A New Day

We have crossed the International Dateline. We did the same thing last year. When we went to sleep last evening it was March 17 and we were a few hours behind the USA Mainland. When we woke this morning it was March 19 and rather than being a few hours behind the mainland, we are now sixteen (16 hours) ahead of the Eastern Daylight Time. So, we now know what the future holds for those of you on the mainland. Just kidding! ☺

The seas were very smooth last evening when we went to sleep and have been very nice today. The Captain was correct about today’s weather when he gave us the two day forecast yesterday.

Anne Marie had a good deal of coughing last evening. She does well during the daytime but for whatever reason has more trouble at night. Regardless, she is enjoying the cruise and is very happy to be on board such a wonderful ship and cruise line.

Keith awoke early this morning and as has been the case for the entire cruise absent the first couple of days, he wake up prior to the alarm clock going off. He started my day with a nice workout on the Elliptical Machine. It always takes him about one week to get used to these machines because all Elliptical Machines are not created equal and he is now used to this machine. The workout was great and he watched the news prior to the AIG hearings and then watched some of the hearing while he was still working out. A few of the same passengers who he has seen each morning were up there for a portion of my workout.

Afterwards, Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room for the two of us and then we listened to some more of the AIG hearings.

We enjoyed another nice breakfast in our room and during breakfast we planned our day by looking at the daily program.

As has been the case on each sea day there were lots of activities offered throughout the day, afternoon and evening hours. As this is a theater and movie theme cruise one of this mornings featured lectures was titled “The Great Movie Stars – The Life and Films of Cary Grant”.

We also enjoyed another wonderful walk on the Promenade Deck. We love the Promenade decks on Crystal ships. There are very few cruise ships afloat that have Promenade Decks like Crystal’s. Some ships have them but they are not true wrap around decks while others don’t have them and you have to walk on the top deck. Another nice feature of Crystal’s promenade deck is that if you can’t be out in the sun you can walk back and forth on the shady side of the deck or if it is too hot you can do likewise. At the same time if you want some additional sun or if it is too chilly you can walk back and forth on the sunnier side of the deck. And, if you are like us and welcome a combination of temperatures and sun and shade you can walk around the full deck and enjoy both features. While we love the Promenade Deck on this ship we enjoy the one on the Crystal Serenity even more as it even wider.

Later in the morning we attended another one of the Raps With The Rabbi. Normally, these are offered every other sea day but because we skipped Wednesday on board the ship we had a Rap today since to us yesterday was Tuesday and today is Thursday. Are you confused now? ☺

After the Rap it was time for……yes……Team Trivia. The good news is that we won today’s Team Trivia. After all of the questions were asked we thought we would be lucky to finish in the middle of the pack. However, it turns out that we were not the only ones challenged by some of the questions. We ended up tying for the lead with the team that has won on most days and then we won the bonus question. So, we are each the proud owners of a new Crystal Hat.

After Team Trivia we enjoyed lunch in the Lido Café. On most days we typically enjoy lunch in the Main Dining Room as we enjoy the table service and the ambience of the dining room. Typically, we have a salad entrée. However, with the weather being so nice we just decided to once again go over to the Lido Café, make up our own salad entrée, and then enjoy the views from this area of the ship.

There were three movies being shown today, two in the afternoon and one in the evening. The first of the movies shown was “How to Succeed in Business of which actress Michele Lee was featured in this movie. This was an appropriate movie to show given that Michele Lee is on our voyage and will be speaking later in the cruise. Keith remembers seeing this movie first in the movie theatre when it was released in 1967. Keith and Anne Marie have also enjoyed seeing this as a play.

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the main dining room. Last evening we spoke with the headwaiter and preordered a special entrée for this evening. Everything from the service to the food was wonderful.

Keith & Anne Marie