Both Sundays the Azura was in port, and so didn't have the Sunday morning service there would have been on a sea day. To our surprise there appeared in the Horizon bulletin an entry for Christian Fellowship in the Karmala Room at 10am as an unhosted event. This for Virginia and I was a very pleasant surprise and added to the enjoyment of the cruise. On the last sea day of the cruise we even had a communion service, led by some folk on board who were in full-time ministry.

Whether it be Christians in this case, or bee keepers, or writers people can sharpen one another. Talking with similar people, hearing about what they're doing, can inspire you to do the same. Meeting with similar people is very encouraging, to realise one isn't alone. While I do a lot online, I'm in touch with people over the Internet, being physically with other people in the same room is many times more solid more real than exchanging twitters in virtual reality.

Everything needs to be made new. Routine puts people and organisations and societies to sleep. These sessions on the Azura were new, were different, demanded one's full attention. Cruising for Virginia and I is still something new, a rarity. We wonder how people who cruise several times a year can still find wonder in the experience. I hope we don't get so used to cruising that we become grumpy old cruisers, like the guy I heard in the Malabar who was complaining about no bar service when he was watching a film.