Photos were being taken at the Crystal Cove last evening so we began our evening by having some photos taken by one of the on board photographers. Our good friend of ours, John, was kind enough to take a photo of us using one of Keith's cameras. We saw John on the elevator on our way down to the Cove (Anne Marie was in high heels so we didn't walk) and we mentioned that we first met John and Linda on the 2007 World Cruise as we happened to ask John if he could take a photo of us. That one photo led to several other photos during the trip and several conversations and some dinners together and a solid friendship that has continued since that time. We have sailed together with John and Linda on many World Cruises and the past few years our table is one over from their table. Isn't it funny how life works? Just from that one photo, it led to a very nice friendship with two wonderful people.
Before dinner last evening, we attended a cocktail reception hosted by Captain Birger J. Vorland at the Captain's Quarters. We always enjoy these receptions as it is a very nice opportunity to be with fellow guests and those Senior Officers and senior Crew who attend. As we entered the Quarters, we were greeted by Crystal Society Hostess, Jaque Brown and by Captain Berger. Asa soon as you enter the quarter's one of the ship's photographers is there to take a photo of you and then there are several members of the waitstaff with trays of Champagne and White Wine and Canapés and you can also order other items which are all prepared at the bar.
This is Anne Marie asking the bartender for a wine spritzer with just a little splash of wine.
We spoke with the Captain, Hotel Director Josef and an Electrical Engineering Officer. The latter officer we had not spoken with before and we learned quite a lot about his background, his current job responsibilities and his home country of Croatia.
The Captain is an outstanding communicator and took time to address the entire room as he noted that this was the first Captain's Quarters event of this World Cruise. He spoke about the excitement of this itinerary and also he spoke about the weather and really made everyone feel so very welcome.
Afterwards, we made our way down to the Crystal Dining Room. Our special guest was Cruise Director Rick Spath who joined us at our table for dinner. We had a lot of fun at dinner with Rick enjoying not only a wonderful conversation but also a lot of laughs.
Maitre d' Leo Assmair stopped by our table as he does almost each and every evening we dine at the Crystal Dining Room.
Dinner was wonderful in the Crystal Dining Room. For us it is all about the combination of a beautiful dining room, outstanding service and equally wonderful cuisine that combined make for a wonderful dining experience.
We began our meal with a chicken consommé which included a matzah ball. It was very tasty and the matzah ball was soft and light.
Our second course was a salad and Anne Marie had the New Potato and Roasted Walnut Salad which she enjoyed and Keith had his standing order Salad.
For our entree, we each had the Broiled Fresh Alaskan Salmon. It was accompanied with Creamy Spinach and a Chive-Butter Sauce. It was cooked to perfection and very tasty. Keith also had a Baked Potato and we shared Steamed Vegetables and Asparagus.
For dessert, Keith had mixed berries and Anne Marie enjoyed the
sugar-Free Mascarpone Pudding which was accompanied with a Berry Stew.
We only took one photo of the food which is the Salmon.
It is always enjoyable to be able to spend time with Cruise Director Rick Spath. Keith and Rick love talking Sports and we also enjoyed a lot of other good conversation with a lot of good laughs.
Later in the evening, two performances were given at 8:30 and 10:30 PM by Las Vegas Award Winning Performer Clint Holmes.
We slept very well last evening as we continued to sail to Hilo, Hawaii. The seas seemed calmer with less rocking of the ship from the sea swells.
Keith awoke first and enjoyed a nice workout at the Fitness Center. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine. He watched one lecture about social networks some of whom Keith was very familiar with and other he was not and he also caught up on the news of the day as well as some sports. In terms of news, he enjoys not only watching United States based television but also some of the other stations offered such as BBC News since often those stations provide better world-wide coverage than say the United States based networks.
Shortly after his workout, he made his way to the Lido Cafe and had coffee as he read and wrote.
He brought coffee back to the room for Anne Marie and before it was time for breakfast she walked for one hour. Anne Marie walked inside as did some of the other walkers since it was windy outside. She walks on deck 6 which is all public space.
Keith also went back to the Fitness Center and did a second workout. Unlike during the first workout there were other guests who were doing their workouts too.
Speaking of Fitness, we wanted to include a schedule of some of the Fitness Classes that are being taught on this segment of the World Cruise. This does not include Pilates, Yoga, Golf, and several other fitness related activities that are not located in the Fitness Center.
At precisely 8:00 AM, there was a knock at the door by Rao who brought and set up our table for breakfast. We watched the daily morning show as we had our breakfast.
Today is our last full sea day before our scheduled arrival to Hilo at approximately Noon tomorrow.
We both attended the lecture given by destination lecturer Ken Rees who spoke about the two Hawaiian Islands we will visit and also spoke about the story of America's 50th State. Ken does a great job at conveying lots of information with lots of humor and in a manner that creates lots of interest. He provides some information that we didn't know and even offers recommendations on things to do at each stop he speaks about.
Anne Marie attended the Knitting get together and also attended Team Trivia. The two of us are going to alternate for Team Trivia but so far Anne Marie has played the first three games. The Trivia team did well, correctly answering 11 of 15 questions. These are examples of some of the questions.
The first Hard Rock Café was opened in 1971 in what major
city?
Bronze is made of copper and what other metal?
For lunch, we both enjoyed a nice Salad Entree which we had in our room. Jijo, as some of you may remember him from previous blogs as he used to be our senior waiter, brought the lunch to our room as Rao was off. Jijo is on his second contract as a Butler and we can tell that he loves the position.
During the Captain’s talk from the Bridge at Noon, Captain
Birger noted that the swell was less than before but that the winds picked
up. Later in the day the winds will
remain the same but the swells will increase.
The Captain urged caution when walking around the ship. The weather should stay the same throughout
the evening hours.
The operative word this afternoon was indeed windy. Keith played Paddle Tennis against a woman
who started playing this game in 2010 when Keith did. Back then they missed a lot of returns, but
each one persevered. The wind made it
quite interesting to play. If you kept
the ball low it was fine but you hit it high and it got caught up in the wind
that was an entirely different story.
The person that Keith played with used to come on for one
segment each year to visit her Mom who would take the full World Cruise. Her Mom passed away shortly before the 2013
World Cruise but he came on for the
segment which she had planned to visit her Mom because her Mom would have liked
her to do that and she continued this year and likely into the future. We also knew her Mom quite well.
Back to Tennis.
Between the winds and also playing singles, Keith certainly got a lot of
exercise this afternoon.
Later in the day, Keith also caught a rerun of a lecture given by Dr. Charles Carlton about that reign of Queen Elizabeth. Later in the afternoon, Keith met up with dear friend Bob.
Anne Marie walked for an hour and a little while later she attended the Yoga Class. Anne Marie began to take Yoga on the 2013 World Cruise other than a few other times before and enjoys the class.
This evening we will be attending a Vintage Room Dinner and will post about it tomorrow. Weather permitting, there is a show for this evening that we hope to attend performed by the same entertainers who entertained those who attended the World Cruise Gala in Beverly Hills. Since we were already on the ship we did not have the opportunity to see them perform and their performance for this evening will be different from the one they did on land.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……..
"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." - Bill Cosby
Keith & Anne Marie
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