Well, we have a little bad news and mostly good news. Bad news is Keith's computer can't be fixed in the short time we are hear. Good news is we have Anne Marie's computer, two iPads, two iPhones, we had a great day in Honolulu, the weather is great and it is cold back home and we are on the fantastic Crystal Serenity. So, in the scheme of things all is great.
Right before we left our room last evening, we took this photo of Anne Marie from the Verandah of our room.
As we hear about the cold weather in the United States, and even in our own area with lows below normal, we are thankful to be in Hawaii where yesterday's weather was in the 80's.
However, we will get our share cold weather too, as we will arrive to Japan in the Winter towards the end of this month and we also expect Shanghai to be on the cooler side.
Before dinner last evening we sat with good friends John and Linda in the Crystal Cove. We have known them since 2007 and enjoy getting together for pre-dinner conversation.
The two of us had Perrier. Max, who is one of the Lido Deck Stewards, came around with food. We didn't have anything but last night he had those little cute Hamburgers which some refer to as sliders. We mentioned to Max that the first time we saw something like them was on our very first cruise with Crystal Cruises in 2002 on the Crystal Harmony. We remember our son, Eric, had them.
We were both in Hawaiian outfits that we purchased in Honolulu several years ago.
We were back in the Crystal Dining Room for dinner. We had a great time.
The dining room was more crowded than we expected as we thought more people would be at the other specialty restaurants. However, with our overnight starting this evening in Honolulu, we thought that some guests will be dining off the ship this evening so maybe they thought that the Crystal Dining Room was the way to go.
We began the meal with Salads.
For our entree, Anne Marie had the Pan Seared Sea Scallops and Keith had the Fresh Bluenose Grouper and we thought each entree was delicious.
Keith had the Fresh Grouper once before but just could not remember what he thought about it. So, he asked Head Waiter Bojan what he thought and Bojan said, Mr. Steiner, it is still Grouper but with a very big Bluenose. Well, since the nose would not be served, Keith said let's go with that. It was an excellent choice. It was very tasty with the items including the delicious sauce which accompanied it. We also give +1 to Bojan for his quick whit.
This was the Grouper which was very tasty.
Scallops are a favorite of Anne Marie so she was quite happy with her entree selection.
For dessert, Keith had mixed berries and Anne Marie had the Sugar Free Vanilla Panna Cotta. It was quite good.
Last nights show featured Jon Courteney who is played the piano and is also a comedian. He appeared earlier in the voyage and is excellent.
The seas were relatively calm last evening which was a nice change from the previous night.
Keith was back up at the Fitness Center to begin another great day on board the Serenity.
As he does each day, after he worked out he had coffee at the Lido Cafe.
He spoke with some of the Lido Deck Stewards. Our stay in Honolulu is really great for both the guests and the crew since we will be here overnight and for almost two full days. This provides ample time for most of the crew to be able to go ashore when they are not on duty. The only exception is for crew who first boarded the ship in Los Angeles and who are not from the United States. Due to the Jones Act they have to remain on the ship including our butler, Rao.
We both always enjoy speaking with the crew and learning about their families. When you spend a lot of time on board in one sailing and/or just return for one sailing each and every year you do get to know the crew. On top of this so many of the crew have been with Crystal for many years including some who began on the very first voyage of the Crystal Harmony. We do refer to this as our Crystal Family. Many of them have seen our own family grow with the marriages of Jennifer to Gui and then the birth of Grand Son, Andre, and with the marriage of Eric to Kara. Many members of the crew will ask about each of them too.
This is Max. Like his other colleagues, Max performs a wide range of duties around the ship. On this voyage, he is with the team working the Lido Cafe for breakfast including putting much of the food out, in Tastes for lunch and also in the evening serving the Canapés in addition to other responsibilities.
On this voyage, Ross is also performing similar daytime responsibilities as Max does.
Jun is also also on the team with Ross and Max. Typically, the teams rotate every two voyages.
We have known Max, Ross and Jun for many years now. Like all of the other Lido Deck Stewards they represent the Heart and Soul of the Ship. We appreciate their kindness, the smiles on their faces which light up our own faces, their thoughtfulness and all they do. They work tirelessly to make each and every minute on board the ship as special as they can for all of us.
Keith also brought back some coffee for Anne Marie.
Anne Marie walked for an hour with Elaine on the Promenade Deck as we were making our arrival into Honolulu.
We asked Rao to bring our breakfast about 15 minutes earlier today which he did. Keith enjoyed some great laughs with Rao. We realized we are on board longer this time than Rao as we will be ending our voyage on the same day as he does but we boarded on January 5, about 14 days before Rao did. So, Keith teased that our contract is longer this time around than Rao's.
We docked at Aloha Tower which many of you who have visited Honolulu by cruise ship are familiar with. There is another pier about a block away, but this is the preferred choice.
We took the complimentary shuttle that Crystal Cruises provided to the Ala Moana Shopping Center which is where the Apple Store is located. Normally, we would just walk if not for having Keith's MacBook Pro with us. As we were boarding the shuttle, dear friend Ricki called and we each spoke with her.
Our mission today was to get Keith's computer fixed. As you may recall his MacBook Pro would not start and the lead IT person, Johan, on board the ship looked at it and diagnosed it as needing a change out of memory. We made an appointment on-line for this morning at one of the two Apple Stores located on the Island and the once closest to the pier.
Today marked Apple Computer's 30 year anniversary and the staff was celebrating prior to opening.
Afterwards, we stopped at a couple of other shops to pick up some soaps and other related products. We saw half the cruise ship there.
We walked back from the Mall over to the Cruise Ship Terminal. We stopped at a place at the terminal where we purchased the Hawaiian Shirt and Dress a few years ago and in subsequent years Anne Marie purchased a few dresses and the same woman who we have always purchased items from was there. She has been there for 19 years. We wonder if she ever gets time off. Anne Marie purchased on dress.
When we arrived back to the ship we had lunch at the Lido Cafe. For the first time since we boarded we ate outside and it was similar to being on a yacht as only one person was outside eating.
After lunch we took the shuttle back to the Mall as we needed to get to a larger pharmacy and we knew there was a Walmart nearby. We cut through the Mall to get over to the Walmart and we saw the other half of the cruise ship there. They have a huge eatery and this is only about 25% of it.
We walked over to the Walmart and we accomplished our mission to pick up one item. They didn't have enough of it in stock but we picked up the rest later.
We then walked on a residential street and then walked on Kapiolani Blvd. which was very scenic and also had high end businesses.
We followed the street until we arrived to King Street where we made a left and then came to several historic sites.
Missions House Museum
Kiwaiahoa Church
Kamehameha Statue
Anne Marie keeping us on course.
FaceTime with Jennifer, Gui and Grand Son Andre
When we arrived back to the room there was an invitation for the first of two special on board dinners which also includes entertainment and cocktails before the dinner. The event will be held on January 31.
This evening we will be dining by ourselves at Prego. Before dinner, we will go off the ship to mail a Post Card.
Tomorrow we will be on a Crystal Tour and we will be in Honolulu until midnight tomorrow evening.
All in all it's been a glorious day in Paradise on board the Crystal Serenity.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY......……
"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead." - Oscar Wilde
Keith & Anne Marie
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