2nd - 3rd Oct 2019
Day 4. Sea State: Wobbly. Strong SW wind. Heading 250˚. Overcast.
Woke up this morning feeling a bit grot. Headache and shivery. Suspect got a chill after the wet and cold visit to Juneau. Decided to give the gym a miss as a result.
Every night a different 'towel sculpture' is put on your bed. Right: This is one of them. Looks a bit rude if you ask me.
Right: The atrium in the centre of the ship.
In the evening I went, for the second time, to listen to a quintet of ladies (left) who play a wide variety of music, from pop to latin-american to classical. They perform most afternoons and evenings in the Lincloln Centre, a small auditorium on Deck 2. They are absolutely brilliant and the house is always full.
Day 4. Sea State: Wobbly. Strong SW wind. Heading 250˚. Overcast.
Woke up this morning feeling a bit grot. Headache and shivery. Suspect got a chill after the wet and cold visit to Juneau. Decided to give the gym a miss as a result.
Left: Extraordinary attention to detail on board. They even change the carpets in the lifts every night to tell you what day it is.
Distance to Yokohama is 4,034 miles as the crow flies, but we are calling in at Kushiro (Hokkaido Island) and Hakodate before, so not sure what distance we will cover. We are due to pass just south of Kodiak Island.
The clocks are going back one hour each night so beginning to lose touch on what time it is in UK.
Every night a different 'towel sculpture' is put on your bed. Right: This is one of them. Looks a bit rude if you ask me. 
Left: The casino on deck 2. Roulette, Blackjack etc. plus serried ranks of complicated looking slot machines offering enormous prizes. I succumbed to temptation and paid for $20 of chips for the roulette table. I should have known better from past experience. I lasted about 20 minutes before I lost the lot.
Right: The atrium in the centre of the ship.
As mentioned, the great majority of pax are American (retirees). They are very polite and greet you with a "Hi, how are you?" (as do the staff). The universal American reply to this is always, no exception or variation, "Good" (pronounced Gurd), or if they want to eleborate "I'm good". I tend to buck the trend and say "OK", or "not bad", or "tickety boo" or, in the case of this morning, "rather grotty actually". This completely confuses them.
Not feeling particulary hungry I went for a snack supper in the 'Dive In' restaurant on Deck 9. This is a large cafeteria where you help yourself to any amount of nosh, coffee or soft drinks. There must be about 200 tables available but if you arrive at a mealtime the chance of finding a vacant one is remote. Either arrive early or wait late, or you find yourself wandering around with a plateful looking for somewhere to perch.
Day 5. Sea State: Calm. Light wind. Heading 259˚. Sunny.
Feeling much better this morning, but not 100%. Decided to give the gym a miss again until fully recovered.
After a light breakfast in cabin I just went on a wander around the ship. Passed through the shopping area which sells all kinds of expensive tat.
In the evening I went, for the second time, to listen to a quintet of ladies (left) who play a wide variety of music, from pop to latin-american to classical. They perform most afternoons and evenings in the Lincloln Centre, a small auditorium on Deck 2. They are absolutely brilliant and the house is always full.
I spoke to them after one performance. They are all from the US and hired for the ship by an agency. Amazingly, considering their vast repertoire, they only had two weeks to practice together before the voyage. Impressive. They are also very charming.
There are such talented musicians around, such as these, who probably don't earn that much money compared to some unshaven spotty drug-fuelled oik tunelessly twanging away at a guitar in front of unwashed screaming hordes and getting paid squillions. C'est la vie.
Still on track towards Kodiak Island.
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