For those of you who have cruised extensively this won't be of much interest. But, for my non-cruising friends who might be interested I thought I'd add a bit of trivia as we are still at sea for another 1-1/2 days. Than we have 3 stops in Japan.

I haven't been able to call/email, etc as I had planned because we have to chase the satellites around the heavens and when we get a good signal everyone wants to use it . I'm usually successful about midnight ..... Forgetaboutit. Has made breaking the Facebook habit a bit easier.

This cruise is definitely a semester of education. There has been so much to learn and then we've only just scratched the surface. The ship's guest presenters, combined with the Road Scholar experts allow much more depth than either one by itself. Just today I learned about Japanese geichas, the tea ceremony, samurai, what we'll see in Japan, the history of Japanese colonization, more depth on the war, etc, etc. etc. My brain is becoming a black hole, imploding on itself.

We just finished a photo contest. I entered my ship and dawn photo from Hawaii. There are cooking demos, drawing, watercolor, card, crafts, etc. classes daily, along with a fully equipped computer classroom teaching Windows10 shortcuts and performance issues.

The captain's dinner was very special, as was the silver and black ball and our numerous theme and gala evenings while at sea. Live music in 4 different venues means there is something for everyone. Live entertainment nightly in the theater is always well attended. On a long cruise like this performers are often on board for a week and do several performances.

Getting to know 62 other Road Scholars has tested my memory and recall. We have a few international members and Americans from all over the US. There is a couple from Nordland, a woman from Gig Harbor, several from the Seattle area and I've heard there is a couple (not Road Scholars) from Sequim. Sorry Spokane, no current guests but lots of people who have been to visit and/or lived there at one time.

So far I've avoided the casino, jewelry store, art auction and high-end clothing and accessory shops. Of course I still have 3 months to go, so who knows what I might come home with.