StLouisCruisers

Thank you Graham!

I agree Ray! We all have nice stories to share about him with others but must be so careful. It's not fair. Edited to add that I forgot to report in on soccer. The Dallas team won 5 - 0 and Ren played the first half. I wish the team website was working so we could look up scores, standings, time and dates of games, but they must have some IT people similar to HAL's working for them. It's been down for several months.

I have had that Captain's name cause my posts to be hidden and have to wait for the mods to release them because of his name being used. They have explained that apparently someone in the past had abused guidelines concerning certain terms and it is not my fault. So we get around it by referring to him by his initials or the Captain whose name shall not be mentioned. Very sad they have to watch for nasty comments like that. It's the software that catches it and makes us wait for the posting to print. Hope this prints! lol

I told you you would enjoy the Galley lunch! It's fabulous with everything you could possibly want to eat. We say it's the best cruise "lunch" we ever ate! More great news for Baby Murphy! Wonderful! Also very nice to hear DB is doing well, too. Brenda, as always fantastic photos. That is a fierce looking bison! I didn't post it earlier but do have a photo we took at our dinner on Prinsendam with Capt. D. D. That was a jolly good time. Here you go. Here's a photo of us at dinner in Canaletto the following night. The Executive Chef of the fleet was on board and brought us out a huge fish he had prepared for our dinner. I only had a few bites of it since I'm not a huge fish lover. But it was good and I enjoyed my separate entree. George brought a special bottle of wine he had purchased on our cruise in Civitavecchia and the Captain was very surprised and honored that he had done that. He said usually I provide all the wine, but he enjoyed it very much and asked where the shop was in Civitavecchia that George had bought it. We were there for hours enjoying the conversation and food, and finally Captain said I have to go back to work now. We bid him good night, then all four of us sat and chatted a while about it having been one of the best dinners we had ever experienced on a cruise. The company was outstanding! That is such a sweet thing for younger brother to do!

Having your Christmas party in January sounds like a good idea. Hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal with friends! Thank you for the good wishes for Ren and team! Ahh, Newnan! Nice town down here south of Atlanta like we are. You should see nice temperatures all week long. You will enjoy the Atlanta aquarium. We took the grandkids when they were younger (still young enough to live at home with Mom) and we really enjoyed it. The highlight was the Dolphin show so I hope you can be there at the appropriate time for that. One of the DGD's is studying Marine Biology now in Tampa, graduating next May so it may have been one of the reasons she decided to study it. Enjoy your family visit!

Thank you Graham. Kind of you to say so.

There were some girls dancing in what looked like an outdoor recital right out on the street. People were gathered across the street lounging on a lawn to watch. Some of the viewers. We were headed back towards the ship now and would soon come upon a small park. There was a pond there with black swans in residence. They had a very nicely done esplanade along the shore. Great for viewing the ships. And my favorite ship, the Prinsendam. At 4:50 pm we pulled away and began our journey across the Atlantic to Bermuda. DH and I were standing on the deck just above the bridge with a nice view of the outside bridge wings. Captain D. D. saw us standing up there and asked us to meet him outside the Crow's Nest. We did and he asked if we would like to have dinner in Canaletto the following night. He also said we could bring our tablemates George and Sandy. Of course we accepted! He set the time at 7:00 pm the following night. Later while we were dining he walked into the dining room and came over to our table to tell us he forgot about a meeting he had scheduled and could we make it at 7:30 pm instead? We all said no problem, Captain! You should have seen waiter Riris's face when the Captain walked away! He came over with eyes wide and said "What was that about??" Oh, just a little change in dinner plans. By the way we won't be here for dinner tomorrow night, Riris!😅 One more thing, we were celebrating Kings Day that day and here is the cake they prepared as well as our monkeys with the orange wigs.

We enjoyed a fabulous day in Horta in April 2018 while on our Grand Med. and Africa cruise on the Prinsendam. So many great ports! The weather was perfect, thank goodness. And for the final segment of the cruise we had our very special master of the ship, Captain D. D. As I said, we arrived on a beautiful morning and were allowed to dock, no tendering needed. A view of the city from the ship. I swear that looks like DH walking towards me down by the pool. Could have been. The Azores has beautiful scenic hillsides like this. I love observing the cows grazing - so peaceful. This type of architecture is common in the area as well. This is a popular spot for locals and tourist alike, Peter's Cafe Sport. We stepped down some stairs to the waterfront and marina. Diving must be popular here because we saw several diving shops. Across the water from this spot on the marina is the highest point in Portugal, Pico Island. That is a volcano named Ponta do Pico. Next we headed towards this old fortress, the Fort of Santa Cruz. I think I'll stop at this point and continue in a second post.

Good morning friends! Slightly warmer at 38F this morning, while expecting 71 and more sunshine! Beautiful daytime weather here. Isn't it @SusieKIslandGirl who was going to her DS's house in Atlanta for a week? Except for cold nighttime temps for a bit she is having wonderful weather and I hope she enjoys her weeklong visit to Georgia . Thank you Rich @richwmn for our Fleet Report and Daily. It's not easy keeping track of all the ship movements with so many changes due to weather and war zones. I like all the days of celebration today. Candy (especially chocolate), community service and using my common sense all sound good. The quote is okay and the chicken pot pie sounds pretty good during this fall weather. Another fancy mojito today and I'm not sure about the wine. Goodness! So much history on this date! Can you imagine taking 5 1/2 months to get from Missouri to California? And I know it was grueling. I'm glad it wasn't me going back then. Hooray for the patent on refrigeration apparatus and it was a big day in archeology. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their reports on food and beverage again today. Prayers for all our Israeli and Ukrainian citizens, my family and friends in need of them, and everyone here suffering pain and other medical conditions. Especially Vanessa, Tana and Baby Murphy. Three cheers for the Celebration list and all our cruisers! I hope Terry @smitty34877 her family and friends have a wonderful day at Lou's memorial and the celebration of his life. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated for us even through all your pain. DGS Ren is in Minneapolis for a soccer game today. They fly home tonight. Both parents flew in for the game of course. Hope they are dressed warmly and FC Dallas wins. Also hoping no players are injured and safe flights for them all. Port of the day is Horta, Azores, Portugal. Apparently it's on Faial Island. The two times we had it before were on Aug. 27, 2021 and Aug. 2, 2022. Links are provided below for your convenience in obtaining photos. Thankfully my photos were still there! We were there only once on the Prinsendam Grand Med and Africa cruise, spring of 2018. Don't forget to change your clocks back 1 hour tonight before bedtime. Have a great Saturday everyone!

Thanks for the photos!

Enjoy Roy! Hope it's wonderful!

We received Thank You For Sailing With Us emails one week and again one month after disembarking our last cruise. Maybe you could call and ask if you are being offered that promo. You should be.

Terri @Cruzin Terri it's a relief to hear nothing was broken, and that the orthopedic urgent care did such a stellar job of caring for Jim. With all the instructions and the meds he got he should be good to go for that cruise. Take care now! Lorraine, thanks for the updates on DB and Baby Murphy. I hope things work out well for DB's wound and antibiotics. It sounds like they are keeping right on top of the situation. As for Baby Murphy, it's so encouraging to hear how strong she is, that her Mom could hold her upright and that she seems to like her new room. Keep up the great reports on her please.🙂

Thank you so much! I've never run into that item before and it seems like a good idea. I had to chuckle when you said your dogs were too smart and figured out how to get their treat out faster. Ivan has sure had a major change in his life and his demeanor since you took over as his Mom. I'm glad it is working out so well!

Sorry about all the posts but I just remembered I wanted to ask Jacqui @kazu a question. I don't have a dog (or cat) but you mention "Kong" while talking about Ivan. Please clue me in! 🤷‍♀️ Also I wanted to mention that I'm sorry for all our Oosterdam cruisers (Paul @kochleffel, Ann and Pat @Vict0riann, Tony and Martha @sailingdutchy) having such an altered itinerary. However the Canary Islands are beautiful and warm so you should all enjoy them regardless. It's an excuse for another cruise booking. Better run to see the FC Consultant pronto!

Vanessa @JazzyV it's heartbreaking hearing of the excruciating pain you're feeling. I really wish something could be done sooner for you. Don't be afraid to take the pain meds. Praying for relief for you ASAP.🙏

DH liked the Chopin vodka best. He appreciated getting to taste all varieties! I preferred champagne of course! Were the vodka bottles placed in the holes cut into a block of ice? Our FedEx package arrived. Finally. They made the mistake of sending me an email asking for a review of the delivery. Oh boy...

Jacqui @kazu I really appreciate your very fair review of the cruise. Sounds like lots of things were well done, but certain things could use improvement (entertainment, lack of staffing in some areas). I wish Pinnacle Grill would get a revamp or more training, something to take it back to the usual great service and food of the past. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this!

Unbelievable Terri! No wonder they lose so much money. It's because they are so inefficient. Just the fuel they use is out of sight, but think of all the people involved in handling your packages. Then they raise prices. Nice, Graham! Thank you for the photo of Paul's boyhood home. We probably saw it on the bus ride but didn't have time to get a photo. They played Beatles songs while we rode around to the various locations. Good times! Eva @superoma I'm happy to hear your surgery went well and you can see better already. Take it easy and heal completely. Thanks for the update.

Anyone else have problems with packages traveling far and wide before finally finding their way back to your front door? DH placed an order last Friday for over the counter items from our health insurance for the last quarter of 2023. Usually we get them within 3 days. This time the package label took until Monday the 30th to be made. Come to find out the OTC items were starting their journey to our door from a town only 10 miles away from our home! However FedEx decided once the items were picked up in that close-by town they had to go to Atlanta to be processed. This is where their journey took a zig zag. Atlanta FedEx sent them to Columbia, South Carolina. Then Columbia sent them to Concord, North Carolina! They are now 2 states away and headed the wrong way! That is when we started tracking them. Suddenly they made a U turn and started heading back south. The package arrived in Atlanta last night where they then put it on a truck and drove it past our location to Macon which is south of us. That is the location that FedEx thinks should be delivering our packages nowadays so they often go up and down I-75 for a day or so instead of someone just dropping them off at our door. Finally today Macon will deliver our package! We hope! Something that started out just 10 miles away shouldn't have to travel hundreds of miles in the wrong direction before someone reads the zip code and routes it properly. Are they all nuts?? Bah humbug to FedEx! Mail your Christmas gifts extra early folks.

Liverpool, England is our port today. Below is my report on times spent there in April 2015 on Royal Princess and June 2017 on Prinsendam. The first time I took a Beatles tour with my friends who only use ship's tours. That was quite fun since I was a big Beatles fan back in the 60's. Then after the tour DH met me at the dock and lovely cruising friends from a 2014 cruise who live in Manchester came to Liverpool to meet up with us. We went to a pub for a drink and some lunch, plus a nice walkabout to chat. That was wonderful! Outside the Beatles museum. A couple of the thousands of displays inside My favorite Beatle Then we went to the Cavern Club where the early Beatles played. Someone was there playing music and singing. You could order a pint if you wished. A statue in the alley outside the Club. We also went to Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. Then time for lunch with our Manchester friends. We went to see a statue of Queen Victoria and I got bombed by a pigeon. A little cleanup was required. Albert Dock Some of the interesting sights near the ship dock. Looks like everyone likes to take a picture here. It was a beautiful day weather wise. Photo taken from the Royal Princess Our friends stayed to watch us depart. They are on the bench in this photo. They gave us a great send off, and we gave them the Love Boat toots from the Royal Princess We very much enjoyed both our visits to Liverpool. On the second visit on the Prinsendam, our next door cabin neighbor was arrested and removed from the ship for stealing scratch off cards from the Casino. We were actually in that white tent area using wi-fi when he was escorted off. I highly recommend Liverpool as a cruise stop if you get the opportunity to book it.

Good morning friends! Hoping for a warm up sooner than later. Another 32 degree morning but it will be warmer than yesterday with a high of 64 and once again sunny skies. Yesterday was beautiful with no clouds at all.🌞 Thanks Rich @richwmn for today's Fleet Report and Daily. Interesting days today. I guess even a dollar given to someone could help them out somehow. Nice celebration for Dominicans. Hope those who like stout are happy. I'm not getting the quote. Oh no on the boiled fish! I'm sure the Paradise Punch will be enjoyed but I will pass on the red wine again.🍷 Nice days in history celebrating our country's beginnings and organizing help signals. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the food and drink reports . Prayers for our friends here on the Care list. Wishing better days for Tana, a "no broken bone" X-ray for Terri's @Cruzin Terri Jim, continued improvement for Baby Murphy, and relief from leg pain for Vanessa @JazzyV. Prayers for my family and friends especially DB, and for all at war in Israel and Ukraine and the hostages returned safely. In better news, happiness for all celebrating and cruising. There's so many of us away on ships. Hoping you all have smooth seas and enjoy being pampered. Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the C&C list keeping!🤗 Our destination today is Liverpool, England. It was the port on April 16, 2021 and January 28, 2022. I found links to both dates and will include them below. I've been there twice before and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I will have to find the photos since mine disappear from very old posts. Back later with pictures. Hoping everyone has a good Friday and a great weekend! Stay safe and stay well!

Thanks for the photos!

Well, I tried to get a nap in this afternoon, but I kept hearing the grinder pump turning on and off in the space adjacent to the napping room. It's at the back of the closet under the stairs on the other side of the wall. Why was this pump running so much? Apparently the lower level bathroom toilet tank flapper had a slight leak so the pump had to run every 5 minutes or so to move the water out to the street waste line. In the south waste lines aren't buried as deep as in other localities so you have to move the lower level water up to where the builder placed the line in the yard. A little complicated, but now the water is turned off at the toilet and will go out to buy a new flapper. Don't want to waste water like that! So at least my nap time helped discover that leak, even though it didn't help my lack of sleep last night. 😴 The lower level bathroom is only used a few times a week so we didn't notice it right away.

Lorraine @cruising sister I am thrilled to hear of such a big improvement in Baby Murphy's condition. I'm sure the parents are too. We've prayed for that miracle for a long time now so looks like our prayers were heard. Glad to hear your surgery has been moved up as well. Good luck with packing!