StLouisCruisers

we were just in there and it was like a meat locker. So cold! But good to keep in mind.

The knitting/stitching group in the Art Studio was a good group but whoa, uncomfortable chairs and a table in front of me. I need a sofa with a window behind me. We will have to see if I can continue there or move to a better spot. I would miss the company of others though. We also had nice conversations at the 3, 4, and 5 star Mariner reception. I’m resting and reading until lunch. Last night I slept well. We will probably eat lunch at the Lido. That’s all for now. 👋

That is so interesting, Graham. I’m glad everything worked out safely all these years later.

Good morning friends! At sea off Florida somewhere it is 75F and a few clouds. Last night two hours after leaving Port Everglades we must have gotten into a big storm. We tried to avoid it but it caught up with us anyway. The lightning was so intense the entire sky lit up white. It affected "technology" according to the young lady presenting us with our wine orders, finally. Things were a bit hectic in the MDR as usual the first night. We need to get a system and find the right spot in the dining room then things will go smoother. First of all, we heard Ren's team won their first game 3-0, Ren played the entire first half and no idea what he played after that. Just glad they won! Go FC Dallas! Today's port is Himeji, Japan, and it's the third time for it. Aug. 5, 2021 and March 17, 2022. I haven't been to that port in Japan before. Here are the links. Prayers for our Care list individuals and wishes for improved health soon. Also for DB, Alex's twins, people of Israel and Ukraine, the poor hostages, and for the safety of our military in the region. Cheers to all who celebrate something today, cruisers and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Thanks to Jacqui, Roy, Rich, Vanessa, Debbie, Dixie and Ann for your contributions to the Daily. Today I am going to take my cross stitch to the Art Studio which is supposedly in Crow's Nest, at 9 a.m. That is where the knitters and stitchers gather. Then a Mariner reception from 10:30 to 11:00 at Billboard Onboard, which we haven't seen yet. This ship is very difficult to get around. I miss the Zaandam and Volendam! At 2:30 p.m. there is a roll call M&G. Dressy night this evening for Mother's Day. So a busy day! Hope you all have a great day today!

Guys ready to throw the aft lines now. Need to save power for photos.

Surprisingly they found a few more things to load. I’m at the Sea view Bar area along the rail. Pretty much first one forward on that railing. Pink T shirt and my hair is blowing every which way in this stiff wind. Low on battery power though.

Still tied up but looks like they’ve run out of things to load! Lol!

Should be around 5:15 to 5:30 for Zuiderdam. Hope that means plenty of wine and spirits loaded on. I’m trying to find a good place to stand for sail away! But I’m thirsty so just stopped to order a strawberry daiquiri to cool me off. Matches my pink T shirt! 👚

Im so sorry about Houdini. 😔

Good morning friends! We have 75F on the thermometer here in Plantation and expect a high of 96! Way too hot for most of us. It will be sunny but there's always a chance of a shower, especially at sail away time. We may leave port at 3 pm but don't be surprised if it's later. I'll let you all know later if I find a good spot to watch the Zuiderdam leave and wave at the PTZ camera. We have a lot to unpack and need time to get settled this afternoon. Today's port is Phuket, Thailand which is a brand new one so no links to post! We have not been to the port of Phuket before. Thanks to all who post photos. Yes, we have a ride to the port with a shuttle service that we had from a different Ft. Lauderdale hotel. She gave us her card and it came in handy this time. We are going downstairs to get some breakfast and might see a few cruisers down there. I wonder if any of them will require a ride to their ship? Well, better get moving and get that breakfast. Talk to you all later!

I posted before I showed photos of the shopping at the pier. Anyway, eventually we headed back to the dock via the nice boardwalk. We had the chance to stop in and look at the handicraft fair held inside the cruise terminal. I'll check in tomorrow. Have a good night!

Good afternoon! We made it to our hotel in Plantation before 3 pm and returned the car a short walk away from the hotel. We had quite a bit of thunderstorms in south Georgia and then managed to stay ahead of them as storms moved from the panhandle to Jacksonville. We drove past Ann's exit #278 at about 9:30 am. A very long 650 mile journey. At the hotel there is a new owner and some things are in a bit of turmoil. The shuttle service to the cruise terminals is out of service for a few days because someone forgot to renew the license, so the county shut them down. Our bad luck! Trying to find a ride via other shuttle services right now. The down button on our floor's elevators doesn't work either so that will mean extra riding up and down tomorrow morning. Too bad this place is convenient to the car drop off place because I would have to consider another place to stay in this particular spot next time. By the way, we've never used Uber or Lyft because they haven't had the service in our county and we never had occasion to use that type of service. We have someone who does airport runs as a side job, and he's very reliable. Thank you to everyone who worried and wished us well on our journey. This is such a supportive place. Well, I mentioned I'd try to post the Sydney photos this afternoon. Let's see if this will work while away from home. This keyboard on DH's device is so small it's difficult for me to use so hope it doesn't take lots of extra time each day. We’ve visited Sydney, Nova Scotia twice, on Rotterdam in October 2018 and on Zaandam in August 2023. In October, 2018 on our Canada/New England/Atlantic Coast cruise we began in Montreal and ended in Tampa. The day before Sydney we had to miss Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island due to wind gusts up to 86 mph. That was a major disappointment to us. I was really looking forward to that port. But we were grateful to make our stop in Sydney. The weather was sunny and cold with brisk winds but we dressed warmly and headed off the ship for our exploration of this new port (for us). The famous Big Fiddle, a welcoming monument on the dock. There is a market located nearby for vendors and craftsmen in the area to sell their wares. We first stopped in at the St. Patrick's Church Museum which had cool timber framing inside. Then down the street was this unique building which I believe is a store now. We spied this duck boat called Harbour Hopper taking people on rides around the area. For some reason that does not appeal to me. I'm a little wary of them. Then there is this monument overlooking the water. It recognizes wartime contributions of the merchant navy. On our way back to the ship we ran across this man who wanted to show off his 1968 hand painted Cadillac. He said it had only 26,000 miles on it and got 1 mile per gallon of gasoline. No wonder it only had 26,000 miles on the odometer! You can't afford the gas to drive it anywhere. We enjoyed our time in Sydney walking around the town. All in all, a very nice day! On our second trip there we were on our Canada, Greenland, Iceland cruise on Zaandam. This took place in August so different weather than our first time there. We set out looking for a dollar store to pick up small items we needed, but were unsuccessful.

Thanks Ann, we'll be on the lookout. Going to bed now and up at 2 am.

I definitely always wave at exit 278 every time, Ann! Dennis can attest to that fact! It takes forever just to get out of Georgia so you and Bindi will be up for hours!

Well, that trip to pick up a car took way too long. There must have been delays during storms today and the line at the rental car counter was 40 deep. Had we known Avis has us as a preferred customer and if we'd had an Avis app we could have seen our car was sitting out there in the parking garage with our name on it. For some reason cell service was blocked at the rental car parking area. We asked a guy parked next to us if he had SOS only service and he said yes, for the last 35 minutes! Who knows what was going on. Anyway, DH got to the car reserved for him and noticed the PSI was only 17 in one tire so refused the car. Who knows if it had a nail in it? They quickly provided a new vehicle though I doubt the gas mileage will be as good with this one. As long as I get to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow, I don't care!!! The storms were mostly gone by the time we headed to Atlanta, and no tornadoes so we're good now. Thanks Elizabeth! No tornadoes turned up here, thank the Lord! I hope the med issue gets worked out eventually with the best outcome for you. Thanks Lenda! 👍 Thanks Graham! Not much sleep tonight because we're leaving in the middle of the night practically. We don't drive over the speed limit normally, need breaks every couple hours, and who knows about accidents and other traffic jams. We'll leave lots of time to arrive at the car rental drop off place. Get better soon Terri! Jane, I hope the medication and diet works well for you and thankfully you won't need a surgery that way. Having your son there with you will be a good thing for both of you, I bet. DS, DDIL and Ren go to Bethesda, Maryland tomorrow for an MLS Next Flex tournament. They'll be there 3 to 4 days. The next big tournament is in June in Nashville. It's called the MLS Next Playoffs and Showcase June 15th to 23rd. FC Dallas is already qualified. I've requested we be kept updated since we probably won't have access to much in the way of results. We try to keep up with Ren and his soccer life.