Anne Marie With Our Butler Alexander Outside The Main Dining Room Last Night.
A Salmon Entree That We Enjoyed The Other Night
Photo Of Crystal Serenity Docked At Papeete, Tahiti
Highlights From Yesterday And Today
Dinner In The Main Dining Room
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Dinner was just fabulous in the Main Dining Room. We enjoyed another fabulous meal. The presentation and the quality of our entrees were outstanding. On top of this we truly appreciate the outstanding service from the wait staff team who takes excellent care of us. They are Greenold our Waiter, Jijo Senior Waiter and Augusto, our Head Waiter.
We do prefer the fixed seating that in the Main Dining Room as the wait staff truly knows what we enjoy. We each do have on roll each day which we have at dinner and when Greenold brings the bread basket over to our table he doesn’t have to ask which roll we would like as he knows so well the type of rolls we like (whole wheat or something similar) and he had them on top of the basket for us. Likewise, Jijo knows many of the entrees we enjoy and usually what we like to accompany it and this varies by the two of us. In the case of Anne Marie he’ll know that certain items that accompany the entrée that Anne Marie needs to avoid since for example she has allergies to oranges and he quickly makes a suggestion as to what might be a good substitute.
Likewise, Jijo will pre-order certain items for us such as the salad and side order of vegetables that we have as a standing order but other times he has pre-ordered another items(s) that he just knows that we will want to order.
We also very much enjoy the pace of the meal. They know the pace we prefer which is not too fast but not too slow. We do like to savor our the meal so we usually are in the dining room longer than some who dine at a table for 2 but we won’t be there as long as say those dining at a large table since we don’t order every course.
For those who want a bit more flexibility, starting with the January 4 cruise Crystal Cruises rolled out an alternative to the Classic Dining where prior to coming onto the cruise guests can pre-reserve through the reservation system what time they would like to dine and what table size they would like and they can vary this from night to night. All of this is subject to availability. If the guest selects a table for six for one night then they would need to ask other passengers to join them as they would in any of the specialty restaurants. On this leg of the World Cruise approximately eighty passengers have selected this feature known as Open Dining By Reservation.
While we prefer the Classic Dining, it’s nice that there is yet another alternatives for others who prefer the Open Dining option.
Last Nights Local Show
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Last night’s entertainment featured Tahitian Folkloric Music and Dance. This was by far one of the best local shows we have seen in all our years of cruising. We loved the singing, music and especially the dancing. The dancers really worked hard throughout the performance and this was a very memorable show.
We enjoyed another great day on the ship last evening.
We had dinner in the Main Dining Room. The theme of the menu was Bon Voyage Dinner since yesterday was the first day of the second leg of the World Cruise.
The appetizers on the menu included Seared Sea Scallops, Thinly Sliced Prosciutto and a Puff Pastry Tart with Exotic Mushrooms.
The soups and salads included Creamy Crab Soup and a Chicken Consommé and Mixed Lettuce Leaves Tossed in Creamy Mango Passion fruit Dressing with Plantain Chips and Toasted Macadamia Nuts and another salad that was Heart of Romaine Lettuce with Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Avocado and Red Onions.
The pasta special was a Penne Rigate with Fresh Tomato Sacue, Roasted Vegetables, Sweet Garlic, Parsley and Fontina Cheese and the salad entrée was a Herb Marinated, Grilled Pork Medallions accompanied by a nice variety of salad items.
The main fares included Broiled Fillet of Fresh Local Mahi Mahi, Roasted Wisconsin Veal Chop, Coconut Breaded and Golden Fried Chicken Breast and a Grilled Blace Angus Sirloin Steak. Two traditional main fares were also available, which was the Grilled Filet Steak and the Fresh Salmon Fillet.
As usual there were numerous side orders on the menu plus nice vegetarian selections and items on the lighter side menu.
Each night there are several classic desserts on the menu and on top of that there were two sweet finale desserts. They were “French Influence” which is Pear Caramel Cake, Poire Williams Sabayon and Crisp Pear Chip and Vanilla Ice Cream and “Espresso Nougatine” which is Coffee Nougatine Mousee Bomb with Raspberry Sauce. There was also two sugar free desserts which was a Frozen Lemon Pie and Rice Pudding with Fresh Berries.
On top of this there is the Cheese Trolley for those who are interested in enjoying some nice varieties of cheese.
We each enjoyed a wonderful meal. We started with salads with Anne Marie ordering one of the salads on the menu and Keith enjoying the salad that he has on most evenings. We had an easy decision for our entrée, which was the Broiled Fillet of Fresh Local Mahi Mahi. We try to have the fresh fish when it is on the menu and we like having fish that is local to the area we are sailing when that is possible. The Mahi Mahi accompanied by Rock Shrimp and Potato Hash with Grilled Vegetables and Fresh Pineapple Salsa. It was beautifully prepared. We also had the side order of vegetables and we enjoyed some very nice fresh fruit for our dessert with Anne Marie having the fruit plate and Keith having mixed berries. Anne Marie also enjoyed a nice cup of decaffeinated cappuccino.
We spoke with headwaiter Augusto about the next day’s dinner. He showed us the menu for the next evening and while it had nice seafood we asked him if there was any fresh seafood from our recent port stops. He spoke with the executive chef and Augusto said he would take care of this for us. So, when we dine this evening we will go with whatever fresh seafood that Augusto has arranged for our dinner.
After dinner, we went to the Local Showtime Performance, which featured Tahitian Folkloric Music and Dance. This was by far one of the best local shows we have seen in all our years of cruising. The enthusiasm and passion that the local dancers put into this performance was superb. At one point they had several fellow passengers on stage with them and many of the passengers did a great job of dancing as well.
We were in the front row for the show but did not get selected to dance on the stage. We think that Keith’s sports jackets probably saved him from being selected. We have learned not to sit towards the front row if there is a magician on board, or in some cases a comedian or a ventriloquist as that is a good way to land on stage, which happened to Keith one time last year.
After the show we went back to our room and as we departed Bora Bora we could hear the traditional sail away song titled “It’s A Wonderful World” being played. We both went out onto the Verandah and not only listened to the song but we also sat there for a while. In spite of many challenges around the world and in the history of the world this truly is a wonderful world. We do live at a very interesting time. Each generation certainly has had their challenges and this is true of our generation but there is no question that we do live at a very exciting time. We have opportunities to see others parts of the world that our parent’s could only dream of seeing.
As we cruise this area of the world we do think about its history and how it has changed over time and as pristine as some of these islands are even today we think about what life was like a few hundred years ago.
We are indeed fortunate to see the world with the comforts available to us on this wonderful cruise ship.
We slept very well as we sailed to Bora Bora.
Once again, Keith was up very early in the morning and worked out on the elliptical machine for over ninety minutes. He watched the morning news programs during the workout and caught up with the most current events related to the situation in Egypt.
A familiar lecturer, Marc Ginsberg, who we have seen several times on previous Crystal Cruises was on one of the cable news shows discussing the current turmoil in Egypt as he has done so for the past few days. It’s always interesting to see some who we personally know from cruising being interviewed from time to time.
About twenty minutes into Keith’s workout someone came up to him to say hello and it was Roy from Cruise Critic. We chatted for about twenty minutes.
Keith could tell that several passengers who boarded this leg of the World Cruise were jet lagged. Normally, by the time he finishes his workout there are a couple of other passengers working out. This morning was different. About 30 minutes before he finished his workout (around 5:25 AM) there must have been ten people in the Fitness Center along with several people who Keith could see through the window of the Fitness Center walking on deck. He didn’t recognize any of them from the previous voyage.
After his workout he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee.
Before breakfast, Anne Marie took an hour-long walk on the Promenade Deck.
At 8:00 AM there was a knock on the door and it was Alexander who set up our breakfast. We chatted about the cruise and about today’s stop at Bora Bora and then we enjoyed our nice breakfast.
While Anne Marie was getting ready, Keith went downstairs and met with the on board-booking consultant Jamie Brown.
We arrived to Bora Bora by around 8:00 AM and we anchored off the island. The ship ran continuous tender service between the ship and the Island from a little after 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
Bora Bora is an island that is part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. This island is located approximately 140 miles from Papeete. Both a lagoon and a barrier reef surround Tahiti and it.
The city population is less than 10,000 inhabitants and the official language is French in addition to Tahitian language.
Bora Bora first became inhabited around the 4th century by Polynesian settlers. The first European landing occurred in 1777 by Captain James Cook. Following the attack on Pear Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States chose Bora Bora as a sough Pacific military supply base seaplane and oil depot. During World War II the United States constructed the major road that goes all around Bora Bora and that is the same road that is used today. We road on this road in 2008.
Today this island is largely dependent on tourism. It is home to several major resorts and these resorts employ a fairly large percentage of the inhabitants.
We did not take a tour of Bora Bora today. When we were here in 2008 we took a very nice Crystal Cruises shore excursion that took us all around the island. We are taking a tour in our next port of call. We took the tender over to the Island and walked around on our own.
For those who want a very peaceful stay on an island it is a perfect place to visit with all of its beautiful resorts. It’s also wonderful for those who enjoy snorkeling and doing other outdoor activities such as bicycle riding and just going to the beach.
We had lunch back on the ship in the Lido Café where we each made a nice salad entrée for ourselves.
In the afternoon, Anne Marie took another nice long walk on the Promenade Deck and sat out at the Pool. Keith played paddle tennis with one passenger and mainly with the crew since many guests were either off the ship or inside. There was one play where Keith and the crewmember both went for the ball at the same time and guess who hit the deck. We’ll keep that a secret and the good news is that Keith was able to continue playing for quite a while and hopefully Keith won’t have a bruise tomorrow.
Each of us also read and wrote this afternoon.
We look forward to dining in the Main Dining Room, going to the cocktail receptions afterwards and taking in the wonderful pianist.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……..
“Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open.” – Sir James Dewar
Keith and Anne Marie
Your thought of the day reminded me of something I read this morning which were funny quotes from the classic TV show 'Hollywood Squares'.
ReplyDeleteQ.If you are going to make a parachute jump at least how high should you be?
A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking ought to do it.