Last evening began with the presentation of the medals from the last couple of days of World Cruise Events. The ceremony recognized each guest who won either a Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal in their respective events. The events covered a wide range of games from Scrabble to Women's Paddle Tennis.
Keith was awarded a silver medal from Men's Basketball.
So far, Keith has competed in three events and has won two medals. We love to see as many people as possible win the medals and as they say it's nice to spread the wealth. The Olympian, Dain Blanton, has been terrific as he has come to each of the two ceremonies wearing his real Gold Medal. We posed with him after the award ceremony and he was kind enough to give Keith a card with his photo on it (like a Baseball Card) and his original signature too. He's just a good all around person when you see him not only at these events but around the ship. As they say, no ego.
Speaking of very nice and warm people, a short while later we dined at Tastes with entertainers Jonathan and Sarah. They both have an extensive background as singers. Sarah had performed on the Crystal Serenity as part of a big band themed cruise and she performs on tour with this band. Jonathan had never performed with Crystal before but has performed on some other cruise ships. They are just warm and friendly people and when they walk around the ship they will often just stop by to chat. We got to know them early in the World Cruise and they have amazed us with their singing and they have been a wow. They actually didn't meet each other until shortly before the World Cruise began. They not only perform but they help out in a wide range of areas during the daytime such as later today when they will be hosting Name That Tune and they also run the Karaoke at night when that is offered. In short, they are two very talented entertainers and also two very kind people. In our eyes, that is a recipe for success.
During our 2 hour plus dinner we learned a lot about Jonathan and Sarah and also discussed so many other topic including traveling the world. We discussed places that we have visited and they have as well. It was a lot of fun. When you are on the ship for such a long time there is just more time to get to know people and this is an example of that.
As we have mentioned, Tastes provides an opportunity to taste selected dishes from around the world that are essentially small tastings that are served family style. When we arrived we were seated by Head Waiter Luigi and our Waiter for the evening was once again Fabio who took excellent care of the four of us.
We won't go through all of the items that we shared but many were the same items we have had before plus some additional items. We each selected items so that if we ordered one item then Waiter Fabio brought out two dishes of most of these items; one for the two of us to share and the other one for Sarah and Jonathan to share. In a few instances, such as the Phili Steak n' Cheese (we did have that a second time since it was added to the menu this cruise since Jonathan and Sarah had not yet had it) it came on one plate placed in the center of the table. While we each have some favorites, all of the food was just delicious and it's so nice to not only have a diverse selection of items to choose from but also that they come in small tastings. It does give us a chance to order some items that we normally stay away from on most evenings with red meat being an example of that or even a dessert like the ones they serve.
It was a wonderful dinner and we really enjoyed getting got know Sarah and Jonathan.
We slept very well last evening between the gentle rocking of the ship and also the busy day we enjoyed.
Keith woke first and he began the day by reading and writing. He then made his way up to the Lido Cafe to enjoy some coffee and to continue to read and write. On his way out, he brought some coffee back to the room for Anne Marie to enjoy before we went on our morning walk.
We actually changed it up this morning. Anne Marie walked inside because she thought that the humidity might bother her. She ended up walking with friend Elaine for about 10 minutes.
On the other hand Keith walked outside. Well, actually he ran, jogged and walked fast since he was by himself. He ran into (again not literally) Roy as well as Destination Lectures Ken Rees.
There are a lot of walkers out in the morning during this cruise. Weather makes a difference and even setting the clocks backward helps too which we will do this evening. From time to time we run into (well not literally but figuratively) one or more people we know who are walking by themselves or with one or more people and that is always fun and we just talk the entire time. There is something special about being out and about when at sea.
After we got back to the room we enjoyed breakfast thanks to Butler Rao. We spoke with him for a few minutes and we always seem to find something for us to all laugh about.
We watched the Daily Morning Show as we enjoyed our breakfast. Shortly before the show ended, Rick and Stacey had as their special guest Captain Birger and they covered a lot of ground with him. One of the topics that was covered was the ships itineraries since for many years the Captain's responsibilities while working at the Corporate Headquarters in Los Angeles included the itineraries and he spoke of all of the factors and variable that go into constructing the itineraries. He also spoke about the cost of fuel which he said represents the highest priced commodity that is purchased by Crystal Cruises. We learned a great deal from his talk. Speaking of itineraries, we received in our rooms yesterday a form for the 2017 World Cruise. Although the itinerary is not yet available, it was a form that would allow those interested to wait-list for the World Crwith a small deposit.
Keith left to go to another Spin Class which have been offered at 8:30 AM throughout the World Cruise. Keith was in a different spot today as Fitness Director, Michael, was making a video of the class and he had to line us all up this way to get everyone into the video.
After he finished the Spin Class, he quickly changed and freshened up and then he went to the Salon for a haircut with Darko who we have both gone to throughout our time on board this year. Coincidentally, Darko will be one of the crew members who will be in the performance of Dancing With The Stars as he will be dancing with Beverly. We mentioned the other day that Jaque Brown will also be in this event as she is dancing with Beverly's Partner; Curtis. Darko has been a delight and we both have him do our hair.
While Keith was having his hair done, Anne Marie spent time at the Crystal Cove and enjoyed the time writing, reading and knitting and also speaking with many people, both crew and guests alike, who passed by. We sit in the same area which has become knowns as our office. We try to change things up from year to year so we have actually moved our office. Some people make The Bistro their office which is another wonderful area of the ship to read and write and to converse with others as it is a meeting place on the ship; day and afternoon in particular.
Later in the morning, Anne Marie also went to the Knitting get together. She has been able to help a few of the other ladies on their needlepoint.
We began another new round of Team Trivia for the remaining sea days left in this segment. We finished in second place today with a score of 11 out of 15. The top team answered 12 questions correctly.
For lunch, we went with another Salad Entree. Some might consider this boring but when you are on the ship for as long as we are we find that eating healthy is important. Sure we can deviate from time to time and dining at Tastes last evening was an example of that. With that said eating healthy doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself of much at all and we just try to balance all of this out. For us, the type of breakfast we have works out very well and having a salad entree for lunch does too.
In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis for a couple of hours. It was very hot and humid so everyone playing had a lot of water between matches. Anne Marie walked inside and then went to Yoga. Keith met up later in the afternoon with dear friend Bob.
We spoke earlier about how we change things up from year to year and this is also true of how we spend our time and what we do around the ship. For example, we used to go to each lecture and see it in person and we used to dine in the dining room for lunch and the first year do Team Trivia. Another year we didn't do the Team Trivia and did some other activity instead and ate at the Lido Cafe for lunch. The past few years Keith has played Paddle Tennis something he never did until 2010 and the past couple of years Anne Marie has done Yoga or this year she has done the Knitting and that is what is so very nice that there is so much choice that we can change things up. In 2012, we both did Team Trivia, and then last year we didn't participate and then this year we shared one seat.
We do enjoy the lectures so what is working out well for us is seeing them either on the Crystal Television as they are pre-recorded so we can watch them later in the day or even on another day and with the iPad they are all available as well. Speaking of lectures, today's lectures included:
Bill Toone who spoke about Gorillas in our Midst; Life in an African Cloud Forest.
Edwina Currie, who presented "MY Life with Margaret Thatcher."
Rona Cant, who presented "Just Do It - Become the Best You Can Be."
By the time we finished and posted this blog we had seen the latter lecture and we found it to be quite interesting as this lecture applied life long lessons that she had used to overcome various obstacles and to accomplish what she has done today.
All in all it was another wonderful day and more to come this evening. We will be back at the Crystal Dining Room where we will dine not only this evening but tomorrow evening.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…….
"You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Keith & Anne Marie
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