Brrrr…..Brrr…..Brrr…..It was cold and chilly this morning. We wanted to begin with a few additional items from yesterday’s mandatory meeting. As we mentioned, one of the items that was covered was about etiquette when we go ashore in the Canadian Northwest Villages. To expand upon that this includes how we interact with the locals. For example, as was the case in Nome we were advised don’t go up to people’s homes and look in the windows and take photos. Also, ask if it is OK to take a photo with a local before taking one. Since some are shy they may respond with a shake of the head or a nod of the head. Also, do not offer alcohol to the locals. Locals will be coming on board Serenity to perform for the guests. This will not only give an opportunity for all guests to attend but for those guests who can’t or choose not to leave the ship it will give them an opportunity to see some of the locals. The icebreaker, Ernest Shackleton that will be joining us has come over from Europe so they have come East to West as they meet up with us in the Northwest Passage. We saw some photos of the ice breaker including the storage area where we viewed of photo showing all of the water related equipment such as the zodiacs, kayaks and the speed boats. They also have the helicopters that will be used on tour and could also be used for medical and other related reasons. Beyond the meeting we also want to comment on another area. As we mentioned the other day lots of meetings have been held between members of Crystal Cruises, the Expedition Team and the locals. Because of the schedule of the locals (eg., hunting, fishing, etc.) some of these meetings were 11:00 PM sessions over coffee. The meetings served as a great opportunity to get feedback from the locals to exchange information and to make sure that our visit is done in a respectful manner. This type of planning often does not happen when prior vessels have visited these places. The locals mentioned that often expedition ships just show up with no advance warning and certainly no advance interaction with the locals. What is clear to us from all we have learned since sailing on this epic and historical voyage is that the intent by Crystal Cruises which now involves all of us as guests is to leave the villages in a better place than we found them. As to visits, some guests are signed up for more than one tour. An example might be someone taking a community visit and also kayaking later in the day. Before dinner last evening we enjoyed a drink at the Avenue Saloon. We ended up speaking with another couple who was on our tour of Nome, Alaska. We then had dinner with John Stoll, Vice President of Crystal Land Programs and Port Operations at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. John is on board this entire voyage in the capacity of Project Manager. We had such as good time that we dined for close to three hours. John is part of our Crystal Family. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. This is what we had. Appetizer: Cramy King Crabmeat Salad (Anne Marie) & Slow Poached Lobster Tail (Keith) Salad: Caesar Salad (Anne Marie) and Keith's simple salad Additional entree of Tuna (Keith) and Veal Scaloppino al Limone (Anne Marie) Dessert: Fruit Plate ( Keith & Anne Marie) and Cheese and Crackers (Keith) which is a first. Costa was our waiter and we took a photo of Anne Marie with Antonio who recently celebrated his 25th anniversary with Crystal Cruises. The food was absolutely delicious. Service fantastic. Ambience terrific. And it was so very special to dine with John. Last night the production show Curtain Call was performed. Curtain Call is the longest running production show on Crystal Cruises and we believe its been in production for fourteen years. It was performed two times at 8:30 and 10:30 PM. The ship was relatively calm as we slept last night and continued to sail towards our first Northwest Passage stop. Keith started the day as he usually does with a workout at the Fitness Center. When he made his way up to the Lido Café he was reminded that it is chilly outside. Some of the Lido Deck stewards were wearing windbreaker like jackets. It feels like winter time and it is sill summer. LOL. After enjoying breakfast in our room, Anne Marie walked for an hour and followed this by Yoga. For one of the few days at sea there was no indoor cycle class. Keith attended Rap With The Rabbi. Rabbi Morrie is on board with his lovely wife Geri. Rabbi Morrie is a favorite of many Crystal guests of all faiths and is a regular on World Cruises and also on the Holiday Cruise and also cruises that include Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. The Rabbi came up with the idea of Rap With The Rabbi several years ago. At each session he leads a discussion of one or more topics. Since today was the first of four sessions scheduled for this voyage, rather than coming in with a set of topics the Rabbi asked those present to bring up topics that they wanted to see discussed. We ended up covering a wide range of topics. The focus of today’s lectures was on the Northwest Passage; Expedition Lecturer Tom Sharpe spoke about The Geology of Arctic Canada. He covered the Canadian Arctic exposed rock that extend back billions of years to our planets earlier days. We learned of other rocks that tell us that this area was once warm and made up of by tropical seas. He pointed out the evidence that is all around that tells the story about the great ice sheet that not only developed here but blanketed most of North America. Expedition Lecturer Tom Smith spoke about the story of the Polar Bear. Speaking of Polar Bears when we land at each village there will be people assigned to different areas with guns to protect us in the unlikely encounter with a polar bear. On the hikes it is key to stay together and there will be more than one person with the appropriate gun. On the village tours it will be clearly marked where you can walk around and the boundaries marking the area you should stay inside. This is not an area you just walk around anywhere you want. This was reenforced by Tom when he said that bears can be anywhere. As he said, "who is watching who." Translation while we might be looking our for them they might be looking out for us. We posted one of many photos and video from his talk. This one is one of the largest bears he saw and estimated the weight to be between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds. Expedition Lecturer Conrad Field spoke about the plants of the arctic. He shared with us what grows now and in the past. Wrapping up the late afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet in the Galaxy Theatre at 5:00 PM to hear from Tim Soper and the expedition team for a recap of what we have seen and what we can expect to see. This was also broadcast live to all guest rooms and was also rebroadcasted from 6:00 PM to Midnight. We have read where some have said that the best way to do this voyage is by expedition ship. For some this is undoubtedly the best way to go. As we have thought this through and have experienced a portion of this voyage ourselves we realize for us sailing on Serenity is a better alternative to an expedition ship. Why you ask? For us and we assume the majority of our fellow travelers we are able to immerse ourselves in the Northwest Passsage and have the benefit because of the size of Serenity to have on-board with us an incredible number and diverse set of speakers from so many different disciplines which would not be possible on a small expedition ship. These presenters are truly experts in their field and many have been recognized around the world for this. In addition, we can also enjoy the other benefits from sailing on Serenity from the enrichment such as the speakers who will address topics that are not Northwest Passage specific, to the other daytime activities (fitness, dance, iMovie/Compter/Bridge and other classes to all of the evening entertainment while enjoying wonderful cuisine and service that we love enjoy when we cruise. Choice is good. For us, this is what we prefer. In between the lectures we enjoyed lunch at the Lido Café, exercised, spoke with fellow guests and crew, read, wrote and looked outside. In a reversal of roles, Keith also took one of the fitness directors though one of his playlists that he uses to teach indoor cycling at our community. More on this tomorrow. This evening we will be dining at the Crystal Dining Room.
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