StLouisCruisers

The port of Valparaiso and the big city of Santiago are interesting places to visit. Valparaiso seems to have been replaced by San Antonio the past few years in my experience. In 2012 and 2015 the Star Princess and Ruby Princess stopped at Valparaiso during our South American cruises. In 2016 we flew to Santiago and stayed the night, then were driven to Valparaiso to start our Seabourn Antarctica cruise. In 2020 we flew to Santiago again for an overnight stay but that time we were driven to San Antonio to begin our Coral Princess Antarctica cruise. Rumor was there were too many problems with dock worker strikes in Valparaiso. In 2012 we took a ship’s tour which included Valparaiso highlights, the Fonck Museum and Vina Del Mar, the seaside getaway for Santiago. An overlook as we left the bus to walk around a bit The Naval Museum A funicular we did not ride on The Hotel Reina Victoria on Plaza Sotomayor The Blue Armada de Chile (the Chilean Navy headquarters) also on Plaza Sotomayor We drove around Vina del Mar and stopped to take photos of the famous flower clock The cathedral in Vina del Mar Then stopped at the Fonck Museum Later, the view of the funicular we saw earlier, from the ship’s deck In 2015 we had a delayed start to our day due to some cranes blocking the Ruby Princess’s Skywalkers nightclub and the bridge, which both extend over the edge of the ship. It took quite a while for them to get someone to move the cranes out of the way. There was a Holland America ship already docked and I took a photo of it. Can’t read the name very well, but it might say Zaandam. This time we caught the local bus to Plaza Sotomayor. But first we had to walk past the market to the bus stop. At Plaza Sotomayor we saw the same hotel and naval building as the first time but got to check out the Heroes monument up close. Doesn't look blue anymore. Nearby was the entrance to the Ascensor El Peral funicular, one of the oldest in the city. We used it to get to the top of the hill where you have the Paseo Yugoslavo, which offered a sightseeing balcony with a vista of the bay and mountains. There are 22 funiculars in Valparaiso which save the citizens many steps per day. And two of the cars passing each other At the top, we saw the Baburizza Palace, a museum and historic monument. It was built as a residence in 1916 for a Croatian businessman Time to take a bus back to the ship The remaining two visits are coming up in the next post.

Good morning friends! More cold temps overnight - 45F. We will have a sunny morning with more clouds moving in this afternoon and 71 for a high. Thank Rich @richwmn for today's Daily and Fleet Report. Varied days to celebrate from Dress Like a Dork Day to Evaluate Your Life Day. I would rather not dress like a dork intentionally! It's getting rather late to evaluate my life and make changes but I guess I still have things I could improve on. Conflict Resolution Day is certainly timely and with the turmoil in this world we could use some resolution. The quote is pretty good and I bet the pork chop recipe would be tasty. I again skip the drink and wine of the day. The antibiotics that were formulated have been a blessing to the world and have saved many lives. Who here doesn't remember Black Monday? I certainly do. Thanks in advance to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their reporting on the food and beverages. Prayers abound for our Daily citizens, our families and friends. We send special prayers to those in Israel and Ukraine due to the wars imposed upon them. I wouldn't forget my DB, Susan's DH Scott and DB Mark. I guess I'll have to text again today to get an update on Susan's family. All I know about my DB is those very expensive meds he takes for his pulmonary fibrosis make him sick and he has gastro problems because of them. I hope all are enjoying their cruises, and for those preparing best of luck as you head to your ship! 🚢 Thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping!🥂 Our port this morning is Valparaiso-Santiago, Chile. Unbelievable that after all this time we have a port of this significance that hasn't been shared here before. Since this is the first time for Valparaiso/Santiago there are no links again today. I've been to that area a handful of times and will start a new post with my history there and photos, of course. Hoping you all have something to see/show for Valparaiso/Santiago. I hope everyone has a great day. Stay safe and well!

Darn autocorrect!

I'm sorry I don't have any knowledge of azipod problems on other ships. But I agree it wouldn't be much fun to have your cruise changed drastically because of mechanical problems. I hope your cruise next month goes perfectly this time.🍸🚢

Try reading this thread which I found on page 2, which discusses everyone's problems with the HAL website.

Rich @richwmn here is some information on next week's Nieuw Amsterdam cruise taken from a guest on that cruise who posted on Crew News's thread. The ship will be at Port Everglades from Saturday until next Monday's departure. "We wish to advise you of some changes to our scheduled itinerary. During our current voyage we experienced a technical issue with our portside Azipod propulsion system. While this in no way affects the safety of our guests or team members, which is our highest priority, it must be repaired before we can begin our next cruise. As a result, we will delay our departure from Fort Lauderdale to complete repair work until 8:00 AM on Monday, October 23. We have revised our itinerary to reschedule our call to Grand Turk and maintain our visit to Half Moon Cay. We will no longer visit San Juan, Puerto Rico on Tuesday, October 24 or St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. on Wednesday, October 25, and have added a call to Nassau, Bahamas on Tuesday. Our revised itinerary will be as follows: Date Destination Arrive Depart Saturday, October 21 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. Overnight Sunday, October 22 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. Overnight Monday, October 23 At Sea 8:00 AM Tuesday, October 24 Nassau, Bahamas 8:00 AM 5:00 PM Wednesday, October 25 At Sea Thursday, October 26 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands 7:00 AM 1:00 PM Friday, October 27 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 8:00 AM 2:00 PM Saturday, October 28

Rich, I know that no one thinks to update you when their cruises take a sudden turn due to weather, mechanical issues, or civil unrest/war breaks out. I just happened upon the NA information when I caught up on Crew News's live-from thread. Same earlier this week while reading WCB's live-from on the Volendam. I have relatives on the Volendam but they aren't keeping touch during this cruise. I often see Marine Traffic and Cruisemapper have outdated information. I don't know if it's their issue or the ships aren't updating. I wish you luck trying to be accurate! I'll try to tag you when I read further changes, though I don't read every thread.

Good morning friends! Brrr. It's 42F this morning but will be a nice 70 degrees and sunny this afternoon. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report for this Wednesday. It's getting hard to keep track of the ships these days with so many bumps in the road. Volendam is enroute to Pago Pago, Samoa not Fanning Island. Nieuw Amsterdam is skipping Cartagena, Colombia and heading straight back to Fort Lauderdale to have work done on an azipod this weekend. This will also affect the next cruise on NA. I haven't even looked at the ships who might have had Ashdod or Haifa on their itineraries yet. Global Dignity is a good goal for everyone and every country. Many countries fail miserably at it. Love Your Body Day is a nice thought and a lot of people struggle with that. Information Overload Awareness Day is a bit premature (Oct. 20) but we can get ready for it now. It's also National Chocolate Cupcake Day and that sounds like a winner to me! The quote is accurate and I hope we try to enjoy every day to its fullest. Slow Cooker Beef Chili sounds like a great idea! I think I'll once again skip the cocktail and red wine. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the food and beverage reports. Three excellent days in history to celebrate. I'm very glad the Alaska purchase went through back in 1867 as it's a great addition to the United States. Boo hoo to Al Capone being convicted. He deserved it. And the BBC's founding was a good thing for British news outlets. Happy Birthday to Joy @Seasick Sailor and @SusieKIslandGirl! Hope it's a great day for both of you! Annie @marshhawk and Chuck @catmando bon voyage! You two deserve a wonderful cruise after all you've been through! Hope to hear from you soon! 🥂 Vanessa @JazzyV good luck today with your epidural procedure and we hope you see improvement quickly. Edi @NextOne praying your surgery went well and we see you back home and on the Daily very soon. @57redbird prayers for your DH as he has his external nerve ablation today. I wish I'd hear something about my friend Susan's DH Scott because he needs something done about his afib. Prayers for the entire long Care list, and for the Israeli and Ukrainian people in this time of turmoil for them, and really the world as a whole. 🙏 Cheers to all enjoying pleasant events and wonderful cruises! 🚢🎉 Thanks Vanessa for your complete listing of all our activities and woes. The port today is Riga, Latvia, another brand new port. I haven't been there yet. It was scheduled in 2022 and then Russia invaded Ukraine so we gave up our Baltic cruise in 2022. Hoping to do that in 2024. So there are no links again today. If you have been lucky enough to see Riga before please show us some photos and comment on it. Thanks in advance, and thanks to Roy @rafinmd who had a few photos of Fakarava Atoll yesterday. In other news from yesterday, great news Debbie @dfish on your great lab reports. Terri @Cruzin Terri I hope things start to look up again, and I think the floor guy is incredibly gutsy to bill you for repairing his poor job in the first place. I'd be talking with your contractor about next steps. Take care in the meantime. And congrats to Carolyn @Cruising-along on the new cruise booking! Best wishes and good thoughts to Pauline @Paw13 on her late mam's 5th memory day. And good luck to Roy @rafinmd as you see your oncologist today. Hoping you all enjoy a great Wednesday. Stay safe and well!

I refreshed the page and it says #43 now. Nothing weird going on, just the usual CC stuff! And note #26 is the number at the top of page 2. When we get to page 3 all our new posts will show #51 temporarily.

Ann @Vict0riann whenever I post I always see an odd or strange number. Even if I'm the fifth person to post in that thread it will say #1. Then the numbering adjusts as time passes, like minutes literally. I'm sure most of us here have seen that happen to them, too. I'll make note of what number this post is and I bet it doesn't say #43. Edited to say it said #26! It will be #43 soon though.

Good morning friends! It's another cold morning with only 43F and clear skies. High will be 65 and sunny! Thank you to fellow Georgian Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. No bosses here - hopefully we are equal. Pasta is a reason to celebrate most any day, and I'm not sure I own anything gaudy. I appreciate the Love quote. I would certainly try the vegetarian chow mein, but not the drink or pinot noir. How exciting it must have been in 1907 to be able to communicate overseas with Marconi's wireless service! Thanks go to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports on our food and beverages every day. Prayers again today for the Israeli people and the Ukrainian people, both having suffered immeasurably by their attackers. Also for my DB, Scott and Mark, and for Edi @NextOne as she undergoes her heart surgery today. Hoping for a quick recovery for you Edi! For everyone on our Care list and even those not mentioned, we pray for every one of you to show improvement and less pain. For all who celebrate a special event and those cruising, congrats to you! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for staying on top of our group and keeping the lists, even with your own problems to handle. Today's port is Fakarava Atoll, Tuamotu, French Polynesia. I haven't been to that particular spot in French Polynesia so no photos from me. We had that destination twice before on July 21, 2021 and April 7, 2022. Here are the links for your convenience in obtaining your photos. Volendam is skipping stopping at Fanning Island, and just did a circumnavigation of the island due to problems with Kiribati customs officials not being able to make it there to clear the ship on this date. I'm sure the passengers are disappointed but hope they are not complaining loudly as there is nothing that can be done about it. The ship is moving on to Samoa now. Hoping everyone has a great day today. Stay safe and well!

Paul, can you sign into your airline booking and order your meal in advance? I'm sure they offer a kosher meal and you won't have to worry about that any more.

Good afternoon Father. This weekend Nieuw Amsterdam will be in Port Everglades on Saturday and Rotterdam will be there Sunday. I believe Nieuw Statendam is in the Mediterranean. That ship was also in Haifa the day the attack on Israel started. Thanks Graham, but no thanks!!🙁

News on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship evacuating Americans from Israel. https://kfoxtv.com/news/nation-world/cruise-ship-carrying-americans-departs-northern-israel-port-us-nationals-royal-caribbean-international-cruise-ship-israeli-port-of-haifa-mediterranean-cyprus-us-embassy According to Cruisemapper.com, that ship is on the move away from Haifa.

Thank you all. I think they help fill the void since DD's three oldest are grown and out of the house. Her 15 year old is very quiet and apparently she needs a little chaos in the house occasionally.😄

Good morning friends! Today it is a very chilly 46F! What a roller coaster of nighttime temperatures we've been having. High will be only 59 with sunshine this morning and more clouds coming in this afternoon. Yesterday was cloudy in the afternoon and the moment DH started the burgers it began to sprinkle. He even started early to avoid that happening. It was very light and didn't last long, but what are the chances? Only rain we had all day. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. I like Dictionary Day, but wouldn't cut up my credit card since I need one. I will let you all celebrate Global Cat Day but I don't have one and don't know anyone with a cat except my friends here. The quote strikes me as odd. I will be interested in seeing the ground beef meat pie recipe. No thanks to the Spiced Holly Highball or the Cabernet Sauvignon. I remember Pope John Paul II back in 1978. An interesting fact about Disney cartoons being founded in 1923. Thanks go to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their reporting. DS's American Airlines flight was delayed as usual but this time by 2 hours 29 minutes. Instead of arriving in Detroit at 10:37 pm he didn't land until 1:06 am!! That is ridiculous. I feel the problem is the airport and not just the airline. He has work to do today but I'm sure he won't feel 100% rested this morning. Prayers for our long list of Dailyites having health challenges and the people of Israel and Ukraine. Also to my DB, Scott and Mark. No news on them for days now. I hate to bother people so try to wait it out. 🙏 A toast to all cruising and who have exciting, happy events to celebrate.🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your informative Care and Celebration lists. The port today is Kaikoura, New Zealand, a new port for the Daily. No links. We have never been to that port but always enjoy the cities of New Zealand. I hope someone here can show us some photos and give us a description of that city. Hope to hear from Annie @marshhawk again soon. Have a great Monday everyone!

Terri, I'm sorry to hear things have not been going well there lately. I think you are close to a cruise, aren't you? Prayers that things are on an upswing for you soon. DH has plans to grill some burgers for dinner tonight if we don't see a pop-up shower over us at dinner time. It's one of those "cloudy, what is it going to do next" sky days. Then we'll have baked beans and pasta salad with the burgers. No dessert.🙁 This afternoon DD's cell phone was able to call us without getting a your number is blocked message! She's had her carrier AT&T looking into it. No one knows what's going on. I asked how Sadie and Milo are doing and she mentioned they were just groomed. I asked for and got photos of them. She says Sadie is a lot calmer than she was as a small puppy. Milo loves to cuddle with them, and once in a while Sadie will jump on top of them all to play. Here's little Miss Sadie. And her baby half-brother Milo. They seem to groom him with a fuller face and ears, which to me makes him look more masculine. She and her DH have been busy the last month. Their windows at their house were running out of warranty and they had 22 of them that had broken seals. You know how builder-grade windows are, plus her house has dozens of windows. They were shipped to her home and were taking up a lot of space in their garage. Contractors wanted $7,000 to install them! So they watched YouTube videos on how to do it themselves. It took several weekends, but they accomplished it. Two windows were fixed pane half round windows and they were the most difficult. One of the half rounds. Carefully removing the old window to replace it with the new one. The old window panes went into the boxes the new ones came in. And next Saturday is free dumping at their local dump so they will take a pickup truck load of boxes to the dump and get rid of them all, no charge for dumping fees. Pretty clever of them! DS is once again spending the weekend in Frisco with DDIL and Ren. There was a game yesterday which Ren's team won 2 to 0. I have no other info on it, sorry. DS will fly home tonight and I sure hope American can get their act together and not delay this flight again. Seems like it happens every weekend!

Prayers for you all as you go through this procedure together. Thank you for letting us know. 🙏

Welcome home Graham and Pauline! Thank you for helping contribute to the American economy. 😄

In honor of Iles du Salute here is my offering of my time spent on one of the 3 islands. Today we have the unique port of Devil's Island, French Guiana which is often included on the Amazon River cruises. It is located on the northeastern coast of South America. We arrived on Nov. 25, 2022 on Volendam and here is a first view from the tender boat. People there to greet you and sell you something. Pretty! Some of the ruins One of the monkeys we saw along our walk. Some of the buildings were accommodations for teachers or the school itself. A police station Church The abandoned prison hospital, still a nice building though. ruins of old cells It must have been stifling in there. Heading back to the tender dock

Good morning friends! This morning we have a temp of 54F and "dark". We will have a sunny morning, a cloudy afternoon and a high of only 64 degrees! It really is fall in Georgia. Thank you Rich @richwmn for today's Daily and Fleet Report. The days to celebrate or honor are interesting. Like the world eyesight day on Oct. 12 we must promote White Cane Safety. I for one am grateful I have no need of a white cane. I'll celebrate Sweetest Day and International Repair Day on Oct. 21 since this is not their day. I remember Oct. 21 as Sweetest Day because that is my DM's birthday. A good Emerson quote. I'll be interested to see the recipes for Vegan Crunch Wrap. I would probably skip the cocktail and the pinot Noir. Poor Napoleon Bonaparte having to go into exile. Thanks to our F&B ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard. Prayers for our dear friends here on the Daily, the people of Israel and Ukraine, my DB, Scott and Mark, and Baby Murphy and family. 🙏 Extra prayers for Edi @NextOne as she moves closer to her open heart surgery on Tuesday. Cheers to those cruising and everyone celebrating happy things going on in their lives.🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the great lists you keep. The port is Iles du Salut, French Guiana, the first time for that name. In the past we've had Devil's Island, French Guiana. My research shows Iles du Salute is the island group off the coast of French Guiana. It's also know as the Salvation Islands. The islands are named Isle Royale, Isle St. Joseph and Isle du Diable. So I guess the purpose of using Iles du Salute is to allow us to share what we've seen in any of those islands. I think most of us have only been to Devil's Island "Isle du Diable. I was there in late 2022 on the Volendam. Here are the links to previous dates, Sept. 13, 2021 and July 19, 2023. Hoping we all have a safe and healthy day! Pictures coming up.

We did hear that news across the country. Very sad and totally unnecessary as usual. Prayers for that officer and all others wounded or killed on duty.🙏 Edi, goodness, I must have missed that news somehow. Prayers for a good result and quick recovery for you. 🙏 I'm so glad you didn't go on that church trip, too!

I just got an email from Annie @marshhawk which basically said she arrived, slept 16 hours, wandered around the Piazza Navona today, and ate pizza. 🍕 I reminded her not to forget the gelato! Very important!

Not just the pharmacist saying it. She (the pharmacist) actually told Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser she had discussed it with the physician, and he told her that misinformation. So it all started with the PCP!

I'm spending the morning making a 2024 8 x 11 wall calendar on Shutterfly. We've already got appointments next year that need a place to record them (on paper). Not just on digital calendars. I'm old fashioned like that! 😄 Lorraine, I'm glad you brought up the RSV myths going around. I told my hairdresser about planning on getting that vaccine and she told me a client who either works at the hospital or her doctor's office (can't remember which) told her she'd "never seen adults or seniors get it before - it's only a problem for babies". I said nothing back but I'm glad I don't listen to my hairdresser when she offers me medical advice! I've used different meatloaf recipes over the year, but we now use a recipe that I sort of threw together once and we both like it a lot. I use only beef in my meatloaf (1 lb.), then add chopped onion sautéed in butter, Italian bread crumbs, 1 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard, and 2 Tbsp. of ketchup, one egg yolk, salt and pepper. After baking the loaf for about 45 minutes I add tomato sauce to the top after draining grease off, because I don't care for ketchup on top. Cover and bake 15 more minutes. I love a meatloaf sandwich the following day, warmed in the microwave first of course.😋