First Day At Sea

We had a great time on our first full day on the ship. Although we went to sleep quite late the night before having gotten everything unpacked and put away, we felt well rested when we woke up today.

There is so much to do on the ship during sea days, so we thought we would share with you what we did today.

After an early breakfast we worked out in the spa/fitness center. Anne Marie went on the treadmill while Keith went on the elliptical machine. After the workout we met with the on board Crystal Consultant to discuss future itineraries. Her name is Nikki Andrew and we had last sailed with her in September of 2005.

We then signed up for some items. We each booked a one on one session with the fitness trainer for Sunday. We also signed up for one of the Creative Learning Institute courses.

We attended two wonderful lectures. The first was given by Richard Morgan on the history of the Panama Canal. Mr. Morgan worked for 25 years at the Panama Canal. We really enjoyed this lecture. The second lecture was given by Harm de Blij. The topic of the lecture was “Terrorism: Iraq, and the Geopolitics of the Middle East. Mr Blij is an author, professor and television personality who was geography editor for Good Morning America. He is a very charismatic speaker and he did a wonderful job of correlating how the world geography can influence worldwide events. We look forward to the additional lectures, which will be provided during the cruise by these two gentlemen.

At the end of the second lecture, a guest lecturer who we met on our last Crystal Cruise came up to see us. We have been corresponding with him from time to time since the last cruise. His name is Alvin Schuster and he worked for several years at the New York Times and now worked for the Los Angles Times. He will give several lectures on the role of the media in covering the Iraq War and previous wars such as the Vietnam War. We plan to have lunch with Mr. Schuster and his lovely wife Miriam right after his first lecture on Monday.

After a wonderful lunch in the main dining room we exercised again in the fitness center. Earlier in the day the Captain had announced that we would arrive late tomorrow morning at our first port of call in Jamaica. Evidently, there was a problem with one of the propulsion systems, which they planned to correct when we arrived in port. This problem has reduced our desired speed from 21 knots to 17 knots. Later in the evening the Captain informed all of us that the engineers were able to correct the problem and that we would arrive in port only about one hour late. That is wonderful news for those who have shore excursions in the morning.

This evening we attended the Captain’s Formal Welcome Reception and following the reception had our first of many Formal Dinners during the course of the cruise. We had a wonderful time at both the cocktail reception and at dinner.

The seas continue to be a bit choppy but we are doing well. For the first time, we are wearing wristbands, which seem to be helping, as the choppy seas are not bothering us. Let’s hope that the wristbands continue to work for the rest of the voyage. ☺

Our first full day on the ship has been wonderful and it already feels like home.

Keith and Anne Marie