World Cruise - Day 57 - Mar 9 - At Sea

The past few mornings have had low lying clouds at the horizon, this morning was not an exception:

We had to do a temperature check this morning for our upcoming entry into Japan—everyone on the ship has to participate.  I remember that the last time Krissie and I went to Japan, they did a temperature check in the airport.  Also, there was a virus going around at the time (I forget the name?) that was primarily centered in the US and Mexico, so Japan was very wary of visitors coming from those two countries.

I finally beat Wai this morning at ping pong, 21-19, but had to also beat James 27-25 to get to the finals (in ping pong you play to 21, but you have to win by 2, so if it is 21-21 you keep going until someone wins by 2 points, so in the case of our game, we were tied at 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25).

We had our Cruise Critic meeting this morning and also announced the winners of the Segment 2 Fantastic Fifteen Fotos.  Here is the winner, from Lanny Alexander:

…and here is second place, from Roberta Beckman:

…and third place, from Dan Hesse:

We won at trivia this morning with 15 out of 20, no tiebreakers (whew!).  Here were the questions we missed:  Where did Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his “I have been to the mountaintop” speech?  Memphis, Tennessee (we put Birmingham, Alabama).  What childhood disease is also known as slap check syndrome?  Fifth disease (we put scarlet fever).  How many countries use the peso—1, 4 or 8?  8 (we put 4).  What chewy candy was named after the purveyor’s 5-year-old daughter?  Tootsie Roll (we put Baby Ruth).  What continent produces more than half the world’s cacao?  Africa (we put South America).  Other interesting questions that we got right:  What body sculpting procedure was developed by two surgeons in Rome in the 1970s?  Liposuction.  What deadly disease was declared by the World Health Organization as eradicated as of 1980?  Smallpox.  Hwat Chinese leader required everyone under him to perform a loyalty dance?  Mao Tse Tung.  What in human anatomy is the atlas bone?  Spine (or neck—first vertebrae).  Whose wax figure’s fly was shown shut by Madame Tussaud’s in 1998 after patrons kept unzipping it?  Bill Clinton’s.  London’s Great Ormand Street Hospital owns the rights to what children’s book?  Peter Pan.  Where in your body can you not get stones—appendix, liver, diaphragm or tonsils?  Diaphragm.  What did Walter Hunt invent in 15 minutes in 1849 to pay off a $15 debt—corkscrew, parachute or safety pin?  Safety pin.  According to Greek mythology, what feature of the night sky was created when Hera was tricked into nursing Heracles?  Milky Way.  How many different odors can the human nose detect?  1,000, 5,000 or 10,000?  10,000.  And the question that put us over the top (thanks, Arnold!) was: What is both an English rock band and a 1920s German art movement?  Bauhaus.

Sara Geigel did a presentation this afternoon titled: “The Trip from Tourist to Traveler: Lessons learned from traveling in Asia and Africa”  She did a great job and had a full house for her presentation.  There was about 15 minutes of discussion after the presentation as well.  Great job, Sara!  (she is one of our tablemates at dinner)

We got 15 out of 20 in trivia this afternoon, winning team got 18.  Ones we missed:  Which Dickens novel begins with:  “Whether or not I shall turn out these pages must show…” (or something like that)?  David Copperfield (we put Great Expectations).  What 1969 film taught Wall-E about human emotion?  Hello Dolly! (we put 2001: A Space Odyssey).  Which pen pal of Voltaire did he refer to as Star of the North?  Catherine the Great (we put Queen Victoria).  Which trio was inspired by The Ghost in the Time Machine in naming their 1981 album?  The Police (we put The Bee Gees).  Which monster is like Medusa, having a woman’s body, claws and serpents for hair?  Gorgon (we had no idea, not even an educated guess).  Other interesting questions:  Which book promised that it “…will not put thy readers out of sort with the season”?  A Christmas Carol.  What tomboyish Peanuts character was kidnapped in 1974?  Peppermint Patty.  Which sea creature in class asteroidia can have 20 arms, although usually just has five?  Starfish.  Which word of approval finds its origin in Old Kinderhook?  Okay.  Which word was chosen by Swift in 1956 to portray plumpness and moistness?  Butterball.  What agricultural product scientist created more than 75 products from pecans?  George Washington Carver.

Tomorrow is Iwo Jima, we don’t actually port there, we just do “scenic cruising” from 11a-2p.  They will be doing commentary from the bridge during that time and there will be an Iwo Jima Memorial Service at 11:45a with all of the veterans onboard.

There is a note in the Princess Patter for tomorrow that states: “In order to comply with the Japanese Radio Communication Regulations, we will not have Internet service while in Japanese territorial waters today.”  Not sure exactly what that means, but if you don’t see daily updates for the next few days while we are in or near Japan, that may be why.  I will continue to do my daily updates, although I may be limited in my ability to post in the next days ahead?