Welcome To Singapore - Day 70

As we walked on Orchard Rd. we passed an area with some of these displays made out of flowers and bushes.

Orchard Rd is a famous Rd. in Singapore known for lots of shopping.

The famous Raffles Hotel which is also home to the Singapore Sling.

Three photos from last evening World Cruise Games Ceremony which included the medals from the last couple of days events along with the completion of the events finale.

Keith received two medals last evening and we are both pictured with Olympian Dorothy Hamill.

This award presentation was for the Men's Double Paddle Tennis tournament. Keith and his partner received a Silver.

This photo is from the Mixed Paddle Tennis tournament and Keith and his partner also received a Silver Medal.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Highlights From Yesterday And Today.

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A Truly Outstanding Voyage On-Board The Crystal Serenity.

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We enjoyed watching our final daily morning show on board the ship yesterday morning. Cruise Director, Gary Hunter and World Cruise Hostess, Stacey Huston, have been wonderful hosting this show. Yesterdays special guest was Lecturer Ken Rees who we sailed with for most of last years World Cruise and who has been on for all of the legs of this years World Cruise. He and his wife are getting off for a couple of weeks and will be returning. For the first time no on could answer either on of the Trivia Questions which were asked at the end of the show and then they had a couple of minutes before the end of the show when they asked is anyone out there watching the show live. So, Keith called in to let them know how much we have loved Ken’s Lectures/Talks, and the terrific job that Stacey and Gary and the entire Crystal team have done throughout this voyage and that we wanted to say until next time since we are departing the ship in Singapore. This has been an outstanding adventure with memories that will indeed a lifetime.

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We wanted to begin today’s post as we began yesterday’s post to say that our thoughts and prayers go out to those devastated from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami. We could not get over all of the video that has been shown on the various news stations that depicts the impact and devastation and loss of human lives. It appears that many more people have lost their lives than originally reported. We pray that there are more survivors and we are glad to see the aid that is pouring into Japan including all of the aid and help that is coming from the United States of America. On the news it was noted that when the Christchurch tragedy occurred that the Japanese Government sent aid to this town including sending firefighters over to assist the various rescue personnel from various areas of New Zealand. Now those same people will be needed back in Japan to help deal with this tragic event.

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After we posted yesterday, Keith played more Paddle Tennis with some fellow passengers and some members of the crew. This will be his last paddle tennis of the cruise. Through Paddle Tennis Keith has gotten to know some of the crew better than before and has met several passengers. Anne Marie took an additional walk on the deck and then did some more packing. We also watched the tug of war competition between the crew. It’s always a fun event as it not only involves many of the departments competing to be number one but their fellow members from all of the departments come on deck to watch the competition. During the course of the World Games the crew has also had their own World Game competition among themselves. We were very pleased to learn that John who works as the Reception Desk won the Gold for the Crew Air Hockey Game. We first met him on this years cruise and he has been very helpful to us throughout the voyage and each day Keith would ask John how he was doing in this game and we were happy to learn about each of his victories and especially happy when we learned that he had won.

We enjoyed another wonderful evening on the ship last evening.

Before dinner we attended the Crystal World Games Award Ceremony. Keith was recognized with two Silver Medals that he won playing Mixed Doubles Paddle Tennis and Men’s Double Paddle Tennis. His final tally was three Silver Medals out of seven games, as he didn’t get a Medal from either Men’s Singles Paddle Tennis, Putting or Mixed Shuffleboard, as we call it Miniature Golf, or Team Trivia. In other years he competed in all of the Table Tennis Games, the Triathlon with a crewmember and the Fast Walking Relay but this year he decided to play fewer games. Our attitude is just go out there and have a fun time and hopes that as many passenger’s as possible win a medal. He is sorry that he didn’t have time to play the Paddle Tennis with a crewmember competition the day before and that is something he would like to do in the future. Some of the crewmembers included a couple of people that Keith plays with regularly but a couple of them included Lido Deck Stewards who play in the late evening hours when they are off duty. As they say, there is next year. Several of our friends won medals last evening including Bob and Glo and Sandy. The Olympic flame torch (well fake flame) was turned off by the youngest passenger on board the ship which is one of two children that are traveling with their parents over the course of the full World Cruise and concurrently confetti dropped from the ceiling. The lead singer, Tara sang a beautiful solo song to close the ceremony and then the singers/dancers came to to perform and their closing number was inspirational.

After the ceremony, we dined at the Crystal Dining Room and after being away for three consecutive nights it was wonderful to be back for another lovely dinner.

Appetizers featured were Slow Roasted Oriental Marinated Salmon, Rock Shrimp Salad and a Terrine of Green Eggplant with Red Pepper Coulis and Artichoke Salad. Soups were the Cream of Chicken and Consommé Double and Salads featured Over Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Walnuts and an Assorted Mixed Greens Salad with Crisp Pancetta, Boiled Egg and Oysters. The Past Special was Black Ink Linguine with White Wine, Cream, Chopped Tomatoes, Clams, Green Peppercorns and Parsley and the Salad Entrée was Crisp Fried Frog Legs. Maines Fares Featured a Fillet of Black Bass, Pan Fried Calf’s Liver, Thyme Marinated Medallions of New Zealand Venison and Traditional Roast Beef. The Vegetarian Selections included a Golden Fried Wild Rice Arrancini Entrée server on Chick Pea Puree with Grilled Zucchini and Crisp Vegetable Salad. As usual there were other Vegetarian and Lighter Side items to choose from. The desserts featured the Sweet Finale with the “Asian Experience” of Jasmine Rice Napoleon, Papaya Jell-O and Mango Sherbet and the “All Chocolate” which was Double Fudge Chocolate Brownie, with Fudge Sauce and Chocolate Ice Cream. Sugar-Free desserts featured Blueberry Pie with Diet Ice Cream and Tiramisu. There were lots of Classic Desserts to choose from including several flavors of Ice Cream and Freshly Frozen Nonfat Yogurts that change daily. The Cheese Trolley is also available for those who would like to enjoy a very nice selection of premium cheeses and a nice variety of premium crackers.

We began our meal with a toast of our wine glasses where we toasted our love for one another and how enjoyable this adventure has been.

We each enjoyed a very nice salad as we do each and every time we dine either in the Crystal Dining Room or at Prego. Keith ordered his standing order salad and Anne Marie ordered one of the salads on the menu. We had pre-ordered an appetizer of tuna tartar for Keith and seafood for Anne Marie along with our entrées with Headwaiter Giuseppe. We both enjoyed a lobster tail and a small filet mignon along with some small roasted potatoes and steamed vegetables. Believe it or not we skipped fruit for dinner and we both had low-fat Frozen Yogurt We had a few glasses from a very nice bottle of Pinot Noir from a vineyard that we had enjoyed earlier in the cruise. This wine did not disappoint and has to be the most flavorful Pinot Noir we have ever had with a very pleasant aroma. We will enjoy the leftover wine tomorrow at our last dinner on board the ship. The entire meal was terrific as it has been throughout the cruise. The service was flawless thanks to the professionalism of Senior Waiter, Jijo, Waiter Grenold, and Headwaiter Giuseppe.

We slept very well last evening as we made our way to Singapore.

Are you sitting down before you read more? For the first time of the cruise Keith did not work out this morning in the Fitness Center and instead he took a rest and slept a little later this morning. Once awake he did stop by the Lido Café for some coffee.

At 8:00 AM, Alexander came by with our morning breakfast of Oatmeal and some fruit. We spoke for a few minutes and then it was time to get ready for our arrival to Singapore. We first visited Singapore back in 2008. We spent almost two full days in Singapore as the Serenity was docked overnight in 2008, as it will do this time around.

Singapore is located in South-East Asia and comprises one major island along with 59 small adjacent isles. Singapore is one of the largest ports in the entire world and links the Indian Ocean to the west with the South China Sea to the east.

Singapore is a very clean and safe city and is a major tourist destination.

Since we are spending three nights in Singapore following the cruise we went into the downtown area for a couple of hours and mainly we were on a mission. We took the shuttle bus from the Cruise Ship Terminal, which dropped us off at near a mall in the downtown area. We then walked over to the Raffles Hotel. Our mission was to visit the Jim Thompson store, which is located at the hotel. Their main stores are in Thailand with their largest stores in Bangkok. In 2008 we went to the large stores in Bangkok and along with two of them in Singapore including the one at Raffles Hotel. They carry a number of items made from silk such as these very lightweight purses along with women tops, men’s shirts and ties and a variety of other items

After being dropped off by the shuttle we walked over to the Raffles Hotel, which is about a forty-five minute, walk. We walked around the Raffles Hotel until the Jim Thompson store opened. For better or for worse we didn’t purchase anything. During our walk we passed by several buildings including the Singapore Museum. The city is beautiful and if you like shopping we cannot describe how many stores and shopping malls are in this city including just about every designer store you can imagine. After visiting the Jim Thompson store we walked around some other areas of Singapore and then we took the subway back to the Cruise Ship Terminal.

The subway is another example of how thoughtful they are when the designed the system including the fare card system. When you are waiting for the trains the area to the tracks are not open but are shielded with a set of doors so it would be impossible to jump onto the tracks. The newer subway cars provide a nice digital display of where you are and even indicate which side of the tracks the door will open up for each train station. Finally, when you purchase a fare card it is a plastic fare card. For our ride we first paid $2.30 in Singapore currency and at the time we turned the card back in we received a refund of $1.00 so the net cost was $1.30 or the equivalent of about $1.00 in USA Currency.

Once back on the ship, we had lunch in the Main Dining Room. Jijo was visiting some friends of his family in Singapore but we had Grenold as our waiter and another very nice senior waiter and Giuseppe came by several times. Anne Marie enjoyed a chef’s salad and Keith had a bowl of chicken soup and some toast and some jam. He had a little upset stomach (he’s not sick but his stomach was a bit upset) so this was a perfect lunch for him.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon doing our final packing.

This evening we will dine at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant for the final time of this adventure.

We ran into several passengers and crewmembers yesterday and today and we wished them all the best and look forward to seeing them on our next adventure on the Crystal Serenity

When we think of today’s thought for the day it reminds us of the crew on the Crystal Serenity and the other employees who work for Crystal Cruises at their Los Angeles based Headquarters and at other locations around the world. For us the success of Crystal Cruises is mainly due to the fact that the cruise lines focuses on excellence.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…….

"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception. It is a prevailing attitude." - Gen. Colin Powell

Keith and Anne Marie