DAY 40 - DAY 34 CRYSTAL SERENITY

1/23/2019

ON THE ROAD TO FANNING ISLAND - DAY 2 AT SEA

We enjoyed another wonderful evening on-board Crystal Serenity as we sail towards Fanning Island.

The attire for the evening was Black Tie Optional (BTO). Guests can dress in black tie attire including suits for gents and cocktail dresses for women. It is optional so the other choice is a sports jacket and dress slacks for gents (tie optional) and a dress/pants suit for ladies.

We had drinks with friends Ileen at the Avenue Saloon. Afterwards, Ileen joined us for dinner at Waterside. We have known Ileen for several years and have shared dinners with her on-board Serenity and also in Vancouver prior to the start of the epic Northwest Passage cruise in 2016.

These are the dinner menus from Waterside.

We enjoyed a lovely meal with several favorites.

We began with caviar for Keith and seafood rendezvous for Anne Marie. Second course was the mixed salad. We each had the Fresh Hawaiian Opah for our entree. This is the first time we remember it being served at Waterside or the former Crystal Dining Room. The only times we have had it in the past is as an additional entree at Prego which we had the other day at Prego. It is a delicious fish and a favorite of ours.

It was fun to catch up with Ileen. Waterside is popular on BTO nights. The room is less noisy than in the past because of better soundproofing and a greater percentage of two and four person table tops with far less six and eight guest tabletops.

The featured entertainment included the production show Icons in Concert which was performed at 7:45 and 9:30 PM at the Galaxy Lounge. We thoroughly enjoy this show which is performed by the Crystal singers and ensemble dancers along with the Crystal Showband.

We slept well as we continue to sail towards Fanning Island. Captain Giske had said the weather would remain the same for the two days at sea and he was right. We started the day as we normally do. An early morning workout for Keith and breakfast in our room.

Anne Marie had personal training with Fitness Director Charlotte.

Keith had his second haircut of the cruise while Anne Marie finished her personal training and went to Yoga.

At 10:00 AM Keith participated in the singles paddle tennis World Games. Keith ended up matched against the guest who won the gold. He had a great time playing and it is all about having "FUN".

They moved the first awards ceremony from this evening to tomorrow evening.

There were lots of activities on the program. We'll highlight the lectures. There were four lectures.

Ken Rees spoke about Fanning Island which we will visit tomorrow. This is our first visit to Fanning Island and we found Ken's talk to be informative with his terrific humor.

General Zinne spoke about the man in the middle: international peace meditation. The General has won over many guests on board with his sound and common sense approach with respect to the items he has covered. This included his first talk about the great issues that the world needs to deal with.

Bill Toone spoke about the recovery of the California Condor. Bill's talks are always amazing. He has a great ability to present topics we are less familiar with and we appreciate his passion.

Adrain Vickers spoke about the Polynesians in the Pacific Ocean Region.

We enjoyed our afternoon. We had lunch at Marketplace. Keith played a couple of hours of Paddle Tennis and got together with friend Bob. He also read, wrote and caught up on lectures. Anne Marie walked for an hour outside the ship and continued reading a book. When she walks she listens to audio-books. When in the room she reads books that are available in the library. Keith also read and wrote.

Today Marketplace featured the Asian Buffet.