The Crystal Symphony is in Malacca, Malaysia. The MS Amsterdam is at sea from Reunion Island to Durban South Africa.
We are gradually making our way from the tropics to a more temperate climate. The security personnel patrolling the Promenade Deck are now wearing jackets in the morning although it is not that cold. We had surprisingly choppy seas considering how close we are to land, but they calmed down as morning broke, and the skies were very clear. My walk went very well although we had quite a strong wind blowing from the stern.
It was a very busy morning at sea with a lightly attended Protestant Perspectives, in fact just me and one other cruiser, Pastor and Ruth Voosen, and Rabbi Hershman and his wife. Crystal Visions began at 10 with Edwina Currie talking about “Lies, Damm Lies, and Politicians”, followed by Rob Caskie with “The Battle of Rorkes Drift, 22 January 1879”, a story of extreme bravery by both British and Zulu warriors.
In his noon update Captain Vorland advised we are doing a leisurely 11 knots on 2 generators. We need about 12 to arrive in Port Elizabeth on time but expect favorable currents overnight and do not want to arrive before the pilots are ready for us. I haven’t been doing team trivia since the Captain’s updates have been moved from 9AM to noon, but did so today. The M&M team was glad to see me since several of their regulars were on safari. I offered one answer and made suggestions on others, but we were not in contention either for today’s match or for the series title.
I got my regular sandwich at the Trident Grill but went out to the Seahorse Pool to eat thanks to a combination of cooler temperatures (still about 80F) and the Crystal Sextet jamming at the music stage. Between trivia and lunch there was not a lot of time before the 1:30 Crystal Visions presentation, John Jones (husband of Edwina Currie) on his inside view of Scotland Yard from his 30 years there.
I had a bit of down time for the rest of the afternoon, with a bit of work on the computer, a bit of shopping, and oh yes, getting on the wait list for the 2017 World Cruise. It’s just about unthinkable that I’ll do the entire cruise but a segment or 2 would be nice.
All 6 of us were present again for a lovely formal dinner followed by the Captain’s Farewell Party. He reported that there was a change in the pilot arrangements again for Port Elizabeth and our confirmed 6AM pilot would be changed for a choice of 4:45 or 6:30. After our experience in Durban he opted for 4:45 and we are hoping for a prompt arrival.
The evening entertainment was the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers in “Across the Pond”. I THINK I have seen the show before, but it would have to be at least 3 years ago when I was last on Serenity, so it was certainly fresh for me.
Today’s parting shot comes from Mr. Jones talk about Scotland Yard. He mentioned how there are many talents involved in being a good detective, things such as reading people, getting a person’s confidence, forensics, math, and even acting. A good detective will develop as many of these talents as possible, but a good team will share the individual strengths of each member. Good advice for any kind of a team.
Roy
-
- dawn0325
-
- sextet
-
- jones
-
- farewell
3 ships Bali to Florida 