StLouisCruisers

My photos from Brisbane. Today's port of Brisbane was one of our favorites. We went twice in 2017 and on one visit a CC friend met us and took us around. The second time there some friends we met on our Seabourn Antarctica cruise met up with us and took us all around the area. My Aussie friends are so, so nice! I warn you, there are many photos! We did a circumnavigation cruise of Australia (on Sun Princess), and I would recommend it to anyone who can make their way to the "Land Down Under". We also docked in the industrial port outside the city and took a shuttle bus to the central business district. A view of downtown from the shuttle bus. The Anzac Square Memorial on Ann Street where the bus dropped us off. My CC friend walked us past the church she was married in. Just around the corner was the Roma Street Parkland which was beautifully groomed. Amazing it was surrounded by so many skyscrapers. I do love visiting gardens! They had a little train to ride on but we preferred to walk. This is the City Hall, which we went inside to take a look. They have the Museum of Brisbane on an upper floor there, which we visited briefly because there was so much to see in the city still. Then we walked through the Queen Street Mall area on our way towards the river. Some art along the way. We walked across the Brisbane River on the Victoria Bridge to the Southbank area. One of the most amazing places in the Southbank area is Streets Beach, Australia's only inner city man-made beach. Isn't it awesome? From Southbank, we took the free ferry back across the river and walked towards our bus pick up point. We saw plenty of old buildings directly in front of the new buildings. We had a wonderful day with my CC friend. Next time we stopped here we would do entirely different things. That will come up next post.

Good morning friends! Well today it is 57F, a nice chill in the air. Later it will be sunny and 81. Sounds good to me! I was tired and overslept about 10 minutes. Late to the treadmill but I'm almost back on schedule now. ⏰ Thank you Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report. It's nice that custodial workers have a day of appreciation. This applies to house cleaners, too. Hard work and not a lot of respect offered to them. I have never named a car but I do treat them well! Thank goodness for farm animals. My grandpa had many animals on his farm and it was cool to go visit on weekends and experience the farm life. Elon's quote is so true! I love mac and cheese and had some recently. No thanks to the cocktail or wine. What a great day in American history in 1789. Good old George Washington! Many thanks to our F&B ladies, Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers for so many these days. I haven't heard a word since Sunday from friend Susan. I may send her an encouraging text later. Praying for improvement in her DH Scott and her DB Mark. Also my DB with IPF. Praying for a miracle for Baby Murphy and Melisa @HAL Sailer's DH. Also the many DH's under the weather or recovering from surgery/serious illness including @Tbay, @Lady Hudson, @RMLincoln, @mamaofami, and @marshhawk. Hope I haven't left anyone out! Vanessa @JazzyV thank you for the lists and the Public Service Announcement! Three cheers for all our cruisers whether future, present, or past! Congrats to everyone else with good news here. We love good news! The port of the day is Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I love that city! If I had to pick a place in Australia to move to it would be there. We had Brisbane as our destination on Dec. 28. 2021 and Oct. 4, 2022. I'll post the links below and then retrieve my photos. During our two visits there in 2017 we had very enjoyable tours given to us by different Aussie friends. I'll never forget those great days. The links: Last night DS flew home from his latest weekend in Frisco, Texas and he was right on time. He's becoming a regular on American Airlines each Friday afternoon and Sunday night. However this weekend he will be going to South Bend, Indiana to visit Notre Dame with Ren. Unfortunately friend Colton has decided not to visit ND again. He likes Indiana University if he should go to college. I don't think Colton really wants to go to college - he's thinking more along the lines of a pro soccer team player. I wish him very good luck! Have a great Monday everyone! Stay safe and well! Photos coming up in the next two posts from me.

The sooner you get on meds the better so my vote is for the urgent care. Try to research in network on your insurance first. It could save you some bucks! I sure hope you're feeling better very soon and can make that appointment Wednesday with the surgeon.🤒

Hello everyone. I feel like Terri @Cruzin Terri trying to keep up with everyone. Thank goodness for Vanessa @JazzyV!! From what I can recall today... Glad everything is going well for Steve today Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser. You are both blessed! Prayers will continue for him though. I haven't heard anything today from my friend, whose name by the way is Susan. Nothing about her DH Scott and nothing about her DB Mark. Yes, it's the same person experiencing both of these tragic events. To top everything off they made final payment on their June 2024 Viking river cruise a few days before Scott's health challenge began. Unbelievable they require payment so early. I do hope Scott is back to good health and able to travel next year. Thank you everyone for your prayers for him. Also I want to say thanks for the Seychelles photos Lenda. It looks very nice there. Thank you also for the informative article, too. Amazing things going on in the medical field. If only someone could find a cure for all cancers. Melisa @HAL Sailer I'm sorry to hear of the troubling medical condition of your DH. While you wait for some improvement time must move so slowly. Prayers for your DH and for strength for you and your family.🙏 Charlene @cunnorl please extend my good wishes to your DH today on his birthday. May he have many more!🎉 Linda @lindaler I hope you have safe travels to San Diego, and a wonderful 51-day adventure in the South Pacific. I've heard from "those family members" with a copy of their itinerary. Couldn't leave home without that!😉 Terry @smitty34877 I hope the aide interview goes well today. 🤞 It's just too much for one person to handle. Good luck! Graham @grapau27 thank you for your Father David video today. I enjoyed seeing your countryside, too. Annie @marshhawk I'm glad to hear your Rome to home cruise is coming up soon. This will be exciting! I hope Chuck is feeling okay lately and you as well! Bon Voyage to @Nickelpenny and @Live4cruises!! Hope your cruises are fabulous. Vanessa @JazzyV I read that you had started watching Call the Midwife and were hooked already. I adore that show! It's such a long time to wait for a new season each year! Enjoy watching all the remaining seasons. I asked my niece for an update on little Elliott Rose (Ellie). She will be one year old Oct. 7!! As a proud Grandma, she of course had to send me a rash of photos and even a couple of videos of her including Ellie feeding herself spaghetti. It requires a fist full of spaghetti and smashing it into her mouth. Hilarious! They were smart and stripped her down to her diaper and a sturdy bib! 😄 Here she is! Remind you of your cat? I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit!🐇🐰🐇 Good morning friends! Thank you Rich @richwmn for today's Daily and Fleet Report. Our weather this morning is back up to 60 degrees overnight, with a sunny day and high of 82 expected. A lovely fall day. Another day for coffee lovers! That's not me but go right ahead and have another cup. Nice we old folks have a day to celebrate us. I'm all for frugal fun! I like the quote today. 😁 I always like a chicken enchilada, will pass on the Midori margarita and the chardonnay. The Thrilla from Manila fight was a very big deal back then. 🥊 Interesting about Prince William of Orange. Thanks in advance to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their reports. Prayers are on my mind today with the news from my friend in Arizona about her DH Scott. I really hope he wakes up and comes off the ventilator. 🙏 Many prayers also for my DB and Mark, our Care list people - Terry @smitty34877, Tana and family, Baby Murphy and family, Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser and every one of the other DH's on the ailing list. We must get them well! 🙏 I'm very happy for all the cruisers on the Celebration list recently. Congrats to all celebrating something great in their lives including birthdays, anniversaries, and births. 🎂🎉 Congrats to Ren for his goal yesterday and the win for his soccer team. ⚽ Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your list keeping, and for mentioning my friend Scott. He can use plenty of prayers! Our port this morning is Mahe Island, Victoria, Seychelles. This port was previously listed on Sept. 29, 2021. I have not been to Victoria before so have no photos. Here is a link to the previous date for your convenience in retrieving photos. Let's hope today is a good day with lots of good news. Stay safe and well!

Welcome home! You must be exhausted so yes, get some sleep. Thank you so much. Annie, his name is Scott. Anything to help him! Thank you! Many thanks for your and Pauline's prayers for Scott.

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser it's so great to hear about the rapid improvement in Steve's body. I am always glad to hear when someone on our list can go to rotation! Unfortunately, I have received an email and a phone call today from my friend who has a birthday today (and whose DB is suffering from bile duct cancer). She said her DH went by air ambulance from their small-town Arizona home to Phoenix early Thursday with breathing problems. He went on a ventilator and when he was weaned off he experienced a cardiac arrest 4 hours later. He is currently back on the ventilator, on dialysis to remove fluids from around his heart and on all kinds of drips. He has not awakened for the past 24 hours after they stopped his sedation. They've done a cardiac cath and see no major arterial problems but the heart is not working hard enough. She is so very worried for him and I promised her I, and all my Daily friends, would say prayers for him to awaken and for a big improvement in his situation. I hope you can help me out with those prayers. 🙏🙏

Hoping you all have a fantastic cruise! Enjoy!🚢🥂

Have a wonderful cruise!

Good morning friends! What a beautiful moon out in the sky today! It is 58F here and clear. Later we will see 84 and sunny skies. A great Saturday! Thank you Rich @richwmnfor the Daily and Fleet Report. Not sure I'd like a mud pack and I don't personally know any vegetarians to hug. Good for the translators, they have their own day! An interesting quote by C. S. Lewis. What is lasagna soup? That is the question dear Debbie @dfish will answer for us. I hope someone will enjoy the bourbon punch because I don't think I would. The sauvignon blanc wine would probably be nice. Congrats to the Grand Old Opry. Funny the other two days in history refer to ether and ethernet! Thanks to Debbie, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for their F&B reports. Prayers for our Care list folks especially Baby Murphy and family, Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, and all the spouses of Dailyites who are in poor health. That goes for the Dailyites, too. Also for DB and friend's DB Mark. 🙏 It is that friend's birthday today so happy birthday wishes to her. 🎂 Three cheers to the Celebration list folks and I hope the cruisers are having a wonderful time. 🥂🚢 Good luck to everyone preparing for a cruise, too. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated for us. Our port this morning is Suva on Viti Levu Island, Fiji. We've had that port three times previously on Nov. 26, 2021, March 25, 2022 and September 6, 2023, only 3 1/2 weeks ago. However due to unknown reasons the September 6, 2023 Daily and Fleet Report was removed from Cruise Critic and we no longer have it to post a link to. That is unfortunate because that was my wedding anniversary and I received so many lovely warm wishes from everyone and I will never get to re-read that day here on the Daily. I have no photos from Suva as I haven't been there before. Here are the links to the first two dates mentioned above. Hoping everyone here stays safe and well, and that you have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you so much Graham. Melisa, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's latest health issues. I will be sure to make time for prayers for him and the whole family.🙏 https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/2023/09/29/thursday-september-28-2023-amtrak-to-new-york/ Fingers crossed a new aide is in your future. It's hard for our working children to get time off when we need them. Prayers for you all! Safe travels home today Lenda. I hope the recovery period goes well and Steve will be good as new before long.

Breaking news. Dianne Feinstein died at age of 90 years old.

Lovely photos of your living room Terri @Cruzin Terri. I love that shade of blue with a grey touch to it. Nice pattern too on the chair and throw pillows.

I noticed the bright moon last night too. We have sun tunnels in the interior of our house to bring in light, and when the moon is full or bright like that the sun tunnels reflect the bright moonlight into the house during the night.

Lenda's photos: This is my post with pictures of Anchorage from November 1, 2021. I found some pictures of downtown Anchorage. As we usually rent a car, we don't often spend time in Anchorage. In 2018 on the Zaandam, we did not have a car rental reservation, so we walked around the area where the shuttle drops us off. We then checked with the company and were able to rent a car. The visitor center Downtown Anchorage The Alaska Mint is actually an unique store that is worth wandering through for a few minutes. There are flowers all over Anchorage and Alaska. This is for the garden club. In 2015 on the Statendam and 2012 on the Amsterdam, we went to the State Fair in Palmer. This is the "big" or main state fair, but since Alaska is so big, we have seen signs for the state fair in southeast Alaska, on the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak. The fair in Palmer is held in August and ends Labor Day weekend. The fair is not big like the state fairs in Texas, Minnesota or even Arizona, but it is more a traditional state fair from years ago. They even have tractor pulls. I think the sign says it all. The stories about the giant vegetables are true. The Matsu Valley has warm summer days with a lot of daylight for growing big produce. Then there are the giant pumpkins. The midway and the vendor areas A lot of flowers I'm not sure why, but I thought this group would like this picture. I think even though the growing season is short, the long days of sunshine are the reason for the giant vegetables and the bigger flowers seen all around Alaska. Lenda's comment from Nov. 24, 2021 about Denali: We have been to Denali many times, mostly on motorhome trips. In 1996, we spent three days camped almost as far as the public can drive into the park. We could step outside the motorhome and see Denali. A ranger told us we were very lucky as they'd only had five days all summer that were clear enough to see the mountain. Unfortunately, that was in pre-digital times.

Good morning friends! Wow, the temp this morning is only 55 degrees! It really is fall! High will be 81 with sunshine! Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report. Interesting days to celebrate especially for cruisers, World Maritime Day. I know many of us are honoring that day with cruises! A salute to Broadway and to Confucius. I really like the Abraham Lincoln quote - very nice. I'll pass on the cod dish and the sour apple highball. I would give my glass of cabernet sauvignon to DH, one of his favorites. Very interesting about the start of the London police force back in 1829. Wow on the Willie Mays stat! Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the great reports every day. I hear it's also Coffee Day so have an extra cup to celebrate.☕ Prayers for our Daily Care list, especially Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser who we hope will be going home today after his procedure yesterday. Also we really hope you both got a decent night sleep. Prayers also said for Baby Murphy and family, @Lady Hudson's DH, @Tbay's DH, my DB, my friend's DB Mark, and also we hope Carol's @mamaofami's DH Sam is doing okay. Three cheers to the Celebration list people!🎉 Smooth sailing to our cruisers! Bon Voyage Roy @rafinmd! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the great lists. Our port this morning is Anchorage, Alaska including Denali National Park. We've had Anchorage before on Sept. 22, 2022. We've also had Denali National Park as a stand alone port on Nov. 24, 2021 and February 7, 2022. Not only those dates, but we've had Seward (Anchorage) once before on Nov. 1, 2021. I can provide all the links if you can figure out where you put your photos! LOL Anchorage: Denali National Park links: And finally Seward, Alaska I'll post photos from Anchorage for myself, and from Lenda. Anchorage, Alaska is a large city, Alaska-wise. The city and metro area have a population of about 288,000. Our first time there was when we flew in to board our first cruise ship (Star Princess) in Seward in 2002. We did a southbound 7 day cruise ending in Vancouver and enjoyed it immensely. To get to Seward we boarded the train and enjoyed all the beautiful scenery along the way. Our DS and DDIL accompanied us on that cruise. Glacier water with that grey tinge. Then in 2010 we cruised on Diamond Princess from Bangkok to Anchorage. We docked in Whittier and took a bus to Anchorage where our flight home left in the late evening. The bus dropped everyone off at the Convention Center downtown. We spent the day walking around Anchorage, then took another bus to the airport for our flight to St. Louis. Here is a picture taken upon arrival in Whittier. Approaching the tunnel on our bus ride. The only way to get to the big city. The view along the way. We enjoyed our walk around town, and joined some people we had met on the ship for a light lunch. Here is the inside of the Convention Center where we claimed our luggage and got on the bus to the airport. In 2019 we boarded ms Amsterdam for our 14 day Alaska cruise roundtrip Seattle. In Anchorage we took a shuttle bus to the downtown area from our docking spot. I'm sure this mural took a long time to paint. They plant lots of flowers to enjoy in the warmer months of the year. Another beautiful mural While shopping we saw many interesting displays just like in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. In 2010 we had seen a moose running loose in the Anchorage outskirts. On this day in 2019 the above moose is the only one we saw. Back to the Convention Center to go to the airport. The Holland America bus was beautiful! Lenda's photos coming up next.

Enjoy those wonderful cruises!

Yes, @quilty964 thanks for letting us know about the name change. Nice to see you didn't have to start all over with your posts and everything. 👍

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser I'm glad to hear the most difficult part is over and he is going to recovery now. Do you get to go there and be with him? Thanks for keeping us all updated and I'm glad the Daily could help pass the time for you.

Tina, those are two Norway ports I've never seen much less heard of. They must be off the beaten path tourist wise which is a good thing! I would love to see them! Here is a good place to learn a little more about Fredrikstad. https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/fredrikstad/ And Farsund. https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/southern-norway/listings-lister/farsund-tourist-information/221999/

Roy @rafinmd Bon Voyage to you as you set out today. Have a wonderful time!

Here are Lenda's @Quartzsite Cruiser photos which she posted on July 9, 2021. We have been to Bergen three times. The first was in 2005 on the Marco Polo, and twice on the Prinsendam, in 2011 and 2016. We've been there in rain, clouds and sunshine, and once all on the same day. We have taken the funicular, the little tourist train, the Ho-Ho and the city bus, in addition to walking around the harbor. I enjoy walking through the fish market, but with so many pictures of the market, I won't add my pictures. We enjoyed looking at all the items for sale, but did not buy anything as they were so expensive. And in Texas and Arizona, we don't need wool sweaters. The one exception was a couple of embroidered t-shirts we got from the street market across from the fish market. They were reasonably priced. 👋 On one of our later visits, we went in the Bergenhus Fortress, which was undergoing some maintenance. We were glad we rode the funicular in 2005 when the lines were not long. Later on the little tourist train, we stopped on one of the bridges the funicular goes under for a view of the car and the town. These are pictures from our tourist train, Ho-Ho and city bus rides, which take you to different parts of the town. On the Ho-Ho we stopped at the aquarium, which was nice, but not as nice as the one in Alesund. For the garden club As we were leaving for the next port, we had a stowaway. When I was going through my pictures of Bergen, I had a feeling I was missing some. I had forgotten that we'd been in Bergen in 2009 on the Tahitian Princess. So I'll add a few more pictures. In addition to fish, they also sell fruits, vegetables, other food stuff, t-shirts and other mementos of Bergen. Some of the other market stalls. For some reason the produce in other countries always looks better. Back at the dock, two ships that supply off shore rigs were in port for the day. The was the view of Bergen as the ship sailed. It was such a pretty, sunny day, the Norwegian Navy decided to come out to play. Lenda

Good morning friends! It is 60F here with a high expected today of 78 with sun/clouds mixed. Thank you Rich @richwmn for our Daily and Fleet Report for Thursday. Our days today are varied. Beer is fine but I rarely touch it. A sip here and there. 🍺 DH had a long career at a major brewery so I'm thankful for that. Good neighbors can really make life better so I appreciate mine, or at least most of them. This country has a lot of outstanding public lands which is great but I think we're a little late celebrating it (9/23). The quote is an interesting take on books.📚 I might like the Swedish meatballs, probably wouldn't like the Yule Nog, and would love to try the Sauvignon Blanc.🥂 The Beatles were my faves so I am happy about the success of their songs. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your great reports each day. Prayers today for all on our Care list. First to Steve and Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser as he undergoes his shunt procedure today. Special prayers to Terry @smitty34877 and family and dear Tana, to Baby Murphy's family, my DB with his pulmonary fibrosis and my friend's DB with his bile duct cancer. Three cheers to the Celebration list people especially those on a cruise or preparing for one. 🚢🎉 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the Care and Celebration lists! The port today is Bergen, Norway, a very enjoyable spot on a Norway cruise. Lots to see and do there. It was our port on the Daily once before on July 9, 2021 so it's been a while! We've spent time there on 4 different cruises and most of the time it was NOT raining! I'll post my photos in a bit, and will also post Lenda's pictures as she asked. Here is the link to the July 9 Daily for your convenience. Hope today is a successful day for us all. Stay safe and well! We went to Bergen on 4 of our cruises, and it seems to be a popular stop for most Norway cruises. We do love Norway! I've heard it rains there a lot but we've managed to see it in sunshine a few times. I think that if you are there for the first time, go up Mt. Floyen on the funicular (called Floibanen) and see the fish market right there on the waterfront. You don't have to take a ship's tour, just head for the hillside. This is what the building looks like where you get your tickets and go up in the funicular. The wait for the car to take you up. A different view from the top, unlike the other ones shown already. We enjoy walking around that little park and lake shown in the picture. There's really a lot to see in Bergen besides the funicular and fish market. Our first trip to Bergen was on Crown Princess in 2013. The second time was in 2015 on Caribbean Princess and that is when these photos were taken. I saw a Holland America ship while up on the mountainside and zoomed in to take this photo of the Ryndam. We had just taken our first HAL cruise in October 2014 and loved it enough to start booking HAL cruises. We had already fully booked 2015 on Princess so our second cruise on HAL was in 2016 but you can tell I was interested enough to take a photo of a HAL ship this day. Our relationship with Holland America has worked out well for us because we enjoy the many interesting ports of call they go to. Princess usually isn't as adventurous. Our third and fourth time in Bergen was on Prinsendam in 2016 and 2017. On our first visit to Norway in 2013 we along with friends on the ship took a walk through some beautiful park-like areas on the slopes of the hills above Bergen. A closer view of the harbor from our hike. Did any of you notice this stairway to the Christmas Shop located on the Bryggen side of the harbor? Makes me dizzy to even look at it. Also a lot of people enjoy the sunshine (when they can get it) at these cafes lining the harbor. One time we hiked up a hill of steps to an interesting church so these photos are for fans of churches like @HAL4NOW. If you turn your back on the funicular and fish market you may notice a huge church up on a hillside. Like this: You can start to see the steps. Turn around. This is where you started at, down at the bottom of this hill. Name of the church - Johanneskirken or St. James Church I thought the ceiling was unique and very Norwegian. Hoping to go back to Norway sometime soon.🤞

Linda, I'm sorry to hear about those nasty bites! I hope you have some Benadryl and/or itch cream to put on them, and that they disappear quickly. Probably fire ants and they're no joke!

@Cruising-along Beautiful photo of you two, and what a great multi-quote! Enjoy your day!