DAY 36 - DAY TWENTY- EIGHT ON THE CRYSTAL SERENITY

We just wanted to remind everyone that we are a day ahead of most of you so please keep that in mind.  We are 15 hours ahead of  Eastern Standard Time.

After we posted we realized that although we plan not to visit Guam tomorrow that we needed to pick up our passports as there will be an immigration check for everyone arriving.  It is a USA location and for whatever reason we must clear immigration.

Last night was Black Tie Optional on board the Crystal Serenity.  This gives guests options on attire.  You can dress in formal attire or attire that is elegant casual (eg., sports jacket and tie optional for gents and say a cocktail dress or pant suit or something along that attire for women).  We prefer formal attire so that is how we dress for these evenings on-board Serenity

Before dinner we also had a variety of photos taken at three stations set up in the Crystal Plaza.  The photographers are trying to pose us in a lot of creative poses (and we mean creative) so we do have a lot of laughs with them, particularly, Ricardo who is one of the members of the photo team.

We also visited some of the on-board shops as there were several items on sale.  Anne Marie had purchased one of them earlier in the day and wanted Keith to take a look.  Keith found a pair of shorts but the size he needs was in the stockroom so they are going to have it in the store later today for Keith to try on.

We dined at Silk Road last evening for only the third time since boarding Serenity.  When we arrived we were escorted to our table by Sigi who is the Head Waiter of Silk Road.  We have known Sigi for many years, beginning when he was a waiter at Silk Road working under the direction of Head Waiter Willie who moved over to the Symphony a few years ago.  

Our waiter for the evening was Albert.  

We were joined by a special guest, Cruise Director, Rick Spath.  

Albert kindly pre-ordered several appetizer size items for us on his own with the chef.  It's always a surprise as to what he will have and we never request this nor any item.  

In fact, we did not order any additional items until we first enjoyed the taste of each of the appetizers.

This is one we had never tasted before and inside was what appeared to be chopped beef and the outside was similar to a croquet.

These is Nobu Special Sashimi.  What makes it unique is the sauce that is paired with each type of Sashimi.  This is on the menu but normally not served as a trio.  Knowing that Rick Spath prefers cooked items the trio for Rick was cooked.  Although Anne Marie has very little sashimi she enjoys this trio.  On the other hand, Keith does prefer the Sashimi.

We then ordered the rest of our meal.  Keith ordered this sushi and sashimi to share with Anne Marie, although most of this was eaten by Keith other than sharing the California Roll.  Anne Marie also had some lobster tempura.  Rick had some other items.

Keith had the mushroom salad.  This is a very flavorful salad with the dressing that accompanies it and is quite unique with the cooked and still warm mushrooms.

For our entree, Anne Marie had the Nobu Box which contains three smaller size entrees so you get a tasting of three entrees versus one.

Keith went with the Hot Soba Noodles with a nice soup broth and asked that some scallops be added to the soup in lieu of the shrimp tempura.

No dessert for Anne Marie other than some decaffeinated coffee  and Keith had a small fruit plate.

We realized that although we have enjoyed many dinners with Rick over the years, this is the first time we had dined together at Silk Road.  We had a great time, made extra special with the company of Rick and the superb service of Albert, the ambience of Silk Road and the outstanding cuisine prepared by the wonderful Silk Road Chef's.

When we arrived back to the room there was a surprise for Keith on the table.  It was a cake that Anne Marie had asked Rao to order and this was to celebrate the anniversary date of Keith's retirement.  As you know, we do not often have a dessert but last night was something to celebrate so we each had a slice of the cake and the rest was refrigerated so we can enjoy it over the next couple of evenings.  Yes, the cake tasted as delicious as it looked.

We also received information about some private excursions from Daniel, Manager Of Shore Excursions, about some excursions we plan to book privately with Crystal Cruises.

Also, on our bed was a customs form for Guam that we were requested to fill out.  

We set the clocks back another hour last evening and yes, we did sleep very well as we continue to sail to Guam.

Keith was up first and back up to the Fitness Center for a good workout.  He actually split the workouts into two.  When he arrived the TV picture on the Elliptical that he always uses was not working but thankfully after Keith looked around for a minute he saw that one of the cables was not connected and was able to get it back in place and all was well.  He watched a lecture as he worked out and also caught up with news on both a USA Channel and also the BBC. When he arrived back for his second of the two workouts one person was there but by the time he finished several guests were there as more people awoke earlier than normal due to moving the clocks back one hour.  Keith spoke briefly with good friend John.

His next stop was the Lido Cafe for some coffee.  As was the case at the Fitness Center there were more people there than usual.  The other change is when Keith had been arriving to the Cafe it was still dark outside, but this morning it was much lighter outside reflecting the time change and where we are sailing.  

Photo of Lido Deck Steward, Benjamin, setting up the tables for those who will be having breakfast outside.

On his way out of the cafe, he brought a cup of coffee back to the room for Anne Marie and then she got ready for her morning walk.  She walked for one hour.

Afterwards, we enjoyed breakfast in our room thanks to Rao.  We watched the daily morning show with Rick and Stacey as we enjoyed our breakfast.  The chemistry between Rick and Stacey is terrific and they collectively provide a lot of laughs.

At 9:00 AM Keith met up with one of his fellow and he led them in our own Spin workout since we didn't have a class today.  In the photo is Keith with fellow guest Mara but a few minutes after Anne Marie took the photo Joe and Maria Kita (Yoga instructors and also Joe teaches Memoir Writing) arrived.

To Keith's Spin-Its back home, the workout was one hour plus another ten minutes of stretching so Keith did push hard.
Keith then met up with Anne Marie at the Crystal Cove where we had a chance to speak with some fellow guests and officers and crew.  Before Keith arrived Anne Marie spoke with Crystal Dining Room Maitre d', Leo, and after Keith arrived we both spoke with Hotel Director Josef.

Comedy Ventriloquist Mark Merchant stopped by too.  He is just superb and we look forward to his performances on board the Symphony and Serenity. 

On the schedule were two interesting lectures.  The first was given by Michael Freedland and the topic was Hollywood on Trial - McCarthysim in the Film Capital."  We only know about this through our own studies in school and it was nice to gain additional perspective.  Later in the morning Evelyn Evans spoke about Nagasaki and about foreign trade with Japan starting in 1636 and how things changed over the years.

We want to note that so far n

At 10:30 AM, Anne Marie attended Knitting.  She is enjoying both her knitting and needle point projects. She is making scarves with the knitting kits.

Today, was another day of Team Trivia.  We ended up getting 11.5  out of 15 questions.

For lunch, we enjoyed another one of those terrific salad entrees.

In the afternoon, Keith was back to playing Paddle Tennis.  It was hot and humid but as we have said we prefer this over the cold.

Anne Marie walked for an hour outside on the Promenade Deck.  For us, we are so very thankful for that Promenade Deck and it was one of the reasons why we decided to take our first World Cruise as it provides a nice opportunity to exercise while as they say "getting away from it all" by being outside.

Anne Marie also attended Yoga and has really enjoyed this program.  

Keith met up with good friend Bob while Anne Marie was in Yoga Class.

This evening we are back in the Crystal Dining Room.  Can't wait.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……..


"Life is like a coin.  You can spend it anyway you wish, but you only spend it once." - Lillian Dickson

Keith & Anne Marie