NOTE: We added a couple of pictures to the post from yesterday under Hong Kong Day 2. One picture shows one of the places selling fresh fish and the other picture is from one of the areas selling fruits/vegetables. We tried to post a couple of other pictures, including Hong Kong at night, but unfortunately we were not able to post them.
The pictures we posted this evening are from the Captain’s Welcome Reception. One is of the two of us and the other is of us and our Travel Specialist and her charming husband.
Last evening after we posted our Blog, we enjoyed a wonderful sail-away from Hong Kong. There was another beautiful laser light show and it was wonderful to see this city all lit up at night during our sail away from the port. Hong Kong was quite an interesting city to visit and this is another cit that we look forward to visiting in the future.
We awoke early this morning to begin our day. Keith was not the first passenger to the Fitness Center. Mary was already there as were a man and his fairly young daughter. Anne Marie arrived about twenty minutes later. The Fitness Center was as busy as we have seen it given the time of the day. We think that the reason for this is three-fold; the ship is sold out for this leg of the world cruise, there appears to be many more younger passengers on this segment, and given that many passengers arrived to Hong Kong either on the day of embarkation or one or two days later they are getting over their jet lag and woke up earlier than normal.
Some of the younger passengers also have their children with them. Some of them are also traveling with their grandparents. This is spring break for many schools and this combined with the fact that we are on shorter segments of twelve days is why younger families are on the cruise. We found this to be the same last year for one of the segments of the 2007 World Cruise.
We enjoyed a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith and Mary spoke for the entire workout while Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. It is so nice to utilize this center and we really enjoy the machines.
During Captain Glenn’s morning announcement he noted that we were sailing n the South China Sea and cruising at a speed of 16.5 knots with three of six engines n use. Since we were ahead of schedule, he planned to reduce our overall speed. The temperature was 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “If you don’t have a dream how are you going to make a dream come true.” We certainly agree with this thought. One should always have goals in their lives both short term and long term.
Afterwards, we stopped off at the Lido Café to get some coffee. Since this is the beginning of a new voyage there was a new team of deck stewards in the Lido Café. One of them is Nat who we have come to know so well over the years. We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room.
After breakfast, we attended the Palm Sunday Service. The service was fairly well attended. We then went to the Rap With The Rabbi right after this service. Several passengers who boarded the ship in Hong Kong attended the Rap. It was another interesting session.
Later in the morning, Anne Marie picked up a complimentary needle-point kit, while Keith spoke with someone at the shore excursion desk about some of our upcoming tours.
Before lunch, we attended a lecture given by Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff who has been giving lectures since the beginning of the World Cruise. The topic of today’s lectures was “Dien Bien Phu – Hell in a Small Place.” This lecture covered the time in history when France swept Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam into French Indo-China in the 1880s. Many years later, after World War II, Vietnam fought France for her independence and in 1954 the small conquered the mighty n a tiny valley in a forgotten jungle. Once again, Dr. Wolff gave an extraordinary presentation.
We enjoyed a very nice lunch at the Main Dining Room. After lunch, we visited with some fellow passengers who have been on the cruise since Los Angeles and also spoke with a couple who just embarked in Hong Kong. We have sailed with them several times and they will be on the last four segments of this World Cruise.
This afternoon there was a special event for those passengers on the full World Cruise, which involved a look behind the scenes, related to the performances given by the Crystal Entertainers.
Before dinner, we attended the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Reception marking the first formal night of the cruise. Keith wore his new custom fit tuxedo shirt, which we had purchased while in Hong Kong. Other men wore new Dinner Jackets, which they had purchased in Hong Kong and some women were in new formal attire as well. We sat with our Travel Specialist and her husband along with some other passengers who we normally sit with.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. We each enjoyed lobster, which was flown in from Maine along with a wonderful salad and fruit for our dessert. We sat with our friends Stan and Mary.
Tomorrow, our World Cruise adventure continues as we visit Vietnam for the very first time. When we think back to the 1960’s and the 1970’s this is certainly a country of the world that we never dreamed that we would visit.
This evening we turn the clocks back one hour as we sail into yet another new time zone. We really enjoy cruising in this direction of the world as it is far easier to set the clocks backward than forward.
Keith & Anne Marie
