Keelung, Taiwan

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

In today’s preamble, I wish to speak about the onboard culture of this cruise.

The character of folks on this first segment of our cruise from Hong Kong to Shanghai is so very different from what we have experienced on previous cruises, as the majority are only on board for 14 days. Passengers that are cruising together as a group, however large or small tend to keep to themselves. Even the large group of Cruise Critic folks seemed to only become a part of that group for the sole purpose of joining independent shore excursions with all the footwork being done by someone else. Where several cruises back we became an onboard family. I can understand the reasons it has changed as HAL shore excursions can be two to three times as expensive as the independent ones. (Without the HAL safety umbrella, however)

That said, I find it liberating to not have to be tied to scheduled activities, formal or informal. Just the pleasure of being at sea is quite enough.

One change I failed to mention yesterday about the Volendam was the elimination of noon lunches in the main dining, however our dining room steward, Yoga , did say it would be open on special occasions. I prefer to take my meals in the Lido or Dive-In.

I am writing this entry on the morning of the 21st as we sail for Naha, Okinawa. My brother, Joe, was stationed on Okinawa just after WWII as a crew chief on the vaunted Army Air-force B-29 bomber. On this visit I will have completed every geographical location where my three brothers and two brothers-in-law served their country in the late 40’s and early 50’s.

And now our visit in Keelung, the port city for Taipei, Taiwan…..

What a change the weather had in store for us on our arrival! Light rain as we disembarked, with strong winds and heavy rains throughout the day.

Barbara and two of our table mates, Carole and Iris, had formulated a plan to charter a taxi to take them to the Palace Museum in the Capitol city, some 35 minutes inland, and I chose to spend the day onboard with a quick trip into the port city on the provided free shuttle. Both plans worked well and the ladies returned aglow with admiration of the Chinese treasures they got to see. As for me, inclement weather in the city bade me to stay on the shuttle and return to the ship.

Hopefully I can. Add some pictures, as I have been having trouble with WORDPRESS.

Jack W Cummings Far East Adventure 2018