Report # 53 Sailing Towards Madang, Papua New Guinea February 20, 2014 Thursday Partly cloudy, 85 degrees

We lucked out today, because the skies remained grey throughout the afternoon. Although that sounds strange, but the clouds kept the temperatures down enough to make it pleasant outside. There were occasional light showers, which kept the breeze cool.

There were two talks in the Queens Lounge. Filmmaker Peter Mcgugan spoke about the power of appreciation. A different type of talk was given by none other than a fellow guest. He told stories concerning the progression of the US space program, starting with the Sputnik program many many years ago. He did so well, that the audience hopes he returns to the stage again.

With three of our dinnermates gone this evening, we had company. One of our hosts, Tom M, Maureen, the arts and crafts instructor, and Cindy, a former Lead Medical Officer joined us. Cindy has come onboard officially to work at a different job, a promotion for sure. It was fun catching up on where we have all been for the last two years since we saw her. The subject also arose concerning the latest incident on an HAL ship in the Caribbean. We have yet to see this pop up on the news, but a passenger was assaulted by one of the room stewards, and may have been thrown overboard from her balcony, if it was not for one of her neighbors that heard her screaming for her life. No one on our staff has commented on this situation, and Cindy said they have been briefed about not saying anything as of yet.

There were few choices for us on the menu this evening, so both of us ordered the alternate sirloin strip steak with loaded baked potatoes. They were tender and tasty....even better than the porterhouse steak they served a few weeks ago.

Showtime featured a singer by the name of Seamas Earley, a name we are familiar with, since she has performed on the world cruise before. We heard that the singers and dancers were OK last night, but not outstanding. They joined us recently, coming from a Seabourn ship we believe.

Looking forward to tomorrow's port of Madang....a new one for us.