Vict0riann

Pat says Happy Birthday, too. 🎂

Thanks, Roy. I am relieved. We don't have to test any more to fly in or out of Canada, and our tests 3 days before we board the NS on July 16 will be antigen, so hopefully whatever has been going on won't show up!

Happy Birthday, Colin!. Enjoy your cake.

Good morning! A very happy shared birthday to Roy and Colin! I have never had a birthday on a ship - once we had an anniversary and got a cake in the Pinnacle Grill. Hope the injection is a great success, Graham. You should take it easy for a few days, though. Prayers for our widows and those ailing, and wishing for negative tests for those testing! How long after you recover from Covid can you still test positive? I wonder about the "colds" Pat and I had. I still get these overwhelming bouts of tiredness and I just have to sleep. I'm wondering if I should have gone to get a PCR test.

When we have boarded (once in Italy and once in the US), DH has printed out a single sheet of paper with our passport picture page, our vaccination certs. (with QR codes), and test results. They say they want to see originals, but each time that has been sufficient. We'll see if it works in Copenhagen. Of course we'll have everything on our devices as well. Thank you for all the information you are supplying us. Just a great Live From - you have earned your "Rare"! A few questions - I wondered who your officers were? Captain, CD, Hotel Director, Cellar Master, and if they were staying on through July, if you know....

I was interested to hear about Verifly in Copenhagen, too. Someone on another thread also mentioned they didn't ask to see it, and it didn't enable anyone having it to "jump the queue". DH doesn't plan to use it, when we board NS next month.

Lenda, @Quartzsite Cruiser, so sorry about your DH. Hope they get his legs stronger in the hospital! Jacqui, @kazu, was it a hit and run on your iPhone? What a disaster! I would be lost without mine. Good luck on a replacement pdq.

Oh, my, Jacqui, about your iPhone! Hope Apple can help you. Was it a new one? HaHA! Tony, I think it was just his way of saying he would allow me the extra space in his suitcase....

Good morning, all. Some happy news today, Roy's birthday and @StLouisCruisers' release from Covid jail, but worrisome items, too, Tana's continuing woes, and more and more Covid popping up. I was meditating on yesterday's quote, and I think that one who definitely has had greatness thrust upon him is Ukraine's President Zelenskyy - I wonder if he had any idea of what would be facing him when he learned he had been elected. Love onion rings, but DD announced she was going to make fish tacos tonight (it was supposed to be shrimp tacos last night, but that didn't work out). Maybe I can add in a few onion rings. We will have cole slaw, but no beer can cabbage.. Graham, I will be showing Pat your pictures - he said this morning that he planned to just pack long pants for our trip, and I told him he must take shorts as well! Maybe I'll take a picture of him in Greenland in shorts, you never know... My English cousin has suggested we take a Thames boat trip while we are in Kingston, from Kew to Hampton Court. I'm looking forward to it - another cruise! Sunny here today, so far, although the forecast is a "mix". Pat has gone to golf, in shorts. I have stamps this afternoon, I haven't been in a couple of weeks, as everyone is old and I had a cold. And then next Wednesday, and then we're gone. Eek, I am so slow in getting organized these days. And such a worry about what will happen with flights. Pat is always so well organized, but it is all out of our hands once we start out.

Good morning. I have always considered the summer solstice, Midsummer - now the days start to get shorter again, and we are on that slippery slope. Here, though, summer seems to be just starting. Going to take off the winter duvet today. Pat was talking to a friend in England this morning, and he said Heathrow is a mess. They are not loading baggage and so people are arriving at their destinations without their bags. We leave for Copenhagen from Heathrow,, hope they get things sorted before July 14! DD has given us GPS luggage tags which we supposedly will be able to use to track our bags. I will have my carry-on stuffed with emergency gear... @smitty34877, I am so distressed about Tana (and your DH) - all Dailyites must get together and just bombard God with prayers for her recovery! How sad she won't be able to attend here son's graduation. This Long Covid thing is just awful. It has been on the news a lot here. I spent a lot of time yesterday doing battle with a volunteer holly bush/tree wannabe, and came away bloody but unbowed. Pat filled two bins with my clippings and sawings. My arms are a mess! Also, I tried to cut off the tip of a finger cutting DD's hair, and I stabbed myself in the cheek with a needle. I need a vacation! The doctor had changed my reflux pill, so I am hoping that by the time we leave I will be able to swallow at least small Tylenol pills. I am missing my bedtime dose, and I really don't want to have to take everything as liquids in my suitcase. (Especially if my suitcase isn't going to make it.)

Discussing all this with Pat this morning, and he agreed, it is strange there are no noon announcements. Usually it's the Captain first and then the CD with their spiels. (Also thought of quarantine for the Captain.) Colin, we are booked on the O next year. Now having second thoughts. I would be missing Tamarind, too.

Just catching up on your adventure! 😃 I noticed that your scallops on the O were nothing at all like the ones you had on the Eurodam!

Good morning all, and thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily News! I got this notification from HAL this morning, but I'm not sure how it refers to our arrival in the US on a cruise ship. IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION Please be advised that the COVID-19 testing policy for traveling to the United States has been updated. We are pleased to share that if you are traveling to the U.S. after your cruise, a negative COVID-19 test is no longer required for air travel into the U.S. from international destinations. We were in Chania/Souda on the Eurodam last October. We, too, took the shuttle into town and wandered a bit, checking out the interesting market. I bought a piece of pumice from Mt. Etna there for DS's rock collection. Street scenes In the market As we sailed away

Good morning! I really like the new thread title, Rich. As the whole fleet is occupied now, it is nice to see where everyone is. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers. Well, I am feeling much better this morning, I think the cold is over, and I'm ready to live again. It's just the start of the day here, so I hope my energy level stays high for at least a few hours! DD is cooking tonight, planning skewers (chicken and veg.) on the barbie, so I will think about a Father's Day dessert. I'll probably just get something out of the freezer... Columbo, Sri Lanka is having hard times right now, I went there twice when DH was working there . I swear, they are the worst drivers in the world, absolutely terrifying to be in a car with a driver, and I would never dream of trying to drive there myself. But it's a good place to buy jewelry. One time in the market a woman tried to sell me a small child. And the second time I was there, in a hotel near the market, a bomb went off in the market and shook the hotel. Fortunately, we were packing to leave.... Really weird, my return button is not working, so I can't make paragraphs. I wonder if it CC or my computer. I'll have to try to send someone an email...

Good morning, Dailyites, and many thanks to Rich, Roy, and all who post. Funny, I dreamt last night that I got a Subway sandwich. I couldn't decide on the length. Rich definitely is psychic! I will say my prayers today for those on this thread who are ailing, or have relatives ailing, lots of worries. I have to wonder if things will ever go back to the way they were. I still have my cold, but am improving. My temperature seems to go up in the afternoon and I get achy, but I tested myself again, even tickled the back of my throat, and I'm negative. Just realized we leave 2 weeks from today and I need to get cracking, but I don't have much energy. The problem is going to be 5 flights, visiting with a lot of different people, some unvaccinated, for two weeks, and then having to test before boarding. We will be lucky if we get away with it. It rained during the night, and is overcast and drizzly now. I can't believe we still have the winter duvet on the bed, and I'm wearing my winter dressing gown! Yesterday I did see the first sign up for local strawberries, so they must be ripening finally. It's evidently hot in Europe, so I am having a really difficult time deciding what to pack. I suppose whatever I pack, it will be the wrong thing!.

Waterfall in Australia taken from the Kuranda Scenic Railway between Port Douglas and Kuranda.

Jacqui, I love your bear, what a lovely thing to be able to take a little bit of him with you when you travel.

Yes I tested on Tuesday, and I think I will again, today. Just to be sure. I can still smell the peanut butter, and my oxygen levels are high.

Good morning, I just had my phone appointment with the doctor, actually his locum, and he told me the barium swallow didn't show any deformities of the esophagus, just reflux and some irregularities in swallowing (getting things down - I blame it on the marshmallows!). I have to get back to them when we get back from our trip. I am to take my PPI in the morning not the evening as I have been doing. My temperature has been going up in the afternoons, and I am not feeling great. Pat got over this cold much more quickly; I am not used to this - after two years of having no colds or flu, it is a shock! Our DD had an appointment with the dentist a couple of weeks ago, it was put off for a week as the doctor had a cold, now it's been put off again as he is in the hospital with influenza. Strange things going around. He must be nearing retirement, my mother was one of his first patients, then I joined, and now he looks after DD as well, giving her the "family discount". Thinking of you all today while I wallow in self-pity! There is a lot to do before we leave and I must get at least a few things done today. On the subject of vegetables:

Lots of prayers said today for those having surgery or unwell - Sandi, sorry you tested positive. Hope your symptoms are mild. Of course that may make it even more frustrating that you are in Covid jail! We went downtown for Pat's laser eye surgery but it turned out it was a preliminary appointment only. Drops and lots of tests, he was about an hour and the ophthalmologist said he does need the quick treatment - he was given an appointment for two days before we leave for Europe. I sent him back in to change it for a date after we get back, as I wouldn't want there to be some little problem and the doctor say - come back in a week. Right, from Copenhagen! So now he will have it in August.

Jacqui, we have cancelled a couple of cruises, so please remove us from the Bon Voyage list for Nieuw Amsterdam Panama Canal October 2, 2022 and Koningsdam Hawaii and Mexico January 7, 2023 Thanks for doing this.

Thank you, Lenda and Jack. The tour that is being talked about on the roll call does not include Badur and sounds rather as if they are going to fishing villages to walk on beaches, so I think if the weather is not good, that won't be the most fun! We will have had a busy two days in Reykjavik as I have a cousin there with the American Embassy and she said she will take us around, so a peaceful day wandering in the village of Grundarfjordur sounds appealing! Before Reykjavik we will have (hopefully) visited Akureyri and Isafjordur.

@Heartgrove and @Quartzsite Cruiser, do you think a tour is a requirement in Grundarfjordur? From some of your photos it would seem that the waterfall and mountain can be seen from the village, or should we get out into the countryside? This is the last of 5 port days for us, I think we will be tired, and although there are tours available, I am wondering if we should just have a wander in town and take it easy. @smitty34877 when we lived in Virginia, we had a gas lantern where our front path met the sidewalk. That was fine, but well back from the lamppost there was a dead spot in the lawn. Every Spring I would plant petunias or other flowers in the brown circle, and they would all die very quickly. One year I decided that I would excavate down and replace the earth, as I figured there was something wrong with it. As I dug, it got smellier and smellier and finally almost erupted in stink - we had to call the gas company, and evidently the problem was an underground leak in the junction between the main gas line and the side line to the lantern that had been going on for years - fortunately it was outdoors. They had to seal it all up and remove the lantern. There is a little bird sitting on my hummingbird feeder, I think it's a baby hummer, it still has bits of fluff on it. It has been there for hours slowly making its way around the perch. I wish its Mum would come and show it how to drink from the feeder. Oh, so exciting, it has found one of the "flowers" and I can see it drinking. Yay! Now it has gone to another flower. It must be saying to itself "I'm so smart!"

Pat reminded me that I have to take him to his ophthalmologist appointment tomorrow for laser surgery for a problem under one of his new cataract lenses, and he wanted to be sure I don’t have COVID, so I tested and I’m negative. Strange, though, with his cold he had a runny nose, and I don’t have that, just a cough and tickle in my throat. Haven’t had a cold for more than two years!

Good morning, Dailyites. @Heartgrove, I am so sorry for your loss. Jacqui, welcome back! You have been missed. Terry, how great that you had an alarm for the gas leak. We had a gas leak once when we lived in Virginia, but no alarm - it was my sensitive nose that found it. Talking about sensitive noses, I will be checking the peanut butter after I post. I was coughing all night, and don't feel so great today. Pat seems to be over his cold, maybe he gave it to me, but if I keep on coughing, I think I will test myself this afternoon. For the time being, the peanut butter test should suffice. It's my day - I am a kitchen klutz, I admit it. Once I dropped a huge pot of raspberry jam in the sink and it landed so hard the hot jam leapt out and flew over the ledge to land on the sofa in the sun room. And when we redid our kitchen here, we put in vinyl tiles rather than real tiles, as I drop things all the time. I used to sew, even made my own suits, and the children's clothes, but haven't done any for years. I don't remember if I posted this before, DD has her Deer Cop up and running, she has startled the gardeners and our new neighbours - and we haven't seen any deer, so perhaps she has startled them, too. IMG_0267.MOV I hope that someone here has been to Grundarfjorder, it is on our Viking Passage itinerary next month, and I would love to see some pictures! Can't decide what to do there.