StLouisCruisers

Jacqui @kazu loved the Snoopy meme today! DH laughed out loud when he saw it. I'm sending it to my DB and twin to brighten up their day, too. Sorry about the lost lug nut key. Shame on the dealership for misplacing it! Debbie @dfish alright - you've convinced me to use the lemon! The first recipe looks very good. At least no one tried to throw a few lemon quarters on top of the tortellini and asparagus. Good luck at your surgeon appointment today. Same wish for Annie @marshhawk and Chuck today at his appointment. I hope you can work out a way to get your med cheaper, and it's nice of the nurse to provide you some free. Glad you can celebrate your birthday all week long. Joy @Seasick Sailor maybe the clone you saw is the same one on the WC with Rich. That is if the Koningsdam cruise didn't overlap with the WC. Wouldn't that be a coincidence? Terry @smitty34877 also wishing you and your DH good luck and good news at his Dr. appointment. Lots of doctor appointments happening on the Daily! I'm happy Tana and the aide are getting along and giving you a break from the stress and strain.

I'm sorry Rich @richwmn I mispoke earlier when I said you were on your way to Oslo! I meant to say Copenhagen, it's the Rotterdam heading to Oslo now. I finished my 2.5 miles on the treadmill, eaten breakfast and am preparing to go to the gym for my weight machine workout. I'm trying to strengthen my knees and legs, and will try to gently exercise my arms and shoulders again.

Good morning friends! Well today we are starting out at 53F (it could still be going down at this early hour), but today it will be 83 and sunny again. We're having a nice stretch of beautiful days. Thank you Rich @richwmn for preparing the Fleet Report and Daily info for us all and we hope you have a great sea day on your way to Oslo! And thank you for your day in history report on Danica Patrick. Today we have a variety of days to honor, Chinese Language Day, Look Alike Day, and Volunteer Recognition Day. I know how to speak zero Chinese. Two DGS's took Mandarin lessons and their Mom knows a lot of Chinese too because of her paternal side of the family. In addition today we have Look Alike Day, and even though I am a twin I can't say we look alike. Sisterly resemblance is more like it. However, people tell me all the time I look just like someone they know. I'm sure that's happened to some of you as well. And finally Volunteer Recognition Day will be a nice day to celebrate. I've been a school volunteer and I'm sure that will ring true for our Dailyites, too. Three cheers for volunteers!🎉🎉🎉 A nice Emily Dickinson quote. I'm sure the tortellini and asparagus will be great but do we need the lemon? The drink is an eye opener this early in the day - Sqrrl PB&J Shot! Okay... I have no idea about today's wine selection. However all our questions will be answered by our F&B Dept. Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard. Good job ladies! Today will be the final day for Vanessa @JazzyV to add the Care and Celebration list to the Daily before she goes off on her cruise/vacation overseas. A big round of applause for the fine work she does each day! 👏 Prayers will be said for all on the Care list, especially our friend @Mr. Boston and those who have lost someone special in their lives lately (or at any time) and are grieving. On the other hand, many are celebrating happy events, and there are lots of cruise to be excited about. Congratulations to all of you!🥂 Enjoy!! The port of the day is Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. This is the first time it's been listed that way however, we have had Milford Sound once on March 21, 2022 so I am adding the link to that date so you can find your photos. Mine are below the link but perhaps I will add a few from further into the "park slash day" of scenic cruising. We visited Fiordland National Park, NZ twice. In 2013 on Diamond Princess it was a misty, damp day. In 2017 on Sun Princess it was quite a beautiful day. On December 18, 2013 the Diamond Princess made its way into Milford Sound for some scenic cruising. Unfortunately it was not the best weather but you make the best of it. Some of our crew were out and about and I thought this was a cute photo of them. This was what the morning looked like for the most part. To get a better look, I'll move on to the Sun Princess Milford Sound visit on Nov. 29, 2017. Entering Milford Sound. It was interesting to see the rings of clouds surrounding some peaks. I must say it was pretty cold out on the decks with the ship's movement and the chilly air giving you quite a wind chill factor. Here is the Park Ranger who narrated that beautiful day describing where we were and any facts he thought you might want to know. Instead of a cruise you could take a tour by plane if you want and we saw several small planes flying through the National Park that day. And let's not forget the crew who enjoyed this day in another way, in their hot tub on the bow of the ship. From Milford Sound the ship sailed through Thompson, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds. I think Milford was my favorite. This is the type of weather you dream of when scenic cruising but we take what we can get! The last photo was taken later in the day when it warmed up and we were heading out of the Park. It was much warmer there. Well, here's hoping we all have a safe and fantastic Thursday!

Today is Chinese Language Day, Look Alike Day, and Volunteer Recognition Day To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. - Emily DickinsonMeal Suggestion for today - Tortellini with Asparagus & LemonDrink of the Day - Sqrrl Pb&j ShotWine of the Day - Fillaboa Albarino, Rias Baixas, SpainDestination of the Day - Fiordland National Park, New Zealand Eurodam At Sea Destination Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera eta 4-21 Koningsdam Lahaina, Maui Island, Hawaii 08:00 - 22:00 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea destination Puerto Vallarta, Mexico eta 4-22 Nieuw Statendam Malaga, Spain Granada 07:00 - 17:00 Oosterdam At Sea Destination Malaga, Spain Granada eta 4-21 Rotterdam At Sea destination Oslo, Norway eta 4-21 Volendam At Sea destination Cartagena, Colombia eta 4-21 Zaandam At Sea Destination Boston, Massachusetts eta 4-22 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination Copenhagen, Denmark eta 4-21Eastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Hilo, Hawaii Island eta 4-22 Westerdam Aomori, Japan 09:00 - 19:00 Sandi for Rich

Graham, that's a very interesting piece you posted about the sea glass at your local beach. Do you ever go looking for unusual pieces and colors of it? Crafters like to make jewelry with it and I seem to remember a gift shop in St. George's, Bermuda that had handmade sea glass jewelry for sale. Thanks for telling us about it.

Happy Birthday Annie @marshhawk!! No matter which day you celebrate, it will still be special!

You can apply before final payment.

Good morning friends! This morning we have a temp of 50F, but will have a high of 82 and sunny skies. Perfect! Thank you to Rich @richwmn who prepared the items on the Fleet Report and Daily. I see today is Debbie's @dfish's favorite, National Garlic Day! Somehow we missed Carrot Day on April 4! Just kidding Debbie! Also today is National Hanging Out Day. According to daysoftheyear.com that means we should help the environment by hanging our clothes out to dry and help to extend their life. I was kind of thinking I'd like to just "hang out" and do nothing today. Take your pick! It's also Bicycle Day, but I don't have one. 🚲 As a kid of course everyone had a bike. Lots of fun times riding around with your friends. A good quote today by Friedrich Nietzsche, and Grilled Tilapia Piccata for the menu item. 🐡 The drink is called pineapple crush and definitely sounds fruity. 🍍 Then we have another pinot noir this time from New Zealand. 🍷 Many thanks for all that Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard do to represent the Food and Beverage Department. Lots and lots of good info from them. Thanks also go to Vanessa @JazzyV who has been doing the Care and Celebration list since February. We appreciate how hard it is to keep track of everyone. In addition we'd like to offer our prayers to everyone who is sick or having surgery or has lost someone special in their lives. Prayers for all, and we're thinking of you this week @Mr. Boston. 🙏 We'd also like to congratulate everyone with celebrations and cruises.🥂🎉🎈 Bon voyage! Also a big thanks to Rich @richwmn for his this day in history posts. Very interesting today about Australia. Today our port is Flam, Norway, the second time we've had it here. Last time was February 17, 2022. Whenever we hear that port the Flam Railway comes to mind. I enjoyed my visits there and will post my photos again. I hope you have some to share, too! We were happy to visit Flam twice on the Prinsendam in 2016 and 2017. The photos are from the 2016 Best Norway Cruise Ever as we call it. There's only room for one ship at the dock so we tendered over to Flam. DH and I had purchased our tickets online for the train ride up the mountain and back down. It was much less expensive and we didn't want to wait and possibly have them sell out. This little village gets very busy when the ships are in town and everyone wanting to take that train ride. There is a small museum, a tourist train, a little "mall", and of course the visitor center. Oh yes, don't forget this hotel, too. A train comes in and all onboard depart. That's when we in line boarded and the train begins our journey. You see little towns, colorful buildings, and beautiful scenery with waterfalls and rushing river water. There is a screen in each car with commentary along the way. I noticed a woman sitting on the rock looking at the train in this picture. See her? We went by several small stations along our route. Sometimes we pulled off the main track and let a train pass by going downhill to Flam. The train stops and lets everyone see the Kjosfossen waterfall. Pretty misty right here! Keep your eye on that little stone ruin there. Suddenly you hear some eerie music coming from hidden speakers and we see a seductive forest creature emerge to dance for the tourists. The train then continues up to Myrdal with more nice scenery. This is supposedly the steepest train route in Europe. The train stops in Myrdal and that's where we do our backtracking to Flam. I was able to see the weather forecast for Myrdal while waiting there. My old IPhone - looks tiny! Going back down you of course see the same scenery only on the opposite side for better viewing. The train stopped again at the waterfall to see the nymph once more. Different moves! Hope that wig doesn't fall off! Lots and lots of smaller waterfalls on the route. Nearly back to Flam. I'd say the whole trip took around 2 hours. We walked around the small town a bit and headed back to the Prinsendam. Once sailing away from Flam Captain D.D. headed towards Undredal to pick up some of his favorite goat cheese. And here it comes! It was a very good day in Norway, as usual. Wishing everyone here a wonderful Wednesday!

Today is National Garlic Day, National Hanging Out Day, and Bicycle Day He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. - Friedrich NietzscheMeal Suggestion for today - Grilled Tilapia PiccataDrink of the Day - Pineapple CrushWine of the Day - Craggy Range Pinot Noir, Martinborough, New ZealandDestination of the Day - Flam, Norway Eurodam Huatulco, La Crucecita, Mexico Riviera 11:00 - 17:00 Koningsdam Nawiliwili, Lihue, Kauai Island, Hawaii 08:00 - 18:00 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea destination Puerto Vallarta, Mexico eta 4-22 Nieuw Statendam Gibraltar, UK 08:00 - 17:00 Oosterdam At Sea Destination Malaga, Spain Granada eta 4-21 Rotterdam Rotterdam, Netherlands, Holland 17:00 Depart Volendam Oranjestad, Aruba 07:00 - 17:00 Zaandam At Sea Destination Boston, Massachusetts eta 4-22 Zuiderdam Amsterdam, Netherlands North Holland 17:00 DepartEastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Hilo, Hawaii Island eta 4-22 Westerdam Otaru, Japan 12:00 - 17:00 Sandi for Rich

Great news Roy! I agree with Bruce, time to start moving slowly towards taking walks again. Very slowly!

Laura, on our 28 day Volendam cruise in Nov.-Dec. 2022 we had a Piano Bar Entertainer almost every night. It would be listed in the When & Where 3 or 4 times an evening in Mix. We saw a young man playing piano for a fairly full crowd on our way to or from dinner. We spent our time in Ocean Bar listening to Ocean Bar Band, and Explorer's Lounge listening to the Classical Duo so didn't attend his sets.

@grapau27 Graham, thank you for the nice compliments. DD's youngest daughter looks like us too. ☺️ I'm sorry to hear that stress caused your heart attack. Hoping your heart problems are over for good! Vanessa @JazzyV thanks for your work on the lists today. We will miss you when you're away but you sure deserve a nice vacation! Jacqui, Thanks for the memes today! Your new friend Ivan looks like a wise and sweet dog. I hope you two hit it off!🐕 Thanks for going to all that trouble. We've got it now. Hope you're enjoying the remainder of the day. Great photo of Rotterdam! Happy birthday wishes to your DD today, Sharon. You can celebrate this special day at the Orange Party tonight.🎂 Nice to see you back here Marcia. That's an interesting looking piece of equipment you're going to need after the surgery. It should help with keeping your head in the proper position. Best of luck with the surgery and recovery. I learned today our drinks don't always have alcohol in them. Sounds interesting. Thanks again for the great photo, this time of the Zuiderdam. Hope everyone onboard is enjoying this anniversary day with all the festivities. Debbie, those ziti dishes look delicious! I love pasta! Thank you for your nice comments! Your first cruise sounded like a fun family event and I bet you're glad you tried it. Bruce, sorry to hear you're under the weather. We appreciate you sending us the latest memes though. Feel better soon. Yep, it's warming up nicely, except it's still chilly inside the house. We're up to 70 already. We definitely have armadillos down this way. Strange creatures! I hope to hear there's nothing to worry about when you talk to the doctor's office. 🤞 Enjoy your guests Gerry. I'm sure you are an excellent host! @Cruzin Terri Terry I hope the toe continues to feel better, especially after the Epsom salts soak. I remember soaking my toes in the Epsom salts when I was a child because I would get ingrown toenails occasionally for some reason. It really draws out that infection. Have a great dinner tonight with the birthday boy. @Quartzsite Cruiser thanks for your photos taken from your drive around Bonaire. Quite a different view of that island.

I've finished the treadmill (2.5 miles) and my breakfast and brushed teeth. DH is going to drop me off at our gym since it's right here in the neighborhood, and he will go to get a blood draw without me along. I can walk home after I work out my legs muscles and a few light arm machines. He changed meds last month and they want to check his blood work again. So talk about being exercise day! No need for anyone to stress about when stress awareness day is. I know for a fact April is stress awareness month and then we can have stress awareness day again November. It's that important! And Rich @richwmn I have noticed all the websites that tout the days to celebrate/commemorate have discrepancies all the time. No one can agree completely so don't worry about what they say. We all have plenty of things to discuss no matter what day it is! Happy birthday wishes to Jim, Terri's DH @Cruzin Terri and Martha, Tony's DW @sailingdutchy. Have a wonderful time celebrating!

You may be right about stress awareness day being in November. Maybe this is National instead of International. More stress worrying about that!😲 I am putting the lists behind me and intend to have an amazing day, like you said. Thank you!

Good morning friends! It will be a beautiful sunny day here again with a high temp of 78, though it is only 46 right at the moment. Happy 150th Anniversary of Holland America Line! I hope those on a ship in the Netherlands will enjoy being in the homeland today. Thank you Rich @richwmn for today's Daily and Fleet Report information. First it is National Tax Day in the U.S. I'm sure everyone here is a good citizen and has either filed or requested an extension by now, right? At first we had Dyngus Day as our initial day to celebrate but as soon as I published this post I searched for the meaning of that and saw it meant the Monday after Easter and quickly edited it, causing me a bit of stress. That brings me to Stress Awareness Day! I hope all of you are stress free. And third let's celebrate Juggler's Day. I am not equipped to observe that properly but maybe we could ask our friend @RedneckBob if he learned that along the way. Thank you Albert Einstein for your quote. Some will agree, some won't. Next is the menu suggestion of vegetarian baked ziti, and I'm sure Debbie @dfish will soon be enticing us with delicious pasta dish recipes and photos. I'm interested to hear how the spiced cocoa will be made with some type of alcohol added. Dixie @summer slope will have the answer. And then we have a nice cabernet sauvignon which I would bet my DH would like. Thanks in advance to Ann @cat shepard for her work on that description.🍷 Thank you Rch for that very informative and important fact in history. 1506! Today I will be praying for the Care list people and those around the world suffering. Special prayers for @Mr. Boston and his family on their painful loss this weekend.🙏 For those preparing to cruise or already cruising, enjoy those days at sea whether on a BHB or not. Cheers for the remainder on the Celebration list as you celebrate your happy events.🥂 Our port today is Kralendijk, Bonaire and I know many of us will enjoy photos of that lovely place (especially underwater). We had that port on July 17, 2021 and Nov. 8, 2022. Links are below and so are the photos!🤿 We were in Kralendijk the first time in 2006 on Crown Princess. Our daughter had had a difficult year having just gone through a divorce and having three youngsters, so DH and I took her on her first cruise. It began in San Juan and was a Southern Caribbean cruise. Our second time there was on Westerdam in 2016 and we went drift snorkeling for the first time. From our second trip as we loaded onto the catamaran for our drift snorkeling excursion (private CC tour). We headed to Klein Bonaire to this area to begin snorkeling. The current was strong and it wasn't easy to stay with our guide, so quite of lot of energy expended that day! We did this tour on a lark and didn't even have an underwater camera, but I can assure you we saw some amazing sights. The fish, the coral and underwater plants, and even the huge sea turtles. Loved it! After the snorkeling we walked through the town and checked out the people selling their hand made items like jewelry. It's a great stop on a Caribbean cruise. A couple photos from our 2006 Bonaire visit with DD. It seems we were enjoying ourselves so much we took more photos of the three of us than photos of the islands visited. Here are a couple of my favorite photos taken that trip. View from the ship of the lovely water and colorful town of Kralendijk. DD and myself Mom, Dad and daughter with Water Island behind us (St. Thomas). That was 17 years ago! Those years went by way too fast. Hoping all here have a safe, stress free day! It is also National Exercise Day so off I go to the treadmill and to listen to the news. Whoops, there goes my stress levels!

Happy Anniversary Holland America Today is National Tax Day, International Juggler's Day, and National Stress Awareness Day Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.--Albert EinsteinMeal Suggestion for today - Vegetarian Baked ZitiDrink of the Day - Spiced CocoaWine of the Day - Newton Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered, Napa Valley, CaliforniaDestination of the Day - Kralendijk, Bonaire Eurodam Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 06:00 - 16:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Nawiliwili, Lihue, Kauai Island, Hawaii eta 4-19 Nieuw Amsterdam Puerto Caldera, Puntarenas, Costa Rica 07:00 - 16:00 Nieuw Statendam Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla 08:00 - 23:00 Oosterdam Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island, Azores Portugal 08:00 - 17:00 Rotterdam Rotterdam, Netherlands, Holland 07:00 Arrive Volendam At Sea destination Oranjestad, Aruba eta 4-09 Zaandam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Zuiderdam Amsterdam, Netherlands, North Holland 08:00 ArriveEastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Hilo, Hawaii Island eta 4-22 Westerdam At Sea destination Otaru, Japan eta 4-20 Sandi for Rich

Just wanted to report on the coffee klatch this morning. It was a bit chilly because of a cold wind blowing and the porch is in the shade in the morning, but Brenda insisted we sit outside since she loves it so much out there. I had to go inside and get a throw for my lap to keep me warm but Brenda obviously doesn't mind a chill! There was a wide range of topics to discuss and we covered them all. She doesn't know which ship or dates her cruise will be and promised to get that info from Paul when he "fired up the computer". Paul drove off to pick up the car hauler at the storage lot in our community where they store the motor home, too. Later he drove up the street in "my" SUV with the trailer and backed it into his garage to work on bolting a metal storage box to it for tie down straps for the SUV. Honestly it was huge! Their 43' coach plus that trailer at what looked to be longer than 20' to me will be quite the sight going down the highways! I hope they have some routes that include side roads so they can enjoy the drive without the stress highways hold for some of us (me!). Paul is really looking forward to it and Brenda is happy to let him live his dream. She told me today their 23 year old daughter will be coming along with them, having given her notice at work. I hope to keep in touch with them by text as they go. They're leaving April 30. When the day comes I hope to get a photo of their Big Rig for you. Debbie @dfish you have mail!

Have a great one!

Just an FYI for future travelers to Zeebrugge, in 2019 we took the free shuttle to Blankenberge where we bought 2 train tickets to Brugge. It was a wonderful, clean train and only an 11 minutes long ride according to Rome2Rio. Trains run hourly. An inexpensive way to travel there. https://www.rome2rio.com/Train/Blankenberge/Bruges Love, love, love Brugge and especially the canal boat ride.

@Mr. Boston please accept my deepest condolences on the tragic news of your dear brother's death. We will pray for you and the rest of the family as you deal with your sadness and make final plans. 🙏😢

Good morning friends! Not a bad morning - I have 47 degrees with a high of 69 and sunshine expected. I am having a coffee klatch on my front porch at 10 am with neighbor Brenda. She has coffee and I have peach tea so I hope it warms up about 10 degrees by then and isn't windy, or else it will be held inside. Brenda doesn't have a covered porch and covets mine. 😄 Brenda and DH Paul are taking their humongous motorhome pulling a car hauler trailer with my old SUV on it (they bought it from us 2 years ago), on a 6 month around the country tour. In the middle of it they will stop in Seattle and take a HAL Alaska cruise. So from late April to late October they will be on the road! All this info is through my DH so I will be able to get more facts later on. Stay tuned! Our days today will be Bat Appreciation Day, Boston Marathon Day, and Blah, Blah, Blah Day. I know we should thank bats for their work in eating mosquitoes and other insects, but I hope I don't have to see one or have it hanging from my eaves or attic. I hope all have a safe and exciting day at the Boston Marathon! Blah, Blah, Blah Day means we should appreciate the pleasure of casual conversation so how appropriate will that be at the coffee klatch? Thank you to Ralph Waldo Emerson for his quote but I won't try to interpret it here. For our meal this morning we have vegetarian bean tacos. Sounds different. I will say no to the Bourbon Tarragon Cooler, and we have a nice pinot noir from Oregon. I will pass on that also. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their descriptions of those food and drinks. Thanks also to Rich @richwmn for the contents of the Daily and Fleet Report and for the fun facts he presents about this day in history. I am not sure how to interpret the port of the day. According to my quick search Rangiroa is the largest island in the archipalego of Tuamotus. There is no actual port to anchor or dock at in that description. If you want to interpret that as Avatoru, Rangiroa then please feel free to post your photos here of that port. I'm not sure if there are any other ports for that island (such as Fakarava). Good luck! Prayers today for all those on the Care list and also those who may not be listed but still in need.🙏 Three cheers for those on the Celebration list and may all the cruisers enjoy smooth seas.🚢🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for helping out with the lists each and every day! Links for Avatoru: In 2017 we took a Maasdam cruise to the South Pacific and stopped in Avatoru, Rangiroa. Apparently the most popular thing to do there is take a tour of the pearl farm. There were no spots left on the ship's tour (HAL had bought all tickets unfortunately) so we decided to just tender over and see if we could find something to do. We were met by a group of dancers. I love their costumes! This spot was right next to the pier so I guess you could have just waded in and cooled off but that wasn't on our radar. This was the scene as everyone waited for their van to take them to the pearl farm or frantically tried to find a ride there. The ship wasn't anchored very far off. Well since there was only one road inland we just decided to walk and see what we could find. If nothing appeared we would just head back. Here we go! Off to one side was what appeared to be huts over the water such as the big resorts had on other islands. We kept walking. This was a typical residence along the road. Five minutes later we came to a T in the road with the Tiputa Pass right in front of us. This is the place where the twice daily tides create churning water and the bottlenose dophins frolic. Unfortunately we didn't see a single one. We waited around for a while, like this gentleman did but due to the heat and nothing really happening here we walked back to the pier and tendered back to the ship. It would have been a great day to go to the pearl farm, so a word to the wise. Buy your tour here from the shore excursion people on your ship or chances are you will be out of luck. Still, I'm glad we stopped here on our South Pacific cruise. Have a great day everyone!

Today is Bat Appreciation Day, Blah, Blah, Blah Day, and Boston Marathon Day "With the past, I have nothing to do, nor with the future, I live now" - Ralph Waldo EmersonMeal Suggestion for today - Vegetarian Bean TacosDrink of the Day - Bourbon Tarragon CoolerWine of the Day - Archery Summit Arcus Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OregonDestination of the Day - Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia Eurodam Acajutla, El Salvador 08:00 - 17:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Nawiliwili, Lihue, Kauai Island, Hawaii eta 4-19 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea destination Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica eta 4-18 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla eta 4-18 Oosterdam Praia da Vitoria, Terceira Island, Azores Portugal 10:00 - 22:00 Rotterdam Dover, England 0800-1900 Volendam Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos 07:00 - 17:00 Zaandam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 4-18 Zuiderdam Zeebrugge, Bruges, Belgium 08:00 - 16:00Eastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Hilo, Hawaii Island eta 4-22 Westerdam Busan, South Korea 10:00 - 17:00 Sandi for Rich

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.

Thanks for the birthday and game congratulations Jacqui. DS was surprised at that high a score with the calibre of the competition. The Jaguars must have been HOT! Meanwhile, I'm glad to hear you got some much needed rest. Those things on the list will get done in time. Some days we just have more energy than other days. Thank you Lenda for Kai and Ren's good wishes. And also the nice pictures of Whittier. It really can be sunny there! Thank you Vanessa! I hope you don't really get snow now. Good grief! Wow, that is a very unusual looking bird! Does anyone know what kind it is? Annie, thank you for the good wishes for the boys. BTW, I was thinking of your Chuck this morning when I was folding the fitted sheet after laundering. Perfect squares just like Chuck's! Keeps the linen closet looking nice.👍 I hope the doctor appointment this week goes okay. Thank you Carolyn! Love the photo Sharon. I agree it's good to see the faces to go with the names. I'm glad things are off to a good start!

Thanks Joy for Kai's birthday wishes. Turning 18 is a big day in our lives. I remember twin and I turning 18 all these many years later. Your eclectic international style dinner with your Ukrainian friends sounds great! Something you will never forget. I bet having conversations with you two will help Anton with his English. Win, win!