DAY 11

DAY 7 CRYSTAL SYMPHONY

We thought we would begin with "Aloha" since we are in Hawaii today.    While people associate Aloha as meaning hello and goodbye Aloha in Hawaiian refers to love, peace and compassion.  Others will tell you it goes beyond these descriptions and refers to a way of life.  ​​

Well let's begin with last night.  Before dinner we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon. This room is amazing.  As we sat there we said it belongs in a photo in a magazine.  It is that beautiful. The staff was warm, friendly and professional and by the time we left they remembered our names.

​We had dinner at Waterside.  These are the menus.  

​

We had dinner at Waterside.  The dinner was wonderful.  The queue at the entrance was longer than we had on the other evening's but in a couple of minutes we were inside and seated.

Anne Marie began with a Jumbo Shrimp Appetizer that is available every night. Keith had the Miso Cured Salmon which was absolutely delicious.  For salads Keith had the Farmer's Vegetable Salad and there was a salad entree that Anne Marie had as a small house salad.  In addition to the greens it had a breaded/fried zucchini and she shared some with Keith and it was out of this world.  

For the entree Anne Marie had the Seared Sea Scallops.  It has been years since Keith had Dover Sole but the senior waiter recommended it as did Head Waiter Albert.  When the entrees were ready to be served the Head Waiter came to the table to debone the sole.  We each enjoyed our entrees.  

For dessert Anne Marie had the sugar free Eclair (half of it) and Keith had mixed entrees.

In one of the photos you see Water (she assists the senior waiter) Anna.  Also Senior Waiter Fabio heard we were on board and came by our table.  We last saw Fabio four years ago on Crystal Serenity when he was one of the waiters in Tastes.  So nice to see him.  

The new dishes are attractive.  Modern Cuisine items come out on dishes that are contemporary.  The number of people dining built up over the course of the time we were there.  Service terrific.  Full disclosure.  One of the reasons in the past that Keith avoided the Dover Sole was that it is a popular entree that takes extra time because it is deboned for each guest.  During traditional timing many of the entrees come out around the same time to the tables that each Senior Waiter is responsible for and it could take awhile for the Sole to be deboned and by the time you would eat the food would be cool.  That was not the case least evening as food comes out table at a time and it was nice and hot by the time Keith had it.  The same goes for Anne Marie's entree.

There is a photo of Anne Marie and Fabio.  We last saw Fabio in the Tastes Dining Venue on board Crystal Serenity four years ago.  He saw that we were on this sailing.  He is Senior Waiter in an area on the other side of where we were seated so it took a few days for him to have a moment to come over to our table.  We adored him on Serenity and so happy to see that he has been working at Symphony for a few years. He left Serenity as he was going to settle down and get engaged to someone but that didn't work.  

​

The items from the Modern Menu come in the dark dishes.  

The evening entertainment was outstanding.  Do you remember ELO back in the day.  Neil Lockwood who is the former lead vocalist of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) performed and was accompanied by The Crystal Showband & Violinist Lana Gasparyan.  The show was outstanding.  Maybe outstanding is an understatement.  If you closed your eyes you would think you were at an ELO Concert.  As Neil said the major thing about him that has changed in the last 20 years is less hair.  LOL.  He still has that amazing voice.
​
The show was performed two times. There was a Latin Dance Show that was also performed two times.  As usual other options included dancing and listening to live music such as Oliver Holland who played and sang in the Avenue Saloon.  The Movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri was shown two times.  Later at night a DJ Played music.  

We slept well as Symphony continued sailing to the big island of Hawaii.  We woke up early, freshened up and enjoyed breakfast in our room.  We then got ready to visit Kona.  We have been here previously so we did not arrange a tour.  We do have a tour planned for the first of two days in Oahu.

We could see the Big Island by 6:30 AM.  It was overcast and a bit hazy.  The middle photo shows the sun as it was breaking over the mountain.  

​

---

We had no tour today as we visited here before.  Kailua- Kona has a city population of 12,000.  We anchored off-shore and took the tender over to the tender landing.  The town is a short walk from the landing.  Kona is known for its beaches and weather.  

We walked for a few hours and 6+ miles.  The weather was very nice.  At times it was warm/hot and other times cooler when walking in the shade.  

We visited Hulihe's Palace the former vacation home of Hawaiian royalty and Moku'aikaua Chuch which is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands.  We walked along the Beach and took in wonderful views of its beauty.  

There were lots of people out and about.  Several restaurants were busy serving breakfast.

---

 



​


​

---

We enjoyed lunch on-board the ship.  Anne Marie walked outside on the Promenade Deck and Keith enjoyed lots of Paddle Tennis.

This evening we will dine at the Brazilian Restaurant; Churrascaria.

We enjoyed a wonderful day in Paradise on land and on Crystal Symphony.

​Anne Marie & Keith