The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday, December 25th, 2023

[kazu]

 

Today is Christmas Day, National Pumpkin Pie Day, and 
 

Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?--J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Meal Suggestion for today - Share your favourite dish for Christmas Day
Drink of the Day - Berry Burst
Wine of the Day - Cabaletto Rossi delle Venezie Tenute Fiorebelli
Destination of the Day - Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis* Port Zante

Today in History:
1741 Astronomer Anders Celsius introduces Centigrade temperature scale
1896 "Stars & Stripes Forever" written by John Philip Sousa

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 12-26
 

Koningsdam

At Sea Destination Honolulu, Oahu Island Hawaii eta 12-27
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

At Sea Destination Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos eta 12-26
 

Nieuw Statendam

At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12-27
 

Oosterdam

At Sea Destination Ushuaia, Argentina eta 12-31
 

Rotterdam

Ocho Rios, Jamaica 08:00 - 16:00 
 

Volendam

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Mexico 08:00 - 17:00 
 

Zaandam

Bridgetown, Barbados 08:00 - 17:00 
 

Zuiderdam

At Sea Destination Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles eta 12-26

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

Napier, New Zealand 08:00 - 17:00 
 

Westerdam

Laem Chabang, Bangkok, Thailand 07:00 - 27 Dec 15:00

 

[dobiemom]

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care List:

Cruising sister’s great niece Murphy post-surgery, on CPAP, gtube

Marshhawk’s DH Chuck not feeling well

Cruzin Terri not feeling well

JazzyV with right leg pain, tingling and numbness

 

Citizens of Ukraine, Israel and Gaza

All Dailyites going through worries and stress, whether mentioned or not

 

From the Rotation:

StLouisCruiser’s DB with pulmonary fibrosis

Tana with pulmonary issues

RMLincoln’s DH with glaucoma issues

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Merry Christmas! 

Happy Birthday ger_77 (Gerry)!

Kazu stepping up to keep the FR/Daily going while Rich is cruising

Cruising sister’s g-niece Murphy extubated, on CPAP 

Ger_77 visiting family in Calgary

Smitty34877 visiting family in NH

StLouisCruisers visiting family in OH

 

The Daily Gardening Club posting wonderful flower pictures

All the contributors to the Fleet Report/Daily

 

Upcoming Cruises or At Sea:

 

Seagarsmoker (Nieuw Statendam to Dec 27, Southern Caribbean), Petunia1950 (Nieuw Statendam to Dec 27, Southern Caribbean), Nickelpenny (Zuiderdam to Jan 3, Panama Canal Sunfarer Holiday), St Pete Cruiser (Zaandam to Jan 4, Southern Caribbean Holiday), Ichiban Nekko (Rotterdam to Jan 5, B2B, Western/Tropical Caribbean), Av8rix (Koningsdam to Jan 6, Circle Hawaii Holiday), Haljo1935 (Koningsdam to Jan 6, Circle Hawaii Holiday), GTVCRUISER(Koningsdam to Jan 6, Circle Hawaii Holiday), Seasick Sailor (Rotterdam to Jan 14, 51d B2B2B Eastern/Western Caribbean (14n) + Tropical/Southern Caribbean Seafarer (16n)) and Richwmn(Volendam to May 4, 12d Mexico & Sea of Cortez Holiday + Jan 6 94d Grand Australia & NZ Voyage + Apr 6 15d PC Cruise + Apr 21 The Atlantic Cruise)

[RedneckBob]

Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas y’all from RNB and the Misses!

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by RedneckBob

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the Fleet update and General Info from all contributors!

 

It is also National No “L” Day.  So what the “L”! 😀

[Lady Hudson]

Merry Christmas to all.  Our big celebration was last night so today will be a bit quieter.  Prayers for a happy day.  Stay safe if you are traveling.  Katherine 

[cat shepard]

@ger_77

 

Gerry, may your new year be filled with love, laughter, great health and a cruise or two! 
 

[grapau27]

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas day.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  In Ohio is is 46 and cloudy.  High will be 58 with rain expected at 2 pm.  Thank you Jacqui @kazu for posting the Fleet Report and Daily for Rich @richwmn this Chrismas Day!  

 

I am glad to see it's pumpkin pie day but DD has Marie Callender Razzleberry pie planned.  The kids love it!  I don't read Rowling's books but I see plenty of quotes from them.  The favorite meal request sounds like fun.  We are having lasagna because it is easier than turkey.  DGD asked for her favorite comfort food, Hash Brown casserole, so we're having that too.  No thanks to the drink and wine.  I'll have white zinfandel!  Great days in history with Centrigade being introduced and John Phillip Sousa writing Stars and Stripes Forever.  Thanks Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your Christmas day reports.  Let's see what Debbie says for her favorite dish for Christmas is.

 

Happy Birthday Gerry @ger_77 

 

and get well soon Terri @Cruzin Terri!   Prayers for peace around the world!  Let's get those hostages home.  Prayers for friends and family in need of them, and to all of us here with health problems and pain. 🙏  Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!🎉🎄  Cheers 🥂 to the cruisers and all celebrating something.  So very grateful my DGD Morgan is safe and home to celebrate Christmas with us all.  DS and family are celebrating their holiday at home in Michigan so they can spend as much time together as possible.  We miss them terribly but will probably FaceTime later.  Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for getting up early and posting your wonderful lists.  You are a gem!  Have a nice time with BFF today!

 

The port today is Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis.  This was our port before on Nov. 2, 2021 and Oct. 9, 2022.

 

 

 

We went once with DD in 2006.  She is now a cruise lover too!  We got off the ship there and spent the day shopping for a trinket for her Christmas gift, a tanzanite ring.  A little sparkle always helps!  If I went again I'd look for a tour or just stay on the ship.

 

It looked to be a beautiful island with mountains.

 

 

 

The ship was Crown Princess.

 

 

 

We had a blast on that cruise with our daughter.  Lovely memories.💕

 

Hope you will share some photos too.  Have a great Christmas Day!!

[summer slope]

Berry Burst cocktail:

 

1 part. DeKuyper^® Pucker^® Raspberry Schnapps ; 1 part. Pinnacle^® Original Vodka ; 1 part. Lime Juice ; 1 splash. Lemon-Lime Soda.

[kazu]

A very happy Christmas Day to all who celebrate.

 

 

 

Reports are that Santa had a much easier time sneaking the presents in homes this year.

 

 

 

I neglected to post sooner - quite sure it is as true for New Year’s as it is for Christmas 😉 

 

 

 

Prayers for those on the Care list, those suffering losses and grief this season, health issues, pain, worries & those that need them 🙏 Cheers to those celebrating and cruising 🥂 

 

 

 

 

[summer slope]

[seagarsmoker]

Good morning dailyites and thank you for the Daily Report.  Merry Christmas!

Mostly sunny morning here on the NS north bound back to port everglades. 

We had an excellent day in Curacao yesterday.  Weather was perfect 🥰  and the island was in full Christmas decorations mode. I have several pics on my camera to download and will share in the next week or so. 

The same three ships that were in Aruba, were also in Curacao. We did our usual walk to the swinging bridge and then to the shopping area in town.  As we had thought, the combination of it being a Sunday and Christmas eve caused most stores to be closed. 

We had a coke at the Iguana restaurant on the waterway and was able to watch it swing open one time as a boat went through. We bought a few souvenirs from locals at the arts and crafts section that was open.

For dinner we dined at the Pinnacle grill.  Service was very good considering the place was full all evening.  Our dinner was good, not great as the steak quality leaves a lot to be desired.  My crab cakes and Suzi's ceaser salad were both very good. It was included in our HIA package so we can't really complain. That being said, even with the 4 star discount, we would not go back. 

I won a little at the casino at the blackjack table.

Nothing planned for today except seeing if I'm a contestant in the Deal, no deal game this afternoon.  Hopefully we will change the clocks back tonight so we will be back on eastern time again. 

I hope everyone has a great day and I'll check in later. 

PS according to the Daily, Santa's sled is landing soon, we are keeping a watchful eye out. 😉

 

[cunnorl]

Merry Christmas everyone! 
@ger_77Happy Birthday. Hope you have a wonderful day and many more

[puppycanducruise]

Merry Christmas   to those that celebrate.

 

Thanks for the Report.

A mild Christmas for us, today's forecast high is 10°C (50°F) normal is -2°C (28°F).  It's foggy so Rudolph must have helped Santa last night.

I didn't make a pumpkin pie, sometimes a whole pie is too much for just the two of us.  But I baked coconut jam tarts and butter tarts (with pecans).

Interesting quote.

Today's menu is turkey breast (cooked in the crock pot), mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce (from a can) and a veg.  Plus tarts for dessert.  And wine of course!

 

Prayers for Peace on Earth.

 

Have a great day everyone.  Stay safe.

[puppycanducruise]

@ger_77  Happy Birthday! 🎂    and many more.

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning and a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the holiday.  One of the smoke detectors demanded a new battery for Christmas as it started chirping at 3am.  Today’s dinner will be turkey, rice with beans and sweet plantains.  
I received our post cruise survey.  I strongly suggested that they stop the uncomfortable discussion with cabin stewards about room service.  Instead have the conversation at the time of booking.  Just mark it like they do dining or bed size.
 

One more from our 2019 Veendam cruise.

[kazu]

A very happy birthday Gerry.  I hope it is a wonderful one despite Christmas celebrations. 🙂 

 

 

[Nickelpenny]

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate from the Zuiderdam.  I do like pumpkin pie but favorite is boysenberry pie. The drink sounds delicious, not sure of the wine or quote and never been to St Kitts. 
 

 

Had a fantastic day yesterday.  Playing (but not really playing) music trivia around the SeaView pool was a blast. I did go to the MDR for Christmas Eve dinner. I had pumpkin and apple soup, goose and Yule log. The highlight was the crew’s Christmas performance. Truly memorable and moving. 

 

Santa is scheduled to arrive at around 1000. I want to go and see him 🤪

 

 

Happy Birthday @ger_77  I had an uncle who was born on Christmas Day. 
 

Sea Day today. It is warm and humid. 
 

Thoughts for those on the care list and cheers for those celebrating. 
 

Have a great day everyone!

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[horseymike]

MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄 EVERYONE 

[cat shepard]

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! It is already 45 here in Southern New Hampshire!  Strange weather for New England in late December! Lots of fun at my niece’s yesterday! My 8 year old great niece still believes in Santa, so I am thrilled that I made the trip up. My niece’s SO’s Mom & Dad are divorced & both remarried and all get along well enough to all come and celebrate the holiday with their son/step son. Very special!

 

Christmas tattoos- Cara on the far left is the tattoo artist. 

 

 

 

Vanessa, praying that you get to enjoy some of the holiday today with your BFF! Thank you for ensuring that we keep up with each other!

 

I have already worked out and am sitting enjoying coffee #2 while looking out at a damp landscape. I had to switch to my phone, because my iPad lost its connection for some reason. Please excuse my typos. Heading to my nephew’s near Boston to celebrate the day. I will stay overnight with them. I will be 10 minutes from Logan for tomorrow’s early morning flight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayers for all who need our support. Especially those suffering from debilitating pain and conditions. And those grieving the loss of a loved one. Thinking of you, Terry!❤️

 

Cheers to everyone celebrating!

 

May we each find a reason to smile today!

 

*******
Cabaletto Rossi delle Venezie Tenute Fiorebelli

This Italian red has lots of consumer fans who think it is very good - excellent and I found a few distributors. Online prices start at $13.99.

Distributor notes

A blend of 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from low-yielding vineyards in Verona. Half of the Corvina grapes are left on the vine for longer, to concentrate the sugar and flavour. About 30% of the blend is aged for 12 months in American and French barriques. The nose shows complex aromas, reminiscent of prune, cherry and redcurrant; the palate is supple with a long finish.

Edited December 25, 2023 by cat shepard

[richwmn]

Merry Christmas from Cabo. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

[rafinmd]

Thank you Rich, Jacqui, Debbie, Ann, and Dixie.  Happy Birthday @ger_77.  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and may those who don't enjoy lighter traffic and not be too inconvenienced by the day's business closures.  I'll pass on the pumpkin pie but have cake instead.

 

Interesting quote by Rowling.  I'm not sure the US will much celebrate celsius but will definitely celebrate Stars and Stripes Forever.  I visited Basseterre just once in 2018 on Grandeur of the Seas on what I call the voyage of the saints out of Baltimore, St Johns, St Kitts, St Croix, St Lucia, and St Marteen.

 

I think today I like the meal a lot better than my alternative.  In 2014-15 I was on Ryndam's New Years Cruise out of Tampa and I chose to fly in a couple of days early on Christmas.  There was slim pickings among restaurants on Christmas day and my alternative is perhaps the best food I got that day, Southwest Peanuts.

 

Roy