Day Seven - Livorno, Italy
June 10 - This morning, Crystal Symphony is still docked in Livorno, Italy, after an overnight stay in port. By spending two days at Livorno, Crystal guests are able to visit two of Italy’s most popular tourist spots: Pisa and Florence. Each of these destinations take a full day to visit, so having two full days here is a real plus for Crystal guests.
The view of Livorno from Trident Grill
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we have been to Pisa and Florence twice, so we decided to forego a ship’s excursion and stay onboard to get photos and video of the ship.
As I passed through The Marketplace buffet this morning I noticed that the crew had placed Soy Sauce on each table. That was a sign that today’s lunch buffet was going to be Asian themed. Sure enough, when we arrived for lunch, the entire buffet was filled with Asian dishes from Japan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Fresh sushi and sashimi at The Marketplace buffet
Asian cuisine is my all-time favorite and I was very impressed, not only with the selection of dishes, but the quality and flavor. The spring rolls with Thai Sweet Chili sauce were crisp and delicious. The beef, pork and chicken skewers were amazing, as was the Broccoli Beef.
Spring Rolls
Indonesian-style skewers with peanut sauce
They even had Char Siu BBQ pork belly, which was tender and delicious. Off to the right in the photo below, you can see a crew member carving Peking Duck. I don’t recall ever seeing Peking Duck on a cruise ship.
Char Siu Pork Belly and Peking Duck
This was the best Asian-themed buffet I have ever enjoyed on a cruise ship. Very well done!
After lunch, we felt the need to burn off some of the extra calories we consumed with a few laps around the top deck of the ship (Deck 12), followed up by a few laps of Deck 7, a wraparound Promenade Deck. Unfortunately, there was some repair work being done on the port side of Deck 7 aft, so we were not able to make a full lap.
Walking track on Deck 12
Promenade Deck 7
After our walk around Decks 7 and 12, getting in our 10,000 steps today, we spent the afternoon relaxing on our veranda enjoying the amazing weather.
Our veranda
We both ate so much at the Asian lunch buffet that there was no room left for dinner. So, after getting dressed and ready for tonight’s White Night Party, we enjoyed cocktails at Beefbar lounge on Deck 11. I am not sure if this space is actually called “Beefbar Lounge”, but it is right outside of the restaurant, that that is what we call it!
Air conditioned cruise terminal
At 9:30 tonight, everyone onboard was in the ship’s main lobby area for the White Night Party celebrating Crystal’s 35th anniversary.
White Night Party hosted by Cruise Director, Vicki Van Tassel
It was a real party atmosphere tonight with live music and dancing and performances by many of the ship’s performers.
Waiters were on hand with special White Night treats.
And, of course, specialty cocktails were being offered to guests.
When we noticed the Captain and Hotel Director standing right behind us at the party, we had to snap a photo of Rickee with Captain Willheim.
Rickee with Captain Willheim
Crystal really knows how to throw a party! Everyone was having fun, enjoying the music and dancing to the beat.
Tomorrow, Crystal Symphony will be anchored off the coast of Porto Santo Stefano, Italy. This will be our first time visiting this port, so you know what that means…magnet search!
