A Wonderful Adventure

This has been a wonderful adventure. Aren't they all?

Before we discuss the cruise let's talk about the flight home and we had a first.

We had a direct flight to our regional airport via British Airways. They run two a day and one a day from our airport to London Heathrow.

All have the flights have had easy boarding but a few years ago luck wasn't with us. The aircraft was not at a gate so we were packed like sardines into a bus and brought out to where the aircraft was parked. We then had to climb lots of steps We've done this with smaller aircraft in Africa and in Reykjavik the past two years had to exit the aircraft by steps but with such a large plane not an easy task. Keith carried the two roller boards and one back pack on his back and Anne Marie took the other backpack.

Well, it happened again with this flight but Anne Marie is having an issue so steps were not ideal for her and this involved a first for us.

The good people at BA arranged for assistance for us. After most people had gone the bus route, Anne Marie was wheeled to a lift with Keith at her side and we took it down to the first level. We waited for one other couple. We were loaded into a vehicle which has a lift and driven a long ways to where the aircraft was parked. We then were lifted up and entered the aircraft. Keith has flown corporate jets  and flown many places around the world and all over the USA but this was a first. 

We did leave about one hour late but made up half of the one hour delay in flight. We always say the biggest challenge with cruising are the flights. So it goes. LOL.

We were blessed with wonderful weather. The  two hotels for the  pre and post cruise were lovely as were our stay at Barcelona and London. There were several special ports with lots to discover which is a big part of travel. The tours were great with terrific tour guides and lots to do and see.

The cruise was exceptional.

The crew which is the heart and soul of each Crystal ship was amazing. They are kind, courteous, professional, funny, and act human and do their utmost to make the cruise as wonderful as possible. An added plus for us was having the opportunity to enjoy the company of friends Andrea and David.  

You might ask how can we sail the same cruise line and still say it is exceptional. That is a good question with a simple answer. For us there are still new things that exceed our expectations and for us nothing compares to it on land, in the air or at sea. We are speaking for ourselves. We are all human and if we all thought the same we would all wear the same clothes, gravitate to the same choices in color, eat the same food, have the same interests, like the same restaurants, hotels, airlines, automobiles and cruise lines if cost was not a consideration. Like most products, we have sailed many cruise lines classified as mass market/mainstream, premium and luxury. For us Crystal is the very best. We were Crystalized on our first Crystal voyage in 2002 but we had one other luxury line we still enjoyed but by 2007 Crystal became our go-to cruise line. Since that time we sailed, one additional premium cruise lines and one additional luxury line because one was used for transportation to get us back to the states following the 2014 Crystal World Cruise, and two cruises on the luxury lines were because we had short windows to sail and the Crystal itineraries were too long.


We always say when your cruise ends it is always great to know you have one or more cruises booked so you have future adventures to look forward to. In our case, we have several Crystal Cruises booked. Even better news is we will be on the road again or a better way of saying this we will be on a few Crystal Cruises again by the end of next month. Stay tuned. 

We have a cruise summary that we will publish in a few days.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith