We had another fun dinner last night and, again, ended up in Voyager Lounge till midnight - so much for going to bed early so we could get up at 6:30 this morning. We left the ship around 8:30 am for barrier reef and I will let Marcie explain why the conditions were bad - strong currents, winds, etc. We took the submarine ride once we arrived and there was no air conditioning and we saw few fish as the seas were all churned - frankly, it made me almost sick to my stomach from the heat. Back to the ship at noon, bumpy ride back, and I am thrilled to be "home" - taking a book and planting myself in the shade at the pool and I will await the arrival of the Capt for his afternoon game in the water - I keep my sunglasses on so no one realizes how much I stare at him!! Met more colorful folks in the lounge last night - we have met one great couple from Chile - I think they are largest importers of Chilean wine into US - fascinating couple and fun - it seems that when the conversation gets to whether people are retired or not the answer seems to be "yes I just sold my company" and "we take 3 or 4 cruises a year when we're not on our 77 foot yacht or 101 foot yacht"...never said in a bragging way just the way it is - and these couples are not old - all extremely nice and fortunate to be leading such lovely lives. I sense some loneliness with some of the older single woman and they are very protective about their onboard friendships - cannot wait to tell you people to ignore, etc, when the reality is they just want you to themselves - I don't mean ME just people they meet - met a couple from Michigan and turns out he and I attended a wedding together in Bloomfield Hills, MI 37 yrs ago! We both knew the groom but not each other - small world - tonight we are eating with Paul and another guest I haven't met and Tom and Marcie - the couple from Chile want to hire a driver and do Shanghai on our own and i told her to make the plans and count us in - another couple from Reno and Florida (big boat) will host cocktail party in their suite for the lounge lizards - thank God we are "true" lizards. The second marriage stories are always so interesting - did you meet him after he was divorced or while still married? Of course this question is never asked and you have to wait till the late hours in the lounge to get the real scoop - loose lips - there is NO white Sambuca on the ship only black which we all hate - I think lack of it has helped my "reporting" duties in the lounge - I do substitute but miss our favorite drink with expresso - they say they'll have it onboard after next port - and then I may have loose lips - more later