Cruisercl

Received my passport renewal yesterday, Aug 2nd. I sent it in in June, they received it June 26th. So it was 5 weeks, very surprised and very happy with the time. I did expedite it and paid for the 1-2 day return mailing. I never received an email on status, I checked it about once a week. They posted that it was sent to the PO on July 29, mailed out on July 30th. Lucky girl here, no issues with it. 😊 Did not receive my old passport yet. Good luck everyone!

This is wonderful news! 🙏🙏 Thanks Roy for letting us know.

Good Monday everyone! The WE was kind of busy, thank goodness the weather was practically perfect! Thank you again for all of the contributors here, where would we be here without your generosity of your time and heart? Not a watermelon fan, any type of melon really; I think it is a texture thing for me. I do like a nice mutt, they usually have great personalities which makes them adorable.😉 Love avacados,will have them for a snack by themselves...yum! @cruising sister, so glad sweet baby Murphy is healing nicely and getting stronger. I hope the infection has totally cleared. Welcome to MN! The weather here as been great the last few days, great to enjoy outside, but we are back into the oven this Wednesday and Thursday, so they say. Not used to so many very hot days here. Good news for me - I had to renew my Passport because it would have expired within 6 months time when I go on the AUS/NZ GV this coming January. I got the news that it has been shipped....I was so excited I almost cried, I did tear up. LOL. My horror would have been having the trip all planned and paid for and no Passport. I sent in in the end of June, they received it Jun 26th; it is 5 weeks today. I should receive it this week. I told my TA that I was going to send it in in August, she recommended doing in June because of the lengthy time it was taking to get them back. I'll be relieved when I have it in hand.😎 Prayers for us all and will do another round of the beads today for everyone dealing with dr's appts, treatments and struggling with health. It is a tough, stressful road for the person and anyone who loves them. Take good care all! 😊 Caron

Good Saturday morning everyone! A very busy day in the thread so far today. Woke up this morning not 100% which day it was; a bit of a fog from a heavly sleep. 😏 First, my thanks to all who contribute anything to this thread, especially @JazzyV for her excellence in keeping track of this crew and @summer slope for the cockyail recipes. Daily, they look really good but I am limited on what I can drink because of sensitivities/allergies, even though I would love to try them!. Love the memes! Bon Voyage to @StLouisCruisers and DH and safe travrls with @dfish and sister. What a great cruise. relac and enjoy! Welcome home @Crazy For Cats, hope the fur kids aren't too upset for abandoning them! LOL. Loved your cruise pictures, brought back good memories of a similar previous cruise. I love lasagna; I make 3 kinds, regular, vegetable and chicken. Although are the non-classic recipes not really a lasgma? IDK, not a purist here. I like chicken wings in a variety of recipes but too much BBQ sauce is not my fav. @Quartzsite Cruiser, I agree Tigers are magnificent. Large cats are my favorite wild animal. I am a cat person, large and small as are lot of people here. @Nickelpenny, oh my gosh, great tiger picture not sure if I would be as brave as you. @aliaschief my first car was a 1973 Blue Chevelle and it had a button like that on the floor in order to turn on the bright lights; is that what that is? Also, is this the grandaughterthat is the klepto at your house that you talked about last year I believe? It makes me laugh everytime I think of it!🤣 @Cruzin Terri, welcome home. I hope things settle down for you and DH. A person can only handle so much without going crazy. Normal life without stuff happening is a good thing. @durangoscots, the quote from your Mother is spot on! @cat shepard thought the kitten pox meme was adorable! Weather is good here today, finally as we were in the oven this past week, as most of the country is.with severe thunderstorms with damage going through every day. Got by unscathed; we need the rain. (I sound like a broken record) Prayers for all of us; celebrate any and everything that brings joy to your life. I'm very chatty today!!! Take good care all... Caron

Hi everyone, Tough day on the thread today. @cruising sister many prayers for sweet baby Murphy and family. My hope is that they got a handle on it. @ger_77 so sorry about your friends' bad news, prayers for them as well. @Denise T, Fancy is adorable, how old is she? Have fun all you cruisers, very jealous here! 😎 Nice evening all... Caron

Yay! By now you probably are sailing away!!! 😊 Have fun....

Hi everyone, Hope your Friday is going well. Bon voyage @Norseh2o and @Crazy For Cats!! Safe travels... Thanks all for the coversations and contibutions today. Have a good WE. 😊 Caron

Hi Everyone! Great conversation and pictures of a variety of things on the thread today. Thanks to all contributors especially @richwmn for keeping things going daily. We had typical MN Summer severe thunderstorms yesterday evening; lots of wind, some rain and power outages. It would have been nice to get more rain though. My power was out for 2 hours. Not bad really considering some people still had power out this morning. I like hot dogs but do not eat them often; I do like ice cream sodas but not sure what the difference between those and an ice cream float. I think we called them the same thing growing up. I liked lollipops when I was a kid but can't remember the last time I had one. @cruising sister how wonderful that sweet baby Murphy is progressing well. Thanks for letting us know. @dfish very exciting that your travel/cruise(s) are here now! Safe travels and Bon Voyage. 😊 @durangoscots I am also on the AUS/NZ GV, the booking of SE is quite the job. Lots of details to keep track of. I now have lists of lists in my planning for the cruise. Prayers for us all, in addtion to extra prayers to anyone having any difficult challenges in their life. Celebrations and cheers to all having good news and fun in their life; yes the memes still make me laugh out loud.🤣 Hope everyone is having a good day. Take care, Caron

IME, it is nonrefundable. Also you cannot use it towards a CruiseNext Cert. YMMV.😊

Hi Everyone! First, my continued thanks to all contributors here especially @StLouisCruisers for keeping this up and running while @richwmn is taking a break. I hope he is doing something enjoyable. Lots of really good converstaion on the thread this week. I really liked all of the photos and info about the ports of the day; some of them I had not even heard of and the pictures were great. Lots of 'laugh out loud' memes too. I'll be sitting by myself and just laugh....🤣 I only like spinach in a salad or in a dish but not cooked spinach by itself, it probably is a texture thing for me. Nope to the snakes....just nope. Some of you are much braver than me. We had station wagons when I was growing up, we are a family of 6 kids, but they were not a Woodie Wagon. We always had a Chevrolet; I remember most of them being blue. My favorite ice cream is vanilla bean but recently I had a vanilla salted carmel ice cream cone that was delicious; right up there with the favorite. 😋 Thanks @superoma for the ice cream recioe, it looks yummy and something I would like to try to tmake. @dfish and @Crazy For Cats I would be excited for my next crusie too! Very fun you will see each other on the cruise. Thanks @dfish for explaining what speiedes are; I have never heard of them. Being that they tend to be on a stick I am surprised someone has not tried to get them into the MN State Fair in a food booth. They do look good! @cruising sister glad to hear sweet baby Murphy is progressing nicely, small steps in the right diretion are stil very good. IMO. I am sure your experience and kinds words were a comfort to her parents. Thanks for sharing her progress with us. Yesterday, here in MN we had another high air quality alert from the smoke in Canada. The smoke smell was really strong. It also set a record for the state on number of air quality alert days. Just the kind of record we want...not! Otherwise our weather has been pretty good though we do need more rain. I think I am in the IT issue club going on this week, my desk top computer is being weird and making an intermitent buzzing noise. IDK. Continuing prayers for us all and praying extra beads on the rosary for those in need. Congrats on the celebrations and joys everyone has had this past week. All are good for the soul and heart. Take good care. Caron

Hello everyone! Busy on the thread this week as usual; thanks to the contibutors. 😊 Seems like there was more good news this week, that warms my heart. @cruising sister wonderful news on sweet baby Murphy! Progress is always a good thing, baby steps as it were, but still wonderful. Though the ECMO removal is a big step. @JazzyV my condolences on the loss of your friend; it is very sad to lose good friends. Hope your memories will help comfort you. We love cows here in MN since we are a big agriculture state. We see them all the time, in pastures, just driving around in our state! We also see all kinds of cows at the MN State Fair; the 4-H kids show them for ribbons/trophies so there are barns dedicated to housing the cows and the kids. Quite the sight, some of those cows are huge! Had an Etch a Sketch growing up but don't remember being very good at it; some people are very good at drawing with the limitations of the dials. Use paper bags or reusuable bags as much as I can; I am a big recycler though. Not much going on here, mostly a relaxing lazy week here for me. The weather has been pretty good so that helps with not wanting to do a whole lot and just relax outside. That will end when the housecleaning starts. Yuk! Continued prayers for us all and extras for those in the need; cheers to all celebrating..anything! It is good to have joy in our lives. Take care all! Caron

So, I was not sent that information and do not have a HAL PCC. Will it be available if I look on the website on the 11th, tomorrow? Just checking. I see it is now active, I'll check. TIA.

What a great day for you! I have been to Kirkwall and thoroughly enjoyed all the history and the ruins. I would have also been grateful for the Mass. Continued safe travels. ☺ Caron

I know Princess did pre-covid.

Good morning everyone! Very busy thread this week. We are having beautiful weather this WE so different from what we have all Summer so we are enjoying it immensely. So nice to have a clear sky, no smoke! @CruisingSister glad to hear sweet baby Murphy is doing OK. When we had ECMO patients on our unit there was at least one if not two nurses 24/7 and an ECMO tech (perfusionist in our hospital) at the bedside taking care of the patient. There was also a physician on the unit 24/7 too. In adults you tend to watch for trends no matter how small but babies can change quickly so the need for the intense watching is needed. They were considered high level of critical care need; a patient can be critically ill depending on the need for level of care but they can be also be considered stable. It sounds like this is where baby Murphy is at now. Very good results on the heart surgery tests. Happy she is stable. Continued extra prayers for her, her parents and the family. I love bluberries! They are my favorite fruit...😊 I like Malbec too; most Cabs are too heavy, I get a green aftertaste from Merlot. Pinot Noir is OK. Red blends are a crap shoot at times, IMHO. Lol. No body painting here, don't believe I have ever. I have been on a motorcycle a few times but didn't really enjoy it; it felt too vulnerable. My thanks to all of the contributors here, it is all great to read and enjoy this nice/kind space each day. Prayers for all here struggling with health issues, pet issues, family issues and I am sure I have forgotten other things people are going through. Sorry for any kind of pain they bring. Happy celebrating to those who are having a good day, those celebrating good news and are just celebrating life. Cheers! 🥂 Take care everyone and have a good rest of the WE. Caron

Why hasn't our government given more $$ to the State Depatement for this issue? They need to fund this great need. They seem to fund other great needs. JMHO Maybe it is a question for our Senators and Representatives. Would it help it we contacted them about our concerns? Seems like a right to have good government service for this. This does affect the travel industry and the economy. 🙂

Happy 4th of July to all who celebrate it! 🇺🇸🎉 Have a fun day, relax and enjoy to honor the freedoms we have been given. Prayers for everyone as we could probably all use some. Thanks to all contibutors to the thread today. Off to get ready for the festivities. 😎 Take care, Caron

We loved the Prima too! 😊

@dfish, thanks for remembering me! It was a fun bus ride on the SE getting to know you. 😊 Caron @Cruisercl

Good afternoon everyone! Busy thread today and this week, of course, with so much goings on. First I would to express my condolences to @57redbird on the loss of her cousin. Prayers for you and his family. That appeared to be a tough situation, very sad. Karen @luvteaching, I hope your sweet memories of your DH bring you some smiles and comfort inbetween the tears. @cruising sister, prayers for sweet baby girl Murphy, her parents and her family. We have also had a child born into our family with a considerable congenital heart defect; she is now 43 and a tenured Music Education teacher. Another success story to add; there is much hope. The surgeons work miracles on those littles ones, which always amaze me. Happy Canada Day to all of our dear Canadianfriends here on the Daily! My favorite cruise port is Vancouver, BC. MN is bordered on Canada so we have lots of inter-actions with the wonderful people of Canada. Enjoy and celebrate the day. I have been to Halifax twice; my last visit was last Fall on the NS. I met several of the Dailyites at the M&G and on a SE. All wonderfully nice people, as you all know! 😊 The pictures are all excellent, thanks to the Halifax picture posters. International Joke Day is certainly celebrated well today here; I had several lough out loud moments today, reading the memes! This is a common occurence for me actually. @cat shepard I am wondering how early I should come over to use your pool! LOL.😜 We are back in the oven today; 90s through Tues/Wed with high hunidity. Our air quality is still not as good as it should be. We need rain too, we are in a drought and sadly may only have a little bit later next week. My thanks to all of the pillar contributors here, who selflessly support this thread and for their never ending work for us; you are the best . My thanks to everyone else who contributes anything else. It is all appreciated by me. Please take care and have a good rest of the weekend. Caron

Ok, can you tell us the difference with your recent experience? TIA☺

Dear Karen @luvteaching, There are no adequate words to express the amount of sympathy you are receiving from your friends here. I am so sorry.💔 Prayers for you, your family and all who knew your dear husband. Please take care. 🙏 Caron

Hi @Cruzin Terri, We loved Wernemunde! Did not go into Berlin either, we thought it was too much time wasted getting there. Instead we took a half day tour into the country side of Germany to a couple of small villages and then had lunch at a winery. It was beautiful. We were the first ship into the port that season so the town had a street fair so that was fun seeing the local culture including some awesome sand sculptures. When our ship left they set off fireworks for the start of the cruising season; lots of people and boats in harbor saluting and waving good to us. It was very fun!!! Your pictures are great, they brought back great memories. My thanks ! Caron ETA: Happy Birthday @mamaofami!!

Good evening, A busy thread today, thanks to all contributors. Happy birthday @Sharon in AZ, hope you are having a good day! 🎂🎁🥂 Congratulations on your retirement @kochleffel!! It does take getting used to.... Extra prayers tonight for all struggling with health issues themselves and loved ones. Take care. Caron

The Bliss is my favorite NCL ship! Good for you, I am jealous. 😊