From Right To Left Daniel (assistant to the Hotel Director), Anne Marie (Reception Desk), Frantz (Chief Concierge) and, Patrick from the Reception Desk.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone from on-board the Crystal Symphony.
It has been difficult to post pictures on this cruise. When we arrive home we will try to add more to the Blog.
We had mentioned that last evening that we dined a Silk Road. As it was a formal night there were very few passengers dining there as most were enjoying the French Dinner in the Main Dining Room. Dinner was once again wonderful. We let Willie who is the Silk Road Headwaiter select the Sushi for us as he did the other evening. We normally do the selection ourselves but Keith has been more adventurous with the Sushi that he enjoys so he has gone with Willies’ recommendations. Anne Marie prefers the rolls rather than the raw fish so she selected the rolls and then Willie added a few to what she had picked out.
Keith always uses the chopsticks but Anne Marie usually prefers the fork and knife. Last evening she used chopsticks with training wheels for the Sushi. Keith continues to encourage here to try it without the training wheels.
We talked with Willie for quite a while since there were very few passengers dining. He is another wonderful person. We first met him on the Serenity in 2005 and we think the world of him. He adds tremendously to the dining experience. It is amazing how he is on top of everything. We sailed with him on the entire full World Cruise in 2007. I remember one of the special events one evening was a special performance given by many of the crew from the Philippines including Willie. This included dancing and singing. We will tell you that it was one of the most memorable performances and several of us, including the two of us had tears in our eyes during the performance.
We have never eaten at the Sushi Bar, but after talking with Willie last evening we have decided to give it a try. So, we have added one additional Silk Road reservation to the two remaining ones we have (yes we love Silk Road) and plan to sit at the Sushi Bar at least for some of the Sushi and then will enjoy the rest of the meal at a table.
Last evening we turned the clocks back another hour. Keith was up quite early this morning and was working out a little after 4:00 AM and by 4:30 AM three other passengers were working out. He enjoyed a wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. During the workout he watched the preview of the 2010 World Cruise on the Crystal Television Station. It is an amazing itinerary.
Afterwards, Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the room for Anne Marie. He spoke for awhile with Bob Hales who is an Estate Planner who is lecturing on board this voyage. We have been on several other cruises when Bob has given lectures. He is very knowledgeable in his field and very interesting to talk with. Keith enjoyed a nice talk with him.
Anne Marie did great yesterday but was up part of the night coughing last evening. So, she took another break from the Fitness Center. We enjoyed the coffee in the room.
We had a great breakfast and afterwards we enjoyed a very nice long walk on the Promenade Deck.
There were lots of activities on the ship today.
Ambassador Pack gave a presentation titled “The Shock of Foreign Cultures – Especially Yours”. We enjoyed his talk as we always do and it was very well attended.
There was Rap with the Rabbi at 11:00 AM and also Memoir Writing with Joe Kita. We once again enjoyed the Rabbi and the topics that were discussed.
There was Team Trivia at 12:00 Noon. The team that always wins tied for first but then lost the tiebreaker. We got eleven of fifteen questions right but that was not good enough. Maybe we’ll do better tomorrow.
Today was the Grand Gala Buffet. As usual there was an array of wonderful foods. As many times as we have seen the buffet we continue to be amazed at the preparation and the attention to detail that goes into this buffet. We had a nice lunch at the Lido Café. The weather was wonderful as the Captain had mentioned in his morning announcement so we ate outside.
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. Our headwaiter is Vlada. He has been wonderful and we have enjoyed our conversations with him. He is a true professional and a genuinely nice person. The Senior Waiter and the Waiter have also been wonderful in all that they do. They have made each meal memorable for us.
This evening’s entertainment includes Kenny Smiles whose first time as an entertainer with Crystal was on one of the voyages of last years World Cruise where he received a standing ovation during each of his performances. He is quite an interesting comedian. He boarded the ship in Hawaii we ran into him later that day. He did remember Keith from last year. When you talk with him off stage he is quite humorous and when you hear stories from him you just aren’t quite sure if they are true or part of his act. He has been performing on Regent Cruise Lines for many years and as we mentioned gave his first performance on a Crystal ship last year.
Since we are crossing the dateline, we will skip tomorrow March 18 and when we wake up it will be on March 19. This happened to us last year so we now know the routine.
Keith & Anne Marie
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