rafinmd

Thank you for the Tuesday report, Rich. I don't have freckles but enjoy cranberry relish. Does riding in a train count? Mine is getting a bit longer than expected (ETA now 11:30 rather than 11 but still pleasant. Interesting quote by Hemmingway. I have not been to Topolobampo on a cruise but was there on a land trip at the turn of the Century. It is the Gateway to Mexico's Copper Canyon. I'll pass on the meal as well. My alternative is raisin toast, something I rarely get at home but enjoyed my final morning on the Eurodam: @kazu can you even drive? I wish you had a neighbor who could tackle your stairs and bring down some fresh clothes for you. Today’s care list: Sharon recovering from bronchitis Kazu severe foot injury Ottahand7 Brother in rehab with poor prognosis Terri’s next door neighbor Joanne with stroke and complications Jazzyv digestive issues Those afecteed by Java earthquake Cruisin Terri continuing autoimmune flareup From the rotation: Cruisin Terri leak damage Marshhawk and DH struggling with smoking cruisin single step-son with double cancer and months of recovery before kidney removal Quartzite Cruiser DH in rehab Celebrations and Shoutouts: Aliaschief in California StlouisCruisers meeting Summer Slope in person 6days for SusiekIslandGirl (Island Princess 11/28 to 12/12) 4 days for Ichiban Nekko and Himself (Nieuw Statendam 11/26 to 12/3) 4 days for Jazzyv (Apex 11/26 to 12/3) GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/19 to 11/26), Cruise Suzy, Lazey1, and HAL Lover (Rotterdam 11/20 to 11/30), StLouisCruiser and Summer Slope (Volendam 11/19 to 12/17) at sea Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23), Damcruiser (Nieuw Statendam 11/19 to 1/14/23), and Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea Roy

Latest ETA on Auto Train is 11:01, one hour late. Roy

Just off the Eurodam. Cabin choice sounds fine. I think you are referring to the Captain’s Toast which definitely should happen. My favorite entertainment venue was Lincoln Center Stage. Enjoy Alaska. Roy

Major mess today with the Auto Train. CSX difficulty’s had inbound train delayed 2 hours with spillover to us. When I tried to check in at 1 told nothing would happen for over an hour and I stopped at Burger King for toilet and coffee. Returning at 2:20 cars were backed up on the highway with a total 3/4 mile line that took over an hour. Boarding delayed from 4to 5. Roy

Auto train is a mess today, apparent CSX foulup. Way late with cars backed up the street waiting. Roy

Sunday, November 20, 2022, Disembark Eurodam, Cocoa Sorry, I did not use the camera a lot for the day, but I was up and on deck very early, just in time to catch the pilot boarding at 4:30. I remained mostly on deck walking until we arrived at the dock and the first lines went out about 5:15. HAL’s Lido Marketplace does not directly serve one of the things I love but rarely get at home, raisin bread toast. I’ve found though that they do have raisin bread and if I just ask for a slice of raisin bread it’s at the ready and then I carry it 10 feet to the toaster they’re happy to take care of the other half. Being EARLY to arrive has it’s advantages. Self disembarkation was supposed to start at 7, but it was almost 7:30 when the first people left the gangway. From there things moved quickly. My Brown 2 was listed as 8AM but the first call actually came at 7:50. Things moved quite quickly and in the terminal I found several porters at the ready. I had one big bag and 2 wheelaboard bags; one had straps and I COULD have carried it as a back pack but it would have been a struggle. Passport control was by facial recognition and the porter took me all the way to my car at level 3 in the garage. I hope my tip was sufficient and I left the garage at 8:15. That was really nice as it started raining about 8:30. I have 3 churches of interest in South Florida. There is a church in Miramar where the Pastor grew up in my home church and they have an 8:30 service. My usual church in Miami meets at 11 but is being rebuilt and they are worshiping at a sister church in Miami Beach. I had hoped to get to the Miramar church (my GPS showed an arrival 20 minutes late which I was willing to live with) and then drive by the Miami location for a look at the church in progress, and finally get to Miami Beach. My GPS asked if I wanted an alternative route to avoid tolls. I made the mistake of saying “no” and ended up on the Florida Turnpike. I encountered a series of accidents and ended up spending about 40 minutes crawling along for 4 miles. Miramar church was out of the question now, and rains became torrential. They did pause briefly when I got to the Miami church but I found no place to park and did not really see much of the project. Torrential rains again as I arrived at St. Johns on the Lake in Miami Beach, now meeting jointly with the Miami church. I visited First Church Miami a few times while on cruises from Miami, and I ended up on their email list and got a notice of online services while stranded in Perth after the termination of the QM2 due to Covid. I’ve been following their online services most of the time since. Traffic was quite slow up to Palm Beach but then opened up, still raining most of the time. I arrived at the Holiday Inn Express Cocoa (I95&Fla520) a little after 4. I left to meet Rogers widow at the Outback in Viera about 5, although I got lost on the way and kept her waiting quite a while. We each had a very nice steak diner, winding things up about 6:30. My home church offers both in person and livestream worship Sundays but has not yet restarted the fellowship hour after the service. Instead we have a ZOOM fellowship hour Sunday Evenings at 7 and I got to my room just exactly in time to get started. We had a nice chat for about 40 minutes. It was a long day of driving and I tried to watch some of the late ship departures from Fort Lauderdale but it was a struggle. My parting shot for today is weather related. It’s been strange. I can’t remember Port Everglades being closed for part of a day but it happened. Strange indeed. Roy

I was very busy yesterday and did not get to post a sunrise (or even see the sun). This is from 2 days ago, my last full day on the Eurodam returning to Fort Lauderdale. Roy

I was very busy yesterday and did not get to post a sunrise (or even see the sun). This is from 2 days ago, my last full day on the Eurodam returning to Fort Lauderdale. Roy

Thank you for the Monday report, Rich and I hope you have power back soon. I like the first 2 days and would gladly have used some odd socks my first few days on the Eurodam. Longyearbin is a great port (2011 Prinsendam), and I'll describe the quote as "interesting" I think I'll pass on the meal. My alternative is Classic Caesar Salad, New York Strip Loin, and Red Velvet Cake a la mode as served on MS Eurodam November 19, 2022. Today’s care list: Sharon recovering from bronchitis Kazu severe foot injury Ottahand7 Brother in rehab Terri’s next door neighbor Joanne with stroke and complications Jazzyv digestive issues Colorado shooting victims Cruisin Terri continuing autoimmune flareup and visit to Mayo Clinic From the rotation: Marshhawk’s friend Jesse with throat cancer and poor attitude Luvteaching DH recovering from fall and facing dimentia Status of St. Louis Sal (7/1) and JAM37 (7/7) HAL Sailer Sister in Law with aggressive cancer therapy Celebrations and Shoutouts: Alianchief in California StlouisCruisers meeting Summer Slope in person 7days for SusiekIslandGirl (Island Princess 11/28 to 12/12) 5 days for Ichiban Nekko and Himself (Nieuw Statendam 11/26 to 12/3) 5 days for Jazzyv (Apex 11/26 to 12/3) GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/19 to 11/26), Cruise Suzy, Lazey1, and HAL Lover (Rotterdam 11/20 to 11/30), StLouisCruiser and Summer Slope (Volendam 11/19 to 12/17) at sea Welcome home RednckBob and CrazyForCats Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23), Damcruiser (Nieuw Statendam 11/19 to 1/14/23), and Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea Roy

Graham, I know you don't post publicly about where you are traveling but I have a feeling you are at sea and I didn't see anything that fit you leaving form Southampton. I have a feeling you are doing something different from your typical cruise. Roy

I'm exhausted and past my bed tme. Roy

Looks like Beyond moving with the pokey pilot. Roy

I just heard a toot from somebody. Roy

Good luck with that. I was on deck on the Rotterdam when she picked up the pilot this morning and am exhausted. I'm trying to think, is Beyond backwards today. I thought that Orange thingie was on the dock side not towards the webcam. Roy

Port must be back open. Bimini ferry is on final approach to enter. Roy

I wasn't expecting a port closure. It's been horrible weather but I saw nothing to make me think it would close a port. Roy

Wow. I had 2 excellent waiters at Table 30 on the Eurodam.' Roy

I've arrived at my Cocoa hotel after a very messy day of driving. Still going out soon for dinner with my brother's widow, so not really back in the game yet. Roy

A bit concerned we haven't heard anything from @kazu. It looks like our disembarkation is running a bit late. Roy signing off for now.

Happy Sunday from Pier 21. I will preview the Sunday lists before shutting down my big laptop. Today’s care list: Kazu severe foot injury Ottahand7 Brother in rehab Terri’s next door neighbor Joanne with stroke and complications Jazzyv digestive issues Cruisin Terri continuing autoimmune flareup From the rotation: Marshhawk and DH struggling with smoking cruisin single step-son with double cancer and months of recovery before kidney removal Quartzite Cruiser DH in rehab Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney Celebrations and Shoutouts: Alianchief in California Welcome home Norseh2o, Kazu , 0106, jimgev, Heartgrove and ger_77 7 days for Ichiban Nekko and Himself (Nieuw Statendam 11/26 to 12/3) Bon Voyage Cruise Suzy, Lazey1, and HAL Lover (Rotterdam 11/20 to 11/30) GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/19 to 11/26) StLouisCruiser and Summer Slope (Volendam 11/19 to 12/17) at sea Welcome home RednckBob and CrazyForCats Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23), Damcruiser (Nieuw Statendam 11/19 to 1/14/23), and Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea Roy

Eurodam is docked, it looks like Reflection is arriving. Roy

Saturday, November 19, 2022, Final Sea Day, MS Eurodam The weather did not improve much Saturday but at least the bottom of my foot was significantly better. When I first left my room the forward promenade doors on both sides of ship were roped off, giving me a good clue of what the prevailing weather was. Sunrise was 6:55AM, just before the Lido Marketplace opened, and I stepped onto the aft deck after getting an omelet. The sun was coming up over the stacked pool loungers and I had to fight a substantial wind to get a photo. I did most of my walking on the ship’s interior corridors (decks 5,7, and 8). I did go back up to the lido just before breakfast closed for a waffle, and walked back on the promenade deck from the aft entrance to the forward entrance. I went back about 11:30 before lunch and walked from the forward entrance around the bow and stern returning to the aft doors for one full but split lap around the ship. Overall about 40 minutes total walking, a LOT better than yesterday. My biggest activity for the day was preparing to leave the ship, mostly packing up all my junk in a manner that would facilitate nights in a Cocoa hotel and on the Auto train. Once Faisal had made up my room the bed became a war zone, and remained that way through dinner. In his final noon update Captain Bant indicated we had sailed 929 miles from Puerto Limon averaging 21.7 knots with 304 remaining to meet the pilot at 4:30AM tomorrow. We have a strong breeze and choppy seas with a temperature of 27/81. I made a final visit at 2:30 to Lincoln Center Stage for a program of works by Chopin. We were all present for our final dinner at table 30. Not long after arriving the sun disappeared into the clouds out our back window. My final dinner on the Eurodam was Classic Caesar Salad, New York Strip Loin, and Red Velvet Cake a la mode. I passed on the final Mainstage offering, Step One Dance Company. The planned show had been “In Tandem” but Gage indicated it was being replaced by Humanity due to the sea conditions. My 2 bags for the porters went out about 7:55, leaving me just the things I will use tonight to carry off the ship. I hope to be in bed early tonight. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/bagsout.jpg As my parting shot, the cruise is basically over but not the trip. I still have travel and family time tomorrow, and the Auto Train Monday to Tuesday. It will be a busy time; I will be back but perhaps not before I get back home. Roy

A sad one for me, leaving the Eurodam behind. Roy

Oosterdam drew the short straw because she's coming from a transatlantic and heading off to a South American season so nobody will need to park at the terminal. Eurodam was also supposed to be in Fort Lauderdale today but my cruise got extended a day so we could get in. Roy

I refer to today's (taken yesterday) sunrise as horizontal rather than vertical. On a very windy morning, the sun did not rise above the horizon but appeared as low lying clouds blew out of the way by near gale winds: Roy