DAY 52 DAY 40 SERENITY

ON THE WAY TO BAY ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, DAY 2

We enjoyed a drink at the Silk Bar before dinner.   This is the first time we have sat at the Silk Bar on Serenity since our first cruise in 2005.  The bar makes drinks for Silk, for Marketplace and for those on the pool.

Several guests we know stopped by the bar to pick up drinks to take to other  areas of the ship.

To say the  least Bartender Edwin and those who assist him keep very busy.  

These are the Waterside Dinner Menus.

We dined at Silk with World Cruise Hostess and friend Stacey and  Jeff.
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Dinner was terrific.   We enjoyed the new menu with several new items.  Some of the new items such as the salad and chicken entree are described as being spicy.  The chicken most definitely fit this description.

As usual the service was terrific as  was the venue.  We enjoyed a lovely conversation.

Before going to sleep last night we did have to forward our clocks by one hour.  We do prefer setting them back rather than forward though.  LOL.

We slept well as we continued sailing to our next port of call.  Seas were calmer than last evening.  

There is something very special when sailing at sea.  Getting ready for the sunrise.

Often when we are at sea we think of a quote from John Fitzgerald Kennedy from remarks given on September 14, 1962.

I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.

We kept to our regular routine on sea days with an early morning workout  for Keith, breakfast in our room, and a  walk for Anne Marie.  Keith took the indoor cycling class offered in the morning at the Fitness Center.
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Lots on the program including three lectures.

Captain  Richard Hayman spoke about New Zealand, Retired Brig. General Joe Shaefer spoke bout Russia on the decline and Professor Judith Fordham spoke about Happy Families with the curious case of the killing cousins.

There was a Grand Gala Buffet which was set up in the Crystal Plaza for a start time of Noon.

A menu featuring several of the items on the buffet.

While the Grand Gala Buffet is very special with such a fabulous array  of items we had lunch at Marketplace.  In our early  years of cruising Crystal we would partake at the buffet.  If we were on for one voyage we might indulge a little but we try to be careful about how much we eat.  

Kudos to the amazing team from  Food  & Beverage for all the efforts which go into the planning, preparation and setup of the buffet.  It is a work of art.  

At Marketplace we do tease when they have the Grand Gala Buffet that we are having lunch at the Marketplace Grand Buffet.  LOL.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the ship including Paddle Tennis for Keith, a nice walk for Anne Marie along with reading and writing.

The daily  Reflections Program follows.

Cheers,

​Ann Marie & Keith