DAY 114 - CRUISING THE GULF OF ALASKA

Enjoyed A Wonderful Dinner In The Crystal Dining Room Last Evening ✔  Fantastic Day At Sea As We Sailed The Gulf Of Alaska ✔   Fantastic Back Office Tour ✔ 


Special thanks to the nice comments we received yesterday and today about the Blog. We were asked if we have a favorite destination.  We do not have just one favorite destination.  We have several that we have visited one or more times that we would like to continue to return to.  Each time we return, we have the opportunity to return to sites we enjoyed and want to see again as well as the opportunity to visit new sites.  There are so many beautiful places around the world to enjoy.


We wanted to do a Shout-Out for the Lido Deck Stewards.  We always say that to us the Lido Deck Stewards are the heart and soul of the ship.  They are truly some of the kindest and hardest working people one will ever meet in their lifetimes.  


The Lido Deck Stewards work in teams of around four to five people per team.  They rotate every couple of cruises between areas so that they get a change of scenery and duties on the ship and with these changes the hours they start and end each day change.  For example, the stewards who work in the Lido Cafe must be up very early somewhere around 4:00 or 4:30 AM to set up the buffet for breakfast but they will get off earlier in the evening compared to those stewards who serve drinks in the lounges who might begin their day at 12:00 Noon will be up very late serving drinks in the late evening.


As mentioned one team works in the Lido Cafe.  They will assist guests by finding open tables for them and carrying their food items from the buffet over to the table.  They will also bring soft drinks and water and coffee or tea over to the tables for the guests and they will check from time to time for refills. Some guests who require additional help or who just prefer additional table service may ask them to get them various food items from the buffet area.  At the same time some waitstaff from the Crystal Dining Room also out as well and that includes clearing plates from the table but there is no question that the Lido Deck Stewards take the lead in this dining venue which serves both breakfast and lunch.  Behind the buffet counters some of the waitstaff from Prego and SIlk Road work that area each morning and afternoon.  


The Lido Deck Stewards perform their jobs wonderfully, taking good care of each guest, and it is amazing to us how quickly they learn everyones name(s) and often how they learn food and drink preferences.


A second team of Lido Deck Stewards works in Tastes and in the surrounding area which includes the Trident Grill.  Tastes provides sit down service.  There is a late risers Breakfast, and a Lunch and on many nights except for Formal Nights as well as Embarkation day and the night before Disembarkation  the Lido Deck Stewards serve table side dinner which is a casual alternative each night this venue is open.


A third team of Lido Deck Stewards works the outdoors area  including the Pool Area.  They also help out at the Paddle Tennis courts with water and other fruit juices as well as with cold towels.  At the pool area they assist guest with items such as towels or on cool days with blankets and they assist by getting guest soft drinks or water or other beverages.


Many of the Lido Deck Stewards help out in other areas at night.  For example, before dinner you will find some of the stewards in lounges service canapes.  At the various receptions you will find the stewards assisting guests to tables and also taking drink orders and assisting in other ways.  You will also find some of the stewards assisting the Sommeliers in the evening by bringing out individual wine glasses or other beverages such as spirits.


There are also some Stewards who are assigned to the showroom and other areas at night taking and serving drink orders.


These postions are popular positions and represent promotions for crew that come onto the ship in a variety of other positions.  They take a very unique individual given that they involve a great deal of contact with guests.  The retention rate in these positions is quite high and many of the Lido Deck Stewards have worked for Crystal Cruises for 10, 15 or more years.  They perform their jobs with a smile and are very caring people.  They are fun to be around and make us laugh and we enjoy learning about them such as about their families at home.  


As we say to us they represent the heart and soul of the ship and they have touched our lives in so many ways.  We believe that there is so much that many of the guests can learn from them in the way they live and conduct their lives.


They have our admiration and respect for all that they do!


These are a few additional photos from our visit to Seward yesterday.

Before dinner last evening, we both took a nice walk on the Promenade Deck.  While the weather was on the cool side we were all bundled up and enjoying the fresh air and the beauty that surrounded the ship.  Alaska is very beautiful and this time of the year is very pristine.  The sunlight was lighting up some of the mountains and it was all the more beautiful.


All of this is a reminder about how beautiful the world we live on is.  It is also a reminder to us to be respectful of our planet and its beauty.  These are a few photos that Keith took right after we returned from our walk.

These are the dinner menus from last evening at the Crystal Dining Room

On Tuesday evening we had stopped by the Crystal DIning Room to check on last evenings menu after we had finished our meal at Silk Road.  We spoke with our Headwaiter Augusto, Senior Headwaiter, Carmello, and Maitre d' Leo.  They had mentioned how great everyone thought the Broiled Aleutian Islands Grey Cod Fillet entree was that evening so we a decided to pre-order that entree in lieu of the entrees on the menu. Augusto took care of this for us.


We began our meal with Salads.  Anne Marie enjoyed one of the salads on the menu.

 This is a photo of the Broiled Aleutian Islands Grey Cod Fillet entree. It was absolutely delicious.  It may not look grey on the photo but it was.  It was served on top of wild rice and had salad on top of hit. 

Headwaiter Augusto surprised us by ordering us Keith's favorite cake and we each had a slice.


The Crystal Dining Room was not very crowded to begin with as they had unassigned open seating as some guests dined in Seward, others were on a full day tour of Anchorage, and others were dining in other venues.


Those like us who arrived at our normal dining time just sat at our same table.  


After dinner, when we got back to our room we enjoyed the beautiful views from our Verandah.  With the sun in a new position we enjoyed a different view of the snow on the mountains.

The ship departed Seward at about 9:00 PM.  For quite awhile we had views of beautiful scenery all around us with the snow-covered mountains and as the sun began to set it brought out different colors to enjoy.  Alaska is so very beautiful.


We slept very well last evening as we have done on most nights. Seas were relatively calm and the gentle rocking of the ship does make it easy to get to sleep.


Keith was back up early in the morning for his workout and Anne Marie also enjoyed a nice workout as well.  When he stopped by the Lido Cafe he spoke with several of the Lido Deck Stewards who we have come to know so very well over the years including Nat  and Alvin.  Afterwards we had breakfast in our room as we watched the Daily Morning Show.  Rick and Elise covered activities for today.  They both spoke about tomorrows cruising of Glacier Bay and Elise made excellent suggestions about locations on the ship offering nice views of the Glacier Bay.  


There was a special event in the morning for the World Cruisers.  It was called the Back of House Tour and Waffles in the Stardust Club.  


Guests could go to the Stardust Club between 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM for Waffles at the Stardust Club.  Since we already ate breakfast, we passed on that.


At the same time guests could go to the Bridge between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM for a tour which is what we did. Most went to the bridge as we did.  We went on the same tour.  There was an escort along with around 8 to 10 guests in each group.  It was very well organized and we got to see much of the crew area.


We really enjoyed the tour and it is always nice to see these behind the scenes areas of the ship.


The first few photos were taken on the Bridge.  The seas were very calm and the weather outside looked perfect.


Anne Marie with L-R Assistant Cruise Director Scott Mitchel, and Hotel Director Christian who just recently was hired to fill the position previously held by the late Herbert Doppler.

L-R Pauline Clark (wife of Golf Pro John Clark), Anne Marie and World Cruise Hostess Elise Ivy.

Keith and Anne Marie with Hotel Director Josef Lumetsberger

Ensemble Singer/Dancer Shane Morley was our tour escort.

Specialty Restaurant Maitre d' Antonio with Anne Marie on one of the crew decks.

Shore Excursion Manager James Coughlin showing off his ironing skills in the laundry, dry cleaning and  ironing area.

Crew Officer Nina

Ronnie who many know as the Switchboard Operator and currently performing another position.

Officers Dining Room

Crew Bar

A two person crew room.

Chief Engineer helping to prepare the meat.

After the tour, Keith was able to change quickly and make it over to take the Spin (indoor cycling) Class. He was happy about that.  Then afterwards he met Anne Marie in the Galaxy Showroom for the 10:45 AM  talk given by James Carville and Mary Matilin.  It was appropriately titled "All's Fair in Love, war and Running for President."  The good news is that between the two of them you get both sides of the United States Political Spectrum.  They tok turns and each spoke for about 15 minutes each and then they took a wide range of questions.  They struck both the serious chord and also showed a good deal of humor.  They will also be on a panel discussion in a few days as part of Ocean Views.


Regardless of ones political views they were both articulate and sincere in their talk and in the answers they provided.

After the talk we went to Team Trivia which was held at Noon. We correctly answered 10 of 14 questions correctly.  We likely will not win on this segment but in the end it is all about having fun.


Following Team Trivia we had lunch and we continued to go with the Salad entrees that we have enjoyed each day for lunch.


There was another good lecture given this afternoon by former General Hugh Shelton. 


In the afternoon, Anne Marie worked out for an hour and then did some reading and writing and also worked on her needlepoint with some of the other guests.    Keith met up with friend Bob and also read and wrote.  


This evening we dine in Prego with friends Lynn and Buddy.


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

"Paths are made by walking."  -  Frank Kafka

Keith and Anne Marie