KenzSailing

Interesting. I remember when, during the hiatus, Explora was being talked up on this board.

My spouse Laurel, who lives in Maryland, appreciates your kind words. Also, I can assure you both Laurels are lovely.

Well, it's Cruise Critic, so here's my peanut gallery observations: 1) There was a pandemic. There was what I call "The Unfortunate Hiatus." It takes time to restart the engine after all of this, even in that little slice called the luxury cruise market. An occasional venue closing is a reflection of this. 2) The Venn diagram of people who want it all and want it now, and people who never held a real job in their lives, is almost a perfect circle.

Love it when The Historian reaches into the stacks. Also, have to admit I kinda like a swim-up bar and that Crystal Plaza look, even if it's easy to imagine Hef lounging there.

Whoa, shades of your Sandy adventure.

Oh my, to have a drink with the Voice of Reason in meat space(as the kidz would say.) Would probably go something like this: Question: why are you booking Serenity? (Kidding.)

Oh my, with that track record, could you please provide me with the next lotto numbers?😁

The Eternal Verities: AIDA Attention Interest Decision Action (Yeah, I'm borrowing from Mamet here, but he wasn't wrong.)

OK, I think that bolded part fits our experience. We once got a discounted offer to upgrade from verandah cabin to PH. I figured Crystal was trying to free up some verandah inventory they could sell, while still making a few more bucks on a PH. A deal but definitely not "complementary."

I didn't know Crystal did truly complementary upgrades, ever. Interesting.

Interesting observation. I'm probably in the minority, but I find buffets unattractive. Did one on our first cruise, that was enough. You can get the same thing, more comfortably, and much more safely in Marketplace(minus the ice sculptures.) However, I do think the age of Instagram and YouTube means the gala buffer is here to stay. For a lot of folks, more is more.

Yeah, that's my take. She described Serenity's Prego to a T. Hey, we were all newbies once.

From the article: “I walked into the Italian restaurant and I said, ‘Oh my god, how can you call this an Italian restaurant,’” Levis said over breakfast in the Symphony’s stylish new Waterside Restaurant. “It was a cliche of an Italian restaurant with the Roman columns, the grapes everywhere, the paintings of Venice. It was just awful.” Yeah, even the defender of the OG look has gone silent on the subject.

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed.

Crystal Society group page on Facebook.

Well, let's meet at Love, Makoto. We'll hit the BBQ, you can tell us about the sushi. Remember when the WaPo magazine title was at 90 degrees? Yeah, that was dumb. You aren't the only one confused by Capitol Crossing. Our first visit to the area was L'Ardente. As we're approaching, our Lyft driver follows his nav app into a tunnel. Following conversation ensues: Driver(in tunnel): my app says we're here Me: um, yeah, I think it's about 100 feet directly above us We got it sorted, but that was a small adventure. I wonder how many newbies and tourists know the great big office development they're standing at was built over an interstate highway. Ambitious project, and they pulled it off. Have you even been down to the Wharf yet, you slacker? 😁 (Honestly, I shouldn't josh. We've only been there once, but we did take in both dinner at Del Mar and The Decemberists in concert at the Anthem. I swear, for us, the Wharf is so successful its fallen victim to the Yogi-ism "no one goes there anymore, it's too crowded.") Maybe this winter.

Some articles of interest in today's WaPo: This should be of special interest to Roy(well, the QM2 aspect) https://wapo.st/45VMRxj And one just for Vince: https://wapo.st/3ZhEfiF

BTW, the A&K CEO is posting to the Crystal group page on FB. She's made some comments about their reasoning behind the casino decision. Interesting stuff.

The Commodore's cuff links? Do I have that right?

The Chez takes a couple nights off: Local DC restaurant reviews(in case you're planning on visiting. Fall is lovely here.) L'Avant Garde: Georgetown, French(like with a French Mich two starred chef.) Yeah, it lives up to the hype. They had me at the appetizer: foie gras beignet. Sounds crazy but they pull it off. Lovely delicate puff pastry with a decadent, unctuous, almost melting foie gras center. Swoon worthy. Followed by the sweetbread. Now, it's hard enough to get sweetbreads, but here I was confronted with the largest thalamus gland I've ever seen. I may have ordered from rich to richer, but I was brave. OLoPP started with the smoked salmon followed by the scallops, sensible person she is. She nodded in approval. There was dessert. I fell asleep in the Uber home. BTW, French cuisine is back big time in the area. Here at the Chez, it never went out of style. (PS: way back in my college days, when I was occasionally flush, I drank in this very same space, then a Brit themed pub called The Guards. From The Guards to L-Avant Garde. Clever.) L'Ardente: glam Italian(that's how they bill themselves. You can't miss it, it's stenciled on the back of the food runners t-shirts.) Serious chef, former right hand man to the great Michel Richard, rest his soul. Extravagant, boisterous space. Lots of young, pretty, thin customers(as OLoPP observed, we are not their target clients.). The neon sign over the archway to the restrooms reads "Please don't do coke in the bathroom." They're kidding, I think. We split their already famous forty layer lasagna and the veal(yes veal, not chicken) parm. They were very good. There was dessert. As we were celebrating a birthday we had to dissuade them from sticking a sparkler in dessert(we had already seen half a dozen or more lit that evening.) Very good but a bit overwhelming. Here's the interesting thing: we had plenty of food for leftovers. A few nights later at home we polished off the lasagna and the parm. Both of them were no longer just good, but excellent. No, it's not that they had gotten better with age, it's just that, free of the distractions of our previous "glam" environment, we could fully appreciate the food and it was fantastic. Increases my fondness for minimalist dining rooms. Part two to follow.

RCI cancelled all their spring transits. Two things, I'm guessing, 1)it's the dry season and things will probably get worse before they get better and 2) as I understand it, the canal has already tightened their max draft requirements, more could be coming. Probably some concern there.

Eggs Benny? Get 'chur sauce on the side! 😁

Interesting look at on board F&B trends.

Your last point about the channels is an interesting one. Question: were the reworked Crystal cruises full transits or of the "thru the Gatun locks, bob around the lake then back out again" variety? I could see those being ripe for cancellation. Also, is there clarity as to whether Crystal cancelled the canal portion, or did the canal authority actually pull their slots? Not that it matters in the end, I just find the Crystal cancellations to be uniquely motivated. I'm puzzled because our scheduled December transit on Regent is still on(knock on wood.) It also seems to have some exposure to losing its slot because, while it's a full transit, its not exactly a repositioning cruise. That is, the cruise after ours is the same itinerary in reverse. So there's no need to get to the Pacific, we're going thru the canal just to go thru the canal. Regent is highly incentivized to keep those itineraries intact as it's their brand new ship(in service for four weeks before we board) and both cruises are sold out. TWT.

We've moved on to closet space. I think NC is going to make it.