The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday, January 4th, 2024

[kazu]

 

Today is Pop Music Chart Day, Tom Thumb Day, and Trivia Day
 

Never put a sock in a toaster. - Eddie Izzard

Meal Suggestion for today - Salisbury Steak Meatballs (Instant Pot, Stove, Slow Cooker)
Drink of the Day - Wild Sex
Wine of the Day - 2021 Riesling, Waitrose Blueprint German Dry, Moselland, Mosel
Destination of the Day - Loreto, Mexico 

Today in History:
1847 Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government
1865 New York Stock Exchange opens its 1st permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad St, near Wall Street in New York City

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 10:00 - 17:00 
 

Koningsdam

At Sea Destination Ensenada, Baja California Mexico eta 01-05
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 01-05
 

Nieuw Statendam

St Thomas Island USVI, Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands 08:00 - 16:00 
 

Oosterdam

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile 08:00 - 15:00 
 

Rotterdam

Key West, Florida 08:00 - 16:00 
 

Volendam

At Sea Destination Honolulu, Oahu Island Hawaii eta 01-09
 

Zaandam

Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 7:00-15:00 
 

Zuiderdam

At Sea Destination Scarborough, Tobago eta 01-07

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

At Sea Destination Adelaide, South Australia eta 01-07
 

Westerdam

At Sea Destination Hong Kong, China eta 01-06

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[rafinmd]

Today's maps:

 

 

 

Roy

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Thanks for the Report.

A cold day in the forecast for us, I guess winter is finally here.

Three good days to celebrate.

I like the quote, very funny.

The meal sounds good, looking forward to recipes.  Not sure about Wild Sex, but I'm sure I'll like the wine.

Prayers for everyone.  I hope there are lots of things to celebrate.

Have a wonderful day.

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care List:

Cruising sister’s great niece Murphy post-surgery, on CPAP, gtube

Summer slope awaiting skin biopsy results

JazzyV with right leg pain, tingling and numbness; trouble walking

 

Japanese earthquake victims

Citizens of Ukraine, Israel and Gaza

All Dailyites going through worries and stress, whether mentioned or not

 

From the Rotation:

Seagarsmoker with bronchitis

Tana with chronic pulmonary issues

RMLincoln’s DH with glaucoma issues

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Welcome Home St Pete Cruiser!

Kazu stepping up to keep the FR/Daily going while Rich is cruising

Cruising sister’s g-niece Murphy extubated, on CPAP 

57redbird released by her neurosurgeon after surgery

 

The Daily Gardening Club posting wonderful flower pictures

All the contributors to the Fleet Report/Daily

 

Upcoming Cruises or At Sea:

 

1 day for Aliaschief (Azamara Onward WC Jan 5 to June 9) 156d World Voyage

2 days for Suslor (Westerdam Jan 6 to Feb 3) 28d Philippines, Malaysia & Far East Collector + (Westerdam Feb 3 to Feb 17) 14d China & Japan

3 days for Kochleffel (Anthem of the Seas Jan 7 to Jan 18) 11d Southern Caribbean

 

Ichiban Nekko (Rotterdam to Jan 5, B2B, Western/Tropical Caribbean), Av8rix (Koningsdam to Jan 6, Circle Hawaii Holiday), Haljo1935 (Koningsdam to Jan 6, Circle Hawaii Holiday), GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam to Jan 6, Circle Hawaii Holiday), Seasick Sailor (Rotterdam to Jan 14, Tropical/Southern Caribbean Seafarer)), Ottahand7 (Eurodam Jan 3 to Feb 24) B2B2B2B2B Caribbean, Cruising-along (Volendam Jan 3 to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Durangoscots (Volendam Jan 3 to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, cruising sister(Volendam Jan 3 to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Cruisercl (Volendam Jan 3 to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Richwmn (Volendam to May 4, Jan 3 94d Grand Australia & NZ Voyage + Apr 6 15d PC Cruise + Apr 21 The Atlantic Cruise) and Cat in my lap (Zuiderdam to May 11) 128d Grand World Voyage

[Denise T]

Good Thursday morning. Thanks all for the Daily and Fleet reports. 

Chilly day today. Looks like the weekend storm is weakening. I should still see some snow. 

Today is a busy day. Working at home with clients and then teaching a class this evening. 

Dentist appointment went well, just needed three fillings. I continue with my commitment to hit the gym four ties this week. Halfway there. Also continuing to work on my dissertation. I am in the final study phase and am currently collecting data. Should have my doctorate by the summer. 

I am busy but am working on lessening the stress. 

279 days until my cruise. 

Thinking of all on the care list. 

Celebrating with all who are celebrating. 

Have a safe and healthy day. 

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  Weather report here is 31F and clear.  High will be 53 and sunny all day. Thanks Jacqui @kazu for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for Rich @richwmn.  DH and I both celebrated yesterday's Festival of Sleep Day last night and this morning.  He said he felt like last night was too short and slept in a bit this morning.  I on the other hand woke up around 3:30 as I usually do but dozed here and there after that.  Unfortunately I slept 25 minutes after my usual "get out of bed time" and had to cut my miles down to 2.0 instead of 2.5 on the treadmill. What a slacker!

 

Holidays are pop music chart day which is fine, and trivia day for those who engage in that. Props to Tom Thumb, the miniature entertainer who worked with P. T. Barnum.  It's also World Braille Day and National Spaghetti Day.  I think the quote today is dumb.  Sorry!   The meal suggestion might be good, WOW on the cocktail name and I probably wouldn't like the wine.  A salute to the New York Stock Exchange opening in NYC and the colt pistol sales to the U.S. government.  Thanks to Debbie/Tina @dfish and @0106, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports this morning.

 

Prayers for all here in need of them with pain, healing, loss of loved ones and depression.  Also for Israel and Ukraine, the hostages held and our troops in harm's way on ships and bases.  Also for DB and DGD, and friends Scott and Bob.  Cheers to those with celebrations today and the sailors among us!  Have wonderful cruises!  And happy birthday Jen and DGD Ashley! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration lists that you keep so well.  Hope you are getting some sleep and get some answers to your pain issues.

 

The port today is Loreto, Mexico.  Apparently it's popular since this is the fourth time we've seen it listed here.  Dates were July 31, 2021, April 28, 2022, and May 19, 2023.  Here are all the links for your convenience.  I won't need them since I haven't been fortunate enough to see this Mexican port of call.  

 

 

 

 

 

This afternoon we will go to see our "old" dentist and see about getting a chip in DH's newest crown fixed.  Then perhaps pick up some barbecue for dinner tonight.  (note - "old" dentist did not install the crown, the "new" dentist did and we don't care for his work).

 

 Hoping all here have a wonderful day.  Keep safe and stay well! 

[summer slope]

(giggle) Wild Sex Cocktail:

 

1/2 oz of peach schnapps
1 oz of Orange Juice
1 oz of Cranberry Juice
1 oz of Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz of Bacardi 151 rum (or overproof rum)
1 oz of Malibu coconut rum (or Coconut Rum)
1/2 oz of grenadine syrup

Fill a hurricane glass with ice, pour in malibu, peach schnapps and 151. Pour juices on top followed by a splash of grenadine. Use a shaker tin to cover the glass and give a couple of good shakes.

[Lady Hudson]

Thanks to all who contribute.  I am really enjoying the trip reports — especially our world cruisers.  Thank you for taking the time to post for all of us who are land based right now.

 

Doctors appointment today and watching the weather forecast to see how much snow we will get.  I love snow but do feel sorry for those who can’t stay home during a snow event.

 

Have a great day.  Katherine 

[dfish]

Good morning, everyone!

 

Thank you so much to @0106 Tina for being my substitute during my surgery and recuperation.  It does feel good to be back in the saddle!  Last night was decent.  I got to sleep soon after I hit the pillow and was able to get back to sleep when I woke up, which wasn't often.  I hope we are on that path going forward.  

 

Not much happened at my appointment at the Spine and Pain Clinic since I haven't been able to start the PT they ordered.  They couldn't fit me in until next week and I had to cancel that due to the surgery.  The PA said they have to have the PT done to get the MRI as she suspects there is spinal stenosis going on.  I directed her to the last MRI I had as that one gave me that diagnosis.  I'm not sure why I need another one for that.  I don't go back until April, so slow going on that score.  

 

Today's meal sounds good and I think I might make it for tomorrow's Farkel Friday as it is my turn to cook.  It sounds like something we'd all like.  This first recipe has directions for the stove top, slow cooker, and instant pot.  https://www.skinnytaste.com/salisbury-steak-meatballs-instant-pot-stove-top-slow-cooker/

 

 

This next one uses all beef.  https://www.recipetineats.com/salisbury-steak-meatballs-with-mushroom-gravy/

 

 

This next one doesn't have mushrooms in the gravy, but I'm sure you could add them in if you like the seasoning combination.  https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/salisbury-steak-meatballs-with-gravy-and-mashed-potatoes/

 

 

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

[StLouisCruisers]

Continued travelogue on South Georgia Island January 4, 2017

 

Jan. 4, 2017 on Seabourn Quest.  In South Georgia Island we had reduced the color groups to four since the restrictions on the number of passengers ashore were not as stringent.  In Antarctica a total of 100 were allowed on land but here we could have more.  We were placed in the blue color group since the white color was eliminated.  They had delivered two new blue armbands to our cabin the day before.   Blue was the second group scheduled to go out on Jan. 4. The plan for the day was to take groups out in Zodiacs to view the scenery and wildlife.  Early that morning we were on the southern tip of South Georgia with Cooper Island nearby.  Sorry for the glare in this photo of a map they had on display in Seabourn Square.

 

 

 

But then the Captain (who goes by the initials D.D.) updated us at 9:40 am that due to winds and swells we would just do scenic cruising today from the ship, not the Zodiacs. He turned the ship into Drygalski Fjord where it was much calmer due to the surrounding mountains blocking the wind.  There were three nice glaciers to view at the end of the fjord named Risting, Jenkins and Philippi Glaciers. I notice I have the penguin pendant necklace on here.

 

 

 

 

Below is a photo of the Quest in the Drygalski Fjord.  The glass atrium I mentioned yesterday is shown.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy to cover all that glass at night for bird safety.

 

 

 

After cruising the fjord for a while the Captain and the Expedition Team decided it was calm enough in the fjord to do some Zodiac sightseeing so they called the first group scheduled for the day, which was the Red group.  It seemed pretty calm in this photo.

 

 

 

Next up was our new color, Blue, so at the appropriate time DH got dressed in his gear to prepare for the ride.  I wasn’t feeling well that morning so I was on the balcony watching. He went downstairs to get in line for Blue, got his boots on and was scanned off the ship because he was in the first boat of 12 leaving in the Blue group.  I was watching from our port side balcony as the Zodiacs came back with the Red passengers.  But by now the winds were increasing and it was getting difficult to control the Zodiacs as they dropped off people since the winds and swell were getting dangerous.  They were bobbing up and down and from port to starboard, and so was the ship.  The last Red people back had quite a time of it.  You wouldn’t want anyone falling into the drink in these freezing waters!

 

 

 

I saw the Captain up on the bridge with his binoculars watching the process carefully.  I told myself, they’re not going to continue this operation today and sure enough a few minutes later they announced that the winds and swell had picked up and they had to stop for the day.  DH and the other 11 passengers already checked off the ship had to be checked back on, remove their boots and call it a day.  All of us on the ship who didn’t get to go out were pretty bummed about it.  Lucky for us the videographer on board had taken footage which was then shared with us via our Seabourn cruise video.  He went out with the Red group.  Here are several of them.

 

 

King penguins

 

 

Kings with their wooly chicks

 

 

 

This is what we saw from the ship.

 

 

 

The Captain did give us a thrill later in the day when he sailed right between two icebergs dead ahead.  Lots of photo opportunities there.  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  We picked up pizza that evening for dinner and enjoyed it in our cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for today.  Tomorrow's date is a special date in South Georgia Island history and we will be in Grytviken to tell you about it.

[aliaschief]

Good morning. We had an enjoyable evening meeting some of our fellow world cruisers. Currently enjoying a beautiful sunrise here in Fort Lauderdale with a current temperature of 63 F. Not much planned for the day. Will check out the provided Continental breakfast and have a relaxing day enjoying the resort. Tonight’s is the pre cruise Gala. Supposedly our Captain and Cruise Director have left the ship and will be joining us this evening. It’s all coming together.

I believe I solved my photo posting problem. It seems that I had not synched my new I Phone 15 and I Pad.

@kazu Jacqui Thank you for getting the Daily started. I’m sure Redneck Bob will have something to add about today’s drink of the day. Have a great day everyone. Zuiderdam on her way last night. Bruce

 

[cat shepard]

Thank you for today’s FR & D, Jacqui.
Thank you Tina, @0106 for keeping us fed so well in Debbie’s absence. She could focus on getting well, since she knew we were in great hands!

 

We are having some off & on showers that started last night. And the wind makes this morning’s 50 degrees feel raw. 
 

Vanessa, thank you for keeping up with all our happenings! I am not suffering with the pain you are, and I know I would miss so much of what you capture. I pray that you are given a path to permanent pain relief - SOON. 
 

Today I will take down my outside Christmas decorations and store them away. I will put the tree away tomorrow night.  I will also attend a memorial service for a neighbor who just moved away this past August. We are all in a bit of a shock, since he was not ill beforehand. 
 

@summer slope Dixie, I hope you shared the name of today’s drink with your DH! I can imagine you telling him that you were working on Wild Sex!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayers for all who need our support. Especially those suffering from debilitating pain and conditions. And those grieving a loss of a loved one. Thinking of you & Tana, Terry. Glad the aide is back!

 

Cheers to all who are celebrating! Cruisers - thank you for sharing your cruise pictures & adventures with us!

 

May we each find a reason to smile today!
 

 

**********

2021 Riesling, Waitrose Blueprint German Dry, Moselland, Mosel

This Riesling is ultra dry. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the driest it was given a 1!
I would love to taste this one! It is a bit elusive for me, but I found a few online distributors. And it is certainly priced to try - online prices start at $9.00. One judge referred to it as a “steal”.

Distributor notes

This dry, elegant Riesling is made from specially selected grapes from the steepest slopes of the higher Mosel valley. Brilliant value. 

Edited January 4 by cat shepard

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

We have been taking down all of our Christmas decorations this morning.

It is sunny and 47°F here.

I hope everyone is safe and well and all those cruising are having a fantastic time.

[RedneckBob]

25 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Good morning. We had an enjoyable evening meeting some of our fellow world cruisers. Currently enjoying a beautiful sunrise here in Fort Lauderdale with a current temperature of 63 F. Not much planned for the day. Will check out the provided Continental breakfast and have a relaxing day enjoying the resort. Tonight’s is the pre cruise Gala. Supposedly our Captain and Cruise Director have left the ship and will be joining us this evening. It’s all coming together.

I believe I solved my photo posting problem. It seems that I had not synched my new I Phone 15 and I Pad.

@kazu Jacqui Thank you for getting the Daily started. I’m sure Redneck Bob will have something to add about today’s drink of the day. Have a great day everyone. Zuiderdam on her way last night. Bruce

 

Chief and Ms Chief, have a wonderful cruise. Wow 156 days! And I understand the boat does not return to Ft Lauderdale but Europe. So after over five months on the cruise they make you walk home! 😀. Longest cruise we ever did was 42 days and even with eight of us, we were ready to get home. Enjoy life on your cruise.

As far as the drink of the day I will not touch that drink with a ten foot pole.

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the Fleet Update and General Info from all contributors!

 

I have a great idea. Since almost half of our fellow dailies are on a cruise or will soon be on a cruise, why don’t we shut this thread down for a few months. This is April 1, isn’t it! 😀

[grapau27]

Sandi @StLouisCruisers.

Happy birthday to Jen and your DGD Ashley.

[RedneckBob]

43 minutes ago, summer slope said:

(giggle) Wild Sex Cocktail:

 

1/2 oz of peach schnapps
1 oz of Orange Juice
1 oz of Cranberry Juice
1 oz of Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz of Bacardi 151 rum (or overproof rum)
1 oz of Malibu coconut rum (or Coconut Rum)
1/2 oz of grenadine syrup

Fill a hurricane glass with ice, pour in malibu, peach schnapps and 151. Pour juices on top followed by a splash of grenadine. Use a shaker tin to cover the glass and give a couple of good shakes.

Well, Chief told me to comment on this drink and I responded,  no way, so after considerable thought, I decided to respond, which may get me kicked off the CC!

Just tell me, can I drink Wild Sex with Slow Screw Against the Wall or Sex on the Beach. 

[aliaschief]

The Zandam arriving Port Everglades.

 

[aliaschief]

For Roy.

 

[seagarsmoker]

Good morning Dailyites and thank you for the Daily Report. 

I am feeling better, but hopefully near normal this weekend... 🙂

 

Final thoughts on our 10-day Christmas cruise.

I know food is subjective, however, on this cruise, the food was pretty much the same as the others in 2023. Meals were typically good to very good. We struggled on 3 of the 10 nights to find something we both would enjoy. It seems like many items are repeated often and not many new items are introduced each day. When we both found something, we wanted, all the meals were good to very good. For three nights we ate at specialty restaurants. Christmas Eve at the Pinnacle Grill, while the service was excellent, the quality of the steak was average at best. Both evenings at Canaletto’s we had excellent service and very good meals. Big thumbs up for continuing the cake festival. This is a new tradition that I hope will continue for several years. 😊  

Cabin – we stayed in Neptune Suite 7084, and it was perfect. Right across from the Neptune lounge with two of the best hostesses we have ever had. While Suzi thought she would miss the dressing area not included on the NS, the bigger shower in the bathroom more than made up for it.  A/C worked perfectly, room stewards both did an excellent job keeping the ice buckets full and the room clean. I think Suzi is now convinced we will be opting for the regular suites and our days of aft corner suites are over. 😊   

The ship – two items of note here. We were on this ship 9 months previously and it had been to drydock recently. To us, the ship still looks brand new. 😊 The biggest item I noticed changing was the new layout in the casino with all the card tables in the middle surrounded by slot machines. I liked this change and enjoyed playing cards there every evening. The item that changed that I disliked was the self-service machine that consisted of ice/water/tea/lemonade have been eliminated. All that was left was ice/water and the ice (both ends of the lido in the buffet area) was always empty.   

The itinerary was good. We didn’t get off the ship until Bonaire. The first half of the cruise was the Half Moon Cay (which we were just a few weeks earlier, Grand Turk (off and on rain); Samana DR (no comment other than everyone we talked with who got off the ship here disliked it); sea day; Bonnaire (disliked the tour and once you are out of town, it's desolate – but clean); Aruba (did a little shopping); Curacao (enjoyed the time there and the locals did a great job with Christmas decorations, music, and trees); two sea days back to port everglades.  

Overall, this was our first and probably last Christmas cruise. While we had an abundance of children understandably for this cruise, I cannot get over the fact HAL now allows them full access to what has always been the adult area of the ship – the Lido pool. It is hard watching children sitting in the smoking area and also unattended in the pool. Thankfully, I did not see or hear of any pool issues, so I guess that is a positive outcome. We noticed less staff in the lido, however, I do not mind going to the bar to get a coke, but others were complaining. I saw no reason to complain about something that was not their fault, as I could see they were working hard and somehow still had smiles when facing customers. The casino staff was very nice, and it helped that I won for the week. 😊 I pretty much rank this one about the same as our previous two HAL cruises in 2023 – very good.

  

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Continued travelogue on South Georgia Island January 4, 2017

 

Jan. 4, 2017 on Seabourn Quest.  In South Georgia Island we had reduced the color groups to four since the restrictions on the number of passengers ashore were not as stringent.  In Antarctica a total of 100 were allowed on land but here we could have more.  We were placed in the blue color group since the white color was eliminated.  They had delivered two new blue armbands to our cabin the day before.   Blue was the second group scheduled to go out on Jan. 4. The plan for the day was to take groups out in Zodiacs to view the scenery and wildlife.  Early that morning we were on the southern tip of South Georgia with Cooper Island nearby.  Sorry for the glare in this photo of a map they had on display in Seabourn Square.

 

 

 

But then the Captain (who goes by the initials D.D.) updated us at 9:40 am that due to winds and swells we would just do scenic cruising today from the ship, not the Zodiacs. He turned the ship into Drygalski Fjord where it was much calmer due to the surrounding mountains blocking the wind.  There were three nice glaciers to view at the end of the fjord named Risting, Jenkins and Philippi Glaciers. I notice I have the penguin pendant necklace on here.

 

 

 

 

Below is a photo of the Quest in the Drygalski Fjord.  The glass atrium I mentioned yesterday is shown.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy to cover all that glass at night for bird safety.

 

 

 

After cruising the fjord for a while the Captain and the Expedition Team decided it was calm enough in the fjord to do some Zodiac sightseeing so they called the first group scheduled for the day, which was the Red group.  It seemed pretty calm in this photo.

 

 

 

Next up was our new color, Blue, so at the appropriate time DH got dressed in his gear to prepare for the ride.  I wasn’t feeling well that morning so I was on the balcony watching. He went downstairs to get in line for Blue, got his boots on and was scanned off the ship because he was in the first boat of 12 leaving in the Blue group.  I was watching from our port side balcony as the Zodiacs came back with the Red passengers.  But by now the winds were increasing and it was getting difficult to control the Zodiacs as they dropped off people since the winds and swell were getting dangerous.  They were bobbing up and down and from port to starboard, and so was the ship.  The last Red people back had quite a time of it.  You wouldn’t want anyone falling into the drink in these freezing waters!

 

 

 

I saw the Captain up on the bridge with his binoculars watching the process carefully.  I told myself, they’re not going to continue this operation today and sure enough a few minutes later they announced that the winds and swell had picked up and they had to stop for the day.  DH and the other 11 passengers already checked off the ship had to be checked back on, remove their boots and call it a day.  All of us on the ship who didn’t get to go out were pretty bummed about it.  Lucky for us the videographer on board had taken footage which was then shared with us via our Seabourn cruise video.  He went out with the Red group.  Here are several of them.

 

 

King penguins

 

 

Kings with their wooly chicks

 

 

 

This is what we saw from the ship.

 

 

 

The Captain did give us a thrill later in the day when he sailed right between two icebergs dead ahead.  Lots of photo opportunities there.  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  We picked up pizza that evening for dinner and enjoyed it in our cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for today.  Tomorrow's date is a special date in South Georgia Island history and we will be in Grytviken to tell you about it.

Awesome photos Sandi.

[VMax1700]

Good morning from Cork.

It was cold and frosty this morning with a temperature of only 2°C when my feet hit the floor. (35°F).  However the sun is shining and it is warming up slowly.

We have just had to change our plans for today as DW's GP/Physician phoned her this morning as asked her to come in to her consulting room this afternoon. 🤞

Tonight we are (still) planning to go to watch our youngest DGD perform in 'Beauty and the Beast' in one of the theatres.  She has been performing almost constantly since December 2nd, with not just the evening performances but daytime performances for schools, and special 'Inclusive'  perfomances with Audio Description or Irish Sign Language interpretation. She still has another 10 days of the Panto to go.  The stamina of the young!

Wishing everyone a great day!

 

[ottahand7]

Good morning.  We are sitting on our balcony waiting for our stewards to finish up.  We are still underway so I think the 9:30 tender will be later than that. Thanks for the daily reports @kazu! 

Thanks for the cares and celebrations lists @JazzyV.  Prayers for everyone needing them and for the people in war zones and the hostages.  

I will be heading ashore soon.  We had breakfast in the PG and ran into our friend Richard who is President's Club and had a nice visit with him after saying farewell a when we got off the Volendam in March.  

We found out that the Carnival stock onboard credit only is one person per cabin, thankfully it went to me.  I am the spender.  It put a dent in the 8 bottle wine package 2.  For some reason they didn't want to send it to our room.  I hate waiting for beverage service in the MDR. 

I asked the concierge how many aboard she looked it up and hemmed and hawed and said 2000 so take that with a grain of salt.  Mariner reception 6-6:30 at the Lido pool, right smack in the middle of dinner hour.  We will pass. Have a lovely day! Nancy 

Edited January 4 by ottahand7

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  In my teens I always knew the top 10 songs on the Pop Music Charts.  Tom Thumb was an accomplished performer with P.T. Barnum.  DH and I enjoy playing trivia because we cover many subjects together.

 

It's cool and dark out there this morning, but according to the forecast, by this time next week we could be seeing temps as low as -26C(14F).  I just heard a weather report and there's a 55% chance of snow for tonight and tomorrow, but we aren't expecting a whole lot.  Hopefully there will be a large accumulation in the north where the forests desperately need the moisture.

 

Well my visit to the orthopedic surgeon turned out much like I suspected - the tear in my rotator cuff is small and it isn't causing enough trouble to warrant surgery.  Instead, he's scheduling a cortisone shot that will take place a few days ahead of our cruise so I can hopefully experience less discomfort on the trip.  What was interesting is that the surgeon's father was my dentist when I was a child, and I went to school with his older brother.  We spent likely half of the visit just talking about people in our home town, and then switched to cruising, as he'd like to cruise and wants to sell his wife on the idea as well.

 

It's official - the suitcases came up from the basement and are on the bed, open and ready to receive offerings in the next few weeks.  Woo hoo!

 

Not a lot happening here today, just a quick trip to WM to pick up some cat food, Brita filters and distilled water.  That reminds me, I have to order some for the cabin on the HAL site, too.  I'd like to try the drink of the day, but the name!  Someone else can have my share of the white wine, and I'm sure we'd enjoy today's menu suggestion.  However, I've got a package of porcupines that will go into the oven later this afternoon that will be served along with mashed potatoes and green beans at the kitchen table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, in pain, and in grief.  Cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

Edited January 4 by ger_77