The Fleet Report and Daily for Friday August 30th, 2024

[GTVCRUISER]

National Beach Day 🙂 

[irishjim]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

Yay, we've been to Almeria!  I will post Pat's journal entry (he used to do a diary for each cruise, but hasn't done it for a few years - it was such a good way to remember the ports, and then read along with looking at pictures).  We were on the Maasdam, on our 42-day Atlantic Adventurer - it was a wonderful itinerary.

 

 

 

 

"The ship arrived in Almeria, Spain at 8.00 am. As we did not have a fixed plan for today we got up about 8.00 am and had a leisurely breakfast in the Lido.  The main attraction of Almeria is La Alcazaba (citadel), the largest fort built by the Arabs. We had an excellent view of the citadel from our verandah and planned to visit it. However, one had to climb over 120 steps to get to it and Ann, especially, was not up to it as she had a tiring day yesterday in the Medina in Tangiers. We strolled into town and reached the cathedral at 10.30 am when the bells started ringing. We were hoping to attend 10.30 am mass but mass was ending then in one of the side chapels. The next mass was at 11.30 am so we walked to the Plaza de la Constitution where we had a coffee (and went on to free Internet), and where we saw numerous parrots flying into and around the palm trees. We went back to the cathedral at 11.30 am and attended high mass. There wasa large choir visiting from Granada singing at the mass. They were very good, and the priest spoke clearly. We then strolled to San Juan Church which used to be a mosque. It was closed at the time we got there. This being Sunday most stores were closed so we returned to the ship about 2.00 pm, and stayed. We went to the Sip and Savor at 5.00 pm then showered before our dinner reservation in the Pinnacle Grill. There was only one other couple in the Grill so we had all the waiters' attention. We took along the bottle of white wine that we had bought in Lanzarote and let two wine stewards and the Cellar Master have a taste. Dining is always a good experience there. We could happily take all our meals there. After dinner we went up to the Crow's Nest for a glass of Prosecco before retiring. "

 

I remember the amazing altarpiece in the church, and the choir !  And in those days I would hunt for a manhole cover with the city name - Almeria's were beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The streets were empty.

 

 

 

 

 

We had some terrible news yesterday - our lovely cleaning lady, Leanne, who has only been visiting us for a few months, but whom we love dearly, told us that she has been diagnosed with Stage 3 oesophageal cancer.  They are going to give her a feeding tube to try to re-gain some of the 30 pounds she has lost over the past few months and then they may be able to treat her with chemo and radiation to shrink the tumours, and then possibly do surgery.  She is a single mother with two sons, the younger is about to start high school.  We feel so sorry for her,  Please say a prayer for her!  

 

 

 She is in my prayers.

                                    Jim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RedneckBob]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

Yay, we've been to Almeria!  I will post Pat's journal entry (he used to do a diary for each cruise, but hasn't done it for a few years - it was such a good way to remember the ports, and then read along with looking at pictures).  We were on the Maasdam, on our 42-day Atlantic Adventurer - it was a wonderful itinerary.

 

 

 

 

"The ship arrived in Almeria, Spain at 8.00 am. As we did not have a fixed plan for today we got up about 8.00 am and had a leisurely breakfast in the Lido.  The main attraction of Almeria is La Alcazaba (citadel), the largest fort built by the Arabs. We had an excellent view of the citadel from our verandah and planned to visit it. However, one had to climb over 120 steps to get to it and Ann, especially, was not up to it as she had a tiring day yesterday in the Medina in Tangiers. We strolled into town and reached the cathedral at 10.30 am when the bells started ringing. We were hoping to attend 10.30 am mass but mass was ending then in one of the side chapels. The next mass was at 11.30 am so we walked to the Plaza de la Constitution where we had a coffee (and went on to free Internet), and where we saw numerous parrots flying into and around the palm trees. We went back to the cathedral at 11.30 am and attended high mass. There wasa large choir visiting from Granada singing at the mass. They were very good, and the priest spoke clearly. We then strolled to San Juan Church which used to be a mosque. It was closed at the time we got there. This being Sunday most stores were closed so we returned to the ship about 2.00 pm, and stayed. We went to the Sip and Savor at 5.00 pm then showered before our dinner reservation in the Pinnacle Grill. There was only one other couple in the Grill so we had all the waiters' attention. We took along the bottle of white wine that we had bought in Lanzarote and let two wine stewards and the Cellar Master have a taste. Dining is always a good experience there. We could happily take all our meals there. After dinner we went up to the Crow's Nest for a glass of Prosecco before retiring. "

 

I remember the amazing altarpiece in the church, and the choir !  And in those days I would hunt for a manhole cover with the city name - Almeria's were beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The streets were empty.

 

 

 

 

 

We had some terrible news yesterday - our lovely cleaning lady, Leanne, who has only been visiting us for a few months, but whom we love dearly, told us that she has been diagnosed with Stage 3 oesophageal cancer.  They are going to give her a feeding tube to try to re-gain some of the 30 pounds she has lost over the past few months and then they may be able to treat her with chemo and radiation to shrink the tumours, and then possibly do surgery.  She is a single mother with two sons, the younger is about to start high school.  We feel so sorry for her,  Please say a prayer for her!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice photos. What year was your 42 day cruise?

[RedneckBob]

10 minutes ago, GTVCRUISER said:

National Beach Day 🙂 

Nice feet. Don’t look now but I think grapau27 is jealous!
 

[atexsix]

Good late Friday morning,

 

I was wide awake at 4:30 so I got an early start to the day.  I ran out and picked up Chick Fil A breakfast and then I did some light housework.  Nothing exciting for my Labor Day weekend, I'm going to try to get back in the habit of mall walking, and I have little tasks that need to be done that I always seem to forget about: the microwave could use a cleaning, the floors along the baseboards, etc. @grapau27 inspired me and I think I might order a pizza at some point tonight or tomorrow. 

 

As others have said we are having great weather, the sunsets have been amazing, going to try and get a few pictures. 

 

@luvteaching glad to see you and that's really nice about the ashes

@Cruising-along good you don't need to drive to Silverdale

 

~B

 

[bennybear]

Good day and thanks all!  Love that peach salad, we’ve been eating Ontario and Georgia peaches.  When’ve been good but we do miss our usual BC ones! 
@Denise T  Congratulations, a huge accomplishment! 
@NextOneprayers for your DSIL

@Vict0riann so sad about your cleaner,  hope all goes well! 

 

Gotta love a beach,  I love going in the water.   Maybe I’ll see some of the gang in January on one of these 😎

[57redbird]

In & out of the Silverdale Costco yesterday for my Covid shot in less than 25 minutes -- took me longer to find a parking place.  Arm isn't at all sore today.

[ottahand7]

@Vict0riann prayers for Leanne.  What a wonderful itinerary.  To Europe and back and no flying.  Come on HA let's do that one again. 

 

@NextOne prayers for your DSIL. 

 

@grapau27 beautiful pizzas!   Yum! 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon from a cloudy central Texas.  It is 88F but feels like 95F even though the humidity has dropped to 57% with the dew point still 71F.  It looks like any chance of rain for the next 24 hours has gone down.  All my errands were taken care of before my hair cut.  Since then, we've been working on getting things set up for our two upcoming cruises in December and January. 

 

4 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all!

It's warming up here again, going to the high 70's today and into the 80's this weekend.  

A good collection of days, I agree with the quote but will pass on the wine and drink.  I'd like the last recipe and have not been to Almeria.  Looking at the map, we've sailed past it when going to Cartagena and Malaga.  

 

Looks like a good day to do the pressure washing.  🤞  I can garden, visit with neighbors and watch out for my plants as DH does that.  

 

Sandi @StLouisCruisers I wholeheartedly agree with you about backstitching -- very slow going!  The only plus is how it makes everything "pop out".  My latest counted cross stitch project is still sitting in the bag after unpacking from the GANZ -- I'll pick it back up again this fall when I can't garden.  Could you mail it to him before Christmas?  

 

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser Congratulations on the bookings!  Wish we could do the Hawaii cruise too, sounds like a fun group.  Gotta save $$ for others already booked though 😞 

 

Have a good day everyone!

 

Carolyn, it would be wonderful if you could do the Hawaii cruise.  Maybe you could invest in a lottery ticket and use the winnings for the cruise.  The Daily Four had a good time last winter, and I'm looking forward to meeting even more Dailyites.

 

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Carolyn, I am leery of mailing such an important piece of work, taking all year to make.  The Post Office does not have a perfect record of delivering things between our home and Ohio and vice versa.  DD mailed her Dad his birthday card 19 days before his birthday.  It has now been 36 days and it still hasn't arrived.  She included a check for something else and is rather anxious about it. 

 

We went to Kroger and put away all the groceries; now I've finished catching up on the Daily and need to get back to work on the stocking.  Thanks for your comments, and I agree the backstitching is very important and brings out all the details.  Good luck getting back into your project after gardening season.  

 

Sandi, I understand how you feel about the USPS.  Our mailforwarding was switched to FedEx because of problems with USPS in the Houston area.  However, even FedEx has some issues.  You could sent the stocking with UPS or FedEx in needed.

 

3 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

@Quartzsite Cruiser great for you booking the B2BS.  We will be aboard for the 17 day circle Hawaii cruise.  

 

Nancy, I saw your name on the roll call, and I think you are on the 7 day Mexico cruise too.  We looked at that cruise, but liked the itinerary in December.  Looking forward to meeting you.

 

2 hours ago, NextOne said:

Hi friends! Just when I think life is calming down & going well, I got a text this morning from DSIL that she's been admitted to her local ER. She's lost 22 pounds since early July, has an elevated heart rate & is severely dehydrated. The doctor thought she had an ulcer & had her scheduled for a CT scan on Sept. 10, but I expect they've decided they need to move faster. Sadly, she's been a life-long smoker, so her health wasn't the best. Prayers, please, that they can figure out what's going on.

Thank you!

 

Edi, I'm sorry your DS's health is so bad, and I hope the doctors can find what is going on and can help her.  Sending positive thoughts her way for a good outcome.

 

Lenda

[Seasick Sailor]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We had a late lunch.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves today.

 

Graham that pizza looks incredible!!

[atexsix]

34 minutes ago, 57redbird said:

In & out of the Silverdale Costco yesterday for my Covid shot in less than 25 minutes -- took me longer to find a parking place.  Arm isn't at all sore today.

parking at costco can be an adventure.  I usually go and get my spot an hour sometimes before they open, when I come out a half hour later every spot is gone.

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily.

Enforced disappearances sounds ominous and I pray there are no more victims. I'll celebrate whale sharks and the beach (I grew up at the shore). The quote is true. Maybe on the salad, pass on the drink and yes to the wine if someone else is buying. I have been to Spain, but not Almeria. 2 good days in history.

 

It's currently 91F, sunny and humid. We're supposed to get rain this weekend, but dry on Monday. Yesterday afternoon there was thunder, but no rain, although BFF had rain, about 10 miles from me. I had an upset digestive tract this AM, and I wasn't sure I could go to PT. I also felt like I do when I get overheated. So I drank some Gatorade and had a piece of toast, and finally felt better. I'm just back from PT. I was going to stop in the grocery store that's practically next door to PT, but with the heat and my general malaise, I just came home. I should feed my sourdough starter tonight, in anticipation of making bread this weekend.

 

@TiogaCruiser Lovely sunrise and other photos.

@StLouisCruisers Thanks for our startup today. Good luck with the stocking completion. Back stitching is time consuming, but adds so much to the final result.

@Denise T Congrats on getting the first draft of the dissertation completed! You deserve to relax now.

@smitty34877 I hope you and the family have a good weekend.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Congrats on booking new cruises.

@marshhawk Thanks for the explanation. Sorry about the work issues. You shouldn't have to ask the neighbor for your pay for dog walking, she should have it to you on time.

@tjcox9 A glimpse of Almeria.

@kochleffel Good to hear that your meeting went well. 

@RMLincoln Prayers for DGD and her newborn. 

@ger_77 I hope the garage door opener is installed soon. Changing pillows helped me years ago when I had lots of stiff neck issues. I also availed myself of a friend's PT department and got heat, massage and even traction. A massage for DH sounds good.

@Vict0riann Very nice journal entry by Pat and photos from Almeria. Sad news about your cleaning lady Leanne - prayers for her.

@NextOne Prayers for DSIL!

@grapau27 Great looking pizza!

@bennybear Nice beach photos.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers to those Celebrating.

Edited August 30 by JazzyV

[Vict0riann]

1 hour ago, RedneckBob said:

Nice photos. What year was your 42 day cruise?

2014 eek ten years ago!

[grapau27]

47 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Graham that pizza looks incredible!!

Thank you Joy.

Sending you my very best wishes for a fabulous cruise on Westerdam.

[RedneckBob]

34 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

2014 eek ten years ago!

Wow, just missed you. Did this cruise in 2013!

[erewhon]

Good morning, thanks for the HAL fleet report and the daily.

After volunteering commitments the past three days, today hopefully will be focused on chores at home,..........  the garden is calling. 

Will read all the posts later.

@grapau27  have you ever been a contestant on the "The Chase"?   The TV program is very popular here in NZ.

[StLouisCruisers]

2 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

@Vict0riann prayers for Leanne.  What a wonderful itinerary.  To Europe and back and no flying.  Come on HA let's do that one again. 

 

@NextOne prayers for your DSIL. 

 

@grapau27 beautiful pizzas!   Yum! 

 

Nancy, HAL does offer this same cruise with some variations in ports, of course.  Nov. 9 on the Volendam, 42 days.  And again next year on Oct. 7 on the Volendam but that time it's 45 days.  This year it's roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale and next year it's roundtrip New York.  These days they go further east in the Med doing Egypt, and in 2025 they go to Istanbul.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We had a late lunch.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves today.

 

Yum!  Looks so good!

[grapau27]

20 minutes ago, erewhon said:

Good morning, thanks for the HAL fleet report and the daily.

After volunteering commitments the past three days, today hopefully will be focused on chores at home,..........  the garden is calling. 

Will read all the posts later.

@grapau27  have you ever been a contestant on the "The Chase"?   The TV program is very popular here in NZ.

We watch the Chase most days here in the UK.

I have never been a contestant on any TV programmes and never will but thank you for asking.

Graham.

 

[grapau27]

16 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Nancy, HAL does offer this same cruise with some variations in ports, of course.  Nov. 9 on the Volendam, 42 days.  And again next year on Oct. 7 on the Volendam but that time it's 45 days.  This year it's roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale and next year it's roundtrip New York.  These days they go further east in the Med doing Egypt, and in 2025 they go to Istanbul.

 

 

 

 

Yum!  Looks so good!

Thank you Sandi.

It was a thin based Romana Pizza and was delicious.

[Haljo1935]

17 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you Sandi.

It was a thin based Romana Pizza and was delicious.

Yummy! Looked fabulous - thanks for sharing. 

[Haljo1935]

We are a month out from our end of season AK sailing on the Eurodam.  Rec'd an email today for an upgrade @ $99pp. Called w/deck plan in hand. 

Told ship is full and only 3 cabins available; all OV w/one fully obstructed.

A couple weeks ago they offered us a paid upgrade to an unobstructed verandah for $1785pp.

Lots of people wanting to say adios to AK for the year; I hope they don't run out of pea soup 😕 

[FlorenceItaly]

4 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

We are a month out from our end of season AK sailing on the Eurodam.  Rec'd an email today for an upgrade @ $99pp. Called w/deck plan in hand. 

Told ship is full and only 3 cabins available; all OV w/one fully obstructed.

A couple weeks ago they offered us a paid upgrade to an unobstructed verandah for $1785pp.

Lots of people wanting to say adios to AK for the year; I hope they don't run out of pea soup 😕 

Pardon me for lurking...did you book it???

[Haljo1935]

21 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Pardon me for lurking...did you book it???

Yes I looked, no I didn'ttake it. It wasn't the crazy offer like the previous one, but didn’t net us a better cabin so we turned it down. 

We're in an OV (1st time going to AK w/out a balcony) - one classified as partially obstructed but in reality is not blocked at all.

[rafinmd]

I hope I'm not getting into a controversial area here but there are very few ships that regularly carry priests.  The only ones I know of are HAL (but apparently not all cruises), Queen Mary 2, and Crystal but like anything in life there are no guaranties.  Crystal Serenity left Los Angeles Tuesday on a 17-day Panama Canal cruise Los Angeles to New York.  The first night out, just a few hours out of Los Angeles, the ship had to turn back for a medical evacuation (yup, the Priest),  They are trying to arrange a last minute substitute to join the ship somewhere, but not yet.  Quite a turnaround, prayers for the Priest.

 

Roy

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes I looked, no I didn'ttake it. It wasn't the crazy offer like the previous one, but didn’t net us a better cabin so we turned it down. 

We're in an OV (1st time going to AK w/out a balcony) - one classified as partially obstructed but in reality is not blocked at all.

We are in a large interior (casino deal) on an upcoming 14 day(Zuiderdam) so very interested in the current upsells.  I like the obstructed OV's because they are floor to ceiling windows.  It sounds like you are in one of these on deck 4.  I am not of the opinion a balcony is necessary for Alaska.  Years ago, I(solo) sailed Alaska not in a balcony.  It was fine.  You are on the public decks so much.  In 2017 we(with dh) in a Neptune and this was very nice.  Have a wonderful cruise!