DAY 54 AT SEA & DAY 46 CRYSTAL SERENITY

Before dinner, we went to the Crystal Cove to listen to Pianist John Mentis perform.  We sat with dear friends John and Linda.

Wonderful pianist John Mentis.

The original plan was to have dinner at Prego with friends Mike and Sandy.  However, with Anne Marie not being able to talk too much without coughing we thought it was to reschedule dinner for another night.  Instead, the two of us did dine at the Crystal Dining Room for the first time in a couple of nights.  We had a great time and were taken excellent care of by Ayhan our Senior Waiter, Daniel our Waiter and Ivana our Sommelier. Maitre d' Leo and Head Waiter Bojan each came by a couple of times to check up on us.  Everyone was happy to see us back at the dining room.

We each began our meal with Salads.  

Keith had his standing order Salad.

Anne Marie had the Traditional Caesar Salad.

For our entree:

We both had the Broiled Fresh Salmon Fillet from the Crystal Classics Menu.  With very few exceptions, if the fish is fresh that is extra incentive to order it for dinner. We made a great decision.  The fish was very tasty.

For dessert, it was Blueberries for Anne Marie and Mixed Berries for Keith.

With Anne Marie being under the weather, we decided to pass on the evening's entertainment which was a show performed by Pianist Marty Henne.

When we arrived back to our room, Rao was so very thoughtful to have hot water, lemon and honey for Anne Marie, without us even asking for it.  It is so very nice how Rao and others think about us and the other guests on board Serenity.

Keith was up early and worked out at the Fitness Center.  He used the time to watch a talk given by lecturer Dr. Melvyn Bowen who spoke about science and seamanship and contrasted today's technology on board cruise ships such as Crystal Serenity versus what Captains such as Captain Cook James Cook did.  Keith learned a good deal from the talk.  Interestingly enough, Dr Bowen's talk the other day on Captain Cook was not one of the better talks Keith had heard given on the subject matter, yet Keith thought that the talk on the ships technology was an excellent presentation.  Keith also watched part of the movie, Mutiny on the Bounty.  Right now because of the ships location we are not receiving any of the satellite news, sports and business channels.

Afterwards, Keith enjoyed coffee at the Lido Cafe where he also read and wrote.

He brought back some coffee for Anne Marie.  

Keith ended up going back to the Fitness Center to workout some more while Anne Marie walked inside the ship.

We had breakfast in our room as we watched the morning show with Gary and Stacey.

There was a Spin Class offered in the morning but those who were waitlisted for the Monday Spin Class were given priority for this class and filled up all of the seats.  Some people who like Keith could not attend todays' class, got together about 15 minutes after the class ended and they did the spinning together with Keith leading the group.  In fact, we had seven people spinning.  Unfortunately, Keith's playlist didn't work, so friend Sandra quickly got her music.  It included music for marathon run training.  It was all good but normally it's helpful to know the music in advance so you can vary the workout and the songs played.  With that said, it all worked out very well and some of the people thought it was the best workout they had so that made Keith feel good.

While Keith was in the class Anne Marie went up to the Tastes area to work on her knitting.  She found a nice quiet spot.  Since it is still not easy for her to talk without coughing, she preferred sitting in a more remote area.

Since today is a sea day, there was lots on the daytime program with 50+ activities offered.  This morning featured a very informative talk given by former Florida Senator and Governor Bob Graham.  The topic of the presentation was 9/11 - The Untold Story.  He covered some of the items that are in a book he wrote and one of the areas he discussed are examples of some of clues that he thinks could have led to the prevention of 9/11.

In the afternoon, World Affairs Lecturer Stephen Cole gave Part 2 of the presentation that we saw the other day on the tragedy of the Arabs.

Rounding out the lecture program, later in the afternoon Laurie Wickwire spoke about the Culling Diamond tracing the many jewels that were created from the largest diamond ever found that was the size of 3,106 carats.

After being away from the Lido Cafe for a few days, we had lunch at the Cafe and made our normal salad entrees.

In the afternoon, Keith played a couple of hours of Paddle Tennis and then afterwards got together with dear friend Bob and a couple of other guests.

This evening we will be dining at Prego.

Tomorrow we arrive to Easter Island where we have a tour planned.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm ... As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” -  Audrey Hepburn 

Keith & Anne Marie