DAY 11 - DAY 5 SERENITY

Merry Christmas

Thanks to those of you who are providing comments which are very much appreciated. We were asked about providing copies of Reflections on the blog.  We will try at some point but right now it is too time consuming between the Blog and other posts that we are doing.

These are the dinner menus from last evening at Waterside where we dined.
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After we posted we had a video call with our Son, Daughter-In-Law, and Grandchildren Jackson and Preston. It was so nice to be able to video with both families yesterday.

Before dinner we went to the Avenue Saloon for a pre-dinner drink.  Bartender Dennis took good care of us.  From there we went to the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle Party.

About twenty guests were in attendance for the party.  Officers in attendance included Food & Beverage Manager Sven and new Food & Beverage Manager Jasper, Hotel Director Scott Peterson, Cruise Director Rick and Cruise Sales Consultant Jaque.

These are the specialty Gin & Tonic and Manhattan Drink Menus.

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Afterwards we had dinner at Waterside.  Since we have boarded Serenity we have had all of our dinners at Waterside with the exception of the Supper Club Dinner.  Later in the cruise we plan to go to each of the other restaurants.

We enjoyed dinner.  We didn't see an appetizer that interested us so we had two courses.  We took the Salad Entree and asked for it without the fish as our starter salad.  We had the Halibut Entree.  The fish was very tasty.  While it added to the presentation there was a lot of sauce accompanying the fish.  

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Outside Waterside the entire day has been a Gingerbread House and lots of cookies.

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Later in the evening there were two performances of a special holiday show shown in the Galaxy Lounge. We attended the first one at 7:45 PM and it was close to a full house.  The show included the Crystal Ensemble of Dancers and Singers and several of the entertainers who are on-board for just this voyage.  The show was upbeat and we enjoyed it.

We slept well last evening as we continue to sail to Hawaii.  We have been fortunate with the weather and sea conditions and enjoyed the gentle rocking of the ship.

While yesterday Keith could have worked out the elliptical machine for hours today was one of those days that he listed his time on the elliptical to less than 30 minutes.  Afterwards, Keith walked inside the ship for an hour. 

In the spirit of Christmas these are photos from around the ship of the Christmas Decorations.

We enjoyed breakfast in our room.  We checked out the on-demand movies for the first time of this cruise and noticed that they have several Christmas movies.  Thanks to Santa Claus (Anne Marie) we have a new addition to the family.  Yes, a Crystal Serenity Bear.  On the left is Boris and on the right is Woody.  

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Between last night and today there have been lots of Holiday activities on board Serenity.

As mentioned we attended the Holiday show last evening.  Late yesterday afternoon there was an after Channukah Celebration and Champagne Reception. At 11:00 PM Christmas Eve Mass was held and there was an Interdenominational Service.
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Today featured the arrival of Santa Claus at 11:15 at the Palm Court.  We stopped by and there were lots of children and parents/grandparents enjoying the event.  Santa gave out gifts to the children.

There was a Holiday Grand Gala Buffet Event at Noon.

There has been the usual wide array of activities through the day.

The lectures included:

Talk by Jim Rowe about Hawaii.  He covered natural highlights and culture of the Hawaiian Islands.

World Affairs Lecturers Rober Schrire presented "The End of American Dream?"

In the afternoon Special Interest Lecturer Michael Bishay presented Courtroom Drama: Who is my Mother: This Christmas is like no other!"

We enjoyed a nice long walk in the morning and we spoke with many guests and members of Team Serenity.  It truly felt like Christmas everywhere we walked around the ship.

We stopped by to see the wonderful Holiday Grand Gala foods created by the galley team.  Many items are a work of art.  While the food looked delicious, we had lunch at Marketplace.

This afternoon Keith played Paddle Tennis and Anne Marie walked for an hour, we met with some fellow guests and we watched a movie on the television.

This evening we return to Waterside for dinner.  Following dinner we will attend the Crystal Society Reception.

This is the menu from today's Holiday Grand Gala Buffet.
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It's been a great day and more will follow this evening.

Another holiday gift is that later this evening we will get to turn the clocks back one hour.

​Anne Marie & Keith