The Fleet Report and Daily for Sunday April 16th, 2023

[lindaler]

Good Sunday to everyone. Last night's storm was very violent. The winds blew sheets of rain sideways and everything was soaked. I had friends come over for a visit and dinner when their kite festival  was canceled. We sat on the covered part of the back porch and watched the power of Mother Nature. Then it proceeded to wake me at 5am to a house rattling lightning and thunder storm. It was so loud that going back to sleep was not an option until after 6.  I took my grandson out for a late brunch and we checked out a crafts fair. Now that I am home I feel like a nap would be awfully nice.  Oh the joys of getting old. 

[rafinmd]

45 minutes ago, marshhawk said:

Question from me, where do I see the sail away Future Cruise listing?

There's a thread @kazu maintains and posts a new list each Friday.  To get on it post here:

 

Roy

 

 

[marshhawk]

One more question , well at least for now.    The first Saturday of May is the Kentucky Derby.  Watched by many Americans, do my friends north of the border watch it?  I dont want to miss it, but I wont be home.

 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Finally back from a week visiting grandsons in Colorado-I’m ready to do nothing for awhile except catching up here. They’re busy boys! Middle of nowhere temps were 75 most of the week. It was wonderful, now back to the gray and drizzle. Have a great week everyone.

[aliaschief]

2 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Question time....DH wants to know

 

How important is it to have Canadian dollars when we land in Vancouver?  Should we get some before we go?  Would a cab driver take American dollars?  Would a restaurant?  5 out of 7 ports of call are American, two are Canadian trying to figure out how many Canadian dollars I need to bring.  I also need to figure out what coffee costs in Alaska, as my goal is to try coffee in 

Here in America most businesses don’t accept Canadian dollars and the same usually applies in Canada for US dollar. Most businesses accept credit cards but you may acquire an out of country transaction fee. There are credit cards available that don’t charge transaction fees. Get the Uber app and it can be set up that by using Uber taxi service it’s automatically charged to the credit card you selected on your Uber app.

Don’t have a smartphone you can always go to a bank pre cruise and order some Canadian money in advance or use ATM in Canada.

Edited April 16, 2023 by aliaschief

[ger_77]

@marshhawk unlike the US, many places near the border will in fact accept US dollars, but  the exchange rate will be somewhat less than pleasing.  I suggest getting some Canadian dollars either from your bank or motor club prior to arriving, or at an ATM when you do arrive in Canada.  Enjoy your visit!

[Sharon in AZ]

6 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Thank you Sharon, great photo!   Have a wonderful time everyone!  I'm anxious to hear all about the Volendam, since it will be our home for 94 days in 8 1/2 months. 

 

4 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Thank you Laura.  We haven't sailed on the Volendam since 2010 and I'm mainly concerned about recent reports of problems with A/C and heat.  I'm pretty easy-going about anything else.   Of course I want to hear that none of you are having any problems! 😅 

 

Carolyn, I’m loving the Volendam. I’m not having any problems with the AC at all but will see when we go through the PC. My cabin is wonderful. I forgot how much I love this class of ships. Even though I love the Pinnacle Class this is more intimate. It’s different having the Explorations Cafe on Deck 5 but it’s really a nice area and that’s where we were when the picture was taken. I could definitely see myself spending 94 days onboard. I’ll be on for 32 and will update you as we go along. What I miss is the Dutch Cafe and the larger Guest Services area. I left my key card in my room and at lunch the MDR wouldn’t let me order wine without it so I went to GS but the line was too long, I went again afterward and it was even longer. However I think the server took pity on me and let me have a glass. 
 

In other words don’t listen to those other threads. They are nitpicking. They see a spot of rust in the shower and it’s a tragedy. 
 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Great pic 🙂. thanks for sharing.  Please say hi to Susan @AV8rix  She was so welcoming on our Koningsdam cruise 👍 

I didn’t see your post in time but she mentioned you very fondly. It’s wonderful connecting with our CC family. 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Question time....DH wants to know

 

How important is it to have Canadian dollars when we land in Vancouver?  Should we get some before we go?  Would a cab driver take American dollars?  Would a restaurant?  5 out of 7 ports of call are American, two are Canadian trying to figure out how many Canadian dollars I need to bring.  I also need to figure out what coffee costs in Alaska, as my goal is to try coffee in every port.

 

You can easily use an ATM in Vancouver to get Canadian dollars.

 

Many places here are happy to accept US dollars instead of Canadian but the exchange rate is not always the best as @ger_77 wisely pointed out.  If it’s just a few dollars not worth worrying about.  With the current exchange rate, I doubt you will have much difficulty using US $ in most places and the clerks will be happy to buy them from the stores at the discounted rate 😉.   You won’t get the rate you would at the bank.

 

And for me at least, if you’re using your credit card pay in the currency of the country and let your bank / credit card company do the exchange.  It has always worked out better for me than the offer to exchange for you.

 

 

1 hour ago, marshhawk said:

One more question , well at least for now.    The first Saturday of May is the Kentucky Derby.  Watched by many Americans, do my friends north of the border watch it?  I dont want to miss it, but I wont be home.

 

 

I can’t speak for all Canadians but we always watched it.  You might even find a pub or sports bar showing it and join in on the singing of “my old Kentucky home”.

 

It’s certainly carried on TV here - you wpn’t have a problem watching it on TV.
 

[marshhawk]

@kazu @ger_77 @aliaschief @rafinmd A big hug from me to you!

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by marshhawk

[superoma]

1 hour ago, marshhawk said:

One more question , well at least for now.    The first Saturday of May is the Kentucky Derby.  Watched by many Americans, do my friends north of the border watch it?  I dont want to miss it, but I wont be home.

 

Yes we do watch the Kentucky derby as well as the other important horse races, Belmont, Preakness. But remember I live 5 miles from the USA border and get all the US over the air channels. You would probably get the races in Vancouver as well.
 

Your best bet for a good exchange rate is to use your credit card. You could pick up a few Canadian dollars from the atm at the airport but I wouldn’t worry about having more than $50 each for incidentals. Both in Vancouver and Victoria you could use US dollars but you won’t get a good exchange rate. 

[kochleffel]

9 minutes ago, kazu said:

if you’re using your credit card pay in the currency of the country and let your bank / credit card company do the exchange.  It has always worked out better for me than the offer to exchange for you.

 

Last year in the Amsterdam airport I was buying coffee and the barista rang it up in USD. He had to do it over again when I presented Euros, which I had from a previous trip. The price was €4.50. The price in USD would have been $8.50. At that time they were at par (right now, €4.50 would be slightly less than $5.00 US).

[Cruising-along]

19 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

 

 

Carolyn, I’m loving the Volendam. I’m not having any problems with the AC at all but will see when we go through the PC. My cabin is wonderful. I forgot how much I love this class of ships. Even though I love the Pinnacle Class this is more intimate. It’s different having the Explorations Cafe on Deck 5 but it’s really a nice area and that’s where we were when the picture was taken. I could definitely see myself spending 94 days onboard. I’ll be on for 32 and will update you as we go along. What I miss is the Dutch Cafe and the larger Guest Services area. I left my key card in my room and at lunch the MDR wouldn’t let me order wine without it so I went to GS but the line was too long, I went again afterward and it was even longer. However I think the server took pity on me and let me have a glass. 
 

In other words don’t listen to those other threads. They are nitpicking. They see a spot of rust in the shower and it’s a tragedy. 
 

Thank you Sharon, and yes, please keep me updated.  I'm so glad you're loving the ship!  I also love the Pinnacle Class (more restaurants and entertainment) so it will be an adjustment to spend 94 days on a smaller ship -- but I plan to bring a lot of projects for the sea days, I know I'll never get bored. 🙂  

Unfortunately the posts I saw about A/C problems were real.  Apparently it isn't ship-wide or even large blocks of cabins -- but enough people had the problem that I don't think it was nitpicking. 😞  This will be a hot-weather cruise, so it got me worried -- but not enough to think of not going!  

 

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Thank you Sharon, and yes, please keep me updated.  I'm so glad you're loving the ship!  I also love the Pinnacle Class (more restaurants and entertainment) so it will be an adjustment to spend 94 days on a smaller ship -- but I plan to bring a lot of projects for the sea days, I know I'll never get bored. 🙂  

Unfortunately the posts I saw about A/C problems were real.  Apparently it isn't ship-wide or even large blocks of cabins -- but enough people had the problem that I don't think it was nitpicking. 😞  This will be a hot-weather cruise, so it got me worried -- but not enough to think of not going!  

 

 

Carolyn - I was on the oldest ship in the fleet (Prinsendam) and yes, there can be some A/C problems but overall they were attended to quickly.  

And well they don’t have the bells and whistles of the Pinnacle Class - they have their own special appeal with a higher cruise to passenger ratio, getting to know you and what you like.  It is much more personal IMO.

And all those specialty restaurants on the Pinnacle Class ships are useless if there is no opportunity to eat in them as they are fully booked.

 

You might be in for a really big surprise - and a very pleasant one at that.  It’s different for sure and better in some.  Enjoy 🙂 

[Cruising-along]

10 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Carolyn - I was on the oldest ship in the fleet (Prinsendam) and yes, there can be some A/C problems but overall they were attended to quickly.  

And well they don’t have the bells and whistles of the Pinnacle Class - they have their own special appeal with a higher cruise to passenger ratio, getting to know you and what you like.  It is much more personal IMO.

And all those specialty restaurants on the Pinnacle Class ships are useless if there is no opportunity to eat in them as they are fully booked.

 

You might be in for a really big surprise - and a very pleasant one at that.  It’s different for sure and better in some.  Enjoy 🙂 

Thanks Jacqui.  Hard to believe, but it's been 5 years since we've sailed on an R Class (the old Rotterdam).  Like this cruise, the itinerary was the reason we booked it -- and loved it.  I'm sure I'll be fine. 

[Sharon in AZ]

28 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Thank you Sharon, and yes, please keep me updated.  I'm so glad you're loving the ship!  I also love the Pinnacle Class (more restaurants and entertainment) so it will be an adjustment to spend 94 days on a smaller ship -- but I plan to bring a lot of projects for the sea days, I know I'll never get bored. 🙂  

Unfortunately the posts I saw about A/C problems were real.  Apparently it isn't ship-wide or even large blocks of cabins -- but enough people had the problem that I don't think it was nitpicking. 😞  This will be a hot-weather cruise, so it got me worried -- but not enough to think of not going!  

 

I am sure that the AC problems are real. Just walking through Deck 5 to the Explorations Cafe it goes from freezing to steamy. However, the places I’m enjoying don’t have those issues. And my cabin has been fine. 

[Cruising-along]

17 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I am sure that the AC problems are real. Just walking through Deck 5 to the Explorations Cafe it goes from freezing to steamy. However, the places I’m enjoying don’t have those issues. And my cabin has been fine. 

Good to hear!  Yes, it was A/C problems in cabins that people talked about, and all I would care about too.  And even then only at night when trying to sleep.  

I'm so glad you're doing this, I didn't realize you'll be on that long!  

[StLouisCruisers]

11 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Good to hear!  Yes, it was A/C problems in cabins that people talked about, and all I would care about too.  And even then only at night when trying to sleep.  

I'm so glad you're doing this, I didn't realize you'll be on that long!  

 

Carolyn, when I was on Volendam in Nov.-Dec. our oceanview cabin was ice cold.  Nothing we did warmed it up so we just pegged it at the hottest temp and had no problems in the Amazon.  I personally felt the duvets were too heavy for me to comfortably sleep under, so we asked our stewards for blankets.  Then I could throw off the duvet and use the blankets at night.  Then when I was lounging on the sofa during the daytime reading I would throw a blanket over me too.  So don't worry, not all the cabins are too hot.  

 

Give me a smaller ship any day!  Can't stand 3 or 4 thousand people crammed on with me.  

[kochleffel]

Was it in the Daily that we were talking not very long ago about states' unclaimed-funds offices?

 

Last week I received a notice from the Comptroller of the State of New York that they were holding funds for me. As I am still at the same address, I was able to file the claim online, in scarcely more than a minute. That was on April 9. The check came yesterday, April 15.

[Cruising-along]

58 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Carolyn, when I was on Volendam in Nov.-Dec. our oceanview cabin was ice cold.  Nothing we did warmed it up so we just pegged it at the hottest temp and had no problems in the Amazon.  I personally felt the duvets were too heavy for me to comfortably sleep under, so we asked our stewards for blankets.  Then I could throw off the duvet and use the blankets at night.  Then when I was lounging on the sofa during the daytime reading I would throw a blanket over me too.  So don't worry, not all the cabins are too hot.  

 

Give me a smaller ship any day!  Can't stand 3 or 4 thousand people crammed on with me.  

I would much rather have it too cold than too hot, but that’s just me. I agree about the duvets!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good evening.  It has been a long and busy day, but at least all the yard work was accomplished.  Before I could start on the yard, we had to make a quick trip to W-M.  After buying what we thought was the correct fertilizer for Bermuda grass, DH did a little more research, and discovered that what we bought was for killing Bermuda grass in St. Augustine grass.  Oops!  We have Bermuda grass with no St. Augustine and we're trying to get it to grow again after the hot, dry summer last year.  I also discovered I'm bought the wrong fire ant granules.  I got the ones for the yard, but I wanted the ones for the mounds, since I already had something to put on the yard.

 

Once back, the first order of business was to repair the three sprinkler heads.  The first one just needed to be taken out and then screwed back in place.  The second one just needed to be changed from a quarter circle spray to a half circle.  The third one was more problematic.  It covered too big an area, including a lot of concrete.  We went with a head that covered a smaller area, but still a little too big.  There is still work to do on that one, since last year when repairing the connection between the water pipe and the sprinkler head, I accidently cut part way into the pipe.  Now the head does what it's supposed to do, but there is a geyser coming out by the pipe too.  Someday, we'll need to dig down to the pipe, cut the bad part out, put a new connection on and the reinstall the sprinkler head.  At least now, not only is the yard getting watered, but the flower bed is getting watered too.

 

The next order of business was to plant the flowers I bought Friday.  It took a little longer than I expected.  Years ago, to mark out the area where a water meter was, I put large rocks around the area.  The meter was moved quite a number of years ago, but I never did anything thing about the rocks, and they were buried by the mulch over the years.  In order to have enough room for the flowers, I had to dig up most of the rocks  Hopefully, the flowers have a better chance this year, with no rocks and more water reaching them.

 

Finally, I could rake out the old thatch from the yard, spread the fertilizer and insect repellant.  When that was done, I spread grass seeds in the areas where the grass had died, and over seeded the rest of the front yard.  Now, I'll keep my fingers crossed 🤞  that  the grass comes back and the seeds sprout.  If not, I'll resign myself to mowing weeds.  😒  For now, the vast majority of the weeds have been pulled, I just can't get all of them pulled.

 

Thank goodness for left overs.  Dinner to night was lasagna, a lot of ice cream, and a fair amount of red cardbordeaux.  So please forgive any typos.  I think tomorrow will be an easy day.

 

10 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Good Sunday Morning Dailyites!  It was sunny when I woke up at 9 !!!! But an hour later, the clouds rolled in, the temps dropped and I guess we might get those storms that the weather people have threatened us with all week.

 

I ended my time "at the bowl" with a sale.  Yay!  And found out this morning that Lincoln Center is cutting our hours( a good thing since I stink at fund raising) but Arizona Opera isn't ready until maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.  The upside?  I don't have to be at any job until 5:30 tomorrow.  The downside? really small pay.

 

DH and I need to go shop for new glasses.  He wants to go up to the Bass Pro Shop and get some good hiking shoes.  However, there are times when getting him organized is like herding cats.  But last night he gave me another scare.  We had left dinner, and when pulling out of the parking lot, at a light that goes left or right I got in the lane to turn left to pick up groceries.  He asked me why I wasn't turning right to go get ice cream.  Where am I going to get ice cream I asked.  He said at the Dairy Queen.  Where is the Dairy Queen I asked.  He said across the street to the right.  I looked across the street, at the now parking lot, that was the garden center where I worked 20 years ago, that was a Dairy Queen 30 years ago. I pointed out to him that the Dairy Queen was long gone.  Then he said he was confused, and thought we were in another town.  He has a doctors appointment with his oncologist this week, but this doc has taken over being his primary physician.  Someone that we can both talk to, and because DH seems to have a problem swallowing this is another thing that needs to be brought up.

 

Indy race today, so we will be home this afternoon.  I am making roasted Obrien potatoes, he will cook two small tenderloins, and we will have salad. 

 

@ger_77Your dinner last night sounds wonderful!  I think your new "family" make a wonderful addition your family.

 

@cruising sisterNot only is it nice to do what you have done for your friend, but you have removed a lot of stress for your friend, which is wonderful.  Something that she may not have thought about has been taken care of allowing her to grieve.

 

@grapau27Thank you for bringing us Father David.  When I see his face, and put my mouse on the play button, it's like opening a gift every Sunday. Like opening a book, and finding  love, compassion, knowledge and friendship.

 

@StLouisCruisersRen did great yesterday!  What a final score!  And best birthday wishes to Kai.!

 

I am loving the pictures of Whittier.  And wondering how much snow I will see this May, and should I pack my boots....

 

here comes the sun again....

 

 

Annie, I'm glad you ended your time at the Bowl with a sale.  Sorry your hours have been reduced.  I hope all goes well at the doctor this week.  It's good you have a doctor you both can talk to.  As far as the weather in Whittier, there should be snow in the mountains, but I doubt there will be too much on the ground.  I'm not sure exactly when you will be there, but most of the snow should have melted.  Some of the fresh water ponds and streams might still have ice on them.  Whitter, as someone mentioned, is Alaska's ice free, year round port.

 

10 hours ago, Denise T said:

Thank you for the pictures of Whittier. Will be sailing from Whittier on May 28/2023 to Vancouver. 

 

Thanks.  Whitter is a small, quaint town that caters to tourists with glacier tours and to fishing boats.  

 

7 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Thank you Lenda for Kai and Ren's good wishes.  And also the nice pictures of Whittier.  It really can be sunny there!

 

Wow, that is a very unusual looking bird!  Does anyone know what kind it is?

 

 

Sandi, we were very lucky to have a nice day for our glacier tour.  Our first time there, it was foggy, rainy and cold.  We couldn't wait to get back on the train.

 

The bird is an American Purple Gallinule, and it's interesting that it was on the ship.  They seem to prefer fresh water.  Here is a link to more information about them. https://animalia.bio/purple-gallinule 

 

5 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Question time....DH wants to know

 

How important is it to have Canadian dollars when we land in Vancouver?  Should we get some before we go?  Would a cab driver take American dollars?  Would a restaurant?  5 out of 7 ports of call are American, two are Canadian trying to figure out how many Canadian dollars I need to bring.  I also need to figure out what coffee costs in Alaska, as my goal is to try coffee in every port.

 

We did not go shopping today, we will do breakfast with "the girls" tomorrow then choose frames for glasses, then  walk the dog, then go to Bas Pro shops.  And then go to work.  Chuck works W, TH and Friday nights, I work M-Th nights.  And my hours got cut (I may have already said that today)  (sorry).

 

Annie, you have gotten some good advice about getting Canadian money.  When we are in a foreign country, we usually get money from an ATM, just be sure to use a bank ATM.  Some will change a fee in addition to some ATM cards.  Our financial institution refunds foreign ATM fees.  We've found we get the best exchange rate at ATMs, and the worst at money exchanges.  We rarely use a credit card, but we have one that does not charge an foreign transaction fee.  It may be too late to get one like that for this trip, but they are nice.

 

4 hours ago, lindaler said:

Good Sunday to everyone. Last night's storm was very violent. The winds blew sheets of rain sideways and everything was soaked. I had friends come over for a visit and dinner when their kite festival  was canceled. We sat on the covered part of the back porch and watched the power of Mother Nature. Then it proceeded to wake me at 5am to a house rattling lightning and thunder storm. It was so loud that going back to sleep was not an option until after 6.  I took my grandson out for a late brunch and we checked out a crafts fair. Now that I am home I feel like a nap would be awfully nice.  Oh the joys of getting old. 

 

Linda, that must have been interesting watching the storm last night.  

 

37 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

Was it in the Daily that we were talking not very long ago about states' unclaimed-funds offices?

 

Last week I received a notice from the Comptroller of the State of New York that they were holding funds for me. As I am still at the same address, I was able to file the claim online, in scarcely more than a minute. That was on April 9. The check came yesterday, April 15.

 

Paul, that was fast.

 

5 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

I would much rather have it too cold than too hot, but that’s just me. I agree about the duvets!

 

Carolyn, we also prefer the smaller ships, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the Koningsdam last year.  Of course, it was never full when we were on her, and only once was it more than half full.  I'm not sure about being on a Pinnacle ship when it was full.  We also have found the duvets are too hot and heavy for us.  We ask our steward to make the bed up with a sheet, a blanket and another sheet on top.

 

Lenda