sailingdutchy

Today it is Darwin where we landed with the Volendam on November 30th , 2015 on a 31 day cruise from Sydney on the Great Barrier Reef Cruise to be followed by a Far East Explorer Thank you very much Roy @rafinmd for posting the link , I remember we had a very nice day there good enough to show my pictures again today . After we arrived in Darwin we walked with our friends to the Crocosaurus Cove in town where we watched some shows with the saltwater crocodiles and saw in the museum many other creatures from this area . Different to see a Christmas tree for us Canadians in 92 degrees heat After a drink to cool us off we hopped onto the HOHO to go to the amazing Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Australian Territory where we spend a few hours to see all the indigenous art in this beautiful building . After another drink while watching and listening to all these gorgeous colourful birds we went back to the ship for a special dinner . Very nice adventurous self guiding day was had by all while we learned a lot about the Northern Territories . Great day in Darwin ! Happy Holidays , Merry Christmas and let's pray for Peace on Earth ! Tony😍

..........Oh and I forgot to tell you that day I did NOT go to see Dolly in Port , I had my thrills ......... 😁😁

All the way back in 2007 we were in Ketchican for the very first time on the Zaandam and I booked for myself a floatplane tour to the lake to see if the bears were out looking for salmon . Martha and DMIL were not up for this so I said my goodbye enjoy the town I will see you later ………. It so worked out perfectly for me and I was allowed to ride shotgun with the pilot as long as I did not touch anything ….. Perfect place to shoot a few nice pictures and what a thrill It was a very nice and clear day . Getting ready to land on the lake. There is one After a nice walk through the salmon farm we pulled back up And ready for another perfect landing near the Zaandam Don’t know if I have a chance in the coming days , if not , I would like to wish all the Dailyites a Merry Christmas enjoy the holidays and than we get ready all together to count our blessings and celebrating the birth of a New Year . Thank you to ALL the contributors of the Daily , this is a wonderful place to meet cruise friends Tony 😍

Thank you for this picture @Crazy For Cats great to see this is a fairly old coin from during the reign of King Willem III of the Netherlands who was King from 1849 until 1890. From what I can see it was from 1872 , from about the same time " Holland Amerika Lijn " was formed ! A little bit of history about these coins The value of the coin for most countries is a very unusual amount , 2 guilders and 50 cents which can throw you off when using a few of them if you are bad in math , to pay for your purchases. Called the " Rijksdaalder " these coins staid in use until guilders were replaced by Euros on Jan 1st 2002 . Also unusual was that these older coins during the reigns if King Willem I to Willem III had a silver content of about 94 % or about 18 grams of fine silver and if you had a few in your pocket they became weighty . Later on the silver content was dropped considerably and by 1969 silver content was removed completely . T

Few more pictures of Chania when we were in Oct of 2022 in Souda on the Oosterdam . We took the shuttle bus again and strolled through the city . Chania is also a Port town but only for smaller vessels The weather was beautiful this time so Martha had to do some posing in the pretty little harbour . Commercial : " Time for a real beer ! " There is that guy again the birdie has left its post on top of his head ….. See you all in the next Port , take care and be well ! Tony 😘

We have been a couple of times to Souda while of the Oosterdam and took the shuttle from the port to Chania the second largest city on the Island of Crete. After visiting the market and making a few purchases we walked to the pretty port of Chania , enjoyed a nice beverage when a flash thunderstorm opened the skies which was good for a few nice pictures ! Just to be clear dear Martha did NOT bend that tree We had to abandon our seats on the front row on the terrace but 20 min later everything was normal again , After returning on the shuttle and the captain was ready to leave we enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset in Souda I might check out if the pictures from the second visit were much different . Enjoy your day and be well Tony 😄

In April of 2018 while we were on the Trans Atlantic crossing from Ft Lauderdale to Rotterdam on the MS Rotterdam VI we landed in Brest , France and with the great help from Jacqui @kazu I chartered a full size bus and provide transportation for a group of 27 of us to go to the beautiful medieval town of Quimper . This was done through a broker and even though it was quite an undertaking and I was a little nervous because I felt the responsibility but everything went great and we had a very nice day with great transportation . Once in Quimper everybody could choose whatever they wanted to see or do as long as they were all back in time to get back to Brest . Always have a problem with pictures taken with my iPad , but you get the idea . A little bit of rain did not bother us , with all we were able to see For a nice lunch we went to a very nice Creperie In the afternoon we went to a very nice market in the center of town but for some reason I lost those pictures I was very happy to see everybody was back on the bus on time and Mrs Berangere drove us back right into the Port next to the Rotterdam . That evening we went over our adventures with our friends having a nice dinner in the Pinnacle Grill and later on partied because it was the Kings birthday April 27 and Orange Party night . Cheers , Tony 😄

Guess you have all seen my pictures of Sidney from 2013 while we were on the Oosterdam a couple of weeks ago when I reposted them mistakenly when it was Melbournes turn ……turkey...…. So today a few different pictures from our other cruise while on the Volendam which took us from Sidney to Singapore in 2015 . Will try to show Sidney from a different angle without too much commentary : Arrival in Sidney via Hong Kong Nov 20 2015, What’s that ….???? All the stores were ready for Christmas ……..without snow ….. Oops....... Oh yes we were in Australia Pub where nobody ……... Speaks no evil , sees no evil or hears no evil ! So they did not need a doorman to throw people out on the sidewalk ! From the Volendam, the famous bridge from the other side in a beautifully landscaped area Just having a look that we fit underneath the bridge And of coarse the obligatory picture of the Sidney Opera house that the Danish Architect Jorn Utzon who had won the International design completion for an opera house in 1957 which when construction was actually started caused a lot of uproar with the actual construction problems and delays and was not completed and opened by Queen Elizabeth until 1973 . Utzon was invited to be present but declined to go to the opening ………. Now this is one of the worlds most recognizable structure together with the Eifel Tower in Paris , the Statue of Liberty and the Great Wall in China ! Hope I had the correct Port Destination today .... Tony 😁😁

Thank you for the Daily Rich , Vanessa and all contributors , I see that there is another beautiful Port on today’s draw , Ravenna where we have been to on the Prinsendam on Oct 17th , 2016 . Because I knew that the industrial Port is quite a ways away from the town of Ravenna I had connected with a guide and arranged that she would pick us up in the Port with a couple of mini vans for a dozen of us . Also on our tour with us were Ann and Pat @VictOriann and their DD Cathy . I just saw a lot of very nice pictures of the mosaics already posted so I will try to find a few different ones which will give a good impression of Ravenna Look at this beautiful fence around the mausoleum where Dante is buried , I tried to look through the window in the door but Pat checked if the door was open ……….and voila there it was…… ohoh .... It is hard to stay away from my mosaic pictures because that is what Ravenna is so famous for ……… Time for our morning cup of coffee with the McCarthy's After a nice little lunch some more gorgeous churches a museum and mosaics in Ravenna. It was than time for our shuttle to take us to the outskirts of Ravenna to the Basilica of St Apollinare in Classe A wonderful tour was had with our very knowledgeable guide Silvia by all but it was now time to say Arrivederci and go back Home to the Prinsendam where I had asked Canaletto manager Rifki if he had space for 15 of us for a nice Italian dinner which of coarse for me included my favourite Zuppa di Pesce ! Rifki had specially built for us during the day two very large tables in the Canaletto by the window ! Tony😄😄 Translated : Ravenna , Friendly City of Women !

We have been to Madeira half a dozen times and like the Azores it is a wonderful Island to arrive at either as first port going East from or last going West to Fort Lauderdale . We have explored the Island with the same wonderful guide and friend Daniel . The nature of the Island with all of its exotic flora is just amazing very green and I believe the only place in Europe that grows lots of bananas . The times we have been there we went to different areas of the island. Some of our favorite places to visit were , the Mercado in Funchal , Porto Moniz , Santana , Sao Vicente , Machico and Camara de Lobos ( and on the way back to the ship don't forget to have a few sips of the special Madeira drink Poncha and visit the Henriques & Henriques Madeira winery ) They say this a great tasting fish but don't think I would love to see it on my plate ....... The pictures are from a couple of different tours that we made with Daniel and they are not in any particular order , with the exception of our visit to Henriques which is always last on our program . Have a great weekend all ! Tony 😁

Good afternoon to all the Dailyites and Thank you to Rich and all the Daily organizers ! We have been a number of times to Rhodes and have toured much of the island and saw a lot of very nice places . Thank you Ann @VictOriann for posting some pictures of the Taverna where we had that lovely lunch in 2021 , in such a beautiful spot ! Today I have chosen a few pictures from the 2014 cruise while on the Eurodam when we went from Rhodes to the Acropolis in Lindos Acropolis of Lindos St Paul’s Bay and near the top where the Acropolis is standing the Cave where the movie the Guns of Navaronne was filmed with Anthony Quinn Climbing to the top of the Acropolis On the side of the path the locals were selling their wares View from near the top onto St Paul’s Bay A little more climbing On our return to the town of Rhodes we visited a very old church and monastery There were dozens and dozens of peacocks all over the property Walking the path , with the stations of the cross , from the church to this huge cross which can be seen from far. Quick visit to see the beautiful Bay and Anthony Quinn Beach Hope I showed a few different photos from what already has been posted today . ......maybe next time I will show some more of the lunch we had with Ann and Pat in 2021 while doing a similar tour ....... Tony 😁

Best post I have read so far besides reading the supposedly actual menu that was posted here . All this guessing and second guessing what is going to happen with Rudi Sodamin where he is going and about his restaurant . Let's be patient , wait and experience also first after the Morimoto Restairant actually opens up , not while they are testing some items from his menu , after that I love to read all peoples opinions ! We have always enjoyed the specialty restaurants and as far as my opinion goes about up charges have you had specialty dining in the larger cities of your country like New York , San Francisco , Vancouver or Toronto ? Where they always fantastic and how much was the bill ? I have and quite often it is higher than the total daily cost on a cruise and I am not just talking of a cruise in an inside cabin .

A very good morning all ! We have also been to Aruba a few times and enjoy roaming around there , went to the butterfly gardens one time made a tour of the island to see the original large Natural Bridge but there also is some good shopping there and there are some very good little restaurants there for lunch . When on the Zuiderdam in January of 2017 we were in port until 11 pm so lots of time to do all of these things had an amazing Red Snapper lunch and after we did some shopping . After it got dark the atmosphere changed a lot we watched a real large and noisy Carnaval Parade it stretched a long way , was extremely loud there were a number of bands and a lot of floats providing drinks to the participants who were singing , dancing with string lights around their bodies and drinking their local and of coarse also the Heineken beer was flowing ......... The local Aruba Beer Balashi Sorry they were all dancing and moving . After we got back on board the Zuiderdam we could see and hear all of the partying still going on in Oranjestad until late that night . We specially love the Southern Caribbean in particular the A B C islands , very nice even climate and the warm connections with The Netherlands which plays a big role in that for us . Hope to be in Aruba again late January when we are on the MS Rotterdam . Tony 😀

Good afternoon / evening all and thank you for the Daily to Rich and all the contributors , I am happy to see it is a busy day on the Daily , we might even get to page 5 or 6 again , with lots and lots of nice pictures if Naples and area . We have been more than 8 times in Naples and I had drafted a complete set of pics from Sorento , Capri , Amalfi , Naples , Pompeii and Heraculeum but when I tried to post them just now they all disappeared ...............Oh well next time ! Vesuvius A few from the Amalfi Coast Have a good evening everybody . Tony 😪

Thanks Graham , hope that Destiny of the Day tomorrow is not Sydney than I better chose the correct city and post them again !

Hahahahahaha …………guess I am a worthy member of AARP now …….of coarse that was Sydney how could I have mixed that up with the beautiful city of Melbourne . That happens when you are eager and rush to post a few pictures . We have been a few days in Melbourne also on a land tour and it has a very different feel than Sydney , so here a few pics of the Port of the day . ( Now I better watch my spelling ….) Finally some wifi outside this restaurant , big question : Where are we ???? Oh yes Melbourne … G’Day Mate …. This was a wonderful street performer , he roped us in ! Statue or real ! Who is that lady ? ….wow …10 years ago ! Wonderful full day walking tour on our own around this nice city …………..( how in the heck could I have mixed that up ?) Tony 😅🤣

G’Day Mates , hope you are are doing fine and survived Thanksgiving and Black Friday ! T’Day its a rest day and debate IF we should book another cruise while the Black Friday sale is winding down . Looking up a few pictures of Melbourne from our New Zealand to Vancouver cruise in 2013 while on the Oosterdam ( If my math is correct we spend 99 days on the Oosterdam so far ! ) Checkin if the Oosty is ready for us the next day …. Getting together with Aussi friends we met on another cruise and go to Bondi Beach Best pictures of this marvellous architectural wonder at the best setting are from the water ! Getting on board the next day Fruit and veggie art And we’re off ….. I will check if I have a few more different ones from another vacation ........ Take care and have a great weekend ! Tony 😁😁

First of all I would like to wish all our Southern neighbours a Happy Thanksgiving , we wish you and your families a wonderful day and an opportunity to count your blessings ! You’re slow we already had our turkey six weeks ago ! I guess because of all of you celebrating and your retailers starting to offer great specials the day after , which is called Black Friday ? so you can get ready for the next retail season , called Christmas and that way the retailers can get rid of extra stuff . That custom has for the last dozen or so years been taken over by our Canadian retailers . It has even spread to Western Europe just the last couple of years , they say Black Friday huhhhhh whats that , ohhh there are specials we’ll take it ! I am just looking at what Holland America has to offer and see if there is another wonderful cruise for the fall of next year at a great price ! Way back in 2011 while on the Rotterdam VI we had a wonderful cruise from R’dam to R’dam to the Baltics and St Petersburg and joined one of the HAL “sticker tours “ to see some beautiful spots in Tallinn . I was trying hard to make a decision about this offer …………too much work , didn’t like the downspout ! The place where they hold their annual International Choir competitions Our very nice , and feisty " redhead " guide gave us a great tour The ancient City Walls Would have loved to visit the other 2 Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania , maybe they will be on a future cruise . Drop the lines and let’s go to St Petersburg , we were so curious to see that amazing place …….. (Guess that is not going to happen for the foreseeable future now ! ) Tony 😆

Sorry I missed that after reading much of your list ! Thank you for that as always !

One thing that I missed today in the Daily is the fact that this day in history the 35th president of the United States was assassinated 60 years ago . I remember very well being in grade 6 and in the afternoon in my school in the Netherlands all the teachers made the announcement . In the Netherlands John F Kennedy as in many of the Western countries in Europe at that time the President was revered and celebrated specially after his famous visit and speech in Berlin . At home after 60 years I still have the very special edition from the Dutch newspapers that were printed and sold . May he RIP . Tony ( I hope this is not seen as a political post ! )

I think it is a little over the top this hoopla closing 4 border crossings and now also closing Buffalo airport for international flights ................ just thinking now what is going to happen as a result of this vehicle crash and my thoughts go back to the lonely shoe bomber which resulted us 22 years later still having to take our shoes off for flights crossing the US border........... Just my own personal opinion. Tony 😒

Thank you @StLouisCruisers making it so easy to replicate and show the pictures of the Daily Destinations my favourite part of being on CC . Today some of my pictures from a wonderful experience and fantastic day in Tauranga / Rotorua while on a tour with Jim Archer . On April 1st 2013 while on the Oosterdam on a cruise from Auckland to Sydney to Hawaii and ending in Vancouver we landed in Tauranga and with a small group we first stopped at one of the beautiful beaches , than went to a Kiwi farm to do some fruit and honey tasting and from there went to Rotorua where we witnessed all of the geothermal activity in the Te Puia Whakarewarewa Valley and to the indigenous Maori Village . The kiwis are grown about 5 or 6 feet off the ground ,they keep the branches tied down for easy picking of the fruit. This is Jim Archer a wonderful guide who is of Maori ancestry. Just try to pronounce this Maori word in one breath .............. This was one of my nicest experiences while on a cruise ! Before we were allowed to enter the Maori Village we , the strange looking people from a different world, had to go through a special ceremony and Jim had made me Chief of about 100 visitors , to meet the Chief of the village . I was guided by an older lady a village elder and I had to convince the real Chief that we had come in Peace . They had first tried to scare me with their spears , loud voices and wild dances. Everybody even DW had to be at least 5 paces behind me and than I had to pick up a small evergreen branch off the ground after which we were than allowed to enter the Community Hall and witness a number of dances and of coarse the Haka and once I had to touched noses with all of the Haka dancers in stocking feet we were all treated to more wonderful performances with smiling dancers doing their ceremonial dances . After the ceremony was over we witnessed and smelled the spewing and bubbling earth activity all around us Before leaving the village we saw the hall where they still make all of the beautiful pieces for their homes , ceremonies and for the tourists . I will never forget this honour Jim bestowed on me and for a long time on that cruise I was called Chief by a number of other guests who toured Rotorua that same day. So I can really recommend Jim Archer for a wonderful day in Tauranga / Rotorua Tony 😍

Ashdad tour Part 2 . It was quite a warm day and we had already done a lot of walking so after a drive towards the Dead Sea we stopped for a snack and drink before we took a “ dive “ into the sea . Here you can see the sea in the distance The date palm farms It is not easy walking into the sea because of all the very uneven seafloor you can't see under the water but once in it was wonderful what an experience .! I have to admit , I am not a swimmer , but I was so happy to float on my back for minutes without doing anything . DW got some very , very salty water in her eyes ( yes she was warned …....) so she went quick to the showers . XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I am sorry to do this to you but the speedo and bikini pictures I have on file did not make it through the Censor ! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Our Israeli guide , Ital , who had done an awesome job all day but did not talk about the settlements we saw in Palestinian territory nor about the places where the Palestinians are still able to live .............. Tony 😄 OK Ann @VictOriann you can look now you are safe !

We had a fantastic cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean , Greece , Albania , Italy , Cyprus , Israel , Malta , Spain, Portugal and after that all the way back to Ft Lauderdale on the beautiful Prinsendam in Oct / Nov 2016 . Our good friends Ann @VictOriann , with DH Pat and their DD had organized a wonderful tour to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea from Ashdad. It was a very long but amazing day one we will always remember , towards the end of the day floating in the Dead Sea healed us all . Thank you all for your beautiful pictures and the descriptions hope you like some of these , today without too many comments . An amazing day and wonderful tour we saw so much history and religion in just a few hours after that we went to the Dead Sea but I will show some pictures in a separate post . ( they will have to go through the censor board first ! 😄😄 ) Tony 😄😄

Hello Daily Friends , Martha and I are starting to get our land legs back and are slowly catching up with what is happening at home . We have enjoyed our cruise on the Oosterdam very much in company of our very good friends Ann and Pat after we reached Barcelona and with another number of wonderful new CC cruise friends from Canada and the US I hope to show a few nice pictures over time from this cruise . Too bad we missed a number of Ports that we had been looking forward to due to a couple of large storms in the Mediterranean and also on the Atlantis Ocean . The crew on the Oosterdam was fantastic , we had a number of crew friends on board that we met over the years that we have cruised with Holland America as long ago as when we cruised on the Prinsendam, the Zaandam and the Eurodam on one of her first cruises in 2009. I am very late today showing a few pictures of Argostoli because Sailing Dutchy had to watch the Flying Dutchman Max Verstappen last night win the Las Vegas Grand Prix until 3:30 in the morning , yes there was of coarse an amazing lot of show coming from Las Vegas but there was also very good sport during the race and our guy won again! Just quickly a few of our pictures from when we were in Argostoli in October of 2022 when the port was a last minute replacement due to the weather and we could not land in Mykonos. Martha stayed on board while I went out to explore a little of the town Martha was all rested up when I arrived back on board and she took me to the Pinnacle ……….! Good to be back catching up with the Daily and slowly getting ready for Christmas and our next cruise in January . ( there is going to be frost tonight ……but the sun is still shining ! ) Tony 😄😄