A Day In Brunei

NOTE: Below this entry, we have also posted another entry, which has one picture from yesterday which was a picture of our Cruise Critic get-together in the Captain’s Quarters.

We have also updated our pictures on our picture web site. If you click on the link on the right hand side that takes you to our picture web site you will see a new group of pictures called Grand Gala Desserts. These pictures show some of the beautifully decorated cakes that were served at yesterdays Gala. We didn’t eat any of these cakes. ☺ However, we thought they were picture perfect so we took plenty of pictures of them. The chefs on Crystal are amazing. This is clearly an art so kudos to the Pastry Chefs were preparing marvelous cakes.

We have posted four pictures today. The first is a picture of us with Captain Glenn from two evenings ago. The second is a picture of one of the Water Village Homes. The third is a picture of the Chariot that was used when the Sultan went from being a Crown Prince to the Sultan of Brunei. Finally, the last picture is of the Jame’Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque.

Today we arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. This country borders the South Sea and has a long, lovely coast.

The Sultan rules this country. He is the Head of State, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Defense Minister. The Sultan’s family has ruled this nation for more than six centuries. Approximately 400,000 people live in this capital city. The Sultan is extremely wealthy.

His personal car collection is valued at $4 Billion dollars and includes over 500 Mercedes, over 350 Ferraris, over 350 Bentleys, almost 200 BMWs, over 175 Jaguars, over 150 Porsches, over 125 Rolls Royce’s and 20 Lamborghinis. Some sources estimate even higher numbers. We don’t quite understand why one individual needs so many cars and think that this amount of money could be much better spent on the people of this nation,

Approximately two-thirds of the residents of this nation are Muslim. Buddhists account for another 15% of the residents and Christianity accounts for the remaining 8% of the population.

Oil is king and oil is what drives this nations economy. There is no income tax but there is a tax on goods that are sold.

One observation. We saw very few locals during our tour. When we were in the mosque, we saw very few people and as we drove through the capital city we saw many motorists but we saw very few people on the sidewalks. Of course, our local guide did mention that since gasoline prices are relatively low that the locals do utilize their cars quite a big and that their means of getting around is almost exclusively the automobile. He also mentioned that the locals prefer not to walk much and that obesity has become a major problem.

Keith awoke very early in the morning and began his workout at 4:30 AM. We have an early tour so Keith wanted to get in an early workout. Anne Marie worked out in the afternoon. Mid-way through Keith’s workout Mary arrived and John arrived a little while after that.

After Keith finished his workout and was walking down the first flight of steps he saw a familiar face from the night crew who is one of the members of the crew who cleans the ship during the nighttime hours. Keith spoke with him for a little while and noted that he had begun his workout earlier than normal at 4:30 AM. At that point the member of the night crew said, yes, you normally begin at 5:00 AM. That is amazing that he remember the time that Keith gets up there in the morning.

We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room as we have done for the last couple of weeks. Since we had a fairly early shore excursion, we had breakfast delivered at 6:00 AM.

When we disembarked the ship, Brunei Health Officials were positioned at the gangway entrance where they performed random temperature checks of passengers. We were warned that this would occur.

We took a morning shore excursion that was called The Sultanate: City & Water Village Tour.

We began our tour with a brief look inside the Jame’Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque. This mosque is the largest mosque in Brunei. We had to remove our shoes and the women were given black robes (looked similar to graduation robes to put on) and we could only walk on a certain area within the mosque. The outside landscaping of the mosque was impeccable.

We then had a stop across the street from the home of the Sultan. There was a large gates and lots of landscaping in the front. The palace contains over 1,600 rooms.

From there, we continued to the Royal Regalia Center. This center was constructed in 1992. It houses a collection of royal regalia including the royal chariot, gold and silver ceremonial armory and the crown used for the coronation along with a variety of gifts from other nations. We had to remove our shoes before we went inside.

Our final stop before returning to the ship was at Kampont Ayer, an over-water village. At the village we boarded a water taxi for a short ride over to the water village where we visited a traditional Brunei home. On our way to the home, we traveled by lots of homes within the water village and also had views of a couple of mosque s and the Sultan’s Palace. At the home, various desserts and tea were served.

We enjoyed this tour and we really appreciate the amount of information that our tour guide shared with us. We sat in the front of the bus and we asked our tour guide lots of questions.

During our tour we ran into a family (parents and an adult daughter) who we had met on a back to back Crystal cruise in the Mediterranean in 2005. We immediately recognized one another. They are from Canada and very nice people. The mother remembered how Keith had helped her into the tender when we cruised in 2005 and had waited for her to help her out of the tender.

When we arrived back from the ship, we enjoyed lunch in our room. Given the time we knew we were getting back, we had pre-ordered the lunch so that it was ready around the time we returned. The lunch was wonderful as it always is all the food on Crystal.

We both took a nice long on the promenade deck in the afternoon. I was fairly warm but we enjoyed getting fresh air by walking outside.

Before dinner this evening we had cocktails in the Captain’s Quarters. It is amazing that we were invited to the Captain’s Quarters two days in a row. Many of the passengers attending this evening are on the full World Cruise.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. The food throughout the World Cruise has been wonderful. We are amazed at the quality of the food and its presentation, particularly when one considers the number of passengers being served throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. During the World Cruise, many varied items are offered throughout the cruise given how long many of the passengers are on the ship.

On the dinner menu, there are typically four or more appetizers to choose from, three different soups, two different salads, a pasta special, a salad entrée, four main fare entrees along with a couple of alternative entrees. Several side orders are available from various potatoes, to pasta, to various vegetables. In addition there are vegetarian selections to choose from and there are lighter side items. Let us not forget about dessert. There are sugar-free desserts, classic desserts along with items from the cheese trolley. On most evenings, the headwaiters also prepare desserts such as Banana Foster, Cherries Jubilee, Crepes Suzettes and so forth. Many items not on the menu can be ordered and you can also make some changes to how a particular item is prepared. Also, if you provide 24 hours notice you can order just about anything in reason as long as the ingredients are available on the ship.

The cuisine served by Crystal is fabulous and we really appreciate the way Crystal accommodates how we enjoy having our meals prepared.

On top of that we greatly appreciate the outstanding, and we do mean the outstanding service, provided in the Main Dining Room and throughout the ship. In addition to the wonderful service, we also greatly appreciate the outstanding knowledge that the wait staff has with respect to food preparation and their recommendation of food items. The Main Dining Room staff includes the waiter who ensures that all of the items ordered are prepared by the kitchen and are picked up from the kitchen in an orderly manner so that all items for a particular course are ready to be brought over to the table at the same time, and also takes care of other items at the table including water, to hot beverages. There is the senior waiter who takes our order, serves most of the items, offers recommendations on items, and follows up to ensure that we are pleased with the meal. There is also a Head Waiter who has the responsibility for a large section of tables in the dining room. The Head Waiter will take care of special items that are ordered ahead of time, will prepare some special desserts, and also take care of other special food items. We have had our Head Waiter on many of our Crystal cruises and he amazes us by remembering many of our favorite food items. He also knows whether or not we will like a particular entrée on the menu as he knows we really likes fish and has an unbelievable memory as to what type of fish we enjoy. On a few evenings where we were not in the dining room the night before he knew we would not like the choices and without us asking he pre-ordered an alternative entrée for us and he was correct each time. Then there is the Maitre D’ of the dining room. We have sailed with him many times and he is wonderful. He takes care of all of the seating assignments, he will also arrange for special tables for passengers who need to eat together on a particular evening and oversees the entire wait staff. He comes around from time to time to check on us.

Our senior waiter, Pablo, and waiter, Layla, are both from Chile and have been wonderful. We appreciate their professionalism and enthusiasm and all that they do to make each of our meals very special and we are so fortunate to have them for the entire cruise. Our headwaiter is Peter and is known by some as tall Peter as he is rather tall. He is very knowledgeable in the area of food and we go with his food recommendations very often. Peter is from Austria. The Maitre D’ for the first half of the World Cruise is Leo and is also from Austria. He is also outstanding in all that he does. Every few segments we have a different Sommelier assigned to our table. Our current Sommelier is Gert and he is also from Austria. He is also very knowledgeable and we will ask him lots of questions about wine. Wines are available by the bottle and a variety of wines are available by the glass.

We love our table location in the dining room. We sit at a table for two but on occasion we have had the table expanded to accommodate another couple. On other evenings when we want to dine with other passengers we make plans to eat in one of the Specialty Restaurants. We were very fortunate to get this table as it is in one, if not the quietest area in the dining room and is by a window. We also know several of passengers who seat in this same area of the dining room.

Given the length of time we are on the cruise we eat very healthy foods in the dining room each evening. For dinner, we really enjoy all of the healthy foods available to choose from including the salad, the wonderfully prepared seafood entrees, the very fresh vegetables, and all of the fruit selections available for dessert. At the same time, there are so many other items to choose from and, on occasion we do order a fun item.

From time to time we’ll try to provide similar details about the other dining venues on the ship.


Keith & Anne Marie

Picture From Cruise Critic Get-Together

We had hoped to post some pictures from yesterday but can only post one picture for now. This picture is from the get-together that was held in the Captain's quarters for all of us who are on board the ship right now who post on Cruise Critic.

On the direct left is Nikki Andrew the on board sales consultant and Captain Glenn.

On the right from right to left is the Crystal Society Hostess, Jamie Brown, the Cruise Director, Rick Spath, and the Vice Captain, Ragnar Larsen.

There were thirteen of us from Cruise Critic pictured along with another two (not pictured) who were also at this event.

One of our fellow passengers was unable to attend.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Brunei

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

World Games and Dinner At Silk Road

We are posting three pictures that we were unable to post yesterday.


The first picture is of us at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant after they brought out the Sushi.

The second picture is of the Sushi platter that we enjoyed at Silk Road.

The third picture is Keith participating in yesterday's World Cruise Games Golf Tournament.

Dinner was great!

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

NOTE: Last evening, we were unable to post pictures from yesterday. We were able to post the pictures earlier today so if you scroll down to the end of this posting you will see another posting with pictures from the most recent World Games and World Games Awards Ceremony.

We were not able to post pictures from this evening but will attempt to do this in the morning, our time.

Speaking of pictures, we’ve updated our picture web site with a new section titled Crystal Cuisine. Towards the right hand side of this site, you will see a link which you can click on for our World Cruise pictures which will take you to our web site with pictures. We posted a few pictures of the Crystal Cuisine. We hope you enjoy them. Remember you do not gain any calories from looking at them. ☺

Once again, we enjoyed very calm seas and slept very well. We woke up early and Keith arrived to the Fitness Center a little before 5:00 AM. Today, he was the first one in the Center and a little while later Anne Marie made it to the Center. During our workout John also arrived. Keith enjoyed his favorite Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie enjoyed a nice workout on the Treadmill.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. During the Captain’s daily morning talk he noted that we are traveling at 21 knots per hour. The weather was a comfortable 82 degree Fahrenheit. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The only tme you can’t affort to fail is the very last time you try.”

Today was another full day at sea as we cruise to Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. There were lots of activities throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening hours.

Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff gave the first lecture of the day. The topic of Dr. Wolff’s presentation was “Piracy is Alive and Well.” It was a quite interesting presentation and reminds us to be aware of our surroundings.

Former FBI Profiler Clint Van Zandt gave the next presentation. His presentation was titled “Reading a Crime Scene Like a Book – The Real CSI.” His presentation covered the history of modern day crime scene investigations and how today’s criminal investigators read a crime scent to develop a profile of the criminal. During his presentation, Clint Van Zandt provided real-life examples to illustrate his points such as the Washington, DC sniper case from a couple of years ago. It was an outstanding presentation and we learned a great deal from Clint Van Zandt as we always do from each of his lectures.

We then went to Team Trivia. While we correctly answered only nine of fifteen questions, we still finished in a tie for second place. The questions were very difficult.

After Team Trivia we went to the Main Dining Room for Lunch. We each enjoyed a wonderful salad entrée. The senior waiter who we request each time we have lunch in the Main Dining Room, Dragan (yes his name is spelled Dragan) will be going on holiday at the end of this segment. He is wonderful and we will miss him.

After lunch, Keith participated in the Golf Putting Tournament. For many passengers this was considered golf putting put to Keith who is not a golfer he viewed this as miniature golf or putt-putt. Keith ended with a respectable score but not good enough for any of the medals.

Before the golf tournament, we ran into Mary who gave us a few pictures from yesterday when Keith received his medals. She also put a picture of Keith and the other two Olympians on a Total cereal box for us. She had tried to locate a Wheaties cereal box. So, Keith joins the other athletes on boxes of cereal. ☺ Thanks to Mary and to Stan for the wonderful pictures and the nice memento to remember the games and the award ceremony.

Before dinner, we attended the Crystal Society Reception. This reception is for those passenger’s who have completed at least one cruise with Crystal. Everyone was dress up as the attire for this evening is Formal. Most men wear tuxedos with a few others in dark suits. Women wear a variety of formal attire from long gowns to formal cocktail address to formal tops and pants suits. It is so nice to see everyone dressed up in his or her formal attire. At this reception passengers who have completed a large number of Crystal Cruises are recognized. We want to note that one of the World Cruise passengers has now completed their 200th individual cruise with Crystal which is a truly an amazing feat. This speaks so very highly of Crystal.

We continue to enjoy our World Cruise and just like last year it has exceeded our expectations. As we mentioned in one of the first posts, a World Cruise is not like any other cruise as it is an adventure rather than just a cruise. After just a very short time the ship becomes a community rather than just passengers on a sailing. For us, it was even more unique since we have come back for our second consecutive World Cruise. It was so nice to see those people that became our friends last year this time around and also realizing that we would also make friends with many new passengers who were not on last years cruise. At the same time the bond that takes place between passengers and staff is also quite unique. We are fortunate that our senior waiter, waiter and stewardess will be on the entire sailing with us and others such as our Butler and Headwaiter will be on most of the cruise with us.

This evening we ate dinner in the Japanese Silk Road Restaurant. As usual, the food and the service were just outstanding. We enjoyed a variety of Sushi to begin the meal. It was wonderful and we’ve included a picture of the Sushi platter. Yes, all of that exercising allows us to order quite a bit of Sushi. Keith eats a good portion of it. Since we now order more Sushi, our next course was the entrée. Rather than getting a large entrée we get a tasting by ordering the Nobu box which contains small tastings of three entrees. Anne Marie enjoyed the lobster, black cod and scallops and Keith enjoyed the lobster, black cod and eggplant along with a little taste of Anne Marie’s scallops. For dessert Keith enjoyed the fruit plate (without the sherbet). Anne Marie has fruit each day of the cruise except for one day on each segment when she will have a real desert for dinner. Tonight was desert night for Anne Marie so she had the chocolate soufflé cake (served warm) with a sesame ice cream. Some would argue it is the best part of the meal. ☺ Anne Marie finishes the meal with a decaffeinated coffee (they make a marvelous cup of coffee) and Keith concludes his meal with green tea. There are so many other food items to select from that we don’t normally have. They serve several outstanding soups including an excellent tasting hot spicy soup. There are some excellent salads to choose from including one that we have enjoyed in the past, which is salad, topped with cooked mushrooms that are served hot. Likewise, there are lots of entrees to choose from. You can get large portions of the tastings that we had or you can select other items from seafood, to chicken, to wonderfully tasting beef. There is also a great sushi bar where you can enjoy sushi while watching the talented chefs prepare them in front of you. One time we will experience this.

Tomorrow, we will be at sea again. A noteworthy item about tomorrow which is the day in which we cross the equator for the second time since we boarded the ship in January.

We will set the clocks back one hour as we sail into another new time zone.

World Cruise Games & Ceremony

Last evening we were unable to post pictures from the most recent World Games (Double Men's Table Tennis) and from last evening's World Games Ceremony so we are posting those pictures today.

The first picture is of some of the men waiting to play ini the Men's Double Table Tennis Tournament. Two tables were used for most of the tournament. The gentlemen closest to the camera is Mr. T. who is an excellent table tennis player and won the men's singles table tennis tournament. In yesterday's doubles match he and his partner finished in second to Keith and his partner.

The second picture is of Keith and Joyce who won the men/women fast walking relay race, along with Olympians Cathy and Mitch Gaylord. The team that was in second finished about 2 and 1/2 minutes behind Joyce and Keith.

The third picture is Keith and Anne Marie along with Olympians Cathy Rigby and Mitch Gaylord.

The forth picture is with Keith and John after the awards were given out last evening for the Basketball competition. John came in first place and received a Gold Medal and Keith finished in second places with a Silver Medal. Congratulations John!

The fifth picture is Keith and his table tennis partner Graeme after they finished in first place in the Men's Double Table Tennis Match. They will receive their awards at the next Ceremony.

The sixth and final picture is also of Keith and his partner Table Tennis partner Graeme while they were playing in one of several games during yesterdays Men's Table Tennis Competition.

The games are lots of fun as they provide lots of opportunities for the passengers to get to know one another and they add to the spirit that takes place throughout the ship. The award ceremonies are lots of fun and they draw a very nice crowd of fellow passengers who come out to cheer the winners.

Keith & Anne Marie

The World Games

Today has been another great day on board the Crystal Serenity as we cruise to our next port of call in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

We enjoyed a great night sleep, as the seas were relatively calm last evening. We awoke early this morning. Keith arrived to the Fitness Center by around 5:00 AM but was not the first passenger to arrive to the center this time around. The woman who we had dinner with last evening was already there. She and her husband normally eat at the late seating for dinner in the Main Dining Room starting at 8:30 PM vs. a start time for 6:00 PM for the main seating, which we attend. However, since we ate together at 7:00 PM yesterday evening in the Specialty Restaurant and finished earlier than they normally do she ended up going to sleep relatively early. Anyway, to make a long story short, someone finally beat Keith to the Fitness Center. ☺

Anne Marie arrived to the Fitness Center about twenty minutes after Keith arrived and we both enjoyed a wonderful workout. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. We both continue to rack up those miles on this equipment.

Mary and John also worked out while we were there and Keith enjoyed another wonderful conversation with Mary. During our workout, we saw one of the lecturers who were on during the last segment of the World Cruise on the television monitor talking on one of the national network cable stations about the stock market. It is amazing to see people on television that we first met on a Crystal Cruise. There are quite a few lecturers who over the years we have seen on one of the Crystal ship and then at a later point in time on television..

After our workout we enjoyed a great breakfast in our room.

During this mornings report from the bridge, Captain Glenn noted that we were in the Indian Ocean traveling at 21 Knots per hour with four engines in use. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “Buy some good stocks, keep them till they go up and sell them. If they don’t go up, don’t buy them.” Now all we need is a crystal ball. ☺

We began the morning activities by attending Rap with the Rabbi. These sessions continue to be nicely attended. We find that the topics are quite interesting and it provides a very nice opportunity to share and to listen to a variety of points of view. There were lots of passengers in attendance today and today’s discussion could have gone well beyond the allotted time. There were many passengers in attendance who had not previously sat in this session.

After the Rap, Keith played in the Men’s Doubles Table Tennis Tournament. The teams are chosen randomly. The sports director collects each passenger’s identification card and then chooses two at a time to form the teams. Keith and his partner won all of their games and each game they won 21-19. In the final game they were losing 11-5 and ended up winning the game, which gave them the Gold Medal for the tournament. We had a lot of fun and also enjoyed the opportunity to socialize with our fellow passengers.

Before Team Trivia we attended a presentation given by Deana Martin. The topic of her presentation was “Growing Up With the Rat Pack.” Deana Martin discussed her recollections of the Pat Rack and provided lots of interesting information about her father, Dean Martin, along with Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior. Deana Martin shared some video clips of video that had never been shown to the public.

Before lunch, we attended Team Trivia. Today our team had a port showing as we only answered eight of fifteen questions correctly. ☹ Better luck next time. -☺

After Team Trivia we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room.

This afternoon Keith played table tennis with some of his fellow passengers. He was going to enter the Dart Tournament but he thought he wouldn’t have time to finish the game and get ready for the evening activities. Anne Marie read outside on the verandah. We cruise past Bali today and the views from outside were gorgeous.

Before this evening’s dinner we attended the World Cruise Award Ceremony. This ceremony recognized the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners from the World Cruise Competition held the past couple of days. For each competition the respective winners are announced and are called up to the platform, one by one, where they receive their award and are photographed by the ship photographer. The Cruise Director was also on hand and many passengers show up to recognize their fellow passengers. This evening Keith was called up for two events from earlier in the week. He received a Silver medal from the men’s Basketball competition and he received a Gold medal for the mixed doubles walking relay. Our friend John received the Gold for Basketball and we were thrilled for him. Also, on hand were Olympians Cathy Rigby and Mitch Gaylord.

Cathy Rigby is a two-time Olympic gymnast and was the first American woman to win a medal in the World Gymnastics Competition. She earned a Tony nomination for her performance in Peter Pan and has performed in several plays including, The Cat-in-The-Hat, Annie Get Your Gun, Meet Me in St. Louis, South Pacific, Paint Your Wagon, and the Unsinkable Molly Brown. She was also a gymnastic commentator for eighteen years on ACB TV’s Wide World of Sports.

Mitch Gaylord let the United States Olympic gymnastics team to its Gold Medal victory in 1984. He was the first American Gymnast in history to score a perfect 10. He also went on to capture a Silver medal for Vaulting and two Bronze medals for Rings and Parallel Bars. He also made his acting debut in 1986 appearing in Columbia Pictures’ American Anthem and also appeared in several commercials.

Following the award ceremony, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room.

We don’t always mention all of the entertainment but we wanted to note that on this years world cruise Crystal has brought on about sixteen or twenty more acts over last year. Some of the regular production shows that one sees on one voyage have been shown as an afternoon matinee allowing additional acts to be feature in the evening. There have been plenty of great performances throughout this cruise.

We are having trouble publishing pictures today. Will try to publish some pictures tomorrow related to the World Games.


Keith & Anne Marie