En Route To Grand Cayman - Day 2
We thoroughly enjoyed our first dinner of this voyage in the Main Dining Room. We met our waiter, senior waiter, sommelier, and our headwaiter. For those who have not sailed on Crystal Cruises the Main Dining Room waiters and senior waiter each have a few assigned tables. The number of tables they have varies based on the size of the tables and the number of guests on the cruise. Many times they have around three or four seating’s during the Main (early) Seating and a similar number for the Late Seating. The Headwaiters has responsibility for a larger section of the Main Dining Room. They follow up on any items that where additional coordination and assistance is needed and this includes any special orders for the table. The sommelier takes care of all drink orders including wines and spirits and sodas and non-alcoholic drinks. There is also a Maitre d’ of the Main Dining Room who has responsibility for the entire dining room including taking care of the seating assignments for each and every table. Up until this voyage, all seating for dinner was fixed in the main dining room. Starting with this voyage at the time that guests book a cruise with Crystal they have the option of selecting from one of two fixed dining times or they can sign up for perfect choice dining. After making final payment, guests can select from a variety of table sizes and dining times to dine and change this up each and every evening depending on availability.
The first nights dinner was appropriately called the “Bon Voyage Dinner”. There was a nice array of entrees to choose from including seafood Fresh Florida Red Fish, Chicken, Veal and a Sirloin Steak and there were two main fare items were offered; Grilled Black Angus Filet Steak and a nice Fresh Atlantic Salmon Fillet. As usual there was a variety of appetizers, soups and salads, a pasta special, and three salad entrees available on the menu. There was also a wide assortment of side orders to select from to accompany the entrée. The menu also includes chef’s suggestions, vegetarian selections, and lighter side items. Let us not forget the desserts with eleven items on the menu plus there was also the cheese trolley available.
On most evenings in the Main Dining Room we will have seafood as our entrée and most nights we try to have something that is local to the area if that is available. This evening we began our meal with a nice salad. We had the Broiled Fillet of Florida Red Fish for our entrée and in addition the items that accompanied the entrée we also ordered a large side order of steamed vegetables. For dessert, we had the fresh berries. The meal was wonderful along with the wonderful service.
We really enjoyed our wait staff team. We have Morne as our Senior Waiter, Bradley as our waiter, Manny as our Sommelier, and Augustu as our Head Waiter. We remember Morne from a prior cruise even though he was not our Senior Waiter and we also had Augustu as our Head Waiter for a good portion of the 2010 World Cruise. During the meal, our Sommelier from the 2010 World Cruise, Jiri stopped by to say hello and it was wonderful to see him.
After dinner we attended the Welcome Aboard Show with Cruise Director Rick Spath. This show featured the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers. It was a fabulous show and Cruise Director Rick Spath provided an excellent overview of what to expect in the way of nighttime entertainment and lectures during the course of this voyage.
Following the show we spoke with some fellow passengers, and also Rick Spath and the Galaxy Orchestra leader Raphael Derkson. We can’t say enough about the talent of the dancers, singers and the orchestra. We do find these performers to be the most talented of any that is part of a Cruise Line compared to any other cruise line that we have sailed with on prior cruises. Many who are part of this team and the other teams with Crystal have been performing with Crystal Cruises for many years.
During the course of yesterday afternoon and evening we spoke with several Officers, and other crewmembers. This included Cruise Director Rick Spath, Assistant Cruise Director Scott, Captain Glenn, Hotel Director Herbert, Food & Beverage Manager Victor, Maitre d’ of the Restaurant Mario and of the Specialty Restaurant Bruno, Nina who has now moved back to the Serenity as the Crew Officer. We spoke with several of the Lido Deck Stewards including Ross, Ruel, and Nat and so many others from areas including the reception and concierge desk, the bar staff, the shore excursion staff, the salon and shops. When you spend a good deal of time on the ship you really get to know many of these wonderful people so very well.
Likewise, we spoke with several fellow passengers who we know from previous world cruises or other cruises with Crystal. Some of these passengers will be doing the full world cruise this year while others like us are doing part of the world cruise this time around.
After dinner we went to the Crystal Cove for and spoke with several people and we didn’t get back to the room until around 11:00 PM.
The ship departed Miami at 9:00 PM and we enjoyed calm seas as we sail to Grand Cayman our first port of call on this adventure.
Keith still awoke very early (he’s not going to say what time but it was early) and enjoyed a very early morning workout in the Fitness Center on the Elliptical Machine. He was alone for just about his entire workout. After his workout, he stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room and chatted with Lido Deck Steward Clark (aka Superman). A little after Keith finished his workout, Anne Marie also worked out on the treadmill. After our workouts, we enjoyed our first breakfast of the morning in our room. Keith also did a few washes in the Laundry Room while Anne Marie was working out since we had a fair amount of laundry from our pre-cruise stay in Miami.
In addition to the entire set of computer windows based training classes that Crystal has offered in the past, a variety of classes are now being offered on board the Serenity for the iMac. Once the new computers are installed on the Symphony these classes will be offered on the Symphony as well. Keith signed up for four of the five classes that are being offered for the iMac. This includes a class on files, folders and the finder, fun with iPhoto, timesaving tips using iMac and OS X and fancy features in iPhoto.
A little after 9:00 AM we attended the open house that was held to sign up for various classes that are offered on the cruise. Anne Marie plans to take the class that is offered on each sea day to make a handbag. At 10:00 AM we attended the mandatory lifeboat drill. At 11:00 AM we attended team trivial. On most days Team Trivia will be held at Noon but it was held earlier today because of the Life Boat Drill. We played with friends Bob and Glo and their Granddaughter. The questions were definitely challenging.
We enjoyed a very nice lunch at the Lido Café. We saw all of the Lido Deck Stewards who we have come to know so very well over the years who were working in teams at the various venues on the Lido Deck. There are so many wonderful people and we’ll just mention a few today including Brian, Jun, Rouel, Nat, and Ross and we’ll mention more in the days ahead. Many of the waiters from the specialty restaurants also serve food at the Lido Café and many of the senior waiters and waiters from the Main Dining Room help to clear tables and to serve drinks at the Lido Café and the Tastes venue along with some of the Lido Deck Stewards. So, we saw many familiar faces such as Anthony and Alberto from Silk Road and Rossi from Prego. We also spoke with Sigi who is the Headwaiter of Silk Road for a while.
After lunch, Keith played Paddle Tennis while Anne Marie walked on the Promenade Deck. Anne Marie also went to the handbag class and also picked up a needlepoint kit.
Throughout the day we continued to run into many from the crew and many fellow passengers who we have met either on individual voyages or over the course of previous world cruises. In many ways, it’s like a homecoming event from either high school or college and it’s just a wonderful experience.
This evening is a formal night and the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception. We will post all about this tomorrow.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru
Keith and Anne Marie
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