Sharon in AZ

Gerry, in the distant past we stayed at some we won’t go back to again. More recently we stayed once at the Hyatt Centric upon Joy’s @Seasick Sailor recommendation and loved it and the area, right in the Las Oslas area, walkable to many restaurants and Ubered other places plus the port which is close. This past April I stayed solo at the Marriott Element which was one of HAL’s pre cruise hotels and I loved it and the staff were wonderful. The restaurant was great for the one evening meal I had there. It’s close to the port too. We were supposed to be shuttled to the ship but it never showed up and the HAL rep was worthless in helping. I was able to tag along with another couple who were using Uber and was very surprised how quickly we got to the ship.

Roy, I’m enjoying your Live From reports and wish you Bon Voyage tomorrow. I am interested in your thoughts about the partial transit as I’m considering one for next December for our 50th. Please make sure to enjoy the pea soup in the Dutch Cafe.

Good evening! We got home from San Diego Thursday afternoon. We saw this ship in port on the way to the airport. I don’t know which ship it is. We had a great time but it was good to get home. I much prefer cruises to land vacations. Our Hawaii cruise is in 79 days. Yay! Have a good evening everyone.

Good afternoon from San Diego and Little Italy.

Disney Magic in port today in San Diego.

Koningsdam in San Diego today:

Good night from Coronado.

Not Jacqui but it’s the Westgate San Diego. We are staying there starting Monday upon the recommendation of Jacqui when she stayed there pre cruise. I’ll try to post some pictures and tell you how I like it too. It’s possible that we will book it for the Hawaii cruise based upon our stay.

Congratulations on booking! We are also staying an extra night in San Diego because the best direct flight for us is too early on disembarkation day. We love San Diego though, we went to college there and lived there after first getting married. Great memories. Graham, you have many memories today. Some sad and some happy. Meeting Pauline 45 years ago has to be so special.

Good morning and Happy Thursday. Today is packing day and we also need to take DM the supplies she requested plus some extra wine to get her through the next week while we are away. Which reminds me to thank all of you for the sentiments on the passing of my aunt. All are appreciated. I probably won’t be posting much after today while I’m with my ladies group. We have several meals planned and also going to Balboa Park one day. I hope I can keep up. I will pass on today’s meal suggestion. I’d rather have sausage and rice stuffed in squash. Craig will cook if I request something special. He has a few really good recipes, one is chicken Marsala with the chicken cooked like chicken Parmesan. Yum. Graham @grapau27, thoughts to you as you remember your late Mam today. Have a great day everyone!

Another post from March 14, 2021: DH found the 2012 pictures on our old hard drive. My mother was with us on this cruise. She hated it but had lots of fun in the casino. I was also really sick, I had gotten a flu type illness and ended up on antibiotics when I got home. Turns out you shouldn't get your teeth cleaned before traveling! Lesson learned. That is one reason why I wanted to go back in 2019 so we could do all the things we didn't get to do before. We were in Juneau on August 8, 2012 and docking next to the Zaandam. It was cold and raining all day. We took the tour that went to the salmon fishery, Mendenhall Glacier, and the Salmon Bake at Gold Creek. The salmon: Mendenhall Glacier with the falls just to the left of my head. BTW, DH told me to never wear that color raincoat again. Craig went on the trail to the falls but it was too wet and cold for me: I think he took this picture of the glacier while he was at the falls. And this iceberg: When we were at the salmon bake, Craig saw a mama bear with cubs at the creek: When the employees at the bake found out about the mama bear they weren't too happy with the people getting so close to them to take pictures. Mama's are protective. No pictures of the actual food that day, I think Craig was too engrossed getting pictures of the bears. But I do have to say it was probably the second best salmon I've ever had. We like watching Top Chef and it turned out they filmed most of that season at Gold Creek. It was the year Kristin Kish won. It was fun knowing that we had just been there. On the way back to the ship our driver spotted an eagle: Hope I haven't bored you with all my pictures but it is really fun way to remember cruising. Thanks again Rich for adding this to the Daily!

Debbie @dfish, thank you for the recipes today. I have made spatchcock chicken many times but the last time, this past July, I said no more unless the butcher does it for me. It’s just too difficult with my arthritis and giving Craig directions on how to do it are impossible, silly man. Also, it’s wonderful you are joining us and Dixie & her DH @summer slope for the Hawaii cruise! It will be so good to see you again. Is your sister Sue coming too?

Good evening! Thank you Sandi for the link to the previous thread for Juneau. This is what I posted March 14, 2021. We have been there two more times so 4 times total. We have been to Juneau twice , August 2012 and June 2019, both on the Oosterdam. DH may have been there with his father back in 2000, I’ll have to ask him. I don’t have the 2012 pictures on my phone and will look for those later. We were in Juneau on June 4, 2019 and it was a beautiful day. In the first one you can see the tramway. We wanted more time at Mendenhall glacier than we had in 2012 to have more time to go to the waterfall. In the video that is DH taking pictures and carrying my raincoat. Some nice pictures of Mendenhall glacier: Then sail away:

Good morning and Happy Tuesday from chilly Tucson. Happy Halloween 🎃 👻 We have been busy getting ready and planning our trip to San Diego. I leave Friday to meet up with my ladies group for the weekend and will join Craig on Monday for a few days. The ladies are staying on Coronado at a Vrbo. It looks really nice. I found out that an aunt passed away in Colorado yesterday which has left my DM the only surviving sibling out of 13. I have watched the movie made from the book Sandi @StLouisCruisers mentioned several times. It’s really good and I believe still available on Netflix. Have a great day everyone!

Good morning and Happy Tuesday. It’s supposed to rain today at noon. Craig wants to go shopping and wants me to go too, but I hate shopping except for food shopping. Joy & Allen @Seasick Sailor, Happy Anniversary! Fred @Overhead Fred, Happy Birthday! Jacqui @kazu, welcome home. I’m sure Ivan was happy to see you. Terry @smitty34877, I hope the repairs go smoothly and quickly. I’m sorry Tana is ill and hope that the IV antibiotics kick in fast and do the job. I also hope that you can start doing some things for yourself. Terri @Cruzin Terri, good to read the appointment for DH is soon and not next month. Prayers to you and DH. Bruce @aliaschief, Bon Voyage! That breakfast basket is huge! And your meal last night sounds wonderful. Have a great day everyone.

Good evening! We had some lightening and thunder this evening, which again was not in the forecast, however rain is forecasted for tomorrow. We shall see. Joy @Seasick Sailor, thank you for following through with the CC hosts for a reason to why the Daily is locked every day. It makes sense. I agree that having a continuous thread would be unwieldy and confusing. It would also be very difficult to catch up with missed days. And can you imagine looking for ports of the day and pictures? My first thought about mole day was Mole Sauce. My mind just goes to food first. I will pass on the soup today but do love Greek lemon soup that has rice in it. I received a phone call from my PCC that final payment will be due for our cruise next week. This has turned out to be a more expensive cruise than I expected, the excursions in Hawaii are outrageous. But I think I’ve planned them well and I’m thankful that we’ve both been there before. Have a good evening!

Bon Voyage! Enjoy your special cruise!

Bon Voyage! Enjoy your special cruise.

Terri, I’m sorry about your cruise cancellation. I’m sure that it was a very difficult decision.

I would love your recipe Debbie! I’m not a huge fan of beef stew but with the Guinness it sounds better.

I don’t like nuts in cooked foods either except for certain things like pecan pie or baked oatmeal or certain Asian dishes and detest them with ice cream. About the recipe I used— I didn’t want to waste any Guinness from the can so just measured out the amount for the crust and used the rest in the beef mixture. I actually think I could have used more Guinness but only had one can. It made so much so I froze half for a rainy day. Next up I’m going to make a hard cider baked pork dish. It’s supposed to have scallop potatoes on top but I think I’ll do them separately. Oh, and I’m planning on making Vanessa’s chicken taco chili too. Looks really good @JazzyV

Good morning and Happy Sunday. I thought I should post now instead of so late like I did last night. Sometimes I don’t read the Daily until the evening. It will be in the 90’s today but cooling down on Tuesday. I love Chicken Marsala but prefer it the way Craig makes it than the traditional way. It’s sort of like Chicken Parm with the Marsala sauce so the chicken is crispy and I feel more flavorful. Carolyn @Cruising-along, I made a version of Guinness Beef Pot Pie last week and it was really yummy. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/beef-potpies-with-cheddar-stout-crust-recipe-2111732 I used stew meat and shredded it a bit and added extra carrots and peas. Which recipe did you end up using? Have a great day everyone!

In honor of Strawberry Margarita Day I just had to share this picture of one that I made during the Salsa & Salsa excursion in Cabo San Lucas. Not my favorite but it’s pretty! Good night everyone!

You might want to check with an estate sales group. When my stepfather passed in 1997 my DM held an estate sale and his 20 year old magazines (I probably shouldn’t say the name) were one of the first things to go.

Good morning and Happy Friday. Thank you for the Fleet and Daily Rich. It’s been warm lately and today’s high will be 99F, maybe it’ll get to 100F. Next week will cool down. I had my retina appointment Tuesday and all is okay for me to proceed with cataract surgery. Sure is good news. Craig has a 6 month cardio appointment today. His sister had back surgery Wednesday and is doing well. We leave in two weeks for San Diego. I’m meeting girlfriends for our annual Sisterhood reunion. We are staying at a Airbnb on Coronado. I will pass on the meal suggestion today. Not sure what we are having yet. Terri @Cruzin Terri, Venice might be colder than the other cities because of the dampness, especially at night and early morning. Sometimes not much sun gets in the narrow streets. We were there in October once and I wore sweaters with a jacket. We had been in Verona right before that and it wasn’t as cool there. Sandi @StLouisCruisers, my first thought was that DE meant Delaware! 🤣🤣. You can tell I’ve never been to Germany. Prayers for all. Have a great day everyone!