NOTE: We posted some pictures from the World Games and from last evening at Silk Road in an entry below this entry and titled it World Games & Dinner at Silk Road.
On today’s Blog, we’ve included a picture of Anne Marie with our sommelier Gert,
We have a couple of other pictures that we are unable to load right now including a picture from our Cruise Critic get-together in Captain Glenn’s quarters, and a picture of Anne Marie and Keith with Captain Glenn after this evenings Cocktail Reception. We will try to load them tomorrow.
Today has been another amazing day on the Crystal Serenity. We had a lot of time to visit with both passengers and the wonderful Crystal staff throughout the day. One of the many positive aspects of taking a World Cruise is having the time to get to know both passengers and crew very well. For us, this is truly remarkable.
We consider ourselves so very fortunate to be sailing on our second World Cruise in as many years. Each day hat we wake up we know that the day will bring another new adventure for us and each evening when we go to sleep we think through all of the great things that have taken place during the course of the day. And, today has been no exception. It has been spectacular.
We slept very well throughout the evening as the seas were quite nice. We also enjoyed the extra benefit from setting the clocks back by one hour before we went to sleep last evening. We awoke early this morning and started the day off at the Fitness Center. Once again, Keith was the first passenger to arrive at the Center. A little while later John arrived and within seconds Anne Marie also arrived to the Center. A little while later Mary arrived and not before long other passengers were working out. While not crowded, there were more passengers working out than has been the norm during this voyage likely because of the time zone change.
We enjoyed our workout. Keith had a great workout on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie enjoyed her workout on the Treadmill. Keith had a nice talk with Mary during the workout and Mary introduced Keith to Lecturer Clint Van Zandt’s Wife who was working out on the Treadmill next to her. Toda, is Dianne Van Zandt’s birthday so we wished her a Happy Birthday. After our workout, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.
Today marked the second time during this World Cruise that we sailed across the Equator. As best we can figure out from the map, this is the final time that we will cross the Equator on this voyage. Earlier in the cruise we had the ceremony on the open deck commemorating our Equator crossing. In lieu of another large ceremony, this evening we had a Royal visit by King Neptune and his Mermaid Queen.
Today was full of many activities as we enjoyed another sea day as we get closer to our next port of call in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
During his daily talk, Captain Glenn noted that we were cruising at 21.6 Knots per hour, which is necessary so that we can arrive on schedule tomorrow morning. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day for today was “What you are seeing depends on what you are looking for.” Again, another poignant thought for all of us to think about. Each day we look forward to making new memories that will last a lifetime.
After breakfast, we went to the Stardust Club as all guests were required to have their temperature taken by Brunei Chinese Health Officials. As we understand, the crew had their temperature taken yesterday. We waited on a very short line and we were in and out of this room within minutes. Crystal had several personnel taking the passengers temperature while other personnel recorded the results. To take our temperature an infrared light was aimed at our each passenger’s forehead and immediately registered our temperature in C. The temperature was your skin temperature rather than your body temperature. The good news is that each of us passed the test. ☺ We are not sure what would have happened if we did not pass. ☹
We attended the Rap with the Rabbi at 9:00 AM. The session was very well attended and we had one of our largest turnouts to date. What has been nice is that during the past couple of session lots of folks have attended who are of different faiths which adds to the overall feeling of community on the ship. It’s nice to express opinions and to hear the thoughts of others.
There were a couple of daytime presentations. World Affairs Expert Dr. Mark Elovitz who presented the “Bare, Naked Truths About the Palestinians and Israelis” gave the first. Dr. Jay Wolff who presented “The Opium Wars-The Rape of China” gave the second presentation.
At 11:30 AM we were invited to the Captain’s Quarters for Bloody Marys and Hors D’oeuvres. The event was hosted by Captain Glenn Edvardsen and was for all of the passengers who post on Cruise Critic. Several Crystal officers and staff were on hand including Cruise Director Rick Spath, Vice Captain Ragnar Larsen, Crystal Society Hostess Jamie Brown, Cruise Sales Consultant Nikki Andrew along with the lead female vocalist Colleen Williamson and the lead male vocalist Dennis Dubbin along with several members of the Crystal Ensemble of singers and dancers. It was wonderful to have everyone together since many of the Cruise Critic members were not available for the Afternoon Tea, which we hosted early in the cruise. Captain Glenn and Cruise Director Rick Spath each said some very nice comments to the entire group and also spoke individually with many of us. We can’t say enough about the very warm hospitality and warmth that we have received from Rick Spath and Captain Glenn throughout the cruise. They are wonderful people and we are so very appreciative for all that they do for each day. Our thanks to Crystal Cruises for this wonderful event.
The seas were a little rough today compared to the past several days. Since the Captain’s Quarters are towards the bow of the ship Keith was asking Captain Glenn his opinion on whether it is true that one would feel rough seas more in the most forward portion of the ship relative to the aft of the ship. Captain Glenn gave an excellent explanation on why it would not make a different being in the forward or rear portion of the ship. We realize that some have a different view of this but thought his logic made perfect sense to us. He did confirm our view that the lower are less impacted by rough sea and that being on the mid deck feels less rough. We are on Deck 10, which is not a low deck, but the good news is that we are located mid-deck. ☺
We arrived to Team Trivia after the game had begun so we were there for the last few questions. Our team finished in a tie for second place having answered eleven of fifteen questions correctly.
Following Team Trivia we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Today was the Grand Gala Buffet but since we have four other Grand Gala Buffets during the second half of the World Cruise we passed on this today. It is always amazing to see all of foods that are prepared for this spectacular event.
At 2:00 PM the schedule called for the World Game festivities to continue with the infamous Crew Tug-a-War & Slippery Pole competition. Unfortunately, it was raining so this event will likely be rescheduled for two days from today.
Before dinner, we attended a cocktail reception for all passengers, which was for the World Games. It was called the Spirit of the Games Cocktail Party.
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room.
This evening there was a trio of entertainers. The trio included International Juggler, Luke Burrage, Comedians Mack & Jamie and Bass-Baritone Anthony Stuart Lloyd.
Tomorrow morning, we will reach our next port of call in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
Keith & Anne Marie
