This was the first of two sea days on our way to Shanghai, China. The weather is a cooler 55 degrees for the high and some clouds although we had no rain.

We enjoyed many activities this day like the Morning Show with cruise director Jorge who interviewed the six onboard dance hosts. Next was the talk outlining the available shore excursions for the ports from Hong Kong to Komodo Island.

We heard a lecture from Ambassador Krishna Rajan about whether this could be the century of Asia. They consider the last century a U.S. Century and the 19th Century the century of Europe. He felt that it was quite possible but that there are still a lot of issues that may affect this being the century of Asia.

In the afternoon there were two lectures by Captain Thomas G. Anderson. The first was about the Communications at Sea: Whistles, Codes and Flags. The second was about the Nautical Origin of Everyday Expressions.

In the evening the dining room was decked out in hundreds of red Chinese lanterns and Dragons for a Gala evening dinner. On the Gala nights the menu normally has things like steak and lobster or chocolate soufflé. The veal was excellent on this night as was the carrot cake.

The evening’s entertainment was a show by the Amsterdam singers and dancers called Amour. The show was a compilation of songs from Chicago to Gloria Estefan. It was an upbeat and entertaining show although the seas were quite rough making it difficult on the dancers to perform.