DAY 11 - SAN SALVADOR

We thought we would begin on the lighter side.  After all it's all about carpeting.  LOL.

​When we both walked inside the ship  the other day this was the first time Anne Marie had walked Deck 6 of Serenity which is the deck with The Bistro, stores, Galaxy theatre, photo studio, etc. since March of 202.   She didn't walk inside the ship when we returned in July as she often does and instead walked outside on the Promenade Deck exclusively.
 
When dry dock was completed in November of 2018 they replaced several large area of carpeting throughout the ship with a new pattern.  One area they didn't replace was the areas along the corridor of the photo studio leading to the back of the ship towards Connoisseur Club and Stardust.  
 
Keith didn't pick up on the change in July so Anne Marie thinks it likely occurred sometime during or after the dry dock of the vessel before it was brought to Nassau for the restart of cruising.
 
This is what the carpeting looks like now.
 

This is what it previously looked like

Thank you for your comments Patricia.  Yes, the TV by the foot of the bed on Endeavor was the first one we had seen on a Crystal Ship.  In this room there is one about the desk in one of the living areas, one in the living room and one in the bedroom.  Believe it or not they have on in the master bathroom embedded in the mirror but when they went to the new interactive television system in late 2018 as par of dry dock and makeover of the ship it no longer gets stations.  We will keep the food photos coming and do our best to take photos of other rooms when they have the open house.

We were asked if we could post photos of our Verandah.  Because Crystal doesn’t put suites on the back of the ship (this is a plus as they devote the back of most guest decks to public space) the depth is the same as all verandahs except the few on the very front and very back of the ships where the verandahs are somewhat larger.  Unlike other verandahs the ones for the Crystal Penthouses (4 on Serenity) are standalone and do not adjoin adjacent verandahs.

We wanted to continue with final photos of Crystal Penthouse.

These are photos of the two bathrooms in the Crystal Penthouse; powder room with shower and master bath.

These are photos of some of the public rooms on Deck7.  This includes the Bridge Room where bridge lessons are offered, and bride games take place and others can come in other times of the day to play cards or other board games.  Years ago we took bridge lessons on the Crystal Harmony and played board games on Serenity with our family.  The room is larger than the photos show, but when we took the photos some people were playing cards on the other side of the room.

There is the beautiful Vintage Room offering a Luncheon with either wine or sometimes one about Champagne.  They also offer Vintage Room dinners.  There is a cost for each of these.  The wine and champagne and cuisine are outstanding as is the cuisine and the Head Sommelier leads a very nice and informative discussion of wine and champagne.

There is a library offering many books for guests to check out as well as magazines and other periodicals for guests to sit and read.  Librarian Liezl who we adore is in one of the photos.

Another room is the dance studio where private dance lessons for a fee are normally offered but this has been placed on hold due to COVID-19 protocols.  It is used right now for complimentary Pilates classes with reformers or for a fee guests can arrange private lessons with the Pilates Instructor.

Another room is used for training classes and certain times of the year for music classes and during the World Cruise guests can be part of the World Cruise Choir and this is where they rehearse for the recital.

This deck is also home for the Specialty Restaurant Umi Uma Japanese Restaurant based on the cuisine of Chef Nobu who is a renowned Chef, The Specialty  Restaurant Prego which serves Italian Cuisine and the Computer University where computer classes are taught, staff is on duty to help guests to access the internet with their devises and plenty of iMac computers are available for the use by the guests.

We dined at Prego last night.  The following are the dinner menus from Waterside followed by dinner menus from Prego.

We always enjoy dining at Prego and as you hear us say often for us Prego has the charm of a restaurant in a small town or village where you know the people who are part of the restaurant.  As usual service, cuisine and ambiance were magnificent.

​Food was delicious.  It took almost twenty years but I discovered how much I enjoy Capaccio as an appetizer which is made near the table.  Anne Marie had Lasagna for an entrée which we think is the first time she’s had it at Prego.  We will let the photos speak for themselves.  It was a wow.
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Once each week we charge the contact tracing devices with this power cord the butler provided last evening.  In rooms without butler service the stateroom attendant would provide them.

You know they are charged when you see a blinking light in the middle of the device; blue indicates you are not in close proximity of another person and red indicates you are not socially distancing.

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Interesting morning colors.
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This is the Reflections for today.

After a two day break it was great to get out to the Paddle Tennis Court. Keith played with Food & Beverage Manager Tayfun, Restaurant Manager Paolo and Band Master and Drummer Greg.  It was just the four of us on the court so non-stop play.  It was Hot, Hot, Hot, and Fun, Fun, Fun.

After 16 months of not playing Paddle Tennis it’s been great to play in July and now.
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We wanted to close with some photos from yesterday at the Port Of Miami.  It is nice to see cruising making a comeback.  Including Serenity five cruise ships were in port.  In addition to Serenity, two Carnival ships, one NCL and one Virgin cruise ship.  While ships are sailing with lower than desired occupancies it is important they sail which they are doing.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith