Captain Okland giving his end of voyage talk at the Captain's Formal Reception
Photo taken last evening before the start of the Captain's Welcome Reception.
Botanical Gardens
Botanical Gardens
Botanical Gardens
Welcome To Melbourne, Australia Day 52
Friday, February 25, 2011
(We will post photos from Melbourne when we post tomorrow)
Highlights From Yesterday And Today
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While there have been panel discussions from time to time, yesterday was the first panel discussion on board Crystal that is part of the new program titled Ocean View. It featured Harm de Blij, Ken Rees, Garrick Utley and General Tony Zinnni. The panelists were outstanding and they answered a variety of questions. Cruise Director Gary Hunter introduced the program including the ground rules. He asked those who asked questions from the audience to limit their comment and not make too much of a speech and focus on asking a question. Likewise, he asked the panelists to be concise in their answers to maximize the number of topics that could be covered. Gary Hunter asked the first and the last questions and all of the other questions came from the audience.
The topics included Education and the Economy, but with the Global view in mind, the change taking place in the Middle East, Technological Advancement, Military Superiority, Immigration and a countless number of topics.
The panelists offered a wide range of answers and took a wide range of positions but they did it in a respectable tone and manner.
Personally, we preferred this in so many ways to say a person who presents material on say the economy with just a one slanted position or in a manner that implies there is only “my way or the highway”. We believe that on many issues the solutions will vary and that there is not only one solution to a problem and sometimes problems require multiple solutions but also most importantly dialogues where some people don’t try to down out the other side. After all, if the so called experts were always right then there would be no problems and we all know that many problems have been around for a countless number of years.
We also wanted to mention whereas normally the programs are designed to last 45 minutes, this program lasted about seventy five minutes in length and we thought that was perfect as it allowed for lots of discussion on a wide variety of topics.
Our hats off to Crystal Cruises for offering us yet another solid and outstanding enrichment program and to the panelists and the moderator for doing a wonderful job in the inauguration of this program.
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We wanted to begin by saying that our thoughts and our prayers continue to go out to those who have been impacted from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Christchurch. We have seen limited coverage of the aftermath from this earthquake on the USA 24 hour news stations but we have been able to keep up with restoration and rescue efforts through various international broadcasts from the ship. As we understand, 200 people are still unaccounted for.
In life, timing is everything. Our son reminded us that in the late 1990’s that the Mediterranean cruise we were on ended in Istanbul and less than a week after we flown home there was a devastating earthquake in Istanbul that did massive destruction to the city. In the case of Christchurch we realize that we were there just five days before this catastrophic earthquake and on top of the destruction that occurred in downtown Christchurch the earthquake also hit in the town in which the Crystal Serenity was docked at during our visit. We just can’t imagine what would have happened if the earthquake hit five days earlier during our visit.
As we have mentioned countless times we can’t say enough about the wonderful locals we met during our time in New Zealand and how much we enjoyed the beauty of this country. Christchurch was one of the highlights of our visit. We plan to make a monetary contribution to the efforts to help out this local community as they have been asking for assistance and we are also glad that our very own country is supporting the relief effort.
Last evening was a formal night on the ship and the last formal night for this leg of the World Cruise.
While we did not dine in the Main Dining Room we wanted to highlight many of the wonderful menu items. The theme for the dinner was the Captain’s Gala Dinner.
Appetizers included Freshly Opened Tasmanian Oysters, Truffled Chicken Liver Mousse with Pear Confit in Port Wine Gelee, Served with Warm Brioche, and Iced American Malassol Caviar served with all of the appropriate condiments.
Soups featured Cream Soup and a Double Beef Consommé and the Salad was the Captain’s Salad which is a very fancy salad.
Papardelle Pasta with Over Dried Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Fava Beans and Basil in Alfredo Sauce was the Pasta Special and the Salad Entrée featured Veal and Lobster with Grilled Veal Medallions and a Broiled Lobster Tail on assorted Garden Greens, Tossed in Sherry Truffle Vinaigrette, with Blood Orange, Artichokes and Cocktail Tomatoes.
Main Fares included a wonderful array of food items including Broiled Rock Lobster Tail, Pheasant Jubilee, Filet of Beef Wellington Pink Roasted Tenderloin of Beef , and Grilled, Milk-Fed Veal Medallions. Other items included Broiled Halibut Filet and Grilled Black Angus Sirloin Steak.
The Vegetarian Selections included a Gingered Reed Beet Risotto with Crisp Vegetable Chips and Walnut Goat Cheese Truffles as the entrée and there were other Vegetarian and Lighter Side items to choose from.
The desserts were grand featuring the Sweet Finale items for the evening which was “Baked Alaska” with Strawberry and Chocolate Sauce and “Symphony of Chocolate” which was Chocolate Grand Marnier Tart a la Mode, Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta and Chocolate Smores. Sugar Free items included Pistachio Cup Custard and a Coffee Mousse Cake. There were lots of Classic Desserts along with Vanilla, Rum Raisin, Cookies ‘n’ Cream or Strawberry Ice Cream with your choice of toppings and the Fresly Frozen Yugurt included a Non-fat Banana or German Chocolate Yogurt. Petits Fours and Truffles were also available as was the infamous Cheese Trolley.
We attended the Captain’s Reception prior to dinner and we had a very nice time. Everyone was all dressed up in formal attire with the almost all of the men wearing tuxedos or dinner jackets and the women wearing formal gowns or other types of formal attire. As is customary the Captain gave a talk to everyone about thirty minutes into the event. We sat with Pinkie who had dined with us a couple of weeks ago and whom we know from previous world cruise. A gentleman had asked if he could sit with us before we invited Pinkie over and of course we said yes and we learned that he is on his first world cruise and last evening marked the fifteenth time he has sailed with Crystal. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation with both Pinkie and Rex and they both learned that they had grown up in the same area. As they say, this is a small world.
We then had dinner at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. We dined with Buddy and Lynn. We had met them at the first Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle Party and have seen them from time to time as we walk around the ship as well as on land and we talked about getting together for dinner so we made arrangements for the four of us to dine last evening. The women were escorted into Silk Road by headwaiter Sigi and our waiter for the evening was Alberto who took excellent care of the four of us. He had pre-ordered a Nobu Sashimi trio special for the four of us as well as a lettuce wrap appetizer for us to enjoy and another item to enjoy while we were waiting for the rest of the meal. Anne Marie had a small appetizer and Keith enjoyed mainly sashimi. We both had the Nobu Lobster New Style entrée as our entrée and Anne Marie had white rice while Keith had a large plate of those Silk Road vegetables. Specialty Maitre d’ came by to check on us and we just enjoyed an outstanding meal together. The cuisine, the venue and the service were all outstanding as they always are and we enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Buddy and Lynn. They are both on for the full World Cruise and if time permits we will try to dine again in Prego before we depart the ship at the end of the next leg of the World Cruise. One of the nice aspects of taking long voyages is getting to know more people than whom you might get the opportunity to meet on other sailings.
We slept very well last evening and we are thankful for calm seas as yesterday turned out to be a delight. After those three other days of rough seas both crew and passengers alike were happy to have a nice day at sea.
Keith was up very early and back in the Fitness Center for his ninety-minute workout on the Elliptical Machine. He watched mainly the cable news station to keep current on world-wide news. Very few people were working out probably because of morning tours. Keith spoke with Fitness Director Mark before he left for a little while. Mark arrives to the Fitness Center way before his official starting time as he loves his job and feels that if some of us are there he should be there as well.
Keith stopped off at the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the room and the café had a fair number of passenger’s there because of early tours. Keith spoke with Lido Deck Stewards Ray and to Brian for a few minutes.
Anne Marie walked for an hour and enjoyed her walk.
We had breakfast in our room, which was set up for us by Alexander and then we got ready to visit Melbourne.
This is our second visit to Melbourne, Australia as we spent almost two full days visiting this very cosmopolitan city in 2008.
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria. It is the second largest city in Australia, with a population of over 3 million people. This city has a very diverse population with almost a third of its residents born overseas. An example of its diversity is the fact that more people who are Greek descendants live in Melbourne than in any other worldwide city except for those who live in Athens. Many immigrants settled in Melbourne from a variety of places such as China, Vietnam, Italy and Lebanon.
Its architecture has a European flair. This city is also well known for its large number of restaurants, stores, entertainment, and nightclubs. Throughout the year it hosts major events from concerts, to plays, to sporting events, including the Formula One Grand Prix.
The locals take great pride in their city just as those who live in other cities around the world do.
We docked on time and as we made our way to the pier the fairly new Cunard Queen Elizabeth Cruise Ship were on our starboard (right) side.
When we walked off the ship and onto the terminal area all passengers were asked to place bags and backpacks on the floor while a dog that is trained to look for food walked by each bag. Like New Zealand, Australia is very strict and they ask that we not take anything but bottled water into port with us. We were very familiar with this procedure from last year.
We had a great time in downtown Melbourne. We walked from the cruise ship terminal all the way to and from Melbourne after we were cleared to leave the ship. We walked about twelve miles and walked around different areas of the city. We visited St. Pauls Cathedral, the Parliament, the Aquarium, Victoria Market, which was first opened in 1878, the Judicial Area, Flagstaff Gardens, St James Old Cathedral and the major shopping area.
The weather was around 60 degrees Fahrenheit when we first walked into town but as we headed back to the ship the sun came out and it warmed up to around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
When we arrived back to the ship we went directly to the Lido Café. We spoke with some of the staff who work the Café in the afternoon and who work at Silk Road in the evening such as Anthony, Sheila and Alberto who normally is the waiter we have at Silk Road. We also spoke with the Headwaiter for Prego, Bruno, and we were also assisted by Rauel, Ray and Mel who are the Lido Deck Stewards and always take excellent care of us. We ate outside. The Executive Chef, for the dining on board the ship, Franz Weiss, complemented Keith on the very healthy salad that he made for himself at the Café.
After lunch it was time to go back out and we walked several miles in the area that is near the pier. We went to a local grocery store and we also went to a wine shop where we bought two bottles of Australia wine. We also went in and out of various shops had a lot of fun walking around the area.
We love Melbourne as we do Australia, as this city is a very cosmopolitan city.
This evening we will dine in the Main Dining Room and will post about this tomorrow.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill
Keith and Anne Marie
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