The Volendam & Halong Bay, Viet Nam

Written 2 Feb 18

The cold weather continues and the ship is also having heating problems. Our cabin, which is in the basement this trip, is about 68* - warm enough to sleep in under blankets, but to0 cool to just relax in. About half the ship is the same cool temp and the other half, a tad warmer. The staff's answer is that they are working on it, but in a couple of days as we travel south, folks will be saying it's too hot...lol Not me or my feet – I will never complain about the heat again! We did meet a couple though, that were in Beijing on the Great Wall last week, and we it -20*!! So I guess we can suffer 68* and dreary...

The ship is quite nice and was recently refurbished. Our cabin,1864, is a nice size and has only a shower, yay!

I have met some lovely folks at trivia already, but we have not won yet in our 2 forays in the “competition”. My teammates Lizzy and Sam are from Australia and are about 30 years old – which really skews the age average aboard! Lol! It is probably about 62 and we have maybe 10 kids on board. Oh, the cruise director is Bruce, the same staffer from our Africa cruise aboard the Amsterdam.

Food so far has been good, but perhaps a bit fufu for B at dinner. The last 2 nights the soups have been over-described, so he hasn't ordered them & they were quite tasty.  One was Tomato Basil Borchette and last night was Carrot & Artichoke. Breakfast as always is terrific with bacon, eggs Benedict, build your own omelets, bacon, and more bacon... They also have a build your own salad bar in the Lido and a taco bar by the pool.

The casino has yet to be really open, because yesterday's sea day was in a regulated area and China did not allow it to be open till late. There do seem to be several poker players aboard and they had a tournament last night. I did not play because it was Gala Night and we wanted to meet all our table mates. We are at a table for 8 with 2 single ladies, a couple from Scotland and an unkown couple, but folks from California joined us last night.

Today, Friday 2 February, is the first of 4 stops in Viet Nam, but it is a tender port (which means you have to ride a small boat to get to shore) and it is cold. I have opted to stay on board and B has headed into port to hopefully find a grocery store so he can buy some soda... He says he will return before we sail or else catch up with us in the next port...lol! He also took some photos, so I will add a few when he returns and am able to get on-line.

Cheers for now

B at tender disembarkation

market area

interesting foodstuffs for sale

here fishy, fishy, fishy