The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday February 12th, 2024

[kazu]

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, Darwin Day, and Hug Day
 

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu

Meal Suggestion for today - Lentil & Ham Soup
Drink of the Day - Classic Martini
Wine of the Day - 2022 Riesling, Mülheimer Sonnenlay Zeppelin, Max Ferd. Richter, Mosel
Destination of the Day - Cherbourg (Normandy), France 

Today in History:
1947 French fashion designer Christian Dior presents his first influential collection, named the "New Look"
1982 Wayne Gretzky scores 153rd point of season, breaking NHL record

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 02-13
 

Koningsdam

At Sea Destination Ensenada, Baja California Mexico eta 02-16
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

At Sea Destination Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos eta 02-13
 

Nieuw Statendam

At Sea Destination Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos eta 02-13
 

Oosterdam

Ushuaia, Argentina 9:00am 3:30pm 
 

Rotterdam

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 07:30 - 16:30 
 

Zaandam

Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 17:00 

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand 07:00 - 08:00 
 

Volendam

At Sea Destination Exmouth WA, Western Australia eta 02-14
 

Westerdam

At Sea Destination Himeji, Japan Hyogo eta 02-14
 

Zuiderdam

At Sea Destination Guam Island USA, Apra Harbor, Marianas eta 02-18

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[GlennG]

Thank you, Kazu, for your report.

[rafinmd]

Today's maps:

 

 

 

Roy

[kazu]

Happy Monday everyone.  Thanks Rich, Roy, Vanessa, Ann, Paul & Eva for your dedication.  Great collection of days.  I’ll happily celebrate Lincoln and Darwin & give Ivan an extra hug today.  Interesting quote by Tzu.  I think there is a lot of truth to it.

 

 

 

We’ve been to Cherbourg a couple of times.  It’s an interesting spot on its own but it’s also a great port to visit the D Day beaches.  We were fortunate enough to do that on our first visit going to Juno Beach, etc and Bayeux to see the town and tapestry.  Truly a moving day at Juno and the cemetery. 

 

 

 

Busy morning with people coming to work on the house - they are new to me so it will be interesting and hopefully good.  They have been warned that Ivan is overly friendly 😂. The cold weather is back of course in order to help the ‘Nor Easter that is now in the forecast 😔 

 

 

 

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 🥂 

 

 

 

[grapau27]

Good morning from a sunny 43°F North East England.

Thank you for today's daily events and fleet locations.

Happy birthday in heaven to Abraham Lincoln and 

Charles Darwin.

Who wouldn't like a hug 💞.

We have been to Cherbourg several times including on Royal Caribbean Harmony of the seas maiden voyage in May 2016 and more recently on MSC Virtuoso on 29th April 2023.

I hope everyone has a great day 

Edited February 12 by grapau27

[seagarsmoker]

Good morning dailyites and thank you for the Daily Report!

Lincoln is my favorite president, and it was also my dad's birthday. 

I hope everyone here has a wonderful day! 

Edited February 12 by seagarsmoker

[cat shepard]

Happy Birthday @MISTER 67

 

Hope your new year is filled with laughter, love, great health, a smooth move, lots of golf & a cruise or two!

 

[grapau27]

@MISTER 67.

Happy birthday.

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care List:

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

Condolences to ger_77 on the death of her Aunt and her friend’s DH

RMLincoln’s DH getting eye suture removed by laser

Smitty34877’s Tana being treated for infection

Haljo1935 with a sinus infection

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

 

Death of 5 Marines in a helicopter crash

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

Lazey1 with mitral stenosis, pulmonary edema; may need surgery

StLouisCruiser’s DB with pulmonary fibrosis

Ger_77’s DH Maurice needing heart valve replacement

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Happy Birthday Mister 67!

Marshhawk feeling better

Cruzin Terri feeling better

Ger_77’s DH Maurice doing well on his TAVI assessment

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 Mister 67 (Celebrity Equinox Feb 15 to Feb 24) 9d Aruba, Curacao & Cayman Cruise

4 days for Mr. Boston (Rotterdam Feb 16 to Feb 25) 9d Southern Caribbean Seafarer

5 days for Nickelpenny (Zaandam Feb 17 to Mar 16 2024) 28d Amazon Explorer

5 days for Cat Shepard (Norwegian Escape Feb 17 to Feb 24) 7d Caribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic

 

Lady Hudson (Vision of the Seas to Feb 16) 8d Southeast Coast & Bahamas, 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, Cruzin Terri (Oceania Vista to Feb 18) 11d Windward Islands Explorer + 7d Tropical Retreats, Quilty964 (Nieuw Statendam to Feb 18) 7d E. Caribbean, 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), Gail & Marty sailing away (Zuiderdam to May 11, 128d Grand World Voyage) and Aliaschief (Azamara Onward WC to June 9, 156d World Voyage)

[MISTER 67]

Greetings from beautiful Punta Gorda

A balmy 72 right now with a high of 82 this afternoon 

Nice selection of days as Abe and I celebrate our birthdays, DW is treating for dinner tonight at our favorite steak house

Easier said than done with the quote

The lentil with ham soup is OK with me

Never been to France but my father was awarded the Purple Heart when his LST hit a German mine at Utah Beach in Normandy

Congrats to the Kansas City Chiefs for their Super Bowl win though I didn’t watch one second of the game

7:30 tee time today

Have a great day and stay well

 

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Happy Monday!

Thanks for the Report.  Thanks for the maps.

Cold and cloudy here, but no snow.

I will celebrate Lincoln and Darwin.  I will hug my hubby and Bertie.

I like the quote.

I'll pass on the meal.  I'd like a martini on a BHB.  I'm sure the wine is terrific.

I've never been to today's port.  Thanks for the pictures.

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

Congrats to the Chiefs.

Have a great day everyone.  Stay safe.

[puppycanducruise]

@MISTER 67 Happy Birthday! 🎂

[MISTER 67]

6 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

@MISTER 67.

Happy birthday.

Thanks Graham

[grapau27]

Just now, MISTER 67 said:

Thanks Graham

Very best wishes today.

I hope you have an amazing round of golf today and a Hole in One would make the day perfect for you.

 

[rafinmd]

Happy birthday to @MISTER 67 and happy heavenly birthday to @seagarsmoker DD and Honest Abe.  Thank you Rich, Jacqui, Vanessa, Ann, Paul, and Eva.  I'll celebrate all three of these days and like the Lao Tzu quote.

 

I've been to Cherbourg twice, first in 2010 on Queen Mary 2 and again in 2019 on Nieuw Statendam.  My WW2 battlefield tour was from the Elegant Explorer out of LeHavre.

 

Two interesting days in history and what a gem Wayne Gretzky was.

 

I'll pass on the meal.  My alternative is Assorted Garden Greens and Prime Rib of Beef au jus as served on MS Zaandam February 12, 2012.

 

Roy

 

 

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning, thank you for the daily fleet report.  Today is the calm before the storm.  It should get into the 40’s today and then tomorrow we get lots of snow.  I suspect that I’ll not go into the office if the forecast is correct.  The snowblower is prepped and ready to clear the driveway.  Today’s meal suggestion sounds good, instead I’m making a beef roast.  

@MISTER 67 Happy Birthday!

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  We had a night filled with thunder and lightning, the temp now is 59 and will rise to about 65,  Rain and thunderstorms will continue all day and we need to be aware of possible tornado watches and warnings and even flash flooding. ⛈️ The next few days will make up for it with sunny days into Friday!

 

Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps.  Thanks also to Rich @richwmn who spent a lot of time compiling it all and preparing it all ahead of his fantastic cruising.  Happy Birthday to our great President Abraham Lincoln, and to Charles Darwin as well who was a great contributor to scientific thinking.  I'll give DH some hugs and send some via text to my loved ones.  Wish I could hug them all personally.  I agree with the quote, would probably pass on the soup for other favored varieties, and hope Paul likes today's classic martini cocktail.  No thanks on the wine of the day.  A good day for Dior and Gretzky.  Thank to our reporters Eva @superoma, Paul @kochleffel and Ann @cat shepard!

 

Prayers sent out for my DGD and DB, friends and spouses in need of them, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages who remain held and the two who were just rescued!  Praying for our troops in the region in harm's way.  Many prayers for our Dailyites with health issues, pain, lack of sleep, loss in their lives, worry and stress.  Congrats to those celebrating happy events such as @MISTER 67 on his birthday! 🎂  Woohoo to those cruising and preparing to cruise!🚢  Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping chores today!  I hope you and BFF are able to get everything done that needs doing to prepare for your floor work.  And that you have gotten some sleep and can endure your leg pain a little longer.  

 

The destination today is Cherbourg (Normandy), France which was also our port on Jan. 5, 2022 and April 2, 2023.  I haven't yet been there but we are scheduled to visit Cherbourg and Normandy on May 23, 2024 and am looking forward to it, sobering as it will be.  Here are the links for your convenience.  I'll post photos from Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser shortly.

 

 

 

My sleep was interrupted by deafening thunder in the area around 2:30 a.m. so am a bit tired this morning.  Might be time for another "rest" in the napping room downstairs!  I didn't get a thing done yesterday on the cross stitch stocking.  DD and I were discussing where Morgan should move in the Tampa area.  We're thinking St. Petersburg but there are good and bad areas and we aren't experienced around there.  She is asking a realtor friend who is headed to Tampa to get some info for us.  Meanwhile Morgan has a huge final presentation in a capstone course Wednesday (70% of her grade) so has been preparing for that.  She is relieved she will be able to move and will get on that pronto.  We all will feel much better when that happens.  If anyone knows of any good apartments in the St. Pete area please advise!

 

Have a great day everyone!  Stay safe, keep well, and try to stay dry!

[StLouisCruisers]

Here is the first batch of photos from Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser taken from the April 2, 2023 post.

 

 

 

We've been to Cherbourg at least four times by 'BHBs.  We have always rented a car and toured the Normandy beaches.  I thought I had pictures of Cherbourg but didn't find any.

 

In 2004, on b2b2b2b cruises on Noordam III, we were in Cherbourg twice, for a total of three days.  Most of the pictures are from the overnight on June 5 and 6.  The ship had passes to the 60th anniversary of D-Day ceremony, and we were lucky to get a couple.  While I don't have pictures from the ceremony, which was very crowded, I do have other pictures from the American Cemetery on June 4, 2004.

 

These pictures are of Pointe du Hoc, where the American Rangers scaled the 100 foot cliffs and took our the German emplacements.

 

 

 

The first group of pictures of the American Cemetery were taken on June 5, 2004, before the crowds arrived the next day.

 

 

This was the seating arrangement for the D-Day ceremony with the tv camera platform in the foreground.  They had tv monitors placed at intervals on each side of the seating.   When we were there a few days earlier, the chairs were not there.  Instead, there were risers along each side facing the center aisle.  That was changed when the White House said the arrangement was unacceptable.  It really didn't matter since we were just a few rows from the back and could not see much of the ceremony.

 

These pictures ere taken on June 6, 2004.

 

Preparing for the 21 gun salute

 

Omaha Beach from the cemetery

 

I have a few more pictures that I will post separately.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

Here is Lenda's second batch.

 

 

 

I'll continue the tour of Normandy with a few  more pictures.  We were there in 2011 and 2016 on the Prinsendam.  These pictures are from 2016.

 

We stopped in Arromanches that day.

 

 

Some of the mulberries still in the harbor.

 

After a stop at the American Cemetery, we drove the Saint Mere Eglise.  This was the first time we were able to drive in the town and to stop at the church were one soldier's parachute was caught on the steeple.  He was lucky the Germans did not see him.  IIRC, some of the towns people cut him down.

 

 

 

 

In 2011, we saw this cart being driven on Omaha Beach.

 

In 2004, after the D-Day ceremony, we drove to Mont Saint Michel.  We had time since it was a very late sailing that day.  The next day we were in Le Havre.

 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to mention the security surrounding the D-Day ceremony.  We had to park about 10 miles from the cemetery and take a bus to and from the cemetery.  Before June 4, 2004, when driving around the area of Omaha Beach and down to the beach, we noticed a missile battery and a field hospital just below the ridge where it was difficult to see from the cemetery.  They brought many soldiers from Germany to be in the cemetery on June 4.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

I believe this is all for today from Lenda's selection of Normandy photos.

 

 

 

I found three pictures taken on our first two visits to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach that I've not shared before.

 

On our first visit on May 28, 2004, on Noordam III, the visitor's center at the cemetery was still a small building, but this picture says a lot about how the people living near the D-Day beaches feel about the allied soldiers who liberated France beginning June 6, 1944.

 

 

Our second visit to the area was in 2011 on Prinsendam.  We visited the new visitor center at the cemetery and found it very moving.   The two displays that say it all are in these pictures.

 

The flags of the Allies in Europe in WWII.

 

This one makes me tear up every time I see it.  The tribute to the fallen soldiers.  It is just outside the door as you leave to walk to the cemetery.

 

Lenda

[Denise T]

Happy Monday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. 

Partly sunny toady in the 50s here. Expecting snow tomorrow morning. 

Finishing up a couple of classes today. Most of my day will be spent on that. 

Waiting for Spring. My daffodils have buds on them. 

Oh, I grilled the pizza yesterday as I still have no stove. Turned out great. I am taking my time finding a good deal on a new stove as I have other cooking methods that are working out (Instant Pot, slow cooker, hot plate). 

Happ birthday @MISTER 67.

Thinking of all on the care list.

Celebrating with all who are celebrating. 

Have a safe and healthy day. 

 

[Mr. Boston]

Good morning everyone.  Thanks for the daily report, recipes and lists.  Happy Birthday to Abraham Lincoln.  Hugs are a good thing any day.  Interesting quote.  Yes to the meal and drink suggestions as long as it’s a gin martini.  I haven’t been to today’s port.  We’re heading out for Ft. Lauderdale at lunchtime ahead of the storm tomorrow.  Prayers for those on today’s prayer list.  Cheers to those who are celebrating happy events today like @MISTER 67, happy birthday! 🎂🎉🥂

[StLouisCruisers]

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs for their win in the Super Bowl!   I believe they're officially a Missouri team so I will give them my support even though we are from the other side of the state.  Back in the 1980's we supported the 49ers with Joe Montana and also the Oakland Raiders because we briefly lived in northern California.  But we moved on (and so did the Raiders!).

 

Is anyone here interested in Ryndam II tiles from Holland America?  Yesterday DS and DDIL were browsing in an antique shop in McKinney, Texas and ran into two of them.  He sent me a bad photo of one and asked me about them.  I explained they were probably given to some Mariners on a HAL cruise.  Before I knew it he said he got them for me!  I said "Wait, you'll just end up with them, and the drawerful of tiles I already have", but he said too late!  If anyone here is interested in them, they are pretty old I would say.

 

[Heartgrove]

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

 

Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need.

- Jack