This day started out with breakfast in the dining room where they serve most anything you might want to eat. You can get coffee, juice, hot or cold cereal, eggs, bacon, toast, muffins, pastries, omelets, eggs benedict, and more. Sharing a table with other passengers is nice because you get to meet some interesting folks from all over the world, but the service always takes longer. In the Lido upstairs it is self serve so it is much quicker to eat if you are in a hurry. Others prefer to dine in the privacy of their own cabin and will order room service.

The shore excursion team presented tour options for several upcoming ports in Indonesia. We then attended a cake-decorating contest between some of the Rotterdam singers and dancers. Two boys competed against two girls to see who could decorate the best cake with the ingredients given. They had frosting with food coloring options, chocolate sprinkles, fresh fruits, powdered sugar and chopped nuts. The girls created a beautiful cake using fresh fruits while the boys used too many competing items and it was just a bit of a mess.

We watched an afternoon movie based on a true story titled “Beyond Rangoon” with Patricia Arquette and Frances McDormand about a woman who travels to Burma in the 1980’s after the murder of her son and husband. She loses her passport at a political rally and falls in with students fighting for democracy. She ends up traveling through Burma during civil unrest and witnesses many bloody acts of repression by the dictatorship. She finally escapes to Thailand after many harrowing experiences.

Before dinner, Mark walked on the promenade deck, while Kent headed to the gym and sauna. For dinner we shared a table with the Russian classical pianist who has been performing onboard.

The evening show was a variety show featuring Chuck Curry the trumpet player and Adam Westcott the flamenco guitarist.