Before dinner, we attended the Captain's Farewell Reception.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
We wanted to begin by saying that our thoughts and our prayers go out to all of those who have been impacted by the Earthquake and the Tsunami. As we have watched the various news programs, we realize that the devastation from this catastrophic event is far more worse than the initial reports indicated.
Highlights From Yesterday And Today
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Certainly a major highlight for us was having dinner last evening with
Olympian Dorothy Hamill and her husband John MacColl. When we followed Dorothy Hamill in the 1970’s including watching her on television win the Gold Medal as well as Anne Marie wearing the Dorothy Hamill hairdo for so many years, we would never had imagined having dinner with her and her husband. She and her husband are such wonderful people and last night was one of those evenings that we will cherish and remember for the rest of our lives. We applaud Crystal for providing such as terrific enrichment program to its passengers and one that usually includes very interesting speakers who we not only learns so much from during their talks but so many who make themselves available to talk with the guests either over a drink, or over a meal.
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We had a wonderful time on the ship last evening.
While we did not dine at the Crystal Dining Room, we wanted to begin today’s post with highlight from last evening’s dining room dinner menu. The theme for the dinner was the Captain’s Gala Dinner.
Appetizers featured Ice American Malossol Caviar accompanied by the traditional condiments, gratinated Oysters Rockefeller, and Chicken Liver Parfait. Soups featured Cream of Butternut Squash and Essence of Beef with Peas, Truffles, and Shiitake, Baked Under a Puff Pastry Dome. The salad featured the wonderfully prepared and very tasty Captain’s Salad. The Pasta Special was Orrechiette Pasta, which was prepared in a Light Saffron Herb Sauce with Roasted Halibut Flakes and Tomato Confit and the Salad Entrée, was a Tempura Fried Rare Ahi Tuna Roll. The Main Fares featured Broiled South African Rock Lobster Tail, Rosemary Roasted Supreme of Guinea Fowl, Filet of Beef Wellington and Grilled Veal Medallions. Traditional Main Fares included Grilled Black Angus Sirloin Steak and Broiled Fillet of Fresh Balinese Snapper. The Vegetarian Selections included an Entrée of Irish Cobbler Potato Torte with Porcine and French Goat Cheese, Served with Candied Shallots and Red Beet=Port Wine Reduction. There were several other Vegetarian and Lighter Side menu items to choose from. Then came the Sweet Finale which featured “Baked Alaska” and “Chocolate Dream” which was Chocolate Godiva Tart a la Mode, White Chocolate Panna Cotta and Chocolate Orange Praline. Sugar Free Desserts included Rhubarb Strawberry Tartlet a la Mode and Pistachio Cup Custard. The Classic Desserts included French Vanilla Crème Brulee, Chocolate Ooze Cake a la Mode, Apple Crumble Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream, Vanilla, Mint Chocolate Chip, Coffee or Strawberry Ice Cream with choice of toppings, Freshly Frozen, Nonfat Banana or German Chocolate Yogurt, Refreshing Bellini Sherbet, Homemade Petits Fours and Truffles and Seasonal Fruit. For those still hungry or not wanting a sweet dessert there was also the Cheese Trolley with several international cheese selections and a nice variety of premium crackers to enjoy.
Last night was a formal night, which will be our last formal night of this adventure.
We began our evening by attending the Captain’s Farewell Reception. As is the case with all of the receptions, the Sextet Band performed for this event and there was dancing to their music. Complimentary wine, spirits and other drinks were provided along with an array of delectable canapés. We sat with Buddy and Lynn and we enjoyed a wonderful conversation with the two of them. It has been a pleasure to first meet them and get to know them on this cruise For us, this was the final Captain’s Farewell Reception of this adventure.
After the reception, we had dinner at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant and our dinner guests for the evening were Dorothy Hamill and her husband John MacColl. We had the honor of first meeting Dorothy Hamill during the 2007 World Cruise when she was also on for the leg of the World Cruise, which included the World Games. We spoke with her a few times during that cruise. She is very approachable and very genuine. One of the very nice aspects of cruising with Crystal is the opportunity to not only attend lectures when guest celebrity lecturers talk with all passenger’s in formal sessions, but the willingness for the vast majority of these lecturers to make themselves available to talk with us outside these sessions over lunch, dinner or somewhere else during the course of the cruise.
Dinner last night with Dorothy Hamill and John MacColl provided a wonderful opportunity to get to know them better over a meal. As two people who were enamored with the talent that Dorothy Hamill exhibited as she skated in the Olympics and later in the Ice Capades and having watched her in many television specials we would never have dreamed that we would meet her in 2007 and again in 2011.
We enjoyed a great conversation with the two of them as we enjoyed a wonderful meal together with outstanding service and the great ambience of this dining venue. Once again, Alberto was our waiter for the evening and he took very good care of the four of us. He had pre-ordered a few of our favorite items including the trio of Nobu Specials and the very tasty lettuce wrap appetizer. We also ordered a very nice platter of sushi and sashimi that the four of us enjoyed and we each had the Nobu Lobster for our entrée. Anne Marie also had a side order of rice and Keith had his side order of vegetables. Keith had a fruit plate for his dessert while Anne Marie enjoyed sherbet. The food was fabulous as was the service and the people we were with .
This will be the last time we dine at Silk Road before departing the ship in Singapore. At the end of the meal we thanked Alberto not only for serving us a wonderful meal but also for the premier service and attention to detail throughout this voyage. We also thanked Headwaiter Sigi for all he has done to make our dining experience the best it can be and as we left this venue we said thanks to the many other waiters of Silk Road and their assistants who we have come to know so very well over the years and we bowed and said thanks to each of the Sushi Cooks. We also wished Sigi and Alberto very well deserved vacations as they will be going on holiday when this voyage concludes in Singapore.
We slept very well as we sailed towards Singapore. The seas continued to be relatively calm and the gentle rocking of the ship made it easy for us to fall asleep.
Keith was up quite early this morning and enjoyed another wonderful workout at the Fitness Center. He worked out for over ninety minuets on the Elliptical Machine and he also used the weight lifting machines. He was along for most of the workout until one other passenger arrived about ten minutes before he was through working out. As he does each and every morning, he made a stop to the Lido Café to get some coffee to bring back to the room. He spoke about ten minutes with Lido Deck Steward Ross.
Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck as she does most mornings. A few minutes after returning to our room there was a knock on the door. It was Alexander who wished us a wonderful morning and he brought the cart into our room with each of our breakfast items. We chatted for a little while as Alexander set up our breakfast. We watched the Daily Morning Show hosted by Cruise Director, Gary Hunter and World Cruise Hostess, Stacey Huston as we enjoyed our morning breakfast.
In the morning we each got our final haircuts of the cruise. We know we will be quite busy when we arrive home so we thought we would get our haircut so we didn’t have to take care of this shortly after we arrived home.
Later in the morning, Keith competed in the World Cruise Double Men’s Paddle Tennis event. He and his partner won the Silver Medal.
All passengers were advised that we should pick up our passports sometime today so we did that in the morning. This applied to all passengers regardless of whether or not they were getting of the ship at the end of this voyage. This was the same procedure we followed when we arrived to Singapore in 2008. Singapore is one of the few places around the world that requires all passengers to show their passports to the local authorities on the pier when going ashore and returning back to the ship.
At 12:00 Noon we played Team Trivia which was the last Team Trivia game for this leg of the World Cruise. We ended up in second place for this voyage.
There was a special Jazz Brunch set up outside the Crystal Dining Room with a wide array of food items including appetizers, entrees, salads, desserts, breads and many other delectable items. Complimentary champagne and mimosas were provided and the Galaxy Orchestra played live Jazz Music. We decided to go have lunch at the Lido Café instead, and we each made ourselves a nice salad entrée.
This afternoon Anne Marie finished up the majority of our packing and also walked and read and wrote and Keith ran a few errands around the ship, read, wrote and spoke with some of our fellow passengers and some crewmembers.
This evening we will be back in the Crystal Dining Room for dinner. Before dinner, we will attend the World Games Awards Ceremony and closing of the World Games Ceremony.
We wanted to close by sharing two thoughts of the day that have great meaning for us.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…….
“A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“The fool wonders. The wise man asks.” - Benjamin Franklin
Keith and Anne Marie
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