The Fleet Report and Daily for Wednesday October 26th, 2022

[aliaschief]

Good afternoon. We had a wonderful evening at the Papal Palace. Great food, lot’s of wine and great musicians. Of course the historical setting really topped the evening off.

Today we visited one of the noted wine areas in the world Chateauneuf du Pape which means new home of the Pope. There is still some remains of their summer home. Enjoyed a nice wine tasting and stroll through the village.

It’s our turn tonight for the small special dinner with Chef Voltaggio and our boats Executive Chef. More pounds!

Thanks for the reports.

Au voir.

Pics don’t want to load right now!🙁

 

 

 

[grapau27]

47 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Just in time for the edit window.  I worked my career with our national retirement system and learned that through common law (which I think is based on England) that a person attains an age on the day before their birthday.

 

Roy

Thank you Roy.

Your acknowledgement is always appreciated.

We have had lunch today at our local steakhouse and tomorrow we are taking our Sarah out for Dinner on my birthday night.

[grapau27]

37 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends!  It's been busy this morning even though still early.  We  had rain overnight and a temp of 58F this morning.  However it will only get about 10 degrees warmer so we need to be prepared for cool weather when we go out this morning.

 

Interesting days this morning.  No thanks to mincemeat, but I appreciate horseless carriages.  A salute to all who have been deployed.  Love the Einstein relativity quote.  The Thai tacos sound interesting.  Thank you Rich and also Roy for the Daily and Lists.  Prayers for all on the Care list and those in need of them all over the world (Ukraine, hurricane sufferers).  Cheers to those on the Celebration lists.  Roy, you may want to check the first post on our port today (June 2, 2021) because you had some photos from your stop there in Feb. 2012 on Zaandam).

 

Today's port of Phu My, Vietnam is unique because this is the third time we've had it posted here!  First time was June 2, 2021 and the last time was April 25, 2022.  I will have to go back and check for photos on both dates from both Lenda and myself.  I'll post a link to June 2, 2021 and April 25, 2021 in case some of you were not around for the first posting and want to grab your photos from this past April.

 

 

 

Here are my photos from June 2, 2021.  Lenda's will be in a follow up post.

 

I've been to Phu My twice on the Diamond Princess, in 2010 and in 2013.  Once was on a transpacific cruise from Bangkok to Whittier, Alaska.  The second time on a Singapore to Sydney cruise.  On my 2010 visit to Phu My, Vietnam the Diamond Princess docked at this expansive port and found a crowd of buses awaiting us.  That's because there is nothing to do here unless you take a tour somewhere else.  That day we were heading to Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Along the way to HCM City we saw families on their mode of transportation, the motorbike.  They had travel down pat it seemed.

 

That baby was wearing a net over its head I suppose so the bugs didn't get smashed into its face.  On one bridge they had a protected lane of their own to ride in.  You would see up to four people on one motorbike.  Just three in this photo though.

 

The tour stopped at one point at a lacquer factory.  Here are some of the artists at work.  This man looks like he's using eggshell to decorate his lacquer piece.

 

 

 

Finished products for sale in their showroom.

 

 

Next we saw the former Presidential Palace, which was renamed the Reunification Palace or Independence Palace.  During the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, it was the site of the end of the Vietnam War when  North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.

 

 

Below is the Rex Hotel where CIA agents reportedly hung out during the war.

 

There was a beautiful garden just out in front of the Rex Hotel.  

 

 

Enough on our 2010 visit to Phu My and Ho Chi Minh City.  On the 2013 visit we headed out on a tour of Vung Tao. In 2013 Diamond Princess stopped in Phu My and we began a tour which included a village temple, a market, a home visit, a whale temple and lunch at a seaside resort.  Some shots of the village temple along with our guide.

 

 

 

Then a stop at the market in case we were out of anything.😄

 

 

If that market was out of rice paper for spring rolls, never fear!  We stopped at this woman's home where she was busy making some.  

 

 

Here is where she lays them to dry.

 

She was fast and talented at it.  Here's a batch of them drying outside.

 

Our guide showed us what they would look like in use in the kitchen.  Looks good!

 

One lucky guy volunteered to try his skill at making rice paper.  Check out his results!  I guess practice really does make perfect.

 

 

Rice paddies seen from our bus.

 

Next we headed into this family home to see what life was like there.

 

In the main living area they had a shrine to their departed relatives.  

 

Then on to their kitchen with their family "pet" pig nearby.

 

 

 

 

Time for a snack in the garden.

 

Just fruit, no pig!

 

Next up was the seaside resort for lunch.  It was called Binh An Resort.  

 

Here are two plates of their buffet items we had chosen  

 

 

After dining we strolled their grounds and took photos.

 

 

 

 

From there we drove along the coast, stopping to take photos of the fishermen bringing in their catch at Front Beach in Vung Tau.

 

 

 

We continued on to the Whale Temple.  

 

They had whale bones in glass cases along with their offerings of money to the whales.

 

 

 

 

I think that covers the tour from Phu My to Vung Tao.  We haven't been back to Vietnam in the last 8 years.  I'm not sure I will ever go back again.  Twice was probably enough.

 

That is a lot of photos!  Whew!  Coming back with Lenda's photos next.

 

Thank you Sandi for your fabulous photos and great descriptions.

Graham.

[grapau27]

35 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Copied and pasted from Lenda's posts on June 2, 2021 and April 25, 2022.

 

We have been to Phu My and Ho Chi Minh City once on the Coral Princess in 2018.  Our call there in 2003 on the old Regal Princess was cancelled due to SARS.  I'll try to not duplicate any pictures.

 

This was the sight our our window as we arrived in the container port.

 

A couple of pictures as the bus headed for Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Street scenes as we drove to our first stop 

 

Our first stop was the War Remnants Museum.  It is amazing how much equipment we had to leave behind.  It is an interesting, but desturbing museum which also covers the time since the fall of Saigon.  The saddest thing was people are still being affected by agent orange.  The Vietnamese call it the American War.  The girl in the second picture making the peace sign, wanted to have her picture taken with me.

 

We also stopped at another museum dedicated to Ho Chi Minh.

 

Our next stop was a plaza with the cathedral and the post office.  We couldn't go in the church because of renovations.  The plaza also had a McDonalds where many on the bus went.

 

The post office

 

While we were waiting to reboard the bus at the post office, DH asked our guide where the American Embassy had been.  We could just see it in the distance.  This is the top portion where the helicopters landed on April 30, 1975

 

After our lunch buffet at a modern hotel, we had the "obligatory" shopping stop.  After wandering through some of the stores, we went across the street and joined most of our group relaxing in the air conditioned Grand Hotel.  Wish it had been the Rex Hotel.

 

Our final stop was the former Presidential Palace.  Here are a few pictures from inside and from the underground bunker, which had offices for the top officials..

 

The South Vietnamese president's office and limo

 

Some of the equipment in the bunker.

 

Back at the port, we sat on our balcony and watched a ship being unloaded and all the activity.  It was a lot cooler and more pleasant than in the big city.

 

Lenda

 

Thank you Sandi for posting Lenda's wonderful photos.

Graham 

 

[superoma]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

Good morning from beautiful Southwest Florida.

Since Ian we have had absolutely gorgeous weather, forecast is for more of the same with highs in the mid 80s with low humidity and no rain.

Interesting days.

Hard to argue with anything Albert Einstein had to say.

I like Tacos but I'm not sure about Thai Tacos, though they have nice ring to them.

17 years ago tonight, my White Sox won the World Series, I've been a Sox fan since 1952, that's 70 years with 1 World Series Championship for me, it's tough being a White Sox fan.

Off to the course in a few minutes.

Thanks for The Daily, stay well and have a great day.

Sort of like being Detroit lions fans, or Toronto maple leaf fans!

[mamaofami]

39 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

An early good morning from a cold (for us) central Texas.  It's 45F now, but will reach the low 70s this afternoon, and I didn't realize it was going to be this cold at night so I didn't bring a warm jacket. 

 

I woke up at 5 this morning, but that's not as bad as it sounds sincenI was asleep by 10 last night.  It willbe a busy day with DH being moved to the rehab hospital.  I'm very glad they are arranging transort for him.  I'll  just follow along.  Once he's settled and I know what will be happening, I think I'll head home.  It will be a tiring day for DH, and I'm guessing they will start their evaluations today.

 

Another good group of days to celebrate.  It's been years and years since I made my mincemeat mix up bars at Christmas.  I'll definitely celebrate my horseless carriage since it's getting be around this week.  The deployed deserve being honored.

 

Like all the other quotes by Albert Einstein, today's is a good one.

 

The Thai tacos look good, and if I make them it will be with flour tortillas which are easier to work with than corn tortillas.  We'll pass on the drink, but we were intorduced to the wine on the Elegant Explorer.

 

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, thanks for taking care of posting my pictures.

@seagarsmoker  A belated HAPPY 16TH ANNIVERSARY to you and your lovely bride.

@smitty34877  Terry, yes the support from this wonderful group is indeed a beautiful thing.  It means so much to know so many have our backs.

 

It's time to get moving and brave the cold.  

 

Lenda

 

Hoping all goes well for you guys  today.

[mamaofami]

Good morning everyone from a very very foggy NJ.Heading back to the PT balance center for an evaluation on how I’m doing since I left back in early June. I haven’t been good about doing my exercises so am hoping they will consider me to be ok.

I always love seeing everyone’s pictures so I can travel vicariously.

Waiting for a call back from my infectious disease doctor to see if I can take the new booster for covid. If not, I face another winter locked up.

Stay safe everyone,

Carol

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  I usually make mincemeat tarts at Christmas, appreciate every horseless carriage we've ever owned, and respect and thank all who are deployed.

 

Although it's still cold (-3C) and dark, I just heard the weather report and it will begin to warm up in a couple of days, bringing us into double digits on the plus side.  Most of the snow we received a couple of days ago has melted into the ground, but the city of Moose Jaw (about 2.5 hours to the south of us) is still digging itself out of 3' drifts of wet, heavy snow.  Once it does melt, it will provide much needed moisture for the area, so it isn't a bad thing.

 

@Quartzsite CruiserI'm glad you were able to get some sleep last night - hopefully DH's transfer goes smoothly and you can return home to relax in your own surroundings.

 

Not a lot going on for us today (yay!), except that DH has an appointment for a dental cleaning this morning.  Still getting the house and suitcases ready for our departure, so there's always something to fill the hours.  I've got an almost full bunch of celery and a bag of carrots that I have to chop up, bag, and toss into the freezer to use for soups, stews, etc. - I don't like having to throw away produce, especially with prices going up almost daily.

 

We had Thai tacos when we were in Bangkok in 2019; they were like having chicken satay with peanut sauce and cilantro in a taco shell.  Yum!  For us, though, we'll be eating out of the freezer, so I think we'll be having chili and rice at the kitchen table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is hurting, cheers to all who have celebrations today.  Stay safe, everyone!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry   

 

 

 

 

[HAL Sailer]

14 minutes ago, superoma said:

Sort of like being Detroit lions fans...

 

My thought exactly. DH is a diehard Lions fan -- and you have to be 'diehard' to support a team that last won a championship in 1957 and hasn't won a post season game since 1991.

-Melisa

[ottahand7]

Good morning.  Our run of great weather is taking a breather today.  It is blustery and wet.  A good day to stay home and get caught up.   Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports.   I will pass on mincemeat, my Dad was the only one that enjoyed it.   Horseless Carriages were a wonderful invention and a very good quote from Einstein.   I will pass on the tacos, I spot the dreaded cilantro on each.   The drink looks like a good poolside cocktail.  I am not a fan of Prosecco but La Marca is a decent one.   Thanks for the port photos Sandi and Lenda.   Lenda I hope things are going better for your DH.   

My brother is not doing well and could use some prayers.  Yesterday he called and said he was in terrible pain and I asked him to go to the ER where he had his surgery.  He went by ambulance to the tiny local hospital instead and spent time there and ended on another transfer by ambulance to the hospital where he had his surgery.  I think they will be doing exploratory surgery today as they suspect infection.   He has said multiple times he regrets getting this surgery and instead just limp along with his bum knee.   Getting into the health care system is fraught with danger.  One thing I left behind in Baltimore was my friends who were MDs and I could get a referral into the great hospitals they have there quickly.    I will keep everyone posted.

My friend Frank continues to do well, I mainly text with him when the Packers (his team) or the Ravens are on.   

Prayers for all on our care list and for the people in Florida and Ukraine.    Have a wonderful day.  It is a day of cleaning out a closet and getting started packing for the long cruise.  

[Seasick Sailor]

Good morning Dailyites. Finally getting light outside at 7:30. 

 

I think I would like the Thai tacos. We have several bottles of La Marca in our fridge. The quote by Einstein is so "Einstein-esq" 

 

Thinking of Lenda and Steve as he gets settled into his room. There are many friends here pulling for you.

 

Today we go to Killeen for an assessment on my sweet husband. (Back) Tomorrow we go to Salado for another. (Diabetes) Friday to Leander for bloodwork and Monday a final assessment in Pflugerville. Can't the VA just get us into ONE location for all these assessments!! Jeez. 

 

I salute and pray for all our troops. Every day.

 

Mincemeat is sometimes good but most times not..

 

 

Prayers lifted for all our Daily family. Blessings and Cheers. Xx

 

 

 

 

[Cat in my lap]

Good morning!  We are going to vote this morning.  I just wish that would turn off all the ads and emails.  At least we don’t get political text messages- my neighbor told me he gets lots of those too.

 

Yesterday learned that only vaccination I will need before cruise is typhoid which only lasts 2 years.  
 

Best wishes to all!

[marshhawk]

Happy Wednesday Morning!  It did rain last night, and this morning the sun is shining, ...well it was a few minutes ago.  Seems to  have become a bit darker.... oh well, weather will do what weather will do.

 

I love mincemeat pie and mincemeat cake (the type of mincemeat when no actually meat is involved) and miss my Mom's pies at Holiday time.

 

Yesterday our little campaign group were yelled at via text that we were not working fast enough.  That we should be making 40 calls an hour, and be talking with 1.67 people every hour.. (1.67?) 1. you can dial til the cows some home, but you cannot make someone answer.  and 2.  the office cat requires petting constantly which interferes with dialing.  Well I immediately starting calling faster, and someone  picked up, and told me all the things that were wrong with my campaign, and that took 45 minutes.  Does that count as the .67?  

 

@ottahand7 I feel for your brother,  I am hearing more and more, that "I" shouldnt have had that surgery.  I hope that they can get things right with him....DH with a hip replacement that didn't solve the pain, and Shari several years ago when they rebuilt her heel with shark cartilage....

 

@grapau27Thank you for the food porn.  Steak and fries, best meal ever.  Happy early birthday...

 

@StLouisCruisers thank you for the pictures and for posting those of @Quartzsite Cruiser. 

 

@Quartzsite Cruiser glad things are going as planned, hope the transfer to the rehab goes well, and drive carefully on your way home.  Get some rest, and maybe "the kids" can come down again, and help with "visits" too.  (you might want to throw in some warm clothes for you in the car, and sweaters for your DH)

 

Not having much luck on the quitting, but am not smoking as much. .keeping tabs, and writing them all down.  However @rafinmd I think DH and I should not take up space on the "list"...I think everyone does understand the severity of a complete life change, but this change is for the better.

Right now I'm like

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by marshhawk

[travelingbums]

Thank you everyone for sharing and caring 😄.

 

Have a wonderful day.

 

Happy Hump Day

 

[kazu]

Thanks for our Hump Day Daily, Rich.

 

Late today - early morning appointment to pick up a pack of covid tests & to the car dealership.

 

I guess I am celebrating Horseless Carriage Day sitting here at the dealership.  SUV is getting service and it’s MVI (please don’t find anything else wrong).  No loaners of course and since they prioritized it I’m waiting here.  

 

 

LOL on the relativity quote by Einstein 🙂  @cat shepardthat wine sounds good to me 😉 & @dfishyum on your recipes and thank you for doing them when you are in the midst of packing!  

 

I will pass on the meal as like Gerry @ger_77I am eating out of the freezer or, trying to so it’s anyone’s guess what dinner will be - but there will be wine with it 😉 

 

 

Fly out Friday morning so in a bit of a tear these days.  I am mostly packed - need to check my list - but one thing is for sure - I have all the roll call stuff in 👍 Now cleaning the house - that’s another story.  😂 

It will happen - it has to whether I want to go or not 😉 

 

Thought of our Daily-ites who enjoy their grandchildren when I saw this.

 

Prayers for everyone on the Care list & for those that need them and a 🥂 to those on the Celebratory / Shout Out list.

 

Have a good Wednesday everyone !!!!!

 

 

Stay safe & please don’t forget your 😷 when / where needed.

[kazu]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Good morning.  I am back to the land of the living, meaning I am home and the spinning in my head has slowed, although I still don’t know where I am when I wake up.  

 

Welcome home 🙂 

 

1 hour ago, ottahand7 said:

My brother is not doing well and could use some prayers. 

 

My prayers are with you and him 🙏🏻 

 

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Copied and pasted from Lenda's posts on June 2, 2021 and April 25, 2022.

 

So kind of you to do this for Lenda and us 👍 

 

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

 It willbe a busy day with DH being moved to the rehab hospital.  I'm very glad they are arranging transort for him.  I'll  just follow along.  Once he's settled and I know what will be happening, I think I'll head home.  It will be a tiring day for DH, and I'm guessing they will start their evaluations today.

 

Praying that everything goes smoothly for your DH and you today 🙏🏻 Please, if you are too tired - don’t risk the drive.  It can be very tricky when you are tired and stressed. 😞 

 

[ger_77]

A question for our Daily family:  does anyone remember or have instructions on how to log into (and out of) the internet on HAL ships?  DH's new Kindle Fire is supposed to arrive on Friday and we're leaving Monday; I'd like to type out the instructions for him so he doesn't have to rely on me telling him how to each time he'd like to go on the internet.

 

Thanks in advance!

[aliaschief]

Let’s try pics again! Last night’s dinner at Papal Palace, Avignon, France.

 

 

[*Miss G*]

7 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

A question for our Daily family:  does anyone remember or have instructions on how to log into (and out of) the internet on HAL ships?  DH's new Kindle Fire is supposed to arrive on Friday and we're leaving Monday; I'd like to type out the instructions for him so he doesn't have to rely on me telling him how to each time he'd like to go on the internet.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Last week on the Oosterdam I opened Navigator, went to “Connect” then “Internet”.  That was for the initial login.  After that it worked without going into Navigator…. with one exception.  Sometimes, if nothing happened when I went to my browser, I would re-open Navigator and the “Internet” box would be flashing blue where you see the “My Account” box in the pic.  Just hit that and it will re-open the web browser and it will work.  There is a page of instructions in your room if all else fails.

 

[smitty34877]

  Back again and trying  to remain calm.The cardiologist  is concerned  about the test results and wants to see us Friday. I am hoping for some minor issue. 

[BrandelynCon]

Thanks for the Daily Rich. It's a beautiful day here in Oklahoma City. Sunny and highs in the 60's. Relatively low wind for once. I think the tacos sound great. I don't believe I have ever had mincemeat! 

 

Gearing up for Halloween in our household. Should be a fun weekend. My parents are on day 3 of their European river cruise. They are having a great time and sharing some fabulous photos. Today they were in Koblenz where two rivers meet. 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Good morning.  Our run of great weather is taking a breather today.  It is blustery and wet.  A good day to stay home and get caught up.   Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports.   I will pass on mincemeat, my Dad was the only one that enjoyed it.   Horseless Carriages were a wonderful invention and a very good quote from Einstein.   I will pass on the tacos, I spot the dreaded cilantro on each.   The drink looks like a good poolside cocktail.  I am not a fan of Prosecco but La Marca is a decent one.   Thanks for the port photos Sandi and Lenda.   Lenda I hope things are going better for your DH.   

My brother is not doing well and could use some prayers.  Yesterday he called and said he was in terrible pain and I asked him to go to the ER where he had his surgery.  He went by ambulance to the tiny local hospital instead and spent time there and ended on another transfer by ambulance to the hospital where he had his surgery.  I think they will be doing exploratory surgery today as they suspect infection.   He has said multiple times he regrets getting this surgery and instead just limp along with his bum knee.   Getting into the health care system is fraught with danger.  One thing I left behind in Baltimore was my friends who were MDs and I could get a referral into the great hospitals they have there quickly.    I will keep everyone posted.

My friend Frank continues to do well, I mainly text with him when the Packers (his team) or the Ravens are on.   

Prayers for all on our care list and for the people in Florida and Ukraine.    Have a wonderful day.  It is a day of cleaning out a closet and getting started packing for the long cruise.  

I'm sorry to hear your brother is in lots of pain caused by possible infection after his knee surgery.

Sending our prayers 🙏 and best wishes for him to be pain free.

Graham.

[puppycanducruise]

@ottahand7Prayers for your brother.

 

@smitty34877Prayers that it is just something minor.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, marshhawk said:

Happy Wednesday Morning!  It did rain last night, and this morning the sun is shining, ...well it was a few minutes ago.  Seems to  have become a bit darker.... oh well, weather will do what weather will do.

 

I love mincemeat pie and mincemeat cake (the type of mincemeat when no actually meat is involved) and miss my Mom's pies at Holiday time.

 

Yesterday our little campaign group were yelled at via text that we were not working fast enough.  That we should be making 40 calls an hour, and be talking with 1.67 people every hour.. (1.67?) 1. you can dial til the cows some home, but you cannot make someone answer.  and 2.  the office cat requires petting constantly which interferes with dialing.  Well I immediately starting calling faster, and someone  picked up, and told me all the things that were wrong with my campaign, and that took 45 minutes.  Does that count as the .67?  

 

@ottahand7 I feel for your brother,  I am hearing more and more, that "I" shouldnt have had that surgery.  I hope that they can get things right with him....DH with a hip replacement that didn't solve the pain, and Shari several years ago when they rebuilt her heel with shark cartilage....

 

@grapau27Thank you for the food porn.  Steak and fries, best meal ever.  Happy early birthday...

 

@StLouisCruisers thank you for the pictures and for posting those of @Quartzsite Cruiser. 

 

@Quartzsite Cruiser glad things are going as planned, hope the transfer to the rehab goes well, and drive carefully on your way home.  Get some rest, and maybe "the kids" can come down again, and help with "visits" too.  (you might want to throw in some warm clothes for you in the car, and sweaters for your DH)

 

Not having much luck on the quitting, but am not smoking as much. .keeping tabs, and writing them all down.  However @rafinmd I think DH and I should not take up space on the "list"...I think everyone does understand the severity of a complete life change, but this change is for the better.

Right now I'm like

 

 

Thank you for your good wishes.

I stopped smoking 45 years ago after a few attempts of stopping.

My way was to write down everything bad about smoking including primarily all the health risks,smoke smell on my  clothes and my skin,bad breath,the cost of cigarettes etc.

My doctor asked me to write everything down for him to use as part of his stop smoking campaign and I was happy to do that and to  hear I helped several people quit smoking was very pleasing.

Graham 

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, ger_77 said:

A question for our Daily family:  does anyone remember or have instructions on how to log into (and out of) the internet on HAL ships?  DH's new Kindle Fire is supposed to arrive on Friday and we're leaving Monday; I'd like to type out the instructions for him so he doesn't have to rely on me telling him how to each time he'd like to go on the internet.

 

Thanks in advance!

When you connect to the ship's wifi it should bring you to a login screen. There you would use your username and password just like on your desktop or navigator app.

If it doesn't automatically go to the login screen, go to navigator.hollandamerica.com and you can log in there.