Rain Catches Up to Zuiderdam at Final Japanese Port

Day 62, 2024 Grand World Voyage

Tuesday, March 5, 2024; Fukuoka, Japan

Today’s forecast was for rain most of the day. Fukuoka didn’t offer a shuttle bus to the center city. And I am feeling stressed about catching up on blogging and preparing for six days off the ship in China. It will be no surprise that I decided to spend the day on the ship.

As it turned out, the rain held off until early afternoon and my friends who went ashore enjoyed exploring malls, shrines, temples and other sites. I buckled down to writing and using the fast internet through my Solis SkyRoam (only available in ports) to back up my laptop to the cloud three different ways. Yes, I guess I am paranoid, but it isn’t like I have a desktop computer at home with everything on it. It’s all on my laptop, on one of my two external hard drives, or in the cloud.

Kimberly, our cruise director, is preparing us for limited access to a plethora of Internet sites while we are in China. I don’t recall it being such an issue in 2017 when I last traveled there. But the world has changed in a lot of ways since then, and having two sisters who worked in cybersecurity also adds to my paranoia. I have decided I will take my laptop along on my overland tours so I can write blog posts during plane flights or down time (if we have any).

But first, back to Fukuoka. My favorite memory of this port was our 2018 nighttime visit to the Fukuoka yatai food stalls, where eight or ten people belly up to tables for street food cooked right in front of you. Sadly, we will leave today (and again in October) before the stalls open in the evening. I thought I might visit an art supply store to find bright gold watercolor paint, but without a shuttle it was too far to walk and not important enough for a taxi.

My sister Elaine joined our travel agency hosts Susie and Keith on a quest for used kimonos. She came back with a short colorful orange one that will be perfect for Holland America’s Orange parties (a feature of every cruise).

As we left Fukuoka, we all traipsed to the terminal ashore for a compulsory face-to-face review and passport stamp as we leave Japan. Chinese immigration officials boarded to review our passports during our sail to Shanghai. Those U.S. citizens who are staying on the ship or taking approved day excursions in China do not need a visa. We will, as we are traveling off the ship. I panicked for a while last summer when I couldn’t find my old passport, which holds my still-current 10-year Chinese visa. But find it I did, so I’m set to go.

We next sail to Shanghai and Dalian, China, before arriving in Tianjin, the port for Beijing. My sisters and I will leave the ship for an overnight in Beijing, followed by flights to Xian (Terra Cotta warriors) and Guilin (Li River cruise) and a high-speed train to Hong Kong, where we will rejoin the ship.

Despite the cool temperatures and showers, we celebrated our sail away this afternoon on the Promenade Deck partially covered by lifeboats. The wonderful crew served hot chocolate, appetizers, drinks and even blankets.

Meanwhile, we have stayed busy on our rare sea days. Artist-in-Residence Ben Sack joined the cruise in Tokyo. I sailed with him last spring and again last fall. He will teach drawing and complete a giant piece of artwork depicting our world cruise. Ballroom dancing classes are proving to be quite popular, and the occasional guest chefs host cooking demonstrations.

I still am struggling with finding time to watercolor, but I have been inspired by fellow passenger Steve Broin, who spends a couple of hours in each port drawing and painting. Last week he displayed many of his paintings and today posted on Facebook a shot of him painting en plein air in Fukuoka.

A couple of times every week the crew participates in a safety drill – sometimes a simulated fire in the laundry, others a man overboard drill. In Kobe I could see them lower all the lifeboats on the port side.

This is the Zuiderdam’s first visit to many of our ports and each time the Crow’s Nest hosts a ceremony with the ship’s officers and city and port officials. They exchange plaques and – in our case – a Delft platter honoring the occasion. Years of plaques line the walls of one of the Zuiderdam’s staircases.

I started a new tradition last fall on the Grand South America & Antarctica of posting the flag of each country on my cabin door as we visit. Tonight I will take down Japan’s flag and post China’s. Unfortunately, when we get to Africa, I won’t have the appropriate flags. I only packed those on our original itinerary that included the Red Sea, Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Next time I’ll just bring flags for all the countries with an ocean coast.

Don’t worry if I don’t post for a few days. I never know what the internet service will be like in this part of the world, whether I will even have access to my website in China or whether I’ll have any time to write. I’ll be back and eventually catch up.