The Fleet Report and Daily for Wednesday October 25th, 2023

[StLouisCruisers]

Debbie @dfish the meatball recipes looks sooo good today!  Thank you for posting them.  Especially appropriate on pasta day as Nancy said.

[ottahand7]

7 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Nancy, that's when we were in St. Lucia in 2019, February 17.  We were on Rotterdam and Koningsdam was across the harbor.  That was a nice sail away following Koningsdam.  Were you in an aft NS that cruise, having dinner on the verandah?  We started our cruise on Feb. 3 with too much fog to leave Tampa and had to spend the night tied up at the dock until midday Feb. 4.

We were in a regular NS that time.    I think we had read about the plight of the Konigsdam there and we were worried about getting out.  I think we were on a 10 day because John was unsure if he would like sailing too long and after being on  "forced march" on his previous cruise with friends.  We purposely did nothing but once we got into the HA vibe we haven't looked back.  

I guess the fog will keep HA away from Tampa and with rising sea levels the bridge will become even more problematic.   A great city to sail out of.  

Edited October 25, 2023 by ottahand7

[Nickelpenny]

6 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Yesterday our cabin steward asked about our preferences for our cabin. When we came back to our room last night our preferences had been filled. Use up one and it replaced for free.

 

You have good taste !!  (2 of them are my favorites!!)

[rafinmd]

A number of my trips have evolved from something I missed in a prior trip.  In 2007 I sailed Silversea Rome to Dubai and got document too late to visit the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.  A couple years later I filled that gap by booking a Nile River cruise but missed out on a tour to Alexandria I the day before the tour started.  When Serenity had a nice tour visiting Alexandria in 2010 I booked it, followed by another med cruise on the Wind Surf, and QM2 back home from Southampton.  This is the sunrise our last day in Alexandria, October 25, 2010.

 

 

Roy

[Seasick Sailor]

Good morning Daily-ites. 

 

Sandi: Happy Birthday to Amy. Hoping Ren is able to decide what college is best for him.

 

Roy: it's frustrating enough to get to these appointments let alone so many foul ups on scheduling. 

 

Prayers for Tana to get the nasty pneumonia cleared up and the IV taken care of.

 

Vanessa hoping the pain eases. (And thank you for the Cares and celebrations list)

 

Happy Anniversary @seagarsmoker

 

Well, I must have gotten the new phone from hell. Can't get it to hook into my car, the camera will not work, the battery died and needs to constantly be plugged in.. 

 

We were supposed to go out to dinner last night for our anniversary but the weather was so windy and rainy. So I made pork chops, rice, and Brussels sprouts. Today we will head to Pappadeaux's, hoping the weather stays calm.

 

Wishing you a happy hump day. Count your blessings!

[StLouisCruisers]

10 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Yesterday our cabin steward asked about our preferences for our cabin. When we came back to our room last night our preferences had been filled. Use up one and it replaced for free.

 

 

Nice choices.  Does Seabourn still have their special pillow chocolates with different flavors.  I seem to remember an orange flavored chocolate.  And they were large, too.  Of course chocolate doesn't last long around me...

[cruising sister]

Good morning,

I have only mild aches and pains after my trifecta of vaccines yesterday. I am sure it is from the covid shot. RSV arm is not sore at all. All of my tests are done and my yearly physical is in November. I now feel better about preparing for my January cruise. 
 

Roy, there are great treatments now for advancing prostate cancer. My husbands PSA never went to zero and he traveled for the 11 years post diagnosis and would have traveled longer  if he did not die from his ocular melanoma. He did do shots for low bone density. 

I got bad news about Murphy’s grandpa my DB, he will need his fifth toe removed due to infection. He has Sarcoidosis and diabetes secondary to long term steroid use to control it. That poor family has been through so much. 
 

I will be making one of the chicken and rice soups today. I will report back on how it goes. 
 

Prayers for those on our list and happy travels for the lucky Dailyites. 
 

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Lorraine @cruising sister I'm very sorry to hear of your DB's (and Baby Murphy's grandpa) new health problem.   You're right, that family has been through way too much.  We will certainly add him to our prayers each day.

[Seasick Sailor]

@aliaschief are the little bottles glue?

[Seasick Sailor]

Oh goodness  @cruising sister your family deserves a break! Prayers lifted for your DB. 

[rafinmd]

16 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

Roy, there are great treatments now for advancing prostate cancer. My husbands PSA never went to zero and he traveled for the 11 years post diagnosis and would have traveled longer  if he did not die from his ocular melanoma. He did do shots for low bone density. 

I am actually at 26 years post diagnosis.  Getting old is not all fun but still far better than the alternative.

 

Roy

[superoma]

7 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

@aliaschief are the little bottles glue?

Not @aliaschiefbut yes those are glue. I remember them so well from grade school. I guess that officially makes me old! Or maybe I just grew up in a small, one horse town that didn’t move with the times lol

[Overhead Fred]

Thanks to everyone for the birthday greetings yesterday!

 

Here is a view of Castries from last year - 

 

[cruising sister]

13 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I am actually at 26 years post diagnosis.  Getting old is not all fun but still far better than the alternative.

 

Roy

I am sure he would have gone that long too. Ocular melanoma is awful and no good treatment. 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

I did leading to a flurry of frustration and activity while no issues were found at the visit  My regular treatment is a hormone shot which they say leads to bone density loss, and they referred me for a bone density scan.  I discovered that my copy of the referral did not specify where it was to be done and I had to clarify that with the practice, and then their appointment online scheduler moved my appointment to a distant facility so I had to call and get that corrected.

 

They also changed their patient portal to a different company, and after a 30-minute call with them they could still not get me a login.  Breaking, the primary check on my status is a PSA test and the PA just called with the results which were a sharp increase.  So now I am on deck for a PET scan that I tolerated very poorly last time.

 

Frustrating.

 

Roy

 

Roy, I'm sorry about the problems with the scheduling, and the test results.  I hope you tolerate the next PET scan better. 

 

59 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

Good morning. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily.

I was howling last night, although not at the moon. I'll salute artists. I won't be a punk for a day. Good quote. Yes to the meal. Pass on the drink and wine. I've been to Saint Lucia on my first ever cruise, in 2004 on the Golden Princess - I'm not sure of the port name. BFF and I went on a catamaran to see the Pitons.

 

It's 56 and cloudy, but going to be a nice day. I had the worst night of sleep last night. My watch shows I got 1H50min. I tried to remember things to be grateful for during the night, but it was tough. I had managed a 40 minute nap yesterday afternoon. The pain center called earlier and wanted to get me in today at 3. I had a dental cleaning at 2, and called to see if I could get in earlier or another day. Next available hygienist appointment is May 2024! I took it and asked to be put on the cancellation list.

 

@seagarsmoker Happy Anniversary!

@StLouisCruisers Happy Birthday to your niece Amy. Good luck to Ren with his eventual decision about where to play. Thanks for the Saint Lucia photos.

@smitty34877 Continued prayers for Tana, you and the family. I hope the IV gets straightened out and that the antibiotics are working for Tana.

@RMLincoln I hope DH's eye pressure improves. Condolences on the loss of your cousin. I envy those with lots of family.

@0106 Nice photos.

@Haljo1935 Safe travels.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Thanks for the photos.

@dfish Thanks for the recipes.

@rafinmd Sorry to hear of all the scheduling issues and the elevation in PSA. Prayers that the PET scan is easier this time.

@ottahand7 Nice photos.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers for those Celebrating.

 

 

Vanessa, I'm sorry last night was so bad.  I hope the pain management team has some answers today.

 

38 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Good morning Daily-ites. 

 

Sandi: Happy Birthday to Amy. Hoping Ren is able to decide what college is best for him.

 

Roy: it's frustrating enough to get to these appointments let alone so many foul ups on scheduling. 

 

Prayers for Tana to get the nasty pneumonia cleared up and the IV taken care of.

 

Vanessa hoping the pain eases. (And thank you for the Cares and celebrations list)

 

Happy Anniversary @seagarsmoker

 

Well, I must have gotten the new phone from hell. Can't get it to hook into my car, the camera will not work, the battery died and needs to constantly be plugged in.. 

 

We were supposed to go out to dinner last night for our anniversary but the weather was so windy and rainy. So I made pork chops, rice, and Brussels sprouts. Today we will head to Pappadeaux's, hoping the weather stays calm.

 

Wishing you a happy hump day. Count your blessings!

 

Joy, enjoy your belated anniversary dinner.

 

35 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

Good morning,

I have only mild aches and pains after my trifecta of vaccines yesterday. I am sure it is from the covid shot. RSV arm is not sore at all. All of my tests are done and my yearly physical is in November. I now feel better about preparing for my January cruise. 
 

Roy, there are great treatments now for advancing prostate cancer. My husbands PSA never went to zero and he traveled for the 11 years post diagnosis and would have traveled longer  if he did not die from his ocular melanoma. He did do shots for low bone density. 

I got bad news about Murphy’s grandpa my DB, he will need his fifth toe removed due to infection. He has Sarcoidosis and diabetes secondary to long term steroid use to control it. That poor family has been through so much. 
 

I will be making one of the chicken and rice soups today. I will report back on how it goes. 
 

Prayers for those on our list and happy travels for the lucky Dailyites. 
 

 

 

Lorraine, I'm sorry your DB is having to face losing a toe, especially with all that's going on with that family.  I hope your DB can recover quickly.

 

17 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I am actually at 26 years post diagnosis.  Getting old is not all fun but still far better than the alternative.

 

Roy

 

Roy, my father, who very rarely used bad language used to say, "Getting old is H---", to which I always add but the alternative is worse.  

 

I have enjoyed seeing all the pictures of St. Lucia today,  They bring back good memories of our many visits there including one in 1999 on Noordam III.

 

Lenda

[sailingdutchy]

5 hours ago, Overhead Fred said:

Thanks to everyone for the birthday greetings yesterday!

 

Here is a view of Castries from last year - 

 

A day late but Martha and I wish you for the coming year another wonderful ride  around the sun . Our very best wishes ! 
 

We missed out today visiting Kotor , Montenegro due to heavy wind blasts and rain so the captain is taking it easy now getting to Naples and promised  us to circle Stromboli tomorrow but doubt very much there will be anything to see this time . 
 

We will be trying the Special Seafood Boil dinner in the Lido tonight ………

 

Take care everybody 

greetings from the Oosterdam 

Tony 

 

 

[RedneckBob]

2 hours ago, aliaschief said:

Good morning! Slept like a baby. Just getting up after staying up late enjoying the great entertainment.

If it’s not raining hard our plan is to have lunch at a favorite restaurant. Have been in Quebec City so many times no need for sight seeing.

We were told last night there are only 350 guest on board. Ate in main dining room last night. Everyone new our names. Amazing.

Time to get up and get moving. Have a great day. Bruce

 

👍👍 But I do see a repeater!

[SusieKIslandGirl]

4 hours ago, summer slope said:

Au Kee Ta cocktail:

 

Ingredients
1 1/2 parts Auchentoshan® American Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky
1/2 part Amaretto
1/4 part Amaro® Nonino
1/4 part Black Walnut Liqueur
3/4 part Lemon Juice
Pear Cider, Dry

Instructions
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with cider and garnish with a dried apricot (optional).

 

Who makes up these recipes? DH cried when I told him what they did to the Scotch 🤣.

[RedneckBob]

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

We have been to St. Lucia many times, but only twice when we had a digital camera.  We stopped there in 2000 on the Oriana and in 2015 on the Ruby Princess.  We've also been there on the Noordam III and the Ryndam.

 

We have always rented a car or hired a taxi and driven to Soufriere.  Twice when the ship was in port longer, we have continued on around the southern tip of the island and then across the island back to Castries.  In 2015, that part of the plan was derailed because of a flat tire.  It took a while to find a place to repair the tire, but we still made it to Soufriere and on to our favorite stop, the Ladera Resort and Dasheen Restaurant.

 

Thompson Celebration (AKA Noordam III) greeted us when we arrived in Castries in 2015.

 

Castries from our balcony

 

Ladera Resort and Dasheen Restaurant are just off the road south of Soufriere.  The resort is situated so you look out between the Pitons and down on Sugar Beach.  We've toured the resort and all the rooms face the water, and are open on the water side, even the bathrooms.  However, the tubs/showers have shower curtains on both sides.  These were all taken from Dasheen.

 

 

The hotel

 

Their gardens and a memorial to 9/11 in the gardens

 

Soufriere

 

Coast lines

 

Lenda

Ms Crystal. Great pictures especially of the Noordam.  I believe we were on that ship, the old, old, old Noordam in 1987 and were docked in St Lucia. My cruise story was that while in port another ship, I believe it was named the Commodore was leaving port and backing up towards us.  I ran out side to see the back of the Commondore stop less than five feet from our hull. If it hit us we would have marooned in St Lucia and might still be there! 😀

[RedneckBob]

Running late today, or let’s just say walking late in a strange city, far far away!

 

Thanks for the Fleet Update and General Info from all contributors. 

[RedneckBob]

1 hour ago, ottahand7 said:

A few photos of Castries environs.    We have never done any off ship tours at the port but we will probably get a taxi tour this winter.  The first four photos were from our Nieuw Statendam March 2022.   We always dine on our balcony at sailaway when we have a NS.  I don't know if we will do it so much coming up on the Eurodam because our favorite waiter Aframe will be on the ship and will try eat in his area a lot, we got to know him on the Volendam.   The final 5 are from John's and my first cruise together and it was on the old Rotterdam out of Tampa and visited on 2/17/2019.   St. Lucia is one of our favorite ports because of the slow spins that the captain does to view the Pitons and we have been blessed with great weather and the second is listening to the roosters crowing as we sail in during the early morning hours. Ship in port with us is the Konigsdam.   Have a lovely day!  Nancy 

Nice photos. Always find it interesting to watch planes land at the airport just after we have cleared the channel. 

[kochleffel]

3 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

Hoping @kochleffel Paul got the upgrade

 

Twenty minutes on hold just to get waitlisted.

 

[StLouisCruisers]

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Good morning Daily-ites. 

 

Sandi: Happy Birthday to Amy. Hoping Ren is able to decide what college is best for him.

 

Roy: it's frustrating enough to get to these appointments let alone so many foul ups on scheduling. 

 

Prayers for Tana to get the nasty pneumonia cleared up and the IV taken care of.

 

Vanessa hoping the pain eases. (And thank you for the Cares and celebrations list)

 

Happy Anniversary @seagarsmoker

 

Well, I must have gotten the new phone from hell. Can't get it to hook into my car, the camera will not work, the battery died and needs to constantly be plugged in.. 

 

We were supposed to go out to dinner last night for our anniversary but the weather was so windy and rainy. So I made pork chops, rice, and Brussels sprouts. Today we will head to Pappadeaux's, hoping the weather stays calm.

 

Wishing you a happy hump day. Count your blessings!

 

Joy, I almost missed your post because it must have popped up while I was posting earlier today.  Thanks for the good thoughts for Ren.  I'm sure he'll do what's best for himself.  I'm just worried about what's going on these days on so many college campuses.  What a bummer about your new phone.  I'd definitely turn that lemon in and demand a new one!  Hope you have a nice dinner tonight!  We had a similar dinner last night.  Rice and brussels sprouts but with baked chicken tenders instead of pork chops.  DH loves pork chops but probably prepared the chicken just because I prefer it.  My Mom would have been so proud of me!  I didn't eat brussels sprouts as a child, but learned to like them due to better preparation methods as I got older.  Mom always boiled the heck out of them.  The house reeked with the smell!

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

@aliaschief are the little bottles glue?

 

I remember those glue bottles.  Always glueing the opening in the lid shut so you had to poke a new opening in that rubber top.  I must be really old!!

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Ms Crystal. Great pictures especially of the Noordam.  I believe we were on that ship, the old, old, old Noordam in 1987 and were docked in St Lucia. My cruise story was that while in port another ship, I believe it was named the Commodore was leaving port and backing up towards us.  I ran out side to see the back of the Commondore stop less than five feet from our hull. If it hit us we would have marooned in St Lucia and might still be there! 😀

 

Funny, I thought the Ruby Princess was going to be rammed by a Thomson ship in 2015.  Now called Marella cruise line.   It's not that small of a harbor!

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

 

Twenty minutes on hold just to get waitlisted.

 

 

From what people say on Cruise Critic you need to call immediately to get these upsell offers but at least you're on a waitlist.  I don't know because I've never taken an upsell before.  I usually pick the cabin I want, and the prices of the upsells have been ridiculously high.  $99 sounds like a bargain!

[durangoscots]

Good morning. Cold here. I traded my light jacket for a heavier version and my hands were cold gripping the leashes. High today will be low 60's. Then it begins to slide downward again. And of course well below freezing at night. Monty is sporting his winter fleece. Evidently my squawking yesterday got through to the electrician but it will still be nearly a week before he can come.

 

Meatballs look good, but today I am roasting a chicken. Have not been to today's port but it looks lovely (and warm).

 

Hope all with health issues start on a movement toward improvement. I am still feeling dragging. I did test for Covid at one point... nope. Just the blahs I guess. I think it is the house sorting which I really do not enjoy. And of course none of the younger generation are offering to take some of the family stuff that I am trying to move out which makes things a bit more difficult. And so it goes. Think I will start another book.

 

Best wishes - take care.

 

Susan

 

 

 

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

Interesting days today, will pass on the drink but would love to try the white blend wine and the meatballs all sound great.  We haven't been to many of the Caribbean islands, and this port doesn't sound familiar.  Thanks for all the photos!

 

In a bit of a rush this morning so I can be on time for my flu shot.  Will check in later.

 

Happy anniversary @seagarsmoker!

Debbie @dfish Congratulations on paying off your car.  Always a good feeling and the extra $$ isn't bad either!

Vanessa @JazzyV Well dam!  I'm so sorry you had another bad night 😞  Let us know what they say at pain management today.  I hope they help.

Bruce @aliaschief I'll take that Oyster Bay if you don't want it. 😉 😄  Looks like a great cruise!