Today was the first of four consecutive days of sea while we sail to our next port of call in Bandar Seri Begawan.
We awoke early this morning after getting a great night sleep. The seas were very calm.
Keith went right up to the Fitness Center for his daily workout. He was the first passenger to arrive but within 15 minutes Mary, John and one other passenger joined him in the center. Keith enjoyed a great workout on the Elliptical Machine. As usual, he enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Mary. There were a few more passengers in the Fitness Center and we suspect that was because we turned the clocks back thirty minutes last evening.
Anne Marie worked out in the afternoon while Keith was involved with the World Games. While Keith was in the center in the morning, Anne Marie did the laundry. We figured it would be a quiet time to get the laundry done given the time of the day. She read a book while waiting for the laundry and then Keith brought here some coffee after his workout.
We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. Each morning on Sea Day there is a 30 minute daily programming starring the Cruise Director and the World Cruise Hostess. We normally don’t get a chance to watch it as we are normally out and about. However, today we saw the program. They included clips from the past day or two on the ship and we were in a few of them from the World Cruise Games. They also ask a few trivia questions and Anne Marie called in with the correct answer to the final one for the show.
During Captain Glenn’s morning talk he noted that we were traveling at 21 Knots per hour, which is close to our maximum capabilities. While the ship can travel at a top speed of 23 Knots per hour that top speed is based on perfect conditions such as very little to no wind. The weather this morning was 86 degrees Fahrenheit. These nice weather conditions are in the forecast for the next few days. The Captain’s thought of the day is “You are never fully dressed until you wear a smile.” Another wonderful thought of the day. ☺
There were lots of activities scheduled throughout the day, including many lectures and the continuation of the World Cruise Games.
At 10:00 in the morning there was a special event for those on the full World Cruise. The event was a Block Party in the Officers’ Quarters. The staff transformed the Officers’ Quarters into CandyLand, where they treated the passenger’s to captivating confections, which were capped off by a beautiful view of the ocean from the bridge of the Crystal Serenity. Several of the staff were dressed in candy costumes such as a tootsie roll, sugar baby, a gingerbread man (Rick Spath our Wonderful Cruise Director), the tooth fairy (Anne Marie Falvey our Wonderful World Cruise Hostess) along with several other characters. The Captain was on hand to answer questions. Keith asked the Captain about the new route we were taking to our new port of call and Captain Glenn took the time to show Keith the original route along with the new route. A variety of items were available including candy, cookies, and cupcakes along with coffee served with various liqueurs, champagne, mimosas and a variety of other items. We appreciate Crystal allowing us to visit the Bridge and this was a perfect day to view the sea from the bridge.
The ocean has been very calm today and has the look and feel of a lake.
In the morning there were two lectures. Dr. Jay Wolff gave the first lecture which was titled “Krakatoa, the Crack of Doom.” He spoke about Indonesia and the fact that it has the most volcanoes of any other country. In 1883, one of them, Krakatoa, exploded. It was the largest explosion ever witnessed, and it created the biggest tsunami in the history of mankind.
Later in the morning, former FBI Profiler Clint Van Zandt gave a lecture on some of the famous unsolved cases. He has appeared on many television programs talking about these very cases.
At Noon we went to Team Trivia. Our team did very well today answering thirteen of fifteen questions correctly and coming in second place for the day. Let’s hope that this trend continues. ☺
In the afternoon there was yet another lecture. Michael Glick who presented “How Movies Are Made” gave this one. This lecture covered the basics of film producing and he shoed actual film clips of behind the scenes experiences on productions.
After Team Trivia we enjoyed a nice lunch in our room. We needed to finish up quickly as Keith had the next of the World Games at 1:30 PM. Today’s game was men’s doubles shuffleboard. Keith and his partner made it to the semi-finals where they lost for the Bronze Medal. Keith had a wonderful time playing and conversing with many of his fellow passengers during the course of these games.
We went to the Friday evening Sabbath services. We really enjoy the Rabbi and the service was well attended. As part of the service when the Rabbi asked for names of people who needed additional prayers we mentioned a name of someone who we know and our thoughts and prayers go out to him and to his lovely wife.
Before dinner this evening we had another couple over to our room for Hors D’oeuvres and we shared a bottle of wine, which they had bought for us during one of our stops in Australia. Afterwards, the four of us enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Prego Specialty Restaurant, which serves Italian Cuisine.
We had requested to sit at a table to be served by a waiter who we really enjoyed on last years World Cruise who just came back to the cruise ship starting with this segment of the World Cruise. His name is Adam and he is from Hungary. We were happy to have him as our server this evening.
We are still receiving a very nice variety of television stations on board the ship. This will vary based on where the ship is sailing in the world. Right now we are receiving CNN International and CNN Headline News, CNBC, FOX, BBC, Australia, EXPN and ESPN2, News Asia, Bloomberg Asia-Pacific, and a Japanese News Station. Between these stations and the two papers delivered to our room and the Internet, we are doing our best to keep up with USA and National News.
Today, in the daily program, we learned that all Brunei and Chinese Health officials will require each of us to have our temperature taken before we enter Brunei and Hong Kong. This will occur on March 10. Evidently, this is not the first time they have requested this but it is a first for us as we have never cruised in this area of the world.
We continue to have an outstanding time on the cruise. We can’t say enough about the elegance of the ship, the diversity and quality of the daytime and afternoon activities and the evening entertainment, the outstanding cuisine, and the outstanding service of the crew. On top of this, we are sailing to so many special places and we are making new memories each and every day.
We look forward to another wonderful day on the Crystal Serenity as we continue to sail for our next port of call.
Keith & Anne Marie
