DAY 103 - DAY 97 CRYSTAL SERENITY

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - PORTO NOVO

We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Crystal Plaza.  We were dressed in white since it was the White Night Extravaganza.

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These are the menus from dinner at Waterside.

We dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant.  Waiter Azem took great care of us and we enjoyed a wonderful meal.  
We began with appetizers of Warm Sage - Butter Poached Lobster for Anne Marie and Seared Tuna Crudo for Keith. We both had Caesar Salad.  Entrees were; Veal Scaloppine and Pistachio Crusted Grilled Kingklip for Keith.  Rather than having the Kingiklip in a bowl with soup they made it for Keith and served it plated without soup with Spinach on the side.

The food and service were amazing.  For most  of the dinner very few people were dining there which added to the overall ambiance of the dinner.

Waiter Azem  is from Turkey and we mentioned how nice it is Serenity returns to Istanbul  as part of World Cruise 2022.  We first  visited Istanbul on-board the Grand Princess in 1998.  Since that time we have visited Istanbul four or five times on-board Serenity and also  have visited Kusadasi, Turkey several times.  Azem said he looks forward to April 16, 2022.  He already had the date memorized.

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The good news is before going to sleep we enjoyed the benefit of turning the clocks back one hour.  Payback time is coming as we will be forwarding the clocks by one hour on three separate occasions.  Can't wait.  NOT!!  LOL.

Crystal Serenity left port shortly after 10:30  PM.  We  slept well as we sail to our next port  of call.  The seas continued to be relatively calm.

Keith was up early and enjoyed  a workout at the Fitness Center.  We enjoyed Coffee and Breakfast.

Keith returned to the Fitness  Center for an indoor cycling class while Anne Marie walked.

Keith was surprised we had just six people in class given we turned back the clock by  one hour. Maybe some of the guests were exhausted from touring yesterday.  

Today is a sea day and the program featured lots of lectures and other programs.  In fact, yesterday while we were docked in Dakar several entertainers  and lecturers arrived.  The  lecturers already on-board remain so we truly have a seasoned and highly regarded lecture  team for the remainder of the World Cruise.  Two of the lecturers who came on-board give talks today.
 
They are:
 
Ambassador Adam Ereli who retired from the United States State Department after 24 as a Foreign Service Officer.  He served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain from 2007 – 2011.
 
Ambassador Marc Ginsberg who was United States Ambassador to Morocco from 1994 – 1998.  He is a regular on several United States television and radio networks.
 
Three lectures included:

A talk by Ambassador Adam Ereli about Real-Live tails from the front line.  Ambassador Marc Ginsberg talked about the end of ISIS 1.0 and the Start of ISIS 2.0.  The afternoon featured a talk by Tim Servenin about The Jason Voyage.  We are watching the lectures using the on-demand capability on the television in our room.

Before lunch Keith played Paddle Tennis.  

One of his games was played with dear friend Lieve who along with her wonderful husband Hector just boarded yesterday.  It was great to see her.  We look forward to getting together with them both and also seeing Hector perform and playing Paddle Tennis with Lieve

We were back in Marketplace for lunch.  The buffet featured Filipino specialties. 

After lunch Keith returned to the Paddle Tennis Court while Anne Marie walked.  

Although it was windy it was still a beautiful day to play Paddle Tennis. It's all about having fun even at times as the ball is traveling at your head at warp speed. LOL.

As we post we are enjoying the rest of the afternoon on-board Crystal Serenity.  ​

This is today's daily Reflections Program.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith