StLouisCruisers

Good morning friends! I finished exercise and breakfast and am ready to tackle the day including the Daily. Yesterday we got quite a bit of rain starting around 2 pm. Many times with thunder and lightning up to the time I went to bed last night. Today it is once again 71F, cloudy with a high temp of 87F. We expect more thunderstorms and showers this afternoon. The weather is in a rut! Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the location maps. It’s great we have a cousins day to celebrate that family relationship. Self care day can help focus on a healthy lifestyle. Drive-thru day champions an easy way to get your meal without leaving your car. Interesting quote. If there is a soup that aids in weight loss I’m sure it would be very popular. I think I’ll pass on the whiskey sour and the wine. Two big events in exploration history. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports. Prayers for all on the Care list. Tana, Jacqui @kazu, Debbie @dfish, Chuck @catmando and Annie @marshhawk, Vanessa @JazzyV, Elizabeth @Haljo1935, Roy @rafinmd, Terri @Cruzin Terri, Joy’s @Seasick Sailor DS Bonnie, and I do hope I haven’t forgotten someone in real need of improvement. Prayers for the people in Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still living, and our troops at sea and on bases in the region. Also for DB and twin sister. Alex and Jordan are thankful for prayers for their sons and are ecstatic they arrived safely yesterday. Thank you for your prayers! Cheers to everyone celebrating special events and cruising. Dixie @summer slope I hope you are enjoying celebrating your birthday this week with your siblings. It's great they could all surprise you like that. Have fun! Much appreciation Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping today! The port of the day is Red Bay, Labrador, Canada. This was the port before on June 24, 2021, Dec. 7, 2022 and June 14, 2023. We visited there in 2018. Here are the links for your convenience. Here’s what you want to know about Alex and Jordan’s twins. I’m told they both weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces which is a great size. They were given the names Clement John and Declan George. John is Jordan’s Dad’s name and George was Alex’s Granddad’s name. Here are the photos I promised. Grandma Lisa, my niece, is sooo happy and excited! Hope everyone has a very good day! Stay safe and keep well!

Vanessa @JazzyV good luck at your mammogram tomorrow. Mine is Thursday. Sorry to hear of all the vertigo and dizziness issues. I hope they can come up with something to help you. Well, I just had the best news from niece Lisa. Apparently the baby boys couldn't wait until Thursday to be born. They came early. Today! Everyone is doing well, and Grandma Lisa gets to meet the boys tomorrow morning. Photos coming tomorrow. Our prayers have been answered. 👶👶

Debbie @dfish good to hear all went well and you are currently pain free. May that continue from here on out! Enjoy your patio sitting time.

In 2009 we took B2B Alaska cruises which started out in Vancouver. Upon arrival at the airport we tried the SkyTrain to downtown for the first time. Leaving on Sapphire Princess the following day. In 2010 we did more coastal cruises, staying in Vancouver at a hotel for about 3 days in between them. We got to do a lot of walking to new places, and old. Here we are crossing a bridge to Granville Island. Besides restaurants there are plenty of veggie stands and flower markets. Nice views of the city from there. The next day we took in the scenery on our way to Chinatown. Then got to see some lovely gardens at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park On our final day we visited this Inukshuk display A great city to see any time of the year.

Port of day Vancouver, BC Canada Vancouver is an important port when it comes to Alaska cruises. Many start or end there. I can count visiting there about 5 times, all on Princess ships. On our first cruise in 2002 to Alaska we ended up there and enjoyed a day of sightseeing before spending the night there and driving to Seattle the following day. We walked around enjoying a lovely sunny warm day and were told by a waitress it wasn’t this nice every day. I’m sure that can’t be right! Here is the Star Princess docked at Canada Place. We took public transportation to the hotel DS had chosen for us. While walking around the city, we passed by a filming location for a Muppet Christmas movie and saw them applying rolls of “snow” being laid down on the flat surfaces. Beautiful views every way you looked. Walking through Stanley Park, we saw what looked like a Holland America ship across the way. Everyone was out enjoying the park. In 2006 we were in Vancouver overnight between two cruises. Arriving early and going under the Lions Gate Bridge on the old Dawn Princess. We stayed nearby at the Westin Bayshore. Our view of the water and the high rises apartments and office buildings. Another walk in Stanley Park We stopped at the famous Teahouse in Stanley Park for a snack I'll continue my next visits to Vancouver in a second post.

Happy Birthday Dixie @summer slope!! And welcome home Katherine @Lady Hudson.

Good morning friends! It’s 71F and partly cloudy this morning. It will rise to 87 with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I have a hair appointment this morning so hope to be home before any storms come through. I got up as usual this morning and headed to the treadmill. I walked slightly slower, with a lesser incline and for only 2 miles instead of 2.5. I need to ease back into it so I don’t wear myself out. Yesterday we completely unpacked the bags and I did many loads of laundry. There’s a lot of ironing to do but that can wait a few days. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the location maps. I can honestly say yes, it IS hot enough for me! Sprinkles are okay but not a necessity. A big cheer for all the gorgeous grandmas out there! I like the Julia Child quote. I’m sure there are plenty of zucchini bread recipes coming our way today. Blue Motorcycle is quite a name for a cocktail. I would bet DH would enjoy today’s wine. Sounds very interesting being aged in a bourbon barrel. Hurray for all the This Day in History events. Thanks for the Food & Beverage reports by Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard. Prayers for my DB, twin sister, and Alex/Jordan’s baby boys. Just two more days till their birthday! Also for the people in Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our troops overseas. More prayers for our Daily Care list group. Hoping for good results for Debbie @dfish after the nerve ablation today. Prayers for Tana, Jacqui @kazu, Chuck @catmando and Annie @marshhawk, Joy's @Seasick Sailor's DS Bonnie, Ann @Vict0riann, Terri @Cruzin Terri, and Vanessa @JazzyV. Sorry if I've missed anyone because I know we all have our daily problems and hate to complain too much. Hoping for improvement in everyone's conditions and maladies. Thanks Vanessa for your work on the lists for us. Great job! Today we have Vancouver, BC, Canada as our port and believe it or not this is a new port. I looked hard and never found it listed before. It’s a lovely city and many of us have been able to enjoy it over the years. I’ll try to get some photos pulled for Vancouver but have to prepare to leave for my hair appointment too. I’ll do my best. Vanessa @JazzyV, please wish your BFF a belated happy birthday from me. I’m still trying to catch up on the Daily from the past couple days. Hoping you all enjoy your day, stay safe and keep well.

Newcastle upon Tyne, England UK On Sept. 2, 2018 we boarded the Prinsendam for our Irish, Scottish and European River cruise. It was a great itinerary. At our first port of call, Tyne, we took a shuttle bus to Tynemouth to the train station. We walked around town a little bit before going to the train station. With the help of a train station employee at the Tynemouth station, we purchased tickets to the town of Newcastle upon Tyne. The city is located on the Tyne River. The pedestrian bridge here is called the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The Glasshouse International Centre for Music Newcastle Castle St. Nicholas Cathedral Walking along the quayside we saw this little sandy beach they had fashioned with beach chairs and cabanas. The day was cloudy and in the upper 50's so that was pretty optimistic! At left is St. James' Park, home of the Newcastle United Football Club. Nearby is the Chinatown "gate". If I ever go back to Newcastle Upon Tyne, I'll be happy to have the opportunity to meet my new friends Graham @grapau27 and Pauline. 😉

Good morning friends! I slept pretty well last night so no surprise there. But it's time to get up and get myself back on schedule again. The weather at home is 70 and cloudy. High will be 85 and we have good chances of afternoon rain. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report as well as the location maps. An excellent collection of conversation points. I appreciate all the reports from Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the descriptions of the coleslaw recipe, Bloody Caesar, and the wine. Prayers for my DB, twin sister and Alex and Jordan's twin boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our men and women in the military overseas. Lots of prayers for our Care list folks who are in need of them. I admit I haven't read all of the the last two days of Daily reports but will do that ASAP. I hope Jacqui @kazu, Annie @marshhawk and Chuck @catmando are doing okay. Congrats to all celebrating special events and the cruisers. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping up with us all and making the lists. The port of the day is a new one! Newcastle Upon Tyne, England! This destination is very close to where Graham @grapau27 and Pauline live so I'm sure he can tell us a thing or two about Newcastle. We visited Newcastle Upon Tyne in 2018 on the Prinsendam. I'll collect my photos shortly. I hope everyone has a good day today. Stay safe and keep well.

Surprise! I haven't slept at all today because I hope to get a good rest tonight. We had things to do around the house when we got home. We haven't unpacked except for a few important items, so I will do that tomorrow and begin some laundry. We sent lots of laundry out while away but I don't send clothing that requires gentle cycle and air dry. It's just easier to do it at home. We actually arrived home at 9:30 a.m. which was 24 hours after they handed us the keys. The car they rented us was brand spanking new - it only had 10 miles on the odometer! We took good care of it for them. We did decide to return our rental car this afternoon instead of first thing on Monday morning, so that meant a drive to the airport with me driving one of our cars and DH the rental car. Lots less traffic but more time in a car. The Atlanta airport car rental center was jammed with people returning and renting cars, plus people like me trying to find a parking spot in the tiny little lot they have. Lucky for me someone vacated a front spot as I pulled in to park and wait. Roy @rafinmd you were also exactly right about the port today, Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia. It was here once before on Nov. 14, 2021 as you said. Thank you for posting the link today. I'll try to go back and read all the posts tomorrow. Boy, what a transition back to my regular laptop at home. DH's is a very small HP and I had a heck of a time getting used to that keyboard. Now I can't get used to my own laptop's keyboard. I guess it will take a few days. We will have a small snack for dinner tonight and then I know DH will head to bed. I will be there shortly after him. And I think we can both wait to start back to our doing our exercise routine in the morning. We'll get plenty of exercise putting everything away tomorrow. @St Pete Cruiser I'm very happy to made it to Maine and were boarding today at Bar Harbor. Was your flight booked through Flight Ease? How did you get through to them? No one I know did. Our tickets are essentially consolidator tickets so that puts us at the end of the list when they are filling spaces on other flights. I'm glad we took our fate into our own hands and rented that car. So funny, I feel like I'm sitting on the ship typing this. I'm rocking back and forth unintentionally. DH says he hasn't got his land legs yet either. Maybe we will feel like we're being rocked to sleep tonight! Oh Annie @marshhawk this morning heading towards Atlanta we began getting heavy showers on and off. Then the same going home from the rental car center. What the heck? Feels like Florida. And so humid! When I picked up my mail from my neighbors we were all standing outside sweating. Not too bright of us! I know you've been talking about this lately. Looking forward to a change to less humidity and lower temps.

Good morning friends! I wasn’t at all sleepy last night so we drove all night. We had stopped at a hotel and it was full so we just decided to go further. I actually drove a majority of the late night hours. DH was pretty tired from battling the incessant jams yesterday so he rested. We’re switching drivers now for the final 150 miles. As for the port today I don’t have my notes for today on me. They’re in DH’s laptop sleeve buried in a suitcase. It’s possible it’s new or maybe not. I haven’t been there before. If Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser can find some links I’m sure she can post them for you. I’ll check in again later today. Have a great Sunday!

Hi all. We could not arrange for a flight before Monday. Flight Ease never answered the call to them. We were on hold an hour or so. So I booked a car near the cruise port before they all sold out. Driving in the northeast is a disaster. We averaged 37 mph the first 6 hours! We’re on 81 south of Carlisle Pennsylvania and will stop when we’re tired. Probably wouldn’t sleep a wink in a hotel anyway. Talk to you tomorrow sometime. 😉

Charlene what is the name of your hotel? we would rent a car and drive two days to get home but don’t know if there are any cars left. Trying to figure out if we should go to the airport or where?

Good morning friends! Unfortunately our flight was cancelled. We’re trying to get some options but no help from Flight Ease. Waiting for cell service. Frederikstad Norway is a new port and there are no links today. Wish us luck!

Good luck.

Good luck today to Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser at his appointment today. Same good luck wishes to Chuck and Annie @marshhawk at Chuck's appointment. Hoping to get some good news from Jacqui @kazu today.🙏

Same sentiment from me @St Pete Cruiser!

I'm very happy to hear you are safely in Boston Charlene! I thought maybe you were flying in today. I hope you have a wonderful day and an exciting Voyage of the Vikings cruise! Thank you so much Graham. I hope the same.🙂

We're on Zuiderdam and DH just asked the Lido pool bartender this morning if fresh squeezed orange juice is included in any package and they said no. Someone was just lucky getting theirs for free! He also said on the Elite package all other non alcoholic drinks are unlimited, the 15 limit only applies to alcoholic drinks. That has been our experience on this ship for the last 69 days. There's always someone starting rumors out there.

Good morning friends! We moved our clocks back the final hour last night to get us back on Eastern Time. When I went to bed I knew I wouldn’t sleep for 10 hours and I didn’t. I’m not used to getting much sleep so I lay awake for what feels like half that time. We are anchoring off Bar Harbor in a while and it should be a lovely day there with sunshine and a high in the mid 70’s. Currently it’s 61 at sea and we are moving at 18 knots to get there on time. We all have to go through immigration and the process will include the collection of biometrics (fingerprint, picture, passport scan). Hopefully it goes better than last time. They passed out immigration slot number cards to each stateroom and will call us all there by number. They didn’t clue us in to when this will all start. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the location maps. We can appreciate flight attendants, retainers, and daiquiris. That Tallulah Bankhead quote is pretty funny. The salad sounds interesting as does the cocktail. No idea if I’d like the wine. All good days in history. Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your very important reports! Prayers for all here on the Daily Care list, my DB, twin sister, Alex/Jordan’s baby boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held and our troops overseas. I hope Jacqui @kazu is doing okay and will feel like posting to let us know how it’s all going there. Prayers for Tana’s comfort today. Hoping Chuck @catmando and Annie @marshhawk get some relief from Chuck’s edema and lack of appetite. This has been very hard on them both. Praying for improvement for everyone’s conditions. Cheers to everyone celebrating happy events and cruising. Happy 55th anniversary Katherine & Bill @Lady Hudson. Happy birthday to Terry’s @smitty34877 DB!! Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV! The port today is Pulau Komodo Island East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia. I have not been there before but who knows what the future holds. The previous dates we had Komodo Island were June 6, 2021 and Nov. 6, 2023. Here are the links for your convenience in reposting photos. I’ve heard about the global outages of 911, airlines and banks and hope that is taken care of pronto. Charlene @cunnorl is flying to Boston! And I have to fly out of Boston tomorrow too so I pray all is back to normal for everyone’s sake. Meanwhile try to stay safe and keep well!

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser I've taken a look at Saturday and that day we have a new port so no links to previous posts or photos from me. Maybe you have some photos though. So since Rich @richwmn generally posts by 6:30 I will be able to use my phone to report that. I doubt I have much to add to the conversation that day though. We will be leaving the ship around 8:15 a.m and I won't have much to do. Get some breakfast and wait for 8:15 to come around. Thank you for the offer though!

Thank you Graham! Paul @kochleffel take care of yourself!

Since I posted we've arrived at the dock and the weather app says it is now 64F. It also says it's sunny out but that is false. May even be raining. Debbie @dfish enjoy your day in Ann Arbor. The weather looks good, doesn't it? 75 and sunny. I've been to the Art Fair before and it's a good time and very interesting. And Bon Voyage to Katherine @Lady Hudson! Enjoy!

I looked at my photo books and have verified that I haven't actually had a stop in Glasgow yet. On the first stop in 2011 on Emerald Princess, we and our friends took a tour of Edinburgh from Greenock. It was about a 90 minute drive. Here is what low tide looks like in Greenock, taken from the bus. But on the way to Edinburgh we drove through Glasgow. Here is the Glasgow airport as seen through the bus windows, plus crossing the River Clyde. On our 2015 Royal Princess stop in Greenock we took a morning walk, where I saw one church after another! So many! That afternoon another couple (who are friends from prior cruises) and I took a tour of Loch Lomond and the village of Luss. It rained and rained that afternoon and I think I posted a photo of my friend Sandy and I standing with umbrellas next to a friendly duck who of course liked all that rain.🦆 On our way to Loch Lomond our bus took a ferry due to time constraints. There's our bus We never did see the Loch Ness monster in that loch. Here we are in Luss. On our bus ride we stopped at a scenic lookout called Rest and Be Thankful. Due to the rain we had to dash off the bus and snap a few photos from under our umbrellas. It would be beautiful on a sunny day. On our 2017 Prinsendam visit, it was again a showery day so we took a short walk to the local mall and back. There's a nice coffee shop there. I don't drink coffee so this would be DH's. On our 2019 Prinsendam visit we walked through town past the mall to the park on top of the highest hill, Well Park. I posted photos of that too. This was taken on the way to the mall. Inside the mall. We've found if we walk to the back entrance we end up in a nice area of town just below that big hill I mentioned earlier. Walking out the back door you see this courtyard area and the tall church steeple. A statue in the courtyard. And here is the church we saw with a lovely gazebo in front of it. That's when we noticed the tall hill nearby and went in search of stairs to go up to the park there. Name of the church. Imagine our surprise when we found this huge flat area at the top of the hill. From here we saw the church steeple, another tall tower, and off in the distance on the left side, is that our Prinsendam? At the bottom of the cloud. Check out this view! The well the park is named after. It says 1629! And a nice large statue to decorate the park. I wouldn't mind coming back to Well Park again, if I didn't want to try out a trip to Glasgow next time. And let's hope the weather is this nice when I'm there again. God willing!

Good morning friends! It’s pretty foggy out as we arrive in Halifax this morning. I see on Cruisemapper that Volendam is right behind us but I cannot see it. I hope they hear our foghorn! Weather apps say Halifax is 62 and will be cloudy and 75 later with hazy sunshine around 10 to 11. Another weather app says a high of only 71 and morning showers. Who knows? It rained yesterday morning in Sydney, NS and that wasn’t in anybody’s forecast! There was quite a bit of sun there though so hopefully everyone enjoyed their time spent there. Thanks Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps. I’m not really interested in caviar or sour candy, but will gladly celebrate Nelson Mandela today. Nicholas Sparks tells it like it is. I’ll probably pass on the soup because I’m not a huge fan of cabbage. Also probably won’t try the Mickey Slim or Merlot. It doesn’t seem that long ago we watched Nadia Comaneci perform those perfect 10 routines but 1976 is going back a while. I’m not really up to date on the 1870 1st Vatican Council. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers for our Daily Care list group, especially Jacqui @kazu who’s undergoing her surgical procedure today and we all wish her a pain free life afterward. Heal quickly Jacqui! Also for Tana who is struggling so much lately. And for Chuck @catmando and Annie @marshhawk who are going through such tough days. I wish they’d get that surgery done for Chuck as that would help you both out so much. Fast recovery wishes to our Covid sufferers. Prayers for the family of the 8 week old who died in the car in Philadelphia. There’s no excuse good enough for that mistake. I’ll also pray for my DB, twin sister and Alex and Jordan as they prepare for their 2 new arrivals. Also for the people in Israel and Ukraine still living with fear in their countries, the hostages still held, and the men and women of our military in the region. Cheers for those celebrating special events and cruising again. Charlene @cunnorl safe travels to you as you head to Boston to board Zuiderdam. We’ll leave her the same way we found her! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping each day! It was good to hear from Tony @HAL4NOW and Linda @lindaler yesterday and we wish them the best. Hope we hear from Melisa @HAL Sailer again. I’m afraid I’ve lost hope for Sally @St. Louis Sal. The port this morning is Greenock, (for Glasgow), Scotland. We had it here before on March 2, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022. I’ve been there a few times and will repost my photos soon. Here are the links for your convenience. Try your darndest to have a super Thursday. And please stay safe and keep well.