DAY 65 - CROSSING THE EQUATOR

Enjoyed A Fabulous Dinner At The Crystal Dining Room Last Evening✔  Enjoyed The Local Show Performance In Semerang ✔   Another Great Day At Sea  ✔

NOTE: To Spin-Its.  Keith Learned A New Technique In Today's Spin Class.  You'll See It Mentioned Under The Section About The Class.

Today, was another wonderful day as we sail to Singapore.  More on that in a moment.

We enjoyed dinner at the Crystal DIning Room last evening.  These were the dinner menus.

We each began our meal with salads.  Keith had his standing order salad and Anne Marie had a small portion of the Salad Entree, but without the filet mignon.

Keith enjoyed the Salmon Entree which was Broiled Fillet of Pacific Salmon.

Anne Marie enjoyed the Pan Seared Sea Scallops.

We also both had a side order of steamed vegetables in addition to the items that accompanied each of our entrees.

Keith had the sugar-free Vanilla Strawberry Cream Cake and Anne Marie had the sugar-free Chocolate Sundae.  Can you believe it?  Keith didn't even have mixed berries.

Our original plan was to dine in the Crystal Dining Room this evening and then in Prego during our first night in Singapore.  However, we decided to switch this around and our Headwaiter Augosto made the change for us while we were still in the dining room.   The reason we went with Prego for this evening is that it tends to be far less crowded on Formal nights than the Crystal Dining Room.  At the same time we  ordered some of the items that we would have had this evening for tomorrow in the Crystal Dining Room.

Afterwards, we attended a local show which was brought onto the ship and it was called Ramayana Dance Drama.  It featured several local performers playing music that is local to Indonesia and they were  in very colorful costume.

Our only bad news of the cruise was that last evening we had to forward the clock one hour as we sail into a new time zone.  We guess this is getting us ready for the last leg of the World Cruise when we will be forwarding the clock forward several hours.

We slept very well last evening as we sailed to our next port of call in Singapore.  We don't want to sound like a recording but it just seems that as soon as our heads hit the pillow we fall to sleep in a matter of minutes.

Today is our last sea day for this second leg of the World Cruise with tomorrow in Singapore being the last full day of this voyage.  Those ending their cruise in Singapore will depart the ship following the overnight in Singapore while those embarking the ship will board later that day.  The ship will be close to full occupancy on the next two legs of the World Cruise.  It shouldn't feel that full though as there are a fair number of solo travelers.  Many embarking in Singapore will be at a younger age than many already on board the ship.  The next two legs will be a lot more port intensive with many full day tours and even overlands being offered.

Keith woke up early this morning and began his day in the Fitness Center with a long workout.  By the time he finished the regular cast of characters was working out including Brian, Mary and the Manager of the Shops on board the ship.

Afterwards, he had coffee in the Lido Cafe as he read his e-mail and also spoke with those wonderful Lido Deck Stewards.  One of the Lido Deck Stewards that Keith spoke with will be going on a well deserved two month holiday at the end of this leg of the World Cruise.

Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck.  She prefers to walk outside just to get fresh air. We then we enjoyed breakfast in the room as we watched the Daily Morning Show.  One of the items that Rick Spath and Elise Ivy spoke about was Karaoke.  The other evening for the first time on this World Cruise they held Karaoke one hour earlier since there was no production show or late show that evening and it was very well attended so they are going to do this from time to time during the remainder of the World Cruise.  Maybe, we'll partake as well.

Today featured many activities and events.

There were three lectures.  Dr Jean-Pierre Isbouts spoke about Singapore covering its history and where it is today.  Later in the morning Tom Faranda spoke about his view as to why America will thrive over the next ten years.  Finally, in the afternoon, Dr Sydney Finkelstein spoke about the top ten lessons on how people achieve success as well as failure.

At 10:00 AM, Keith took the spin (indoor cycling) class and was great to be spinning as it has been over a week since he last took this class.

The new technique we did today in class involved spinning with one leg.  In other classes the instructor would ask us to push and pull and focus on one leg at a time and let that one leg do all of the work. In today's class we did this for real.  We began by pushing and pulling with the right leg only as we moved our left hand over our right hand but the instructor had us remove our left foot from the pedal so we were just pushing and pulling and pedaling with the right leg.  Afterwards, he had us push and pull with the left leg as we put our right hand over our left hand and removed the right food from the pedal.  It worked well.

Today's workout definitely pushed us all to do as much as we could but we had four capable people who could work at this level.

Keith making a new Spin Fashion Statement.

Next to Keith is Paula and next to Paula is Joe and Maria Kita

Here is a closeup of Joe and Maria Kita.  We first sailed with them in 2007, again in 2008 and then in 2011 and now throughout this years World Cruise.  We also sailed with Joe on the Symphony in 2009.  Joe is the Memoir Writer who is teaching guests how to write their memoirs or just one item related to their lives.  Maria and Joe also teach Yoga and began teaching this on last years World Cruise.  We will be going with them sometime soon to Silk Road and between Joe and Keith they will eat a lot of Sushi and Sashimi.

There was no Team Trivia since the highlight of the late morning was the Equator Crossing Ceremony.  This Ceremony was held on the open decks by the outdoor swimming pool.  This was the second Equator Crossing of the World Cruise.

Special Events Coordinator Fred Divel who creates amazing sets

From L-R Judge Rick Spath, King Neptune played by Dave, Queen Played by Karen,

L-R World Cruise Hostess Elise Ivy and Singer/Dancer Laura Murray

On The Left is Assistant Cruise Director Scott Mitchel and  Captain Glenn.

There are the Shellbacks like us who have crossed the Equator by ship and then there are the Pollywogs who have not yet crossed the Equator by Ship.

The Waiter is a Pollywog who was accused of various items including smiling too much and serving extra portions of whipped cream.  He was found guilty of his crime by the Captain and sentenced to kiss the fish and be thrown into the water.

The Stewardess is a Pollywog who was accused of various items including folding the toilet paper into a pointed arrow each time she cleans the bathroom as well as being seen with her vacuum looking for dust bunnies in the hallway. She was found guilty of her crime by the Captain and sentenced to kiss the fish and be thrown into the water.  It was also mentioned that Crystal Cruises Stewardesses are so efficient that when a guest gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom when they get back the bed has already been made.  Ha! Ha!

During the morning we stopped by the front desk to pick up our Passports.  Singapore is one of the few places where all guests are required to carry their passports with them while ashore. We will go through a checkpoint in the cruise ship terminal when we are going off the ship and also returning to the ship.

Today also featured the American Classic Buffet for lunch.  This buffet features so many of the traditional American Food Delicacies.  We decided to pass on the buffet and we each had a Salad Entree.

This afternoon Keith played Paddle Tennis and Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck.  Keith also read, wrote, and sat with some fellow guests including friend Bob.  Anne Marie worked on her needlepoint and also spoke with some fellow guests.

This evening we will dine in Prego and will post more about that tomorrow.  Before dinner, we will attend the Captain's Farewell Reception. We will post more about that tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning we arrive to Singapore and have an all-day tour planned.

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

“If you would create something, you must be something.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Keith and Anne Marie