Another bright day and a busy one, visitors and guests join us again and by the end of our stay, over 1,500 will have been onboard with their loved ones. 

A special group of guests on board today, a group of the sweetest and loveliest children one will ever see.  They come from an orphanage, dressed in their prettiest clothes and we give them a special treat; playing in the children’s area, stuffing then with as much food as they can eat and spoiling them rotten 😀

Those guests that remain on board are thrilled with their presence, “it’s such a happy place” was a phrase I heard often.  We do this every time we call in Manila and it’s an event we relish as I’m sure, do they.

We also have Marching bands and cheerleaders on the pier, entertaining us with some great music and dancing.  The guests are lined up on deck 3 enjoying the spectacle.

As we let go our lines, the strains of ‘auld lang syne’ float across the dock and with the whistles working overtime, we slip away from the dock and into Manila Bay.

We are bound for Hong Kong, where we arrive on our 3rd, (for most of you it will late on your 2nd).  As we leave Manila Bay, the sun is setting over Bataan (header image)and Corregidor is a dark outline on the port side.  Bataan peninsular is far different from 1942 and the notorious ‘Death march’; now there are oil refineries and power stations, a far cry from the jungle it once was.