2008 World Cruise

Reflection Of Our World Cruise Adventure

2008-05-13T02:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-05T05:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-03T22:58:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-01T07:05:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-27T07:19:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-26T01:38:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-24T21:50:00.001-07:00

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

Catania/Sicily Italy

2008-04-24T04:31:00.001-07:00

Today we arrived in Catania/Sicily, Italy. Last year we docked in another area of Sicily which is the beautiful town of Taormina.

Catania is the commercial and industrial center of Sicily. Eorope’s largest volcano, Mt. Etna can be easily scene from this city. Mt. Etna is one of the largest active volcanoes of the world.

Catania has a long history starting in 8th century BC. Overtime this city came under the control over the Romans. In time the Saracens and the Normans controlled this city. The Borbons ruled this area from 1734 to 1860 and ten years later Sicily became part of Italy.

We woke early this morning and started our day with a workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first passenger to arrive at the Center and Anne Marie arrived about thirty minutes later. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine, while Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. Other regulars such as Mary and John were working out.

After our workout we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast.

Keith had his last haircut of the World Cruise on the ship. The hairstylist who has cut his hair each time during the course of the World Cruise is from South Africa and Keith once again had a nice conversation with her about different places we have seen during this adventure.

Our ship docked at the Sporgente Centrale Pier in Catania a few minutes after 7:00 AM this morning. Crystal provided a complimentary shuttle, which ran between the pier to the downtown area of Catania. The shuttles ran every twenty minutes and the distance was around 1.25 miles.

Several different shore excursions were offered today. Since we had visited this city last year when we docked near the city center of Taormina we did not sign up for a shore excursion.

We took the first shuttle to the city center and enjoyed a very nice walk around the downtown area.

This is a fairly large city and there were lots of people walking the major streets. There are lots of Catholic Churches throughout this city and we went inside eight of them. Some were located in small residential neighborhoods that we visited while others were significantly larger in size. We also visited a University. The architecture of many of the buildings was very impressive, and the ages varied but some were quite old. There were many locations where stores were located on the street level while on the floor(s) above there were numerous apartments. One of the churches that we went into was, Benedictine Convent that was quite old.

We visited two markets. One was located fairly close to the location where the shuttle bus dropped us off. That market mainly sold fruit and vegetables, some cheeses, some meat and fish and also had lots of stands set up primarily of clothing items.

The other market was located several blocks from the shuttle stop. This market sold an extensive array of fish, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. The quality of the fruit and vegetables was superb. The colors of these items were just magnificent and each items looked impeccable.

The cheeses were equally impressive. Some of the cheese was larger than anything than we have seen before. And, the smell and aroma of the cheese was unbelievable.

Then there was the fish and other seafood. We have been to other large markets where the amount of seafood is extensive and where it is not only sold to individuals but to businesses. However, what we have seen in the past does not compare to this market. There were many stands selling all kinds of fish but all of a sudden we walked to one area of the market that had all kinds of seafood but also had a large open area where men were shouting back and forth and were bidding on seafood for their businesses; likely restaurants.

There was another area that featured meat and we saw entire animals as well as meat that was in small portions.

We also went into many stores that sold a variety of baked goods from breakfast goods, to pizza, to all sorts of delectable desserts from cookies to pastries to beautiful Italian cakes, to other sweets. The aroma made one ready to sit down and eat. In a age when many of these types of places have been replaced in the states by companies that mass produce these items or where they are primarily sold in grocery stores, it is wonderful to see the quality of these desserts which reminded each of us what desserts looked, smelled and tasted like when we were growing up.

We had a wonderful time walking around this city. The weather was picture perfect. We love the Mediterranean in the spring and in the fall. The weather is much more comfortable this time of year and there are fewer tourists compared to the summer when it is not only hot and humid but the towns are swarmed with tourists.

Once back on the ship, we each enjoyed salad entrees in the main dining room. We sat at our dinner table and chatted with our regular senior waiter, Pablo, and our waiter Layla (pronounced Leila)

The ship departed port at around 5:00 PM and a sail away party was held for all passengers. The party included complimentary Bellinis as we sailed from Sicily to our next port of call which is Naples, Italy.

This evening we dined in the Main Dining Room for dinner. We each had an item that we had pre-ordered earlier in the day with our headwaiter.

This evenings entertainment included a performance by the Italian Tenor who has been on-board the vessel, Corrado Amici. The Acappella Quartet also performed in the open area nearby the reception area.

We had a wonderful day in Italy and look forward to the next couple of days as we stop in other Italian Ports of Call.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Catania/Sicily, Italy

2008-04-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time at last night World Cruise Event. As we had mentioned, the theme for the event was Roman Holiday. The event began with pre-dinner cocktails in the Palm Court, which is the same room, which is used for the various receptions that we attend. The reception provided a nice opportunity to socialize with several of our World Cruise passengers who we have come to know so very well since we began our journey in January starting in Los Angeles. Various drinks were available including a couple of Italian drinks and guests could order any type of drink that they wanted.

Each of us received a card earlier in the day, noting the number of the table we were assigned to. When it was time to be seated for dinner, one by one, each table number was called. At that point our host escorted us to our table for the evening.

We sat with two other couples who we first met on last years World Cruise. One of the couples we had dined with just the night before and we greatly enjoy their company. The other couple is our next-door neighbor on the ship and we have a tradition of sitting with this couple along with a few other fellow passengers at just about each and every Captain’s Welcome, Captains Farewell, and Crystal Society Reception. We also sat with this couple and met them for the very first time at last years World Cruise Gala that kicked off the 2007 World Cruise. We also greatly enjoy seeing them at all of these events.

Our host for the evening was the person in charge of IT on the ship.

We were escorted to an area that was set up around the indoor pool. The pool was covered with a wooden platform, which was used as a stage for this evening’s entertainment. Before the meal began, and then between courses we were treated to a magical evening of world class entertainment by a variety of performers including entertainers from Crystal along with entertainers who are on the ship for a portion of this segment of the World Cruise. The Crystal musicians played live music.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal.

We started off with an antipasti of beef, stuffed with prosciutto and sweet melon, followed b a delicious roasted vegetable soup with olive crostini, which was followed by a delicious entrée consisting of a reosemary baked veal chop, tartufo risotto, fresh with asparagus, with cherry tomatoes. For dessert we were served white peach tiramisu, limoncella pana cotta and hazelnut-ricotta semifreddo.

Wine was served throughout the meal along with water and coffee and in keeping with the theme for the event Limoncello was served.

Lots of thought and effort go into the planning of this event and we applaud Crystal for making this a special evening that we will cherish for years to come.

Afterwards, we attended the evening show, which included a juggler and a comedian. We stayed for most of this show. For those who are not on the World Cruise, complimentary pre-dinner cocktails were available in many of the lounges and complimentary selected wines were served in the Main Dining Room during dinner.

This morning Keith woke up very early this morning as he had an item that he was dealing with at home for us. As a result, Keith was easily the first passenger to arrive at the center. In fact, he was there so early we won’t mention the precise time ☺. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine for a little over two hours. As he was alone in the center for most of the time, he watched the Pennsylvania Primary results. He spoke with John and Mary for a few minutes.

Afterwards, he went to the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the room for both Anne Marie and himself. Anne Marie worked out later in the morning. Keith spoke with several of the Lido Stewards this morning. They had been up very late having cleaned up after the event. We can’t say enough how wonderful and hardworking these folks are. We greatly appreciate all that they do to make our journey such a pleasant adventure.

Today is a sea day so there are lots of activities throughout the day, afternoon and evening. Since today is the last sea day for this segment of the World Cruise there was a tremendous number of lectures given by several wonderful speakers.

We then enjoyed a very nice breakfast served in our room. After breakfast we got ready for today’s activities.

We attended a wonderful lecture given by destination lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff. The topic of his presentation was “Caesar’s Rome – Corruption and Grandeur”. Once again Dr. Wolff hit a home run with his presentation. He is an amazing speaker as he provides lots of interesting information that is presented in a manner that is very easy to follow. We applaud Dr. Wolff for the effort that goes into preparing and delivering these wonderful presentations and we have learned so very much from him during the entire World Cruise.

We attended two other presentations in the morning. We listed to diplomat Tex Harris and the topic of his presentation was “Terrorism, Pakistan and Statecraft: The Future Challenge.” He gave a very interesting presentation and we greatly appreciate the thoughts that he has shared during each of these presentations.

We then listened to Ambassador Marc Ginsberg who gave a wonderful presentation on a topic called “Atomic Ayatollahs: Iran, the U.S., Israel and the Bomb”. Again, this was also a terrific presentation. Ambassador Ginsberg is a very charismatic speaker and we have learned so very much from him regarding many of the key issues in the Middle East; particularly those involving Israel, Iraq and Iran. The focus of today’s presentation was Iran and the challenges that Iran presents to the Middle East.

Following these presentations we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. Today, was the Grand Gala Buffet which is always a very popular event and one that is very well attended.

In the afternoon, we attended a panel discussion, which included Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, Retired Brigadier General Nick Halley, and American Diplomat Tex Harris. For us, this was the highlight of the day. This panel took questions from the audience and for most questions each of the three speakers shared their views. There were occasions where there was agreement on a particular item but as expected there were times when the speakers expressed different opinions on a particular subject. These are very challenging and complex issues and for some issues there is no right or wrong or precise approach to a particular item. Many times solid discussion, with opposing views, can lead to an optimal solution. We applaud Crystal for being able to feature all three of these speakers on one segment of the cruise. We have certainly learned a great deal from each of them, during their respective individual talks and during today’s panel discussion.

Later in the afternoon, there was yet another speaker when Sports Psychology Expert Stanley Teitelbaum, Ph.D. gave a presentation titled :The Psyche of the Athelete and the Need for Hero’s.”

This evening was the final formal night on this segment of the World Cruise and as part of this evening there was a Captain’s Formal Reception.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner this evening. The food on the ship continues to be outstanding.

Tomorrow, we will arrive to our next port of call in Catania/Sicily, Italy.

This evening we set our clocks back one hour as we sail into a new time zone. This means an extra hour of sleep. ☺

Keith & Anne Marie

Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece

2008-04-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

We posted last evening before we went to dinner at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with four other people. This included a wonderful couple who we first met on last years Full World Cruise who we sit with from time to time at various World Cruise Events. The other two people included a charming woman who we dined with about a month ago who spent here entire career as an actor including performing on Broadway and around the country and she has also performed on television and has appeared in movies. We first met her last year on the World Cruise and she is a fascinating woman to talk with. She invited the lead Crystal male vocalist to join us for dinner and it was so wonderful to talk with him. The food, service, ambience of the restaurant and the food was wonderful. I had a seafood special which was on the menu, which was fresh turbo fish that had just been flown in, and my wife enjoyed the black cod. We arrived a few minutes before everyone else so we spoke with the Maitre D’ of the Specialty Restaurant and the Head Waiter for Prego who we have come to know quite well.

This morning we arrived in Crete/Aghios Nikolaos, Greece. This was a maiden call for Crystal Cruises. This city is located on the Greek Island of Crete. It is considered a gateway to many small towns and villages of this region. It has become a favorite destination for visitors to this area of the world. It has a very attractive harbor and has many nice beaches.

Over the years this Island was under the rule of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Venetians, Ottoman Turks, British, Italians and the German Nazis.

We woke up early this morning and enjoyed another nice workout in the Fitness Center. I worked out on the Elliptical Machine, while my wife worked out on the Treadmill. The workout was great and as we were finishing up the workout we could see the lights from the port.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café to get a cup of coffee and later in the morning we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

Our ship docked at the Aghios Nikolaos in Crete, Greece on schedule by 7:00 AM this morning. No shuttle was needed as the town is located within a very short walk of the pier. From our verandah we had a picture perfect view of this port of call and it is stunning. There was no question that we have arrived to Europe. This city has the look of Greece (it should this is Greece ☺) and of course it has the European flair as well. The only downside is that the USA dollar is worth even less than it was last year. We are glad that we have Euros with us from last year. We don’t think too many people will be out shopping today.

We did not take a shore excursion. Four excursions were offered and the highlights included the Minnoan Palace of Knossos, the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, and the Lassithi Plateau.

During Captain Glenn's daily talk from the bridge his thought for today was "You have succeeded wen all you really want is all you really need." Another very nice thought from the captain. During todays talk the Captain said the weather forecast called for very nice weather and as usual the Captain was correct. We had a beautiful day in port.

We walked off the ship at around 8:15 AM and spent three full hours walking around the town. This is a beautiful town and hopefully one that Crystal will return to in the future. We visited three different churches, and walk up countless roads and side streets. There are many nice restaurants and cafes around the town offering both inside and outside dining. We walked into a few bakeries with wonderful smells of just made breads and cookies and other delectable desserts. We walked inside one supermarket and also looked at a seafood store and also a butcher shop.

We retuned to the ship late morning and in the early afternoon we enjoyed a nice Salad Entrée for Lunch in the Main Dining Room. Afterwards, we decided to taken another walk around town for about an hour. During our afternoon walk we ran into lots of our fellow passengers and crew. Everyone we ran into thought the town was a delight. We also ran into Actor and Playwright Jim Brochu and Steve and chatted for a few minutes. They are both very nice.

This evening is a special World Cruise Event, which will be held at the area around the Indoor Pool. A stage for the entertainment was built and placed over the pool. The event is called Roman Holiday. The event is et to begin with pre-dinner cocktails at 5:30 PM and at 6:00 PM we were escorted to our assigned table. We sat with two other couples who we first met on last years World Cruise and each table was hosted by someone from Crystal’s Staff.

For all of those guests not on the full World Cruise they have been invited for complimentary pre-diner cocktails in several of the Crystal Bars and they are also being offered a selection of complimentary wines with dinner in the Crystal Main Dining Room.

We will post more about the event tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Keith

En Route To Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece

2008-04-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

We slept very well last evening and today we have a full day at sea as we sail from Alexandria, Egypt to our next port of call in Agios Nikolaos, Greece.

We awoke early in the morning to begin another glorious day at sea. A day at sea on a Crystal ship provides numerous activities to choose from and also many opportunities to socialize with our fellow passengers and with the crew. It also provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the places we have seen and to plan what we will see in the next several ports of call.

As we think through our journey, we again are reminded about the diversity and beauty of our glorious planet. It is amazing to see so much diversity in cultures and in traditions that the people in each country follow and the pride that most people have in their respective homelands. Thank goodness for diversity and we are reminded that we can learn so much from one another. In our minds almost every area of the world has natural beauty. At the same time, some areas of the world add to the attractiveness of their respective lands through irrigation and the planting of forests, while others make their areas more beautiful through the construction of buildings and cities that have lasted such a long time. Like a fine wine, many of these areas get better as they age. We have seen desert turned into lush greenery (this was the case when we visited Israel last year) and is also true in other parts of the Middle East that we visited this year and last year. We have seen beautiful buildings some, of which date back a very long time while others, have been newly built. We have also seen the beauty of each area through the locals who we have met during the course of this adventure who have taken the time to share with us the history and customs of their respective homelands. We have also learned about other areas of the world by sharing thoughts and stories with many of our fellow passengers and crew who come from all over the world. This is an amazing world and we are humbled that we have had the opportunity to visit so many different cities and countries and regions of the world on these two World Cruises. We truly have and continue to make memories during this adventure that surely will last a lifetime.

As we had mentioned yesterday, last evening we set the clocks forward by one hour as we sail into yet another new time zone. We began our day with a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first one to arrive at the center and enjoyed another nice workout on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie arrived a little while later and enjoyed a nice workout on the Treadmill. A couple of the other regulars were there; John and Mary. Keith spoke with Mary for a good part of his workout and then he caught up with some of the news on the television. There were very few other passengers working out. This was because many of the passengers had taken the one day excursion to Cairo, Egypt to see the Pyramids yesterday and that involves a six hour round trip drive by motor vehicle and they got back to the ship last evening. Add to this that we moved the clocks forward for one hour and this morning was a very good day for them to sleep-in.

After our workout, we stopped by the Lido Café to get some coffee to go. A little while later we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. The seas continue to be very calm.

There are lots of activities on the ship today since today is a sea day.

We went to the Passover Morning Service and greatly enjoyed the service.

Anne Marie spent the last couple of hours of the morning doing some additional packing of items that we won’t need for the remainder of the World Cruise.

Keith attended the second of the lectures given by Ambassador Marc Ginsberg. The topics of his presentation was “Clinton/Obama and McCain: The ’08 Campaign and a Post-Bush Middle East.” Ambassador Ginsberg discussed several key items that he thought would be major international issues for the next United States President to deal with. He discussed the pluses of each of the three candidates and also areas of concern. Keith thought that he gave a very fair and balanced assessment of each candidate and also did a nice job in describing the challenges for the next president and the complexity of the issues. One of the items that Ambassador Ginsberg talked about is how many of these issues and their solutions need to transcend politics. To translate this into our own words, in other words the solutions to many of these items need to go beyond red vs. blue rhetoric. Rather, it will take a country that is united in its approach to address these major issues.

Before lunch there was an event for all of those on this cruise. This is one of many events that have been held throughout the World Cruise for all guests. This one was called Mediterranean Mid-day Mixer and included complimentary beverages along with live music by the ships orchestra and dancing and included entertainment from several of the outside entertainers who are on board the ship for this segment of the World Cruise.

Afterwards, it was time to enjoy lunch in the Main Dining Room. We each enjoyed another wonderfully prepared Salad Entrée.

During the afternoon we enjoyed the amenities of the ship. There were lots of activities to keep us busy.

While we didn’t attend it, this afternoon there was complimentary wine tasting by the head sommelier, which featured four different white wines.

This evening we will go to the Prego Italian Restaurant with a very nice woman who organized the dinner along with a guest that she has invited and one other couple who we know so very well, starting with last years World Cruise. We had dinner with the woman who invited us this time around just about a month ago and we first met her during last years World Cruise. She was an entertainer for many years on and off Broadway and has also appeared on television. She is always so wonderful to talk with and has a terrific outlook on life.

At the same time, there is a special dinner menu in the Main Dining Room since our next set of ports will be in the Mediterranean. Yes, this evening the feature menu was Mediterranean Dinner. The menu featured items representing the Mediterranean.

There were four appetizers including Golden Baked Seafood Spanakopita, Mezze Plate Roasted Venison Carpaccio, Chilled Fruit Cup with Fresh Figs and Metaxa.

Soup and Salad featured five items including a Tomato Bisque with Lobster Salad, Chicken Broth “Mille Fanti”, Cappuccino of Green Garden Peas with Mint Mousseline, Assorted Garden Greens with Crisp Spliced Eggplant Chips and Piquant New Potatoes, Red Endive with Water Melon, Grapes, and Goat Cheese Truffles with Lemon-Olive Vinaigreette.

There was a Pasta Special of Linguine Pasta “Al Vongole”.

Also there was a Salad Entrée of Grilled Sirloin Steak and Greek Farmer’s Salad with lots of other items that are found in the Mediterranean.

The Main Fares included Broiled Fresh Swordfish Steak, Braised Chicken Cacciatore, Grilled Lamb Chops, Pan-Fried Veal Scaloppine “Sorrentino” with Artichokes, Tomatoes and Capers, served with Angel Hair Pasta.

As usual there were lots of side orders to choose from and several traditional main fares items such as Herb Marinated Free- Range Chicken Breast as well as Grilled Back Angus Sirloin Steak.

Are you ready for some Dessert? In addition to the seven Classic Desserts there were two featured items Degustazione di Ricotta which is Ricotta Profiteroles, Ricotta Chocolate Canolliani, and Ricotta Orange Custard (no calories ☺)

There was also a dessert called Strawberry Garden which included Chocolate Cup filled with Marinated Strawberries, Whipped Cream and Vanilla Ice Cream.

And, if you prefer cheese from the Cheese Trolley the cheeses featured this evening were Mont d’Or, Manchega, Chablis, St. Augur, Rabiola, and Sainte Maure

Starting with this afternoon there was lots of entertainment. At 4:30 PM the production show called Gotta Dance was shown. This is the newest production show on this ship and from time to time the production shows are being shown in the afternoon so that additional entertainers can be featured at night.

This evening features a Spanish Folkloric Show featuring Flamenco Mulero with Ricardo Sanchez Lopez, Raquel Vincente Porcel and Maria Del Rocio.

Later in the evening the entertainment continues with a Cabaret Shwotime featuring the Acappella Quartet called Full Sail.

For those who enjoy star gazing (and we’re talking about stars not actors/actresses) from 10:30 PM to 12 Midnight astronomer Dr. Norman Caisse is on hand for the night viewing of the stars.

Tomorrow morning we arrive to our next port of call in Greece.

Keith & Anne Marie

Alexandria, Egypt

2008-04-20T20:41:00.001-07:00

NOTE:

Picture 1 of Mosque

Picture 2 is from Roman Theatre. It is believed that this theatre was just for the wealthy citizens of Alexandria given its size. Could hold about 800 people. It was in excellent condition and they are still digging in an adjacent area looking for more of the old city.

Picture 3 is from Pompey's Pillar.

Last night we mentioned that we had attended the Passover Seder on board the ship and we wanted to mention how much we enjoyed the Seder. While there were about 130+ passengers in attendance, the setting was excellent and it had a nice family and friend feeling to this wonderful celebration. Passengers from various faiths were in attendance. The Catholic Clergy joined us at our table. It is certainly extra special to celebrate this holiday in the Middle East and to share it with so many of our fellow passengers.

Our wonderful Rabbi conducted the service and the meal was terrific. In addition the traditional food items that are part of the actual Seder we also enjoyed a wonderful Seder Meal. The menu included Gefilte Fish, Chicken Broth with Matzo Balls, Roasted Kosher Chicken accompanied by Carrot Tzimmes, Steamed Asparagus, Over-Roasted Potatoes and Natural Gravy, Raspberry Sherbet with Fresh Strawberries, Served with Coconut and Hazelnut Macaroons. There were various Passover Wines to accompany the Seder and the Dinner along with coffee, tea and soft drinks. The wait staff from the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant, some waiters from the Main Dining Room, several Sommeliers, and many of the bar crew and Lido Stewards were on hand to serve this delicious meal and their service was five star+ as it always is.

We truly appreciate all of the efforts that went into planning this Passover Seder by the Rabbi, his lovely wife and all of those involved from Crystal.

This morning we arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, which is our second visit to this port of call in as many years. Alexandria is Egypt’s second largest city and it is its number one port. This port of call was named after none other than Alexander the Great and during Cleopatra’s time served as the capital of Egypt. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was located in Alexandria; the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Alexandria is also known for having been a major center of early Christianity and for academia. It also was home to the largest library of the ancient world.

We were docked by 7:00 AM and after the ship was cleared, passengers could go ashore. The area in which the ship docks is very secure and clear with several nice looking buildings in the surrounding area. There were various open market stores that are set up in the adjoining area as was the case last year. Those selling merchandise here are far less pushy and aggressive than the ones who push items in the downtown area. They are easy to talk with and while they want to show you all of their items and make a sale they have a very pleasant demeanor and a nice sense of humor

The City of Alexandria has a good deal of charm and beauty with its nice beaches, historical sites, newly constructed sites, its beautiful harbor, and it is also the gateway port to the city of Cairo. Cairo is located approximately three hours from this city by motor vehicle.

There are many nice areas of this city to visit along with some areas that are let us say not so nice. For the tourist, there are certain areas that can be challenging at times when walking around certain parts of the city as the locals very often can be very aggressive, and do not easily back-off when one says they are not interested by saying no thank you. So, sometimes one has to be firm if they are not interested in looking at items that the locals are trying to sell. When we say locals, we are not referring to those who work in the stores but those who come up to you with merchandise to sell.

We woke up early once again and began our day with our daily workout. Keith got up to the Fitness Center before 4:30 AM (ouch) and he continued to rack up the miles on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie arrived at her normal time and got in part of her daily time on the Treadmill. Other regulars such as Mary and John were working out and Keith talked with Mary for quite awhile.

After our workout we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room as we got ready for our shore excursion for this port of call.

During the Captain’s morning announcement he noted that the outside temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit and that the weather forecast called for a nice sunny day. His forecast was correct. Captain Glenn’s thought for the day was “It is the empty can that makes the most noise.”

The name of our shore excursion was Roman Alexandria.
It was a wonderful tour. We had a terrific tour guide who shared lots of excellent information with us. As part of our tour we stopped at the 84-foot tall Pompey’s Pillar, which was originally part of the Temple of Serapis. Our tour also included with a visit to Catacombs of Kom el Shugafa, which was the most important of the Roman burial grounds dating from the 2nd century AD. We also had a chance to visit the Roman Theatre. This theatre was only discovered in the mid-1990’s when work was being done in preparation for the construction of a new building. It is amazing to think of what has not yet been discovered from this ancient city. We also saw other sites during our time on the bus including the new library, the citadel, and a mosque.

After we arrived back from the ship we enjoyed a nice lunch in our room that we pre-ordered.

Crystal provided a complimentary shuttle that ran between the per to the Sofitel Cecil Hotel in downtown Alexandria. The shuttle ran frequently and the drive was about twenty minutes each way. Since we had gone into the downtown area twice last year we decided to pass on going back this time around. Instead, we walked around the port area, which we found to be very pleasant. It is a beautiful port which also includes a small park like area.

The locals that we came into contact with at the various places that we stopped were very nice. There was a lot of security at each stop and we had a security person with us on the bus. Tourism continues to be a major drivers of the Egyptian Economy and they do not want to incur any issues that could jeopardize tourism.

Later in the afternoon we walked around several of the shops on the pier that were selling a wide range of items. While walking around, we saw lots of familiar faces from the ship including crew and guests alike

This evening we enjoyed a very nice dinner in the Main Dining Room. We had looked at the menu for this evening last night and decided to order a special dinner for this evening, which was wonderfully prepared.

We sail at 11:00 PM this evening and for one of the few times during the course of this cruise we will set the clocks forward one hour. ☹ We really can’t complain as we have had many night where we set the clock back one hour and we know that this will be the case of the last couple of weeks of our World Cruise adventure.

We had an enjoyable day in Alexandria. There is so much to see in this city that one could spend a long time here. For example, there is the Alexandria Library, which is a beautiful library containing lots of historical information, the Greco-Roman Museum, and let us not forget the Pyramids just a three hour drive from Alexander or about a ninety minute ride by Train. We suspect that in time there will be more historical sites to see as additional sites that have been hidden for thousands of years are discovered beneath the current city level.

Keith & Anne Marie

Transiting The Suez Canal

2008-04-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today we transited the Suez Canal. This is our second time having the opportunity to transit this canal in as many years. On one side of the canal, much of what one sees is desert whereas, on the other side there is town after town with many nice homes, hotels and other resorts, along with the beauty of luscious grass and other vegetation to view. There are also times when most of what you see on both sides is desert. Yes, it is different than the Panama Canal but nevertheless when you think about all of the labor that went into construction of this canal or the fact that someone had the foresight to identify the benefits of the canal it is truly amazing.

We awoke early this morning after getting another good nights sleep. The ship was very calm last evening as we made our way towards the entry point of the canal. Keith was the first passenger to arrive at the Fitness Center and when he began his workout our ship was not moving as we and other ships were waiting our turn to enter the canal. As we learned later during the Captain’s morning announcement, we had dropped anchor at around 3:00 AM this morning.

Eventually, fellow passengers John, and Mary and of course Anne Marie joined Keith in the center. Keith enjoyed another wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine while Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. Keith spoke with Mary for a little while. We could see the Pilot come onto the ship at around 5:45 AM.

After our workout we enjoyed a cup of coffee and began to enjoy the Suez Canal. We enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room. After breakfast, we spent time outside to view the Suez Canal and the land that surrounds the canal on both sides of the ship. As was the case last year, entry points to the Suez Canal are watched closely by Egyptian Military. A special narrator was brought on board the ship and provided commentary throughout our time in the canal. She gave a talk every hour for about ten minutes. The commentator is from Egypt, spoke wonderful English, and was one of the tour guides during one of the tours the other day.

Many passengers chose to view the canal from various vantage points from the ship including their verandahs, the Promenade Deck where passengers could either stand or walk around the deck, and the Palm Court, which provides a nice panoramic view from inside the ship of the canal. There are also many other venues in which to get a nice view of the canal and the surrounding land. Our transit through the canal was about twelve hours from approximately 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

During the Captain’s morning announcement, Captain Glenn noted that the first pilot who came on board the ship early in the morning would depart the ship when a second pilot came on board later in the morning. We were the first ship to enter the canal going Northbound this morning. Captain Glenn had another nice thought for the day which is “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.:

There were some activities scheduled while we transited the Suez Canal but less than normal sea day. This was done so that passengers could take advantage of seeing the canal and also so as not to tie up certain rooms such as the Palm Court that could be used for viewing the Suez Canal.

We continued to view the canal from different positions on the ship. The weather was delightful and actually was on the cooler side in the morning but even so was perfect for enjoying lots of time on the open decks of the ship.

Later in the morning, we took time away from viewing the canal to attend a lecture featuring Middle East Expert, Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, who presented “Israel at 60: A Middle East Milestone.” Mr. Ginsberg has served in a variety of positions and played a large role in shaping United States Policy in the Middle East in the 1970’s. Mr. Ginsberg is an eloquent speaker who does a wonderful job holding the attention of his audience. We look forward to his other two presentations along with the panel discussion that he will appear on with General Haley and Tex.

After Mr. Ginsberg’s lecture we enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. Before going to lunch we picked up our passports, once again, as we will need to carry these when we arrive in Alexandria, Egypt tomorrow morning.

This afternoon we continued to enjoy the views from the ship. Keith stood out for quite a while as we were making our way towards the highest suspension bridge in the world. Even so, it didn’t seem as though we had too much room to clear the ship, but we did and both the bridge and the ship are in good shape. ☺

This evening we attended the Passover Celebration along with about 130 other guests. Our wonderful Rabbi conducted the Passover Seder and afterwards we enjoyed a sensational meal prepared by the excellent chefs on board this ship. The Prego Specialty Restaurant was closed this evening so that the wait staff could be utilized along with some of the other staff to serve this meal. We had a wonderful time at the Seder and appreciate all of the preparation that went into this evening by the Rabbi, his lovely wife, and the Crystal staff.

For a good portion of the day tomorrow we will not have Internet Service so we are not sure whether or not we will post tomorrow.

Keith & Anne Marie

Safaga, Egypt Part 2

2008-04-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

NOTE:

Picture 1 of Rick Spath, our Cruise Director

The ship was very quiet last evening as many guests and some crew were off the ship.

We woke early this morning and enjoyed a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith arrived first followed about thirty minutes later by John and Anne Marie arrived a little while after that. While we were working out there were very few passengers in the Fitness Center. As usual, Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine. During his workout, Keith caught up on the news and later watched a good portion of a movie that he has seen before but enjoys quite a bit. Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill and continued to read a book during most of her workout.

Afterwards, we stopped by the Lido Café to get a cup of coffee and we spoke with one of our favorite Lido Deck Stewards, Ross.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room. Keith had the opportunity to meet our new butler Daniel who is from Vancouver, Canada. Anne Marie first met Daniel yesterday afternoon when Alexander introduced him to Anne Marie and to our room. Alexander had prepared a nice one-page information sheet for Daniel so that he was aware of our preferences and our routine. The challenge for Daniel is to find enough blueberries and strawberries to keep Keith happy. ☺ Alexander departed the ship last evening to begin his journey back home. We will miss him dearly and we have tremendous respect and admiration for all that he does.

After breakfast we decided to take a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck of the ship. The weather was great so we thought it would be nice to walk outside to get some fresh air. Several other passengers had the same idea, so we ran into several of our fellow guests who we have come to know quite well.

Later in the morning we also took care of some errands and we also turned our passports over to the front reception desk.

We enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room before the ship departed Safaga.

Early in the afternoon, Keith attended the third lecture given by Retired Brigadier General Nick Halley. The title of his presentation was “Terrorism, Part 2 – our World Since the 9/11 Attacks. He shared his views on the current situation in Iraq and then took several questions from the audience.

Later in the afternoon, Keith chatted with some of our fellow passengers that he has become friendly with while Anne Marie worked on one of her needlepoint patterns. Keith also had the opportunity to chat for awhile with the Finkel Brothers, Elliot and Ian, who are guest entertainers on board the ship.

This evening we enjoyed a very nice dinner in the Main Dining Room.

Later this evening we will be attended Zero Hour. This play is a one-man show that was performed by actor and playwright Jim Brochu. This is a preview of the official Broadway debut this Fall. The performance was outstanding and we know this will be a hit.

After the show, the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra performed Dixieland in the Crystal Cove and the Finkel Brothers also accompanied them for a couple of the songs.

Tomorrow we sail in the Suez Canal.

Keith & Anne Marie

Safaga, Egypt

2008-04-17T04:53:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Four Pictures

Picture 1 of building near Safaga Port. While building along the route to where we were dropped off were mainly of smaller sizes relative to this building, most had the same coloring to the exteriors of the buildings.

Picture 2 is typical of the open land (desert) that we saw on our way to where we were dropped off. The opposite side of the road was more beach-like.

Picture 3 is the front of the Holiday Inn where the complimentary shuttle dropped us off.

Picture 4 is an open court area that was behind some of the nearby stores. It looked like it was used for an open air restaurant.

We might not have mentioned this before but just about every evening of a sea day we receive a nice letter in our room from the World Cruise Hostess. The letter shares information about upcoming events and sometimes highlights places that we have just visited or will be arriving to shortly. Last nights letter noted various events that are coming up over the next several days.

On April 22nd we will be attending a World Cruise Dinner. This is one of two special dinners hosted on the ship in an area by the indoor swimming pool. For that evening, a stage is normally erected to cover the pool area and is used for the entertainment for the evening. A special dinner is served and we are assigned to reserved seats. All of the details are a surprise except for the theme of the dinner, which is called Roman Holiday.

A few days later on April 26 we will be taken from the ship at approximately 5:00 PM to a World Cruise Shore side Event (again one of two) that is hosted for us in Rome. Our first event was hosted in Sydney. Lots of effort and planning go into these events. In fact, usually the venue for the World Cruise special shore side events is reserved a year or more in advance at which time the planning commences. The letter also noted that many more activities are planned before our World Cruise ends in Southampton, London.

We really appreciate the thought and care that goes into these letters by the World Cruise Hostess.

This morning we arrived to Safaga, Egypt. Safaga is located on the western area of the Red Sea and is the gateway to the Nile Valley. The Valley of the Kings is located about three hours by motor vehicle from this port of call.

We woke up early this morning after enjoying another good nights sleep. We set our clocks back last evening by one hour as we arrived in another new time zone. The seas were a little rougher this morning relative to the past several weeks but not in the least bothersome to us. A few passengers said they were awoken from the seas, but this did not affect our sleep at all.

Keith worked out in the Fitness Center early this morning and enjoyed a very nice workout on the Elliptical Machine. He spoke with Mary most of the time and the Fitness Center was not very busy. Keith stayed on the Elliptical Machine for a personal best of two hours. Yes, the miles are adding up and thank goodness these are wonderful Elliptical machines.

Anne Marie took care of our laundry and then when Keith finished his workout he assisted Anne Marie with the laundry. Afterwards, we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room while we waited for the ship to dock in Safaga. This morning our butler, Alexander, who we have thoroughly enjoyed, is leaving the ship to go on Holiday. We will miss his wonderful service and the nice talks we have had with him along the way. How he remembers so many things amazes us each and every day.

The ship was cleared for disembarkation a little before 8:00 AM this morning. During the Captains Morning announcement, Captain Glenn noted that the outside temperature was 75 degrees Fahrenheit and that the forecast was for sunny skies throughout the day. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The person who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” Another great thought for the day and we always enjoy them. The Captain reminded all passengers to take their passports with them while in port today and tomorrow morning.

This is our second time in Safaga as we cruised to this port of call on last years World Cruise. The ship will spend an overnight in this port of call and will depart this port tomorrow at 1:00 PM for our journey to Alexandria, Egypt.

Many guests visiting this port of call for the very first time traveled to Luxor. Luxor consists of three areas. It includes the City Of Luxor, the town of Karnak and Thebes. Most passengers visiting Luxor either took the one day tour (approximately three hours each way), or the one night overland tour, while some booked private transportation via Crystal. These passengers traveled via convoy from the port to Luxor. The Egyptian Government is very safety conscious with respect to foreign visitors traveling within the country and added security measures are taken to prevent an incident that could jeopardize the safety of its visitors. The Egyptian Government recognizes that tourism is a major staple of its economy and therefore does not want an incident to occur whose publicity would impact tourists from visiting their country.

Between Safaga and the city located just thirty miles north of it, Hurghada, there are a large number of beach resorts. The beaches are well known for their cleanliness and some of them have black sand. People visit these areas for the various activities including snorkeling or scuba and of course to also visit historical sites in Luxor and in other areas with a few hours from the town.

Guests were informed about taking photographs in Egypt. If one wants to take photographs of Egyptians, particularly women or religious people, we wee advised that we should ask first or at least politely inform them that we would like to include them in our picture. Our recommendation would be to ask first. On tours, there are various rules and regulations that must be followed. There are some areas where it is forbidden to take pictures there are times that if someone is caught taking a picture in a prohibited area their camera can be confiscated. The key is to follow the rules and regulations.

As we walked off the ship, we had to show our passport to someone from the local authority who verified that our passport had been stamped and that the picture matched us.

We took the complimentary shuttle that Crystal provided from the port over to an area within Safaga. The city is located a little over six miles from the port. On our drive over to the town, the water and beach were on the right hand side and on the left hand side were a variety of buildings; many of which were in the process of being constructed. This is clearly a resort area. We were dropped off right outside the Holiday Inn and just a minute walk from the bus there were several stores on each side of the road. We walked into most of the shops. There were a handful of jewelry shops, several other shops selling beachwear items from cover-ups to other related items, other shops selling Egyptian crafted items from little boxes to other statues, a couple of stores selling glassware such as beautifully looking perfume bottles, one store selling a variety of spices, and a few sundry type of shops. We spoke to many of the shopkeepers who were quite friendly and were not pushy. One storekeeper told us everything was on sales and the store was closing tomorrow. We then expected him to ask us if we wanted to purchase the Brooklyn Bridge, or was that the Suez Canal. ☺

We took the shuttle back to the ship and we took a very nice walk on the Promenade Deck of the ship for a little over an hour. About fifteen minutes into our walk we ran into a fellow passenger on the full World Cruise and we enjoyed a very nice conversation with her.

In a couple of days we will arrive in Alexandria, Egypt, which we also visited last year. During our stay in Alexandria, we will take a tour called Roman Alexandria. This excursion will include visits to a number of historical Roman locations.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room.

This evening we dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. We chatted with Bruno who is filling in as Maitre D’ while the other Specialty Restaurant Maitre D’ is on Holiday. Bruno was our head waiter for the first couple of segments of last years World Cruise. While the regular Specialty Restaurant Maitre D’ is on the ship, Bruno is the headwaiter in Prego. The Maitre D’ of the Specialty Restaurants, overseas both Prego and Silk Road and some of the other venues such as Tastes and the Lido Café. We really enjoy Bruno and his passion for food and outstanding service. He always give us great recommendations on various food items including seafood specials.

This evening we dined with another World Cruise couple who we first met on last years World Cruise. We had a wonderful dinner including a great conversation with wonderfully prepared food in a restaurant with a great deal of ambience.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Safaga, Egypt Day 3

2008-04-16T09:08:00.001-07:00

We started our day early with a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. Keith continued to rack up the miles on the Elliptical Machine and was once again the first to arrive at the center. Anne Marie arrived about thirty minutes later and worked on the Treadmill. There were fewer passengers working out which is normally the case as we get a few days into a particular segment and most passengers who began their trip in Mumbai, India are now over their jetlag.

Today is the last of three consecutive sea days as we cruise to Safaga, Egypt. The seas continue to be very calm and many times it is easy to forget that we are sailing in water. ☺ While we are cruising in the Red Sea, we don’t see any red. ☺ The sea looks like any sea.

Speaking of Egypt, we are required to carry our passports in Egypt so today we picked up our passports at the reception desk area. We were advised that when we get off the ship that we will need to show the visa stamp that has been obtained to us to the local authorities. This year we didn’t have to fill out any additional forms for Egypt a few days before our arrival. This was not the case last year when we had to fill out a couple of forms which asked us to note the model and serial number for any electronic equipment that we were taking ashore (eg., camera, video camera, cell phone, etc.) along with noting how much currency we were taking with us into the country.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge, he noted that the outside air temperature was a nice 84 degrees Fahrenheit and that we were cruising at 20 knots per hour with four of six engines in use. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The man ho smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.”

After enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast in our room we both went to Progressive Yoga. The good news is that Keith’s muscles were not sore from yesterday’s class. The class is one hour and was very enjoyable. The instructor, Pat Laster, teaches a great class. After having spoken to her many times starting with last years World Cruise it is nice for us to both see first hand want an outstanding instructor she is. We know the majority of passengers who participate in this session. We both enjoyed today’s session and we didn’t pull any muscles ☺ We do find these sessions to be great for both the mind and the body.

Afterwards, we attended the Rap With The Rabbi. This is the last “Rap” before Passover since tomorrow and Friday we will be in Egypt. We thoroughly enjoyed today’s session which was nicely attended.

Following the Rap Keith attended a presentation given by Diplomat, Tex Harris. The title of the presentation was “A Tough Neighborhood – Future Engagement in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.” A good portion of the talk was on Iran and the correlation as to what the impact of the War in Iraq has had with respect to Iran’s influence on Iraq and its influence on this region of the world. Keith found the talk to be quite interesting. Afterwards, another meeting venue was used so that Tex Harris could continue today’s discussion vis-à-vis a question and answer session with our fellow passengers.

We then enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered a very nice salad entrée so it was ready when we arrived. Before we ate in the Main Dining Room, we walked upstairs where the American Classic Buffet was being set up around the indoor pool area. The number of items being served as part of this buffet is amazing. There are so many wonderful salads, appetizers, entrees, rolls and other breads, fruits and luscious deserts that are all nicely displayed.

There is soup that includes Cajun Seafood Gumbo. Various salads that include Crisp Coleslaw, Mixed California Greens, Traditional Waldorf Salad, Carrot-Raisin Salad and All-American Potato Salad follow this. Are you ready for some Seafood and Barbeque Items? You can find Southern Fried Chicken, Summer Pasta Salad, Tender and Juicy Baby Back Ribs, Barbecued Beef Ribs along with Blackened Fresh. Are you ready for some additional Hot Entrees? There is Roasted North American Prime Rib, Southern Chicken Pot Pies, Roast Turkey and New Orleans Jambalaya. Still hungry for items to go with the Hot Entrée items. How about Baked Potatoes, Boston Baked Beans, Sweet Potato Casserole, Crispy Fried Onion Rings, Boston Baked Beans and Texas-Style Chili con Carne. There are other items including Corn Fritters, Roasted Autumn Vegetables, and Corn on the Cob.

Still hungry. There was a Southern Seafood Fry station with Cajun favorites such as Jumbo Shrimp with Creole Tartar Sauce.

Let’s not forget about other salads including Cobb Salad, Caesar Salad, along with many other items to add to the salads including Grilled Chicken, California Avocados, Hard-Boiled Eggs, Tomatoes, Brule Cheese, Celery, Crisp Lettuce, Bacon Bits, Chives and Cobb Dressing.

Let us not forget the beverages and breads. Where do we begin? There was San Francisco Sourdough, Navajo Fry Bread, Boston Brown Bread, Southern Corn Bread, Sticky Cinnamon Buns, New Mexico Tortillas and even Bagels.

There were various non-alcoholic beverages available including Frozen Cappuccino, Smoothies and various Sodas.

Who wants dessert? There were many all American dessert items including Chocolate Fudge Turtle Cake, Key Lime Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, Bread Pudding, New York Cheesecake, Lemon Bars, Brownies, Hazelnut Macaroons, Crème Carmel and Chocolate Chip Cookies and let us not forget Grandma’s Apple Pie. Wow!

This afternoon Keith played table tennis with several passengers that he knows from this years cruise along with some he first met on previous cruises. It’s a very nice group of passengers who have a great time playing doubles table tennis.

Between this afternoons lunch only a few hours pass until it is time for the Crystal Society Reception to begin. This reception is held for those guests who have cruised with Crystal on one prior cruise or more. This evenings attire was formal so those who attended this event were in their formal attire and it is a wonderful way to kick off the evening. Some guests who have completed a high number of Crystal sailings are recognized for these milestones and drinks are provided along with some very nice Hors D’oeuvres. After the reception, those who dined in the Main Dining Room were treated with a very popular dinner menu on board the ship known as French Dinner.

Lots of favorites of the guests are available. This includes appetizers of Escargots, Porcini-Dusted Seared Salmon Medallion, Pink Roasted Duck Carpaccio and a Tropical Fruit Basket. Soup and Salad included French Onion Soup, Soupe au Mais, Chilled Lemon Soup Mesclun of Lettuce, and Heart of Butter Lettuce with each of these salads accompanied by a variety of very tasty items. There was a nice Pasta Special Available and a very nice Salad Entree.

Now to the Main Faires which featured Broiled Fresh Fillet of Red Sea Bream, Coq au Vin, Pink-Roasted Rack of Lamb and Veal a la Mama. There were other entrees to select from including Grilled Salmon and Grilled Entrecote.

On top of all this were a number of side orders.

Are you ready for what many say is their favorite course? Yes, the Dessert. This evening two special desserts were featured; Souffle Grand Marnier and “Marone” which is a Chestnut Opera Cake, Chestnut Biscuits and Chestnut Ice Cream. There was also a couple of sugar free desserts available along with seven other classic desserts to choose from.

Let us not forget the Cheese Trolley. This evening the cheese featured on the trolley included Tete de Moine, St. Andre, Montagnard, Bresse Bleu, Chevre and Comte Alpage.

This evening there was a very special performance titled I Love A Piano featuring two special guest performers; Elliot Finkel and Ian Finkel along with three talented Piano players from Crystal; Thomas Daniels, John Mentis, and Joel Pierson.

Later in the evening, for those who want to sing there was Karaoke.

On top of this there were other venues available to listen to wonderful music and to dance and there was also an evening movie.

Crystal knows how to make each evening very special on board the ship and this evening was no exception. The ambience on board the ship was extra special since this evening was formal. At a time when some cruise lines are abandoning the formal evening approach and some of the traditional meals that go with a formal evening on board a passenger cruise ship, we are fortunate that Crystal continues this elegant tradition on board the Crystal Serenity and the Crystal Symphony.

Each day we are reminded about how truly amazing and wonderful it is to be sailing to such a diverse set of locations around the world while sailing on the wonderful Crystal Serenity. We are so very fortunate to be able to have this opportunity to see places that our parents could only read and/or dream about and to do this in such an elegant passenger cruise ship. Some days we have to pinch ourselves.

As we sail around the world, we also have to remind ourselves not to jump to rash conclusions and to pre-judge entire countries or societies based on what we see when spending a relatively short duration in one port of call. Just as we would not want to judge our own country based on one visit to say one city out of all of the cities and towns that comprise the fifty states of the USA, we realize that we should not do likewise in our travels outside the USA. Rather we should take in all that we observe during our stay, learn as much as we can and know that there is much more to learn about a particular area of the world.

We also remind ourselves that the world is indeed magical due to its diversity and that we can’t expect all people to act the same way we do nor to have the same customs, beliefs, attitudes, and ways of doing things that we are accustomed to in our own country. We have to realize that many practices do vary quite a bit between countries and between regions of the world as they sometimes do between localities, states and even regions within our country. We also have to remind ourselves that many times changes do occur but at a slower pace and duration and over different time frames throughout the world. For example, sometimes we forget that in the United States women did not have the right to vote until 1919, which is less than ninety years ago. Likewise we sometimes forget that various rights of equality were not available to all based on factors such as sex and color of skin and that changes in these areas took time to occur and that even today changes continue to occur. What is truly amazing is our ability to travel to countries over the world. While we are traveling by cruise ship, clearly jet travel had a major impact in providing the opportunity for many of us to have the opportunity to see other areas of the world first hand and through our own eyes. At the same time, communications, including telephone, the internet and e-mail along with television provide additional opportunities for us to learn about other areas of the world and for many of us these mediums provide the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas with people from around the world.

We are fortunate that through this world cruise we increase our knowledge of the world through the ports of call that we visit, the reading that each of us does as we research those places that we will be visiting, through the many expert lecturers that have spoken with us throughout the world cruise and just as importantly through our fellow passengers and crew who are from many different countries throughout the world. Sometimes we forget that between the passengers and the crew our ship is comprised with people from just about all corners of the world and that provides us with another opportunity to learn from one another.

Tomorrow, we will visit the first of two ports of call in Egypt. This will be our second time in as many years to these two ports of call and we look forward to expanding our knowledge of this region of the world realizing that each time we visit an area of the world that we have already been to that we still likely walk away learning something that we had not knew before our arrival.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Safaga, Egypt Day 2

2008-04-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last evening we set the clocks back one hour as we were sailing in yet another new time zone so we had the benefit of one additional hour of sleep when we woke up this morning. Yes, Keith was the first passenger up to the Fitness Center this morning and a little while later John arrived along with a couple of other passengers. Before not too long Mary arrived followed by Anne Marie. Each of us enjoyed a very nice workout with Keith working out on his favorite elliptical machine and Anne Marie on her favorite Treadmill. When we say favorite, we each have a machine in a certain location of the center, which we enjoy.

Keith chatted with Mary throughout his workout. During the workout we saw a beautiful sunrise as the sun rose behind one of the beautiful mountains that we could see from the ship. During this World Cruise we have been fortunate to see some of the prettiest sunrises and sunsets that we have ever seen. It was not too long ago that Anne Marie saw a beautiful sunset with the green sparkles of the sunset.

We have two more sea days as we sail to Salaga, Egypt. There are lots of activities on today’s program.

During the Captain’s Daily Announcement, Captain Glenn noted that we were cruising at 20 Knots per hour. We are making good progress on our way towards Safaga. Captain Glenn’s thought of the say was “They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel.” This was another wonderful thought of the day and one that most of us can certainly relate to.

After our workout we enjoyed yet another nice breakfast in our room. Anne Marie attended Progressive Yoga and for the first time Keith tried the Yoga as well. We both enjoyed the Yoga and Keith survived his first ever Yoga class. ☺

After Yoga we attended two morning presentations. The first lecture was given by Destination Lecturer Jay Wolff who presented “The Glory that was Greece.: Dr Wolff’s presentations continue to be extraordinary. The depth of his presentations and his ability to remember dates, names and so much detail while telling such interesting stories and always keeping the length of his presentations within forty-five minutes or so is truly amazing. We have learned a great deal from Dr. Wolff throughout this adventure and we are very fortunate to have his as our destination lecturer throughout the World Cruise.

Retired Brigadier General Nick Halley gave the second lecture of the morning. The topic of his presentation was “Terrorism – The Origins of the War Against Radical Islam.” This was the second of three presentations that he will deliver during this cruise.

After the morning presentations we enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room.

In the afternoon Anne Marie did some reading and also worked on one of her needlepoint kits. Keith ran a few errands and also played table tennis with some of our fellow passengers.

We enjoyed a nice meal in the Main Dining Room for dinner. The dining room was especially quiet this evening as many of the passengers were eating in one of the specialty restaurants. Tomorrow evening is a formal night and the featured menu is French Night so many of the passengers will be eating in the Main Dining Room.

Tomorrow is another sea day as we continue to sail towards Safaga, Egypt.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Safaga, Egypt Day 1

2008-04-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

This morning we began our day with our daily workout in the Fitness Center. The Center was not very busy as we figure that many of our fellow guests took advantage of the time to sleep a little later. Keith was the first passenger to arrive and a little while later another person who we have known since the beginning of the voyage arrived. A little while later Mary and John arrived along with Anne Marie. Keith spoke with Mary while he worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill.

We enjoyed breakfast back in our room and got ready for today’s activities. Today is the first of three glorious sea days as we travel from Oman to Safaga, Egypt.

Anne Marie attended the Progressive Yoga class, which she enjoyed a great deal. It is a one-hour class. Keith took care of a few errands on the ship.

During the Captain’s morning announcement, Captain Glenn noted that we were cruising at a speed of 21.5 knots per hour and at that point in time we were 165 miles of the coast of Somalia. We will continue to travel at this speed and with five of six engines in use in order to arrive on schedule in Safaga, Egypt. He noted that the sister ship, Crystal Symphony, was in Hong Kong. The Captain’s thought of the day was “If you don’t know where you are going you will end up someplace.”

We attended Rap With The Rabbi, which continues to be a wonderful opportunity to exchange thoughts on a variety of items. As we have mentioned, this year’s session has been well attended and has included many of our fellow guests who are from a variety of faiths, which has positively added to the discussion. The Rabbi is outstanding and we are so very fortunate to be sailing with the Rabbi and his lovely wife. There will be another Rap in a couple of days and then a few days from now there will be a Jewish Seder Dinner.

Destination Lecturer Jay Wolff who presented “The Suez Canal – The Ditch in the Desert”, gave the first lecture that we attended in the morning. He covered the building of the Suez Canal along with the Israel/Egyptian Wars.

Diplomat Tex Harris gave the second lecture and the topic of his presentation was “Iraq’s Future – Iraqi Perspectives – The Critical Factor.” He touched on a variety of items ranging from the history of Iraq, to the Religious Sects within Iraq to the issues of Oil in the Middle East. In his next set of lectures he will move from Iraq to discussions of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. At the same time, there was an Asia Luncheon Buffet featuring the various flavors of Asia.

In the afternoon we attended a presentation given by Sports Psychology Expert Stanley Teitelbaum, Ph.D. which was titled “Sports’ Bad Boys: The Scandalous Rise of Steroids.” It was an interesting presentation that covered the issues related to Baseball and steroids starting in the 1990’s a few years after the player strike occurred and when the home run record was broken for home runs in a major league season.

The other day we received an invitation for cocktails at the Captain’s Quarter, which we attended before dinner this evening along with some of our fellow guests. It is always nice to talk with Captain Glenn and to chat with other officers and gusts and we are appreciative of these invitations.

Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant where we dined with a very nice couple who we first sailed with for one leg on last years World Cruise. They are on this segment of the World Cruise having boarded the ship in Mumbai, India. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner

Keith & Anne Marie

2008-04-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

We woke early this morning as we do each day on board the ship and each of us enjoyed a nice workout. When Keith arrived at the Fitness Center, Mary was already there which she noted was the second time since the World Cruise began that she was up there before Keith. When Keith asked her when she arrived, she said about two minutes before he did. ☺ A little while later Anne Marie and, fellow passenger, John arrived. There were others working out as well. From our vantage point we could see lots of lights on the shoreline of Oman and a little while after that we could see the beautiful mountains as the sun was rising overhead.

We each enjoyed a very nice workout and went over to the Lido Café to get some coffee before returning to our room. There are several early morning tours so the Lido Café opened early with lots of staff already there when we arrived. We said hello to many familiar faces from the Lido Café such as Lido Deck Stewards Alvin, Clark, and Ross who and we also said hello to several of the staff who during the evening hours work in the Prego and Silk Road Specialty Restaurants.

We wanted to point out something that we continue to be amazed about. Very often we run into someone from the crew that we have not met and yet they know our names. For example, yesterday we were walking along the corridor from our room and we passed another stewardess who we had never met before and she said high Mr. and Mrs. “…….” The same thing happened with Keith when he needed some assistance on a get together we were organizing and a particular person from the staff who we had never met knew Keith’s name. The same thing happened this morning when we first walked into the Lido Café with another member of the crew. We continue to be amazed at the wonderful service and attention to detail shown by the staff, and this is just one of many examples of the tremendous staff on board the ship.

A little while after we got back to the room we enjoyed a very nice breakfast. We spoke with our butler, Alexander, who has been wonderful and we will miss him since he is leaving the ship in a few days to begin his Holiday at home. He will then return to the ship later this summer. He has been outstanding and we will miss him dearly. He is the second longest butler in terms of years of service who is on this ship. If we remember correctly, he has worked on-board Crystal ships for 10+ years. He is very professional in all that he does.

We arrived at Salalah, Oman at around 8:00 AM. We did not select a tour. Last year, we had two stops in Oman. The first one was in Muscat, which was a beautiful city. Unfortunately, the morning we arrived they had a major rainstorm (it only rains there a couple of times each year) and all tours were canceled due to flooding. We hope to visit there another time because the city looked very interesting, with many beautiful buildings. There are many palaces and other buildings to see in that city. We also visited Salalah last year. The tours are limited in this area, and none of them interested us. Many people take the tour called Frankincense Trail, which includes a visit to Job’s Tomb and a chance to tap a frankincense tree Many question whether this is tomb is really the tomb of Job. The tour also includes a chance to go to a market and a chance to see nice views of the Qara Mountains. Again, there are a few other tours. For us, we have tried to do a fair number of tours throughout the World Cruise but it is just not practical to go on a tour in each and every port of call.

There were additional tours that we offered that included an Archaeological Adventure, another one call Salalah of Yesterday and Today, Intimate Oman and the Lost City of Ubar. Many passengers who have not visited this port of call before took tours.

We have taken more tours this year than on last years World Cruise but from time to time we take a break from touring and today was such a day. Unfortunately, this port of call does not allow Crystal to provide a shuttle to the closest town. Crystal can only run a shuttle that takes passengers from the ship about one mile to the entrance of the port where taxis were available. Several passengers had problems trying to negotiate fares as it seemed that the cab drivers wanted fares that were significantly more than what was charged last year. Ultimately some passengers asked for assistance from the cruise ship. The port agent was asked to step in and Captain Glenn also tried to assist. In the end, a prices was arranged for a one way drive or the option of the cab driver waiting one hour after dropping passengers in town to drive them back to the ship.

Instead we decided to take advantage of some quiet time on the ship to actually begin the process of packing. We have a number of items with us that we will not need to wear for the remainder of the World Cruise. Since our daughter and son-in-law are joining us for the last segment of the World Cruise, from Rome to London, we wanted to get a head start on packing so that we don’t have to spend too much time doing this while they are both on board the ship. We also recognize that the last segment of the cruise is fairly port intensive so we will be spending less time on the ship and more time in port.

Oman is an interesting country. Oman’s coastline is both beautiful and one of the most fertile areas in all of Arabia. Oman was ruled for many years by Sultan Said Bin Taimur, (1938-1970) and during that time frame very few people had the opportunity to visit Oman. From what we learned last year, some changes were made in this country after the Sultan was overthrown by his son, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. While still not on a large scale, today over 60,000 travelers visit this country anually and more money is spent by the Majesty of Oman on the people, particularly in the area of education. Salalah is Oman’s second largest city and is home to around 300,000 residents.

Those getting off the ship today were asked to be respectful of the local culture. The Omanis are very conservative people and quite conservative and are strong followers of their religion. They dress very conservatively and most dress in traditional attire. Women were asked to wear loose, long garments, and to ensure that their shoulders and knees were covered. Men were asked to wear long trousers and tops with sleeves.

After our ship arrived in port we took a nice long walk on the promenade deck. During or walk, we ran into many passengers that we have come to know quite well.

We saw one passenger who was on the verandah whose husband has been quarantined as he is sick and as a precautionary method she has been quarantined as well. They thought it was from the lunch they had in India. As a rule of thumb we do not eat off the ship in places that we visit since we truly enjoy the food prepared on the ship and know that the food is of the highest quality and we also know that the preparation of the food is done in a neat and clean environment. We do try to avoid all day tours that involve food and if we were on an all day tour in a country that we had concerns about, we would bring food with us from the ship such as fruit, crackers and something such as a cheese sandwich.

We had been warned that even if the food has been prepared correctly in places such as India there is the risk of microbes that we are not used to. Many passengers did eat off the ship in India so we will hope that very few became ill.

After we finished our walk on the Promenade Deck we went back to our room and took care of the packing that we wanted to accomplish today.

We enjoyed a very nice lunch in the Main Dining Room, which we had pre-ordered.

In the afternoon, Keith participated in the table tennis tournament. After the competition, Keith played several games with other passengers.

Since the beginning of the year, Crystal has offered a newspaper delivery service. You can order your favorite shoreside newspapers from around the world. The price is the same whether you order a weekday paper or a Sunday paper. Not all papers are available for Sunday. Originally we were going to order a Sunday New York Times but that is available Monday thru Saturday. So, instead we ordered a Sunday Washington Post. We receive it at around 2:00 PM our time, or 6:00 AM East Coast Time. It is essentially a full newspaper. It includes most of the sections that one would find in the newspaper except for say the classifieds, and a few other minor section and not the separate store advertisement sections. But, it does have advertising that would be found in the regular sections of the newspaper; just not the separate store only inserts. We were very impressed with the quality of the print, the timeliness of the paper and having to rely on the internet, the television and the summary papers we get it was nice to get a full edition of the newspaper to get more comprehensive coverage of news.

Keith

En Route To Salalah, Oman Day 2

2008-04-12T03:32:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Pictures From Today's Buffet Luncheon Featuring Indian Specialties

We enjoyed another wonderful day on board the Crystal Serenity Cruise Ship as we sailed to the first port of call in the Middle East of this World Cruise. Tomorrow, we will arrive in Salalah, Oman. We first visited this port of call on last years World Cruise.

We enjoyed another nice sleep last evening and had the added benefit of setting our clocks back one additional hour. Keith awoke first and went to the Fitness Center and when he arrived two other guests were already working out. He had not seen them before so as was the case yesterday morning we suspect that some passengers were up early due to jetlag from their travels to India. Anne Marie arrived to the center about thirty minutes later at the same time as fellow passenger Mary. We enjoyed a wonderful workout and by the time we finished our workout the Fitness Center was quite busy with many passengers working out. This always happens when we turn the clocks back one hour as many people wake up early and during the first few days of each segment.

After our workout we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room.

During Captain Glenn’s morning announcement he noted that we were cruising at 19.4 knots per hour with four of the six engines in use. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “It is not what you wear but who is wearing it that counts.”

There were many activities on the schedule throughout the morning, afternoon and evening hours since today was a sea day.

Yesterday, Anne Marie enjoyed Yoga so much that she attended a Yoga class as 8:00 AM this morning. Once again, she attended the progressive yoga session. While Anne Marie was in Yoga, Keith took care of some errands around the ship.

Keith attended Rap with the Rabbi and Anne Marie arrived a little while later. We continue to enjoy these sessions. The topics have been wonderful and it’s been a great way to share and to listen to a variety of opinions on a diverse set of subjects. Not only those of the Jewish faith but guests from other faiths attended today’s session. On a related note, last evening we signed up for the Passover Sedar dinner, which will be held on April 19. We attended the Sedar last year and it was wonderful.

After the Rap with the Rabbi we attended a presentation given by destination lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff. The title of his presentation was “King Tut and the Mummy’s Curse.” Once again, Dr Wolff hit a “home run” with another interesting presentation.

Afterwards Keith attended a presentation given by retired Brigadier General Nick Halley. The topic of his presentation was “Leadership Under Fire!” We first had the opportunity to listen to this presenter during last years World Cruise. While Keith was at this presentation, Anne Marie went to needlepoint.

We enjoyed a very nice lunch in the dining room, At the same time there was a special luncheon buffet on the Lido Deck featuring many Indian specialties. We posted a couple of pictures of the food but there were lots of items featured throughout the buffet area that are not shown in these pictures. After lunch we attended a presentation given by Maritime Expert Brian Cudahy. The topic of this presentation was “The Golden Age of the Great Ocean Liners.” It was a very interesting presentation, and the presenter touches on many of the passenger cruise ships and cruise lines through the late 1950’s.

Later in the afternoon we attended a Cruise Critic get-together with our fellow passengers who post on Cruise Critic. Many of those who we have traveled with since the beginning of the World Cruise attended along with some who boarded this segment of the cruise. We had the get together at the afternoon tea. A few of our fellow passengers were unable to attend since they play Bridge at this time of the afternoon. This will be our last “official” get together of the World Cruise but we know that we will all see each other from time to time.

This evening we had dinner at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with the Rabbi and his lovely wife. We always look forward to having dinner with the two of them as they are such delightful people to converse with and we are very blessed to know them.

After dinner we went to see West End Singing Star Jacqui Scott perform. She is a wonderful singer. We greatly enjoyed her performance this evening as we did when we saw her perform on last years World Cruise.

Keith & Anne

En Route To Salalah, Oman Day 1

2008-04-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed another good sleep last evening. We are now sailing towards Salalah, Oman. The seas have been relatively calm. We also enjoyed getting another 30 minutes of sleep since we set the clocks back before we went to sleep last evening. This evening we will set the clocks back another hour, which is great news. As we’ve mentioned, the direction that the ship has sailed for the entire World Cruise has provided us with the advantage of setting the clocks back from time to time which is much easier than when you have to set the clocks forward.

We awoke early and enjoyed a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. When Keith arrived at the Fitness Center there were three passengers finishing up their workout. Keith had not seen them before, so we suspect that they had flown into Mumbai the day of or the day before the cruise and were still jetlagged. Anne Marie arrived a little while after Keith and we each enjoyed a great workout. Keith spoke with Mary after she arrived and heard all about the one-day trip that Crystal offered to the Taj Mahal. Another regular, John, was also working out.

After our workout, we enjoyed another wonderful breakfast. This is the first of two consecutive sea days as we sail to our next port of call. After breakfast, Anne Marie attended Progressive Yoga while Keith ran some errands on the ship.. On the last segment, the Yoga instructor who was on the full World Cruise last year joined the ship. She is a very interesting person and we are glad to have her back with us for the remainder of the World Cruise. Anne Marie enjoyed the Yoga session.

During the Captain’s Morning Announcement he noted that the outside temperature was 82 degrees Fahrenheit and that the weather looks very promising for the next couple of days, or more. The captain always mentions the location of the sister ship, the Crystal Symphony, noting that today the ship is at sea on its way to Hong Kong. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “You can’t strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.”

We attended a couple of lectures in the morning. Destination Lecturer Dr Jay Wolff gave the first lecture. The topic of his presentation was “The Exodus From Egypt.”. It was quite an interesting presentation and Dr. Wolff continues to amaze the audience with the ability to tell a story while sharing a good deal of information.

Diplomat Tex Harris gave the second presentation. The topic of his presentation was “New Leaders and Old Problems”. Mr. Harris mainly outline the challenges in Iraq and mainly touched on three different options.

Between these two presentations Anne Marie attended the needlepoint handout where she receive another nice needlepoint kit from the Crystal Activities Hostess.

We then enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. After lunch we took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck.

This evening we attended the Captain’s welcome reception. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to see everyone dressed up in their formal attire. During the reception we learned that there are a total of 673 passengers on board the ship with a crew of 650. That is a ratio of almost 1 crew member per passenger. Wow!

This evening was the Captain’s Gala Dinner. There were lots of wonderful choices on the menu.

Appetizers included a choice of four items. Caviar accompanied by traditional items such as sour cream, chopped eggs, onions and melba toast and buckwheat blinis, truffled chicken liver parfait, baked oysters and tropical fruits.

Soup and Salads included several choices such as cappuccino of wild forest mushrooms, clear oxtail soup, and a captain’s salad.

There was a nice Pasta Special of handmade goat cheese ravioli, and a nice Salad Entrée of beef tenderloin salad.

The Main Fares include four choices. They were Lobster, Halibut Fillet, Chateaubriand, or Stuffed, Marinated Bakes Quail.

There were many nice side orders to choose from.

For the Sweet Finale there were a couple of special desserts including “Sugar Mill” which was butterscotch pudding with citrus shortbread and “Harlequin” which was chocolate melt cake a la mode, dark and white chocolate mousses bomb, and bittersweet chocolate sabayon. Yes, no calories. ☺

There were also two sugar-free desserts and there were seven classic desserts to choose from.

For those who wanted to end their meal with some cheese from the cheese trolley there was a choice of triple cream blue, blue opal brie, le brin, langres, caprice des dieux and manchega cheeses to choose from. Each evening the dining room offers several different cheeses to choose from.

We always eat in the Main Dining Room for the first formal night and then on some of the other formal nights we will either eat in the Main Dining Room or one of the Specialty Restaurants.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal in the Main Dining Room. Formal nights are always quite elegant throughout the ship, and this evening was no exception.

After dinner, we stopped by the second seating of the Captain's reception to say hello to our fellow passengers who eat in the late seating.

Keith & Anne Marie

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Mumbai, India Day 2

2008-04-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

NOTE: The first picture is an example of the many cabs that are available in Mumbai. There are around 50,000 cabs in this city. Many of these cabs are quite old, but they are kept up in great condition.

The second picture is one of the shops set up at the pier.

This morning marks the conclusion of segment six of our World Cruise adventure. During this segment, we sailed from Singapore to Mumbai India. We sailed a total distance of 3,345 nautical miles or the equivalent of 3,846 land miles. We have had the opportunity to visit a very diverse set of ports in a very short timeframe. It is amazing to think that we began this segment in Singapore where one will receive a fine should they litter the streets and everything is safe and clean and housing is provided for every citizen. This is a sharp contrast to where we ended the segment in Mumbai, where almost one-third of those people live here are in poverty and portions of the city are in disarray. We will carry with us memories of the places we have visited which will last a lifetime.

We want to note that while we saw a vast amount of poverty in Mumbai there are some very nice places in this city as well. This include a variety of historical buildings that have very traditional and worldly architecture and there are new building, both residential condominiums & apartments and office buildings that appeared to be quite nice. While eating off the ship does not interest us, some of our fellow passengers had nice experiences in some of the restaurants and some offered service of a much higher standard than one would find in the USA.

At the same time there is clearly an emerging economy in India and one that many of us are very familiar with given the outsourcing that is taking place from USA and European companies over to India. This is doing wonders to expand the middle class in man parts of India.

We met many nice people during our stay in Mumbai. The people who we interacted with appeared to be well spoken, highly educated, and showed a lot of pride. There are many nice traditions in this country, particularly those in the middle, upper middle and upper classes.

Clearly, every country has a difference in culture. For example, in India to get things done does require negotiation and sometime giving something of value to obtain a particular service whether from private or even government run institutions. That is the way of life for these people just as many of us in the USA have our own culture that differs from other places around the world.

There are many wonderful areas in India and like any large country there are the good points along with the points not so good.

India does have challenges. They are divided into many states where there are many dialects. The language of one area cannot be understood by another area, so English is a critical language to bridge the communication gap amongst its diverse population.

The other challenge is the poverty that exists here. It is not isolated to Mumbai and because of the sheer volume of those who live in this country it is more of a problem. We now understand why people get concerned when they here the estimates for population growth in a city like Mumbai which is already overcrowded and has lots of issues to deal with.

We are glad that we had the opportunity to see two ports of call in India.

Today the new segment (segment 7) of the World Cruise got underway.

This afternoon new passengers embarked the cruise ship. As part of this segment we will sail from Mumbai, India to Civitavecchia, (gateway port for Rom) Italy. We will stop in Salalah, Oman, Safaga, Egypt; Alexandria, Egypt; Agios Nikolaos (Crete), Greece, and Catania and Naples, Italy. At the same time we will enjoy eight sea days including our transit thru the Suez Canal.

We slept very well last evening and we woke early this morning. We began our day by working out in the Fitness Center. Yes, Keith was the first to arrive at the Fitness Center and Anne Marie arrived a short time later. We enjoyed an excellent workout. The only passengers working out while we were there was the two of us plus John. Keith spoke with John for a few minutes and after our workout we saw John and his lovely wife Linda at the Lido Café. They are both such wonderful people and we are so very fortunate to have had the opportunity to sail with them on both this years and last years World Cruise. Since Mary was on yesterdays all day tour of the Taj Mahal she was not up at the Fitness Center while we were there but as we were retuning to our room we ran into her. We spent a few minutes talking with her and we told her about our day in Mumbai yesterday and she told us about her tour of the Taj Mahal. Her tour sounded wonderful and hopefully one day we will have the opportunity to visit this city.

We then went back to our room to enjoy a great breakfast.

Like many of our fellow passengers, we decided not to go into town today. We felt that we had a nice overview of Mumbai yesterday and really saw no point going out on our own. Some passengers were going back to places such as the Taj Mahal hotel to pick up clothing items that they had ordered that were custom made for them. As was the case in Hong Kong, you can order certain items in these shops that will be made for you overnight and will be available sometime the next day.

We decided to spend part of the morning walking around the pier. We visited some of the shops that were set up in the pier area that sold a variety of items.

The cruise ship called The World was also in port having arrived here late yesterday so we walked over to that ship. We last saw this ship during our stay in Rio, Brazil last year. This is the ship that sold condominium apartments. Passengers sailing on this ship include those who own their respective apartments, those who rent from owners and also those who book directly through the cruise line operator to stay in units that have not been sold. This ship sails around the world and usually will spend several days in a particular port of call rather than just one day or an overnight. We tried to walk over to the ship, but couldn’t find a direct way over there and we were leery about the area that we would need to walk through in order to navigate our way over to the ship.

We enjoyed a very nice lunch in the dining room. We sat at our regular table that we eat at in the evening. We were given complimentary flutes of champagne to toast the continuation of our world cruise adventure.

This afternoon we also enjoyed a very nice walk on the Promenade Deck of the ship. We could see many ships in the harbor and we had a nice view of the Cruise Ship; The World. We also could see many buildings that were afar.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. Afterwards, we attended the Welcome Aboard Show and enjoyed all of the dancing and singing that was part of the show. We also saw a very nice couple who we met on this ship in 2005, and who were also on the full World Cruise this year, who surprised most of us by booking the last two segments of this years world cruise.

This evening we set our clocks back thirty minutes which will be the last time during this cruise where clocks are adjusted in thirty minute increments.

We are glad that we have had the opportunity to visit Mumbai. This is certainly quite a unique city of the world. Our hearts go out to the less fortunate individuals who live here and in other parts of the world where each day is a struggle to just survive for many people.

This next segment of the cruise will bring many ports that we had the opportunity to visit during last years World Cruise. Other than visiting the two ports in Hawaii, up until now all of the ports of call that we visited were new to us, with the exception of Hong Kong which Keith had previously visited on business. On this next we will see for the first time are Crete, Greece, which is also a maiden voyage for Crystal Cruises. We will also dock in an area in Sicily that is a different port from the one that we docked in last year. Most other ports we will visit for the second time, with the exception of Naples and Civitavecchia, (gateway port to Rome), Italy which we have visited numerous times. We look forward to seeing all of these ports and continuing our World Cruise Adventure.

Keith & Anne Marie

Mumbai, India

2008-04-09T04:20:00.001-07:00

NOTE:

Photo 1 is a Beggar with carrying baby.

Photo 2 is the outside of the Taj Mahal Hoel.

Photo 3 is a Shanti.

Photo 4 is one of three synagogues that we visited during our tour of Mumbai.

Today we visited our second port of call in India; Mumbai (Bombay), India. The ship will stay in this city overnight. Tomorrow morning this sixth segment of the World Cruise will end. With the conclusion of this segment, some passengers will depart the ship in the morning while new guests will be joining the ship starting at 12:00 Noon.

Mumbai is a heavily populated city and the standard of living for its residents varies widely. There are some who live a very lavish lifestyle and are reaping the benefits of the emerging economy in India. Others are less fortunate but live a comfortable life while many others live in poverty. For those who live in poverty it is well below what most of us think of. For many of those in poverty they literally live on the streets and sidewalks. Over the years many people have moved to Mumbai from the countryside hoping to find a better way of life only to quickly learn that live is not any better for them. With high growth expected to continue over the first half of this century and limited space, Mumbai will continue to be very challenged in the foreseeable future.

We have to say that during our visit we saw some of the worst living conditions that we have ever witnessed first hand given the magnitude of the people living in poverty. It is estimated that of the 18 million people living in this city, that five million people live in poverty. In addition to people living in boxes, we saw people sleeping on tables as well as sleeping on sidewalks. Unlike homeless people in various cities around the world, we are talking about an enormous number of people essentially living in filth. In addition to seeing so many people living on the street, there are many more who live in shanties that looked like they were falling apart.

During our drive around the city we saw both parts of Mumbai. We did see many nice areas with beautiful buildings, both traditional and modern, and we saw many other areas that looked like the remnants from a war. Everywhere we looked there were people begging, but far worse than we have ever seen in all of our travels. More on this in a moment.

Mumbai offers those visiting this city much to see. There are a variety of attractions which include;

Gateway to India. This is the most recognizable remnant of the British Raj. The Gateway was completed by the British in 1924 and was the final departure point when the British left Indian soil in 1947.

Elephant Island Cave. In 1987, this site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mani Bhavan Gandhi Musueum. Mahatma Gandhi lived in this home from 1917 to 1934. It contains a library of Ghandhi related works.

Marine Drive. This drive was build in 1920 and is recommended as a nice place to take a long walk in order to get a good perspective of Mumbai.

Jain Temple. This is a nice temple to visit to get a nice introduction to Jainism and Hinduism.

Taj Mahal Hotel. One of many impressive hotels situated in the city of Mumbai. This hotel was build just over a century ago. It is a well-known place to stay or to just visit while in Mumbai. It is also home to an impressive array of stores.

Due to low tides, we docked in Mumbai prior to 3:00 AM this morning. We woke early and worked out in the Fitness Center and then we enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room.

Before we went ashore, each passenger on board the ship had to attend a mandatory Indian immigration inspection. This inspection was very orderly. For those of us on tours, we were asked to show up for this inspection at a specified time based on the starting time of our respective tour. All other passengers were asked to show up at a specified time based on the first letter of their last name. When we finished breakfast we went over to the inspection area at around 6:25 AM and we were given our passport along with a landing card to take with us to the front of the room to show one of the Indian inspection agents. There was somewhere between 12-15 inspection agents and there were no lines so we each immediately walked up to an available agent who looked at our passport and stamped the yellow landing card. As we left the lounge, we turned in our returned our passport and kept the yellow card. Those passengers leaving the ship tomorrow morning in Mumbai, along with those passengers going to the Taj Mahal today or those passengers who needed their passport to exchange money in port could hold onto their passports. We preferred to return our passport as we didn’t want to take a chance of losing it or having it stolen while we were off the ship.

All in all the process took about two or three minutes. Our hats off to both Crystal and to the Inspection Agents for handling this so efficiently.

The tour that we booked for today was called Mumbai’s Jewish Heritage. Crystal always provides an escort or more than one escort for each tour depending on the size of the group. The escort keeps count of those on the tour to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind, ensures that the tour follows the tour itinerary, acts as the Crystal Representative should any issues arrive, carries a ships medical kit should someone need assistance and provides feedback to the Crystal Shore Excursion Staff about the tour. The Rabbi and his lovely wife escorted those on our tour today, which was wonderful.

When we boarded the tour bus our tour guide stressed several items to us. She noted that each time we got off the bus in many areas that we would be confronted with beggars of all ages, including children and also women with babies. She warned us that under no circumstances were we to give them money, talk with them or buy anything from them. It was not too long after that when we realized she had given us great advice.

Our tour began with a chance to see the Gateway of India. The site was built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary. As soon as we got off the tour bus we were swarmed by beggars and our tour guide had to gently tap one of them to get them to leave the tour group alone. She also told us that at times one may need to yell at them to tell them to get away from us.

We then visited the Knesseth Eliahod Synagogue. This Synagogue was built in 1884. When we arrived here a service was just finishing up.

We then continued our tour where we passed by the David Sasson Library. This very large and impressive library was built in 1847 and was built by the same family that built the Knesseth Eliahod Synagogue.

Our next visit was to the Magen David Synagogue, which was built in 1861. The size of this synagogue is immense and it is the largest synagogue in all of Asia.

We then had the opportunity to visit our third synagogue of the day called the Magen Hassidin Synagogue. This synagogue was constructed in 1904 and has the largest congregation of Jews in Mumbai. We learned that almost all of the Jewish marriages and bar mitzvahs take place at this synagogue.

During our tour we learned that after World War II there were about 20,000 Jewish people in Mumbai. Today, there are only about 5,000 Jews living in all of India, of which, approximately 4,000 Jewish people live in Mumbai. There are nine synagogues in Mumbai.

We also had the opportunity to observe the local laundry also called the dhobi ghats. It is hard to imagine but each day laundry is washed in this area from all over Mumbai where it is soaped, soaked, boiled, beaten and thrashed and the next day the laundry is delivered to its owner. Approximately, 10,000 men work there and the operation is open seven days a week from daylight to dusk. It is all done outdoors.

We also learned that there is another business, which employs about 5,000 people. This involves the delivery of hot lunches from ones home to the office they work at in Mumbai. The way it works is either someone at your home or someone else makes the lunch for you and then it is picked up later in the morning from one of these men. In turn, it is transported by train but is handled on average by about fifteen different men as they consolidate the deliveries between various train stations until it ready for pickup at the closest train station. You can either pick up the lunch or for a slightly higher cost have it delivered to your office so that you can eat lunch at around 1:00 PM.

Before we got back to the ship, we stopped by a couple of markets for shopping and we also dropped off some fellow passengers who wanted to visit the Taj Mahal Hotel.

During some of our stops, we were told not to take anything off the bus except for our cameras. Every stop we made, we encountered many beggars. Some would try to touch you to catch you off guard. We have encountered gypsies over the years and other beggars but we have never experienced anything like this.

When we got back to the ship, we enjoyed a nice lunch that we had pre-ordered this morning.

We decided to go over to the Taj Mahal Hotel to see the hotel and to see the shops inside it. We were warned about the cab drivers so it took us awhile to negotiate with the cab drivers. We just wanted a cab to take us from the pier over to the hotel, one way, with no side trips to other stores. We were quoted a variety of prices. While there were several taxicab drivers at the pier, we soon learned that our best bet was to walk a few minutes out of the pier to what is known as the Green Gate where other taxis would be available. The drivers outside the gate were easier to negotiate with.

We quickly settled on a price that we knew was fair and we were driven to the hotel. Our driver wanted to wait for us but we truly didn’t know how long we would be so we told him not to wait for us. During our time at the hotel we saw several passengers from the ship. Some had been there to shop, while others were there to eat lunch while others were there to eat and shop.

There were several places where you could order men’s custom shirts, dinner jackets, tuxedos, suits and other clothing while there were other places where one could order women’s dresses, full length gowns, tops, pants and other custom items. There were other places featuring clothing ready for purchase in a variety of sizes while also offering the opportunity to make custom fit items. There were other stores featuring an assortment of other items from shoes to shawls, along with jewelry stores. We walked aruod around for about an hour and one half. One of the hotel doormen helped get us get a taxicab and this time around we had a very easy time in negotiating our fare and we had a very nice driver who did not try to play games with us about going shopping elsewhere. On our way back to the ship he pointed out some sites along the way. On a related note, before our tour ended our tour guide had pointed out the streets we would take to get from the Taj Mahal Hotel back to the cruise ship and she said to be alert so we didn’t end up taking a four hour drive with stops at many stores. The game here is that the drivers can make money from storeowners by getting you to look at their stores. This was also the case in our last stop in Cochin, India.

When we got out of the taxicab, we were once again confronted with several people begging. It is all so very sad. We then walked around the cruise ship terminal area to look at some of the items being sold there. We also noticed that there is another ship in port, which we believe is the Silversea Whisper. The Whisper carries approximately 350 passengers.

Much of what we were told about Mumbai was true. There really are some very interesting areas to see along with several beautiful areas of the city. We saw many buildings with very traditional looking architecture. Some people who live here are doing very well and are living a wonderful standard of life. Those people make relatively good money, have good jobs, live in nice places, dress well, and live the good life.

We met many nice people in the stores, and as part of today’s tour. They were very polite, well educated, and nice to talk with.

At the same time, in sheer magnitude, this is the largest amount of poverty that we have ever seen. As we said, parts of the city looked like it had been ravaged by war. Millions of people living in one city in such poor conditions is difficult to imagine but this is the reality of this city. A good portion of the city was chaotic.

We will likely be haunted by memories of what we saw today for quite some time. We saw families living on the street, young children looking very dirty and begging along with women holding little babies (much more intense than say the Gypsies in Europe) who were also begging. Words cannot adequately describe what we witnessed today. To think that so many people who live in India continue to move here from various locations around the country for the better life, only to settle here and not find any work is truly amazing. This city has too many people at this very moment and the numbers are projected to continue to increase.

Today, we are reminded of how diverse this world is. We are also reminded of how fortunate so many of us are. Yes, those in Mumbai who are in the middle, upper middle and upper classes do have a lot of opportunity and overtime will likely do very well, live comfortably and continue to improve their overall standard of living as part of the emerging economy within India. At the same time, so many of those living in he slums of Mumbai have little to no chance of success and that is a very sad fact of life.

We are glad that we had the opportunity to visit this city. However, this is one city that we would not want to visit as part of a land vacation given what we encountered today. We are very lucky that we can visit a city like this knowing that we don’t have to live here.

This evening we reflected over what we have seen today during dinner. Some of our fellow passengers are eating in town this evening, but not us. We enjoyed a nice dinner in the Main Dining Room and talked between ourselves about what we had witnessed today.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Mumbain

2008-04-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

NOTE:

First picture is Anne Marie with Deck Steward Clark.

Second picture is Anne Marie with Bar Steward Brian.

Third picture is Anne Marie & Keith.

This morning we woke early and began our day with a nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith worked out on his favorite Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie enjoyed a nice workout on the Treadmill. As he does on most days, Keith enjoyed a nice conversation with Mary. John was also working out along with just a couple of other people. There were far fewer guests working out today as there have been on any day of this segment of the World Cruise. This might be because some were up later than usual attending last evenings party, the NCAA Basketball Final (more on that in a moment) and some will be packing today as this segment comes to a conclusion the day after tomorrow.

After our workout, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. We learned from our butler that instead of him going on holiday at the end of this segment of the World Cruise that he will be staying on for another seven days or so of the next cruise segment. We are happy that he will be on board for an additional week as he is wonderful. We greatly appreciate all that he does for us.

Today, we have a full day at sea as we cruise to Mumbai, India. Since today is a sea day there were lots of activities taking place throughout the ship.

Captain Glenn noted during his morning announcement that if we followed the arrival schedule for Mumbai that we due to the tides that we would only have one foot of water underneath the keel of the ship, so instead the plan is for the Pilot to come on board tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM and for our ship to dock by 3:00 AM. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “To the world you maybe one person, but to the one person you maybe the world.” Another wonderful thought of the day that we can all relate to.

Keith played table tennis with several people this morning, including the Jazz Piano Player who has been on this segment of the cruise. He also had the opportunity to play against a passenger on this segment of the cruise who is 81 years “young” and has to be the best player Keith has ever played against. It was like playing against Forest Gump. The man was amazing.

Crystal made special arrangements to get the feed of the NCAA Basketball Final for the guests to watch. The game was available for viewing in the Hollywood Theatre, which is a room mainly used to show movies and to host some of the lectures. Coffee, Danish and Juice were available. It’s not everyday that one can watch the NCAA Finals between 6:30 AM and 9:00 AM as we could. ☺ We also could watch the game in our room which we did as we ate our breakfast. Congratulations to Kansas for winning the game and congratulation to both Kansas and to Memphis for making it to the championship game and for making it an exciting game to watch.

Later in the morning, destination lecturer Dr. Wolff presented “Gandhi.” His presentation covered Mohandas K. Gandhi. As usual, Dr. Wolff gave another outstanding presentation. All of Dr. Wolff’s presentations have been wonderful.

We also attended a presentation given by author, professor and television personality, Dr. Harm de Blij. The topic of his presentation was “Failed States, Hot Spots and WMD’s: Strategies for the Future.” He covered a variety of areas around the world and then spent the last portion of the presentation talking about India, the potential of continued improved relationships with the USA, and the challenges that India has with many of its neighbors.

At noon we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. At the same time, there was an American Classic Buffet lunch being served in the Lido Café. Once again, we sat at a table where we were served by the Senior Waiter and Waiter who we have in the evening.

This evening is the last Formal night of this segment of the World Cruise. Before dinner, we attended the Captain’s Farewell Reception. We sat with several of our fellow passengers who we sit with at each of these receptions.

After this reception, we ate dinner by ourselves at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, with wonderful service.

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we have the opportunity to see first hand Mumbai.

Keith & Anne Marie

Cochin, India

2008-04-07T03:15:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Pictures of Taxi, Synagogue and Chines Fishing Nets

Today, we had the opportunity to visit Cochin, India. This is a port of the world, which is not often frequented by Passenger Cruise Ships. Rather, Cochin is the commercial hub of the Indian state of Kerala. It does have a very impressive harbor for a commercial port.

Cochin has several tourist sites. There is an area known as Jewish Town, which is home to an historic Jewish Synagogue. There is also the St. Francis Church which is the oldest European church located on Indian Soil. Other areas include the Mattancherry Palace, Willington Island, which is a manmade island that is home to the areas finest hotels, and the Chinese fishing nets, which are located in Fort Cochin. There are several major shopping centers and other stores and the best buys are metal ware, grass mats, camel-bone carvings, and woodcarvings.

Once again, we woke up early this morning after enjoying another very nice sleep on board the ship. We find it so easy to get a good nights sleep on the ship. The waterways continued to be very calm and we never hear anyone from our room. It is amazing how quiet the ship is.

Keith arrived to the Fitness Center a little earlier than normal since we had a shore excursion scheduled for this morning. Keith spoke with Mary as he worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie enjoyed a nice workout on the Treadmill. John was also working out along with a few other passengers.

After our workout we went back to our room where our breakfast was already set-up and waiting for us. While we enjoyed breakfast, we could see the beautiful shoreline and the town of Cochin. We got a glimpse of the famous Chinese Fish Nets. The architecture, particularly the rooftops of the buildings, was much prettier than we expected it would be and the landscape, which included many beautiful trees along the shoreline, was even more beautiful looking than we anticipated. In just a few minutes we already had a very positive impression as we descended on our first port of call in India.

While we were waiting for the ship to be cleared we saw about ten different uniformed guards on the pier. A few were standing near our gangway and others were positioned in other areas of the pier. This was not unusual, but a surprise was that each one of them had automatic guns along with a handgun.

Captain Glenn gave the word at around 8:00 AM that ship was cleared by local authorities for us to go ashore. Captain Glenn’s through of the day

Our ship docked at Ernakulam Wharf, which is located approximately six miles from the center of the city. Local taxi and transportation unions prohibit cruise lines such as Crystal from providing a complimentary shuttle. Taxis from the pier to the city center ran around $4.00. United States currency is readily accepted. A local bank did come on the ship to exchange money but we did not utilize this service given that we knew we could use USA currency.

This was one of the ports of call that Crystal recommended that travelers not wear jewelry ashore and to leave other valuable items on the ship. In addition, information was provided to be careful about eating ashore. Consistent to what the travel doctor had mentioned the other day, many dishes prepared in various areas around the world do contain certain microbes to which Westerners are not immune. We usually avoid eating ashore in most areas of the world unless we are on along shore excursion, which includes a lunch. And, when a lunch is included we are careful what we eat. The shore excursion that we selected for today and for our upcoming visit to Mumbai was short enough in duration so that there was no need for us to eat off the ship. If this were not the case, then we would plan to bring a box lunch off the ship. This is not always possible in some ports of call such as Australia which prohibit taking food ashore, but in other ports such as India this would have been fine.

We began our tour with a thirty-minute drive until we reached our first site; St. Francis Church, which is the oldest European church on Indian soil.

Our next stop in Fort Cochin offered us the opportunity to see the Chinese fishing nets. They are still used today by the locals to catch fish and during our visit we did see them in use. These nets were first introduced to the area between 1350 and 1450.

We then traveled a short distance to the Jewish settlement of Mattancherry and we visited the Mattancherry Palace. We also visited the Jewish Synagogue. It was built during the 18th Century and we thought it was in excellent condition. We had to remove our shoes to enter the Synagogue. We then had about forty-five minutes to walk around the town and we visited a few different stores; including a spice market.

We also visited a very nice craft market run by the government. The market sold a variety of items from spices, to beautiful wooden furniture, to tablecloths, napkins and other items for the home.

Our tour guide was quite informative.

Cochin is an Island with 1.8 million inhabitants. The areas that we visited were fairly congested. Many of the locals traveled in buses. While not as packed with people as the buses in Myanmar they were still packed with people with almost no room to move. Most of the taxis had one tire on the front of the vehicle and two in the rear and would mainly hold a driver and two passengers. There were also cars for hire and these cars while in nice shape looked to be from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Similar to Vietnam, our bus driver used his horn almost non-stop to let those in front of him to either speed up or move over to the side of the road. There were no traffic lights. While a little chaotic at times things were much more organized than say what we’ve been told about our upcoming visit to Mumbai.

There are a variety of drivers of the local economy. Many of the men are fishermen, and many of the women make carpets and rope. There are now a fair amount of goldsmiths who make jewelry. The export of spices is important to this areas economy along with the export of items such as prawns and rubber.

The people that we spoke with were very pleasant but clearly those in many of the stores we visited depend on tourism. The majority of the Hindus wake each morning at between 5:30 and 6:00 AM to music that can be heard from the nearby temples. After waking up they immediately take a bath and then they go to temple each day.

On our drive we passed a variety of places in relatively decent condition along with some very poor areas. We passed a public outdoor area where most of the people who live in the nearby area dry their clothes in the open space. Adjacent to that area was a public garbage dump where we could see locals going through the garbage to look for items to keep.

Outside the tourist spots were locals trying to sell us a variety of items and in a couple of areas we did encounter quite a bit of begging.

The people that we saw were not overweight as we see to often in other areas of the world. They were on the light side in terms of their body weight.

The people who we had the opportunity to meet throughout our time in Cochin spoke English very well. There is still high unemployment in India and this area of India is no different. Some people though are reaping the benefits of the emerging economy through the outsourcing of jobs from other parts of the world such as the United States of America and Europe. As such, there are many highly educated and skilled people in this country performing complex tasks in technical areas such as telecommunications, and in the IT (Information Technology area). While some are now enjoying the benefits of the emerging economy they still represent the minority, with most citizens living a very challenging life and hoping to have enough money to have food and some type of place to live in. With this said, India is a developing country and in-time should continue to grow economically.

Visiting places such as this is a reminder how fortunate and, yes, lucky, to be living where we are today.

When we arrived back to the ship we enjoyed another wonderful salad entrée that we had pre-ordered before we left the ship. During the afternoon, we took a very nice long walk on the Promenade Deck.

This evening we dined for the second consecutive night at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. We were invited by another couple to join them for dinner this evening. This couple has taken many World Cruises with Crystal but due to some health issues they were unable to travel on last years World Cruise. They are an amazing couple. When the man was quite young he lived in Germany and was very fortunate that his family made the decision for the family to leave Germany about one month before it would have been impossible to leave this country. His family settled in Mexico where he eventually met his wife. We met them on the bus that took us from the pier in Bangkok to the Oriental Hotel for our overnight stay in Bangkok and since that time have spoken with them from time to time. Interestingly enough, their room is located right next to our room. They are both very kind individuals who have a wonderful outlook on life and we appreciate the kindness they have shown to us since we first met them.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with them in Silk Road along with a wonderful conversation.

We have described some of the other menus but have shared less about our dinners at Silk Road. We usually start off with a nice platter of sushi. There is a special menu for Sushi. Keith has become a bit more adventurous and does have some Sashimi. Keith normally has Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno, a small order of new-style Sashimi of scallop, some tuna Sashimi and then we order a variety of sushi and sushi rolls which are all cooked such as shrimp, a house special roll, a soft shell crab roll, a California roll, smoked salmon sushi, a vegetable roll and even a few items that we have learned about that are not on the menu.

We then order a nice entrée. Sometimes we get a sampler box of scallops, cod, and some other item such as broiled eggplant or some other item, along with a bowl of rice. The last couple of times in lieu of this entrée, Keith has ordered Hot Soba Noodles, served in a large bowl of excellent broth (soup) with scallops. Anne Marie has also tried that. We then finish our meal with a delicious fruit plate along with decaffeinated coffee for Anne Marie and we find that they make a very unique and delicious cup of coffee in this specialty restaurant and Keith has the green tea. Once every few weeks Anne Marie enjoys a wonderfully tasting Chocolate Soufflé Cake.

When we have sailed on the ship for a one segment cruise we normally also have one of the wonderfully prepared salads with our favorite being the Mushroom Salad. The mushrooms are served warm, and between the mushrooms, the unique dressing it makes the salad come to life. We have also in the past had their spicy seafood soup which has a very unique taste.

At the same time, Silk Road offers so many other choices from a variety of appetizers such a tempura, spring rolls, king crab and so forth, three wonderful choices for soup, three wonderful salad choices followed by a nice selection of entrees. A favorite of many is the beef that is available and several passengers have remarked that it is the best tasting beef that they have ever been eaten. Let us not forget about dessert. There are a variety of desserts to choose from.

There is also a Sushi Bar offering some seating on a first come basis and provides a wonderful opportunity to watch the artistic ability of the Sushi Chefs as they prepare the Sushi. On some segments it is very popular. There are also some tables that are by the sushi bar area that are designated as such by not having table cloths where one can be seated without reservations and also on a first come basis. The rest of the restaurant had lovely white tablecloths on each table and reservations are necessary. The menu, recipes and overall concept of this restaurant has been developed by celebrated chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The quality, preparation and the taste of the food is unbelievable. Chef Nobu has restaurants located in several major cities in the United States and around the world. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to talk with several fellow passengers who live in Japan and they adore this restaurant.

During the course of each of the World Cruise Segments there have been a number of special events from time to time for all passengers and this evening was no exception. This evening an event was added to the schedule called the Sari Starry Night Cocktail Party. Complimentary cocktails were served and their was live music for dancing and everyone’s listening pleasure. The theme of this event was clothing. Passengers were invited to wear clothing items that they may have purchased during this segment of the cruise, which began in Singapore. This provided a nice opportunity for passengers to wear any clothing items that they purchased. It was a cute idea and it’s so nice that there have been many events such as these for all of the passengers.

We are now sailing towards Mumbai, India. Tomorrow we will have a full day at sea and are scheduled to arrive in Mumbai the following morning. Our ship will enjoy an overnight stay in Mumbai.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Cochin, India

2008-04-06T08:03:00.001-07:00

We really had a very nice time at last evenings Country Fair. We stayed a couple of hours, as did many of our fellow passengers. There were lots of games to play and it was fun to socialize with both our fellow guests and the crew. Food and beverages were served from hot dogs to popcorn to beer, wine, soft drinks and ice cream. There was a water-dunking contest that featured a couple of officers including the Captain. Keith was one of the passengers who tried to get the captain soaked and while he hit a bulls eye it must have not been hard enough as the water didn’t come down. As we mentioned yesterday, it’s wonderful to see guests of all ages playing and enjoying themselves. This type of event brings out the child in all of us. Speaking of children, there are a few on board for this segment of the cruise and as you can imagine they also had a wonderful time along with the adults.

We awoke early this morning to begin our day on board the Crystal Serenity. Keith enjoyed a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. He was able to catch the last half of the final four NCAA basketball tournament featuring the first of the two game doubleheader while working out on the Elliptical Machine.

Anne Marie took advantage of the sea day and did the wash in the laundry room and then Keith helped her after he worked out. We then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

After breakfast, Keith played Table Tennis with the same three other people who he has been playing with the past couple of days. This includes two fellow guests and the pianist. They played several games of doubles table tennis for almost two hours and they all had a wonderful time.

This morning there were two great lectures given by two wonderful speakers.

Destination Lecturer Jay Wolff gave the first lecture of the morning. The title of his presentation was “The Tah Majal – A Teardrop in Time.”. He talked about the Mughals weep into India from the North and how they created one of the world’s great empires. He spoke how their emperor Shah Jahan who was rich beyond the dreams of avarice, built a mausoleum for his beloved wife and in doing so he helped to create the most beautiful building in the world. Anne Marie attended this lecture and thought it was wonderful and Keith missed this one because he was playing table tennis. Keith was able to view the presentation later in the day on one of Crystal’s internal television networks.

Dr. Harm de Blij gave the second presentation of the morning and the topic of his presentation was “China and America: Averting a Class of Civilizations.” We both attended this lecture and, once again, it was wonderful. Dr Nlij is a dynamic speaker who is so knowledgeable about so many areas of the world. He will be on part of new years World Cruise and he talked about various areas that will be part of the last couple of segments of next years world cruise.

He covered a variety of topics including our relationship with China today and in the future, how China is conducting its business around the world and how our relations with Japan at times affects our relationship with China. He also talked about changes occurring with the worlds temperatures and how the sea levels are rising and how that will impact several areas in China and he also talked about earthquakes that tend to occur every 70+ years in Tokyo and how they are overdue for their next earthquake and how that fault can potentially result in the worst earthquake relative to any other area in the world.

After Dr. Blij’s presentation, we enjoyed a very nice lunch. Today, was the Grand Gala Buffet which is always a festive time for lunch on each of the Crystal ships.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered lunch in the dining room. At the same time, today was the Grand Gala Buffet lunch which includes a wonderful array of appetizers, salads, hot and cold entrees, cheeses and rolls, fruit, vegetables and of course, a whole array of cakes, pastries and other dessert goodies.

In the afternoon, we attended another great presentation that was given by author and bo reviewer Robert Adams. He presented The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was written by Oscar Wide. Robert Adams has a very unique style of presenting authors and their works of arts. He is a very passionate lecturer and it is though he is performing in a one-man play.

Before dinner we attended a performance given by Grammy Nominated Stride Pianist Judy Carmichael. She has been playing table tennis with Keith and the two other passengers the past couple of days. Drummer Danny Mullowney and Saxophonist Grant Tharp accompanied her. We enjoyed this show and this is one of several entertainment programs featured this evening. At 8:00 PM there was a thirty-minute performance featuring tunes from the 1950’s and 1960’s performed by the acappella quartet group that has been performing throughout the World Cruise by Full Sail. This was followed by two shows given by comedian Kenny Smiles. This evening included other entertainment such a Thomas Daniels who played piano in the Crystal Cove from 5:15 PM and to 6:00 PM. And from 9:30 PM to 10:30 PM We have enjoyed listening to him playing the piano throughout the World Cruise. In another venue there is another piano player, John Mentis who played piano from 6:45 PM to 7:30 PM and from 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM. John Mentis has played piano throughout the World Cruise and has performed for several consecutive World Cruises. At the same time, two other bands in other venues performed other live music so that passengers could dance to the tunes performed by these two musical groups. For those who wanted to have the opportunity to view the starts, Astronomer Dr. Norman Caisse was available from 10:30 PM to 12:00 Midnight.

This evening we dined at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant with another couple that we first met on last years World Cruise. We greatly enjoy their company so it was so nice to dine with them. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, with outstanding cuisine, service along with a very nice conversation.

After three plus days at sea, our ship is on schedule to reach Cochin, India tomorrow morning. This will be our first time in India and this is the first of two ports that we will visit in India. The majority of the passengers we have spoken with have not been to India before. There are a variety of tours being offered in Cochin. In addition, there are several overland tours being offered that begin in this port of call. There is a two night journey to the Taj Mahal, another two night journey to the Ajanta & Ellora Caves, a two night journey to Udaipur, a two day journey to Jaipur, and a six night journey to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur. These overland programs are becoming more and more popular to give those on the cruise the ability to see places that are further inland and not reachable by a cruise ship.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Cochin, India

2008-04-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

NOTE: We added a picture to the Blog from last evenings Crystal Society Reception If you scroll to the bottom of today’s entry you will see it at the top of yesterdays Blog.

Last evening the seas continued to be quite calm so we enjoyed an excellent nights sleep. At last nights reception, Captain Glenn mentioned that the seas are expected to continue to be very calm as we head to India. He said that this is not always the case, so we are quite fortunate to have good weather and calm seas. We also earned last evening that we have approximately 830 guests on board the ship; including around 730 who are repeat Crystal Cruisers. There are now 355,000 people who are part of Crystal Society meaning that they have taken one or more previous cruises with Crystal.

Before we went to bed last night we set the clocks back one hour. We woke up the same time we do each day so we enjoyed an additional hour of sleep. ☺

We started our day as we do each day with a daily workout in the Fitness Center. Keith enjoyed a wonderful workout. He spoke with one man for quite a while who is on this segment of the cruise and then spoke with Mary after she arrived. Anne Marie enjoyed her workout and then afterwards spoke with some fellow passengers including Mary. Some of the other regulars such as John were also working out and because of the time zone change the Fitness Center was a little busier than normal but there were still plenty of machines available for use.

We listened to Captain Glenn’s morning talk. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “You teach best what you need most to learn.”

After enjoying a wonderful breakfast in our room, we started the morning activities by attending Rap with the Rabbi. This session is usually held every other sea day. As usual, we enjoyed the session. The Rabbi does a wonderful job leading these sessions and selecting topics that allow for a great discussion and lots of participation by those in attendance. We had a very large turnout for today’s discussion.

After this session Keith played Table Tennis. He played mainly with the same three people from yesterday, including one of the entertainers on for this segment of the world cruise. Since the seas are relatively calm and there has been minimal wind, it’s been a nice couple of days playing table tennis and it is a very nice group of people playing.

While Keith was playing table tennis, Anne Marie attended a lecture given by Destination Lecturer Jay Wolff. The topic of Dr. Wolff’s presentation was “The Rise of Raj – British India.” The presentation how a private British stock company built itself into a de-factor country, with its own army and navy and how it controlled India for 250 years. He talked about how the English brought the railroad, the telegraph and the blessings of Western Civilization over to this area of the world while at the same time draining India of its wealth.

We both attended the next presentation, which was given by author, professor and television personality Dr. Harm de Blij. The topic of his presentation was “The Power of Place: Why the World is Not Flat.”

His discussion focused on two areas the physical geography of the world along with the political aspects of the world. In terms of the physical, he talked about how the land mass moves each year and based on historical information how one can predict the future in terms of where oil supplies will be located, and other major natural resources.

As for the political aspect, he touched on many interesting issues. One of the places he talked about was Myanmar. It was his view that even if the current government that is presently in control is overthrown by the Buddhist Monks that he believed that life for the people would not be any different than it is today because of the extremist views of these monks. He has a very good point. We can all point to changes in the world where religious extremists took control of a particular country and see that it didn’t bring about the change that some would have predicted. This was also another point of his, which is that in many parts of the world that we are seeing more extremes in religion. Another major point of his is that he didn’t believe that the embargo that has been put into place is bringing about positive change. It was his contention that is hurting the majority of the people rather than helping them and again his point is that if all of this results in the Monks taking over at some point it could turn out to be even worse for the people. This might be one of those times to be careful for what you wish for.

He also touched on other key geo-political issues around the world from India, to Tibet, to even the United States. He is a fascinating speaker and regardless whether one agrees or disagrees with each of his point, he is wonderful to listen to, makes a lot of sense, and makes one see things from a different perspective, which is always helpful. There is also so much to this world that we truly don’t understand. When we say we, we are not just talking about ourselves, but all of us. Sometimes, we make generalities, which are wrong. Other times, we come to conclusions based on one source, which can also be wrong.

Through this World Cruise adventure we continue expand our knowledge from the excellent guest speakers/lecturers that Crystal Cruises brings on board the ship to our ability to see things first hand ourselves, rather than through others. There is so much more for us to learn about this world we live in and it also reminds us to be open to other points of views and to be flexible in our thinking. Because in the end, we all have much to learn about and how we see the world from where we live is not necessarily correct and that there are two sides to every story and that we all are not 100% correct all of the time. Sometimes we as individuals, groups, countries, regions of the world are correct on items, and sometimes we are wrong because we do not see the entire picture or the picture we see is not correct because we are only seeing it from one point of view; our own. We know that when we go home that there are some items that we want to further research because of some items we have learned from the lecturers during our journey or because of particular situations that we have observed during our journey in which more information is needed.

We have mentioned that Crystal now has a new art program on board the ship. Throughout the day, a variety of art was displayed in the Crystal Plaza, which is right adjacent to the reception desk. There is an Art Director on board the ship for the entire World Cruise from Winsome and Heyword and she was available to discuss these items for anyone who was interested in the art along with those who might be interested in purchasing the art. These are one of a kind items.

At the same time, there is a new shop on the ship, which was opened during the first week of the World Cruise. It features some items from voyage to voyage but the majority of the items are part of a trunk show. As part of the trunk show, a jeweler will come on bard the ship and the items featured will be those of the jeweler. The current jeweler on board lives in Mumbai so her jewelry was all designed and made in India. This shop seems to have gone over very well with many guests and is something quite unique to be offered on a cruise ship. The prices will vary from cruise to cruise depending on what type of jeweler is on board and what type of jewelry they feature.

After our morning activities, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. The same Senior Waiter and Waiter who serve us in the evening served us. They are a pleasure to talk with.
This afternoon they are helping to make a variety of food items that are representative of their home South American country and these items will be reheated later this evening as part of a dinner crew dinner. They have been looking forward to this for quite a while and it was wonderful hearing about all of the items that are being prepared for this event.

During the afternoon, we took care of some errands around the ship along with some items that we needed to get caught up on.

This evening we had dinner in the Main Dining Room. We had pre-ordered our entrée rather than ordering one of the menu items. We enjoyed Black Bass as our entrée. It was wonderfully prepared for us.

There is a good deal of entertainment for the guests this evening.

A vocalist was on board who performed two shows. One was at 7:00 PM for those who eat at the late seating for dinner and the other was a 8:30 PM for those in the main (early) dining seating. During this years World Cruise, Crystal has brought on more entertainers than ever before to supplement their own in-house entertainment. Penny Mathisen performed tonight’s show. She has performed extensively in the theatre. Her theatre credits include performing as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera and as Cosette in Les Miserables in the West End. She has many other acting credits and has also appeared in film and on television

At the same time there was a special themed fair for everyone sailing on this segment of the cruise. It was called a Country Fair and was set up around the indoor pool area of the ship. This area of the ship was set up like a fairground and for this evening was called the Crystal Fairgrounds offering a variety of games for our fellow guest to play which they called giggle-inducing games while offer a variety of food which they referred to as tummy-tempting vittles. Set up like a carnival, tickets were given out for those who won a particular game, which could be turned in for prizes. There was even a pie-eating contest. Last year, there was a medieval like fair featuring a variety of games and food. Like last year, this was a huge success. Most of us are children at heart and it’s nice to see our fellow guests having fun playing games that they may have played when they were young.

We ended up winning two stuffed animals (Anne Marie is pictured with our new additions) along with two straw hats (not pictured). We know. More items to pack. ☺

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Cochin, India

2008-04-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Today is the first of three full sea days as we cruise towards Cochin, India, our first port of call in India.

We enjoyed a good night sleep last evening and woke up at our usual time this morning. When Keith arrived at the Fitness Center there was a gentleman who is on this segment of the cruise already working out on one of the Elliptical Machines who said “I got up here before the runner”. He was amazed that he arrived before Keith did. He is a nice man and had spoken with Keith just yesterday to ask how long we worked out each day and how it looks as if Keith is running while working out on the Elliptical Machine.

With the overnight tours all back on the ship all of our regulars were back at the Fitness Center this morning. All those who we have spoken with about the overnight shore excursion programs had nothing but positive feedback about their respective experiences on those overland programs.

Even with all of the “regulars” back, the center was not very busy and we both enjoyed a very nice workout.

After our workout we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. We also filled out various port of entry forms in preparation for our arrival in India. There are some countries that we visit where each passenger must fill out some forms for our entry into a particular country and India is one of them. India was also one of three countries where we needed to obtain visas before we began our trip. The other was Vietnam along with Australia but for Australia we were able to obtain an electronic form via the internet rather than requiring a traditional visa. There are a few other countries where Crystal will obtain visas

During this mornings talk from the bridge, Captain Glenn shared his thought of the day which was “If you want to feel rich, always count the things that you have that money can’t buy.”

Yesterday, a fellow passenger asked Keith if he would like to play table tennis at 9:00 AM today so Keith went to play table tennis. The ship has two table tennis tables. Keith played with two fellow passengers and one of the entertainers (piano player) on board this segment of the cruise. They ended up playing for two hours.

Anne Marie attended the 10:00 AM lecture given by Dr. Jay Wolff. His lecture was titled “Riding the Monsoon – Sheba to Mailbar.” She thought the lecture was excellent.

We both attended the lecture given by Author and Book Reviewer Robert Adams who gave a presentation on the book Asylum, by Patrick McGrath. We first heard Robert Adams speak on last years World Cruise and he speaks with great passion about those books and authors that he talks about. He is a wonderful lecturer and we are very fortunate to have him on board for this segment of the World Cruise.

There were so many other activities scheduled throughout the day and afternoon hours. This included various computer courses, music classes, dancing classes, language classes and a a nice set of fitness related classes. There was also team trivia, a rehearsal for passengers who sing in the World Cruise Choir, a Golf Clinic, Complimentary Gaming Lessons taught by the Casino Staff, a couple of Movies (Kite Runner in the afternoon and The Golden Compass in the evening), various levels of Bridge Classes and then Bridge games, a Scrapbook Class, a Memoir Writing class, and several other activities too numerous to list.

This evening before dinner was a reception for those members of the Crystal Society. Once you sail with Crystal one time you automatically become a member of Crystal Society. There are two receptions; one for those who have early seating dining (main seating) and those who dine late. For those in the early seating, the reception begins at 5:15 PM and lasts until 6:00 PM and for those who dine late, the later reception begins at 7:45 PM and ends at 8:30 PM. During the reception, a variety of beverages are offered including wine, champagne, and mixed drinks along with beverages served without alcohol. Waiters also come around serving a variety of Hors D’oeuvres. There is also live music and dancing. There are eight Ambassador Hosts on board the ship who are in attendance and primarily dance with those women traveling solo. During the Crystal Society receptions, a variety of Crystal Society members are recognized for having reached a significant milestone in the total number of cruises taken with Crystal. For those with significant milestones, there names are not only mentioned but they are called up and presented with flowers and are photographed with some of the officers including the Captain. One of the World Cruisers on our sailing was recently recognized for having taken their 200th cruise with Crystal and is the only member of the Crystal Society who has taken 200 or more Crystal Cruises.

Tonight is the second formal night on this segment of the cruise.

Today, we are posting before dinner as we have an engagement this evening.

Before we go to sleep this evening, we will set our clocks back one hour as we sail into another time zone. It is so much easier to set the clocks back and we are so very fortunate that on this entire cruise that we set the clock back most times and very few times have we needed to set it forward.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Cochin, India

2008-04-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

As we reflect on what we have seen during our stay in Myanmar it is very eye opening. This is a reminder to us how many people around the world do not have the same opportunities as many of us do. What we observed during our short stay in this country is not unlike other areas of the world that we have traveled to such as our visit to parts of Africa on last years World Cruise. The reality is that for many of these people there is very little hope for them to better their lives and for the vast majority of the population they will continue to live the way they currently do. . Hopefully, overtime, changes will come and at some point the oppressive government will be replaced by a new government that is supportive of all its people.

When we first booked the World Cruise, clearly Myanmar was one country that we would have been happy if it was not on our itinerary as a port of call. We felt this way before the issues surfaced last fall placing this country front and center on the world news. We are reminded of something that we read in one of the travel books last year that said that there are very interesting and fascinating places to visit in this country, but that they could not recommend visiting Myanmar given their oppressive governmental regime. We also felt the same way. Based on our short experience in this country it is clear to us that the majority of the people are deprived, with many living in what we would define as poverty. What we saw first hand reinforced our views.

For many, we came to realize that their religion is likely all they have to live for which we suspect is why religion plays such a strong role for many of these people. It is so sad to see and think of all of the wealth in the pagodas and in the palaces while so many of the people of this country live in poverty.

Many of the basic items that we take for granted such as a comfortable home, inside plumbing, a roof over our heads, sufficient food, etc. these people will never experience. As we have said before, this is a reminder for us to truly appreciate all that we have and to focus on the glass being half full rather than half empty. Further, that there is so much that needs to occur in many countries around the world to raise the standard of living for large populations of people. When one visits a country such as Myanmar it is hard to believe that here we are in the 21st century, yet the majority of people in this country are living in what we would define as the past.

With all of this said, we are glad that we had the opportunity to visit Myanmar. While we have opportunities to read about different places and to see them through other mediums such as television and through the internet, many times seeing something first hand and through our own eyes provides a much clearer picture for each of us. Clearly, there are other countries in the world that we have visited over the years that we do not agree with the ideology of the government. However, sometimes our presence as a visitor can ultimately bring about change, although the changes might occur in baby steps. Also, seeing things first hand is also very important so that we can make our own judgments.

We began today as we usually do. We woke early and started our day in the Fitness Center. Keith spoke with a gentleman in the Fitness Center during our workout about what we had seen in Myanmar. He is traveling with his wife and twelve year old son. He plans to use the experience in this country to emphasize to his son that many people around the world are not as blessed with what so many of us take for granted in various Western cultures. We agree that this is a very valuable experience not only for a young teenager but for all of us for the reasons we’ve already mentioned.

After our workout we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room.

We attended a sail-away party that began shortly before our scheduled departure. Complimentary Bloody Marys were served (we didn’t have any) along with live music.

Our actual departure from Myanmar was delayed, as some of the overland tours (about sixty guests) returned later than expected. One of the benefits of booking tours through Crystal is that if your tour returns late the ship will wait for you.

At Noon we had the pleasure of having lunch in the Main Dining Room with the Cruise Director of the ship, Rick Spath. This is the second time we have had lunch with Rick since our adventure began. We have also spoken with Rick numerous times since first boarding the ship in Los Angles and have enjoyed all of our talks with him. In our view, he is very visible to the passengers, very kind, and a pleasure to talk with.

In the afternoon we took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck. It is always enjoyable to walk on this deck as it is a full wrap-around deck and is great for both walking and jogging. During our walk we could see several boats from both sides of the ship.

Before dinner this evening there was a special event for those on the entire World Cruise. The name of the event was called Prohibition Prohibited and as such we were told that we were invited to a hideaway in Charleston one night before Prohibition is repealed. The event was wonderful and we truly appreciate all of the time and effort that goes into these events.

This theme for this evenings diner was Neptune Dinner and there were lots of wonderful food items on the menu.

The main fares items (dinner entrees) included Broiled Fillet of Chilean Sea Bass, Seafood and Vegetable Curry with Papaya Fan, Surt and Turf (fillet mignon accompanied by a broiled half lobster tail), Whole Roasted Koshery Chicken. Also available was Broiled Salmon as well as Grilled Sirloin Steak.

At the same time there were four appetizers to choose from; Tempura Fried Soft Shell Crab, Thai Marinated Salmon with Papaya Salad, Exotic Mushroom Salad, Chilled Strawberry Cocktail.

There were five soups/salads; Gingered Cream of Red Onion Soup, Essence of Beef (with “Kobe” beef), Chilled Peach Soup, Bed of Red Leaf Lettuce, Heart of Boston Lettuce.

There was also a Pasta Special and also a Salad Entrée.

Oh and the Dessert. There were two featured desserts a Bunny Dessert of Carrot and Zucchini Cake with Vanilla Tapioca and Orange Ice Cream and a Cherry Blossom with Black Forest Cake, Cherry Soup and Frosted Maraschino Mousse. Also, there were around ten other desserts to choose from.

And, if you wanted cheese instead this evenings menu featured Camembert, Stilton, Le Brin, Tilsiten and Pecorino Romano Cheeses from the Cheese Trolley.

At the same time there are all sorts of other selections to choose from including vegetarian, kosher, lighter side, salt free, sugar free and a multitude of other items that can be prepared for you.

We each enjoyed an entree of Broiled Fillet of Chilean Sea Bass, which made our Senior Waiter and Waiter both of whom are from Chile happy. ☺

We now look forward to three full days at sea as we sail to our next port of call in Cochin, India.

Keith & Anne Marie

Yangon Myanmar

2008-04-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

We wanted to mention what an enjoyable dinner that we had last evening. As we had mentioned, the theme was a Royal Thai dinner and we thought that the food was excellent. Keith tried both the Mahi Mahi and the Fillet of Grouper as our Senior Waiter and Headwaiter recommended both of these. We enjoyed a laugh with them as the Senior Waiter recommended the Mahi Mahi and the Headwaiter recommended the Grouper so Keith didn’t want to disappoint either of them and that is why he tried both. After the meal was served they both came back to the table to ask Keith which one he preferred. He gave the politically correct answer which was to say he liked them both which he did although he did have a preference. Yes, the Grouper. ☺ Anne Marie had the Mahi Mahi and enjoyed the meal along with the way the side items were prepared Thailand style.

The dining room was very quiet during the main seating since some guests were on overland tours, other guests were on tours that we not getting back until later in the evening and still other guests were eating in one of the specialty restaurants or at Tastes which offers a casual dining venue. We would say that only about 100 guests were in the dining room whereas during this segment of the cruise the main seating has been very popular and there have been a few nights where close to 450-500 guests were dining.

In addition to it being very quiet, the staff had much more time to converse with us. As we have mentioned, given the length of the cruise one really gets to know the staff during the course of this cruise. You learn not only about the culture of the countries they live in but also about their families and their dreams. We have sailed with our Headwaiter several times starting in 2005 and we know him quite well.

We also spoke with another Senior Waiter who serves the tables near our table who we know from not only sailing this year but also last year. He is from a town North of Mumbai and since we will end this segment of the World Cruise in Mumbai he is kind enough to be preparing a list of places for us to see. He is a very kind person and we have enjoyed talking with him from time-to-time.

Our Senior Waiter and Waiter are both from Chile so we have also enjoyed wonderful conversations with them. Since we have visited Chile a couple of times we can converse with them about different areas of their home country.

Regardless of where each person comes from, we are all very fascinated with each of the places that we have visited during this World Cruise Adventure. We sometimes all forget about how truly diverse this world is and that there are so many differences from one culture to the next culture. At the same time, the thing that is most common as we visit places around the world is the pride that so many people take for their respective country. As we visit so many places we continue to be reminded about how fortunate we are that we were raised in an area of the world with so much opportunity as this is not the case in many areas around the world. We try to remind ourselves of this each and every day.

We also had time to have a nice conversation with the Maitre D’ of the main dining room as we were departing the dining room last evening.

Before we went back to our room, we spoke with some of our fellow passengers who returned last evening from the tours to get some additional information. Unlike when we visited religious sites in other places during this journey and in prior years trip, when visiting religious sites in this country in addition to removing ones shoes we are also required to remove our socks. Needless to say we heard about passengers coming back to the bus with feet that were black from all of the dirt. This is because you are encouraged to leave your shoes on the bus and there is some distance to walk between the bus and the religious sites. They were given wet wipes to clean their feet when they returned to the bus.

We awoke earlier than normal this morning as we had an early tour. Some of our fellow passengers who are beginning overland tours this morning had to wake up very early as there were two different overland tours where passengers had to be ready at 5:00 AM. Consequently, the Lido Café was available for an early risers continental breakfast starting at 4:15 AM for those on the very early tours. The good news is that our tour did not begin until 8:15 AM. ☺

We enjoyed a nice workout. A couple of the regulars who normally workout when we do were not there as Mary has been on an overland tour the past few days while John began his overland tour this morning. After another great workout, we enjoyed breakfast in our room and then got ready for our tour.

Our tour was excellent and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, spoke English well, was very candid on some of the issues related to internal strife inside this country and also had a nice sense of humor.

There is no question that the majority of people who live in Myanmar have a challenging life. Things we take for granted they will never experience. It is a poor country. It used to be the number one exporter of rice worldwide until various embargos were implemented. Today, rice is still a major export but not as large as it used to be. Other drivers of the economy include the export of Teakwood, and various precious items such as Rubies, Safire, and Jade.

On our way into Yangon from the pier we traveled with two other buses in a little convoy and we were escorted by one car that led the way. We went through a few intersections where police on motorcycles shopped traffic so we could proceed. We passed by a number of very small villages. We saw Monks walking on the road in bare feet. All of the other locals wore mainly sandals or thongs and no socks. Many of the areas that we passed were clearly third world. We did pass many rice patties. This country grows sixty different varieties of rice.

Around 5.5 Million people live in an around Yangon and the population of Myanmar is approximately 50 million residents. The average income is the equivalent of 150 USA dollars per month. Professionals such as engineers and doctors make around ten times this figure.

The tour that we took was called The Golden Glory of Yangon and provided a very nice opportunity to see a variety of sites and to get a nice overview of Myanmar and Yangon. Our tour included a visit to the world-renowned Shwedagon Pagoda. As we mentioned yesterday, this Pagoda is over 2,500 years old. The site soars at a height of 326 feet and gold plate adorn this structure, which also has 6,500 diamonds, rubies and other precious stones atop this site. The site is amazing and can be seen from a distance of several miles away.

The tour also included a visit to Chauk Htat Gyi which has one of the largest reclining Buddha images in the world.

We also saw the Maha Bandoola Park and the Sule Pagoda along with the Bogyoke Market also known as Scott Market, which featured the sale of food, clothes, handcrafts and gems. We also had the opportunity to see a replica of Karawek Royal Barge, which is moored in Royal Lake.

Traffic in Yangon was not as bad as we expected. There are some motorbikes but primarily people either walk, take shuttle like buses or drive n cars. Clearly, the majority of the people walk or take these shuttle like buses and are packed in them like sardines. The locals wore very basic clothes and it is very clearly that there is a great deal of poverty in this country. We saw a good deal of begging when we got off the bus at the market. However, as we walked around the market it was far less pushy than other areas of the world. The market contained various stores but also people coming up trying to sell items. When we were approached we would say no thank you in a polite manner and the people would leave us alone. The people we spoke with at the sites we visited were very polite. They are indeed nice people but unfortunately the government is not. Our tour guide mentioned that three times the currency he had saved became worthless and about the various rights that the people have lost. He said that the military has a big presence but in most cases not highly visible. However, at the Shwedagon Pagoada we saw several military personnel who had their fingers on the trigger of machine guns.

Seeing what we did today reminds us once again of how fortunate we are to live where we do and to have had so many opportunities afforded to us. Yes, we worked very hard but we were fortunate to be rewarded for our hard work. In many parts of the world, there is not much light at the end of the tunnel for hard work. This appeared to be such as country.

After returning to the ship we took some time to reflect on what we had observed and heard during our tour. Afterwards, we enjoyed a very nice lunch back on the ship.

This afternoon and this evening other tours are being offered. This includes a tour of the Shwedagon Pagoda at night along with a dinner, cultural show and a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda during the evening. In total, nine different tours were offered throughout the day.

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room.

Our ship will remain docked in Myanmar for a second evening and we are scheduled to depart this location at 11:00 AM tomorrow morning. We will then have another three full days at sea as we sail to Cochin, India, which is our first of two stops in India.

Keith & Anne Marie

Yangon Myanmar

2008-04-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

The two pictures are of each of us and our wonderful Stewardess Rose. We took these pictures after we came back to the room this evening after dinner.

We wanted to mention how much we enjoyed last evenings entertainment. On this years World Cruise Crystal has brought on board significantly more outside entertainers than normal in order to provide more diverse entertainment for those who are on for one, multiple or all of the segments but particularly for those on multiple segments or the full World Cruise. Some of the regular production shows have been moved to the afternoon time frame so those who have seen them many times can also see other entertainers at night. But it’s been a good balance as some production shows are still shown in the evening. By bringing on so many first time entertainers, Crystal also is using this as an opportunity to test out new acts and those that are well received will be invited back for future cruises. It’s a great approach to continuing to change what is offered on the ship. To give you a feel for the number of entertainers that are brought on the ship, when Crystal brought on the entertainer that we saw last evening normally on a like cruise for another cruise line he would have performed at least three times. However, the initial plan was for him to perform once for the entire time since there were also many other acts on board. He would still remain on the cruise ship for the entire time. Given the audience reaction to his show last evening, (there were two standing ovations) at the end of the show the Cruise Director, Rick Spath, announced that the Comedian, Kenny, would be added to the program for at least another show. This brought on additional cheers and applause from the audience.

Keith met the comedian Kenny the other day and has seen him for a few days before last evening. Keith found him quite funny before we even went to the show. His act is Improv Comedy and boy was he quick on his feet. In addition to being quite funny he also sang about four or five songs and he was also quite a good singer. He really works the audience well. Over the years, we have found that some comedians and be a bit over the top and clearly it can be hard to be a comedian in this day and age as with almost any type of joke someone can be offended but we had to say that we found Kenny to be extremely funny, as we had tears rolling down our face, without being offensive. Yes, there was one couple who left during the performance but that will happen in any show. We really enjoyed him. In the end, entertainers who perform on Crystal as is the case with others such as the lecturers, depend on passenger feedback. At the end of each cruise there is a passenger questionnaire that requests feedback from the passengers on a number of areas from entertainment, to lectures, to shore excursions, to the room, to the food and so forth. If the lecturers or entertainers do not attain a certain positive threshold then they will not be asked back the following year. We think this is an outstanding approach as in the end the feedback of the passengers determines who will be invited back and who won’t be coming back to perform.

This morning we woke early as we continued to sail to Yangon, Myanmar. We worked out in the Fitness Room as we always do with Keith arriving ot the Fitness Center first and working about for over 90 minutes on the Elliptical machine and Anne Marie arriving a little while later and working out on the Treadmill. Another regular, John, was working out and a few other of our fellow passengers were working out.

This was our first visit to Myanmar. The ship has two overnight in this port of call, which is the only stop with two overnights. There are two factors for this. There are a number of overland tours that began the other day and will conclude by passengers getting back on the ship before we leave Myanmar. At the same time there are a few overland packages that begin and end while we are still in Myanmar. Also, there are a few overland tours that begin before we leave Myanmar and end by passengers rejoining the ship in a few days from now when we are in India. Also, the tides play a role as to what time we can leave and/or arrive to a particular port of call.

As we were working out this morning we saw a variety of little fishing boats clustered together. We saw several clusters of these boats along the way. After our workout, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

A couple of related notes about Myanmar. The ship has a curfew for its crew that they have to be back on board the ship by 10:00 PM each evening during our stay here. We suspect this is for the safety of the crew. Our experience is that when crew members go ashore when the ship as an overnight in any port that they stay together in small groups so they can look out for one another.

We will be unable to use Credit Cards in Myanmar as the United States has an embargo with Myanmar.

Myanmar used to be known as Burma. Many years ago very few people outside Burma could visit this area. While this country is now more widely open to visitors it still has tight rules and travelers are usually limited to the number of days they can remain in this country. This areas is quite unique from most countries given its ornate sites from the Pagodas to the Buddha’s.

Myanmar reaches stretches west near Bhutan, Bangladesh and touches on the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman Sea in the South and reaches to Thailand, Lao and China. As we mentioned the other day, China is constructing a pipeline through Myanmar for strategic reasons. When this new pipeline is on line in another eight years or so it will provide China with a key way to obtain its fuel and also provide Myanmar with important revenues.

The size of Myanmar is just about the size of the state of Texas. The dominant group in this country representing about 75% of the population is the Burmans. Eighty-five percent of the Burmans are Buddhists. Myanmar is composed of over 125 ethnic, racial and tribal groups.

Myanmar is a very conservative country and, as such, ladies have been asked to cover their knees and shoulders and gentlemen visiting from the ship have been asked to wear long pants when visiting religious sites. Whereas in the more conservative sites we have been asked to remove our shoes, in Myanmar when visiting similar sites we also have been asked to remove our socks.

Our ship docked at the Myanmar International Terminal and the distance from the ship to the city center of Yangon is about twenty-three miles.

Major sites to see include the Shwedagon Pagoda which is visible from distances of miles and is over 2,500 years old. There is the Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoad which is a reclining Buddha. It was first constructed in 1907, suffered major damage due to the climate and was completely destroyed in 1957 and was reconstructed in 1966. There is the Royal Kaudawgyi Lake which is a very nice place to relax and the Bogyoke Aung San Market which is the most famous places for shopping in Yangon for items such as arts and handicrafts at reasonable prices. Another famous place to visit is the Strand Hotel. The Sarkies brothers of Raffles fame originally constructed it in 1896.

We have a tour planned for tomorrow to see major sights in and around Yangon so we will share more thoughts on what we have seen tomorrow.

Later in the morning we walked around the Promenade Deck. There were several guests walking around as well. Even a couple of them were out jogging. Initially, the temperature was quite comfortable but after awhile it became humid. There was a mix of sun and clouds and we could see out to the distance various rain showers. Keith also played table tennis with a couple of World Cruisers and also the entertainer for this evening, Grammy Nominated Jazz Pianist, Judy Carmichael who has a show this evening. We played doubles table tennis for about 45 minutes until one guest needed to leave for Bridge Lessons and around that time Anne Marie came by and played one final game with us.

We enjoyed a very nice salad entrée in the Main Dining Room for lunch.

Before we were cleared in port we listened to a lecture given yesterday by Health Specialist Dr. Jon McMichan whose topic was called “The healthy Traveller”. It was a discussion of common ailments associated with travel, how to avoid them and what to do when they strike. Many of them we know but other were good to listen to. He was a fabulous speaker. One of the things he highlighted was the importance of washing your hands. We know this but he reinforced the need that when you are traveling even when you wash your hands to follow-up with using the small alcohol cleanser that many of us carry around or using the one on the ship outside many of the dining rooms. He really stressed the need to not touch you mouth, nose, face or eyes.

He also talked about various bugs including noro-virus. A few interesting points. He mentioned that the reason we hear about it on cruise ships is because if a certain level is reached in an outbreak then it must be reported but he said its more likely to occur in a nursing home and that you have a higher chance of getting them on an airplane or in a shopping mall.

But, let’s get back to the Noro Virus. Whereas a regular virus may last on a door handle for a few hours, Noro Virus lasts on a door handle up to 48 hours. That is amazing and reinforces the need to wash your hands constantly.

We also wanted to highlight another area, which really stresses the importance to others by covering your nose if you sneeze or covering your mouth if you cough. If you sneeze, the air coming out of your nose travels at eighty miles per hour and up to 30 feet. That is incredible. This really explains why it is easy to get sick when you travel and are in confined areas. How often do we see people who do not cover their nose when they sneeze, cover their mouth when they cough, touch their face after they shake someone’s hand, etc.

He also noted that in third world countries the importance of watching what you eat. Yes, some of this we know but some additional thoughts. He said to drink bottled water with gas as that is the only way you know if someone has not tampered with the bottle.

He said that when he was in Mubai, he was going to buy a coke in a bottle and can tell that these bottles were tampered with since they were all at different levels.

Brush your teeth with bottled water.

When you eat out no salads and only food items such as vegetables and other items that have been cooked.

Only eat fruit that you peel yourself.

Only eat nuts that you take the shell off yourself.

No ice in drinks.

No ice cream.

There are other items but these are some of the key items.

This afternoon we walked off the ship but there were no places close to the ship to visit. We look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Keith spoke with the comedian for about an hour and one half this afternoon whose show we enjoyed last evening.

This evenings menu in the Main Dining Room Featured a Royal Thai Dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

Some of the items included;

Four appetizers: Golden Fried Shrimp Waapped in Vemicelli Served with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce; Spicy Minced Pork Served in a Lettuce Cup, Fresh Vegetables Glass Noodles and Thai Herbs Wrapped in Rice Paper with Peanut Sauce and Dragon Fruit and Rambutan Martini with Banana.

Five soups and salads: Green Curry Clam Chowder with Baby Eggplant, Game Bird Consommé with Lemongrass, Quail Breast, Rice, Thai Basil and Mint; Chille Coconut & Tapioca Soup with Mountain Apple; Toss Field Lettuce with Pomelo, Red Onions and Pear Tomoatoes in Lme-Soy Vinaigrette and Orchid Caesar Salad with Thai Herbs and Spices.

One pasta special: Thai Fried Noodles with Sliced Chicken, Shrimp, Scallions, Bean Sprouts, Lemon, Chopped Peanuts and Crisp Fried Onion

One salad entrée: Crisp Soft Shell Salad

Four main fares: Broiled Fillet of Grouper with sweet and sour vegetables, bok choy and crabmeat fritters; Sautéed Scallops on a bed of spinach with Red Thai Curry Sauce, Mushrooms, Baby Carrots, Snap Peas and Thai Pink Coconut Rice; Grilled Black Angus Sirloin Steak with crisp vegetable spring roll, grilled corn on the cob, spicy mango and cucumber salad and kaffir lime shallot sauce.

Pink Roasted Lamb Loin with macadamia nut crust served with wok-fried phuket vegetables with cilantro-mint vinaigrette and new potatoes.

Additional traditional fares were available such as Roasted Chicken and Broilded mahi Mahi Fillet. There were several side orders of Thai Rice and Vegetables.

There were lots of desserts to choose from and a couple that were just for this evening which was “The Thai Experience: which was Jasmine Rice Napoleon, Papaya Jelly and Rambutan Sherbet and another one called a Banana Banana Banana which was Banana Panna Cotta, Banana Cannoli, Blueberry, Banana Sauce and Banana Nut Ice Cream.

There were other items such as five featured cheese from the Cheese Trolley which included Delice Calvados, Entremont, Caprice des Dieux, Camembert, and Faume d’Ambert.

Each evening the featured cheeses change. For example last evening thee featured cheeses were Gouda, La Tur, Brie, Livarot, Pave d’Affinois, and Bresse Bleu.

Tomorrow, we look forward to going on a tour near and around Yangon.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Myanmar

2008-03-31T06:05:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to mention how wonderful the evening was last night with Thomas Mazloum and our fellow guests. A special dinner menu was prepared for us which included an appetizer of three items, including lobster and a meatball, minestrone soup, a choice of two different entrees (grilled shrimp and pasta or filet mignon) concluding with a desert sampler and two very nice wines. What made the evening very special was the conversation throughout the evening. We really appreciate Mr. Mazloum taking the time to dine with us and our fellow guests and clearly he sets a wonderful example that is followed on both the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.

We awoke early this morning to begin another wonderful day on the Crystal Serenity. We are sailing en route to Yangon, Myanmar. We wanted to note that the seas continue to be very calm and sometimes it’s easy to forget that we are cruising in the water. ☺

Keith was the first passenger to the Fitness Center and Anne Marie arrive about thirty minutes later. John also worked out and eventually a few other passengers were there as well. Mary who Keith talks with often is escorting a four night overland tour that is visiting various sites in Myanmar. She and the passengers on the tour will arrive back to the ship on our last day in Myanmar. Keith watched some of the news shows including two United States based shows and also the BBC to try to keep up with world events.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café to pick up a cup of coffee and then about thirty minutes later we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “There may be time where you cannot find help but there is no time when you cannot give help.”

Keith had his haircut this morning at the salon that is on the ship. While Keith was getting his haircut, Anne Marie attended the Rap with the Rabbi session which was great as it always is.

Later in the morning we attended an enrichment program featuring author and book reviewer Robert Adams who presented his lecture on Jack Maggs, by Peter Carey. We first saw this speaker on last years World Cruise and he continues to be excellent. He is a dynamic speaker.

Following this talk, we attended a special presentation, which was followed by a question and answer session by Crystal Cruises’ President, Gregg Michel and Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, Thomas Mazloum.

Mr. Michel talked about some new items. He mentioned that the new Silk Road Restaurant recently opened up on the Crystal Symphony and highlighted the new décor of very rich looking colors. He showed us pictures of the new interior and it looks beautiful.

He then discussed changes that have been made on this ship the Crystal Serenity such as the new Captain’s Choice store, the new Trunk Store featuring jewelry, the new gym equipment. He also noted that at the end of the World Cruise that the remaining new Fitness Equipment will be coming on board such as new stationary bikes and other related equipment. He also noted that Spin Bikes would be added to the center as well.

He also touched on other changes such as the new Fine Art Program on both ships, the new no smoking policy on the Verandahs starting in May, the new lightweight Kimonos in all staterooms, the availability for purchase of daily newspapers with over 700 different newspapers to choose from, and the new 2008 share the experience program. He also noted that in 2009 the benefits for Crystal Society will remain the same as they are in 2008.

He talked about cruising in the Mediterranean in 2008 and how it provides a great value to passengers and that there are various promotions in place and that on some cruises that the pricing was rolled back to 2006 pricing.

Mr. Michel also talked about the President’s cruise and some unique events that will occur on it from a special optional tour to a very special evening in the Vintage Room. It has just recently been announced that Frankie Avalon will be on this cruise.

Finally, he gave us a preview of the plans when the Crystal Serenity is in for dry-dock in November of this year. About $10M+ in enhancements are planned. Major changes include:

The Casino will be redone with new lighting and new machines.

The Crystal Coe and Plaza will be redone including putting a circular bar in the Crystal Cove to open up the area.

A new décor will be added to the Upper and Lower Atrium areas.

Deck 5 and Deck 6 corridors will be enhanced.

Some changes are planned for the Gift Shops to give them the look of what has been done on the Crystal Symphony.

Some changes will be made to the Seahorse Neptune Pool particularly in the way of more color and improved lighting to give it more of a residential feel.

Twelve additional Penthouse (PH Category) Rooms will be added by converting eighteen AA rooms to PH rooms. In addition, better wall units will be added to the Penthouse Suites that do not scratch as easy as the existing units.

Keep in mind that these are the highlighted changes. I believe there will be some other changes such as replacing carpeting in certain areas of the ship.

Afterwards Mr. Michel and Mr. Mazloum took several questions from the audience and did a wonderful job answering them. Many passengers complemented them on the enhancements that have been made in the entertainment, and lecture programs.

They were asked about a third ship and Mr. Michel explained that while they would like to add a third ship to the fleet the timing is not right at this point in time to purchase a new ship given the devaluation of the USA dollar to the Euro recognizing that all passengers cruise ships are constructed in Europe. Adding to this are the components for the ship such as engines which are constructed in Asia which are currently in high demand because of world-wide demand in the shipping industry. They do recognize that passengers would like to sail to places such as Alaska again and that a third ship would be needed for this. Timing is the key here.

All in all it was a wonderful session and we applaud Mr. Michel and Mr. Mazloum taking the time to talk with the Passengers and to field a variety of questions each year on the World Cruise as is also done during each of the President Cruises. They also stayed after the session to speak off-line with those passengers who had questions or feedback that was less general and more personal to them. Again, we thought this was done very well.

We also applaud Crystal for making the changes that they continue to make. All effective companies must continue to change and we think it is great that Crystal is looking to continue to enhance its product at a time when many around the industry are cutting back on what they offer or just providing the same product.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. We ate lunch with the World Cruise Hostess and the Assistant Cruise Director who are both wonderful people and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and a wonderful conversation.

Before dinner, we went to a reception sponsored by the Travel Consortium that our Travel Specialist belongs to and enjoyed the vent.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the dining room. We had pre-ordered a very special dinner and everything was outstanding.

After dinner we attended a performance given by Kenny Smiles who was a wonderful entertainer.

This evening we will set our clocks back thirty minutes (yes, thirty minutes) as we sail into yet another time zone.

Keith & Anne Marie

Phuket, Thailand

2008-03-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

This morning we arrived in our third Thailand Port of Call; Phuket, Thailand. Phuket is pronounced puukett. Many people around the world remember this Island due to the devastation that occurred in this area of the world from the Tsunami in December of 2004. Today, it is hard to tell that such a catastrophic event occurred just a little more than three years ago. There are some areas near the beach where new buildings are being built to replace those devastated by the Tsunami, but most of the construction looks to be complete. This is a vibrant Island with lots of activity mainly driven by tourism.

Phuket is a tourist destination for many who live in this region and for those who live in other areas around the world. It boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the world along with wonderful seafood and other cuisine, along with great entertainment, and fairly nice weather.

Phuket is Thailand’s largest Island and is similar in size to Singapore. In addition to many resorts, this island contains lots of rubber plantations and coconut groves.

Since we set the clocks back one hour before going to sleep last evening, we woke up earlier this morning than normal. Keith was up at the Fitness Center around 4:15 AM and Anne Marie arrived around 5:45 AM. There were a fair amount of guests working out as well. After our workout we enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room and got ready to explore this island.

We arrived to Phuket a little ahead of schedule and we docked at the Phuket Deep Sea Port, Makham Bay around 7:15 AM. The dock is located approximately nine miles from the city center. Due to local restrictions, Crystal was unable to provide a complimentary shuttle.

During Captain Glenn’s morning announcement he mentioned that it was already 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The forecast was for the low 90’s, Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising whenever we fall.”

We took the complimentary shore excursion that was offered on this segment of the World Cruise. We were taken in a motor coach where we were driven by various city sights and also saw the nice tropical vegetation and pristine beaches. We were taken to a village to watch a cultural show that included folk dance. Our tour also included a visit to Wat Chalong Monastery, which is considered to be Phuket’s largest and most impressive temple. It is well known for its gold leaf encrusted statues of three former monks and abbots. The abbots were known for their strong efforts in resisting the Chinese invasion in the late 1800s.

The highlights of the excursion for us were the Folk Dancing Show and the visit to the Wat Chalong Monastery. The dancing and music were outstanding and the detailed work of the various temples of the Monastery was quite impressive.

We found many of those who live on the island who we came into contact to be very polite. As we had done in Bangkok, we would put our hands together and bow and they would do likewise.

The nightlife by the beach area is supposed to be on the wild side. While there are very nice people here there is also the other side at night in certain areas such as bars, and other clubs and in certain areas on the street which is something that we would want to avoid if we came back here on a land vacation.

We arrived back to the ship later in the afternoon and enjoyed a very nice lunch that we had pre-ordered.

This evening we had the pleasure of dining with Thomas Mazloum, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations of Crystal Cruise Lines along with a few other guests at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. He along with the President of Crystal Cruises and a few other executives from the Corporate Los Angeles office are on-board the ship for a few days for several meetings. We had the pleasure of dining with Mr. Mazloum and his lovely wife one evening on last years World Cruise so it was wonderful to have dinner with him again this year. We included pictures of both Anne Marie and Keith with Thomas Mazloum that we took at the end of dinner this evening.

Tomorrow we will be at sea and in the morning we will attend a Question and Answer Session for all guests that will include Greg Michel, President of Crystal Cruises along with a few other Crystal Executives. This session provides a nice opportunity to hear from the executives of Crystal.

Our next port of call is Myanmar where we will have two overnights. To think that our journey began in Los Angeles, California and now we are sailing this part of the World.

Our World Cruise continues to be an amazing adventure as we are visiting so many ports of call around the world that we have never been to before. Everything about the cruise has continued to exceed our expectations.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Phuket, Thailand

2008-03-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed another wonderful sleep last night as we are cruising towards Phuket, which is our third and final stop in Thailand.

Today we posted two pictures; one from this evenings formal night and the other is a picture of the sun setting that we took during dinner this evening. It is amazing to watch the sun as it sets.

We are traveling the Strait of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca connects the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean. It provides the shortest sea route between India, China and Indonesia, which are the greatest populations of all worldwide countries. This is a very busy sea route with over 500,000 vessels passing through this Strait annually. To put this into perspective, 50% of the oil shipped around the world passes through this Strait and in just one single day eleven million barrels of oil are transported along this waterway. Overall, it is estimated that approximately 20-25% of all world sea trade passes through this strait. Clearly, this is a very strategic waterway. More on this later.

Since today, is a sea day so there are lots of activities taking place throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening hours.

Yes, we did begin our day with our morning workout. During the first portion of our workout it was still dark outside and we could see the lights of vessels as we traveled along the Strait. While Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine he spoke with Mary and another fellow passenger who had boarded the ship in Singapore. We enjoyed a great conversation. Anne Marie enjoyed her workout. We saw Captain Otto working out in the Center as well. Some of the guests who arrived in Singapore are still trying to get over their jet lag. The good news for those passengers is that we do turn the clocks back one hour this evening.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast after our workout and then we got ready for today’s activities.

During Captain Glenn’s morning report from the bridge he noted that we are traveling at speeds between 10.7 and 12.3 knots per hour and we are on schedule to be in port on time tomorrow. The temperature in the morning was 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The Captain did not have a thought of the day today.

We attended the Rap With The Rabbi session. There was lots of good discussion in today’s session and it was very well attended.

Afterwards, we attended two lectures.

Dr. Jay Wolff gave the first lecture and the topic of his presentation was “Anna and the King of Siam – The True Story.” His presentation was the true story of an intriguing woman and a remarkable king. As usual, the presentation was quite enlightening.

Dr. Harm de Blij gave the second presentation which was “Eurasia of the Four Corners: Geopolitical Dilemmas for the United States.” He is certainly a dynamic speaker and today was no exception.

He touched on the problems occurring on the border of Malaysia and Thailand where Buddhism meets Muslim and the fact that about 3,000 civilians have been killed in the past year.

He also talked about other key areas known as the four corners and the changes taking place in India, China, Thailand, and Laos. For example, the population of Mumbai, India alone is expected to grow to 50 million people within the next twenty-five years. Further, by next year its population will be larger than that of Australia. Within ten years the population of India is projected to be the largest in the entire world; even larger than the population of China.

He also mentioned that China is spending $2 billion dollars for the construction of a pipeline through Myanmar which will bring oil directly from the Middle East to China in order to avid the Srait of Malacca and the strategic importance that Myanmar plays in this effort.

In between the presentations Anne Marie picked up her Needlepoint hand-out which is given out one day on each segment of the cruise.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. We each pre-ordered our lunch. Keith enjoyed a Salad Entrée of deliciously prepared Ginger-Crusted Salmon served with a variety of salad items and Anne Marie enjoyed a wonderfully prepared Chefs Salad.

Before dinner this evening we attended the Captain’s Welcome Reception for this segment of the World Cruise. This evening was the first of the three formal nights on this segment and as usual it was nice to see everyone dressed in formal attire.

After the reception, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. We each has a wonderful salad, followed by Broiled Fresh Main Lobster for Anne Marie served with Asparagus and Truffle Risotto and Broiled Fresh Halibut served with sautéed spinach, and potato balls served with champagne beurre blanc for Keith. We each had a nice bowl of fruit for dessert.

Formal nights feature a variety of items. We thought we’d highlight several of them for you.

Appetizers. There were four choices; Caviar, Pate de Foie Gras, Freshly Opened Oysters or Exotic Fruits presented in a Papaya Boat.

Soup and Salad. There were four choices; Mousseline of Potato Soup, Clear Oxtail Soup or Captain’s Salad

There was also a Pasta Special featuring Homemade Artichoke and Mascarpone Ravioli as well as a Salad Entrée featuring Surf & Turf Salad.

There were four main fare entrees; Broiled Fresh Main Lobster, Broiled Fresh Halibut “Viennese”, Chateaubriand, or Stuffed Marinate Baked Qual.

In addition, two other entrees were available in addition to the four from the main fares; Grilled New York Sirloin Steak or Plain Grilled Salmon Fillet.

Lots of other side orders are available from vegetables to pasta.

There are also Vegetarian Selections as well as items on the lighter side to choose from.

Are you still hungry? If the answer is yet then there is the Sweet Finale.

There were sugar-free desserts such as Mocha Cream Puff or a Low-Carb Rice Pudding.

Then there were several other dessert items. Two were selected for this evening by the Executive Pastry Chef which were Sugar Mill which is Butterscotch Pudding with Orange Shortbread as well as Delice Aux Chocolate which is White Chocolate Truffle Cake, Chocolate Hazelnut Napoleon, and Raspberry Cocktail.

Still there were several other Classic Desserts available. They were Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee with Fresh Fruit, Chocolate Ooze Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, Apple Crumble Tartlet with Almond Praline Ice Cream, Various Ice Cream including Vanilla, Pistachio and Chocolate Chip, Freshly Frozen Nonfat Banana or Strawberry Yogurt, Refreshing Passion Fruit Champagne Sherbet or Petits Fours & Truffles or Seasonal Fruit.

Of course, there is another alternative which is the Cheese Trolley which featured Double Brie, Tasmanian True Blue, Crottin de Chevre, Robiola, St. Aubin or Manchego cheese. This is served with crackers, biscuits, walnut baguette, Finn bread and condiments.

If there is something else you want you can normally have it and if you provide twenty-four hours notice you can get just about anything prepared within reason.

Today was another very memorable day as we sail to our next port of call. It is amazing to think of the places that we have already visited during our journey and there are many more places to see over the coming weeks.

Keith & Anne Marie

Port Kelang, Malaysia

2008-03-28T01:28:00.000-07:00

We woke early this morning and enjoyed another nice workout in the Fitness Center. When Keith arrived to the center one man was finishing his workout and likely was up early with jetlag. A little while later other regulars such as Mary and John arrived and Anne Marie arrived a short while later. During our workout, we saw the other Crystal Serenity Captain (Captain Otto) who was our captain during last years World Cruise. He is here to participate in the meetings with the other executives from Crystal who are also on board the ship.

The Fitness Center was fairly busy today as it usually is the first full day of a new segment.

We docked in Port Kelang, Malaysia a little before 8:00 AM. This is our first visit to Malaysia.. We did not take a formal tour today. since we have recently taken a fair number of tours and have several others coming up throughout this segment. In addition, most of the tours were about eight hours in length, involving a round trip bus ride of over 3 hours just to get to the places that most of the tours were visiting and given the length of these tours all but one included lunch. If we were only on for this segment of the World Cruise we likely would have selected a tour but we try to pace ourselves given the length of the cruise. It is just not realistic to take long tours in each port of call so we try to balance our selection of tours.

This port of call is the gateway to Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. The city was established in 1857 and began as a mining town. As the city developed, many colonial style buildings were erected. Many of these buildings exist today along with a variety of other buildings from traditional style buildings to very modern buildings. Some of the main attractions include;

The Central Market, which was built in 1936. While it was originally built as a wet market, today it is used to sell various items from antiques to crafts.

The Jame Mosque, which was built in 1909 and is styled in the tradition of an Indian Muslim design.

The Railway station, which was built in 1910, and it known for its Moorish architecture.

Chinatown, which also includes a variety of shopping involving lots of bargaining.

The Petronas twin towers, which total 88 stories. These towers were completed in 1998 and at the time of their completion became the tallest buildings in the world. While there are now taller buildings, the towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.

This city combines Western, Asian, along with traditional and modern architecture all in one place.

After our workout at the Fitness Center we enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room. We walked around the dock area for a little while and decided we would take the complimentary shuttle to the downtown area of Port Kelang where the shuttle dropped passengers near the Bukit Tinggi Shopping Mall. We were told that the ride would take approximately 45 minutes each way but the good news is that the drive was only 20 minutes each way. The mall was just opened six months ago and therefore was sparkling clean. It was very Western in its appearance and in the merchandise and food items that was sold there. For example, there was a section of restaurants/cafes that included McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Kenny Rogers Chicken and the Manhattan Seafood Company along with several other eateries. Some stores played music and the songs were Western. There was a large food store and again the brand names and the layout of the store was very Western. With the temperature quite hot outside, we walked the multi-level Mall several times to see what was there and to also exercise.

For those buyers who like to bargain, better prices and be negotiated in most of the stores. Unlike many countries we have visited of late, USA currency is not accepted in most stores within Malaysia.

We did speak with several employees who we found to be very friendly and they all spoke English well. On the drive to and from the ship we passed mostly apartment buildings and the cars and trucks on the road were rather plain looking.

Back on board the ship we enjoyed a nice Salad Entrée in the Main Dining Room. We were served by our nighttime Senior Waiter, Pablo. On our way out of the dining room, we spoke with the Restaurant Maitre D for a few minutes.

This evening we attended Friday Night Services before dinner. During the service we said prayers for two couples that we know from cruising.

After the services, we enjoyed a very nice dinner in the main dining room. The food and service were wonderful.

After dinner we stopped by the Crystal Cove to say hello to some fellow passengers and we saw Captain Otto. It was wonderful to talk with him.

Tomorrow, we have a sea day as we sail to yet another port in Thailand.

Keith & Anne Marie

Singapore Day 2

2008-03-27T01:57:00.001-07:00

Last evening we stopped by to talk with our Travel Specialist, Lynn, and her husband, Alan, in the Main Dining Room to give them our best wishes as they were disembarking the ship this today. It was wonderful sailing with them and we had two memorable dinners with them during the course of the cruise. We hope that we have the opportunity to sail with them again. Thank you so very much for the beautiful flowers.

This morning ends the fifth segment of the World Cruise. We sailed from Hong Kong, China to Singapore and sailed a total distance of 2,685 Nautical Miles or the equivalent of 3,087 Land Mile. We thoroughly enjoyed the itinerary sailed which included Chan May/Da Nang, Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand, Ko Samui, Thailand; and Singapore.

With the end of this segment many passengers will be disembarking the ship this morning. There are many early and late flights out of Singapore. Many guests left the ship as early as 3:30 AM this morning. With so many early flights, the Lido Café was opened up extra early at 3:00 AM and Continental Breakfast was served. At 6:00 AM a Breakfast Buffet was served and at 7:00 AM breakfast was served in the Main Dining Room.

Today also marks the start of the sixth segment of the World Cruise. During this segment we will sail from Singapore to Mumbai, India. This segment will include stops in Kuala Lumpui/Port Kelang, Malaysia; Phuket, Thailand; Yangon, Myanmar, Cochin, India and Mumbai, India. Those passengers who are beginning their cruise in Singapore began boarding the ship at 12:00 Noon.

This segment also includes six sea days, two overnights in Myanmar for a total of fourteen days.

There will be three formal evenings, eight casual evenings and three informal (semi-formal evenings). In the main dining room at night there will be two formal Captain’s Gala Dinners, a French Dinner, a Neptune Dinner, a Chef’s Dinner and a Royal Thai Dinner in addition to other regular dinners. In addition to the Main Dining Room, and the two specialty restaurants, during eight of the fourteen evenings, guests can also eat at a venue known as Tastes which offers casual dining near the Neptune Pool. Many guests enjoy this venue as they can dine in casual attire and no reservations are required.

We awoke early this morning as we always do. Keith was the first passenger to the Fitness Center and enjoyed a wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie did our wash and Keith helped her after his workout. We find that this is a great hour of the day to get our wash done.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.

Rather than taking the complimentary shuttle into town, we decided to take the MRT, which is the subway system in Singapore. There was a nearby subway station right adjacent to the Cruise Ship Terminal. After purchasing our fare card we only waited a couple of minutes and within ten minutes we were in downtown Singapore. The subway system was very efficient and as one would imagine very clean. Another example of the logical approach that we have seen in Singapore is the actual fare cards. Rather than using cards that you have to discard, the card is plastic and after you use the card for either a one way to two way trip you return the card and get 1 Singapore Dollar back. This way the cards are reused which makes perfect sense to us. On our return trip, we only had to wait a couple of minutes and then we were back where we started within ten minutes. The subway system has three major lines and stops in lots of places that one would want to visit such as Chinatown and Little India.

After taking the subway downtown we walked to a variety of places. We visited the St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the City Hall, the Supreme Court, the Parliament House, the Singapore Cricket Club, the National Museum of Singapore, the War Memorial Park, the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Center and the Singapore Art Museum. We also stopped by the Riz Carlton and the Raffles Hotel. The Raffles Hotel was originally built in 1887 and is one of the World’s last great 19th century hotels. We also walked along several different streets in the city. This city is so very easy to tour on your own since everything is in English and the transportation system is wonderful. This is a city in which one could spend several days as there is so much to see and it is a very safe environment. The people are very polite and friendly.

We returned back to the ship in the afternoon and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. Several executives from the Crystal Los Angeles office are boarding the ship in Singapore.

We had a wonderful time in Singapore and look forward to returning sometime in the future.

This evening we ate in the Main Dining Room and enjoyed a nice dinner.

Keith & Anne Marie

Singapore

2008-03-26T04:48:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Singapore this morning and docked at about 7:30 AM

Singapore declared itself a self-governing state in 1954. During the 1960s Singapore briefly joined its neighbors Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah in the Federation of Malaysia. Today, Singapore is an independent nation and is known for its high literacy rate, its fine medical care, its transportation system, and its array of international businesses. It is also a place that attracts many tourists.

Singapore is located within ninety miles (one degree) of the Equator. It is not very large and measures only 250 square miles in total. The Singaporean people are mainly Chinese. Others who live in Singapore include Malays, Indians, Eurasians and Europeans. Approximately, 4.4 million people including foreign workers live in Singapore. There are four official languages in Singapore.

Singapore boasts a Chinatown, Little India, a Colonial District and an Arab District. You will find many temples, mosques and churches in this country, representing the different religions/nationalities that have migrated to this area of the world.

Some of the places to visit in this area include the Asian Civilization Museum, the Fort Canning Park, Sentosa Island, the Zoological Gardens and the Raffles Hotel, which is famous for its Singapore Sling.

We awoke early this morning and enjoyed a very nice workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first to arrive and was up there before 5:00 AM and worked out on the Elliptical machine for ninety minutes. Anne Marie arrived a little while later and enjoyed a workout on the Treadmill. Although it was initially dark when we arrived we could see lots of lights from the shore. Other regulars were working out such as Mary and John and Keith enjoyed another nice talk with Mary during their workout.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room and as we ate we watched as the ship maneuvered its way into the port.

We took the complimentary shore excursion that Crystal provided to all guest on this segment of the World Cruise. During the World Cruise Crystal provides one complimentary shore excursion on each segment of the World Cruise. The name of today’s excursion was called Spirit of Singapore City Orientation. Since this is our first time to Singapore we thought this would provide a very nice overview to this city, which it did.

By far, this was one of the best highlight tours we have taken and we were very glad that Crystal provided this tour. We had an outstanding tour guide who provided lots of information, in an easy to understand manner, and also had a nice sense of humor.

We boarded our buses and during the course of the tour we drove by several traditional buildings such as the Parliament House and the Singapore Supreme Court and the City Hall.

We had the opportunity to visit Chinatown, where we visited the oldest Chinese temple in this city, which is dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. It was a very impressive temple with very detailed woodwork.

We also had the chance to visit the world renowned Raffles Hotel where we were served a Singapore Sling. The Raffles Hotel was named after the British founder of modern-day Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles. The Hotel and its property is quite impressive and very traditional.

Our tour also included a drive up to Mt. Faber, which is located 300 feed above sea level. This provided us with the opportunity to view the city from above and we also could see the Crystal Serenity from there.

The highlight of our tour was our visit to the National Orchid Gardens. The orchids that we saw were breathtaking and this has to rank as one of the top gardens we have visited in all our years of travel. We included a picture of Anne Marie in front of an orchid that is named after an Anne Marie. The gardens are located on 110 acres and offer the largest display of orchids in the entire world.

We learned that the first rubber trees were planted in this region at this specific area after they were smuggled from Brazil in the 19th Century.

The major driver of Singapore’s economy is oil related. Singapore has what is considered the busiest port in the World and one of the drivers are the oil refineries. Many goods are shipped to and from this port where it serves as a transit port.

Singapore has its traditional areas but is also a very modern city. Unlike the last couple of ports of calls that we visited in Thailand, Singapore is a very clean city. As a visitor, it has to rank as one of the nicest cities that we have visited. We think the phrases that applies best is that Singapore is a very nice place to visit but we would not want to live here.

As a tourist, it offers a very safe and clean environment. It has lots of beautiful locations to visit and lots of other amenities from very nice hotels to wonderful restaurants. All of the road signage and most of the signage was in English making it very easy to navigate ourselves around this lovely city. Many of the buildings are beautiful; both modern and traditional buildings. There is lots of greenery throughout this city. The road system is quite good and there are no traffic problems (more on this later on)

It certainly has advantages for those that live there because of the safe and clean environment and some of the other benefits. For example, there are 4.4 million people who are in Singapore of which; approximately 3.4 million are citizens of Singapore. All the citizens have their own home, which is a plus. However, keep in mind that 90% of the citizens live in apartments. The own the apartments because the government believes that with ownership they will keep them in good shape but they are high density units and we could see the wash hanging from the balconies. The lucky 10% live in homes. The other benefit is that they have a compulsory savings program where both the employees and the employers contribute to them. It is similar to Social Security in the United States but the percentage of contributions is quite a bit higher.

With that said, the government does have very tight rules and regulations so it limits certain freedoms that Americans take for granted such as “Freedom of Speech”. It has by far some of the most stringent laws in the world.

It is no exaggeration to say that if one chews gum and should not dispose of the gum properly that they will be fined.

We mentioned that traffic congestion did not seem to be a problem in Singapore. This is because most people do not own a car. Cars are no longer manufactured in Singapore and if you import a car you pay a 110% (yes 110%) tax rate on the car. You also pay a rather large fee to register the car.

The cruise ship terminal is one of the most impressive terminals that we have seen around the world. The security is quite strict. We had to carry our passport with us. After we departed the ship we walked a long way to the terminal and we had to go through security and also through passport control. When we returned to the ship we had to show our passport two times, including one time through passport control and we also went through security. There is are stores and restaurants in the terminal and also attached to the terminal is a very large shopping mall.

When we retuned back to the ship we enjoyed a wonderful lunch.

After lunch, we took the complimentary shuttle provided by Crystal into town and we walked to Orchard Rd. which has an enormous number of stores, shopping malls, hotels and other venues.

We enjoyed another wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. It has been a few days since we last dined in this restaurant and enjoyed the cuisine, the wait staff, and being back at our favorite table.

We had a lovely day in Singapore and look forward to another day in this city since we ship will remain docked in this port until we leave tomorrow at 5:00 PM.

Keith & Anne Marie

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En Route To Singapore

2008-03-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a good night sleep and woke up early this morning. Since we had set the clocks forward by one hour before we went to sleep last evening we were a little more tired than usual when we awoke this morning.

We had a wonderful dinner last evening with our Travel Specialist Lynn and her wonderful husband Alan and it has been so wonderful to sail with them on this segment of the World Cruise. We will miss them dearly when this segment of the World Cruise comes to a conclusion in a couple of days.

We began our day with our daily workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first passenger to arrive to the Center and worked out on the Elliptical Machine the entire time while Anne Marie was the second passenger to arrive and worked out on the Treadmill. Keith spoke with Mary for much of his workout. John was also working out. By the time we finished up there were far fewer passengers working out than we have gotten accustomed to during this particular segment of the World Cruise. We suspect that many of our fellow passengers were sleeping a little later given the time zone change coupled with the fact that many had been on overland tours the past few days and likely were catching up on their rest and sleep.

During the Captain’s morning announcement, Captain Glenn noted that winds were 30 miles per hour and the temperature was 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Captain Glenn’s thought for today was “It is important to learn from others mistakes and from your own as you don’t live long enough to make them all on your own.”

Today is a sea day as we sailed to Singapore and this is the last sea day of this segment of the cruise. There are lots of activities planned throughout the day and evening hours. Our experience is that many first time cruisers are concerned with how to keep busy while at sea and we find that the sea days go by very quickly given all of the activities that are scheduled throughout the day. Today is a perfect example of the extensive activities offered throughout the morning, afternoon and evening hours. For example:

Four lectures are scheduled today.

There are a variety of fitness classes including a morning walk, stretching, progressive yoga, a class on sit to be fit, beginners yoga, paddle tennis, table tennis, shuffleboard, fitball, and another stretching class,

Other activities include a piano class, beginners bridge, intermediate bridge, advanced bridge classes in the morning followed in the afternoon by actual bridge games, a beginners and Spanish class, a scarf tying class, team trivia, gaming lessons (casino games), dance class, memoir writing seminar, computer class, an afternoon and evening movie, a tour of the ships Galley, an afternoon tea, several different venues either for listing to live music or dancing to live music, a production show, karaoke, and the list goes on and on and on. There is pretty much something for everyone. For those who just want to relax there is a very nice library where one can either stay and read or take out a book to read or a movie to watch. There are the two swimming pools along with a couple of spas. Let us not forget the Fitness Center and there is also a very extensive on-board spa. There is the Promenade Deck that can be used for taking a nice walk, or jogging. Finally, there are lots of places to go for a meal, a snack, a drink and many other public rooms where one can sit alone or sit with others.

This is how we spent our day on board the Crystal Serenity.

After our workout we enjoyed a nice breakfast in our cabin. Afterwards, Anne Marie got ready for her hair appointment in the hair salon while Keith took care of some items.

While Anne Marie was having her hair done, Keith started off the morning activities by attending the Rap With The Rabbi. We had a very active discussion today with lots of participation by many who attended this session. The session was very well attended and is held usually every other sea day.

Afterwards, we attended two very interesting lectures.

Destination Lecturer, Dr. Jay Wolff gave the first presentation of the day. The topic of his presentation was “The Hanoi Hilton.” Dr. Wolff continues to amaze us with his knowledge of so many topics and places around the world and his ability to give such detailed presentations with absolutely no notes.

Author, Professor and Television Personality Harm de Blij gave the second talk of the day. The topic of his presentation was “Seven More Months of This? The Political Geography of the 2008 Presidential Election Campaign.” One of his major points is that the Presidential Cycle has become too long with the elections becoming almost two years in length and that this detracts the electorate and our political officials from focusing on major worldwide issues that can have major long-term consequences for our country and for the world we live in. Another major point is that we need to realize that many of our elected officials are not perfect when it comes to flaws in character but that doesn’t mean that these flaws make them poor leaders. Whether or not one agrees or disagrees with all of points is not important but the key is that his lectures are very thought compelling which is always good.

Last year, this lecturer spoke on a few segments of the World Cruise and we greatly enjoyed his talks. He has appeared on several programs from ABC’s Good Morning America to the PBS series The Power of Place to being the Geography Analyst for NBC News. He has written over thirty books. Harm de Blij will be giving lectures throughout the next segment of the World Cruise as well. Later in the year he will be lecturing on the London to New York City Cruise on board the Crystal Symphony and on the Lisbon to Miami, Florida sailing on board the Crystal Serenity. These two transoceanic cruises have plenty of sea days and provide a wonderful opportunity for those passengers who are interested in hearing from a variety of lecturers during the course of their cruise.

During lunchtime, there was a Jazz Brunch Buffet held outside the Main Dining Room. This brunch featured a wonderful array of brunch items and complimentary Mimosas and Champagne were also served. The Crystal Orchestra played jazz Music.

The afternoon continued with many different activities including two additional lectures. There was a lecture given by Dr. James Mass whose lectures focus on the importance of sleep. We first mess Dr. Mass on last years World Cruise. The topic for his lecture today was "Wake-Up! Power Sleep and Peak Performance for the Rest of Your Life.” At the conclusion of his lecture photojournalist and publisher Mason Florence gave another lecture. His presentation was titled “Singapore: The Lion City”.

Since today is the last full sea day of the cruise, this evening was a formal night on the ship. Before dinner, we attended the Captain’s Farewell for this segment of the World Cruise. Speaking of the Captain, last evening we had the pleasure of meeting his lovely wife and two daughters. They all live in Norway and since the schools in Norway are closed for Easter Break his family came on board for this segment of the World Cruise.

We enjoyed the Captain’s Farewell Reception. As usual, it was nice to see everyone dressed in their formal attire.

Following the reception, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner from the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. We’ve included a picture of Anne Marie with our wonderful butler Alexander.

We are scheduled to arrive in Singapore tomorrow morning at approximately 8:00 AM. The ship has an overnight in Singapore as the following morning this segment of the World Cruise ends. Many passengers will disembark the ship while that afternoon new passengers will join the ship. We will have almost two full days to enjoy Singapore.

Keith & Anne Marie

Ko Samui, Thailand

2008-03-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

NOTE: We added on additional picture to yesterdays posting which you will see if you scroll to the end of today’s post. Also, we have updated our picture site so if you go view our pictures you will see a new section from Southeast Asia.

We arrived in Kho Samui, Thailand this morning. The ship provided tender service to/from the pier, which is located adjacent to the small town of Nathon. Because the water near the island is fairly shallow the tender between the ship and port took about twenty minutes each way.

This island lies off the southeast coast of Thailand. It is known for its beautiful beaches and for its attractive bays. Kho Samui is the third largest island of Thailand. It measures only 13 miles long and is nine miles wide along the widest point of the island. It is a pristine island and, as such, attracts travelers from around the world who recognize the beauty of the island. Many tourists arrive to this Island either by ferry or by private yacht while others arrive by cruise ship.

Tourism is the main influence on the local economy of this island. The island also has an abundance of coconuts, which also have an impact on the local economy but far less than tourism. Approximately 20 million coconuts are harvested each month. That’s a lot of coconuts.

We woke up earlier than normal this morning to workout since we needed to get ready for an early tour this morning. Keith was the first one to the Fitness Center arriving at around 4:30 AM and Anne Marie followed about fifteen minutes later. During our workout we saw John and Mary and Keith and Mary spoke about their respective tours overnight trips to Bangkok. Mary escorted the other overnight land based tour in Bangkok, which included meal, and organized tours as well as a one night stay at the Peninsula Hotel.

After our enjoyable workout we had breakfast in our room. We then got ready for our tour.

Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “Every artist was first an amateur.” This is a reminder to each of us where that we don’t start at the top in our profession but rather most of developed in our respective professions.

The name of our tour was The Ultimate Adventure. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour.

We were taken from the pier on a four-wheel drive vehicle. Six of us road in each vehicle. We were first taken into the jungle. We drove across some rivers and by hidden valleys until we reached the famous waterfall named Na Muang Waterfall. We spent about thirty minutes at the waterfall.

During the course of the tour we also visited a rubber plantation and learned from the locals how rubber latex is produced. We also went to another location where we viewed a Thai cooking demonstration and we also boarded a farmer’s ox-cart for a journey thought the village of towering coconut palms.

One of the highlights of the tour included a thirty-minute elephant trek and we also had the opportunity to view other elephants along with several monkeys in two respective tours. The elephants are not as large as those in Africa but nevertheless were quite impressive and we enjoyed our first ride on the elephant. Each of us also had the opportunity to hold hands with a monkey. That is another first for us.

We enjoyed the drive around a good portion of the Island. We went through a variety of towns and also drove by some very fancy resorts with beautiful beaches and a wonderful view of the water. The locals who we met during the course of the tour were very nice and we found our guide to be quite informative.

When we returned back to the ship we enjoyed a very nice lunch that we had pre-ordered in the morning.

Before dinner this evening we attended a cocktail party for all passengers on the ship, which was called Psychedelic Samui. The party included a d-jay who placed music primarily from the 1970’s and complimentary drinks were served.

After the party, we had dinner with our travel specialist and her husband at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and we enjoyed hearing about their overland adventure, which included stays in Cambodia and in Bangkok, and we told them about our stay in Bangkok as well.

Tomorrow we will enjoy a day at sea as we sail to Singapore. This evening was a rarity as we actually set our clocks forward one hour so we will lose on hour this evening ☹. However, during the course of the next several weeks we will be setting our time back one hour or more on various occasions, which we enjoy. ☺

Keith & Anne Marie

Bangkok, Thailand

2008-03-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Blog March 23, 2008

We have had a very enjoyable time during our stay in Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok is a very unique city and it did take us a little while to get used to it. The destination lecture that we viewed prior t our visit to this city prepared us well for our stay in Bangkok.

Bangkok combines both the new world of very modern buildings with the old charm into one grand city. It has some very clean areas and some areas not so clean. It has some of the kindest and friendliest people that you will ever meet along with some people to watch out for. The good news is that the vast majority of the people fall into the category of nice people.

We booked an overnight stay in Bangkok through Crystal Cruises.
After departing the ship, we were transported by bus to Bangkok. The drive took around two hours and during our trip the guide provided us with lots of useful information about this city and about Thailand. We were taken to The Oriental Hotel. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by the warm hospitality of the staff and we were each given a flower and complimentary drinks were available. Our rooms were ready right away and we quickly settled into our room. Interestingly enough we did not have to provide a credit card for our incidentals.

We had brought sandwiches from the ship with us so that we would not waste valuable time eating lunch so after we ate our sandwiches we proceeded to see the city.

During the course of the first day in Bangkok, we took the sky train a couple of times to visit some sites within Bangkok. The sky train was very efficient and easy to use. We also spent a some time discovering the city by river which is one of the unique features of Bangkok. We went to a shopping mall; Siam Peragon which was highly recommended. And yes, we did go to Jim Thompson who has several stores where we saw many beautiful items mainly of silk. We also had time to walk around Bangkok before it was time for dinner

Bangkok was quite hot which we expected. While some areas are pristine, other areas were dirty. We were warned to be careful of some men who while dressed in very nice attire are out to swindle tourists. During the course of our first afternoon in Bangkok three different men approached us. At the same time we did meet some of the nicest locals and we appreciate all of the friendliness they showed to us throughout our stay.

Before dinner we relaxed for a little while at the hotel. The Oriental Hotel is stunning and is clearly an old world hotel. The lobby area and other public rooms are stunning and the service was impeccable. Each of the floors has someone from the staff available to assist the guests.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the hotel. We sat outside and we were very fortunate to be seated at a table with no other tables in front of us providing us with a beautiful view of the river. We enjoyed traditional Thai food that was simply outstanding. The service was equally outstanding as we had numerous servers throughout the meal. Lots of time was provided throughout the evening so that we could enjoy the overall ambience of this setting and we kid you not, we were there for almost three hours. It was wonderful and we were in no rush and we just enjoyed being in a special part of the world with a beautiful setting to view. As the sunset we could enjoy the beauty of the river in the evening as the boats were lit up along with the shoreline. From our view we could also see the Peninsula Hotel directly across the waterway. The setting, the service, the food, and our own conversation made this evening delightful and one that we cherish for the rest of our lives.

We awoke early the next morning (today) and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast outside by the river as we did last evening. In addition to cereal, we enjoyed a plate containing fruits that we have never had before. We also enjoyed a very nice muffin and wonderful coffee. Again, the service was outstanding.

After breakfast, we then walked to Chinatown and from there we visited three different Temples. At one Temple we viewed the Reclining Buddha. At another Temple we saw the Golden Buddha. We were fortunate that we arrived very early in the morning so that these sites were not very crowded.

We also went to a large market and we were the only non-locals there. It was very interesting and sold lots of fruits, vegetable along with lots of other food items.

We did not have enough time to go to the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we arrived as they were converting times with the change in season. We will plan to visit the Palace the next time our travels take us to Bangkok.

After arriving back to the Hotel we showered and changed and we enjoyed a light lunch at one of the Hotel Restaurants. We enjoyed a very large bowl of soup. We left the Hotel at 2:30 PM for our trip back to the ship and we made excellent time and arrived back at around 4:10. Again, the tour guide provided a wealth of information.

When we arrived back to the room there was an Easter Basket of candy in our room and also two large plates of sandwiches and desserts with a card from Crystal Cruises that read “Welcome Home From Bangkok”.

A highlight of the trip was the people that we met from Thailand. We can characterize them as being friendly, warm and very polite people. Many would show their warmth by placing their hands together, smiling and bowing graciously and we would show our thanks and appreciation by doing the same thing.

This evening we dined at the Silk Road Japanese Restaurant. We dined with the World Cruise Hostess and the Assistant Cruise Director. We had a wonderful time as we enjoyed an outstanding meal, with outstanding service and an equally enjoyable conversation.

Tomorrow, we visit Ko Samui, Thailand.

Keith and Anne Marie.

En Route To Bangkok, Thailand

2008-03-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Before we talk about today’s activities we wanted to mention a little more about the World Cruise Show last evening. We thought that it was an outstanding show. It was very entertaining and we greatly appreciate all of the time and effort that goes into producing such a show. The dancing by Curtis and Beverly was superb along with the singing by the lead vocalists Colleen and Dennis. The acting by World Cruise Hostess Anne Marie Falvey was equally superb. Many other entertainers performed including the acappella quartet, Full Sail. The Cruise Director, Rick Spath, was also in the show. It was wonderful show.

We also wanted to note that last evening we enjoyed a very quiet dinner in the main dining room. We sit in an area of the dining room that is normally fairly quiet. In our section of the dining room there are about ten tables of various sizes from two up to eight person tables and last evening we were the only two people dining. Some passengers were dining in the alternative dining venues, we suspect that some who just arrived back from the Beijing overland tour were enjoying a casual dinner in their room, while many other passengers were on overland tours to Hanoi and to Cambodia. While this segment of the world cruise has been sold out, it has been relatively quiet given all of the overland tours.

We slept very well last evening and awoke early. Keith was the first to arrive at the Fitness Center and Anne Marie arrived about 30 minutes later. Keith worked out on his favorite Elliptical Machine and enjoyed a nice talk with Mary, while Anne Marie enjoyed her workout on the Treadmill.

After our workout we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. As we enjoyed breakfast we took in the beautiful views of the sea.

Today is a sea day as we sail to our next Port of Call, Bangkok, Thailand.

We attended a wonderful talk given by actress, singer, veteran entertainer and acclaimed documentary filmmaker Luci Arnaz. Luci Arnaz is the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. She hosted a screening of her Emmy Award winning film, Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie. This movie was made fifteen years ago. This was followed by a wonderful question and answer session with Luci Arnaz and her husband. Laurence Luckinbill. The film was delightful and the Q&A session was very enlightening. The movie along with the Q&A were both very moving.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. Our Senior Waiter who serves us in the evening, Pablo, was our Senior Waiter for lunch. We continue to request him for lunch, wherever possible.

In the afternoon we took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck. The weather was fairly mild and mid-way through our walk it rained for about fifteen minutes but we could walk under an area that protected us from the rain showers.

Before dinner this evening we attended the Crystal Society Reception, which is held for all passenger’s who have previously sailed with Crystal. Several passengers were recognized at the session who have sailed on a significant number of Crystal Cruises. Since this evenings attire was Formal, passenger were mainly dressed in formal attire. Most men wore tuxedos or dinner jackets and most women were dressed in gowns or other formal outfits. It’s wonderful to see everyone dressed so nicely.

After the reception, we had dinner at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. We dined with a fellow World Cruise Passenger who we first met on last years World Cruise. She is a delightful person.

We will not be able to post the next couple of days, as we will be spending one evening in Bangkok. The driving distance between the Cruise Ship Terminal and Bangkok is approximately two hours each way so we thought it made more sense to stay overnight in Bangkok. We made our arrangements through Crystal’s Shore Excursion Program.

We will arrive in the port city of Laem Chabang, which is the gateway to Bangkok. Bangkok is known as the “City of Angles”. It is well known for its oriental charm along with its ornate temples and shrines, crisscrossing canals and its towering golden spires. Some of the well known sites include the Grand Palace & Wat Pra Keo built in 1872, Wat Po which is known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, National Museum which houses an extensive collection of Buddhist and Thai art, Vimarnmek Palace which is the largest teak structure in the world.

Crystal provides a complimentary shuttle to the resort town of Pattaya, which is located approximately forty minutes from the port of call. Pattaya is Thailand’s oldest international beach resort. This town is very well known for its shopping and beach areas.

We listened to the talk that was given on board the ship by Photojournalist and Publisher Mason Florence about Bangkok. He provided lots of valuable information about Bangkok including sites to visit, the layout of the city, shopping, restaurants, various means of transportation and the overall culture. It was very informative. According to the lecturer, since we are arriving on Saturday morning that we should encounter less traffic than on a weekday.

We are looking forward to our first visit to Bangkok, Thailand and spending the next two days exploring this city.

Keith & Anne Marie

Good-Bye Vietnam

2008-03-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

NOTE: We updated yesterdays post with one additional picture, which is the first one on yesterday post. It is a picture of the Post Office and Eiffel designed this building.

We posted a few pictures from today. One pictures shows the two of us in our Purim costumes with the Rabbis lovely wife.

Another picture features the Rabbi and the final picture features the Crystal Band playing at the Purim Event.

We awoke early this morning to start our day. Keith went directly to the Fitness Center and was the second person to arrive as Mary was already in the Center. Mary was on an early tour today so she wanted to get a portion of her workout done before the tour began. Keith enjoyed a wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. At the same time Anne Marie was doing the laundry and Keith met her in the laundry room with coffee in hand for her and to help her finish the laundry.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. We continue to have the same type of breakfast each morning with Keith having cereal and fruit and Anne Marie having either cereal or on occasion oatmeal and some fruit as well.

This morning some of our fellow passengers went on tours. These tours included a Journey to the Mekong Delta, Countryside Drive with the highlight being a visit to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, The Highlights of Ho Chi Minh City, which we took yesterday, and a Vietnamese Cooking Demonstration.

At the same time, some passengers are leaving the ship to depart on one of two Crystal Overland Tours, One tour was an overland to Hanoi to provide time to see this city and the other tour was the very popular tour called The Wonders of Angkor Wat, which is located in Cambodia. We know that the latter tour has been sold-out for month. As a result, we know some passengers who have made private arrangements to visit Angkor Wat through a private tour company. These passengers will also leave the ship at various times today for their flight over to Cambodia. Most of these passengers will meet up wi the ship in a few days as we have an overnight in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking of Bangkok, Crystal offers a couple of excursions, which involve an overnight in Bangkok. One of the excursions is very structured with a lot of touring and the other one provides transportation from the ship into Bangkok which can take up to two hours due to traffic and also includes one night hotel accommodations and a breakfast the next morning before returning to the ship later that afternoon. We chose the latter program based on advice we received from Crystals Shore Excursion Team given our particular interests. We thought it made sense for us to stay downtown to avoid a four-hour drive for each of two days since the ship has an overnight in this area of Thailand. We will not be able to post while we are at the Hotel.

We are glad that we have had the opportunity to visit two areas of Vietnam on our World Cruise Adventure. Some people have asked us about our impressions of Vietnam. Overall, our impression is that for the majority of the people the way of live here is a big challenge. The first priority for most of the citizens is to earn enough money for necessities such as food, housing and clothing so that they can survive. Life is certainly not easy here because in the large cities such as Ho Chi Minh City there are stores upon stores that sell the same items, the city is extremely overcrowded, and sufficient infrastructure is not yet in place to support the vast number of people who live and visit this city. At the same time, life in the more rural countryside areas is very difficult and the standard of living in those areas is well below the average standard of living in more densely populated areas. With that said, many of the people seem full of hope with the majority believing that things will get better in-time and that is our sense as well. If we compare this area of the world with say Africa (with the exception of South Africa) there truly is hope in this Country and we believe that overtime that Vietnamese people will succeed and that progress will be made in each succeeding decade. We also realize that as tourists that we only see things from a certain perspective as our interaction with the locals comes primarily from those associated with the tour and those that we meet during the course of the tour.

We also want to point out that our tour guide on each of our two tours in Vietnam were wonderful. The tour guide we had yesterday was outstanding. He had an excellent command of the English language, provided lots of wonderful information throughout the tour, was very thorough in answering each and every question and also had a wonderful sense of humor. ☺

Another observation from yesterday is the fact that luckily many of the historical buildings in Ho Chi Minh City were not destroyed at the end of the war or as part of the Communist takeover of this part of Vietnam. These historical buildings with their various influences from the French and from other nearby areas in Southeast Asia add to the overall charm of this city.

We stayed on the ship today as we decided not to go into town. We enjoyed a wonderful day on the ship. We took a nice long walk on the promenade deck in the morning and took advantage of the extra time to get ourselves organized for our upcoming overnight stay in Bangkok. Keep in mind that the port that we were docked at is one of two ports serving this city and this one is a more remote port from the downtown city center and that travel to and from the downtown area can take anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes depending on traffic.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the dining room. We each had a salad entrée and we sat at a table that our Senior Waiter in the evening is assigned to for lunch.

Our ship set sail at 3:00 PM for Bangkok, Thailand.

This afternoon at 4:30 PM there was a celebration for Purim. Purim is one of the most joyous holidays of the Jewish year. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination, as told in the Biblical Book of Esther. Some of the passenger’s wore various types of costumes to celebrate the holiday. We each wore a festive outfit as well.

As usual, the Rabbi and his wonderful wife did a terrific job hosting this event. It was well attended by passengers of many faiths and the entertainment, and food were wonderful

We ate dinner in the Main Dining Room. The food and the service was outstanding.

After dinner we attended an event for those on the Full World Cruise. The event was called Thai One On. The show featured lots of dancing and singing and was wonderful.

Keith & Anne Marie

Ho Chi Minh City

2008-03-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that over years thirty have passed since the last of the American forces left the shores of Vietnam. So much has changed and taken place throughout the world in this timeframe, from worldwide events, to technological advancements, to worldwide travel and tourism, to music to everyday living and to how we see the world today. To put this into perspective, almost 70% of the people living in Vietnam were not even born at the time of the war. There were no personal computers, microwave ovens, cell phones during this timeframe. We were listening to music using eight track tapes and/or LP Record Albums. The Beatles had only broken up a few years earlier, the Rolling Stones were in their heyday, and disco fever had not yet hit the airwaves. We saw the world on television just through the national news, as there were no twenty-four hour news networks. The majority of cars bought and sold in the United States were domestic cars. All of this makes us wonder what changes will take place thirty years from now as change occurs more rapidly in each succeeding decade.

Ho Chi Minh City is a very exciting city with an atmosphere of electrifying energy. It offers tourists quite a few places to see throughout the city and in other nearby areas. Approximately 8 million people live in this city. As one drives through the city it is highly congested with more motorbikes than we have ever seen before. Everyone you look, there are lots of motorbikes.

Living in this city requires more income than say in the last port of call we visited. In order to survive in this city one needs to have a monthly income of $300.00 per month in US dollars. In order to have an average lifestyle, an income of around $500.00 in US dollars would be required each month.

Some of these places include the Cathedral of our Lady, which was opened to the public in 1880. There is the Historical Museum, which has been opened since 1929 and is house many historical artifacts. There is the Independence Palace, which was completed in 1966 and was the home of the former Prresident of South Vietnam, Nguyen Van Thieu, until the fall of Saigon in 1975. There is the Ben Thanh Market, which is located in the center of the city. Just about forty miles Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City are the Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels lie at the end of the Ho Chi Minh trail and were utilized as the base from which Ho Chi Minh gorillas attacked Saigon.

As usual, we slept very well last evening and we awoke early this morning to begin another wonder day on our World Cruise Adventure.

We began our day with our daily workout in the Fitness Center. Keith was the first one to arrive and he worked out the entire time on the Elliptical Machine. Anne Marie arrived about twenty minutes later and other regulars such Mary and John also worked out while we were there. By the time we left, the center was quite busy and all of the Elliptical Machines were in use. As we’ve mentioned, the center has been a good deal busier during this segment of the World Cruise as we have had a relatively younger group of passengers on board the ship for this segment.

We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room. Afterwards, we ran a few errands including taking care of some items at the Shore Excursion desk and with the Concierge.

During the Captain’s morning announcement he noted that we would arrive in port by 11:00 AM and that the ship would be making some sharp turns as we navigated a river leading to Ho Chi Minh City. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “Wrinkles should only indicate where smiles have been.”

Afterwards, we took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck so that we could view the land on both sides of the ship as we made our way up the river. This is the Vietnam that we expected to see as we viewed jungles full of trees everywhere we looked as well as swamps running through certain areas off the shoreline. Frequently, we would see small fishing boats and we could also see some shacks along the shoreline.

We wanted to mention that we have spoken with a few men who served in Vietnam during the 1960’s and early 1970’s. This is the first time they have been back here since the war. They come here with many mixed emotions. A man we spoke with last evening did two tours over here in the 1960’s and early 1970’s and he said that he was unable to leave the ship in our first port of call as it brought back to many bad memories for him. He did feel comfortable visiting Ho Chi Minh City and actually planned to rent a car for himself and for his wife to see this area on his own.

Our ship docked at Lotus Port, which is located about five miles from downtown Ho Chi Minh City. We arrived around thirty minutes after schedule because we had to wait for another ship to leave the port area. This is an industrial looking port. The locals did set up some stalls on the dock where they sold a variety of items.

The drive into the city takes about thirty minutes given the traffic situation. Crystal provided a complimentary shuttle, which operated between the pier and the Rex Hotel in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Our ship stays overnight in port and our ship is scheduled to depart the port tomorrow at 3:00 PM local time.

Since our tour began at 1:15 PM we had lunch on the ship before beginning our tour. We decided to eat before the dining room was open so we enjoyed a nice salad entrée in our room.

This area of Vietnam is much warmer and humid than where we were the other day. By the afternoon, the temperature seemed to be around 85 degrees Fahrenheit but what made it seem quite warmer was the humidity

Before we began our tour, we walked around the pier to look at items that the locals were selling. These locals were not as pushy as we expected. The prices were quite cheap reflecting the low cost for labor to make the various goods. The prices that we have observed in Vietnam are the lowest prices we have seen from any port of call that we have visited in the last few years. Clearly, the dollar still has value in Vietnam. ☺

The tour that we booked for this afternoon consisted of the highlights of Ho Chi Minh City, which we thought would be a good way to get a nice overview of this city. Overall, we thought that the tour was excellent and we really enjoyed our tour guide. We quickly learned from our tour guide that wherever we drove that we would arrive in five minutes and that any item we wanted to buy was $1.00. ☺

Our tour included a visit to the former Presidential Palace, which is now known as the Reunification Hall. We also visited the National History Museum. We saw the colonial-style Central Post Office. Eiffel designed the post office. Our tour also included a visit to the city’s Chinatown; Cholon, which dates back to the 18th century, and we had the opportunity to see the busy Binh Tay market. Our tour included a view of the 18th century Thien Hau Temple, which was dedicated to the goddess protector of sailors. We also went to a lacquer workshop where we saw first hand skilled artisans practicing their craft. We also had the opportunity to be taken on a cyclos which was a one person seat in a metal basket with a man pedaling on a bicycle in the front. It was quite an interesting experience.

We returned back to the ship at around 6:30 PM and we quickly changed for dinner. We enjoyed a very nice dinner in the main dining room.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Ho Chi Minh City

2008-03-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

NOTE: We added a couple of pictures to our journal from yesterday so if you scroll to the end of today’s post you will see them.

Today, we are at sea as we sail to our next port of call in Ho Chi Minh City, (formally Saigon) Vietnam.

Some thoughts about yesterday:

What we observed yesterday is very similar to what we had been told by others that we know from previous cruises who first shared their thoughts to us about the people of Vietnam based on their own travel experiences.

The people who we had the opportunity to meet yesterday during our visit to Vietnam were very nice and appeared to us to be extremely hardworking. In spite of the fact that they do not earn much money and that there is high unemployment in their nation, the people seem to persevere. They are willing to do a variety of jobs for whatever money they can earn. For example, on our tour yesterday there were three people from the tour company on the bus rather than the normal number of two. In addition to the bus driver and the tour guide there was a third person. The third persons job was primarily to run off the bus as we got near a tollbooth to purchase the ticket for the toll and then a few minutes later to run over to yet another booth with the ticket. This reduced the time the bus had to wait to pay for the toll. Likely, he receives very little in the way of salary but some income is obviously better than no income.

We believe that because of the dedication and perseverance of these people, that they will end up making a better life for themselves overtime.

We enjoyed a good night sleep and woke up early this morning to begin our day. When Keith arrived to the Fitness Center, two passengers were already there including John. Anne Marie arrived about twenty minutes later. About three-quarters into our workout Mary arrived. Now, is this a community or what? We enjoyed a great workout as Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. Keith watched some of the shows on CNN, FOX and CNBC to keep up to date on the United States economic related issues. We are also keeping up with them vis-à-vis the internet and the papers that we receive on board the ship. Keith and Mary spoke about how wonderful the tours were in Vietnam yesterday.

After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee before breakfast was delivered to our room. At around 7:00 AM we had breakfast and then started to get ready for today’s activities.

During the morning announcement from the bridge, Captain Glenn shared his thought of the day, which is “Even to climb the highest mountain start with one single step.” For us this means to take one step at a time.

We attended Rap with the Rabbi. The discussions continue to be excellent and have covered a nice set of topics. Each segment of the World Cruise has been unique because in addition to seeing some people who are doing the entire World Cruise each segment also provides the opportunity to meet new people and to hear what they have to say on a variety of topics. The Rabbi noted in today session that we will be celebrating Purim on board the ship this Thursday afternoon.

We attended yet another outstanding lecture given by Destination Lecturer Jay Wolff. The topic of his presentation was “Tet.” As part of this lecture, Dr. Wolff talked about the impact that this offensive had on the eventual outcome of the Vietnam war.

The next presentation was given by veteran actor and acclaimed writer-producer Laurance Luckinbill who presented “World Matter.” As part of this presentation, Mr Luckinbil shared excerpts from some of his award winning one-man shows based on the lives of Lyndon Johnson, and Teddy Roosevelt. He is also known for playing other roles such as Clarence Darrow, and Ernest Hemingway. His wife is Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Lucie Arnaz will also be speaking during the course of this voyage.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room.

Later in the afternoon we attended on of Crystal’s Production Shows called Gotta Dance. This one is the newest of the production shows offered on the ship. We enjoyed the show.

After the show, we attended a cocktail reception sponsored by the travel consortium that our Travel Specialist belongs to. On each of the eight segments of the World Cruise this travel consortium sponsors a reception for those passengers either on the entire World Cruise or on one or more segments of the World Cruise. Coincidentally, our Travel Specialist is on this segment of the World Cruise so she and her husband hosted today’s reception. These receptions provide yet another nice opportunity to get to know our fellow passengers.

After this reception, we had dinner in Silk Road with our Travel Specialist and her husband. We have a wonderful dinner and an outstanding conversations with them.

Speaking of this wonderful restaurant, the former Asian Restaurant on Crystal’s other Ship the Crystal Symphony has now been converted to Silk Road as well which we think is wonderful. While the conversion took place the former restaurant served food in the Lido Café and now that the new restaurant has opened up towards the end of the current voyage, so that as many passengers on that sailing can experience the wonderful food of Silk Road they are open for both lunch and dinner. Again, this is just for the last few days of that cruise.

And speaking of food and fine service, we wanted to share some thoughts on what we have experienced during this world cruise. In terms of the food selection, on this World Cruise on each segment of the cruise the main dining room has offered food items that are different on each segment in order to provide more diversity for those who are on the entire World Cruise or on several segments. At the same time, they have provided some of the traditional and mainstay food items that seasoned cruisers who might be on one segment of the cruise are accustomed to. In this manner, Crystal has done an outstanding job in our opinion in accommodating the desires of all of its passengers and we highly commend Crystal’s Corporate Chefs and other executives for taking this approach.

At the same time, Crystal’s dining room personnel continue to do an outstanding job of being able to prepare food items for passengers that are not on the menu. Some items can just be ordered at the time of the meal. For example, we can easily ask for an item on the menu to be prepared differently such as asking that a particular fish be grilled rather than be fried or we can ask for other side dishes rather than those that are shown on the menu. At the same time, we can order certain entrees not on the menu at the time we place our order. With 24 hours notification, we can order just about any item within reason. The same applies to breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The food served on board the ship is of the highest quality, and it is also presented beautifully. If one didn’t know, they would think that the kitchen is only preparing food for a handful of patrons rather than an entire ship. Each meal is carefully crafted and our hats go off to Crystal for not only consistently offering the finest cuisine but for their efforts to continue to improve upon the menu.

We have also noticed that in the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant that on each segment of the World Cruise that some changes have been made to the menu in order to offer a few different items. At the same time, the signature dishes are always available.

On top of the outstanding food is the outstanding service. The level of service provided throughout the ship continues to be top notch. The crew is superb at all levels throughout the ship and in all departments. In our opinion, the level of service is truly amazing.

We are pleased to say that this World Cruise has exceeded all of our expectations. As we have said from the very start, this is a journey. So, let the journey continue with our visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which we reach late tomorrow morning. We will have an overnight in this city.

Keith & Anne Marie

Da Nang, Vietnam

2008-03-17T03:12:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Today, we visited Vietnam for the very first time. During this segment, we will visit two ports of call in Vietnam. Today, we visited Da Nang, Vietnam. The ship docked in Chan May Port, which is, located approximately 30 miles from Da Nang.

The ship also docked close to Hue allowing passengers to visit this imperial city. Hue, which is pronounced “hway”, served as the Vietnamese capital from 1802 to 1945.

There are a variety of places to visit from this port of call. In addition to Hue, there is China Beach, the Marble Mountains and Cham Museum. We visited the latter three on our tour.

If we think back to the period anywhere from the 1960’s to say mid-1990 we never would have imagined visiting Vietnam in our lifetime. Yet, here we are in Vietnam today. Of course, the same could be said about those from America’s generation from the 1940’s when they had the opportunity years later to visit countries such as Japan and Germany. This demonstrates how time can heal great pain and conflict between nations and those who are your enemies today can be your friends tomorrow. We know that this country still had a ways to go and that the people who live there do not enjoy the benefits that people in certain other areas of the world enjoy. For example, the government owns the land, rather than its people.

Since we set the clocks back one hour last evening, we awoke even earlier this morning as we also needed to get ready for a relatively early shore excursion. We each worked out in the Fitness Center on the machines that we have become accustomed to use each and every day. A couple of the other regulars such as Mary and John also worked out this morning. As was the case yesterday morning, the Fitness Center was fairly full of passengers by the time we finished up. With a great percentage of younger people on this segment of the World Cruise it’s nice to see more passengers utilizing the equipment in the center.

Towards the end of our workout, as daylight occurred, we realized how foggy it was outside. As a result of the fog we could not see the ocean from the Fitness Center.

After our workout we went back to our room and as we were walking down the corridor we could see the room service steward (the Butler does not come on duty until 7:00 AM and it was 5:50 AM) right near our door getting ready to bring our breakfast to our room. He was a few minutes early and this turned out to be perfect time. We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room and after a little while we could see the ocean from our room even thought it was still fairly foggy outside.

Our ship arrived in port at around 7:00 AM. There is no fog on land. From our verandah we could see some stalls that were being set up where the locals sell merchandise. We could also see a long stretch of hills full of trees. There were some members of the military on the pier.

During Captain Glenn’s morning announcement he shared his thought of the day which is “Opportunities are made not found.”

We met our tour at 8:30 AM. We knew a few of the couples on our tour including our Travel Specialist and her husband.

Our tour included Da Nang and China beach so it represented both the “ancient” and the “new”. We were transported on a bus from the pier to the city of Da Nang. The drive took over an hour. We passed by a variety of small towns and a variety of structures from buildings in disrepair to nice looking buildings. During our drive into the city we drove thru the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia. If we remember correctly it is 6.5 kilometers.

During our drive to and from Da Nang, we were impressed with the overall roads. Overall, they were in better shape than we expected. There are very few automobiles on the road. Rather there were mostly buses and trucks and as we got into the city a vast number of motorbikes and some bicycles. The school children mainly ride on the bicycles.

Our first stop was the Cham Museum, where we viewed a variety of artifacts and our tour guide provided a good deal of information about what we would see.

We were then taken to an embroidery factory and from there we walked over to the Han Market. At the market a variety of items were sold from fruits and vegetables, to flowers, to a variety of packaged and bulk candies, to other food items, to thousands of shoes, to purses along with lots of other items. As we walked back to the bus, there were street vendors trying to sell us their items.

Afterwards we were taken to the village at Marble Mountain. The mountain is shaped like a dragon and is a series of marble and limestone formations. There was a store adjacent to the mountain, which sold marble items from little boxes and jewelry to very large items such as marble tables, benches lions and Buddha’s. Some of us, including Keith walked up the mountain. It was a beautiful walk and ended with a walk into a cave. We were told that during the Vietnam War that the cave was used as an emergency medical facility.

We then proceeded to China Beach. It served as a place for military personnel to find some rest and relaxation during the Vietnam Conflict and today is used by Hollywood to shoot a variety of movies. It is also home to a variety of five star resorts and there are plans to build many more over the coming years. We were taken to one resort for cold beverages including local beer, sodas and waters. The beach was beautiful as was the resort and if you didn’t know you were in Vietnam you may think that you were at a tropical island such as Hawaii. The setting was breathtaking.

As we drove back to the ship other areas were pointed out including an areas that was used during the war as an American Landing Strip.

Our guide shared lots of information to us about Vietnam. Interestingly, whenever he spoke about Ho Chi Minh City he referred to this city as Saigon. Keith asked him about the name and he said that the older people still think of it as Saigon and that the younger people also prefer to call it by its shorter name; Saigon.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour. Our tour guide had a nice sense of humor. There were times that we knew he was pulling our leg.

When we arrived back to the ship there were lots of locals selling items along the pier. There is no question that the sale of items made in Vietnam to tourists and the export of items around the world is a contributor to their economy. They are also trying to drive their economy vis-à-vis tourism. We realize there are other areas of their economy from the fishing industry to the export of rice to the outsourcing that is now coming into their country. It is still a rather poor country but our observation is that it is on the right path, which should pay dividends over the long run. We found the people to be very friendly.

We pre-ordered lunch before we left the ship in the morning so that it would be ready when we returned back to our room. After lunch, we looked at the items that were being sold on the pier (we didn’t purchases any but had a good time looking at them) and then we took a nice walk on the Promenade Deck.

The weather was delightful today. We had expected it to be very humid and that was not the case. We would guess that the highs were in the low 80s. It was a perfect day to be visiting this area of the world.

This evening we dined at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. We dined with Herbert Doppler, the Hotel Director of the ship and with Walter Pietschnig the Food and Beverage Manager. As Hotel Director, Herbert Doppler has responsibility for all personnel associated with the operation of the Hotel portion of the ship including all of the Stewardesses, Restaurant Personnel, Bar Staff, Entertainers, Cruise Director and his staff, the Front Desk, including Shore Excursion, Concierge, and Reception Personnel, the Pursers office, and just about everyone who is not involved in the operation and technical support of the ship. At the same time, Walter Pietschnig has responsibility for the Food and Beverage areas of the ship, including the restaurants and the lounges. We had a very enjoyable dinner with them. The food, service and of course the conversation was outstsanding.

St. Patrick’s Day was recognized in the Main Dining Room of the ship with some items that were on the menu in spirit of this holiday. This included Cream of Spinach Soup (green), Irish Lamb Stew, a couple of Desserts such as “The Dubliner” which consisted of Molly Maguire’s Bricoche Breat and Butter Pudding with Whiskey-Banana Caramel Sauce and Guinness Ice Cream (no calories ☺ ) and the “Irish Rain” consisting of Apple Fritters with Spiced Grapes and Crème Brulee with Guinness and Toasted Almond Ice Cream.

We each wore some green this evening in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Tomorrow, we have a sea day as we sail to Ho Chi Minh City.

Keith & Anne Marie