rafinmd

I hope asking this isn't too painful but is this the same surgery DH had just before me? I have a feeling that if you feel up to going on your cruise doing the surgery after the cruise will not cause any additional problems. Roy

I think some improvement but still dragging me down. Your second meme brings back a memory. Shortly after joining the fire department I was invited to visit the 911 center. He had one interesting story I remember. He tells of dispatching a call one night with a new fire officer, He told him something like "take a left at my brother's place", and the officer was very confused. While firefighters try to be very familiar with the area they serve sometimes it doesn't happen immediately. My Brothers Place" was actually a very popular bar. Roy

Thank you Rich, Sandi, Vanessa, Debbie, Dixie, and Ann. Happy Saturday although we have a chill coming for a few days, the last gasp of winter. Those who have made the supreme sacrifice deserve out eternal respect while I will pass on the other 2 days. The meal sounds interesting. I have not been to today's port. Interesting quote by Einstein, and I'm curious about the meal. Slept well again last night. Roy

Volendam (center) backing into her berth, Apex almost completely blocked her a bit earlier. Roy

Posted photo to wrong thread by mistake. My last cruise the porter took my bags all the way through customs and to the car in the garage. Not sure if it was too much or too little but I tipped him $50 and well worth it to me. Roy

So true. Sadly, today was a funeral for a friend from church. She was born St. Patrick's day in 1924 and died in November but the family decided to have her memorial service her heavenly 99th birthday. Roy

Looks a lot like my oceanview cabin on the Eurodam, and perhaps a bit of the worst of both worlds. You do need to step over the walls of the tub to get into the shower, and if used as a bath tub, the soap dispenser is too high to reach. Roy

Happy St. Patricks Day. Thank you Rich, Sandi, Vanessa, Ann, Debbie, and Dixie. My brother was an officer on an nuclear submarine and I had a few holiday dinners in USS Haddo's officers dining space. I'll salute the Camp Fire Girls but pass on both Corned Beef and Halibut. The quote struck me as a bit strange. I know I've been to Kobe but a bit hazy on just when. I'm a bit hazy on the location too because I think Kobe and Osaka have separate ports. I slept pretty decently last night. Pretty warm but rain coming today so I hope to be back from Wegmans before it starts. Roy

What lounger? Other lines yes but I don't remember ever seeing one on a Crystal Promenade Deck. Roy

I learned a long time ago there's only one way to never make a mistake. Never do anything. I've certainly had my share of mistakes as well. Roy

At one time I expected to get to Coquimbo 4 straight years (2016-2019, Crystal Symphony, Zaandam, Symphony, and Prinsendam) but it appears the Prinsendam itinerary changed. In 2016 I took a land trip to the mountains to Tololo Observatory, a project of the US National Science Foundation. The mountains northeast of Coquimbo are ideal for an observatory with a warm, dry climate that becomes cool in the evening. There are several telescopes with 2 main ones. One has a 1.5 meter lens. They try to keep the scope enclosure dark with just a small window slot: The newer scope has a 4-meter lens It's sophisticated camera is very sensitive and the dome is kept closed in the daytime and kept cool at about the night time temperature. The complex has a very high tech control center with one low tech feature. The area between the port and observatory includes a lot of vineyards, all depending on irrigation from a large resevoir: We were told those derelict boats @StLouisCruisers showed were foreign fishing boats seized in Chilean waters and sitting in limbo, While there in 2016 there was a lot of destruction in Coquimbo from a recent earthquake and tsunami, possibly soon after Sandi's 2015 visit. I'll see if I have anything from my other 2 visits later. Roy

Happy March Hump Day. I think many of us will be happy when the other half of March is gone and we get into April headed for spring. Thank you Rich, Sandi, Vanessa, Ann, Debbie, and Dixie. Bon Voyage @seagarsmoker. Love the days but will pass on the quote. Coquimbo is a great port, it looks like I've been there 3 times. I won't have a whole chicken tonight but am planning on Chicken Parmesan. @StLouisCruisers, did the sluggish computer get the best of you this morning. I'm pretty sure Volendam is skipping HMC and going straight to Fort Lauderdale. Marine Traffic agrees with that. Did not sleep quite as well last night but almost. Roy

Volendam has left San Juan, destination Fort Lauderdale. I expect if HMC was to be a stop it would not be popular as I am sure it will be a big packing day. Roy

I'm pretty sure that Fincantieri is doing the renovations and the ships are in one of their shipyards. I don't think that there is a lot of cruise ship building activity right now and Serenity may be in a dry dock (flooded or not) because that is a good available space while Symphony is at one of the fitting docks. If that is true there would be access to both sides of Serenity while Symphony might turn around periodically to allow access to the side of the ship where the greatest renovations are under way. It makes since for Serenity to get the drydock as she will be the first to need it as such. Just a guess. It would sure be nice if the Panoflex Camera were still active. Roy

@Vict0riann I'm glad you got to experience the Indian Pacific. I was on it way back in 2003 from Perth to Sydney so even without the changes over the years our schedule would have been most different. My recollection is that at the time the Eastbound stop was fairly brief and the best option was a quick bus tour of the city. and I did not take any photos from the bus. When I was on the train one strange thing I encountered is that at least some of the sleeping cars (the ones with tiny rooms on each side) the roomettes were wider at the midpoint than they were at the head and foot of the berth, and the rooms were staggered so on one side the wide part of the room came opposite the narrow part of the room across the hall leaving a wavy center corridor. Was it still that way in 2010? I thought the Podiatrist visit was quite successful. It is a cold and very windy so the 2 negatives were some wrong turns on the shopping/Panera run after the visit, and a very cold walk into the wind from the parking lot to the office (it was better leaving with the wind at my back). The appointment was at 9:20, I arrived at 9, was taken into the exam room very quickly, and putting my shoes back on at 9:15. He liked what he saw and said I could now discontinue the daily soaking. I go back in a month but generally am quite pleased. Roy

Happy Hump Day. Thank you Rich, Sandi, Vanessa, Debbie, Ann, and Dixie. I think I'll pass on all the days but love the quote. I hope Oosterdam is successful in getting into Stanley today. I'll pass on the salmon. Adelaide was a port on my very shortened 2020 QM2 world cruise, the penultimate port of call. My tour there was mostly from inside the bus. Great quote today. Sept well again last night. Today is my followup with the podiatrist. Roy

A silent departure by a lovely ship. Thanks Lou & Dave,Leanne, and fellow addicts. Roy

At least we get a longer look at a BHB as she passes more slowly. Better than the PP on a ship that's holding things up. Roy

PP? Roy

Now moving. Roy

Now moving Cruise Critic back in the nick of time, Roy

How well I remember that day as I arrived on Symphony and walked across the pier to embark Crystal Serenity to Cape Town. There were a couple of lost days for me as Serenity arrived a day earlier and Symphony stayed that night. I think I left Symphony mid morning and still did not have a room assigned (directed to the front desk where my guarantee was allocated) and by the time I got to the room my bag was already there. I think we were told we should get lunch at the ship was were booked on, but since I had paid for the full day I walked over to Symphony for one final lunch. Of course that meant passport control and security a total of 6 times. Just glad they didn't need to stamp the passport 6 times. Here's the approach from Symphony's point of view: On an unrelated note, not really sure right now what's happening to the ships but I've noticed Symphony has reversed position a couple of times recently in the dock (bow in vs bow out). Roy

Thank you Rich, Sandi, Vanessa, Debbie, Dixie, Ann, and fellow dailyites, Welcome home @grapau27 and @TAW1963. Happy Birthday @bennybear and Sandi's DB. Wishing @RMLincoln a quick recovery. I'll celebrate butterflies, potato chips Pi and pie. Love the Gershwin quote but will pass on the meatloaf. I haven't been to Kangaroo Island. Slept well again last night. Roy

Bon Voyage! Roy

From last year: I've been to Dunedin/Port Chalmers twice, both times on Crystal, and both times I've met up with @erewhon. In 2018 it was the Crystal Symphony enroute from Sydney to Miami. I walked around Port Chalmers a little bit before the meeting. One thing I enjoyed was the interior of Trinity Church. Once we met they became my guests on the Symphony, having lunch in the Trident Grill, Crystal's equivalent of Dive-In. DW does not like having her photo published but here are me and DH at the table as we waited for delivery of our sandwiches: After lunch they took me into Dunedin and one of the highlights then was the train station that @StLouisCruisers has shown us. In 2020 Dunedin was our final port of call in New Zealand (come to think of it perhaps my last Crystal port of call ever since Hobart was cancelled due to storms, and I disembarked in Sydney just before all hell broke loose. This time I was taken to a brunch at a place near their residence called Luna, overlooking the harbor: I enjoyed a very nice brunch: After brunch we did a bit of shopping. I had broken a shoe lace having difficulty finding them in New Zealand. I was taken promptly the right display for the perfect pair of laces that I am still using. On the way back we stopped at Signal Hill where there was a monument to New Zealand's Centennial and a terrific view: Roy