We enjoyed our last night on-board last evening as today we debark Crystal Serenity.  It is not goodbye as we look forward to our next adventure on Crystal Serenity.  

​Waterside dinner menu follows.

We enjoyed the wonderful cuisine of Umi Uma for our last dinner of this cruise. These are the Umi Uma Dinner menus.

A couple of photos from early this morning.

While we plan to enjoy a light breakfast in our room this morning this is the breakfast menu from Waterside.
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Today's daily Reflections for those debarking in Los Angeles.

​This has been another great cruising adventure sailing on-board Crystal Serenity.  The on-board team has been amazing in all facets between their professionalism, warmth, friendliness, and attention to detail.  This includes those we have known for years, a shorter time frame and who we first sailed with on these two voyages.  

Likewise, we have also enjoyed sailing with guests we have known years and years, some we met more recently and several guests who we are sailing with for the very first time.  

We have created new memories which will last a lifetime and we have enjoyed every minute of this cruise.

Depending on how we look at it our adventure is not quite over.  After a short time at home, please look for and new Blog with new posts a few days from today.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

We enjoyed an amazing sail away as we left the port of San Francisco. We heard Louis Armstrong sing What A Wonderful World and sailed by Alacatraz Island. This was a wonderful visit for us and for everyone on board whom we spoke with.
 

We wish we could say we took the follow video and photo but if we did we would not still be on the ship. Thank you friends Ashley and Kelly.

Dinner Menus from last evening at Waterside.

We enjoyed a wonderful and relaxed dinner in our room organized by Senior Head Waiter Rao.

We wanted to mention what a wonderful team we have that takes excellent care of us in our room day-in-and-day out. We first had Rao as a butler in  2012 and we greatly appreciate all he does. He began with Crystal in 2006 where for his first few years with Crystal he was in Waterside which back then was known as the Crystal Dining Room. Rao is truly amazing and we look forward to seeing him each time we return to Serenity. In  addition to Rao,our Suite Attendant is Nabeelah and our Junior Suite Attendant is Deepshikha. All three of these wonderful people do not miss a beat and are kind, friendly, professional and are on top of everything and have made our stay in the room exceptional, enjoyable and memorable. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

On a related note, we looked at a photo last evening we took in 2012 (photo follows) which included Rao, our suite attendant and a suite and junior attendant who took care of adjacent rooms nearby.  Rao moved from Butler to Head Butler and then Senior Head Butler. Our suite attendant Sneha moved from that position and became a floor supervisor and continued to move into higher positions. Today she swings between Chief Housekeeper and Assistant to the Chief Housekeeper.  It was great to once again see her on this cruise.  Over the years we’ve enjoyed various members of each Crystal vessel move into positions with increasing responsibilities.  

Rao on the left and Sneha next to Rao.

All of the cuisine we enjoyed for dinner was on the Waterside menu.  The food was delicious and Roa made the entire dinner so very special for us.  ​

We saw a magical sunset from our verandah.

Today's Daily Refections follows. A total of 46 programs and other activities were offered during the day and afternoon. 

Today marks the last full day of this cruise before we debark tomorrow from the Port of Los Angeles.

The program included three lectures; one on Los Angeles, one about West Point and one about the geography of food.  As usual, lots of classes including fitness, golf, bridge, health, and art along with an array of many other activities.

We enjoyed the final day of this cruise and our time on-board visiting with guests and crew while making the time to finish packing.  

We will post again tomorrow morning before we debark.

After we debark stay tuned for our next adventure which will come very soon.

We are posting early today as we will be busy visiting with others and packing.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

We want to digress for a moment. We love overnights and there are some cities which make it even more special. San Francisco is one of these cities. Why? In addition to being a lovely city, it is very easy to visit nearby places by foot and for those who prefer a vehicle they can taxi or take uber or arrange for a private vehicle.  With two full days here, there is no need to rush back to the ship and there is time to do as much or as little as one wants. At the same time, it is great for the crew. It provides an opportunity for crew to go ashore, and this is very important for them, and this city makes it easy to do just that. There is no 45-minute shuttle or tender. We are right here. I am reminded that a happy crew makes for a happy cruise. Same goes for guests. Happy guests make for a happy cruise. LOL.  
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Dinner Menus from last evening at Waterside where we dined.

Before dinner last evening we chatted with two couples who we have met on this cruise. They are very nice people.  Our friends Ashley and Kelly who live in San Francisco came on board and we visited with them for a little while. We last sailed together on the Decemb

​We had an amazing time at dinner. We enjoyed lots of great service, cuisine, the beautiful dining venue and lots of great laughs.  Marcin will be going home tomorrow for a well deserved holiday. We look forward to seeing him on our next Crystal Serenity cruise.

We will digress for a moment. We each had Wiener Schnitzel for our entrée.  For many years we never had this dish.  Growing up we had veal cutlets. On our visit to Vienna, Austria before boarding Crystal Mozart in 2019, we had Wiener Schnitzel at a local restaurant and enjoyed it and had it at a different Vienna Restaurant. On-board Mozart we had it again on one evening. In each case, its preparation was slightly different. In each case we enjoyed it.  In 2021, on one of the infamous Bahama Cruises, when we mentioned to the Butler, we had on one of those sailings he suggested an egg on top and Keith said he would try it and the Butler arranged it with the Head Waiter. Keith did enjoy the combination so on most sailings on one of the evenings when it is featured on the menu, Keith will order it as we did last evening and all you have to do is ask the Senior Waiter about this and just let them know what type of egg(s) you would like on top.  In Keith's case, one egg is great.  

Last evening featured the Crystal White Party.  For those of you who have not sailed Crystal or not sailed since the White Night was introduced in February of 2017 when both Symphony and Serenity were in Sydney think of it as a mixer with a theme. In this case the theme is white with white decorations and some of the drinks with a white theme along with dancing to the Crystal Showband accompanied with a violinist, a vocalist and a dance due hosted by Cruise Director Rick.  JD Emotion also follows this playing music that guests can listen or dance to.  

Some views of the bay from the stern of Serenity.

And a view on our verandah.
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Early morning view from today. Or some might say a very late night view. LOL.

Today's Daily Refections Program.

We enjoyed a stroll of the city in the morning. It was a beautiful day with the sun out. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right.  We stopped of at Pier 39. While we know it is a tourist site it brings back many memories of the times we would visit when our children were young and we would go to certain shops, they would ride the merry-go-round and we would look at the sea lions.  While here we took Keith's parents there for when they visited us.  As we walked other nearby areas we reminisced about our time living in the Bay Area.

We saw some crew and guests as we headed back to the ship.  Upon our arrival to the terminal we saw Svenja, once again and chatted for a while. She is a lovely person inside and out and we were so happy to see her each of the past two days.

Those sea lions. You can turn up the volume to hear them.

We lived in the Bay Area during the 1989 Earth Quake and that is a memory which we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

And the good news. Keith got in a couple of hours of non-stop Paddle Tennis with picture perfect weather and lots of good exercise and a lot of laughs. Life is good.

​We will close now.

Have a great day.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

After we took this photo we met with a very nice couple at the Lounge who we met several years ago. 

Following are the dinner menus from Waterside where we dined.

Although last evening was not a formal night in terms of evening attire, it had the feel of a formal night between the Captain's Welcome Reception and Crystal Society Party, a Concert & Dance Production Show and a wonderful dinner menu at Waterside. We had a great time with a lot of laughs as you can see with one of the photos.

Following is today's daily Reflections Program.

Serenity was met by the pilot at 6:00 am to make our way into San Francisco.  We docked at Pier 27

I left my heart in San Francisco.  In our case, we left our hearts in San Francisco.  ​

San Francisco has always been special to us.  We lived in the Bay Area with our two children from 1987 to 1991 when Keith took a work transfer.  We lived about thirty miles from the city.  There was lots to do in where we lived, when we visited the city and we enjoyed visiting other areas of the state during our time there. 

Since then we have returned to San Francisco for land only visits and other times for cruises that began and/or ended in San Francisco.  Our last two visits were in 2016 for a pre-cruise stay prior to a Crystal Serenity Cruise and in 2017 when we took the family with us on a Crystal Serenity California coastal cruise.

Before we left the ship Anne Marie said it is forecasted to rain.  Keith said this is San Francisco and other than some mist from the fog it doesn't rain till October. Anne Marie wore her rain coat. Keith did not. Guess what. She was right and as we headed back to the ship it poured. Oh well. It's only rain.

On our way out and back we saw Svenja each time. We have known Svenja for many years when she would oversee the Crystal representatives at the pier in USA cities for embarkation and debarkation and we would see her other times such as in Santa Barbara in 2017. Today, she was involved with the land shore excursions for the local operator. It was so nice to see her and hopefully we will see her tomorrow morning.

​One of the places we stopped by is Scoma’s. Keith first went there for dinner with some former colleagues on his first business trip to San Francisco. When we were making the decision to relocate to the city the family was invited to visit the area and we dined at Scoma’s. We returned many times. Just like Cobb Salad and a Flute of Champagne it was a tradition for us.
 

Keith got in paddle tennis and for the first time wore short since we boarded. Beautiful afternoon in San Francisco.
 

We will overnight in San Francisco and stay till 6:00 pm tomorrow afternoon so we will explore more tomorrow too.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

Let's talk fishing. Well, let's talk salmon fishing.  We learned why all of those fishing boats were near us yesterday in Astoria, Oregon. The salmon return here annually and there are lots of them.  In fact, looking down at the Columbia River from our verandah you could see the color from all of the salmon.  So now we know.

We departed Astoria for San Francisco at 6:00 PM.  As we departed and heard What A Wonderful World sung by Louis Armstrong we viewed the surrounding area. Right where we docked is a bridge that reminded of the San Mateo Bridge which we would cross to get to and from the San Francisco airport when we lived in the Bay Area. The bridge has a different look but there is the deck that is close to the water and decking all above the water.   The playing of What A Wonderful World reminds us of each and every voyage we have taken with Crystal. 
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Photos before our guest arrived.

We enjoyed dinner in our room last evening with one guest. Just think, we could have had the freshest of salmon from the river. LOL.  

Butler Rao organized everything for us including canapés, drink and the meal.  We ordered from Waterside and from Umi Uma.

This is the Waterside Dinner Menu

This is the daily Reflections for today.

Despite some choppy seas and going in and out of rain showers, we are enjoying a fabulous sea day as we sail to our final port of call.
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Lots on the program today with 47 enrichment programs offered during the day and afternoon.  Lectures included a talk about San Francisco , a talk about leadership, and a presentation by John Wesley from A&K about the wonderful world of A&K.  An array of classes were offered including bridge, fitness, golf, computer, art, and health.  Pretty much something for everyone and let's not forget there is dining.  LOL.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

We wanted to begin with a couple of items.

We had a chance to speak with several people yesterday about Slavko. For those who knew him, crew and guests, his sudden passing was a shock and so many of us are numb. Ironically, over dinner when we were speaking with some members of the Osteria Waitstaff team about Slavko, all of a sudden the sun came out between the clouds. We remarked that Slavko must be watching over us. He was such a great person, father, and husband and he was very impactful on so many people in the most positive way. May Slavko rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing. 

We welcomed several returning guests who we know very well as we saw them yesterday afternoon and evening. They were happy to be back, and we were happy to see them once again.  This is part of the excitement of cruising with Crystal knowing you will see guests and crew who you may have known for quite some time.  

While rain was in the forecast yesterday, we were fortunate that it didn't rain.  

We enjoyed another fantastic evening on Crystal Serenity with dinner at the Italian Restaurant Osteria.
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This is the Waterside Dinner Menu.

 Osteria dinner menu.

We were taken care of by a terrific team including waiter Nenad, Sommelier Marizio, Head Waiter Morne and Specialty Restaurant Maitre d' Paolo. 

After taking our order, Nenad asked us what type of pace we would like the meal served in. In other words, he inquired whether or not we had plans for after dinner. We responded by saying a slow pace would be great and that dinner last night would also be our evening entertainment.

His service and the service of the entire team was impeccable. Dining at Osteria is similar to dining at a high end restaurant on land with great service, cuisine and ambience of the beautiful dining venue.  Add to this the fact you don't have to look for parking when you arrive nor drive home at night which are both added pluses. LOL.

We enjoyed some items that we have had before along with one item recently added to the menu and a couple of items we hadn't had before. 

Early morning walk on the open deck after a workout at the Fitness Center.

This is today's Daily Reflections Program.

Today was a morning like a sea day and a port day afternoon. This is because we had a planned arrival to Astoria, Oregon at 1:00 pm.  There were close to 35 enrichment activities on the schedule. This included a talk about Astoria and San Francisco and a talk about Russia and Ukraine. We also visited the salon/spa in the morning. Like last night's dining, we simply walked up one flight of stairs and we were there. 

As we were about an hour from Astoria we saw lots of fishing boats.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

Many thanks to all of you who have been posting comments. We read each of them. John...We will catch up with you when we are back on land.  Patricia...We do love our room accommodations.  Marge, if you try another device or web browser hopefully you will be able to view the menus and reflections.  

We enjoyed another fantastic evening on Crystal Serenity with dinner at Waterside.  It wasn’t white night but we made it a white night  anyway.
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​We met some people who are in the Crystal Society Facebook group page for the very first time. One couple knows another couple who lived across the street from us between 1991 and 2008. What a small and wonderful world.

Food was great as was the service.  Last night’s menu featured two items that use to be served in Prego; Mushroom soup and Carpaccio.  Anne Marie had the soup and Keith had the Carpaccio appetizers.  
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This is today's Daily Reflections

Some views from earlier in the morning when Keith was running and walking and some photos from the bow of the ship as we were going under the bridge. Before we boarded we could see Serenity from our hotel room as she went under the bridge.

Today was turn-around day as the first cruise ended and the next cruise began.  Although arriving to Canada we all guest traveling on the next cruise (in-transit guests) had to get off the ship so we could get to a zero count (no guests on-board) like you do when arriving to a USA port to end a cruise. This is because while we were docked in Canada the ship is viewed as USA since we will not be returning to Canada.  As such, we had to go through USA customs in Canada. The same process is used when you fly out of Vancouver and clear USA customs in Canada rather than arrival at your first USA airport.

Since today was the start of a new cruise we had our traditional Cobb Salad and with flutes of champagne toasted our love and to the next cruise. The hearts say it all.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

We wanted to begin with some sad news. We are numb having heard the news about the passing of Slavko. We knew Slavko for many years.  He was not only an amazing member of Crystal but a great father, and husband and someone we considered part of what we call our extended Crystal family. While on-board the vessels Keith very much enjoyed playing Paddle Tennis with him. That provided a great opportunity to get to know him better while they took breaks between games and while they played together.  We last saw Slavko in 2021 on Endeavor and before that on Symphony in 2018.  
 
We often say that life is short, and life is like a book. In other words, none of us knows when the last chapter of our lives will be written. Sometimes people ask why we say so positive including when we cruise. We respond by saying it is because over the years we have family and friends who passed way too young so we try to put things in perspective. I prefer to live focusing on the good and enjoying each day and not letting the little things in life bother me. This includes cruising where we focus on the positive.

May Slavko rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.  
 
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We enjoyed another wonderful evening on-board Crystal Serenity last evening.

Last evening was similar to a formal night other than the attire which was evening resort.

It began with a Captain's Farewell Reception which included a special word from Executive Chairman A&K Travel Group Dr. Manfredi Lefebvre.  (Photo at right is Manfredi with former SVP Marketing Bill Smith who is celebrating his 80th Birthday this cruise)

​It continued with dinner.  These are the Waterside dinner menus from last evening where we dined below these photos.

The menu featured many special items including caviar, seafood cocktail, fresh Alaskan halibut, fresh lobster, and  beef tenderloin.

This is today's Daily Reflections Program.

Today is a morning sea day and in the afternoon a visit to Victoria, BC.

We visited Victoria for the first time on our first cruise of Alaska taking a ferry from Vancouver. We went to Butchart Gardens and did the same when Crystal Harmony stopped there in 2002 on our first Crystal Cruise.  Victoria is the Capital of BC. It has a charming downtown area which we enjoy walking.  

We enjoyed another wonderful evening on-board Crystal Serenity.

This is the restaurant menu from Waterside.  We had a couple of guests to our room from dinner and ordered from Waterside.

The only down-side to the evening was forwarding the clock by one hour. LOL.

This is the daily Reflections Program.

​Today is a sea day. Crystal had an incredible array of enrichment activities on the schedule.  This included three talks; Scott Bornstein on six steps to making names and faces unforgettable, Retired Major General Craig Wheelmen speaking personally about 9/11 having worked at the Pentagon on that day, and Anant Sing with a talk and a film about Pierre De Coubertin; An Olympic Life.  Including these three talks, the program included 47 activities between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm.  

If you included food (breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea) you have a round number of 50 things to do.  LOL.

One of the photos we've included is of the replica of Crystal Harmony that we first saw on the July 31, 2023, inaugural cruise. Like us, several people sailed Crystal Harmony as their introduction to Crystal. As I had mentioned, our introduction was July of 2022 when we sailed a round trip San Francisco cruise of Alaska on Crystal Harmony.
 
The other collage is some photos from earlier this morning on the pool deck which I took following an early morning walk and run. It was just me and the night crew who work diligently during the evening hours to keep the ships public areas looking pristine.

We wanted to begin by mentioning that on today’s program was a special movie presentation by renowned fil producer and IOC member Anant Singh which presents Paris 1924: An Olympic Epic which celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the games returning to Paris in 1924.  Anant and his wife were at the dinner we attended the other evening at Waterside on Friday evening.  


We enjoyed Serenity last evening.

These are the dinner menus from last night at Waterside

We dined at Umi Uma for the first time of this cruise.

We first dined at Umi Uma which back then was called Silk Road in 2005 when we sailed Crystal Serenity for the very first time.  Crystal Serenity was the first Crystal vessel to feature the cuisine of Nobu.  Due to its popularity it eventually was added to Crystal Symphony. 

We think bringing Umi Uma (Nobu) back when Crystal was relaunched demonstrated the commitment that the new ownership has to elevate the luxury experience of Crystal as is the case with Osteria and replacing Tastes with Beefbar.

Dinner was delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed the sushi, sashimi, starter course and entree in this beautiful dining venue.  Adding to the special cuisine and venue is the outstanding level of service of the waitstaff team.  We have known the vast majority of the waitstaff since 2005.  They are kind, knowledgable and professional and add tremendously to the overall dining experience.
 
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This is the Umi Uma Dinner Menu.

Today's Daily Refections Program follows.

We sailed last evening and this morning to our next port of call; Sitka Alaska.  We arrived shortly before 9:00 AM.  Sitka is Russia's former New World Capital.  
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We were fortunate to have great weather today as we've had for most of the voyage.  

It's been another great day sailing Crystal Serenity with stops in terrific ports. Keith even got in a couple of great games of Paddle Tennis. What a wonderful world.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith