We had an absolutely wonderful time on the ship last evening.
Before dinner, we stopped by the Crystal Cove to listen to the music of Pianist John Mentis and to chat with fellow guests and members of the Crew. John has performed on many World Cruises for Crystal Cruises.
As we did at the first Captain's Reception on the January 5 cruise we went with this formal attire for the first welcome reception of the World Cruise as coincidentally the colors are close to the color scheme of Crystal Cruises.
Before dinner we also went to all three of the stations that are set up to take photos with the professional photographers. We purchased the photo package this time around as we did for last years World Cruise which includes printed copies of every photo taken of us as well as having them places on thumbnail drives and it gives us ownership of the rights of the photos.
What we also enjoy about this is that we essentially bond with the photographers and we can have fun with the photos. One of the photographers who is new for us this year is one of those who can really relax the person(s) he is photographing. He was at one of the stations last night and we had a lot of good laughs with him. At the end of the World Cruise we will post a series of photos that they have taken of us.
Afterwards, we had dinner at the Crystal Dining Room. The evening attire was Black Tie Optional and the theme of the dinner was the Captain's Welcome Dinner. This is always a festive night and last night was no exception.
The Dining Room was fairly full as early seating is the most popular of the two seatings, yet it was not as full as we expected.
These are the menus from last the dinner.
To start the meal, Head Waiter Bojan prepared Tuna Tartare for Keith and Anne Marie had Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail. As he did last cruise, he added some items that make his Tuna Tartare a little different from how others prepare it and Keith thinks it is terrific. He prepared this table-side for us so we spoke with him as he was doing his magic.
Bojan had trained as a chef, but he decided he preferred being out in front with the customer. He started as a waiter on Crystal's first ship the Crystal Harmony, then eventually moved to the Crystal Symphony before moving to the Serenity.
Our Senior Waiter since we boarded on January 5 has been Ayan. Ayan is from Turkey. We have known Ayan for several years as from time to time he has been our Senior Waiter for lunch which is open seating. He is very proficient. In the photo he is adding some Cocktail Sauce to the Jumbo Shrimp for Anne Marie.
He is assisted by Laszio who is from Croatia. Laszio works extremely hard as does Ayan. The waiters major responsibility is to take the orders that are written up by the Senior Waiters to the Galley and to go to the various stations of the Galley to get each and every item. They do this for each course. Other times the waiter might be filling water, service rolls and helping with other items such as with the coffee. They work hand in hand to make the dining experience memorable.
For the salad, Keith had his standing order salad while Anne Marie had one of her favorite salads which is the Captain's Salad.
We had different entrees. Anne Marie went with her favorite which is the Fresh Maine Lobster while Keith when with the Alaskan Fresh Halibut featured in the first photo. The potatoes that accompanied the Halibut were terrific.
Both were excellent choices.
We also shared a side order of steamed vegetables and a side order of asparagus.
We wanted to mention that our Sommelier is Javier who just returned back to the ship a few days before our arrival to Los Angeles. It is pronounced like Havier. He is from a small town near Bilbao, Spain. He has strong knowledge of all wines with exceptional knowledge about European Wines and most notably wines from Spain. We began with a white wine and then Keith had some Pinot Noir. It was not your typical Pinot Noir as one might think it was a Merlot. It was an excellent choice.
In the dining room, there are standard wines that are poured each evening and we have found them to be very good. It's always nice to try new wines and to break the standard pattern of always ordering the same type of wine. The sommelier normally gets everything set and after that you could have your Senior Waiter refill your wine glass(es) or you could have the Sommelier continue to pour the wine for you.
We like to learn whether on land or at sea. We discuss ahead of time what we will be eating and then we ask that the Sommelier to select wines that they feel will work well with what we are having. These could end up being wines being poured that evening, or a wine that will be poured sometime during the cruise or a wine that used to be poured on previous sailings but ones that they do not have enough to include it to pour on one of the evenings. We enjoy the Sommelier explaining the reason for their selection and telling us all about the wine that they have selected as well as the winery and even the wine maker. It just makes it fun for us. As we have mentioned Anne Marie has very little of the wine because of the medicine she is now taking but she still gets to taste the wine and really that is all you need to get a good sense for the wine including its aroma and taste. Each night we also toast our love to each other.
OK, back to the dinner.
For dessert, Keith had mixed berries and Anne Marie had the sugar-free Black Currant Panna Cotta which she also shared with Keith. It was very tasty.
After dinner, we went to the Captain's Welcome Reception and stood on the receiving line to see the Crystal Society Hostess, Jaque, Hotel Director, Josef, Cruise Director Rick and Captain Birger. We had actually spoken to the Captain when he arrived to the ship early yesterday morning. We sailed with the Captain for the very first time on the January 4, 2013 voyage which preceded the start of the 2013 World Cruise.
Yesterday, the Captain had said that as we head towards Hawaii we might have some rough seas and possible swells of 15 feet so Keith asked the Captain about this last evening. The Captain said that the weather forecast was not looking a little more promising but we still could have these swells as we get closer to the big Island.
We spoke with several fellow guests, some of the enrichment people such as Ken Rees (Destination Lecturer) and his wife Lynn Rees both who we have known for many years and we chatter with Food and Beverage Manager Victor.
The good news is when we arrived back to our room last evening we once again set the clocks back one hour. We did have rolling of the ship last night so you knew you were at sea but in the scheme of things it was not too bad. We felt it more at the Reception as it is held at the public room which is furthest to the front of the ship and at the highest inside deck. Our room is more mid-ship.
We still slept well and Keith was up first and back in the Fitness Center. One of the benefits of working out on the Elliptical Machine is that he has something to hold onto so he has done this workout in all sorts of weather.
After his workout, he did some laundry and then a little later went to the Lido Cafe for Coffee. Most of the Lido Deck Stewards have been with Crystal Cruises for many years. They perform many different functions and work on teams. Some work at the Lido Cafe for breakfast, others at the Trident Grill for lunch or at Tastes for breakfast and/or lunch, or at the pool area and checking on water and ice at the Paddle Tennis Courts. Some serve beverages at the Lido and work other areas of the ship such as serving canapés in the evening at the various lounges or serving drinks at the shows or assisting by serving drinks at the Crystal Dining Room and a more recent responsibility is some are assisting as waiters in the Crystal Dining Room. Normally, the rotate every two voyages so they have a change in venue.
One of the Lido Deck Stewards we have know for many years and who was recognized as Crystal Serenity employee of the year a few years ago is Benjamin. He is a very nice man who like the other Lido Deck Stewards works so very hard and is always very kind. Benjamin's brother, Antonio, works at the Fitness Center and Spa area putting out water and towels and cleaning machines during the daytime and a wide range of other items.
Benjamin.
When Keith sits up at the Lido Cafe for coffee he sits at a two person table but thought we would post a photo of a four person table.
He returned back to the room with some coffee for Anne Marie and then after getting ready she went on her one hour morning walk but inside the ship. We had breakfast in the room as we watched the daily morning show with Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston.
On each show they show video of what's happening around the ship and this time they showed a lot of video from the World Cruise kickoff .
During the World Cruise there are even more activities and programs that you will find on any other cruise throughout the year. So, many programs are in high gear today and that includes a special college credited class on Apple devices and applications and a Japanese Language Class, a Comprehensive Class on the Yamaha Piano, and Memoir Writing just to name a few of these additional programs. This is on top of 50 or so activities and programs that are offered on sea days. In time, we will cover some of them in more detail for you.
A new one for this year which Anne Marie went to earlier today is Knitting.
Anne Marie kitting with Glo and some of the other women.
FBI Criminal Profiler Clint Van Zandt who some of you might know from his appearances on network show such as on MSBBC or you might know gave a talk this morning. We have heard him talk on other Crystal Cruises and have also seen him on Television. He spoke today about the history of psychological profiling through the study of some famous criminal cases. He is an excellent speaker and always a pleasure to listen to.
Later in the morning, Robert Freedman spoke about the Strategic Situation in the Mediterranean and the Arab Spring.
At 11:15 AM we attended a Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle Party. Cruise Critic is a forum oriented to people who cruise. If 10 or more people on a particular voyage sign up and are on the voyage than Crystal will host a party for them. It provides a nice opportunity to get to meet your fellow travelers. Beverages and light Canapés are served and many Senior Officers and Senior Staff also attend. We met a lot of very nice people at this get together
On some World Cruises, we both have played Team Trivia and last year didn't play but this year we are going to share one spot on a trivia team and will rotate with one of us always there. We are playing on the same team we have played with in recent years, except for last year, which does include dear friends Bob and Glo. Anne Marie played first today. This was the first Team Trivia game of the World Cruise. The team is composed of eight people.
In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis, and Anne Marie walked and also did Yoga which is offered in both the morning by Joe and Maria Kita and in the afternoon by Maria Kita. We also read, wrote and spoke with fellow guests including Bob who Keith met up with later in the day.
After we had lunch Keith played Paddle Tennis and met up later with good friend Bob. Anne Marie walked, went to Yoga and also stopped by for needlepoint.
This evening we will be dining with Peggy and Elaine. We first sailed with Peggy on the 2012 World Cruise and the cruise which preceded it, and we sailed with Elaine on both the 2012 and 2013 World Cruises. We will be dining at the Silk Road Japanese Restaurant.
We will post all about this tomorrow.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.........
An investment in knowledge pays the best dividends." - Benjamin Franklin
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