We started our day early with a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. Keith continued to rack up the miles on the Elliptical Machine and was once again the first to arrive at the center. Anne Marie arrived about thirty minutes later and worked on the Treadmill. There were fewer passengers working out which is normally the case as we get a few days into a particular segment and most passengers who began their trip in Mumbai, India are now over their jetlag.
Today is the last of three consecutive sea days as we cruise to Safaga, Egypt. The seas continue to be very calm and many times it is easy to forget that we are sailing in water. ☺ While we are cruising in the Red Sea, we don’t see any red. ☺ The sea looks like any sea.
Speaking of Egypt, we are required to carry our passports in Egypt so today we picked up our passports at the reception desk area. We were advised that when we get off the ship that we will need to show the visa stamp that has been obtained to us to the local authorities. This year we didn’t have to fill out any additional forms for Egypt a few days before our arrival. This was not the case last year when we had to fill out a couple of forms which asked us to note the model and serial number for any electronic equipment that we were taking ashore (eg., camera, video camera, cell phone, etc.) along with noting how much currency we were taking with us into the country.
During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge, he noted that the outside air temperature was a nice 84 degrees Fahrenheit and that we were cruising at 20 knots per hour with four of six engines in use. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The man ho smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.”
After enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast in our room we both went to Progressive Yoga. The good news is that Keith’s muscles were not sore from yesterday’s class. The class is one hour and was very enjoyable. The instructor, Pat Laster, teaches a great class. After having spoken to her many times starting with last years World Cruise it is nice for us to both see first hand want an outstanding instructor she is. We know the majority of passengers who participate in this session. We both enjoyed today’s session and we didn’t pull any muscles ☺ We do find these sessions to be great for both the mind and the body.
Afterwards, we attended the Rap With The Rabbi. This is the last “Rap” before Passover since tomorrow and Friday we will be in Egypt. We thoroughly enjoyed today’s session which was nicely attended.
Following the Rap Keith attended a presentation given by Diplomat, Tex Harris. The title of the presentation was “A Tough Neighborhood – Future Engagement in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.” A good portion of the talk was on Iran and the correlation as to what the impact of the War in Iraq has had with respect to Iran’s influence on Iraq and its influence on this region of the world. Keith found the talk to be quite interesting. Afterwards, another meeting venue was used so that Tex Harris could continue today’s discussion vis-à-vis a question and answer session with our fellow passengers.
We then enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered a very nice salad entrée so it was ready when we arrived. Before we ate in the Main Dining Room, we walked upstairs where the American Classic Buffet was being set up around the indoor pool area. The number of items being served as part of this buffet is amazing. There are so many wonderful salads, appetizers, entrees, rolls and other breads, fruits and luscious deserts that are all nicely displayed.
There is soup that includes Cajun Seafood Gumbo. Various salads that include Crisp Coleslaw, Mixed California Greens, Traditional Waldorf Salad, Carrot-Raisin Salad and All-American Potato Salad follow this. Are you ready for some Seafood and Barbeque Items? You can find Southern Fried Chicken, Summer Pasta Salad, Tender and Juicy Baby Back Ribs, Barbecued Beef Ribs along with Blackened Fresh. Are you ready for some additional Hot Entrees? There is Roasted North American Prime Rib, Southern Chicken Pot Pies, Roast Turkey and New Orleans Jambalaya. Still hungry for items to go with the Hot Entrée items. How about Baked Potatoes, Boston Baked Beans, Sweet Potato Casserole, Crispy Fried Onion Rings, Boston Baked Beans and Texas-Style Chili con Carne. There are other items including Corn Fritters, Roasted Autumn Vegetables, and Corn on the Cob.
Still hungry. There was a Southern Seafood Fry station with Cajun favorites such as Jumbo Shrimp with Creole Tartar Sauce.
Let’s not forget about other salads including Cobb Salad, Caesar Salad, along with many other items to add to the salads including Grilled Chicken, California Avocados, Hard-Boiled Eggs, Tomatoes, Brule Cheese, Celery, Crisp Lettuce, Bacon Bits, Chives and Cobb Dressing.
Let us not forget the beverages and breads. Where do we begin? There was San Francisco Sourdough, Navajo Fry Bread, Boston Brown Bread, Southern Corn Bread, Sticky Cinnamon Buns, New Mexico Tortillas and even Bagels.
There were various non-alcoholic beverages available including Frozen Cappuccino, Smoothies and various Sodas.
Who wants dessert? There were many all American dessert items including Chocolate Fudge Turtle Cake, Key Lime Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, Bread Pudding, New York Cheesecake, Lemon Bars, Brownies, Hazelnut Macaroons, Crème Carmel and Chocolate Chip Cookies and let us not forget Grandma’s Apple Pie. Wow!
This afternoon Keith played table tennis with several passengers that he knows from this years cruise along with some he first met on previous cruises. It’s a very nice group of passengers who have a great time playing doubles table tennis.
Between this afternoons lunch only a few hours pass until it is time for the Crystal Society Reception to begin. This reception is held for those guests who have cruised with Crystal on one prior cruise or more. This evenings attire was formal so those who attended this event were in their formal attire and it is a wonderful way to kick off the evening. Some guests who have completed a high number of Crystal sailings are recognized for these milestones and drinks are provided along with some very nice Hors D’oeuvres. After the reception, those who dined in the Main Dining Room were treated with a very popular dinner menu on board the ship known as French Dinner.
Lots of favorites of the guests are available. This includes appetizers of Escargots, Porcini-Dusted Seared Salmon Medallion, Pink Roasted Duck Carpaccio and a Tropical Fruit Basket. Soup and Salad included French Onion Soup, Soupe au Mais, Chilled Lemon Soup Mesclun of Lettuce, and Heart of Butter Lettuce with each of these salads accompanied by a variety of very tasty items. There was a nice Pasta Special Available and a very nice Salad Entree.
Now to the Main Faires which featured Broiled Fresh Fillet of Red Sea Bream, Coq au Vin, Pink-Roasted Rack of Lamb and Veal a la Mama. There were other entrees to select from including Grilled Salmon and Grilled Entrecote.
On top of all this were a number of side orders.
Are you ready for what many say is their favorite course? Yes, the Dessert. This evening two special desserts were featured; Souffle Grand Marnier and “Marone” which is a Chestnut Opera Cake, Chestnut Biscuits and Chestnut Ice Cream. There was also a couple of sugar free desserts available along with seven other classic desserts to choose from.
Let us not forget the Cheese Trolley. This evening the cheese featured on the trolley included Tete de Moine, St. Andre, Montagnard, Bresse Bleu, Chevre and Comte Alpage.
This evening there was a very special performance titled I Love A Piano featuring two special guest performers; Elliot Finkel and Ian Finkel along with three talented Piano players from Crystal; Thomas Daniels, John Mentis, and Joel Pierson.
Later in the evening, for those who want to sing there was Karaoke.
On top of this there were other venues available to listen to wonderful music and to dance and there was also an evening movie.
Crystal knows how to make each evening very special on board the ship and this evening was no exception. The ambience on board the ship was extra special since this evening was formal. At a time when some cruise lines are abandoning the formal evening approach and some of the traditional meals that go with a formal evening on board a passenger cruise ship, we are fortunate that Crystal continues this elegant tradition on board the Crystal Serenity and the Crystal Symphony.
Each day we are reminded about how truly amazing and wonderful it is to be sailing to such a diverse set of locations around the world while sailing on the wonderful Crystal Serenity. We are so very fortunate to be able to have this opportunity to see places that our parents could only read and/or dream about and to do this in such an elegant passenger cruise ship. Some days we have to pinch ourselves.
As we sail around the world, we also have to remind ourselves not to jump to rash conclusions and to pre-judge entire countries or societies based on what we see when spending a relatively short duration in one port of call. Just as we would not want to judge our own country based on one visit to say one city out of all of the cities and towns that comprise the fifty states of the USA, we realize that we should not do likewise in our travels outside the USA. Rather we should take in all that we observe during our stay, learn as much as we can and know that there is much more to learn about a particular area of the world.
We also remind ourselves that the world is indeed magical due to its diversity and that we can’t expect all people to act the same way we do nor to have the same customs, beliefs, attitudes, and ways of doing things that we are accustomed to in our own country. We have to realize that many practices do vary quite a bit between countries and between regions of the world as they sometimes do between localities, states and even regions within our country. We also have to remind ourselves that many times changes do occur but at a slower pace and duration and over different time frames throughout the world. For example, sometimes we forget that in the United States women did not have the right to vote until 1919, which is less than ninety years ago. Likewise we sometimes forget that various rights of equality were not available to all based on factors such as sex and color of skin and that changes in these areas took time to occur and that even today changes continue to occur. What is truly amazing is our ability to travel to countries over the world. While we are traveling by cruise ship, clearly jet travel had a major impact in providing the opportunity for many of us to have the opportunity to see other areas of the world first hand and through our own eyes. At the same time, communications, including telephone, the internet and e-mail along with television provide additional opportunities for us to learn about other areas of the world and for many of us these mediums provide the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas with people from around the world.
We are fortunate that through this world cruise we increase our knowledge of the world through the ports of call that we visit, the reading that each of us does as we research those places that we will be visiting, through the many expert lecturers that have spoken with us throughout the world cruise and just as importantly through our fellow passengers and crew who are from many different countries throughout the world. Sometimes we forget that between the passengers and the crew our ship is comprised with people from just about all corners of the world and that provides us with another opportunity to learn from one another.
Tomorrow, we will visit the first of two ports of call in Egypt. This will be our second time in as many years to these two ports of call and we look forward to expanding our knowledge of this region of the world realizing that each time we visit an area of the world that we have already been to that we still likely walk away learning something that we had not knew before our arrival.
Keith & Anne Marie
