DAY 9

DAY 5 CRYSTAL SYMPHONY

Menus from dinner at Waterside last evening followed by yesterday's luncheon menu and the daily breakfast menu.

We always say the life on the ship is more exciting than the day-to-day routine of home on land.  Last evening was another fun night.

​Our night began with a visit to the Captain's Quarters for a reception he hosted.  On each cruise the Captain will host some receptions at his quarters.  It provides a very nice opportunity to talk with some of the senior officers and senior staff, to hear from the Captain and to chat with fellow guests.

Anne Marie with the Front Office Manager and with the Captain.

There was a large turnout of Officers/Senior Members of Symphony.  This included Captain, Vice Captain, Chief Safety Officer, Hotel Director, Food & Beverage Manager, Shore Excursion Manager, Front Office Manager, Head Housekeeper, Crystal Society Hostess, Crystal Society Hostess and a few others.  

We would say there were about forty guest in attendance.

The Captain Nenad Willheim spoke before the party concluded.  He introduced his team one-by-one to well deserved applause.  As usual the two members from the bar team who made the drinks got the largest applause.  

The Captain highlighted the itinerary and given the number of sea days that many guests booked this cruise with the destination being Crystal Symphony which is very true.  He has been asked if we will be able to see the Volcano and he said he hopes to get a nice view of the Volcano for everyone to see but this all depends on weather and sea conditions.  

We had a great time and it was so nice to catch up with officers and to meet other guests.  Some of the officers we know from Serenity and some we have not chatted with in some time such as the Head Housekeeper and Front Office Manager both of whom moved from Serenity to Symphony.  

After the reception we had dinner for the second time of this cruise at Waterside.  

Food was excellent. As the Senior Waiter mentioned there were many nice choices.  She recommended some of her favorites to us.  

We changed it up from what we normally do.  We both began with Shrimp Cocktail and the Shrimp lived up to their description.  Yes, four large jumbo shrimps.    We each had the salad on the menu.  On long cruises we tend to go with a simple standard salad but on this cruise we plan to mainly go with the salads on the menu.  Very tasty.  We took the Senior Waiter's recommendation and had the Steak Diane which is more of a Filet Mignon in life of choosing a seafood entree as we often do.  We went with her recommendation of medium rare.  Steak was tasty as were the items that accompanied it.  The portion was actually larger than we normally would have.    Some mixed berries for Keith and a decaf cappuccino for Anne Marie.  Wonderful meal.  

Our two dinners at Waterside have been very nice.  The flow of guests to and from the dining room has been terrific.  We arrived about ten minutes after it opened and there were just a few people ahead of us.  During the course of our meal people came and went.  This restaurant venue on Symphony has always been quieter then that of the sister ship Serenity but we have found it to be quieter this time around.  The factors include only 600 guests on board but also the variety of dining venues.  With more suites more people are dining in and with two additional dining venues people are spreading out more to the various venues.

The placement of tables has received a lot of comments because now that we have seen the dining venue in person it is clear to us that photos to not do it justice.  For example the ceiling lamps look so much nicer in person.  The chairs are lots more comfortable then the former ones but you would have thought the reverse was true from the photos.  There are lots of two person tables but several others that are already set for four, six and eight people.  There are some tables that are closer together but their placement is no different then the placement of selected two person tables in Umi Uma or Prego that have been in place for many years.  To us it now has more of a feel of a restaurant then say a banquet room. 
​We included a photo with Anne Marie and Senior Waiter Magdalena.   

Crystal has ramped up its evening entertainment program the last year or so to offer more choices using more than one venue.  Janet Dacal performed in the Galaxy Showroom and we attended her performance.  Entertainment is always subjective.  We had thought the focus of the songs would be more along Broadway Theatre based on her background. Rather it was a combination of jazz and latin song and was quite enjoyable.  

She performed two times as did Musical Comedy Ambassador Gary Delana who performed a Comedy Cabaret show in the Starlite Club.  There was also other options including dancing and listening to the pianists perform.   The featured movie shown twice was All the Money in the World  

We slept very well.  We find it easy to fall asleep on the ship with the gentle rocking of the ship.  Remember rockabye baby.  

The morning started the same for us.  Keith made a visit to the Fitness Center for a workout.  We enjoyed breakfast in our room and we both went on a long walk together inside the ship.  While walking we saw some fellow guests who we chatted with.

Today is a sea day so another day with lots of activities on the schedule.  Today's program included three lectures  Retired Brig. General Nick Halley spoke about Understanding Radical Islam and why they will fight us for the next 500 years.  Keith has seen him give this presentation before so we did not attend.  Celebrity Guest Lecturer Bruce McGill spoke about Tales from Tinsel Town, My Five Decades in Hollywood.  Admittedly we have seen him give this talk but we still returned to hear him again as there is always something that is missed in the first go around.  He is an outstanding actor and also a very friendly person when you engage him in conversation around the ship.

The morning also included a stateroom open house which featured four rooms; Penthouse with Verandah on Deck 10, Seabreeze Penthouse with Verandah on Deck 9, Seabreeze Penthouse Suite like the one we are staying in on Deck 9 and a Deluxe Stateroom with Picture Window on Deck 7.  We visited rooms on Deck 9 and 10.

We began with Seabreeze Penthouse with Verandah.

Next a Penthouse with Verandah on Deck 10.
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Last room visited was the Standard Stateroom with Picture Window on Deck 7.

While the dry dock did not involve the update of standard rooms and the original suites we thought that these rooms look like they had been detailed as carpeting and woodwork and other interior areas did not seem worn.

In the afternoon Dr. Jay Wolff spoke about Pearl Harbor - A Day in Infamy.  We also have seen Dr. Wolff cover this topic and he does it so well as if he was there.  Maybe he was.  LOL.  We did watch it on the Television in our room.

We also enjoyed a nice afternoon on board the ship.  It began with lunch at the Marketplace and our usual salad entrees.  Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck and Keith played Paddle Tennis.  Anne Marie also sat out at the pool.

This evening we will dine at Silk which is one of the two new dining venues and this one serves Chinese cuisine.

Anne Marie and Keith

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