The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday February 5th, 2024

[kazu]

Today is Adlai Stevenson Day, Disaster Day, and National Chocolate Fondue Day

 

I wanna make a jigsaw puzzle that's 40,000 pieces. And when you finish it, it says 'go outside.' - Demetri Martin

Meal Suggestion for today - Hot Pot-Style Pork & Vegetables
Drink of the Day - Corpse Reviver No. 2
Wine of the Day - Apothic Cabernet Sauvignon 
Destination of the Day - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Today in History:
1969 United States population reaches 200 million

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

At Sea Destination Philipsburg St Maarten, Netherlands Antilles eta 02-06
 

Koningsdam

Nawiliwili, Lihue, Kauai Island Hawaii 08:00 - 18:00 
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos 07:00 - 15:00 
 

Nieuw Statendam

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 10:00 - 18:00 
 

Oosterdam

At Sea Destination Antarctic Experience 
 

Rotterdam

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 09:00 - 17:00 
 

Zaandam

Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos 11:00 - 18:00 
 

Zuiderdam

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

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

Hobart, Tasmania Australia 08:00 - 22:00 
 

Volendam

At Sea Destination Pulau Komodo Island, East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia eta 02-07
 

Westerdam

Shanghai, China 08:00 -

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care List:

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

Marshhawk’s DH Chuck having surgery for blocked leg artery 2/6

StLouisCruisers’ friend Scott hospitalized for infection, weakness, dehydration

lazey1 with mitral stenosis, now pulmonary edema; getting evaluated

Smitty34877 with Tana having a fever

Haljo1935 with a sinus infection

Marshhawk feeling ill, and Bubbles crossing the Rainbow Bridge

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

All in the path of storms 

 

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

Marshhawk’s DH Chuck post angioplasty, needing another procedure

Ger_77’s DH Maurice with pulmonary edema; getting changes in meds/PM

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Seagarsmoker starting his new job!

57redbird making progress after her spine surgery, but still with some pain

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:

 

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

6 days for Quilty964 (Nieuw Statendam Feb 11 to Feb 18) 7d E. 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) and Aliaschief (Azamara Onward WC to June 9, 156d World Voyage)

[rafinmd]

Today's maps:

 

 

 

 

Roy

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  After a lot of rain we have a temp of 40 with cloudy skies.  Traces of rain in the vicinity.  Rain should end by mid morning and then we can go out and see how much we've accumulated in the 24 hour period.  High will be around 52.  

 

Thanks Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet maps today.  I'm not sure I want to celebrate Disaster Day!  And Adlai Stevenson was not a favorite politician in my life.  We can save this day by honoring the chocolate fondue.  Anything chocolate is pretty much okay with me.  That is quite an unusual quote.  I bet the hot pot people will be interested in the meal suggestion today.  Oh no, another grisly name for a cocktail!  I can't imagine ordering a Corpse Reviver No. 2!!  If I were a red wine drinker I would try the wine, but I'll just leave it for the rest of you.  The day in history is interesting to me.  200 million is a nice round number.  Thank you to the F&B reporters Eva @superoma,  Paul @kochleffel, and Ann @cat shepard!!

 

Prayers were said before I even left the bed this morning.  I was watching the clock waiting for my usual time to do my treadmill and said my prayers for my family and friends in need of them, especially Scott and my DB.  Then I added prayers for the people of Israel and Ukraine and their lost loved ones, the hostages still held and the troops in the region in harm's way.  And finally I went through the list of Daily members who are in need of prayers for pain, sickness, awaiting medical procedures, and loss of loved ones.  Cheers to all celebrating happy events and the cruisers.  Enjoy being pampered at sea!  Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated for us!  We hope you had a good, or decent night's sleep with little pain.

 

If you are in the way of the rain coming to the west coast, watch out and stay safe.  I just saw the UCLA area got 9.19 inches of rain over the weekend, which is where one of my DGS's is living.  I hope he didn't get too wet and there's no flooding in the region

 

The port today is Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  This was our port before on May 18, 2021 and Aug. 29, 2022.  These ports that we first had in early 2021 usually need me to go back and redo the photos as they seem to have disappeared so I've been doing a lot of that lately.  I will post the links so you can go back and retrieve your photos.

 

 

 

Photos from me and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser coming up as soon as I can get it done. Hope you all have a good Monday, and stay safe and well.

[seagarsmoker]

Good morning Dailyites and thank you for the Daily Report!

My work laptop and monitors are supposed to arrive this morning via FedEx.

Then I will be starting my new job!

I hope everyone has a great day! 

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Thanks for the Report.

Thanks for the maps.

Another foggy morning and the snow is slowly melting (sorry Jacqui).  It's been a mild winter so far for us.

I'll celebrate chocolate fondue but I'll pass on the other 2 days.

I love the quote.

Not sure about the meal suggestion or the drink, but I hope  the wine is fine.

Prayers for everyone on the Care List.  Cheers for all the celebrations.

Stay safe. 

[superoma]

Feb 5

 

Hot pot style pork and vegetables.

 

This first website goes into great detail how to set up a hot pot, utensils needed, etc. personally, I would file this with my fondue recipes in the circular file but would try it at a good Chinese restaurant.

 

https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-hot-pot-at-home/

 

  

 

 

This one uses a slow cooker and, while not as authentic, seems easier to prepare. You could spice it up some as it seems bland.

 

https://www.thespruceeats.com/pork-hot-pot-slow-cooker-stew-3055393

[seagarsmoker]

Here are some photos from Curacao from our last cruise. We were there on Christmas Eve.  

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

 

In August 2018 we sailed into Montreal on the Seabourn Quest at the end of our Route of the Vikings II cruise.  It began in Reykjavik and cruised to a nice group of ports in Greenland and Maritime Canada.  This was our view as we headed towards the dock.

 

 

We reluctantly disembarked the beautiful Quest and boarded a bus for a tour of Montreal.  At the end of the tour we would be dropped off at the airport to fly to Amsterdam for our next cruise on the Prinsendam.  Our first stop on the tour was at the Notre-Dame Basilica.

 

 

 

The interior of this cathedral had some of the most beautiful lighting, altars and statues I have seen anywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scene in front of the cathedral

                                    

Unique statuary seen about town as we drove through the streets.

 

What is with their noses?

 

The Bank of Montreal.  There are no banks in my small town like that!

 

The Museum of Fine Arts.  The Dale Chihuly art object on the steps is called The Sun.

 

At a scenic overlook you can see Olympic Stadium (built for the 1976 Montreal summer Olympics) in the distance.  Big winners that summer were Bruce Jenner and Nadia Comaneci.

 

 

Our second time in Montreal (6 weeks later in October 2018) was the beginning of a Rotterdam Canada, New England, Atlantic Coast Cruise which ended in Tampa, Florida.  Continuing on down the coast of the U.S. to Florida makes this a very interesting and unique voyage.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Nickelpenny]

Good early morning to all and thanks for the daily and fleet report.  Today is Stevenson's BD - who knew!?! I don't want to celebrate Disaster Day but some chocolate fondue might be nice.  Good quote.  Love hot pot so might like the meal, corpse???? - maybe I will wait to see what it is, cabernet - yes, and I have been to Montreal a couple of times - last time was on a BHB in June.  Wow, we have increased the population by almost 50% since 1969.

 

 

I hope anyone in So Cal stays safe.  Was watching the weather this morning and the floods and rainfall totals are horrible.  We are expecting the storm tomorrow but today we will reach mid 70s under partly cloudy skies and right now it is 48F.  What's the difference between partly cloudy and partly sunny????  Hmmmmm. 

 

 

I woke up early (at 0400) so I just got up.  Busy morning as I go to a ~2 hr Pain and Memory study then off to a 2 hour subbing gig.  I will be done by 1300 so the rest of the day will be free to keep doing prep for my cruise.   My ricotta came out fine but a very small amount so I just threw it into the freezer for later.  I found a recipe to make it out of whole milk so someday I will try that.

 

 

Thoughts for those on the care list.  @seagarsmoker Have a great first day at work.  Cheers to those celebrating.

 

 

Have a great day everyone!

[StLouisCruisers]

Here are the photos Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser posted on Aug. 29, 2022 about Montreal.

 

 

We drove to Montreal from Dover, NJ, in 1969 or 1970, when DH was in the army.  We cruised there in 2004 on the old Regal Princess b2b round trip from NYC.  

 

As Montreal was a turnaround day, we had 2 1/2 days there, but were meeting friends, one of whom joined us for the return trip to NYC.  The other friend lived in St. Cathartines, ON, and took the train to Montreal to see the three of us.   We did some sightseeing, including a city bus that made a loop with a stop at Mont Royal Parc overlooking the city.  The first afternoon, we wandered around the underground shopping mall.  The last day, which was a short one, we went out to the Olympic village.

 

These are some of my pictures as walk around and rode on the city bus.

 

The view from Mont Royal Parc with the Olympic swimming venue in the background.

 

More of the fall colors

 

The swimming venue

 

 

Lenda

 

[superoma]

We will be on the road today so I won’t be back until much later this afternoon. We are off to see a hand surgeon in sarnia, about 2 hours from us, DH has dupytrins contracture in both hands. One was worked on a number of years ago here in Windsor but now that the other hand needs doing we don’t have anymore hand surgeons in Windsor. I only remembered yesterday that the hospital in sarnia was part of that cyberattack I mentioned a while back so I do hope this trip isn’t for naught. At least the weather is cooperating. No snow or rain, well above freezing. Hope everyone has a good day. Will check in later.

[cat shepard]

Thank you for today’s FR & D, Jacqui! Roy thank you for our maps. 
Back down to 49 this morning after a wild night of T-storms with strong winds. It is could and we may get more much needed rain. 
 

Vanessa, thank you for keeping up with us. Praying that you soon get permanent relief from your pain & can start catching up on your sleep.  Please take care when packing up your things. 
 

Gym, Bindi walks, more grout work and other fun chores will fill my day.  I am looking for a volunteer to take over the Wine du Jour postings from February 17th - 25th. I am taking short cruise to the Caribbean on NCL. And I have been warned that the ship’s internet is spotty - at best. I can email the list of wines to you in advance. If willing to help, please email me at annge3@gmail.com 

 

 

 

 

 

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. Terry, praying for Tana, you and your family. 
 

Cheers to all who are celebrating. Knock ‘em dead @seagarsmoker
Good luck!

 

May we each find a reason to smile today!
 

*************

Apothic Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Consumers love this very easy to find Cab. You can even order through Amazon, though it is carried by most stores that sell wine. Consumers describe it as smooth, silky and jammy. It is certainly priced to try with online prices starting at $9.47. I used the 2021 info, since that should be easy to find. 

Winemaker Notes

Our 2021 Apothic Cab captures the best of Cabernet Sauvignon, bringing a silky, elegant and delicate dimension to the typically bold characteristics of the variety. This wine showcases Cabernet Sauvignon’s distinctive fruit characteristics of blueberry, blackberry jam and dark plum, supported by soft, fine tannins that add plush richness to the mouthfeel. A small addition of Zinfandel to the wine adds layers of cherry and dark fruit notes as well as a hint of spice. Subtle suggestions of vanilla linger on the smooth finish, a reflection of the wine’s selective oak aging.
Viticulture Notes:
We selected the majority of the grapes for Apothic Cab from Lodi in California’s Delta region. California’s 2021 growing season was cool and mild, with a heat spell in August that resulted in an earlier than average harvest. Wines from this vintage showcase vibrant acidity and concentrated flavors.
Winemaking Notes:
We selected Cabernet Sauvignon grapes with the most intense fruit profile and the finest tannins, handling fruit with a soft touch in the cellar. We added a small portion of Zinfandel to the blend to complement the wine’s uniquely approachable palate and add additional dark and jammy characteristics. After harvest, fruit was destemmed with marginal crushing to gently extract color and tannins. Portions of the blend were aged on oak for two to four months to preserve elegant fruit notes and impart hints of vanilla.

 

[StLouisCruisers]

@Nickelpenny Pennie, I have heard that weather reporters use the term partly cloudy to refer to sky conditions at night while during the day when the sun is visible they refer to those same skies as partly sunny.  It makes sense, doesn't it?

[Denise T]

Happy Monday. Thank you for the Daily and Fleet reports. 

Well, a bit of excitement (not in a good way) last night. We are without a stove. As I was preparing dinner last night, I had the oven preheating. Well, it preheated all right and almost burned the house down. Apparently, there was a short (electric stove) and the oven kept getting hotter and hotter. Of course, I am oblivious to this until that stove went off with an error code, but the heating element was still on. My sister attempted to turn off the power to the kitchen but missed the fact that the range is on its own circuit. I managed to find the fuse for the range and turn it off. We, of course were panicking the whole time. We could not get an electrician out despite the fact that there was a danger to the entire home. My sister was about to call the fire department, but I found the fuse and got everything shut down. The home smelled liked burnt grease for the whole night despite having windows opened and candles lit. Stove shopping it is. This is the second house I lived in where an issue happened with the oven. Anyway, we are all safe. 

Thank you @StLouisCruisers for the pictures. I will be in Quebec City for the first time in October. 

Thinking of all on the care list. 

Celebrating with all who are celebrating. 

Have a safe and healthy day. 

 

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

It is currently partly sunny and 50°F here in North East England.

Thank you for today's daily events and HAL fleet positions.

The chocolate Fondue and today's meal are today's highlights.

Nice to see so many people cruising.

Good health wished for all.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[MISTER 67]

Greetings from beautiful Punta Gorda

Another cool rainy El Niño morning, no golf today

Silly quote

I’m good with the meal

We took a road trip from Chicago to Montreal and Quebec City in 1975, wonderful cities.

Being from Chicago I admired Adlai Stevenson and when I was 10 years old my favorite uncle took me to the 1956 Democrat National Convention at Chicago’s International Amphitheater and we saw Mr. Stevenson’s nomination acceptance speech for President. He was a rare breed, he was an honest politician and he also was very good when he was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations in JFK’s administration

I also happened to see JFK speak at Chicago Stadium 4 days before the 1960 election as part of Mayor Daley’s Torch Light Parade from Downtown to the Stadium

I also shook hands with Richard Nixon at Disneyworld in 1984, enough politics

Have a great day and stay well

 

Edited February 5 by MISTER 67

[RedneckBob]

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

 

Another you got to be kiddin day, Disaster Day! And a good day, Chocolate Fondue Day. But I quess if you are too much choc fondue it could be a disaster! 😳

 

[grapau27]

Sandi @StLouisCruisers.

Thank you for posting yours and Lendas superb photos of Montreal.

[MISTER 67]

59 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

 

In August 2018 we sailed into Montreal on the Seabourn Quest at the end of our Route of the Vikings II cruise.  It began in Reykjavik and cruised to a nice group of ports in Greenland and Maritime Canada.  This was our view as we headed towards the dock.

 

 

We reluctantly disembarked the beautiful Quest and boarded a bus for a tour of Montreal.  At the end of the tour we would be dropped off at the airport to fly to Amsterdam for our next cruise on the Prinsendam.  Our first stop on the tour was at the Notre-Dame Basilica.

 

 

 

The interior of this cathedral had some of the most beautiful lighting, altars and statues I have seen anywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scene in front of the cathedral

                                    

Unique statuary seen about town as we drove through the streets.

 

What is with their noses?

 

The Bank of Montreal.  There are no banks in my small town like that!

 

The Museum of Fine Arts.  The Dale Chihuly art object on the steps is called The Sun.

 

At a scenic overlook you can see Olympic Stadium (built for the 1976 Montreal summer Olympics) in the distance.  Big winners that summer were Bruce Jenner and Nadia Comaneci.

 

 

Our second time in Montreal (6 weeks later in October 2018) was the beginning of a Rotterdam Canada, New England, Atlantic Coast Cruise which ended in Tampa, Florida.  Continuing on down the coast of the U.S. to Florida makes this a very interesting and unique voyage.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Great photos, brings back memories from almost 50 years ago.

I’m still fascinated by Montreal’s Subway as the train ran on rubber wheels in slots, much quieter than Chicago and New York.

Edited February 5 by MISTER 67

[kazu]

Happy Monday everyone.

 

I don’t know about all of you but the last thing I need is another disaster.  I’ll pass on all of the days and all the chocoholics can have my fondue.  I kind of get a kick out of today’s quote.  Montreal is a fabulous city.  I’ve been there a few times but on land not on a cruise ship (so far).  Back in the day, I enjoyed a number of the Montreal Expos games.

 

 

 

Brrr - it’s cold & snowing and blowing here.  Ours is nothing though  compared to what other parts of the Maritimes got.  A new record with places getting over 3.5 feet of snow dumped on them. 😱  Nova Scotia really got buried.  For once, the Bay of Fundy worked in our favour 🙂   Although I’m jealous that your snow is melting @puppycanducruise I’m sure not complaining.

 

 

 

If any Daily-ites are looking for nice itinerary for 2025, take a look at the Oosterdam sailing on April 19th, 2025 - 25 day Western Crossing, Madeira, Morocco & Cote D’azur.    I have it on hold while my TA secures the cabin out of inventory and I ask Ivan’’s permission 😂 

 

 

 

Prayers for those on the Care list, those suffering losses, grief, pain, health problems, worries & those that need them 🙏 Cheers to those celebrating and cruising 🥂 

 

[Mr. Boston]

Good morning everyone.  Thanks for our daily updates.  I think that I could create a disaster with a chocolate fondue!  The quote isn’t very nice.  We’re about to finish a jigsaw puzzle today and I do go for long walks every day thank you very much.  The meal sounds tasty as does the drink.  Usually find that one at Chinese restaurants.  I like today’s port very much although I haven’t been in over ten years.  Prayers for those on our prayer list.  Cheers to those of you who are celebrating happy events today!🥂

[Haljo1935]

Haven't had chocolate fondue in years and won't be making any, but I do enjoy it, so I'll eat a couple pieces of chocolate we brought back from Rome on our TA.

Maybe on the meal, drink (once I know what it is) and wine. The pictures from Montreal are on my computer and I'm on my phone, so none to share, but it is a lovely city. Last there Oct 2022 on BHB Canada New England cruise, 1 week after hurricane Fiona.

More PT today and tweaking a training guide I've been working on. While the guide itself is easy to do, it's time consuming w/a lot of graphics, made more difficult by left eye being blurry. The sinus headache does not help. Ugh.

Currently 50° headed to 63° w/no rain. The backyard will take forever to dry out - I think the dogs bring in as much mud as they leave out. Cannot even see the concrete on the patio - just mud.

@seagarsmoker have a great first day at the new job!!

Prayers and positive thoughts for all. 

[kazu]

56 minutes ago, superoma said:

We will be on the road today so I won’t be back until much later this afternoon. We are off to see a hand surgeon in sarnia, about 2 hours from us, DH has dupytrins contracture in both hands. One was worked on a number of years ago here in Windsor but now that the other hand needs doing we don’t have anymore hand surgeons in Windsor. I only remembered yesterday that the hospital in sarnia was part of that cyberattack I mentioned a while back so I do hope this trip isn’t for naught. At least the weather is cooperating. No snow or rain, well above freezing. Hope everyone has a good day. Will check in later.

 

Safe travels.  I hope the trip is not for naught and all goes well.

 

 

 

43 minutes ago, Denise T said:

Happy Monday. Thank you for the Daily and Fleet reports. 

Well, a bit of excitement (not in a good way) last night. We are without a stove. As I was preparing dinner last night, I had the oven preheating. Well, it preheated all right and almost burned the house down. Apparently, there was a short (electric stove) and the oven kept getting hotter and hotter. Of course, I am oblivious to this until that stove went off with an error code, but the heating element was still on. My sister attempted to turn off the power to the kitchen but missed the fact that the range is on its own circuit. I managed to find the fuse for the range and turn it off. We, of course were panicking the whole time. We could not get an electrician out despite the fact that there was a danger to the entire home. My sister was about to call the fire department, but I found the fuse and got everything shut down. The home smelled liked burnt grease for the whole night despite having windows opened and candles lit. Stove shopping it is. This is the second house I lived in where an issue happened with the oven. Anyway, we are all safe. 

 

YIKES on your stove 😱 😬 😱. That’s worse than being hit by the appliance gremlin.  I am so glad you were able to get it off in time.

 

 

@seagarsmoker I hope your equipment arrives quickly.  We don’t want you late for your first day on the job.  I hope you enjoy your new position.