Saturday, May 13, 2017 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea – Warm, Humid – mid 80s

It’s a lecture marathon aboard Crystal Symphony with six speakers going at it – some head to head.

After breakfast, I went to hear Louis Beres talk about “Cold War 2” in the Galaxy Lounge – a lot of talk about Trump and Putin (I wonder how the audience will take all of the Trump references especially the segment on Russian hacking and the 2016 election).

I stayed put and listed to Glenn Rosenblum present “Broadway Musicals: A Theatrical Smorgasbord from Bye Bye Birdie to Hamilton”.  Glenn was his usually flamboyantly funny self.

After lunch in the Lido Café (the usual) along with the really good Mango Iced Tea (will be ordered for the remainder of the cruise), I got ready for my second talk at 1:30 PM – “Forensics and History:  The Search for the Unknown Titanic Child” in the Starlite Club.  I was opposite Rick Senat in the Hollywood Theater.  As would be expected, I did not have that great a turnout and Rick told me later than he only had an 80 percent turnout – so we cannibalized each other’s audiences.  The good news was that I finished five minutes early (because I really rushed through the material).

Unknown Titanic Child

I chatted with passengers after the talk - nice.

I continued reading Casey Hill’s “Trace” - in the afternoon and we both had some drinks in the Crystal Cove (mojito and apricot sour). 

Ellen went to one of the theme talks and during the talk, Sharon Owens, who will do a show as Barbra Streisand walked in in character. 

Faux Babs

We attended a Q and A with Carter Calvert at 5:30 PM in the Starlite Club.  She talked about her career and training.  She was joined by husband, Roger Cohen, at the end talking about their CDs.

Dinner tonight was off the regular menu in the Crystal Dining Room – after the Mushroom Soup with a green cube, the rest of the dinner included Wahoo and Veggie Crepes.  It was all balanced by a sugar free lemon éclair along with a scoop of Coffee Buzz Buzz Ice Cream.

At 8:00 AM, the Crystal Ensemble Singers and Dancers put on their second Production Show – “5,6,7,8” – we stayed for a while and then went to the Palm Court.  We stayed there for the whole first set of Shoresounds – they told us earlier that they would do music from musicals and movies.  They were in absolutely terrific voice tonight (the best performance of this cruise) and also had an appreciative audience.  I could see they were pleased to have people there.

We went out on the very pleasant deck for a bit, where I captured the moon reflecting off the water.

The ship continues to be smooth.