Day 56, Sailing toward Hong Kong

Thirteen foot swells continued to pound the Amsterdam as we continue north thru the South China Sea towards Hong Kong.   Opening the exterior doors on the promenade decks starboard was almost impossible due to the high winds.  Waves and sea would occasionally break over the railing and the port side promenade was soaked with sea spray while the starboard side was dryer, but more windy.   I ventured once again to the deck 6 observation deck and the wind was so intense it was all I could do to walk from one end to the other before seeking refuge inside.   It was definitely a day to stay inside as there wasn’t much sun and with the temperature in the mid 60’s, laying out by the pool was not very inviting.

The location guide, Barbara, was the guest today on Good Morning Amsterdam. She expanded on her Hong Kong port talk and offered some more tips and suggestions about what to see and do.

Right after Good Morning Amsterdam I stopped by the Queens Lounge to hear Barbara present her port lecture on our two Vietnam ports: Da Nang and Phu My. She mentioned an issue that some guests may still harbor strong emotions about Vietnam based on the Vietnam war back in the 70’s and that people should not press other guests who may choose to not visit Vietnam for various reasons. When we visit the various Vietnam museums and memorials we should remember that everything will be presented from the Vietnamese perspective and is likely to present the USA in a poor light and look to at this as an opportunity to reflect on a different point of view.

Dr Ping Wing Kam followed Barbara in the Queens lounge and discussed some of the differences between Buddhism and other Chinese folk religions. His talk was interesting and informative as always.

With the dome shut, the weather was pleasant around the Lido pool, but still not very crowded.   There were several people playing ping pong and the table has been frequently used all cruise. I am still waiting for someone to play chess with the giant chess pieces.

They announced the winners for the second photo contest with the categories being Animals, Architecture and Pictures that have been Photoshopped. Judy and I entered a few pictures but didn’t win anything. My edited photo is shown here.

Judy continues her perfect attendance in the afternoon Arts & Crafts. Today’s project was a small jewelry pouch. Most of the sewing had been done on this one. One seam needed to be hand sewn and the drawstrings were threaded through the pouch.

There wasn’t a special theme for dinner tonight but the food was exceptional as always. The Amsterdam makes amazing pot pies and tonight they had the seafood pot pie as an option and many people at our table ordered this and enjoyed it very much.

Tonight’s show was an encore performance by the group “Opera Interludes”. Since we saw the opera “Barber of Seville” when in Sydney we recognized the song they performed from that opera and it was nice to hear it once again. The ship was rocking quite a bit, and since the Queens lounge is pretty far forward, the deck motion is much more pronounced than in other parts of the ship. The singers did stagger a bit here and there but they managed to keep their footing throughout the show. Their performance was outstanding and they received another standing ovation.

Tomorrow is Hong Kong and they will be serving “Star Ferry” rolls during our Sail In starting at 8:30 AM.

• Opera Interludes