Happy Valentine's Day ✔ Enjoyed Another Wonderful Dinner At The Crystal Dining Room Last Evening ✔ Enjoyed Standing Room Only Production Show ✔
Since we are one day ahead of most of you who are following our Blog, today is Valentine's Day where we are sailing. We wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day filled with lots of Love.
Last night before dinner we saw the Matinee, Standing Room Only which featured major Broadway Songs across ten classic shows. We have seen this show many times but still enjoy it quite a bit. The lead vocalists are not the same ones who performed last year so that always changes it up a bit. Many of the songs are very uplifting and it was a wonderful way to begin the evening.
Afterwards we dined in the Crystal Dining Room for the third consecutive night.
These are the dinner menus.
Since we are one day ahead of most of you who are following our Blog, today is Valentine's Day where we are sailing. We wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day filled with lots of Love.
Last night before dinner we saw the Matinee, Standing Room Only which featured major Broadway Songs across ten classic shows. We have seen this show many times but still enjoy it quite a bit. The lead vocalists are not the same ones who performed last year so that always changes it up a bit. Many of the songs are very uplifting and it was a wonderful way to begin the evening.
Afterwards we dined in the Crystal Dining Room for the third consecutive night.
These are the dinner menus.
We began the meal with salads. Keith had his standing order salad and Anne Marie enjoyed an Iceberg Wedge With Roast Garlic-Chive Salad.
We had pre-ordered a Kosher Chicken with Augusto to change it up from the usual fish/seafood entrees.
A master carver at work.
This was Keith's plate.
Keith had roasted potatoes with the entree and Anne Marie went with mashed potatoes. We also had a side order of steamed vegetables and Keith also ordered Brussel sprouts. The Chicken was delicious as it was both tasty and quite moist.
For dessert Anne Marie had a sugar free Chocolate Brownie a la Mode. Keith tried a little bit of it and as we have mentioned, we could not tell that these types of desserts were sugar-free.
Keith had mixed berries but also had a nonfat German Chocolate Yogurt.
Since we will be in Prego this evening and it is also Valentine's Day today, last evening we gave our Waiter, Senior Waiter, Headwaiter and Sommelier each Chocolate Candy Hearts.
After dinner we spoke with a few people and also took care of a few errands. By the time we got back to the room it was still light outside and the weather was fantastic.
Before we went to sleep, we set the clocks back one hour as we sail into yet another new time zone. It's so nice to set the clocks back one hour.
It was nice to get the extra hour of sleep which we needed after being up later the night before. We slept very well and as usual Keith was up very early and enjoyed a nice long workout on the Elliptical Machine. He also lifted weights for awhile and by the time he finished up there were several people working out.
During his workout Keith watched the lecture given by Harm de Bilj and there were three major takeaways from the talk. The first one was that evidently India has sent some officials to Iran to talk about Iran outsourcing and trading with them and that is in stark contrast to the embargo that has been placed on Iran and if something comes about from the talks is not good. The second one is about the uprising in Syria and how this can destabilize the entire region and could have a very negative impact on countries such as Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The third takeaway is not what Harm said but something that has become very clear to Keith from our travel experiences. Particularly in the United States our news is very United States centric and a good deal of our television coverage is focused almost solely on the USA with very little coverage of all that is taking place around the world from the Global Economy to issues in other countries. One of the lecturers who we spoke with a few months ago about the uprisings in the Middle East noted that while he appeared on many of the network shows in the first half of 2011 that now these shows are almost 100% focused on the United States Presidential Elections and therefore his appearances are few and far between.
The itineraries that we have been able to sail particularly on the World Cruises including two legs in 2010 that were very focused on the Middle East plus others such as this one where we are sailing in Australia have provided us with the opportunity to see first hand many items that do have implications to other parts of the world including the United States and Europe. At the same time the many lecturers that Crystal Cruises brings on as part of the enrichment program help to make some of these points Crystal Clear (no pun intended) for each of us.
After the workout, Keith stopped by the Lido Cafe for some coffee. He spoke with some of the Lido Deck Stewards such as Rosano (sp) and Liebert. Liebert wished Keith a very Happy Valentine's Day and Keith did the same.
Anne Marie also got in her one hour workout before breakfast.
We enjoyed breakfast in our room as we watched the Daily Morning Show. When Keith was in Spin Class the day before they took videos of the class and this was one of the items that was shown on the morning show. Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Elise Levy dressed in the spirit of Valentine's Day.
Keith answered one of the questions correctly. Without looking it up on the Inernet does anyone know which country has won a Medal each year at the Summer Olympics since 1904. We can't give out a prize but if you know the answer let us know. Again, no cheating!
In keeping with the Valentine's Day spirit, we gave our stewardess, the assistant stewardess in training and the stewardess who helped Keith early on by contacting the medical staff when had had choked on a piece of melon Valentine's Day Candy.
We also gave Butler Rao some Valentine's Day Candy as well.
We also gave out candy to some of the other members of the Crystal Crew.
Anne Marie gave Keith a beautiful Valentine's Day card with several very nice savings that she had written out that touched Keith's heart.
Keith had a surprise for Anne Marie.
On this day our wish would be that all those who inhabit the world could live together with peace and love.
We enjoyed another sea day as we sail to Perth, Australia.
There were three lectures. One was all about Perth and how it has several communities including an Italian, Greek, Asian and Eastern European Community. The second was was on North America and the challenges it faces over the next ten years. The third one was about Australia waters and sealers.
This is our fifth time cruising on the Crystal Serenity on Valentine's Day and the decorations get more elaborate with each passing year. In 2007, there was a cake in the Crystal Cove with some flowers. Now there is now only a cake but it is outside the Crystal Dining Room but the Crystal Cove and the next floor up were very festive to mark Valentine's Day.
In the Spirit of Valentine's Day at 11:30 there was a Valentine's Day Mixer which featured music by the Galaxy Orchestra along with dancing. Complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosas were served. At 3:30 PM the afternoon tea featured a Valentine's Chocolate Tea Time.
We enjoyed a very nice lunch and we each had a salad Entree as we sat outside at the Lido Cafe.
In the afternoon, Keith participated in the Table Tennis Males Singles World Games competition. This was the first time Keith had played Table Tennis since we boarded the ship.
In each competition whoever won two out of three eleven point games advanced to the next round. In the first game Keith got behind six to nothing and quickly thought to himself that it might have been a good idea to have practiced sometime before the start of the games but he ended up winning the game eleven to six and then Keith won the next game so he advanced to the next round.
The next round was again Vincent who we have known since 2007 and Vincent plays Table Tennis everyday so Keith new that this was not the ideal matchup. Keith lost the first game but somehow with some luck won the second game before losing in the third and final game. Vincent advanced to the title game for the Gold and ended up finishing in second place with the Silver. Keith had a great time and the key is it really doesn't matter whether you win or lost. It's all about having a fun time which he did.
Later in the afternoon, Keith met up with friend Bob and Anne Marie walked on the Promenade Deck for an hour and also went to the Computer University to practice up for Solitaire.
This evening we will dine in Prego for Valentine's Day. We will also be up very late this evening.
Speaking of Valentine's Day these are two quotes to mark the day.
We had pre-ordered a Kosher Chicken with Augusto to change it up from the usual fish/seafood entrees.
A master carver at work.
This was Keith's plate.
Keith had roasted potatoes with the entree and Anne Marie went with mashed potatoes. We also had a side order of steamed vegetables and Keith also ordered Brussel sprouts. The Chicken was delicious as it was both tasty and quite moist.
For dessert Anne Marie had a sugar free Chocolate Brownie a la Mode. Keith tried a little bit of it and as we have mentioned, we could not tell that these types of desserts were sugar-free.
Since we will be in Prego this evening and it is also Valentine's Day today, last evening we gave our Waiter, Senior Waiter, Headwaiter and Sommelier each Chocolate Candy Hearts.
After dinner we spoke with a few people and also took care of a few errands. By the time we got back to the room it was still light outside and the weather was fantastic.
Before we went to sleep, we set the clocks back one hour as we sail into yet another new time zone. It's so nice to set the clocks back one hour.
It was nice to get the extra hour of sleep which we needed after being up later the night before. We slept very well and as usual Keith was up very early and enjoyed a nice long workout on the Elliptical Machine. He also lifted weights for awhile and by the time he finished up there were several people working out.
During his workout Keith watched the lecture given by Harm de Bilj and there were three major takeaways from the talk. The first one was that evidently India has sent some officials to Iran to talk about Iran outsourcing and trading with them and that is in stark contrast to the embargo that has been placed on Iran and if something comes about from the talks is not good. The second one is about the uprising in Syria and how this can destabilize the entire region and could have a very negative impact on countries such as Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The third takeaway is not what Harm said but something that has become very clear to Keith from our travel experiences. Particularly in the United States our news is very United States centric and a good deal of our television coverage is focused almost solely on the USA with very little coverage of all that is taking place around the world from the Global Economy to issues in other countries. One of the lecturers who we spoke with a few months ago about the uprisings in the Middle East noted that while he appeared on many of the network shows in the first half of 2011 that now these shows are almost 100% focused on the United States Presidential Elections and therefore his appearances are few and far between.
The itineraries that we have been able to sail particularly on the World Cruises including two legs in 2010 that were very focused on the Middle East plus others such as this one where we are sailing in Australia have provided us with the opportunity to see first hand many items that do have implications to other parts of the world including the United States and Europe. At the same time the many lecturers that Crystal Cruises brings on as part of the enrichment program help to make some of these points Crystal Clear (no pun intended) for each of us.
After the workout, Keith stopped by the Lido Cafe for some coffee. He spoke with some of the Lido Deck Stewards such as Rosano (sp) and Liebert. Liebert wished Keith a very Happy Valentine's Day and Keith did the same.
Anne Marie also got in her one hour workout before breakfast.
We enjoyed breakfast in our room as we watched the Daily Morning Show. When Keith was in Spin Class the day before they took videos of the class and this was one of the items that was shown on the morning show. Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Elise Levy dressed in the spirit of Valentine's Day.
Keith answered one of the questions correctly. Without looking it up on the Inernet does anyone know which country has won a Medal each year at the Summer Olympics since 1904. We can't give out a prize but if you know the answer let us know. Again, no cheating!
In keeping with the Valentine's Day spirit, we gave our stewardess, the assistant stewardess in training and the stewardess who helped Keith early on by contacting the medical staff when had had choked on a piece of melon Valentine's Day Candy.
We also gave Butler Rao some Valentine's Day Candy as well.
We also gave out candy to some of the other members of the Crystal Crew.
Anne Marie gave Keith a beautiful Valentine's Day card with several very nice savings that she had written out that touched Keith's heart.
Keith had a surprise for Anne Marie.
On this day our wish would be that all those who inhabit the world could live together with peace and love.
We enjoyed another sea day as we sail to Perth, Australia.
There were three lectures. One was all about Perth and how it has several communities including an Italian, Greek, Asian and Eastern European Community. The second was was on North America and the challenges it faces over the next ten years. The third one was about Australia waters and sealers.
This is our fifth time cruising on the Crystal Serenity on Valentine's Day and the decorations get more elaborate with each passing year. In 2007, there was a cake in the Crystal Cove with some flowers. Now there is now only a cake but it is outside the Crystal Dining Room but the Crystal Cove and the next floor up were very festive to mark Valentine's Day.
This display is of Valentine's Candy Box.
In the Spirit of Valentine's Day at 11:30 there was a Valentine's Day Mixer which featured music by the Galaxy Orchestra along with dancing. Complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosas were served. At 3:30 PM the afternoon tea featured a Valentine's Chocolate Tea Time.
We enjoyed a very nice lunch and we each had a salad Entree as we sat outside at the Lido Cafe.
In the afternoon, Keith participated in the Table Tennis Males Singles World Games competition. This was the first time Keith had played Table Tennis since we boarded the ship.
In each competition whoever won two out of three eleven point games advanced to the next round. In the first game Keith got behind six to nothing and quickly thought to himself that it might have been a good idea to have practiced sometime before the start of the games but he ended up winning the game eleven to six and then Keith won the next game so he advanced to the next round.
The next round was again Vincent who we have known since 2007 and Vincent plays Table Tennis everyday so Keith new that this was not the ideal matchup. Keith lost the first game but somehow with some luck won the second game before losing in the third and final game. Vincent advanced to the title game for the Gold and ended up finishing in second place with the Silver. Keith had a great time and the key is it really doesn't matter whether you win or lost. It's all about having a fun time which he did.
Later in the afternoon, Keith met up with friend Bob and Anne Marie walked on the Promenade Deck for an hour and also went to the Computer University to practice up for Solitaire.
This evening we will dine in Prego for Valentine's Day. We will also be up very late this evening.
Speaking of Valentine's Day these are two quotes to mark the day.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” A.A.Mine
“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.” John Lennon
Keith and Anne Marie
The Olympic question is a toughie. My first thoughts were of course, the USA or Russia but then I remembered these countries had each boycotted an Olympics. So I had no idea, I looked it up and was very surprised with he answer.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth did you remember to bring little gifts for the staff for Valentines Day. I mean you have so much to pack and you still did this. How nice. Thanks again for sharing.
Happy Valentine's Day (for yesterday, I guess considering you are down under). We are enjoying the posts about the Olympics and hope to see a gold medal in the coming days!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the gold medal! Good luck to both of you in any upcoming events! Sounds like it has continued to be a very special time on the Serenity with friends & crew (old & new)!
ReplyDeleteWhat was in the gold box?!
ReplyDelete