Day 45 - DAY 39 CRYSTAL SERENITY

CROSSING THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE 

FIRST OF TWO DAYS AT SEA ON OUR WAY TO LAUTOKA

Catherine you are so right.  The lecture about the future reminds us of book such as the one you mentioned.  He brought up many items and also several ethical issues and decisions that might have to be met.  

Speaking of the changes brought about by tech a friend sent this to Keith today.

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Before dinner last evening we had a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon. John and Keith tried an IPA Beer.

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We returned to Waterside for the second night in a row.  This evening's dinner featured two menus.  The first one included Crystal Classics and the second menu featured a special dinner created by the guest chef Alex Patoot.  The guest chef is known for his home style Cajun cooking and is reflected in the  menu he created.  

The Chef’s Menu included five courses.  First Couse Shrimp Remoulade; Second Course Seafood Gumbo; Third Course Crawfish Etouffee; Fourth Course Smothered Roasted Duck and Fifth Course Pecan Pie with Chantilly Cream.  


These are the menus.

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We had the Crystal Classics menu:

First Course; Crisp Ricotta & Buffalo Mozzarella Cannelloni, Second Course; Red and Green Caesar salad and Main Course Broiled Cod (Keith) and English Roast Beef (Anne Marie).  We were happy with our choices.  It was a busy night in Waterside.  We guess everyone wanted to eat there and one of the attractions might have been the Celebrity Menu.

We thought the appetizer was delicious.  It was hot on the outside and the ricotta cheese was warm on the inside.  Keith found the Broiled Cod to be tasty and Anne Marie was pleased with her choice of English Roast Beef.  We prefer a traditional Caesar salad with romaine leaves over the mixed red and green one.

The featured entertainment was a special show developed on-board for all guests.  They call it Adventure in Pago Pago- A Short Tale.  It featured the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers, Sarah Combs & Tom Lowe and also included Dancers Curtis and Beverly, Karin Kovacova, World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston, Cruise Director Gary Hunter and the Crystal Showband.  They performed it two times at 7:45 PM and 9:30 PM.  The show was upbeat and entertaining and we laughed a lot.  For those of you who remember Cruise Director Gary Hunter wearing a dress in some shows.  Well, he did something similar wearing a hula grass skirt and a coconut bra like top for part of the show.  Way to go Gary.  Stacey and Gary did a lot of singing and this was truly a team effort.  The on-board entertainment team is amazing.  We went to the first show, and it was close to a full house.

​These are photos that we took the morning of the show outside of the Galaxy Showroom. 

We slept well as we are sailing to Lautoka.  The big news is that we have crossed the International Dateline.  This means that when we went to sleep it was Sunday evening, January 27.  When we woke it became Tuesday, January 29.  For those on-board who have a birthday on January 28 the bad news is that you lost out on a birthday celebration but the good news is that you remain the same age.  LOL.  

Keith was up early and returned to the Fitness Center for an early morning workout.  We enjoyed coffee and saw a beautiful sunrise.

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​Breakfast followed an hour later in our room.
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Keith attended an indoor cycling class.  This was the first time on the World Cruise that the sign-up sheet was full.  However, seven people didn't show up so we had five people spinning.  Maybe there was confusion about Crossing the Dateline.  LOL.   

Anne Marie walked inside the ship and attended Yoga taught by Maria and Joe Kita.

Today is the start of two days at sea before we arrive to Lautoka. The program included lots of enrichment activities.  The lectures included:

Forensic Science Lecturer Judith Fordham spoke about Happy Families on the Curious Case of Kissing Husbands.

World Affairs Lecturer General Anthony Zinnia's spoke about Pacific Poor: The US & China.

History Lecturer Carol Baxter spoke about That Magnificent Gal in Her Flying Machine.

Keith changed it up this morning and played Paddle Tennis.  Temperature at 83 degrees Fahrenheit and humid.  It was a lot of fun.  For those of you who were on the 2015 World Cruise and played Paddle Tennis you might remember Harry.  He's a wonderful man.  He's now 87.  We both ran into him at the World Cruise Awards Ceremony.  We had heard from someone who finished second in Table Tennis that he lost to an older man.  Sure enough it was Harry.  Keith asked if he still played Paddle Tennis and he said he had not been up there but would so Keith and he could play together.  Sure enough Harry took a chance this morning and Keith played with him.  Keith kept reminding him no running and that it is only a game and that worked well.  Harry is a role model as are many other people on the ship and back home.  It was a lot of fun and Harry might give it another try.  As he was leaving Keith reminded him "no running".    

​We didn't participate this year but today they had the Golf World Cruise Game Event.

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We enjoyed lunch at the Lido Cafe.  As you know by now we each make a large salad of fresh vegetables, steamed and grilled vegetables and we add a protein.  We have lots of choices when it comes to the cooked vegetables and the protein.  For example we can choose Chicken or from time-to-time Turkey or a fish.  In addition to the themed buffets 
Mediterranean; Asian and Latin many items change daily including hot items, sandwiches and soups.  Three days ago, we noticed Australian Meat Pie.  We wish we would have had a device on-hand to take a photo of the pies.  

Yesterday one of the choices was this large salmon in the third photo.  

​We don't eat the desserts but added a couple of photos of them.

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We had lunch at Marketplace and kept to our regular afternoon routine.  This included Paddle Tennis for Keith, a long walk for Anne Marie and visiting with guests and crew.  

The Paddle Tennis Men's Double Event was held today at 3:00 PM but Keith decided to pass on it.  He's played a sufficient amount of Paddle Tennis.

​Anne Marie & Keith

This is the daily Reflections Program from today.

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