It was a very lazy day at sea as the Volendam plied its way across the very flat but foggy Yellow Sea on its way to Incheon, Korea. After a strenuous couple days of touring Shanghai it was difficult to get up and going. Since it was Sunday, we attended the interdenominational service at 9 before starting to read a new book, 'The Boys in the Boat' about the 1936 UW Crew team that won Olympic gold medals for n Berlin.
There was a Mariner Award Ceremony (we didn't get any recognition but should after the completion of this cruise) and Luncheon and we sat with an Aussie and a Kiwi couple. The husband of the Aussie couple had a very cool job testing and repairing Ferrari automobiles and competitive race cars while the Kiwi fellow owned his own pharmacy before retiring.
The Future Cruise consultants (Lynne and Larry) gave a presentation on the history of HAL and an introduction to major 2017-2018 itineraries. They indicated that the Nieuw Statendam's first sailings would be in the fall of 2018, and a third ship in the Pinnacle class is under construction.
Jeremy presented on Beijing and it was good. Afterwards I chatted with HeyJude & her husband about our upcoming shore excursion to the Great Wall along with other travel items. I find it fun to chat with other cruise critic participants and get to know them more than just electronic blips.
After our second Gala night dinner and a short presentation by Philip, our Location liaison, on Korean side dishes, the main stage flautist, Steven Clark, was probably the best flautist we've seen perform on a cruise ship.
We exchanged some money for Korean Won (roughly 1,000 to 1) and decided to retire early without seeing a western cowboy movie. We have a full day planned for Incheon tomorrow.
Regarding our Korean immigration, they are doing independent traveler passport review in the Explorer's Lounge on Deck 5 while the HAL tour participants will be reviewed in the main showroom. This should speed up the immigration process compared to the Chinese method. But we'll see. Stay tuned.
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