I'm pretty hacked off right this moment because Id just written a long post about being woken up by the buzzing of my mobile phone at 2am this morning and realising that we are currently 7 hours behind the UK, so with the time just coming up to 6pm, it means the time at home is almost 1am on Tuesday morning, which I find pretty mind-bending stuff! Then, because this is a sea-day, I thought it would be nice to describe the ship in some detail, taking in its 3 restaurants (2 posh ones where lecturers are not allowed and The Palms Cafe, where we are allowed), The Neptune Lounge Ballroom which has to have 2 sittings to accommodate the huge number of passengers, the Morning Light Pub, which just feels exactly like sitting in a pub anywhere at home, and about the variety of music that seems to be played on every corner, from the keyboard/guitarist in the pub, to the jazz pianist in the Observatory Lounge, to the fantastic trio that play in the atrium above the Reception area, and... tons of other stuff... but then the computer logged out and rebooted on me, so I LOST EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!

I hate it when computers do that to you. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to re-write a post and it have exactly the same feel to it, so I'm not going to. It was my own fault - I wasn't paying attention to the little box that tells me I'm logged in, and asks me after a while if I want to remain logged in or end the session, to which I have to respond or it takes matters into its own hands. To be fair, I have to say that the internet system on board is by far the best I've come across to date. It only charges you for the time it takes to download a page, or send information, which makes it very fair. On the downside, there are no printing facilities, and, as always, no facilities for plugging in a USB gizmo to upload photos.

Finally, I did want to say that The Balmoral has no fewer than 11 decks, and is carrying approximately 1000 passengers; far larger than anything I've yet sailed on. In fact, the ship, originally named 'The Norwegian Crown' (and it has also been known as 'The Crown Odyssey'), was bought by Fred Olsen, who sliced it right down the middle and stuck an extra bit in it to make it longer. I only hope the welding holds! Currency on board is Sterling, but no cash ever changes hands. Everything is done using the magnetic keycards issued to everyone when they first come aboard. This card gets you into your cabin, logs you on in the Internet Room, lets you leave the ship at port (and lets you back on), and pays for any purchases made in the shopping area. In short, it's like a small village - at sea.

I've just completed my second day of workshops, and am looking forward now to a few days of port visits and, hopefully, tour-escorting a few interesting excursions. Tomorrow, in Belize, I'm doing a tour to some ancient ruins, which are famous for the discovery of one of the world's largest ever gemstones.

I'm off to the Fitness Centre now for a bit of a workout, before dinner. Tonight is Red, White and Blue night, so it'll be on with my red Madeira T-shirt. The Fitness Centre is situated at the front of the ship, above the Bridge, which offers fantastic views as you chug away on the treadmills. Light and airy, the room is almost the opposite to the Arts and Crafts room where I do my workshops, down on Deck 3, in the very bowels of the ship.