Okie dokie, our final (let’s hope!!!) day at sea.  Sigh. Well, hey, whatever, an overnight in Yokohama is just as good for us, but we have no idea what we are going to do with all these excursion cabin credits we will have. 

So, another day at sea begins, once again with no gym because it is really moving around out there.  But the sun seems to be breaking through so maybe we can get a walk on the promenade deck later.  We just hang out in the Lido Buffet, actually finding a chair amidst the craziness that is that breakfast buffet.  We have never seen so many people awake and clamoring for food this early on any ship on any crossing or cruise!  We don’t get it. And they are all practically running!  We just want to hide in the corner with our coffee and catch up on our emails and power/water situation in Asheville (Power – yay! Water, well, it’s still a long haul!)

After the craziness of the Lido, we continue on with our morning agenda:  Coffee with Gage and Ian, the travel guide.  We skip “A City on the Sea” since we’ve seen it so often – even though it is a good presentation about the ship and life at sea.  Instead we walk the Promenade Deck in and out of the sunshine and rain drops.  We’re still moving, but it is sort of fun weaving and bobbing with the swells.  Afterward, we hit the showroom for what was supposed to be Dr. Sutherland’s last lecture (since we have another ½ sea day tomorrow, he’ll do one more) Japan – Volcanic World.  An excellent presentation on the types of volcanoes, eruptions and the multiple number of volcanos that make up Japan.

Then it is up to the crazy buffet for lunch – grabbing a table in the now sunny atrium by the pool.  We quickly grab the food before the huge rush makes their way from the lecture, scarf it down and head back to the sanctity of our quiet little cabin for our 2 hour break before Dr. Kam’s Growing Youth Culture in Japan, which is a sad statement on the isolation culture of many young Japanese, and more about the suicide rates. 

Ok, enough with that, activities done for the day!

Except that they aren’t!  Gage keeps making announcements reminding us to meet at the Lido pool at 4 o’clock today for drinks with the officers.  Huh?  We wander through, but it is too early for us for drinks as we’ve not hit the gym yet.  So we do our afternoon exercising while watching another gorgeous sunset.

Then walk back out to a fully packed Lido, officers strolling around and alcohol flowing freely.  Apparently they did this as some sort of apology for missing Kushiro.  Nice!  We had also thought that there was food, but apparently not.  Although as we stroll back through the buffet to get to the aft stairs, we spy the Asian station for the evening. Oh – buffet tonight!!!!  Sashimi, spring rolls, potstickers.  Yes sir, that is us.  It’s dressy night anyway, and you know there will be a monstrous line for the dining room….so Lido it is!

We still dress up (as much as we ever dress up!) in case it is a zoo up there and we have to dive to the main dining room, but it isn’t busy at all and we tuck into our Asian delights with relish.  I go back for 2nds on the sashimi, thank you very much!

Tonight is the instrumentalist, which we will once again ditch, and because we ate way too early, we’ve got nothing to do for at least 1 ½ hours before Billboard.  Hmmmmm.   A drink at Ocean’s Bar, and then, you know what? The weather has finally changed, and it is delightful on the balcony, which is where we retire to read for an hour or two before our Netflix TV watching and then to bed on the thankfully smoother seas!

Tomorrow….dare we say it?  Land ho?