Back again. Early in the morning. Every night we gain either 1 or 2 hours. So you end up waking up early in the morning. This would be a perfect cruise for the night owl LCT'ers. Extra 2 hours to party every night.

One more day at sea and then our first port in Japan. So looking forward to this. Yesterday we passed many volcanic looking islands, with cones and snow on top. I must say I was looking forward to this trip but in certain ways it has exceeded my expectations.

We still have very calm seas though we are in the midst of a very heavy fogs. Considering we crossed seas that are supposed to be very rough I think the weather gods have been with us all the way.

The Mariner is performing really well and the food and service have been excellent in my opinion. Last night my Dover Sole was simply perfect. The staff decorated Stars Lounge as a Russian Bar and had Vodka shots complimentary. They did a super job and one passenger I know had a Russian Generals uniform and dressed in this and pretended to be a Russian General. He kept the act all night and it was really quite a riot. He was so good in his role and of course eventually told everyone he was just a passenger.

Stars nightclub will be perfect for MINT and they dont know the change this room is going to undergo when the MINTERS arrive. I have let them know to be prepared and I am trying to see if we can get Mario one of my favorite bar tenders assigned to Stars for our trip.

Off to breakfast now - eggs benedict and lamp chops - perfect heaven in my opinion.