Wednesday, March 17, 2010
PHOTOS:
We posted several photos.
Various pictures from today’s visited to Khasab. You’ll see a few of them with “Flat Stanley” the new member of our travel adventure. J
A few photos from last nights formal night on the ship including pictures of the new 20th anniversary charger plates. The charger plates have different area of the world on them.
We included a couple of pictures taken at the World Cruise Land Event at the Formula One Race Track.
Also we included several pictures from in and around the Dubai Mall and a couple of other pictures of Dubai.
We posted several photos
We wish everyone a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day From The Crystal Serenity.
We had a wonderful time last evening.
We left Dubai on schedule at around 5:00 PM. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Crystal Cove. We sat with a woman who travels solo who we have known since the 2007 World Cruise. She just recently celebrated her 100th sailing with Crystal a few weeks ago. It was very nice to sit with her. We talked about how wonderful our sailings have been with Crystal and about our future Crystal plans and about all of the special places we have visited.
We had a terrific time in the Main Dining Room. Yes we each enjoyed the fresh Maine Lobster which is Anne Marie’s favorites. It was delicious. On our table were new Crystal commemorative 20th Anniversary Charger Plates. They were beautiful. We also each had a nice salad and berries for our dessert. We talked about that the next Grand Gala Buffet will include the 20th anniversary theme which will have many of the favorite dishes that passenger’s have enjoyed over the years. This has already been implemented on the Crystal’s sister ship the Symphony.
Afterwards, we attended the Captain’s Welcome Reception hosted by Captain Glenn. There was a very nice turnout at the reception. We sat with friends Bob and Glo and friends John Clark (the Golf Pro) and his lovely wife Pauline. One could feel lots of enthusiasm in the room as we kickoff yet another voyage on the World Cruise. We talked about how maybe one time Keith will give golf a try.
After the reception we went to the evening show featuring West End Vocalist Robert Meandmore who sang a nice variety of songs. It was a very nice show and he will be performing again in a few days. He sang a variety of songs featured in popular Plays and we enjoyed the performance.
NEWS ALERT: J
Keith awoke early as he does on most mornings and enjoyed another nice workout in the Fitness Center. However, one passenger was already there and already on Keith’s favorite Elliptical Machine so he had to choose another one. L It was not big deal but it was funny that after all of the days on the ship this was the first time that Keith was on another Elliptical Machine. Yes, we are all creature of habit.
He worked out for eighty minutes on the Elliptical Machine. After the workout he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee. One of the Lido Deck Stewards, Nat helped Keith with his coffee. Anne Marie also worked out for an hour on the Treadmill and then stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee.
When he got back to the room Keith did a couple of small laundries. We were asked that it seems that we do laundry frequently. We have found that sometimes it’s very easy to do small loads as we can get the items dried quickly and also when we know it’s a quiet time we try to get this done. If we have a lot of early excursions or ones that are long in length we do not try to do it on those days. Also, we just find it nice to wash the exercise shirts often because unlike ones house since we are in essentially one room it’s nice to keep those workout clothes smelling clean. J
We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room as we arrived to our next port of call.
Today, we arrived to Khasab, Oman, which is another Maiden Port of Call for Crystal Cruises. It is so nice that we have visited so many new ports of call for the very first time.
Khasab has a population of approximately 18,000 residents. It is a city within the Sulanate of Oman and is a popular tourist destination. Khasab features dramatic landscapes, formed b a backdrop of mountain peaks and a picturesque coastal routes and stretches of unspoiled beaches. Arabic is the official language of Oman but English is widely spoken.
We decided to take the complimentary shuttle over to the downtown area rather than taking a shore excursion. During this leg of the World Cruise we do have several shore excursions planned and it is just not practical to take excursions in each and every port.
We were advised dress in conservative attire and we always follow these recommendations. Men were asked to ear long trousers and tops with sleeves. Women were asked to ear loose, long garments, ensuring that their shoulders and knees were covered. As was the case in the various Middle East ports we were asked not to take pictures of any military or government buildings.
While we didn’t take an organized tour we actually saw quite a lot along with areas that some of the tours went to and actually spoke with far more locals than we could on a tour. We took the first shuttle from the pier over to the downtown area. The shuttle bus driver did not speak a word of English so he could not give us any directions after he dropped us off.
During our adventure we met some locals who spoke no English, a few that knew a few words of English and some who spoke it very well.
The downtown area contains several streets with many small shops. We walked with lecturer Rex Ziak who lectures on the first couple of legs of the World Cruise. We were trying to find the Souks which we eventually did. The three of us walked around town and eventually ran into an owner of a bakery shop and he invited us into his shop. He gave us each a piece of cake to take with us. He spoke a few words of English but enough so we could communicate.
We also visited a very small fruit and vegetable Souk and by small we mean very small. One of the men who worked there pointed us in the correct direction for the larger Souk which is known as the Old Souk. We began to walk there and were joined on our walk by Passenger and friend John. After about fifteen minutes a shuttle bus heading back to the ship saw us and Anne Marie and John got into the Shuttle. Rex and Keith continued on their adventure.
We finally found the Souk but it was not a traditional Souk. It was comprised of a variety of small shops. We went into one of the shops and what we learned was that there were different sections of the Souk that traded and sold goods to specific countries. The area we were in was an area that sold goods to Iran. Here is how it works. They purchase goods from Dubai which in this store included some food items, televisions, other equipment such as satellite receivers, tobacco, perfume and a variety of other items. These items come from various places including the USA. In turn, they sell these items to Iran. They are taken on speed boats into Iran which is about thirty-five miles from the port. We went into a few other shops including one that sells sandals.
We continued our walk and stopped at a Cemetery. There were many graves and most were marked with very small rocks but a few had something larger.
We stopped in a small residential area and spoke with a few locals.
We continued our walk and stopped at Khasab Castle and Fort. This Fort dominates the small harbor area. This Castle, which has been restored, has existed for more than four centuries. The Portuguese originally constructed it in the beginning of the 17th century. This property also contained a very nice museum, and beautifully constructed vessels. There was a nice gift shop with two men and two women who spoke excellent English so we chatter along time about the town and their backgrounds.
About the time we finished our tour of the castle passengers who were on a Crystal Tour entered the Castle and Fort so we stopped by the tour bus where we each picked up bottled water. We normally bring bottled water with us but didn’t anticipate that we would be walking as much as we did so we were glad to have some water. We both walked up to the main road where at that point we were only a five-minute walk from the ship and coincidentally one of the shuttle buses saw us and stopped. Rex decided that he wanted to go back to the Castle and Keith took the shuttle back to the ship.
During the course of our walk we stopped to talk with at least twenty five different locals from some that had just caught fish and were taking them from their little boats over to the fish market to all sorts of people. We found the locals to be very friendly. While we were intrigued by them they were intrigued by us. The reality is that it is very infrequent for a cruise ship to stop at this port and there were no others in the town who were not from the Middle East. So, they were intrigued to learn where we are from and a few of them wanted to learn about the United States of America. After all travel is about discovery and just as it is nice to learn about people and places when we travel it is also nice if locals can learn about us and where we are from.
When Keith arrived back to the ship he found Anne Marie in the Bistro so he told her all about his adventure with Rex. We will be having dinner with Rex and with his wife Keiko Osugi who is the Guest Relations Officer for the Japanese Passengers which we are looking forward to .
We had lunch back on the ship in the Lido Café. Yes, we each did have a very nice salad entrée.
During the afternoon we remained on the ship. Anne Marie took another nice long walk on the Promenade Deck and then sat out at the pool. As he has done often in the afternoon Keith walked, wrote, read and spoke with some fellow passengers.
Before dinner we attended a mandatory lifeboat drill. All passengers were asked to attend this drill and one of the reasons is due to the area of the world we are sailing in.
Today was a great day. While we enjoyed Dubai we feel that today gave us an excellent opportunity to see how people in this area of the world live as this town has very little tourism.
This evening we will be attending dinner at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with two senior officers on the ship. We will post more about our dinner tomorrow.
Tomorrow we will visit another port of call in Al Fujairah of the UAE, which is another maiden port of call stop for Crystal Cruises. We have a shore excursion planned for tomorrow morning.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF 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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Tell us more about Flat Stanley.
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