Wonderful Time At Dinner Yesterday Evening ✔ Lots Of Fun Activities and Enrichment Today ✔
Earlier today we crossed the International Dateline. So, instead of tomorrow for us being Tuesday, January 31 we will skip that day and tomorrow morning it will be Wednesday, February 1. On our return back to the USA we will cross the dateline and have two days of the same date.
We had a wonderful time on the ship last evening and for the second time in just a few days we were up quite late. Before dinner, we chatted for a little while with friends John and Linda in the Crystal Cove and John was very gracious to take our photo. It was pink night (well for us it was pink night) although Keith's shirt doesn't look too pink in the photo.
After two nights away from the Crystal Dining Room, it was great to be back to our regular table in the dining room last evening with the wonderful team that takes good care of us. This includes Headwaiter, Augusto, Sommelier, Raphael, Senior Waiter Salvatore, and Waiter Marina.
For those who are not familiar with Crystal Cruises we thought we would take a moment to explain the roles of the teams in the Crystal Dining Room.
The Headwaiter is responsible for one of the main sections in the Crystal Dining Room and he oversees the waitstaff in that section. If someone wants a special food item the headwaiter takes care of that and the same is true in the unlikely event that someone is not pleased with any food item. The headwaiter also gets around to each guest on most evenings to make sure they are very happy with the dining experience. In general, the headwaiters have worked for Crystal Cruises for many years, many with 15 to 20 years experience.
The senior waiter takes all of the orders, serves the meals and follows up with each guest to be sure they are pleased with the cuisine. Many of the senior waiters are also knowledgeable enough to make suggestions about the food on the menu and how the food item should be cooked.
The waiter assists the senior waiter and this includes bringing the orders back to the kitchen and then going from section to section in the kitchen to pick up each item and then carries the trays back to the waiter station. The waiter may also help out at the table such as bringing out coffee, or filling water glasses or serving rolls.
The senior waiter and waiter work as a team and the number of tables they have responsibility for ranges based on the size of each table and the overall guest occupancy rate of each voyage. In general, they take care of about three to four tables but again that number may range not only by voyage but by main (early) or late seating.
Each sommelier is responsible for a section of the dining room and they will take the wine or other drink orders, make recommendations, prepare the wine if it is pre-ordered, set the table with the proper wine stemware, store any left over wine for consumption the next day in the dining room or at one of the specialty restaurants. They will also take the orders for other items including sodas and special drinks without alcohol. Often the sommeliers are assisted by a few of the Lido Deck Stewards who will take care of serving single glasses of wine or other beverages while the sommelier continually checks on guests who have bottles of wine and pours the one when the guest is ready for more.
This year the sommeliers have been rotating to another area of the dining room at the end of each voyage which is why we have had a different sommelier on each voyage.
The headwaiters have been rotating as well but we think we will have Augusto for the entire world cruise as we will our senior waiter and waiter.
On top of the vast number of guests who are served each evening most items can be changed up to some extent. For example, if one wants the fish prepared differently from how it is shown on the menu, often that can easily be done.
These are the dinner menus from last nights dinner.
We began our meal with salads. Anne Marie had one of the salads on the menu and Keith had his standing order salad.
We spoke with our Headwaiter, Augusto about last evenings entrees and then he offered to check with the chef in the kitchen to see if we could have the Halibut which was on the menu the night before. The good news is that after checking with the chef Augusto let us know that we most definitely could order the Halibut which is exactly what we did. It was a great choice and it was delicious so we were very pleased with our selection.
Augusto also came around with a tasty sauce to enjoy with the Halibut which Anne Marie had but is not shown in the following photo. Keith is fine with or without these types of sauces so since it was not originally on the plate he passed on it and enjoyed the fish as it was served.
For dessert, Anne Marie had the sugar free Coffee Eclair and Keith tried a portion of the Eclair along with a bowl of mixed berries.
After dinner, we attended the 7:45 PM variety show which featured Jeff Bradley who is a comedian. His act included a little juggling and well as some tricks. One woman from the audience was the lucky one (lucky for us that we didn't get selected) and was on stage with Jeff Bradley for about 15 minutes of his act.
Our original plan was to not to stay up too late after this show. However, sometimes plans change and that was the case with our original plan.
You see, later in the evening the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra performed in the Crystal Cove. They played Jazz and there was also dancing as the Ambassador Hosts (there are about eight Ambassador Hosts on this sailing who dance with mainly the solo women) attended this function as did both solo women and many couples. We decided to attend and we ended up sitting in the Crystal Cove with one of the officers and enjoyed the fantastic music along with a great conversation. We ended up staying there well after the performance ended and spoke with some other guests who joined the three of us.
The Orchestra is absolutely amazing. Their bandleader is Raphael Derkson who we have known for years and if we closed our eyes and listened to the orchestra we could tell whether or not he was playing. When Raphael is on Holiday (which is not very often) the Drummer Danny Mullowney performs the bandleader responsibilities and he is an amazing drummer. On top of all of this, on each voyage Crystal Cruises brings on several entertainers some for the very first time such as vocalists and with say only a one hour rehearsal they are accompanied by the Galaxy Orchestra and when you listen to the performance you would think that they have been playing together for sometime and would never believe they only practiced for around one hour earlier in the day. These are true professionals in every sense.
By the time we went to sleep it was almost 11:30 PM.
We slept well last evening and continue to sleep well almost every night with the exception of one night since boarding the ship on December 21 in Miami. This is a far great track record than at home. If only they could make beds with the capabilities to feel that you were at sea. No, we are not thinking of a water bed.
Earlier today we crossed the International Dateline. So, instead of tomorrow for us being Tuesday, January 31 we will skip that day and tomorrow morning it will be Wednesday, February 1. On our return back to the USA we will cross the dateline and have two days of the same date.
We had a wonderful time on the ship last evening and for the second time in just a few days we were up quite late. Before dinner, we chatted for a little while with friends John and Linda in the Crystal Cove and John was very gracious to take our photo. It was pink night (well for us it was pink night) although Keith's shirt doesn't look too pink in the photo.
After two nights away from the Crystal Dining Room, it was great to be back to our regular table in the dining room last evening with the wonderful team that takes good care of us. This includes Headwaiter, Augusto, Sommelier, Raphael, Senior Waiter Salvatore, and Waiter Marina.
For those who are not familiar with Crystal Cruises we thought we would take a moment to explain the roles of the teams in the Crystal Dining Room.
The Headwaiter is responsible for one of the main sections in the Crystal Dining Room and he oversees the waitstaff in that section. If someone wants a special food item the headwaiter takes care of that and the same is true in the unlikely event that someone is not pleased with any food item. The headwaiter also gets around to each guest on most evenings to make sure they are very happy with the dining experience. In general, the headwaiters have worked for Crystal Cruises for many years, many with 15 to 20 years experience.
The senior waiter takes all of the orders, serves the meals and follows up with each guest to be sure they are pleased with the cuisine. Many of the senior waiters are also knowledgeable enough to make suggestions about the food on the menu and how the food item should be cooked.
The waiter assists the senior waiter and this includes bringing the orders back to the kitchen and then going from section to section in the kitchen to pick up each item and then carries the trays back to the waiter station. The waiter may also help out at the table such as bringing out coffee, or filling water glasses or serving rolls.
The senior waiter and waiter work as a team and the number of tables they have responsibility for ranges based on the size of each table and the overall guest occupancy rate of each voyage. In general, they take care of about three to four tables but again that number may range not only by voyage but by main (early) or late seating.
Each sommelier is responsible for a section of the dining room and they will take the wine or other drink orders, make recommendations, prepare the wine if it is pre-ordered, set the table with the proper wine stemware, store any left over wine for consumption the next day in the dining room or at one of the specialty restaurants. They will also take the orders for other items including sodas and special drinks without alcohol. Often the sommeliers are assisted by a few of the Lido Deck Stewards who will take care of serving single glasses of wine or other beverages while the sommelier continually checks on guests who have bottles of wine and pours the one when the guest is ready for more.
This year the sommeliers have been rotating to another area of the dining room at the end of each voyage which is why we have had a different sommelier on each voyage.
The headwaiters have been rotating as well but we think we will have Augusto for the entire world cruise as we will our senior waiter and waiter.
On top of the vast number of guests who are served each evening most items can be changed up to some extent. For example, if one wants the fish prepared differently from how it is shown on the menu, often that can easily be done.
These are the dinner menus from last nights dinner.
We began our meal with salads. Anne Marie had one of the salads on the menu and Keith had his standing order salad.
We spoke with our Headwaiter, Augusto about last evenings entrees and then he offered to check with the chef in the kitchen to see if we could have the Halibut which was on the menu the night before. The good news is that after checking with the chef Augusto let us know that we most definitely could order the Halibut which is exactly what we did. It was a great choice and it was delicious so we were very pleased with our selection.
Augusto also came around with a tasty sauce to enjoy with the Halibut which Anne Marie had but is not shown in the following photo. Keith is fine with or without these types of sauces so since it was not originally on the plate he passed on it and enjoyed the fish as it was served.
For dessert, Anne Marie had the sugar free Coffee Eclair and Keith tried a portion of the Eclair along with a bowl of mixed berries.
After dinner, we attended the 7:45 PM variety show which featured Jeff Bradley who is a comedian. His act included a little juggling and well as some tricks. One woman from the audience was the lucky one (lucky for us that we didn't get selected) and was on stage with Jeff Bradley for about 15 minutes of his act.
Our original plan was to not to stay up too late after this show. However, sometimes plans change and that was the case with our original plan.
You see, later in the evening the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra performed in the Crystal Cove. They played Jazz and there was also dancing as the Ambassador Hosts (there are about eight Ambassador Hosts on this sailing who dance with mainly the solo women) attended this function as did both solo women and many couples. We decided to attend and we ended up sitting in the Crystal Cove with one of the officers and enjoyed the fantastic music along with a great conversation. We ended up staying there well after the performance ended and spoke with some other guests who joined the three of us.
The Orchestra is absolutely amazing. Their bandleader is Raphael Derkson who we have known for years and if we closed our eyes and listened to the orchestra we could tell whether or not he was playing. When Raphael is on Holiday (which is not very often) the Drummer Danny Mullowney performs the bandleader responsibilities and he is an amazing drummer. On top of all of this, on each voyage Crystal Cruises brings on several entertainers some for the very first time such as vocalists and with say only a one hour rehearsal they are accompanied by the Galaxy Orchestra and when you listen to the performance you would think that they have been playing together for sometime and would never believe they only practiced for around one hour earlier in the day. These are true professionals in every sense.
By the time we went to sleep it was almost 11:30 PM.
We slept well last evening and continue to sleep well almost every night with the exception of one night since boarding the ship on December 21 in Miami. This is a far great track record than at home. If only they could make beds with the capabilities to feel that you were at sea. No, we are not thinking of a water bed.
We began today with our morning workouts. In spite of the late night, Keith worked out first at his normal early time and a little while later Anne Marie did the same thing.
We enjoyed breakfast in our room as we watched the daily morning show. Keith called in for one of the questions which was to name a particular movie given the hints that were given and correctly answered it with the movie name Cliffhanger.
During Captain Glenn's morning talk from the bridge he noted that late this evening to expect 15 foot swells and that we should secure items in the cabin.
Captain Glenn's thought of the day was "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart."
Keith attended Rap With The Rabbi. There was a lot of discussion and participation by many that attended. It was interesting to hear a wide range of views on the subjects being discussed.
Later, we attended a lecture given by actor Bruce McGill perform some of Shakespeare's greatest hits. He also discussed techniques and shared tips for the understanding of Shakespeare. This was a fantastic session. We sat next to friends Bob and Glo.
Late morning, there was a mid-day earth mixer to celebrate the crossing of the equator. Complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosas were served. Because of the mixer, there was no team trivia today. It was a lot of fun and we had a great turnout.
Cruise Director Rick Spath
Dancers Natalie and Curtis
We enjoyed lunch and had a nice salad entree.
In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis and Anne Marie was back out on the Promenade Deck to get in another hour walk. Anne Marie also sat out by the pool while Keith got with friend Bob.
We continued to get our room ready for this evening by moving breakable items onto the floor of the closet.
This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room with fellow guests Peggy and Elaine.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY......
“There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jackie Kennedy
“There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jackie Kennedy
Keith and Anne Marie
How do you know what kind of clothes to bring? For example, did you know there was going to be a pink night? Also, Anne Marie, do you ever wear the same thing twice....all of your clothes are so beautiful!
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