Reflection Of Our World Cruise Adventure

We have now been home for almost six days from our World Cruise Adventure. We are all settled in at home having unpacked, gone through the mail and taken care of a variety of items that we needed to get done our first week back from this adventure.

We began our World Cruise Adventure in Los Angeles, California and concluded our journey in Southampton, England. We visited a total of 45 ports of call, in 22 different countries, over a span of 108 days. Amazingly, we traveled almost 31,000 nautical miles or the equivalent of almost 36,000 land miles.

The diversity of what we saw of this beautiful world we all live in is hard to put into words. Our adventure took us to sparesly populated areas as well as to large cities. We visited places where the local economies are flourishing as well as ports of call that have major economic issues to contend with. We saw people living in luxury and also saw people living in poverty. We spoke with highly educated people and we also met people who had little to no education to speak of. We visited some very prestine locations whose land was covered with beautiful greenery and magnificent flowers of all different colors and shapes, while we also visited places whose land was baron. We visited places that are essentially ruled by dictatorships and likewise we visited places where the government had little control on the daily lives of its people. We visited places where the United States dollar still seems to have strong buying power and we visited other places where the dollar is quite weak. We visited places with a very long history and with many historical sites still in place, and we also visited places that have very little history to speak of but are the new modern cities of this century.

There is so much to see in the world. For us, taking a cruise allows us to see lots of places in a relatively short amount of time while traveling in a floating resort. We could not imagine seeing all of the places we did by land/air. While we do not always have a lot of time to spend in any given port and by and large the areas of a particular area we see are close to the water vs. being inland, a cruise does give us a high level overview of so many places. If we want depth, then we can either book an overland excursion through the cruise line, or we can come back another time either as part of a pre or post cruise or on a land vacation.

We also know that there is so much to learn about and see in our world. While we have to be careful not to draw too many conclusions about a particular port, city or country in the world based on seeing it for such a short amount of time, our visits do provide us with a nice initial overview and a nice foundation to build from.

Throughout this adventure we have had the opportunity to see first hand so many different places around the world in which we live on, and to make memories that will last a lifetime. At the same time, we have lived this journey with both passengers and crew alike and built some very strong relationships with others. Seeing all we have over during both this years and last years world cruise has certainly made us more well rounded and has also made us appreciate even more the opportunities that each of us had throughout our lifetime.

The Crystal Serenity has truly been our home over the past several months. Many times when we came back to the ship from a long day in port, we like many of our other world cruise travelers would say we're home. Clearly, the ship was our home (or atleast our temporary home) for these 108 days. We look forward to visiting our home away from home (both the Crystal Serentity and the Crystal Symphony) in the future and are very appeciative for the opportunity that we have to see the world by sea.

Keith & Anne Marie

Our World Cruise Journey

We arrived home last evening and will spend the next several days unpacking and getting settled back into our routine.

We enjoyed our final evening on board the Crystal Serenity after we last posted. The four of us enjoyd another great dinner in Silk Road. Afterwards, we attended the farewell show. It was wonderful and emotional for many of us. After the show, we went to the Crystal Cove where there was jazz music and a countdown to the end of the 2008 World Cruise and then hundreds of balloons and lots of confetti dropped from the ceiling. The atmosphere was wonderful and it was very similar to a New Years Eve Celebration. We hugged so many of our fellow passengers. We saw several members of the crew including Cruise Director Rick Spath and we all hugged.

The good news is that we turned the clocks back when we got back to our room that evening on the ship rather than the night before which would normally be the case. That was an excellent approach by Crystal and allowed us to get one additional hour back to compensate for us getting up earlier in the morning.

We were with the group that was first off the ship. We arrived in port early so that extra time was provided to get all of the luggage off the ship. We got off the ship on schedule at 6:00 AM and about fifteen minutes were off in our vehicle which carried myself, my wife, our daughter and son in law and lots of luggage. We got to Heathrow by 8:00 AM. We were very pleasantly surprised that the check in at Heathrow was easy and we made in through security in a minute. It might be that with the new BA terminal open that it has relieved congestion in the other terminals. We are not taking BA. We enjoyed a nice breakfast in the airport lounge.

Our daugther and son-in-laws flight departed about 45 minutes before our flight. We departed on time but landed about thirty minutes late due to weather conditions. We arrived home before 7:00 PM and we took care of a number of items before going to sleep.

For us, the World Cruise does not end. This is because we experienced so many memorable events on both the 2007 and the 2008 World Cruise that we will remember for the rest of our lives. As we said from our very first post, the World Cruise is unlike and other cruise and clearly is an adventure.

We hope that you have enjoyed being a part of our adventure.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Southampton, UK

As we reflect on our World Cruise Adventure and all that we have seen and experienced we are reminded how fortunate we are to have been born where we were and to have had the opportunities that we were afforded over the years.

Because of all of this we do our best to focus on all that is good and throughout the cruise we reminded ourselves to focus on the water being half full rather than half empty. We are indeed very fortunate to have the opportunity to sail on such a wonderful World Cruise Adventure with an outstanding cruise line and cruise ship. We are also so very fortunate to be able to visit so many interesting and diverse countries that our own parents could only dream about visiting. As we think through some of the ports of calls that we visited where poverty was rampant such as Mumbai, India and Yangon, Myanmar, we are reminded that many parts of the world live in very poor conditions that differ significantly from where we live.

In some of the poorer countries the focus of its citizens is on basic necessities such as how are they going to put food on the table for themselves and for their families each day of the year, and where will the family sleep that evening. Some of them don’t have what many of us take for granted such as stoves/ovens to cook their food, or a bed to sleep on, or even a roof over their heads. Some might give their right arm for a chance to come on board this wonderful cruise ship just for one day.

While traveling on this very ship during last years World Cruise one of the lecturers who we have come to know so well provided some statistics about the planet Earth that we live on. During a cruise this past Fall we saw similar statistics (we think they are the same ones or at last similar ones) in the daily program that Crystal distributes to all of their guest known as Reflections.

These statistics are a reminder to us as how very lucky and fortunate we are. We thought we would share some of them with you and we hope that you enjoy them as much as we do.

Earth’s Village

“If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be People of Color
30 would be Caucasian
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth and all would be from the United States.
80 would be in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

The following is also something to ponder…

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pans of starvation…you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death…you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace…you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married…you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing; there are two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.”

Today is the last full day of this World Cruise Adventure. It is hard to believe that after 108 days on board this wonderful ship that it is now time to begin our journey back home tomorrow morning after we arrive in Southampton, England. This has been a wonderful experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

There are many highlights for us.

Some of the favorite places that we visited included the various ports of call throughout New Zealand and Australia, along with Singapore, Thailand, and Valencia. Make no mistake about it, there were many other interesting ports of calls that we enjoyed but we wanted to highlight some that were very special for us.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the special events including the two-shore side events held in Sydney and in Rome and all of the other special events held on the ship. On top of this there were many memorable lectures, entertainment and other activities, including the World Games, that we thoroughly enjoyed

We can’t say enough about the outstanding food that we enjoyed throughout the cruise. We realize there are some passengers who enjoy eating in port, but for us we didn’t see how any of these off shore places could exceed the wonderful food that we have enjoyed throughout the cruise. A great deal of thought went into the development of the menus for the World Cruise so those items that previous Crystal cruisers have come to expect were available on the menu, while at the same time menus were varied so that those on several legs or the entire world cruise had the opportunity to try new and varied items. We found the quality of the food and its overall presentation to be better than ever.

Likewise, we can’t say enough about the level of service throughout the ship. When you are on a ship for a long time you really get to know the crew so very well. We received outstanding service on a consistent basis at all levels on the ship. We are so very happy to get to know Captain Glenn and Cruise Director Rick Spath and they have our respect and admiration for all that they do. We appreciate the wonderful job performed by others from the World Cruise Hostess, to the Crystal Society Hostess, to the two Hotel Directors Josef and Herbert, to the Maitre D’s such as Leo, Bruno, and Antonio, to the restaurant and bar staff including the Sommelier’s, to the entertainers, to the Rabbi and the other Clergy, to our stewardess, to our two butlers, to our headwaiter Peter, senior waiter Pablo, waiter Layla, Sasha the concierge, to Walter the Food and Beverage Manager, to the on board booking consultants, to the Lido Deck Stewards, to the reception and shore excursion personnel and so many other members of the crew too numerous to list. We have always said that in the end what distinguish one business from the other is the people and that is just as true in the cruise industry.

Related to the service we really appreciated the fixed seating in the Main Dining Room in the evening. Yes, some passengers prefer open seating where you can sit where you want and with whom you want and we have experienced that on another cruise line and there are pluses to that. At the same time, others prefer fixedseating on those cruise lines where this is an option such as Crystal. We are fine with both approaches. For us though the fixed seating does have many benefits and that includes the fact that when we dined at our table in the evening, our headwaiter, senior waiter and waiter knew our preferences. For example, the head waiter who has responsibility for many tables would look at the menus ahead of time and if we were not in the dining room he would look at the menu for the next day and he was so familiar with what we enjoyed that if he thought that none of the items on the menu would be to our liking he would pre-order us an entrée that he thought we would enjoy. We were never obligated to take that item but he was always right 100% of the time and remembered our preferences from last year’s world cruise. Our senior waiter and waiter knew other preferences we had from the type of water each of us would drink, to the type of rolls we enjoy, to our salad preferences, to the kind and amount of vegetables that we like and so forth that all of this added to our outstanding dining experience. If we wanted to sit with other people we would eat in one of the specialty restaurants or sometimes add people to our existing table in the main dining room. We have a simple view for all of this. As we say, we are also fine with open seating but for us we can make the best of each option but we are glad that not all cruise lines are the same because in the end we all benefit from diversity and we don’t want to see all cruise lines being cookie cutters of one another.

We thoroughly enjoyed the ship. It is a perfect ship for a world cruise. We enjoyed all of the special events on and off the ship, and the wonderful entertainment and all of the lectures. The entertainment was augmented for the world cruise and more entertainers were available on this cruise than any other World Cruise in the history of Crystal.

We can honestly say that this World Cruise has exceeded our expectations and given that this is our second world cruise that says even more about how memorable this adventure has been.

We have also enjoyed getting to know several passengers so very well.

In terms of our last full day, we did wake up early today and worked out in the Fitness Center for the very last time of this World Cruise. Keith worked out on the Elliptical machine and was the first passenger to arrive to the Center. He estimates that the miles he has totaled on the Elliptical Machine during this World Cruise Adventure would be approximately the same mileage as driving from Washington, DC to Denver, Colorado. If you add to this the number of miles that he walks during our time on the ship and in the various ports this would be equivalent to the distance of driving from Tampa, Florida to San Diego, California. Wow! Anne Marie also enjoyed a wonderful workout on the treadmill.

During the workout, Keith enjoyed a nice conversation with Mary.

After our workout, we stopped by the Lido Café for a cup of coffee. We spoke with Linda and John for a few minutes along with one other passenger. Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

This morning we watched the Crystal Morning Show and Keith called in for one of the trivia questions and answered the question correctly so we won a prize. The best part of calling was so that Keith could thank World Cruise Hostess Anne Marie Falvey and Cruise Director Rick Spath for all that they have done to make this an outstanding World Cruise for us.

This morning we went to a mandatory British Immigration Inspection and we picked up our passports. This will facilitate the disembarkation process when we arrive at Southampton.

In the morning we attended two lectures. Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff gave the first one and the title of his presentation was “The Vikings.” Once again, Dr. Wolff gave a wonderful presentation. Dr. Wolff is a wonderful presenter and has shared with us a wealth of information throughout the World Cruise.

Political journalist and author Ken Walsh gave the second presentation. The title of his presentation was “The 2008 Presidential Campaign. An insider’s look at the race for the White House.” This was Mr. Walsh’s third presentation during the course of this last segment and it was interesting to get his perspectives on this years Presidential race.

After this presentation we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room.

We are posting earlier than we normally do since we will do final packing when we get back to the room later this evening.

This evening we plan to have dinner in the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. We really enjoy this restaurant along with Prego and the Main Dining Room.

At 7:45 PM we plan to attend the variety farewell show. It includes the Acappella Quartet, Full Sail, dancing performed by Crystal’s very own Curtis and Beverly, West End Singing Star Petrina Johnson and Comedian Mike Goddard.

After the show, we plan to attend the 2008 World Cruise Countdown which will include complimentary cocktails and feature Captain Glenn, Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Anne Marie Falvey. During this countdown, balloons will be dropped from the ceiling along with confetti to commemorate the conclusion of the World Cruise.

The good news is that this evening we will set the clock back one hour as we sail into a new time zone. We plan to be up early in the morning to depart the ship. It is always hard to say goodbye when a cruise ends and when one is on a World Cruise it is even more difficult given the bond that develops with so many people during the course of this cruise. We realize that there are some people, both crew and passengers, who we may not have the opportunity to sail with again, but there will likely be many others who we will, in fact, see again on our next Crystal Cruise. There will be others who we will keep up with by e-mail and phone. As we have mentioned, during the course of a World Cruise the ship takes on the characteristics and charm of a small town since much of our journey is shared with fellow passengers and crew.

In the end, a World Cruise is like no other cruise given the length of time spent on board the ship, the sheer number and depth of activities available on and off the ship, and the diversity of ports that we have the opportunity to explore during the course of 108 days, To us, the World Cruise is a journey and an adventure and we hope that through this Blog that you feel that you were a part of this journey with us.

We will try to provide an update a few days after we are settled back home.

Keith & Anne Marie

La Curana, Spain

NOTE:

Picture one from the World Cruise Chorus composed mainly of passengers and the singers from Full Sail.

Picture two from this evenings dinner with John and Linda.

Pictures three and four from our day in La Curana, Spain

This morning we arrived to La Coruna, Spain. This is our first visit to this port of call. The ship docked at the Muelle Transalantico pier. This is Crystal’s maiden voyage to this port of call.

There are several Spanish cities that claim they were founded by Hercules, and La Coruna is one of them. There are various sites to see in this area. This include The Plaza Maria Pita which is a square named after Maria Pita, who was key in helping to prevent Francis Drake from setting fire to this city in 1507. Another site is The Castle of San Anton whose construction began in 1587. The Tower of Hercules is the only Roman working lighthouse in the world and it was built in the 2nd Century AD. Finally, there is The Iglesia de Santa Maria which is a Romansque church that dates beck to the 12th Century.

Everyone we spoke with enjoyed Tommy Tune’s show last evening. He is a wonderful entertainer and it was wonderful that he appeared towards the end of the World Cruise. His performance was certainly one of the highlights in terms of entertainment.

When we got back to our room last evening we each received a gift on our bed along with a card. Keith received Tiffany silver cufflinks with an emblem of the 2008 World Cruise on them and Anne Marie received a Tiffany silver charm necklace. During the course of the World Cruise we have also received some other gifts to commemorate places that we have sailed to and these will be sent to our home.

It is hard to believe that today marks the last port of call that we will be visiting during World Cruise 2008 and that tomorrow is our last sea day before we disembark the ship in Southampton, England on Wednesday. This has been an amazing adventure.

We awoke early this morning after enjoying a nice sleep last evening. While Keith enjoys getting up early, today was a little more challenging. Maybe the body is saying it’s time to sleep-in or that it’s time to take a day off from our daily workout. We’ll see what we end up doing tomorrow. ☺

Keith was the first to arrive at the Fitness Center. A little while later Mary joined him, then a few minutes after that Anne Marie and John arrived to the Center. We certainly have been a dedicated group. Last evening we had sat at the Captains Reception with a very nice couple and the man had remarked to Keith how dedicated we have been with the center and that it would have been nice if a clip was included in the World Cruise Video showing us working out. Keith mentioned this to everyone this morning and we all agreed that we should have asked someone to come up and take a video of all of us. It’s been fun working out with the same folks each morning since we first boarded the ship in mid-January.

Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie enjoyed her workout on the Treadmill. Keith and Mary spoke for a portion of the workout and also watched a show that Crystal shows on one of the television stations which is a behind the scenes look at the Food and Beverage Department. While we have had tours before of the kitchen galley and last year toured the crew area, it was amazing to see all that goes into this area. This includes determining the food suppliers who are used for all of the food, to actually ordering the food and ensuring that it arrives on time to the quality inspection of all food items, to the storage, cleaning and eventual preparation of all of the food to the serving of the food by the dining room personnel. The show was excellent and truly provided a great behind the scenes look at all that is involved in the food and beverage areas. There was another show that gave a behind the scenes look at the entertainment area.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café for a cup of coffee and we spoke with John and his wife Linda for a little while. Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room.

The ship docked in Coruna ahead of schedule at around 7:00 AM. We met our daughter and son-in-law at 9:30 AM and then we walked off the ship and into town. No shuttle was needed at the distance to the downtown area was only 100 meters.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge he mentioned that the temperature was 59 degrees Fahrenheit and that the forecast was for a beautiful day. As usual, his forecast was correct. Captain Glenn’s thought for the day was “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” This is another great thought and one that we all can do.

We walked around the town for about three hours and visited a few of the sites such as The Plaza Maria Pita and The Tower of Hercules. We walked over six miles all around the town. We saw many shops, boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and pastry shops, along with the opera house. We also walked around a small park like area that had beautiful rose bushes. Before we boarded the ship we walked along the water. It was a delightful day.

Overall, we enjoyed Valencia more than this port and we also enjoyed Cadiz on last years World Cruise more than this port, but nevertheless, we still had a nice time.

We enjoyed a nice lunch back on the ship in the afternoon. We ate in the Main Dining Room and our daughter and son-in-law ate food from the Lido Café and from the Trident Grill. They spent the afternoon by the pool.

We did some additional packing this afternoon and took care of a few other errands around the ship.

Before dinner there was a Cinco de Mayo Sail-Away Party. There have been so many parties during the course of this World Cruise Adventure for all of the passengers, which have been wonderful. There is another one planned for tomorrow evening after the evening entertainment.

We originally planned to dine in the Main Dining Room this evening but our daughter and son-in-law enjoyed Prego so much that we decided to go back to Prego to enjoy the wonderful Italian cuisine and the wonderful ambience of this restaurant. This was our last meal in Prego during this World Cruise. We have enjoyed our meals in Prego during this World Cruise. John and Linda joined us for dinner and we had a delightful dinner with them. They are a wonderful couple and we feel blessed to have sailed with them on both the 2007 and 2008 World Cruises.

After dinner, we attended the Word Cruise Choir who sang several songs for all of us.

Tomorrow is our last day at sea as we are sailing to the disembarkation port at Southampton.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To La Coruna Spain

NOTE:

Picture one from this evenings Captains Reception.

Pictures two, three and four taken yesterday in Lisbon.

Picture five last evening in front of Silk Road.



Last evening we set the clocks forward as we sailed into a new time zone. While it was a little more challenging to wake up this morning, we still managed to wake up fairly early. Keith worked out in the Fitness Center and was the first passenger to arrive there. John arrived a little while later and Mary did as well. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine as he has done throughout the world cruise. Anne Marie did our final wash of the world cruise. Keith spoke with Mary while they were working out. We have two more days to workout before this World Cruise adventure comes to a conclusion.

After Keith’s workout, he brought back coffee for both himself and for Anne Marie and a little later we both enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

The world cruise adventure is now winding down as we are sailing to our last port of call prior to arriving in Southampton, United Kingdom on May 7th.

We did some additional packing this morning and will continue to pack a little more on the next couple of days until everything is ready to go.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk he noted that we were cruising at 13 knots per hour and using two of six engines. The forecast for tomorrow is quite good. The Captain’s thought for the day was “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.”

After breakfast we attended our final Rap With The Rabbi. Today was another wonderful session and we have enjoyed these sessions throughout the World Cruise. Our thanks to the Rabbi for all of the time and effort that went into preparing for each of these sessions. We have both certainly learned a great deal from these sessions.

At 10:00 AM we attended a special session for the Full World Cruisers, which was the premiere of the Full World Cruise Video. The video was great and brought back wonderful memories of our world cruise adventure. Later in the summer we will each receive a DVD of this video. Jennifer and Gui also attended this session so it was nice for them to see video clips from each of the ports that we visited along with clips from many of the other activities that occurred throughout our adventure. Videos have been taken throughout the World Cruise by John Mentis who is one of the piano players on board the ship along with another person from the video departments and then someone from Crystal Cruise Los Angeles office came onto the ship to pull all of this together into one video. At the end of the video, the Captain and Cruise Director introduced members of the crew from all of the various departments. It was a very nostalgic and emotional event for many of us as this has truly been a remarkable adventure that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

At 12:00 Noon we attended the Sunday Jazz Brunch Buffet. We both enjoyed a salad entrée that we had preordered in the morning and Jennifer and Gui enjoyed a nice selection of food that was part of the buffet. As usual, all of the displays were picture perfect.

This afternoon, we attended the graduation ceremony for those students who took the college course that was offered on this cruise on Computers. The class was called “Introduction to Computers & Microcomputer Applications” and is a college course that is normally taken by Freshman or Sophomore College Students. It was an honor to be invited to this ceremony and we had a wonderful time and were so very happy to be there. Kudos to the graduates and to our friend Stan for teaching such a wonderful class.

We took care of a couple of items this afternoon including finalizing the details for our disembarkation from the ship just a few days from now.

Before dinner, we attended the Captain’s Formal Reception and this one did represent our final reception of this years World Cruise Adventure. We had a wonderful time at this event.

This evening was also the final formal evening of the world cruise and the four of us enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the main dining room.

This evening we attended the entertainment, which featured Tommy Tune, In Steps In Time. This show was outstanding and featured wonderful dancing, music and singing.

Keith & Anne

Lisbon,Portugal

NOTE: Pictures From Last Evening

Picture 1 of Anne Marie and Mary outside Silk Road before dinner. They wore the same outfits which they had purchased in Hong Kong in different colors.

Picture 2 from dinner at Silk Road with Stan and Mary.

Picture 3 having some snacks before dinner.

Last evening was a late night for us with the crew party.

We began the evening by enjoying a delightful dinner last evening with our friends Stan and Mary at the Japanese Silk Road Specialty Restaurant. The food, ambience, service and the conversation were all wonderful. We arrived at 7:00 PM and we actually stayed there until almost 10:30 PM. We probably could have stayed longer but we’re sure that the staff needed to close the restaurant. We plan to eat at Silk Road one more time before we depart the ship in a few days.

Later in the evening we attended a crew party. The party began at 11:00 PM and went till 2:00 PM. We hosted the party along with eighteen other passengers and we were asked to arrive at 11:15 PM. We had been one of the hosts last year and it was our honor to be one of the hosts again this year. It is one of the ways for us to thank as many of the wonderful Crystal staff as possible including many who work behind the scenes who we might not normally have contact with. The party was called the World Cruise Destinations Party and the crew was asked to wear some type of clothing that they may have purchased in any of the ports that we visited during the course of the 2008 World Cruise. The Crystal Salon/Spa Team produced the party. It was great to see so many people wearing clothing that they had purchased in different places including Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Vietnam. Some of the officers were in attendance including the Captain.

We stayed until around 12:00 midnight. After all the party is for the crew so we wanted to let them enjoy themselves and we didn’t want to be like chaperones at a high school dance. There was lots of food being available along with drinks, music and the room was nicely decorated. We spoke with several members from the crew at the party and also others who we didn’t see at the party but who attended after we had left. They all enjoyed the party and we are so very happy that they enjoyed themselves.

The crew has been superb throughout the cruise. On a World Cruise there is a tremendous bond that develops between the crew and the passengers. With so many days together on the ship, it provides a nice opportunity to learn a great deal about one another from family to where one comes from. And, we share so many experiences together as we visit so many places around the world. In many ways the ship becomes a community and unlike a community on land this community moves from one region of the world to another region.

Keith woke up a little later than normal and also had the benefit of the extra hour of sleep since we turned back the clocks one hour last evening. So, today he was the second passenger to arrive at the Fitness Center. A couple of the other regulars, John and Mary, also worked out. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and spoke with Mary for most of his workout. Anne Marie slept in this morning.

Keith brought back coffee to the room from the Lido Café and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. From our room we could view our arrival to Lisbon.

Today we visited Lisbon, Portugal. This was our first time to this city. Originally, we had planned a shore excursion, but given that we knew we would be up late with the crew party, we decided to cancel the tour.

This region of the world was part of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. In time others ruled this region including the Visigoths followed by the Moors. In 1143 AD, this area became an independent nation. During the 14th and 15th centuries this region reaped the benefits from the treasures that the Portuguese realized from their exploration of different areas of the world. There was also a period of time when the Spanish and French each ruled this region.

This region has so much for the tourist to enjoy. This includes a variety of museums, monasteries and monuments and let us not forgets the cafes and restaurants that can be found throughout this beautiful city.

During Captain Glenn’s morning update from the bridge he noted that due to the fog that we had to blow the ships horn early this morning. We didn’t hear the horn as we were sleeping soundly. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “If you want to see the rainbow you have to get up with the rain.”

We departed the ship in the morning and we took the complimentary shuttle that Crystal provided which ran between the pier and the downtown area. The shuttle ran every twenty minutes and the shuttle only took about five minutes to get to and from town.

We had a delightful time walking around Lisbon. It is a beautiful city. We went into several churches and other historical buildings and we walked for almost three hours. The weather was delightful and we had a panoramic view of the city when we reach one of the high points of the area. There are lots of old buildings, with many dating back before our country gained its independence from England.

When we arrived back to the ship, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Lido Café which believe it or not was the first time that we ate lunch in the Café during this years World Cruise as most of our lunches have been in the Main Dining Room. We ate outside on the open deck where we enjoyed beautiful views of Lisbon from the ship.

This afternoon Anne Marie continued to pack and Keith, Jennifer and Gui walked over to the old city of Lisbon. We walked through lots of residential neighborhoods. We walked by lots of little grocery stores, fruit and vegetable markets, butchers, seafood shops, cafes and lots of bakery type shops selling delectable pastries, cakes and cookies. Our walk continued up several hills. We went into two very large churches until we somehow managed to find a spot that appeared to be atop the highest area of this city. As it turned out we were quite a bit higher than we were earlier today and had a breathtaking, panoramic view of this gorgeous city. We had a beautiful view of not only the city but of the bridge and other areas that we had passed by earlier this morning. All in all we had another delightful walk.

This is truly a beautiful city and we have only touched on a little bit of it today since we know there are many museums and art galleries and other attractions that we could not possibly visit in one day. It is nice to walk around a city with so many buildings that were built centuries ago and not see the large type of stores that tend to be built in the majority of the cities around the world. This is a city with mainly little stores that are owned by individual owners that reminds one of life in other cities many decades ago.

This evening the four of us dined in the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with Jim and Judy who we first met on last years World Cruise. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and conversation. This will be our last time dining in Prego during the World Cruise. We have enjoyed our dining experiences in Prego. The décor of this restaurant is beautiful and we greatly appreciate the wonderful service and the excellent meals that we have experienced in this specialty restaurant throughout our world cruise adventure.

Tomorrow we will enjoy another day at sea.

Keith & Anne Marie

Gibraltar, UK

This morning we arrived in Gibraltar, United Kingdom. This is our first visit to this port of call. The rock of Gibraltar is very well known from the pictures that have been taken over the years. The rock soars almost 1,400 feet. Over 140 caves have been discovered. Gibraltar is connected to Spain by land but is part of the United Kingdom. Most of the residents of Gibraltar are from Spain and Spanish is widely spoken here.

Believe it or not, almost 4 million tourists visit Gibraltar each year. This area is well known for its pubs, ale, fish and chips and even for its shopping and of course for its unique shape.

We awoke early this morning and enjoyed a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. Keith arrived early and was the first passenger working out. Anne Marie, Mary and John also worked out while Keith was there. A few other passengers were also working out given our early arrival to this port of call. Our daughter and son-in-law arrived to the Center for their workout about twenty minutes before we left.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café for coffee and then enjoyed breakfast in our room.

The ship arrived in Gibraltar at around 7:30 AM, thirty minutes ahead of schedule. It was cloudy so we could not see the top of the rock. We docked at the North Mole Pier. It is about a fifteen to twenty minute walk to the center of town. Local transportation unions prohibit cruise lines from providing shuttle service between the pier and the town. Gibraltar has their own currency which is the Gibraltar Pound, but the exchange rate is very close to that of the British Pound.

Another cruise ship arrived about twenty minutes after we docked. It is called the Arcadia and is part of P&O cruise lines. We are not familiar with this ship and suspect it carries mostly European passengers.

Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The world is a beautiful book for those who read it.”

We had originally considered taking the tour of the Barbary Macaques. However, this area is inhabited by hundreds of apes who are on and around the Rock so we decided to pass on the apes. ☺ Instead, we enjoyed a delightful walk into town, which is located within one mile from the ship.

The town was much better than we thought it would be. It had a couple of main streets and many side streets. Along the side streets there were stores, cafes, restaurants, markets, hair salons and other type of shops and above them were residences. The streets were very European. We found one area that had two kosher stores and then there was a Travel Agency that appeared to be run by a Jewish owner. The Synagogue was closed. We also walked to a very nice park that was located on a hill that one could take to go up to the Rock. The town was very crowded between passengers from the two ships, locals and tourists from other nearby areas such as Spain. While part of the United Kingdom, the steering wheels were located on the left side of the vehicle. The weather was very nice although it was cloudy so one could not see the rock in its entirety. The town had a feel similar to Cornwall which we visited last year, but we enjoyed this town even more.

We also went in a fish, meat, fruit and vegetable market where the locals shop. It had several stands selling these items along with one stand selling cheese and various breads. We ended up walking a little over five miles.

The ship departed Gibraltar at 1:00 PM. A sail away event was held for all guests from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM called the Mocktoberfest which was a Bavarian bash. Complimentary steins of beer and Bavarian-inspired delights were provided. There was also dancing and music and it was a delightful event.

Before dinner, we had our daughter and son-in-law over to our room for some Hors D’oeuvres. We will dine later this evening in the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant with Mary and Stan and had a wonderful dinner.

This evening we will attend a portion of the crew party that we are one of the hosts for. We will post about this tomorrow.

Keith & Anne Marie

On Route To Gibraltar, UK

Photo 1 from lunch with Cruise Director Rick Spath.

Last evening when we returned to the room we received a nice letter that is sent to all World Cruisers from our World Cruise Hostess; Anne Marie Falvey. We receive a letter on most sea days and also on some evenings when we are in port. In these letters, Anne Marie recaps events that have taken place on the ship and also highlights upcoming events. The letters are very well written and we appreciate the time and effort that goes into writing them. This is Anne Marie’s first year as the World Cruise Hostess and she has performed admirably in this position. We have enjoyed our conversations with her and the dinner and lunch that we had with her and the Assistant Cruise Director. They both used to perform on the ship as part of Repertory at Sea which was a small group of actors/actresses (usually two male and two females) who would perform thirty to forty-five minute plays on the ship. Anne Marie has written several of the events that have been put on during the course of the cruise and she has utilized her background in theatre very effectively.


We enjoyed another good nights sleep last evening as we sail to our next port of call in Gibraltar, United Kingdom. It is hard to believe that today is the start of May. In less than one week we will be leaving this wonderful ship as our World Cruise adventure comes to an end. There is no question that this years world cruise has been outstanding and has exceeded our expectations. We have made memories that will last a lifetime.

This morning we woke early. Yes, Keith was the first passenger arriving at the Fitness Center and was followed by Anne Marie about forty-five minutes later. Regulars such as Mary and John also worked out. Keith spoke with John for a little while when he first arrived and then spoke with Mary during part of the workout. The center was not very crowded. During our workout there was one other person working out whom we have seen from time to time in the center. We learned from him that he has lost 50 lbs. during the World Cruise. Keith asked him if he planned to lose the weight and he said yes. He finds that he can eat great items, such as plenty of fish, and between the good food and working out quite a bit he succeeded in reaching his goal.

The food on the ship is wonderful so for those who want to eat very healthy food it is easy to do just that so one can lose weight on the ship if this is something that they desire by eating healthy, and utilizing the Fitness Center and/or walking on the Promenade Deck and talking other walks in port and taking advantage of the other fitness related classes and other activities offered on board the ship.

The food portions are reasonable sizes and clearly the focus is on quality rather than quantity for each food item. Each recipe is prepared with high quality food ingredients and the presentation of the food items is what you would expect from a five star restaurant. At the same time, one can indulge in those items that they enjoy and they can order as much as they want.

For us, we do approach eating differently on a World Cruise than we would on say a twelve-day cruise. We can’t say enough about the flexibility of the Main Dining Room. If there is a particular item that one would like to eat the key is to order it 24 hours in advance although some items can be ordered the same day. Given the number of passengers that are served each day, it is amazing the amount of flexibility in the dining room.

After our workout we each got a nice cup of coffee at the Lido Café. We spoke with fellow passengers John and Linda for a while. They are wonderful people who we first met on last years World Cruise and we are so very happy that we have had the opportunity to sail with them again.

We enjoyed another fantastic breakfast in our room. During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge, he noted that the outside temperature was 63 degrees Fahrenheit and that we were traveling at 11.8 knots per hour with two of six engines in use. We were on track to reach our next port of call; Gibraltar, United Kingdom on schedule tomorrow morning. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The more you say the less people will remember.” Another great thought of the day and one that makes perfect sense. We enjoy these thoughts of the day.

Today is a sea day so we enjoyed many nice activities throughout the daytime and evening hours.

Keith attended the Rap With The Rabbi Session while Anne Marie did some packing. The session with the Rabbi was wonderful. It was nicely attended and the discussion was very interesting.

Afterwards, there were two very interesting lectures.

Dr. Jay Wolff gave the first presentation, which was another wonderful lecture. The topic of today’s presentation was “Guernica, a Town and a Painting.” This was a very enjoyable presentation. Dr. Wolff’s next presentation will be on the Vikings.

The next presentation was given by Political journalist and author Ken Walsh who presented “Escapes from the White House: Presidential Hideaways, Homes and Retreats. Mr. Walsh talked about the locations that many of the Presidents utilized over the years. He talked about George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and the current George Bush. His next presentation will cover the 2008 Presidential Election.

Anne Marie also did additional packing in the morning and has several bags packed. This will make it easier to finish the packing towards the end of the cruise.

The four of us met Cruise Director Rick Spath for lunch in the Main Dining Room. This is our third lunch with Rick during the course of the World Cruise. We truly appreciate Rick taking the time out of his busy scheduled to meet with us and we appreciate all that he does. He is an outstanding Cruise Director and has gone out of his way to make this an outstanding cruise for us. We look forward to sailing with Rick again.

We took care of a few other items this afternoon. We had been holding pictures from the photo studio in a folder since the beginning of the World Cruise and today we selected those that we wanted to purchase.

Before dinner this evening the four of us attended a cocktail reception given by our travel consortium that our travel specialist is affiliated with. This is the last of the receptions that the travel consortium will be hosting during this world cruise. We enjoyed these events and the opportunity to converse with many of our fellow passengers.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered Beef Wellington which was one of the few times that we did not have fish during the course of this World Cruise Adventure. Our daughter enjoyed Black Bass, which we had pre-ordered for her. Dinner was outstanding. The food, service and ambience were wonderful. We can’t say enough about how good the dining experience is on Crystal. We applaud all that Crystal does in this area of the cruise.


Keith & Anne

Valencia, Spain

NOTE:

Pictures

Picture 1: Restaurant Submarino. This is part of the L'OCeanograpfic (separate building) which includes a restaurant on the lower level which provides views of an aquarium.

Picture 2 from the Dolphin Show.

Picture 3 of the old town area.

Picture 4 from last evening of our headwaiter Peter.

Picture 5 from last evenings Captains Welcome Reception of Jennifer and Gui dancing.

This last segment of the World Cruise has fewer passengers than the other segments. At the Captain’s Welcome Reception last evening, Captain Glenn noted that there are 598 passengers on boards with a crew of 645. While we think this is a perfect time of the year to visit the Mediterranean, sometimes passengers want to wait until either later in May or for the summer to arrive before traveling here. We remember that during last years World Cruise when we essentially had two segments in the Mediterranean that at least for one of the segments that the ship was not very full.

When the Captain introduced his senior officers last evening he noted the importance of team work and in terms of team noted that on the Crystal ship that team stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More”. For us, when Keith worked fulltime he used to say that the results of a team was far greater than the results that were achieved when the same people worked as individuals.

Today we arrived to Valencia, Spain. This was a maiden port of call for Crystal Cruises and also our first time visiting this city. Valencia is Spain’s third largest city. It is located in a major farming region as the land is very fertile Valencia also benefits from very nice weather and is well known for its outdoor living and for its nightlife. Sports enthusiasts enjoy the outdoors for golf, tennis, cycling and diving.

The Romans founded Valencia in 138 BC. Eventually it was conquered by the Moors, taken over by El Cid and overtime retaken by the Moors.

We awoke early this morning and began our day with our daily workout as we normally do. Keith was the first to arrive to the Fitness Center and worked out on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie slept in this morning since we had an early shore excursion. John and Mary worked out as well and Keith spoke with Mary for a portion of his workout.

We had an early breakfast in our room and then we got ready for our shore excursion.

During Captain Glenn’s morning announcement from the bridge he noted that the weather forecast called for a beautiful day in Velencia. The Captain’s thought for the day was “Sometimes silence is golden when you can’t think about a good answer.”

In the morning, all four of us took the complimentary shore excursion offered to all passengers. Crystal offered this excursion at two different times today. This excursion was called Panoramic Valencia & L’Oceanographic Aquarium. We traveled from the pier to the downtown city center where we viewed many of the buildings in this historic section of town.

Afterwards, we drove to the City of Arts and Sciences This facility contains an opera house and performing arts center, a science museum, an IMAX cinema/planetarium, several restaurants and an oceanographic park.

We then visited the L’Oceanografic. The aquarium is the largest in Europe and is actually the third largest in the entire world. The aquarium is divided into two major sections. One section is comprised of fish and invertebrates and the second section is comprised of marine mammals.

The L’Oceanografic contains more than 45,000 examples of 500 different marine species. It has extensive underwater areas featuring sharks, beluga whales, walruses, sea lions, penguins and manta rays.

We saw a dolphin show and we walked several areas of the aquarium where we saw many species of fish, penguins, turtles, beluga whale and other sea creatures.

The areas of the city that we saw were amazing. We were very impressed with both the old town area and the new areas of the center. The newer areas had a feel of other areas we visited during the World Cruise such as Sydney with the opera house in this city having a look similar to that of Sydney.

This is a city that we highly recommend visiting. Our only regret is that we didn’t have more time in this wonderful city and we would encourage Crystal to not only return here but to consider an overnight in this city.

Since many of the tours were scheduled to arrive back at the ship in the afternoon, the dining hours were extended in the Main Dining Room. We pre-ordered nice salad entrees to the dining room so that when we got back to the ship for lunch that they were ready for us. We enjoyed a very nice lunch.

This evening the four of us dined in the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with the Rabbi and his lovely wife. We enjoyed a lovely meal and a wonderful conversation and had a great time.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Valencia, Spain

NOTE:

Picture 1 from our visit to the Bridge Yesterday. The four of us with Cruise Director Rick Spath.

Picture 2 from our visit to the Bridge yesterday with a picture of Captain Glenn.

Picture 3 from last nights dinner at Silk Road.

We did enjoy another wonderful sleep as we sail to Valencia, Spain. The seas did become moderately rough which we realized when we woke up this morning. Once again, Keith was the first guest to arrive at the Fitness Center. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie arrived a little while later and worked out on the Treadmill. Other regulars such as John and Mary also worked out. While we were working out, the winds were around 40 miles per hour so we could feel the ship rocking a bit.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café for a cup of coffee. We spoke with a few of the passengers and we were all saying what a great comedian Mike Goddard is. He has a great sense of humor, and his humor is extremely funny without the need to go over the top. We really look forward to his other shows and just like last year enjoy talking with him.

We also spoke with a few of the Lido Deck Stewards, including Clark. Clark has a wonderful sense of humor. We always kids with him about his ability to fly all around the ship just like Superman. He is pictured in Crystal’s World Atlas which is the nicely done brochure published annually by Crystal listing the pricing and itinerary for each of the voyages and providing a wealth of information about the experience of cruising with Crystal.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our stateroom.

Today is a sea day with a full day and evening of activities.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge, he noted that we were in an area of the sea that typically had high winds. The good news is that these winds would calm down in a couple of hours, which was the case. We are traveling at around 13 knots per hour and using two of six engines. The Captain’s thought of the day we “We can try many ways to get away from darkness but none is more effective than turning on the light.”

We attended the Rap with the Rabbi to start off the morning activities. This session was well attended and we thoroughly enjoyed today’s discussion. There should be another one or possibly two sessions before the World Cruise ends.

After the Rap we attended a lecture given by Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff. The topic of today’s presentation was “The Crusades: Faith and Blood”. Once again, Dr. Wolff gave a wonderful lecture that was both informative and very insightful. We continue to be amazed at Dr. Wolff’s ability to cover a diverse set of subjects. He is wonderful to listen to.

Following Dr. Wolff’s presentation we attended another lecture given by political journalist and author Ken Walsh. The topic of this presentation was “Air Force One: a History of the Presidents and their Planes.” Ken Walsh is the Chief White House Correspondent for U.S News & World Report. He appears regularly on a variety of television networks including NBC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN, ABC, the History Channel and C-Span. We enjoyed this presentation and look forward to the additional presentations that Mr. Walsh will give including one on this years Presidential Election. Our daughter and son-in-law joined us for this lecture and enjoyed it as well.

We then enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. We ate with Jim and Judy a wonderful World Cruise couple whom we first met last year. We enjoyed a great conversation with them as we always do.

This afternoon we spent some time with our daughter and son-in-law.

We also received a copy of the invitation that is going out to all of the members of the crew for a crew party that we are jointly sponsoring with eighteen other passengers on the cruise. We were one of the sponsors last year (there were about sixteen of us last year) and were happy to be a sponsor this year. The part will begin at 11:00 PM on the evening of May 2nd and will last until 2:00 AM. We will also attend the party and probably stay for about an hour. The party will include lots of food, drink and also music and dancing and the room will be nicely decorated and there should be some party favors. We are happy to be a part of this as it is another way for us to thank the crew for all they have done to make this a wonderful World Cruise. The crew has been amazing and we appreciate all that they have done to make this an amazing journey, which will last a lifetime. Our thanks to each and every member of Crystal for all that they do.

Before dinner we attended Captain Glenn’s Welcome Reception. We had a wonderful time at the reception. This evening is one of two formals on the ship and it was nice to see everyone dressed up in their formal attire.

After the reception we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. We are enjoying our four-person table in the Main Dining Room. The food, service, conversation and overall ambience in the dining room is a delight.

After dinner we attended the production show of Million Dollar Musicals which is a salute to the silver screen.

Keith & Anne Marie

Monte Carlo Day 2

NOTE: Pictures

Picture 1 from last nights evening dinner in Main Dining Room.

Picture 2, 3 & 4 from visit to Oceanographic Museum & Aquarium.

Picture 5 from our walk around Monte Carlo.

Pciture 6 of the Grand Casino.

Picture 7 from car located near route of the upcoming Grand Prix.

As we mentioned, this is our third visit to this port of call and each visit involved an overnight stay. While it’s nice to visit areas of the world for the very first time it’s also nice to go back to places that we have previously visited. The advantage of the latter is that we know exactly what we want to see and it was also nice. This was certainly the case for Monte Carlo and since we are very familiar with this city we could take our daughter and son-in-law to those places that we thought they would enjoy.

Weather can also be another factor contributing to ones enjoyment of a particular port of call. For example, cloudy, damp or rainy weather can certainly diminish ones enjoyment of a port of call. The first time we visited Monte Carlo it was on a very hot, and humid day in the middle of the summer when this port of call was literally filled with tourists. We found it tiring to walk for long periods of time and the streets were full of tourists so we had only an average opinion of this port. A few years later we had the opportunity to visit this port in the fall when the weather was picture perfect, with moderate temperatures, and we had the added benefit of far fewer tourists. Saying that we had a wonderful time was an understatement as we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Just like on our last visit, we have had a glorious time this past day and one half. The weather was perfect, there were far fewer tourists than in the summer, and all of this added to our enjoyment of this port of call.

Our original plan was to spend a portion of our time in Monte Carlo and then we thought that we might visit Nice or Eze since the original itinerary had us arriving here by 10:AM. However, the time was pushed back a couple of hours to accommodate our midnight departure from Rome given the World Cruise Event, so in the end we decided to spend all of our time here. (More on this in a moment) Yesterday, we focused on walking around to the major sites in the city from the beautiful gardens, to the Place, to the Cathedral, to the Casino, while taking in the beautiful views of the city and the ocean that surrounds this beautiful port of call. The streets near the Palace have the look of Disneyworld. All one needs is Disney music playing in the background, and one would think that they have been transported to either Disney World or Disney Land.

We enjoyed another nice sleep last evening. The view of the city at night is always spectacular. We have a beautiful view of an enormous yacht and it looked even more impressive all lit up. We have been told that close to 75-crew work on this ship for a private owner. To us, it is close in size to one of the Seabourn triplets.

Several passengers went off the ship last evening, either to the casino, or for dinner or for drinks. We prefer the ships food too much to consider eating off the ship. For us, this is five star food and the quality of the food, the wonderful service and the excellent ambience of the dining room is preferable over eating on land while in port. As we had mentioned we had ordered a special entrée and it was outstanding. Wow might be a better word to describe it.

We awoke early this morning and began our day with a workout in the Fitness Center. Once again Keith was the first in the Center and enjoyed a great workout on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie arrived a little while later and worked out on the Treadmill. John and Mary also worked out. As we were finishing our workout there were only two other passengers still there besides Mary.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café to get some coffee to take back to the room. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. Our new butler has been wonderful and we appreciate all that he has done for us.

We met our daughter and son-in-law at 9:15 AM to continue seeing this wonderful port of call. One of the major reasons we decided not to venture out of this city is because we wanted to visit the Oceanographic Museum & Aquarium. This museum was founded in 1910 by Prince Albert I. It is located right adjacent to the sea. The interior of the building is beautiful, particularly the area of the museum. We saw a very impressive assortment of fish; many of which we have not seen before. We enjoyed a glorious morning in Monte Carlo.

We went back to the ship and had lunch in the Main Dining Room. Lunch was wonderful. We had our Salad Entrees and the kids enjoyed a variety of items. After lunch, we went back on shore and continued to walk around this lovely town. We walked to an area that we had not walked to in our previous stays which was adjacent to the shoreline.

Our ship left Monte Carlo at 6:00 PM. A major highlight for all four of us is that we had the opportunity to go to the bridge for the sail-away. This is certainly one of the nicest ports to observe from the bridge. We had a wonderful time and greatly appreciate the opportunity to be on the bridge for this sailaway.

Afterwards, we all went to the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. This was the first opportunity for our daughter and son-in-law to dine there. Being lovers of sushi, they greatly enjoyed this restaurant, as do Mom and Dad. We all enjoyed the fabulous sushi served in this restaurant. Dad has been much more adventurous with the sushi/sashimi, Mom stays with the sushi. Like Keith, Jennifer and Gui also enjoy the sashimi along with the sushi. We plan to go back to Silk Road a couple of more times before we disembark the ship in Southampton.

After dinner, we went to a World Cruise Event which was called Shaken 007 Stirred wich was a show in honor of of his 88th birthday and 57th year in Her Majesty’s Secret Service. We greatly enjoyed the show.

After the show, we saw comedian Mike Goddard who we first saw on last years World Cruise. We enjoyed his show and he had us in stitches.

Tomorrow is a sea day.

Keith & Anne

Monte Carlo, Monaco

NOTE: Pictures are from las evenings World Cruise Shore Side Event

Picture 1 of of our table minus Keith who took the picture and one other guest who was not seated at the time Keith took the picture.

Picture 2 of the four of us.

Picture 3 and 4 of some of the entertainers at last nights event.

We had a wonderful time, last evening at the World Cruise Shore Side event, which was held in Rome. We left the ship at around 5:00 PM for the drive into Rome. We arrived at the Complesso Monumentale di Santo Spirto in Saxia which is a monumental complex of the Holy Spirit in Saxia. It is located within walking distance of St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican. As we mentioned yesterday, Santo Spirito in Saxia is indeed one of Rome’s oldest historical monuments. It dates back to AD 747. The complex was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1198. It was expanded between 1471 and 1478.

After we arrived, we were welcomed at the entrance to the building by some of the officers and staff from the ship including the Captain, the Hotel Director, the Cruise Director, and the World Cruise Hostess.

A children’s choir entertained us during the cocktail hour. The building was just beautiful and words cannot describe the magnificent interior of this historical site. At around 7:00 PM we entered another area where we were seated for dinner. During the dinner music was played by a white harp’s quartet and after dinner we were entertained by two tenors and one soprano, along with a pianist. The tables accommodated ten people. We sat with John and Linda, Jim and Judy, our daughter and son-in law and two World Cruise passengers who are traveling solo. We were so glad to share this experience with such wonderful people and were also fortunate to have a table right near the stage where the entertainers performed.

The dinner included artichoke flan in a mini puff pastry, cavatelli short pasta with a vegetable caponata and grated ricotta cheese, beef tenderloin with aromatic herbs and seasonal vegetables, and a grand marnier semifreddo with orange sauce.

This was a wonderful evening. The venue was spectacular and it amazes us how Crystal is able to locate such unique venues such as this one. We spoke with the Crystal person from the Los Angeles Office who is responsible for Crystal’s land programs which includes the shore excursions, the pre and post hotels, along with items such as these events. He was telling us how he selected this venue. We know that we will remember this event for the rest of our lives.

When we arrived back to the ship there was live music and various wines and champagnes and moist towels for all of us. It was a nice close to a very classic evening and we appreciate these extra touches.

We left the port at 12:00 Midnight. Our ship arrived to Monte Carlo, Monaco at approximately 1:00 PM today. This is our third visit to Monte Carlo and this will also be our third overnight in this port of call. We have enjoyed our stays in this city as we find there is much to do and it is an easy city to get around by foot.

Monaco is an ancient principality, which today is headed by Prince Albert II. Monaco is not very large and is a nice place to walk around. It is well known for its famous grand Casino.

Despite the fact that we went to sleep later than usual, Keith woke up relatively early and enjoyed a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Other regulars such as John and Mary also worked out. Keith ended up working out on the Elliptical Machine for two hours. He continues to rack up those miles. Anne Marie slept a little later and Keith brought back coffee for her. After the workout we had a very nice breakfast in our room.

We then took a nice long walk on the promenade deck. While we were walking, we listened to Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge. The captain noted that the outside temperature was 61 degrees Fahrenheit and that we were cruising at 19 knots per hour. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “More people could learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.”

We met our daughter and son-in-law for lunch a little before Noon and we ate in the Main Dining Room. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch.

The ship arrived in Monte Carlo at 1:00 PM. The ship provided a complimentary shuttle that ran from the pier over to the Monte Carlo Grand Casino. We disembarked the ship as soon as the local authorities cleared the ship.

We walked for almost three hours. We visited the area outside the Palace, then we went into the Cathedral, and then over to the gardens, and then we walked all the way over the Casino. They have a Grand Prix race on May 10 an and May 11 and many of the grandstands are already set up and there is temporary fencing in place along many of the sidewalks in preparation of this race. The weather was quite nice and there were lots of people out and about. Outside the Casino we saw many beautiful cars.

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. We have moved over to the table next to the two person window table that we have sat at for the first seven segments of the World Cruise and now have a table for four. We have our same headwaiter, Peter, senior waiter Pablo and waiter Layla. We had ordered a special entrée for the table for this evening and it was wonderful.

Our daughter and son-in-law are taking the complimentary shuttle over to the casino this evening so that they can see this area of town at night when everything is all lit up. We did this when we were last here in the fall of 2005.

Keith & Anne Marie

Rome/Civitavecchia, Italy

This morning we arrived to the Port of Civitavecchia, Italy, which is the gateway port for Rome. We have visited this port many times over the years most recently on last years World Cruise. It is located about ninety minutes from Rome via motor vehicle. Trains are also available from this port city into downtown Rome.

While most people who begin or end a trip at this port think of Rome and area to see near this port of call is where the Etruscan people lived. A few years ago when we stayed in Rome as part of a pre-cruise hotel program with Crystal on the way to the ship we took a tour which included a visit to an Etruscan underground grave site. As we understand, the Etruscan’s believed in life after death and it is through this grave site that historians learned about the Etruscan’s and of their way of life.

Today marks the end of the seventh segment of the World Cruise so a number of passengers disembarked the ship this morning. During the course of this segment we have sailed from Mumbai, India to Rome/Civitavecchia, Italy and have traveled a total distance of 4,640 nautical miles or the equivalent of 5,336 land miles.

At the same time, today also begins the eighth and final leg of the 2008 World Cruise. During this final segment of the World Cruise the ship will begin in Civitavecchia, Italy and will stop in Monte Carlo, Monaco (overnight); Valencia, Spain; Gibraltar, United Kingdom; Lisbon, Portugal; La Coruna, Spain, and end in Southampton, United Kingdom. The stops in Valencia and La Coruna, Spain are maiden calls for Crystal Cruises.

Our daughter and son-in-law join us for this final segment of the World Cruise. They arrived in Rome two days ago and stayed in the Crystal Cruise pre-cruise hotel in Rome.

Our son is still attending college, otherwise we would have had him join us on this cruise as well. We look forward to seeing our son in just a few weeks as we miss him a great deal and we look forward to having him join us on a future cruise. Each of our children has been on fourteen cruises and the last time we all sailed together was in 2003.

We awoke early this morning as we normally do. We enjoyed another very nice sleep on board the ship and we believe we arrived in port by around 3:00 AM. Keith was the first to arrive to the Fitness Center and enjoyed a wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine, Anne Marie did our laundry and then Keith assisted her after he finished his workout. Keith spoke with fellow passenger John and talked about this evenings World Cruise Event and then spoke with Mary for a portion of the workout.

For the first time this cruise, we decided to enjoy a nice breakfast in the Main Dining Room. Anne Marie enjoyed eggs benedict while Keith enjoyed matzah brie which is a nice breakfast dish which can be enjoyed anytime during the year but is one that many people have during Passover. We sat at the same area that we sit in during the evening (one table from our table in the evening) so that we could have our same Senior Waiter Pablo and Waiter Layla. We spoke with them for awhile and also spoke with our Head Waiter, Peter.

After breakfast we took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck. The weather was gorgeous. It was sunny and we wore light jackets so it was a delight to walk. From the ship we could see buses and cars arriving for those passengers disembarking the ship this morning. There are several other passenger cruise ships in port today so the port was certainly busy.

Since our daughter and son-in-law were joining us today and because this evening is a World Cruise Shore Side event, we stayed on the ship to wait for them. Our daughter Jennifer and son-in-law Gui arrived to the ship a little after 12:00 Noon. Jennifer has sailed once each on the Crystal Harmony and the Crystal Symphony and Gui has sailed once on the Crystal Harmony. This is their first time on the Crystal Serenity. We had lunch with them in the Main Dining Room and spent time with them walking around the ship until their room was ready.

This evening we are all going to the World Cruise Shore Side Event. We will post details about this event tomorrow. The event is being held at the Complesso Monumentale di Santo Spirto in Saxia which is a monumental complex of the Holy Spirit in Saxia. It is located within walking distance of St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican. Santo Spirito in Saxia is indeed one of Rome’s oldest historical monuments. It dates back to AD 747. The complex was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1198. It was expanded between 1471 and 1478.

Crystal Cruises is the first cruise line to host an event at this highly acclaimed historical site. We are looking forward to this wonderful event and look forward to sharing what we experience with all of you.

This is the second time in as many years that we have sailed in the Mediterranean in April and just want to note that it is a perfect time to visit this area of the world. We have also sailed here in late September/early October, which is another great time to sail. We prefer both of these time frames relative to the summer when we have also visited the Mediterranean. We find the weather to me much nicer as you don’t encounter the humidity and the high temperatures of the summer, while at the same time there are less tourists visiting this port of call in April. For many we realize that sometimes the summer is the only option for getting away, but for those whose schedule is flexible we prefer Fall or Spring over the Summer.

Keith & Anne Marie

Naples, Italy

NOTE:

Pictures 1,2, and 3 are from our tour of Pompeii.

Picture 4. "Whatta" Lemon. One of the largest lemons we have seen.

Picture 5. A view of Naples.

Last evening, before we went to sleep we enjoyed the breathtaking views of the coast of Italy as we sailed to Naples, Italy. The views from the ship were spectacular as we saw beautiful mountains and coastline, many of which were all lit up. This is another beautiful part of the world with beautiful views in both the daytime and evening hours.

Today we arrived in Naples, Italy. We have visited this port of call several times; most recently on last years World Cruise. Naples is a large city and is one of Italy’s gateway ports to several different tourist sites. This includes Pompeii, Herculaneum, the Isle of Capri and the Amalfi Coastal Drive.

The pier is located about ten minutes walking distance to the center of the city. Today is Liberation Day, which is a national holiday in Italy. Naples has many distinctions and we learned that a famous recipe was developed in this city. In the year 1889, Naples Chef Raffaele Esposito is credited as being the inventor of Pizza Margherita. He was asked to prepare a special meal for the Italian Queen Margherita and he made a pizza with tomato and mozzarella and his wife is came up with the idea to add basil in honor of Italy’s red, white and green flag. Sounds yummy!

We awoke early this morning and enjoyed a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first passenger to arrive at the center and he enjoyed a wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie also enjoyed a great workout on the Treadmill. Fellow guests Mary and John also worked out while we were there and during our workout all four of us were the only ones working out. This is a committed group of four who always are there each day.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café to get a cup of coffee and spoke with John’s lovely wife Linda. A little while later we After enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room as we watched the ship arrive in Naples. We arrived in port a few minutes ahead of schedule.

When we finished breakfast we got ready for our early morning shore excursion. We took the complimentary shore excursion of Pompeii, which was provided, to all passengers on this segment of the World Cruise by Crystal. We first visited Pompeii in the late 1990’s and most recently we visited Pompeii last year as one of the World Cruise evening events was held there.

Pompeii is an amazing place to visit and in 76AD Pompeii suffered a catastrophic event caused by the eruption of Mount Veseuvius. Pompeii used to be a major port and a central location for this area of the world. However, all of this changed when a huge portion of the bay was filled with debris following the volcanic explosion.

We boarded buses and we were taken on a twenty-minute drive over to Pompeii. During our drive, the tour guide pointed out various sites along the way to this historical site and told us about the history of Pompeii. Once inside the site, we walked with our tour guide and visited several locations within Pompeii. The excavations that have taken place in Pompeii are amazing and allows the visitors to walk along streets that are still intact and to view a variety of buildings that included temples, law courts, mansions, private homes and other buildings that were a part of this magnificent area.

Pompeii once was home to as many as 20,000 people and historians have various estimates as to how many people perished as soon as the volcanic ash poured down on this city.

On our way back from Pompeii to the ship the tour guide shared lots of other information concerning Naples and Italy and also talked about various other items including food from cheeses to pizza. Again, yummy!

Our tour and our tour guide were wonderful. There is so much to see that one could spend days at Pompeii.

We want to share an interesting observation about Pompeii. This city is over 2,000 years old but what we saw today shows how advanced these people were in the design and construction of the city. In many ways, this city was much more advanced than other places of the world of today in places such as Africa and portions of the Middle East and Asia that we have visited on our two World Cruises.

Once we arrived back on the ship, we enjoyed a very nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered Salad Entrees for lunch.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the ship and finalized plans for the upcoming eight and final segment of the World Cruise. Today is the final full day of this segment of the World Cruise.

Before dinner we attended the Friday evening Sabbath Services.

This evening we dined in the Main Dining Room. We each enjoyed a wonderful meal. Keith enjoyed Broiled Fresh Atlantic Salmon Fillet and Anne Marie enjoyed the Kosher Chicken as the main entrees. We also enjoyed plenty of vegetables with these entrees along with a wonderfully prepared salad and fresh fruit following dinner.

Tomorrow morning we arrive in Civitavecchia which is the gateway port that serves Rome, Italy. The downtown city of Rome is about a ninety minute drive from this port of call.


Keith & Anne Marie