We forgot to mention when we posted about the first day of this epic adventure that we have a new stewardess. We thoroughly enjoyed our stewardess who we had for the Vancouver to Seward sailing. Evidently she was filling in as a stewardess on our deck, which along with deck 11 are usually assigned to more seasoned stewardesses. At the start of the Northwest Passage some of the more experienced stewardesses such as our new stewardess returned from well-deserved holidays. We are sure that the stewardess we had will advance and be back to this deck. Our new stewardess is Ruti and she is another gem. Before dinner last evening we went to the Palm Court for the very first time of this voyage. We chose this venue as Captain Birger mentioned in his talk from the bridge that we might have the opportunity to see whale during our sail-away from Dutch Harbor. As it turned out we didn't see any whale but while we were having dinner there was a humpback whale sighting of several whales. We did see some sea life and beautiful scenery. Several high powered binoculars and telescopes have been placed in various locations of the Palm Court for this voyage and two television monitors are also in place to enjoy additional views. A few minutes before we left the Palm Court we saw Vice President of Land Programs John Stoll and Senior Vice President of Crystal Cruises Ocean Cruises Operations Christian Sauleau. Afterwards, we were back at the Crystal Dining Room for the second night in a row. We each began our meal with salads. There were several terrific entrée choices on the menu. In fact, one of them is usually on a menu that is part of Black Tie Optional. We both had this one, which is Fresh Alaskan Halibut. The taste of the fish was enhanced with the mushroom-leek fondue, arugula puree and yellow squash accompanying the meal. Head Waiter Augusto had mentioned one other item the night before that he knew Keith would like and that was swordfish. He had it prepared butterfly style. So Keith had two entrees but without the items that would normally accompany the swordfish. That exercise does pay off. LOL. We thought that the Halibut was the best that we have ever had. We think it is because it was not one large cut. It was very moist and the sides that accompanied it added to the flavor. It was a wow. After dinner, we went to a party hosted by friend Marv. Many guests were in attendance along with senior offices and senior staff. Vocalist Sarah performed two songs including What A Wonderful World which brought tears to some including Anne Marie. It provided a nice opportunity to see some people who we have not yet had a chance to speak with as well as others we see fairly frequently. The entertainment for last evening featured a special show which was called Jazz – A Crazy Rhythm. It was a nostalgic journey through the history of one of the great forms the world has ever known. It featured entertainers Kenny Martyn and Michell Bell along with the Northwest Passage Entertainment Team and the Galaxy Orchestra. The show was performed at 8:30 and 10:30 PM . On the first night of this epic voyage Cruise Director Rick had mentioned that at the time we had all booked the Northwest Passage that we all assumed that the evening entertainment would be more limited and more like one might see on an expedition ship. We didn’t expect to have any land based entertainers on board let alone the vast number of entertainers that are planned for this voyage. A great show with many more to come. We slept well as we cruised towards our next port of call of Nome, Alaska. We did get a note to our room last evening along with a phone message earlier in the day noting that our tour would leave a little earlier than scheduled. There were over 50 activities on today's schedule. We got in our regular exercise program in between other activities. This included two long walks for Anne Marie and Yoga. Anne Marie loves taking the Yoga taught by Yoga Instructor Maria Kita and assisted by her husband and Memoir Writer Joe Kita. Keith worked out on his own in the morning and the afternoon on the elliptical machine and also took a morning indoor cycling class. The classes are in such high demand that they added a second class for this afternoon. The sea swells did pick up shortly before Keith's class and two people who were signed up didn't make it to class. It could be because of the sea swells. While we are on the bikes we do have a nice view of the seas and to Keith it had the look of sailing on a North Atlantic Crossing. It was cloudy, rainy with noticeable sea swells. We wanted to mention that one of the items that is very unique to this voyage is the 40 member expedition team. Even when we were in port yesterday some of them were at the sites we visited to answer any and all questions. Today there was a naturalist available on the Sun Deck from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM to assist people trying out the binoculars and providing tips about viewing wild life from the ship. A special Expedition Hospitality Desk was set up in the Crystal Cove near the show excursion desk to assist with information and questions. They had morning, afternoon and evening hours. Keith went by there late morning and there were five members of the expedition team there. He asked several questions related to layering of clothing as well as about the weather. Two of the three lectures were given by members of the Expedition Team.
Expedition Lecturer Flip Necklin who has been named National Geographics whale guy since 1979 spoke about the changes in whales and told the story with many photos that he has taken of them. It was funny when Flip said this was the largest audience he ever had on a ship until the light bulb went off. This is by far the larges ship he’s ever been on. Expedition Lecturer Flip Necklin who has been named National Geographics whale guy since 1979 spoke about the changes in whales and told the story with many photos and some video that he has taken of them. He showed us an area that we will be visiting that in one year there were over 1,000 whales in an area the size of an American Football Field. Flip and others returned the following year and there were none. Special interest lecturer Kurt Dunbar spoke about the Bering Sea Patrol. He spoke about the Revenue Cutter Service. This service has been around longer than the Navy. Many years later it was merged into the Coast Guard. He spoke about its role in Alaska. He spoke about how they began to do Arctic Cruises each year to go as far into the Arctic they could and their historic role in helping others while they put themselves in harm way. When Kurt concluded his talk he said that he had been on since June 19 and fittingly he noted that he would be going “home from “Nome”. Because of the high demand for these talks, they were also shown live so that guests could watch them from the comfort of their rooms. As usual they were also recorded and rebroadcasted throughout the day. We have been enjoying the rest of the afternoon on board Serenity. We look forward to a fun evening as well. Keith & Anne Marie Comments are closed.
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