Keith1010

A couple of additional items. With a sold out ship you are seeing two shows most evenings. Also, Waterside opening 6:00 PM rather than 6;15 PM to provide more time for those wishing to go to a 7:45 PM show. Keith

Merry Christmas from the pool deck on board Serenity.

I know there have been some questions on a couple of items. I believe someone had asked a couple months ago about whether or not they drain the pools at night. They do and a netting is over them. Other was about The Bistro on Serenity and on this cruise it is self service. I know some prefer it one way or the other way. As they say, it is as it is. Supper Club tonight. This is only on Serenity as they have Stardust which accommodates this. As I mentioned on the Inaugural Cruise capacity reduced recognizing various factors including waitstaff needed. This evening Tastes will be closed so waitstaff can assist in other dining venues on a formal night. Tonight is a Captain's Welcome Party. There will be a separate one for Crystal Society in a few days. Doing this separately is an exception but this will vary based on various factors including the length of the cruise and even the type of cruise such as this being the Holiday Cruise. To those who ask is Crystal making use of Junior Activity Directors the answer is yes if there is a sufficient number of children to justify this. I believe there are four JAD's on this cruise. Keith

A very Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate this holiday. And for everyone else enjoy the holiday season. Since boarding on 12/23 we have had an amazing cruise. It is always a celebration sailing with Crystal and sailing on a holiday and/or when celebrating an anniversary, birthday or some other milestone adds to this as well. Great dinner at Waterside last evening. Food is super and as I've mentioned even better than before. Service superb. Beautiful dining venue. And you don't have to do the cooking or cleanup yourselves LOL. I am adding menus from last evening and the Reflections Program from today. Happy Holidays and Cheers Keith

A very Merry Christmas Eve from Serenity. Keith

Cruise Critic Many thanks for the kind, Bon Voyage wishes and comments. They are very much appreciated. As they say there is no place like home. Before and after the muster drill we ran into several guests some who we knew already and some for the very first time. The general comment from guests we spoke with was how well embarkation was handled. We are sailing with a full ship. It was great that the debarkation process went well. The Miami terminal was busy. There were some very large ships in port and the maximum total of 9. Many people I checked with seemed to get their luggage relatively quickly which is always nice. As always it was wonderful to see not only the Crystal Society members but the amazing Crystal Serenity Crew. There were some surprises as well with some crew here who I didn't think we would see this time around or until we sailed Symphony. The crew is as excited as they were on those first two cruises and their positivity, professionalism and warmth radiates throughout the ship. Thy are truly amazing and the heart and soul of the ship. The ship looks very festive with all the holiday decorations adding to the festivities of the holiday cruise. We enjoyed a great dinner at the Osteria Italian Specialty Restaurant. We had dined here a few times on the July/August sailings. It's a beautiful dining venue with superb cuisine and the amazing service of the Osteria team. For those who have dined here before the lighting can now be dimmed and last evening was the first night they used a new color of tablecloth which is no longer white and also added to the contrast to the white china. The taste of each item is magnificent starting with a special item from the chef and continuing through dessert. We also enjoyed the three different types of rolls. There have been a couple of tweaks to the menu including the veal which is no longer on a bone. We tried the veal, and it was very tasty. We dined early, and it was quiet with more guests arriving between 7:00 and 7:30. Today is the first of two sea days and this is one of the many areas and this is an example of Crystal being exceptional at sea. Lots of activities on the schedule with great lectures, and so much other enrichment to enjoy. Then there is the food. We had a great day. Walks together and by ourselves. Catching up with crew and guests. Paddle Tennis in the afternoon despite the winds. Lots of cruising friends to play with. We're in a happy place. Happy Holidays. Keith

Dwight some of those ladies such as Olga, Pauline and Mama Lee have the Serenity record for sure. Keith

Enjoying the ship this morning catching up with guests and the crew. We feel so at home. While we were with cruise consultant Andrew next to his desk and outside Waterside was an array of cookies and when we returned to our room the was a nice platter of desserts. I guess those elves have been very busy. Keith

I'll post later about dinner from last evening but just wanted to say how much we enjoyed Osteria. I know. It does't work for everyone but for us it works very well. In our case, while we enjoyed Prego most of the food there are items we could find in many Italian restaurants in the USA and my wife being half Italian could easily cook and utilize her own recipes some of which were passed down to her. The items at Osteria are ones you wouldn't find in the majority of restaurants in the USA other than some very high end restaurants. If you want to dine there ever couple of evenings you will become bored but to me this is why they call this a specialty restaurant. Waterside's cuisine has been upgraded and some people I know who had issues with Waterside before Crystal is restarted tell me they enjoy Waterside a lot more. Anyway, we thought the food last night was superb. Food was tasty. Presentation fabulous. Add to this impeccable service and a beautiful dining venue and for us this is a recipe for success. The veal is now prepared differently and no longer a veal chop and it was a thick cut and very tasty. Happy Holidays. Keith

Thank you for your very kind words. They mean a lot. We were speaking with two couples yesterday after the lifeboat drill about how special Crystal has been to so many people and that includes guests, crew and enrichment and entertainers. Thankfully new Crystal has returned and I do believe new Crystal is even better. Keith

Lighting is not great in the room and I don't want to go down to the cover to take photos as I did in August so let's see how this works.

I walked into Umi Uma a little while ago and to me they don't look as bright but for me before was not a big deal. I will ask when we dine there but as I say I think they've adjusted them. Keith

Well that means I won't be posting them. Rather than taking photos of them I went to Crystal's intranet site and took screen shots using iPhone and posted them. Oh well.

Many thanks for the kind Bon Voyage wishes and comments. They are very much appreciated. As they say there is no place like home. We spoke with several guests yesterday including some we have sailed with and some we have met in person for the first time. The general comment was how well embarkation was handled. We are sailng with a full ship. It was great that the debarkation process went well. The Miami terminal was busy. There were some very large ships in port and the maximum total of 9. Many people I checked with seemed to get their luggage relatively quickly which is always nice. As always it was wonderful to see not only guests but the amazing Crystal Serenity Crew. There were some surprises as well with some crew here who I didn't think we would see this time around or until we sailed Symphony. The crew is as excited as they were on those first two cruises and their positivity, professionalism and warmth radiates throughout the ship. Thy are truly amazing and the heart and soul of the ship. I am posting the Reflections Program from yesterday and today. Cheers, Keith

Not sure. We'll find out when we visit in a few days. Keith

Nine ships in port today. You will find 7 to 9 ships in port on a Saturday between November thru the next couple of months. Saturday and Sunday are the most popular for cruise lines such as Carnival, MSC, Royal Caribbean and NCL and then add to this some other lines. Most offer 7 days cruises and this way people don't have to take time off from work. Keith

We are not used to sailing so late out of Miami. This is the benefit of having two sea days over the next two days. Today has been great. We have met lots of guests who we have known for many years and others we know from CC. OK now the most important things. The lighting in Osteria has been adjusted so for those who thought it was too bright the light has been lowered. And, they changed out the table cloths so they are not white but are like a light berry. Food was perfect. More tomorrow. Keith

Yep nights

On the milestone chart I mentioned toward the bottom it shows this. For sailings 16 days or more you get 2 cruise credits. Wonderful that you are taking the World Cruise. Happy Holidays. Keith

And easy peasy boarding in Terminal E. Serenity was easy to spot even though we were the smaller of the ships in port today with eight other ships. Keith

We are home right where we belong with Crystal. This morning we awoke with great anticipation for our return to Crystal Serenity and to make new memories will last a lifetime. We enjoyed our last breakfast and got ready to be driven to the Port of Miami. We were driven on the same route that we have walked this stay and previously when before embarking or after debarking other Crystal cruises. Like boarding on July 31 of this year, it was wonderful to be back on-board Serenity and we shed some tears. After all that occurred between Covid-19 in 2020 and carrying over to 2021 when Crystal was forced to stop operations because of the previous owner's insolvency, we feel blessed to sail with Crystal. Since first sailing Serenity in the Fall of 2005 after prior sailings on Crystal Harmony in 2002 and Crystal Symphony in 2002, 2003 and 2004, we have sailed 1,200+ days on Serenity or the equivalent of 3 years and 4 months on this one vessel. We never felt the need to have a second home because Crystal is our second home and that includes Symphony. Words cannot adequately describe how much we love and enjoy the Crystal product. We have met so many nice people, both crew and guests sailing Crystal, celebrated so many special moments including birthdays, family get togethers, wedding anniversaries, retirement milestones, and even renewing our wedding vows in 2017 with our family with us. The ship has gone through many changes, including the most recent ones, after the vessels were purchased in 2022 that one would never know she in her 20th year of service. What has not changed is the glue which holds everything together, creating that special bond which is the crew. We have known some of the crew not only since our first Serenity voyage in 2005, but from earlier sailings on Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony. This voyage marks our fourth Crystal Holiday Cruise. The ship looks beautiful decked out in holiday attire and within the first couple of hours we have seen so many of the crew who are part of our extended family, along with several guests who we have sailed with before along with others who we know from the Crystal Society Face Book group page. When we arrived to the Terminal, we saw Golf Pro Joe Hubert outside as he was waiting to return to the ship. Once inside, we saw friends including Ashley from CC Eventually, we saw familiar faces from the crew including our butler the Hotel Director Hubert and Front Office Manager Marco. Once on board we saw Chief Concierge Ariela and Thomas who works in Reception. We saw Captain Birger who goes home today and Captain Vincent who just came on board. We sailed with Captain Birger on the July 31 Cruise and Captain Vincent on the following cruise. We started to get settled in our room unpacking items from our carry on roller boards. Waterside opened at 11:45 AM earlier than normal to coincide with embarkation starting at 11:45 AM as well. This is a full ship with every room sold out. We enjoyed our traditional embarkation lunch of a flute of champagne toasting our love for one another and to a wonderful voyage along with a Cobb salad. Senior Waiter Ayhan who we have known for years took our order. We saw Senior Head Waiter Jacques and Restaurant Manger Paolo and several other members of the waitstaff team came by to check on us. We saw some guests we have not sailed with before and some who we have known for years. We are super excited to being on board. We received the best gift possible when news arrived that A&K Travel under the leadership of Manfredi Lefebvre d”Ovidio had purchased Crystal Symphony & Serenity, the name Crystal and the customer lists. It culminated when we had the honor of being on-board for the inaugural cruise starting on July 31 of this year and the one after that. I will do our best to share our experiences over the next 13 days through words and photos. Cheers Keith

Thank you Jill, Colin and Bill. I see Serenity on the Port Of Miami Webcam. Keith

Yesterday, we enjoyed our final day in Miami until next time. A few observations. Prior to 2007, our prior cruises in and out of Southern Florida involved sailing Port Everglades and staying in Fort Lauderdale. We had driven into Miami a couple of times on vacations but never stayed in the city. In 2007, we stayed downtown as this is where Serenity was sailing for the World Cruise and the pre-cruise hotel was the Four Seasons. We couldn't get over the volume of construction which was well underway. Many buildings were torn down and replaced with high rise condominiums, apartments, and office buildings. Often, we would have to cross back and foth on Brickell Road as sidewalks were closed due to construction projects. We never saw more cranes in a city until we visited Dubai for the first time in 2007. A couple years later when we returned several of the buildings were complete, some vacant, and other construction projects were on-hold due to the financial impacts of the "great recession". Over the next few years as the economic outlook improved, vacancies turned to occupancies, construction restarted to complete buildings that were in various stages of work, and some new projects were started. Even today, there is some new construction, but far less than in years past as so many projects are complete. On our last visit in November of 2021 sailing Crystal Serenity construction was taking place on many of the Brickell sidewalks forcing pedestrians to detour. This work is now complete. Compared to 2007 there are so many more venues including restaurants, hotels, condominiums, apartments, offices, and shopping. The downtown area is vibrant day and night. Another change we have seen over the years in this area is a far greater number of motorists who yield to pedestrians crossing the street. In 2007, you crossed at your own risk. The one item that has not changed is when you walk one wants to look closely at the sidewalk. Why you ask? Well, some owners of dogs do not clean up after their dog. Enough said. LOL. One of the things we enjoy about cities is walking and taking it all in and that is what we do when we visit Miami. In our younger years, we would go to the beach, but this is something we have less interest in. Yesterday morning, we walked along a path from our hotel towards Brickell Key Island with beautiful views of Biscayne Bay We crossed the bridge over to the Island. From there we could see many of the cruise ships in port. They had nine passenger cruise ships in port which I believe is their max. For those who want to stay at the Mandarin Oriental we learned about the plans for the property. The reason that there is a detour as you walk around the island behind the hotel is the construction of a sales office for the eventual sail of residences. The plan is to construct a second tower which will have residences. Sometime in 2025 they plan to demolish the existing hotel and build a new hotel. We suppose all of this will take several years to complete. Weather was nice with moderate temperature and a little less breezy. I took advantage of the weather running over to Bayside Centre to pick up something and then walking back to the hotel. Today we return to Crystal Serenity to begin another adventure and create memories which will last a lifetime. Some photos follow. Cheers, Keith I posted this on the Bistro Thread. A few restaurants deliver meal orders this way as we've seen in another city we recently visited. IMG_3669.mov

I thought I would change things up today from my usual posts. As we've been walking around Miami a few restaurants are providing delivery services like this. We saw this in another city a few months ago. Keith IMG_3669.mov

If you look at post numberr 7 I had posted a PDF of the Crystal Society Program which will show you the current benefits as milestones are achieved. Keith