AZAMARA JOURNEY: White Night Party

Day started as usual, a buffet lunch.

Dinner was special.  Instead of the buffet or ala carte restaurant, everything occurred around the pool area, with barbeque grills and crepe frying.  Unfortunately, it was cold, somewhat windy and threatening.  So much so that the final two shows were re-schedule for the Cabaret Lounge, our theater.  

But the meal itself remained outside.

• Entertainment was provided by a local group, the Saguenay Lac-St. Jean Grand'Danse, playing French traditional music.
• Went to pick up our meal.

My dinner,

Desserts.

Food was fine, but it was cold and uncomfortable.  We then moved downstairs for the White Night Party.

Celebration of the crew

Then to The Living Room for dancing with the Shore Things.

Thus, our evening ended. 

Dinner the next day in the Destination restaurant.

Dessert.

I  noticed the moon outside, but it was also raining.

So I later went to the 10th deck to take this photo of the moon and Quebec city at night.

Tomorrow, all about Quebec.

Typhoon Saudel will miss the main Okinawa island, but will threaten a smaller island slightly to the north.

But that island is not Kagoshima, which is the name of the city at the southern tip of Kyushu Island.

Name of island over which Typhoon Saudel will make landfall?

• There are over 100 Ryukyu Islands.
• They are named in three groups.
• Amami Islands to the north, belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture.
• Okinawa Islands in the center.
• Sakishima Islands to the south.
• 
  Landfall will be over one of the Amami Islands.,Okinoerabujima.
• Fell under American control after World War II.
• Returned to Japan in 1953, but continued to be governed by the U.S. until 1972.
• The biggest and most populated is Amami Oshima, with a population of 73,000.
• Typhoon Saudel made landfall today over Okinoerabujima Island, with 15,000 people.

Typhoon Saudel:

• 
  First became a typhoon on August 21.
• Strength jumped to 130 MPH on August 22.
• Weakened to 90 MPH earlier today at 6:00GMT, but went up to 100 MPH at 12:00GMT.

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END OF GROUNDHOG DAY

 To begin my posting today, I asked Google AI, what is the status of the U.S.'s war with Iran:

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has entered a new phase of intense economic warfare after a 60-day diplomatic window expired with no final peace deal. Following initial large-scale military operations launched on February 28, 2026, the conflict is now centered on a U.S. push for crushing financial sanctions, retaliatory maritime threats in the Strait of Hormuz, and persistent regional flashpoints. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

• 
  Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted and meager.
• Cost of this war?
• Pentagon Tally: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reported direct military spending has reached $37.5 billion, driven heavily by high burn-rates for expensive precision interceptors countering cheaper Iranian drones and missiles. [1, 2, 3]
• Consumer Energy Burden: According to energy cost trackers from Brown University cited in the Center for American Progress Fact Sheet, elevated gas and diesel prices tied to the conflict have added over $
• Long-Term Projections: Public finance experts, such as Harvard's Linda Bilmes, caution that when factoring in long-term care for wounded service members, debt service, and full equipment replacement, the ultimate total cost of the conflict to taxpayers could approach $1 trillion. [1]
• 
  From Center for American Progress:  
• The Trump administration’s war in Iran has cost at least $1,200 per household. With no end in sight, American families are paying a price.
• As there are 135 million households, this cost is $162 billion.
• Read the full details.

Now into why yesterday was not another Groundhog Day on the Azamara Journey.  Okay, we did wake up after Noon, and had our usual buffet lunch.

However, on my way to my cabin, I saw that there was a Patio Grill Festival, so took this video and had a second lunch.

Skipped the nap.  For dinner, went to a Japanese buffet.

This was our best buffet meal on this ship.  The rice was actually real rice this time.  The miso soup tasted like miso soup.  The tuna sashimi was fresh.  Tonkatsu was tonkatsu.  Almost unreal.

Went to see Gigi and Jose in the Den.

Followed by comedian George Case in the Cabaret Lounge.

Even The Living Room was different, for featured was the theater band and singersl

At midnight, went to the 10th floor observation deck to view what could have been an Aurora Borealis.

But, nope, only stars.  However, the cruise write-up never had indicated this would be possible, so no disappointment for us.  From Cruise Critic:

• Northern Lights cruises work best in the Arctic Circle during long, dark winter nights, with December through March offering the strongest odds.
• Hurtigruten’s select itineraries include a Northern Light Promise, and if no aurora appears, travelers receive another Norway cruise free.
• Late September to late March or early April is the viewing season, while some late September or early October Alaska sailings can also see auroras.
• Booking flexibility matters because sightings are not guaranteed; travelers can use spaceweather.com, apps, and ship announcements to track possible viewing.
• Warm layers, windproof outerwear, winter boots, and a tripod or monopod are recommended, along with scouting the ship’s darkest viewing spot.

Here is a Holland America Line video on the Alaska Cruise Northern Light Season. Well, that didn't say much.  What about the Norewegian Spirit?

Tomorrow I'll report on our White Night evening.  Yes, Groundhog Days are over, for we further had this celebration last night, and it went generally well.

I've been watching Typhoon Saudel, and it is still a Category 3.  However, there was a weakening today, and the eye will pass north of the main Okinawa island tomorrow, than make landfall over China a couple of days later s a Category 1.

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THE AZAMARA JOURNEY IS ABOUT TO DOCK IN SAGUENAY, CANADA

Next, Saguenay, Canada, in the province of Quebec.  To start, some topics which made headlines in the news that were recently featured in this blog site:

• COVID is spreading in these regions right now — here are the symptoms to watch for.

Health: COVID-19 Is Surging Again — And These Regions Are Facing The Sharpest Spikes

• Overall, your chance of getting COVID-19 right now is on the lower side, but it is certainly still possible, Angarone noted.

• Two days ago, my posting alerted you to these prospects.  Here is the alarming statistic about this article:

COVID test positivity rates, which measure the percentage of positive tests out of all tests given, in the United States is 11.2%, which is up from 9.9% last week and 2.7% in May, according to CDC data.

• At 5%, the community is warned.  At 10%, precautions should begin!

Yesterday, my posting talked about how, since the Azamara Journey left Iceland, I have mostly been in a Groundhog Day rut.  Well, yesterday, was a far better day, which I'll go into tomorrow.

About hurricanes:

• Hurricane Lala caused a lot of problems for the state of Hawaii, but we are recovering.  Lala became a hurricane on August 15 southeast of Hawaii, is now way west of the state, but was still a hurricane, until today, now at 70 MPH.
• Tropical Storm Moke is near 50 MPH, and is expected to slightly weaken over the next 24 hours.

• Is moving west northwest at 12 MPH on a similar path as Lala, but a bit more south, and the eye will pass  slightly further away from the Big Island today.
• Rainfalls could reach as much as 15 inches on the Big Island, and up to 6 inches on Maui.
• The Gulf and Atlantic have been awfully quiet this season, but three Atlantic systems have just formed that could strengthen.  The peak of this region is September 10.

• The most dangerous current ocean storm is Typhoon Saudel in the west Pacific.  Became a typhoon two days ago, strengthened into a Category 4 at 130 MPH yesterday, but weakened a bit to 125 MPH today.

Headed for Okinawa.

Then towards China.

Some photos from our Azamara Journey doings on board.  We sleep late and then have a huge buffet lunch, with two drinks, or more.

Lunch when we were docked right next to downtown St. John's, Newfoundland.

Chocolate and pineapple ice cream to end lunch.

Cocktails before dinner.

Dinner.

Desserts.

Another dessert.

Goodbye St.Johns.

Then, after dinner, to the Cabaret Lounge for theatrical entertainment.  Sasha Kovalyov at the piano.

Followed by dancing in The Living Room to end the evening.

There were two evenings when there was no band, and we instead wore earphones.  There were three channels playing different songs, so partners and teams could dance together.  The color represented the channel.  Watching the whole group moving in three different ways is a form of entertainment.

If the internet improves, tomorrow our graphics of an actual day at sea where we got out of the Groundhog Day rut.  I'll noon know, because we are within minutes of docking at Saguenay.

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