DAY 12 DAY 8 SILVERSEA SPIRIT - AT SEA

Before dinner we had a pre-dinner drink at The Bar.   We were taken good care of one of the members of the staff who works there, Jose, who we have come to adore.  As usual, he knew the wine we prefer and that Anne Marie also likes to have a glass of sparkling water in addition to wine.  We’d love to take him home with us.  We feel the same way about the butler; Probha.

While we were at The Bar, the Captain spoke from the bridge as we were leaving Cozumel at 6:00 PM.  He noted that we would have strong winds from the time we left Cozumel until the time we arrived to Florida.  This is all part of the experience of cruising.  At dinner one couple was a bit sea sick and didn't order or eat much.

This was the second time we dined at La Terrazza and like our first visit of this cruise we thoroughly enjoyed dinner.  For us, this is another reminder to not rush to judgement the first time we exprerience something for the very first time.  When we sailed Silver Shadow in 2009, we dined at their La Terrazza one-time for dinner and we didn’t like it.  It just didn’t work for us.  However, we have had other examples of this.  When Keith used the elliptical machine for the very first time many years ago he didn’t like it but instead of giving up he persevered for a couple of weeks and got used to it and loves it to this day.  Even on Crystal Cruises in the early years we would sail once a year and while Keith loved the Asian Restaurants on each of its three ships (our first Crystal Cruise was on the Harmony which no longer is in the Crystal Fleet) there was something about the Prego Italian Restaurant that didn’t work for Keith.  We would go there once per cruise and Keith thinks what didn’t work for him was some of the items since they are quite rich with ingredients.  Fast forward to the 2007 World Cruise and for the first two months we didn’t even dine there until we went with another couple and the wife is careful about many foods as Keith is and gave us good recommendations that worked for Keith and in-time he modified the approach and since that time we consider Prego to be on of our favorite restaurants at land or at sea.  In other words, sometimes in life it’s a good idea to give something another try and sometime it takes a few times. 

Back to dinner at La Terrazzo.

The food was fantastic.  We both had four courses and the first three were the same including a small tasting of a pasta dish for our appetizer, a salad, and a swordfish entree and then for dessert Anne Marie had a cream puff and gave Keith half of it and Keith had a fruit plate.

Last evening’s entertainment included a solo show performed by Cruise Director Moss which featured a rendition of songs down memory lane including The Beatles, Chuck Berry, The Monkees, Bill Joel and Dire Straits. 

The seas were not as rough as we had expected given the talk given by the Captain when we left port.  With that said, always best to error on the part of caution and some people do get sea sick easily.  Last night while at dinner, we noticed that a couple near us had stopped eating their first course and then a short while later they left.  The wife looked like she was a bit sea sick. 

We slept very well and began our day as we have each day on the Spirit.  We enjoyed breakfast in our room to start the day.  We continued to do packing and by the time we left the room so that the suite attendant could clean the room, we packed most items for tomorrow’s disembarkation. Speaking of disembarkation, last evening we received information related to disembarkation.  We are to pick up our passports tomorrow morning and we received the confirmation for the private vehicle that Silversea has arranged for us along with some additional information about disembarkation.  We also received two surveys to fill out and completed those and turned them into the reception desk.

We both worked out again at the Fitness Center and then enjoyed the ship for the rest of the morning. 

We enjoyed our final lunch of the Cruise at La Terrazza where we each enjoyed a salad entrée. 

There were a number of activities on the schedule including fitness classes and seminars, team trivia, blackjack tournament, galley tour, golf putting, wine tasting, an enrichment lecture.  A talk was also given about the new Silversea ship, which is being constructed in Italy called the Silver Muse.

While some people sat outside for the vast majority of the people the outside weather was not very conducive with fairly strong winds so some additional items were added to the schedule including a movie.

This evening we will have dinner in our room for the first time of this cruise.  

Keith & Anne Marie