5. A quick update on progress.

Since departing from London and the Meridian we have travelled approximately 6,500  miles (5,000 from London to Los Angeles and 1,500 since leaving port) and have reached a longitude of 140W. This places us just over half way between Los Angeles and the Hawaiian Islands. 

Life onboard is settling into more of a routine during these sea days. We've met many nice people (including a female Lutheran Minister who loves playing poker and drinking cocktails in equal measure) and named one or two of our fellow travellers (Swiss Tony from the Fast Show for one). We've also teamed up with Mike and Zena from Victoria, Canada as our trivia companions...(so far we have played four times and been runners up four times).

There are 1,600 Americans on board, 400 Brits, 300 Canadians and a smattering of other assorted nationalities. The number of children can be counted on one hand and 90% of the passengers are well above retirement age.

Yesterday being April 1 a number of guests were taken in by an offer of a preferential exchange rate offered by the pursers desk for US dollars to Hawaiian dollars. 

The skies have been a mixture of cloud and cloudless and the temperature has been slowly rising...its 22C today, as I write.

One more sea day and then everyone will be looking forward to exploring Hilo, the largest town on Hawaii's Big Island.