SusieKIslandGirl

3 hours ago, aliaschief said:

The pictures of our visit to the African Violets flower producers did not transfer. Trying again

 

Where’s the “WOW” button? Absolutely beautiful-thanks.

And loud snoring is one of the signs along with "holding your breath" while sleeping. The CPAP machine helps so much and it's amazing how much energy you have after starting with it.

It was offered on the Nieuw Statendam last month. The crew member who was leading the class saw me knitting and asked a few questions so I'm not sure how much she really knew about knitting. I think they had supplies, but not positive.

Wonderful report. Thanks for sharing every day!

I just looked at Expedia.com for Rome airport hotels. I chose a middle of July date. There were some decent looking rooms for around $120.

@StLouisCruisers@smitty34877 My DS also turns 51 in August-but that doesn't mean we're old, does it? Where did the time go?

@Haljo1935You are so right!

My DH really enjoyed Rudi’s on the Nieuw Statendam. Lots of seafood options.

Thanks for the update. Now if I can remember the answer if the situation arises!

DH caught a salmon in Sitka and had it shipped home. It was expensive and we could tell he didn’t get the entire fish. He was a commercial fisherman during college summers so knows his fish.

@IamtheseaI didn't get any decent photos of the Vista cabin but Halfacts.com has several cabins showing the layout.

I finally looked up my mother’s rhubarb pie recipe. A bit lighter in calories, I think.

3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces 

2 eggs, slightly beaten 

1 1/2 cups sugar ( more or less on your sweetness preference)

1/4 cup flour

Mix flour and sugar together, then mix with eggs. Add rhubarb and mix well.

Add to pie shell and cover with a lattice pastry. 
 

Bake at 425 degrees-15 minutes

Lower temp and continue baking 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

It was a prize winner many years ago.

Is there much of a price difference if you book 2 separate cruises? And can you keep the same cabin? Also, would it make a difference with OBC or other extra benefits? I think if there wasn’t much difference I’d book 2 separate cruises.

I remember port and left have the same amount of letters. Starboard and right are longer words. For the colors associated with the sides, the same applies. Red for port and green for starboard.

I manage to lose weight on every cruise by using the stairs, at least a few flights. Still haven't mastered Deck 3 to Deck 9 yet, though.

Another DH with a June birthday. Not sure how he got to be 76 already! 😲 We don't have a lot of choices for dining out unless we head to Seattle but we'll try the local Mexican restaurant tonight. It's hit or miss but the margaritas should be good. I hope everyone has a good week.

Dinner at Tamarind was very good but hard to find. It's only easily accessible from the aft elevators.

We were just in Amsterdam last month after a cruise. We used Uber from the port to our city center hotel. I think it was $18.  Oops, I goofed. This is from Amsterdam, not Rotterdam. Sorry. Uber from Amsterdam to Schiphol was $33.

Last 2 cruises, Feb/Mar and May this year, had pins but no free drinks or anything else. In 28 days I think I missed 2 days.

Our big box TA doesn’t pass on upgrade offers. I watch prices and call them to ask for an upgrade/upsell offer. Last cruise we had a standard verandah and were able to “upsell” to a Vista at no additional cost because prices had gone down. Just keep calling.

We were just on the Nieuw Statendam in a Vista suite. We were able to upgrade to it from a Verandah at no extra cost. If I had to pay for the Vista, I wouldn't bother-it didn't seem that much bigger than a verandah. I would love to try the Signature Suite someday though-it looks wonderful.

1 minute ago, Cruzin Terri said:

We have it delivered at home.  We asked for it to be held longer once before and it was not a problem.  This time it seemed to be a big problem.  I was not aware that I could have someone other than i or my husband pick up the mail at the post office.  She would not even allow me to fill out two hold requests. Maybe she was having a bad day and taking it out on me.

Terri

Write out a note asking the named person to pick up hold mail and sign it. Be sure to have them let the clerk know to keep the mail on hold. I'd let your carrier know what's going on.

@Cruzin TerriDo you receive mail at your home or in a PO Box? Did you ask your carrier, if you have home delivery, about holding the mail? As a retired rural mail carrier, it was never a problem to hold mail longer than 30 days. If someone received an excessive amount of mail, they would have a friend pick it up every 3 weeks or so. If you have a PO Box the mail should be held until the box rent is due and will then be sent back if the rent isn't paid.

@ktbraunI have bindings to put on 5 lap quilts, not my favorite part to do.  They all go to church, and then they go to our shut ins, baptisms and others in need.  

We use the envelope method on our charity quilts and then do some bar tacking, machine quilting or tie by hand. It's much easier and faster than the dreaded binding.

I don't remember seeing any flavored creamers. The Lido coffee is ok but really liked my morning latte from the Grand Dutch Cafe (part of the beverage package). There, they had the flavored syrups and I'm sure you could ask for a bold brew. I've also found some powdered, flavored coffee creamers at our grocery store which is easier than the little CoffeeMate pods. Have fun!