DAY 33 - DAY 27 CRYSTAL SERENITY

ON THE ROAD TO HAWAII - DAY 2 AT SEA

Sophie...You are correct.  The Hollywood theme was special.

We forgot to mention that at the World Cruise meet and meet yesterday morning we received an update on the number of full World Cruises.  It is now 341 rather than 347 likely reflecting last minute cancellations.

These are the restaurant menus from Waterside from last evening.

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Before dinner we had a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon. We sat with dear friends John and Linda.  We first sailed with them on World Cruise 2007 and have enjoyed sailing with them on several World Cruises.  

Our original plan was to go to the Supper Club.  However, after learning that there is a wait-list for this cruise to get into the two Supper Club offerings we cancelled our reservation so that two other people could attend.  We'll plan to go later in the World Cruise or on a voyage post World Cruise.

We went to Waterside for dinner.  Waterside was much quieter than we thought it might be and the food was delicious.

We began with Clear Oxtail Soup for Anne Marie and Caviar for Keith. 

Our next course was an appetizer size salad for the two of us.

Then it was Anne Marie's favorite of lobster  which we both enjoyed.

Final course was Fruit Plate for Keith and Coffee Buzz Buzz Ice Cream for Anne Marie.

Our Waitstaff team is outstanding.  The team includes Head Waiter Augusto, Senior Waiter Claudia, Waiter Yivraj and Sommelier Ricardo.  They are professional, kind, in great spirits and we have enjoyed several good laughs with them.  

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Last evening's entertainment featured Comedian John Joseph who performed two shows last evening in the Galaxy Lounge.  

The good news is that before we went to sleep we turned the clocks back one hour.  This is one of the benefits of sailing from East to West.  

We slept well other than a few times in the middle of the night when we heard some noise from the rocking of the ship.  We are fortunate that Captain Giske changed our approach to Hawaii given the storms.  This is a crossing when you do know you are at sea.

Benefiting from the time change Keith was up earlier than usual and did visit the Fitness Center.  Unfortunately the satellite was out so Keith was unable to watch TV which is a good way to get through the workout and he didn't bring his ear buds for his iPhone. Nevertheless he watched the Crystal Station that had music and photos of the officers and a map of where we are sailing.  He also walked inside the ship.

Anne Marie woke up earlier than usual as she has an early personal training course.  This was at 7:00 AM (ouch for her) but the other ones will be at 7:30 AM.  We had Jaison bring us breakfast at 6:30 AM.  

Anne Marie's personal training was with instructor Charlotte Bane.  Keith already knew her well from indoor cycling as she and Melanie Hossack alternate teaching it.  Charlotte is from England and has worked on land in Cornwall as an instructor.  While Anne Marie was with the personal trainer Keith worked out again.

Later in the morning Anne Marie took Yoga with Yoga Instructors Maria and Joe Kita, Keith went to the volunteer safety inspection.  More on that later.

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The middle photos is from the Elliptical Machines Keith was working out on.

We wanted to digress for a moment.  While we walk inside the ship we pass the map of the world near The Bistro (a great place for coffee).  This map has been on Serenity since she debuted in 2003.  Ever since we sailed Serenity starting 2005 we have stopped to look at that map on numerous occasions.  This included before or after booking a world cruise and getting excited about new and old places we would see.  We look at the map after lectures about world affairs and destinations to see the areas of the world being discuss and we look at the map to reflect on places we have seen or places, we would like to see.  There are other items on walls that have special meaning to us that I’ll discuss on future posts.

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Signups continued for the World Cruise Games.

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There was lots of activities on today's program.

At yesterday's meet and greet Captain Giske mentioned that today would include a voluntary safety inspection.  He introduced this to the guests when we were on the 2015 World Cruise and it was held two times during the cruise.  They showed the crew safety video at the Hollywood theatre which is designed for the crew.  One section of deck 5 where officers and senior staff stay was set up to simulate smoke and the lights off and guests could navigate from one end to the other of the corridor.  One of the tender boats was available for guests to visit to learn about its use in an emergency and what supplies are on board.  A life raft was inflated and placed in the pool.  These rafts would be used by members of the crew in an emergency evacuation.  A fire extinguisher demonstration was shown with some of the fire men in actual gear and equipment.

While an emergency at sea is unlikely increased knowledge by the guests is beneficial.  The crew goes through a lot of training on the ship and on land and they also have a weekly drill.

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We wanted to highlight a few of the items from the program.  

General Zinne morning's lecture was about what drives the world today.  We enjoy the former General's talks which we have seen on several prior cruises.  Today’s talk covered a lot of items related to the future and a number of things to think about inside and outside our country.  

Although we no longer attend Trivia, World Cruise Hostess Stacey accompanies by pianist Richard Pucci kicked off the first team trivia quiz of the World Cruise.  Lots of classes were held today including Zumba led by Stacey; Memoir Writing by instructor Joe Kita; Golf with PGA teaching professional John Clark, Dance Class with dance instructor Curtis; Advanced Bridge with instructor Jeff; Social Bridge with instructorDebbie and Bill; Apple open house and sign up with instructor Stan; Knitting Class with Janet along with several Fitness Classes.

Following is the daily Reflections Program from today.

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In addition to activities we continue to meet guests who we know from prior sailings.  There are still some on-board who we have not seen but as they say the night is young.

​We enjoyed lunch at Marketplace and our afternoon on-board Serenity.  Our afternoon included Paddle Tennis for Keith, a walk for Anne Marie, lots of conversation with fellow guests and members of Team Serenity.  It was very windy outside so for those of you who play Paddle Tennis it was one of those days when you hit the ball up in the air you don't always know where it will go so we had plenty of laughs, but lots of fun.

Anne Marie & Keith