ottahand7

Happy New Year! I have learned not to mess with fonts and colors. Hopefully back to normal next post. We are having a sea day and probably a good thing. Lots of fun on the Volendam last night. Many people dressed up and a raucous casino. We will probably get our Covid test today for our next cruise. I hope my mask wearing will have paid off. An International wine tasting today and working on rebuilding my fitness routine. Roy thanks for doing the Daily and our Cares and Celebration lists. Prayers for good health for all in our group for 2023 and for the people of Ukraine.

We look forward to your updates from your world cruise. We will try to wave when we leave port with the Volendam or the Zuiderdam going first. So nice you have a SS for the trip. Even more opportunities for great photos. Agree on the mail forwarding being a mess. My sister was getting my forwarded mail for weeks after we returned. My neighbor will be picking mine up daily. Safe travels across the US. Happy New Year!

Good New Years morning from sunny St. Thomas. We are celebrating with champagne tonight in the Pinnacle Grill. We are staying onboard today as we have been to St. Thomas in February. A day of peace and quiet and hopefully faster internet. I am using my phone service right now. Prayers for all needing them and on our Care List. We will be toasting tonight with some Veuve Clicquot! 🍾 Happy New Year everyone. Nancy

Hi Sandy @StLouisCruisersit is too bad you had to cancel. We really enjoyed the Hummer though the Polaris side by sides looked fun too but probably a bumpy ride. We got off in San Juan for a abbreviated visit. We thought there would be a casino at the Sheraton near the port but it had been turned to a Walgreens. That was fine I picked up a few things including a $6 orange ersatz pashmina for future Orange parties. DF inquired about nearby casinos which were at the Marriott a short cab ride away BUT traffic is so bad that can drivers want a $100 to take hotel guests to their cruise ships. We walked back and hung out by the pool for a while and then I visited the gym for the first time this cruise. Have a nice day! Nancy

@lindalerit was so nice to meet you last night. It was great to hear your bags are going to be delivered when we start the GSA. I hope you enjoyed your PG dinner. We are heading to San Juan. I missed yesterday because we did an electric hummer tour of Turks and Caicos which ran a little long then the premium wine tasting in the PG. We had a full day topped off with a port tasting in the Crow's Nest that was included in our wine tasting. It was a great way to get to know some great people four of whom are staying on GSA with us. Casino is packed with table game players and we are having fun playing slots, unlike the tragic thumping we took on the NS last winter. @rafinmdthanks for doing all of our reports. I will try to get caught up if the wifi cooperates. Prayers for all on our Care list and for the people of Ukraine. We have begun to get the port maps that went missing for several years. The food and service has been attentive and excellent on the Volendam. Have a wonderful day! Nancy

@dfishenjoy your trip to Bronner's. It has been on our to do list. My DH and I would drive through on our trips to and from Maryland but with a 2 day drive with 2 cats in the back it never worked out. Walked through Lido this morning it was packed and 50% self serve. We will be eating breakfast in there going forward. Cold coffee in MDR and patty sausage that looked and tasted like Beyond Meat. They have my favorite Swabian Rye bread in the Lido. Nancy

Good morning from the Volendam, rough seas and cloudy on our way to Turks and Caicos. We are enjoying our time aboard already. Right now wifi is working. While we were in the upstairs boarding lounge a young man came in with a huge amount of equipment bins and requested to board because he was a technician. We said hope he was an internet technician. All great other than a hiccup with my RA medicine needing refrigeration. Medical center opened at 4 so I had to request an wine ice bucket from our stewards to stash it since it was out of refrigerator since 10. No fridge in our ocean view. @lindalerLinda I sure hope they can find your missing Luggage forwarding bags. We ate in Canaletto last night. Since I am 4 Star this cruise I pre booked most dinners in specialty restaurants to avoid the crowding in MDR. Much self serve in Lido and I have spotted about 5 people wearing masks on this very full ship. Prayers for all on our Care list and for the people of Ukraine. Have a wonderful day!

Sandi @StLouisCruisers safe traffic free travels for your return home. Nancy

@ger_77probably not today because we have a window cabin but a week from today we have a Vista port side towards the stern. I will be waving my Ravens flag. I will send a message to the shop arrival page next week to watch for us. I hope it clears up so there is a nice sail away.

Good Tuesday morning. It is a balmy 57 degrees in Fort Lauderdale. Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale had the coldest Christmas on record with FL having a high of 46. I was worried about lugging my winter jacket but I think I can get by wearing it. Luggage pick up at 10:30. I read on our 74 day Facebook that someone on board says an officer said 1500 on board this week so sounds like a lot of kiddos and 250 less than full capacity next week. Watching for the port cam photos of the Volendam coming in. We depart early today at 3pm. Have a great day and thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports. Nancy

Good morning from chilly Fort Lauderdale as it is 50 degrees. It is warmer than when we walked over for Thai and Sushi yesterday when it was 46. I wore my winter jacket and scarf. We sat in the hotel lounge most of yesterday and I needed that jacket for the first couple of hours until it filled up with people and then it warmed up. Our hotel is a base for Southwest crews and there were many. The hotel served a Christmas dinner for the Southwest crews, our offers were sandwiches. They deserved a nice hot dinner and some beautiful cheesecake. Our room was very musty when we first got here so lots of coughing on my part. Once we got the heat cranked up the mustiness seemed to abate. Our port in Grand Cayman was cancelled and rescheduled to Jamaica which the country has declared a national emergency due to crime including sexual assault at all inclusive resorts. I wish they would cancel and have a sea day. At least the restaurants and casino would be open. I am sure it will be a full ship in spite of being in port. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports @rafinmd. A great quote. Nothing to box up here. We exchanged gifts at home before hitting the road. I will pass on today's dish, will the cocktail looks great @summer slopeand today's wine looks like a winner, thanks @cat shepard. I have been to Bordeaux once when we took a land trip south from Paris. We didn't spend much time in Bordeaux proper but stayed near Paulliac. Bordeaux was the site of one of our rental car misadventures. We couldn't figure out how to put the car in reverse so we headed back to the train station to get instructions. We turned one corner too early on a dead end street. Even through the language barrier a nice young family out for a stroll were able to help us out of the pinch. Prayers for all on the care list and for the people of Ukraine. So happy DB spent Christmas at home and is continuing to improve. The blizzard I am sure has delayed his home PT. Have a wonderful day! Nancy

Merry Christmas wishes to everyone. I hope all are having a wonderful day. We are in Fort Lauderdale waiting for our room. Only driving we have to do is bring the truck to the long term parking.

@grapau27 Happy birthday to Sarah. A special day for a birthday. 🎂

Wonderful Christmas Eve wishes to all in the Daily group. We finally have a relaxing day because we left a day early to escape Elliot we are only going to south of Orlando. We located a sports bar near our hotel and can watch the Vikings and Ravens play. Our drive south was punctuated by many traffic jams but we just learned to listen to Waze directions and avoid the frustration of stalled traffic. Our drive for the remainder will be on the turnpike so hopefully less traffic than 95. It is a brisk 28 degrees here but beautifully sunny. @rafinmd thanks for doing all the reports for us. I have great news my DB is home and he is in great spirits. The rehab wanted him to do 2 more days but with the blizzard coming he went home. Thanks for keeping him on the care list and happy to say he can be taken off. They were able to open gifts with the grandkids before everyone got snowed in. Thankfully everyone is safe and warm and the power is on. Countdown is on for boarding the Volendam. Sadly they switched Grand Cayman to Jamaica. A good day to relax and stay aboard. Have a wonderful day today. Nancy🍾🎄❄️

We made it well into Florida and met up with a good friend who had bought a house in the Villages. Traffic was horrible but Waze kept us moving along. We had a complete tour of the area and of her new home. A nice dinner in her neighborhood with a lot of wine. We are happy we don't have a long drive tomorrow to south of Orlando. Christmas Eve dinner some place that doesn't close too early. Another shore excursion cancelled HA decided Jamaica in place of Grand Cayman. Probably too many ships in port. Not getting off in Jamaica. No prob just being on a cruise is wonderful. Hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Well we made it to Dothan Alabama this evening. We had very bad traffic in Louisville, Nashville and outside of Birmingham. Everyone is expecting cold weather in the south but better than what we have happening in Michigan tonight. Only 2 almost misadventures was pulling out of a Japanese Restaurant in Bowling Green on a GREEN light we were about 10' from being T-Boned by someone who almost ran a red light. We drove by the same spot today and there were 15' of burnt rubber at the intersection. Then we were pulling out of a massive gas station/ store facility and we were blocked and someone almost backed into us broadside. Other than that we had dry weather and saw some beautiful country. Tomorrow our extra day will be spent in the Villages near Orlando and getting together with a friend in the afternoon. Then down below Orlando for Christmas Eve then down to FL for Christmas and the 26th. So ready to board the Volendam. DB is home. They wanted to keep him 2 more days but I agree with him getting out early with a blizzard bearing down on them right now. We called him and he sounded great. No masks being worn anywhere on the way down here. In Michigan we see masks a lot but sadly not in the south. I hope we make it down here without getting any bug going around. Have a nice evening and a great day tomorrow. Nancy

@TiogaCruiserA good suggestion for a crowd pleasing white wine would be either Meiomi or La Crema Sonoma chardonnays. @Quartzsite Cruiserand @JazzyVThank you for the lovely photos of Sydney. @Cruising-alongI am so sorry your neighbor had to put your buddy kitty down. It is always inevitable but is always too early. I am sure you will miss him. I just got a message from my DS that she is taking her kitty that has returned home to the ER vet in Grand Rapids. She has rapid breathing, maybe that is why the people returned her. It is so hard to get into a regular vet these days. Too bad stock isn't sold in animal ERs.

Good morning. A beautiful morning here with sun, the first in 10 days, and 22 degrees. Last minute packing and preparation for our trip. I was successful getting the house cleaned yesterday all the while Stanley Steemer was cleaning the vents. A good job for staying warm in a cold house with front door wide open and the furnace off. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports today. I will pass on the cocktail and a kale dish. The vino looks nice. I have been on DuMol's mailing list for years but have never ordered their cab because it is priced at +$100. I guess I should spend more time looking for wine online but Michigan has shipping laws that do not allow retailers to ship wine into the state. Thanks for the pictures of Sydney Sandi! @smitty34877So happy to hear from you this morning and that you are home! @1ANGELCAT thank you for the cute photos on your "littles". @grapau27 Deepest sympathy for the loss of Pauline's friend's DD. My brother stayed in the rehab instead of going home and he may be released tomorrow or Thursday. We had wonderful news yesterday. My DS's tabby cat got out in September and disappeared. My sister was distraught and put up signs all over a 2 mile radius and used Facebook to try to get people looking. Yesterday her DD got a call from someone saying they had a small tabby. She went up to get a look and it was their cat. She had no winter coat so she was living indoors somewhere. It was about 1/2 mile away where she was located. Maybe someone got the Christmas spirit and decided to give my DS her cat back. It doesn't matter, my sister got the best Christmas present. Thanks for the Cares and Celebrations list @rafinmd. Prayers for the people of Ukraine and all on our care list. We begin our drive south tomorrow to avoid Winter Storm Elliot. I may be absent tomorrow as we have a long drive after a late start. Have a nice day!!! Nancy

Happy Monday! I have already been to my lung doctor downtown and am now back and picking up all the rugs, dusting and getting ready to mop the tile so we come home to clean floors. Our decision to move our departure ahead a day puts a crush on final prep and details. Looking at our Thursday weather forecast it was a really good idea. @smitty34877 Praying your surgery goes smoothly and a speedy recovery! Prayers for all on our care list and the people of Ukraine. @summer slope Thank you for the photos of Santarem. I will check in later for more. Have a nice day!! Nancy

@superomaI want to be on your Christmas cookie list. Beautiful cookie platter!

Thank you for all the Happy birthday wishes. It was a lovely dinner here with my 2 sisters, DBIL and John. My DB and DSIL were there in spirit. I cooked the beef and John did the rest. My younger sister made the stuffed carrot cake a recipe she hasn't made in 30 years, not because it isn't good but too good. It was luscious. Nancy

Happy Sunday and Happy Hannukah! No time to bake cookies right now but DS is going to bring DF some Christmas cookies today. No twins in our family but a shout out to all twins. I just spent a part of my morning appreciating all the flakes that fell last night. Another 4-5" so a lot of shoveling to get to my bird feeders. Snow plow man came again last night which is the sixth time this year already. Can't wait to get out of here on Wednesday. We moved up our drive south a day early because Thursday we have system snow coming. It will be after my nail appointment on Wednesday so we will be getting a late start for our drive to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Stanley Steemer coming to clean our vents tomorrow and I have an 8 am pulmonary doc appointment. After that DF is driving up to Grand Rapids to get his Yellow Fever Waiver letter from his doctor. HA is famous for mixed messaging because our Grand SA brochure said YF vaccination was recommended. We got our information for boarding and it says signed waiver no copies. Thankfully tomorrow is a snow free day. We had another HA surprise this morning. John got another email for our trip documents for our 7 day cruise and we got a change in our room assignment after I had printed all the luggage tags. WE had 3418 which is a partial ocean view with easy access to the Promenade deck. This morning we are in 1926 which is an unobstructed ocean view. I guess HA thinks that is a better cabin. Can't expect a lot for a free casino cruise during the holidays. @dfish, @summer slope and @cat shepardThanks for all of our comestibles for the day! Those meatballs looked really yummy! We are having rib roast, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, baked brie and carrot cake. Today's cocktail would be good minus the bitters and the chardonnay looks good too. @rafinmdThanks for compiling our Cares and Celebrations list! Prayers for all on our list and for the people of Ukraine who were bombarded again last night. @ger_77 Thank you for the birthday wishes! Have a great Sunday!

@RedneckBobGlad you are back home from your cruise and it looks like you had a good time. @smitty34877 Thanks for the photo of Camilla. She is darling. Glad you got the go ahead for your hip surgery. @Sharon in AZI am happy you finally got approval for your psoriatic arthritis. It has been a long haul. @kazuBon Voyage!!! 🍾⛴️ Have a wonderful cruise! Saw DB and DSIL prior to my postponed hair appointment. He looked good but I still don't think he is fit to go home. He isn't being kicked out. I said my goodbyes since we are leaving a day early and more snow in the forecast. I hope all goes well for them while I am gone. Thanks for the photos of Guam. Have a nice Saturday. Big birthday for me tomorrow! I can now start drawing my delayed social security! Nancy

Welcome home Dixie @summer slopeand Sandi @StLouisCruisers! Thanks for the Daily Reports. I am leaving in a bit to go to my pre-cruise hair appointment. I am allowing an hour to get there because we got about 3" of snow overnight. Maybe stop in to see DB if the roads are decent. My DS told me my DSIL and DB want to bring him home this weekend. From what I saw on Wednesday that is pure folly. Prayers for all on our Care List and for the people of Ukraine. @1ANGELCATThanks for sending the pic of your new little ones. Ninja and Trouble are darling. I got my cat fix yesterday when I went to pay my bill at the furnace company they had a very friendly office kitty. I will pass on the Mac & Chili, the Manhattan and the vino since it will be too hard to find. Scary stories for the people stranded in Macchu Picchu because of the political unrest throughout the country of Peru, they are running out of medicine. They are supposed to be evacuated by helicopter. At least it has happened and decisions can be made by HA prior to our arrival on January 12, hopefully things will settle down. I am sure people on our ship will be heartbroken if they can't make a bucket list trip to MP. I would be disappointed to not get two shore excursions in Lima and environs but it won't be too upsetting for us. Antarctica and Patagonia are on our bucket list. Have a wonderful Saturday!!! Nancy

@lindaler Bon Voyage!! See you on the 27th! 🍾