Enjoyed Dinner Last Evening At The Crystal Dining Room ✔ Loved Last Evenings Performance Of The MacDonald Brothers ✔ Enjoyable Time On The "Junk" Cruise ✔
Late yesterday afternoon we cruised the scenic Halong Bay which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was overcast and a bit foggy. Portions of the Photos are a bit dark due to the skies being overcast.
Late yesterday afternoon we cruised the scenic Halong Bay which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was overcast and a bit foggy. Portions of the Photos are a bit dark due to the skies being overcast.
It was good to be back in the Crystal Dining Room after being away for the last couple of days. These were the dinner menus from last evening.
The attire for last evening was informal.
We began our meals with salads. Keith had his standing order salad while Anne Marie enjoyed the Crunchy Salad.
We began our meals with salads. Keith had his standing order salad while Anne Marie enjoyed the Crunchy Salad.
We each had the Salmon Entree which was quite tasty. We also had our standing order of steamed vegetables.
We enjoyed some really good laughs with the waitstaff and with our Sommelier Raphael. There were some Vietnam immigration officials on board (six at dinner time) and they were dressed in officer uniforms. They were asked did they want white or red (as in wine) and they said sure and went on to say six bottles since there were six of them. Ummmm. What were they thinking? Maybe, red or white beer or did they really each want an entire bottle of wine.
We passed on dessert so that we could get over to see the first of the two shows that was performed by The MacDonald Brothers. We first saw them on Crystal Cruises on board the Holiday Cruise. They are both from Scotland and they play a wide range of songs from Scottish Songs to other performed by such artists such as The Four Seasons and Elton John. They are very upbeat and they play several different instruments including Piano, Guitar, Violin and a Flute like instrument. They both sing. know what they are saying but when they sing you can hear each and every word. Between them and the Galaxy Orchestra whose are very talented musicians they played wonderful music together as if they all had been playing together for years. We loved the show.
We enjoyed some really good laughs with the waitstaff and with our Sommelier Raphael. There were some Vietnam immigration officials on board (six at dinner time) and they were dressed in officer uniforms. They were asked did they want white or red (as in wine) and they said sure and went on to say six bottles since there were six of them. Ummmm. What were they thinking? Maybe, red or white beer or did they really each want an entire bottle of wine.
After the show, we went with Bob and Glo over to the Avenue Saloon for about 45 minutes before it was time for the late night dinner. We had a nice time talking with Bob and Glo as we always do and the Avenue Saloon was quite upbeat and full of guests. We just had a Perrier.
Photo of Glo with Crystal Ensemble Singer/Dancer Boris Navakov while we were all at the Avenue Saloon last evening.
Afterwards, we walked down with Bob and Glo to the Crystal Dining Room and after saying our goodbyes we spoke for a few minutes with Cruise Director Rick Spath.
The ship was anchored off Hongai last evening. We slept quite well as we always do.
Keith was up very early and back in the Fitness Center for his daily workout. Since we had an early tour Anne Marie did not work out in the morning. Keith did more of an abbreviated workout for him but still managed to get in fifty minutes.
While he stopped by the Lido Cafe earlier than normal most of the breakfast was already set up as some tours were scheduled to begin at 7:00 AM.
We had breakfast in our room earlier than we normally do and Rao set everything up perfectly.
We received information and an RSVP card for an upcoming shoreside event in Shanghai. The event is called "Shanghai Time Travel" and will be held Sunday evening, March 18. It will be held at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum located in the Pudong area of Shanghai. We promptly returned our RSVP card to the Reception Desk and plan to attend this event. Since we will be on a full day tour we have made arrangements to be dropped off at the Museum rather than back to the ship that evening.
We took an early morning tour which was call Ha Long Bay Junk Cruise. Although we were anchored, we did not have to take a tender as the Junk ships pulled alongside the ship. After boarding the ship we were treated to a scenic, leisurely cruise. We were able to see various grottoes, caves, huge rock arches, limestone outcroppings and secluded coves.
Most of these formations are limestone and schlist. Many of these specks of land have been named. Examples include Pelican, Man's Head and Pair of Roosters.
It was hard to believe that just a few days ago it was so very hot and humid but starting with yesterday and continuing to today it was very cold. This is likely a sign of things to come. We are well prepared and wore clothes to keep us warm along with hats and gloves.
One has to keep in mind that that weather in Vietnam this time of year can range from hot and humid in the South and quite cold in the North. While the width of Vietnam is not too wide the length of this country is quite long as is the case with certain countries such as Chile.
This photo shows several of the Junk Ships that pulled up to the ship. Once outside we went on the first Junk Ship.
The Junk Ships held up to forty people. There were around 38 guests on our ship. We sat at tables of four that were inside and then we would go outside to take photos and to take in all of the beautiful scenery that was all around us.
We sat with Eileen who we first met on the 2008 World Cruise and who we have seen throughout this leg of the World Cruise and we also sat with Carol who we met for the very first time on this excursion.
About twenty minutes into our trip from the Ship we started to get close to these formations.
We saw many different ships during the course of this tour.
This is an example of the formations and how they look like different objects and animals as this one does.
This was one of a couple of floating food markets that we saw.
All of a sudden this family of five came towards our ship. One of the guests on board threw money towards them and then a couple of the family members climbed on board our Junk Boat.
To Keith this looked like a boot.
Since right before we arrived to Vietnam we have been carrying around Vietnamese Landing Cards that we were given and we were asked to turn them in before boarding the ship at the final port which is Hongai. We suppose this is so the Vietnamese can verify that all of us who have visited their country did not stay permanently. Of course, the thought never struck us to spend the rest of our lives here nor do we think it struck any other guests.
Once back on the ship, we enjoyed a salad entree and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the ship.
Some people talked about having Hot Chocolate to warm up.
Anne Marie walked for an hour in the afternoon and she also took out some of our clothes for the cold weather that we have been keeping under our bed for the cooler weather.
Keith read, wrote, worked on his photos and sat with some fellow guests.
This evening we are dining at the Crystal Dining Room and will post more about it tomorrow.
We enjoyed another great day on the Serenity.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....
“When you can’t change the direction of the wind adjust your sails.” - H. Jackson Brown
Keith and Anne Marie
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