March 1st, 2024 “Not quite: Omeasaki, Japan Day 3 of 24

We had a lovely dinner last night with Gail in Marty in the Pinnacle Grill. It was a multiple course Mediterranean themed dinner with wine pairing. We ate some amazing foods and I forgot to take my normal course by course pictures. But I did attach a photo of the menu for you to peruse. We were not seated very long when the captain came on to make an announcement. We generally hear from the captain daily at noon, so to hear him making an announcement at dinner time is not normal. He informed us the there was a storm coming into Omeasaki with expected winds gusts of up to 35 mph and that is may not be possible or safe for us to dock this morning. We finished dinner and I went right to sleep again. I got 6 hours of solid sleep and wok up at 3am to the ship rocking and rolling. A little more than the gentleness that I am used to and I actually welcome. The door of the safe was swinging back and forth and crashing into itself. They was some serious creaking, noises and thumping throughout the evening. I was awake for about an hour before I dozed back to sleep until my alarm went off at 5:45am. I was up and dressed and off to the gym when it open at 6:00am. After my workout it was pretty obvious we were no where near the port and it was a safe assumption we are not pulling in. I headed home to get Megan up and she and I went to the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast. While we were there the captain made the official announcement that we in fact were not going to be able to dock in Omeasaki. The weather conditions, along with the limited availability for pilot to take us in and out in a timely manner, would have then resulted in a delayed departure which would have caused a domino effect for us. This would cause a delay in our arrival tomorrow for an overnight in Kobe. So instead the Captain took us on a scenic cruise up the coast to get an amazing view of Mt. Fuji. I have heard several passenger say they have been here several times before and have never actually seen the mountain due to weather and cloud conditions. We were so blessed today by the breathtaking views of this majestic mountain. Since today turned into sea day, Megan and I got to enjoy our first Project Linus meet up. We picked up some yarn and decided we would each do two smaller squares and then attach them all together to make one blanket. We’ll see how many we can get done in our 24 day on board. Megan spent much of the rest of the day diligently working on her homework. I went to a talk about the 2026 World Cruise as its itinerary was just recently announced last week. I also went to a port talk given by the cruise director Kimberly about our port of Kobe tomorrow. Then Megan and I met back up with Gail and Marty and did Arts and Crafts at 2:30. We sat and chatted with them and others throughout the afternoon. We had a wonderful opportunity to visit with the girls former Math tutor Bonita as well. Megan got to tutor her on her arts and craft project. Super cute to watch Megan helping this woman who has done so very much for my girls over the last 4 years being “schooled” a little by one of her students. It made my heart smile. At 6:30 pm we headed to the Crow’s nest for a welcome cocktail reception along with the other 90 passengers who got on with us in Tokyo. All the officers were there and it was wonderful to have some time to socialize with so many people we hold near and dear to our hearts. Lastly, it was off to dinner at the Canneletto. We were the only ones in the entire restaurant the whole time we were there. There are about 1150 passengers on board this year as compared to the 1400 from last year. It is definitely felt by the specialty dining establishments and we are bringing to notice it around the other areas of the ship. Today was a fantastic, relaxing and busy day. We’re getting closer to adjusting to the time difference. I am hoping to finally have a full nights rest tonight. Tomorrow morning we are expected to arrive in Kobe, Japan. We have our first excursion booked with our travel company, Cruise Specialist to Kyoto. I can’t wait to share it with you then. Blessings from across the sea.