DAY 42 - EN ROUTE TO NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONA

Wonderful Time At Dinner Yesterday Evening With Peggy and Elaine  ✔  Lots Of Fun Activities and Enrichment Today  ✔

Bonnie had asked about the clothes that we bring, particularly Anne Marie's outfits.  Bonnie, we do try to bring a lot of clothes and more than we probably need so that we can have a nice variety of clothes to choose from.  You had asked about Anne Marie's clothing and she will repeat clothes from time to time but she has a nice assortment of clothes for both the formal, informal and casual evenings on board the ship so that when she does repeat clothing it's not for awhile.  We do enjoy dressing up in the evenings. For example, while a sports jacket is not required on casual nights on most evenings Keith wears one.  He does so because even when it is a casual night the dining room is still beautiful so he feels that it makes it even more special to dress with a sports coat.  On informal nights ties are not required, only sports jackets, but Keith will wear a tie on these evenings.  Anne Marie also loves to get dressed up on each of the nights.  For us, this is all fun!  

We wanted to mention that last night we adjusted our watches since we had crossed the International Dateline.  For us, we have skipped Tuesday, January 31 and today is Wednesday, February 1.  Over the course of the next couple of weeks we will be setting the clocks back one hour from time to time.  We will get back the lost day when we cross the International Dateline on the return portion of the trip and there will be one day which we will experience two days in a row.  

We had another wonderful time on the ship last evening.

Before dinner we sat in the Crystal Cover for a little while before dinner.  At one point we were talking with Pianist John Mentis and Peggy (whom we dined with a little while later) joined us.  She knows John Mentis from another cruise line that she sailed on many years ago (it is no longer in operation) and John performed for.  As we mentioned, John has performed on each and every Crystal Cruises World Cruise.  He also performed on that other cruise line for voyages including their world cruises so John is a very seasoned member of the crew who has performed on numerous World Cruises.

We dined in the Crystal Dining Room with our two dinner guests Peggy and Elaine.  They are very seasoned travelers and cruisers and have taken many other World Cruises on other lines and this is their first World Cruise with Crystal Cruises.  We had a wonderful dinner with Peggy and Elaine.  We all spoke about many of our previous cruises and places that we have visited over the years.  We dined for over two hours.  After we left the dining room we ran into another fellow World Cruiser, Pinkie, who we know from previous World Cruises and we introduced Pinkie to Elaine and Peggy.  Our conversation continued for awhile and not before long two other couples who Peggy and Elaine know from cruises on another cruise line joined into the conversation and we were introduced to them.  

A few minutes after dinner began Captain Glenn spoke from the bridge and just reminded everyone to be very careful last evening because of the potential for rough seas.  This included reminding guests to hold onto the handrails when walking up and down steps.

Peggy sat to the right of Anne Marie and Elaine sat to the right of Keith

These are the dinner menus.

We did take the liberty to ask Augusto the night before if he could make a Caesar Salad for the four of us which he did and we began our meal with the salads.

For our entree we enjoyed the Broiled Fillet of Cod.  It was moist and very tasty.  The potato crust around it really added a lot of flavor to this entree as well.

For dessert Anne Marie surprised Keith with a cake that she had pre-ordered with the Maitre d' to celebrate the anniversary of Keith's retirement from work.  The cake was delicious.

Before we went to sleep we made sure that all breakable items in our cabin were secured properly.  The stewardess and stewardess in training had already taken care of some items for us and Anne Marie had showed our butler, Rao, what she had done with other items.  Anne Marie had taken wine bottles in a cabinet and places them in these wine bags we have and placed them on the floor.  Likewise, she took items that were on top of our closet from extra supplies to laundry items and placed them securely on the closet floor.  She also places items into a laundry fold-up basket that we brought with us onto the ship and put items around them to cushion it.

We did take Bonine before going to bed as an added precaution.

We have sailed with Captain Glenn many times and we know how much care and emphasis he puts into the well being of the guests and crew and the ship.  One of the items that Captain Glenn has talked about in his morning talks is getting ahead of schedule and having the extra pad if you will in his "pocket".  By doing so if the need arises to alter course or if some other item comes up it may have a far less impact on schedules by having originally been ahead of schedule.  This was a case where having the extra pad was very helpful as he did take a different course to avoid the weather situation.

We did sleep very well last night.  Part of the reason was that we were definitely very tired from being up so late the night before.  The good news is that when Keith woke up in the middle of the night the ship felt relatively calm and when he woke up early to workout at the Fitness Center things continued to be relatively calm.  It was more windy than the norm as noted on the television station which provides information on the ships heading and weather related statistics and Keith could also see that we were heading on a slightly different course.  Keith was able to complete his entire workout just like any other day on the ship.  A little while before Keith finished Brian arrived.

After the workout Keith changed, put up a laundry and proceeded to the Lido Cafe for some coffee.  There were only a couple of guests up there and Keith spoke with each of the Lido Stewards who are assigned to the cafe during this voyage and also used his iPad to read and write some e-mail.

A short while later Anne Marie worked out for one hour.  We each enjoyed morning workouts at the Fitness Center and afterwards we had breakfast in our room as we watched the Daily Program.  They began the morning show by giving away a bottle of wine to the first person who called in.

We often mention that there a so many activities on board the ship during sea days.  We counted them up and today included 48 activities between 7:30 AM and 5:30 PM.  There is so much to choose from and sometimes the challenge is which ones to go to.  For example, we do hope that we can sign up for Pilates that is being offered on the cruise on an upcoming leg of the World Cruise.  All of this makes sea days so very special. Of course, we also look forward to days in port and all of the wonderful ports we will be visiting on this World Cruise.

During Captain Glenn's morning talk from the bridge he mentioned that we had made a deviation to stay further away from the rough seas and bad weather and that we were going more north than south in the morning to stay further away from the windy weather.  The Captain said it might be rougher in the afternoon but that the forecasts for late this evening called for much calmer seas.  To make up for the deviation we were running on five of six engines with a speed of 22 knots per hour.

The Captain's thought for the day was simple but so very true. Here goes.....

"Where you go, there you are."

We wanted to note that there was a crew fire and lifeboat drill held this morning.  Crystal Cruises conducts these drills once a week and takes all of this so very seriously.

Keith had a spin (indoor cycling) class at 10:00 AM and really enjoyed the class.  Everyone worked very hard throughout the class it it was a great workout.

Starting to clip-on the cycle

All set.  Ready to go.

Today we had four people taking the class.  Where are they gents on this ship?

There were two lectures given this morning and a third on in the afternoon.  The topics covered are quite diverse as one was on precious stones, a second one on Russia and Putin and where they are heading, and the third one was on the migration of wildlife from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

There were also lots of classes offered.  During this cruise there is the college computer course we have mentioned and the other day memoir writing began.  Many people have signed up for memoir writing and it doesn't have to represent a story of a full lifetime but people can write about just one or a few major items that they have experienced that have shaped their lives.  It also can act as a document that can be passed down to future generations.  On a future cruise Keith would like to take this course but the challenge will be to manage that with the writing of this blog.  Other classes included a music class, a dance class, gaming lessons, several fitness classes, yoga, duplicate bridge, partner yoga, social bridge, a Spanish class, an art class, a health class, and other computer classes

For those who prefer other activities there was a needle point get-together, bridge, a Catholic Mass, a full length afternoon movie (a second movie is shown in the evening), open paddle tennis, bingo, a chorus get together for an eventual performance that will be given by some of the guests to all of us along with several other activities.

Each night we carefully review the next days to make our selections.

At Noon we attended Team Trivia. Win or lose we have a fun team.  Today, our team correctly answered eleven of fifteen classes.

We also enjoyed another great lunch and each had a nicely prepared and very tasty Salad Entree.  We dined at the Crystal Dining Room with Cruise Director Rick Spath.

Keith passed on Paddle Tennis this afternoon given the sea swells.  He read and wrote and also met with some fellow guests.  Anne Marie went on another one hour walk in the afternoon.

Keith also finished up a book he was reading on his iPad with the Kindle Application.  It's so convenient to read books this way.

This evening we dine at Prego which is the Italian Specialty Restaurant with friends Linda and John.  Before dinner, we are going to the Captain's Quarters with some of our fellow guests for drinks.

Keith and Anne Marie

DAY 41- EN ROUTE TO NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONA

Wonderful Time At Dinner Yesterday Evening  ✔  Lots Of Fun Activities and Enrichment Today  ✔

Earlier today we crossed the International Dateline.  So, instead of tomorrow for us being Tuesday, January 31 we will skip that day and tomorrow morning it will be Wednesday, February 1.  On our return back to the USA we will cross the dateline and have two days of the same date.

We had a wonderful time on the ship last evening and for the second time in just a few days we were up quite late.  Before dinner, we chatted for a little while with friends John and Linda in the Crystal Cove and John was very gracious to take our photo.  It was pink night (well for us it was pink night) although Keith's shirt doesn't look too pink in the photo.  

After two nights away from the Crystal Dining Room, it was great to be back to our regular table in the dining room last evening with the wonderful team that takes good care of us.  This includes Headwaiter, Augusto, Sommelier, Raphael, Senior Waiter Salvatore, and Waiter Marina.

For those who are not familiar with Crystal Cruises we thought we would take a moment to explain the roles of the teams in the Crystal Dining Room.

The Headwaiter is responsible for one of the main sections in the Crystal Dining Room and he oversees the waitstaff in that section.  If someone wants a special food item the headwaiter takes care of that and the same is true in the unlikely event that someone is not pleased with any food item.  The headwaiter also gets around to each guest on most evenings to make sure they are very happy with the dining experience.  In general, the headwaiters have worked for Crystal Cruises for many years, many with 15 to 20 years experience.

The senior waiter takes all of the orders, serves the meals and follows up with each guest to be sure they are pleased with the cuisine.  Many of the senior waiters are also knowledgeable enough to make suggestions about the food on the menu and how the food item should be cooked.

The waiter assists the senior waiter and this includes bringing the orders back to the kitchen and then going from section to section in the kitchen to pick up each item and then carries the trays back to the waiter station.  The waiter may also help out at the table such as bringing out coffee, or filling water glasses or serving rolls.

The senior waiter and waiter work as a team and the number of tables they have responsibility for ranges based on the size of each table and the overall guest occupancy rate of each voyage.  In general, they take care of about three to four tables but again that number may range not only by voyage but by main (early) or late seating.

Each sommelier is responsible for a section of the dining room and they will take the wine or other drink orders, make recommendations, prepare the wine if it is pre-ordered, set the table with the proper wine stemware, store any left over wine for consumption the next day in the dining room or at one of the specialty restaurants.  They will also take the orders for other items including sodas and special drinks without alcohol.  Often the sommeliers are assisted by a few of the Lido Deck Stewards who will take care of serving single glasses of wine or other beverages while the sommelier continually checks on guests who have bottles of wine and pours the one when the guest is ready for more.

This year the sommeliers have been rotating to another area of the dining room at the end of each voyage which is why we have had a different sommelier on each voyage.

The headwaiters have been rotating as well but we think we will have Augusto for the entire world cruise as we will our senior waiter and waiter.

On top of the vast number of guests who are served each evening most items can be changed up to some extent.  For example, if one wants the fish prepared differently from how it is shown on the menu, often that can easily be done.

These are the dinner menus from last nights dinner.

We began our meal with salads.  Anne Marie had one of the salads on the menu and Keith had his standing order salad.

We spoke with our Headwaiter, Augusto about last evenings entrees and then he offered to check with the chef in the kitchen to see if we could have the Halibut which was on the menu the night before.  The good news is that after checking with the chef Augusto let us know that we most definitely could order the Halibut which is exactly what we did.  It was a great choice and it was delicious so we were very pleased with our selection.

Augusto also came around with a tasty sauce to enjoy with the Halibut which Anne Marie had but is not shown in the following photo.  Keith is fine with or without these types of sauces so since it was not originally on the plate he passed on it and enjoyed the fish as it was served.

For dessert, Anne Marie had the sugar free Coffee Eclair and Keith tried a portion of the Eclair along with a bowl of mixed berries.

After dinner, we attended the 7:45 PM variety show which featured Jeff Bradley who is a comedian.  His act included a little juggling and well as some tricks. One woman from the audience was the lucky one (lucky for us that we didn't get selected) and was on stage with Jeff Bradley for about 15 minutes of his act.

Our original plan was to not to stay up too late after this show.  However, sometimes plans change and that was the case with our original plan.

You see, later in the evening the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra performed in the Crystal Cove.  They played Jazz and there was also dancing as the Ambassador Hosts (there are about eight Ambassador Hosts on this sailing who dance with mainly the solo women) attended this function as did both solo women and many couples.  We decided to attend and we ended up sitting in the Crystal Cove with one of the officers and enjoyed the fantastic music along with a great conversation. We ended up staying there well after the performance ended and spoke with some other guests who joined the three of us.

The Orchestra is absolutely amazing. Their bandleader is Raphael Derkson who we have known for years and if we closed our eyes and listened to the orchestra we could tell whether or not he was playing.  When Raphael is on Holiday (which is not very often) the Drummer Danny Mullowney performs the bandleader responsibilities and he is an amazing drummer.  On top of all of this, on each voyage Crystal Cruises brings on several entertainers some for the very first time such as vocalists and with say only a one hour rehearsal they are accompanied by the Galaxy Orchestra and when you listen to the performance you would think that they have been playing together for sometime and would never believe they only practiced for around one hour earlier in the day.  These are true professionals in every sense.

By the time we went to sleep it was almost 11:30 PM.

We slept well last evening and continue to sleep well almost every night with the exception of one night since boarding the ship on December 21 in Miami.  This is a far great track record than at home.  If only they could make beds with the capabilities to feel that you were at sea.  No, we are not thinking of a water bed.

We began today with our morning workouts.  In spite of the late night, Keith worked out first at his normal early time and a little while later Anne Marie did the same thing.

We enjoyed breakfast in our room as we watched the daily morning show. Keith called in for one of the questions which was to name a particular movie given the hints that were given and correctly answered it with the movie name Cliffhanger.

During Captain Glenn's morning talk from the bridge he noted that late this evening to expect 15 foot swells and that we should secure items in the cabin.

Captain Glenn's thought of the day was "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart."

Keith attended Rap With The Rabbi. There was a lot of discussion and participation by many that attended.  It was interesting to hear a wide range of views on the subjects being discussed.

Later, we attended a lecture given by actor Bruce McGill perform some of Shakespeare's greatest hits. He also discussed techniques and shared tips for the understanding of Shakespeare.  This was a fantastic session. We sat next to friends Bob and Glo.

Late morning, there was a mid-day earth mixer to celebrate the crossing of the equator.  Complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosas were served.  Because of the mixer, there was no team trivia today.  It was a lot of fun and we had a great turnout.

Cruise Director Rick Spath

Dancers Natalie and Curtis

We enjoyed lunch and had a nice salad entree.

In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis and Anne Marie was back out on the Promenade Deck to get in another hour walk.  Anne Marie also sat out by the pool while Keith got with friend Bob.

We continued to get our room ready for this evening by moving breakable items onto the floor of the closet.

This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room with fellow guests Peggy and Eileen.

Keith and Anne Marie

DAY 40- EN ROUTE TO NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONA

Enjoyed A Wonderful Time At Dinner Last Evening With Lynn and Buddy ✔  Another Wonderful Day At Sea ✔  Crossed The Equator  ✔   Spoke With Our Family Today ✔

We hooked up with our Son, Eric, Daughter-In-Law Kara, Daughter, Jennifer and Son-In-Law Gui along with Grand Baby Andre, and Eric and Kara's dogs Tobey and Kylie as they were all together at Eric and Kara's.  It was so nice to catch up with everyone.  Grand Baby Andre is now three months young and he pretty much rolled over for the first time just the other night and slept through the night last night. 

We had a really nice time on the ship last evening.  

Our evening began at the Crystal Society Reception.  As we mentioned, this reception is for all of those guests who have sailed previously with Crystal Cruises on one or more voyages.  Those passengers celebrating major milestones are recognized with their names mentioned (we had our names mentioned last evening) along with the special milestone number they have achieved on the current voyage.  On top of this a couple of the guests are recognized who have a significant number of sailings with Crystal Cruises and they are presented with a bouquet of roses. There were two receptions; one for those dining early and one for those dining late.  The Crystal Society Hostess recognizes all of these individuals in her talk.

Captain Glenn also spoke for a few minutes and he noted that we would be crossing the Equator.  Cruise Director Rick Spath did the introductions and also spoke about the evenings entertainment.  

Speaking of Captain Glenn we wanted to mention again an item that the Captain mentions from time-to-time that if you want to have a good time on the cruise you will and if you don't you won't.  In our opinion, this is all part of seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty.  Life is too short so we agree with Captain Glenn wholeheartedly.

After arriving to the Crystal Society Reception, one of the Lido Cafe Stewards, Raymond took our photo.  Afterwards, we sat at the bar which we continue to do on this voyage.  We each had wine but are continually amazed watching the bartenders makes so many exotic drinks.  

Thank you to fellow passenger Becky for capturing this photo of us dancing last evening.    You can also see that Keith is wearing a pin on his lapel and it is one of the pins we received a couple of years ago for a particular Milestone we had attained.  Anne Marie is also wearing one too.

These are the menus from the Crystal Dining Room.

Keith took this photo of our friend Buddy with retired General Pat Brady who is also a Medal Of Honor Recipient.  We chatted with the former General and his wife and learned that they live in the same town as our Son, Eric, and Daughter-In-Law Kara.

After the reception, we dined at Silk Road with friends Lynn and Buddy.  We sailed with Lynn and Buddy on four of the legs of seven legs of last years World Cruise and hit it off with them from the very beginning.  They are very warm and kind people and a pleasure to be with and we enjoyed a lovely conversation with them.

Our waiter was Anthony and we thoroughly enjoyed the food, service and the ambience of Silk Road.

We began our meal with a lettuce wrap which includes Black Cod.  It was delicious.  

We continued with Sushi and Sashimi.  This is a platter of Sushi.  The presentation is always creative and to us it is another example of a work of art.  The green roll is called a Dragon Roll and often they present the roll so it looks like some kind of snake and this was the first time they added a face.  It has avocado on the outside and eel (cooked) on the inside.

We also had Sashimi which Buddy and Keith enjoyed as the ladies prefer the Sushi (cooked) fish.  This platter included items such as Tuna and Salmon.

These next two photos are of Nobu Sashimi Specialty items.  This is one of the many areas where he has created pleasantly tasting food items by introducing other ingredients in the preparation of the Sashimi.

We then moved onto our entrees.  

Anne Marie enjoyed the delicious Nobu Box which comes with a nice portion of Beef, Black Cod and Popcorn Shrimp.  Each of these items is very tasty, and the Black Cod is quite unique in the manner in which it is prepared.  That preparation begins the night before when they begin to marinated the Black Cod.

Anne Marie also had a small bowl of rice.

Keith enjoyed the Hot Sobu Noodle Soup.  He changes it up from the menu with the addition of Scallops rather than the Tempura which is on the menu.

Keith also had a side order of steamed vegetables.

Keith had fruit for dessert and Anne Marie had a decaffeinated cappuccino.

We had a great time at dinner and hope to dine again with Lynn and Buddy sometime soon.

We slept very well last evening.  We were fairly tired from having been up so late the evening before.  Keith awoke around the same time as usual and worked out at the Fitness Center.

From time to time Keith has kidded around over the years that at the time he goes to the Fitness Center that somewhere on the ship there are some guests who are just returning to their staterooms from a long evening of dining and entertainment.  Today, proved to be the case.  About one third into his workout, he looked up and there were two people who had just walked into the Fitness Center to get a bottle of water and they were still dressed in their formal attire.  Keith spoke with one of them who he knows quite well and joked about the time of the morning.  They both looked great considering that they were up all night.

Less than one hour before Keith began his workout we actually crossed the Equator.  We could all feel the bump of the ship.  Just kidding about the bump!

Tomorrow, there will be a celebration for the crossing.

For part of the workout, John and Brian were also working out.  Keith took advantage of the time of the morning and after his workout he did the laundry and had some coffee in the Lido Cafe.

After Anne Marie's workout we had breakfast in our room as we listened to the daily morning show on the Television.

During Captain Glenn's morning talk from the bridge he shared his thought of the day.

"One who loses money loses much.  One who loses a friend loses more.  One who loses faith loses it all."

We also wanted to mention Captain Glenn's thought of the day from yesterday.

"Everything that is difficult is possible and everything that is impossible is just a challenge."

Today was another busy day with activities.  There were two presentations in the morning.  This included a lecture by Rob Warne on the Korean Peninsula and a talk given by Robert Schrire on our changing world.  

After the lectures we also had team trivia.  Once again, our team tied for first place by correctly answering twelve of fifteen questions.  

For lunch we each had a salad entree.  We each had about one half of the chicken that you see on each salad and that was more than sufficient for our lunch. We also ordered a large bowl of just lettuce that we add to the salad.  

Keith's salad entree

Anne Marie's salad entree

In the afternoon Keith played more paddle tennis while Anne Marie walked for one hour.  

Anne Marie sat out by the pool while Keith sat with other passengers.

The weather was great.  It was sunny and warm but we not humid as it had been the past couple of days.  It was perfect afternoon to be outside on the open decks.

This evening we are back in the Crystal Dining Room for dinner.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY......

 “A small leak can sink a great ship.” – Benjamin Franklin

Keith and Anne Marie