En Route To Cape Town - Day 25

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NOTE: The pictures on today’s Blog are from the Jazz Brunch held in the Main Dining Room. The second picture features the Maitre d’Hotel Leo Assmair and Piano Player John Mentis. The third picture is of our waiter, Therese, and the fifth picture is of our senior waiter, Pedja.

We wanted to start off with some additional thoughts about last evening. We had a wonderful time dining with Crystal Society Hostess Jacque Brown and with Crystal Serenity Cruise Director Rick Spath. We dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant and the dinner was a celebration of a special milestone with respect to the number of sailings we have taken with Crystal. It was a wonderful evening and we appreciate the time that Jacque and Rick took out of their schedules to dine with us.

We enjoyed a wonderful conversation that covered a rather wide range of topics. Rick and Keith are avid sports fans so at one point they talked quite a bit about sports from the 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s. We also talked about a many other topics such as cruising, our families and home life and other areas too numerous to list.

Dinner was fabulous. Rick and Jacque ordered Pasta as their entrées and it looked delicious and they thought it was terrific. Anne Marie and Keith ordered the seafood special for the evening, which was Swordfish accompanied by some very nice and tasty vegetables. The food was outstanding along with the service and the ambience of the restaurant. Crystal has just come out with a new wine, which is Pinot Noir Reserve. Very recently it was ready to serve. As background it was not bottled very long ago so since it’s been on the ship the sommeliers’ have tasted it from time to time until it was ready to be served to the guests. Just around a week ago it was ready to consume and we tried it last evening and thought it was wonderful. The Pinot Noir Reserve joins two other read wines under the Crystal label, which is a Merlot and a Cabernet Reserve. Crystal also has a Chardonnay Reserve. They used to offer other wines that were not reserve but have discontinued offering them. Keith prefers the red wine and Anne Marie goes with white wine.

Last night was a very special evening for us and we were very pleased to celebrate it with Rick and Jacque, two very special people.

Last evening we forwarded the clocks one hour before we went to sleep as we sailed into another new time zone as we cruise to Cape Town, South Africa. At one point it seemed a little windy and we believe there was a downpour of rain. Even with that, the seas were not rough and we find the little swaying of the ship to be nice when sleeping.

We awoke early this morning. Keith went up to the Fitness Center but due to his ankle injury is limited to what he can do. He once again used the weight lifting equipment for his upper body but could not workout on his favorite piece of equipment the Elliptical Machine. L He did find a few additional machines he can use. Another fellow passenger mentioned to him sometime yesterday that one of the kinds of stationary bikes that is in the center would work well for Keith as it would not put pressure on the ankle nor would he have to move it but we don’t want to take the chance at this point in time. We know in time he will be better and he will be back to working out. Keith just hopes this happens sooner rather than later. J

Anne Marie did her usual workout on the treadmill for an hour and like Keith enjoyed some coffee back in the room from the Lido Café. When Keith first arrived to the Lido Café no passengers were there given the time zone change. He spoke with Lido Deck Stewards Johnny and Earl. By the time Keith left fellow passenger Linda had just arrived.

We enjoyed a nice pleasant breakfast in the room. Of late we have each been enjoying hot oatmeal with a piece of fruit. While enjoying breakfast, we watched the Crystal Morning Show with Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge he noted that we were heading further North to avoid a big swell and would continue in a more Northeasterly direction for the next twelve hours before adjusting to a more Easterly course to avoid the poor weather conditions. We continue to cruise around 20 Knots per hour.

Many passengers who we were sitting with us got a big chuckle from Captain Glenn’s thought of the day including us which was “Always borrow money from a pessimist as they don’t expect it back.”

We attended the Rap With The Rabbi Session and we found the information that the Rabbi shared with us today to be quite enlightening. Over the years we have learned a great deal from Rabbi Morrie and greatly appreciate all of the time and effort that he spends to prepare for each and every session.

This morning we attended the first of two lectures.

Jay Wolff gave the first lecture and presented “The Great Trek. In the 17^th Century , a group of Dutch settlers established a resupply station on their route to India. They called it Cape Town. They claimed the empty hinterland, but so did Bantu immigrants. Two centuries of war followed. As usual, we enjoyed Jay Wolff’s talk.

Ambassador Tony Leon presented “De Klerk, Mandela, Mbeki, and Zuma – Close, personal observations of four South African Presidents.” We plan to catch this presentation on the television as all of the lectures are recorded and played back for both passengers and crew to watch.

On longer voyages in addition to the Grand Gala Buffet, Crystal also offers a brunch, which is set up outside the Main Dining Room. Often it is offered on a Sunday but other factors including whether or not the ship is in port or at sea affect the precise timing of the brunch as when it is offered it is during a sea day. Today, this special brunch was offered and was a Jazz Brunch. In addition to a so many wonderful foods being offered in the Crystal Cove Area, which is located outside of the Main Dining Room, there was live Jazz Music. Crystal also offered complimentary French sparkling wine and Mimosas. In addition to an extensive list of foods offered as part of the brunch, other menu items were offered in the Main Dining Room for those passenger’s who preferred menu service. At the same time lunch was also available at the Lido Café, The Trident Grill and The Bistro.

We enjoyed our lunch at the Lido Café and we ate outside on the Lido Deck. With today’s Jazz Brunch the Lido Café was not busy and we enjoyed a nice quiet lunch. Keith did stop by before the start of the Jazz Brunch to take pictures, many of which we have posted on today’s Blog. While he was waiting to take the pictures he had a nice long talk with Crystal Society Hostess Jacque Brown.

In the afternoon, Anne Marie took another nice long walk on the Promenade Café while Keith did some reading and some writing. Keith also spoke with some fellow passengers. Anne Marie also participated in the Odyssey Art at Sea where she designed and created a choker necklace. She has made several pieces of jewelry over the course of this voyage.

Before dinner, there was a performance presented by Flautist Clare Langan who was accompanied by the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra.

This evening we dined with friends Bob and Glo at Silk Road and enjoyed a delicious meal starting with all of our sushi and sashimi favorites. We also enjoyed a very nice conversation.

This evening Crystal offered a special party, which was called the Very Merry Un-Birthday as part of the evening activities. Unfortunately, we could not get there in time as we were already eating dinner.

TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY…..

“The genius of communication is the ability to be totally honest and totally kind at the same time.”

Keith and Anne Marie