The Fleet Report and Daily for Saturday, January 13th, 2024

[kazu]

 

Today is Korean American Day, Make Your Dreams Come True Day, and National Peach Melba Day

 

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. - Steve Jobs

Meal Suggestion for today - Black Bean Soup (Freezer Friendly)
Drink of the Day - Whiskey Highball
Wine of the Day - If-You-See-Kay-Red-Blend 
Destination of the Day - Taiohae, NukaHiva, Fr. Polynesia 

Today in History:
1888 The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge"
2000 Microsoft chairman Bill Gates steps aside as chief executive and promotes company president Steve Ballmer to the position

Ship Locations
 

Eurodam

Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 15:00 
 

Koningsdam

San Diego, California 7:00-15:00 
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 7:00-17:00 
 

Nieuw Statendam

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 08:00 - 14:00 
 

Oosterdam

Punta Arenas, Chile Antarctica 06:00 - 18:00 
 

Rotterdam

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 08:00 - 15:00 
 

Volendam

At Sea Destination Fanning Island, Line Islands, Kiribati eta 01-15
 

Zaandam

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 08:00 - 16:00 
 

Zuiderdam

Boca da Valeria, Brazil Amazon 07:00 - 14:00 

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

At Sea Destination Melbourne, Victoria Australia eta 01-15
 

Westerdam

At Sea Destination Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam eta 01-15

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[rafinmd]

Today's map:

 

 

 

Roy

 

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning, thanks for today’s daily fleet report.  Mona and Jasper insisted on an early breakfast so I’m up and can watch the ships sail in today.  It’s a rainy morning and the weather forecasters claim it will end by 10.  Today’s meal suggestion sounds good and I look forward to pictures and recipes from @dfish  Not much planned for today.  I hope everyone has a good day today.

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is 43°F and cloudy here at 10.38am.

Never been to today's port.

This is our Peach Melba in North East England.

A slice of peach in a pastry base covered in Fresh cream with icing on the top.

I hope everyone is safe and well and y'all have a wonderful day.

 

Edited January 13 by grapau27

[kazu]

 

Thanks Roy, Vanessa, Dixie, Debbie & Ann for your dedication and all for their contributions.

 

Ivan and I are up early so he can have a chance “outside” before the storm moves in this morning.  I don’t mind snow but ice on top of it is another story.  Good collection of days.  I hope all our Daily-ites can make their dreams come true 🤞 

 

 

 

Jobs’ quote is a good one to try to follow no matter how hard it can be at times.

 

Today calls for inside work and some more research on Cap-Aux-Meules.  Anyone been?  I’ve been stymied so far.  

 

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

 

 

 

Have a good Saturday everyone.

[MISTER 67]

Greetings from beautiful Punta Gorda.

So far this has been the lousiest winter in our 30 years in Florida, haven’t worn shorts on the golf course in 3 weeks, of course things could be worse as my hometown of Chicago is buried in snow with temps below zero for the next 3 days.

Good quote and I like black bean soup.

One of my favorite cocktails is a CC with Ginger Ale Highball.

Have a great day and stay well.

Edited January 13 by MISTER 67

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Thanks for the Report and the maps.

We made it safely through the first part of the storm.  Lots of snow and wind overnight, and now a bit of rain.  We'll have to get the shovels and snowblower out to get things cleared up before the next round of winter hits us.  More snow is forecast starting this evening and continuing until Monday. 

Prayers for our world.

Stay safe.

 

[JazzyV]

Today’s Care List:

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

JazzyV with right leg pain, tingling and numbness; trouble walking

All in the path of storms and frigid temperatures

 

Citizens of Ukraine, Israel and Gaza

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

 

From the Rotation:

Rafinmd getting radiation treatments

StLouisCruiser’s DB with pulmonary fibrosis

Cruzin Terri’s DH Jim, with memory issues

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

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

Seagarsmoker feeling better

Marshhawk’s DH responding to Keytruda

 

The Daily Gardening Club posting wonderful flower pictures

All the contributors to the Fleet Report/Daily

 

Upcoming Cruises or At Sea:

 

1 day for Sailingdutchy (Rotterdam Jan 14 to Feb 4) 21d PC Sunfarer & Southern Caribbean Seafarer

 

Seasick Sailor (Rotterdam to Jan 14, Tropical/Southern Caribbean Seafarer), Kochleffel(Anthem of the Seas to Jan 18) 11d Southern Caribbean, Ottahand7 (Eurodam to Feb 24) B2B2B2B2B Caribbean, Cruising-along (Volendam to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Durangoscots (Volendam to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, cruising sister (Volendam to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Cruisercl (Volendam to April 6) 94d Grand AUS & NZ voyage, Richwmn (Volendam to May 4, Jan 3 94d Grand Australia & NZ Voyage + Apr 6 15d PC Cruise + Apr 21 The Atlantic Cruise), Cat in my lap (Zuiderdam to May 11) 128d Grand World Voyage and Aliaschief (Azamara Onward WC to June 9) 156d World Voyage 

[summer slope]

Whiskey Highball cocktail:

 

Ingredients
2 ounces whiskey
4 ounces soda water, chilled

Steps
Add the whiskey into a highball glass with ice.
Top with soda water and stir gently and briefly to combine.

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  I didn't want to get out of bed today but forced myself.  Very tired!  The weather today is 32F with a high of around 52 expected and sunny skies.  Yesterday's big storms were a bust here in my area.  I read that Debbie's @dfish's big snows didn't arrive in Midland, or at least it was a lot better than expected.  DS lives maybe 100 miles south of Debbie and he's had 7 or 8 inches of snow and it's windy there.  His friend had just finished doing repairs on his snow blower for him and he needed it last night after a busy day at work.  Hopefully he can sleep in today.

 

Thank you Jacqui @kazu for the Fleet Report and Daily posting.  You and Ivan were up early while I was dragging myself to the treadmill!  And thank you Roy @rafinmd for the fleet maps today.  Let's see. My favorites of the days of recognition would be make your dreams come true and peach melba.  Have never had that concoction but I like peaches a lot. Good quote by Steve Jobs.  I'm sure the black bean soup will be healthy and good tasting.  No thanks to a whiskey highball and that is quite a fun name for a wine.  Not sure I could remember it once I got to the wine shop though.  Important days in history, both recent and in the distant past.  Thanks to our gals Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for the reporting.

 

Prayers for all our Daily family especially Roy @rafinmd, Terri @Cruzin Terri and Jim, Vanessa @JazzyV, Tana, Baby Murphy, Maureen @RMLincoln and Richard, and Melisa @HAL Sailer and DH.  You were all in my prayers today and I covered the balance of us with mentioning ALL of us in need of prayers.  I also included my family members and friends, Israel and Ukraine citizens, the hostages still held and all our troops in the region.  🙏   A salute to all cruisers and those with birthdays, anniversaries and other happy events in their lives.  Enjoy!  🚢🎂🥂  Thanks go to Vanessa @JazzyV for maintaining the lists so well.  Very appreciated! 🥂

 

The port this morning is Taiohae, Nuka Hiva, French Polynesia.  This has been a popular one and we've already seen it 3 times - July 14, 2021, July 24, 2022, and April 21, 2023.  Here are the links for you.

 

 

 

 

I hope we can all stay safe and warm during these low temps now and coming up soon.  Not to mention keeping well.  Safe travels to us all.

[StLouisCruisers]

We visited Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia on our 2017 Maasdam South Pacific cruise.  The Maasdam had a lot of problems with their tender operations on that cruise, taking up to 3 hours to get us all ashore due to using too few tenders or tender platform mechanical issues.  That day we lined up at a platform and were told we had to move to a forward platform and wait for a different tender.  Many unhappy passengers that day!  View from the ship at breakfast.

 

 

Taiohae is a tiny village.  There were tours available using local 4 x 4's but not nearly enough to take a majority of the ship's passengers.  

 

 

 

This is a restaurant which had wi-fi but believe me not good enough to even load your email.

 

Entertainment for everyone.

 

A few of the trucks ready to take people on their tours.

 

The remainder of the passengers decided to shop!

 

 

Interesting carvings

 

This was the food market

 

But what we enjoyed was the view from shore.  It is really a lovely area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we lined up to tender back to the ship we were met with these dancers.

 

As we tendered away we saw this interesting scene on a hillside.  ((not real))

 

[aliaschief]

Good morning. Thought I would stop in and say hi before headed out for coffee. We are on our first sea day of three heading for Peru. Very smooth ride this morning.

Our pool side White Night got moved indoors due to weather. No problem. The food choices at the buffet were huge as usual. Try and eat lightly at these and there are many vegetables and healthier options.

Haven’t read The Insider yet to see our choices but I’m sure there will be some great lectures and many other options. Finishing the book I’m reading is one option.

The entertainment part of White Night was moved into Cabaret (Show Room) and the ship was rocking. Most folks dressed in white and the dance floor was jammed packed. White ballon’s flying all over and the orchestra and entertainer performed non stop from 8:30 until 10.00 PM. The ships dancer’s dancing with guest. Goes to prove us older folks still know how to boogie.

I’ll be slowing down on MeMe’s as I’m busier and don’t have as much time to search and to follow others and not duplicate. 
Posting photos on CC has been mixed. One photo downloads another doesn’t. I have no problem on other media sites.

Coffee calls. Thanks for the Report and have a great weekend. Bruce

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[Mr. Boston]

Good morning everyone.  Thank-you for the daily report, recipes and lists.  Pretty heavy rain and 43F outside this morning. We have three nice days to recognize today, the peach melba is my first choice.  I agree with the quote.  Think I’ll pass on the meal but I would like the drink.  I haven’t been to today’s port but I sure would like to.  Prayers for everyone on our prayer list. Cheers to those celebrating happy events!

[cat shepard]

Thank you for today’s FR & D, Jacqui. Rich thank you for leaving us in such great hands! Roy thank you for the maps.  It is a balmy 67 here this morning, but the colder temps are coming back. It will get back down into the 40s again tonight. @ger_77 & @bennybear - I bet that almost sounds like Summer to you two. Stay safe. I have never experienced temps like the ones you are. Nor do I want to.

 

Vanessa, thank you for keeping up with us. We are a busy group. Praying that your the Cymbalta continues to help and your nights’ sleep grows longer and your pain lessens. And a permanent, non pharmaceutical solution is found for your pain. 

 

Zumba, Bindi walks, chores, dinner prep and then dinner with friends. The menu is scallops, salad and mushroom stuffed eggplant. And wine. 😎

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayers for all who need our support. Those suffering from debilitating pain & conditions, grieving the loss of a loved one, the caregivers, and those in a funk.  Thinking of you & Tana, Terry. 

 

Cheers to all who are celebrating.

 

May we each find a reason to smile today!
 

********

If-You-See-Kay-Red-Blend 2020

I used the 2020 vintage info, since it should be the easiest to find. Fun name.  Lots of consumer fans. The blend sounds interesting, and I would love a taste. Widely available with online prices starting at $16.95. 
Distributor notes

A wine with personality to match its label: a deep, dark purple color opening with opulent aromas of mulberries, dark ripe Bing cherries and hints of leather alongside dashes of cedar and vanilla. On the palate, succulent juiciness balances out firm yet fine-grained tannins. Dense flavors of ripe plum and dark cherry fruit flavors create a full, well-structured mouthfeel, with lively acidity that creates a powerful yet elegant sensation through the cherry-toasted laden finish.

Paso Robles is situated along U.S. Highway 101 in the center of California’s Central Coast, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The grapes for Kay are from the Red Cedar Vineyard which is located 15 miles east of Paso Robles, entirely within the Paso Robles AVA. Sections of the vineyard are within two of the recently approved sub-AVAs: San Juan Creek and Paso Robles Estrella District. The rolling benchland (above the Estrella River) and terraced vineyard plantings at Red Cedar range from 500 to 800 feet above sea level. The vineyard is certified sustainably-farmed by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. Warm, dry days throughout the summer make it ideal for growing big bold reds with no holds barred-like Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. The warm climate—similar to the Napa Valley—builds power and structure in the grapes. Drought conditions continued for the 2016 vintage and yields were naturally low to downright tiny, which resulted in high quality low crop yields with concentrated flavor.

Blend : 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Petit Sirah, 14% Zinfandel, 7% Petit Verdot

 

 

Edited January 13 by cat shepard

[cat shepard]

54 minutes ago, summer slope said:

Whiskey Highball cocktail:

 

Ingredients
2 ounces whiskey
4 ounces soda water, chilled

Steps
Add the whiskey into a highball glass with ice.
Top with soda water and stir gently and briefly to combine.

 

 

Dixie, Did I miss your post with the results of your biopsy? 

[summer slope]

1 minute ago, cat shepard said:

 

Dixie, Did I miss your post with the results of your biopsy? 

No, I haven't heard anything yet.

[cat shepard]

3 minutes ago, summer slope said:

No, I haven't heard anything yet.

 Perhaps with the holidays they are behind schedule. Praying for the best. 

[kochleffel]

Docked at St. John’s, Antigua, along with the Marella Discovery and the P&O Arvia. 
 

I just cancelled a tour with Lawrence of Antigua because I feel ill: slight fever, bronchial inflammation. Covid self-test is negative.

[Denise T]

Happy Saturday. Thank you for the Daily and Fleet reports. 

Finally taking down the Christmas decorations today. Temperatures will be dropping so it will be windy and cold over the next several days. Possible snow Tuesday. Who knows? 

Relaxing day planned. 

Thinking of all on the care list. 

Celebrating with all who are celebrating. 

Have a safe and healthy day.

[superoma]

Good morning all. Well, we have the wind. If yesterday’s snow hadn’t been so wet it would be blowing everywhere and causing whiteout conditions even with the minimal snow we had. But it is frozen solid. Saw the weather map on good morning America this a.m. and almost all of North America is under some kind of weather watch. The most dangerous of course is the extreme cold. Very scary. I will be making a pot of vegetable and chicken noodle soup today and maybe @ger_772 hour buns. That will warm us up from the inside. We have no reason to go outside and we won’t. Just have my fingers crossed that we don’t have power outages because of the wind. we haven’t felt like travelling over the last couple of years but today i wish I was somewhere else for the next week. And not Florida because you aren’t warm either. Maybe Aruba or curaçao, they seem to be far enough south.

everyone, please take care

 

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  A shout out to all Korean Americans, I'd love to make my dreams (of warmer temps) come true, and I do enjoy peach melba on a BHB.

 

Dang, it's cold; right now it's -35C (-31F) and we're only expecting a high of -32 (-25).  And it's snowing, and there's a wind, bringing the windchill factor to -45 again . . . for those not accustomed to Celsius/Fahrenheit, that's -49F.  Although we didn't have a lot of wind yesterday, a community about an hour west of us had gusty winds and at one point in the day their wind chill temperature registered -60C (-76F).  Such is life on the "frozen tundra".

 

Even though it was bone chilling cold, we did go out yesterday - DH started my car (after having to put the charger on it overnight) and we went to his chiropractor appointment.  One adjustment later and he was already walking better, and he was able to go in on his own to pick up his prescription.  Once we returned home, he settled into his recliner with the heating pad and by last night said he was feeling much better.  He returns for another adjustment on Tuesday and perhaps another at the end of the week, but it's good to know they help.

 

I finished reading the book I began a couple of days ago, so thought instead of making another blanket, I'd knit up some toques.  I got one finished yesterday and have another started that should take me just a couple of hours to make - the more I can, the sooner I can drop another batch of them off to one of the fire halls where they are collecting cold weather items for the less fortunate.  I usually make toques out of the leftover yarns from my blankets, so I already have at least a dozen ready to go.

 

Not a lot on our agenda today except to stay indoors and keep warm.  I'm going to pass on the drink (not a fan of whiskey), am pretty sure I'd like the wine, and will pass on the menu suggestion.  I've taken some of the frozen turkey soup of to thaw and will make a small batch of buns so we can enjoy a bowl of hot soup and fresh buns at the kitchen table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, in the path of storms, in grief, and in pain.  Cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

Edited January 13 by ger_77

[ottahand7]

We are enjoying coffee in the Neptune Lounge waiting to go to the World Stage at 9 to go through in-transit procedures.  I hope everyone understands it is for them too.  

A full ship showed its colors at the Pinnacle Grill last night.  We had our comped dinner at.5:30.  Our entrees arrived at 6:40.  I think they were running out of lobster bisque because it was a short pour and thinner than normal.  They must have been running low on scallops because they were so small they looked like appetizer sized.  I was so hungry I ate a whole bread stick which I avoid because I do Keto.  All that being said the rib eye was better than the dry aged one I paid extra for earlier in the week.  

[marshhawk]

Good Saturday Morning Dailyites!  Currently 30 degrees and mostly cloudy...Yesterday the skies were so dark.  And every time it rained, it got darker.  AT 2:30 it looked like 6 (winter 6).  But we did not get rain all day.  It was like someone turned on the faucet,  full blast and then turned it off two minutes later.

 

Work today. My last 3 hours of fundraising, and then back to sales, an 8 hour day.  And then I will go out to dinner.  Other than breakfast and a bologna sandwich I cant see cooking in todays plans.

 

DH and I had an interesting time with the new eye Doc.  Yes, she admitted that the last surgery had been too drastic (he cant close his right eye all the way) and therefore the eye gets dried out.  This is the eye he cant see through, so light does not bother him. Because the eye dries out, he gets itchy, and then the tear duct does it''s work and his eye starts dripping,  So it's dry and itchy, or sore and tearing. Trying to compensate for the surgical error.  Which of course can be fixed with more surgery...but this doc suggested other than surgical options.  She put an adhesive patch on his eye, which he has kept on, that closes the eye. She did not tell us how long to leave it on.  And there is a patch with a weight on it, that he can order,  that would pull the upper lid down over the eye when he closes his eyes.  OR of course they can surgically insert a weight into his eye lid.  And of course, she did recommend wearing him wearing his glasses all the time.  The same thing I nag him about, the same thing that the doctors told him years ago when he fell and lost his vision in his eye.

 

The job has decided to add on a rather complicated time clock to our shifts.  Turns out there are no more offices in which people work.  We all work from home, or wherever we end up each day.  But it involves emails, which means that I have to set up the computer for work, run into the den to my computer, send the email, and then run back to the computer so that I can start work when I tell them I would.  They are afraid they are overpaying us. Mandatory breaks after 3 hours. Now that I am done to one job I will have to rethink my schedule.  Work 3 hours as one shift, and then go back after a couple of hours and work 2.