Last night was formal night. I love formal nights. We went to the Avenue Saloon and were treated to a great jazz performance (this is a Jazz themed cruise). The Captain's welcome reception followed and we learned that there are approximately 750 guests onboard, 322 of which are from California, and 69 are canucks.

We finally realized that we'd landed at the Captain's table and where the previous night there had been only four of us, tonight we had a full table and got to enjoy Captain Giske's company (and wine!).

While most of the table ordered the malossol caviar, I opted for the chicken liver parfait. Served on a tall dessert glass, dolloped on top of pear puree and port terrine, the cloud-textured pate was delicious and rich. The fresh lobster entree was spectacular; tender, buttery tail and claw perched on a bed of truffle-herbed rissotto. Although somewhat of a cliche, the molten chocolate cake was nonetheless oh so yummy.

The show tonight was Curtain Call. The lead singers are quite good and they had strong performances. After dinner we went to the Palm Court for a little dancing.

We sailed into Cabo San Lucas before noon. This is an overnight stop so we decided to stay on the ship and signed up for a tour for tomorrow. It was easy to do nothing in the morning, nothing in the afternoon and take a nap in between! later in the day we went for a power walk on the Promenade deck and spied a pod of whales spouting off in the distance. Having been to Antarctica and Alaska earlier this year, I've become quite the whale spotter.

Cabo, with its distinctive rock formations, cacti and sandy beaches is very beautiful; plentiful wildlife, including numerous kinds of birds, sea lions, whales, dolphins and an abundance of fish, together with the many tourist activities available, make this an attractive travel destination. But the impacts of the enduring economic downturn and the surge in violent criminal activity that has been plaguing many Mexican cities of late can really be felt. Many condos and houses empty, construction sites abandoned; all silent witnesses to the surrounding beauty.

The cruisecritic meet and mingle was held in the Palm Court at 7:45; unfortunately, we had 8 o'clock reservations at Prego and were only able to "mingle" for a short while. Prego was simply flawless. Very uncharacteriscally for us, we ended up ordering the exact same things: melt-in-your-mouth beef carpaccio dressed to perfection with capers, aged balsamic vinegar, evoo and parmesan cheese; the legendary rosemary bread bowl mushroom soup, and dainty gnocci with a rich braised venison bolognese sauce. Desert and a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino rounded off the outstanding meal. We went to bed early as a 7 am tour awaits tomorrow.

Jazz at the Avenue Saloon

Captain's Reception

Parasailing in Cabo

Curtain Call

This is a lazy post on a lazy afternoon. Considering all the things I could be doing but have chosen not to do, watching small birds seemingly suspended in the gentle breeze suddenly take a dive to skim the shimmering ocean surface for some unseen silvery catch.

Today we awoke to the rythmic rocking of the stabilizers, still a bit groggy having lost one hour overnight as we crossed a timezone. Sleep was an elixir we have seldom imbibed these past few months, ordinary worries and extraordinary stress crowding our dreams night after night. But as I wake up, my only worry is whether or not I'll have time for coffee and a pastry before my scheduled facial. This level of pampering sets the tone for a week of pure rest and relaxation.

We've spent the day doing not much at all; giddily absorbing the heat and the sunshine from the refuge of our balcony, eating prize-deserving burgers and sweet potato fries at the Trident Grill and generally having a heck of a time. Familiar faces greet us as several of the Lido guys come by to say hi. The are awesome and a Crystal cruise would not be the same without them. The Symphony feels just right; all decked out for Christmas it looks elegant and festive, welcoming and familiar. High tea in the Palm Court is pure joy; spotting the ocassional whale fluke off in the distance, listening to the fantastic string quartet play Mozart, wiping the clotted cream off my chin. We chat with Slovan, our Croatian waiter and discuss the virtues of Vancouver and Victoria both of which he's visited while doing the Alaska runs this past Summer. We agree that Victoria is the nicest of the two and that it is a bit like the Symphony; beautiful and very civilized.

We left Vancouver at an ungodly hour yesterday morning. Rain was peltering the tarmac as we took off. Minutes later the captain announced that the weather awaiting us in LA was, well, perfect! We arrived at the port before noon and within thirty minutes were being seated in the main dining room, our carry-on bag having been taken care of, a glass of bubbly firmly in hand. Everything is good.

Sail away was nothing short of magical. Yes I left my camera in our stateroom so my word will have to suffice. We left LA as the sun went down, a sliver of a moon hanging in the indigo sky above Catalina island , sun rays as I have only seen on religious paintings shooting up from behind a hill, palm trees in sharp contrast and Louie Armstrong singing in the background.

Mark Farris entertained us at the piano in the Avenue Saloon. This is one of our favourite hangouts for a pre-dinner cocktail. We had really enjoyed Martin Orbidans on our previous cruise but Farris did not disappoint. Dinner was a lot of fun even though we were seated at a table for nine -more on this later- and only two of our tablemates showed up. Andy and Rich from California are great table partners; we had a nice, long, entertaining dinnertime. Particularly enjoyed the marinated shrimp appetizer.

Best of intentions led us to the Palm Court for a little dancing but the band was on a break. We decided to call it a night.