Tuesday morning:
Woke up at dawn to a glassy sea just off the southern Cape coast about an hour from Mossel Bay. The beds on the ship have a thick layer of gel/foam on the mattress and it is no exaggeration to say that it was like sleeping on a cloud. I have never slept so well and on investigation and identification, it seems that for a mere R20 000, we can have one on our beds at home! Very tempting. And so, well rested and revived by tea delivered with alacrity by 24-hour room service, it was out onto the Promenade Deck for pre-breakfast exercise.
There was an arrow on the railing pointing the way for 'Today's direction'. This was presumably to avoid any confusion or jostling between runners, walkers and sundry strollers. In all the time aboard, I only saw one woman walking against the stream, but I think it was from pure ignorance of ship's rules rather than pig-headedness. I forbore to confront her on the subject and merely stepped aside as she swept by - she was Amazonesque, and doubtless others also stepped aside.
Breakfast was a vast buffet on the lido deck and after two days of the full English - my version: 2 chicken sausages, scrambled egg, bacon, fresh juice, yoghurt/berries/muesli - I never went to breakfast again and had two eggs and tea via Room Service. Who knows whether I would have fitted through the cabin door if it had continued!
We anchored offshore in Mossel Bay and spent a pleasant day sunbathing at the pool (still peeling from the sunburn), enjoying a little R & R in luxurious surroundings and familiarising ourselves with the deck layouts. The Crystal Symphony, referred to by the passengers as 'the hotel', is the ultimate in comfort and style, with everything grouped sensibly and centrally, unlike other ships I have been on, and in no time it was as familiar as a favourite mall. The Hotel Director referred to it as 'a village' and it did feel like one after a while - a little bistro for morning coffee and patisserie, choice of five restaurants for lunch or dinner, a pool deck, lounge areas, cocktail bar, piano bar for late nights (many of those), library, bridge room, movie theatre, big theatre for live shows, spa, gym, tennis court, golf driving nets, outdoor gym equipment on the stern deck, dance floor, hairdresser, etc. There are two self-service laundrettes that make for easy living and great conversations. In fact, everything the heart desires except for some trees to lie under and look up at the sky.
By late afternoon, those who had gone ashore to explore the town or play golf at Fancourt had returned, and we slid silently and smoothly into the dusk, bound for Port Elizabeth.
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| Stern deck dining |
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| Promenade deck |
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| About the right sized portion! |
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| Breakfast buffet |
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| A lift foyer |
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| Crystal Cove bar area |
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| Perspex piano |
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