a restaurant DH had scoped out for lunch.

Good morning and Happy Thursday. The reports and pictures about Lahania are horrific. We are supposed to go there in February but that won't happen now. I've never been and I was really looking forward to it. The meal suggestion today is one I regularly make in the summer and especially when we go the cabin on Mt Lemmon, also one of Craig's favorites. I've made a version that includes clams but wanted to try something different this time so made Joanna Gaines version and it was very good. https://magnolia.com/blog/recipe/3fe2d9a7-d719-4a94-a795-b3ba1842c244/shrimp-boil/ I par cooked the potatoes and corn and I'm sure you could just use Cajun or Creole seasoning for all the spices. It's really easy! I didn't use the oven method because the oven up there is hot and hard to reach sitting on the floor so I put it all in foil and cooked it on the grill. Thank you for your recipes Tina. Craig had dental work done yesterday for an implant and he didn't feel well the rest of the day but today is fine. We have been to Grand Cayman twice. I don't really remember what we did the first time, back in the late 90's, but I remember eating at a British Pub. The last time was January 2015 on the Nieuw Amsterdam, the same cruise we went to Rio Secreto on the ferry from hell and Key West for the key lime pie on a stick. I'm going to look for pictures from Sandi's links to post separately. Prayers to all and happy celebrations! Have a great day!

Good early afternoon and Happy Tuesday. We must have had a lot of wind overnight because the backyard and pool were a mess. Craig has it all cleaned up now and is in the pool enjoying a movie or a book. Blue is on his third or fourth nap after playing with his lambchop and I’m getting ready to make lunch. I made a pot of beans in the crockpot yesterday to have for lunch today but they came out really spicy. I’m going to doctor them up and hopefully they won’t be as spicy. I think it was the chipotle chili powder that I used. I’m also going to be make cornbread. What can I say about enchiladas? I really think it’s personal preference but IMO they are never made with flour tortillas. I usually don’t use a recipe and have to confess that I’ve never made the sauce from scratch. There are some really good canned sauces available. There is a brand called Hatch Valley that is really good. The other issue are the softness of the corn tortillas. They crumble if not cooked before rolling with filling. I’ve tried multiple different ways including frying them but found that spraying both sides with baking spray, like Pam (TJ’s has a good version), then baking them at 350F for 4-5 minutes a side works best and much easier. I even use this method to make tacos but cook them a little longer and add cheese to the tops for the last few minutes, yum. Chicken and cheese are my favorite but just cheese is good too. So…. Those are my thoughts about enchiladas! Annie @marshhawk congratulations on the great report! @RMLincoln Quebec City is a beautiful place! Are you overnighting there? We’ve been there 4 times and last time in October we stayed at the Château Frontenac. They have a great free walking tour for guests and I’m not sure but it might be available for non guests for a cost. I wasn’t able to complete the entire tour because I wasn’t feeling well but Craig did he really enjoyed it. The food is fantastic too! If you like Christmas stuff there is a great store I can look up for you. I bought some really unique things and they even mailed it to me. Have a great day everyone!

Joy, little Oliver is so adorable! And that pink nose and ears! It makes me want to brush his hair backwards to fluff it up more. BTW, thank you for your prayers for sweet "S". She is doing better but please keep praying because it's so hard for a teenager searching for their place in this crazy world.

I'm not @smitty34877 but Little Miss Camilla was born during shutdown, I believe around June 2021 or was it 2020? --Terry correct me if I'm wrong about the timing. She was born premature and we all were there every day thinking of her and praying for her. Her father wasn't there at the beginning because he was working on a ship....Terry I don't remember his vocation. Terry kept us updated and posted an occasional picture.... wow, she has grown so much! (I'm hoping Terry can fill in the blanks.) So, she is a very special baby to us all, watching her get well and grow. I am hoping, praying and the best that little Baby Murphy does the same.

I thought of something else that was nice about her cabin. The desk stool was replaced with a brand new looking chair. My stool was heavy and awkward to move and I ended up not even using it. BTW, I looked it up and it was 1858.

Oh my how she has grown!!