The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday February 1st, 2024

[kazu]

Today is Candy-Making Day, Car Insurance Day, and Change Your Password Day
 

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it. - Laurence J. Peter

Meal Suggestion for today - Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
Drink of the Day - Mint Julep
Wine of the Day - Nino Negri 2018 Vigna Fracia Nebbiolo
Destination of the Day - Gatun Lake, Panama 

Today in History:
1843 Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America - The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY) opens
1884 1st volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, published
1893 Thomas Edison completes worlds 1st movie studio at West Orange, New Jersey

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 02-03
 

Koningsdam

At Sea Destination Nawiliwili, Lihue, Kauai Island Hawaii eta 02-05
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 02-03
 

Nieuw Statendam

Roatan Island, Mahogany Bay-Coxen Hole, Honduras 08:00 - 17:00 
 

Oosterdam

Punta del Este, Uruguay 08:00 - 16:00 
 

Rotterdam

At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 02-03
 

Zaandam

At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Carnival private island eta 02-02
 

Zuiderdam

At Sea Destination Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island eta 02-06

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

Dunedin, Port Chalmers, New Zealand 08:00 - 18:00 
 

Volendam

Cairns, Queensland Australia 08:00 - 17:00 
 

Westerdam

At Sea Destination Hong Kong, China eta 02-03

 

[RedneckBob]

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

[rafinmd]

Rabbit 🐇 Rabbit 🐇 White Rabbit 🐰 

 

Today's maps:

 

 

Roy

[ottahand7]

Good morning from the Caribbean.  A lazy day for us with 2 sea days in a row.  Thanks for the Daily Reports and maps Jacqui and Roy. 

 

Thanks for the cares and celebrations reports @JazzyV.  I will have time to stay on top of the reports today. Prayers for everyone needing them and the people of Ukraine.  @Cruzin Terri I hope you are having a relaxing cruise.  Continued prayers for Tana and some pain relief for Vanessa. 

Sunrise this morning.  Going 19 knots so a little smoke to go with.  

 

[RedneckBob]

Today days. Candy making day; are we sure it is also not Hug a Dentist Day.

 

Car Insurance Day. Are you kidding again. Florida ranks third in highest insurance rates! Last two years our car insurance went up 50%! If any of y’all watch Live Patrol TV show on weekends, almost everyone pulled over by police in Florida have suspended or no license and no insurance. Guess I know why rates are high.

 

Change password day. Right. That would take more than a day with so many passwords. So it would work if it was Change password in two days!

Edited February 1 by RedneckBob

[seagarsmoker]

Good morning dailyites and thank you for the Daily Report.

Not much to report from here. I woke up to a cool morning today. Going to do our taxes and load pics from the camera to the pc from our Christmas cruise.

I hope everyone has a great day! 

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[puppycanducruise]

Rabbit   Rabbit   White Rabbit

Cloudy with a chance of rain for us today.  Strange weather.

Thanks for the Report.  Love the maps.

I don't make candy, but I eat it.  Car insurance is important.  I know I should change my passwords, but I'm not sure I will today.

I like the quote.

I'll pass on the meal and the drink but I hope I'll like the wine.

We were in Gatun Lake years ago on a partial Panama Canal cruise.

Prayers for our world.  Cheers for all the celebrations.

Have a wonderful day.  Stay safe.

[StLouisCruisers]

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit! 🐇 Good morning friends!  It's 31F and clear this first day of February.  High should be about 60 with mostly sunny skies.

 

Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet maps for us today.  It's always nice to see the locations and plan for the future, or reminisce about past cruises.  I don't have plans to make candy today or any day - I'll leave that to the experts.  Car insurance is important and ours is paid up.  I hope I don't have to change any passwords right now.  That is a never ending worry!  Someone was just mentioning black bean soup so here is another recipe in case anyone wants one.  A drink I have at least heard of but never tried.  No idea what the wine is but Ann will tell us what it's all about.  Hurrah for the first Oxford dictionary, movie studio and oldest insurance company!  Thank you Eva @superoma, Paul @kochleffel, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports!

 

Prayers said for my DB and other family and friends, and my friends here in need of them especially those on the Care list.  Special prayers for Vanessa @JazzyV who has been in pain so long, and Tana who never seems to get a break. 🙏  Extra prayers for the people in Israel and Ukraine experiencing war and loss, the hostages still held, and our military in danger from attack constantly.  🙏  A salute to everyone celebrating happy events, all on the Celebration list, and our cruisers.  There are a lot of you! 🚢🎂🥂  Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for taking care of the lists for us!  We know for a fact it's a lot of work.

 

The port this morning is Gatun Lake, Panama.  This was the port very early into the Port of the Day series back on April 15, 2021 and again on July 25, 2021.  I'll post the links then go get the photos posted.  I put a few up.  Lots of us had photos to post that day.  Lenda had quite a few and I hope to get them all posted for her and not miss any.

 

 

 

The second link included cruising Panama Canal so go for it!  Many of us have done that cruise so show us what you enjoyed the most.  

 

Hoping you all have a great day!  Stay safe and keep well!

 

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care List:

Cruising sister’s great niece Murphy post-surgery, on CPAP, gtube

Bennybear’s having a friend pass

JazzyV with right leg pain, tingling and numbness; trouble walking

All in the path of storms and frigid temperatures

 

Citizens of Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; loss of US military members

All Dailyites going through worries and stress, whether mentioned or not

 

From the Rotation:

Tana with pulmonary issues

Atexsix’s DD now in hospice care

Ger_77’s DH Maurice having breathlessness; getting changes in meds/PM

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

RMLincoln’d DH’s doing well after eye surgery

Kochleffel’s (Paul’s) Mohs surgery completed with one pass

Superoma/Kochleffel covering the Daily meal and drink recipes 

Kazu stepping up to keep the FR/Daily going while Rich is cruising

 

The Daily Gardening Club posting wonderful flower pictures

All the contributors to the Fleet Report/Daily

 

Upcoming Cruises or At Sea:

 

7 days for Lady Hudson (Vision of the Seas Feb 8 to Feb 16) 8d Southeast Coast & Bahamas

 

Sailingdutchy (Rotterdam to Feb 4, 21d PC Sunfarer & Southern Caribbean Seafarer),Tupper10 (Rotterdam to Feb 4, 9d Southern Caribbean), Norseh2o (Oceania Regatta to Feb 8 ) 12d NZ Discovery, Cruzin Terri (Oceania Vista to Feb 11) 11d Windward Islands Explorer, summer slope (Koningsdam to Feb 17) 18d Circle Hawaii, Sharon in AZ (Koningsdam to Feb 17) 18d Circle Hawaii, Quartzsite Cruiser (Koningsdam to Feb 17) 18d Circle Hawaii, Dfish & Sue (Koningsdam to Feb 17) 18d Circle Hawaii, 0106 (Oosterdam to Feb 20) - celebrating her birthday on board, 22d SA & Antarctica, Ottahand7 (Eurodam to Feb 24 B2B2B Caribbean), Cruising-along (Volendam to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Durangoscots (Volendam to April 6, 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage), cruising sister (Volendam to April 6, 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage), Cruisercl (Volendam to April 6, 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage), Richwmn(Volendam to May 4, Jan 3 94d Grand Australia & NZ Voyage + Apr 6 15d PC Cruise + Apr 21 The Atlantic Coast), Cat in my lap (Zuiderdam to May 11, 128d Grand World Voyage) andAliaschief (Azamara Onward WC to June 9, 156d World Voyage)

[StLouisCruisers]

Gatun Lake is an interesting "port" and it's hard to take a tour there unless a ship's tour.  When we went through the Canal in 2016 on Westerdam we saw the Coral Princess ahead of us.  When it arrived in Gatun Lake they anchored and let down their tender boats, so it seems they were going to do some ship's tours there.  I don't know for sure since we were transiting straight through and didn't hang around.  

 

Here we are leaving the locks and preparing to enter Gatun Lake

 

Coral Princess with tenders down and loading passengers.

 

I was standing at the bow and this was the view behind me.

 

And the real reason we book Panama Canal cruises - the Panama rolls!

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Here is Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser's first post on April 15, 2021 regarding Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal.

 

 

Our 2020 roundtrip canal cruise marked the 14th and 15th times we have made a full transit.  We've never done a partial transit.  When we are in Arizona it is an easy drive to San Diego for either a Hawaii cruise or a canal cruise, and taking the ship back from FLL is a lot easier and more fun than flying.

 

Since this post is getting long, I'll break the pictures up into two posts.  The first group is more about other parts of the canal than  Lake Gatun.

 

A view of the remnants of Ferdinand de Lesseps attempt to build a canal through Panama.

 

The control building at the Gatun Locks with a banner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the canal.

 

The work area at Gamboa.

 

The sad condition of Titan in 2020, showing a lot of rust and needing a new paint job.

 

These are the original gears and motors used to open the lock gates before the hydraulic motors were installed.  These are on display at the Gatun Locks. 

 

Lenda

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning, thanks for today’s daily fleet report.  Well the kids made up for yesterday, they created a commotion to get me up at 4.  Today’s meal suggestion sounds good for lunch.  It’s going to be a busy work day with several meetings and getting up to speed on more accounts that I took over yesterday when a team member retired.  I hope everyone has a good day today.

[StLouisCruisers]

Lenda's second post on April 15, 2021.

 

 

It always amazes me, that with all the technology available, using rowboats to get the forward lines to the mules is still the best method.  Last year, one of the line throwers kept missing his mark and had to try several times.

 

Gatun Lake Dam

 

In 2014 on the Veendam, the gates for the new locks were lined up on shore.

 

Construction of the new lock Agua Clara lock as seen from the Veendam.

 

The completed entrance to the Agua Clara lock from Lake Gatun.

 

Finally, a ship transiting the Agua Clara lock in 2020 as seen from the Rotterdam.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

Lenda's third post on April 15, 2021

 

 

Even though we are focusing on Gatun Lake, I thought I'd veer slightly from the canal with some pictures of Panama.  In 2009,  the Statendam made a stop in Panama before the next day's transit of the canal. due to an itinerary change.   The ship had to miss our Good Friday call in Guatemala as the tour operators said they would not be able to get the buses to and from the port due to crowds in town.

 

We were lucky enough to book a tour on the train to Colon and to get seats in the observation car.  Unfortunately, we were not close to the canal most of the trip, and the few pictures of the canal from the train are not very good.

 

The train and the observation car.

 

 

A couple of pictures of Colon after boarding the bus back to Amador.  It was not a place we wanted to walk around.

 

 

On the way back to Amado, we stopped at the Visitor Center at the Pedro Miguel locks.  There is a small museum on the lower levels which was interesting.  From the observation deck, we had a good overview of the locks.  Unfortunately, thee were no ships in the locks the entire time we were there.

 

Once we got back to Amador, we found a taxi to take us on a tour of Panama City.  It is a city of contrasts, with slums and high-rise buildings next to each other along with ruins of old forts and some remaining colonial buildings.  We have said since then, that Panama City looks better from the ship, but we are glad we had the opportunity to see the city.  I'm just going to post a picture of one house, and I think the sign outside the gate tells all you need to know about the house and its condition.

 

 

The grounds were very much lacking @kazuJacqui's touch  or any gardener's touch.  I don't remember if he was in jail in Panama or the US at that time.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

Lenda's fourth post on April 15, 2021 was mainly about boats seen in the Canal.

 

 

As you know when you transit the Panama Canal, you will see all types of ships.  However, in 1997 on the Horizon, before we discovered HAL, in the Gatun Locks, we were beside some unusual boat(s).  I'll post the pictures, which are a combination of scanned hard copies and screen shots from DH's video; then I'll finish the story.

 

The first boat approaching the locks, and your eyes aren't deceiving you.

 

The escort boats and the boat in the locks.  Notice the lawn chair to the right (in the picture) or port side of the wheel house.  The leader of the escort party used it as he enjoyed the locks

 

 

And some stood on the conning tower.  It looks like the guys in the white shirts sitting down may be the canal pilots.

 

We were told when submarines transit the canal, they must remain on the surface, which leaves them venerable to attack, thus the escort boats.  I'm not sure if we were told the name of the sub, but we were told the class, but neither of us can remember the class after 20+ years.

 

As you can see, the captain let the sub's company stand on deck.  They were having as much fun watching the cruise ship as we were watching them.  For those who had to remain in the conning tower, they used the periscope to check us out.  With the zoom on the camera or with binoculars, we could see the periscope slowly panning back and forth.

 

Once we left the locks, the sub and escorts moved ahead and that was the last we saw of the sub.  However, after leaving the Miraflores Locks, the small gun boats came out from the Navy base circling the ship as a goodbye gesture.

 

My final picture of the day was taken in 1996 before the major widening of the cut began.  It is the monument honoring the construction workers who built the canal.  It was on Contractor's Hill, but has since been removed as the hill was cut down and cut back.  

 

[Nickelpenny]

Rabbit Rabbit White Rabbit!  Boy, is it February already?  I don't think I can or will make any candy today or change any of my hundreds of passwords and I just paid my car insurance 😬. Funny quote.  I think I will pass on the meal, never tried the drink, ? wine, and I was in Gatun Lake about a month ago. Interesting days in history.

 

 

Up early this morning as I have a busy, busy day.  It will also get up to the high 70s so it will be beautiful but we are expecting a storm tomorrow with a drop in temps of ~25 degrees!  Yesterday was fun but I was hurting by time I got to PT.  I am not so much of a sitter when I sub and the walking around gets to me.  More of the same today after I go check in with a study I am in at 0700. Then after my school gig, off to the pain doc for an assessment.  I won't get home until around 1830 so it will make for a long day.

 

 

Thoughts for those on the care list and cheers for those celebrating.

 

 

Have a great day everyone.

 

[grapau27]

Rabbit 🐇 Rabbit 🐇 White Rabbit 🐰.

Best wishes for the new month.

46°F and cloudy here.

I have worked for candy/chocolate making companies for over 35 years.

It is good practice to change your passwords regularly.

I will give today's food and drink a miss.

We have never been to today's port.

It is nice to see so many dailyites cruising.

I hope everyone is safe and well and y'all have a lovely day.

 

 

 

[kazu]

Rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit.  Welcome February 1st - glad to see the last of January 75th  (at least that’s how it felt) 😉 

 

hmmm on the days.  Car insurance is a must but I have a hard time celebrating it with how much it costs.  There aren’t enough hours in the day to change all my passwords 😂  There’s some truth to the Peters quote.  Gatun Lake is a great destination.  A nice taste of the Panama Canal in a shorter time span.  When we did the Sunfarer cruise we were up at the ridiculous hour to see it all as we went through the first lock & then off to the Embera Village and really enjoyed it - even the trip in the canoes to get there.  

 

 

Finally, I have gotten the furniture delivered to the young man I was helping.  I hate when people volunteer and then fail to do keep their commitment.  I got fed up and coughed up the $$$ to have it moved to his place. He really needed it.  Glad we got it done before the snow starts again later today, tonight and tomorrow.

 

 

I’m sure a number of you are waiting with bated breath for the ground hog’s predictions tomorrow.   Don’t hold your breath -  I can just about guarantee it won’t be good news & if it is, they are probably lying 😂 

 

 

Thanks to Rich, Roy, Vanessa, Paul, Eva & Ann for their dedication. Prayers to those on the Care list, those suffering losses, grief, health problems, pain, worries and those that need them 🙏. Cheers to those celebrating and cruising 🥂 

 

[Denise T]

Happy Thursday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet report. 

I like the meal of the day and may try the drink of the day. I love chocolate. That is all I need to say about that. 

Partly sunny but chilly today. Not much going on for me except for work. Looking forward to the weekend. 

Thinking of all on the care list. 

Celebrating with all who are celebrating. 

Have a safe and healthy day. 

[GTVCRUISER]

[NextOne]

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit! I've been through the canal, but the first trip was a partial transit, where we took the ship's excursion on a small boat to the Pacific entrance and took the bus back to meet the ship. We were so glad we had been warned that this was one of the times it was a good idea to take the ship's tour -- we got back to the ship 2 hours late!

Today would have been my late DH's birthday. I so miss having him as my travel partner!

 

Thanks to everyone who make the Daily such a warm, caring & safe spot. Prayers raised for all who need them, and cheers for all who are celebrating!

[cat shepard]

Thank you for today’s FR& D, Jacqui! Roy thank you for mapping our BHB.  It was 42 this morning and the sky was already getting light - but the wind! Brrr. It came in like a lion yesterday afternoon, and hasn’t left. But it is sunny and will warm up to the high 60s, so I will take it. 
 

 

Vanessa, thank you for keeping up with us - in spite of all you are dealing with. I was sorry to read that your lessening of the pain was all too brief. Praying that three weeks from today - your relief from pain will be permanent. 
 

Mammogram, Bindi walks, my painting guru comes and paints the garage and all my exterior doors, chores, more grout cleaning and wrapping up the day at the local wine bar to pick up the wine I ordered at last week’s tasting. 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayers for all who need our support. Those suffering from pain, debilitating conditions, grieving the loss of a loved one, or in a funk. The caregivers.  Thinking of you & Tana, Terry. Praying that the cold symptoms don’t last. 

 

Cheers to all who are celebrating!

 

May we each find a reason to smile today. 
 

*********

Nino Negri 2018 Vigna Fracia Nebbiolo

Love a “contemplative” wine. I suspect I would enjoy this wine, but it is outside of my budget. A few online distributors with prices starting at $54.95.

95 Wine Enthusiast 

This wine opens with aromas of warmed strawberries, violet, rosemary and forest floor. The palate achieves a near-perfect balance between fruit and savory notes, each in harmony. Elegant tannins and lifted acidity saunter to the finish, where the wine lingers in a contemplative manner. Supple and so pretty. Drink now–2035.

[MISTER 67]

Greetings from beautiful Punta Gorda where we have another cool but sunny morning at 51 with a high of 72 

Mixed bag of days with car insurance being a necessary evil as is changing your password but I’m glad for candy making day especially anything with chocolate in it

I’m in on the soup

We’ve sailed into Gatun Lake a few times plus on one cruise we did the train ride from Colon the full length of the Canal to Panama City, pretty interesting as we stopped at the museum at the Miraflores Locks.

Have a great day and stay well

 

Edited February 1 by MISTER 67

[Mr. Boston]

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.  Good morning everyone and thanks for the daily updates.  Another gloomy day here.  A pan of peanut butter fudge would be nice for candy making today.  Our car insurance was paid in the fall and I’d rather not think about it until next fall.  While it’s a good idea to change your passwords I won’t be doing that today.  Interesting quote.  The meal suggestion sounds nice but I’ll save my mint julep for the Kentucky Derby.  I haven’t been to today’s port but I hope to someday soon.  Prayers for those on today’s prayer list.  Happy __________ to those of you celebrating today!🥂