Live From Crystal Symphony - A New Adventure - Reykjavik to Dover

[Keith1010]

Tonight's dinner was truly amazing. I deviated a bit from my normal food choices.

 

More tomorrow.

 

Keith

[oakridger]

3 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I deviated a bit from my normal food choices.

 

Soooo.....does that mean you had mac and cheese and french fries for dinner?  😉

 

I'm enjoying following along with your cruises Keith.  It's really fun to see how much you enjoyed the Beatles Liverpool experiences!!

 

~Nancy

[Keith1010]

2 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

Soooo.....does that mean you had mac and cheese and french fries for dinner?  😉

 

I'm enjoying following along with your cruises Keith.  It's really fun to see how much you enjoyed the Beatles Liverpool experiences!!

 

~Nancy

Thank you Nancy.

 

You are close on what I had in a figurative sense.

 

For an appetizer I had Beef Carpaccio. We had discussed Wagyu Beef Tartar with the Head Waiter and that I've never had it.  I admitted it wasn't until 2021 when I tried the Beef Carpaccio. The whole idea of eating raw beef was hard to "swallow".  I do love Sashimi though.  For the beef I think back to the first segment of WC 07. We were seated with two couples and one person took an enormous amount of time eating her appetizer.  The waiters don't clear the dishes until the last person is finished.  It was a challenge and sometimes she had two appetizers. OK back to the story. She ordered the Beef Tartar and to me it looked like the size of one large raw hamburger and she is eating it in slow motion and I am just getting sick looking at this raw hamburger.

 

So last night they gave me a half portion of the Wagyu Beef Tartar to try. That was good so it didn't look like a big mac without the cheese. LOL. I had to say it was delicious.

 

So what did I have for the entree? Beef Wellington.

 

I haven't had beef one time since we boarded and have very little of it.

 

So, I think we'll balance all of this with some other items this evening.

 

Keith

 

Beef Carpaccio i

[Keith1010]

Dinner Menu for September 18 and for now the version of Reflections for those guests leaving Symphony this morning.

 

Keith

 

Septembre 18 Reflections.pdf

 

September 18 Waterside Dinner Menu.pdf

 

 

[Cruiserbunny199]

I can see Crystal Symphony from my window - see you later!

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Cruiserbunny199 said:

I can see Crystal Symphony from my window - see you later!

That is superb.

 

Keith

[Cruiserbunny199]

[Keith1010]

 

Greetings from Crystal Symphony

 

I’ve included a photo collage of Umi Uma the Japanese Restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, a video of entertainment before dinner and a video shortly after arriving to the port of Dover before 6:00 am this morning.

 

We enjoyed a terrific dinner at Waterside for the final dinner of this cruise. More to come as we are staying on for the next cruise. I am including a photo of our wait staff team which also includes Head Sommelier Goran and Senior Head Waiter Bojan.

 

 

 

 

 

Food was terrific. I tried a small portion of the Wagyu Beef Tartar for the very first time.  Although I enjoy sashimi and more recently starting in 2021 the Beef Carpaccio I was hesitant to try the Beef Tartar. To my pleasant surprise it was delicious.  Also, had the Beef Wellington. Mama Mia. A lot of beef for someone who rarely has beef. Beef Wellington cut very nicely and was cooked perfectly.

 

 

This morning we arrived in Dover, UK which is our turn-around-port.

 

 

 

Dover controls the English Channel.  In terms of history, Dover is known as a military and garrison town.  There is lots to see in Dover including the Dover Castle and the Wartime Tunnel System, both of which we saw on a pre-cruise tour right before we boarded Crystal Symphony in 2003.  Other attractions include Dover Museum, White Cliffs and Dover Beach. Only a 45-minute drive is Canterbury.

 

 

We didn’t plan a tour for today as we have tours in three upcoming ports, have visited nearby sites on previous cruises and we plan to return next year and have a tour in mind. 

 

The start of a new cruise so today we had Cobb Salad. Photo included.

 

We are enjoying a leisurely time on board visiting with crew and guests so I will close for now.
 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Downunder55]

Hi Keith 

Mrs Downunder here ( I really didn’t enjoy typing that 🤣)

I have also been following a lot of the posts so thank you and to many others .
Our first Crystal cruise is coming up in Feb 25 and I have a few questions as many of our previous cruises have been Silversea . I noticed the “raw” meat in your photos and many people love rare meat - I must be one of the very few that don’t. I do eat tons of sushi/ sashimi. With the new beef bar restaurant I am assuming that all meat items can be cooked “ well done “ - is this something you can answer ?

Many chefs hate it when you ask for meat well done so I don’t want to embarrass myself.

Restaurant bookings - can they be done on the half hour ? ( SS only allowed them on the hour which was very frustrating ) .

Yes I know - very important questions.

cheers

TBH ( the better half )

[Keith1010]

31 minutes ago, Downunder55 said:

Hi Keith 

Mrs Downunder here ( I really didn’t enjoy typing that 🤣)

I have also been following a lot of the posts so thank you and to many others .
Our first Crystal cruise is coming up in Feb 25 and I have a few questions as many of our previous cruises have been Silversea . I noticed the “raw” meat in your photos and many people love rare meat - I must be one of the very few that don’t. I do eat tons of sushi/ sashimi. With the new beef bar restaurant I am assuming that all meat items can be cooked “ well done “ - is this something you can answer ?

Many chefs hate it when you ask for meat well done so I don’t want to embarrass myself.

Restaurant bookings - can they be done on the half hour ? ( SS only allowed them on the hour which was very frustrating ) .

Yes I know - very important questions.

cheers

TBH ( the better half )

Greeting Mrs. Downunder:

 

My expectation from what I read about Beefbar from their website is the beef will all be cooked so no worries.

 

You can ask for your meat is cooked so no worries.  Usually they ask us at the restaurants if having beef. 

 

Specialty restaurant reservations are on the half hour.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Keith

 

 

[Keith1010]

Todays' Daily Reflections now available.

 

Keith

 

September 18 Reflections.pdf

[Downunder55]

Thankyou Keith

TBH

[RLK33853]

55 minutes ago, Downunder55 said:

Hi Keith 

Mrs Downunder here ( I really didn’t enjoy typing that 🤣)

I have also been following a lot of the posts so thank you and to many others .
Our first Crystal cruise is coming up in Feb 25 and I have a few questions as many of our previous cruises have been Silversea . I noticed the “raw” meat in your photos and many people love rare meat - I must be one of the very few that don’t. I do eat tons of sushi/ sashimi. With the new beef bar restaurant I am assuming that all meat items can be cooked “ well done “ - is this something you can answer ?

Many chefs hate it when you ask for meat well done so I don’t want to embarrass myself.

Restaurant bookings - can they be done on the half hour ? ( SS only allowed them on the hour which was very frustrating ) .

Yes I know - very important questions.

cheers

TBH ( the better half )

 

We had our first Crystal cruise last April/May and it was fantastic - everything, and I mean everything will be tailored to your preferences - you just need to let them know what they are.  As for a comparison to Silversea, you can't make one - Crystal is ten steps better.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Downunder55]

Thank-you so much RLK

We did 2 SS this year and their meals , entertainment are going downhill. They have been slowly getting worse since Covid so we have been looking elsewhere . I feel like I’m cheating 🤣🤣

TBH

[Txcotn]

I love that the waiters don't clear until everyone is finished. That is so courteous to the slower eater.  In today's world they grab the plate before you swallow your last bite, one day I'll find out they are short of plates and need to wash mine for the next table.

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Txcotn said:

I love that the waiters don't clear until everyone is finished. That is so courteous to the slower eater.  In today's world they grab the plate before you swallow your last bite, one day I'll find out they are short of plates and need to wash mine for the next table.

Yes. Too often on land you are rushed out of the restaurant so they can turn over the table.  We enjoy a meal that there is plenty of time for conversation, to eat slowly and time between courses.

 

At our first dinner at Osteria on the last cruise the waiter asked us how we liked the meal paced. I thought that was good because we know some people who want a fast paced meal. Not us.  

 

With that said the person at our table was a bit unique as she ordered to appetizers and ate each  one very slow. The other couple at our table didn't come the last five nights because of that. We stayed the course.  Not easy but we did.  

 

Keith

[KbFebruary]

Love the video of Caleb!   He was on our cruise in April on Symphony.  Great guy!    Enjoy.  

[Keith1010]

Following are today's Daily Reflection and Waterside Menu.

 

Keith

 

Sep 19 Reflections.pdf

 

Sept 19 Waterside.pdf

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

As I post this we are making our way to Ijmuiden, Netherlands where we will overnight on the evening of September 19.  This will be our first time to the Netherlands, although we tried but we know what happened to the previous owner.  

 

The port is located 17 miles from Amsterdam.

 

Yesterday was turn-around day at the Port Of Dover.  It seemed very orderly with guests arrival times spread out throughout the afternoon.  Although we had overcast skies weather was nice, although we had strong winds at times.

 

As we departed the port we had nice views of the White Cliffs.  

 

The present ride is very nice with just enough motion of the ship that you know you are at sea.

 

Forecast for Amsterdam calls for sunny skies and a high of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, although when it comes to weather forecasts you never know.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

[Keith1010]

Greetings From Crystal Symphony.

 

I want to digress for a moment.  During our Beatles Tour in Liverpool, we saw white feathers in different locations such as at the Cemetery near where John met Paul.  Our tour guide said in some cases people leave them because according to John Lennon’s son Julian his father John Lennon said the following.  He said to Julian that should he pass away, if there was any way of letting me know he was going to be ok the message would come to him in the form of a white feather. While we were walking the Crystal Symphony Promenade Deck while docked in Dover, we saw two different white feathers.  Maybe he was sending us a message that he is OK.  

 

Crystal Symphony has a great Fitness Center and I think even better as the overall maximum passenger capacity has been reduced. It has a great variety of equipment.  It is also nice that you can see the entire length of the center without obstructed views.  One of the things we like is that Crystal Fitness Centers are open 7x24 so you can work out on your own whenever you want. Group classes are also offered. For a fee you can sign up for personal training. I have included a photo collage of the Symphony Fitness Center.

 

 

Last evening, we dined at the Osteria Italian Specialty Restaurant with Future Cruise and Loyalty Manager Daniele Puma. We have known Daniele since 2007 when he worked at the front desk.  Since then, we watched him move into other positions, Concierge and Chief Concierge, Assistant to the Hotel Director, Future Cruise Sales Consultant and to his current position. 

 

Dinner at Osteria was terrific between the great conversation, outstanding service, delicious cuisine, and the beautiful dining venue.  When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by the waitstaff team, and the feel is you are dining at a restaurant in a small village of Italy.  

 

 

Sad news when we got back to our room.  We had to turn the clocks forward by one hour.  The good news is later in the cruise we will get the hour back when we turn the clocks backward.  Such challenges.  LOL.

 

 

Today we arrived at our first port of call for this cruise which is in Ijmuiden. This port is the gateway for Amsterdam.

 

There was a bit of a mix up for today’s private tour which we booked on our own. Originally, it was a tour of Jewish areas including time in the morning to visit the Anne Frank House/Museum.  Unfortunately, tickets were booked for late afternoon rather than morning.  The good news is we have plans to return to Amsterdam next year, so we changed out the program. Today focused on highlights of Amsterdam and next year we will focus on Jewish Highlights, including visiting the Anne Frank House/Museum. With that said we did see some Jewish sites including Synagogue and we made it to the outside of the Anne Frank house/museum.

 

We were driven from the port to the city where we met up with our tour guide Kaleigh. I will let the photos do the talking except to say that Amsterdam has lots of beauty and things to do so we just got a small flavor of it today as there are lots of old castles, museums, courtyards, cobbled streets, canals, and lots more to enjoy. Like any city you could spend days, weeks and months here and not see or experience it all.

 

 

I am posting just some photos today and tomorrow many more.

 

I will close now.

 

Cheers  

 

 

 

 

 

[Keith1010]

Oh and stay tuned for the next update about french fries.

 

Keith

[nancygp]

Good news that you will return to Amsterdam next year.  Did you visit the Portuguese Synagogue today?  We did a wonderful Jewish tour in 2015 on our symphony visit.  Gil and arlene joined us on that tour.  We toured the Anne Frank house seperately during our precruise stay.  There’s so much to see in Amsterdam.

 

Nancy 

[Keith1010]

10 minutes ago, nancygp said:

Good news that you will return to Amsterdam next year.  Did you visit the Portuguese Synagogue today?  We did a wonderful Jewish tour in 2015 on our symphony visit.  Gil and arlene joined us on that tour.  We toured the Anne Frank house seperately during our precruise stay.  There’s so much to see in Amsterdam.

 

Nancy 

Nancy, yes we visited the Portuguese Synagogue as our first stop today spending a lot of time there today.  You are so right.  There is so much to see and learn about Amsterdam.  It was a wonderful walking tour.

 

It was a great day.

 

Keith

 

[TER777]

I was just reading today's Reflections and noticed re the evening show "Hosted by Cruise Director Raphael Derkson". Is CD Vicki van Tassel okay? I sure hope so but if they've brought Raphael in, it suggests she is out sick for more than a couple of days.

[Keith1010]

Raphael will be here for about a week filling in for CD Vicki.

 

Keith