The Daily for Tuesday October 05, 2021

[St Pete Cruiser]

I see the Nieuw Statendam is not at pier 26, the usual HAL dock.  Maybe for resupply, the other pier is better.  It will be better to see the ships with guests aboard soon!  Let the sailaways begin.

Looking at hotels near the port for Nov 20; does anyone reading today have a recommendation?  Was surprised Embassy Suites is now over $200 and has not been reviewed as favorable anymore.  Pier 66 does not seem to be open.

 

[summer slope]

We always stay at the Hilton Marina.  It's $$ but we like the location and the view of the port.

[kazu]

45 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

I see the Nieuw Statendam is not at pier 26, the usual HAL dock.  Maybe for resupply, the other pier is better.  It will be better to see the ships with guests aboard soon!  Let the sailaways begin.

Looking at hotels near the port for Nov 20; does anyone reading today have a recommendation?  Was surprised Embassy Suites is now over $200 and has not been reviewed as favorable anymore.  Pier 66 does not seem to be open.

 

 

If you are sailing in November prices at ES will go way down, normally.

But it’s ratings have really dropped.  Whatever you book, keep your eye on prices as November is low season.  Call or rebook it to get the better price.

[richwmn]

6 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Good afternoon from Venice.  It is warm and sunny 22°C/72°F.

Hope you are well. I feel sure that you have been notified, but @Cruising-along is reporting that Eurodam is docking at Trieste tomorrow. Hope things work out for you.

Edited October 5, 2021 by richwmn

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily.

Good days. Every day should be do something nice day. I salute teachers; my Mother was a 3rd grade teacher. Good storytelling is an art!

Funny quote.

My mother used to make chicken fricassee; I never have. I like the drink, and the wine sounds good. Roy's meal is maybe more to my liking. Tonight is leftover schnitzel and potato pancakes.

I haven't been to today's port. Thanks for the pictures.

 

I'm late here today. I had PT mid-morning. I stopped to see about getting a repair person out for my TV, but they said I needed to call the 800 number. So most of the afternoon I've been on the phone and someone will come out Thursday morning. I ordered an exercise mat, so if I'm MIA I'm on the floor and can't get up!

It's sunny and 77 here, following heavy morning fog. The last gasps of summer.

 

@cat shepard Congrats on the new dishwasher.

@mamaofami That was such a nice thing to do for your daughter.

@VMax1700 Nice view and gelato is my favorite. Sorry to hear about your back. Take it easy and be careful not to aggravate it as it improves.

@Seasick Sailor I'm glad Allen is feeling good.

@ger_77 That air looks scary and no doubt is bad to breathe. I'm glad it's somewhat better now.

@superoma That's scary about the explosives. Thank goodness for inspections.

@kplady HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! 

@bennybear Gorgeous garden photos.

@lazey1 I'm glad to hear Kakalena is home. Yes, the bed situation due to Covid is bad; many wait in the ER for days.

 

Prayers for the care list and cheers for the celebration list.

Stay safe and wear your mask.

 

 

[AncientWanderer]

Good afternoon, All.  It's nice to see a James Thurber quote today.  His book "Many Moons" was our absolute number one favorite as kids.  I have a copy here to read to our grandchildren.

 

Happy Anniversary, @kplady.  I hope you have a wonderful celebratory day.  

It's good to hear that @Seasick Sailor's Allen is doing well. Boo on the house construction, though.  I just put white "grout renewal," which is basically white paint, over our guest bath tile.  That should hold off our remodeling for another 10 years. 🙄

@VMax1700...we are all rooting for you.  Weird things happen that are mysteriously instantly super painful, and then they go away just as mysteriously.

We want that back pain to get moving along right this minute, so you can enjoy your great cruise.

Everyone, you're all great story tellers -- in words and pictures.  We enjoy the stories every day here.

Wishing a very pleasant afternoon/evening to each and every one.  Thanks for the Daily.

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 I just put white "grout renewal," which is basically white paint, over our guest bath tile.  That should hold off our remodeling for another 10 years.

 

I never heard of that before.  I’m going to go looking.  That would be great for one spot in the guest bathroom.  

 

I’ve been struggling to clean it as the sink and tile are granite.  Thanks 😉 

[AncientWanderer]

5 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I never heard of that before.  I’m going to go looking.  That would be great for one spot in the guest bathroom.  

 

I’ve been struggling to clean it as the sink and tile are granite.  Thanks 😉 

 

It’s really easy to apply — just with a cloth — and lasts longer than one would expect.

[VMax1700]

44 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Hope you are well. I feel sure that you have been notified, but @Cruising-along is reporting that Eurodam is docking at Trieste tomorrow. Hope things work out for you.

if you mean a notification from HAL, then zilch!

i have just looked at th eship tracking and it does seem to be going to Trieste.

[aliaschief]

A beautiful day in Avalon, Catalina Island.

 

As we in line for tender HD Mark announced all guest tested negative on today’s morning antigen Covid testing.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[dfish]

@kplady

 

 

 

[AncientWanderer]

@kazu...speaking of home improvements -- I think it was you, and some others, who were talking the other day about light fixtures and how replacing older ones can be difficult.  We have some recessed lighting in our home that I want to keep, as I like the quality of light that comes from the older fixtures.  I have ordered replacement bulbs from this company -- probably enough to last as long as I do.  Thinking this resource might be helpful to someone here.

 

https://www.lightingsupply.com

[Seasick Sailor]

1 hour ago, summer slope said:

We always stay at the Hilton Marina.  It's $$ but we like the location and the view of the port.

 

We are at Hyatt Centric. 

[kazu]

29 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

It’s really easy to apply — just with a cloth — and lasts longer than one would expect.

 

thanks so much 🙂

[bennybear]

40 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

if you mean a notification from HAL, then zilch!

i have just looked at th eship tracking and it does seem to be going to Trieste.

Yikes!  Hope HAL sorts you out.  We have used Treviso car service twice when we needed last minute emergency help and they were great, just in case! 

[rafinmd]

4 hours ago, mamaofami said:

Roy, haven’t you been waiting for those PET scan results for a long time?

I hope no news is good news.  I see the Oncologist the 20th.

 

Roy

[Sharon in AZ]

37 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

A beautiful day in Avalon, Catalina Island.

 

As we in line for tender HD Mark announced all guest tested negative on today’s morning antigen Covid testing.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Yay!!!

[aliaschief]

An absolutely beautiful day in Avalon, Catalina Island. A historic day of first tender operations for Hal in North America in a long time.

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by aliaschief

[garlictown]

Congratulations to @kplady and DH.💕

[Seasick Sailor]

33 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

An absolutely beautiful day in Avalon, Catalina Island. A historic day of first tender operations for Hal in North America in a long time.

 

 

Love Catalina. We would hop on the Catalina express boat and spend a weekend on the island. We would always rent a golf cart and go drinking and driving.. (I'm older and wiser now) 😉

[tjcox9]

5 hours ago, bennybear said:

Good morning and thanks all!  I will gladly celebrate teachers,  I was one as is our DD.  I love story tellers and Robert Munsch is a favourite,  our children were lucky and both heard him read while in school.   His love you forever has me In Tears every time!  

 

We enjoy an aperol spritz at spritz o'clock, and the sunrise version sounds good too.

happy anniversary @kplady! 

We were supposed to visit Kagoshima but shortly before sailing they switched it to Sakaiminato,  which has one of the top Japanese gardens so I will share a few photos. 

Sakaminato is a wonderful port. Besides the amazing garden, it is the home of many bronze animated characters that line the main street known as anime in Japan. One of the best known artists is from here and the bakeries have confections make in anime shapes. One of the most enjoyable ports we visited as we walked the main street after visiting the wonderful garden which is outside of town.

[bennybear]

42 minutes ago, tjcox9 said:

Sakaminato is a wonderful port. Besides the amazing garden, it is the home of many bronze animated characters that line the main street known as anime in Japan. One of the best known artists is from here and the bakeries have confections make in anime shapes. One of the most enjoyable ports we visited as we walked the main street after visiting the wonderful garden which is outside of town.

Yea we thoroughly  enjoyed them as well as the Black Matsue Castle and the small canal boat tour. 

[tjcox9]

27 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Yea we thoroughly  enjoyed them as well as the Black Matsue Castle and the small canal boat tour. 

 

[tjcox9]

Just now, tjcox9 said:

Yes, among the most interesting ports on our Japan adventure. Totally unexpected figures and we loved it. It was a wonderful welcome with the characters at port and there were others at many ports. And some of the confections in the window of a shop. Great port!! And it was on original itinerary, but this was a Princess thing. You lucked out if it was a substitute.

 

[erewhon]

Thanks everyone for all the Daily information  It's school holidays here, hope teachers are getting a well deserved rest.

 Thanks to Rich @richwmn for including a New Zealand wine yesterday.

@VMax1700good that the back pain is easing, have a great cruise.

@lazey1thanks for the update regarding Kakalina, and that she is resting at home.

@kplady  Congratulations to you and your DH on your 47th Anniversary.

 

Another grey  day, very windy, expecting rain.

Cases of the Delta variant continue, now spread to 3 other locations from Auckland.  

Stay safe, take care everyone.