En Route To Port Elizabeth - Day 32

We have included lots of pictures today.

The first ten pictures were from today’s Asian Luncheon Buffet; 1 with Lido Deck Steward Nat preparing our drinks (water), one with the two of us with our senior waiter Pedja, one with two members of the Crystal Staff, one of one of the Entrees, two showing the wonderful sushi, and four showing just a sampling of the many desserts that guests could choose from.

Two pictures before we had dinner last evening. Last night was casual night on the ship.

One picture of a tray of fruit which we normally have as a snack in the late afternoon rather than having canapés or other items. Normally the plate that we get is a glass dish so this one was larger than usual. J

Two pictures from yesterday’s Muster Station Drill which for our room is located in the casino. This is one of the few times we make it into the casino during the course of the cruise. J

Three pictures from Cape Town. We thought the ones with the respective distances to various cities around the world was cute and have also included one of Keith with Table Mountain in the background. On those occasions when there are clouds above, it makes it look like Table Cloth Mountain.

Once again we enjoyed a wonderful time on the ship last evening. The ship departed on time for our next scheduled port, Elizabeth, South America. This will be our first visit to this port of call and it is also a maiden stop for Crystal Cruises.

There are many new guests on the ship who joined us the day after we arrived in Cape Town to begin the third leg of the World Cruise. Some of these guests will be on the cruise for this leg while others will stay on longer. Many of the guests joining the ship are from countries outside of the United States including Japan and other parts of Asia, South America, The United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. All of this adds greatly to the experience of traveling as it affords us with the continued opportunity to learn more about the rest of the World.

We wanted to mention that there was a lifeboat drill for all guest last evening before the early dinner. On most voyages guests who continue from voyage to voyage do not normally attend more than the initial lifeboat drill but on occasion all guests are asked to attend and yesterday was one of those occasions. As safety is a priority, we are happy to comply. For us, it reinforces that guests should be aware of the procedures including the location of their muster station.

We thoroughly enjoyed dinner in the Main Dining Room last evening. Our friend Mary joined us for dinner as her husband Stan was one of the escorts assisting with an overland tour, one of the other couples at their table was on the overland tour and the other couple was passing on dinner. So, we were more than happy to have Mary dine with us.

We had three courses starting the meal off with a wonderful salad. This was followed with an entrée of Salmon and Grilled Vegetables and our standing order of Steamed Vegetables. For dessert, we each had fruit. With the supplies all replenished as she did the night before Anne Marie enjoyed a bowl of blueberries and Keith enjoyed mixed berries of Strawberries and Blueberries. We had ordered the entrée earlier in the day with one of the headwaiters as we preferred this to the fish that was on the regular menu.

We so greatly enjoy the ambience of the Main Dining Room. Once again, we were treated to outstanding service by our waiter Therese, our senior waiter Pedja, and our Headwaiter, Augusto. It was fun to dine with Mary.

After dinner, we went to the evening show which featured from Whales, Anthony Stuart Lloyd who is a music theatre vocalist. This was the first time that we heard this entertainer perform.

A couple of hours after departing Cape Town we could feel the ship rocking and rolling so it was a reminder that we are indeed on a cruise ship in the ocean. J Normally, one should expect some rough seas on this route and the good news it was far less rocky then when we left Cape Town in2007. We enjoyed a nice sleep.

Today we enjoy another nice day at sea as we sail to our next port of call.

Keith awoke earlier than he has in the past week so that he could spend more time in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first to arrive at the Fitness Center where friend John shortly joined him and a little while later by friend Mary. It was almost like old times with the three of us working out except that Keith was not on an elliptical machine. Instead, Keith worked out on the stationary bicycle. While preferring the Elliptical Machine some type of cardio machine is better than nothing and Keith will workout on this machine until his ankle is fully healed and can back to what he likes best. Keith also took the advice he was given the other day and relied on his right leg to do more of the cycling and it worked well in the end. He also did some weight lifting as well. Last evening, Anne Marie had asked John to be sure that Keith limited his workout to a maximum of 45 minutes. John, finished on the Elliptical and stopped by where Keith was working out and at that point Keith had close to 40 minutes logged in and said he would be off at 45 minutes. When John finished the weights a little while later he stopped by and said that obviously Keith’s interpretation of 45 minutes is different than Anne Marie’s. Keith did end up going one hour. He could have done more but that that was a good effort for the day. We just have to keep this a secret from Anne Marie or as Lido Deck Steward Nat calls her, Momma. J

After his workout Keith went by the Lido Café to pick up a couple of cups of coffee. He spoke with Lido Deck Steward Ross for a little while and will enjoy additional talks with Ross over the coming weeks.

Anne Marie worked out for one hour on the Treadmill and enjoyed a very nice workout. Like Keith, following her workout she stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room.

Once again, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. While we were eating breakfast, we watched the Crystal Cruises Morning Daily Program which is offered during each and every day at sea. It features our Cruise Director Rick Spath and our World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston.

During the show, Rick noted that we would have twelve different lectures on this leg of the cruise. Amazing! He also noted that we had several evening entertainers who would be on from now until we reach Mombasa, Kenya and then when they get off we will have several others who come on board. This is on top of all of the other entertainment that is provided in-house by Crystal Cruises. We are excited about all of the lecturers and entertainers.

During Captain Glenn’s daily talk from the bridge he noted that we have experienced heavy sea swells that rolled in last evening and will be with us for most of the day. The outside temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit. We are sailing at 12.8 knots per hour and utilizing two of six engines which is sufficient to reach the port of Elizabeth by tomorrow morning.

Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “It’s not what you wear but who is wearing it that counts.”

We attended the Rap With The Rabbi. In general, these sessions are held every other day on Sea Day. We had a nice turnout with several guest joining us for the very first time. This included a number of guests from South Africa along with a couple of guest who used to live in South Africa who moved to Australia many years ago.

We had a very lively discussion today on a variety of topics and we found the discussion to be quite enlightening.

A 10:00 AM Michael Rosenblum who is from the Travel Channel gave a talk about the Travel Channel Academy Program that is being offered on this leg of the World Cruise. It will provide those guests who sign up for the program (there is a fee) with hands on training on taking videos for their trip. Two types of programs are available.

We attended a lecture given by Destination Lecturer Ken Rees who presented “Cry Freedom! From Prison to the Presidency – the Nelson Mandela Story.” Ken used rare archive video and Mandela’s own words as he traced the extraordinary life of Mandela. Toda marks the twenty-year anniversary of Mandela’s release from Prison. He is now 91 and evidently in frail health. Ken also discussed our upcoming two ports of calls’ Port Elizabeth and Durban. He spoke about what we can do and what we can see in both these ports of call. As usual, Kens’ presentation was outstanding.

After Ken’s presentation we went to the Asian Buffet, which was set up around the indoor pool. We each enjoyed a wonderful salad and looked all around at the luscious foods and desserts. We spoke with Captain Glenn for a little while, Antonio the Maitre d’, and many other members of the Crystal Team. We said hello to one of the Lido Deck Stewards who just joined the ship the other day; Alvin. We spoke with several other of the Lido Deck Stewards such as Clark, Nat, Earl, Richie, and Brian.

Anne Marie enjoyed a nice walk on the Promenade Deck. She also picked up another new needlepoint kit and also sat near the pool. Keith read and wrote this afternoon and also enjoyed a wonderful conversation with some of our fellow passengers.

This evening was the first formal night for this leg of the World Cruise. As we do for the first formal night for each leg we enjoyed a wonderful meal in the Main Dining Room as Anne Marie loves the fresh lobster that is available on the first formal night. While over the years we have enjoyed either the fresh Maine Lobster or fresh Australian Lobster (there is a difference in texture and taste and both are terrific) this evening we enjoyed Broiled Fresh South African Rock Lobster. This was our first time to have this lobster and once again it was also equally wonderful. We also enjoyed a wonderful salad and you guessed correct, nice fresh fruit to finish the meal.

We typically do not order dessert for dinner so we thought we would at least share with you the dessert selections features on this evening’s menu. They included Chocolate Delice (Chocolate Truffle Cake and Raspberry Champagne Sherbet), Sugar Mill (Butterscotch Pudding, Orange Shortbread and Vanilla Ice Cream, Crème Caramel with Fresh Fruit, Chocolate Ooze Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, French Lemon tart with Vanilla Ice Cream, Vanilla, Cherry or Coffee or Chocolate Ice Cream with choice of toppings, Freshly Frozen Nonfat Strawberry Yogurt, Low Fast Soft Serve Chocolate Ice Cream, Refreshing Raspberry Champagne Sherbet, Petits Fours and Chocolate Truffles, Seasonal Fruits, and sugar free Rice Pudding with Fresh Fruits or almond Snowball Desserts. There was also a wonderful selection of cheeses available from the Cheese Trolley. Everything sounds so yummy! J

Afterwards, we attended Captain Glenn’s Welcome Reception. With more passengers on board for this leg of the cruise there were two receptions; one for those in the early dining and those who have late dining.

Today’s thought of the day is a quote that is very special for us and something we try to remember often.

TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….

“To the world you might be one person, but to the one person you might be the world.”

Keith and Anne Marie