Lobster Spring Rolls.
Side Order Of Vegetables. The Quality Is Always Superb.
Tuesday, February 8
We enjoyed another wonderful evening on the ship last night.
Before dinner, Keith took his second spin class of this leg of the World Cruise. This is a one-hour class with about fifty minutes of spin and the remaining ten minutes of stretching. This is the same type of format that Keith is used to when he takes these classes at home. The classes provide an excellent cardio workout while working mainly your legs although there are some portions of the class that actually work your upper body.
Keith enjoys the instructor, Mark, who really energizes the class and makes everyone push themselves and he does the same for himself. As the Super Bowl had about fifteen minutes to go when the class began, he put the spin bikes close to the television so we could watch the end of the game with the sound off since we needed to hear the music that is designed for the Spin Class.
We were glad that the game was close as they tend to be much more exciting to watch.
The actual feed the ship was able to get for the Super Bowl was from ESPN rather than from FOX and we didn’t get any commercials. Cruise Director Gary Hunter had mentioned earlier in the day that we wouldn’t know until the game began whether or not we would get commercials. We remember that in 2007 we didn’t get the commercials while in 2008 we did.
We dined at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. Sigi seated us and we were taken care of by Alberto. We can’t say enough about the cuisine. It is not only of very high quality but each item is quite unique in the ingredients that are used to prepare it.
There were not very many guests dining at Silk Road since the Main Dining Room offered the French Menu which is very popular with the passengers.
We began our meal with the trio of Nobu Sashimi Specials that are always amazing. Our next course was the lettuce wrap, which once again was very tasty and quite unique in its preparation.
Our next course was sushi and sashimi, which was outstanding as it always is. To us, the preparation of the sushi and sashimi is a work of art as is the case for each and every item served at Silk Road. Each item is prepared only after it has been ordered. Anne Marie had a Lobster Spring Roll.
For our entrée, we each had the Nobu Style Lobster with Truffle Yuzu Sauce along with a side order of the steamed vegetables.
While we did not dine at the Main Dining Room we wanted to mention several of the items that were on the menu.
The theme of the menu was French Dinner. We want to also mention that the evening attire was Informal. Often, this dinner is served on a formal night. On this leg of the World Cruise there are two formal rather than three formal nights. Often, the number of formal nights is based on the length of the cruise but will be revised based on other factors such as the itinerary.
In keeping with the French Dinner theme the soups included a French Onion Soup and a Veal Consommé and also a Vichyssoise. The salads were a Panache of Mixed Lettuce Tossed in Champagne Dressing with Yellow Pear Tomatoes and Roasted Strawberries.
The Main Fares included Baked Seabass Filet, Boeuf Bourguigonne that is Braised Beef in Burgundy Red Wine Sauce with Pearl Onions, Champignons and Buttered Egg Noodles, Pink Roasted Rack of Lamb, and Veal a la Cordon Bleu. In addition, the menu also featured a Grilled Salmon Fillet and a Grilled Entercote.
The Pasta Special was Orechiette Past Puttanesca and the Salad Entrée was Porcine Dusted Scallops.
In addition to a wide array of classic desserts the featured sweet finale desserts included “Lutece” which is French Grand Marnier Souffle andSauce Negresco and “Champs Elysee” which is Apple Tart Tartin, Opera Cake and Frozen Vanilla Yogurt.
The Sugar Free Desserts were Lemon Curd and Vanilla Profiteroles with Fudge Sauce.
As usual, one could also order a variety of cheese from the Cheese Trolley.
Last evening was a Crystal Society Cocktail Reception. It is offered two times once before the Main Seating and once before the Late Seating. We went to both receptions so we could see some people from the late Seating who we do not see as often during the cruise.
The Crystal Society Party, recognizes all passengers who have previous taken one or more Crystal cruises. These receptions are always enjoyable with live music and dancing along with canapés and complimentary wine, champagne and spirits. There are over 500 Crystal Society Members on this voyage and in total there are over 350,000 Crystal Society Members.
One of the passenger’s that was recognized was on her 60th Crystal Cruise. Another couple was on their 179th Cruise, which was an equivalent to being on the ship for over six years. Wow!
We sat with a couple who we know from last years sailing at the early reception and also walked around to talk with several other passengers. At the second reception we sat with friends Bob and Glo and another couple from Cruise Critic.
We enjoyed another nice sleep on the ship as we sailed to Lautoka, Fiji. For us the seas were calm.
Once again, Keith woke up early and enjoyed another nice workout on the Elliptical Machine. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine and then followed this up with some stretching and lifting on the weight lifting machines.
There was no one in the center for about half the workout. Roy stopped by for a couple of minutes to say hello.
Then a couple of other passengers arrived including a fellow passenger who began working out on the treadmill. Keith saw a first. She received a phone call on her cell phone and put the call on the speakerphone so Keith could hear the entire conversation even though he had headphone cords in his ear. Keith was not sure why the person would not have gotten off the treadmill and taken the call outside the center so as not to disturb others.
After his workout, he stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room. Around the time that Keith got back, Anne Marie began her workout. Keith also did some laundry while Anne Marie was on her workout.
Almost like clockwork, there was a knock at the door at just about 8:00 AM and it was Alexander who set up our breakfast.
We arrived to Lautoka at about 7:00 AM.
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji. It is located west of the island of Vita Levu and north of Nadi. Lautoka is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Because it is located in the heart of Fiji’s sugar cane region locals also commonly know it as the Sugar City. It has a population of approximately 75,000 inhabitants.
Originally, we were going to take a tour on a 4x4 but decided we would pass on the tour as we have several tours coming up on the next leg of the cruise.
Instead, we took the shuttle into town. We have been here, once before, so we just stayed in the town briefly. The town is quite old looking and a bit on the warn side. This is a nice island mainly for its beaches.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice day back on the ship. We read and wrote for the remainder of the morning and then we had a nice lunch at the Lido Café. We each made a very nice salad entrée.
In the afternoon Keith played Paddle Tennis and also did reading and writing and Anne Marie took another one hour long walk and she sat at the pool.
This evening is open seating in the Main Dining Room as there is a special event for those on the full World Cruise. We have made arrangements to dine at 7:00 PM with friends Bob and Glo. We’ll post about all of this tomorrow.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……..
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir
Keith and Anne Marie
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