2010 World Cruise/Exploring Ancient Empires

Our Final Thoughts - Day 109

2010-04-30T05:48:00.001-05:00

(Pictures From The Final Countdown Of

The 2010 World Cruise)

(World Cruise Hostess And Cruise Director)

(Cruise Director On Left and Hotel Director On Right)

It Is Indeed A Wonderful World

Final Thoughts

Warning: As this is the last post, it is on the long side. We hope that you have enjoyed our Blog.

The final evening of the cruise was wonderful.

Before dinner we went to a Variety Show that included The Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers, Dancers Curtis Collins and Beverly Durand, Violin Showman Martin Lass and Ireland’s Ambassador of Comedy Adrian Walsh. They were all wonderful. The song titled “Time To Say Goodbye Was Also Sung”.

After the show we dined at Silk Road for our last dinner over this voyage. Friends Bob and Glo will joined us. Our waiter for the evening was Alberto who we have had on most evenings. Others had the same idea as us and Silk Road was quite busy. We enjoyed a variety of Sushi and Sashimi, one type of Lobster entrée for Keith and another type of Lobster Entrée for Anne Marie and steamed vegetables for Keith. A couple of specialty items which we did not order but were made especially for us by the chef were brought out to the four of us during various courses of the meal. For the first time this cruise Anne Marie had the Chocolate Soufflé which is her favorite and she ordered a different dessert for Keith instead of his normal fruit plate. We had a wonderful time and also toasted to the wonderful journey we have all enjoyed together. We gave our best to some other guests who were in Silk Road before it was time to go and we also gave our best to the wonderful staff including Alberto, Sonny, Anthony, Walter, Sheila Sigi, Oleg, all the Sushi Chefs and several other members of this team.

We got out of dinner later than desired so we made it to the tail end of the 2010 World Cruise Countdown, which was a wonderful close this journey. In addition to all of the balloons that were dropped from the ceiling there were tons of confetti. This was a spectacular ending to this World Cruise similar to the kickoff event on the evening of January 11. Before we left we hugged World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston and Cruise Director Rick Spath. They were truly amazing each and everyday.

We slept quite well that last evening as we have since boarding the ship in Miami. We were up fairly early so we could get ready to disembark the ship in Southampton. The disembarkation was the best we have experienced of all World Cruises. They disembarked a few passengers at a time and we were in the first group with friends John and Linda and friends Bob and Glo disembarked the ship only a minute or two after we did. As we made it down the gangway Hotel Director Josef greeted us and we warmly said until we see you again. One of the crewmembers walked down with us assisting us with our carry on luggage. Our luggage was not only grouped by color code but all of our pieces were adjacent to each other so it made it a breeze to identify them for the porter. We walked with the porter through the immigration area and we were then met there by representatives from Luggage Concierge who took the bags as they will be sent home. We then walked a very short distance to the area where the cars and vans were waiting and our name was visible on the vehicle that we were assigned. Once in our vehicle we were taken to London Heathrow.

Once at the airport, we had breakfast at the Airline Club with friends John and Linda. We spoke for a while until it was time for John and Linda to catch their flight and we wished them all the best.

Both of our flights were on time. While we encountered a very long time going through immigration we had a very long layover so that was not a problem for us. When we arrived at our home airport we were greeted by the driver from the company that Crystal Cruises contracted with for our pickup and we were taken in a limousine to our home. Everything at home was great and we stayed up another hour getting some items taken care of. For a number of reasons we were very glad that we decided to ship our luggage home other than our carry on bags.

As we have mentioned, we have thoroughly enjoyed this World Cruise Adventure. In all ways, it has exceeded all of our expectations.

We thank Crystal Cruises for making this an outstanding adventure for us. This includes their personnel on land at their Los Angeles Headquarters, others in other land based location and the wonderful Crystal Cruises Crew. Everything was well planned out and thought out and executed to perfection

We are both humbled by all that we have seen and also we feel privileged to have seen so many interesting places that our parents could have only dreamed about seeing and many people will not have the opportunity to see. We are also pleased that we could see the countries that we visited through our own very eyes. We are so glad that the itinerary included the emphasis on the Middle East along with several ports we visited in other continents so that we could see those areas of the world.

As we traveled and saw other parts of the world we are also reminded how lucky and fortunate we are to have been born in our home country. All that we have seen and experienced is a reminder to us to focus on the half glass of water as being half full rather than half empty. We have seen and met many people whose day-to-day lives are quite different than our own and who have very little to hope for. All of this is truly a humbling experience and is another reminder to us to be appreciative for all that we have.

As we've mentioned from time to time given the length of this sailing the cruise ship has become a small village with passengers and crew sharing a good portion of this adventure together. What we find so very interesting is that between passengers and crew that over fifty different nationalities are represented and a strong bond has developed between so many of us. Wouldn't it be nice if such a bond could take place around the world? In the end, we all have much more in common with one another than we do that is different. We should focus on those areas that we agree and then work to resolve those areas where we differ. We realize this is easier said than done.

As we think through some of the ports of calls that we visited where poverty was rampant 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 the family will 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.

From time to time the program that we receive daily at our stateroom has included some information that we wanted to share with each of you. While we realize these statistics might not be 100% accurate, we believe that they still give some perspective to our world. 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 malnutrition1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth1 (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 world’s 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. ”

Each time the Crystal Serenity or the Crystal Symphony leaves port to continue its voyage to the next Port-Of-Call the song "It's A Wonderful World" is played. The tradition of playing this song at each sail away is a very nice tradition that most passengers enjoy as they sail the high seas with Crystal Cruises.

There is no question that we do live in a wonderful world and during this world cruise adventure we had the opportunity to visit many interesting places that help to make this world so wonderful.

It’s A Wonderful World was written by Bob Thiele, and George David Weiss. Louis Armstrong recorded the song and it was first released as a single in 1968. Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

When the song was first released in the United States it sold very few copies but overtime its popularity increased. However, it was an immediate success in the United Kingdom where it reached number one on the United Kingdom singles-chart and was the biggest selling single in the UK in 1968. Louis Armstrong became the oldest male to make it to the top of the charts with this song, at sixty-six years and ten months old. This record held until this year.

There are many interpretations of this song. We like to think of this song is the appreciation of all of the beauty that surrounds this planet that we live on.

Here are the lyrics.

I see trees of green, red roses too,

I see them blue, for me and you.

And I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.

And I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky,

Also the faces of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands, say how do you do?

They're really saying, I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more than I'll ever know.

And I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

Yes I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

This post marks the conclusion of our World Cruise. It is hard to believe that after 115days on board this wonderful ship (first the seven day Miami round trip journey with Eric, Kara, Jennifer and Gui and the 108 day World Cruise Adventure) that we are now back at home.

This has been a wonderful experience that we will treasure and remember for the rest of our lives. We hope that you have enjoyed traveling on this journey with us.

Since this is our last post from this journey we thought we would end with two thoughts of the day to share with each of you.

TODAY’S THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY…..

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." -- Lin Yutang

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventure we can have if only we seek them without our eyes open. That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.”

Keith and Anne Marie

En Route To Southampton, United Kingdom - Day 108

2010-04-27T14:20:00.008-05:00

Some Of The Decorations In The Crystal Cove

For This Evenings 2010 World Cruise Countdown

(Picture Above Is Anne Marie With Silk Road Head Waiter Sigi

Taken During Today's American Classic Buffet Luncheon)

Two Pictures With Waiter Costa From The Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

This will be our last entry for this World Cruise Adventure while on board the ship as we will depart the ship very early tomorrow morning. A few days after we arrive home we plan to post some final comments and thoughts on the cruise.

We enjoyed another wonderful evening on the ship last night.

Before dinner we sat with friends Linda and John at the Crystal Cove where complimentary cocktails and wines were being served. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation with them.

Afterwards, we enjoyed our final meal of this voyage at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. We were served once again by Costa who has been outstanding throughout this voyage. He is very professional, personable, and so kind and thoughtful. Like Keith he also loves working out on the Elliptical machine. We have enjoyed getting to know him these last few months. We began our meal with the special appetizer from the Chef. We then had what has become our favorite salad. We then enjoyed the wonderful seafood entrée which was one of the two specials for the evening. We each had a fruit plate for our dessert. We were seated at a table for four by the Maitre d’ Antonio and then the Head Waiter Enzo came by our table to remove two of the four place settings. The ambience in Prego was wonderful.

After dinner, we attended the Captain’s Formal Farewell Reception. We have tremendous respect and admiration for Captain Glenn and have enjoyed sailing with him over these past few months. Our first sailing with Captain Glenn was in 2008. We look forward to sailing with him again. John and I spoke with the Captain and we each extended our thanks for all that Captain Glenn has done to make this a glorious cruise. We sat with John and Linda at the reception along with three other guests who we know quite well. We also walked around the room and gave our best to so many people who we have come to know during this adventure. We did not say good-bye to anyone as we hope to see each of him or her on a future cruise. It was an emotional evening as we spoke with many familiar guests and crew who we know from previous cruises and we also spoke with others who we met for the first time on this World Cruise. It was a very special evening.

When we returned to the room there was a nice gift for each of us from Crystal Cruises. We also enjoyed the pastry that we had bought for ourselves in La Rochelle, France.

We slept very well last evening and appreciated that we were able to set the clocks back one hour as we sail to a new time zone.

We awoke early this morning. Originally, Keith was going to take the day off from the Fitness Center but decided to workout.. He was the first person to the center and enjoyed a nice long workout on the Elliptical Machine. Brian and then John shortly followed him in the Center. A little while later Mary stopped by to wish all of us a nice trip home and after Keith finished his workout he spoke with Mary for a few minutes. He stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee. Anne Marie finished packing this morning instead of working out and instead worked out in the afternoon.

We enjoyed our final breakfast in our room and we also enjoyed watching the daily morning show for the last time of this World Cruise. Anne Marie called in and correctly answered one of the final trivia questions.

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk he shared his last Thought Of The Day for this journey which was “Don’t cry because it’s over; simply smile because it happened.”

Afterwards, we attended the final lecture given by Destination Lecturer Ken Rees. The topic of his presentation was “The Royals, the Media and the Curse of Celebrity.” Ken gave a wonderful talk as he always does and it has been a pleasure to attend his lectures and to get to know both Ken and his lovely wife.

We also attended the mandatory British Immigration Inspection. By doing this today rather than tomorrow morning it makes the overall clearance process go a lot faster.

After the inspection we went to the American Classic Buffet where we each had a salad entrée. We spoke with many of members of the crew.

We stopped by the Crystal Cove which is the main lobby area and spoke with some members of the crew to wish they the very best. We look forward to seeing them on our next cruise on the Crystal Serenity.

In the afternoon, Anne Marie worked out and we did more packing, read, wrote and spoke with fellow passengers.

This evening we will dine at Silk Road for our last dinner over this voyage. Friends Bob and Glo will join us.

After that we will attend the 2010 World Cruise Countdown, which will include the annual Countdown and Balloon Drop and a “New Orleans-Style” Farwell Jam by the Galaxy Orchestra and Friends.

As this adventure comes to a conclusion we thought that this thought of the day would have great meaning.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over again in the quietist chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To La Rochelle, France - Day 107

2010-04-26T10:18:00.020-05:00

Pictures From La Rochelle, France

Pictures From Last Evenings Serenity POPS Concert

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

We enjoyed another fabulous (and we mean fabulous) night on the ship last evening.

We dined in the Main Dining Room for the last time during this adventure. We have thoroughly enjoyed the Main Dining Room. We have had a wonderful team taking care of us each time we have dined there. We can’t say enough about the wonderful team including the two headwaiters we have had (Augusto for most of the voyage and then when he went on vacation Bojan), Pedja our Senior Waiter, Therese our Waiter and Irji our Somallier. We also are very appreciative of having the Maitre D’, Leo Assmair, in the Main Dining Room for this entire World Cruise Adventure. We have also enjoyed so many of the other staff that works in the Main Dining Room from the wait staff to all of the chefs and other personnel who all play a role in delivering such wonderfully prepared food with outstanding service. They have our respect and our admiration for all that they do and we feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see many familiar faces from previous voyages and to meet others for the very first time.

We had swordfish, which had been on the menu the night before and we had asked in advance if this could be prepared for us. It was wonderful and we also enjoyed our favorite salad. Yes, we ended the meal with berries and they were great.

After Dinner we were treated to a magical performance. It was a Gala Performance by the Serenity POPS. Maestro Bret Bullock, Vice President for Entertainment of Crystal Cruises, led the show. Twenty-four, yes twenty-four musicians, six vocalists, three dancers and one narrator accompanied him. They played a variety of musical pieces including classical music. At one point there was a battle of the pianists, which included six pianists. Several members of the crew carried a second piano onto the stage. Then one by one it started with one pianist on each piano. Before we knew it there were two pianists playing on each piano and all of a sudden yet another pianist joined them so we were listening to a piano performance by three pianists on each piano. After they finished two other musicians shared one of the pianos.

All of this was truly amazing and this is one of these performances that words can never come close to describing what a terrific concert this was. It combined wonderfully played music with some humor with some singing and dancing. It was unbelievable. We lost track but Bret Bullock played a wide variety of instruments last evening in between conducting the vast majority of the show.

The length of the show was close to 90 minutes and the performance was truly outstanding. We are not sure if we have ever seen a concert that was as good as this one. In addition to all of the performers from Crystal some outside performers were brought on-board the ship just for this concert. When we say the performance was outstanding we mean it. There were several standing ovations throughout the show and of course at the end of the show. The show capped off not only a wonderful evening but also a wonderful World Cruise. All of those involved with this production put their hearts into this and it clearly showed. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo.

We began our day as we normally do with a nice workout at the Fitness Center. Keith arrived there fairly early and worked out on the Elliptical Machine. As he has done on most days after his workout, Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring back some coffee to the room. Anne Marie worked out a short while later and worked out on the Treadmill. Like Keith, after her workout she stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room.

We both enjoyed another nice breakfast in the room and then we got ready for our visit to La Rochelle.

This is our first visit to La Rochelle, France. The city population totals less than 100,000 inhabitants.

This town is known for its beautiful harbor and its elegant buildings and its waters that boast some of the world’s most impressive yachts. La Rochelle is the largest yachting hub on France’s Atlantic Coast.

The town has beautiful cobbled streets and many arcades and is a nice place to explore on foot. La Rochelle also has many museums including the Museum of Natural History along with the Museum of the New World.

Since we have taken many tours during the course of the World Cruise we did not take a tour today. A complimentary shuttle was provided between the pier and the City Center. It was a bit cooler than we first thought so before boarding the bus we went back to our room to get our fleece jackets to wear underneath our jackets. The sky was sunny though and once again we did not have any rain. Overall, we have had wonderful weather since we left Miami, Florida.

All visitors were asked to carry their passports with them. On the return back to the ship, local authorities boarded the bus and asked to see our Passport and the Ships Boarding Card and they also ensured that our respective names were on the passenger boarding list.

We took the first shuttle into town and we walked around for a while. Some of the buildings date back many years. We walked around for quite a while. We even bought ourselves French Pastries which we took back to the ship to have this evening.

We had lunch in the Main Dining Room with one of the officers of the ship and had a great time reflecting on this journey and talking about a variety of other items.

In the afternoon, we continued packing, and we read, wrote and also Anne Marie took a very nice walk on the Promenade Deck. We also spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

This evening we plan to dine by ourselves at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. Afterwards we plan to attend the Captain’s Formal Farewell Reception. We will post about this tomorrow.

TODAY’s THOUGHT FOR THE DAY….

“You are never too old to set another goal or to draw a new dream.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Balbao, Spain - Day 106

2010-04-26T04:59:00.014-05:00

(Fifteen Pictures From Today's Visit To Bilbao, Spain)

(View Of Guggenheim Museum)

(The Spider Outside The Guggenheim Museum)

(Another View From Outside The Guggenheim Museum)

(One Of Many Beautiful Parks)

(One Of Several Pedestrian Bridges)

(Another Nice Bridge)

(A View Of The Guggenheim Museum)

(A Nice Pedestrian Pathway)

Anne Marie With The Guggenheim Museum In The Background)

Photo From The Other Entrance To The Guggenheim Museum

With This Sculptured Bush Which Was Also Filled With Attractive Flowers)

(The Main Entrance To The Guggenheim Museum)

(Another View Of This Sculptured Bush)

(The Crystal Serenity In Port Today)

(The Crew Is Always Keeping The Ship In Tip-Top Shape)

Monday, April 26, 2010

We enjoyed another nice evening on the ship last night.

Before dinner we sat at the Crystal Cove and listened to pianist John Mentis. We first met John in 2007 and then we enjoyed his music in 2008 and once again this year. After he finished, we spoke with him for a while and enjoyed a great conversation with him. In addition to playing the piano he also take a good deal

We decided to have dinner in the room and we enjoyed a quiet evening as we had dinner and talked about the extraordinary journey and adventure that we have experienced since we left Miami, Florida on January 4. There is no other way to see as many places as we have seen in this time frame and words cannot adequately describe how interesting this itinerary has been. As we have said from the start of this journey, we have been humbled by this opportunity to see so many places that our parents could only have dreamed about and to see them through our very own eyes. Many times, we feel that our parents are apart of this journey with us.

We had planned to have dinner in the room before we received the invitation to dine in Silk Road on Saturday evening so believe it or not the dinner we enjoyed was from Silk Road. We began our meal with sushi and sashimi, and then for our entrée we each enjoyed Hot Sobu Noodles with a delicious broth, which was accompanied by some scallops. Instead of our normal dessert of fruit we splurged and had a piece of cake. The entire meal was yummy. Before we depart the ship we have three more dinners and plan to eat in the dining room this evening, Prego tomorrow, and finally Silk Road the night before we depart the ship in Southampton.

The sun did not set until close to 9:30 PM last evening so it was light out for quite a while. It’s hard to believe it was so light outside this time of the year.

We slept well last evening as we cruised to Bilbao, Spain. The seas were much calmer than what we had anticipated and we have been very fortunate to enjoy such great weather throughout this voyage. It is hard to believe that the coolest temperatures we would have experienced was in Key West Florida and that most ports that we visited have been rain-free while we were there.

Keith woke up early this morning and as usual made his way over to the Fitness Center for a nice workout. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine and was the first one to arrive there. Fellow passenger and friend John arrived a little while after Keith began his workout and the two of them had a very nice conversation. This is our third sailing with John and his lovely wife Linda and we enjoy their friendship. This will be Keith’s next to last workout, as we will likely take the day off on April 28. Anne Marie also enjoyed a very nice workout in the Fitness Center as she worked out on the Treadmill.

We enjoyed breakfast in our room and then we got ready for our first visit to Bilbao, Spain. Billbao is the capital of the provinces of Vizcaya, which is situated in the western part of the Basque country. Bilbao is the home of the Guggenheim Museum. Bilbao is also the gateway to the Cantabrico Sea. The population of this city stands at around 375,000 residents.

We had originally planned to do a tour but we decided that for this last leg of the World Cruise we would try to visit most of the ports on our own.

We took the shuttle from the Cruise Ship Terminal over to Bilbao, which is located about 12 miles from the Port. We enjoyed the drive. The town right by the port was quite charming with many homes, apartments, cafes and other stores. The architecture was quite nice. Once downtown we went on a very long walk.

The city was beautiful. We liked the architecture of all of the buildings. The weather was perfect. We walked through a number of pretty parks with nicely cut grass, flowers, fountains and/or other statues and various trees and plants. Many of the roads were lined with beautiful trees. There were lots of bridges which included bridges for motor vehicles but several pedestrian bridges.

We walked over to the Guggenheim Museum and all around it. We took in the beautiful sites. We then walked all around many other areas of Bilbao. The streets are lined with cafes, restaurants, shops, office buildings, governmental buildings, and residences. Many of the buildings date back many years.

There is no question that Spain has several beautiful cities. Bilbao is one of them. Unlike Barcelona which is very nice but has a good deal of crime, Bilbao seemed much safer to us.

Bilbao is also surrounded by beautiful rolling hills that were quite green with lush bushes. In many ways it reminded us of the beauty that one finds in Northern California during the rainy season.

We truly enjoyed the time we spend in this beautiful city.

Once we returned to the ship we went over to the Lido Café to enjoy a very nice salad entrée. We spoke with some of our fellow passengers along with some of the crew who work in the Lido Café.

In the afternoon we read, wrote and Keith played paddle tennis while Anne Marie took an hour walk on the Promenade Deck and we also enjoyed some nice conversations with fellow guests and fellow members of the crew.

This evening we will be dining back in the Crystal Main Dining Room and afterwards we will be attending a very special concert. We will post about both of these experiences tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……

“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”

Keith and Anne Marie

En Route To Bilbao, Spain -Day 105

2010-04-24T06:20:00.011-05:00

First Four Pictures Taken After The World Cruise Video Was Show

(Our Wonderful World Cruise Hostess and Cruise Director)

At The Conclusion Of The Event Each Of The Departments Were Represented And We

ALL Gave Them A Standing Ovation As They Paraded Onto The Stage)

(Three Of The Butlers Were There Including Alexander On The Left)

(From Left-To-Right Cruise Director Rick Spath and Captain Glenn Edvardsen)

(They are both Outstanding)

(The Four Sounds Of Serenity Singers)

Following Are Some Photos From Todays

2oth Anniversary Gala Buffet

(The Staff Were Wearing New Uniform Tops)

(Forth From Left Is Executive Chef Franz Weiss)

Sunday, April 25, 2010

We had another nice time on the ship last evening. We dined at the Silk Road Specialty Restaurant with our wonderful World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston, her parents who came on for this final leg of the World Cruise, another World Cruise couple and one World Cruise Female Guest who is traveling solo. We had a wonderful time and it was terrific to meet and to get to know Stacey’s parents. One of the nice aspects of the World Cruise which we have mentioned from time to time are the strong bonds that develop between guests, and the crew and last evening was one example of that. In addition to the wonderful conversation we all enjoyed, we also enjoyed a wonderful meal at Silk Road. We enjoyed a wonderful plate of sushi and sashimi. We then each enjoyed a wonderful soup and we each ordered the lobster for our entrée. We ended the meal with a fruit plate and coffee for Anne Marie and green tea for Keith. It was a delightful dinner.

Last evening was payback time from the night before when we turned the clocks back one hour. This time we had to forward the clocks by one hour. We still have one hour to go when we will be moving them backward by one hour.

This made it a bit more challenging for Keith to wake up this morning. He was the second guest to arrive to the Fitness Center and did his normal workout on the Elliptical Machine. After his workout he stopped by the Lido Café to bring back some coffee to the room. He spoke for a few minutes with one of the members of the Night Crew who he sees all the time and then spoke with a couple of the wonderful Lido Deck Stewards; Lebert and Demi. Around the time Keith returned to the room it was Anne Marie’s turn and she enjoyed a nice workout on the Treadmill. Like Keith, after her workout she stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room as we got ready for our second to last day at sea. We watched the Crystal Cruise Morning Show while we ate our breakfast. Rick had two special guests on the show including the Vice President of Crystal Cruises Entertainment and Enrichment Program, Brett Bullock, and Bandleader for The Galaxy Orchestra, Raphael Derkson. One of the items they discussed is tomorrow evening’s special entertainment, which is the Serenity POPS, which will feature the fabulous Crystal Entertainment Team along with some special musicians who have recently boarded the ship for tomorrow evening’s performance.

Keith dialed into the show to express our appreciation and our gratification for the extraordinary level of entertainment that has been performed throughout this voyage. Keith also mentioned that each succeeding year that the entertainment surpasses the prior year. He also mentioned how talented the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra is and the tremendous job that our Cruise Director and World Cruise Hostess have done along with all of the other members of the Crystal Entertainment Team.

Today is our second to last sea day as our wonderful and exciting voyage is winding down. We are scheduled to arrive to our next port of call in Bilbao, Spain. Since today was a sea day there were lots of activities offered on the shop throughout the day.

We attended a lecture given by Destination Lecturer Ken Rees who we have thoroughly enjoyed during this adventure. This morning he spoke about our final port of call on this adventure before we reach Southampton which is La Rochelle, France. He talked about why La Rochell is one of the most historically rich cities in France and has beautifully maintained its architectural heritage. This included a discussion of the old town where the visitor can step back to the days of the Templars, the Huguenots and the Three Musketeers.

Later in the morning we attended the World Cruise Video Showing. During the course of the World Cruise video has been taken and we got a chance to see the video this morning. About eight weeks after we arrive home a copy of the video will be sent to each of us. Seeing the video reminded us of all of the extraordinary places we have visited during this World Cruise Adventure along with many of the special events we have participated on and off the ship along with all of the entertainers and destination lecturers and others from the enrichment program who have been a part of this journey. Each of our eyes swelled with some tears as we thought about what a wonderful adventure this has been. There was applause during portions of the Video and a standing room applause for our Cruise Director, World Cruise Hostess and Captain and the guest remained standing as personnel who represented all of the ships departments came into the room and marched ont the stage.

At Noontime there was the Ocean 20 Gala Buffet. While this buffet has been available on the sister ship the Symphony, this was the first time this gala was offered on the Serenity. This buffet featured culinary highlights from the last 20 years of Crystal Cruises and is all part of the 20 year celebration for Crystal Cruises. In addition to the special foods, the staff wore new outfits and there were some new serving items.

Some of the items on the buffet included;

An array of Baked Breads and Rolls including Ciabatta, Focacia, Mini Panini, Parmesan & Pesto Ears, Puffy Pastry Sticks; Salt Sticks; Kornspitz; Croissant, and Danish Pastries.

Salads such as Cherry tomato and Baby Buffalo Mozzerella, Prosciutto and Melon Balls, Egg “Penguins”, Marinated Beet Salad with Raspberry Balsamic; Marinate White and Green Asparagus Salad; Marinated Greek Salad; and Traditional Cobb Salad.

Chilled Savories such as a Selection of Sushi and Cut Sushi Rolls; Chilled Alaskan King Crab Legs with Cocktail Sauce; Norwegian Gravlax with Honey Dill Mustard Sauce; Chilled Lobster Tail Half and Jumbo Prawn Tower with Creole Remoulade Sauce.

Hot Dishes included; Jade-Style “Mongolian” Grilled Lamb Chips; Baked Salmon Coulibiac; Poached Eggs – “Benedict”, with Truffle Hollandaise or Sauce Choron, Creamy Spinach; Pink Roasted Prime Rib, Creamy Horseradish, Sauce Bordelaise; Spaghetti “Prince of Naples” Tossed with Tomato, Bolognese and Creamy Porcini Sauce; Eggplan Parmigiana.

Desserts included; Tiramisu, Mini Crème Brulee, Imperial Slice, Chocolate Delight, Cream Swan, Homeade Vanilla Ice Cream, Fresh Berries, Chocolate Fountain and Condiments, Selection of Vintage Cheeses, Grapes, Pecan Nuts, Caramelized Walnuts, Pear Chutney, Ice Wine Jelly, Truffle Honey, Assorted Mustard and a Splendid Presentation of Fresh Fruits.

We viewed the buffet and the introduction of the various chefs. Afterwards, we went to the Lido Café for lunch where we each enjoyed a nice salad entrée.

This afternoon we read, wrote, did some additional packing (L), and we spoke with fellow passengers. Anne Marie also worked out on the treadmill for another hour.

This evening we plan to have dinner in our room. We thought it would be nice to do this before the cruise ends and will post more about this tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY….

“The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain’t so.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Lisbon, Portugal - Day - 104

2010-04-23T14:03:00.023-05:00

(The First Seventeen Pictures Are From Our Walk In

Lisbon, Portugal Earlier Today)

(Six Pictures From Yesterday's Behind The Scenes Tour)

(Hotel Director Joseph)

(AnneMarie In The Engine Room)

(Anne Marie With Cruise Director Rick Spath)

Saturday, April 24, 2010

We enjoyed another special evening no the ship last evening.

In the late afternoon, we took the behind the scenes tour of the Crystal Serenity. The tour was wonderful. We walked in groups of ten guests and our escort was Beverly Durand who is the Dance Instructor and we were taken onto the crew decks. We visited several areas including the crew and officer’s bar, the crew and the officer’s mess, the laundry area where laundry and dry cleaning are done, the engine room, the butcher shop where meat is cut, several areas where supplies are kept including fruits and vegetables, and several other areas of the crew decks. It was a marvelous tour. We had last done this in 2007 and with smaller groups we got to see quite a bit more. We also got to see the dressing areas that the entertainers utilize and we also spoke with several of the entertainers. We talked about what their preparation is like and how they keep fit during the course of the cruise. They are all so amazing.

After this tour, we dined in the Crystal Main Dining Room and last nights menu was a French Dinner. One of the senior officers joined us for dinner. We enjoyed a nice salad and for our entrée we each enjoyed a Dourade seafood entrée, which was accompanied by Jerusalem Artichoke Puree, Thyme Roasted Tomatoes, Braised Leek and Parsley Jus. It was delicious. We also had extra vegetables and for our dessert we each had a bowl of berries.

We enjoyed speaking with the wonderful staff in the dining room. We spoke for a while with Bojan who is our headwaiter. We have had him as the headwaiter for the past few weeks since Agusto went on vacation. We find him to be upbeat each time we see him and have enjoyed talking with him these past few weeks. We also spoke with our senior waiter Pedja and our waiter Therese. They are always very pleasant to talk with and we have really enjoyed their outstanding service. Throughout much of this voyage they have also worked lunches up at the Lido Café so we have also enjoyed seeing them there as well. Like many of our fellow guests, we really appreciate dining at the same table each time we dine in the Main Dining Room and having the same wait staff. Both Therese and Pedja quickly learned our preferences including the type of water we drink, the type of roll we enjoy and our preference for healthy food. They have been very professional while at the same time being very kind and we will miss them when it is time to depart the ship in a few days. Likewise, we have adored the sommelier Jiri. In previous years, the sommeliers would rotate every two or three legs so during the course of the world cruise one might have three sommeliers. It’s been very nice that this time around that the sommeliers have not rotated and we have enjoyed talking with Jiri about wine and so many other items. The wonderful personnel who work in the dining room all add to a dining experience that in our humble opinion is second to none on the high seas.

After dinner we attended the Crystal Society Reception, which recognizes many of the Crystal Cruisers who have sailed on a significant number of voyages. We sat with a very nice couple. We also spoke with others at the event including the Rabbi and his wife, Destination Lecturer Ken Rees and his wife, along with several other people. At the conclusion of the event, they recognized the woman who has completed the most voyages of any passenger and including this final leg of the World Cruise she has completed approximately 275 cruises with Crystal. She will be one of the few guests who will remain on board the ship after we disembark on April 29 in Southampton.

We slept very well last evening. The good news is that we set the clocks back one hour before we went to sleep. J The bad news is that this evening we will set the clocks back one hour. One must be flexible when they travel. J

Keith awoke earlier than normal and actually worked out on the elliptical machine for the longest workout he has had since we came on board the ship. He was alone for a portion of the workout and then about midway through the workout fellow guest and friend John worked out. There were a few other guests working out when Keith finished the workout. Since we were in port today, Anne Marie skipped the morning workout. Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the room for both of us.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our stateroom. We spoke with Alexander for a few minutes about our plans for the day.

We arrived in Lisbon this morning at around 7:00 AM. This is our second time to Lisbon as we were here in 2008. It is a beautiful city with lots of nice scenery to see. Since we have been here before we decided to walk around the city on our own rather than to take a shore excursion.

Lisbon is the Captial of Portugal and was also the site for the 1998 European Expo. It sits on the banks of the Tagus River. It has many famous attractions includng a 12th century cathedral.

Lisbon has a population of close to 600,000 residents. The language spoken is Portuguese.

Rather than taking the shuttle from the Pier to the drop off point at 9:00 AM, after the ship was cleared at around 8:00 AM we walked from the pier to the downtown area. We entered the city at the city center which is Rua Do Comercio and then we walked all around. We walked up a variety of hills which took us to some very quaint areas where people live and in these areas we passed small markets where the locals do their shopping. The weather was perfect and was in the high 70’s. We walked for over three hours and then we walked back to the ship rather than take the shuttle.

After we returned to the ship from our morning visit to Lisbon we enjoyed a very nice lunch in the Lido Café and we had our usual lunch of a salad entrée.

In the afternoon we read, wrote, spoke with fellow guests and crew and Anne Marie took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck.

This evening we will be dining with the World Cruise Hostess, and some other people and we will post about this tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twent or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Gibraltar - Day 103

2010-04-22T14:12:00.014-05:00

First Ten Pictures From This Mornings Visit To Gibraltar

(Trafalcar Cemetery Where The Remains Of Some Are Located Who Died in 1805 In Battle. Others From the 1700's are Also Buried Here)

(A Sign In Front Of A Jewish Market)

(A Kosher Delicatessen)

(Men Participating At Service At Jewish Synagogue)

(Photo From Jewish Synagogue)

(Jewish Synagogue)

(One Of The Main Streets Of Gibraltar)

(A View Of Gibraltar As We Were Walking Into Town)

Five Pictures From Last Evenings World Cruise Event

(Assistant Cruise Director Scott Mitchell, Anne Marie and Switch Board Operator and Crystal Serenity Employee of the Year Roonie)

(Anne Marie with Assistant Cruise Director Scott Mitchell)

(Anne Marie with Switch Board Operator

Ronnie Who Had A Part In Last Evening' Show)

(Crystal Cruises Cruise Director Rick Spath)

(World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston)

Welcome To Gibraltar, UK

Friday, April 23, 2010

Last evening was another magical evening for as we sailed to Gibraltar.

Before dinner, we attended a 5:15 PM show featuring Jon Courtenay who plays the piano, does comedy and pulls it all together in a delightful show. The show was quite good.

After a few days away from the Main Dining Room, last evening we were back. The menu featured the Neptune Dinner. We each enjoyed a nice salad, and for our entrée Keith enjoyed the Broiled Ahi Tuna Steak which was delicious and wonderfully prepared by the superb Crystal Cruises Chefs. Anne Marie enjoyed surf and turf. We also had a side order of steamed vegetables and brussel sprouts. We had sent a very special wine to the dining room and it was decanted for us ahead of time and it was quite good.

After dinner we attended a special event, which was called a “paramnesia party. The party featured dancing and entertainment and cocktails, wine and canapés were served. It was a wonderful event and we greatly appreciate all of the thought and attention that goes into making each of these events so very special. We truly appreciate all of the hard work that goes into the preparation and execution of each show.

The show included performances by many from the Crystal Entertainment Departments along with a few other members of the Crystal Crew and it included several skits/dances/songs from previous events performed during the World Cruise on top of the new script that was written for this show. It included some best of the best and we have to tell you that many in the audience such as ourselves were very sentimental as all of this was performed. By the end of the performance we had tears in our eyes as we think back to the start of this wonderful journey. We have said from day one that this was not a cruise but rather a journey.

We slept very well last evening as we cruised to Gibraltar of the United Kingdom. Keith awoke early for another nice morning workout. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine. He was the first one to the Center and eventually was joined by three other passengers including friend John. Anne Marie didn’t work out in the morning since we had an early arrival to Gibraltar. We had a nice breakfast in our room as we got ready to go ashore.

This was our second visit to Gibraltar having first visited this port of call only two years go.

Gibraltar sits at the entrance of the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean. It borders with Spain to its north and with Morocco to its south across the Straits. It is dominated by “The Rock” which towers 1,396 feet.

In ancient times, the rock of Gibraltar along with its counterpart located on the African side, Mt. Abyla, were known as the Pillars of Hercules. In 711 AD the Moors landed in this area under their General Tarik. The General first named the rock Jebel al-Tarik and in time the rock was renamed to its current name of Gibraltar. In 1462 Spain recovered Gibraltar from the Arabs. During the Spanish Succession in 1704 Gibraltar was taken under control by British troops and in 1713 it was formally assigned to Britain.

Today, the population of Gibraltar is around 35,000 residents.

We walked from the ship over to the town, which is only about a fifteen-minute walk. We then proceeded to walk up and down many of the streets. This is a popular port of call for cruise ships and tourists from the United Kingdom and those from other nearby countries. The downtown area is quite quaint and has lots of nice little shops and cafes and also some famous tourist spots.

We arrived in the town quite early before it became busy with tourists. We found the largest of the four Jewish Synagogues. We knocked on the door and we were able to enter the Synagogue and we went to the area where the women normally sit to observe the second service of the morning. We spoke with one of the members who answered a variety of questions for us. Afterwards, we walked to another area where we found the Jewish School, and a few other Jewish stores and restaurants and a Kosher Grocery Store. We walked to other areas of the town and had a very nice morning walking all around the town.

We were fortunate to have very nice weather as we walked around this lovely town and had a great time just strolling around the town.

A few minutes after we arrived back to the ship we ran into the person who takes video for Crystal Cruises that is used in a variety of video programs and we were asked if they could film us as part of one of these videos. We gladly said we would and we participated in a shoot in the afternoon. Over the past couple of weeks we have also been filmed a few other times.

We enjoyed a nice lunch in the Lido Café and we each made a nice Salad Entrée.

Afterwards, Anne Marie took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck and we both read and wrote and spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

Before dinner this evening we will be going on a behind the scenes tour of the Crystal Serenity. We last did this in 2007.

We will be dining once again in the Crystal Main Dining Room and the theme for this evening’s dinner is a French Dinner.

We will post more about the behind the scenes tour and dinner and other evening activities tomorrow.

This evening we set the clocks back one hour as we cruise into a new time zone. We believe that we will also set the clocks forward tomorrow evening and we still have one more time for them to go backward again before we depart the ship. J

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY….

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”

Keith and Anne Marie

En Route To Gibraltar - Day 102

2010-04-21T06:51:00.004-05:00

(Award Winning Novelist Pat Conroy)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

We had another wonderful time on the ship last evening. At around 6:00 PM we sailed for our next port of call; Gibraltar, United Kingdom. This will be our second visit to Gibraltar. We will arrive there tomorrow.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Destination Lecturer Ken Rees and his lovely wife Lynne last evening at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. One of the nice aspects of a Crystal Cruise is the opportunity to spend time and get to know many of the lecturers who lecture or give talks on the ship. Those that are highly rated by the guests return year after year and we find that many of lecturers are very accessible and enjoy spending time with the guests. Ken and Lynne just returned back to the ship the other day after departing the ship in Dubai. They had to be creative to get from the United Kingdom over to Liverno, Italy and it took them two days to arrive with challenges including a railroad strike but the good news is that they made it to the ship and the next day Ken was already giving a lecture. He is a wonderful destination lecturer as he is able to present a fair amount of information and keeps the guest very interested with the anecdotes he provides and his good sense of humor. He also puts together a very good power point presentation, which always includes facts and lots of pictures. His background as a journalist for the BBC serves him well.

This was our third dinner with them during this World Cruise adventure. As was the case with our other two dinners it has been so very nice to get to know them and to share and exchange thoughts on a variety of items and a very wide of subjects. We look forward to sailing with them again.

Our waiter for the evening was Costa who has been our waiter on most evenings we have dined at Prego. Like Aberto of Silk Road, he has been outstanding and it is so nice since he knows how we like many of our favorite items prepared.

We began our meal with a very special appetizer tasting from the chef, which was offered to all guests. We also each had piece of Olive Bread and Keith had the cooked garlic. We then enjoyed the special salad they make for us. We had the seafood special for the evening, which was Red Snapper plus a very large King Prawn. It was delicious. We also enjoyed steamed vegetables and for our dessert a Fruit Plate. Everything was supub.

After dinner we attended a cocktail reception, which included complimentary drinks, which was sponsored by the travel consortium that our travel specialist is associated with. On each leg of the World Cruise, which has totaled seven legs, we have been invited to attend one of these receptions.

Afterwards, we ran into our wonderful butler Alexander and we spoke with him for quite awhile. Yesterday was his birthday so we made sure that as each person passed by that we let him or her know to wish Alexander a very Happy Birthday.

We wanted to mention that while we did not encounter any problems in Barcelona we heard a couple of stories that reinforced its number one ranking in the world for petty crimes. By the way, Rome is number 2 and Rio is up there as well.

One person on board the ship was getting into the train when a couple of people went up to him One stepped on his foot while the other one reached into his pocket to take his Blackberry. The good news is that he prevented them from taking it, and the police arrived and about one hour later the police contacted him and he agreed to go over to the jail and file charges against these people contacted him. We also spoke with someone else who was walking on Las Rambles and saw two men grab off the shoulder of man a very expensive camera. The man who was robbed was not on this ship. The person who told me the story is very knowledgeable about this type of camera equipment and thinks it was a $2,000.00 camera. In fact, he purposely did not walk around with his own expensive equipment. While crime happens every second of the day all over the world, it is too bad that this situation continues to be the way it is in Barcelona. It is such a charming and beautiful city and it would be nice if more effort could be made to clean up this situation. In the meantime, this is a reminder for everyone who travels to be we say street smart. For us, this means being careful what we take off the ship with us, making sure what we do take with us is secure and being aware of all that is around us.

We slept very well last evening and we easily fell asleep with the mild rocking of the ship.

Today marks the one week point before we leave the ship in Southampton, United Kingdom.

Keith was up quite early and back at the Fitness Center. Yes, he was the first person to arrive at the center. By now you all know the routine. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine. Yes, he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee. Anne Marie also worked out on the Treadmill. For those of you wondering all of these workouts have been great. While we have been on the ship since January 4^th, we have not gained one pound.

After our workouts, we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room. We spoke with Alexander and we were hapy to know that he was able to celebrate his birthday on the ship last evening. While enjoying breakfast, we watched the Crystal Cruise Daily Morning Show. Keith did call in and correctly answered one of the Trivia questions. This one was a jingle from a commercial from the 1970’s.

During Captain Glenn’s daily morning talk he mentioned that we were on schedule for tomorrows arrival to Gibraltar. The outside temperature was 59 degrees Fahrenheit and we were cruising at a speed of 14.7 knots per hour. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was another great thought for the day. “You can’t reach the top by sitting on your bottom.”

This morning there were two wonderful lectures. The first one was given by Ken Rees and was titled “Where the Land Ends and the Sea Begins.” It was about Portugal and how they became the word’s first global power.

After Ken’s presentation, the next lecture was given by Pat Conroy whose presentation was titled “MY Lifein Story and Screen or How to Put the Fun Back into Dysfunctional.”

After the presentations we enjoyed a very nice on the Lido Deck. Today was the Asia Café Luncheon Buffet and we each enjoyed a very nice salad entrée.

This afternoon we read, wrote and spoke with fellow passengers. Anne Marie also managed to get in another one-hour walk.

This evening we will have dinner in the Main Dining Room. Before, dinner we plan to go to a show. After diner we will be going to a World Cruise Party.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“Keep away from the people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that but the really great ones make you feel that you too, can become great.” - Mark Twain

Keith and Anne Marie

Second Day Barcelona, Spain - Day 101

2010-04-20T01:34:00.016-05:00

The First Eight Pictures From Today's Walk In Barcelona

(We Came Across Several Groups Of School Children During Our Walk)

(Casa Battlo Gaudi Barcelona)

(La Sagrada Familia Cathedral)

(Dining At Silk Road Last Evening)

(Before Dinner Last Evening At The Crystal Cove Lounge)

(Photo Of Beautiful Looking Strawberries At The Barcelona Market)

(Yummy Items At The Barcelona Market)

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

We enjoyed another nice evening on the ship.

We dined at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. Once again, we had Alberto as our Waiter. Sonny who had the evening off last night normally assists him. We gave Alberto a gift for himself and also one to give to Sonny. We also gave the Head Waiter of Silk Road some gifts to give out to the folks who work behind the scenes at Silk Road along with some extras to give out to others such as some of the folks who work at the Lido Café.

It has been so nice to have Alberto as our waiter on most evenings that we have dined there. He pre-ordered a couple of items for us and he also ordered for us the sushi and sashimi that we enjoy each time we dine at Silk Road. We each had the Hot Soba Noodles for our entrée which is served with a very tasty broth and rather than having Tempura we had some scallops added to the soup. It was wonderful. We each had a fruit plate for our dessert and Anne Marie had decaffeinated coffee and Keith had green tea. There were several familiar guests dining in Silk Road along with us so we spoke with several of them on the way into dinner and after we finished our meal.

We plan to dine at Silk Road two more times before the conclusion of this adventure.

The ship had an overnight in Barcelona which is really nice for those who wanted to go into town for dinner or for a drink as well as those guests who wanted to do more touring on the second day of our visit here. It also provides a nice opportunity for members of the crew to spend some time off the ship.

We enjoyed a very nice sleep and began our day as we have most of the days on the ship. Keith was up very early and was the first one at the Fitness Center. He worked out for an hour and thirty minutes on the Elliptical Machine. He stopped by the Lido Café and brought back coffee to the room. Then it was Anne Marie’s turn and she worked out on the Treadmill.

We enjoyed breakfast in our room. It was Alexander’s birthday so we gave him a birthday card. We also have a gift for him that we plan to give him in a few days.

We took the 10:00 AM shuttle from the Pier over to the World Trade Center. From there we walked for a few hours. We took quite an extensive walk. Once again we walked from one end of Las Ramblas to the other end. We then walked quite a bit more over to the La Sagrada Familla Cathedral, which was the life’s work of Antoni Gaudi. Unfortunately, Gaudi died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed. After walking around the Cathedral we walked to other areas of the city. We then walked over to the Passeig de Gracia which is the major shopping district of Barcelona with all of the high end retail shops. Along the way we came across Gaudi’s home. The weather was delightful and we had a wonderful time walking around. The architecture of so many of the buildings around this beautiful city is quite interesting and very pleasing to the eye.

Between the elliptical machine and our long walk, Keith put in over 25 miles today.

We then took the shuttle back to the ship. On our ride to and from the port on the shuttle we spoke with several of our fellow passengers.

Once back on the ship we enjoyed a nice salad entrée at the Lido Café.

Later in the afternoon we read, wrote, did a little more packing, did some laundry and spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

This evening we will dine at the Prego Italian Restaurant with destination lecturer Ken Rees and his lovely wife Lynne. We look forward to a nice dinner with the two of them.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……

“The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Barcelona, Spain - Day 100

2010-04-19T09:39:00.025-05:00

The Following Picture Is From Last Evening In The Main Dining Room

(From Left To Right Our Sommelier Jiri, Keith, Anne Marie,

Our Senior Waiter Pedja and Our Waiter Therese)

The Following Eighteen Pictures Are From Today's Visit To Barcelona

One Of Many Shops At The Barcelona Market

(Christopher Columbus Statue)

(Ham and Meat Shop)

(Sugar Candy Jellies)

(Meat and Poultry)

(Fresh Fruit)

(Ham, and Meat)

(Yummy Chocolate and Other Candies)

(Fresh Fruit)

(One Of Several People Dressed Up On Las Ramblas)

(Fresh Flowers)

(Beginning Of Our Walk On Las Ramblas)

Welcome To Barcelona, Spain

Tuesday, April 19, 2010

We now have had over 30,000 visitors to this site. This includes first timers and those who have visited the site more than once.

Once again, we enjoyed another wonderful time on the ship last evening.

We had a formal night, which always is very special with everyone dressed up in formal attire. We find that on the longer voyages you will see the dress even more formal.

Before dinner, complimentary drinks were available in the lounges. We dined in the Main Dining Room and this is one of Anne Marie’s favorite meals because she “loves” fresh lobster. The menu was the Gala Welcome Dinner and featured many delicious items. We each began our meal with a nice salad. Keith had a salad that we refer to as the Keith salad when we order it as it has the items that Keith enjoys and Anne Marie had the Captain’s Salad which was not only delicious but is presented as nice as it tastes. We each had the Broiled Fresh Lobster from Maine for our entrée. We ordered extra steamed vegetables and fresh asparagus and we had mixed berries for dessert. Everything was wonderful and we enjoyed another memorable dinner. We had sent down a special wine to the dining room and we enjoyed that as well. We spoke to our sommelier, headwaiter, senior waiter and waiter and enjoyed nice conversations with each of them. With the exception of the headwaiter, we have had the same senior waiter, waiter and sommelier since the start of the World Cruise. When we had the children on board for the seven-day cruise we sat in a different area of the dining room so we had a different wait staff. It’s been very nice to share the World Cruise experience with many of the same staff throughout our journey.

After dinner, we attended the Captain’s Formal Welcome Reception. This was our eighth and final welcome reception since we first boarded the ship on January 4 in Miami and like all of the other receptions we had a wonderful time. We sat with friends Bob and Glo and with the PGA Golf Pro and his lovely wife. We also spoke with other friends and we managed to dance for one nice song.

As usual, the Captain gave a wonderful talk to welcome everyone including those on just embarking the ship along with those who have been on the ship for one or more previous voyages.

Afterwards, we attended the Production Show which feature music of Rodgers & Hammerstein. The name of the show was My Favorite Things. This show has been featured for many years and is always a wonderful show to see and the performance was outstanding.

We slept very well last evening as we cruised to Barcelona, Spain. The seas continued to be very calm and the slight movement of the ship rocks us to sleep very well.

Once again we began our day by working out in the Fitness Center. Keith was up early and enjoyed another workout on the Elliptical Machine and Anne Marie worked out on the Treadmill. We each brought coffee back to the room from the Lido Café.

We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room and then we got ready to arrive in Barcelona.

We arrived in Barcelona on schedule today and we will have an overnight in Barcelona. We have visited Barcelona three other times in the past; twice previously on the Crystal Serenity.

The city population for Barcelona is approximately 1,700,000 residents. It has several major attractions. This include La Sagrada Famillia which is the life’s work of Antoni Gaudi. There is Parc Guell, which was commissioned by Eusebi Guell. Another key attraction is The Museu Picasso, which is Barcelona’s most visited museum. Las Ramblas is a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard that is busy day and night.

We did not select any shore excursions since we have taken many of them over the years. During our first visit to Barcelona in the 1990’s we also enjoyed a pre-cruise stay in this lovely city, which provided ample time to take in many of the popular sites.

We took the shuttle from the pier over to the World Trade Center. For those of you familiar with Barcelona the drop off point was near the Christopher Columbus Statue. We then walked over to Las Ramblas and walked from end to the other and took in all that was around us. We then proceeded out of that area and walked for quite a while. After a very nice long walk we headed back on Las Ramblas and then went over to the Market. The market is enormous and sells fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, cheeses, candy, nuts, and a variety of other items. As we walked around we were reminded of something that was in contrast to similar markets in Italy. In Italy it was the men behind the counter selling all of these items. At this market, the majority of people behind the counters were women, with some men selling some of the items such as the seafood.

The weather was delightful and as we walked around we truly enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the buildings. When we got off the bus the local representative reminded us to be aware of our surroundings because of those who pickpocket. We were well aware of this from previous visits and we know that this city has the highest rate of this type of crime of any city in the world. The good news is that we didn’t run into any problems.

After we returned to the ship we had a nice lunch at the Lido Café where we both enjoyed a wonderful salad entrée.

In the afternoon, we did some additional packing and we also spoke with some of our fellow passengers. Keith was hoping to play paddle tennis but those who normally play were not available in the afternoon.

The weather seemed cooler in the afternoon and it has turned somewhat foggy.

We were asked if there has been talk around the ship about the situation with the volcano and its impact on flights. The good news is that most passengers who were embarking for this final leg have now arrived to the ship. Yes, passengers like us who are getting off in London are starting to wonder how things will turn out with respect to the flight situation and certainly there has been some talk about this. At the same time we do not get off the ship for another nine days and we are hoping that by then that all will be back to normal.

This evening we will dine at Silk Road and will post more about this tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY….

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

Keith and Anne Marie

En Route To Barcelona - Day 99

2010-04-18T00:37:00.007-05:00

(Dining At The Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant Last Evening)

Monday, April 19, 2010

We enjoyed another nice evening on the ship last evening. We decided yesterday afternoon to have dinner once again in Prego rather than the Main Dining Room. We realized that there was open seating in the Dining Room since many passengers were arriving back to the ship later in the evening from full day tours of Florence. Given the open seating we thought it would be nice to go back and dine at Prego. With so many passengers on the full day tours of Florence or wanting to dine in other venues including Tastes which offers casual dining, Prego was very quiet and we enjoyed a fabulous meal.

The meal was wonderful. We each enjoyed the tasting appetizer provided by the chef, our favorite salad and a wonderfully prepared seafood entrée with a side order of steamed vegetables. We had a nice fruit plate for our dessert.

With very few guests, we had the opportunity to talk quite a bit with the waiter, sommelier, headwaiter and the Maître d’. They also sat us at a four person table which they quickly set for just the two of us and all of this just added to a delightful dinner.

Afterwards, we went by the photo shop to make decisions on a variety of photos that they have been holding for us. We purchased several photos, which were sent up to our room later in the evening. We were glad to get all of this finalized and we picked out some very nice photos, particularly several from some of the special on board events and in setting with others. All of this will add to the wonderful memories of this adventure.

We enjoyed a very nice sleep as we are sailing to our next port of call in Barcelona. The seas continued to be very calm as they have been for most of this voyage.

Keith was up even earlier than normal and he worked out in the Fitness Center. He enjoyed another very nice workout on the Elliptical Machine. As he does daily, he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee before returning to the room. A few minutes after he got back to the room Anne Marie went to the Fitness Center for her morning workout. Keith did some laundry and took care of some other items. Shortly after Anne Marie returned from her workout, Alexander came by the room with our breakfast. We chatted with Alexander for a little while and asked him to bring our remaining luggage to the room as we will continue to do packing over the next several days.

As we do on most sea days we watched the Crystal Cruise Morning Show as we enjoyed our breakfast.

After breakfast we met with the representatives from Luggage Concierge who arrived to the ship in Civitavecchia, Italy and will be on the ship until we reach London. We made a decision a few weeks ago that we will ship our luggage home. This will be the first time we have shipped our luggage.

There were several activities held throughout the day.

There was a Meet the Chefs session, which provided a nice opportunity to meet the chefs and complimentary Bloody Marys, and Mimosas were served. We attended this session and we applauded and gave our thanks to the various chefs for all that they do to make the culinary experience so wonderful.

Destination Lecturer Ken Rees is now back on the ship and he gave a presentation on Spain. He spoke about the Spain of today along with its rich history. Once again, he gave a wonderful presentation and it is so nice to have Ken back on the ship. We love his presentations.

We had lunch on the Lido Deck where there was a very nice buffet for all of the guests.

In the afternoon Special Interest Lecturer Rex Zisk gave a presentation titled “A Brief Journey Through Time.” He spoke about the Mediterranean region from the Stone Age, to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. He also spoke about the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. It was an amazing presentation.

In addition to all of these activities we did more packing and in the afternoon Anne Marie took another long walk and we both did some reading, writing and we both spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

The weather was nice today and we have been very fortunate to have had wonderful weather almost each and everyday of this adventure. This is a perfect time to visit the Mediterranean since the weather is quite nice and it is far less crowded than the summertime.

This evening is the first of the formal nights on this final leg of the World Cruise. We plan to have a nice dinner in the Main Dining Room. After dinner, we plan to attend the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Reception.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Liverno, Italy - Day 98

2010-04-17T10:33:00.010-05:00

(Several Pictures From Today's Walk Around Liverno)

(Outside Of Jewish Synagogue)

(Jewish Synagogue)

(Interior Ceiling Of One Of Several Catholic Churches We Visited)

Two Pictures From Last Evening In Our Room

Sunday, April 18, 2010

We had a very nice time last evening with friends Bob and Glo.

Before dinner we enjoyed canapés and champagne in our room as we toasted the start of the seventh and final leg of the World Cruise. We have only done this two other times since we boarded the ship and really appreciated the beautiful set up by Alexander.

Afterwards, the four of us went to the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant for another fabulous dinner. Since we are sailing in Italy we thought it would be nice to have Italian cuisine. As usual, the cuisine, service and the ambience of the restaurant were superb. Costa was once again our waiter for the evening. As we have mentioned, he knows so much about the food that we love to eat.

We began our meal with the appetizer tasting from the chef. These appetizer tastings are always so very tasty and their presentation is perfect. We then had the nice salad we always enjoy when dining at Prego. Keith had a fish entrée with an extra side order of vegetables and Anne Marie had lobster, which she also had accompanied with pasta. We each had a fruit plate. There were very few people dining in Prego. We suspect this is because it was the first day of the new leg of the cruise, some guests had lunches in Rome or in Civitavecchia, some guests had been on all day tours of Rome and some were on the evening tour of the Vatican while others had early excursions planned for today. We were the last to leave the restaurant and just had a wonderful evening together.

Later in the evening the ship set sail for our next port of call in Liverno, Italy.

Once again we awoke early for our morning workouts. Keith was the only one in the Fitness Center for most of his workout as other regulars are on all day shore excursions today. He enjoyed a wonderful workout on the elliptical machine. Likewise, Anne Marie worked out a short while after Keith returned to the room on the treadmill.

A few minutes after she arrived back to the room we enjoyed our breakfast.

The ship arrived in Liverno, Italy at around 7:00 AM this morning and will depart this port at 9:00 PM this evening. Liverno is a gateway port to get to many interesting sites including those sites in Florence and in Pisa. As we have been to these locations before we decided not to take any excursions today and instead we enjoyed a relaxing day in port and on the ship.

In the morning we went into port. Since today is Sunday most shops were closed. We walked around the town for a couple of hours. We passed by several cathedrals and went into one of them which was quite impressive on the inside. We found a Jewish Synagogue. At first we did not realize it was a Synagogue as the building was quite modern looking but as we went around the building we realized it was indeed a Jewish Synagogue. The name of the Synagogue is Templo Israelitca. It is build on land where the original 17^th Century Synagogue was located. Unfortunately, like many Synagogues it was destroyed during World War II. This Synagogue is relatively new. We walked along many other areas of the city and saw a variety of statues and several impressive squares.

Wehad lunch back on the ship and we ate in the Lido Café. We enjoyed a nice salad entrée and we ate outside since the weather was so nice. We also ate outside yesterday. We have been so very fortunate to have such wonderful weather throughout the World Cruise.

In the afternoon we read, wrote and spoke with some of our fellow passengers. Anne Marie took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck.

We also started to pack those items that we will not need during the remainder of this voyage.

This evening we will be back in the Main Dining Room for dinner.

TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….

“If things do not turn out as we wish, we shall wish for them to to turn out as they do.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Civitavecchia, Italy - Day 97

2010-04-16T00:56:00.030-05:00

(Queen Victoria)

Several Pictures From Civitavecchia, Italy

Cathedral

Some Additional Pictures From Yesterday's Tour Of Herculaneum

(Kitchen That Was Part Of A Restaurant)

Wine Cellar And Wine Barrels)

(Floor Inside A Home)

(Beautiful Artwork Inside A Home)

(More Art Work Inside A Home)

(Pretty Tiles Outside A Building)

(Columns With A Fair Amount Of Detail To Them)

Welcome To Civitavecchia

Saturday, April 16, 2010

It had been several days since we had dined in the Main Dining Room and it was great to dine there last evening. As usual, the food, service, and the ambience of the dining room was perfect. We had a wonderful meal. We each had a nice size salad, and we each had the salmon entrée, which was delicious. We had some extra vegetables and we had berries for dessert. One of the benefits of now being in the Mediterranean is the wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables from this region.

After dinner, we went to a 7:45 PM variety show featuring Dulcimer Performer Pingxin Xu and singing star Petrina Johnson. The show was terrific. The performance by Pingxin Xu is quite unique and very entertaining. We also greatly enjoyed the selection of songs that Petrina Johnson sang which included one of Keith’s favorite songs from West Side Story, Somewhere.

Afterwards, we went to one of the lounges and ended up chatting with a few members of the crew and we were enjoying such a wonderful conversation that believe it or not did not get back to our room until 12:30 AM. So, like most other people while we tend to mostly be a “creature of habit” last night was not the case.

We did sleep well but considering how late we got to sleep we took the morning off from our daily workouts as we both got up around 7:45 AM. We had breakfast in the room and then got ready to go off the ship.

This morning we docked in Civitavecchia. This port marks the end of the sixth leg of the World Cruise and the start of our final World Cruise leg.

During the course of this leg of the World Cruise we sailed from Athens, Greece to Civitavecchia/Rome, Italy and we cruised a total of 3,139 Nautical Miles or the equivalent of 3,610 Land Miles.

During this seventh and final World Cruise leg we will have four sea days and we will stop in Livorno (gateway to Florence and to Pisa), Barcelona for an overnight, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Bilbao, La Rochelle and we will complete our journey at Southampton, England.

We have visited this port of call on numerous occasions. It is the gateway to Rome. Some people took transportation into Rome but since we have been there multiple times we decided to spend the day walking around Civitavecchia which we did all this morning. For those of you familiar with the port instead of taking the shuttle from the ship to the entrance of the port we just walked from the ship over to the entrance of the pier and then right into town. We then walked all around this nice town. While we have visited this town before it was much larger than we realized. The weather was also perfect and since it was a Saturday so many of the locals were out and about. We visited many areas including the extensive food and seafood markets, where many items were being sold including a wide range of fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, cheese, breads, household goods and clothing and other items. There were many different stands and stores selling these items so there was so much to choose from and they mainly sell to the locals who buy their food fresh. This is the way we remember cities in our own country when people would go to little shops and to buy fresh items on a daily or every couple of day basis.

We also walked to the Train Railway Station, and our walk included a visit to the Cathedral that is dedicated to St. Francis. We walked along the old city wall and also to Fort Michelangelo on our way back. We also walked up and down several streets and into various shops including a few pastry shops. Several trees were blooming since it is springtime.

We stayed out all morning and we walked all over the town. We then went back to the ship for Lunch, which we enjoyed at the Lido Café. Yes, we enjoyed another nice Salad Entrée.

We enjoyed or walk so much that in the afternoon we decided to walk around this town again to get some exercise and fresh air and to just take in all that was around us. Most shops were closed in the afternoon, but it was still fun to walk around. We did find the local supermarket and walked around for a little while. This town is getting better each time we visit it. There has been quite a lot of construction since we were last here in 2008. We think that this town recognizes that with all of the cruise ships that dock here there is a great opportunity to increase tourism. This town could be good t for those who do not want to stay in Rome for say a one or even two night pre-cruise stay. They appear to be on the correct path to compete for this tourism.

Once back on-board we saw many passengers who joined the ship for the first time today. In general, many of the passengers who are scheduled for this leg will board today. Others will board tomorrow in Livorno as they were able to make it to Florence and still others will board in Barcelona. For those passengers who left the ship today some were already on flights that were not impacted by the volcano ashes, others were able to get new flights with connections to airports that were not impacted, others were already scheduled to spend a few days in Rome or in other parts of Italy and still others will spend a few unplanned days in Rome. Finally, there are a few passengers who extended their stay on the ship.

After our walk, we took care of some items on the ship, read, wrote and spoke with some fellow passengers.

Before dinner we are having friends Bob and Glo over to our room for some canapés and then the four of us will go to Prego for dinner. We’ll post more about this tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY….

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

Keith and Anne Marie

WelcomeTo Naples, italy - Day 96

2010-04-15T13:38:00.019-05:00

Six Pictures From Today's Tour Of Herculaneum

We'll Post More Tomorrow

(Some Color On Various Interior Walls)

(Some Mosaic Tiles In Home)

(Boat House Where The Only Skeletons Remains Were Discovered)

(World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston)

(The Extraordinary Crystal Dancers)

(Wonderful Music and Dancing)

(Excellent Performances By All Of The Gifted Crystal Cruises Entertainers)

(We Loved All Of The Wonderful Entertainment Last Evening)

(Our Table At The World Cruise Event)

(Greg Michael, President Of Crystal Cruises Was Our Host

And Seated To The Right Of Anne Marie.)

Friends Linda and John Seated To Keith's Left)

(Our Wonderful and Superb Cruise Director Rick Spath)

(Wonderful Entertainment At The World Cruise Event)

(Wonderful Violinist, Nicola Loud Who Performed At The World Cruise Event)

Friday, April 16, 2010

We had another wonderful time on the ship last evening. The highlight of the evening was attending the special event called “A Gypsy Rhapsody.

We can’t say enough about how truly special this event was.

We arrived to this event at 5:15 PM and enjoyed a cocktail before the start of the Dinner and Show. We sat and spoke with friends John and Linda. Each of us received our table assignments a few hours before the event. A few minutes before 6:00 PM a few tables were called at a time and the host of each table escorted those guests sitting at the table into the area where the Dinner and Show was held. Right before we entered our the venue a group picture of those at the table was taken

In our case, we were first escorted over to the area where our friend Mary who is the wife of the Computer Instructor Stan was holding the event. The host of our table, Greg Michel, President of Crystal Cruises, then greeted us. We were seated at the table with four other couples all of whom we know including friends Linda and John. Anne Marie was seated just to the left of Greg Michel, with Keith to her left and then Linda and John over to our left respectively. Our seats provided a wonderful opportunity to converse with the host of our table and we all enjoyed wonderful conversations throughout the evening.

We greatly appreciate having had the opportunity to be part of the table hosted by Greg Michel. We talked about a wide range of topics and all of this significantly added to making this evening so very special for us.

We had a couple of wonderful senior waiters assigned to our table from Prego including Costa who is normally the waiter we have at Prego and also Rossi who we also enjoy a great deal and who has taken good care of us on this cruise and in 2008. Our waiter from the Main Dining Room, Therese, also was assigned to our table and that also was a very nice touch.

The meal including the cuisine and its presentation was fabulous. The meal included Fresh Smoked Salmon Trout with Potato Latkes, Chive Crème Fraiche for the Appetizer, which was followed by Hungarian Cabbage Soup. The entrée was Roast Beef Tenderloin with Root Vegetable sauce, Asparagus Bundles and Homemade Egg Noodles. The dessert was Topfen Palatschinken with Sauce Anglaise and Marinated Strawberries. Of course there were rolls.

Three wines were served including a Whiete Sauvignon Blanc from Adige, Italy a red wine which was a Chianti Classsico Reserva from Tuscany, Italy and a dessert wine which was from Austria and was delicious.

There was coffee, tea and other beverages available.

The entertainment was truly outstanding. It is incredible that an entire show is developed for the evening featuring skits, dancing, singing, all of the instrumentals and a special performance by a violinist, Nicola Loud, who was brought back to the ship after appearing earlier in the cruise for this event. They then perform these two magnificent shows (one for early and the other for late seating) never to be seen again. It is amazing how professional these entertainers are and the collaboration that goes into pulling this all together.

This was another special evening that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Our thanks go out to all of the personnel who made this event a success.

We slept very well last evening as we cruised to our next port of call. Keith awoke early and was back in the Fitness Center for his morning Elliptical Workout. He was alone for a while and then fellow passenger and friend John arrived and the two of them were the only ones working out. After the workout, Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the room for both himself and for Anne Marie. Since we had an early tour today Anne Marie skipped the workout and worked out this afternoon. Keith spoke with some of the Lido Deck Stewards including Ruel and Brian. All of the Lido Deck Stewards were up late last night helping to clean up following the second event. As we say the event is a team effort and so many personnel are involved in its success.

We then had an early morning breakfast in our room, which was served by Alexander. We chatted with Alexander about how wonderful last night was and what we would do in port today.

We arrived in Naples this morning. We have been to Naples several times in the past.

The city population of Naples is close to 1 million residents. This city is a gateway to several tourist sites including Herculaneum, Pompeii, The Amalfi Coast and to the town of Sorrento.

We took a shore excursion through Crystal Cruises, which was the Excavations of Herculaneum. The town of Herculaneum was buried in volcanic mud when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, and the mud hardened preserving the site in near perfect condition.

We thoroughly enjoyed the excursion. We only had around 20 guests on the tour and we had a wonderful tour guide. We all wore the earphone sets that were provided to us so we could easily hear the guide without the need to be under foot.

As is the case with Pompeii there is much to see what impressed us the most is the ingenuity and the sophistication that existed back then and how this also translated to the structural integrity of these sites. We saw some homes that in many ways still looked beautiful between the artwork on the walls and the beautiful mosaic tile on the floor.

The weather was nice as it was only around 70 degrees and it was also overcast. We had a few drops of rain just for about 10 minutes. This is a perfect time of the year for these tours since it is far less hot and humid and there are also far less tourists than in the middle of the summer.

After the shore excursion we arrived back to the ship and went to the Lido Café for lunch. As usual, we each made a nice salad entrée for ourselves.

In the afternoon, Anne Marie worked out and we also wrote, read and spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

Anne Marie also went to see an afternoon movie titled It’s Complicated starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin and enjoyed the movie. We didn’t get a chance to go but the other day the movie Avatar was featured.

We also wanted to mention that the Crystal Serenity 2009 Employee Of The Year has been selected and announced. The winner is Ronnie Espina. For those of you who may have sailed with Crystal before and on this ship he is one of the Telephone Operators. He was on the first portion of the World Cruise and he has recently come back from being on vacation. He used to work in the Library Once in a while he has performed in some of the one-time shows. He is a wonderful person who is very friendly and helpful and goes out of his way to make each person feel special. Yes, these are three great traits that are characteristics of the Crystal Crew.

This evening will mark the last evening of this leg of the World Cruise. We will dine in the Main Dining Room and will post more about this evening tomorrow.

TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….

“There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he’s absolutely free to choose.”

Keith and Anne Marie

WelcomeTo Cantania/Sicily, Italy - Day 95

2010-04-14T10:05:00.015-05:00

Nine Pictures From The Mercato della Pescheria

Food Market

(The Elephant)

(St. Maria di Rosario Church)

(Duomo)

(The Piazza Universita)

(One Of Many Churches)

(Anne Marie With Thomas Mazloum)

(Anne Marie, Keith and Thomas Mazloum)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

We enjoyed another wonderful time on the ship last evening.

We were invited to dine at Silk Road with Thomas Mazloum who is Senior Vice President for Crystal Cruises responsible for both the Hotel Operations and the Marine Operations. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and had a lovely time catching up with Thomas on a variety of subjects.

In addition to enjoying a wonderful conversation we also enjoyed a fabulous meal. We began the meal with a few tasting size appetizers that the chef prepared for us. A platter of our favorite sushi and sashimi items followed this. We each had lobster for our entrée and Keith also had some steamed vegetables.

Last evening was also Thomas’ birthday so we each had a piece of Birthday Cake and some ice cream, which was delicious. We really appreciate all of the time that Thomas spent with us and it was just a perfect evening. Afterwards, we walked around the ship for a little while before getting back to our room a little before 11:00 PM.

We slept very well last evening and the seas continued to be very calm. Although we went to sleep later than usual Keith was still up very early and back up at the Fitness Center. Fellow passenger Brian was already working out when Keith arrived and a little while later John arrived for his workout. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and after his workout he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee. Keith chatted with one of the members of the Lido Café, Ruel, and also with John’s wife Linda and he also chatted for a few minutes with one of the members of the night crew who work so very hard to keep the ship spotless.

Like Keith, Anne Marie had an early workout on the Treadmill and also stopped by the Lido Café and brought coffee back to the room.

As we do each and every day, we enjoyed a nice simple breakfast in our room. We continue to have oatmeal, and some fresh fruit each and every day. We chatted with Alexander for a few minutes.

This is our third time visiting Sicily but our first time docking at Catania. Each time we have visited this region we have docked at different towns. Catania has a city population of close to 300,000 residents. This is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily. This city faces the Ionian Sea, and is located between Messina and Syracuse. It is the second-largest city in Sicily.

Catania is an ancient, medieval, and Baroque city. It is considered the cradle of theatre and of music.

We arrived this morning slightly before 8:00 AM. The port is located about one half mile from the town and Crystal Cruises provided a complimentary shuttle to take guest between the port and the city center.

We took the shuttle into town and walked around.

for a couple of hours. We saw the Roman Amphitheatre, The Saint Maria di Rosario Church, The Piazza Duomo, The Catania’s Cathedral, The Elephant which is a symbol of the City of Catania since 1200. We also walked a major food market, which included vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, cheese and many other food products. There were numerous stands selling this food along with stores behind the stands and lots of local buying this food. The items looked very fresh. We then walked past the Duomo and then we proceeded to walk back from the downtown area back to the pier. From a distance we could see the snow on top of Mt. Etna.

Although the town looks quite old and some buildings could use some work we really enjoyed our walk and all that we saw. The inside of the churches that we viewed were just beautiful.

We enjoyed lunch back on the ship and rather than go to the Lido Café as we normally we enjoyed lunch in the Main Dining Room. We each had a nice salad entrée and some fruit.

During the afternoon we enjoyed the ship. We read, wrote and spoke with some fellow passengers.

The evening we will be attending the second of the special World Cruise Dinner and Show that will be held around the indoor pool area of the ship. A temporary wooden stage is places on the pool for the entertainment. The name of the show is A Gypsy Rhapsody. We are assigned specific tables for this event and a cocktail reception will be held afterwards. We will post more about this tomorrow.

We appreciate all that Crystal Cruises has done to make this an outstanding and memorable World Cruise. We will that treasure all that we have experienced for the rest of our lives.. With this thought in mind, we want to share with each of you today’s thought of the day.

TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY…..

“Appreciation can make a day – even change your life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”

Keith and Anne Marie

En Route To Catania, Italy -Day 94

2010-04-13T00:37:00.004-05:00

(Crystal Serenity In Kusadasi, Turkey)

(View Of The City Of Kusadasi, Turkey)

(Another Photograph Of Kusadasi, Turkey)

(Another Photograph Taken Yesterday In Kusadasi)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

We enjoyed a very nice dinner at the Prego Italian Restaurant last evening. We invited a very nice couple to have dinner with us. We first met the gent when he was on a couple of legs of the 2007 World Cruise. In 2008 he was on the entire World Cruise and his girlfriend came on board for one of the legs of the cruise which was the leg that our daughter and son-in-law jointed us on board as well. He has been on the entire World Cruise with us this year and his girlfriend came on for this single leg of the World Cruise.

The four of us enjoyed just a spectacular conversation and dined for a couple of hours. We had wonderful waiter Costa as our server and we each had the salad that we always enjoy at Prego, followed by the seafood special of the day which was a local fish that was brought on board by the Prego Chef. Everyone was impressed with the side order of vegetables that Keith ordered. All of the vegetables looked great and everyone couldn’t get over the color and the size of the Asparagus. Keith enjoyed each and every bite.

We also enjoyed a nice fresh fruit plate for dessert. We can’t say enough about the ambience of this dining room and the wonderful service and cuisine. Everything was just perfect. We also watched a picture perfect sunset and enjoyed the beauty of this city as we dined.

The ship set sail at 10:00 PM for our next port of call in Catania, Sicily, Italy. One of the nice reasons for the late night departure was to allow guests to attend the evening concert at Ephesus. We took this shore excursion from Crystal Cruises in 2007 and greatly enjoyed it. We were the only group in Ephesus that evening and before the start of the concert we were served light snacks and wine by the wait staff and then we listened to a wonderful performance. One of the highlight was the sun setting over Ephesus while we took in the beauty all around us and listened to the wonderful musicians play for us. The history of this site is amazing and to think we were sitting at a spot where so many lived such a long time ago is truly amazing.

The good news is that we set the clocks back one hour before going to sleep last evening as we are now sailing into yet another new time zone.

We both slept very well last evening and as he always does Keith awoke early to begin another wonderful day up at the Fitness Center. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine. He was the second one up to the center and by the time he left there were more people than usual working out. This was a result of the time zone change.

While working out Keith noticed that the sea was quite calm and that it looked as if we were sailing on glass. After his workout, Keith stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee.

Anne Marie also worked out in the Fitness Center on the treadmill as she does on most days and she stopped by the Lido Café to bring back some coffee to the room.

We have mentioned this from time to time but wanted to comment about world events. During this world cruise what we have learned about other areas of the world has been fascinating. We realize that in the United States that sometimes the focus of the news is very United States centric. By that we mean that there is far more news available about the United States than the rest of the world. In fact, other than some news on Afghanistan, Iraq and to some extent Iran and some coverage of other areas when there is a catastrophic event such as an earthquake there is very little coverage about the other areas of the world.

During this World Cruise we have been privileged and humbled by not only our visits to so many countries and areas of the world but also all that we have learned from the wide array of lecturers that Crystal has brought onto the voyage. On top of this, while we do not spend too much time watching television on the ship we have tried to watch news coverage of stations that we would not normally get at home such as the BBC and some other stations who tend to focus a good deal of their programming on worldwide issues. This has all reminded us that there is so much more we can learn and that while there are times we think that everything revolves around our own home country this is not the case. We believe that the more informed and educated each of us is the better we can all deal with the changes that are taking place across the globe. We will discuss more of this towards the end of the voyage or possibly after we arrive back home.

In the meantime, back to today’s activities and other events.

We enjoyed breakfast in our room. We spoke with Alexander about our visit to tomorrow port of call. While we enjoyed breakfast, we watched the Crystal Cruise Daily Morning Show. The hosts Rick and Stacey talked about yesterdays visit to Turkey, last evenings activities and all of the activities planned for today. There was video shown from the International Cocktail Party and Keith was one of several passengers shown on the video in his Sheiks Outfit dancing with Anne Marie. One of the items they discussed was the dance hosts that are on board the ship as they were featured in today’s daily program. Dance hosts are featured on each and every Crystal sailing on board both ships and during the World Cruise recognizing that there are many women solo travelers eight dance hosts are on board on each and every leg which is one of the many nice touches offered on Crystal Cruises.

Keith also called into the show to correctly answer one of the trivia questions. J

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge he mentioned that the outside temperature was already 63 degrees Fahrenheit and that as we sail further West the outside temperature would get quite a bit warmer. He said the forecast calls for excellent weather. Captain Glenn shared another excellent thought of the day, which goes as follows. “You don’t have to explain something you never said.”

Today has been another day full of many activities as we cruise to Catania, Sicily, Italy.

There were three lectures in the morning. James Maas whose presentation was on tips and strategies for a great night’s sleep gave the first lecture. Afterwards, we attended a presentation given by Special Interest Lecturer Robert Freedman. The topics of his presentation were “From Bust to Obama – hanging United States policy in the Middle East. An analysis of the changing Untied States policies toward the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran and Syria.” After this presentation we attended another one given by Celebrity Lecturer Harm De Blij who spoke about China’s Grand Design for a Sino centric Globe. The major point of this presentation is that China is investing large sums of money in many countries around the World and our take away is that they do have a strategic plan to bring resources from other areas of the world to China where they are needed for consumption from food to oil to many other products. In turn, this will allow them to grow their economy and to meet their demands and, in turn, will fuel their exports.

After the presentation we had lunch on the Lido Deck. Today’s buffet was the American Classic Buffet. We each made ourselves a wonderful salad entrée.

The presentation in the afternoon featured Celebrity Lecturer General Perry Smith who presented World War II – A Seventy Year Perspective.

In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis with some of our fellow passengers and with some members of the crew. He also read, and wrote and spoke with some fellow passengers. Anne Marie took an hour-long walk on the Promenade Deck and then spoke with some fellow passengers and took care of a few errands.

The attire for this evening is Formal. Before dinner complimentary cocktails were offered in all lounges from 5:15 PM to 6:00 PM.

We will go to dinner at Silk Road and will post more about that tomorrow. After dinner, there is the Captain’s Farewell Reception.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“There was never a person who did anything worth doing that he did not receive more than he gave.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Welcome To Kusadasi - Day 93

2010-04-12T01:06:00.020-05:00

Fourteen Pictures From Our Walk Around Kusadasi

(Coke Is Everywhere Around The Globe)

(Some of the Shops by the Pier)

(There Were Many Taxi Stands On Our Walk)

(School Children At An Event Where They Displayed Their Art Work)

(Just a Small Portion Of The Art On Display)

(The Band Playing For The Children And Their Parents)

(A Local Grilling Chestnuts For Himself And His Friends)

(Top Portion Of An Interesting Statue)

(Turkish Flags)

(Interesting Facade Of A Nearby Hotel)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

We had another wonderful time on the ship last evening.

Before dinner, we attended a Matinee Production titled Standing Room Only. We find this show to be very uplifting as it features songs from various Broadway Shows. We enjoy the dancing, singing and all of the nice set displays. As many times as we have seen this show we enjoy it each and every time. Just like certain Broadway Shows or favorite movies we focus in on various aspects of the show each time we see it and even changes in the cast change up the show to some extent.

After this show we had dinner with five other people. This included three fellow passengers who we dined with last month who invited us to dine with them this evening at Silk Road. In addition, one other solo woman traveler who is on for the duration of the World Cruise dined with us along with Cruise Director Rick Spath. We all enjoyed a wonderful meal and a great discussion. It was a lot of fun.

After dinner we attended the “International Cocktail Party”. Guests were asked to wear local attire or cultural clothing that we had purchased sometime during our journey since leaving Miami, Florida. Complimentary cocktails were provided and there was dancing to live music by the Crystal Sextet. Keith wore an outfit that he had purchased In Abu Dhabi knowing that there would be the opportunity to wear it for this event. For better or worse, Keith did get a lot of complements on the outfit from the moment he walked out of our stateroom and a few fellow passengers were in the hallway to the time we entered the room and over the course of the next 45 minutes ran into quite a lot of people we know. Several passengers came in special dress. Towards the end of the event all of those who were dressed in the special attire were asked to come to the dance floor for a special photo shoot and several of us danced. We both danced quite a bit last night. Maybe it was Keith’s attire that made him want to dance. J Oh, and he was quite warm in that Middle East attire which prompted Anne Marie to remind him how hot she and the other women were in places such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and a couple of other countries when the women had to cover their heads, necks, etc. So, Keith got a better appreciation for that. J The party was a lot of fun. Complimentary drinks were provided. As we were returning to our room, we ran into our butler Alexander who definitely got a chuckle seeing Keith in his Middle East attire.

There was another show later in the evening but we passed on that one.

We slept very well last night as we sailed to Kusadasi, Turkey.

Keith woke up early to begin another day by working out at the Fitness Center. He was the first to arrive. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine. Since we were arriving to port fairly early this morning the only two people working out were Keith and fellow regular John. Keith and John talked for most of the workout, which made the time go by very quickly. For the portion of the workout that Keith was alone he watched the a portion of the PBS evening News Hour program which continues to be shown on the Voice Of America Television Station. He has been enjoying that station. After his workout he stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room. He spoke briefly with John’s wife Linda and one other passenger and also to Lido Deck Steward Ruel. Afterwards, it was Anne Marie’s turn and she worked out on the Treadmill. Like Keith, she stopped by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room.

Keith managed to do some laundry while Anne Marie was working out and then got ready to go into port.

Around the time that Anne Marie got back to the room there was a knock on the door by Alexander who set up our breakfast, which we enjoyed in our room.

Since this is our forth time to Kusadasi we did not sign up for any shore excursions.

Kusadasi means “bird island” I slocated in the gulf of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It has become a major tourist area for those living near this area of the world. In addition it has become a major tourist center for those reaching it by cruise shop. It is a beautiful seaside resort. It is known for its beautiful waters, its sandy beaches and its large marina. There are many local shops in town that sell a variety of leather goods from purses to jackets, along with many other jewelry shops and shops that sell rugs.

The population of Kusadasi is around 70,000 inhabitants.

This port of call is the gateway to a couple of historical sites. The major site is Ephesus, which at one time supported of a population estimated at 250,000 people. The ruins from this city are truly amazing from the marble streets to the Hadrian Temple, to the houses to the amphitheatre. Another site that many visitors travel to is the House of Mary. This location is supposed to be the last-known location of Mary at the time of her death. There is still controversy about whether her burial occurred in this location or in Jerusalem.

For those who visit here for the first time we highly recommend visiting Ephesus. It is located slightly less than twenty miles from the port and was an ancient Greek city and one of twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek period as well as a religious center of early Christianity. The city included the Temple of Artemis, which was completed around 550 BCE and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. There is so much to do and see at Ephesus and they continue to do excavation.

After breakfast we went ashore and we visited the Grand Bazaar which is the largest outdoor shopping center in Kusadasi offering a variety of leather clothes, gold jewelry and souvenirs.

We went back to a shop where we had bought a few items on our last visit here three years ago. Not only was the shop there but the same person who helped us with some purchase the last time we were here greeted us at the front door. He has had his business in this one location for the past nineteen years.

As we walked around the various shops we heard similar lines from many of the shopkeepers such as;

“It my turn now.” “Come inside my shop.” “Genuine Copy Rolex Watches for sale.” “Would you like to buy a carpet.”? “Can I help you spend your money?” We did visit a couple of other shops and made an additional purchase.

Oh, and whatever item you do purchase the shopkeeper will ask you if you would like him to take you to a carpet store.

Actually, we enjoyed the experience. The first time we visited this port and Istanbul back in the 1990’s it was all a learning experience. But now we find it an easy process. It’s much easier than buying a new car at home and a lot less expensive. J

We walked around for a few hours and then returned to the ship in the afternoon and enjoyed a nice lunch at the Lido Café. Yes, we each had a nice salad entrée.

After lunch, we took a nice long walk. We walked along the coastline and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and the gorgeous weather. We passed an area where school children had displayed items that they made in school just as school children from our own country would do. A band was playing for the children and their parents were present to see the beautiful artwork they made.

We then went in another direction and walked up and down a variety of streets. We ran into a few passengers and several members of the crew. There are also two other cruise ships in port with us.

After we got back to the ship we took care of a few errands and we also spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

This evening we will dine with a couple who we invited to join us at Prego. We will dine at 7:00 PM and will post about it tomorrow.

The good news is we turn the clocks back one hour as we sail into yet another new time zone. J

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“Teamwork begins when it doesn’t matter who gets the recognition.”

Keith and Anne Marie

En Route To Kusadasi, Turkey - Day 92

2010-04-11T03:24:00.013-05:00

(Another View Of The Beautiful Tulips Taken In Istanbul)

(Some Sweets At The Spice Market)

(More Turkish Sweets At The Spice Market)

(Some Of The Shops Outside The Market)

(Additional Shops Outside Of The Spice Market Where The Locals Come

To Buy Various Food Products)

(Other Shops Outside The Spice Market That Sold Cheese Meat

and Other Food Products)

(Picture Of Anne Marie Before Dinner Last Evening)

(Anne Marie Outside The Crystal Dining Room Taken Last Evening Before Dinner)

(Anne Marie With One Of The Wonderful Members Of The Reception Desk, Malanie)

The Following Four Pictures Taken Yesterday In Istanbul

(Returning Back To The Ship From A Long Walk To/From The Spice Market

Taken Late Yesterday Morning)

(After Crossing The Bridge, One Of Several Ships

Taken Yesterday Morning In Istanbul)

(A View Of Istanbul Taken Yesterday Morning)

(One Of Many Mosques In Istanbul Taken Yesterday Morning)

Monday, April 12, 2010

We left Istanbul a little after 5:00 PM yesterday afternoon as we sail to our next port of call in Kusadasi, Turkey. As we mentioned, it was so nice to have three days in Istanbul and we believe that was not only appreciated by the guests but also by the crew. It gave everyone lots of time to take organized tours, and to go out on their own, without having to rush from one item to the other.

Like us, everyone we spoke with had a wonderful time in Istanbul. This included those visiting here for the very first time along with those such as us who have visited here before. It is a very interesting city with lots of historical sites to see offering a wealth of history and there is a very nice feeling to the city. We all felt very safe walking around Istanbul and the added plus is that the majority of the locals who we met spoke English very well and we found them to be very friendly. It is a fun city to see on foot for those visitors who enjoy walking. We found the city to be relatively clean. Like other special harbors around the world such as in places such as Sydney and Hong Kong, Istanbul has a beautiful harbor with lots of activity. There are lots of ferries and other boats and the waterway provides a major form of transportation for both locals and visitors.

While we did not eat ashore, those who did enjoyed the food. The all day tours included lunch and there was also an evening tour that included dinner. Turkey has lots of great local cuisine to experience.

We really enjoyed walking around the spice market with all of the attractively displayed spices and they were very colorful. The aroma was equally nice. Other items looked equally impressive such as both the little bite size candies along with the large candy that they can cut for you. The same goes for other items such as stores that carried various cheeses. Even the fish market (and we have seen quite a few fish markets) on this trip looked very clean and did not have that fishy odor.

While this country has a high percentage of Muslims unlike many other places that we visited in the Middle East it is nice to see men and women walking together and even holding hands as they walk. In general, the locals wear western clothing. Yes, as part of the religion they pray often throughout the day and it was evident that the mosques we saw around the city were quite busy. One could also clearly hear the call to prayer over the loudspeakers that were strategically placed throughout the city. Keith even heard them and the call to prayer very early each morning he was working out at the Fitness Center.

For those who have never visited Istanbul, we highly recommend it.

We had a very nice time on the ship last evening. We had dinner in the Crystal Main Dining Room. The dining room was fairly quiet last evening with several guest dining at other venues such as Prego and Silk Road. We enjoyed talking with the wonderful wait staff in between courses. We spoke with our senior waiter, Pedja, and our Waiter, Therese about all that they did while we were in Istanbul. We spoke with our headwaiter Bojan about Istanbul and also about food, which is always a fun topic to discuss with the headwaiters about. Bojan was also preparing a dessert for those who wanted a special treat this evening. The headwaiters in the Main Dining Room have all worked for Crystal Cruises for many years and as such have expertise and a wealth of knowledge about cuisine. We like to ask them questions to learn as much as we can from them. We also spoke with our wonderful sommelier, Jiri, who has been our sommelier since the start of the World Cruise adventure. He is around the age of our son so it is fun to talk with him. From time to time we will ask his advice about a variety of wines and have learned a great deal from him as well. Leo the Main Dining Room Maitre d’ also stopped by and chatted with us for a few minutes. He is wonderful about getting around the dining room to talk with the guests and he is a true professional keeping on top of everything.

Dinner itself was just wonderful. We each had a favorite salad of ours and we each had Salmon for our entrée. We had a couple of side orders of vegetables. For dessert, we had berries. Keith enjoyed the Crystal Reserve Pinot Noir while which was introduced just a couple of months ago. Anne Marie enjoyed a white wine which we had leftover from the other evening.

After dinner, we saw Petrina Johnson who is a West End recording artist and singing star. She has appeared in numerous theater productions in London’s West End and internationally. She was in the original cast of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana and has appeared in Sunset Boulevard at London Adelphi Theatre where she starred with Petula Clark and Rita Moreno. She has also appeared in several other plays. She has many Television credits as well. She has also appeared on Crystal ships many times. We thought the show was wonderful. She sang a nice wide range of songs and we also enjoyed the music of the Crystal Galaxy Orchestra.

We had hoped to stay up later to attend a special Swingin with the Gentlemen from the Galaxy Orchestra session in the Avenue Saloon but we were fairly tired after being up so early so we will try to attend the next session that is held in the Avenue Saloon.

We slept extremely well and we were up early this morning. Keith was the second to arrive to the Fitness Center and enjoyed a nice long workout on the Elliptical Machine. He caught the last few innings of a major league baseball game on ESPN so it was nice for him to see a portion of the game. It ended in the bottom of the ninth inning with a tie breaking home run. He also caught up with some worldwide news. Afterwards, he stopped by the Lido Café. As soon as Lido Deck Steward, Ruel, saw Keith from a distance he started making the two cups of coffee that he knows Keith prefers. By the time Keith got back to the room Anne Marie was just about the door to begin her workout on the treadmill. After her workout she brought back some coffee to the room.

Today is a sea day as we sail to our next port of call, which is in Kusadasi, Turkey.

We enjoyed another wonderful breakfast in the room as we listened to our favorite daily morning show (well it is the only daily morning show on the ship but if there were others it would be our favorite J) starring our outstanding Cruise Director and World Cruise Hostess. Keith also called into the show and correctly answered one of the trivia questions. J It was a sports question and about Football. Now, that is Football as in American Football not how most of the world thinks of Football (eg., Soccer). J

During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge at 9:00 AM local time he noted that we were sailing in the Daranelles Strait as we were sailing off the coast of Turkey. We had beautiful views of the coast. The Captain noted that from the strait we would next be sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Today was a wonderful day packed with so many fantastic activities and entertainment? Before the start of dinner there were sixty, yes sixty, organized activities on the program and that does not include many other activities that one could do on their own.

There were two wonderful morning lectures. Special Interest Lecturer James Maas who presented “Everything you should know about sleep but are too tired to ask gave the first lecture. This was his second presentation on this voyage about sleep.

After his presentation we attended the lecture given by Celebrity Lecturer Harm De Blij. His presentation was on Afghanistan and the Future of South Asia.

There was also a third presentation in the afternoon by destination lecturer Jayne Bridges whose topic was “Kusadai – Imagine life in ancient Greece at Ephesus.” We watched this on the television later in the day.

Following Harm De Blij’s presentation we attended a special Presentation followed by a Question and Answer Session with the President of Crystal Cruises, Gregg L. Michel and Senior Vice President of Operations, Thomas Mazloum. They both recently joined the ship in Istanbul and will be here for the next few days.

We then went to the Lido Deck for Lunch. Today’s luncheon featured an Asia Café Buffet. We enjoyed nice salad entrees that we prepared for ourselves.

In the afternoon Anne Marie took another of her nice long walks and Keith read, wrote, spoke with some fellow passengers and even found time for some paddle tennis.

This evening is packed with lots of activities. Before dinner, we will attend a Matinee Production titled Standing Room Only.

After this show will have dinner with three fellow passengers who we dined with last month and who invited us to dine with them this evening at Silk Road.

After dinner we will attend the “International Cocktail Party”. Guests are asked to wear local attire or cultural clothing that we have purchased sometime during our journey since leaving Miami, Florida. Complimentary cocktails will be provided and there will be dancing to live music by the Crystal Sextet.

If that is not enough, two shows will be given by Comic Magician Nick Lewin at 8:45 PM and 10:30 respectively.

It is amazing how many wonderful activities have been scheduled for today. There is something for everyone.

We find that all of us can stay young for life. Young to us is what you feel inside and what you feel inside can also make you young on the outside as well. With this in mind here is today’s thought for the day.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…..

“We can stay young by focusing on a dream instead of a regret.”

Keith and Anne Marie

Third Day In Istanbul - Day 91

2010-04-11T00:16:00.026-05:00

(The Spice Market Or Spice Bazaar)

(The Tulip Originated In Turkey)

(Colorful Spices and Candy)

(So Many Spices Available For Purchase)

(We Saw This Sign Posted At A Few Different Shops)

(So Many Spices To Choose From)

(Another Store With All Types Of Spices)

(Candy For Sale)

(Stores At The Spice Market Selling Other Items)

(More Spices)

(You Can't Always Believe What's On A Sign)

(So Many Beautiful Displays Of Spices)

(One Of Several Places Selling Cheese)

(Several Types Of Olives For Sale)

(More Olives)

(Many Vendors Selling This Popular Item By The Ferries)

(Many People Fishing)

(Both Sides Of The Bridge Lined With Fishermen)

(The Lamb That Was Served At Last Evening's Buffet)

(The Chicken Being Cut And Served At Last Evenings Buffet)

We enjoyed another wonderful evening on the Crystal Serenity last evening.

Before dinner, we stopped by the Lido Deck to check out the nice dinner buffet that they had set up. It was quite an impressive buffet with all sore of delectable items with several themed foods related to our stay in Istanbul. In fact they brought on board two local chefs to prepare, cook and carve these skewered meats of lamb and chicken. They were each several feet high and they almost shave the meat as they cut it.Everyone who we spoke with thought they tasted wonderful.They certainly smelled great to us. J

We also spoke with a couple more of the Lido Deck Stewards who will be leaving the ship to go back home for vacation. With the departure of these Lido Deck Stewards, a similar number of Lido Deck Stewards have just joined the ship. Many of the Stewards arriving to the ship we sailed with during the seven-day voyage before the World Cruise began and/or at the beginning of the World Cruise. We will miss those going on vacation and while looking forward to seeing those stewards who have returned from vacation. These folks are absolutely wonderful. They work so very hard, and have a smile on each of their faces and so many of them we have known for many years.They are just wonderful warm and friendly people and are part of the heart of the ship.

We dined in Silk Road with two senior officers of the ship and we had a wonderful time. Our reservation was for 8:30 PM, which is the latest we have dined since the seven-day cruise when we had our family on board.

The waiter who served us is the same waiter who serves us on other evenings when we dine in Silk Road and he knows our preferences as well as those of the two senior officers. So, he surprised us by pre-ordering the types of sushi, sashimi, and other appetizers that each of us prefers Now, that is an example of what truly amazes us about Crystal. All we had to do is to order our entrée and whatever other item we might want before that such as a soup or salad. The meal was just outstanding.

What we most appreciated was the wonderful conversation that we had and the time that these officers took out of their schedule to dine with us. For us, it was another very special and memorable evening.

We slept very well last evening. By the time we went to bed Keith had already been up for close to 21 hours so he easily fell asleep.

Keith still managed to wake up quite early in the morning and was back in the Fitness Center working out on the Elliptical Machine. He worked out for about a half hour when fellow guests Brian and John made it up to the center a few minutes apart from one another. After Keith’s workout he stopped by the Lido Café and spoke with Lido Deck Steward Ruel who helped Keith prepare some coffee to take back to the room.

We had breakfast in the room as we normally do. Rather than working out before breakfast Anne Marie worked out after breakfast. She worked out on the treadmill while she listened to one of the many audio books that she has kept up with during the course of this voyage.

While Anne Marie was working out, Keith went off the ship to take a long walk back over to the Spice Market. He left the ship at around 8:30 AM and returned back a couple of hours later.He made his way along the pier and then exited the terminal.He eventually made it to the bridge. Although there were not many pedestrians at this hour of the morning both sides of the bridge were lines with men fishing. It is quite an activity. A few vendors were selling various bread that look like large pretzels.After crossing the bridge, Keith walked over to the Ferry Terminal. There were several ferries arriving and other leaving this area.

When Keith initially arrived to the Spice Market many of the vendors were setting up items. This includes putting the spices out in the spice shops and in other shops selling candy goods the same thing was being done. Within about fifteen minutes of arriving to the market, more and more people started to arrive and by the time Keith left it was getting more crowded with perspective buyers. Keith passed a shop and the person remembered Keith from yesterday and asked where his wife (Anne Marie) was. We had spoken to him for less than thirty seconds when we passed by yesterday so it is amazing that out of the thousands of people visiting there each and everyday that he remembered us.

After Keith left the Spice Market he walked around the immediate area and looked at all of the beautiful tulips that were blooming. They were all sorts of colors. On his long walk back to the ship he ran into a couple of head waiters from the Main Dining Room; Tall Peter and Carmello.

It really has been so very nice to have a couple of full days in Istanbul. The two overnights have been great for both the crew and for the guests. It provides a lot of time for the crew to go ashore and likewise it provided time for passengers to take organized tours but to also have time to walk around on their own in a leisurely manner.

When Keith got back to the ship he did some reading and writing while Anne Marie was writing in her journal and also writing a few thank you notes to members of the crew.

We had lunch in the Lido Café and as usual we each enjoyed a very nice salad entrée.

In the afternoon, Anne Marie went back to the Fitness Center for another workout on the Treadmill while Keith ran some errands on the ship and also spoke with some of our fellow passengers.

This evening we will be dining in the Main Dining Room as we sail to our next port of call in Kusadasi, Turkey. We have had a wonderful three days in Istanbul and look forward to a day at sea tomorrow.

The following quote is on the longer side but is just a reminder to focus on all that is good. Each of us has something to celebrate and to be thankful for and we believe this starts with positive thinking.

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……

“The tenth is actually a story my old boss used to tell just about once a month; it’s about two boys who one beautiful day were exploring their neighbor’s farm and came upon an empty barn that smelled of manure – the first boy said. We got to get out of here, this smells horrible”, but the second boy said “Oh boy, this is great – there must be horses around!” Yes, true optimists can even find a silver lining from manure!”

Keith and Anne Marie