Sharon in AZ

Jane @lazey1 — Happy Birthday!

Thanks Maxine! I think I’d prefer a spring crossing also. Chasing Springtime sounds like a wonderful way to explain it, I love your description! Wish we could tag along on your Zuiderdam cruise but Craig has informed me that he only wants to sail on Pinnacle Class ships from now on. He’s in love with Club Orange. Personally, I think he just will always equate the Oosterdam with being in quarantine. Poor thing. 😉

We woke up this morning to rain and more rain with thunder mixed in. It’s weird to wake up to a storm system, it’s usually in the afternoon or early evening. The sun is shining now so we will probably have a nice afternoon. This video came up on my FB memories and it cracked me up how much Summer was talking in the background. It was five years ago. She sounds so little, I can’t believe that she will be 15 tomorrow. IMG_0477.MOV Right now Craig is making crepes and will make the filling tomorrow. It’s nice having him cook more. He didn’t like my crepe filling the last time I made them because they had ricotta. He hates ricotta (among other things). Thank you, Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser for input on the transatlantic. I’m sure either way would be nice to avoid jet lag. The April cruise would be nice because it’s going to the ports Craig missed on our last cruise because of covid. Have a great day everyone!

Welcome to the Daily!!

Good morning! Thank you for today’s Fleet and Daily Rich. Thanks to everyone for sharing. I haven’t read the entire Daily yet but wanted to ask this question before it got too late. Yesterday’s port of call had me thinking about transatlantic cruises. It’s on my cruise list and we even have one scheduled for April next year. For all of you who have done a transatlantic, which direction is your preference and why?

Ann, I figured as much. I know how going on the first cruise after shutdown feels like so totally understand. You are going to have such a great time!! I hope in time that you feel comfortable telling us all about your cruise because you are a wonderful trip reporter (remembering your travels from last year, plus the oops and ouch from the break). Yay! Yes, I also received a reply about 3 hours ago from my email last night saying the same thing. I was once a moderator (ages ago on a different forum but it was HAL and travel related) so totally understand how difficult it is to decide on the fly what is appropriate and what isn’t. The new moderator just doesn’t know us yet.

Jacqui, is there a reason why this is happening? It’s so sad to think about all these precious animals needing rescue.

🐇🐇🐇 Good morning! Thank you for today’s Fleet Report and Daily Rich. Thanks to everyone who shares. I joined the Ryhope group on FB a while back so I could share the messages with my daughter. It’s open to join, you just request and tell them why. There’s also a Daily prayer posted which I also enjoy. I think @Horizon chaser 1957has the best take on the situation. We have a great thing going here and I’m sure it doesn’t sit well with some. I consider it a form of jealousy. Enough said by me. Pauline @Paw13 — welcome to the Daily. I hope you feel welcome and continue to post. We all feel like we already know you. Ann @cat shepard — I’ve been meaning to ask you about your upcoming travels. I hope you enjoy!! Ann @marshhawk— I think giving a month’s notice is too generous. @kazu Jacqui, great pictures today of flowers and Shadow. The new harness sounds great and hopefully your friend has other good ideas for her. We will be in Gaspe on October 12th so I’m hoping someone has pictures to share. The monsoon storm yesterday made a mess in our yard and pool. Craig just told me that our two basil plants look ragged and beat up. But I’m sure they will recover. We did get some much needed rain. Have a great day everyone!

Bon Voyage!! What a wonderful itinerary! Enjoy!

No problem with noise on deck 7. Enjoy your Neptune Suite and the Neptune Lounge!

We used the EMed proctored tests last month in our hotel room in Barcelona to board the Oosterdam the next day. It was so easy and can’t believe we hadn’t done it before for previous cruises. I highly recommend it. It isn’t cheap but well worth the worry and stress. I think you can buy 6 for $125. I have some left and will be using them for our October cruise.

I believe all but one closet have shelves that are movable. It’s nice because you can arrange them to fit your needs. There are also permanent shelves above, usually the life vests are stored in one.

I just looked through my pictures and Craig’s pictures and neither of us took any of the door. I think we were too tuckered out by that time. It’s a sliding door the same height as the seat that slides It’s nice to have as an extra layer of privacy while sleeping. We had a huge monsoon storm come through the past couple of hours. And a leak. Oh dear. I hope we can all ask the CC police to keep the sermon up. I am going to email them and complain. Have a good evening!

Yes, exactly, it was London to Barcelona then Venice to London. We had lay flat seats on the London to Phoenix flight but I really liked the AA seats better. However, what was really cool were the sliding doors that closed up the seats on the BA flight.

That’s what it was like on British Air when we flew last month. The seats don’t even go back. However, it is nice to have an empty seat between to set drinks. And we had one of our best meals on BA. I hope you have a great trip home.

Good morning! Thank you for the Fleet Report and Daily Rich. Thanks to everyone for sharing. I woke up too early this morning. A fancy Peterbilt Semi without a trailer decided to park in front of our neighbors house and woke up Blue and that woke us all up. DGD and Craig were able to get back to sleep. Boy, that truck was loud and kept running. I’m wondering if the driver decided to take a nap. Shouldn’t be allowed on a quiet residential street. Sandi @StLouisCruisers, schools here start August 4th which is also DGD’s 15th birthday— that’s the second time that has happened. Last day of school is May 25th. I love Carbonara but don’t make it very often. Thank you for the recipes Tina @0106. I should make it more often because it really is an easy meal. We are having carnitas tacos today. I made the pork in the crockpot overnight, that way I can portion it to freeze. Roy @rafinmd — thank you for having my DM on the care list. You can take her off now because her quarantine ends today. Thank goodness she had a mild case. Jake @Crazy For Cats, thanks for the reminder about Mighty Cruise Ships. I have the DVR set. Terry @smitty34877 — I am sorry to hear about you and your family having covid. I hope the meds help and everyone gets better quickly. Jacqui @kazu — thinking of you today on the 3 months since your DH passed. You have mentioned that you are having a celebration of life for him soon and I can only imagine how hard these days are for you. Also, sorry about the issues with Shadow yesterday but I’m sure things will get better. Maxine @AncientWanderer— glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. You will have to let us know when the new grand baby arrives. I need to get busy even though I’d prefer to veg out today. I promised fresh bread for DGD and need to get that started. Have a great day everyone!

We cruised last December for 12 days Caribbean during the holidays and no brunch. With cutbacks I’d guess that there won’t be any. I’d love it if the Mariner brunch/lunch came back. I always loved the food offered.

North of Lamar, Brush when I was in 1st — 7th grades, then Limon 8th — Sophomore. After that I moved to Tucson. My father is buried in Brush but both my father and mother’s family were from the area around Limon. I still have lots of cousins in the area. Do you know the name Monks? That’s my mother’s family, very large and I don’t even know half of them. The A&W was in Limon. My brother still lives in CO, but closer to Burlington. I have relatives scattered all over the area. So sorry to hear about your sister. I hope she heals quickly.

Bon Voyage!! ⛴⛴⛴

Bon Voyage!! ⛴⛴⛴

You need to call ASAP if you want to purchase Club Orange. It may not even be available. I recently added Club Orange to our October cruise and was told only 10 spaces were left. Also, Tony @sailingdutchy, breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill is only for Neptune Suite/Pinnacle Suite guests (unless I misunderstood what you were asking) and not for Club Orange. On the ships with a separate CO dining area anyone who has CO and Neptune/Pinnacle Suites can eat breakfast and dinner. In other words— Since you are on the Oosterdam you won’t be able to eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill unless you are in a Neptune/Pinnacle Suite.

Ann, that’s how I shop for clothes now, all online, except for Craig. He seems to have to try everything on. Once I figured out my size with a certain company I’ve been very satisfied with my purchases. I do buy duplicates of things, like slacks and jeans and some tops just in different colors. I just read your questions about packing for Alaska and you have been given great advice. Since our first cruise after the shutdown (which was August last year on the Nieuw Amsterdam) I’ve started wearing the same dress for dressy night and this last cruise in the Med decided not to take my usual dressy shoes and wore my flats. It sure saved packing space. And even though I absolutely hate hair dryers in hotels and on cruises I stopped taking my own. I also think getting the laundry package is a great idea, remember it’s for all of you in the same cabin and it really helps with socks and underwear (sorry but it’s true) and I hate spending time doing hand wash. HAL does a wonderful job with their laundry. I always write under the special instructions area “cold water wash — low temp dry” and have not had a problem. I haven’t been to Kodak but Sitka 3 times. You will probably dock and you really need to take the shuttle. And if you do a ship excursion most depart from the downtown area after you shuttle there. You can also do it on your own. Sitka is a cute and very walkable town. Your three cruises sound wonderful and I’m sure you will enjoy them all. Also, thank you for sharing your history. You should save your thoughts and journal them, possibly for sharing with others who have gone through the same struggles (like young people in shelters). I have two friends who have lost loved ones to suicide and one of them is on a major board for suicide prevention, every little bit helps.

I spoke with my DM this morning and she has covid. Drat! She sounded horrible but said it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be when she “eventually would get it” so that’s good. Robin @Live4cruises — so sorry about Mykonos. We lost our dear Sassy from kidney problems but I actually think she did it herself after her sweet brother (he was a beautiful Maine Coon) because she missed him so much. Vanessa @JazzyV— thankfully I didn’t have to wear roller skates when I was a car hop! 😉 Ann @marshhawk — prayers for Chuck today.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Thank you for the Fleet and Daily Rich. Sandi @StLouisCruisers, Happy Birthday to Morgan! And best wishes to your DD today for her surgery. BTW, when I was a young teen I lived in a very small town in Colorado with about 6 stoplights. There were only a handful of places to eat and one was an A&W that had carhops. I worked as a carhop one summer, I think it was 1968, and it was much harder than I thought it would be but instilled a good work for all my future jobs. They actually used real frosted glass mugs for all the root beer. Very heavy. I broke one once and they took it out of my paycheck. I had many many aunts and uncles and now only 2 aunts are left. One lives here but is in poor health. Mom has been wanting to visit her but she’s been in and out of the hospital so not sure when that will happen. I’ve mentioned before that I like tofu but don’t have it very often. I’d love to have some tres leches cake today. Sunday was the family get together for Craig’s birthday and it was very hot but we still had fun. It’s sure nice having a pool for times like that. I made ribs, beans, mac salad, grilled mini peppers, and we also had chips, guacamole, salsa, chocolate cake and ice cream. Jacqui @kazu, how exciting that Shadow is on her way and now so close! You will be the best thing ever for her and I’m sure she’ll make a great companion for you. Have a great day everyone!

Bon Voyage!! Enjoy!