e Fleet Report and Daily for Friday May 10th, 2024

[1ANGELCAT]

Good rainy and chilly afternoon. Tomorrow is supposed to be better. 
Houdini seems to be feeling a little bit better. He likes the Hydration liquid and is eating some food.

This morning was supposed to be TT turn at the vet. He went into hiding and only recently made an appearance. He is quite proud of himself . Tux went in his place and now weighs 15 pounds. TT will go next week 🤞

Blessings and prayers to all on our journey.

[Heartgrove]

Thank you to all that organize the Fleet and Daily Report.

 

Back onboard after walking a sunny, hot pier in Cozumel. We just walked to the shops nearby as we felt we would just have an easy day today. Once again I had a craving for MSC pizza so ate at the Marketplace Buffet. Tonight we have our complimentary dinner as Diamond Voyager members. We decided on the onboard seafood restaurant “Ocean Cay” this time.

 

Stay safe, and prayers for those in need!

 

- Jack

[rafinmd]

I was just playing around with Marine Traffic.  The old Veendam (Currently Agean Majesty) has been sitting in limbo for ages.  She's apparently supposed to be set up for residential world cruises but delayed time after time.  She now appears to be in drydock, so there may be a return to service on the horizon/

 

Roy

[lazey1]

I just read that the Northern Lights will be visible as far south as Arizona. Best chance for viewing between 10:00 PM and 2:00AM Mountain Standard Time wither tonight or tomorrow night.

Jane
 

[StLouisCruisers]

Good afternoon!  We made it to our hotel in Plantation before 3 pm and returned the car a short walk away from the hotel.  We had quite a bit of thunderstorms in south Georgia and then managed to stay ahead of them as storms moved from the panhandle to Jacksonville.  We drove past Ann's exit #278 at about 9:30 am.  A very long 650 mile journey.

 

At the hotel there is a new owner and some things are in a bit of turmoil.  The shuttle service to the cruise terminals is out of service for a few days because someone forgot to renew the license, so the county shut them down.  Our bad luck!  Trying to find a ride via other shuttle services right now.  The down button on our floor's elevators doesn't work either so that will mean extra riding up and down tomorrow morning.  Too bad this place is convenient to the car drop off place because I would have to consider another place to stay in this particular spot next time.  By the way, we've never used Uber or Lyft because they haven't had the service in our county and we never had occasion to use that type of service.  We have someone who does airport runs as a side job, and he's very reliable.

 

Thank you to everyone who worried and wished us well on our journey.  This is such a supportive place.

 

Well, I mentioned I'd try to post the Sydney photos this afternoon. Let's see if this will work while away from home.  This keyboard on DH's device is so small it's difficult for me to use so hope it doesn't take lots of extra time each day.

 

We’ve visited Sydney, Nova Scotia twice, on Rotterdam in October 2018 and on Zaandam in August 2023.

In October, 2018 on our Canada/New England/Atlantic Coast cruise we began in Montreal and ended in Tampa.  The day before Sydney we had to miss Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island due to wind gusts up to 86 mph.  That was a major disappointment to us.  I was really looking forward to that port.  But we were grateful to make our stop in Sydney.  The weather was sunny and cold with brisk winds but we dressed warmly and headed off the ship for our exploration of this new port (for us).

 

 

The famous Big Fiddle, a welcoming monument on the dock.  There is a market located nearby for vendors and craftsmen in the area to sell their wares.

 

We first stopped in at the St. Patrick's Church Museum which had cool timber framing inside.

 

 

 

Then down the street was this unique building which I believe is a store now.

 

We spied this duck boat called Harbour Hopper taking people on rides around the area.  For some reason that does not appeal to me.  I'm a little wary of them.

 

 

Then there is this monument overlooking the water.  It recognizes wartime contributions of the merchant navy.

 

On our way back to the ship we ran across this man who wanted to show off his 1968 hand painted Cadillac.  He said it had only 26,000 miles on it and got 1 mile per gallon of gasoline.  No wonder it only had 26,000 miles on the odometer!  You can't afford the gas to drive it anywhere.

 

We enjoyed our time in Sydney walking around the town.  All in all, a very nice day! 

 

On our second trip there we were on our Canada, Greenland, Iceland cruise on Zaandam.  This took place in August so different weather than our first time there. We set out looking for a dollar store to pick up small items we needed, but were unsuccessful. 

 

 

 

Edited May 10 by StLouisCruisers

[erewhon]

Good morning everyone.

Thanks for the HAL Fleet report and the Daily.

Last evening while reading some items on Cruise Critic, a message from Norton appeared, the message stated that "Microsoft is using your camera and sound"   Have never before seen a message like that .   

How can that happen?       Can anyone explain?

[StLouisCruisers]

I posted before I showed photos of the shopping at the pier.

 

Anyway, eventually we headed back to the dock via the nice boardwalk.

 

 

We had the chance to stop in and look at the handicraft fair held inside the cruise terminal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll check in tomorrow.  Have a good night!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon from an increasingly cloudy central Texas.  The shrubs are trimmed and are now looking rather forlorn without a lot of green leaves.  The were in dire need of trimming as they were almost hitting the house and enveloping the iris.  And, I know from past experience that they will grow back too quickly.  I'll have to trim them in the fall and probably once before then.

 

1 hour ago, JazzyV said:

Good afternoon. Thanks for the FR/Daily @kazu and maps @rafinmd.

I'll remember my late DM on our Mother's Day; sadly she's been gone 31 years. I used to enjoy Hostess cupcakes in my packed lunches for camp. Hampsters are ok, but I never had one as a pet. That quote is "fighting words" as they used to say. Maybe on the meal, pass on the drink and wine. I will be going to Sydney for the first time on my upcoming fall cruise, so the photos will help me see what's there to see. Although due to our health issues, BFF and I may not tour around that much.

 

It's cloudy and sprinkling rain times, and cooler (50's). I had/have some type of GI upset, that started yesterday. I didn't eat anything unusual, so I'm not sure of the cause. I am being cautious about what I eat today. I just woke up from an almost 3 hour nap, even though I slept about 6 hours last night. I plan to continue to just chill today.

 

@marshhawk I hope all went well at the oral surgeon's office. Congrats on the sale, although it sounds like your computer system needs an overhaul to make things accurate and easier. 

@RMLincoln Nice Sydney photos. 

@Denise T Happy Birthday to Karen! Thanks for the Sydney photos.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Great photos.

@ger_77 I heard about the Northern Lights being visible far into NA, but it's supposed to be cloudy here. I hope DH takes it easy today. 

@Cruising-along Enjoy the grandkids today. Thanks for the Sydney photos.

@durangoscots Yay, on being free of the responsibility for the two condos!

@Vict0riann @Haljo1935 thanks for the photos.

@StLouisCruisers I hope the drive went well.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers for those Celebrating.

 

Vanessa, I'm sorry you are having tummy issues.  My hunch is that the stress of this week is behind the issue.  I hope you are feeling better tomorrow.

 

1 hour ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Good rainy and chilly afternoon. Tomorrow is supposed to be better. 
Houdini seems to be feeling a little bit better. He likes the Hydration liquid and is eating some food.

This morning was supposed to be TT turn at the vet. He went into hiding and only recently made an appearance. He is quite proud of himself . Tux went in his place and now weighs 15 pounds. TT will go next week 🤞

Blessings and prayers to all on our journey.

 

I'm glad that Houdini is eating and drinking the hydration liquid.  I hope TT doesn't pull a disappearing act again next week.

 

57 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I was just playing around with Marine Traffic.  The old Veendam (Currently Agean Majesty) has been sitting in limbo for ages.  She's apparently supposed to be set up for residential world cruises but delayed time after time.  She now appears to be in drydock, so there may be a return to service on the horizon/

 

Roy

 

Roy, thank you for the update on Veendam, and she will always be Veendam to us.   I hope she will sail again.

 

 @StLouisCruisers  Sandi, I'm glad you arrived safely.    BTW, you could still use Uber or Lyft.  DH uses Uber when we are on a cruise.  All Dennis needs to do is go on line, set up an account and download the app.  You set up a  payment method, and then pay through that using the app, and you can also add a tip on the app.  As far as going to the port, if you have a lot of luggage, you can even specify you need a larger car.  Once you request a car, you will get a text telling you who is coming and what type of car he is driving.  In Hawaii, we even got the license plate number.  We also found Uber to be less expensive than a taxi.

 

I think we are too far south to be able to see the northern lights tonight.  We are about the same latitude as the northern part of southern Alabama.  Also, the clouds are moving in which doesn't help.

 

This afternoon, DH using his least expensive telescope got some good pictures of the sun spots that are behind this event.  They are the largest sun spots in more than 100 years.

 

In the first picture, they sun spots are the dark area about 4 o'clock on the sun.  The second picture is a closer look at the sun spots.

 

 

Lenda

 

Edited May 10 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[seagarsmoker]

24 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good afternoon!  We made it to our hotel in Plantation before 3 pm and returned the car a short walk away from the hotel.  We had quite a bit of thunderstorms in south Georgia and then managed to stay ahead of them as storms moved from the panhandle to Jacksonville.  We drove past Ann's exit #278 at about 9:30 am.  A very long 650 mile journey.

 

At the hotel there is a new owner and some things are in a bit of turmoil.  The shuttle service to the cruise terminals is out of service for a few days because someone forgot to renew the license, so the county shut them down.  Our bad luck!  Trying to find a ride via other shuttle services right now.  The down button on our floor's elevators doesn't work either so that will mean extra riding up and down tomorrow morning.  Too bad this place is convenient to the car drop off place because I would have to consider another place to stay in this particular spot next time.  By the way, we've never used Uber or Lyft because they haven't had the service in our county and we never had occasion to use that type of service.  We have someone who does airport runs as a side job, and he's very reliable.

 

Thank you to everyone who worried and wished us well on our journey.  This is such a supportive place.

 

Well, I mentioned I'd try to post the Sydney photos this afternoon. Let's see if this will work while away from home.  This keyboard on DH's device is so small it's difficult for me to use so hope it doesn't take lots of extra time each day.

 

We’ve visited Sydney, Nova Scotia twice, on Rotterdam in October 2018 and on Zaandam in August 2023.

In October, 2018 on our Canada/New England/Atlantic Coast cruise we began in Montreal and ended in Tampa.  The day before Sydney we had to miss Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island due to wind gusts up to 86 mph.  That was a major disappointment to us.  I was really looking forward to that port.  But we were grateful to make our stop in Sydney.  The weather was sunny and cold with brisk winds but we dressed warmly and headed off the ship for our exploration of this new port (for us).

 

 

The famous Big Fiddle, a welcoming monument on the dock.  There is a market located nearby for vendors and craftsmen in the area to sell their wares.

 

We first stopped in at the St. Patrick's Church Museum which had cool timber framing inside.

 

 

 

Then down the street was this unique building which I believe is a store now.

 

We spied this duck boat called Harbour Hopper taking people on rides around the area.  For some reason that does not appeal to me.  I'm a little wary of them.

 

 

Then there is this monument overlooking the water.  It recognizes wartime contributions of the merchant navy.

 

On our way back to the ship we ran across this man who wanted to show off his 1968 hand painted Cadillac.  He said it had only 26,000 miles on it and got 1 mile per gallon of gasoline.  No wonder it only had 26,000 miles on the odometer!  You can't afford the gas to drive it anywhere.

 

We enjoyed our time in Sydney walking around the town.  All in all, a very nice day! 

 

On our second trip there we were on our Canada, Greenland, Iceland cruise on Zaandam.  This took place in August so different weather than our first time there. We set out looking for a dollar store to pick up small items we needed, but were unsuccessful. 

 

 

 

Safe journey to the port tomorrow Sandi @StLouisCruisers and we will be watching your ship at sailaway! 

[RMLincoln]

My apologies to Annie @marshhawk for the deadly typo. Hoping only good happenings for you and yours! 
 

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, very relieved you made it through the Weather Channels map showing the  ugly looking line of severe storms this morning. Thanks for checking in. Good luck with a ride to the ship. m—

Edited May 10 by RMLincoln

[marshhawk]

I'm back, I ate, I slept, and I am glad I didn't die at the oral surgeons,  whether OK or not  Being as hungry as I was though,and in no pain, Donna and Chuck ran off to get me some chick fil a strips, a vanilla milkshake that I ate with a spoon, and a bag of potato chips.  My request.  I still was not in pain when they returned, but was still very hungry, and I ate it all.  My tummy was happy, my blood sugar didn't go sky rocketing, and I felt fine....for about 20 minutes.

 

They decided to put me under, and not use the laughing gas, and there were 4 techs and nurses, and they all had a terrible time trying to find a vein...I hate needles, but when you don't let me hydrate the night before, then my veins just hide.  So I had bandaids on both arms when I de- fuzzed I removed both of them, and my arms are pretty bruised up.  

 

I remember before we left, that they said I could chew real food on the right, and the mushy food on the left.  Figured I was ok.  After I ate, and took a nap,woke up and I read that I was only supposed to eat mushy food today.  And I was in pain, BUT the pain pills are hard core, so I told DH not to get them filled, and then after that nap, I told him to get them filled.  But then, I read the small print, that I would not be able to drive if I took them, and since in reality I am the driver, and he is having surgery next week, that's a no for me.  I did not pick them up yet. And I will stop by tomorrow and tell them to put them back.

 

Last week I washed too many clothes, and the washer took all that cat fur and clogged the drain. DH monitored every load, and then when I was drying the last load, it stopped in the middle of the drying, and everything was WAY TOO HOT!  There was still 30 minutes on the count down, and i shut it off.  So we are off sometime to look for a washer and dryer, and until then, I get to meet my neighbors at the laundromat.  So that is what I will be doing tomorrow.   The machines I have are over 25 years old.  I bought them used from two guys who wanted to upgrade, and they have worked fine until about a month ago.  But now I am scared that they will catch fire, and it turns out that DH never fixed the smoke detector that was part of the original built in alarm system.   He says I worry too much, but there might be a good reason for that. 

 

@StLouisCruisers You had a lucky drive, seems the storms hit Tallahassee quite hard, and kept on heading east.  And it got quite cool up here last night. 

 

@JazzyVIf there is a downstairs bed for your BFF, maybe the two of you can be together and help each other out.  I take it you have gotten back to the upstairs bed, and I am so glad that you are sleeping now.  

 

Speaking of sleeping, I have been told by the nurse that I have to sleep with my head highly elevated this evening. Bleeding should stop in 2 days.  Sofa time with the cats again!  

 

For those who get to see the aurora tonight I am jealous.  The scientists did say it could interfere with radio and broadcasting, but I am still jealous.  I get to see the International Space station tonight -if I can stay awake.  If you are interested in seeing the ISS, you can google ISS and register.  They will send you notices of date and time when it can be seen in your zip code area.  I have notices set up at 12 hours in advance.  There was a 7 minute viewing this morning, I was up, but the clouds were too.  It's clear now, and the viewing will be a 6 minute sky view.  I always wave as they go over.   I doubt if they see that.

 

@erewhonI have seen that notice years ago.  I shut off the computer, and DH put black tape over the camera hole.  Now we have weekly zoom meetings for work to go to, so the tape is gone. Our sound is always turned off, unless we are listening to Father David.

 

[colbe]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

I was just playing around with Marine Traffic.  The old Veendam (Currently Agean Majesty) has been sitting in limbo for ages.  She's apparently supposed to be set up for residential world cruises but delayed time after time.  She now appears to be in drydock, so there may be a return to service on the horizon/

 

Roy

Is that the ship that Life at Sea Cruises are planning to use?

[rafinmd]

3 minutes ago, colbe said:

Is that the ship that Life at Sea Cruises are planning to use?

Life at Sea Cruises appears to be dead.  This is Victoria Cruises.

 

Roy

[0106]

46 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

In Hawaii, we even got the license plate number.

You always get the license plate, make/model of car, driver’s name and their picture the app. These are the basic safety features.  There are many other safety features that I suggest you turn on within the app.  For more information go to Uber.com: Protect your safety while riding with Uber.

@StLouisCruisers I agree it is very easy to set up an Uber account.  I use them all the time. In Buenos Aires we paid less than $3 for a ride to the port.  Those who took cabs from the same area paid between $30 & $60. Bon voyage!

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

It looks like we won't be seeing any northern lights if the make it down this far.  In fact, we are supposed to have rain beginning in just a little while.  It has gotten windy and cooler along with the all the clouds moving in.  I still managed to get some quiet time outside with my book.

 

54 minutes ago, marshhawk said:

I'm back, I ate, I slept, and I am glad I didn't die at the oral surgeons,  whether OK or not  Being as hungry as I was though,and in no pain, Donna and Chuck ran off to get me some chick fil a strips, a vanilla milkshake that I ate with a spoon, and a bag of potato chips.  My request.  I still was not in pain when they returned, but was still very hungry, and I ate it all.  My tummy was happy, my blood sugar didn't go sky rocketing, and I felt fine....for about 20 minutes.

 

They decided to put me under, and not use the laughing gas, and there were 4 techs and nurses, and they all had a terrible time trying to find a vein...I hate needles, but when you don't let me hydrate the night before, then my veins just hide.  So I had bandaids on both arms when I de- fuzzed I removed both of them, and my arms are pretty bruised up.  

 

I remember before we left, that they said I could chew real food on the right, and the mushy food on the left.  Figured I was ok.  After I ate, and took a nap,woke up and I read that I was only supposed to eat mushy food today.  And I was in pain, BUT the pain pills are hard core, so I told DH not to get them filled, and then after that nap, I told him to get them filled.  But then, I read the small print, that I would not be able to drive if I took them, and since in reality I am the driver, and he is having surgery next week, that's a no for me.  I did not pick them up yet. And I will stop by tomorrow and tell them to put them back.

 

Last week I washed too many clothes, and the washer took all that cat fur and clogged the drain. DH monitored every load, and then when I was drying the last load, it stopped in the middle of the drying, and everything was WAY TOO HOT!  There was still 30 minutes on the count down, and i shut it off.  So we are off sometime to look for a washer and dryer, and until then, I get to meet my neighbors at the laundromat.  So that is what I will be doing tomorrow.   The machines I have are over 25 years old.  I bought them used from two guys who wanted to upgrade, and they have worked fine until about a month ago.  But now I am scared that they will catch fire, and it turns out that DH never fixed the smoke detector that was part of the original built in alarm system.   He says I worry too much, but there might be a good reason for that. 

 

@StLouisCruisers You had a lucky drive, seems the storms hit Tallahassee quite hard, and kept on heading east.  And it got quite cool up here last night. 

 

@JazzyVIf there is a downstairs bed for your BFF, maybe the two of you can be together and help each other out.  I take it you have gotten back to the upstairs bed, and I am so glad that you are sleeping now.  

 

Speaking of sleeping, I have been told by the nurse that I have to sleep with my head highly elevated this evening. Bleeding should stop in 2 days.  Sofa time with the cats again!  

 

For those who get to see the aurora tonight I am jealous.  The scientists did say it could interfere with radio and broadcasting, but I am still jealous.  I get to see the International Space station tonight -if I can stay awake.  If you are interested in seeing the ISS, you can google ISS and register.  They will send you notices of date and time when it can be seen in your zip code area.  I have notices set up at 12 hours in advance.  There was a 7 minute viewing this morning, I was up, but the clouds were too.  It's clear now, and the viewing will be a 6 minute sky view.  I always wave as they go over.   I doubt if they see that.

 

@erewhonI have seen that notice years ago.  I shut off the computer, and DH put black tape over the camera hole.  Now we have weekly zoom meetings for work to go to, so the tape is gone. Our sound is always turned off, unless we are listening to Father David.

 

 

Annie, I'm glad you survived the oral surgeon visit.  I hope the pain goes away soon, and even if you don't want to take the heavy duty pills, OTC pain pills could help lessen the pain.

 

51 minutes ago, colbe said:

Is that the ship that Life at Sea Cruises are planning to use?

 

Welcome to the Fleet Report/Daily.

 

21 minutes ago, 0106 said:

You always get the license plate, make/model of car, driver’s name and their picture the app. These are the basic safety features.  There are many other safety features that I suggest you turn on within the app.  For more information go to Uber.com: Protect your safety while riding with Uber.

@StLouisCruisers I agree it is very easy to set up an Uber account.  I use them all the time. In Buenos Aires we paid less than $3 for a ride to the port.  Those who took cabs from the same area paid between $30 & $60. Bon voyage!

 

 

Tina, I'm sure DH has all the safety and other features on with Uber.  It's just that DH usually handles the Uber account, and the Hawaii visit was the first time he had me also looking for the car.  We have used them in the US and overseas with good results.

 

Lenda

[colbe]

13 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

It looks like we won't be seeing any northern lights if the make it down this far.  In fact, we are supposed to have rain beginning in just a little while.  It has gotten windy and cooler along with the all the clouds moving in.  I still managed to get some quiet time outside with my book.

 

 

 

Colourful morning in Aotearoa New Zealand. This one was taken from an AirNZ plane.

 

[colbe]

This one from Mid Canterbury. (Photo supplied to local news by  SJ & SJ Schmack)

 

[cat shepard]

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, glad you & Dennis made it ok. I was just heading to the gym when you two were driving by!
 

Count me as another Uber fan. You can even select an EV, if you want to go green. The poor guy that picked me up at Logan last year, I had so many question, because I was in the market for a plug-in hybrid.  He was so helpful and patient. And thanks to Boston traffic, I had lots of time to ask questions. 

 

@Quartzsite Cruiser Lenda, thank Steve for those amazing pics of the sunspots. 17 time the diameter of the Earth. 😱. I don’t think I will see them either. But my New England family might. 

[Niagarawine]

At Stanley park and saw Seaborn Odyssey in the harbour along with a Celebrity ship. Looked beautiful. The weather here has been amazing. We saw on the news that Nanaimo is trying to attract more cruise passengers and they had a Mountie greeting the Seaborn passengers. They built a new terminal there. We drove over the Lions Gate bridge and went as far as Lions Bay on the Whistler route. I never saw anything so

Beautiful in my life. We saw the ferries loading up there. Got tired and went to Coquitlam for a lovely lunch, Greek restaurant. It has sky train there. I felt like we were in Florida, just those vibes. Highly recommend the Clarion in Abbotsford, because of accessible suite there and they are super nice. I did not find too many hotels here with accessible rooms. Maybe BC needs to address this issue. But hey  not complaining because this area is just the best. Tomorrow hopefully we make it to cruise terminal. We drove down to Vancouver today and it took quite a while to get there. So excited for Alaska.

[Niagarawine]

11 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Bon Voyage @Niagarawine!   

 

Thank you so much!

[erewhon]

3 hours ago, marshhawk said:

 

 

@erewhonI have seen that notice years ago.  I shut off the computer, and DH put black tape over the camera hole.  Now we have weekly zoom meetings for work to go to, so the tape is gone. Our sound is always turned off, unless we are listening to Father David.

 

 

Thank you @marshhawk for your reply, i felt it was a very 'creepy" message, and covered the camera, will turn off the sound.

Hope your mouth will soon be back to normal after the oral surgery.

 

[erewhon]

@colbe  thank you for posting the photos........too cloudy down here.  

[marshhawk]

@colbeThanks for the beautiful pictures.  I have only seen the aurora one time, New Years Eve 1975 Minnesota.  Awe inspiring!  Welcome to the daily!

[dfish]

Good evening, everyone!

 

We are going to head out for wide open spaces in a bit to see if we can catch a glimpse of the aurora.  We should have clear skies for a while.

 

The last time we were in Sydney we went to the Kitchen party at the cruise terminal.  It was Celtic music and dancing and they were quite good!  We'd go back.  @JazzyV Vanessa, if you're looking for something that isn't too much walking, the music is good and the Cabot Trail is a good excursion.  We did the ship one because it was narrated and you learned a lot.  There was very little walking involved.  

 

I did get the patio power washed and it looks so much better.  Now, to order the new furniture!

[marshhawk]