Lazy Day at Sea
Day 33, Grand Asia 2017
Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 – At Sea
Today we sailed south through the South China Sea rather than southwest toward Vietnam. Typhoon Damrey separates us from Nha Trang, the first of two scheduled Vietnam ports, and one that we will miss by taking a circuitous route to avoid the typhoon.
Capt. Eversen is doing a good job of avoiding rough seas and winds. The ship gently rolls, but in a nonthreatening way. During happy hour(s) in the Crow’s Nest, lightning entertains us from the dark sky, followed by the beat of heavy rain on the forward windows. It is only in the dining room, in the stern of the ship, that we feel jerky movements, but that is not unusual back there.
We have a schedule of port day/sea day for the next two weeks. Our Nha Trang cancellation leaves us with two sea days now. Then: Phu My (port for Saigon), sea day, Singapore (overnight stay), sea day, Semarang, (Java, Indonesia), sea day, Benoa (Bali, Indonesia), Komodo Island (Indonesia), sea day, Darwin (Australia). Australia being a big country, we will have more sea days between the following ports of Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney.
As previously reported, my sea days fall into a routine, and today is no exception. After breakfast, watercolor class, cooking demonstration and lunch (interspersed with blog writing), I found myself struggling with the urge to doze off during an interesting Vietnam history lecture.
I’ve been fighting a bit of a head cold, as are several of my cohorts from the overland China tour. I came prepared with over-the-counter meds, but wish I had brought some soft tissues. The ship’s brand is not kind to the nose. Anyway, I returned to my cabin for a nap, followed by happy hour and dinner, where a lively (and respectful) political conversation with likeminded passengers kept us long after our decaf coffee had cooled.
Because sea days are so similar, there isn’t much new to report. I’ve tried to write more about themes relative to cruising on these days. I would love any questions or suggestions of topics you would find of interest.
We are following your blog and enjoying it. I could take a 10 to 14 day cruise and love it, but 80 days! Are you getting tired of ocean, ocean, ocean? Alaska, South Korea, and now Vietnam have resulted in more sea days. Any signs of homesickness? What do you miss most while on this extended cruise? When on shore how long does it take for the ground to stop moving?
My only homesickness came unexpectedly in Japan when I signed on to my family Snapchat page and everyone was on. Even my nephew working on a ship in the gulf. Caught me by surprise.
The crossing without Dutch Harbor was long. The 2 SK ports were replaced by 2 more in Japan, so no more sea days there.
It used to take me a week to stop moving after long sails on a sailboat. The ship is more stable so I don’t notice it much.
I miss dark chocolate covered ginger from Trader Joe’s. We call it crack. And I miss my cats. Can’t think of much else yet!
You’ve already provided us with great photos & info to use for our trip in 2018. Some questions… How’s your 1100 min wifi doing? We have Verizon phones & have purchased “international” packages before but ended up really not using other then for texts. Any advice on phones? Beside the usual immunizations, did you get anything like Hep A, typhoid, etc which CDC recommends for all ports.? Looks like Gala nights are less formal? Did you buy visa’s onboard or prior to the cruise? Thanks for providing a great blog. I’ve never blogged but intend to try!
Sue, only quick responses here. I’m down to 290 minutes, but that is very individual. I’m not using my phone for calling or even texting, just some snapchatting at times with free wifi. I already had all the Hep shots, renewed typhoid and tetanus. Didn’t need yellow fever. Yes, gala must less formal. See Cruise Critic for lots of discussions on that. You have to get Chinese visa in advance, and I got Australia early, too. Ship got Vietnam once I was on board.
Sueatthebeach (Sue?): Finally getting back to comments and posting some answers. I’m making notes for ideas for some new blog entries, too.
I used 2,100 internet minutes ($500). It worked out just about right — time to do the blog and toward the end, spend a little time on FB and Twitter. Perhaps I could have bought 2 1000-minute packages before the cruise (buying the one in advance gave me an extra 100 minutes).
I have AT&T and have to say I didn’t do ample pre-planning. I just put it on airplane mode and didn’t plan to call home while away. I only called twice, and one of those times was from Honolulu. I used SnapChat for texting. In retrospect, I think I could have called over WIFI where it was available at ample speeds. I did that from the Apple Store in Brisbane, for example. I don’t think it cost anything. I’ll check with AT&T before I go next time.
In the past I put away my phone on the cruise, but now HAL has a Navigator app with the daily schedule and other things, so I definitely used it all the time. In airplane mode!
I got every shot but yellow fever (not needed). I already had some of them. I’ve had all the Heps, typhoid, tetanus, shingles, flu and a couple of pneumonias. My doctor checked my records and gave me new ones about a month before the trip for the ones that had expired. Don’t remember which, but I did have 3 shots in one day…
You have to get the Chinese visa in advance. I used a service suggested by my travel agency, and my passport was gone for about 2 weeks. Make sure you get it for 10 years just in case you go back. I also got the Australian visa in advance. I got the Vietnamese from the ship.