The Fleet Report and Daily for Saturday March 4th, 2023

[StLouisCruisers]

Today is Holy Experiment Day, Hug a GI Day, and Marching Band Music Day
 

We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later. - Louis Aragon

Meal Suggestion for today - Best-Ever Beef Chili
Drink of the Day - Apple Highball
Wine of the Day - Dry River Chardonnay Martinborough 2021
Destination of the Day - San Juan, Puerto Rico
 

Eurodam

Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 16:00
 

Koningsdam

Fanning Island, Line Islands, Kiribati 08:00 - 17:00
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 08:00 - 15:00
 

Nieuw Statendam

Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00
 

Oosterdam

Cape Horn, Chile Antarctica
 

Rotterdam

Basseterre St Kitts, Port Zante 08:00 - 17:00
 

Volendam

Manaus, Brazil Amazon 10:00 Arrive
 

Zaandam

Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00
 

Zuiderdam

At Sea Destination Maputo, Mozambique eta 3-08

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

At Sea Destination Hobart, Tasmania Australia eta 3-07
 

Westerdam

At Sea Destination Kaohsiung, Taiwan China eta 3-06

 

 

 

Sandi for Rich and Roy

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is 37°F and cloudy at 10.15am here in North East England.

Many thanks Sandi @StLouisCruisersfor setting up today's fleet reports and Daily.

Marching bands used to be a regular feature in the 60s and 70s here in North East England.

We were a big coal mining area and the various village lodges would march to Durham once a year for Miners gala day in my last photo.

The Durham miners gala is still held once a year even though all of the coal mines are closed now.

Today's food and wine sounds good.

We have cruised from San Juan Puerto Rico on Crown Princess in January 2007.

Prayers 🙏 for better health for all on the care lists.

I hope everyone has a safe and nice day.

Graham.

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by grapau27

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  After all the heavy rain last evening it is now a clear morning, 51F and it will be sunny and 70 later on.  Thank you Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report information for today.  We have a couple of unique days to celebrate, such as Holy Experiment Day which I have found out is an annual holiday to encourage general tolerance towards religious practices different from ours.  Sounds good to me.  Secondly it's Hug a GI Day so if you know any GI's and they don't mind, give them a hug!  In third place is Marching Band Music Day.  Some marching bands are quite good (Ohio State and Michigan are our favorites) but then there are always a few who sound like they need a little more practice.  Keep at it band members!  

 

We have another interesting quote and a big winner for the menu suggestion, beef chili.  No thanks to the drink and I believe this is the third chardonnay this week.  Our port of the day is San Juan, Puerto Rico which we have had twice before.  August 1, 2021 and November 24, 2022 (Thanksgiving Day).  The links are below to retrieve your photos.  We have been there 4 times and I can post some photos of a general nature for those who are interested.  I'm sure many of us have been there and enjoyed it. 

 

 

 

Before we go any further I want to say thank you to the others who contribute here each day.  They include Debbie @dfishwho handles food/recipes, Ann @cat shepardwho describes our wine selection, Dixie @summer slopewho has our drink "recipes", and Vanessa @JazzyVwho is taking care of the Care and Celebration lists for Roy @rafinmdwhile he takes a break to recover from pneumonia.  Then everyone else who posts to add their own flavor to the Daily.  I also want to add my prayers to all on the Care list and those in need around the world.  In addition, we can't forget the Celebration list because what is life without something to be happy and cheer about?  Enjoy the cruises and happy events in your life!

 

On to the port photos!  We were in San Juan in 2006 on Crown Princess and brought our DD along, in 2018 on Veendam on a 21 day Caribbean cruise, in 2018 again on Prinsendam and in 2019 on Rotterdam.

 

Some images from our Feb. 3, 2018 Veendam visit.  The Fortress as you sail in to dock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a really pretty street I thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 Looking at some 2019 Rotterdam visit to San Juan photos and saw a couple of unique ones.  This was Valentine's Day!

 

 

 

What a romantic dessert!

 

Have a great Saturday and stay safe!

Edited March 4, 2023 by StLouisCruisers

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning Everyone,  thanks for the daily fleet report. Today is going to be a day with snow, sleet and rain.  Today's meal suggestion sounds very good.  DH was eligible for a new CPAP machine and he used it last night,  much quieter.  I hope everyone has a good day today. 

Today's port of the day is my favorite. 

 

 

[lvhh]

Good Morning All. I see we are off to an early start this AM,  Thanks for the reports,

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the Fleet update and general info.

 

Port of Day is San Juan PR. Been there many times. It is the one port I go grocery shopping each time we are there. There is this grocery store 20 minutes from the ship that I go to buy papaya for the Misses. The ships have it but rarely serve it and it’s like pulling teeth to get someone to get it for you.

 

As far as Holy Experiment Day I first thought this was the day last year when I tried this experiment fishing without a bait and caught a mackerel and yelled Holy Mackerel ! 

Edited March 4, 2023 by RedneckBob

[JazzyV]

Today’s care list:

Roy recovering from pneumonia

Dailyites in the path of storms

Mamaofami with medical issues

Vict0riann’s DD and DH with health issues

StLouisCruiser’s DB with pulmonary fibrosis

Citizens of Ukraine/ New Zealand/Earthquake victims/E. Palestine & PA residents

From the rotation:

Summer slope’s kitty having problems

Jacqui recovering from elbow surgery

Cruising sister recovering from hand surgery

Scrapnana undergoing chemotherapy

Status of St. Louis Sal (7/1) and JAM37 (7/7)

 

Celebrations and Shout outs:

Richwmn, StLouisCruisers, Summer Slope, dfish, cat shepard for their commitment to the Fleet Report/Daily

Luvteaching’s DH’s hospital release!

Smitty34877’s DH’s good report

Lazey1 feeling better

Cruzin Terri’s tilers working at her house

Welcome home Mr. Boston!

Bon Voyage Suslor!

1 day for TAW1963 (Ruby Princess 3/5 to 3/12)

 

RMLincoln family cruise (Rotterdam to 3/8), SusieKIslandGirl (Noordam to 3/11), Cruisercl (NCL Bliss to 3/12), ottahand7 and Lindaler (Volendam to 3/18), Suslor (Zaandam to 3/18), Seasick Sailor and 57redbird (Koningsdam to 3/25), Norseh2o (Oceania Marina to 4/6), and Cat in My Lap, Gail&Marty, Richwmn and HorizonChaser1957 (Zuiderdam to 5/12) at sea

[TAW1963]

Good morning all and thanks to all of those who help to put up the daily fleet reports!  Prayers go to those who are in need and best wishes to all for a healthy and happy weekend.  

 

My DW and I are flying to Houston today and then staying in Galveston overnight.  We are then leaving on Sunday for, what will  be, our second cruise ever.  We will be on the Ruby Princess to the Western Caribbean.  We thought we would give Princess a try even though the rest of our scheduled cruises are on HAL.  We have a lovely aft-facing cabin and are looking forward to getting out of the snowy and cold weather here in Idaho.  

Edited March 4, 2023 by TAW1963

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Report.

 

Lots of snow overnight, we'll get the snowblower and shovels out later.  Bertie loves bounding through the snow.

 

A great collection of days.  Holy Experiment Day is a great idea.  I enjoy marching bands, some are excellent, some need to march away.  I don't know any GIs to hug.

Love the quote.

The meal sounds good for a cold day like today.  Looking forward to seeing different recipes.

I'll pass on the drink but will probably like the wine.

I was in San Juan many, many years ago.  I doubt that I could find pictures but I appreciate all those posted.

 

Prayers for everyone.

Stay safe.

[TAW1963]

2 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

 Celebrations and Shout outs:

Richwmn, StLouisCruisers, Summer Slope, dfish, cat shepard for their commitment to the Fleet Report/Daily

Luvteaching’s DH’s hospital release!

Smitty34877’s DH’s good report

Lazey1 feeling better

Cruzin Terri’s tilers working at her house

Welcome home Mr. Boston!

Bon Voyage Suslor!

1 day for TAW1963 (Ruby Princess 3/5 to 3/12)

 

 

Thanks @JazzyV!

[smitty34877]

Good morning.It is 40 degrees and raining. I have been to San Juan a few times but not via cruise ship. The best visit was when we went with my mom and our family to visit our cousin.She was stationed outside of San Juan at a Naval Base and we went to their beach every day. 

I like the idea of Holy Experiment  day and fondly remember DS playing the trombone and marching  when he was in grammar school.Two neighbors here are in the NY Police Emerald Society band and march in their kilts with drums.

I will send hugs to both my nephew and my niece's husband,both are in the National  Guard.

Thanks to all for the Daily

[rafinmd]

Very late today with no good reason, although I did not sleep terribly well last night.Thank you Rich, Sandi, Vanessa, Dixie, Debbie, Ann, and fellow posters for this great community.

 

An interesting collection of seemingly connected days.  Been to San Juan a number of times but I don't think ever on a BHB although I will try to have a San Juan Story a bit later.  I'll pass on the Chili.

 

Roy

[ottahand7]

@TAW1963 Bon Voyage!   ⛴️🍾

 

We are arriving in Manaus and will be leaving at 1 for a 4 hour river boat and 10 person motorized canoe trip to get deeper into the Amazon.   It was rainy here this morning but it appears to be clearing up.  

Thanks to all of our daily reports, drinks, recipes and wine reviews.  I am sure we all appreciate how you start our days off.  Prayers for all on our Care report and for the people of Ukraine.   

A few photos from yesterday. The crispy duck I was anticipating at dinner was not crispy.   It came with a big plate of noodles which I don't eat.   I asked for cheese and got 2 pieces that were tasty, John got the Gorgonzola and the one that smelled of goat to me. 

The river this morning, Jupiter and Venus last night, and animals from town yesterday. 

Have a wonderful Saturday. 

 Nancy 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marshhawk]

Good Saturday Morning Dailyites!  Computer says 62 and mostly sunny.  Actually it is sunny.

 

The weather here yesterday was really quite interesting.  Lots of rain, mid afternoon, sky almost black, saw the huge pines with the tops swirling, not just blowing.  Tornado warning at one point, and tornado watch until 8 last night, On top of the terrible weather, our neighbors water line broke yesterday.  Water pouring down her yard into the street.  No one was home, so DH called the county water folks, and they started digging, and then they turned off the water, right when that big thunderstorm happened, and there we were, no water, for most of the afternoon.  Time to fix dinner? No water.  I left work and we went out to find food.  And pick up my meds.

 

I did go outside last night around 11:15, and the sky was so clear, it was lovely.

 

Tonight is bbq crock pot baby back ribs, potato salad, deviled eggs.  No chili this week.  

 

I hope you are all doing well, that dreams are still coming true for you.  It's an F1 weekend, so you know when I am not working where I will be.

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by marshhawk

[summer slope]

Good morning.  Kitty has a soft mass tumor in her colon.  We are giving her high dosage prednisone orally to try and shrink it.  Thank you all for your thoughts.

 

Apple Highball cocktail:

 

Ingredients
2 dashes Bitters
1 part Ginger Ale
1 part Apple Cider, Hard
1 part Jim Beam Black®
Garnish with Lemon Wheel

Instructions
Build in order over ice in a tall highball glass. Garnish with lemon wheel.

 

[puppycanducruise]

@summer slopeHope the meds help the Kitty.🙏

[GTVCRUISER]

Good Morning 🙂 

[cat shepard]

Thank you for getting us started, Sandi!  Rich, you were so generous to set this up so it could continue while you are cruising the World!

 

Vanessa, you really amazing at keeping our lists. 
 

A sunny start, though the weather folk still say showers later. Bindi opted for a super long walk this morning. It was the most lovely morning walk. Last night I had a great view of Jupiter & Venus, and the sky was so clear.  I wanted Lenda & Steve here, so he could capture the most amazing picture with his telescope & post it. Sadly, you are left with my iPhone snapshot. 
 

 

 

 

No gym for me - it is Spring bike week and the traffic around my gym is brutal. But I have plenty to keep me busy, since I am having friends over later. 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone!

 

*************

Dry River Chardonnay Martinborough 2021

This Chardonnay sounds lovely. Lots of excellent critic scores, but I could not access the actual reviews without subscribing to their sites. Several online distributors with prices starting at $44.15.

Distributor notes 

Dry River was founded on the Martinborough Terrace in 1979 with a vision of creating high quality wines that age beautifully, using organic farming and low intervention winemaking.  They've changed ownership once since they started but it's still a family owned winery and their ethos is as originally intended.  Their wines are new to me but they're excellent.  The Chardonnay exhibits a lovely freshness with citrus, brioche, white flowers and hints of tropical fruit.  Toasty notes as well.  On the palate, it has a lovely mouthfeel with layers of different fruit (lemon, apple, mango, peach), crisp acidity, minerals and creamy textured oak.  Complexity is added by the wild yeast ferment and lees stirring and there's a hint of nuttiness on the lengthy finish.  Built to age for a decade or more, it's truly excellent and I look forward to drinking more from Dry River.

[dfish]

Good morning, everyone!  

 

Originally we were supposed to get 6-10 inches of fluffy stuff, but it turned out to be maybe an inch.  It is already melting off the driveway.  I have a Zoom meeting this morning and then we are going to the butterfly exhibit at Dow Gardens.  We'll work in a visit with our adoptee, Ellamary.  And also to our favorite store, Peel and Pare, for coffee.  

 

I am honored to be part of such a great group here on the Daily.  @richwmn Rich, the originator, @StLouisCruisers for keeping it going in Rich's absence, @rafinmd Roy, who originated our care and celebration list, @JazzyV for taking over when Roy fell ill,  @summer slope Dixie, who gives us the recipe for the day's drink, @cat shepard, Ann, who reviews the wine of the day and let's us know how much it will set us back, @grapau27 Graham, who often gives us an explanation of what the daily celebration really means, @0106 Tina, who has stepped in to do the Meal of the Day when I couldn't, @kazu Jacqui, who has also stepped up to the plate to make sure you were fed while I was away, and all those who contribute to the Daily with news and tidbits.  We are all thankful that Dixie's kitty can be treated for the mass in the colon.  We all cheered when @luvteaching Karen's DH came home yesterday.  I heard the mass shouting of Hallelujah when @Cruzin Terri Terri's tilers showed up yesterday, although there was some communal grumbling when Wayfair did not show.  We are happy that @smitty34877 Terry's DH can treat his condition and we all hope for the best for Tana and salute Terry and family for their unconditional caregiving.  I know I could keep going, but all of you have come together to make this what it is.  Posting a daily recipe is a small thing.  @marshhawk Annie's stories of daily life have us all hooked.  And, we love the memes that so many of you post.  Thank you to all of you for making this the home we all have needed through the pandemic and beyond.

 

Chili sure sounds good to me.  I may save it for the next Farkle Friday.  Last night we had a favorite from childhood, chicken liver casserole.  It is kind of like a stroganoff with ground beef, chicken livers, mushrooms, sour cream, and noodles.  You saute the chicken livers in sherry and that gives it a great flavor.  

 

I think we all have a "best" chili ever recipe.  After all, that is why we keep making it!  If you have a favorite, feel free to post it!   I found three recipes that sound good and claim to be the best.  The first one claims to be just like Mom used to make.  https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-chili/

 

 

I've never put corn in my chili, but it looked good in this one.  https://www.theseasonedmom.com/beef-chili-recipe/

 

 

When this one gave the direction to chop the vegetables, I held my breath.  Fortunately, none of them were carrots.  https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/classic-beef-chili.html

 

 

I'm hoping this finds all of you doing well.  Healing thoughts and warm wishes to those who are ailing and cheers to those who are celebrating.  Wishing  you all a wonderful day.

Edited March 4, 2023 by dfish

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, dfish said:

Good morning, everyone!  

 

Originally we were supposed to get 6-10 inches of fluffy stuff, but it turned out to be maybe an inch.  It is already melting off the driveway.  I have a Zoom meeting this morning and then we are going to the butterfly exhibit at Dow Gardens.  We'll work in a visit with our adoptee, Ellamary.  And also to our favorite store, Peel and Pare, for coffee.  

 

I am honored to be part of such a great group here on the Daily.  @richwmn Rich, the originator, @rafinmd Roy, who originated our care and celebration list, @summer slope Dixie, who gives us the recipe for the day's drink, @cat shepard, Ann, who reviews the wine of the day and let's us know how much it will set us back, @grapau27 Graham, who often gives us an explanation of what the daily celebration really means, @0106 Tina, who has stepped in to do the Meal of the Day when I couldn't, @kazu Jacqui, who has also stepped up to the plate to make sure you were fed while I was away, and all those who contribute to the Daily with news and tidbits.  We are all thankful that Dixie's kitty can be treated for the mass in the colon.  We all cheered when @luvteaching Karen's DH came home yesterday.  I heard the mass shouting of Hallelujah when @Cruzin Terri Terri's tilers showed up yesterday, although there was some communal grumbling when Wayfair did not show.  We are happy that @smitty34877 Terry's DH can treat his condition and we all hope for the best for Tana and salute Terry and family for their unconditional caregiving.  I know I could keep going, but all of you have come together to make this what it is.  Posting a daily recipe is a small thing.  @marshhawk Annie's stories of daily life have us all hooked.  And, we love the memes that so many of you post.  Thank you to all of you for making this the home we all have needed through the pandemic and beyond.

 

Chili sure sounds good to me.  I may save it for the next Farkle Friday.  Last night we had a favorite from childhood, chicken liver casserole.  It is kind of like a stroganoff with ground beef, chicken livers, mushrooms, sour cream, and noodles.  You saute the chicken livers in sherry and that gives it a great flavor.  

 

I think we all have a "best" chili ever recipe.  After all, that is why we keep making it!  If you have a favorite, feel free to post it!   I found three recipes that sound good and claim to be the best.  The first one claims to be just like Mom used to make.  https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-chili/

 

 

I've never put corn in my chili, but it looked good in this one.  https://www.theseasonedmom.com/beef-chili-recipe/

 

 

When this one gave the direction to chop the vegetables, I held my breath.  Fortunately, none of them were carrots.  https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/classic-beef-chili.html

 

 

I'm hoping this finds all of you doing well.  Healing thoughts and warm wishes to those who are ailing and cheers to those who are celebrating.  Wishing  you all a wonderful day.

Thank you for your kind comments Debbie.

I love seeing all your food pictures and explanations of what they are etc and thank you so much for doing this daily.

Graham.

 

 

[cat shepard]

29 minutes ago, summer slope said:

Good morning.  Kitty has a soft mass tumor in her colon.  We are giving her high dosage prednisone orally to try and shrink it.  Thank you all for your thoughts.

 

 

Dixie, praying the Prednisone works. Hugs to you and Kitty. 

[smitty34877]

Debbie @dfish these recipes look very good and I might make one just for the carnivores. Thank you for your lovely words today.I read them to Tana and we both had a lump in the throat!

[rafinmd]

I have visited San Juan several times, mostly on Royal Caribbean out of Baltimore.  The most memorable one was in February 2013 as we had quite a snow storm the 16 or so hours before we boarded and there was even a snowman built on the pool deck:

 

 

The first 24 hours out of Baltimore was quite cold and blustery but I did some hanging out inside the ship and enjoyed the solarium and things eventually got more cruise like.  We had 2 or 3 sea days to our first port of San Juan, where we docked across the pier from the Eurodam.  I took a photo of the 2 ships together from the Citadel:

 

 

While the Eurodam was somewhat taller than Enchantment the difference seemed pretty small and I am convinced that at least the Vistas could get into Baltimore and I wish they would.

 

That evening I had dinner in the steak house, Chops Grill.  I'll close this story with my blog parting shot that day:

 

"

I had planned on using the very successful Walk for Wishes as my parting shot until my experience in Chops. I was not trying to eavesdrop but the elderly couple at the next table was speaking quite loudly. The gentleman was complaining about most everything, the cold weather in Baltimore, the rough seas, how long it took to get to San Juan, being rushed in the dining room, the Eurodam had more balconies, and so on. They were behind me but I had to suppress my laughter (he might have been able to see my reflection in the window) when he said “Our third port of call is in the dirt poor country of Costa Rica”. He did keep telling his wife it was his fault for not checking the itinerary more closely before booking. That was the one thing I could agree with.

 

This was a bit of a moment of truth for me. I haven’t made it a secret that I prefer other cruise lines to Royal and in general I’d have preferred to be on the Eurodam. One of my mantras is “every cruise is different” and I’d decided that for this time and circumstance the Enchantment is where I wanted to be, and it’s been my best cruise of all on her. I would have preferred the Eurodam’s more dignified atmosphere, the better food, and even would have preferred a Walk for the Cure on a real wraparound Promenade Deck, but this was not the time. If I had not been on the Enchantment right now I’d probably never have another sailing with Captain Gus might never have experienced John Blair. I’d have preferred a warmer sailaway, but the snow on the deck was part of the adventure. If I had booked the Eurodam I’d have been a real white knuckle flyer, worried about problems getting to Ft. Lauderdale or missing the ship. That would have been an adventure as well but one that I’ve had before and don’t care to repeat. I come back to something Colonel Potter said on MASH, but I could easily have attributed it to Casey Stengel if I didn’t know better: “If you’re not where you are now, you’re nowhere”.

 

Roy

[mamaofami]

good morning everyone. Happy to say you can take me off the care list. My cortisone shot worked and I am pain free enough to get through the day. I was so proud of my daughter, Lori, who argued for a client before the NYS Supreme Court this week. She presented her case beautifully , but the judges haven’t decided the outcome yet.

My grandson is home from college this week and I’m looking forward to a nice visit.

Stay safe everyone,

Carol