March 25,
2012—Shanghai
We had booked another 9-hour tour in Shanghai, but since my
Dad had been sick, and after experiencing the previous 9-hour excursions we had
done in both Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, we were not looking forward to such
a long excursion. So we cancelled the
excursion and decided to just stay on the ship. With the issues I had experienced with the Chinese visa (that’s a whole
other story in itself), I was a little relieved that I wasn’t getting off in
this port.
The ship was late docking in Shanghai and the captain had announced that
it was due to congestion in the harbor.
We ended up being an hour late docking, so all the excursions were
delayed. The captain did announce that
due to the late arrival, the ship would extend its stay in Shanghai by an hour, so the all-aboard time
was pushed back.
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| Docked in Shanghai |
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| Diamond Princess Lido Deck Outside Pool |
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| Diamond Princess Lido Deck Inside Pool |
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| Diamond Princess |
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| Diamond Princess at the port of Shanghai |
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| Diamond Princess in Shanghai (view from the stern) |
My parents had spent a relaxing day reading and playing on
the computer. They had gone to lunch in
the buffet and said they were the only passengers there.
After my spa day, I went to the Lobby Bar for my afternoon
cappuccino and spent time talking with Ronald.
He hadn’t gone out in Shanghai . A few of the crew did go out, but Ronald said
he caught up with some much-needed sleep.
The crew work so many long hours and the split shifts doesn’t allow for
much continuous sleep—instead many of them sleep in spurts a few times a
day—maybe 3-4 hours at night, then an hour or two in the afternoon during a
3-hour break, and even a 30 minute nap during a dinner break. It really is a hard life working so many
hours and never getting a full day off—the most they can hope for would be a
few hours off on a port day and those times off are rotated among to crew to
allow each of them some time in the ports the ship visit. Many of them spend this time sending money
home, shopping for necessities, and eating something other than what’s offered
in the crew mess.
Dinner was as always, excellent. I had the gnocchi as an appetizer, a Caesar
salad, and the Chateaubriand with extra Béarnaise sauce. On top of that, I ordered dessert—a vanilla
soufflé with Lady Godiva sauce—yum!
My parents made plans to go see the show—a ventriloquist
that had been on “England’s Got Talent” (similar to the same show in the US)
and had made it to number 3—Kelvin, the cruise director, had told me he was
very good (but of course, the cruise director would never say they had a show
on board that wasn’t any good). Since I
really don’t like ventriloquists, I headed for my usual spot.
Instead of having my usual amaretto, I decided to have
something different. Richard ended up
making me a Japanese Slipper which is melon and orange liquors and lemon
juice. When Richard went on his dinner
break, Ronald came in to cover and asked what I was drinking. I told him and also told him I liked the
melon liquors. Next thing I knew Ronald
had put another drink in front of me and saying I should try that one—it was
also made with melon liquor and was called a melon ball. I have no idea what else was in it, but both
drinks were stronger than my usual amaretto (or maybe I’m just used to drinking
the amaretto). In any case, I left by
10:30—considering we were moving our clocks forward that night, it probably was
a good idea to leave before midnight.
Tomorrow was another sea day, and we only had two more ports
to go.
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