The Fleet Report and Daily for Wednesday November 1st, 2023

[ottahand7]

   Bon Voyage   @Vict0riann @ocean sounds@kochleffel

[Nickelpenny]

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit!  Good Morning to all and thanks for the daily and fleet reports.  Interesting days.  Today is also All Saints Day and around here it is Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  They will be celebrated this weekend. Interesting quote, meal maybe interesting, but pass on the drink (why mess with a good Mojito!), may need to think about the wine, and I have been to Juneau.  I will always celebrated the invention of a vaccine!!

 

Cool here this morning at 58F and should get up to 80F.  Typical day in the desert.  Subbing today in HS Agriculture.  Yesterday was busy going up to Phoenix for the second visit of a flu/RSV vaccine trial I am in.  We do get both in the trial; they are looking at whether they should be given together or separately.  One shot yesterday but did get 2 on the first visit.  Sore arm today but not bad.

 

Got the MRI scheduled for next Monday.  2nd chiro appt done also yesterday.  So far nothing is improving the numbness.  It always hurts but for me that is normal.  At least with the MRI we will be able to see what we are dealing with.  I have a feeling they will recommend a steroid shots which is just treating symptoms!!!  We will see.  I don't think they will go the PT route as I work out with a trainer 3x a week.  But who knows what the insurance will approve.  

 

Thoughts for the world and those on the care list.  Cheers for those celebrating.  

 

Have a great hump day everyone.

[kplady]

Rabbit Rabbit White Rabbit!!

 

Good morning from a chilly Long Island - it's 40F now, but only going up to the mid 40s today...after the hot summer we had, this feels great!

 

We've been to Juneau on each of our 5 Alaska cruises. We did see the USS Juneau monument on the pier (it was torpedoed and sunk at Guadalcanal in 1942. The 5 Sullivan brothers were all lost on the ship)

We've visited Mendenhall Glacier, taken the Mt. Roberts Tram, went to the Red Dog Saloon, and spent time walking around town. I'm not including pictures of these, since they'd be the same as others have posted. in 2017 on our 14 day Amsterdam cruise, we went on a whale watching tour. We were treated to a bubble net feeding by a pod of whales...even the crew on the boat were excited and taking pictures!

We've loved our trips to Alaska, and would go back, but there's so much else to see in the world!

 

Prayers for all our friends and family needing healing. Cheers to so many lucky people cruising now!

 

Hoping everyone has a good November!!!

Laura

 

[Denise T]

Good morning. Happy Wednesday. Thank you for the Daily and Fleet reports. 

Chilly November 1st here. 

Today I will be getting my hair done and working from home. Preparing for a conference this weekend. 

I loved my visit to Juneau earlier this year and will be back in May 2025. 

Thinking of all on the care list. 

Celebrating with all who are celebrating. 

Have a safe and healthy day. 

 

[GTVCRUISER]

Have a Good Day 🙂 

[ottahand7]

Good morning everyone.   Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports @richwmn.    A great quote!   Today's days of authors and family literacy go well together.  I would like spatchcocked chicken but we rarely buy whole birds.     What a cocktail!   My two dislikes in one cocktail - banana and mint.   Today's wine looks like a winner!

Prayers for everyone on our care list and others needing them.  Prayers for those in war zones and suffering for no fault of their own other than being in the way of hate.   

It was very snowy here yesterday and the outside truck is covered in a dusting of snow.    I have to drive it today to a garden club lunch and I never would have thought that the first of November would be icy.  My plant sale plants behind the garage were beautiful until yesterday and they succumbed to the freeze.   Time to move them to their winter spot out of the way.   

My fist HA cruise was on the Noordam to Alaska and Juneau was one of our stops.   I enjoy everyone's photos of sunshine.   We had precious little our entire mid-September cruise.    We did a HA shorex to Mendenhall, a high view of the city and a private botanic garden.  These are just of the botanic garden.  

 

[kochleffel]

Rabbit, rabbit, the white rabbit did not help me find a watch - the shop was closed for the holy day. Other shops could have sold me a smart watch or Rolex.

 

Seven of us from the roll call had dinner last night at a restaurant reached by a series of dark alleys. Maybe we'll meet at sail away.

[RedneckBob]

Ok, I decided to break my silent and post even though it is RNB’s intentions to avoid any forms of internet while relaxing on an extended vacation.

 

Thanks for the Fleet Update and General Info from all contributors.

 

Todays Port is Juneau.  First there in 1990 on the OLD Westerdam that only had port windows in the MDR! As you probably know a famous singer made her debut in Juneau with her hit song, “Juneau the way to San Jose”. Of course I am speaking of Dionne Warwick.

 

And a few years ago while on an excursion in Juneau, the tour guide told a story of a friend of his had climbed up a tall tree to look for bears, ran across an old eagles nest and found 12 dog collars in the nest! While in Juneau always have your dog in close sight to you!

 

Thats all. Back to my peace and relaxation.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

RABBIT  🐰  RABBIT  🐰  WHITE RABBIT!  🐇

 

Good morning from a clear and cold central Texas.  It is 34F, but feels like 31F with only an 3 mph breeze.  The humidity is 84% but with the dew point at 30F, it should drop as our temperatures rise to a predicted high of 55F.  We have a freeze warning for tonight, but our bushes will be able to handle it without any intervention from us.  By Friday, we'll see highs in the 70s and 80s for a week as our cold weather moves east.

 

Author's day and family literacy day do go together.  While I never cooked anything specifically for our pets, they did get cooked food.  The dachshunds were very good about begging for some of our food.  One really loved chocolate chip cookies, and she would only get a bite that did not have a chocolate chip in it.

 

The Chesterton quote is thought provoking to say the least.

 

The meal sounds nice, but I would need to see the recipes Debbie @dfish finds for us.  I may be beginning to sound like Paul @kochleffel when it comes to mojitos.  Please don't mess with an all ready good drink.  The wine sounds nice and the price is reasonable.

 

I have lost track of how many times we've been to Juneau beginning in 1992 in the pre-digital age.

 

The development of the diphtheria vaccine in 1894 was a good day in medicine.

 

@puppycanducruise  Melanie, the snow looks inviting from our safe distance away from snow.  That is the way I like to see snow.  Sorry you are dealing with the white stuff so early in the fall.

@kazu  Jacqui, I hope the white stuff misses you, but glad you are getting the tires changed today.  I have been learning to do many of the jobs DH used to do.  On some, it is a learning curve for both of us.

@RMLincoln  Maureen, I'm glad the relatives arrived safely yesterday.

@Nickelpenny  Penny, I hope the MRI has some answers to your problems.  In the meantime, steroid shots do help until it is time for surgery.

@kochleffel  Paul, I hope you can find a watch in another port.  I'm glad seven of your got to meet at dinner last night.

@RedneckBob  RNB, enjoy your peaceful vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

Lenda

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We have been to Juneau on at least 12 cruises, plus we have driven to Alaska seven times in our motorhome.. 

 

To get out of the Texas summer, we started doing b2b2b2b cruises.  Also, we found that doing 2 or more b2bs, we have a better chance for good weather (meaning clouds, no rain) at least once in each port.  In 2018, Alaska was having a heatwave in the southeastern part of the state, so we had tremendous weather all but the last time in Juneau.

 

Our first cruise there, we took a helicopter flight to Taku glacier. We landed on the glacier and when we took off, the pilot flew through some wide crevasses.  Unfortunately, those pictures are in a photo album.  For the most part, I tried to pick pictures a little off the beaten path.

 

The first two are from Douglas Island, taken the day we rented a car.  Volendam was with the Zaandam that day.

 

We saw this statue as we came across the bridge back into Juneau.  

 

In 2015, we were on Statendam for her final call in Juneau before heading to Singapore and then to Australia. 

 

The day we rented a car in Juneau in 2015, we saw this bear up close and personal at the boardwalk by the parking lot at the Mendenhall Glacier.  Fortunately, there was a strong fence between us and the bear.

 

Finally, a classic picture of Juneau without the classic Juneau weather.

 

Lenda

[JazzyV]

Good morning. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily. Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit!

I'll salute authors, no pet to cook for, and family literacy is important. It's also Dias de los Muertos. I like the quote. I've never made a spatchcock chicken. Pass on the drink and yes to the wine. I have been to Juneau on the Ryndam in 2009. The diphtheria vaccine was an important breakthrough.

 

There were bands of snow showers here earlier, with some areas getting 4" and others (like mine) only getting a few flurries. It's 32F with a high of 41. I'll be staying inside; it's the first weekday without an appointment for a while. I took a Benadryl last night and crashed around 10PM due to being so tired. While it helped me fall asleep, I still only got about 3-1/2 hours total, as I couldn't lay down due to pain. I came downstairs early and tried to nap in the recliner, but the leg pain was just too much. I have a check-in call to pain management, but the next big step is seeing the Neurosurgery PA on Friday. Tomorrow is PMR doctor. I have some stuff I need to do around the house, so I'll make an attempt.

 

@kochleffel @Vict0riann @ocean sounds Bon Voyage!

@seagarsmoker Enjoy your day!

@aliaschief It sounds like a fun Halloween onboard.

@StLouisCruisers Great photos.

@Nickelpenny I'm glad you're getting the MRI. 

@kplady @GTVCRUISER Nice photos.

@ottahand7 I was in Glacier gardens; not sure if that's the same place.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Excellent photos.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers to those Celebrating.

 

A few photos.

Arriving to the dock area in Juneau.

 

They were celebrating 50 years of statehood (2009).

 

Being greeted by a moose on debarkation.

 

Mendenhall glacier.

 

We were supposed to do a helicopter ride and land on a glacier, but the weather was not good and it was too windy. So we went whale watching instead.

 

[kazu]

 

1 hour ago, superoma said:

started my eye drops this morning in prep for cataract surgery tomorrow. I will look strange without glasses as I have been wearing them since grade 3! (1958 I think). Reading glasses that will be necessary don’t count since you don’t need to wear them all the time!

 

 

 

Best wishes for your cataract surgery tomorrow.

 

 

39 minutes ago, Nickelpenny said:

Got the MRI scheduled for next Monday.  2nd chiro appt done also yesterday.  So far nothing is improving the numbness.  It always hurts but for me that is normal.  At least with the MRI we will be able to see what we are dealing with.  I have a feeling they will recommend a steroid shots which is just treating symptoms!!!  We will see.  I don't think they will go the PT route as I work out with a trainer 3x a week.  But who knows what the insurance will approve.  

 

 

Hope the MRI can lead to a long term solution, Pennie 🤞 

 

[tjcox9]

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

I noticed this morning that Zuiderdam was moving along in a southerly direction in the Red Sea instead of Aqaba, Jordan.  I guess they've had to adjust their itinerary.  There are a lot of U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea right now.  I hope they all stay safe over there.

 

Have a great day everyone!  Stay safe and well.

Regarding the Zuiderdam, I saw this post a couple of days ago. I had it in a sent e-mail to friends who are also in the region with those ports on their Azamara itinerary. They are due in Aqaba on the 3rd and Sharm El Sheikh on the 4th. The last I heard from them, those ports had not been cancelled, but still possible. They are in Safaga Egypt today and tomorrowl

 

We are on the Zuiderdam on the Grand Africa cruise and our ports of Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm el Shiekh, Egypt were just canceled because of the unrest in this part of the world. They were able to add an extra day in the Seychelles and a new port in Oman to make up for it. The cruise has been wonderful so far!

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

@Vict0riann  Ann, I hope you and Pat have a very enjoyable cruise.

 

 

Lenda

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

@kochleffel  Paul, I hope your cruise is all you expect it to be and more.

 

 

Lenda

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

@ocean sounds  Enjoy your quick get away.

 

 

Lenda

 

[Heartgrove]

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! 

 

One week before we Amtrak-it to NYC for our Carnival Venzia cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Looking forward to it! 

 

Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need.  

 

- Jack

[travelingbums]

Rabbit   Rabbit   White Rabbit

 

Have a great day.

[seagarsmoker]

Back from St John's, Antigua already... Much of the shopping area is closed as they are celebrating Independence day on the islands. 

Very clean and easy to navigate the shopping area along with passengers from the Aurora.  

 

[kochleffel]

On board. Easiest boarding process ever. Also no problem getting a taxi in the Ramblas, and the driver saw the HAL tags and knew immediately where I wanted to go.

[dfish]

Rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit!

Good morning, everyone!

 

It is a cold start to the day here in mid-Michigan with a temperature of 27F.  But, we do have blue skies and that helps make up for it.  A few more leaves have fallen, but not enough to drag me out to rake or blow them to the curb.  

 

Our niece came over last night with her two little guys for Trick or Treat.  We were their last house, so they came in for cupcakes and cider. We had a nice visit with them.  We only had 6 trick or treaters come to the door, but that is 6 more than the neighbors said we would get.  I guess they are getting braver to come up our street with no lights or sidewalks.  The kids we did get were older, so no littles except for the one from next door who brought his mom and dad with him.  

 

We are going to have River this weekend so we made plans to take her out to our nieces so she can play with the boys and see the chickens.  River needs a break so she can just be a 6 year old for a couple of days, so that is our plan.  

 

Today's meal is an interesting way of cooking chicken or turkey.  Spatchcocking a chicken or turkey is supposed to speed up cooking time while making the cooking more even.  It makes sure the dark meat gets done without over cooking and drying out the white meat.  https://natashaskitchen.com/spatchcock-chicken-recipe-video/

 

 

It is easy to turn a spatchcocked chicken into a one pan meal.  Just surround it with the vegetables you like!   https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/roast-spatchcock-chicken

 

 

The seasonings you use on the chicken can vary according to taste.  The ones in the recipes are suggestions for you, but if you have a favorite way to season your chicken, go for it!  Spatchcock chicken is a method of cooking more than anything else.  https://www.themediterraneandish.com/crispy-spatchcocked-chicken-recipe/

 

 

And there you have it!   

 

Safe travels and loads of fun to our Dailyite friends embarking on cruises.  What fun!

 

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

[Heartgrove]

16 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

On board. Easiest boarding process ever. Also no problem getting a taxi in the Ramblas, and the driver saw the HAL tags and knew immediately where I wanted to go.

 

Agreed! Barcelona is one of the smoothest embarkations.

[ger_77]

Rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit.   Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  Hurray for authors and for the literacy they create among young and old.  I've never cooked for any of our pets, but I'm sure they'd like to have me do it.

 

It looks like everyone is starting to feel the new month with cold weather - sorry that we've shared it with all of you!  We're sitting at -4C (24F), and we're only expecting a high of 0 (32F) with cloudy grey skies all day.  Last week the forecast said today we should be having a high of +5, so we thought we might put the Christmas lights on the house . . . that won't be happening today, and looking at the forecast, we might just forego the lights all together this year because of the cold.  

 

Last night was fun - we had a total of 38 little and bigger people coming to the door with some fun costumes.  One little wee guy kept saying "I'm a knight, I'm a knight, I'm a knight."  I think he figured that was good enough to get some candy.  We also had a surprise visit from our Ukrainian friends - their little girl was dressed as a Pokemon creature and was just adorable.  This was their first Halloween and both parents and child were just so excited about it.   We're having them over for a delayed Thanksgiving dinner on the weekend so we'll hear all about their experience when we get together.

 

Bon Voyage to all our Daily-ites; @kochleffelI'm happy to hear boarding process was painless, as that's been our experience every time in Barcelona as well.

 

I'm going to definitely pass on the drink of the day (just can't imagine the combination of flavors), will say yes to the wine, and haven't ever spatchcocked a chicken.  DH has requested breaded pork chops, so I've got a couple thawing in the fridge that will be served along with baked potatoes and green beans at the kitchen table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially those in pain and those suffering from the ravages of wars.  Cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

[cruising sister]

Good morning,

it is a clear cold morning.  There were lots of trick or treaters at my DS house which was nice. I think I ate my weight in candy and feel pretty blah this morning. DB had a pretty rough night so hopefully today will go better. 
 

I was in Juneau for a 90th birthday cruise for my dad. He always wanted to go to Alaska. He would have preferred a pickup truck and camper but realized this was the only way he was getting there. He was apprehensive about cruising since the last ship he was on was coming back from WWII. I told him he would find this different and he had a great time. 
 

I am sad reading how many of our Dailyites are having pain. I hope relief comes soon. I am happy to read so many are off cruising. I agree with @kochleffel boarding in Barcelona was a breeze. Have a great trip.  
 

The recipes look delicious. I will surely try one this weekend. I will celebrate vaccines and have seen what a difference  they make during the years I practiced.  Having Diphtheria must have been awful for Graham’s mom. 

Prayers and well wishes. Have a great day. 

 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

For a lot of cruisers, Alaska is their first cruise.  It was for us.  I remember back in 2001 at Thanksgiving dinner.  DDIL said “I'd love to take an Alaskan cruise”.  DH said “me too”!  DS and I looked at them and said, "uhhh, okay!!".  DDIL contacted a travel agent and set it all up for July 2002.  We were such newbies we didn't even know we should fill out all the paperwork online ahead of time so it took us a while to get checked in.  But we had a wonderful trip and that is what got us started on cruising. 

 

Way back on July 17, 2002 we were in Juneau on Star Princess, where DS and DDIL went horseback riding at the Mendenhall glacier.  They were wearing rain capes since it was a little showery at times.  They enjoyed it a lot!  Aww, they look so young.

  

Some of the scenery along the way.

 

Not to mention the glacier!

 

Meanwhile DH and I walked around town and went up the Mount Roberts Tramway.  Here's the Star Princess below us.

 

A wet downtown.

 

 

The sun came out as we prepared to leave that day, of course.  Doesn't it always happen that way?  Here I am watching the sea planes take off and land.

 

 

 

I remembered something about our first cruise to Alaska in 2002.  We were out on the decks in Glacier Bay moving about the ship to get different views, when I looked down and saw a diamond tennis bracelet laying there.  I put it in my coat pocket and finished watching the glaciers.  A half hour later I went to Guest Services and dropped off the bracelet, giving my details.  Right in the middle of it all, another clerk was taking a call from a woman who was distraught over losing her mother's tennis bracelet which was quite unique.  It was passed down to her.  They had her describe it and it matched the one I brought in.  So she came down to retrieve it, and sent DH and I a bottle of champagne as thanks.  I always hope someone will do the same if I lost a piece of jewelry or a camera, etc.  This is where I found the bracelet, either just before or just after the photo was taken.

 

 

 

In 2009 we did back to back Alaska cruises on Sapphire Princess.  That worked out very well since the first week the weather in Glacier Bay was so bad, and we had to turn around and leave to try to beat a huge storm in the Gulf of Alaska.  On the second segment of our cruise the weather in Glacier Bay was sunny, windless, and almost warm.  The photos turned out great!

 We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on these cruises.

 

 

In 2009 in Juneau we took a long walk around town, and even walked to see what the Governor's Mansion looked like.

 

 

 

After our tour about town, we boarded a local bus that took tourists out to Mendenhall Glacier since we hadn't seen it in 2002.  Here is the glacier again, and an interesting display of glacier ice.

 

 

 

The next week we docked in Juneau on Sept. 16 but the weather was rainy and miserable, so the only photos taken that day were of another ship coming into port, and our Captain’s Circle party followed by formal night dinner that evening.  Looks like the alternating weather forecasts for the two week cruise was still holding true.

 

 

 

For our 50^th anniversary (actual date) we did the 14 day Amsterdam Alaska cruise in August-September 2019.  It was a great day weather-wise when we visited Juneau.  The seaplanes are always fun to watch.

 

 

We got off to walk around thanks to that great weather.  Besides you have to work hard to burn calories while cruising!

 

 

 

Tram shots

 

 

Another HAL ship arriving

 

 

We had a great day!

 

 

Absolutely stunning photos Sandi.

Fantastic photos of yourself and Dennis and of your son and his dear wife.