New blogger here…Gary…just thought I would try out this new contraption! A sea day today…time to fool with it. An enjoyable cruise in that we have met more people than usual to interact with on a daily basis. most americans,  but a few Brits, Canadians, and the odd It and Scand. 
Except for Hong Kong, mostly very poor countries…but energetic people, looking to the future with enthusiasm….easy to see why, they are called Tigers, or at least Tiger economies. We are traveling the East China Sea, with much of it disputed ownership…China claims it all, and other countries…Vietnam, Thai, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia all claim part of it. It will take good diplomacy over many years to keep the peace. Meanwhile they all use the sea lanes which do not seem to be all that busy…maybe we as a cruise ship are avoiding? I’ll have to ask a crew member about that.
We are at 23N today, having come from close to equator and it is 17F…very nice…no need of woolies yet! just had my nap…now for a few laps around the deck, maybe a hot tub, beer before dinner…just sailing along!! Cheers to all…G