The Fleet Report and Daily for Friday July 7th, 2023

[richwmn]

 

Today is Chocolate Day, Global Forgiveness Day, and Father Daughter Take a Walk Together Day
 

Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.--Mark Twain

Meal Suggestion for today - Tamarind-Glazed Black Bass With Coconut-Herb Salad
Drink of the Day - Grape Cosmo
Wine of the Day - Kumeu River Chardonnay Kumeu Hunting Hill 2021
Destination of the Day - Civitavecchia-Rome, Italy

Today in History:
1990 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins her record 9th Wimbledon singles title beating American Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

Victoria, British Columbia 2000-2359
 

Koningsdam

At Sea destination Vancouver, Canada eta 08 Jul
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

Glacier Bay 0700-1600
 

Nieuw Statendam

Helsinki, Finland 0700-1700
 

Noordam

Ketchikan, Alaska 1100-1900
 

Oosterdam

Trieste, Italy 0700-1700
 

Rotterdam

At Sea destination Honningsvag, Norway eta 08 Jul
 

Volendam

Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm/Juneau, Alaska 0900-0930
 

Westerdam

Ketchikan, Alaska 0700-1300
 

Zaandam

Bar Harbor, Maine 0800-1700
 

Zuiderdam

Isafjord, Iceland 0800-1700
 

 

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[seagarsmoker]

Good morning Dailyites! Thank you for the Daily Report and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 🙂

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Thanks for the Report.

 

It's a lot cooler here today.  Today's high will be 24°C (75°F) 🙂  Bertie and I will go for our walk soon.

 

A nice collection of days.  I LOVE chocolate.  I believe in forgiveness, but some things are hard to forgive.   I wish I could go for a walk with my dad, but I'll do it in my heart.

Love the quote.

I'll pass on the meal.  The drink sounds good, hope the wine is tasty too.

 

Prayers for our world.

Have a wonderful day.

[summer slope]

Grape Cosmo cocktail:

 

Ingredients
2 parts Pinnacle® Grape Vodka
1 part DeKuyper® Triple Sec Liqueur
1/2 part DeKuyper® Razzmatazz® Schnapps Liqueur
Orange Slice

Instructions
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice or lemon slice.

 

[grapau27]

Thank you Rich @richwmn for today's daily reports.

It is currently 70°F and sunny in our back garden at 11.48am.

I have sold chocolate for over 35 years including for 14 years Anthon Berg of Copenhagen when the company I worked for was the sole importer of their chocolate in the UK.

Father and daughter was nice for Pauline and her dad.

Global forgiveness would be an amazing thing but unlikely ever to happen unfortunately.

Civitavecchia is the port of Rome and we have visited many times and nice in its own right as Rome is well over an hour away.

Prayers 🙏 offered for all of my friends on here for good health and lots of cruises.

Edited July 7, 2023 by grapau27

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care list:

The passing of 57redbird’s cousin Chris with glioblastoma 6/30

The passing of cruising sister’s Aunt 7/3

1Angelcat’s friend B with medical issues

Smitty34877’s DH Lou recovering from surgery 

Cruising sister’s newborn great niece Murphy undergoing surgery today

Vict0riann’s Pat with urinary and kidney infections

Summer slope with a health issue

Lady Hudson’s DH needing PT for leg strength

Ill Dailyite pets – Kazu’s Ivan

summer slope’s Bailey crossing the Rainbow bridge yesterday

 
2 Newark firefighters killed yesterday

Canadian/US wildfires, unhealthy air quality for many 

Tornado and storm victims; dangerous heat conditions

Shooting victims again

Citizens of Ukraine

 

From the rotation:

StLouisCruiser’s friend’s DB Mark with bile duct cancer

Tana’s pulmonary issues

Marshhawk with elbow inflammation, lung MRI today

JazzyV’s friend Ruth entering hospice care, but still fighting cancer

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Vict0riann’s Pat feeling better

Seasick sailor extending her cruise and getting a fully accessible cabin

Kochleffel’s new fur babies

The Daily Gardening Club posting wonderful flower pictures

All the contributors to the Fleet Report/Daily

 

Upcoming Cruises or At Sea:

 

Oceansaway17 (Liberty of the Seas to July 8), Loveandpeas (Volendam to July 12, celebrating 14th anniversary), and Cruzin Terri (Oceania Marina to July 23)

Edited July 7, 2023 by JazzyV

[Mr. Boston]

Happy Friday everyone.  Thanks for the daily report.  Can’t complain about chocolate.  Global forgiveness would be a wonderful thing if we could swallow our pride and just do it.  A father daughter walk on the beach would be nice.  The quote is funny and something that I’ll admit to occasionally.  The meal suggestion sound nice but I’ll pass on the drink. I haven’t been to today’s port and look forward to seeing the photos.  Prayers for everyone on our prayer list and hoping that healing will follow soon.  Cheers to all of you celebrating happy events today. 🎉

[ottahand7]

Good morning everyone.  Global forgiveness day should be every day, I wish it could be attainable.  Last time I did a walk with my Dad was probably 30 years ago when we walked through the woods to look at the site where my cabin is now.   My DM was a long too. Thanks for the Fleet and Daily reports each day Rich.  Pass on the Bass, the cocktail but at least I have heard of the winery for today's wine. Have been to today's port as our end point of our Konigsdam Iberian Adventure then were whisked off to the city.   Another fun quote by Mark Twain. 

Prayers for all on our Care list, especially baby Bailey as she recovers from her heart surgery.  Prayers for the people of Ukraine. Prayers for the families and colleagues of the 2 lost firefighters at the Port of Newark. 

Nice cool weather here which is really awesome since the rest of the nation is baking. @grapau27 your garden is lovely and I love your double White Rabbits.  Have a nice day everyone. N

 

[mamaofami]

Good morning everyone. Nice collection of days. My oldest closest friend, Judi, is in hospice and close to dying and I’m very sad. We met when we were eight and have had a wonderful friendship. I’m praying for a peaceful passing for her. In the past three years I’ve lost five old and dear friends. Too much loss.

Stay safe everyone,

Carol

[grapau27]

Just now, mamaofami said:

Good morning everyone. Nice collection of days. My oldest closest friend, Judi, is in hospice and close to dying and I’m very sad. We met when we were eight and have had a wonderful friendship. I’m praying for on a peaceful passing for her. In the past three years I’ve lost five old and dear friends. Too much loss.

Stay safe everyone,

Carol

Prayers on their way to Judi.

So 😢

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  Where has the morning gone already?  Today I'm having sunny skies and 70 but will rise to 88 with a chance of thunderstorms arriving around 4 pm.  At least that's what they say this hour.  In 20 minutes that will all completely change because that's the way the weather people work!

 

Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Daily and Fleet Report.  I absolutely love Chocolate Day and wish I had some in my house.  Global forgiveness sounds like a grand idea.  And wouldn't a lot of us daughters give anything to take a walk with our Fathers?  I enjoyed the Mark Twain quote today, but would not care for the bass for dinner.  No thanks to the Grape Cosmo too.  I would try the chardonnay but hope it's not too oakey.  And a lovely day in history for a Martina Navritalova.

 

I do a lot of my praying in the morning on the treadmill.  I think they count just as much when saying them during physical activity.  Lots of prayers for our friends on the Daily were said, as well as DB and Mark.  I need to ask my friend how he's doing.  She and her DH flew to Florida this week to visit Mark on his birthday yesterday.  I hope to hear the latest doctor has him on a new plan to fight his cancer.  🙏  I also want to say congrats to those on the Celebration list and hope more cruises are in the near future for everyone.  My next one is in 22 days!  OMG!  Better get busy!  Thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV, Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard.  You gals are the greatest!

 

Well today is a port a lot of people can say they've traveled to.  It's a great starting spot for a nice Mediterranean cruise.  I think I must have been there at least a dozen times.  Sometimes we go to Rome and sometimes we stay put.  It's a great little city.  We had Civitavecchia (Rome) as our port on Sept. 6, 2021 (my anniversary!) and January 12, 2022.  I'll post the links here and post my photos from Civi.  Then I'll fetch Lenda's @Quartzsite Cruiser photos.  

 

 

 

I have a unique story of one of our Civitavecchia visits.  We disembarked the Prinsendam on Nov. 4, 2014 after a fantastic Black Sea and Holy Land cruise. It was our first HAL cruise!  The day before we had docked in Naples (Nov. 3) and enjoyed the Amalfi Coast.  When we got off the Prinsendam on Nov. 4 it was quite a windy day.  We checked in the Hotel Miramare (no longer open) which overlooked the sea.  The winds were extremely high that day but we went out and did a little wine shopping, etc.

 

The view south from our tiny balcony

 

and to the north...

 

 

Hours after these photos were taken, the seas looked a lot rougher.  There was a group of guests at the hotel getting on the the Celebrity Constellation the following morning, including us!  We started hearing discussions going on about an email they had received saying the Celebrity ship was not going to be able to get into the Civitavecchia port, so it would stay in Naples and we would board the ship there the following day instead of Civi.  What?  How are we getting there?  The cruise line was sending busses to Civitavecchia and Rome's airport to pick up people and get them to the ship.  We had apparently been receiving emails every 30 minutes for a couple of hours, which were in my spam folder.  This was shortly after we'd gotten our first IPhone and I didn't know much about it, therefore I hadn't looked in my spam emails.  Celebrity was asking us to please reply back that we had gotten this message.  Goodness, there were a lot of nervous guests wondering how this would all turn out, but somehow it did.  Next morning, the hotel shuttle dropped guests at the dock where the ship was supposed to be.  Names were checked off, luggage loaded onto busses and guests were driven 3 hours south to Naples and we boarded the ship.  We had just been there on Prinsendam on Nov. 3 and here we were back boarding the Constellation on Nov. 5!

 

The previous week's guests had to start disembarking around 3 or 4 am so busses could drive them to the Rome airport or central Rome.  Then the busses were picking up people just arriving at the airport and those of us waiting for the ship in Civi.  It somehow all got accomplished and the ship only left Naples about 3 hours late that day.  We had to give them props for this crazy last minute change in plans and getting it done. 

 

Too bad we didn't enjoy the TA cruise back to Ft. Lauderdale very much.  We were disappointed because we thought we'd love Celebrity.  But I still am in awe of their ability to round up so many busses in a few hours to get this job done.

 

And here are more from my posts.

 

'm sitting here enjoying looking at my photos from Civitavecchia taken in 2018.  As we walked to town from the shuttle bus drop off point, we passed by this huge church.

 

Check out these doors

 

 

Luckily it was open so we went inside.

 

Then we walked to the market which was very nice.  All the locals were there doing their weekend shopping.

 

 

Then we walked to the train station.  We had been there before to take the train into Rome.  Today we were just people watching.  

 

Buying tickets

 

Departure board

 

Bye bye!

 

Then we walked across the road and started looking for a hotel we had stayed at in 2014.  Turns out the hotel was closed for good in that 4 year gap.  I think it was the yellow building here.

 

Walking along on this nice route to get back to the ship.

 

We took a photo of the Hotel San Giorgio across the street.  We would be staying there overnight on our next Civitavecchia visit.  It's the middle building.

 

It was a great day to stay in town.

 

Okay, that's enough of Civitavecchia from me for now.  I'm going searching for Lenda's photos now.

 

Hope all have a great day.  And I'm sorry Carol @mamaofami to hear about your dear friend Judi.  May she pass peacefully knowing all she knew loved her.

 

 

[0106]

Thank you to all who post on the F & D.

I just read a great article about Navratilova: Bitter rivals, Beloved friends, Survivors  Here’s an excerpt:

 At the ages of 68 and 66, respectively, Evert and Navratilova have found themselves more intertwined than ever, by an unwelcome factor. You want to meet an opponent who draws you nearer in mutual understanding? Try having cancer at the same time.

Positive thoughts to all who need them.  Cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

Edited July 7, 2023 by 0106

[StLouisCruisers]

The following photos were copied and pasted from our past Civitavecchia (Rome) days by Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser

 

 

 

I found the pictures from our September 29, 2001, visit to Rome while on the Golden Princess' first TA.  Since then, all our visits to  Civitavecchia and Rome have been on BHBs.  We've always enjoyed Rome and our two days spent in Civitavecchia, but the first time stands out. 

 

We were there 2 1/2 weeks after 9/11, and Rome was not crowded.  That day, as it was our first time in Rome, we took a tour that included the Coloseum, Vatican City and the Vatican Museum.

 

Our first stop was the Coloseum.  The first two pictures are of the area around the Coloseum.

 

 

The Coloseum

 

 

 

 

Some of the very little marble left since most was taken and used for other buildings and statues.

 

Our next stop was Vatican City.

 

 

My one picture of the Sistine Chapel

 

A couple of pictures from inside St. Perer's Basilica.

 

 

Our guide got us out of St. Peter's just before noon and in the best position to see the changing of the guard.

 

Since this is getting rather long, I'll post the pictures from the Vatican Museum in another post.

 

[cruising sister]

Good morning,

Thanks for all the prayers for baby Murphy. The technical part of the surgery is done but lasted a little longer than they thought. She had a hole between the two ventricles that took longer to repair. She did not transition off the heart / lung machine well so they put her on ECMO until her heart pumps better. I have not had an update to how she did overnight yet. Continued prayers are asked. 
 

[StLouisCruisers]

More photos from Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser from Sept. 6, 2021 port of the day.

 

 

At the time of our first visit to Rome, the Vatican Museum closed at 1 pm on Saturdays, and we were there on a Saturday.  Princess arranged an afterhours tour of the museum for six buses with passengers and one bus with crew.  

 

Each group arrived a few minutes apart, so when we walked through the museum, each group had that area to themselves.  Even when we were in the Sistine Chapel there may have been one other group, but it definitely was not crowded.  We could see the entire Chapel easily and even sit on the benches around the walls and enjoy the peace and quiet.

 

The story we were told about the missing part of the ceiling was that it fell when a cannon was fired near the Chapel.  The ceiling had been cleaned and restored shortly before we were there.  I asked our guide, Antonio, why the missing part was not restored at that time.  He put his arm around my shoulders and gently told me, "Madam, only Michelangelo can restore what Michelangelo painted".

 

We were not allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel.  Instead, these are pictures from the museum gardens and some of the hall ways.  As our guide told us, there are five miles of halls in the museum, and if we did not keep up, we'd "walk all five miles."  There were no stragglers after that.

 

The outside and the gardens

 

 

 

The museum and just some of the works on display.

 

 

 

 

 

A look at the Vatican gardens as we were going into the museum

 

On our many visits to Rome after the first visit, we have visited may sights and seen a lot of the city.  Howeve, we have not tried to see the Coloseum or the Sistine Chapel since then.  Seeing them without crowds was so special, we don't want to ruin those memories with ones of crowds.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

And a few more from Sept. 6, 2021 from Lenda.

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of Civitavecchia on the two days we decided to stay in town and not head to Rome or Ostiea Antica.  All but one were taken in 2016, and the other one in 2019.

 

Fort Michelanglo at the port entrance.

 

 

Different places we saw walking around town near the port.

 

 

 

 

The theater

 

The port and the Prinsendam in 2016

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

Wrapping up Sept. 6, 2021 photos from Lenda.

 

 

I'm procrastinating a little today, as I'm still going through all the pictures from Rome and Civitavecchia.

 

I found a couple from 2017 as the Prinsendam set sail for her next port.

 

The sunset over the ocean

 

I turned around, and there was the moon rising over Civitavecchia and Fort Michelangelo.

 

Lenda

 

 

Good thing I kept scrolling down (7 pages on the Daily that day) because I wouldn't want to miss these photos Lenda posted.

 

 

Here are a few more pictues from various times we were in Rome.  These were taken while on different cruises on BHBs, and they show some of the other highlights of Rome.  Usually, we were there in the spring or fall,  The one excepton was in 2019 on the Veendam, when we were there during the height of the summer tourist season.

 

The Spanish Steps

 

The Pantheon, which is now a Catholic church.

 

 

 

The iconic oculus in the roof of the Pantheon, that engineers to this day have not figured out how it was constructed when it was built from 113-125 AD.  

 

The Trevi Fountain and the crowds in 2019

 

 

Crowds around the Coloseum, and this was in the fall.

 

The monument to Victor Emanuel II who united Italy.

 

The Forum

 

 

 

 

Lenda

 

 

I noticed some great photos posted by Tony @sailingdutchy on Sept. 6, 2021 so I hope he comes by today to repost them.   hint, hint...

[rafinmd]

Happy Friday.  Thank you Rich, Vanessa, Debbie, Ann, and Dixie.  Prayers for so many  and now Jodi and Murphy plus the 2 firefighters killed in the car carrier fire in Newark.  No daughter to walk.  Not sure if the second day is for international forgiveness or a universally observed day of forgiveness in general.  I think as I get older I get better and better at following Twain's advice.

 

I've been to Civitavecchia or Rome 3 times.  The first was 2010 when I arrived on Crystal Serenity, walked a coupe hundred yards down the pier, and boarded the Wind Star. 

 

In 2015 I spent a couple days in Rome before boarding Allure of the Seas for a transatlantic to Fort Lauderdale.

 

In 2017 had a rather strange combination.  After an Amsterdam Grand Asia segment from San Diego to Hong Kong I flew to Rome and boarded the Prinsendam for a transatlantic the very next day.  I arrived at the airport late at night and boarded the ship quite early the next morning.

 

I'll pass on the bass.  I am in a pause between alternative meals but for today my alternative is a chocolate mint.

[cat shepard]

Rich, thank you for today’s R & D. It was gorgeous out this morning. Low humidity and a perfect breeze. Last evening we were surrounded by big T-storms, but had very little rain here. 
 

Vanessa, thank you for so diligently keeping our lists. Dixie & Debbie, thank you for being such great colleagues in the F & B department!

 

Gym, Bindi walks - perhaps a bit longer today, chores, and pool time. 
 

Words I live by…

 

 

 

 

Prayers for all who need our support, special prayers for Baby Murphy, Lou, Pat,  & Karen.

 

Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone. 

 

***********

Kumeu River Chardonnay Kumeu Hunting Hill 2021

Stop the presses! A non-elusive New Zealand wine that is not a Sauvignon Blanc! This Chardonnay sounds lovely, but it is slightly outside of my budget. A decent number of online distributors with prices starting at $59.00.

Distributor notes 
Hunting Hill is a vineyard that was first planted in 1982 and became a significant part of the original Kumeu River Chardonnay blend. Occupying the slope overlooking Mate’s Vineyard, it has always contributed lovely ripe and rich fruit to the Estate Chardonnay. Hunting Hill was replanted in 2001 and is now even better than before, giving beautifully ripe fruit with a distinctive mealy minerality.

• Location: Hunting Hill, Kumeu, Auckland 

  • Cultivation: Sustainable 
  • Size: 3.37 hectares (8 acres) 
  • Vine Age: Planted 2001 
  • Clones: 15 
  • Soil: Clay loam 
  • Elevation: 100 meters (328 feet) 
  • Exposure: North facing but sloping slightly to Southwest 
  • Vintage Report: The winter of 2020 was relatively mild and dry. Spring came early, but there were frosts to contend with, one in particular causing damage to many of our Kumeu vineyards. Flowering took place well ahead of normal, and it was obvious that the season would be very early this year. The growing season rainfall was only sporadic, maintaining the dry conditions, and the temperatures were moderately warm. These relatively cool to warm, and dry conditions allowed for slow grape maturation, and the development of excellent fruit aromas and flavors. Harvest was completed by 9 March, about 3 weeks ahead of usual. In Kumeu the frost damage had lowered yields by 30-40%, but the overall quality was exceptional.

  • • Hand harvested

      Whole-bunch pressed

      Indigenous-yeast fermentation

      French oak barrels, 25% new oak

      100% barrel fermentation

      100% malolactic fermentation

      11 months maturation in barrel

      • Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay 
      • Tasting Notes: Hunting Hill is very distinctive in its terroir typicity, with piercing lemon/lime fruit lift and florality on the nose, richness and volume in the mouth followed by lingering acidity and minerality on the finish. This is an absolute classic example of how great the Chardonnay grape can be: A beautifully powerful, yet elegant and complex wine with long term aging ability.

        • James Suckling - 96

Edited July 7, 2023 by cat shepard

[puppycanducruise]

@mamaofami Prayers for Judi.  I hope she finds peace.

[puppycanducruise]

@cruising sister  Prayers for baby Murphy.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info .

[cruising sister]

Baby Murphy has had more complications and in is critical condition. Prayers please. 

[StLouisCruisers]

1 minute ago, cruising sister said:

Baby Murphy has had more complications and in is critical condition. Prayers please. 

 

Prayers just sent!  Poor baby...she just needs a chance.🙏