March 11, 2010
NOTE: We posted several pictures from yesterday’s brunch. We thought that the desserts looked wonderful so you will see many pictures of the desserts. We posted a few pictures from today in Abi Dhabi and will post many more tomorrow.
We had a wonderful time on the ship last evening.
We first attended drinks at the Captain’s Quarters along with some of the other passengers. Both the Crystal Society Hostess Jacque Brown and Captain Glenn warmly greeted us at the door and then we enjoyed very nice conversations with fellow passengers. We had a wonderful time. We greatly appreciate that the Captain hosts these parties and truly appreciate all that Captain Glenn does. To us, he is the consummate Captain.
Afterwards, we went back to our room for pre-dinner canapés and drinks with our friends Lynn and Allen. Alexander did a wonderful job setting up the canapés which included caviar, shrimp, lobster and vegetables and we enjoyed a bottle of a Champagne that was made especially for Crystal Cruises to commemorate the 20th year this wonderful cruise lines has been in existence.
The four of us dined at Silk Road and feasted on many Japanese delicacies. As usual, the food was outstanding along with the overall ambience and the service. Once again, our waiter was Alberto. Alberto knows us very well and probably could order all of the items for us, as he knows what we enjoy. We had sushi and sashimi and we each had an entrée and we had fruit plate for our dessert. We had such an nice time and we were there for almost two and one half hours.
Before this leg of the World Cruise comes to an end we will dine together with Lynn and Allen one additional time at Prego and one time in the Main Dining Room.
We enjoyed a very nice sleep as we made our way to Abu Dhabi.
Keith woke up very early so that he could go to the Fitness Center for another morning workout. He was the first to arrive and enjoyed a wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. He was the only person in the center working out. After his workout began just a few minutes after 4:00 AM.
During the workout Keith watched on the television the lecture that was given by Special Interest Lecturer Bill Miller who presented “When Getting There Was Half The Fun – The Last Atlantic Liners.” This is the second of three lectures that Bill Miller is giving on Ocean Liners along with one that he will give about how cruising has changed over the years. He is a tremendous speaker. He provides lots of very interesting information, in an easy to understand manner and he has an easily excellent speaking voice. For those guest who enjoy hearing about the history of passenger cruising he provides lots of solid information. For some who had the opportunity to sail on the Ocean Liners of the past his lecture is a fun way to reminisce about what it was like to cruise. Even for Keith he remembers the day as a youngster when he and his family boarded a ship in New York City to set sail on a thirteen day cruise. That was back in the days when family and friends would come onto the ship for a few hours for parties to send those loved ones off for a cruise. There would be canapés and drinks for everyone and as the ship was getting ready to depart the band would be playing, people would be on the pier cheering for the sendoff and passengers would be tossing confetti from the ship. This lecturer brings to life the old traditions of cruising. He shared some interesting information about the Queen Elizabeth which was purchased by Dubai from Cunard Cruise Lines after it was retired and is now located at Palm Island. Given the current financial situation in Dubai there is speculation as to what will happen next. Evidently, the ship was purchased for significantly more than its true value.
After his workout was over, he brought coffee back to the room for the two of us. As we had an early shore excursion, we had breakfast delivered to the room quite early. Our butler Alexander coordinated this so that the night room service attendant set up the breakfast for us.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi, which is the first time we have visited this port of call.
Abu Dhabi has a population of almost one million residents. Arabic is the official language of the U.A.E, but English is also widely spoken.
This is clearly the city with wealth and is one of the wealthiest cities in the world. This region sits atop approximately 10% of the World’s Oil.
We were supposed to arrive to Abu Dhabi by 8:00 AM but due to significant fog our arrival was delayed and we didn’t get off the ship until 10l00 AM.
We took a complimentary shore excursion provided by Crystal Cruises, which was a highlights tour.
As part of this excursion we visited the iconic Grand Mosque, which is one of the largest in all of the UAE. This is one of Abu Dhabi’s most familiar landmarks as it has multiple domes and soaring minarets.
The women were given clothing to wear and men who were wearing short had to wear a robe like top. This is the second largest Mosque in the world and it is enormous. It is still a work in progress.
Many places close in Abu Dhabi by 12:00 Noon since tomorrow is Friday. So, some adjustments had to be made to the tour.
We also visited the Al Hisn Fort. This building houses the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation and features classic Islamic influences including arched white colonnades, cool courtyards and restful gardens. Unfortunately the building was closed by the time we arrived.
We visited the Heritage Village, which also inspired a Bedouin community. Finally, we drove along the scenic Corniche, a broad, strand-like expanse of sidewalk, lined with parks and views of downtown. Dubbed “Manhattan of the Gulf, the glazed skyscrapers, gleaming white mosques and elegant high-rise apartment buildings reflect Abu Dhabi’s rising status as a world-class resort.
There is tremendous construction all across this city. There are lots of buildings being constructed as many area of the government are being put into place and there are also many commercial buildings for companies and for other areas of commerce. There is clearly lots of money in this Kingdom.
When we arrived back to the ship we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Lido Café with friends Lynn and Allen and Bob and Glo. Afterwards, Anne Marie took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck, while Keith read and wrote.
Two special shore side events are provided for those guests who take the full World Cruise. The first one is in Abu Dhabi and the second one is in Israel. This evening we will be going to the first of the Shore Side Events and will post much more about this tomorrow.
On the very serious note, recently we learned that the wife of someone who used to work for Keith and whom we have shared a friendship with since Keith retired recently passed away after a bout with Colon Cancer. She was only 47 when first diagnosed with the cancer. Keith has been in contact with the husband and we will see him as soon as we are back home. Before she became ill, they had hoped to retire in another year and were looking forward to spending more time with one another and traveling, including a cruise that they had planned of the Baltics.
This is yet another reminder to put a lot of things in perspective. It’s important to focus on what is really important in life because in the end sometimes those little things are very trivial. We believe in finding balance to planning for today and planning for the future and we do believe not to put off until tomorrow those things that you can accomplish today. We mean this both figuratively and literally. This is one of the reasons that we have been doing extensive traveling at this stage of our life and Keith made the decision to retire when he did.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…
“The world does not have to change…The only thing that has to change is our attitude.”
Keith and Anne Marie
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