Welcome To Kuwait City, Kuwait – Day 57
Monday, March 8, 2010
NOTE: We added a couple of pictures from the sushi and sashimi we had from Silk Road two evenings ago. We also added three pictures taken before dinner last evening including one with pianist John Mentis. We have also added several pictures from our visit to Kuwait and will also add additional pictures on tomorrows post as well.
We enjoyed a wonderful day in Kuwait City, Kuwait today. It is so wonderful to have the opportunity to see these areas of the world through our own eyes and to have the opportunity to sail to several ports of call that are rarely visited by those from our home country and by other passenger cruise ships.
Before we share today’s experience we wanted to start with last evening.
Once again, we had a wonderful time on the ship last evening.
We had pre-dinner drinks with our friends Lynn and Allen. Crystal provided complimentary pre-dinner drinks in all lounges for the guests. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation while listening to pianist John Mentis.
Afterwards, we met friends Stan and Mary Leja for dinner at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant. On this voyage they have added a few new items to the menu. We both enjoyed a special salad that is made special for us. Anne Marie enjoyed a fish of the day special entrée while Keith had a new seafood menu item that was recently added to the menu. We both enjoyed a fruit plate to finish off the meal. We all spoke about our experiences in Iran and also caught up on what each of us did in port over the past couple of weeks.
After dinner, we went to the Crystal Society Reception which is for all guest who have completed at least one prior cruise with Crystal. We sat with Mary, Stan, Lynn and Allen and one other passenger joined us.
Captain Glenn noted that we are the first cruise passenger ship to visit Kuwait City and that very few cruise ships have visited Iran. There is no question that this and the next leg of the World Cruise allows passengers to visit some rather unique places that cruise ships to not sail. We truly believe that with the success of these visits that over the next few years some of the other cruise lines will include these places on some of their itineraries.
Three individual presentations were given by the Crystal Society hostess to recognize selected passenger’s who have sailed with Crystal a significant number of times and were celebrating a major milestone. One of the presentations recognized a guest whose leg of this World Cruise represents their 100th cruise with Crystal. At the same time another guest who has sailed with Crystal on more voyages than any other passenger was recognized. We believe she is now up to 242 voyages with Crystal.
Following the reception we went to the concert that was performed by Virtuoso Pianist Tian Jiang. This pianist has become recognized as one of the first virtuoso pianists to emerge from the People’s Republic of China. He is now based in New York City and has performed in many prestigious recital venues in New York City as well as in thirty other cities throughout the United States. We sat with Lynn and Allen and this concert was outstanding. It is amazing all of the wonderful entertainment that we have seen over the past couple of months and we are not exaggerating this. His playing of the piano is one of the best performances we have ever seen. Between this performance and the one that we saw by the concert pianist from Poland we have been treated to some extraordinary concerts and other very strong entertainment since we boarded the ship in early January.
We wanted to note how wonderful the entertainment has been. During the course of this and other World Cruises Crystal has brought on many acts appearing for the very first time with Crystal Cruises. This augments those performers who are also invited back for the World Cruise who have entertained on Crystal from time to time. The benefits of this approach are several fold. It allows Crystal to offer significantly more entertainment on each leg of the World Cruise, which is greatly appreciated by the majority of passenger’s. At the same time it allows Crystal to bring new entertainers into the fold. Those who receive strong ratings from the guests will likely be invited for voyages in the future allowing Crystal to expand their entertainment program. By taking this approach once in a while a new entertainer will not workout but if they don’t take this approach then the entertainment will become stale over time. The good news is that if an entertainer does not do well there are so many other entertainers on board the ship that the other entertainers can put on additional shows and the shows by the other entertainer can be easily cut back. We applaud Crystal for striving and being effective in continually building on their successful entertainment program. During Keith’s career he always believed that a successful company is one that tries new things. Once in a while a mistake will occur but the successful company knows the importance of not sitting back but constantly trying to improve their product.
We enjoyed another great night’s sleep last evening. The seas continue to be exceptional.
Keith awoke early and went to the Fitness Center for a workout. He was the only person at the Fitness Center for the entire workout. Anne Marie did not workout this morning since we had an early tour. Keith stopped by the Lido Café before returning to the room to get some nice coffee for the two of us. He spoke with some of the Lido Deck Stewards including Richie, Johnny and Nat. He even managed to do couple of washes in the laundry room before breakfast.
As usual, we enjoyed another nice breakfast in our room, as we got ready for our first visit to Kuwait. Our stop at Kuwait City, Kuwait also represents another Maiden Port of Call stop for Crystal.
We spoke to our butler Alexander for a little while as he was setting up the table for breakfast. We plan to have Lynn and Allen over to the room tomorrow evening for some canapés before we got to dinner together so we spoke about that as well. Alexander is an outstanding butler and he is so very knowledgeable on a wide range of topics. We greatly appreciate all that he does for us.
During his workout Keith could begin to see our entry into the Port City of Kuwait. Once back to the room we admired the beautiful sunrise and the beautiful buildings.
The population of Kuwait City, Kuwait is approximately 35,000 people. Arabic is the official language of Kuwait but English is widely spoken. The currency is the Kuwait Dinar.
We took a shore excursion offered by Crystal Cruises.
The good news is that no special clothing attire was needed in Kuwait. It was appropriate for guest to wear shorts and short sleeves. The only real restriction is that no alcohol may be consumed either in port or on the ship while the ship is in port.
We visited a Sadu House where we had the opportunity to view a collection of Bedouin arts and crafts. We also visited the National Museum where we saw various Islamic art. It also included manuscripts and books along with a Planetarium.
As part of this tour we stopped at the Dhow Harbor. The harbor is home to the Fateh el Kheir, the last surviving wooden dhow from pre-oil days. These ships were used for pearl diving which was the primary means of trade in Kuwait before the discovery of oil.
We also viewed the fish market and the waterfront Sharq shopping mall en route to the Kuwait Towers where we ascended to a height of 400 feet to view Kuwait City and the Arabian Gulf.
During this tour we also saw some of the city’s beaches and we also visited the Pyramid Mosque, which is in the shape of a stepped pyramid.
Keith sat with Allen and Anne Marie sat with Lynn.
Some additional observations/comments.
Most of the buildings in this city are relatively new and there is a lot of construction taking place. This was expected given the destruction that took place when Iraq invaded Kuwait.
We found the people to be very friendly. The tour guide was very pleasant and did a nice job given that his fulltime job is working as a fight attendant on one of the commercial airlines. A small tent was setup on the pier for our arrival where some of the locals were there and giving out items such as flags, hats and other items with the colors of Kuwait. Again, the people were very friendly. When we visited the fish market the men would pose for pictures and were very good-natured. We asked teenage school children to pose for a picture and they too were very good-natured.
Speaking of the Fish Market it was a mother of all fish markets. It was quite large, relatively clean and had a nice variety of fish for sale. The market also included other items for sale including fruit and vegetables, figs, olives, and other food items and fresh eggs. And, those eggs were very fresh as in another area we saw two major areas with cages of live chickens.
The tour guide talked about the difference between those who are of Kuwaiti descent versus those from other countries or as he said ex-patriots. Even if you are born in Kuwait you are considered an ex-patriot unless you are of Kuwaiti descent. He said that those of descent are treated much better than those who are not. This was not a surprise to us based on all that we know.
There were many chains of American restaurants up and down the street including Chili’s, several McDonald’s, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ruby Tuesday’s, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Café, and Applebees.
The weather was perfect. It was not as hot as we expected. It rains very little here so it was interesting to see so much green and all of those palm trees.
The tour guide would not accept any gratuities at the end of the tour. He just said be sure to pray for me. This was the first time we have been on a tour where a guide would not accept any tips.
We arrived back to the ship at around 2:00 PM and had arranged with the butler to have a salad entrée in our room.
After lunch, Anne Marie took a long walk on the Promenade Deck while Keith read, wrote and took care of some errands. The ship is scheduled to depart Kuwait City very shortly.
This evening we will dine in the Main Dining Room and have dinner with another couple whom we dined with about a week ago. They are on two legs of the World Cruise.
After dinner we will attend a show which includes dancing of the two lead Crystal Dancers Curtis and Beverly and then include a show called “The Art of the Steal with entertainer Bob Arno.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….
“Optimism is the foundation of courage.”
Keith and Anne Marie
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