DAY 71 - DAY SIXTY THREE ON THE CRYSTAL SERENITY

Before dinner last evening, we saw with dear friends John and Linda.  We enjoyed a wonderful conversation with them and will miss them dearly when they leave the ship at the end of this voyage.  We look forward to sailing with them next year.

The evening attire was Black Tie Optional.

Although we dined at Silk Road last evening, these are the dinner menus from the Crystal Dining Room which we are posting since this was the Captain's Gala Dinner.

This was our first visit to Silk Road of this segment of the World Cruise.  We love Silk Road but find that it is even more special if we dine there less frequently.  

Our waiter for the evening is Albert who has been taking good care of us each time we dine there.  Albert will be going home in Singapore for a very well-deserved vacation.  While we will miss Albert, we wish him all the best at home and look forward to seeing him when we return back to the Serenity.  Albert has not only a wife but also he has three children and when he is home his children will be on school break so he will be able to spend a lot of time with them.

Our meal was terrific.  Albert had pre-ordered a few items for us and the Head Chef of Silk Road brought out the first course that he had prepared for us shown in the following photo.

Our next course were three special Nobsu Sashimi Appetizers.

Next course was a lettuce wrap with Black Cod.

This was followed with Lobster Tempura.

Keith then enjoyed what is called a Dragon Roll and a platter of sushi and sashimi.

For our entree we each had the Hot Soba Noodles, with Soup and some Scallops.

After dinner we went to the Captain's Reception where we spoke with a lot of friends such as Bob and Glo and several officers and staff including Captain Birger, Hotel Director Josef, Cruise Director Rick, Crystal Society Hostess Jaque, World Cruise Hostess Stacey, Vice Captain Nenad, Executive Chef Franz and Pastry Chef Harold.

The Captain then spoke for a little while and he was both charming and funny.  He is originally from Norway but clearly has a great command of the English Language.  He also announced the employee of the month who has been with Crystal Cruises since 2006 and has responsibility for several of the Pastries.  He is one of many members of the staff who most people will never meet as he works behind the scenes but certainly his work adds to the enjoyment of the cruise.  

We slept very well as we sailed to Singapore.  Keith was up first and enjoyed a nice workout at the Fitness Center.  Afterwards, he stopped by he Lido Cafe for coffee. The morning Lido Deck Team consists of five people who set up the Cafe for breakfast and then along with waiters from the Specialty Restaurant and some waiters from the Dining Room when the buffet area is open for breakfast.  Keith spoke with each Steward and learned that three of the five will be going home tomorrow.  There will be quite a few members of the crew going home tomorrow.  For those who live in the Philippines who are either leaving the ship to go home for vacation or who are returning to the ship from vacation this will involve relatively short flights which is nice for all of them.  We will miss those leaving to go home but of course are very happy for them and look forward to seeing those who will be joining the ship.

After he finished, as he always does Keith brought coffee back to the room for Anne Marie.  We then walked for almost an hour on the Promenade Deck.

Rao brought us breakfast about thirty minutes earlier than normal and then we got ready for our day in Singapore.   

We love Singapore.  We have been here several times including spending time on land on a post cruise.  We have taken organized tours offered by Crystal Cruises as well as a private tour our last time here. We have also seen various places on our own on foot, as well as using the subway and taxis.  There is so much to do and to see here. Some of the places we have enjoyed include:  Botanical Garden, Downtown Area with some very interesting Buildings, Daytime Zoo, Nighttime Zoo, Chinatown and Little India.  

We took the first shuttle over to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and from there we went to the Mall which is connected to the Hotel.  We have visited this mall two times in the past and the same goes for the Hotel.  We walked all around the mall and tried to find the Jim Thompson Store which is known for its silks.  They are based in  Bangkok where we have shopped a few times and they also have stores in a few other places including Singapore and we have shopped at their Singapore stores several times over the years.  Our original plan was to visit two of their major stores in Bangkok but since Bangkok was removed from the schedule due to  unrest there we wanted to go by this Jim Thompson today.  We will spend tomorrow touring around the city and then the following day we will be visiting the Crystal Symphony.

We then decided to go over to the Raffles Hotel which we knew also has a Jim Thompson Store.  We took the subway over there.  Success.  Anne Marie with the help of Keith found several items that she liked.  We then went in and out of other shops and then we walked to a few areas including the war memorial park.  After walking for quite a while we took the subway back to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and then we took the shuttle back to the ship.

It was still early so the subway was not crowded but when we transferred lines and on our way back to the ship the cars were very full.

Raffles Hotel where the first Singapore Sling was served.

Anne Marie did quite well at Jim Thompson.

Another view of the War Memorial.

Just like the other Singapore Cruise Ship terminal everyone must show passports several times when you leave and return to the terminal and you must go through Passport Control each and every time.  The terminal is relatively new and the infrastructure is not yet in place like the Harbour Front Terminal where we used to dock but in time it will be enhanced.  In fact, construction is well underway to connect the subway system out to the new terminal.

We then had lunch back on the ship in the Crystal Dining Room.  We each enjoyed a nice salad entree.

We then went back out and visited Chinatown.  We will Blog about this tomorrow.

This evening we will be dining in the Crystal Dining Room.


TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY………..

"We love to travel and that includes visiting places around the world for the very first time and also returning to locations we have been to before." - Keith & Anne Marie

Keith & Anne Marie