Last evening, we posted some additional pictures on our photo web site. Some have previously been posted to this Blog, while others are new. From time-to-time, we will try to add pictures to the photo web site. To view the pictures, just click on the area on the right side of the Blog labeled “Our World Cruise Pictures”.
We enjoyed another delightful evening and a great nights sleep on board the Crystal Serenity as we sailed from Honolulu over to the Island of Maui. The seas were calm. We find that we sleep better on the ship than even at home.
We awoke early in the morning and were one of the first few passengers in the Fitness Center. Keith had his old spot on the elliptical machine next to the wife of the computer instructor. They talked the whole time, as they often did on last years World Cruise. Anne Marie arrived a few minutes later and selected her favorite treadmill. It’s so wonderful to be able to just walk up a couple of decks to the Fitness Center for our morning workout.
By the time we left, we were able to see from the Fitness Center the beautiful island of Maui, a magnificent sunrise, and for quite awhile we also had the opportunity to see two whales who were relatively close to the ship. This is certainly a wonderful way to begin our day.
We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in the Lido Café. As we do often we spoke with several members of the crew who we have come to know quite well over the years from Nat (pronounced Nate) who is from the Philippines and always has a big smile on his face. We spoke with, Tony, our waiter from Prego last evening and also to Bruno who is the headwaiter in Prego. We said hello to some of our favorites from Silk Road from Sigi, the junior headwaiter, to waiters Anthony and Walter.
The ship arrived in Maui on-schedule at around 8:00 AM and anchored off Lahaina, Maui. This is our third visit to Maui. We first visited this beautiful island on a land vacation in October of 1997 where we stayed at the Ritz Carlton and were here again in 2006 as part of a cruise. Maui is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited and today was no exception. The island is lush in greenery and has pretty hills and provides such beautiful views of the ocean. And, then there are the flowers. We adore the beauty of Hawaiian flowers.
We took a tender from the ship over to the Island of Maui. Last month, we received an invitation to lunch from a lovely couple, Jack and Bernice, who we first had the good fortune of meeting on last years World Cruise. There were a total of seven of us from the ship along with our two hosts. Jack and Bernice met us at the pier and after everyone arrived gave us a wonderful tour of the Island as we drove to the restaurant where we would have lunch. We had the opportunity to see the outside of their beautiful condominium. We had a wonderful lunch at a famous restaurant (sorry we can’t remember its name) in the town of Kapalua that overlooked and provided a wonderful view of a beautiful golf course, the ocean and the Island of Molokai. As we’ve mentioned before, when you sail on a world cruise overtime many of your fellow passengers become your extended family, which is how, we feel about Jack and Bernie. They are two wonderful people with a very positive outlook on life.
The ship left Maui at 5:00 PM and at 4:45 PM a sail-away party was held on two outdoor decks, which included live music and complimentary Mai Tais and Blue Hawaiians.
Later in the afternoon, we attended Sabbath Eve Services conducted by our favorite Rabbi. The service was well attended. After services, we ate dinner in the Main Dining Room. Our head waiter made us a special salad at the table.
Today we enjoyed a very special day on a beautiful island with wonderful friends.
Keith & Anne Marie
