A relaxing sea day, after two very busy days in Mumbai, was a relief. We attended a shore excursion lecture about the next two ports of call as well as the location guide’s lecture on Salalah, Oman. For lunch they had a special Asian noodle bar set up with a variety of noodle dishes from different countries.

In the afternoon we attended a lecture by Bill Crews on Raiders, Submarines and Flying Boats during WWII. The lecture focused on the Indian Ocean and the battles between the British and the Japanese during this time. The British had more ships but they were older and less effective than those of the Japanese.

Afternoon tea in the dining room was a special Indian themed tea with sweets and savories from India. The tea was very sweet and had some type of milk in it. The savories included some very spicy chili sauce, while the sweets ranged from honey laden to something resembling peanut brittle. Willem, the manager of the Merabella Jewelry shop onboard joined us for tea. He is from South Africa and has only been working on ships for about a year but has had an interesting life. His goal is to open a specialty coffee shop back home in an old historic residence, complete with beauty salon, pastries, tea and unique coffees.

Mark had dinner with Tom and his Australian friends while Kent attended the early show and chatted with cast members at the Sari Dance Party in the Crow’s Nest.

The night’s entertainer by the name of Toni Warne was a finalist on BBC’s The Voice. She has performed at the London Palladium, Gorky Park Stadium in Moscow and in the heart of London’s West End. She has a superb voice and the audience loved her.