Just as we expected, the further north we have traveled, the colder it got. At 7am, the temperature outside was in the mid 30's and the skies were actually blue. No clouds to be seen. We don't believe it ever got higher than 41 degrees for the rest of the day. The chill from the wind was cutting.
There were fewer folks at breakfast this morning, and we think that spending two days in Shanghai wore most everyone out. They earned a morning of sleeping in. We did hear some stories about the tours yesterday. Some of the guests got left behind when they strayed from the group or were unable to access the Yu Garden because they were using a scooter. Apparently the bus driver and tour guide only gave these folks a few minutes to re-connect with the group, then left them behind. We heard that one person went back to the nearby shuttle drop-off and went back to the ship. Oh well, stuff happens sometimes and we have seen it happened many times in the past. More often, people decide to go back and do not tell anyone. So you can be waiting for an hour in a hot bus for people that are not coming like in Athens for instance. And that is another reason we choose not to do ship tours these days.
We did a morning walk and there were only six of us outside on the promenade deck. There was absolutely no one using the teak lounges and the pads were not out. Blankets have replaced the towels for a while. Even bundled up, we had a hard time keeping warm no matter how fast we walked.
Kimberly delivered her talk on the next port of Dalian at 10am, but it did not show up on the TV until late afternoon. After seeing the photos of this city, we are certain we have never been there. Because of the Russian and Japanese influences, it is not like the other typical Chinese cities we have seen. There will be a shuttle, but we are still unclear as to what is close by to see. It appears that the bus drop-off will get us to an area where buses or taxis can be accessed. Whatever, we will make the best of it as will many of the guests we know. It is also a Sunday and we will not know what is opened tomorrow.
The second talk by Kimbely was on Beijing at 2pm. We will have to watch that later on or tomorrow. The actual port will be in Tianjin, which from memory, is a long ride to Beijing.
Working on yesterday's photos and reports took most of the day. Around noontime, we took a walk to deck nine in search of hot chocolate. There was none to be found in either drink station in the Lido. We asked one of the waitresses, and she looked in the cabinet, but came up empty. Then she left to look elsewhere and we waited for her return. Seeing us standing there, our breakfast assistant manager of the Pinnacle Grill, Dhana, came over and asked what we needed. Both girls came up empty. So we thanked them and went to the Seaview Pool to see if the sun was shining in a sheltered spot. Then Dhana appeared with three packets of chocolate mix which she found in the Pinnacle Grill. How sweet of her to hunt us down. These were the last packets they had. We made our cups and went back to our seats outside. It was close to the Captain's talk, so we sat back there and listened to a speaker that was working. The report was good with fair seas and chilly temps…..all of which we knew and appreciated. Captain Frank went on with information on yesterday's port of Shanghai and the fact that it is the number one largest port in the world. No wonder we saw so many boats, ships, and commercial vessels since they supply the largest area of China with everything from food to supplies.
For a change, there was a sunset this evening. We captured it while walking briskly on the promenade deck around 5:45pm. It looked as if the sun was melting on the clear horizon . Watching closely for that green flash, it never happened. At the same time, we were surprised by the presence of two large doves that must have hitched a ride with us in Shanghai. They darted off and on the promenade deck.
We had a cocktail party to attend at 6:30pm in the Gallery Bar on behalf of Gus Antorcha for the President's Club members. The Captain and Henk greeted us then we were served drinks of our choice. This time they provided stand-up tables that we like. In a few seconds we were joined by the environmental officer and his lovely wife, who happens to be the art instructor onboard. We spent an hour sharing happenings on the ships as well as our home countries of the USA and Wales, a place we have yet to visit. The hour flew by then we were off to dinner. We had appetizers of shrimp cocktails, Caesar salads, and mains of veal parmigiana and flat iron steak. They were repeats from a week or so ago, but still tasted fine. Desserts were one chocolate tart and pineapple slices…..still sweet and ripe as ever.
The Four Stations vocal group put on a farewell show tonight. Their new musical show was sure to capture the hearts of the audience once again.
Bill & Mary Ann
