We enjoyed dinner at the Crystal Dining Room. We each began with salads. Keith really liked one of the salads on the menu was a Farmer's Vegetable Salad so they took that salad and added it to the one that Keith enjoys. It made for one fabulous salad. For our entree, Anne Marie had the Barbecue Tiger Prawns from the Modern Cuisine Menu. She just asked that they go light on the Barbecue Sauce which they did. She enjoys Tiger Prawns and thought they tasted wonderful and were enhanced with the items that accompanied them on the plate. Keith had looked at the menu yesterday morning and was hesitant about the Alaskan Ling Cod Fillet. At one of the restaurants we dined at in Vancouver, Keith had a trio entree of three types of fish and two of them he enjoyed but this one he didn't. He wasn't sure whether it was the way it was prepared or the texture/size of the fish. He happened to see Head Waiter Augusto outside the restaurant and Augusto asked if he wanted to see the menu. Keith said he did and told him about his experience at the restaurant. Augusto asked if there was something he could special order. Keith thought about it and asked for Swordfish prepared Butterfly Style and asked for Augusto's advice on what it should be accompanied with and went with the recommendation of creamy spinach. It turned out to be an excellent choice. With this cruise having several ports we had not yet made it into any of the on-board shops so after dinner we stopped by some of the shops. We enjoyed some beautiful views of the scenery from our room. We normally do not go to the Avenue Saloon later in the evening. However, we made an exception since we needed to be up later than usual to attend a special function and it would provide us to see pianist Perry Grant. Perry Grant joined Crystal Cruises a few months ago after a long career at Holland America followed by time at Celebrity Cruise Line. He is a very unique entertainer who has a following. His show is more of a performance including piano, song and even comedy. We watched some of his videos from his website a few months ago when we heard he was performing on Serenity which showed him performing both on stage and in intimate settings. His act would do well not only in the Avenue Saloon but in Stardust and the Galaxy Showroom. Some say you either like him or you don't. We enjoyed his performance. It did take us a little while to get used to him so if we just popped our head inside the Avenue Saloon for a minute or two and left we might not have cared for his performance. After ten minutes we were enjoying his act. He played a range of music including some from broadway show and told some great stories and got the audience very much involved with his show. This included sing-a-longs as well as having some participants stand up and share some stories with him such as the guest who told him what she did that day in Skagway. We are very pleased to see him perform and think he is a great addition to Crystal Cruises. Shortly after seeing Perry Grant perform we went to the function and then it was off to our room shortly before midnight. Keith still managed to wakeup fairly early and went for a short workout at the Fitness Center. He made a short stop to the Lido Cafe for coffee and to read and write. While he was at the table, one of the Lido Deck Stewards, Martin, brought Keith a large pot of coffee as evidently they were having some issue setting up the large coffee pots. This was probably the best cup Keith has had in the Lido Cafe so he even had a second. Anne Marie even managed to get up around the time she normally does. We enjoyed an early breakfast so that Keith could attend an 8:00 AM indoor cycling class. The class was full which has been the case for all the classes on this voyage. Keith has not been going to the classes on port days since they are offered at 4:00 PM as he prefers the morning classes. This was the first class that Keith took with Fitness Director Kyle who recently joined the ship. This is his first time on a cruise ship. His class was terrific. He pushed hard for forty-five minutes. The class was full as has been the case with each class. The highlight for today was our visit to Glacier Bay. We are fortunate to have visited this area six prior times. Each visit has been different because of the weather. Starting at 7:45 AM two National Park Rangers were on -board and took questions and starting 8:00 AM one of the National Park Ranger provided commentary of the Glacier. Each time we have visited Glacier Bay the weather has been different. The photo on the left was taken when we sailed on Crystal Symphony and cruised Glacier Bay in August, 2011. The photo on the right is from our visit to Glacier Bay on-board Serenity in April of 2012. We remember the park rangers saying that was a once in a season beautiful day. We call is a picture perfect day. As we were made our way to Glacier Bay it was very foggy and overcast. As we got closer the visibility did improve although it was drizzling. Rather than go outside on the open deck we enjoyed views from our room's verandah. Unfortunately we observed quite a bit of retreating of the Glacier (it is shrinking in size) since we were last here 4+ years ago. The Two Park Rangers were narrating from the Palm Court which provides panoramic views from its bay windows. Since it was raining, many guests were there to enjoy the views. Food was provided including breakfast foods earlier in the morning and fruit, sandwiches and soup when we stopped by at around 11:30 AM. Almost all seats were in use. In one photo you will see a telescope which is one of several telescopes placed in the room for the Northwest Passage. Speaking of the Northwest Passage, yesterday we received a letter from Crystal Cruises via e-mail with information about downloading a special app on our devices. Keith has already placed the app on each of our iPhones. Starting day 1 of Northwest Passage we can turn on the app and anytime there is something of interest we will receive a tone and then the information via the app. For example, should a polar bear(s) be spotted on the port side of the ship we can receive communication about this right away and this will minimize the need to make announcements. We will connect to a special server which has been installed on the ship and keep our wifi on but we won't go to the internet. We had lunch at the Lido Cafe. We sat at a table by the window at the aft (back) of the ship and enjoyed views of the Glacier. We could also hear the narration from the Park Rangers from time-to-time.
Later in the day we each worked out. Anne Marie walked for an hour inside the ship while Keith worked out on the elliptical machine. Anne Marie also did a short workout on the Elliptical Machine. Later in the afternoon, Keith met up with dear friend Bob, and Anne Marie worked on one of her knitting projects. This evening we are going to The Vintage Room for dinner. Keith & Anne Marie Comments are closed.
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