Monday, January 26, 2009. On board Crystal Symphony en route to St. Maarten
This marks our 4th segment on Crystal Symphony this cruise. It was very hard to say good-bye to all the friends we met on our cruise around South America. After everyone disembarked by about 10:15 am, it was so empty on the ship that it felt as if we had the ship to ourselves. We managed to get 2 loads of laundry done without any difficulty.
At about 10:45, we cleared customs and were picked up outside the terminal building by our friends, Pat and John Delaney from Ft. Lauderdale. As we were driving past the buildings, John said “Boy this neighborhood is really going down hill, look at those 2 bums over there!” and he pointed to the right side of the road. There standing with signs that said “Memphis or bust!” were our friends Brian Bell and Gary Sundburg from Walnut Creek, Ca. I couldn't believe what I saw and it took me a few seconds to put it together and then I started screaming! I couldn't believe it! I had no suspicion that they were going to be in Florida! Evidently, Pat, John, Brian and Gary put this together as a huge surprise for us! They kept such a good secret, it was thrilling to see them! Pat and John and Brian and Gary are friends we made on Crystal Symphony Cruise #6230, December, 2007, transiting the Panama Canal. That cruise was the absolute best we have taken for making friends and having incredible laughs! We have made such enduring friendships from that cruise: Brian, Gary, Pat, John, Mary Mc Kee, Patty Wong, and her mother Ann, Judith and Larry Morrison, Carla and Lane, Pam van Gordon, and others I know I'm missing.
What a special day we had! We all crowded into the Lincoln Town Car that Gary rented and John gave us a tour of South Beach. We had lunch at the mansion previously owned by Versace. It is now a private club, hotel and restaurant. On the steps of the mansion was where Versace was killed. Evidently, people were lining up with magazine photos of Versace and were dipping the photos in his blood on the sidewalk. What possesses people??? We dining outside under umbrellas and had a really lovely lunch thanks to Brian. Afterward we toured the downstairs of the mansion. The private dining room is covered with mosaics made from china and tiny pebbles. The ceiling is an incredible mural of cherubs and shells. There is a gorgeous mosaic pool and a very interesting bar. The bathrooms have showers and bidets and beautiful stained glass. There is a lovely center courtyard, also.
We walked around South Beach and really enjoyed the art deco architecture of the old hotels and apartments which are now being refurbished.
We all came back to the ship around 3:30 and went up to the Lido deck for champagne. (Pat had secretly arranged for Brian and Gary to come on board as our guests---without giving away the secret to us!) The Lido deck stewards were all happy to see Pat and John who thoughtfully brought bags of Philippine treats for the deck guys. Our reservations for dinner in Silk Road were for 6 pm because all visitors had to be off the ship at 8:30. I had only made reservations for 4 people, but Willy, the headwaiter, was able to seat two more people and we had a great round table. Before dinner, we all went back to our cabin and took turns changing clothes. Let me tell you all that it is possible to have 6 people in these cabins---we had it all figured out: 4 of us could sleep on the bed, Brian was willing to curl up on the loveseat because there is no mattress inside and one unlucky person was going to have to sleep on the floor! We showed our friends some photos from the previous segments and photos or our new friends. We went up to Silk Road on time and had a marvelous dinner of Nobu special sushi dishes—my favorite is the yellow tail tartare—and then a magnificent assortment of sashimi and sushi. We all had entrees that were great: Wagu beef (like Kobe beef), bento boxes, rock shrimp, etc. We managed to consume 3 bottle of delicious wine that Pat, John, Brian and Gary brought. Norbert, the maitre d of the specialty restaurants and Slavko, his headwaiter in Prego came by as we had previously arranged. David and I, at Pat and John's request, had taken portrait photos of Norbert and Slavko without saying why, and Pat had framed them as gifts for them, which they really liked.
All to soon, it was 8:30 and we had to say good bye to our friends. It was an absolutely perfect day and gave us an incredibly warm feeling that Brian and Gary would travel all the way to Florida to surprise us! We sure feel loved! Luckily, they are coming to Memphis to visit on March 6. Unfortunately, Pat and John can't come up that weekend, too, because of business commitments.
Today is the first full day of cruise 9202. The ship is primarily groups: over 200 college alumni travelers, another 400 health and wealth group and a third that we don't know. Everyone is walking around with tags around their necks. We are left to see whether these large groups change the dynamics of being on board Crystal. Previously, Roberta's Bridge Groups have created a terrible environment, but I'm trying not to pre-judge.
The sun has finally come out at about 4 pm, so it wasn't a pool day. We've got moderate seas due to strong winds. David and I listened to Jay Wolff's talk about the choice of Panama for a canal. As usual it was very interesting. We had a team of 2 for Team Trivia and made a respectable score, but were edged out by one point. We also did our first library quiz. After lunch at the Trident Grill, we listened to a lecture on the beginning of the Disney empire. I went to art at sea while David entered, and failed to win, the free slot tournament. Our new art at sea teacher is Hope Freedland, and she is no Kristina Nugent. We did a small watercolor painting, but the atmosphere is not nearly as creative or as encouraging as Kristina's class. Tomorrow we are making a picture frame with some kind of clay and painting it. I'm not sure I'm going to stick with the class. Kris, if you are reading this, Hope said that you mentioned me in an email to her! Also, she said they had never had the art closet left in such an organized condition. I told her that you had worked on the closet for over 2 days!
Our entertainment on this cruise includes some old friends: Michell Bell who boards in Tortola, and Mark Merchant who also boards later.
Tonight we will meet our tablemates for the first time, but it will be very hard to match our previous tablemates who were wonderful! We are still at Cornel's (the ship's doctor) table.
Our first port is Saint Maarten the day after tomorrow.
By for now!!!