StLouisCruisers

On April 26, 2010 we were on Diamond Princess on a Bangkok to Anchorage cruise. We were with our friends from Myrtle Beach and they only do cruise line excursions. So on this day we docked in Shanghai at their brand new cruise pier and were met with a huge celebration because Diamond Princess was the very first ship to dock there. There were photographers and news cameras there to take photos of us filing down the gangway to our buses. It was a murky day but that was probably pollution in the air. Just sayin'!! Our tour that day drove us out of Shanghai so I cannot give you great photos of the city. Just things we passed on our way to our destination. First we stopped at the Embroidery Institute of China. Typical scenes from our bus. The Institute reminded me of the embroidery studios we saw in Nha Trang, Vietnam. From there we drove to a canal in Suzhou where we would take a canal boat ride. The Venice of the East! This ones a little crooked! I have a feeling these are parade floats for a festival, and they're really floating in this case. nearing the end of our boat ride We got off the boat and visited the Humble Administrator's Garden, which originated in 1509. Next we visited the bonsai section and the greenhouse And this is the end of that tour. We headed by bus back to Shanghai and our ship. I'm glad I got to see all this then because I doubt I'll be back.

Good morning friends! It was 45 this morning when we awoke. Today is a treadmill at home day. On my agenda later is a hair appointment mid afternoon. Only news I have received since yesterday is a report on Linda from an email from another neighbor. Next door neighbor says Linda is still hospitalized but improving. She had many small bone fractures and there are too many to removed small pieces of bones. Next door neighbor is a nurse and says those small fragments should dissolve and be absorbed by Linda's body. I sure hope she's right! Thanks Rich @richwmnfor posting the Daily while on vacation. Hope you're enjoying your time in Ottawa! Interesting group of days to celebrate. I am thankful for my favorite PA and I will be seeing her next week, in fact. I don't know what the menu suggestion is. No thanks to the drink and wine. I'm enjoying seeing the Volendam continue along on their journey to the U.S. Thanks Roy @rafinmdfor the Care and Celebration lists. Prayers are offered up for everyone on the Care list. Also the Ukrainian people, all still suffering from Ian and Fiona as well as wildfires out west. Have to include Linda, and hope I haven't missed anyone from here on the Daily. I try to always include my great nephew and his wife in my prayers. They are the ones who lost their twin sons by their premature birth June 4 of last year. Same day my sister (great grandma to the babies) died. The great nephew Alex and his wife are expecting anothr child in about a week and I am praying that they have no more heartache with a safe birth when the moment arrives. A reason to rejoice! I'm excited to see so many going cruising or already on one. This Daily will be pretty quiet with so many away enjoying their cruises. So cheers to you all! Have a safe and happy cruise. Port of the day is Shanghai, China. It is the first time that port has been chosen on this thread. Goodness, this is the 6th day in a row I can contribute photos. Time to gather them! Have a wonderful day!

Gorgeous weather there today! I know you're enjoying your time spent there with a day like this.

We of course had the same beautiful scenery leaving the Castle and heading back to the city. We made our last stop at Speight's Brewery, the largest one in New Zealand. We began our tour in the production area, but evereyone had that tasting room on their mind. Our guide took us through the history of the company and its place in Dunedin's background. Our guide Keith went through the whole process. I don't remember much he said, but DH could probably give the tour for him with 29 years experience in engineering at Anheuser-Busch. On to the tasting room! Since I don't drink beer I took small sips of lighter beers. I would never want to waste a whole glass of beer like that. We had a full day on this tour and enjoyed it a lot. If I were going back I would check out their tours and no doubt find something new to do in Dunedin.

Another beautiful day in Port Chalmers on Nov. 30, 2017. On this trip we were on Sun Princess for 62 days seeing all the sights in Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. I believe I booked a private tour from Good Company, so we waited in this special area for our group to gather. We would visit Larnach Castle, Speight's Brewery and a Dunedin city tour. Along the way to Dunedin we saw theForsyth Barr Stadium, third largest in New Zealand. We passed a different brewery named Emerson's. One place we stopped at seemed pretty popular for tourists guessing from the number of people already there. The so called steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street. I'm not so sure. I feel like I've been on steeper before. The tour stopped at the Dunedin Railway Station which was nice because I'm sure many on the bus had never been there before. Out on the Station lawn, you can see the Cadbury candy company across the road. Some tours actually include a Cadbury tour and it's quite popular. I know the crew made sure they got a good supply of Cadbury chocolates while in town. That's our bus parked in front of the train station. Time to head downtown to pick up more passengers. We stopped near St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral which is right next door to the Town Hall. I'm not sure why this statue of poet Robert Burns has an orange cone on his head. ?? We enjoyed a lovely view of the countryside as we headed out to Larnach Castle. That's Dunedin in the distance. We pulled over at this scenic view. I was enjoying this part of the tour a lot. Beautiful Larnach Castle. This was a residence and is the only "castle" in New Zealand. We had an extensive tour of dozens of rooms. This is the type of decor we saw inside. I won't bore you with a dozen photos like it. I enjoyed the outdoors more. Well, maybe a photo of this floor in the foyer, which proclaimed this home The Camp. I'd love to see what their city home looked like! There was a rooftop terrace we could enjoy the view from. The entrance to their garden. I used this photo as the cover of a wall calendar I made documenting our Down Under cruise. more for the Garden Club Next door was the Ballroom Cafe where we enjoyed lunch. Oh my, I'd better stop this post and continue on for a brief visit to the brewery. You're probably all sick of Larnack Castle by now.

We first visited Port Chalmers on Dec. 19, 2013 on Diamond Princess. We took a tour on the Taieri Gorge Railway train which came right to the ship for pickup of passengers. It was a comfortable ride and some seats had a table at them sort of in a booth configuration which came in handy at lunch. Four of us ate at the table and they even provided wine with refills if you wanted it. Made for a crowded table but no one minded. Along the way on our tour of the Taieri Gorge. The scenery was great and we saw a lot this yellow plant growing there. We saw horses and sheep and either alpacas or llamas. You could step off the car and take photos between the cars if you wanted to. We made a stop or two along the way at tiny little outposts, but the train stopped and reversed course at Pukerangi. Locals set up tables displaying good for the tourists to buy and enjoy. This guy was set for Christmas with his little hat on. I think he would rather have been at home taking a nap. The train station in Dunedin is famous and they stopped there long enough to let you take a little self guided tour. It's beautiful as you'll see especially on the opposite side from the tracks. At the end of the tour we decided to walk around Port Chalmers. There is a tall hill near the ship which we walked up, on a residential street, so we could take photos from that viewpoint. This is the sign along the steep street. Photos of the timber along the shore. and Diamond Princess The view from Upper Port Chalmers as a sign up there named it. And a crazy statue someone placed up there. A local church with scaffolding That's it for that visit in Port Chalmers. The next time we would do another tour which we also enjoyed.

Good morning friends! I tried to get here earlier but things just seem to get in my way. About 2 minutes ago the security system touchpad started beeping every 30 seconds. In looking at it apparently another battery in a motion detector needs replacing. Happening a lot lately in various detectors. I am ignoring the beeping and forging ahead. We took a long walk in the dark this morning. I remember when it would be light by the time we got home but not anymore. Our winter days are approaching rapidly. Thanks Rich @richwmnfor posting the Daily even from as you call it America's favorite airport. Have a great flight and I'm sure you and all the rest of our gang will have a wonderful cruise. I think the quote today is excellent. Don't care for kale, or the pizza recommendation. Much too healthy! LOL! I enjoy doing nice things for people, and salute all the teachers including DD and DS. It was nice seeing the port map on the Daily this morning regardless of how difficult that may have been for Rich. And lo and behold another port from our cruises down under! This is the third day in a row. Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand is a first listing here for it. Finding the photos will take a little while, but I'd love sharing that beautiful region. Sorry I never knew @erewhonwhen we traveled there, either. Thank you Roy @rafinmdfor the care and celebration lists. Prayers for all in need and that includes Ukraine, and others who were impacted by Fiona and Ian. 🙏 I hope no other hurricanes form this season because enough is enough. Glad Terri @Cruzin Terriis having such a fine time in Barbados. Good luck Jacqui @kazugetting to your counseling today. Your story of the road work reminds me of when we lived in the Columbus Ohio area in the 80's. All major roadways were under constructing at one time, so T-shirts came out with a Columbus road map covered in orange barrels on the front with the words "you can't get there from here" printed below it. I had one but probably wore it out wearing it because I don't think I have it anymore. It was pretty funny even if unfortunately accurate! Terry @smitty34877I hope all are feeling much better now, but we need to get Tana to eat! Hope that appetite returns soon! DH is heading out to his cleaning appointment this morning so I guess I'll stay home. Getting my crown prepared yesterday was not my favorite activity that's for sure. I hope this temporary stays put. And the real one better be perfect when I get it in 3 weeks. This is a different dentist and I'm not sure if I'll like his work. The old dentist moved cities and practices. I wish he was accepted on our health insurance but he's not. I would have to pay for the whole procedure if we go back to him. Fingers crossed this all works out.🤞 Going to look for photos of Port Chalmers and Dunedin. Hope you all have a great day!

After our circumnavigation cruise we sailed on a Tasmania cruise followed by a Papua New Guinea cruise. The PNG cruise included Brisbane on its way back to Sydney. So several weeks later we were picked up at the industrial port, called Fisherman's Island Grain Terminal, by our Seabourn friends. When they asked ahead of time what I wanted to see, I said kangaroos and koalas! The first place we drove to was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which had a lot more animals than that! First we saw some lace monitors, water monitors and parentie A dingo taking a nap freshwater crocodiles A wombat And this cagey cassowary. I never could get a good shot of him/her because it shifted around so much. They are considered dangerous! Looking for the kangaroos! Here they are! Time for some koalas! This one was looking at me funny! He doesn't look that comfortable to me. But whatever, buddy! We also saw a Laughing Kookaburra, a Bush Thick-Knee, and the megabats of Australia. These guys are huge! That was it for the koala sanctuary. Onward to our next stop. Which is Mt. Coot-tha Summit Lookout. The city of Brisbane in the distance. We ate lunch here at Kuta Cafe and really enjoyed the view while dining as well as our friends' company. From there we headed to the Brisbane River where one of our hosts dropped his wife and the two of us off for a ferry ride. He met us at the other end. We rode for 45 minutes enjoying the great weather, the river and our friend. After we three got off at I believe Hawthorne they drove us back to the ship to say goodbye. What a wonderful day in Brisbane we had! Getting on the Spirit of Brisbane The Hawthorne stop Saying goodbye at the industrial port after a fantastic visit.

Good morning friends! It's 51F but will be sunny most of the day with a high of 75. Perfect! Thanks Rich @richwmnfor the Fleet Report and Daily. Happy Yom Kippur! Cheers to golf, frappes, and animals of the world. Yes to the wine, but can't decide on the menu suggestion since I don't know what it is - yet! Brisbane is a great port which we last had here on the Daily Dec. 28, 2021. Lots of photos coming up! Thanks Roy @rafinmdfor our C & C list. Prayers this morning already said for those on the list, my neighbor Linda especially, family and friends, and the people of Ukraine. I hope our prayers are being heard for those suffering from Fiona and Ian, and the wildfire areas. Happy anniversary Terri @Cruzin Terriand hubby. Happy birthday wishes to Vanessa @JazzyV. Going to the dentist today for that crown work we're having done. Good thing I'm not afraid of needles because this is definitely a numb the mouth day. Meanwhile hope everyone here has a very good day! Today's port of Brisbane was one of our favorites. We went twice in 2017 and on one visit a CC friend met us and took us around. The second time there some friends we met on our Seabourn Antarctica cruise met up with us and took us all around the area. My Aussie friends are so, so nice! I hope to have time to show some photos of Brisbane but I warn you, there are many! We did a circumnavigation cruise of Australia (on Sun Princess), and I would recommend it to anyone who can make their way to the "Land Down Under". We also docked in the industrial port outside the city and took a shuttle bus to the central business district. A view of downtown from the shuttle bus. The Anzac Square Memorial on Ann Street where the bus dropped us off. My CC friend walked us past the church she was married in. Just around the corner was the Roma Street Parkland which was beautifully groomed. Amazing it was surrounded by so many skyscrapers. I do love visiting gardens! They had a little train to ride on but we preferred to walk. This is the City Hall, which we went inside to take a look. They have the Museum of Brisbane on an upper floor there, which we visited briefly because there was so much to see in the city still. Then we walked through the Queen Street Mall area on our way towards the river. Some art along the way. We walked across the Brisbane River on the Victoria Bridge to the Southbank area. One of the most amazing places in the Southbank area is Streets Beach, Australia's only inner city man-made beach. Isn't it awesome? From Southbank, we took the free ferry back across the river and walked towards our bus pick up point. We saw plenty of old buildings directly in front of the new buildings. We had a wonderful day with my CC friend. Next time we stopped here we would do entirely different things. That will come up next post.

Seems you made the most of your time during your cruise/trip. I was interested to read about the wine bar you went to. We visited the same type of concept in Lisbon in 2018. In case anyone is interested I found this information online. The Lisbon Wines of Portugal Tasting Room, commonly known as the Ogival Room of Lisbon, is located in the west wing of Comércio Square, also known as the Terreiro do Paço. That is the plaza along the water which most of us pass by while walking around in Lisbon. Thanks for posting your review for us!

Ray, when we lived in northern California we were about 45 minutes from Napa Valley. We often drove over (with or without houseguests) and went to the wine tastings. I agree Beringer had one of the best tasting rooms, plus the caves to tour. Another favorite was Christian Brothers. We acquired 4 Christian Brothers 5" tall tasting glasses, but they hold so little they're not much use to me at Happy Hour! Thanks for the background of White Zinfanel wines.

Good morning friends! It's 51F but expected to be sunny and 74 later. The weather has been perfect ever since the daily rain and humidity left us. We walked in the dark through the neighborhood this morning, getting our 2.5 miles in. After today we have several days with appointments so it will be a little more hectic around here. Tomorrow both of us are going in for the first appointment for our crowns (1 each), then Wed. is DH's dental cleaning and Thursday another hair appointment. My stylist is off next week so she moved my appointment up a week. Feels like I was just there! A very good Fleet Report and Daily today Rich @richwmn. Fremantle (Perth, Australia is a great port. We saw it here last on Sept. 21, 2021 so I will add a link to that page for any who want to retrieve their photos from then. I don't have a boyfriend anymore so will substitute DH for that spot. I salute child health day worldwide. And I have a few techies in my family which is convenient at times. As for the quote - ?? I'm so glad to see some comfort food as menu suggestion today! Sorry about your experience Jacqui @kazubut I love spaghetti and meatball dishes so will take your share. No to the drink of the day but I enjoy a white zinfandel wine so yay for that! And white zinfandels are pink unlike what it sounds like. Thank you Roy @rafinmdfor the lists today. The shorter Care list and longer Celebration list is so refreshing. Prayers for all in need on the Daily, my neighbor Linda, my family, those impacted by hurricanes and wildfires, and the good people of Ukraine. I am not on Facebook so emailed Linda but she must not have access or is unable to respond. I have no idea how long it takes for broken wrists to heal so that could be part of the problem. I hope she is recovering quickly and will be home sometime soon but I really have no clue. Cheers to all on the long list of cruises and everyone else with good news. Hope you all have a wonderful day! In October 2017 we did our Australia circumnavigation cruise on Sun Princess. We docked in Fremantle which is the port for Perth. We didn't travel into Perth that day so if I ever get back there I will make a point of doing that. Instead we enjoyed the lovely and interesting city of Fremantle. Arrival in sunny Fremantle, Oct. 19, 2017. The city provides this novel gangway for the use of their cruise ship arrivals. We first passed by the Public Transport station. followed by this lovely church. There was a charming downtown area with a Visitor Center along with lots of shops and coffee bars I always like to see the different styles of architecture in the places we visit. I noticed a pattern with all the multi-colored striped buildings Next on our trek was the National and World Heritage Site called Fremantle Prison. We decided not to visit the prison (I'm not a fan of razor wire). Walking back towards the marina area we saw that Fremantle has its own brewery. Then we saw these two fellows working along the docks. A spot for the beach lovers to work on their tans. Next was an interesting tunnel and viewing spot. We took the stairs to the top for a look-see. This was the water side But look at the city side! It's an art installation. An explanation One of the painters at work. I can't imagine how difficult it was to get every yellow stripe exactly right so it would look the way it did. A fun day in Fremantle!

My friend also mentioned a loss of power but said everything in their refrigerator/freezer was still cold. I think it was out 16 hours so that unit must have excellent insulation. They are very lucky people! Maybe they should be buying that lottery ticket.🤑

Carol @mamaofamiHappy Birthday to your grandson! Funny how these babies grow up so fast! I just got off the phone with our friends in Myrtle Beach. They are safe and had no damage to their home. The ocean water came halfway up their front yard but none in the house or garage. Their yard guy came by and blew all the leaves and debris off their yard and our friends worked all day yesterday cleaning leaves out of their courtyard. I am very happy for this news! People matter, not all our "stuff"!

What a lucky break Gerry! So happy St. Anthony came through for you. Not such good news on the nail in the foot. Hope it heals up quickly!🩹

Joy, the cruise lines have been notifying people of itinerary changes very late since Covid, IMO. Even if they know months in advance they wait until too late to cancel, if that is what a person's inclination was. For instance we found out the morning of embarkation in May on Island Princess that our stop at Spitsbergen was not going to happen. Reason being Spitsbergen has a law about fuels used in their waters, and the cruise line knew this way in advance. But no announcement of change of itinerary until literally the last moment. I think you will enjoy Fanning Island. Would you like to see my photos and discussion about Fanning Island? I can easily copy and paste from the last time we had Fanning Island as port of the day. Just let me know. Sorry about Bora Bora though. They all know only certain ships are going to be allowed there but still sell these cruises. It's really not fair.

Bon Voyage everyone!

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE World Cruise Reservations 450 Third Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 Tel 800 522 3399 Fax 206 270 6080 Email: World_Cruise_Reservations@hollandamerica.com https://www.carnivalcorporation.com/static-files/50351a91-4dc0-4f6b-bfec-684647e6129f

We arrived in Kerkira on the island of Corfu, Greece on Aug. 20, 2017 on Westerdam. It was a pretty day for a change. We hadn't had good luck weather-wise there before. I thought this was a pretty little carriage to take a ride in. I hope the horse is given numerous breaks though. We walked past the New Fortress built in 1577. Not a wide street but it gets the job done. Protecting the beautiful produce from the morning sunshine. I've never seen that done before at a market. But look how perfect it is. The Old Fortress of Kerkira, on the sea, built around 6 A.D. We enjoyed this sunny, not wet day in Kerkira.

Good morning friends! It's a sunny morning but temp was a chilly 52F when I got up. It will be about 76 later on. No exercise this morning since it's my one day off a week. Thank you Rich for the Daily and Fleet Report. I appreciate custodians, and farm animals, but never named my car. My first exposure to farm animals was my grandpa's black angus cattle, a few horses, chickens, and lambs. I'll always remember his warning to stay away from the bull and no wild movements near him! Once again I have no idea what the food item is. Nice quote, no thanks to the drink, perhaps I would try the white wine though. Kerkira (Corfu), Greece is a popular port. This is our first time seeing it on the Daily. I feel like I've been there more than 3 times but I guess I need to update my records. Several times it was damp while there, and once it rained so hard even under an umbrella we were soaked. It took forever to get everything dried out especially our shoes. However, in August 2017 on Westerdam we had a beautiful day there so I will post some photos from then later. Thank you Roy for the lists this morning. So glad all of us have survived the storms, even though our property may not have done so well. Prayers for @jimgevand his community. Also hoping repairs are on the way. Cheers to all on the long list of celebrations. Have wonderful cruises everyone! Have a great Sunday, and safe travels to anyone on the road or in the air, especially tomorrow to Terri @Cruzin Terriand her DH.

Well, all that worrying and planning for nothing. DGD and her friend did their research and found out the apartment was fine with full power. I'm not even going to get into which route they took because it doesn't matter anymore. She's home! 🥳

Actually I mentioned a route I saw on Google maps earlier, but I wonder if she could stay on 60 all the way to 75 near Brandon?

So in looking at a map I see that the island running north-south at the top is Pine Island and the one at the bottom under the words Sanibel Island is actually Sanibel. I'm not that familar with Pine Island but it's missing most of the land mass they had before. Same with Sanibel Island. We stayed on Sanibel once on a little vacation at one of our neighbor's condos they rented out. It was 1998 because DD, ex-SIL, and oldest grandchild stayed with us. He was just learning to crawl and it was all we could do to corral him in one spot to keep him out of mischief! So sad to see those photos! Ironic they had Sanibel Island on HGTV today! I hope there's enough land left to rebuild it enough to bring back tourism. Ann, I don't see Hillsborough County on there. I wonder if they have full power up and running? She will definitely need to find that out. I think calling the apartment rental office would be a good place to check in with. I'll send her the link you supplied, too.

Melisa, I can't blame you for staying off I-75 as long as possible. We live just west of 75 (south of Atlanta) so that is our route when heading to Florida. It can get very, very crowded. Thanks for your advice, and I will wait to see if someone chimes in with more advice about flooding problems on the roadways.

Thank you for checking in with us and letting us know you are safe. The news in your community sounds devastating, but hopefully they can do some repairs to get people back online in the near future. It sounds like they will have to rebuild all the utilities. Prayers for strength for you and everyone else as you go through the process. I will definitely discuss driving options with her. How about 95 north to 60 west to 4, just west of Lakeland? That is what looks easiest on Google maps. I don't know roadways there at all so I'm no expert. It will be good to get away, I'm sure!