We were just catching up on comments from our 9/20 posting.

Karen, we are so happy to hear you are enjoying the blog and feel part of the voyage and thank you so much for the heads up about the person who was having trouble accessing the blog.  We also just fixed the tab below us toasting so it goes to the current blog and the one which shows previous blog so it goes to our recent blog of Iceland and Endeavor.  Many thanks.

Kathie, thank you so much.  We are so happy to be on-board.

Patricia, yes we love the traditions such as the cobb salad.  You had asked about what Anne Marie packed.  We packed a similar amount of clothing but she changed up what items she brought this time around including outfits, shoes, etc.  We also brought a few items we didn't have in July and wish we had brought and we didn't take a few items we realized from July we didn't need.

We had dinner in our room last evening.

These are the dinner menus from Waterside.

We began with pre-dinner wine in the room.  

For dinner we started with dinner salads which came from the Waterside Cold Galley where they prepare items not on the menu.  We had a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes and Mushroom.

We then made it an Umi Uma dinner enjoying Nobu sushi, sashimi and entrees.  Butler Aleks organized the meal and served it course by course.

While we ate in our room, these are some photos of Umi Uma.

Following is the daily Reflections Program for today.

Sunrise shortly before breakfast.

We began today as we normally do with a workout for Keith in the Fitness Center.  Before we had breakfast in our room he stopped by Marketplace to visit with some members of the crew.

 After lunch we both enjoyed a nice walk on the Promenade Deck.  
 
We wanted to close with additional photos and today's focus is technology in terms of photos of venues around the ship.
 
One of the areas which received a makeover during the late 2018 Crystal Serenity Dry-Dock is the Computer University.  It was completely redone including creating a major area where the personnel sit and assist guests along with new tables, iMacs, iPads, a large copy machine and new carpeting and lighting.  One one side are the iMacs for the use of guests and on the other side is the university where guests sign up to take a range of computer courses.  The lights were off in the latter space so the photo does not do justice to that area.  

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

We got settled onto Serenity.  Keith unpacked some items and got our electronics all set up and Anne Marie unpacked the large suit cases.  It's easy to unpack on these cruises as we bring so much less than we normally would for longer cruises.

For the first time on an embarkation day Keith managed t play Paddle Tennis with three other people for ninety minutes.  It was hot and humid but lots of fun.

About 85 people boarded in Miami and 240 guests are on this voyage.

We attended the muster drill with all those who embarked in Miami at 4:00 PM.  The drill was done nicely.  They showed a video narrated by Cruise Director Rick Spath.  It included video of some crew members both current and former ones so it was sentimental for us.  

We dined at Waterside.  Start times for all dining venues have been moved from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM which is similar to Endeavor.  

​Following is the daily embarkation daily program.

Waterside Dinner Menus.

Dinner was terrific and it was so nice to be back at Waterside.  Keith must be a little rusty as he didn't get photos of Anne Marie's Onion Soup and the Spinach Salads.  He'll get better next time.  LOL.  

We enjoyed a Scallop and Kingfish Appetizer for Keith and Onion Soup appetizer for Anne Marie, Spinach Salad for each of us, the Covina Fillet for each of us and some cheese for Keith and one scoop of ice cream for Anne Marie.  Let us not forget the wine.  

With only 240 guests on-board and four dining venues plus room service Waterside was very quiet.

We had visits from Restaurant Manager Paolo, Head Waiter Carmelo who has our section and Head Waiter Vlada who has another area of Waterside and who was our Head Waiter in July and someone we have known for years.  The Wait Staff team was superb.  

We wanted to give a shout out to the entertainment.  As was the case in July the amount and diversity of the entertainment was terrific.   There were four different performances before dinner at the Crystal Cove including some performers, we are familiar with plus the duo of Julie and Andy and the music was very upbeat.  In addition, there was the showing of My Life- The Music of Billy Joel which is a regular production show and always enjoyable.  In addition, there were two showings of A Night of Sinatra performed by Stephen Roberts on the Piano
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As we did last time, we will post photos of various areas on Serenity.  These photos are from the Casino and also include the High Rollers Room.

We slept well as we always do when we cruise.  We always say it is the gentle rocking of the ship plus the wine always helps.  LOL.  

An intersting sunrise

We began the day as we always do with an early morning workout for Keith followed by breakfast in our room. He also managed to do laundry and at the time of day not a problem getting a machine.  LOL.  

Since the Pandemic began Keith works out at home either inside our house where he has his own Indoor Cycling Bike or outside the home going on runs of various lengths and taking long walks.  For one month in 2020 he taught some outdoor fitness classes since there was plenty of social distancing and they were outdoors but has refrained from teaching indoors or taking classes.  One of the many nice things about sailing on Crystal Cruises is the fitness centers are open 7x24.  This way he can workout before others arrive which works out perfectly for him.  

Some photos of our home for the next 21 days.

Today's daily Reflections Program.

With an arrival time at our first port of call at 1:00 PM the morning was a sea day.  This means there were lots of activities.  We won't cover them all but two lectures were offered along with lots of classes.  You can view Reflections to see precisely what was offered.

Someone familiar to us and one who can lecture year over year and we would never get tired of because he changes up his lectures and keeps them current is Ambassador Marc Ginsberg.  We enjoyed his presentation which we watched from our room which was on a current day issue on domestic terrorism and the challenges it poses.  

Before his talk we both walked together on the wrap-around Promenade Deck.  Whereas yesterday was hot and humid and no breeze, when we got out on the Promenade Deck it was wet and a light rain but the rain stopped in a matter of minutes.  What didn't stop were the strong winds but better for the wind so it didn't feel hot.  

We enjoyed lunch in our room.  As we did on the July cruises we plan to have most if not all lunches in our room.

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The afternoon brought another walk for Anne Marie and Paddle Tennis for Keith.  As we mentioned, the ship for these cruises is our destination so we spend most port days on-board.  This meant Paddle Tennis for Keith which he enjoys very much.  For him it is great exercise, getting outside for fresh air and having some very good laughs with senior officers and staff who can play along with fellow guests.  

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

Thank you for the Bon Voyage wished Patricia.  

Embarkation day is very exciting no matter how often we sail.

After breakfast we got ready for the start of our cruising adventure.  

A photo right before we checked out of our room.

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We were met at the hotel by a vehicle Crystal Cruises arranged taking us from the hotel to the Port Of Miami.  Our driver was Shelly, a very nice person.  She has lived in Florida for many years and works for the agency which supports Crystal and some other lines.  Ironically, she has never been on a cruise.

We drove the same way Keith walked yesterday as we made our way to Terminal J which is used by the smaller ships.

We enjoyed a very smooth check-in.  The person who helped us we had met at the convention center in Nassau and guided us along the way.  Check in was a breeze including the COVID-19 test which we both passed.  Thank goodness.

We saw so many familiar faces including Hotel Director Hubert, Ervin the front office Manager, the Concierge, Arielle Cruise Director Raph, Head Sommelier Jiri and our Butler for these voyages; Alex who escorted us to our room. We are in the same type of room as last time but one door down.  We began with Lunch and had our traditional Cobb Salad and toasted our love to another wonderful adventure. 

We are going to post early today but will post more about the rest of the day tomorrow.

We want to close with a quote from former President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea.  And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears.  We are tied to the ocean.  And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came.

Below is a Memorial in Miami we have stopped at many times and Keith saw yesterday in memory of John F. Kennedy.  

Patricia thank you for your thoughtful comments.  You had asked about the eyewear.  It was a between the two sets of glasses and the two masks it was a little uncomfortable from time to time on one area of each ear but we did have them on from the time we left home until after we were in our room at the hotel which was about 8 hours.  After that when Keith went back to one set of glasses and two masks when he left our room to run those errands he was fine.  

After we posted Keith went out on one final walk.  For those familiar with the location of the hotel he walked to the left and made another left to walk with Biscayne Bay on his right hand side to enjoy the views of the Bay along with the vessels sailing the area.  It was overcast and by the time he returned to the hotel it was a little misty.  Once again the challenge is all of the work being done including portions of sidewalks no longer available for pedestrian traffic.  Nevertheless he navigated all around this and enjoyed a lovely walk.

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The vast majority of Keith's working career was with MCI; which at the time of its sale was the second largest telecommunications company in the USA behind AT&T.  Although the name is no longer in existence it's facilities still exist including fiber optic cable in the largest cities throughout the USA and the markings on the sidewalk were part of a fiber locate likely done in preparation for nearby construction.

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As we did on our prior two trips which began in Nassau and Reykjavik respectively we will have our pre-cruise meals in our room.  The exception was two meals for lunch at the hotel in Nassau where we were able to dine outside.

For dinner, we had room service along with some wine complement of our travel specialists Gerri and Gabby.  We just feel more comfortable this way under the circumstances.  One of the nearby restaurants we would enjoy dining at each time we returned to Miami is Pericone's.  They had a very unique looking restaurant near Mary Brickell Village.  With the land in that area very valuable they sold the property to a developer a few years ago.  They planned to open at another location but the two time we returned there were delays and the opening kept being pushed back.  Finally they opened but with COVID-19 we didn't feel comfortable dining there.  We look forward to the time when we can as we always enjoyed their cuisine and service and the atmosphere, setting and overall ambiance of their found at their former location.

We slept well and that was not very difficult as we were exhausted.  While the direct flight was great and we are so happy to be here a 5:40 AM flight meant we were up very early to get ourselves and our home ready and for the drive to the airport.  The good news is we feel great and we are happy to be here.

As we mentioned, w've been staying in Miami for our pre-cruise visits starting in 2007 when the Crystal Cruises 2007 World Cruise Gala was held at the Four Seasons Hotel.  We remember back then construction was in early stages as many of the low rise buildings were being replaced with high rise buildings.  The number of cranes in use was amazing and other than being in Dubai with so much construction in 2007 we had never seen anything quite like this.  The 2008 great recession slowed things down as many completed buildings had no tenants and this took a few years to sort out.  Eventually things boomed and demand increased and more construction took place and this continues even today.  We have seen additional changes since January of 2020, our last stay in the city.  

The downtown area boasts many more hotels and restaurants along with a beautiful shopping mall along with many new condominiums and office buildings.  

We remember driving through Miami with Keith's parents when they were alive and living in Florida back in the 1980's and had a not so nice impression of the city and in the 1990's when we took cruises from South Florida we avoided Miami and booked cruises leaving from Fort Lauderdale.  We also avoided the Miami airport.  Fast forward to 2007 and if Crystal had not left out of Miami we might not have realized how much we enjoyed the evolution the city was going through and these days we prefer staying in the city over Fort Lauderdale.  Likewise, we prefer Miami airport, particularly Concourse D at Miami International Airport.  

After breakfast Keith went on a route he and Anne Marie took often and this was all the way up Brickell, then towards Bayside and onto the bridge which is one of two main routes to the Port Of Miami.  He reminisced along the way as he saw familiar sites.  

One of the Oceania Vessels is at Terminal J where Serenity will be tomorrow and only one other ship was in port and it looked like an NCL ship.  The port was eerie with very few vehicles going in and out and on the way back on the bridge almost no vehicles; absent the many limousines, suv's, and taxis.  Keith also notice the center which used to be called American Airlines Center has been renamed.  Over the years we attended one to two Miami Heat Basketball games when we would stay in Miami in December or January for several days pre-cruise.  

Other places Keith saw along the way was Truluck's where we have dined three different times on New Year's Eve at this location and also in our home state.  He saw the Seafair Vessel which conducts sales of art work and makes stop along the East Coast.  We often see it in December.

Lots of large groups of bicycle riders on the street, several people jogging, others walking their dog(s) and others just out for nice walks.

When he got back Anne Marie joined in for a walk and we walked back up Brickell and made a right and walked over the bridge to Brickell Key Island home to various condominiums and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.  We walked around the island and then returned to the Hotel.

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After lunch Keith took another long walk and went wherever his legs would take him.

We will have dinner in our room.  We are sticking with the plan we developed for this stay and this included no cleaning service today.  Anne Marie called housekeeping and asked for a variety of items including fresh towels so we could avoid having anyone clean the room and avoiding the need to wipe down everything they touched.

​All in all a great day.  We are getting ready in the afternoon to leave the hotel and make our way to the pier at the designated time tomorrow.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

Mintra asked if buffets are operate during COVID09 and what vaccines are acceptable.  Yes buffets do operate but with protocols including assistance from the food & beverage team, distancing from the food, and entrances and exits to keep traffic flow moving in one direction.  Guest must complete their vaccine protocol 14 days or more before boarding.  Vaccines must be accepted by the country which guests enter.  Guests who have received mixed vaccine dosages of AstraZeneca and one dose of an MRNA vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna) will not be considered fully vaccinated.

Many thanks to Gill, Dave & Rocky, Patricia (so sorry you had to cancel your cruise) and Carol.  We very much appreciate your thoughtful comments.


We wanted to begin with a big thank you and shout out to our Travel Specialist Gerri and her Assistant Gabby for all their efforts in preparation for our third adventure of the year.  Also many thanks to the many people at Crystal Cruises at sea and on land for their assistance.

Some people ask why another cruise of the Bahamas and why now?  These are two good questions.  

The answer is simple.  We believe in the saying not to put off until tomorrow those things you can do today.  COVID-19 reenforced this view.

We have no idea how things will be later this year or next year given all of the curves and bumps on the road which this virus has thrown our way.  We also are making up for lost time.  We hope things get a lot better but we don't want to wait to find out.  We also believe life is like a book and no one knows when that last chapter will be written.  With this in mind, we booked this cruise shortly after booking the July 3 and July 10 Bahama Cruises.  At first it was a back to back cruise. While on Serenity we were having such as good time we added the third cruise. They changed the original suite we booked to an adjacent one in order to get the same room for all three cruises.     Shortly after arriving home with the announcement of Miami as the third option for embarking and debarking Serenity we had Gerri and Gabby revise our reservation to Miami.  

We were up early to take advantage of a direct flight to Miami which left before 6:00 AM.  Our driver arrived to the house early and we enjoyed a nice conversation on the way to the airport.  Our goal was to make sure he didn't fall asleep driving.  LOL.  We arrived to the airport minutes before the airline desk opened and in short order checked in for the flight and went through TSA Pre Check.    After our drive by the private vehicle service we use regularly for trips we were dropped off at our regional airport.  Check-in was quick and with TSA Pre Check we went through security quickly.  The airline lounge opens early so we made a stop at the lounge before boarding our flight.

We each wore a shield which is worn over our glasses to provide a little more protection from COVID-19.

The good news is the aircraft for the flight arrived last evening from Miami and we boarded and took-off early.  Flight arrived early.  Then we walked from Gate 2 to the luggage carrousel and it felt like we walked forever.  As it turned out a one-half mile walk.  No big deal for us but I am sure might be a challenge for some.  We were met at the luggage carrousel by the driver who would drive us to the hotel.  We stayed at our go-to hotel in Miami; Four Seasons Hotel.  Our first stay at this property was in 2007 before the start of the World Cruise which was used by Crystal Cruises as the pre-cruise hotel and where the World Cruise Gala was held.

Since 2007, we have stayed at the Four Seasons many times including a pre-cruise stay prior to boarding Crystal Serenity in January of 2020.  ​

We originally booked the hotel for two nights but we know from experience the room would not be ready until 3:00 PM  With COVID-19 on our mind we didn't want to sit in the lobby for hours.  We had Gabby add an extra night as if we were checking in last night so the room would be ready upon our arrival.  The good news is they had a special stay two nights get the third night free.  This promotion had a slightly higher per diem cost but overall it didn't add too much to the overall cost and our room was ready when we checked in.

Keith went to a Publix Grocery store we have gone to many a time near Brickell Village to pick up some items including salad entrees for lunch and after lunch went to the other Publix.

We are happy to have today's journey behind us and we are thankful the flight was not only on-time but early.  This was a much easier travel day than the long 30+ hours when we flew to Iceland last month.

We wanted to close with a special song about sailing.  It's a beautiful song.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

Welcome to our Blog.

After a month at home following the Crystal Cruises Endeavor adventure, we return to Crystal Serenity for three back-to back cruises of Nassau.

Our itinerary is very similar to the back-to-back cruises  we sailed in July.  The difference is Miami has been added to the itinerary and is one of three locations where you can begin and end the cruise along with Bimini and Nassau.  We chose Miami for the ease of flights.


Following is the itinerary for our three back-to-back cruises.

              ARRIVE      DEPART


September 18  MIAMI                           PRE-CRUISE
September 19  MIAMI                           PRE-CRUISE
September 20  EMBARK                       MIAMI
September 21  7:00 AM     7:00 PM     SAN SALVAODR
September 22  7:00 AM     7:00 PM     GREAT EXUMA
September 23  7:00 AM     7:60 PM     LONG ISLAND
September 24                                         CRUISING
September 25  6:00 AM     7:00 PM     NASSAU
September 26  8:00 AM     6:00 PM     BIMINI
September 27  8:00 AM                        MIAMI
September 28  7:00 AM     7:00 PM    SAN SALVADOR
September 29  7:00 AM     7:00 PM    GREAT EXUMA
September 30  7:00 AM     6:00 PM    LONG ISLAND
October 1                                              CRUISING
September 26  6:00 AM     7:00 PM    NASSAU
September 27  8:00 AM                        MIAMI
September 28  7:00 AM     7:00 PM    SAN SALVADOR
September 29  7:00 AM     7:00 PM    GREAT EXUMA
September 30  7:00 AM     6:00 PM    LONG ISLAND
October 1                                              CRUISING
October 2        6:00 AM     8:00 PM    NASSAU 
October 3        8:00 AM     6:00 PM    BIMINI
October 4                           5:00 PM    MIAMI
October 5       7:00 AM     7:00 PM    SAN SALAVADOR
October 6       7:00 AM     7:00 PM    GREAT EXUMA 
October 7       7:00 AM     6:00 PM    LONG ISLAND
October 8                                             CRUISING
October 9       6:00 AM     7:00 PM    NASSAU
October 10     8:00 AM     6:00 PM    BIMINI
October 11     8:00 AM                       MIAMI
October 12                                          MIAMI & FLY HOME

Starting today, we will blog each day.

We read all comments and you can comment by clicking on the comments section found at the end of each entry.  You can also send comments directly to us by clicking on the top tab labeled comments.

We look forward to returning to Crystal Serenity and back to sea.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith