cunnorl

Good Afternoon from the Noordam a few hours out of Honolulu A big salute to the Navy. My heart breaks for the families of the fallen police officers. We are hearing too much of this. We all had covid tests yesterday . All negative. The Captain announced last nite that we could remove our masks and I believe the crew is tonite. We still are wearing ours, waited too long for this trip so we will continue to be careful. There is a group on this trip from the ill fated Maasdam cruise . They are calling it the Covid trip. Crazy stories. Hope everyone is doing ok. stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Good Morning from the Noordam Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends! Embarkation in San Diego was not too bad. There was a separate line for VeriFLY. We walked by lines of people checking in, so very worthwhile. So we were on the ship in a very short time. Only bad thing I lost my sunglasses somewhere. Going to check at guest services today . Maybe someone turned them in. We were very late leaving- 10pm because of loading supplies. The crew is as always wonderful. There have been some upgrades in the handicap cabins. We are in a signature suite and a button opens the doors, the bathroom is great and the water doesn’t run all over. Going to put some pictures on Halifacs. The best thing is a Lift on the pool. I was so excited! DD and so me have never been in a cruise ship pool. We had our Meet and greet yesterday- 150 members attended. Very fun! We have to wear masks for 7 days and we all are going to be retested on day 5. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Good Afternoon from a beautiful day in San Diego. We arrived yesterday after a very long day. We then had our Covid Tests at an airport clinic. We waited and they printed the results for us. Thankfully all Negative! I have it all uploaded to Verify and it says " Ready to Sail". They got that right! This morning I met 2 people from our roll call at breakfast. I recognized his picture. He told me our itinerary has changed again. We are back to Bora Bora for 1 day and the next in Raitea. I think we all just have to expect changes at this point. I guess the port officials in Bora Bora changed their minds but we cannot stay over nite. All is well. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Good Morning from a bright and sunny day at the beach A big salute to our teachers. We have many in our family. Dunedin is a scheduled port on our upcoming trip so looking forward to picture. We start the big adventure tonite. Heading to the hotel at the airport because we have an early morning flight. Just makes it easier plus our driver is grateful. Tomorrow we fly and we will get our covid tests at the airport in San Diego. We have appointments for when we land. I will be so happy when that is done. It has been very stressful. I have a box of new masks. I will post whenever I can. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Good Morning from a fright and sunny day at the beach A very blessed Yom Kippur to all our Jewish friends. I will celebrate golf day as it is one of my favorite past times. Frappes are wonderful and as a former New Englander I fully understand what they are. Brisbane is a scheduled port for us so thank you for the wonderful pictures. We are planning on going to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. My eye doctor called last nite and I am getting my shot this afternoon. Different office because they still have flooding. Even though my eye is doing well, I was nervous about going so long without the shot. So my nail appointment is switched to tomorrow morning. Then we leave tomorrow nite! @JazzyV A very Happy Birthday to you! @Cruzin Terri A very Happy Anniversary to the both of you. Stay and enjoy today Charlene

@erewhon Thanks for the recommendation. We will be there for 2 days. DH spent a lot of time there about 20 years ago for work and is anxious to see the changes. So we are going to take the train and then do a Hop on Hop off. DD is a full time wheelchair user so sometimes we have to get creative. Both of those state they are accessible. Thank you again

Good Morning from a sunny day at the beach My boyfriend is my DH and his a techie. Thank goodness ! We will be visiting Perth/Fremantle on our upcoming trip. In fact, I received an email from HAL last nite cancelling our excursion due to "operational issues". Guess it will be a DIY. Thank you Sandi @StLouisCruisers for the great pictures. My hairdresser called me last nite and he has power! Yeah! So I am heading to Orlando this AM, me for a cut and color and DD for a cut. Now if I can just hear from the eye doctor, I will be all set. Be safe and enjoy today Charlene

Have a wonderful trip!

Good Morning from a warm and sunny day at the beach We used to call DH`s car " the beast". We had it while he was in graduate school. It was a big old chevy that kept on going. Looked awful and drove worse. But it worked and no one stole it. LOL. Thank You all for the Birthday wishes for DH yesterday. He was very pleased. @Cruzin Terri Hope you have a wonderful trip and a very Happy Anniversary. @Seasick Sailor We lost Bora Bora and Christmas Island also. Bora Bora is limiting the number of passengers and not sure about Christmas Island. We had a few other changes as well. While it is disappointing, I am just glad to be able to go at all. Brought all my house plants to my friend last nite. DH is out washing the car. Our meal today will be whatever is left in the refrigerator. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit Good Morning from a sunny and cool day at the beach We are coffee drinkers and really could not start the day without it! I salute the elderly and as my DSIL pointed out to me - we are the old people! Today is DH`s Birthday. Nothing planned other than a wonderful cake from Publix. Not going out to dinner because we are trying to stay away from people before the trip. I was scheduled for a cut and color today but my guy has no power. So hopefully they will by Monday- if not, will get it done on the ship. My eye injection was also cancelled and am really hoping they can reschedule the first of the week. They also have no power. I am not complaining. I am very fortunate. Slowly hearing from friends around the state. All are ok but with damage to their homes. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Glad you are OK. Have a wonderful time!

Thanks everyone for your great wishes. We are really looking forward to this wonderful cruise. It will be our longest by far. It is also our first cruise since the shutdown . With all the turmoil and heartache of the last 2 years, we fully intend to have a great trip!

Good Morning from a very cool and windy day at the beach I think that finally the storm has left us. We all did fine. No damage for us and we never lost power. I count my blessings and hope and pray for our friends that are all over Florida. In my 35 years of dealing with hurricanes, this one was different. We have had some substantial damage in the past, and we even had to evacuate a few times. This time we came thru ok but it was worse. Hard to explain. I am heading down to the beach to see how much erosion has taken place. Ocean still looks angry but less than the last few days. I however dont plan on leaving the crossover.! Please stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

@HAL Sailer Melissa Excellent news. After all the bad news we have heard about the destruction, it is good to hear something positive. I thought we were clear but it just doesnt want to let go. We are currently having heavy rain and strong winds. I had put up one of the shutters so I could see what was happening. It is now back down. Port Canaveral remains closed. They were going to reopen tomorrow but that has now changed to possibly Saturday.

Good Morning from a very stormy day at the beach. Not over yet but nothing like the West coast . The pictures are unreal. My nephews inlaws live in Naples. Luckily they evacuated but their home is gone. It was a beautiful home about 1/2 mile from the Bay. We were there in May for the wedding. We have been advised to shelter in place. Lots of flooding and debris. Someones gutter is in my driveway Ann @cat shepard stay safe.Dont worry about the pool. Can be remedied after the storm has passed. I know you have said you have a pool guy, Pinch Penny is very experienced with balancing chemicals after a storm. @MISTER 67 Hope you are safe and are doing OK . Stay safe Charlene

So happy that you are OK. Sebring was on our news a lot last nite and I was thinking of you. Trees can be replaced, lives cannot.

LOL ! I guess so. 35 years!

Good Morning from a very rainy and dark day at the beach I truly appreciate my neighbors , we all pitch in to help when we can. I think there is going to more of that in the next few days. Publix lands are important to all of us and need to be preserved. Not a beer drinker. @dfish Debbie, Congratulations on your new home. I wish you evert happiness in your new adventure. I received an email from HAL this AM and there are many changes to our itinerary. Its Ok, just happy to be able to go at all. We are in for the duration. We will not get the same intensity as @MISTER 67 on the west coast. We are currently expecting 60-70 mile an hour winds and heavy rain. Storm shutters will go down shortly. I always feel like I am in a cave! The ocean is loud and angry. All whitecaps. Storm surge will probably cover the dunes but sand can be replaced and as long as everyone is safe, that is what is important. Ann @cat shepard Looks like Volusia is going for a ride. Be safe! Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Good Afternoon from a cloudy but warm day at the beach We are done with storm prep. It will just be a tropical storm here. Our issue will be flooding and because the ground is already so saturated, trees falling down along with power outages. We hope for the best. Thank You to Roy @rafinmd. My luggage is now gone. I called Luggage Forward and they agreed that the best thing to do would be drop off at UPS today. She said it would be a wise thing to get it in transit as soon as possible. So thank you. It was dropped off first thing this AM. @Horizon chaser 1957 Have a wonderful and safe trip. It sounds wonderful. @Cruising-along A very Happy Anniversary to you and DH. May you enjoy many more. The city has requested that we limit our water usage during the storm. So I have to finish up some laundry and run the dishwasher . Then it will be paper plates etc for a few days. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Ann @cat shepard Great map. I think we will be OK in Brevard. Expecting a lot of rain and wind. The only issue is we are on the east side of the storm and that is usually where the tornadoes come from. There is an expected storm surge. The ocean is already churning. So we will take in the patio furniture ( was going to have to do it this weekend anyway ), put the storm shutters down and hope for the best. 3 ships just left Port Canaveral. Not sure where they are going. DH went to help our friends secure the boat. The Tampa area and the west coast are in for a wild ride, we will just be a little bumpy. Everyone stay safe. Charlene

Good Afternoon from a warm and sunny day at the beach I only had Latin in school ( went to a Catholic school). My grandparents were from Ireland so I know all the swears in Gaelic! Does that make me bilingual? DH speaks 4 languages fluently, French, German, Italian and Spanish. And of course English. It was very useful to him in his careeer. Often people were surprised that he understood what they were saying and shocked when he replied. @Cat in my lap i just heard they are starting evacuations in Tampa. May want to come up with an alternative plan. @Vict0riann Hope you both feel better soon! Luggage Forward is scheduled to pick my luggage up on Wednesday. Not sure that will happen. But just in case, I unpacked it all this AM and repacked with everything in plastic. Then put in trash bags inside the suitcases. Hopefully it will keep things dry. Sray safe and enjoy today Charlene

Dont mean to hijack this thread. But what virtual service do you plan on using? I have read some not great things about OnPoint. I will be needing a test before boarding on 10/8.

Jim Cantore was here a few years ago for a very mild tropical storm. We have had afternoon thunderstorms more intense. We could not figure out why he was here. He did not stay long as there was nothing to see. Stay safe!

Good Morning from an overcast but warm day at the beach Really not sure what the weather is going to do today or this week. Watching the updates on Ian. They really dont know where it is going yet. I have a few appointments scheduled the end of the week in preparation for our trip . Things may be jumbled up a bit. As long as everyone is ok, that is the main thing. @kazu Glad you came through OK. Be careful with clean up. Of all my years working as an ER nurse, most injuries and deaths came after the storm. @dfish Hope it all works out for you! Today we are packing and going to do some preliminary storm prep. Stay safe and enjoy today Charlene

Melissa, We are watching this one also. Seems to have come out of nowhere and at present the models are all over the place. As long time Floridians, we watch, wait and prepare. No amount of worry can change the weather. Stay safe Charlene