DAY 9 DAY 3 SERENITY

FIRST SEA DAY OF THIS ADVENTURE -
CRYSTAL SERENITY
​BECOMES THE DESTINATION

TODAY'S DESTINATION - CRYSTAL SERENITY

We wanted to begin by thanking those of you for your continued comments.  We read and very much appreciate each of them.  

Before dinner we first made our way to the Palm Court to have a pre-dinner drink.  However, with some choppy seas and this lounge on a high deck at the bow of the ship we moved to another lounge.  The Crystal Cove looked busy, so we visited the Avenue Saloon.

As we did on our last cruises we sat at the bar and were taken care of by Bartender Dennis from Croatia.  Dennis worked on Crystal Symphony for several years before  moving over to Serenity.  He has been married for seven months and his wife also works on the ship.  

Keith had another one of the special Gin and Tonic Drinks which he had tried in September.  This is the Grapefruit Gin & Tonic with Hendrick's Gin, Tonic Water, Grapefruit Juice and Raspberries.  Anne Marie didn't have wine because of the medicine she takes where she limits daily and weekly consumption of wine and/or spirits.

Dennis told us they rolled out another special drinks menu and this one is for Manhattan's which they serve only at Avenue Saloon as this requires several special ingredients.  He showed Keith the menu, but we didn't get a photo of it.  We will for sure and will post it on the Blog.

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We enjoyed dinner at Waterside last evening. Before dinner as we were standing in line we chatted with some friends who we have sailed with many times.  We also met two guests who were on their second Crystal Cruise.  Everyone said how much they are enjoying the cruise.

There was a queue of forty guests in front of us when the doors opened but in just a two to three minutes they  escorted us to our table.  Waterside was less crowded than the evening which is not surprising as many guests choose Waterside on the first evening of the cruise.

These are the dinner menus from last evening.
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Dinner at Waterside was terrific.  Keith tried the Tartare of Fresh Ocean Trout for his appetizer and Anne Marie had the Chicken Consommé Mille Fanti.  We both had the Spinach Salads and for entrees Anne Marie had the Sirloin Steak and Keith had Salmon.  It was all delicious, and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner
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Midway through our meal a couple we have known since 2007 walked into Waterside.  Back then we would often play table tennis (ping pong) and that is how we met them.  They would take one or two segments of each World Cruise as they didn't want to be away from their dog too long and coincidentally we sailed with them on other cruises.  They have been sailing with Crystal since day one. Like others who moved over to Crystal they were long time Royal Viking guests who found another cruise line to sail after Royal Viking ceased operations.    They have traveled the world as few people have and a lot of their earlier travels was by air and on land.  They had a passion for travel.  In those early years most of our travel was Keith's international business travel.  We would often ask for their advice about what to do and see in ports.

Later in the evening we spoke to their daughter, and we mentioned we noticed they had health issues.  She said they could no longer do flights, so they selected this cruise with no flights involved.  This is another reminder to us to us that life is short and to stay positive and enjoy every minute of every day. 

After dinner we walked around the ship.  We didn't go to the show because we will be on for several months.

We slept well as we are now sailing towards Hawaii.  The seas were relatively calm which is good news as you can encounter sea swells as you sail towards Hawaii.

We slept well.  Keith was up early and decided to walk the inside of the ship for one hour rather than to go to the Fitness Center.  During the walk he saw many of the hard- working members of the night crew.  

Today is day one of four consecutive sea days as we make our way to Hawaii and it has been a wonderful day on-board Crystal Serenity.

It included:
 
Breakfast in our room.

 
This was followed by Keith's first indoor cycling class of the cruise. All bikes were used and it was a fun class.  Surprisingly three people who signed up for the class didn't attend and their spots were taken by three guests who had not signed up.  At the same time Anne Marie took a long walk.  
 
Two very interesting lectures.
 
Destination Lecturer Jon Bailey gave a lecturer called Rudolph and the Menorah.   He covered many of the songs of this holiday created by Jewish composers.   He focused on two of three composers and in tomorrows talk he will focus on the third composer.
 
He was followed by World Affairs Lecturer Robert Schire who spoke about China: The World’s Future Superpower.
 
The other enrichment activities included classes on Golf, Bridge, Computers, iPhone Photography, Fitness, Art, and within these topics a variety of classes were offered.
 
Other programs included organized Paddle Tennis and Table Tennis, opportunities to listen to live music, Team Trivia, Beginners and Duplicate Bridge, A movie shown in the Hollywood Theatre which is a movie theatre and the activity of all activities eating. 
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Keith also met with the Chief Concierge on two items and Anne Marie finished writing out holiday cards for fellow guests and members of the crew.  

We continued to see guests on-board who we know from previous cruises and saw some crew familiar to us for the first time.

As to eating, we returned to Marketplace, and each enjoyed salad entrees.  We listened to Captain Birger's first Noon talk from the Bridge since this voyage began.  This will occur on each sea day.

In the afternoon Keith played Paddle Tennis for several hours and Anne Marie walked outside on the Promenade Deck.

This evening is the first Black Tie Optional evening of the voyage and we have dinner reservations for the Supper Club which made its debut following dry dock.

Anne Marie and Keith