DAY 79 - CRUISING HALONG BAY

Fantastic Dinner At Prego Last Evening ✔  Thoroughly Enjoyed The "Viva Vietnam" World Cruise Event ✔ 


We dined in Prego last evening but wanted to post the restaurant menus from the Crystal Dining Room.

Before dinner we spoke with Pianist John Mentis.

Last evening we dined at Prego with friends Ken and Lynn Rees.  Ken is also the destination lecturer and joined the ship during this third segment of the World Cruise and will remain on board for the last two segments of the World Cruise .  We have sailed with them several times in the past.  Ken has a very unique way of talking about an upcoming destination.  He provides the right balance of the history of the area coupled with tidbits about what to do and see and does it with some good humor.  It was great to catch up with Ken and Lynn and we look forward to getting together with them again.

Once again, our waiter for the evening was Costa who as usual enhanced our dining experience.  Since we had a World Cruise event to attend last evening, we asked if Costa could move the dinner along to ensure that we arrived there on time and the pace of the meal turned out perfect for us.

We each began the meal with Salads and then we had the additional entree which was Red Emperor.  As usual, it was fantastic.  The flavor from the sauce really enhanced the fish.

After dinner, we attended a special World Cruise Event which was called "Viva Vietnam".  While the theme is planned one year or more in advance so that the props and costumes can be ordered the show itself is written around one week prior to the event and then the rehearsals begin.  For this particular theme, they were able to reuse most of the costumes and did not require new ones.

It was one of the best shows we have ever watched and it truly reflects the talent and the professionalism of the Crystal Entertainment Department.  When we see a show as good as this we turn to each other and the first word that comes out is "amazing".

When you arrive to the showroom there were some mixed drinks available at the entranceway which related to the theme of the event.

We preferred wine so we waited to be seated to place an order.

The bar staff was dressed in attire related to the show and took our order.

Friends Bob and Glo who sat in the row right behind us.

The show began as if it was the opening of the Daily Morning Show with Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Elise Ivy.  The major difference was that instead of the show opening in the morning it became the Daily Evening Show.

Singers Karen and Dave played World Cruisers.  They definitely looked the part.

The costumes were great as was the skit and the singing, dancing, and music.

Singer Michel Bell also performed in the show.  Many years ago he was one of the singers who were part of the 5th Dimension.

Dancer Beverly with Michel Bell

Dancers Curtis and Beverly

Pianist and Singer Colin Salter played Elvis Presley

Cruise Director Rick Spath closed the show.

We slept very well last evening.  You could barely feel the ship moving except for the very slight movement of the ship gently rocked us to sleep.

Keith was back up to the Fitness Center in the morning for his daily workout.  He spoke with fellow guest Brian for most of his workout which made the workout go very fast.  Afterwards, he read mail on his iPad from the Lido Cafe where he enjoyed some coffee.

A little while later Anne Marie worked out as well.  She worked out on the treadmill as it was quite windy outside.

We received a letter from the Crystal Shore Excursion Department with some additional details about our  upcoming overnight land program in Beijing.  It provided a schedule of what we will do each day along with what time we will leave and arrive back to the ship.  It also noted that on March 15 there will be a meeting with everyone on the program where they will go into greater detail about it.  As we understand, all of the guests plan to go on the program with the exception of only around ten guests who will remain on the ship.

Shortly after Anne Marie returned to the room we enjoyed a nice breakfast thanks to Rao.  We watched the Daily Morning Show hosted by Rick Spath and Elise Ivy and today we each called to answer questions so we won not one but two prizes.

Right after breakfast we went for a temperature exam.  This is required by Chinese Health Officials.  What they are really looking for is to determine if any guests have Avian Flu.  The irony is thatwhile they are worried about what illness we will bring into China and as travelers we wonder if there are any illnesses in China that we could catch such as the Flu.   Oh well!  This is all part of traveling.

Keith had his temperature taken first and it is done with a infrared laser that they aim at your forehead.  Anne Marie was second and they said she was hotter.  While her temperature was slightly higher than Keith's they used the term "hotter" as a joke to say she is hotter than Keith.  We all laughed.  The process took each of us seconds.



There were three outstanding lectures presented today.

Dr. Rhea Seddon spoke about the results of medical tests that had been done on the Space Shuttle along with their implications for good health.  One of the big take-aways from the lecture is that she spent seventeen years of training in Nasa and was in space for a total of thirty days and that she trained with the same shuttle team for seven years before her first shuttle launch.

Later in the morning Ken Walsh presented Air Force One and spoke about the history of Presidents and their planes.  He spoke about some of the Presidents who he did not personally cover as well as those that he did. One item that he noted was when Ronald Reagan was President that often the dining menu would give away whether or not  First Lady Nancy Reagan was traveling with the President.  For example, if the foods were healthy then more than likely Mrs. Reagan was on the plane, but if the foods were not considered to be too healthy that likely the First Lady was not accompanying the President.

In the afternoon,  John McMichan spoke about the Heart and that included living with coronary artery disease and what we can to to lessen its effects and what help is available.

On top of all of this Keith also attended the Spin (Indoor Cycling) class.  It was a very challenging workout with high resistance and high speed.

Keith with Antonio who helps all of us at the Fitness Center by putting out towels, water and helping keep the machines clean.

Keith is smiling before class but that was before the challenging workout began.  Then he was crying!  Just kidding!

Afterwards, we had Team Trivia.  We scored just average today but are only two behind the cumulative leader.  The question is can we score well in the last and final game on March 11 before the end of this World Cruise Segment.

We also made time to have lunch and as we do on most days we each had a salad entree.

In the afternoon, Keith met with friend Bob and enjoyed a nice discussion.  It was too windy to play Paddle Tennis.

Anne Marie worked out for an hour in the Fitness Center.

We also caught up with one of the lectures that was repeated on the television.

This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room and look forward to it after two dinners at the Specialty Restaurants.

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

“The way to get started is to quit talking and being doing.” - Walt Disney

Keith and Anne Marie