NOTE: We added a couple of pictures to our journal from yesterday so if you scroll to the end of today’s post you will see them.
Today, we are at sea as we sail to our next port of call in Ho Chi Minh City, (formally Saigon) Vietnam.
Some thoughts about yesterday:
What we observed yesterday is very similar to what we had been told by others that we know from previous cruises who first shared their thoughts to us about the people of Vietnam based on their own travel experiences.
The people who we had the opportunity to meet yesterday during our visit to Vietnam were very nice and appeared to us to be extremely hardworking. In spite of the fact that they do not earn much money and that there is high unemployment in their nation, the people seem to persevere. They are willing to do a variety of jobs for whatever money they can earn. For example, on our tour yesterday there were three people from the tour company on the bus rather than the normal number of two. In addition to the bus driver and the tour guide there was a third person. The third persons job was primarily to run off the bus as we got near a tollbooth to purchase the ticket for the toll and then a few minutes later to run over to yet another booth with the ticket. This reduced the time the bus had to wait to pay for the toll. Likely, he receives very little in the way of salary but some income is obviously better than no income.
We believe that because of the dedication and perseverance of these people, that they will end up making a better life for themselves overtime.
We enjoyed a good night sleep and woke up early this morning to begin our day. When Keith arrived to the Fitness Center, two passengers were already there including John. Anne Marie arrived about twenty minutes later. About three-quarters into our workout Mary arrived. Now, is this a community or what? We enjoyed a great workout as Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. Keith watched some of the shows on CNN, FOX and CNBC to keep up to date on the United States economic related issues. We are also keeping up with them vis-à-vis the internet and the papers that we receive on board the ship. Keith and Mary spoke about how wonderful the tours were in Vietnam yesterday.
After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee before breakfast was delivered to our room. At around 7:00 AM we had breakfast and then started to get ready for today’s activities.
During the morning announcement from the bridge, Captain Glenn shared his thought of the day, which is “Even to climb the highest mountain start with one single step.” For us this means to take one step at a time.
We attended Rap with the Rabbi. The discussions continue to be excellent and have covered a nice set of topics. Each segment of the World Cruise has been unique because in addition to seeing some people who are doing the entire World Cruise each segment also provides the opportunity to meet new people and to hear what they have to say on a variety of topics. The Rabbi noted in today session that we will be celebrating Purim on board the ship this Thursday afternoon.
We attended yet another outstanding lecture given by Destination Lecturer Jay Wolff. The topic of his presentation was “Tet.” As part of this lecture, Dr. Wolff talked about the impact that this offensive had on the eventual outcome of the Vietnam war.
The next presentation was given by veteran actor and acclaimed writer-producer Laurance Luckinbill who presented “World Matter.” As part of this presentation, Mr Luckinbil shared excerpts from some of his award winning one-man shows based on the lives of Lyndon Johnson, and Teddy Roosevelt. He is also known for playing other roles such as Clarence Darrow, and Ernest Hemingway. His wife is Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Lucie Arnaz will also be speaking during the course of this voyage.
We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room.
Later in the afternoon we attended on of Crystal’s Production Shows called Gotta Dance. This one is the newest of the production shows offered on the ship. We enjoyed the show.
After the show, we attended a cocktail reception sponsored by the travel consortium that our Travel Specialist belongs to. On each of the eight segments of the World Cruise this travel consortium sponsors a reception for those passengers either on the entire World Cruise or on one or more segments of the World Cruise. Coincidentally, our Travel Specialist is on this segment of the World Cruise so she and her husband hosted today’s reception. These receptions provide yet another nice opportunity to get to know our fellow passengers.
After this reception, we had dinner in Silk Road with our Travel Specialist and her husband. We have a wonderful dinner and an outstanding conversations with them.
Speaking of this wonderful restaurant, the former Asian Restaurant on Crystal’s other Ship the Crystal Symphony has now been converted to Silk Road as well which we think is wonderful. While the conversion took place the former restaurant served food in the Lido Café and now that the new restaurant has opened up towards the end of the current voyage, so that as many passengers on that sailing can experience the wonderful food of Silk Road they are open for both lunch and dinner. Again, this is just for the last few days of that cruise.
And speaking of food and fine service, we wanted to share some thoughts on what we have experienced during this world cruise. In terms of the food selection, on this World Cruise on each segment of the cruise the main dining room has offered food items that are different on each segment in order to provide more diversity for those who are on the entire World Cruise or on several segments. At the same time, they have provided some of the traditional and mainstay food items that seasoned cruisers who might be on one segment of the cruise are accustomed to. In this manner, Crystal has done an outstanding job in our opinion in accommodating the desires of all of its passengers and we highly commend Crystal’s Corporate Chefs and other executives for taking this approach.
At the same time, Crystal’s dining room personnel continue to do an outstanding job of being able to prepare food items for passengers that are not on the menu. Some items can just be ordered at the time of the meal. For example, we can easily ask for an item on the menu to be prepared differently such as asking that a particular fish be grilled rather than be fried or we can ask for other side dishes rather than those that are shown on the menu. At the same time, we can order certain entrees not on the menu at the time we place our order. With 24 hours notification, we can order just about any item within reason. The same applies to breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The food served on board the ship is of the highest quality, and it is also presented beautifully. If one didn’t know, they would think that the kitchen is only preparing food for a handful of patrons rather than an entire ship. Each meal is carefully crafted and our hats go off to Crystal for not only consistently offering the finest cuisine but for their efforts to continue to improve upon the menu.
We have also noticed that in the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant that on each segment of the World Cruise that some changes have been made to the menu in order to offer a few different items. At the same time, the signature dishes are always available.
On top of the outstanding food is the outstanding service. The level of service provided throughout the ship continues to be top notch. The crew is superb at all levels throughout the ship and in all departments. In our opinion, the level of service is truly amazing.
We are pleased to say that this World Cruise has exceeded all of our expectations. As we have said from the very start, this is a journey. So, let the journey continue with our visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which we reach late tomorrow morning. We will have an overnight in this city.
Keith & Anne Marie
