En Route To Muscat, Oman Day 1

Today is the first of three days as we cruise to Muscat, Oman. We awoke early this morning, as Keith wanted to take care of a few items on the ship before breakfast. Today marked the second time during the course of the voyage that we crossed the equator. This occurred a little after 8:00 this morning.

We had breakfast in the Lido Café and although we were at sea there were more people than usual in the café when we arrived. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and then we went over to the Fitness Center for our daily workout. Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill and Keith worked out on the elliptical machine. We have really found that this entire routine works very well for us. It gives us the rest of the day to enjoy all of the activities on the ship. In addition to the workout, when time permits we will walk on the Promenade Deck as we have mentioned in previous posts. We also just about exclusively use the stairs throughout the day to get from place to place around the ship.

For those who enjoy scheduled fitness classes there are so many to choose from throughout the day. For example today there is a sunrise walk around the ship hosted by the cruise director at 7:30 AM, a stretch class with the fitness instructor at 8:00 AM, a progressive Yoga class with the Yoga instructor at 8:00 AM, a sit to be fit fitness class at 8:30 AM, a total body sculpt fitness class at 8:30 AM, an afternoon walk with the Sports Director at 4:30 PM, and a mat-based Pilates class at 4:30 PM. On top of that there is Shuffleboard open play with the Sports Directors at 10:30 AM, Paddle Tennis open play with the sports directors at 2:30 PM, and Table Tennis Open Play with the sports directors at 4:00 PM.

For those who want to do other activities there are computer university classes for beginners and those with experience, there are beginners, intermediate and advanced bridge classes and hosted duplicate bridge classes. There is a golf clinic given by a PGA Golf Pro, for those interested in golf. For others there are music classes, napkin-folding lessons, spa seminars, dance classes, needlepoint get together, quilting projects, both an afternoon and evening movie, language classes, and a variety of other activities. Then there is team trivia, lectures, a nice library, various restaurant venues, night-time entertainment, the pleasure of the sea, the pools and so forth to look forward to. One can stay as busy as they would like at sea or just sit back and relax or do a combination of both. In addition to outstanding service, food and entertainment, Crystal Cruises has developed an wonderful reputation for the vast number and unique activities that they provide a sea. For example, those on the Full World Cruise can take an accredited computer class and earn College Credit. And, the list goes on.

So, as you can see there are so many nice activities to choose from. Today, we went to see actress Doris Roberts speak in the morning. The session was a Q&A discussion. The Cruise Director did an outstanding job of asking Ms. Roberts a variety of questions that touched on a solid list of topics. Then they opened up the questions from the audience. It was wonderful to get Ms. Roberts’ perspectives on a variety of topics from Hollywood, to television, theater and film, to politics.

After the Q&A session it was off to team trivia. The good news is that our team not only finished in first place for today, but that we answered all fifteen questions correctly. This was the first time that any team answered all fifteen questions correctly since the first segment of the World Cruise when one team accomplished this one time. As they say, practice makes perfect. Or is it never give up?

We then went to lunch and today was the Grand Gala Buffet, which is presented once a cruise. All of the various foods were uniquely presented outside the main dining room in the main foyer by the reception area and after selecting their food items passenger’s are escorted to tables by the wonderful restaurant staff. We enjoyed a wonderful salad entrée that we selected. Afterwards, we spoke with a number of restaurant personnel who were serving the foods at the various food stations.

At 1:30 PM we sent to the lecture given by Memory Expert Dr. Fred Chernow whose presentation was titled “Brain Fod: Eating Smart for Better Retention.” His lecture covered which foods are good for ones memory and which clog it up. He discussed the good foods, which included dark vegetables from sweet potatoes, to spinach, to red onions, to blueberries, to wild salmon, to olive oil, to nuts and so forth. He also covered those foods to avoid. Clearly, there are lots of similarities to the good foods that Dr. Chernow covered with the healthy foods that the other Doctors who we have heard lecture over the course of the World Cruise.

We took care of various items during the remainder of the afternoon. Before dinner we went to a chorus spring concert, which was a trio of songs, which were sung by several of our fellow passenger’s. We enjoyed the concert.

This evening we went to the Silk Road Japanese Restaurant with a very nice couple that we have met during the course of the cruise. The husband teaches the Computer Class that is being taught over the entire World Cruise for College Credit and his wife assists him in the administration of the cruise and is someone who we talk with almost daily as we see her working out in the Fitness Center each morning. We had a wonderful dinner with them and greatly enjoyed the conversation.


Keith & Anne Marie