7 Days - 7 Time Changes

We are on our last sea day of the trip and we think that the 7 time changes that we have had in the last 7 days is finally getting to us. We managed to get up earlier today but it is hard to keep any routines with the "hour forward tonight" notice on the bed every evening. we are about 5000 miles from the port in China and have covered about 3000 since leaving Japan. The number of activities seems to have slowed as we approach Alaska. Tomorrow we are along side at 5 am. About 1100 people are staying on with only 700 or so leaving the ship. Another 1000 or so are boarding. We probably will see every street and house in Whittier since everybody lives in one condo building. All 200 of them. We hope that the snow is gone at least in the streets. We will be into the fiord the next day and the captain reported that there is a pod of whales in the area. Still having trouble eating the 15 meals a day.

Sailing In the North Pacific

These time changes are a killer. An hour every night means that we are going to sleep later and sleeping in more and more. Today we almost missed the dance class at 10:30! Needless to say we are missing a meal (breakfast) and going straight to lunch. That of course means more eating to catch up on the missed opportunities. We are filling our days with talks and shows. The captain gave a very nice interview the other day on life at sea and how at 38 he is the CO of this ship. It was very interesting and he is probably the most personable of all the captains that we have heard. We are getting better at dancing and the lessons are a big help. They have an hour every day where one can practice the various dances. Waltzes are good, cha cha is doable but the tango is still a bit confusing. We figure that by Vancouver we will be able to hold our own.
Our table of 10 is getting along quite well. We have 6 Californians, 2 Aussies (from New Zealand) and one good looking Canadian couple (us). We have been having special orders almost every night. Onion rings, chicken wings, chocolate pie, banana cream pie and coconut cream pie for the table have all been delivered as a special request. Never a shortage of food, just a need to loosen our belts every day.
We are in Alaska in 2 more days . Some people are reporting whales and dolphins but so far we have not seen any. Perhaps tomorrow.

2 Mondays at Sea

We have been sailing for a few days now and the Internet connections seems to be much faster that a few days ago. The Japanese do not allow ships to use the Internet in their waters so the system was down for a few days. The weather is getting cooler - now around 40F as a high - as we are heading north east towards Alaska. They have plenty to do on the ship but it seems that just relaxing is the best thing. We have been changing time zones every day so the body clock is a bit out in the mornings. However we don't need to get up. Most days we have gone to the dance and line dancing sessions as well as eat and watch the shows. Today we did the Tango but are still not ready for dancing with the stars! Hardly enough time to eat! Food is great and plentiful.
Today is Monday as it is the second one this week. We are approaching the International Date Line where we get back the day we "lost" when we flew to China. One woman told us that since we are on the second Monday. she was concerned that tomorrow will be Wednesday! Where is Tuesday was her question. Our mini-suite TV problems seem to have been corrected. Other than being too cold to sit on the balcony, everything else is fine.

Volcanoes in Muroran

The Japanese were at it again. after promising that the procedures for going ashore would be short, we again were hours getting clearance. The entire ship needed passport control; no problem there as we did that the day before. The medical screening was the same stuff. Everyone from the Captain on down needed screening. We were scheduled to go ashore at 8 am; but ended up leaving around 10am. What that means is that with a 4 hour excursion, we got back late and it is hard to go wandering as the ship leaves early.
We were off to Mount Uso which was active in the mid 1940's. The steam was still rising from parts of the area as it is an active volcanic zone. We took the gondola ride to the top of a nearby mountain for views of the entire area. A side walk up to the rim of the crater was billed as 139 extra steps. However you could go down into the pit which was still steaming. The entire distance down was about 710 steps. My legs were a bit tired after that!
The next stop was at a massive crater lake. The highlight was a foot bath in the natural hot spring water. Then the return to ship features a stop at some buildings that were covered by a recent lava flow and a stop to take a picture of a cherry tree in bloom. Hokkaido is the northern most of the main Japanese islands and has a climate much like Southern Ontario. Many vegetable and dairy farms dot the area. They also claim the best beer in the world. It was good but I am not sure of the "best" claim.
After a quick stop at the ship, we took the free shuttle downtown. The city is not that big and the shops were very expensive. we managed to find a "7-11" type shop that sold wine so we spent our last yen on wine and chips. We found a California "bottom of the barrel tasting" wine as well a locally produced wine which we have not tried yet. A quick shuttle back and as we were leaving a Japanese dance troupe entertained us until we were far off the dock. If only Japanese officials would be a little easier to deal with.

Ashore in Vladivostok

Vladivostok Russia marks the end of the line for the Trans-Siberian Railroad. That was our venture ashore yesterday. The ship was docked right in the middle of the city so it was an easy walk to all the sites. The city only gets 2 cruise ships a year - this repositioning and then the return next winter. The city generally has not learned to take advantage of the tourist who want to spend their money buying local items.
Our first stop was at the train station which finally came out of the fog. Ornate outside plain inside. Around the street corner was the large square dedicated to the protectors of the East. May 9Th is May day with a large parade to commemorate V Day of World War 2. The Admiral of the Pacific Fleet is the inspecting officer and they were doing a practice. There were many units on parade as well as the missiles on trucks (I suspected they were the tactical nuclear weapons); as well as the short range missiles as well as the armoured personal carriers and hospital trucks and various other trucks. We shot video of the parade and will see what we have when we get back.

Russians on Parade

We also toured the WW2 submarine with "10" sinking during the war as well as the wall of remembrance (Vietnam like memorial) for those who died in the war. After that we walked a long way up the main street looking for the local market. The markets are usually places of interest. We did come across a restored(?) Russian Orthodox church and a chapel in a nice mid city urban park. We wandered some more and finally found the market which was nothing but a meat and vegetable place. Not much of interest. We wandered back looking for a local pub but never recognized one. That ended our 5 hours ashore. As we prepared to get moving as the fog rolled in an American Cruiser (a cruise missile ship) came into port for the celebrations.
They did have a Russian group on the ship for a performance. It was very poorly done. They insisted that they use their our microphones which did not work. They walked off stage. The ship fitted them with head mikes which they did not like; then stand up ones which they did not like. Off stage again. Finally they sang without them. You can imaging a 1000 seat hall without amplification. They did not bring any Russian dancers with them. All in all it was poorly done from their point of view.
Today we are again at sea. We finished Japanese immigration and they have promised that the "thermal screening" will only take 2 and a half hours tomorrow instead of the 5 that it did the last time in Japan. The bands will be playing, free hop on and off, drum ceremony at the end of the visit. They know what a good reception will mean if dollars today and in the future. Seafood buffet for lunch today. Cheers.
P.S. For those that need glasses, get them! For our good friend, happy birthday to you. Mike please print this out.

A Stop In Pusan Korea

We had another interesting stop in Busan or Pusan as we call it in English. The customs and Immigration health screening consisted of a thermal check as we all went ashore. The port itself is the 5Th busiest in the world and after seeing it we can appreciate that fact. One thing that they do there is to build ships and there were some very large ones under construction.
   Our tour consisted of a 4 hours trip to as Buddhist Temple quite far out of the city. There are so many bays and hills around that the trip takes a long time. The temple itself was very interesting as we learned about the 4 levels required to reach Nirvana. It was Children's day in Korea (another country another holiday) and the place was decorated with lanterns of many bright colours. The guide was very knowledgeable and did an excellent job explaining the various buildings and symbols of the place. After that we headed back to the city and made a stop at The United Nations Cemetery which has the sites for the fallen of the 16 nations that fought in the Korean War. Canada had a large plot with many from the Princess Pat and Canadian Regiments interned there. It was a very interesting place. After that it was back to the city and the ship. We wanted to take the shuttle downtown but the amount of time was limited. The day ended with a traditional Korean Drum Ceremony. It was a much smaller scale than the one in Japan. Speaking of Japan they have started immigration procedures for our visit although it is days away.
    Today is a sea day - finally a sleep in. We enjoyed the line dancing this morning. Veronica did an excellent job teaching 3 new dances. We were happy not to spend the whole time doing the electric slide. The ballroom Swing class was very difficult. I can't move my feet that fast. Now it is just relax waiting to eat again, which we just finished. Vladivostok Russia tomorrow. I am looking forward to see the train station of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It is at the end of the line. Cheers

Going Ashore in Japan

Drum Ceremony

After a restful day at sea, we arrived in Kagoshima Japan which is in the southern most part of Japan. This experience almost qualifies as the stop from hell. The day before landing were needed to be checked out by Japanese immigration. That was fair enough. We reported at the appropriate time for finger printing (thankfully they did it electronically) and picture taking. That was to get out departing form signed. It was a bit slow but we did that on our sea day. However the next day we had to go through 'medical screening". That involved another form and thermal scanning. I guess with the flu scare it was somewhat understandable. We even received a medical mask. Every person including the crew needed to do that before they would release the ship and let the passengers go ashore. This screening started at 6 am. That was the time we came alongside. It was also the time of fireworks and the 30 minutes of marching songs by the local band! Who gets up at 6 am! In any case it was nearly 11 am before they released the ship and we were suppose to be on a tour and the ship was leaving early. The captain was on the blower apologizing; the tour office offered to refund any money so people could cancel, etc. When was the last time you heard of that!
We headed ashore, took the very fast 15 minute ferry ride and were off to visit the volcano. The guide we had was very good and explained all the details about the last eruption and the ash that occasionally comes down on the city. Walking around the volcanic area was interesting as the ground was still "warm" although the last eruption was many years ago. After that it was back to the town and a tour of on of the feudal lords original estates. It was not that big but the gardens and the view were very nice. She did point out the bullet holes in some of the walls from a past revolution. Then it was back to the ship.
It the officials were slow to accept the ship, the people were not. There was a traditional Japanese drum performance and many people were out to see the ship depart. After the 5 hour custom wait it was a good way to end the day. Cheers!