DAY 96 - WELCOME TO BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA

Enjoyed Dinner Last Evening At The Crystal Dining Room ✔  


Ilene asked us what type of gifts we win when we correctly answer a question when calling 
into the Morning Show.  Sometimes we are given a choice of gifts and other times they have selected a gift for us.  The items are usually Crystal Cruises Logo gifts such as straps that go around your luggage, tote bags, coffee mugs, wine stoppers, and a magnifying glass.  Once in awhile before a question is asked Rick might say that for the person who calls in there will be a special item.  For example, one time we won a book and another time a CD by pianist John Mentis who plays the piano each evening in the Crystal Cove.  


Before dinner we attended a 5:00 PM Production Show Matinee which featured one of the production shows called Standing Room Only.  We enjoyed the show which included many familiar songs from an array of Broadway Shows.   Before the show we spoke with some of the Lido Deck Stewards who also work the bar for the shows and took photos with some of them.


Anne Marie with Ross

Keith with Ross and Benjamin

We also had a photo taken of the two of us before the show.

After the show we dined at the Crystal Dining Room.  These are the dinner menus.

The theme of the dinner was Neptune's Dinner.

We began our meal with "Augusto's Caesar Salad" which we had pre-ordered with Headwaiter Augusto the night before.  As usual, it was delicious as it was not overpowering.  We love the way Augusto makes the salad.

For our second course, we each had the Broiled Fresh Ahi Tuna Steak for our entree.  The first piece that was served to us was cooked more than it should have been so they changed it out with another entree which was cooked perfectly.

For our third and final course we each had a piece of cake.

After dinner, we went to a cocktail reception where we saw several fellow guests who we know very well.  It was a lot of fun and we even danced to one song which was a song originally written by The Beatles.

The good news is that the seas continued to remain calm and, once again, we slept very well with the gentle rocking of the ship.

Keith woke up a little earlier than normal and enjoyed a very long workout in the Fitness Center.  The time went fast between him watching one of the news shows and also he watched a portion of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Game.

Afterwards, he got some coffee in the Lido Cafe and spoke with several of the Lido Deck Stewards who were setting up breakfast.

Anne Marie worked out in the Fitness Center and then we had breakfast in our room as we got ready for our first visit to South Korea.

As we had mentioned a few weeks ago, the itinerary for our visit to South Korea was revised due to the security alert associated with the National Security Session being held in Seoul, South Korea.  As a result, the overnight stay planned for the port of call that serves Seoul was removed from the itinerary, and replaced with stops in two other ports of call. As such, today we visited Busan, South Korea.

Crystal’s Shore and Land Programs Departments and the Shore Excursion Group worked diligently to offer shore excursions in  Busan as well as excursions for Jeju Island which is our stop for tomorrow.  They also were able to add a thirteen plus hour excursion by bullet train for today, which would allow a limited number of guests to visit Seoul. 

While we originally had excursions booked for both days for our original stop we decided to not book any excursions for today or tomorrow.

Crystal provided a complimentary shuttled between the pier and Busan.  The shuttle made two stops; one to a Park and the other was a drop off at a Hotel.    


We walked around for a little while and we stopped off at a couple of sites including the Fish Market.  

The route from the cruise ship terminal over to the park was actually fairly scenic.  As we drove into the downtown area many of the buildings looked very similar and the photos will give you a sense as to what most of them looked like.  Traffic was orderly and the people who we spoke with were very nice.

After we returned back to the ship we had lunch and we had our usual Salad Entrees.

We stayed on the ship in the afternoon and Keith did reading and writing while Anne Marie worked out and also worked on her needlepoint.

Keith also played Paddle Tennis with some members of the crew and fellow guests.  The sun was out and the sky was blue which was a big improvement from China.

This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room.  Beforehand, we will go to the Captain Glenn's Quarters for cocktails with fellow guests.

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

“Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.”  - Robert Francis Kennedy

Keith and Anne Marie