Warren -- I'm sorry you missed the trip to Corregidor. Too bad you just didn't take one o the ferries that do tours there daily. I visited there on the 2007 WC and it was a very meaningful experience.

On the CC board there have been some complaints about missed ports and delayed arrivals/departures.

For those who might be interested, I am repeating some of my musings on the subject that I posted there:

"I understand the concerns that people have when they make arrangements for activities (such as for land trips) based upon scheduled ship arrival times. On short cruises that frequently follow the same route I imagine this is normally not much of a problem.

"However on longer cruises, such as a world cruise, many additional factors enter into whether a ship can keep to it’s published schedule.

"When you have long passages between A and B and C, for example, it can be difficult to “make up” time.

"The Captain and crew have to deal with changing wind conditions, unpredicted currents, varying sea states, etc. Plus, you are subject to the varying efficiencies of harbor pilots and longshoremen. Then there are the customs and immigration clearances that vary from country to country. Sometimes ship provisioning doesn’t run according to schedule. Also, delayed arrivals impact the excursions schedules and adjustments need to be made continually. Then throw in a minor mechanical problem or two just for good measure (but remember these are floating cities with many subsystems that need to run 24/7). All of these issues can impact departure times and arrival times.

"Captain Dag and the staff do their best to keep to the schedule while making every effort to give the passengers the cruise they signed up for. In the end, it takes flexibility on behalf of the both crew and passengers to make a WC happen. IMO, they are doing a great job and we are having a wonderful cruise."

BTW, it is Thursday afternoon here in the Taiwan Strait...anc very foggy. The horn has been blasting since the around noon. We understand there has been an earthquake just to the east of our path.

Forecast for our arrival in Shanghai tomorrow is evening snow showers and 32 degree temp. Yuck. Capt. Dag has invited me to view the voyage up the Huangpau River from the bridge. So that should be exciting viewpoint (and warm!) to watch all the heavy industry and river traffic.