Zeebrugge

Greetings from Crystal Symphony  
 
The Galaxy Lounge is a big part of Crystal’s enrichment and entertainment program across Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity.
 
Over the years we have seen many lectures and evening performance in this lounge as well as attending various question and answer sessions.  Sometimes the lounge is used for other purposes such as face-to-face sessions with local authorities with passports in hand.
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It takes a Crystal Village and Teamwork  
 
The other day we mentioned when Keith walks the ship in the early hours that I see the incredible members of the night team cleaning every nook and cranny of the ship.  This includes all public spaces including rooms, stairwells, steps, outside and inside of elevators, restrooms, and countless other items.
 
They not only clean everything but between the night crew and members of other teams including Food & Beverage everything is put in its proper place. Take the tables and chairs in public rooms. Everything is lined up perfectly as you will see in these three photos.  
 
Likewise, as I walk the open decks the same thing is true including around the pool.
 
During the day on the promenade deck there is a lot of care being taken to maintain it as well. It includes washing the outdoor decks, but it doesn’t stop there. For example, since we boarded some areas have been touched out with white paint. At the same time, we seen the deck hands removing the varnish on the railing on the promenade deck by hand with sandpaper in preparation for a new coating of varnish to be applied to the rails.  
 
All of this allows each vessel to look pristine and many years younger in age.
 
All of this is truly amazing and reflects attention to detail, strong teamwork and a lot of care and another reason why we enjoy sailing with Crystal.
 

This a Special D-Day sailing as we will have overnights in Rouen, France providing the opportunity to visit Normandy. As part of this voyage there were two speakers in the afternoon, retired Commander Robert Bradshaw who spoke about the lessons of War. Later George Luz Junior who spoke about Through my father’s eyes. He spoke about his father and other members of Easy Company who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and were also part of Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

You can see the lectures in person or on the Crystal TV so we watched each one from our room.  
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Last evening's Waterside Dinner Menu.

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We were invited to dine at Umi Uma by a Senior Officer.

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This is today's Daily Reflections Program.

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Crystal Symphony arrived to the port of Zeebrugge this morning which is about 30 minutes from the city of Bruges.

The entire historic center of Bruges has been designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. Like Amsterdam, Bruges is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North.
 
Bruges has a rich history, and its medieval architecture is mostly intact. Between the 12th and 15th century Bruges was one of the world's chief commercial cities.  This came about after the port was developed and land connections provided the ability to allow for trade.  

We have more photos from yesterday which we will share tomorrow.

Tomorrow is largely a sea day as we will arrive to Rouen, France at 6:00 pm for two overnights.  The following day we have a tour planned for Normandy.  Our only prior visit to Normandy was in the summer of 2003 when we arrived to Rouen, France on-board Crystal Symphony.  

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith