DAY 10

DAY 6 CRYSTAL SYMPHONY 

Menus from last evening's dinner at Waterside.

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We enjoyed another wonderful evening on-board Crystal Symphony.
 
Before dinner we attended a 5:00 PM classical concert matinee performed by Philip Wojciechowski.  We were on Crystal Serenity when he made his debut with Crystal Cruises we believe back in 2010. He was so well received that he was given a standing ovation.  We think he is one of the finest pianists we have ever seen perform in person.  He is also a very humble person who we have had the pleasure of getting to know over the years. The concert was wonderful.

We then had a pre-dinner drink at the Silk Bar.  It is an absolutely beautiful venue and a very nice area to enjoy conversation and a drink.

From there it was dinner at one of the two new venues on board the ship called Silk.  This restaurant serves Chinese cuisine family style.

The menu is quite extensive and this is a change from when they first opened this restaurant.  The feedback they received was to expand the menu from the six to eight items to something more extensive.  We tried lots of items from appetizers to entrees.  We passed on dessert.

The service was fabulous as was the venue. 

Since this was our first time dining there we found the knowledge and expertise of the waiters to be very helpful. We relied on their recommendations including portion size so we knew how much to order.  We did add a couple of entrees later in the meal.

From left to right and then down.  

Anne Marie holding the Silk Menu.

Won Ton Soup. (tasty and nice and hot)

Wild Rice (very tasty)

Dim Sum (two pieces each of Scallop and Truffled Wild Mushroom and one piece Duck).

Lamb Chops (a wow.  Very tasty)

Salad (we had without duck but also comes with duck)

Bok Choy with two entrees of Beef and Chicken)

Drinks to go with the meal.

Spring Rolls (very tasty and arrives nice and hot)

​All in all we have a terrific time between the wonderful cuisine and service and the ambience of the dining venue.
 

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The theme for the evening was the Crystal White Extravaganza.  This is something that began in February of both vessels. We chose to wear some white clothing to keep with the white theme.

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In keeping with the white theme:

Three white cocktails were highlighted in the program; White Crystal of Gordon's Gin, White Creme de Cacao, Malibu Rum, Half & Half Cream, Sambuca and Sugar & Coconut Flaked Rim; White Cloud with New Amsterdam Vodka, White Creme de Cacao, Pineapple Juice; White Cosmopolitan with New Amsterdam Vodka, St. Germain Elderflower, Fresh Lime Juice.

The Crystal Plaza was all decorated in White.

At 10:30 PM there was a dance party featuring the Crystal Dance Quartet Band, the Crystal Showed and violinist Lana Gasparyan and the Crystal Quartet.

In addition there was a Dance Production called 5678 performed two times, dancing, and a movie.

​These photos are views of the decorations in the Crystal Plaza for the White Night Extravaganza.

The good news is before we went to sleep we turned the clocks back a full hour as we sail into a new time zone.  We woke fairly early benefiting from moving the clocks back.  Keith passed on an early morning workout and he read and wrote and we both enjoyed coffee in the room.  Before breakfast we both went on a walk on the Promenade Deck.  The weather was beautiful.  

We had breakfast in the room which was organized by Butler Dario.

After breakfast Keith met some of the fellow guests who he took the indoor cycling class with.  A class is offered today at 4:00 PM but everyone didn't want to go so late in the day.

They had agreed that they would cycle together this morning. Obviously it is not a class but a group of guests getting together to spin similar to a group of guests getting together to play Paddle Tennis or even knitting.  Keith used a playlist from one of the recent classes he taught at home.  It was one hour.  All the bikes were full.    While Keith daughter Anne Marie enjoyed a nice long walk outside after she took a few photos of everyone warming up.  Everyone seemed pleased with the class and wanted Keith to lead another one so they picked out another date for May 28 when no cycle class is being offered and when there would not be a conflict in the Fitness Center.

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Lots on the program today.  Originally this was the day we would arrive to Hilo but this was no long possible due to the Volcano and safety issues.  No problem as Crystal can adapt easily to all of this.

There is so much enrichment available on board.  Three lectures were given.  First one by Jim Jimirro covering a range of American Songs.  Michael Bishay spoke later in the morning about a court's ruling with respect who was the mother of a child.  In the afternoon Herb Keyser spoke about the life and music of Stephen Sondheim.  We watched the first two lectures from our room and will watch the third one later today or tomorrow.

After lunch at Marketplace Keith played Paddle Tennis for three  hours.  Anne Marie walked for an hour and then sat out at the pool.  Weather was lovely.

This evening we will dine at Waterside.

​Anne Marie & Keith