We are returning to the Phinda Private Game Reserve which we had the pleasure of visiting for two nights/three days last year. The difference is that this year's trip is three nights/four days and we are leaving out of Richard's Bay which is a Maiden Port Of Call stop for Crystal Cruises and is located about half the distance from Phinda than was the case when we left out of Durban, South Africa last year.
Before dinner, Captain Giske made an announcement from the bridge, noting that as soon as remaining guests were on board we would depart. As it turned out we departed about five minutes ahead of schedule. He also noted we would be going about 21 knots the entire time in order to pick up the pilot boat on time. Since we have to each go through a face to face inspection today, they were picking up the customs officials so that they could be all set as the process was expected to take 5 minutes for each guest and there are several overland programs today, some involving airline flights.
Last evening we met up with dear friends John and Linda for another pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon.
Anne Marie with Jun who came around with canapés.
Jun had two different canapés. One was actually a Bloody Mary with a Shrimp on top.
Afterwards, we were back at the Crystal Dining Room for Dinner.
We truly enjoy dining on board Crystal Serenity. For us it is very special, regardless of where we dine. We like the ambience of each of the dining venues and the service is always superb and of course we enjoy the cuisine. For us, it is very special.
The wait-staff also seems to anticipate our every need. We realize some of this just comes with familiarity as we have sailed with many on the wait-staff who take good care of us for several years. For example, in the Crystal Dining Room, Ayhan who is our Senior Waiter this year was our Senior Waiter for half of last year's World Cruise plus for the cruise before the start of the World Cruise. Ayaan is very experienced Senior Waiter and one of the tables that he is responsible for is hosted a few times each voyage by the Hotel Director in the second seating and in our seating usually by either the Front Office Manager or the Head Accountant. He is assisted by Waiter Jan as our previous Waiter was promoted to a Senior Waiter.
Ironically, Sommelier Ivanna was our Senior Waiter for the second half of the World Cruise and when her next contract commenced, she moved over to the position of Sommelier.
We have Head Waiter Augusto when he is on board and he knows us very well too. He will check up on us often and we will discuss the menu for the next day with him.
It does help that we are fairly consistent with what we order.
For example, Keith has the standing order salad. Often Ayhan will take items from both of the salads featured on the menu that he know that Anne Marie will enjoy and have that salad prepared for her. We do have the same side order of vegetables each evening and usually have the same fruit as our dessert. It is the entree that we change up. For us this all works well as we try to balance the foods we eat and the exercise we perform. We try to limit bread and we will have one roll in the evening and we have it without butter.
Ivanna knows the wines that we enjoy but with so much choice she prepares a white and a red wine for us each evening. We both start with the white and Anne Marie usually continues with that, but she will try a little bit of red and Keith goes with the red. She always provides information about each wine and we greatly appreciate that.
Head Waiter Augusto surprised Keith with Tuna Tartare.
With Keith having an appetizer, Anne Marie had Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail as an appetizer too.
For our next course we each had salads.
Anne Marie had an assorted mixed green salad and Keith had his standing order salad.
For our entree, we both had the Turbot Fillet, which was accompanied with Spring Risotto, Rapini and watercress-Walnut Pesto. The cut was slightly different than the one that Augusto had special ordered for Keith the night before and this time broccoli accompanied the fish. It was still very tasty and for us a terrific fish to enjoy for dinner.
Last night's performance was Dancing with the Crystal Stars which featured Dancers Curtis and Beverly and World Cruise Hostess Stacey (Stacey used to be a dancer and many years ago was Curtis' dance partner) and those dancing with them were Watch Specialist Isaac, Hair Stylist Ferenc, and Massage Therapist Gosia. The event was hosted by Destination Lecturer Ken Rees along with Vocalist, Sarah Hayes, and included special appearances by lead vocalists Julia Goretsky, Eric Strong, and vocalist Jonathan Hawkins. The judges were Kerry Millerick who along with Dina teach the iMovie Class, Rabbie Morrie and Ethel Tweed (e.g.,. Gary Hunter). The show was performed twice and like last year was just outstanding.
We slept very well last evening, although the seas were choppier than normal, partially because the speed we were going. Keith began his day as he normally does with exercise and then a visit to the Lido Cafe.
We had Rao bring breakfast at 7:00 AM as we were supposed to be at our face-to-fact meeting with customs officials at 7:30 AM and we were concerned that if we specified a time afterwards that should they be running late that would be a problem. We did right because it turned out that the pilot boat carrying the customs officials ran late. The good news is that unlike last year when in Durban the ship was cleared around three hours after the planned time, the process worked a lot better today.
We were part of the first group since group 1 represented those on overland tours. We were to meet at the Stardust Club but since the officials were not yet on the ship they asked us to wait in the Avenue Saloon which is right next to Stardust. They made an announcement to all guests noting that they should wait and not come down until they called the next group. This was very smart and kept everything organized.
We sat with dear friends Bob and Glo who are also on our overland program, and before we knew it the officials were on board. Around 20 guests were ahead of us but the process worked very well. We met with three different officials as one person put a sticker in our passport, another stamped two different landing cards (entrance and exit) and one official stamped something else.
Since we might not be able to post from the Safari we will post about the Safari upon our return to the Serenity in a few days.
A photo of Anne Marie in her safari shirt and pants.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Keith & Anne Marie
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