Let the Good Times Roll

We're headed north towards Tokyo and it's another "Sea Day" here on the Serenade of the Seas. Tokyo shares the same latitude as Athens, Greece and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We're hoping for some more Spring-like weather upon our arrival tomorrow.

Meanwhile, this was an exciting day for us at Sea -

• Gary and Linda are our good friends who we met in December of 2022, when Royal Caribbean invited all the Ultimate World Cruisers to Florida to meet one another and to sail on the Wonder of the Seas for a weekend. Gary gave Jeff some new hatbands for his cowboy hats. They were made in Montana state prison out of horse hair and are quite unique.Today, we celebrated the fact that Gary and Linda achieved Pinnacle status, the highest Loyalty level with Royal Caribbean. One great thing about this world travel experience is connecting with acquaintances, who are almost like family at this point, from all over the globe.

• Also, our cabin steward, Leo, from Bali, Indonesia, was nominated for Employee of the Month from "Front of the House." He does a fabulous job and is so well deserving of this honor. Great job Leo! (Can you come home with us to Wyoming when your contract ends to maintain our house? We will certainly miss you when this trip concludes!!)

• Thanks our accountant, Mandy Brisko, we were about to take care of all of our IRS requirements while traveling in the Pacific Ocean today. We greatly appreciate all that you do for us!

• We learned recently and our long-time friend, Juergen, who we first met on our New Zealand cruise, will be joining us for the part of our cruise that leaves from Cape Town, Africa. The cruise of Africa was not part of the original plan but when Royal Caribbean made adjustments to the itinerary, to prevent the dangerous voyage in the Red Sea, this portion was opened to friends and family of World Cruisers. And, so we're thrilled that Juergen and his wife Agnes will be onboard with us to share in the African adventure!!

• And, today, we learned of the exciting excursion opportunities that await us in Segment Three of our World Cruise - Africa! The ones we are considering in addition to the African Safari that has already been arranged include:

-East Turquoise Sailing, Port Louis, Mauritius
-Piton Maifo & Geranium Distallery, Le Port, Reunion Island
-Sibuya Private Game Reserve, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
-Gin Creation and Food Pairing, Mossel Bay, South Africa
-Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa
-Foodies on Foot, Cape Town, South Africa
-Kolmanskop: A Dessert MiningTown, Namibia, Africa
-Anlo Ewe Voodoo Experience, Tema, Ghana
... and several other exciting possibilities we'll be sharing with you in the upcoming months ahead.

And, most importantly, Today is Make-A-Wish on the Royal Caribbean fleet. Fortunately, we won the auction for the ship model of the Serenade of the Seas signed by our Captain. We hoped to put Serenade of the Seas at the top of the list of the cruisers who want those who are less fortunate then we to have a wish granted. This is a special opportunity for us to give back and make a difference in the lives of others.

Royal Caribbean® is proud to partner with Make-A-Wish® — an incredible organization granting the wishes of children with critical illnesses. Every penny collected across the fleet goes directly to Make-A-Wish. No donation is too small. And when it comes to these deserving children and their families, anyone can turn wishful thinking into steadfast believing.

Please consider adding to our donation at the following link https://secure2.wish.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app20012a?df_id=5485&5485.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&NONCE_TOKEN=78C69F0FAD6811AB4D8F63DBAAB03C36

Together, we can make the world a better place for those struggling with unimaginable challenges. Thank you for your consideration and joining us in this worthy cause!