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I agree. We always request a plate of vegetables be brought to our table every night. They are usually fresh cooked and the assortment varies. Very nice addition to our meal.

Your Hal statement should indicate a confirmed table for two. There is an early 5ish depending on the ship and late seating. There is not 6 o’clock seating. We will only eat at a table for 2 and it has never been a problem. This is what I see on my statement.

Thank you for the F&D report and for the pictures of Lerwick. We will be there in August of 2024 on the Rotterdam. Like @kochleffel I am also a fan of the Ann Cleeves novels, particularly the ones that feature Vera Stanhope. If you are not a reader, the TV series is good too, beautiful scenery. Any recommendations for a private tour in Lerwick? I’ll celebrate Nature Photography Day with another picture from Assateague. I taught my English students about Shakespearean insults. Some of them were quite bawdy. In honor of prune day Said Falstaff trying to swindle the Hostess at the Inn from Henry IV. What do you think he meant by “stewed prune”? Positive thought to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

I would love to sail on the Volendam or Zaandam my DH insists on a balcony and they are pricey on these ships. I love the Vista class ships. The best thing about the Pinnacle class ships is the dedicated Club Orange dining room.

@detroit70 Vistas are only slightly La he then verandahs. Signatures are substantially larger. I would never book a Vista but have taken upsells to Signatures. You can see the TV from the love seat and there is a chair at the desk that you could move to view to TV too.

I do not feel like Vista suites are worth the money. I suppose the location may be preferable but any aft cabin works for us. No special boarding or tendering perks for Vistas. No special events for Vistas. Enjoy your aft cabin, I just booked one on deck 8 for a 24 day cruise on the Koningsdam.

My DH said the Peruvian chicken was the best chicken he ever ate. He had a veal dish one night that looked like a veal chop to me, he said it was delicious too. Actually, I believe he ordered the special dish every night except one and enjoyed them all. (I’m a pescatarian so that is why I didn’t try many of them.). We have CO booked for all of our future cruises on Pinnacle class ships.

@HogladyriderTry a different browser when logging into the HAL site. The third one I tried worked for me. Here is some info about Club Orange. For me, the benefit is the upgraded cabin within the same category, priority boarding and tendering and the private dining room on the Pinnacle class ships.

Southwest has having a40% off bday sale until Thursday. I just rebooked my flights home from FLL after my TA. To those of you who think today’s meal is a bit peculiar, here is an article about the Origin of chicken & waffles Chicken & waffles is a very popular brunch dish on MD although the chicken is usually fried and it is served with maple syrup or honey drizzled on the top. It is one of my DHs favorites.

Happy Flag Day! Over 45,000 square feet, on the beach for Memorial Day in Ocean City, MD. (photo from OC Dispatch) We cruised on the Zuiderdam from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego in February 2022. We didn’t experience any insect problems. Cruising through the canal is a remarkable experience that I highly recommend. Positive thoughts to all who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

The Easy Pad Thai recipes look great @dfish. I can’t imagine life without pasta; I love it! I am always trying to eat more protein; these are two of my favorite pastas: Simply Nature Edamame Pasta and Chickapea Pasta; both are low in carbs. @catmando @grapau27 I loved the narration on your videos. Your voice is wonderful; you could read for audiobooks or do voice overs for commercials.

I taught a financial literacy class to high school seniors which included a unit on taxes. I started the unit with Capone’s famous quote in order to engage the students. Despite his public and extravagant lifestyle, Capone never filed a federal income tax return, claiming that he had no taxable income. Elliot Ness and the “T-Men” followed the money, gathering evidence that Capone had made millions of dollars on income that was never taxed. It paid off: Capone was indicted on 22 counts of federal income tax evasion. Although he was indicted for 5,000 offenses for conspiring to violate the Volstead Act (prohibition), the violation of Volstead Act indictment was not pursued. He was fined and sentenced to 11 years in jail for tax evasion in October 1931. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

HMC is really beautiful if you get away from the crowds. DH is not a beach person but does like to swim in the ocean. We usually wait until the crowds die down and then take the tender to HMC. We walk past the crowds near the tender dock until the beach has very few people. We pull some lounge chairs up under the trees. We take a swim, relax in the shade, maybe swim again, then return to the ship. We don’t like the buffet served on HMC. Best of both worlds: quiet beach, quiet ship.

Bit of a panic when I open the F & D but Father’s Day is June 18; in the US, it is always the third Sunday in June , not today. A few of my favorite pictures from Seville November 2022 TA on the Oosterdam. I loved the doorways inthe Jewish quarter. The next pictures our from our tour of the Royal Palace. Combining Moorish, Christian and Jewish heritage. The tile! The gardens The city’s cathedral Wishing everyone the best Sunday possible.

@Kathybv Have you read the posts from the World Cruise by the @The-Inside-Cabin The Inside Cabin. They went on a safari that concluded in Cape Town. (Posts 56-59). Very informative and an interesting read.

@newtocruiseinblueyou should do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I am lucky that Southwest has 20+ flights a day to my home airport. I book the 11 o’clock flight every time we cruise into Port Everglades. Have never missed the flight. Have often sat at the gate for 2+ hours. FLL is about 3 miles from the port.

I never heard of a Saskatoon berry so I looked them up. They look like blueberries, though they are more closely related to the apple family. The taste of the berry is described sweet, nutty almond flavor. The Saskatoon berry is known as a service berry in eastern Canada. In Michigan and Minnesota, the delicious berry is known as the juneberry. They ripen in late June or early July. I’d love to try them in a pie with rhubarb

Yes. In February, we self disembarked, carrying our own luggage at about 8:30. Breezed through facial recognition customs, jumped in a cab and were at the airport before 9. Only caveat, it was a Wednesday. If it was a Saturday, we probably would have gotten off the ship earlier because there would have been more ships at the port and FLL would have been busier.

@cat shepard I appreciate your daily wine posting. 🍷I have had several orange wines and have enjoyed most of them. For those of you who would like to learn more about this type of wine Everything You Need to Know about Orange Wine

Writer’s Rights Day was only officially observed once in 1992, writers were asking for higher pay and increased copyright protection. This was the beginning of ebooks and they were concerned about electronic rights in publishing. Currently, the Writer’s Guild of America has been on strike since May 2. They are demanding better pay, restricting use of artificial intelligence and improving pay and residuals for streaming content. Thirty one years after the first Writer’s Rights Day, the fight continues. I love rhubarb. I tried to grow it last year from root stock without any success. This year I bought one plant which has produced 4 edible stalks so far, not enough for a pie. It is expensive at the farmers market but I’ll buy some to make a pie since this is probably the last week I’ll be able to buy local strawberries too. I come from a family who fishes and enjoy eating “collars” no bones, extra flavor. Looking forward to @dfishrecipes. To all on the care list, positive thoughts. To all on the celebration list, cheers.

This is menu from the Rotterdam Nav app today. Because I want to know the 7 daily specials, I will continue checking. Previously, with advanced notice, you could order a daily special any day of the week. My husband will be very pleased the osso buco is on the main menu and I am pleased that the shrimp scampi is now on the main menu too.

Thank you to all who post on the F & D. With the terrible wildfires across North America it is important for us to remember how the land and the ocean are connected. There is an abundance of information on the website: World Ocean Day In 1992, Canada proposed the concept of World Ocean Day at the Earth Summit in Rio. In 2008, the UN General Assembly officially recognized June 8 as World Ocean Day. In 2020, a Conservation Action focus was launched: protecting 30% of our lands and oceans by 2030. To create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilize the climate, it’s critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and ocean are protected. Leading scientists worldwide have determined a healthy ocean is a critical part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crises. By supporting 30×30, we can protect our planet’s life support systems – specifically the interconnected issues of ocean, climate, and biodiversity.  Currently, less than 17% of land and 8% of the ocean worldwide is protected. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

Thank you to all who post on the F & D. I am thinking of our Canadian friends, the fire fighters and all who respond to disasters. It’s a hazy code red day in Baltimore. You can really smell the “Smoke from a Distant Fire” (anyone remember Sanford Townsend?) Positive thoughts to all who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

What a wonderful idea. I hope you hear back from some of them. I had my seniors write letters to themselves. I told them to write about their hopes and dreams, their friends and enemies, their likes and dislikes. Then I had them address the envelope care of someone they thought would be at the same address in 5 years and would be able to get the letter to them. The best part of the experience was when they wrote back to me. It was wonderful to find out how they were doing. We our looking forward to our Overlord Tour during our visit to LeHavre on our TA in October. We will visit Omaha Beach, the American cemetery and the Visitor Center. When returning to the ship we will stop in Bayeux & Honfleur. If anyone has any tips or insights, they would be appreciated. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

Happy Saturday! We celebrated Trail Day yesterday at the Assateague Island National Seashore. Many come to see the ponies. This is the first time I saw prickly pear blooming here. The beach is not crowded. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising,