Sunday, March 27
We enjoyed another nice time on the ship last evening.
Before dinner, Anne Marie attended a Catholic Mass for Palm Sunday. She was one of two guests selected by Msgr. Wilbur Davis to assist in the service.
It was nice to be back in the Main Dining Room after several days dining in other restaurants. Several members of the Dining Room Staff teased us for havng been away. Each of the respective restaurant staffs takes pride in their respective restaurant and would love for passenger’s to dine there al the time.
During our dinner we enjoyed a nice conversation with Agusto our headwaiter, Pedja, our senior waiter, Therese, our waiter, and Urji, our sommelier. They have been a wonderful team. Agusto will be going on Holiday at the end of this leg of the cruise. Dinner was wonderful as it always is in the Main Dining Room and in the other dining venues.
We began dinner with a nice dark roll as we allow ourselves one roll each day (no butter). We then enjoyed a very nicely prepared salad that we have fairly often. It is similar to the one we enjoy at Prego but just slightly different. We each had the Broiled Grouper Fillet on Basmati Rice, which was served with Fresh Vegetables. We also had a side order of steamed vegetables and fresh asparagus. For our dessert it was a fruit plate for Anne Marie as the galley is now out of blueberries until more is brought onto the ship in one of the upcoming ports and strawberries for Keith. We had wine that we sent down yesterday morning, which was a bottle that we had brought onto the ship on January 4 when we boarded in Miami. That wine has traveled extensively with us since that time. J
After dinner, we went to a party to celebrate the 50th Wedding Anniversary of a very nice couple who we first met in 2007 and whom we sailed with in 2008 and now again on this World Cruise. The anniversary celebration was held in the Stardust Club, which is a wonderful venue for these types of parties.
The Anniversary couple greeted each of the invited guests at the door and in addition to several passengers some of the members of the staff were in attendance along with many of the senior officers.
The band played and the quartet of singers sang a special song to the couple and the gent gave a very nice speech touching on how he first met his wife fifty-one years ago while he was serving overseas and along with a tip on how their marriage has been a success. It was all very touching and it was so very nice to celebrate this special occasion with our Crystal family of friends.
We slept well last evening and looked forward to today’s transit of the Suez Canal. Today marks the third time we have sailed the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal was first opened in November of 1869. The Canal provides a more direct route for ships to traverse between Asia and Europe, avoiding the necessity to navigate around Africa or to carry goods overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The Canal is 119 miles long, with a maximum depth of 66 feet. Unlike the Panama Canal, it contains no locks. The canal is owned and operated by the Suez Canal Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Essentially as one is transiting the Suez Canal they are viewing the continents of Asia on one side and Africa on the other side.
Another marvel of the Suez Canal is that towards the end of the transit you pass under the highest suspension bridge in the entire world.
Once again, Keith awoke early this morning for his daily morning workout. He enjoyed another wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. It was nice to be back at sea. Keith was the second to arrive and by the time he finished his workout he was the only person there since some passenger’s had adjusted their workout schedule because of our transit of the Suez Canal. We began the transit about one hour earlier than planned so Keith was able to watch the transit as soon as it was light outside during his workout.
After the workout Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the room. By that time Anne Marie was getting ready to begin her workout and she worked out for one hour on the treadmill. Like Keith, she brought coffee back to the room.
At 8:00 AM, there was a knock on the door and it was Alexander with our morning breakfast. Like most days we enjoyed Oatmeal with Cinnamon along with some fresh fruit. While enjoying breakfast, we watched the Crystal Cruises Daily Morning Show. A good portion of the show was devoted to the Suez Canal as the expert on board was the featured guest on the show. They did do trivia at the end of the show and Keith correctly answered one of the questions.
Today has been filled with activities recognizing that many passengers have been through the Suez Canal before while some have not.
Between 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM they had a Suez Canal expert narrator what we were seeing from the Palm Court which is a nice large room at the forward area of the ship that has floor to ceiling windows perfect for viewing. The narrator was given a microphone for the talk and she was also available to answer questions. Also from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM as she did in the morning Sherine Barakat offered commentary from the same location as we continued to transit the Suez Canal.
We went outside from time to time. It was on the cooler side this morning but still the weather was perfect for our viewing. As one is transiting the Suez Canal on the port (left) side of the ship one will see many towns and land that has been irrigated and is quite lush looking with grass and all sorts of trees and bushes and other vegetation. On the starboard (right) side of the ship it is essentially mainly the desert.
During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge he shared his thought of the day which was “I have learned that people will forget what you did but they will not forget how you made them feel.”
The Captain spoke a few other times during the course of the morning. At one point he advised us that a tanker ran aground so we had to stay anchored for a little while. Ultimately we had to go around the tanker by taking the old route.
We attended the Rap with the Rabbi, which was another excellent session. We will be celebrating Passover in just a couple of days, which will be a delight.
There were two lectures this morning. Destination Lecturer Professor Jean-Pierre Isbouts who spoke about the secret of the Pyramids gave the first one. As part of this talk he explored the mysteries of the Great Pyramids of Giza as well as the sunken treasures of Alexandria, the city of Cleopatra once founded by Alexander the Great. Once again this was a very good presentation.
Marc Ginsberg gave the second presentation of the morning and he spoke about Israelis in the Muslim World from Mossad to Mitzva. We first met Marc Ginsberg in 2007 and he is just an outstanding speaker. He has so much knowledge to share and he is also a charismatic speaker.
We enjoyed another nice lunch at the Lido Café where we once again prepared our own salad entrees.
In the afternoon special interest lecturer Thomas Lippmann gave a presentation on The Middle East from the period starting in 1979 up to the current time frame.
Throughout the World Cruise we have enjoyed an outstanding team of lecturers. What has been nice is the collective team on each leg where one or two talk about the destination and others focus on the politics and other issues of the specific region we are in at the time of the lectures.
Anne Marie also enjoyed another nice long walk in the afternoon on the Promenade Deck while she could take in the beauty of the Suez Canal. Keith played some Paddle Tennis so he too could be outdoors. Anne Marie also sat out by the pool and Keith spoke with some fellow passengers where the discussion focused on this area of the world.
This evening we have invited two guests who we first met in 2008 to join us for a nice dinner at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant and we will post about that tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, our next port of call is Alexandria , Egypt.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….
“Appreciation makes people feel more important than almost anything else you can give them.”
Keith and Anne Marie
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