Brisbane, Australia

After we published last evenings Blog we ran into the Cruise Director who highly recommended that we see the evening show. We are so very glad that we took his advice. The entertainment was by Ventriloquist Jay Johnson. He was outstanding and he had us laughing for much of his show. He is best remembered for playing Chuck and Bob, the crazy ventriloquist in the evening television show known as Soap. This is the show that featured other actors such as Billy Crystal. This is the first time he has performed for Crystal and he was very funny from the moment he walked on stage. He started by telling a number of jokes before he brought to life his puppet. We are very glad we attended this show.

Today, we arrived at Brisbane, Australia. This is a maiden port of call for Crystal. Brisbane is located between the Gold Coast to the south and the Sunshine Coast to the north. This town as an array of places to visit including it Botanical Gardens, the Sir Thomas Planetarium, the Queensland Museum, Art Gallery and Maritime Museum. There are about 1 Million Residents of greater Brisbane, with far few people living downtown.

Last evening we set the clocks back on hour as we cruised into a new time zone. Keith awoke quite early this morning and was up to the Fitness Center a little before 5:00 AM. However, he was not the first one to the Center as another passenger who he knows quite well was already working out. Surprisingly, it never was too busy in the Center while Keith was still there. Anne Marie took another day off from working out, as she is still under the weather. After Keith’s workout he went to the Lido Café to have a cup of coffee and then went out on the open deck to watch as the ship began to get closer to the Brisbane Harbor.

We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room as we arrived at the Cruise Ship Terminal.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk he mentioned that at 2:00 AM we picked up the pilot for the long journey downriver. Before arriving at the berth, he turned the ship around to that we could sail right out of port when we depart at 6:00 PM this evening. The Captain’s thought of the day is “Please don’t make the mistake and give nothing because you only could give a little bit.”

Crystal offered a complimentary tour this afternoon for all passengers who are on this world cruise segment. However, we decided to pass on the tour since Anne Marie is not feeling well and Keith was also concerned about sitting on a bus with other passengers who are also under the weather. Essentially, there are a few different bugs going around from the common cold, to some passengers who seem to have laryngitis like symptoms, to some who have one or two other types of viruses. Some have been sick once, some twice and we know of at least one couple who came on the ship starting with the voyage before the world cruise and the husband is now sick for the third time while the wife is now sick for the second time. Hopefully, this will all cease shortly. We spoke with the ships doctor last evening at the Captain’s Welcome Session and he has definitely been very busy.

We also learned in today’s daily program that since our ship has entered one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the world, and, due to local environmental regulations in the Great Barrier Reef, that is necessary to close guest laundry facilities during the time we transit this area in order to conserve the ships water supply. The facilities will be closed starting March 1 and will reopen on March 5.

Crystal provided a complimentary shuttle service from the pier to the city center of Brisbane. This involved a three mile drive and shuttles ran every twenty minutes for so.

As we were going down to the cruise ship terminal we ran into a very nice woman who used to work on the Serenity as the assistant to the Hotel Director. She recognized us right away. She told us that her husband, Adi, who used to be the Head Sommelier, was downstairs and sure enough we spoke with him. He recognized us right away and also remembered that Keith was his partner in the Passenger/Crew Triathlon that was part of last years World Cruise Games. We miss them both. After many years with Crystal they have settled down in Brisbane, Australia where they started a travel business. We also ran into one of the Shore Excursion Staff who just returned to the ship from Holiday in Sydney and she remembered our names right away. What memories the crew has.


We took the first shuttle at 9:00 AM, which dropped us off by a department store in the downtown area.

We enjoyed a very nice walk and first went over to the Botanical Gardens. Afterwards, we walked on a pedestrian bridge over the river and walked through a University and then we walked along the river where we passed a variety of gardens and a man made beach. We walked by the Maritime Museum, the Art Gallery and an area where the World Expo was held twenty years ago. We then walked over another bridge into the city where we saw the former Treasury building, which believe it or not is now a casino.

In town, we bought an item for Anne Marie’s virus and a couple of other small items. The town is very vibrant. We walked for a while longer until it was time to take the shuttle back to the ship. We then had lunch in the main dining room and then went back off the ship to walk around the Cruise Ship Terminal. The terminal is fairly new and has some very nice shops and restaurants. They even had a high-end grocery market with wonderful looking vegetables and fruits along with a section with fresh seafood, meats, and sushi. The quality of these food items was definitely high end with reasonable prices. We even saw the Moreton Bay bug that resembles a crayfish and it is very popular with the locals. We posted a picture showing them. There were some nice retail shops and even a movie theatre. The quality of these shops is of a standard much higher than what one normally sees at a cruise ship terminal.

All of the locals who we spoke with were very polite and considerate. They would ask us nice questions and went out of their way to assist us. The city was very clean, vibrant and it felt very safe. Everything is so very well organized including the security at each of the cruise ship terminal that we have gone through in each Australian Port.

This is a country that we have become more impressed with by the day. The people are wonderful, the cities are all clean, there is so much natural beauty and there is so much to do, and there is vibrancy in the air.

Since many passengers were on the complimentary shore excursion, and given that we will be unable to do washes over the next few days, we decided to do a couple of washes since the washing machines and dryers were available.

Before dinner, we attended Friday evening services where we, once again, said a prayer for a very special couple whose husband is ill. Our thoughts go out to them.

This evening we enjoyed a nice meal in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered chicken and a chicken soup hoping that this would be a nice remedy for Anne Marie’s virus.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Brisbane, Australia

Last evening we enjoyed a wonderful World Cruise shore side event in Sydney, Australia. The event was called “A Walk-About Sydney. It was held at the Crystal Palace Ballroom, at Luna Park, in Sydney. We had a wonderful time.

We all met at 5:45 PM and at 6:00 PM we boarded another ship that was docked alongside the Crystal Serenity. We were taken on a Harbour Cruise for about an hour. We were so very happy to have the opportunity to cruise around the Harbour to see both the beauty of the Harbour and to see such beautiful views of this wonderful city. We were served a variety of Hors D’oeuvres and wine and soft drinks during the Harbour Cruise. We sat with fellow World Cruisers John and Linda, Jim and Judy and Bill and Sandra.

When we arrived at the Luna Park we made our way to the Ballroom for the World Cruise Event. It took awhile to get all of the passengers over there but eventually all of the passengers made it over there. During our welcome, a choir composed of 40 or more people (may have been fifty) sang several songs for us. Both the Captain and the Cruise Director gave welcome comments. During the event there was a variety of entertainment to appeal to the different age groups and interests of passengers. We were entertained before the meal, between each course and at the end of the meal. The entertainment was terrific. It included dancing, a five person band, a woman who sang during dinner and played an instrument, a trio of singers who sang a variety of songs including several opera songs and also provided some comedy in their act.

The menu included an Australian Dinner Menu. We had an appetizer course of Ballontine of cured salmon rolled in summer herbs, brandade, rocket L Crème fraiche. The main course included an aged sirloin wrapped on caramelized onion and a portao tart with onion puree. For dessert we enjoyed an individual pavlova with yoghurt cream and berries. There was also fresh bread rolls and a variety of beverages including water, soft drinks, red, wihte and sparkling wines and a couple of Australian Beers.

We sat with John and Linda, Bill and Sandra, Jim and Judy and Jerry. We had a wonderful table and really enjoyed everyone’s company at the table. We enjoyed several toast at the table and we all laughed quite a bit throughout the evenings festivities.

We had two options for returning to the ship bus or boat. We all opted to take the bus and arrived back to the ship at around 10:45 PM. All in all it was a nice evening. The ship left Sydney at 12:00 Midnight. We had a wonderful time in this incredible city and look forward to coming back to this lovely city in the future.

Sydney was wonderful and we enjoyed a very special day in this vibrant city. For those of you who have never been to Sydney we highly recommend it. All of Australia ports have been great. There is so much to see, people are friendly, each city is vibrant, we felt very safe there, it is nice that English is the spoken language and you can even drink the regular water. ☺ We hope that we will return to Sydney, as there is so much to see in this beautiful city.

This morning Keith awoke early and went to the Fitness Center while Anne Marie took it easy since she is still sick. Keith enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Mary as he does almost everyday we workout. He ended up working out on the Elliptical machines for his longest workout yet; two hours. He will make up for that at tonight’s formal dinner. Mary and Keith also talked about what each of us had done in Sydney. We really enjoyed Sydney as we have enjoyed all of the ports in Australia.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room. The rest was good for Anne Marie. She is actually feeling worse rather than better but will hopefully be on the mend soon.

During the Captain’s daily talk he shared with us his thought for the day, which is “People don’t resist changed. They resist being changed.” Once again, we have come to appreciate the thoughts that Captain Glenn shares with us during each day of the cruise.

Keith attended Rap with the Rabbi and enjoyed the session. Some new people attended who are on this leg of the World Cruise and the Rabbi had prepared a very interesting talk and discussion.

We also signed up for the various World Games. During the course of this segment of the World Cruise there will be a number of games where passengers will have the opportunity to compete with one another. This will include Team Trivia, Basketball, Shuffleboard, Bridge, Shuffleboard, Fast Walking, Solitaire, Swimming, Paddle Tennis, Golf, Darts, Chess, and many more activities. Olympians Cathy Rigby and Mitch Gaylord will be on hand for these games. These games are lots of fun and provide a nice opportunity for passenger’s to get to know one another.

Later in the morning Keith attended a lecture given by Former FBI Profiler Clint Van Zandt who discussed the history of criminal profiling and the wy of youthful violence. Mr. Van Zandt also discussed what occurred at Virginia Tech University and provided his personal thoughts on how and why our youth of today can commit such crimes and what can be done to prevent similar occurrences from happening in the future. Mr Van Zandt was a lecturer on last years World Cruise. He appears on a variety of television shows including MSNBC, CNN and NBC and CBS. He will be giving three additional talks during this segment.

At the same time, Anne Marie picked up here complimentary needlepoint kit for this leg of the segment.

Afterwards we attended our first session of Team Trivia. There was one person from Cruise Critic on our team along with a couple who we know from last year and their two daughters and son in law. We answered 10 of 15 questions correctly and believe we finished in a tie for third place.

We enjoyed a very nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. After lunch, Keith played table tennis with a friend from last years World Cruise. Eventually, other passengers joined in and we also played several games of mixed doubles.

Before dinner this evening we attended the Captains Welcome Reception. We always look forward to this reception. We then enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. The attire for this evening was Formal and it was so very nice to see everyone dressed in formal attire. We believe this adds to the overall ambiance of the cruise. Given the length of this segment of the World Cruise, there will be four formals this time around.

Tomorrow we will visit the Port of Brisbane, Australia. We are signed up for a complimentary shore excursion but we will have to see how Anne Marie is feeling.

Keith & Anne Marie

We Love Sydney

We added some pictures to our picture web site from Australia. Please click on the link on the right hand site to view these pictures.

This morning we arrived in Sydney, Australia. . This brings to an end Segment 3 of the World Cruise and the start of Segment 4. During the course of this cruise we sailed a total distance of 3,587 nautical miles or the equivalent of 4,125 land miles.

On Segment 4 of the World Cruise we will cruise from Sydney, Australia to Hong Kong, China. This segment is seventeen days in length and includes eleven (yes eleven) sea days.

Sydney is one of the very well known cities of the southern hemisphere with a population that exceeds four million people. There is so much to see in Sydney. Its harbor is one of if not the most beautiful harbors in the world. A very well known building is the Sydney Opera House. Another well-known site is the Sydney Harbour Bridge which many locals and tourists enjoy walking across. Sydney is also very well for it numerous and its beautiful beaches. Other major tourist sites include The Rocks and Millers Point, the Traronga Zoo, Sydney Aquarium, Australian Museum, Chinese Garden, Sydney Olympic Park, and so many other locations they are too numerous to list.

I began the day with a workout in the Fitness Center at 4:05 AM (yes 4;05 AM) while my wife slept in since she is still not feeling well. I wanted to start early enough so he would be done with the workout in time to watch our sail-in to the Sydney Harbour. While it was very dark we still enjoyed nice views of the city all lit up and I took some videos of our arrival. There were some intermittent showers and some lightening and thunder from time to time.

The ship had two choices and one was to arrive very early in the morning and the other option was to arrive later in the morning. While the latter option would give us a better view, it was not chosen since today is disembarkation for those passengers who are not on the next segment of the World Cruise and also since we are only in Sydney for one day until our ship sails out of the Harbor at Midnight.

We also enjoyed breakfast in the room afterwards. After the sunrise I went back outside to take videos and pictures from all around the ship.

From the ship we enjoyed a great view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Opera House, The Sydney Skyline and even Luna Park where this evenings World Cruise Event will be held.





We walked to the Sydney Opera House. This facility was completed in 1973 and draws over 2 million visitors each year. We walked all around the Royal Botanical Garden, and we walked by the Government House. We walked by a variety of other sites including the State Parliament House, the State Library, the Domain, the Government House, the Conservatory of Music, and the Rocks. We also walked both ways across the Sydney Bridge and also saw a variety of other sites including the Sydney Centerpoint Tower. During our walk to the Opera House and all around the Royal Botanical Garden we saw numerous local out from those taking a nice walk to those jogging.

After walking all morning we returned back to the ship for lunch in the Main Dining Room. After lunch we went back out and we walked in the downtown area, which was so very vibrant. We walked to the Queen Victoria Building, which now contains over 200 boutiques. The architecture of the building is quite impressive.

We had a wonderful walk throughout the day and afternoon. We walked almost twelve miles so add the ten+ miles that Keith did on the Elliptical Machine this morning it added to a lot of mileage.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves today. We are avid walkers and this is a walker’s city. While the skies were overcast, we were fortunate that it didn’t rain while we were out and the temperature was mainly in the 70s so it was a nice day to be out and about. The locals who we spoke with were very friendly and helpful to us. The city was extremely easy to get around. The harbour is outstanding and it is nice that right outside the cruise ship terminal is an assortment of stores, restaurants and cafes and that from the pier we could walk to so many interesting places. This city along with Melbourne and Hobart are places that we would like to return to again as there is so much more to do that we did not have an opportunity to take advantage of given our limited time in these ports. Sydney has a wonderful atmosphere and is one of the nicest cities in the world.

Today we also ran into a couple of people who are not working on the ship right now but people that we sailed with during the course of last years World Cruise. This would be Peter who was the shore excursion manager on this ship and David who was the Sports Director. They are both very friendly people and they are both from Australia. The were both visiting the ship today.

This evening we have our first of two World Cruise shore side events. This event is only for those who are on the Full World Cruise and most of the details of the event are kept from us so we will be surprised. We have been told that the event is called “A Walk-About Sydney. It will be held at the Crystal Palace Ballroom, at Luna Park, in Sydney. The attire for the evening is Country Club Casual and we have been asked to be ready at 5:45 PM so we can be transported to this event. I will post details of this event tomorrow. We can see this venue from the ship and we also had nice views of Luna Park during our morning walk around Sydney.


Keith

En Route To Sydney, Australia

Today we have a full day at sea as we cruise to Sydney, Australia

Last evening the seas were relatively calm. Keith woke up early this morning and enjoyed another nice workout in the Fitness Center. He was the first one in the Fitness Center and there were not too many passengers working out today. Anne Marie is still not feeling too well so she took another well-deserved break from working out. She met Keith at the Fitness Center at the end of his workout and we both went to the Lido Café for breakfast.

We both enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the Lido Café. Typically, we enjoy cereal and fruit for breakfast. The fruit on the ship has been quite good over the past few days such as the strawberries, blueberries, melon, bananas and the grapefruit. On most days we have breakfast in the Lido Café as we don’t want to wear our exercise clothes in the Main Dining Room and the Lido Café opens earlier in the morning so it is much easier for us to just eat there. On occasion, we have breakfast delivered to our suite and the butler does a wonderful job setting up the breakfast for us. Midway through our breakfast we were joined by one other passenger at our table.

When we went back to our room we saw that there was one available washing machine in the Laundry Room so we decided to take advantage of that and we did a couple of loads of laundry. Keith saw the Cruise Director in the hallway and he was kind enough to show him the television studio for the ship, which we learned, is located right on our floor. There were sections to the studio; one with all of the various broadcast equipment used to broadcast from the studio and for all of the various stations used to broadcast movies throughout the day and evening hours along with equipment used to monitor the stations. The other room was the studio that we see on television on most mornings where the daily program is shown. It’s sort of like a mini set for shows such as the Today Show and Good Morning America. It was very impressive and Keith really appreciated the Cruise Director taking time to show him this area of the ship.

Speaking of television, we continue to pick up a fair amount of programming as we cruise this part of the world. We continue to receive CNN Worldwide News, CNN Headline News, Fox News, CNBC, BBC along with a Japanese Station in English and a station from Australia long with two ESPN stations. In addition a few Crystal stations broadcast movies along with another worldwide station that shows movies and there is also another station showing older movies. There are other Crystal Cruises stations that carry other programming from the Crystal produced morning show featuring the Cruise Director and World Cruise Hostess, to a station that features information about upcoming ports of call and the shore excursions, to another station that features the various lectures to another station that provides information about future Crystal Cruises. We also get two newspapers from Crystal so it provides some additional information regarding news and then we use the Internet from time to time to catch up on other news related items.

We are sixteen hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States. So, usually we are one day ahead. This is still confusing to some people on the ship so many times Keith has to explain this to other passengers. As we’ve mentioned, it is so much easier traveling in this direction where we mainly set the clock backwards from time to time.

We listened to the Captains Announcement this morning and he noted that the seas have been relatively calm. His thought for the day is “ You don’t drown from falling in the water. You drown by staying there.” For us this is a reminder to take charge of ones life and to be pro-active rather than reactive to changes in ones environment. We really enjoy these thoughts of the day and, therefore, like to pass them on.

Since today is a sea day there are many lectures and other activities throughout the day.

Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff gave the second presentation. He presented “Gallipolia.” His presentation dealt with the Australian and New Zealand Troops who joined Empire forces in Europe during World War 1. They were used in an ill-fated offensive against the Turks, their lives were tragically squandered by high-level incompetence. Their countrymen remember their obedience and bravery to this day. As is the case with all of Dr. Wolff’s presentations it was very well attended and the story that he told was both informative and quite interesting. We continue to learn a great deal from Dr. Wolff.

Book Dramatist Barbara Rinella gave the last presentation of the morning. As they say, they saved the best for last. She was wonderful. The title of her presentation was “Who will Henry VII choose to become the new Queen of England?” She dramatized the book titled The Boleyn Inheritance, by Philppa Gregory whose historical fiction presents a fascinating portrayal of the intrigue, political maneuvering and emotional upheaval of the Tudor court of Kig Henry VII after the natural death of his third wife, Jane Seymour. This presentation was given to a standing room only crowd and was a crowd pleaser. At the conclusion of her session, as she does in other sessions, Barbara Rienella told us about a variety of other books. Anne Marie is reading one of them now.

Before lunch we had the opportunity to visit the Bridge along with six other people and we greatly appreciated this opportunity. While we visited the bridge last year during a World Cruise event, it was nice to see the bridge with so few people. During the tour, Captain Glenn came up to talk with the group. The sophistication of the equipment is truly remarkable. It is amazing what can be monitored on board the ship as well as all of the various cruising capabilities, which exist on this vessel.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. The dining room was relatively quiet since there was also an Australian Luncheon Buffet featuring a variety of items from “down under”.

We took a nice walk on the Promenade Deck after lunch. The outside weather was quite nice and we thought that the fresh air would do Anne Marie some good. We ran into Barbara Rinella and told her how much we enjoyed each of her three talks.

Afterwards, I played table tennis with various passengers for about ninety minutes. It was my only second time playing since the World Cruise began. It’s time to get some practice for the upcoming World Games. ☺

We enjoyed yet another wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. Last evening we had greatly enjoyed the fresh Tasmanian Salmon so much that we asked for it again this evening. We found it to be very tasty and moist.

This evening marked the conclusion of the third segment of the World Cruise. Those passengers who are leaving the ship will disembark the ship sometime tomorrow morning in Sydney. Approximately 400 passengers will be leaving the ship. Tomorrow afternoon, new passengers will be joining the ship. The ship will carry a little over 800 passengers during the next segment of the World Cruise.

We are very excited about our first visit to Sydney, Australia.

Keith & Anne Marie

Melbourne, Australia Day 2

NOTE: We have removed the capability to post comments on this Blog. We were sorry to do this as we really enjoyed receiving comments from those of you posted, but unfortunately, we noticed that someone who we do not know was posting comments trying to direct folks to some other web site. We do enjoy hearing from you, so please be sure to e mail us with any comments, questions and other thoughts you have.

We wanted to mention that yesterday there were two ships on port. There was the Sapphire Princess and a very large Ferry that goes between Melbourne and Tasmania. Today, there is another Ferry that goes to Tasmania as well.

Last evening we were reading the Program (Reflections) that Crystal provides each of its passengers on a daily basis. The program included a chart on the Beaufort Scale. Almost every morning, the Captain discussed the wind during his morning talk and mentions a number, which is a number on the Beaufort Scale. IN 1858, British admiral, mariner, and amateur meteorologist Sir Francis Beaufort invented this scale in which number 0 to 12 indicates the force of the wind. Zero (0) refers to the calmest of winds and Twelve (12) refers to hurricane force winds. The evening that we sailed into Melbourne, we had winds of number 10 on the Beaufort Scale which refers to storm winds so hopefully this gives you a sense as to how severe the winds were.

Keith awoke early this morning and went to the Fitness Center to workout on the elliptical machine. Keith was the first one in the Center and a little while later Mary arrived to the center. Anne Marie is in the middle of some type of cold so she got a well-deserved rest and slept in a later this morning while Keith worked out. Before not too long, John also arrived at the Center. There were very few people in the Center today since we are in port and many passengers are booked on either a morning or afternoon tour. Keith chatted with Mary for much of the workout. After Keith’s workout we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

Originally, we were booked on a complimentary excursion through Crystal but decided last evening to forgo this excursion. We so thoroughly enjoyed our time in Melbourne on Sunday and since it is a great walking city we decided that we would go out again on our own today. Also, with several passengers still sick we thought it might be better not to sit with so many people on a bus. We also figured that it would be good to get as much fresh air as possible.

We started walking at around 9:00 AM. We began by walking on a street that is by the beach and the ocean and then after about a mile we took another street that would eventually lead us to the downtown area. On our way, we passed by several restaurants, bakeries, designer clothing stores, food stores, cafes, and an assortment of other businesses. We also walked thru a few different neighborhoods. We walked for several hours and did not return to the ship until lunchtime.

We ended up walking ten miles and enjoyed the sights of Melbourne. Our walk also included time in the Financial District, and we also saw the various judicial buildings and also through Flagstaff Gardens which is a very nice park/garden area. The weather was on the cooler side for most of our walk so we each wore a fleece and were quite comfortable. Between this walk and Keith’s 13 mile workout on the Elliptical Machine sis morning he went over 23 miles today.

Melbourne is a very easy city to navigate on your own. It is a very cosmopolitan city and it offers much in the way of daytime sightseeing including various museums, the aquarium, the botanical gardens, the zoo and many others interesting places to visit. At the same time it offers a very nice nightlife from lots of restaurants serving a variety of cuisines to nightclubs and other evening entertainment. It is also a very clean city, and a city that appears to be very safe for both locals and tourists alike. As we mentioned yesterday, it has the feel of many cities in the United States during the 1950s and the 1960s. It is a great walking city with very well marked street signs, lots of pedestrian traffic crossings and very polite/considerate motorists.

We wanted to add a few other observations. The McDonald’s Restaurants that we saw had signage that also said McCafé. It’s not often that we think of this fast food establishment as a café. ☺ As we were walking by the judicial courts we saw both male and female lawyers all wearing wigs in keeping with their British Heritage. Unlike, what we observe in many cities around the world, motorists do not honk their car horns and seem to show much more patience than many drivers from other large cities.

As we were returning back to the ship we first ran into the Maitre D of the Main Dining Room Leo Assmair and a few minutes later our Butler, Alexanader. They each were going on a nice walk. They are both wonderful and very professional and we have enjoyed our talks with each of them during the course of this cruise. As was the case on last years cruise, Leo will be on the first half of this cruise and then when he goes on vacation another Maitre D will come on for the second half of the World Cruise. Our butler will be on for another few segments of the cruise before he returns to his home country of Serbia. As we have mentioned before, overtime those on the ship, passengers and crew alike, become like a small hometown community.

When we arrived back at the ship we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. From the window in the Main Dining Room we could see lots of Jelly Fish swimming around the ship. Let’s hope we don’t see them on the dinner menu. ☺

After lunch we took it easy and stayed on the ship. We took care of some errands and enjoyed the quiet time since some passengers were spending part or all of the afternoon in port. Passengers were asked to be back on board the ship by 5:30 PM for the 6:00 PM sail away.

Before dinner, we attended a special performance of the World Cruise Chorus. We believe this is the first performance since the World Cruise began. Last year there was a concert on each segment but for some reason this year it took until the third segment for their first concert. The performance included a combination of those on the full World Cruise and those on one or more segments. In addition to various passengers, the performance also included the acappella quartet known as Full Sail and Tony Award Nominated Broadway Vocalist Michel Bell who has performed on several cruises we have taken with Crystal Cruises.

This evening we had our table in the Main Dining Room expanded from a two person to a four-person table so that the Rabbi and his lovely wife could join us for dinner. This is the second time they have dined with us during the course of the cruise. They are wonderful people and we greatly enjoy our talks with them. They have a wonderful outlook on life and it is always a pleasure to see them. The food and service was outstanding as it always is. Keith enjoyed an entrée of broiled fresh Tasmanian salmon. He selected this since it is not only fresh but is from the area of the world we are sailing in. Anne Marie enjoyed a Halibut Fillet. We mainly have seafood for dinner and we have enjoyed a variety of wonderful seafood entrees on board the ship.

Tomorrow we will be at sea before this third segment of the World Cruise concludes the following day in Sydney, Australia. Approximately 400 passengers will be getting off the ship in Sydney, while some new passengers will be joining the ship in the afternoon. The ship will not be as full as it was on our current segment of the World Cruise and we believe there will be around 150 less passengers on this segment of the cruise. The upcoming segment has lots of sea days.

Keith & Anne Marie

Melbourne, Australia

We had a wonderful day today in Melbourne, Australia. It truly reminds us of the USA back in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Last evening we continued to have very rough seas. It was extremely windy. At times it felt as if we were in a large aircraft and experiencing turbulence. The ship did wonderful in spit of all of this. Yesterday, when we went to the Captain’s Farewell Reception we were on Deck 12 in a room called the Palm Court and there were a times that because of the high winds that water actually splashed onto the outside windows of this room. We were fine with the seas and did not feel seasick at all. We just needed to walk carefully during the evening hours and we could hear the ship vibrate from time to time and of course feel the movement of the ship throughout most of the night. Anne Marie wore earplugs so she heard far less of the noise than Keith did.

After we had dinner at the Specialty Restaurant last evening we went by the second Captain’s Farewell Reception of the evening, which is, held for those passengers who are in the second dinner seating. We have been doing this of late just to say hello to some passengers who we don’t see as often since we eat dinner at the main seating. We just stayed for a little while after walking around the reception a couple of times. We ran into several people who we know. We also spoke with the Captain a couple of times last evening. He is a wonderful Captain and we appreciate all he does for the safety of the ship and for all passengers and crew.

To give you more perspective as to yesterdays weather conditions, during the Captain’s morning talk he mentioned that last evening we had Force 10, which equals a storm. At one point the winds as high as 65 Knots at one point and then leveled off to between 55 to 60 Knots overnight. The Captain’s thought of the day is “The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.” We continue to look forward to these thoughts of the day and today’s thought reminds us of the importance of focusing on all that is good each day rather than dwelling on other items. There is so much to be gained from a positive outlook and we remind ourselves of how truly fortunate we are In our case, we know how lucky and fortunate we are to be cruising with Crystal and to be taking a World Cruise and we look forward to making new memories each and every day that will last a lifetime. We also realize that life is relatively short particularly when one considers the age of the earth so we want to focus on what is good each and everyday. Again, we have so much to be thankful for.


Today, we arrived in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is the capital of Victoria. It is the second largest city in Australia, with a population of over 3 million people. This city has a very diverse population with almost a third of its residents born overseas. An example of its diversity is the fact that more people who are Greek descendants live in Melbourne than in any other worldwide city except for those who live in Athens. Many immigrants settled in Melbourne from a variety of places such as China, Vietnam, Italy and Lebanon.

Its architecture has a European flair. This city is also well known for its large number of restaurants, stores, entertainment, and nightclubs. Throughout the year it hosts major events from concerts, to plays, to sporting events, including the Formula One Grand Prix.

The locals take great pride in their city just as those who live in other cities around the world do.

As we mentioned, last evening the seas were quite choppy as it was very windy. While the seas were quite choppy they did not bother us. We just needed to walk carefully. The pilot met the ship a little after 4:00 AM this morning and we reached Melbourne at approximately 8:00 AM.

We awoke early this morning as we do each day and started our day off with a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first one in the Fitness Center and Anne Marie arrived a short time later. A few minutes after Anne Marie began her workout John also arrived to the center. For most of our workout it was just the three of us in the center and then when John left it was just the two of us. It was dark outside for most of our workout but we could see another cruise ship not too far away, which was also sailing into the harbor.

After our workout, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in the Lido Café. A few of the regulars who normally sit at a table right adjacent to the table we sit at were also in the Café including John and his lovely wife Linda and about six or so other passengers.

Keep in mind that today is Sunday in Australia as we are about eighteen hours or so ahead of the East Coast of the USA. The pilot boarded our ship at around 4:00 AM this morning We arrived at the pier a little before 8:00 AM this morning. We docked at the Outer East Station Pier at Beach Street in Melbourne. The pier is located a few miles from the downtown area. Crystal Cruises provided a complimentary shuttle that ran every thirty minutes between the pier and the Mercure Grand Hotel, located downtown. The drive was about twenty minutes in each direction.

We will be in Melbourne today and tomorrow as we have an overnight in this nice city. We have a shore excursion planned for tomorrow, which is a complimentary excursion provided to all guests. This is being offered two times; one tomorrow morning and the other tomorrow afternoon. We are booked on the morning excursions.

When we disembarked the ship to wait for the complimentary bus it was very (and we do mean very windy). In some ways we felt as if we were in the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois in March. We had to wait longer than expected for the first shuttle bus as there was a traffic jam getting into the pier but once we boarded the bus we were downtown in about twenty minutes. We walked to a variety of places. Our first stop was Queen Victoria Market which first opened in the 1870’s and sells a variety of clothing and other merchandise and has an extensive area selling fresh lamb, beef, seafood, poultry and fruits and vegetables. We saw just about every type of item related to lamb that you can think of. We then walked to some other areas including to the Melbourne Museum and to Chinatown. Chinatown was quite extensive. We also walked along the river a market area selling slow-food (just the opposite of fast-food) and we also went to a local arts and crafts fair held each Sunday. As we walked the streets of the downtown area we could see so much diversity in terms of restaurants and in terms of people all around us. Everyone we spoke with was very friendly and at the market they were not pushy at all. The cost of goods seemed on a little more reasonable when compared to what we might expect to pay in the United States.

We walked about three and one half miles and then decided to take the shuttle back to the ship for lunch. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the main dining room and sat adjacent to a family who is on this segment of the cruise who we know from Cruise Critic. We spoke with them during lunch.

After we freshened up we decided to take a nice walk. About fifteen minutes into our walk we ran into a familiar person who works at the reception desk of the Serenity who we also know from last years World Cruise. His name is Franz and he is always so very friendly to us. He had told us this morning that he was going to walk from the ship to and from the town and sure enough that is what he did. So, he gave us directions and with our trusty map we decided to walk as far as we thought we had time for and sure enough we ended up walking all the way to and from the downtown area. We walked a little over seven miles and during our walk we passed many restaurants, where it was clear that the locals dine. We also passed numerous bakeries with perfectly looking cakes and pastries and we also passed many other places such as a wonderful looking fruit and vegetable market. We also saw a very nice supermarket and went in there to buy one item. We entered the downtown area from the other direction that we saw this morning so we saw another area of the downtown. We could see the Melbourne Aquarium from where we walked and walked by the other side of the river where was saw some local entertainment including various clowns, face-painting for children, old time cars from the 1940s and the 1950s and a band comprised of teenage boys who played wonderful music. It was quite a festive atmosphere and we were happy to feel like part of the festivities. We felt very safe for the entire walk and again this city had the feel of the 1950s and early 1960s in the USA.

We certainly got our exercise for the day. Between our workout and our two extended walks, Anne Marie walked about fifteen miles today and Keith ended up doing over twenty miles of walking and elliptical exercise.

While the day started off windy the rest of the day was very nice. We would say it was in the 60s and at times there was some wind which was quite nice while a other points there was very little wind.

We enjoyed two different types of fish for dinner this evening in the Main Dining Room. One was a fresh fish called Trevally. Coincidentally, we had seen Trevally fish at the seafood market earlier today. We also enjoyed a Black Bass fish which the headwaiter had ordered for us as he knew we had really liked it the other evening.

Oh and one more piece of news. Yesterday, we were asked by a couple that we know from last year if we wanted to play on their team trivia team during the next segment of the cruise. We saw they in town today and told them that we would join their team for the next segment of the cruise. The next segment of the World Cruise has a lot of sea days(eleven sea days) as we cruise from Sydney, Australia to Hong Kong so that’s a lot of trivia. Last year we played team trivia throughout the World Cruise but this year we were taking some time off from it but we are ready to play it again. It will be fun. ☺


Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Melbourne, Australia

We just wanted to mention one more time how delightful we found Hobart, Tasmania, Australia to be. On yesterday’s tour, there were six vehicles and drivers and each driver had an expertise in certain areas, which added to the tour. When we were all together as a group, one of the tour guides would take the lead in sharing their expertise regarding the area we would visit. It really added to our overall enjoyment. Our driver/tour guide was outstanding. We found all of the locals who we met yesterday to be quite warm and witty. They were very open in their discussions and we were able to learn so much from them about the history, culture, landscape, economics, traditions, values and even the political views of Australia.

Last night the seas were relatively calm so we enjoyed a good nights sleep. We woke up early and began our day in the Fitness Center. Keith and Mary were the first two to arrive at the Fitness Center. Anne Marie was the third person to arrive about twenty minutes after Keith got up there and John arrived a little while afterwards. Mary represented Crystal on the tour yesterday and Keith and Mary talked about what a fabulous tour we all had. Crystal is one of the few cruise lines that will have a representative on each tour to look after the passengers and to ensure that the tour meets the Crystal standards and is consistent with the description of the tour. Mary does an outstanding job and we wish that we could have Mary or her wonderful husband Stan on each tour we are signed up for as they are each terrific in this role.

We enjoyed a very nice workout. As usual, Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. By the time we left, it became a little more crowded, but there were still many available machines to choose from.

We decided to enjoy breakfast in our room since today is a sea day and we thought it would be nice to have a quiet and relaxing breakfast. We have one day at sea today before we reach our next port of call tomorrow, which is Melbourne, Australia. We will have an overnight in Melbourne, which should provide additional time to visit this city.

Many activities were planned for today along with a Grand Gala Luncheon Buffet and a Captain’s Farewell Reception. There are still a few more days to go before this segment of the World Cruise is over.

This morning the during the Captain’s announcement Captain Glenn mentioned that the seas could be rougher later in the day which they have been. It has been quite windy, but overall the ship has done very well. The Captain’s thought of the day, which he shared at the end of his talk, is “The world is a book and those who stay home only read one page.” We thought this was another wonderful thought that we wanted to share with everyone. For us, cruising certainly has added many pages and chapters to our lives. We have so much from our cruising experiences. One observation is that everywhere we go is the pride and enthusiasm that each person we meet has about his or her respective homeland.

We enjoyed a busy morning. First on our schedule was to attend the Rap with the Rabbi. One of the couples did a short presentation for everyone and afterwards this led to a very solid discussion. The participation continues to be quite high and it is a pleasure to share and to listen to thoughts on a variety of items.

We then attended a lecture given by Destination Lecturer, Dr. Jay Wolff. The topic of his presentation was “Crossing the Outback – Death in the Desert.” The presentation covered the adventurers who met death trying to cross Australia’s great emptiness. He discussed how many starved as a result of arrogance, ignorance, and insolence and how some became national heroes. Dr. Wolff has a wonderful presentation style, as he is able to share a wealth of information by through one or more stories. His lectures continue to be very well attended and enjoyed by all.

Investment Lecturer, Dr. Bob Froehlich, who presented, gave the last program we attended in the morning titled “Where in the World is Dr. Bob Investing, Part III. The other day he had covered most of his top ten recommendations for investing in 2008 but had left out the number one and number 2 recommendations. He also shared his thoughts on some individual stocks to invest in along with views on asset allocation. He is a very animated speaker.

We attended the Grand Gala Buffet. We enjoy looking at all of the wonderful displays of food and have posted a few pictures from the buffet. We ate in the dining room, but ordered a nice salad entrée.

We took care of some errands in the afternoon and Anne Marie also attended a needlepoint get together.

Before dinner, we attended the Captain’s Farewell Reception. Once again, we had a wonderful time talking with some of our fellow passengers and several members from the crew and we enjoyed the Captain’s talk. This is the last reception for those on the ship who will be departing the ship in a few days in Sydney. We also enjoyed the music and danced to some of the music. The seas were quite rough so the second reception was moved to the Stardust Club.

This evening was formal night so it was great to see everyone dressed up. It really adds to the overall ambience of the ship and we are so very glad that formal attire is part of the cruising experience found on Crystal Cruises.

This evening we dined at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with lots of sushi, along with some very nice entrée items.

Tomorrow morning, we are scheduled to arrive at Melbourne, Australia at approximately 8:00 AM, Sunday morning, local time.

Keith & Anne Marie

Hobart, Australia

We enjoyed another great nights sleep. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had relatively calm seas for another evening since we were sailing in the Tasman Sea, better known for its rough seas.

We had a fairly early tour this morning so Keith woke up even earlier than normal and worked out for a little over an hour in the Fitness Center. He was the first in the center but not before long Mary was also in the center and John arrived a little while later. Anne Marie took a well-deserved break from the Fitness Center today.

Since we have an early tour we had breakfast delivered to our room this morning. Actually, when Keith came back from the Fitness Center the breakfast was being delivered to the room so that was perfect timing.

We wanted to mention that last evening before we went to sleep we could see another cruise ship heading in the same direction as our ship. It looked like a Princess Ship and this morning as we were making our way towards land we could see the same ship. We learned that there would be three ships in port today including our ship. When we arrived we did see the other two ships; the Sapphire Princess and the Celebrity Mercury. We sailed on the Mercury over ten years ago on a cruise of Alaska.

We saw a beautiful (and we do mean beautiful) sunrise from our room, as we were finishing up our breakfast. The temperature early in the morning was just about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. We also wanted to mention that last night when we were eating dinner we saw several porpoises (at least that is what we think they were) from our dining room table. We’ve learned that you can see quite a bit if you just pay close attention to the ocean.

After five days at sea, we arrived at our first port of call in Australia, which is known as Hobart, Australia. Hobart is part of the island-state of Tasmania. It is located between Mt. Wellington and the Derwent River. It is Australia’s second oldest capital. Its population is about 130,000 people.

The city is rich in its history and it has approximately 90 buildings with National Trust classification. Like Sydney, Hobart is also known for its nice Harbor and is recognized as having one of the most beautiful harbor cities in the world.

We enjoyed an outstanding day and tour in Hobart. Hobart and the portion of Tasmania that we saw during our daylong tour is beautiful beyond description. The countryside was amazing as we drove along winding roads and by hills and mountains with beautiful greenery all around us.

We took a shore excursion that we signed up with through Crystal called the Tassi Trek Adventure. This was a full day excursion lasting over eight hours. Normally, we sign up for excursions that are shorter in duration, but this excursion was very appealing to us.

As part of this tour, we were taken in a four-wheel drive vehicle to the interior of Tasmania. This was a full day tour, which included plenty of sightseeing as well as a nice lunch. This tour has been sold out for quite a while and only 25 people were on the tour. We thought it would provide us with a nice opportunity to see first hand several of the animals that are unique to Australia and to also see more of the inland. We were also happy that Mary was on the tour as the Crystal Representative.

We visited Bonorong Wildlife Park, which is home to Australian residents such as koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, kangaroos, and wallabies. Park rangers were on hand to hold and freed these very cute animals. We were able to feed some of the animals ourselves.

We also visited Mt. Field National Park, which is a World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful park offering breathtaking views for all to see. Our visit included a walk in the rainforest were we viewed the Russell Falls. During the course of our walk we saw hundreds upon hundreds of hardwood trees many of which were three to four hundred years old. We also saw various Ferns, many of which were a couple of hundred years old. . We visited the park two times once in the morning for a snack which included scones with whipped cream and jelly (yummy) and coffee/tea and then in the afternoon for our long walk in the park.


We also visited glacial Lake Dobson and Mt Tim Shea in the Florentine Valley. The views were spectacular.

Our tour included a wonderful lunch in the forestry community of Maydena Township. We enjoyed a variety of nice foods including Salmon for our entrée.

On our way back to the ship, our guide also took us around Hobart and provided us with a good deal of information about this wonderful location. Our guide was outstanding and shared lots of information with us concerning the history of Tasmania and its people and also explained to us all that we were to see and answered the numerous questions we had in great detail. We also appreciated all of his enthusiasm.

For those passengers who were not signed up for any of the tours, the ship was docked within walking distance from downtown Hobart making it very easy for those passengers to spend time in this very nice area.

Tomorrow we will cruise the Bass Strait on our way to our next port of call, Melbourne, Australia.

All in all today was an outstanding day.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Hobart, Australia

Last evening we had very calms seas so we enjoyed a great nights sleep. We were also very fortunate to have set the clocks back an additional hour. This all made it very easy to wake up early this morning.

It is hard to believe that today is our fifth consecutive day at sea since we were unable to stop at our last port of call the other day due to the weather.

Keith was the first one up to the Fitness Center this morning and Anne Marie arrived just about twenty miles later. We each enjoyed a wonderful workout. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. Several of the regulars were working out including John and Mary. Keith spoke with Mary during most of the workout and was happy to learn that Mary will be an escort on the tour we are book on for tomorrow in Hobart Australia.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast in the Lido café. It was not too busy in the Café as many passengers decided to sleep in a little later this morning. Midway through our breakfast, another fellow passenger joined us. We had a very nice conversation with him.

During the Captain’s Daily Announcement he said the weather would not be as good today as he hoped, but overall the seas have ranged from being calm to just a little rough. Overall, the seas in this area of the world have been a lot better than we expected. Let’s hope this continues until we reach tomorrow’s port of call. Captain Glenn’s thought for the day is “In order to be successful, it is not enough to do things right, you have to do the right things.” This is another nice thought, which makes perfect sense to us.

There were lots of activities scheduled for today from various lessons including music lessons, basic, intermediate and advanced bridge lessons, a Japanese writing class, a Spanish class, memoir writing, dance classes, two classes on computers, and a golf clinic just to name a few. There were two movies; one in the afternoon and one in the evening. There were lots of lectures, a special Asian Buffet Luncheon, numerous opportunities to dance and to listen to live music, team trivia, various physical fitness activities, a paddle tennis doubles tournament, various bridge games, a fashion show, bingo, afternoon tea, along with a list of other activities too numerous to list.

There were also two shows, which has been the case a few times during the world cruise. One of the production shows which normally is held in the evening was held in the late afternoon and then in the evening there was a show featuring vocalist Kaitlyn Carr and Jazz with Doug Cameron.

During the day we attended three lectures. The first lecture was given by Olympic champion medal winner and network television and radio sports broadcaster John Naber who taught us how to maximize our creative thinking and to draw on this to solve day-to-day problems. He gave several examples of Olympians who took unique approaches, which resulted in them achieving new records. He is a wonderful motivational speaker. Thoughts he shared with us included; trust you instincts, allow for blue sky time (take time each day to think), hang in there , back to the drawing board, borrow from outside the box, turn lemons into lemonade, be quick off the block, think on your feet and stay hungry.

Barbara Rinella who dramatized Nora Ephron’s best selling memoir, “I feel bad about my neck”, gave the second lecture we attended. She performed to a standing room only crowd. She is truly gifted and had the audience in stitches. We had the opportunity to attend her sessions during one segment of last years World Cruise and she is a truly amazing woman. We also had the opportunity to share a 4x4 with Barbara and her husband on a tour the other day and enjoyed talking with them. The woman author she portrayed also wrote the screenplay for Sleepless In Seattle and for When Harry Met Sally.

The third lecture we attended was given by Diplomat, Professor of International Relations, and CEO, Rob Warne who gave a presentation titled “Australia Builds a Nation” which discussed the 220 years of rapid political economic development and how it led to a confident, prosperous nation.

During the course of the day we also enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room and an equally impressive Dinner in the Main Dining Room.

Quite a few passengers are still sick. Some have colds, while others have other illnesses with a fair amount of coughing. Over the course of the cruise, many from the crew have also experienced this as well. Keith has been sick two times and should be 100% back to normal in the next day or two. Anne Marie has some initial symptoms so she might be getting sick as well. We have taken lots of steps to minimize this from washing our hands constantly, to thoroughly cleaning the fitness center equipment before we use it in the morning, to not touching our eyes, nose or mouth, to using an anti-bacterial hand wash, which Anne Marie carries in her purse, to trying to keep our distance from those who we believe are sick, etc., but given that we are in a relatively small area it is almost impossible not to pick up what is going around since so many passengers have been sick. Evidently, this started on the voyage right before the World Cruise that went from Miami, Florida to Los Angeles, California. Hopefully, everyone will get better soon. The good news is that Keith has fought through this and other than one morning when he rested in our room he has not let this affect him.

Tomorrow, we will arrive to our first port of call in Australia; Hobart. This is our first time to Australia and we are looking forward to it. Speaking of Australia, last evening we received a little bit of information concerning the first of two World Cruise Events, which will be held off the ship. The first one will be held on the evening that we are in Sydney, Australia and the second one will be held later in the cruise in Rome, Italy.

We may not post information from tomorrow’s port of call until a day or so later than we normally do since we will be on a full day tour.

We are having a wonderful time on our World Cruise Adventure and everyday we are making memories that will last a lifetime.

One of the pictures we posted is of Anne Marie and Benjamin. Benjamin is one of the Lido Deck Stewards who in 2007 was chosen as the Crystal Serenity Employee Of The Year.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Hobart, Australia

We updated yesterday’s blog with a couple of additional pictures from our yesterday’s very special day.

We enjoyed getting another hour of sleep last evening as we sailed into another new time zone on our way to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The seas were calmer than what we expected so we were pleased with that. ☺

Today we enjoyed another full day at sea. We also had much calmer seas than we had expected.

We awoke early and began our day in the Fitness Center. Keith worked out on the elliptical machine and spoke with Mary during most of his workout and Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill. Keith also spoke with John for a little while. It was a little more crowded than it has been given the time zone change but there were still plenty of available machines for everyone. Keith is feeling much better today and felt great during the entire workout.

After our workout, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. We decided it would be good to eat in our room again to get some quiet time and because we wanted to get the laundry done in the early morning. It’s a good thing we started the laundry as early as we did as many other passengers had the same idea so we got ours all done before all of the machines were in use.

In the morning we attended yet another lecture given by Dr. Jay Wolff whose presentation was titled “Convicts and Gold Bugs. “Britain saves money by shipping her convicts across the Atlantic, and when the American Revolution takes away here dumping ground, she finds a new one halfway around the world. Later, the discovery of gold changes a penal colony into a colonial Dominion.” Dr. Wolff’s lectures have been wonderful. Most of his lectures are told in a story-like format. They are both interesting and extremely informative. We are fortunate to have someone as interesting and as knowledgeable as Dr. Wolff as a destination lecturer for the entire cruise.

Keith then attended a lecture given by Investment Lecturer Dr. Bob Froehlich whose presentation was titled “Where in the World is Dr. Bob Investing? Part II: second Stop: Europe.” Dr. Bob Froehlich was a lecturer on last years World Cruise and today he did a top ten on recommended investments. However, he is saving his number 1 and 2 recommendations until his next lecture during the cruise. As Dr. Froehlich noted, even the experts do not get all of this right and for every ten ideas they come up with four or five do not turn out very good. We would agree with his thought. We have yet to meet the person with that magical crystal ball. ☺

At the same time as Dr. Froehlich’s lecture was a talk given by Resident Astronomer Dr Norman Caisse titled “Navigating the Skies: Aurora Australis”. Anne Marie attended this lecture and enjoyed this talk a great deal.

It is wonderful that there are so many lectures during the sea days along with all of the activities offered during the daytime and evening hours.

We then enjoyed another wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room with another couple who we know quite well from last years World Cruise. They are lots of fun to talk with. We look forward to dining with them again.

We also went to the mandatory Australian Immigration Inspection for all guests at our appointed time. This inspection was handled in a very orderly manner so it did not take very long.

This evening is a formal night so as part of the evening we attended a reception for all Crystal Society Members. As usual, we had a wonderful time at the reception and it provided a nice opportunity to hear from the Captain and to talk with some of our fellow passengers.

We enjoyed a very nice dinner in the Silk Road Specialty Restaurant. We dined with the person who is teaching the Memoir Writing Course on the cruise, Joe, and his lovely wife, Maria, and their very nice son, Paul. We met Joe and Maria on last years World Cruise and spoke with them from time to time. Last year their daughter jointed them on the cruise and this year their son shares the same opportunity. They are a charming family. This is the first time we dined with them and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and an outstanding conversation. They are very a very nice family and we look forward to seeing them throughout the remainder of the World Cruise.

This evening we will set the clock back another hour before we go to sleep. We really have come to appreciate setting the clock backwards from time to time. ☺

Tomorrow, we will enjoy another day at sea.

Keith & Anne Marie

Milford Sound: New Zealand's Majestic Fjord

Today has been truly spectacular. We have had glorious weather, beautiful beyond description scenery and have sailed a very pristine area of the world.

We slept great last night, as the seas were quite a bit calmer than they have been the last two evenings and we were quite tired. Keith is doing much better and should be back to normal in the next couple of days. All of the fresh fruit and steamed vegetables with all of those vitamins probably has been helpful too. ☺

As we have done each and every day today we woke early and began our day in the Fitness Center. The Fitness Center was not too crowded. Keith worked out on the elliptical machine and Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill machine and Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room today. This was only the second time we have eaten in our room but thought it would be a nice thing to do since we are cruising the Milford Sound today. As we enjoyed our breakfast we had beautiful views of the scenery.

We caught part of the daily show, which is a 30-minute program shown each morning when we are at sea and they showed videos of our rendezvous with the Asuka II. It was truly amazing between the Serenity and the Asuka II along wit the helicopter overhead taking videos and pictures of this special event. It was magical. It was as if the two ships were dancing with one another and at the end as if they gave a kiss to one another. Our thanks go out to Crystal for making this a day we will never forget. We are glad that we had this opportunity to see the Asuka II the former Crystal Harmony and one of two sister ships of the Crystal Serenity.

As we mentioned, yesterday’s weather was beautiful and the scenery was pristine. We along with many of our fellow passengers were recounting memories of our first sailing with the Harmony and there were smiles on everyone’s faces. Several of us remarked how quickly time goes by as it seems like just yesterday that we had our first sailing on the Crystal Harmony and we were enamored with the outstanding service, food, entertainment, of this very special luxury cruise line. We all have our favorite stories and memories from our very first Crystal cruise.

The Milford Sound is very unique and very beautiful. It’s description is beyond words. It boasts beautiful mountaintops, silver cliffs and the majestically beauty of the seas below them. In order for the passenger’s to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Milford Sound today’s activities including lectures were limited. In addition, recognizing that many passenger’s would be spending a good deal of time on the open deck on Deck 12 Crystal offered a soup and sandwich buffet in the Palm Court and Lido Café which was a very nice touch.

After breakfast, Anne Marie had her hair done in the beauty salon. At the same time Keith took care of some errands.

In a letter we received last evening from the World Cruise Hostess, we were asked to come out onto Deck 13 towards the bow of the ship at a pre-determined time. Crystal had arranged to have a helicopter fly around the ship as we made our way towards the waterfalls. The sun came out and the skies were clear and, once again, we had picture perfect weather. We got within just a few feet of the shoreline. We were so close that some members of the crew placed a glass under the falls to get some of the water. It was amazing and from the Helicopter pictures and video were taken of all of us. While Anne Marie had been getting her haircut, Keith waited with one other World Cruise passenger so we had perfect spots to get a beautiful view of all that was around us. It was like sitting behind home plate at a baseball game but without the backstop net in front of you. We could also see snowcapped mountains. The beauty of the deep valley and gorges coupled with the beautiful waterfall was a site to behold. We will remember this for the rest of our lives.

In the afternoon we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. Keith attended a lecture given by Bob Hales titled “Identifying the Four Major Problems on the Legal Planning Road.” Later in the afternoon we took a very nice walk on the Promenade Deck. We walked with another nice couple. Anne Marie had met the woman for the very first time in the Salon and they are sailing on the first three segments of the World Cruise. Anne Marie walked with the woman while Keith walked with her husband. We look forward to talk with them again. The scenery that we saw was breathtaking. We have seen scenery today that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Before dinner this evening we attended a reception for all guests. As we’ve mentioned, on this years World Cruise Crystal has planned at least one additional special activity beyond all of the other regularly scheduled activities for all passengers on the ship, which we think, is a very nice idea. This evening all guests were invited to a pre-dinner cocktail party where they could experience the best barn dance this side of the dateline.

At one point during the reception we saw very large school of dolphins on the port side of the ship. By large school, we mean approximately 200 dolphin. We have never seen that many dolphins all at once. Then later during dinner we saw about ten dolphin from our dining room table.

After this reception we enjoyed a very nice dinner in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered a dinner with the headwaiter for this evening, which include a very nice salad, kosher chicken and a very nice assortment of vegetables. The food was delicious.

We were truly blessed with wonderful weather today. We spoke to some passengers who have sailed this area of the world before and sometime it can be quite cloudy and rainy.

We have been warned that the next couple of days at sea could be rough. We will hope for calm seas.

Keith & Anne Marie

Cruising Dusky and Doubtful Sounds

Today is the first of four consecutive days at sea as we cruise to Australia. We cruise the Dusky and Doubtful Sounds today. Tomorrow, we cruise the Milford Sound. On February 20 & 21 we cruise the Tasman Sea. We are scheduled to arrive at Hobart, Australia on Friday morning, February 22.

Once again, last night the seas were fairly rough and seemed choppier than the evening before. This morning the seas were also rough and at one point some items in both the Main Dining Room and the Lido Café tumbled down.

Many of the passengers and the crew have been sick throughout the cruise with either cold like symptoms or other viral related symptoms and Keith has now come down with a cold. With that said, we were still able to wake up early and we did work out in the Fitness Center. After our workout, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in the Lido Café.

During the Captain’s daily talk he told us about what was in store for us today. His thought for the day was “If you don’t know where you are going you will end up somewhere else”.

Since today is a sea day there were lots of activities during the daytime and evening hours. A couple of the lectures in the morning included’

Investment Lecturer Dr. Bob Froelich gave a presentation titled “Where in the World is Dr. Bob Investing? First Stop: The Americas.”. Dr. Bob Froehlich lectured during one segment of last years World Cruise. He is one of the regulars on CNBC’s program, Squawk Box.

Later in the morning Olympic champion medal winner and network television and radio sports broadcaster, John Naber, gave a presentation titled “Pursuing Vicotry with Honor.” John Naber won five Olympic medals in swimming during the Montreal Olympics including four gold and one silver medal.

There were a number of highlights for today and the first was when we cruised the Dusky Sound and the Doubtful Sound today. The scenery was breathtaking. We had wonderful weather with sunny skies.

The second highlight was in the afternoon when there was a rendezvous with the Asuaka II which is the Former Crystal Harmony; the first Crystal Cruise Ship. This rendezvous took place in the late afternoon and hot chocolate and rum was served on the Lido and Sun Decks, which are on deck 12 and 13 respectively. The ships circled around one another and at one point their bows from each of the ships was almost touching one another. There was a helicopter flying overhead taking pictures and someone was also taking pictures of both ships from a small ship from the Serenity. The weather was perfect and it was an event that we will never forget.

Before this rendezvous we had a get together from those passengers on board the ship who post to the Cruise Critic Web Site. We organized this get together during the afternoon tea, starting at 3:30 PM. Today’s tea was English Colonial Tea Time. We see many of our fellow passengers from Cruise Critic each and every day and it was nice to get many of them together in the afternoon. We have included a picture from our get together but several people who were there are not in the picture including Keith who took the picture.

Before dinner, we attended a reception hosted by our travel consortium.

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the main dining room. We each enjoyed wonderfully prepared swordfish, along with various vegetables and a wonderful salad.

Congratulations go out to our children. Our son completed a major milestone for the year with his successful dinner series at the university that he is attending. He and his fellow student partner did an outstanding job in coordinating, preparing and executing a dinner earlier this week that was attended by over 75 patrons at the restaurant that is run by the university. And, today, our daughter ran and successfully finished her first 26 mile marathon. This run involved a great deal of training, preparation and determination. We are very happy and proud of these two major accomplishments of our son and daughter and look forward to seeing them very soon.

Today was another very special day.

Keith & Anne Marie

New Zealand

Last evening we had fairly rough seas throughout the evening and into the morning hours. We were definitely rocking and rolling but the ship did wonderful and overall it did not bother us very much. Before we went to sleep we put various items on the floor just in case the seas were rough enough to cause items from the shelves to fall to the floor.

Because of the strong headwinds which were as high as 50 knots with waves as high as twenty feet, instead of picking up the pilot at 9:30 AM and arriving at 11:00 AM the revised plan was to pick up the pilot at 2:00 PM and arrived in Dunedin, New Zealand at 3:00 PM this afternoon. Unfortunately, we learned in the afternoon that there would be additional delays, as we had to wait until a cargo ship left the harbor until we could dock in the harbor. Later in the afternoon, we learned from the Captain that we would not be able stop at this port of call. This is due to the fact that it was quite windy in the harbor and the Captain was concerned about safety issues coupled with the fact that we would have very limited time in this port of call.

The Captain also noted that it would be quite windy throughout the evening and to expect rough seas similar to what we experienced last evening. The good news is that he advised that the weather should be nice starting tomorrow. ☺

This is the last of the port of call that the ship was to stop at in New Zealand during this portion of our World Cruise adventure. Dunedin is the fourth largest city in New Zealand and has a total population of approximately 120,000 residents. It is the second largest city in the South Island. It has one of the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities in all of the Southern Hemisphere.

We have greatly enjoyed New Zealand. In particular, we have enjoyed the beauty of this country along with the friendliness and kindness of its residents. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit New Zealand we highly recommend it and we look forward to coming here again in the future.

We have posted some pictures from New Zealand to our picture web site.

As we do each day, we awoke early to begin our day in the Fitness Center. We really find that this is a good way to begin our day. It’s nice to get our exercise out of the way early in the day and also when there are very few people in the center. Given the length of our voyage, in many ways the ship becomes our home so we find getting into a regular routine is quite helpful. Keith continued to workout on the elliptical machines. For Keith it provides him with the benefits of running, without all of the pounding on the knees. While working out Keith either talks with Mary and/or catches up on the news on the television monitor. On occasion, he’ll watch a lecture or part of a movie and typically he has been working out about an hour and a half on the machine. Anne Marie does well with the treadmill and on most days she will read a portion of a book while working out on the treadmill. Towards the end of her workout, she will put the book away and walk at a much faster pace. We also try to get in other walks during the day either on the promenade deck or on land on those days that we are in port. Also, we use the steps when going between decks almost all of the time except if Anne Marie is wearing an evening shoe where walking on the steps might be difficult and/or somewhat dangerous.

Keith was the first one in the Fitness Center this morning and Anne Marie arrived about twenty minutes later. A few minutes after that Mary arrived and, once again, Keith enjoyed a nice morning conversation with Mary while they worked out. By the time we left, only one other person was working out which is far less than the norm. We think the combination of the rough seas and the fact that we were scheduled to arrive in port at 11:00 AM today contributed to very few people working out.

The same could be said about the Lido Café. We enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast in the Café, but there were very few people up there even by the time we left. We enjoyed watching the sunrise from the Café it was quite sunny.

During this mornings talk by the Captain, he announced the delay in reaching the port of Dunedin, New Zealand. Today’s thought of they day fro the Captain is “A true friend is someone who takes the bus when the limousine breaks down.”

Because of the delay in reaching today’s port of call a number of activities were added to the daytime schedule..

We attended a couple of lectures this morning. Master Magician Mark Haslam gave a lecture titled the story of Houdini. Mark Haslam is not only a terrific magician, but he is also speaks eloquently and gave a wonderful lecture. Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff gave a lecture on the Titanic, which was added to the list of morning activities. He clarified a number of points, which had been misreported over the years and as usual delivered a wonderful presentation.

We then had a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. The food and the service continue to be spectacular.

Our original plan was to visit this port of call right after we docked and we had made a reservation in the Prego Specialty Restaurant so that we would have more time in the port. Unfortunately, due to the additional delays we decided to stay on the ship since there would be very little time in port so we ended up canceling our Prego reservations and ended up going to the Main Dining Room for dinner. We fully understand that these delays were not caused by Crystal and that they did the best the could to minimize impact to each and every passenger.

Keith & Anne Marie