0106

Happy Halloween! I like the Bronte quote. I think it is important to value our own happiness and not to conform to what society expects of us. Thank you @dfish for our daily recipes. I love tofu; it is good for you and good for the planet. It takes on the flavor of whatever sauce you are using. I encourage everyone to give it another try. An easy way would be to ask for a stir-fry dish at the Distant Lands station the next time you are on a BHB. Thank you for everyone who post port pictures, my favorite part of the Daily. I second @StLouisCruisers suggestion to read The Guernsey Literary Society and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. It is based a true events about what happened in Guernsey when the Germans occupied it during WWII. A special shout out to @sailingdutchy @Vict0riann @kochleffel who are getting ready to sail from Barcelona on the Oosterdam. I'm interested in the condition of the ship and any ongoing upgrades because I will be sailing on her around South America in February. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

8188 is not under the pool. It is by the rail. It is my preferred location. Minimal noise setting up chairs in an(about 7) and stacking them in the evening (usually when I am at dinner). Just saw your post. I think you’ll love it.

Get a deck plan, look at the locations and call immediate they will be gone. 8188 is an aft cabin! That would be my choice.

The HIA beverage package can be used to”buy” canned water when leaving the ship. It will count as one of your 15 drinks per day.

Liqor 43 tastes like vanilla and citrus. You make a Carajillo by combining expresso and Liquor 43. They have Liquor 43 onboard. The problem would be the espresso. You could probably get one at the Dutch Cafe. If not, order a shot of Liqor 43 at any bar on ice. Go get your own espresso and pour it in the glass with the 43. It is a chilled drink. A popular sweet drink with 43 is a Creamsicle: vodka, 43, OJ and cream

I prefer deck 8 for the access to the Lido. There is some noise when they pick up the chairs in the evening and replace them in the morning. We are early risers so it has never bothered us and are usually at dinner when they pick them up. Noise has never been a problem during the day. Here is a picture looking over our deck on the Zuiderdam (sister ship) during a Panama Canal cruise. You can see how the decks step out.

Yes

This Eliot quote is from the poem Little Gidding which is part of the Four Quartets. Written during WWII, these poems are about a nation (a culture) that is severely under threat. I believe the message is that understanding the unity of the past, present and future is what is necessary for salvation. My students found a quote from the song Closing Time by Semisonic that I think sums up the meaning of the Eliot quote in simpler terms, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” Thoughts to ponder in today’s world too.

If you get motion sensor night lights they will turn on automatically. I have them right beside the bed. As soon as my feet hit the floor the go on. I hope you and your DH have better days in the future.

Cauliflower Parmesan sounds like a great meat to me! Thanks @dfish Debbie. This is my most request casserole Silver Palate’s Cauliflower Gratinee wonderful for pot lucks and family dinners. I’ll be making it for Thanksgiving. For those of you that haven’t seen Rebel Without a Cause, I highly recommend this classic coming of age movie. I use motion sensor night lights. It is much easier than turning on the lights in the middle of the night. I have these which plug into an outlet and go off automatically after 20 seconds but there are many different types. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

FYI- i just returned from a TA on the Rotterdam. A man was turned away from the MDR for wearing jeans and a t-shirt on dressy night. My DH wears a shirt & tie with khakis and fits right in with the variety of outfits on dressy night.

No gnocchi in Canaletto on the Rotterdam last week. @leerathje No one will ever be able to top a Nonna’s cooking!

My freezer is full of homemade soup. I think I still eat canned tomato soup for nostalgic reasons. It was one of my favorite meals as a kid. My Mom always served it with grilled cheese that I dunked in the soup.

I’m enjoying all the soup recipes! I always use a pinch of baking soda in my tomato soup. (I’ll admit to making a can of Campbell’s Tomato soup occasionally; I always add milk, not water.) It helps prevent the milk from curdling and cuts down on the acidity. After reading all the meatball recipes yesterday, I decided to try again with ground beef. For the first time, I soaked the bread crumbs in milk and I tried not to over mix the meat. They were much more tender than the ones I made the day before. Now my freezer is stocked with meatballs for an evening I don’t feel like cooking. Thanks @dfish Debbie! Once again, I am saddened by another mass shooting. I have been busy writing letters today. Our voices do make a difference. Let yours be heard.

Can one stateroom receive OBC for teacher appreciation, AARP membership and stockholder benefit? If the stateroom took advantage of “pay early” (in this case it is only 1 month early) can that OBC be stacked too? I have searched and the best I can determine is that only one of each can be stacked.(For example, not 2 teacher appreciation in the same cabin.)

Happy Wednesday! Getting back into our usual routine after the cruise. Last night, I tried to make meatballs like the veal and sage ones served in Canaletto. They tasted good but weren’t as tender. Maybe I’ll learn something from the recipes that @dfish posts today. I’ll celebrate music today. I worked at a club that had a lot of punk bands in the early eighties. Had pink hair, wore lots of black. My favorite was Joan Jett, maybe because she is a big fan of the Orioles. She usually sings the national anthem at a game once a year. St Lucia is a beautiful island if you get outside the port: volcanoes, rain forests and waterfalls. Those pictures are predigital so I’ll share two from our cruise on the Rotterdam in February. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

My husband walked last week to benefit Ukraine on the Rotterdam. On deck for a cause has been on every itinerary we have sailed.

Good Mornings! I have been reading but not posting except occasionally on Jacqui’s live thread. Thank you for the “welcome home” @JazzyV @StLouisCruisers @Quartzsite Cruiser We self disembarked at 7:40 and have been sitting at the gate at FLL since 8:30 waiting for our 10:40 flight so I have time to post. We enjoyed all the ports; my DH especially enjoyed our trip to Normandy with Overlord tours because his father fought there. The Roll call organized a book club; we read The Hiding Place. Although I was not a fan of the book, I truly admire the action the Ten Boom family took to hide their Jewish neighbors. Our second book club meeting, we discussed banned books. Guess I’ve been thinking a lot about WWII. The Wiesel quote makes me think about the importance of action, not indifference. We missed our port in the Azores due to high seas. We had 9 sea days in a row. Although some people wanted more activity, I truly enjoyed them. My DH just ask me what we ere having for dinner so I guess it’s back to reality.🤣

Land! Sunrise over Half Moon Cay. Last night, the Ocean Bar band played at the Seaview pool. Unfortunately, it had rained earlier in the evening and it wasn’t well advertised. Regardless, those of us who were there enjoyed the music under the stars. I wish they would have played earlier in the cruise.

For the first time this cruise, the internet was completely down for about 6 hours. Food is very subjective but we have been very happy with our fixed table for 2 in the MDR; dinner usually takes about an hour. Our waiter has quickly learned our likes(tea after dinner) and dislikes (no need for a bread basket because we won’t eat it). Although the portions are a bit smaller, we have only had room for dessert once. They are happy to adjust the sides to your taste. If you like vegetables, I suggest you ask for extra. After an average dinner with poor service in the Pinnacle, I wasn’t sure if we should return…but we needed to spend our OBC so we just had lunch there. My spinach & arugula salad was excellent; my DH thought the tomato broth soup was too spicy but it says spicy in the description. I tasted it and thought it was very good. He loved his Pinnacle burger; my cioppino was good. We shared a coconut trifle was was weird, it was served in a water glass about 1/3 full of three layers of pudding. The service was excellent and attentive. They cleaned the Seaview pool yesterday so it will be sparkling for the upcoming Caribbean cruises. Unfortunately, it is still “leaking” and the deck by the Seaview bar is usually wet. Rumor has it that it won’t be fixed until a dry dock because any attempted repair would void the warranty 🤷‍♀️ Air conditioning is working well. I’ve been carrying a sweater because some of the inside areas are cold. ( My DH thinks the temperature is just right.😉)

After 8 sea days, we were excited to see a bird. Everyone was trying to identify it. We called on several “experts” and they all agree it is a peregrine falcon. I spoke to the Food & Beverage director in the MDR tonight. I ask him me standard question, “Where are the cold soups?” He talked about special cruises… blah, blah, blah. I said they are easy to make and not expensive. He was polite & listened & then moved on. Five minutes later he was back at my table and said he had just talked to the executive chef and there would be a cold soup in the Lido at lunch tomorrow! We are out of lemons and limes. Only frozen berries. Weird pillow chocolates. Some of the minor problems of a transatlantic with a missed port.

@js1357I’ve walked through the Lido when the movies are showing. Smallish crowd. Loungers arranged for viewing. Popcorn smells good. Nice snacks available at the New York Pizza & Deli. The new(ish) Indiana Jones movie was shown in the Main Stage Monday night. I know some people who went and enjoyed it.

We are well, just busy! Our Roll call organized many fun activities. I particularly enjoyed the book club facilitated by @Auburn Traveler. On Tuesday we discussed The Hiding Place and yesterday we met to discuss banned books. Very interesting discussions. @kazu organized a fantastic cabin crawl on Wednesday. A special thanks to those who volunteered to let us tour their cabins. We attended a special Mariners lunch yesterday that included a lobster starter and a choice of filet or fish for the main course. The sun is shining. I’m enjoying the warm weather and the pool.

Here is a recipe for a delicious ranch oyster cracker snack ( it contains dill).

Oyster crackers go in soup or chowder. Although they taste a bit like saltines, I wouldn’t eat them with cheese.