SusieKIslandGirl

@shadow 123I will add that for some reason, it never seems to work for me the 1st attempt. I backspace to erase and start over again. 2nd time's the charm!

I wonder if this is something that could be ordered ahead of time by calling Ship Services? 888 628 8107 hal_ship_services@hollandamerica.com (the spaces are underscore)

@dockmanI'm not sure I understand your question. It seems the main point is getting a faster reply, so how does that reduce the agent's commission?

@JazzyVIt was so good to read that everything went well and that you had a good night. Positive thoughts that it continues.

One other thing I've read but not tried, green apples. It's been mentioned that even crew members keep them handy as well as ginger.

Any spies in the crowd who could check on how many people are actually "behind the curtain"? Is it actually worthwhile-are people showing up for whatever is going on?

Have a fantastic cruise-and please, stay in one piece! 😊

Knowing not much about adding things to maps, etc.--would it be difficult to add a red star at the Destination of Day location? Some ports are very familiar but others can be huh, where's that? Thanks! I do appreciate your maps.

@kazuI want to thank you for the information, quite some time ago, about a keyboard for the iPad. Finally using it on this trip and I love it! First port today and will wander Cabo San Lucas this afternoon and explore tomorrow. Lots of lectures and info gearing up to the eclipse on Monday. Can’t wait!!

Thanks for all the Bon Voyage wishes. We board in a couple of hours. Eclipse glasses packed and ready for the big event. Not sure I’m ready for the ship though-3700 passengers! I do like their 24-hour International Cafe and the Princess closet setup. @kazuI thought acupuncture on my elbow wasn’t doing anything and all of a sudden, I could feel the difference. @smitty34877Positive thoughts for Tana heading your way.

@ger_77You are an amazing woman and such a great friend-I'm sure your kindness is greatly appreciated. I feel guilty reading about all the bad weather. It's been a bright sunny day here-just hope it stays through tomorrow morning as we leave for the airport and the Mexico solar eclipse cruise. We're walking onto the ferry, then up the dock to for an Uber ride to the airport. Take care everyone!

I've got goosebumps reading that you felt the cruise went well and you're ready to do the Pole-to-Pole. Fantastic news! And I can't wait for more trivia!!!😁

Thanks for taking us along. So happy that your cruise was a success!

Not sure about HAL, but we booked on Princess and there were only guarantees available. We requested Aft or Mid-Aft and ended up with a cabin 5 from the bow. Ugh! We leave Tuesday and sail on Wednesday-Discovery Princess-so will know then how bad the cabin location is for us. But they'll still cook and clean so I will endure 😁🍸.

I did it-jumped on the bandwagon. I cancelled the FLL to Barcelona cruise April of 2025 and just rebooked for this one. It will be fun to meet everyone and see Jacqui again. Party time!

Oops! DS not DH was a year old.😮

@aliaschiefThanks for the photos of Da Nang. DH was scheduled to go there in Sept. '73 but everything was closing down and he ended up in Thailand instead-which made me happy! Our DH had just celebrated his 1st birthday.

@ger_77Very nice work and such cheerful colors. Our new fridge was delivered this morning, finally. Now to figure out where to put everything. Take care everyone.

I might attempt a Live review but it would be on the Princess page. I can come home with clean clothes but I have to do it in the self-service laundry room. The ship will be off of Mazatlan, right in the middle of the path of totality. It's been said that totality should last 4 1/2 minutes.

Yikes! What was I thinking? I just finished the laundry from the Hawaii trip and now I need to start packing for the Discovery Princess solar eclipse cruise. We leave in 9 days.

It sounds like your cruise is going well. I wish I was there to join you in trivia. Thanks for including it in your reports. We're doing the solar eclipse cruise next month so will get in a bit of trivia.

@StLouisCruisersSandi, thanks for the photos of Kiriwina-we'll be there next January. @JazzyVBefore my hip surgery, I was given a list of exercises for my legs but nothing to increase my arm strength. Luckily, I still have good arm strength, but I did mention to my RN coordinator that those exercises should be included. It's amazing how much you depend on your arms when trying not to bend or twist. After his spinal surgery, DH spent the 1st week or so in the power recliner a friend loaned us. It made getting up-and even sleeping-a lot easier.

Arrived home from Hawaii this morning after a night flight from Kona. I actually slept most of the way! I think we all survived-it was fun with the 9 and 11year old DGS but we were all a bit fed up with the impatience and semi-rudeness of the 22-year-old DGD. Weather was better than expected with much less rain than forecasted. But now I'm cold which is rare for me. One interesting moment was when I went to put a pan of brownies in the oven and the front glass panel of the oven door fell off. Barely grazed my foot and didn't break so all was good. Maintenance came the next morning and put it back in place. No activity at the volcano but still interesting to see-again for me but new to the boys. Now I've got a lot of catching up to do on the Daily. Take care everyone!

The only problem with the bread pudding is that there's only one sauce. Love rum or bourbon caramel sauce with it!

It’s finally a beautiful, sunny day in the Seattle area and we’re off to Hawaii tomorrow where the weather forecast is rain for several of the days we’ll be there. Guess we’re packing raincoats. I hope the condo has good Wi-Fi. I had a tetanus and shingles shot last week and still a bit sore. My arm was quite red after the previous tetanus shot but not so bad this time. Enjoy the weekend!