It is 5:30am and I am, once again, in the Crow’s Nest. This is my second time here this morning. I
arrived, discovered how cold it was, and returned to our stateroom to don my fleece jacket. One of
the two other passengers here appears to be wearing a down ski jacket.

I am reminded of the words of a song; “What a difference a day makes, twenty four little hours”.
Since this time yesterday morning, there has been more than a significant change in temperature.
Yesterday morning, the ship was pitching and rolling so severely that I was worried I would not be
able to get to the bathroom without falling and injuring myself. Earlier on the cruise I had coined a
new safety slogan; “Break a hip, end the trip!” I did not want to become the ‘poster child’ for this
cautionary warning.

In a previous message, I wrote about ‘pitching and rolling’ as well as the belief I had that we were
hitting icebergs and whales. Yesterday was like a crazy wild ride in an amusement park. I was not
amused. Later, when I asked seasoned passengers about the experience, they said they had seen worse but not for over such an extended period of time. One frequent cruiser even told me of a
rogue wave hitting the ship so hard it left a big dent in the hull.

We had been experiencing a couple of days of rough water but the night before last was the most
extreme. I feel fortunate that the worst was during the night. For only the second time since we have
been underway, I took an itsy bitsy tiny little pill called a Dramamine. While this prevented seasickness, it did not prevent me from believing that, at any moment, I was going to be tossed out of my bed onto the floor. It was similar to times on airplanes when I have experienced extreme turbulence.
There was one point when I was convinced someone had entered our stateroom and given a hard
shove to one corner of my bed.

If the rocking and rolling were rhythmic and consistent, one could pretty much anticipate the ship’s
next move and make one’s own moves accordingly. Such is not the case. The ship would be going
along and then suddenly rise up and smack down hard. Sometimes, it would shake violently. Mary
said she thought the ship was going to break apart. It was amazing to me to hear all the different
sounds of creaking, rubbing and popping our stateroom was making.

I had decided not to even get out of bed yesterday morning after the rough night. I assumed we
would have more of the same wild ride all day long. But, the pitching, rolling and shaking seemed
less violent and soon the Captain was on the public address system letting us know he got us
through the storm and was heading the ship on a more peaceful course. Captain Jonathan had been
up all night and he was heading for bed.

Weather, that did not seem as rough as the days I just described, prevented us from stopping in Saipan.
I was up in the Crow’s Nest early on the morning we were supposed to dock at Saipan. I saw
the lights come into view and eventually fade out of view again. I suspected there was a problem
which prevented us from stopping. I mentioned my thought to one of the passengers and later overheard
another passenger quoting me. I was right. The wave action was severe enough to make the
ship’s entrance into Saipan’s port dangerous. Captain Jonathan explained the problems of a narrow
entrance to the harbor and a pier being battered by high waves as a reason to forgo this port visit.
When I decided to go on this world cruise, a wise old woman advised me that there would be problems
but I would be able to handle them. I am hoping that this minor disappointment of not touring
Saipan is one of those problems. There were a number of entertainers expecting to board the ship in
Saipan so their adjustment must have been quite a lot bigger than ours when they realized they were
left behind.

Our entertainment schedule had to be changed due to the fact that entertainers could not get
onboard. The schedule also had to change because a ‘shore’ day had become a ‘sea’ day. On ‘shore’
days very few activities are scheduled onboard the ship due to the fact that almost everybody will be
going ashore. The ‘shore’ days are also a break for the hardworking crew. When we passed Saipan,
the crew scrambled to create a new schedule of events. I heard there is a printer located way out of
sight at the bottom of the ship which was working overtime to produce a new schedule.
I am not sure when and where I picked up the slogan; “Adapt yourself to the circumstances” but it
certainly applies to situations like this. I know that the crew had to be disappointed but they never
let on. They remained as cheerful and friendly as always. I am glad of that!