DAY 32 - CRUISING TO HONOLULU

Wonderful Time At Last Evening's Cruise Critic Party✔  Delicious Dinner With Cruise Director Rick Spath ✔ Another Wonderful Day At Sea ✔

We wanted to begin by wishing our son, Eric, a very Happy Birthday.  We miss you and love you very much and will call you from Honolulu.  We hope that you have a wonderful day with Kara, Tobey and Kylie.

A few of you have asked about the iPads.  Yes, each of us received our very own iPad so when we got back to the room there was not one, but two iPads on the on the bed along with an iPad case and an instruction book.  This was kept as a very well secret with no one knowing that we were getting these gifts and that in itself was terrific given the number of people who were involved with this.  While we were at the party, the housekeeping team had to get to all of the rooms to place the gifts on each of the beds which that alone would be a challenge.

When Elise Ivy the World Cruise Hostess Announced that we were getting the iPads she had a computer instructor come out holding the iPad.  The enthusiasm was so great in the room that you  thought you were part of the Oprah show.

A special instructor on top of all of the regular instructors was brought on board to assist with getting the guests up to speed on the use of the iPad.  Starting yesterday afternoon thru the end of today the instructor helped the guests get their iPads activated and registered and then over the course of the first leg of this voyage will be conducting classes in the Hollywood Theatre to teach guests how to use them. Since Keith already had an iPad and has been using Mac items for the last few years we are all set on our end and Keith easily activated both of the new iPads yesterday.  Anne Marie will easily be able to use this new gift since she already has an iPhone.

We may also have some competition for the iPads in our room.  Jamie, Shelly, JK and Sharky, we miss you all.

At the party we also learned that there are 16 full World Cruisers who are not only sailing on their first World Cruise but this is their first time sailing with Crystal Cruises.

Before dinner last evening, we attended a Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle Party.  We had a great time.  There were over 30 guests in attendance and lots of Crystal Senior Officers and other members of the crew who also attended.  There was a lot of enthusiasm at the party and we were very pleased with the turnout.   The party was scheduled for one hour where often it is held for 45 minutes so that was very nice.  We wanted to especially thank Crystal Cruises for not only sponsoring the party but we also thank so many of the Senior Officers and other crew members for attending.  Those attending from Crystal Cruises included Captain Glenn, Cruise Director Rick, Hotel Director Josef, along with many other members of the team such as the Shore Excursion Manager, Cruise Sales Consultant and the Crystal Society Hostess.

A photo at the Palm Court where the Meet and Mingle Party was held along with some additional photos from this party.

Allan King, Captain Glenn and Keith

Peggy with Captain Glenn

Hotel Director Josef Lumetsberger and Crystal Society Hostess with Elaine

Right after the party, we went to the bridge (bridge as in cards) where they were taking photos of each World Cruiser.  These photos will be part of a yearbook like book which will contain photos and associated names for all World Cruisers who want to have their photo in the book.  The books are then printed on the ship and are available to us in a few weeks.  It really helps to learn our fellow World Cruisers names and also serves as a very nice memory from the cruise.

We then dined at the Crystal Dining Room.  These are the menus from the dinner and the theme was California Cuisine.

 We had a very special guest, Cruise Director Rick Spath, join us for dinner.  We had just an absolutely fantastic time having dinner with Rick.  We enjoyed many laughs.

We pre-ordered a couple of items from Augusto.  We began the meal with an appetizer.  Keith had tuna tartare,  Anne Marie had shrimp cocktail and Rick had a seafood enchilada appetizer.

Keith's tuna tartare

We then had caesar salad.  The headwaiters tend to have a little competitiveness (well maybe not a little but a lot) as to who makes the best items such as the tuna tartare and caesar salad and the many desserts they prepare on most evenings.  The salad was wonderful.


This was Keith's Caesar Salad and Anne Marie had the same size salad

Augusto first gave Rick a very tiny size salad and this is his reaction as he was playing around.  He then got a portion that was our size!

Anne Marie and Keith had the Broiled Swordfish Steak and Rick had Fettuccine Pasta.  We did not get a photo of either entree.  The Swordfish was topped with a sliced Portobello Mushroom and it was prepared perfectly.

Anne Marie had the sugar free Apple Pie A la Mode, Keith had mixed berries and Rick did not have dessert.

We give an A++++ for the delicious meal, fantastic service and wonderful dining guest.

Afterwards, we attended yet another party. This one was sponsored by our travel consortium.  There were close to fifty guests in attendance.  We spoke to several guests who we knew from previous cruises and also met several other guests for the very first time.

When we got back to the room, Keith had his favorite dessert, those wonderful Rainbow Cookies that Ricki and David gave to us in Miami.  Rao has keep them in the freezer for us and they defrost very easily and are absolutely delicious.

Keith awoke early and easily got his morning workout on the Elliptical Machine behind him.  A little while later Anne Marie did likewise before we had breakfast in the room.  We watched the daily morning show with Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Elise Ivy.

We had a busy morning.

Keith took another spin (indoor cycling) class that was offered in the morning.  Rob the Fitness Director worked Keith and the others very hard.  By the time the class was over Keith was thoroughly drenched.

Keith giving a Longhorn sign for all of our Spinets from back home. We miss you all.

There was a lecturer given by Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin on Pakistan which delved into our up and down relationship with them including the many challenges.

We had our first team trivia of the World Cruise.  We are playing on a trivia team with mainly fellow guests from last year which are Bob and Glo, Sandy, Louise and Arlene.  We are also joined by Brian who was not on board last year.  Unlike trivia on all other voyages rather than a team being selected for each game the winning team will be based on the team that got the most answers for all trivia games by the end of each leg of the World Cruise.  The other difference is that rather than limiting teams to up to six players up to eight players can play on each team.  While we didn't win today, we had a great time and we really enjoy our team.

For lunch, we each enjoyed a salad entree.

In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis for the first time since we left Los Angeles and then later in the afternoon he got together with friend Bob.  Anne Marie worked on her needlepoint and also worked out in the afternoon.

This evening we will be dining at Silk Road with Stacey Huston and Mari Suzuki.  From 2009 thru 2011 Stacey was the World Cruise Hostess and also other times of the year an Assistant Cruise Director.  Currently, she is Director of Crystal Cruises Loyalty Program.  Mari Suzuki is the Activities Hostess.   We will post more about this tomorrow.

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

“Our Policy.  Rule Number 1. The customer is always right. Rule Number 2. If the customer is ever wrong, reread Rule 1.” -  Stew Leonard

Keith and Anne Marie