Shortly after we departed Bimini we heard Louis Armstrong Sing the Song What A Wonderful World and the beauty of the sky reenforced this song.

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We enjoyed dinner in our room as we often do even before COVID-19 was a name we knew of as part of our tradition.

We enjoyed appetizers from Umi Uma, followed by Caesar Salad from Prego and for our entree Pizza which is another tradition of ours. Keith forgot to take photos of some of the food.

We enjoyed our final sleep on the ship as Serenity set sail for Miami, Florida where we boarded the ship a week ago.  Time does go fast when you are having fun.

Although one of the shorter cruising trips we taken we enjoyed every minute and made memories which will last a lifetime.

As we've said often, we returned for this cruise to see the crew.  They are amazing and they are on very cohesive team.  

There is a saying all good things have to come to an end, and this applies to the close of our seven night voyage of the Bahamas on-board Crystal Serenity.
 
We had an amazing time and look forward to each of our future cruises with Crystal.  
 
On the first day we posted, we never would have predicted sailing the Bahamas one time let along six times as we have done starting with the July 3 restart cruise.  We have enjoyed each one of them.
 
Some said, how can they do these sailings during Hurricane Season or in the hot weather or offer only 7 day cruises?  They went on to say won’t this change the whole experience?
 
All we can say is we have had a wonderful time on each sailing.  Yes, it is not Alaska nor the Mediterranean but given the choice of sitting at home or sailing on-board one of the Ocean Vessels or any Crystal Vessel the answer for us is it is a no-brainer to cruise.
 
The weather was better than we expected on all six cruises.  The on-board guest experience was as good if not better than ever.  There were no hurricanes other than maybe remnants of tropical storms.  Sail Alaska and you could have great weather, but I’ve been there where it was rainy all day.  Sailed the British Isles a few years ago in the Summer and the weather was more like November weather.
 
On the first cruise we loved our pre-cruise stay in Nassau and stayed in one of the nicest hotel suites we have ever stayed in and found the locals to be wonderful.  
 
There is so much to highlight about this cruise.  
 
We chose to return to Serenity for only one week to see the crew including some who we hadn’t seen since January of 2020 as they only were able to return to Crystal very recently and we saw some members who we hadn’t seen since July.  We are so glad we were able to see them plus others we saw in September plus some new to Crystal and others who have come over from other Crystal vessels.  For us the crew is the main reason we return to Crystal over and over.
They are so very special, and they work as one very cohesive crew.  You see this day and night; 7x24.
 
The food has been wonderful.  It continues to evolve with creative and tasty new dishes and/or enhancements to traditional dishes.  
 
Lots of diversity in evening entertainment in the Crystal Cove Lounge with some of it being very upbeat rather than only a pianist as it was a few years ago.  
 
Some additions in the evening reflecting on where we were sailing such as a party by the pool area on the Lido Deck, weather permitting.  
 
It was nice to see a cruise with more guests on-board.  We have seen some guests we know from prior voyages and over these six cruises have met some guests for the very first time whose company was enjoyable.
 
We feel much safer being on-board these sailings compared to home. At home, we have yet to eat in a local restaurant since 2019 as we were traveling before the Pandemic hit and when it first hit.  The Protocols which Crystal has implemented are working very well.  This doesn’t mean someone can’t get COVID-19 as that could happen before they board and not immediately show up in a test or could happen on-board but there have been very few cases and for any which occur, they have been contained quickly.  Other than our own home I cannot think of a safer place to be.  
 

​

Dinner menus from Waterside from last evening.

​
 
Last night also included Crystal White Extravaganza.  White Extravaganza made its introduction to Serenity and Symphony in 2018 when each ship did a World Cruise and both ships were in port the same time in Sydney, Australia.  Those on the full World Cruise attended a special shoreside event and wore white clothing and when they returned to each ship an Extravaganza was held for not only them but everyone on-board.  Since that time it his held once on each voyage.
 
I like to think of it as a mixer similar to those held in the morning on selected sailings in the past.  There is live music, canapes, some specialty drinks with white in their name (you can still order whatever you want in addition to that) and some people choose to dance.  When Ambassador Hosts were on-board they would dance with those ladies traveling solo who wanted to dance.
 
Some guests like us choose to wear white on those nights but it is not necessary.  
 
 

Last evening into this morning we made our way to our final port of call of Bimini.  Seas were calm and we didn't have very far to travel.

Keith enjoyed his final morning workout of the cruise.  He visited the Fitness Center and also ran outside on the Wrap-Around Promenade Deck.

After having breakfast we took a walk together on the Promenade Deck.

We spent time to continue packing and will place final items in checked bag this evening.

Lots of finals today including final lunch, final Paddle Tennis for Keith, final walk on the Promenade Deck for Anne Marie.

It was a day of finals but good news no test to study for like in school and this won't be our final voyage on Crystal Serenity.

Today's Daily Reflections Program.

We will post more tomorrow about our final dinner and our final morning on-board Serenity.  We guess we used final again.  LOL.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

Greg...Thank you for your comments and wish you were on-board.  You are spot on about the matzah meal.

​These are the dinner menus from Waterside where we had dinner last evening.

Dinner was wonderful.  Where do we begin?  Well, maybe the first course.  It was an amazing seafood salad. Where do we go next?  To the salads.  What's next?  Or is it who is on first?  LOL.  We both had swordfish which was regular cut for Anne Marie and Butterfly Cut for Keith.  Anyone for dessert?  As Fred Flinstone Would Say Yabba Dabba Doo.

And the wine was wonderful.

​Loved the presentation of the seafood and asparagus salad and very tasty too.  The latter sounds out of a Lucille Ball episode.  LOL.
 
Salads always great and Greek Salad a winner.
 
Fresh Swordfish cooked to perfection, nice and hot and the items accompanying it including Rosemary Aioli, Roasted Potatoes, Mushroom, Broccoli, Caponata Salsa added lots of flavor to the entrée.  
 

The highlight of the entertainment was a performance of the production Icons In Concert.
 
Seas were relatively calm as we sailed towards Nassau where those guests who boarded in Nassau and not continuing for the next cruise will get off.  This will mark the last time for now where guests on Serenity will either board or debark in Nassau.  In July this is exactly what we did but in September and October we boarded and debarked in Miami as we do this time around.
 
We began today as we do each day we cruise with an early morning workout for Keith, and following breakfast a long walk on the wrap around promenade deck for the two of us.

We arrived at Nassau on-time.  We made today another sea-day.  LOL.  Well with us departing on Monday today was packing day so we don’t leave it until the last minute.  With the Paddle Tennis rain-out yesterday afternoon the make-up games were this morning.  LOL.  Keith played with the guest who he met on a previous Nassau cruise, and we played with member of his family.  

We were anchored off Nassau when Keith ran and would proceed into port when the pilot arrived.  Keith could see lights from Nassau off the bow (front) and as he ran towards the stern (back) of the ship he could see another cruise ship in the distance.  Weather was nice making for a great run.
 
An hour after we arrived and we were walking on the Promenade Deck the Disney ship arrived and after that Celebrity Edge

Keith also played Paddle Tennis in the morning.  It was hot, hot, hot or maybe warm and humid but no rain which was great.

Todays' Daily Reflections Follows.
​

The rest of the day included a nice lunch, walks on the Promenade Deck, visiting with members of Team Serenity and addition Paddle Tennis play.  When we took a break from playing we could smell barbecue meat cooking and sure enough it was coming from Celebrity Edge.  The least they could have done is invite us to lunch.  LOL.  


It's been a wonderful cruise and it is not over yet.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

Dinner menus from Waterside from last evening.

We wanted to begin by giving another shout-out to team Serenity.  We only decided to add this sailing while on-board Serenity in September/October.  Normally we would do a few cruises but this was not possible due to schedules at home.  As we mentioned the first day, we are here to see many individuals from team Serenity.  This includes several people who we hadn’t seen since early 2020 and even a few since 2019 as they were unable to return to the ship earlier this year due to COVID-19.  In some cases they live in countries where travel to other places was not permitted for a period of time due to significant outbreaks of COVID-19 in their home countries at the time such as those who live in India and South Africa.  We also wanted to see some people who were on in July but not in September and October.  And we also wanted to see some members of Team Serenity who we saw only a few weeks ago.  The crew on-board all the Crystal Vessels we have sailed is truly what sets Crystal apart from any other cruise line we have sailed.   They are second to none.  In other words, they are the best of the best in our humble opinion They truly are what we call our extended Crystal family.  

​

We enjoyed a lovely evening on-board Crystal Serenity.  We had two very special guests to our suite.

Butler Rao organized a wonder meal for us with delicious cuisine and fine wine and between the food and the drink and the pace of the meal and the wonderful conversation with plenty of laughs we had a fun time.

The featured entertainment for last evening was a performance called “Sinatra Live” featuring Bruce Hammond.  It is a salute to Frank Sinatra.  
 
As they have done since the restart of cruising the evening was supposed to include Music Under the Stars by the Seahorse Pool on Deck 12.  However, due to the wind the event was cancelled.  People have asked us do we hear the music or any noise from the event since we are on Deck 11 and the answer is notta.  LOL.  Maybe it was the wine.  LOL.  On the previous five cruises we were on we never heard any noise from this event.

After a good nights sleep Keith was up first for a start of another wonderful day on-board Crystal Serenity.

​It began with a visit to the Fitness Center followed by another run on the Promenade Deck. 

Rest of today has been great.  Crystal excels in enrichment and today was no exception.  The program included three excellent lectures and the good news is you can watch them in person, or live on the TV or on demand.  One of the highlights was Bill Miller speaking about the great port of New York.
 
There was all sorts of instruction/classes including Fitness, Golf, Bridge, Yoga, Pilates, Computer University including instruction on Windows and Smart Devices, editing photos taken with Smart Devices, and other activities including Bingo, Casino Slot Tournament, and Team Trivia.
 
And there was lunch, and we had a healthy one.

Afternoon included Paddle Tennis for Keith and a long walk for Anne Marie.

Life is Good.

Well, actually Life is Great.

Last evening we dined at Waterside for the first time of this cruise.  As many of you know Anne Marie has a compromised immune system so we are trying to dine at the venues when there are fewer people around.  With low guest counts on Serenity in September and October we dined at Waterside many times and on Endeavor all but one evening.  On this voyage knowing the guest count is around 600 and the first couple of nights would be busy in Waterside we waited for last evening and it turned out to be the perfect night to have dinner there.

These are the dinner menus.

We had a wonderful time at dinner.  We were seated in an area we enjoyed on the July restart cruises and on the three back-to-back cruises we were on recently.  It was great to see Restaurant Manager Leo who recently returned from Holiday, Head Waiter Carmelo, Senior Waiter Ayhan who took care of us on many cruises, his wonderful waiter who assisted him and Sommelier John. Several members from the Waterside team stopped by to say hello and it was great to catch up with them.  Sommelier Ricardo came by as did some of the Senior Waiters and Waiters.  Morne came by.  We saw Morne in July and he is normally the Head Waiter in Prego.  However with Head Waiter Augusto's retirement from Crystal Cruises Morne was called back earlier to work in Waterside as a Head Waiter and when other Head Waiters are back he will move back to Prego.

Food was wonderful.  We very much enjoyed the Wiener Schnitzel and it arrived to the table at a terrific temperature as it went from galley to plate to table.  Everything was terrific.  Keith selected a very special wine and really enjoyed it.

As to Wiener Schnitzel.  For years we never had it on any of the Ocean Voyages Cruises.  Maybe, there were other items we preferred.  Or maybe some other reason.  For Keith it was childhood memories of Veal Cutlet, Chicken Cutlet and Salmon Croquets his Nana who lived with them would make.  She used a lot of oil when frying them in the frying pan something which we would avoid today.  

In 2019, we stayed in Vienna, Austria for the first time and as part of a pre-cruise stay to take our first ever River Cruise on Crystal Mozart.  We decided we are in Vienna and as in the case when in Japan you need to have sushi and/or sashimi, and in Italy Pasta the moment had arrived to try Wiener Schnitzel and that is what we did at two different restaurants.  We loved it and when on Mozart had it again and felt the same way.  Fast forward to 2020 on-board Crystal Serenity and we had it one night and enjoyed it and have had it a few times on the Bahama Voyages.

As Little Mikey's brothers would say in the commercial about Quaker Oats Life Cereal "You'll Like It" as they prodded him to try the cereal and as it turned out Mike "Liked It".  Similarly we liked the Wiener Schnitzel in the same manner.  When Executive Chef from Austria Franz is on-board it is referred to as Franz Wiener Schnitzel and it was last evening since Franz is on board.
​

One of the things we find when cruising is how easy it is to get to sleep.  We find that the gentle rocking of the ship is a factor.  Surely the wine can't help either.  LOL.  You could feel the seas swells last evening so you knew you were on a cruise but overall it was fine.  
 
We began the day as we always do with a workout for me, followed by Breakfast.  The only difference is today Anne Marie’s had her hair done by stylist Benjamin.

Keith was out at the Promenade Deck to run at a similar time as yesterday.  It was nice on the starboard side with a little more wind than yesterday which gave me more strength to run.
 
 

As Keith was walking inside the ship after his run on the Promenade Deck he passed by the Casino and the High Rollers Room was open so he took a few photos which we are including below.

Following is today's daily Reflections Program.

Just like yesterday the sea swells were fairly strong pushing the tenders side to side.  Because of this some guests decided to make today a sea day.

For us another terrific sea day.  Spoke with three guests who are part of our Crystal Society Face Book group. Enjoyed walks on the promenade deck.  And let’s not forget the food.

Before lunch it started to rain so Keith thought no Paddle Tennis but 90 minutes later we could play.  Keith played with a guest he played with in September who has his family on this time and we played with his Son In Law and Son.  Eventually Keith played with the man he knew and the Son said it’s the kids against the old men.  That is all we needed to hear and we beat them in all three games.  At the end of game one Keith asked do you two need a break or maybe need a nap.  LOL.  It was lots of fun and that is what's important.
 

As we close we want to thank our Veterans for their service and keeping us safe.

Today, we observe Veteran's Day on land and Crystal does the same as there is a thank you on-board for all veterans for their service to our country.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

Waterside dinner menus from last evening.

We enjoyed dinner in our room with our Travel Specialist Gerri.  We last sailed with Gerri on one of the segments of World Cruise 2019.  It was wonderful to catch up with Gerri in-person.

We enjoyed appetizers, a delicious meal, fantastic wine, terrific conversation and we were taken care of by Butler Rao.  It doesn't get any better than this.

Last evening included lots of entertainment.  James Fox performed a Cabaret Show in the Stardust Club which is an intimate venue.  There was dancing in the Palm Court.  In addition to this Joel Spire sang and played the piano in the Avenue Saloon and other entertainment included Violinist Irina, Pianist Scott Mitchel, Guitarist and Vocalist Carolos and the Duo of Andy and July who entertained in the Crystal Cove.  There was dance music with DJ Edgar and for those who wanted to enjoy a movie two showings of Comedy Drama Ride The Eagle.
​

We slept well as we sailed to our next port of call of Great Exuma.

Another great start of the day.  It began with an exercise workout for Keith.  It is so nice to be able to walk up two flights of stairs to the Fitness Center.  Keith gets there very early so he can workout when no-one else is there.  He used the Elliptical Machine and Ran before he went out to the Promenade Deck for more running.  We enjoyed Breakfast in our room.  While Anne Marie walked Keith went to the Salon for a haircut.  Benjamin cut his hair and  we had him on the July Cruises and the September/October cruises.  

This is the daily Reflections Program from today.

Later in the morning we met with a couple of members of Team Serenity to plan an event for this cruise and before we knew it time to eat again.  LOL.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch.

The afternoon included a walk for Anne Marie, a couple of hours of Paddle Tennis for Keith, conversations with members of Team Serenity and with fellow guests.  

Following are some photos from today including early in the morning when Keith was running on the Promenade Deck and then while walking on the top deck of the ship to cool off after his workout. Also, a couple of photos from today's. lunch.

As he was walking inside the ship, Keith passed the Crystal Society Milestone Screen recognizing Crystal Society Members with 100 or more Milestones.

From time-to-time when we look at this screen we think of those Crystal Society Members who have passed, those  who are no longer able to travel as well as several who we know who still cruise.

It is hard to believe over three and one-half years have passed since we celebrated our 100th milestone.  In many ways it seems like yesterday and a reminder how fast time goes when you are having fun and as we get older it seems the time goes way too fast.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

After we posted our Penthouse Attendant Christina stopped by our room.  Most recently Christina took wonderful care of us on the three back-to-back cruises we were on in September and October.  We are thrilled to have Christina as our Penthouse Attendant for this voyage.  She is a gem.

We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in our room and then enjoyed the sail-away.

These are the dinner menus from Waterside for last evening.

We decided to make this a Prego dinner which we enjoyed in our room.

We slept well as we are sailing to our next port of call.  There is nothing quite like the gentle rocking of the ship to fall asleep to.

For those of you who follow our blogs you know our morning routine and it starts with an early morning workout for Keith.

Later breakfast in our room.  We keep to a simple breakfast.  After Breakfast we walked together on the promenade deck.

As you can see lots on the program and we won't go through it but you will note the morning was a sea day and the program reflected it.  A longtime lecturer on Crystal and some other cruise lines is Bill Miller who is on-board.  He gives talks on cruising both today and in the past.  Today's lecturer was on the Great Atlantic Liners of the past.  Although we have seen him cover this topic he brings such passion and enthusiasm to his talks often you feel like it is the first time you have heard him cover the topic so we enjoy seeing him again and again.

We arrived to San Salvador by around noon and as we've done on these sailings we chose to stay on the ship and make the rest of the day a sea day.

This included lunch, Paddle Tennis for Keith, a walk for Anne Marie on the Promenade Deck and spending time chatting with the crew who is the major reason we are here in the first place.

One of today's lectures.

We didn’t stop at San Salvador Island as the sea swells made it unsafe to run tender service.
 
Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

​As many times as we have cruised embarkation day is always special.  It starts in the morning after we wake up, have breakfast, get organized and all packed up and place the Crystal Luggage Tags on the luggage.
 
 

We were picked up at the hotel by the same woman driver who we had in September named Shelly.  She is very nice. Once again, this transfer is through Crystal Cruises. We drove mainly the same route which Keith ran yesterday.

At the pier we dropped off our one checked bag, had a temperature check, went through security, turned in forms, showed proof of vaccination, filled out a health questionnaire, had another temperature check and took the Antigen test and waited patiently for the results.  

There is a saying there is no place like home. For us we feel we have two homes; one where we live on land and one (multiple Crystal vessels) where we have spent the equivalent of several years sailing the world.  This was evident today.

As we made it over and onto the ship our smiles came to our faces even though no one could see them with our masks on.  LOL.  Once again, we are back home and with our extended Crystal family.  In short order we saw so many familiar members of the crew including people we saw a few weeks ago, in July with the restart of cruising and some who we hadn't seen since January of 2020.  This included Butler Rao.  

The suite category we are staying in has four rooms on Serenity.  In July we stayed in one room. We stayed in another room on the September and October voyages.  In 2017 when we renewed our wedding vows and had our family on board with us and in 2019 when we celebrated our 100th Crystal Society milestone we stayed in another room.  We didn't do this intentionally but when we booked this cruise while on-board in October the only room available is the room fourth room.  So we have now been in all four rooms.  They are all the same.  The difference is the colors of some artwork.  Also two of the rooms the bedroom area is to the left of the entranceway and in the other two suites it is on the right side of the entranceway.  

These photos show the different colors from the last suite we were in.

Today's Reflections.

We are so excited to be home and look forward to seven wonderful days on-board Crystal Serenity.

The Muster Drill was similar to July when we could go by anytime from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

We will post more about the afternoon and evening tomorrow.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith

We enjoyed dinner in our room last evening.  This is keeping in our plan not to dine out in Miami.  As was the case last time, we order from a more streamlined menu they are utilizing as part of the hotels COVID-19 protocols.  

Slept well we did.  We were up quite early the first day for the drive to the airport and the hotel was very quiet so that worked out well.  

They say timing is everything.  Going from daylight time to standard time was perfect as now we are on the same time we started with at home.  

We both love tradition.  On every stay in Miami we walk from the hotel to and from the Port Of Miami.  Only exception is like last time I did the walk on my own.  It adds to the excitement of the cruise to see the port ahead of time knowing tomorrow we will return by vehicle to board Serenity.  

Keith went shortly after sunrise and it was just under 60 degrees.  He ran portions of the route and walked when he wanted to take photos.  The port is 3 miles from the hotel.  He only saw one ship in port.  It is a Sunday which tends to be slower.

After lunch another walk. This time over to Biscayne Bay Island.

We walked from the hotel over to the Bay so we could then proceed to the Island with the Bay on our right side for about half the walk when it was no longer possible to do so.  We got back onto Brickell and eventually made a right hand turn to walk over to the Island.

The weather was great.  It was chilly at some points with wind and and warmer at time and sunny when we were on the island which is why a couple of the photos look dark as we were shooting into the sun.  At one point there was a row of boats in a nice line going in opposite directions across the bay.

Tomorrow we board Serenity.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

Doris...Many thanks for your kind words and for following along.  

Today marks the start of another adventure as we made our way to Miami.

As was the case in late September, we are staying in Miami two day pre-cruise.  We never fly in the day of the cruise and these days with packed flights avoid flying in the day before the start of the cruise.  We were concerned on Monday learning that our flight was cancelled last Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  As a result we booked a flight on another airline for this afternoon should today's morning flight have been cancelled.  We found an excellent deal on the backup flight.  As it turned out if you cancel within 24 hours of the flight you can request a refund rather than having to take the refund as a voucher which you have to use within one year of purchase of the tickets.  Although our direct flight and the one before us was not cancelled the direct flight after our flight was cancelled.  

We were picked up on time for our drive to the airport.  A very nice driver who we had for the first time.  Family of four children and his wife.  

It was a breeze checking in for the flight as no one was ahead of us at the ticket counter and the same was true at TSA Pre Check.

We had two hours at the airline lounge.

Our flight left on time and was uneventful.  In addition to face masks we wore coverage for our eyes as well and avoided food and beverages.  We left on time and arrived to Miami International Airport on time.  Bravo.  LOL.  However, after landing there was congestion at the airport and we waited one hour and fifteen minutes to get to the gate.   

Now if that was not enough, we had one more issue.  When we got to the luggage area and the luggage eventually came out at one point Keith said he better check his Airline App to see if the luggage made it off the flight.  Well, it not only wasn't on the flight but it had arrived early because they put the one piece of luggage (we normally take two or more but went with one for this one week) on the flight leaving our airport two hours earlier.  The message said go to the luggage office.  While Keith waited on a very long line Anne Marie went back to the luggage area and found someone who looked it up and said go to Luggage area number 24.  Ugh!!  Anyway, Anne Marie called Keith who was happy to get off that long line and we picked up the luggage that was sitting there for a few hours.  Ugh!! This has happened to us one other time

The good news is we had the same driver as we did in September who is a very kind and safe driver and we made our way to the hotel.

Once again we are staying at the Four Seasons Hotel.  Since the 2007 World Cruise where we stayed at the hotel as part of the Crystal Cruises World Cruise pre-cruise program, we have stayed at this property on every visit to Miami except for one.  We like the location of the property in a quieter section of Miami.  It is convenient to restaurants which we go to in normal times and is in close proximity to grocery stores and other stores.  We also prefer the configuration of the suite compared to other hotels in the downtown area.  

The Four Seasons Hotel as many years as we have been coming here also plays host to the visiting NBA team who is in town to play the Miami Heat.  In years past we went to one or two Miami Heat Basketball Games during the season.  We have seen players from NBA teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks (the latter two are Keith's favorites) and today Keith saw several players from the 7 and 1 Utah Jazz.  As an avid Basketball Fan and someone who played on the Basketball team this is an added benefit of staying here.

While Anne Marie stayed back at the room to sanitize just about anything and everything you can imagine Keith made a trip to the supermarket to pick up a variety of items including lunch.  As we did last time we are not having maid service or eating out.  We will have room service and also bring back lunches.

Travel days always brings lots of twists and turns and today was no exception.  Thankfully our flight was not canceled and we will survive the few things that didn't go as well as they might have gone.

We are positive knowing things could have been far worse such as cancelled flights and we are just happy to be here.

We will post more tomorrow.

Cheers,

Anne Marie and Keith