En Route To Lautoka, Fiji - Day 34

We Enjoyed The Special Swordfish Entree At Prego Last Evening.

Photo Of The Salad We Enjoyed Before The Swordfish Entree. The Photo Was Taken After Pepper Was Added To Keith's Salad.

Crystal Serenity Full Sail Performed The Night Before during the Variety Show.

Photo of school children outside one of the churches at Nuku'alofa, Tonga.

Two Photos Of St. Mary's Cathedral in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The Catholic church looks fairly modern from the outside. On the inside it has a nice mix with a beautiful vaulted ceiling, stained glass and a giant kava-bowl altar.

Monday, February 7 2011

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Prego Specialty Italian Restaurant last evening. We had another truly amazing dinner.

We were welcomed to Prego by Maitre d’ Antonio who checked on us several times throughout the meal and several times head waiter Bruno stopped by the table as well. It was busier in Prego last evening with a few larger tables occupied by some groups of guests but it was still relatively quiet and we were seated in an area further away from the larger tables and by a window.

Once again, Boban was our waiter for the evening and he took really good care of us throughout the meal.

We began our meal with the special salads that Boban ordered for us. The salads are prepared for us just the way we enjoy them.

Originally, we thought we would have the same special entrée as the one offered the evening before which was the Mahi Mahi. However, after speaking with the Prego Executive Chef, Christian, we ordered the swordfish special entrée that was available and this turned out to be a wonderful decision. The fresh Swordfish, was outstanding It was very tasty and was served over a nicely prepared bed of spinach with small potatoes and the combination of all of the ingredients was spectacular. We can’t say enough about the quality of the food that is served throughout the ship. The presentation was equally impressive.

Our dessert was fresh fruit. Keith enjoyed mixed berries and Anne Marie enjoyed a very nice fresh fruit plate and we both had decaffeinated cappuccino coffee.

We realize that we have said this from time to time and we don’t want to sound repetitive but we can’t think of any land restaurant that when you combine the overall cuisine, the service, and the ambience, is at the same level as what we experience in the various dining venues on the ship. As we start the day each morning we pinch ourselves and we do not take any of this for granted. It is all very special for us.

While we didn’t dine at the Main Dining Room we wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the items on the menu from last evening.

The Main Fares included a nice diverse set of entrées to choose from. This included Broiled Fillet of Yellow King Fish, a nice roasted American Prime Rib, Grilled Medallions of Canadian Venison, and Pan Fried Calf’s Liver. Grilled Salmon and Grilled Black Angus Fillet Were Also Available.

Two different soups, Chicken Broth with Mazo Balls and Slow Roasted Vegetable Soup, were the featured soups of the night along with a Mixed Greens Tossed Salad and a Red Leaf Lettuce with Bean Salad.

The Pasta Special included Bavette Pasta and there was a Fried Calamari Entrée Salad.

Vegetarian and Lighter Side Selections were also available.

There were lots of Classic Desserts to choose from as well as two delectable Sweet Finale Desserts. They were: “Crystal Dome” which is an Almond Sugar Tart with Forest Berry Filling, vanilla Chiffon Mousse and Frozen Cookies ‘n’ Cream Yogurt and “Lake Como” which includes Vahlorna Chocolate Mousse on Chocolate Rice Crisp and Orange Salat. The two sugar free desserts included a Mocha Cream Puff and a Mango Ricotta Custard.

We slept well last evening as we cruise to Lautoka,Fuji our next port of call. While it was rainy when we left port last night and the seas looked a bit choppy, overall we enjoyed very calm seas throughout the night.

Keith was once again up very early to begin his day at the Fitness Center. He put in a ninety+ minute workout on the Elliptical Machine. While we have noted that some days working out is quite easy, today was more of a challenge but somehow Keith persevered and made it through the workout.

For almost two-thirds of the workout no one was in the center but then shortly after that about five or so passengers arrived to workout. Roy stopped by to speak with Keith for about ten minutes.

After his workout, he went over to the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room. He spoke with two of the Lido Deck Stewards Brian and Richie. When he got back to the room he also did some laundry.

Anne Marie took another one-hour walk on the Promenade Deck. If possible, she prefers walking outside.

As we’ve done throughout the cruise we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room. Alexander came by at around 8:00 AM to set it up for us.

This morning Keith got his second haircut of the cruise at the Crystal Salon. He had requested the same hair stylist as he had the first time he had his cut last month.

Bob Reif gave the first presentation of the day and spoke about the ten things to know about the National Football League. We have really enjoyed his presentations because he has given us more of the business perspective of the NFL as his responsibilities are on the revenue side of the business. The timing has been perfect having him on board the ship with the Super Bowl being played today which is why Crystal Cruises scheduled him for this leg of the World Cruise.

After his presentation, Kathy Reichs gave a talk on forensic anthropology from crime lab to Hollywood.

At 12:00 Noon we had Team Trivia. In honor of the Super Bowl there were some questions that related to the Super Bowl.

Today there was a special buffet on board the ship for lunch, which is Crystal’s American Classic Buffet. This buffet features an entire array of food items representing American foods. With the Super Bowl being played today, it was fitting to have this themed buffet for lunch today.

The Super Bowl was shown live on each of the televisions located in the Passenger Rooms and was also show on a big screen Television located in the Stardust Club where popcorn and hot dogs and complimentary beer and soft drinks were served to the guests. Crystal Cruises made special arrangements to receive the satellite feed for this game. The game began at around 12:30 PM as we are now eighteen hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. We were fortunate to be able to see it at this time of the day. Last year, based on where the ship was sailing the game came on at around 2:00 AM and we remember watching the rerun of the game after we woke up that morning.

We decided to have lunch in our room so we could watch the start of the Super Bowl Game.

There were lots of other activities offered throughout the afternoon for guests not interested in watching the Super Bowl.

Anne Marie got her one-hour walk in during the afternoon and at 4:00 PM Keith took the spin indoor cycle class.

This evening we will dine at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant and afterwards we will attend the Crystal Society Party. We’ll post all about this tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY….

"If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." - Bill Clinton

Keith and Anne Marie