YUCATAN DISCOVERY BLOG - DAY 6 CRYSTAL SERENITY

DAY 6 CRYSTAL SERENITY – A DAY AT SEA

Last evening began with drinks and canapes in our room where we were joined by our dear friends Anne & Larry.  We enjoyed shrimp and lobster along with veggies and humus.  We think the humus is a more recent addition to the canapés menu but could be wrong.

Afterwards we made our way to the Tastes Specialty Restaurant.  This restaurant serves cuisine family style which is similar to Tapas.  The cuisine represents regions from around the world.  The menu is updated every couple of months.  In fact, there have been many new items that have been added to the menu since we last sailed Serenity in August/September of 2016.  

Since Tastes was redesigned a few years ago as part of a complete makeover of the Lido Deck we have really enjoyed dining at this restaurant.  Prior to its makeover it served items such as chicken, steak and salmon and pizza which for us was not very special so over the years we dined very few times at the former Tastes.  

With the makeover the entire setting was changed with new tables, chairs, a living wall, new lighting.  The staffing changed to include a Head Waiter, and Senior Waiters who are ably assisted by Waiters and members of the Bar Team.  We find the cuisine to be unique and we find each dish to be quite flavorful.  We also like the portion sizes allowing us to try several different items including the desserts.

We ordered quite a lot to eat.  We've included some of the photos but didn't get photos of the desserts.  We shared two of the three; Forest Berry Cobber and Bananas Foster.  This is why typically in a twelve day or less cruise we dine here one time.  

CHILI COLORADO TAQUITOS WHICH - A FAIRLY RECENT MENU ADDITION

OPEN ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

CHIMICHURRO STEAK

GAMBAS

CHEF ADI OVERSEES THE GALLEY FOR THE LIDO DECK

BUTLER RAO WITH LARRY

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There was a nice array of entertainment choices for all of us to enjoy last evening.  This inluded entertainment throughout the evening at the Crystal Cove with different entertainers performing and pianist Charlie James performing at the Avenue Saloon.  Comedian Gary Delana performed two shows and at 10:30 PM the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers along with the Crystal Showband performed a 25 minute show called Jump & Swing-A-Mania.  Other options included two showings of the 2015 Movie; Brothers of the Wind and at 10:00 PM until closing DJ Chris played music at Pulse.  Live music and dancing was available at the Palm Court and Ambassador Hosts were there before both early and late dinner seating and also from 9:15 to 12:30 AM for dancing.  

About the time we left port to get out to sea the skies turned darker and there was some rain and you knew you were at sea.  You could feel some sways of the ship throughtout the night but in the scheme of things it was no big deal but it was a reminder that we are at sea.  

Keith was up early and worked out and also did the laundry.  We enjoyed breakfast in the room.  Keith went to the salon for a haircut.  They way things timed out from his last cut at home he would have had to get another cut the day after we arrived home and thought it would be easier to get the cut on board Serenity.  Ingrida who is the hair stylist who in the past has taken care of both of us is on-board so Keith had her cut his hair.  Originally the only down-side was that the cut conflicted with the last indoor cycle class of this voyage.  However, with the sea swells caused by the wind and the movement of the ship they cancelled the Indoor Cycling Class.

At his noon talk from the bridge, Captain Birger said that the wind was above forecast and we would continue to expeience the sea conditions for the next several hours before it improves.  He asked everyone to be careful walking around the ship and to hold onto handrails.

With this being the second and final sea day of the cruise there was a lot on the program. Some of the highlights included:

Destination Lecturer Dr Jay Wolff spoke about Miami including its history.

Professor Roberto D'Alimonte spoke about the United States Presidential Electoin and shared is opinion of not only what happened but why the results were what they were.  He spoke about the similaries to his own country, Italy, back in the mid-1990's and also touched on implications for the French and German elections later this year.  He provided lots of statistics from exit polling about the USA election and mentioned several times that he was not taking positions but just sharing information.

Special Interest Lecturer Bob Ray wil speak about The Beach Boys Band and the genius of Brian Wilson. As we post today, we have not yet seen the talk but plan to see it on the television.  The topic is interesting to us.

For those who like the afternoon tea today's theme will be the Mozart Tea.

There will be a tour of the Crystal Dining Room Galley.

In additon there were about another 50 activities on top of this between  7:00 AM and 5:30 PM and that does not include dining.  

With Anne Marie still under the weather she spent a good deal of time in the room  

We had lunch at the Lido Cafe.  The waiters assisted those who had issues walking by getting food for them.  We were fine but we were very careful when we got our food and brought it over to the table.

Keith will be meeting up shorlty with our friend at the Casino.  Keith used to play blackjack from time to time in our early days of cruising including playing with Larry on our two previoius cruises together.  He hasn't played in about ten years but will do so today.

This evening we will be back in the Crystal Dining Room for our final meal at this dining venue of the cruise.  

Speaking of food, we are including today's lunch and dinner menus from the Crystal Dining room.

Lunch & Dinner Menus 

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TODAY'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY......

In the end when it comes to most items the only opinion that matters is our very own.  With this said, we can still be respectful of the views, thoughts and opinions of others even if they run contrary to our own view.  This can allow fora far better discussion as well as collaboration.  We believe this is true for all topics.

Keith & Anne Marie