The Fleet Report and Daily for Tuesday January 3rd, 2023

[richwmn]

Good afternoon all,

I am now in a balcony cabin on deck 5, about midway between the Outside Elevators and the bow.

I'll be sitting out there for the sail away.

 

Rich

[kochleffel]

I just signed the letter making my retirement official. It doesn't take effect until June 30; I had to do it now to prevent an automatic renewal of my contract.

[dfish]

Just now, kochleffel said:

I just signed the letter making my retirement official. It doesn't take effect until June 30; I had to do it now to prevent an automatic renewal of my contract.

Congratulations early!  Gives you time to plan.

[Seasick Sailor]

Captain just stated we are turning around due to a ship upside down. The Coast Guard has been notified.

[StLouisCruisers]

21 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Good afternoon all,

I am now in a balcony cabin on deck 5, about midway between the Outside Elevators and the bow.

I'll be sitting out there for the sail away.

 

Rich

Hope you're on port side because we will be looking for you.  Congratulations!

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Captain just stated we are turning around due to a ship upside down. The Coast Guard has been notified.

Oh my, that sounds awful!  The word ship scares me!  How big of a ship?  There could be many people in danger.  Prayers for you all!

[Seasick Sailor]

No victims in or under the boat. Celebrity noted they collected 13 refugees yesterday from the boat. The captain notified the Coast Guard that this was the boat and they saw no one in or around the craft. We are turning around and continuing on course to Fort Lauderdale. 

 

Refugees were from Cuba and all were saved.

 

[Seasick Sailor]

Captain just notified us they saw a person near the craft in the water and we are turning around once again.

[0106]

3 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Captain just notified us they saw a person near the craft in the water and we are turning around once again.

Oh my…I just looked on the Celebrity board but there was no mention on yesterday’s event.  Hopefully everyone will be recovered.🙏

[StLouisCruisers]

7 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Captain just notified us they saw a person near the craft in the water and we are turning around once again.

🤦‍♀️

[Seasick Sailor]

The captain just said he has been online with the Coast Guard and we are to remain here until they arrive. We have been told not to take the two refugees on board until they arrive and assess the situation. We are allowed to give them food and water and a blanket. But we are not allowed under any circumstances to welcome them on board.

 

But then the Coast Guard just let us know again they are too far away to get to the small craft so they are asking us to take the two people in the raft on board and we will rendezvous with them closer to Miami.

[Seasick Sailor]

And off we go!

[Cruising-along]

4 hours ago, richwmn said:

Good afternoon all,

I am now in a balcony cabin on deck 5, about midway between the Outside Elevators and the bow.

I'll be sitting out there for the sail away.

 

Rich

Rich we're sure we saw you.  You were standing up -- it looked like you, even how you stand. Bon Voyage and thanks for the sail-away phone call! 

[*Miss G*]

Re: Damar Hamlin.  My first husband (and father to my two children) died of a cardiac arrest, whilst on duty in the military, two weeks after his 31st birthday.  (They were on parade practicing for the Queen’s visit, of which he was an honour guard.)  There were no signs of his ever having a heart issue and nothing ever showed up during the yearly physical required by the military.  He was never sick; not even a cold. 

 

The doctor told me that your chances to survive a heart attack are greater the older you are. Under 40 you are very unlikely to survive and my husband was dead before he hit the ground.

 

Mr Hamlin was rescuscitated beyond the odds.  I pray that he continues to return to full health.

 

Sorry for the disclosure/downer but I felt the need to comment and offer a perspective. 

[erewhon]

Thanks for the Holland America Line fleet locations, and all the daily news.

The Fruit cake I made for Christmas is too delicious to throw away, will have a taste with my afternoon  tea.

@smitty34877  am pleased  that you recieved a good report from your surgeon.

@aliaschief  safe travelling tomorrow.

It's a pleasantly warm Wednesday temperature 22 C.

Must head out for a walk.

[aliaschief]

Happy to hear the refugees survived. A great reminder to all of us on how fortunate we are for where we live, how good we have it, and to waive off the small complaints we find at sea.

For many, cruising is only a dream and for millions, they don’t even know the possibility exist so  we should be very thankful;  that we have had this wonderful experience of cruising.

Count your Blessings!

[kochleffel]

3 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

A great reminder to all of us on how fortunate we are for where we live, how good we have it, and to waive off the small complaints we find at sea.

For many, cruising is only a dream and for millions, they don’t even know the possibility exist so  we should be very thankful;  that we have had this wonderful experience of cruising.

Count your Blessings!

 

Amen.

 

[marshhawk]

Good evening.  I am back with my pictures of Amber Cove.  Yes, Amber Cove was made by Carnival to get tourists into Puerto Plato (sp), and for that reason our first time there, we did an excursion instead of stay in the port area.  We too had a tour guide that I was sure was friends of the shop he took us to, but there were great restrooms, and the rest of the tour had none.

 

Remember I said I took pictures of something that grabbed my eye?  But perhaps makes little sense?  Well this is one of those pictures.  Yes, I was on a Carnival cruise, this was May 2017.

 

 

This was our tour, and tour guide.  DH and I were very happy with this tour.  The first past of the tour was town, visitng the church, and the shop.  Then we headed up towards teh mountains, and near the outskirts of town we visited an orphanage, all girls whose parents were in jail for drugs.  They are not light on drug offenders.  The girls were not up for adoption, but they had a roof over their heads, three squares a day, they went to school until they graduated.  In the Dominican Republic, your college is free, as long as you somehow "pay it back" so several of the graduated girls stayed on at the orphanage to help with the little ones, prepare food, and they could still live there.  At that time not having to share a room with 20 others.

 

I do not have pictures of the orphanage, as they requested that we don't take pictures of the girls. We did bring crayons, pencils, rulers, class room stuff, tooth brushes, tooth paste and other toiletries.  As did everyone on that excursion.  From there we headed up into the mountains, to watch cassaba bread being made.

 

Town and the mountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views from the ship in port-

 

 

 

[marshhawk]

That day on our first trip there was beautiful, it was in May, so not too hot.  We very much fell in love with this island, and it's views of the mountains.  Sailing in that morning and out that afternoon,  were some of the loveliest  views I had ever seen.  Mountains and sea, how can you go wrong?  Two weeks after we got back, Chuck had a massive heart attack, I knew that the cancer had not gone away at that point, he had not started proton radiation (which seems to work).  But the doc came out after the surgery and said, I know your husband has had cancer and that has been your primary concern, but he is now is a heart patient, and that preceeds the cancer.

 

So I felt very blessed when we got the opportunity to go back to the Dominican Republic this year.  The problem with our excursion that we had planned was that it was cancelled , as DH and I were the only two who signed up for it.  Again it was another -

 

 

 

It was supposed to go to a women's chocolate company, see how the beans are grown, work in the fields and then learn to make chocolate.  Really?  We were the only two that wanted to go?  What's wrong with people?

 

So, we stayed in port this time.  Looking for a coffee shop that we had found in 2016 which had the BEST coffee I have ever had, (so we bought some to take home)  Should have bought the whole shelf!  Oh well, here are just a few shots of the port.  I would love to go back, and I have found a HAL cruise that is going there and a few other places on my bucket list.  But DH says since all our money is tied up now, we shouldn't even THINK about booking a cruise until at least our next 14 days in Alaska is over....grrrr...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marshhawk]

Now a few side notes-Amber Cove is famous for-Amber.  It was right outside of town where the Amber  Mine was filmed in Jurassic Park.  From afar the area looks clean, but when you get a closer look, plastic garbage is everywhere, along the road, in the streams, on the dirt roads going up into the mountains,  I hope that this problem has been addressed over the years.  It would make sense that with everything in plastic these days coming onto the island that they could get a recycling group going on.  And have the civilians make some money cleaning up the mess that they made.

[Sharon in AZ]

Rich @richwmnI saw you at sail away just like Carolyn @Cruising-alongsaid.  Enjoy your new upgraded verandah cabin. I hope you are able to stay in touch with the Daily. 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good evening.  Well what was to be an easy day got away from me.  After I did an early shopping run into town, all that was on the agenda was taking DH to get a blood test.  First there was an unexpected bill I'm still trying to get straightened out, and it wouldn't have been a problem if the original claim had been coded correctly.  It will get straightened out without too much hassle.  It's just annoying to have to deal with it.

 

When DH and I got home, I needed to take the car up to get the new wheel and tire balanced even though the station owner said he'd balanced it when he mounted the new tire on the new wheel.  It was fine when I drove the car to Waco to bring DH home, but when we took it to Waco for his two month post op visit there definitely was a vibration.  I think he did balance the tire, but did not spin balance it, which it needed today.  After the spin balancing, it drives much more smoothly, and he did not charge me.  That's what is nice about a neighborhood service station.

 

At least our weather was sunnier and warmer than predicted.  Our high was in the low 70s.

 

9 hours ago, smitty34877 said:

I just made it back home after seeing the surgeon.It was my post op visit and everything  is progressing  well.He said I could  start driving and walk more without a cane.I will be happy when I can walk the dogs in the neighborhood  again.It is a lot for the others to do three times a day but I need to feel more confident  in my ability to walk without the cane. Practice  will help.

Thanks to everyone  here who are so supportive. 

Bon Voyage to all those leaving today from Ft.Lauderdale.It must be very exciting at the port whether one is going on a World Cruise or a different  cruise. 

 

 

 

Terri, that is good news from the post op visit.  From observing DH don't rush things, just wait until you are very confident in taking it to the next level.

 

8 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all!

Ironic that today is Festival of Sleep Day.  Last night was one of those nights -- sleep 2 hours, awake 2 hours.  All night long.  It was like Groundhog day lol.  Somehow I did manage to get enough sleep.  My mind wouldn't turn off, planning DSIL's arrival on Friday and plans for DH's belated birthday party on Saturday.

No fruitcake here to toss, but it would be tossed if there was any.  Humility Day would be a better name, and a worthy day to celebrate.

 

The meal, drink and wine all sound good to me.  We were in Amber Cove 2 months ago exactly, our one and only time there.  We took a tour up into the mountains where it was cooler -- an interesting day with both good and bad.

 

We booked the tour out of Amber Cove because I love gardens and it would be cooler up in the mountains.  The day was a mix of good and bad.  The good was the gardens were gorgeous and it definitely was cooler up there.  The not so good was the hoard of men trying to sell things that our guide led is straight to before we could see the gardens.  We wasted a lot of time just trying to fend them off, and anyone who knows me knows that not much makes me angrier. Never have had that happen on a HAL excursion before.  I was so angry that we were taking precious time from the gardens and putting up with that nonsense -- I felt like I was being held captive.   I'm sure they could tell by my glares I was not a happy tourist.  And yes, I did complain to Shore Excursions when we got back to the ship. I think we got a partial refund of the tour.  The other not so good thing was our van got a flat tire coming back -- but that wasn't anyone's fault and we actually had a nice, shady cool spot to sit with views of the water.

 

Our view of Amber Cove from our balcony

 

This is where our tour started.  Little did we know that once we went up some steps behind this sign, we would be met by a large group of persistent men trying to sell us things.  Obviously friends of our guide. 😞  They were lying in wait at the top LOL.

 

Trying to avoid and ignore the hawkers, I spent my time taking photos and waiting to start the garden tour, the reason I booked this tour.

Statue of Christ

 

Pretty views -- these are cable car wires

 

Lush hillside

 

Finally we started the garden tour.  I felt that the guide was rushing through this part. 😞  

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back we got a flat tire!

 

Thankfully we had a nice place to sit, with gorgeous views.

 

It took so long to change the tire, we all thought we'd be taken right back to the ship after the tire was changed.  But no, there were more opportunities for us to buy things (ha) when we were taken to the town and led through the town and to a large gift shop.

 

I thought this was pretty.

 

And this

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolyn, thank you for your great pictures of Amber Cove.  I can understand your frustration with the tour guide.  We had an over enthusiastic  guide on a Montpelier on your own tour.  The guide spent at least half our time there, if not more, leading us around the city.

 

6 hours ago, richwmn said:

Good afternoon all,

I am now in a balcony cabin on deck 5, about midway between the Outside Elevators and the bow.

I'll be sitting out there for the sail away.

 

Rich

 

Rich, glad you have a balcony for the World cruise.  Unfortunately, I missed the sailaway.

 

6 hours ago, kochleffel said:

I just signed the letter making my retirement official. It doesn't take effect until June 30; I had to do it now to prevent an automatic renewal of my contract.

 

An early congratulations on your retirement in June.

 

3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

And off we go!

 

Joy, that is quite the tale.  I'm glad the Coast Guard finally let the ship resuce the two people.  Thanks for your pictures.

 

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

Re: Damar Hamlin.  My first husband (and father to my two children) died of a cardiac arrest, whilst on duty in the military, two weeks after his 31st birthday.  (They were on parade practicing for the Queen’s visit, of which he was an honour guard.)  There were no signs of his ever having a heart issue and nothing ever showed up during the yearly physical required by the military.  He was never sick; not even a cold. 

 

The doctor told me that your chances to survive a heart attack are greater the older you are. Under 40 you are very unlikely to survive and my husband was dead before he hit the ground.

 

Mr Hamlin was rescuscitated beyond the odds.  I pray that he continues to return to full health.

 

Sorry for the disclosure/downer but I felt the need to comment and offer a perspective. 

 

Thank you for sharimg you story about your first husband.  I'm sorry you and your children had to go through that.  I too hope Damar Hamlin can make a full recovery.

 

41 minutes ago, marshhawk said:

Good evening.  I am back with my pictures of Amber Cove.  Yes, Amber Cove was made by Carnival to get tourists into Puerto Plato (sp), and for that reason our first time there, we did an excursion instead of stay in the port area.  We too had a tour guide that I was sure was friends of the shop he took us to, but there were great restrooms, and the rest of the tour had none.

 

Remember I said I took pictures of something that grabbed my eye?  But perhaps makes little sense?  Well this is one of those pictures.  Yes, I was on a Carnival cruise, this was May 2017.

 

 

This was our tour, and tour guide.  DH and I were very happy with this tour.  The first past of the tour was town, visitng the church, and the shop.  Then we headed up towards teh mountains, and near the outskirts of town we visited an orphanage, all girls whose parents were in jail for drugs.  They are not light on drug offenders.  The girls were not up for adoption, but they had a roof over their heads, three squares a day, they went to school until they graduated.  In the Dominican Republic, your college is free, as long as you somehow "pay it back" so several of the graduated girls stayed on at the orphanage to help with the little ones, prepare food, and they could still live there.  At that time not having to share a room with 20 others.

 

I do not have pictures of the orphanage, as they requested that we don't take pictures of the girls. We did bring crayons, pencils, rulers, class room stuff, tooth brushes, tooth paste and other toiletries.  As did everyone on that excursion.  From there we headed up into the mountains, to watch cassaba bread being made.

 

Town and the mountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views from the ship in port-

 

 

 

 

Annie, thank you for sharing your pictures.  We too have had tour guides who seemed to know the shop owner very well.  We called it a visit to Cousin XYZ's place.

 

Lenda

[kochleffel]

With the exception of this thread, everyone on the Internet seems to be quarreling with everyone else today. Is it just because of diets, gym visits, and Dry January, or is something else going on?

 

[kochleffel]

6 hours ago, dfish said:

Congratulations early!  Gives you time to plan.

 

8 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

An early congratulations on your retirement in June.

 

Thanks. Time to plan, yes, but also six months of fending off demands to help find my replacement. On my birthday I gave some thought to want I want to do after retiring, but not about the time from now until then. I just know that that's not it.

 

[marshhawk]

I made it to my CT scan, the scanner said they were doing the mid section and lower pelvic area for the tumor.  I said what about the chest, the doc said he wanted a scan of the chest, as that was not on the paper work she received, she called the doc, and yes, the chest part was supposed to be on there.  Then they asked the question regarding shellfish.  I eat shrimp, crab, clams, mussels, lobster, and the only time I had any reaction to shellfish was one ( just one) weird scallop.  My throat swelled up and I couldn't breath.  We kept Benadryl in the house in those days, I took one, and felt much better.  I never had a scan with contrast, so my contrast included Benadryl, Pepcid, and something else,  with application of each into the IV my hair stood on end, I'm sure.  But to tell you the truth , it was nice just to lay on my back and not cough.  Not one cough.

 

Once done, she verified, that she saw the tumor on the gland, but my kidneys looked good.  She didn't say anything about the lungs.  And she said that I may get a call back in a few days from the doctor.  I am scheduled to see him in a month, I told her that and she said I would probably get a call sooner.  Hmmm?

 

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, marshhawk said:

I made it to my CT scan, the scanner said they were doing the mid section and lower pelvic area for the tumor.  I said what about the chest, the doc said he wanted a scan of the chest, as that was not on the paper work she received, she called the doc, and yes, the chest part was supposed to be on there.  Then they asked the question regarding shellfish.  I eat shrimp, crab, clams, mussels, lobster, and the only time I had any reaction to shellfish was one ( just one) weird scallop.  My throat swelled up and I couldn't breath.  We kept Benadryl in the house in those days, I took one, and felt much better.  I never had a scan with contrast, so my contrast included Benadryl, Pepcid, and something else,  with application of each into the IV my hair stood on end, I'm sure.  But to tell you the truth , it was nice just to lay on my back and not cough.  Not one cough.

 

Once done, she verified, that she saw the tumor on the gland, but my kidneys looked good.  She didn't say anything about the lungs.  And she said that I may get a call back in a few days from the doctor.  I am scheduled to see him in a month, I told her that and she said I would probably get a call sooner.  Hmmm?

 

Sending you our prayers 🙏 that there is nothing to worry about.

Lovely photos of Amber Cove.

Graham.