The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday, December 21st, 2023

[grapau27]

Just now, puppycanducruise said:

@grapau27 Such a beautiful table.  Pauline has excellent taste.

Thank you Melanie.

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the FR/Daily.

I'll celebrate winter solstice, as days should start to get longer now. Blue Christmas is relevant for many, sadly, although it's new to me. I'll try not to be a Humbug. Good quote. I like the meal, pass on the drink and yes to the wine. I haven't been to Vaiare. 3 good days in history.

 

It's cloudy and in the 40's here. I had another night of strange sleep, being up from 3-5 then falling back asleep. I have spent part of the morning still working on trying to get the procedure done. I will need to get copies of my MRI too. Otherwise, I continue to try to tidy up some, before BFF comes on Christmas Eve to stay a few days.

 

@Haljo1935 Bon Voyage!

@kazu Thanks for starting us up today. Sorry to hear about DBIL's DM and I hope her transition is peaceful. Prayers for the family. I hope the packages are gone by now.

@seagarsmoker Wow on your luck in the casino. It sounds like you're having a good time.

@StLouisCruisers Good luck with the counted cross stitch. I used to do a lot. I started one about 10 years ago for BFF (a German castle), then had all the eye issues. I think mainly the outlining is left. I did get a magnifier that sits on the chest. One day I'll look at it again. Great Moorea photos.

@RedneckBob That's cool about the Captain.

@richwmn Have a great cruise! Your itinerary is spectacular.

@Cruzin Terri I'm glad you're doing ok.

@cruising sister Thank you for the update on Murphy; prayers she overcomes these obstacles and great that she is more interactive.

@ottahand7 Thanks for the clarification on your upcoming cruise.

@GTVCRUISER Bon Voyage!  

@dfish Sorry to hear about the leg cramp; those are the worst. Thanks for the recipes. 

@RMLincoln Big hugs. You've had a lot going on recently, so settling in is no doubt more difficult. 

@smitty34877 Safe travels to NH. I am sure the loving grandchildren will be a boost. Prayers for DD and Tana to have no issues.

@marshhawk I hope you're feeling better today. Going out in winter with wet hair is a big no for me!

@kochleffel Paul, I hope all the issues get straightened out quickly. Do you have heat with the old thermostat?

@Quartzsite Cruiser I hope the weather is not too bad, nor the flooding. Great photos. 

@Seasick Sailor Joy, sorry to hear you felt ill last night. Take it easy today. Maybe something you ate? 

@grapau27 Lovely table setting and wonderful of you and Pauline to celebrate her day.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers to those Celebrating. Be well everyone.

 

[RedneckBob]

1 minute ago, JazzyV said:

Good afternoon. Thanks for the FR/Daily.

I'll celebrate winter solstice, as days should start to get longer now. Blue Christmas is relevant for many, sadly, although it's new to me. I'll try not to be a Humbug. Good quote. I like the meal, pass on the drink and yes to the wine. I haven't been to Vaiare. 3 good days in history.

 

It's cloudy and in the 40's here. I had another night of strange sleep, being up from 3-5 then falling back asleep. I have spent part of the morning still working on trying to get the procedure done. I will need to get copies of my MRI too. Otherwise, I continue to try to tidy up some, before BFF comes on Christmas Eve to stay a few days.

 

@Haljo1935 Bon Voyage!

@kazu Thanks for starting us up today. Sorry to hear about DBIL's DM and I hope her transition is peaceful. Prayers for the family. I hope the packages are gone by now.

@seagarsmoker Wow on your luck in the casino. It sounds like you're having a good time.

@StLouisCruisers Good luck with the counted cross stitch. I used to do a lot. I started one about 10 years ago for BFF (a German castle), then had all the eye issues. I think mainly the outlining is left. I did get a magnifier that sits on the chest. One day I'll look at it again. Great Moorea photos.

@RedneckBob That's cool about the Captain.

@richwmn Have a great cruise! Your itinerary is spectacular.

@Cruzin Terri I'm glad you're doing ok.

@cruising sister Thank you for the update on Murphy; prayers she overcomes these obstacles and great that she is more interactive.

@ottahand7 Thanks for the clarification on your upcoming cruise.

@GTVCRUISER Bon Voyage!  

@dfish Sorry to hear about the leg cramp; those are the worst. Thanks for the recipes. 

@RMLincoln Big hugs. You've had a lot going on recently, so settling in is no doubt more difficult. 

@smitty34877 Safe travels to NH. I am sure the loving grandchildren will be a boost. Prayers for DD and Tana to have no issues.

@marshhawk I hope you're feeling better today. Going out in winter with wet hair is a big no for me!

@kochleffel Paul, I hope all the issues get straightened out quickly. Do you have heat with the old thermostat?

@Quartzsite Cruiser I hope the weather is not too bad, nor the flooding. Great photos. 

@Seasick Sailor Joy, sorry to hear you felt ill last night. Take it easy today. Maybe something you ate? 

@grapau27 Lovely table setting and wonderful of you and Pauline to celebrate her day.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers to those Celebrating. Be well everyone.

 

Yes he is!  Very visible around the ship!

[smitty34877]

@Seasick Sailor, Joy, I am sorry you were ill. My DH had a similar experience on a ship. Hopefully you will bounce back quickly.

@grapau27 Graham, The table is beautiful and I hope the three of you have a wonderful time. I feel the love from here!

@JazzyV. Vanessa, are there any contacts from your working days who could help? I am not ashamed to say I used mine when Lou was sick. It is unfortunate but true.

[erewhon]

@kazu  Thank you for posting the HAL Fleet locations and the Daily.  We appreciate you helping Rich @richwmn with this task.

 Interesting that Noordam is taking  the northern route to New Zealand.

Will read all the posts tater.

Edited December 21, 2023 by erewhon

[kazu]

5 hours ago, dfish said:

@kazu I hope those  packages get  picked up today!   It looks like an obstacle course to get into the house.  But, maybe that's a good thing to deter those who shouldn't get into the house.  

 

No luck so far and I’m getting ticked.  I called early this morning (had called last night and they assured me they were coming).

 

The door way isn’t blocked - the packages are in front of the glass windows.  I have left a not nice voice mail for them now.  they were on my charity list of donations.  I’m nervous of the cold hurting things and my back doesn’t want to move them back in.  

 

Maybe I will place an ad for porch pirates 😂 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

It may have been too rich of food.  But fever? We ate in PG and I had mushroom soup, lobster drenched in oils and butter, creamed spinach.. I do not know, but thankful ok right now.

 

 

I am glad you are feeing better.  The fever is concerning though.  Take care of yourself please.

[kochleffel]

1 hour ago, JazzyV said:

Do you have heat with the old thermostat?

 

No. I've gotten hold of two small electric heaters, which are adequate to keep the temperature in those rooms tolerable.

[grapau27]

51 minutes ago, smitty34877 said:

@Seasick Sailor, Joy, I am sorry you were ill. My DH had a similar experience on a ship. Hopefully you will bounce back quickly.

@grapau27 Graham, The table is beautiful and I hope the three of you have a wonderful time. I feel the love from here!

@JazzyV. Vanessa, are there any contacts from your working days who could help? I am not ashamed to say I used mine when Lou was sick. It is unfortunate but true.

Thank you Terry.

Love to you and Tana from us both.

 

[Sharon in AZ]

Good early afternoon from sunny Tucson.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow and be cooler over the weekend.  We are still rearranging decorations around, crazy but it's okay and doesn't really matter to me as long as it's done before everyone comes for Christmas Day Brunch.  We have a schedule for the next few days, and tomorrow I have a late afternoon derm f/u, I still have my psoriasis rash so hoping she can help me more than just what I'm already been doing.  I hate late afternoon appointments because they interfere with my naps but I had no choice, they are closing for a week and my doctor is pregnant with her fourth child due in February and my January is full of appointments for DM, Craig, and myself prior to our cruise.  And, I need to get to DM's to help fix her caption phone.  We went the other day and thought it was fixed but it's still not taking messages.  This has been ongoing for several weeks, oh dear.  I have really tried hard to be at DM's beck and call lately after getting scolded for not delivering something she needed promptly.  Oh well, I try. 

 

@Nickelpenny @Haljo1935 @GTVCRUISER  Bon Voyage!  So exciting to be on a cruise this time of year!

 

Joy @Seasick Sailor, OMG on the icky night of illness.  Hopefully it was just seasickness (sometimes it's subtle) and you are your best again soon.

 

7 hours ago, richwmn said:

Thanks to everyone for keeping this thread alive.

I am in San Diego, where it is 4:30 in the morning, and I am awake. Of course it is 8:30 on the east coast where I was yesterday so I am making progress toward acclimating to the current time zone.

Everything is well here, getting prepared for my short trip to the port where I will board Volendam. There have been a couple of small hiccups, but everything has worked out ok. Yesterday I was sitting at the assigned gate for my flight when I realized that another flight was boarding and it was time for mine. I checked the Delta app and found the gate had changed. Luckily, the new gate was close and I made it as one of the final people boarding. When the cabin door closed, an announcement was made that the flight would be a bit over 4 hours rather than the 5+ hours scheduled. A very nice change. Even though I was early, the hotel had a room ready and I was checked in.

I had a nice evening and I'm ready to face today.

Rich, I am so glad to see you are in San Diego after the gate change.  I am so jealous and wish I could join you, especially for trivia!

 

I would love the drink of the day and it is usually the drink I start each cruise off with at the airport or on the flight.  Debbie @dfish, the second recipe looks wonderful to me!  However, we are doing easy meals until after Christmas, today we are having some TJ's enchiladas which are not bad if you add extra sauce and cheese to them.  Graham @grapau27, thanks for the explanations of today's days. 

 

Blessings to all!  Have a great day!

[Sharon in AZ]

Forgot to tell Graham @grapau27 that the table Pauline set for Sarah is absolutely lovely!  Are those Christmas crackers at each place setting?  Never have had them and I would love to see them!  It's all so beautiful.  Please tell Pauline she sets a lovely table.

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Forgot to tell Graham @grapau27 that the table Pauline set for Sarah is absolutely lovely!  Are those Christmas crackers at each place setting?  Never have had them and I would love to see them!  It's all so beautiful.  Please tell Pauline she sets a lovely table.

Thank you Sharon.

They are Christmas crackers with little gifts inside.

[Sharon in AZ]

32 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you Sharon.

They are Christmas crackers with little gifts inside.

Okay, so now I really need to know what the gifts are!!  Please tell or just take a picture at the time!

[grapau27]

24 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Okay, so now I really need to know what the gifts are!!  Please tell or just take a picture at the time!

The shop bought luxury Christmas crackers can have gifts like these inside.

Pauline has wrapped lots of presents for Sarah to open on Christmas day.

We took her birthday presents to her house yesterday.

Sarah is a bridesmaid today at one of her friends wedding.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon from a sunny and windy Quartzsite.  The house is clean, the motorhome is clean, and the last of the outdoor furniture has been moved onto the front patio and cleaned.  It's taken a us a month to get settled this year, and I hope it's not a new normal.  All that is left is hanging out the last load of towels and folding the towels.  It looks like I'll be making a quick unplanned trip into town.  When I cleaned the motorhome, I discovered I did not put shampoo and conditioner on the motorhome.

 

This morning while I was writing my post, it disappeared, and I didn't remember all the posts I had checked for multi-quoting, so if some of the comments are a bit late, I apologize.

 

The house cleaning was not too bad today, especially since I found a necklace that I lost the second day we were here.  For our 16th or 17th anniversary, DH bought be a necklace with a diamond pendent that was set so that the chain went through the mount instead of dropping down.  I'd been having trouble getting the clasp to work, but I thought it was hooked tight that day.  We looked all over the place, but no luck.  This morning as I was vacuuming an area that I'd vacuumed before, I saw the clasp sticking out from under a chair leg.  The rest of the necklace was under the leg.  It's strange that I didn't notice it before when I vacuumed the area, and when I moved the chair to hang the stockings.  Needless to say, I was doing my happy dance as I finished vacuuming.

 

I looked through my pictures of Moorea taken in 2002 when we took the ferry to today's port.  Evidently, I didn't take any pictures of the ferry or the town.

 

@Nickelpenny  Pennie, I hope you had a good flight today.

@kazu  Jacqui, I was sorry to read the latest developments with your DBIL's mother.  I hope she can be made comfortable during her last days.  If the charity doesn't seem to be interested in getting your donations, if it was me, I'd be looking for a new charity.

@Mtn2Sea  Thanks for the information on the Internet improvement with star link.

@StLouisCruisers  Sandi, I'll be glad to post the links on Dec. 24, and the day you travel back home.  If I find your pictures, I'll repost them too.  the Christmas stocking is beautiful.

@durangoscots  Susan, I hope your weather isn't too bad this weekend and when you need to travel to San Diego.

@Seasick Sailor  Joy, I'm sorry you were ill last night, but glad you feel better today.  I couldn't help wondering if the galley accidently got a pinch of garlic in one of your dishes.

@grapau27  Graham, Pauline outdid herself with the beautiful table setting this year.  I hope Sarah has a wonderful birthday and enjoys Christmas with the two of you.  Our older DD brought some Christmas crackers back one year, and we had fun with them.  Our prizes weren't as nice as the ones you showed, but then hers weren't the high end crackers.

@JazzyV  Vanessa, I hope you can get the procedure scheduled soon.  Can the neurosurgeon you saw try to get it scheduled as an emergence or urgent case?

@Haljo1935  I'm glad you made it to San Diego after the all nighter at DFW.

 

Lenda

 

[tupper10]

Greetings to everyone. @grapau27 what a beautiful table and I love the crackers with gifts inside.  

 

I am sending healing thoughts to all and Bon Voyage for all who are traveling either cruising or visiting family.

 

I am off to pick up my grandchildren and DD in 10 minutes at the airport. Their flight is 30 minutes early as opposed to last year when they were delayed a few hours and came in around 11 PM.  We are looking forward to a fun holiday, though the weather here leaves much to be desired. We are wearing our coats!!  

@Haljo1935 wow glad you made it - what a mess.  

 

 

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

Greetings to everyone. @grapau27 what a beautiful table and I love the crackers with gifts inside.  

 

I am sending healing thoughts to all and Bon Voyage for all who are traveling either cruising or visiting family.

 

I am off to pick up my grandchildren and DD in 10 minutes at the airport. Their flight is 30 minutes early as opposed to last year when they were delayed a few hours and came in around 11 PM.  We are looking forward to a fun holiday, though the weather here leaves much to be desired. We are wearing our coats!!  

@Haljo1935 wow glad you made it - what a mess.  

 

 

Thank you @tupper10.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family.

Graham.

[cat shepard]

@Seasick Sailor

Joy, glad you are feeling better. Hope that is the end of whatever it was!

 

@grapau27 Graham, the table setting is lovely & festive. Pauline has an excellent eye!

 

@Haljo1935 Elizabeth, have a wonderful cruise. 

[kochleffel]

Course grades are in. Mine is higher than my body temperature.

 

[seagarsmoker]

11 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Yippee!  You’re on your way.  Smooth travels!

 

 

 

Wow, you are doing really well in the casino 👏 👏 👏.

 

What game(s) are you playing?

 

 

 

Yikes on your gate changing, Rich !  So glad you caught it in time and you are all set in San Diego. 👍 

 

 

 

 

Your visit to Moorea was very different than mine.  Our weather was horrible with rain, dark clouds and fog.  We still explored despite the weather but none of my pics are worthy of posting.  They are just  too dark and dismal so your lovely pictures are very appreciated 🙂 

 

 

Three card poker

[seagarsmoker]

10 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good morning from Quartzsite where it is 48F with a predicted high of 74F.  A cold front and heavy rain will move in overnight with the rain continuing through sometime Saturday.  Our humidity is already 72% with a dew point of 39F.  Beginning tomorrow, our highs will be in the low 60s before rising the the mid-60s the middle of next week.  We'll be under a flood watch from tomorrow morning through Saturday morning.  When there is heavy rain in the surrounding mountains, our washes flood.

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather is not as bad as predicted.  DD and DSIL are flying from Texas to Phoenix tomorrow, arriving at 5:30 pm and driving to Quartzsite.  It it's really bad, I hope they'll stay in Phoenix until the conditions are better.

 

We'll definitely celebrate the Solstice and the beginning of longer days.  After Graham's @grapau27 explanation of Blue Christmas, I honor that day.  If possible I'll skip Humbug day, but it is house cleaning day, so who knows.

 

I like the Wayne Dyer quote.  DH did what he loved with his business, and he said it really wasn't like work.

 

The meal sounds good, but not today.  We'll be having the leftover chicken cacciatore.  DH would like the drink, but they usually make it too spicy for me.  I'd like to try the wine.

 

We have been to Morea many times, and sailed into today's port on the ferry from Tahiti.  Cruise ships stop at one of the two bays on the north side of the island.

 

Three days in history that helped change the world.  I remember the first manned mission to the moon.

 

@seagarsmoker  What is your secret to winning in the casino?  I rarely have good luck there.

@RedneckBob  RNB, sometimes the ship captain will surprise you with a hidden talent.

@grapau27  Graham, thank you for the explanations of two of our days today.

@richwmn  Rich, I'm glad you caught the gate change in time, and made it to San Diego safely.

@kazu  Jacqui, I hope they pick up the boxes today.

@cruising sister  Lorraine, thank you for the update on Murphy.  She is a fighter.

@RMLincoln  Maureen, you have been through a lot the last few months.  It's easier said than done, but try to relax and enjoy the holidays.

@smitty34877  Terri, safe travels tomorrow to New Hampshire.

@kochleffel  Paul, I hope you get the biopsy results soon, your new glasses before the January cruise, and the thermostat asap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lenda

 

Just luck

[1ANGELCAT]

Good evening all, Tomorrow is my Botox appointment in Hershey. I had a call this afternoon from the office wanting to change the appointment time from 10:30 till noon. That’s not a problem. 
I hope everyone had a good day.

[Seasick Sailor]

Well hells bells! I was supposed to have chicken pasta in MDR tonight NO GARLIC,  and my first bite lit up my throat with blisters "dam" it! Second time in 4 weeks this happened. Last night was miserable with fever, chills, 🤢. no explanation for my condition. Felt fine today. I have a check off menu given each night in MDR for the chef to accommodate my allergy. I got lazy and didn't ask about the garlic. My fault, waiters fault,  chef's fault?

[Cruising-along]

Good evening everyone, lots of news today. 

Joy @Seasick Sailor I'm so sorry you were sick! It's scary when things like that happen.  

Paul @kochleffel Congratulations on the great course grade!

 

I've gotten almost the whole upstairs deep-cleaned, just the master bath to do now and then I'll start the downstairs.  The laundry is done until a last wash before we go.  Also I still need to pack my carry-on bag, but there's plenty of time to do that.  

 

I hope everyone had a good day!

 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

@grapau27The tablecloth is gorgeous and I love Christmas crackers. They are a tradition at our house. But your gifts inside are much better than what we get. HB to Sarah and Merry Christmas to all.

 

[rafinmd]

As I said earlier and nearly forgot about it I did visit Viaire in 2018.  It is a very small town but is the ferry terminal for connection to Papeete.  There are 2 ferry companies and I went over on one and returned on the other:

 

I went over on the Teverau:

 

 

One of the landmarks of Moorea is Rotui Mountain and we see the back side of it from Viaire:

 

 

The biggest thing in the town is the ferry terminal which is actually 2 different buildings less than 100 meters apart.  In between there's quite a large cannon:

 

 

I only remember one real business, a general store and grocery about a half kilometer from the terminal:

 

 

There were also some snack bars at the terminal complex.

 

For access to the ferries you start at a waiting room on the second level of the building and move over to the boat just before departure.  I returned with the other company on the Aremiti5:

 

 

Roy