En Route To Rio de Janeiro - Day 14

We thought we would begin today with a recap from last evening.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Silk Road. This was the first time since we boarded the ship on January 4 that just the two of us went to Silk Road. We sat at a nice table and enjoyed a wonderful meal. We had sushi and sashimi and then we each had a lobster entrée with steamed vegetables for Keith and rice for Anne Marie followed by a nice fruit plate.

Afterwards we attended the Captain’s farewell reception. Many on the ship will continue past Rio which marks the conclusion of the first voyage of this years World Cruise, while some of our fellow passengers will disembark the ship in just a couple of days. Everyone looked wonderful in their formal attire. Before dinner complimentary drinks were served in all of the lounges from 5:15 PM to 6:00 PM, which was a nice touch. At the reception we sat with a passenger who has sailed with Crystal on more voyages than any other passenger and we sat for a little while with Bob and Glo and a few other passengers. We danced to a couple of songs and then we went around the room to say hello to many of the passengers and crew who we know so very well.

We enjoyed a very nice sleep as the seas were very calm and we find that the ship rocks us to sleep.

Keith awoke very early in the morning and had another very nice workout in the Fitness Center his home away from home. Once again, fellow passengers Brian and John arrived to the center about midway through Keith’s workout along with one other passenger who comes up to the center to do Yoga. For most of his workout Keith watched a recording from one of the lectures that we had both missed yesterday afternoon. Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill.

Afterwards Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room. He now uses a tray to bring back a couple of cups of coffee, thus avoiding any spills of coffee. While getting his coffee he spoke with four of the Lido Deck Stewards along with John’s wife Linda.

We both enjoyed a nice relaxing breakfast in the room and for the second day in a row watched the Crystal Morning Show.

There were a couple of lectures in the morning.

Special Interest Lecturer Chris Croxson presented a lecture titled “An Undersea World of Sounds.” Chris discussed how whales and dolphins communicate sing a variety of sounds.

Later in the morning, General Nick Halley presented “China and Russia – Future Enemies. His talk covered the view of the world both from the Chinese and Russian perspective. An in-depth insight into why both countries act as they do and what actions they are likely to take in the future.

Keith went to both of these lectures.

We really enjoy the Crystal lecture programs. As we have mentioned, on the World Cruise during sea days there is usually three lectures per day on a nice variety of subjects and to us this is all part of a comprehensive enrichment program offered by Crystal. The turnout for the lectures has been excellent and we have enjoyed the lectures during this first voyage of the World Cruise.

Today was a hair day for Anne Marie as she had her haircut up at the Salon. She had the same hair stylist as Keith did just the other day. We had requested this hair stylist as she was on board the ship in 2008 and she cut our hair back then.

Once again, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Lido Café. We each had a nice salad entrée. It had rained briefly so we ate inside.

The rain cleared so Keith continued to work on his Paddle Tennis game in the afternoon. He played another two hours of Paddle Tennis and feels that with each day his game is improving. Win or lose it has been a lot of fun as he is getting good exercise and also enjoying the time with fellow passengers and crew. Earlier in the day one of the Lido Deck Stewards gave some suggestions to Keith and it really helped.

Anne Maries continued walking in the afternoon on the Promenade Deck and then sat out at the pool. She has been sitting out just to get some color for some of the gowns she is wearing on formal nights. In general, she normally does not sit out and she is applying a lot of suntan lotion as Keith is doing when he is playing paddle tennis or going into port.

Before dinner at 5:00 PM we attended a variety Showtime which featured Electric Violinist Craig Halliday, Comic Ventriloquist Mark Merchant, Harp Virtuoso Shirley Dominguez and Dynamic Dance Duo Curtis and Beverly. It was a great show. We especially loved the humor of Mark Merchant whose act was fabulous along with dancing of Curtis and Beverly.

After the show it was time for dinner. We ate in the Main Dining Room.

After dinner we attended the show performed by the Sounds of Serenity (Vocal Quartet) in the Crystal Cove.

The NFL Playoffs was available for viewing in the evening either in the Stardust Club or in each of the staterooms. The New York Jets versus Indianapolis Colts game was televised starting at 6:00 PM and the New Orleans versus Minnesota Vikings game was telecast starting at 9:40 PM. These games required a special feed from Crystal and we were very appreciative that they were made available to the guest. Likewise, the Super Bowl will be also shown on the ship via a special satellite link broadcast.

TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.”

Keith and Anne Marie