Newport, Rhode Island

This is the Waterside dinner menu from last evening.

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Timing is everything in life. As we were walking around the ship, we could hear What A Wonderful World playing which always touches our heart.  

We were welcomed to Osteria by Head Waiter Mario and we had an opportunity to take a group picture of the Osteria Waitstaff.
 
We also wanted to acknowledge the team that works behind the scenes and that is the Osteria Head Chef Alfred and his extraordinary team. We also wanted to recognize the runners who bring each course from the kitchen to the waiter stations and ensure that all orders for a table for each course come out at the same time.
 
Once seated we enjoyed a front row view as we sailed out of the harbor and passed the Statue of Liberty. The sky was beautiful between the clouds and the sunset. The views continued as we sailed under the Verrazzano Bridge.

Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Osteria Italian Specialty Restaurant. Dinner was fabulous. We have thoroughly enjoyed the new dining menu and overall concept of Osteria since we boarded on August 14. There are three menus, and you can order from one, two or all three menus. We appreciate that we can share items or order smaller portions.  
 
Our Senior Waiter was Praveen and the Sommelier was Marizio. This was the first time we have had Praveen and it was wonderful to get to know him and we appreciated his attentive and professional service.
 
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​Today's Daily Reflections

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This morning, we anchored off Newport Rhode Island.
 
Newport is a seaside city which has a rich sailing history. For some it was and is a summer resort and is also known for its historic mansions including the Breakers. City population is 25,000 residents.
 
In addition to the summer “cottages” the colonial area of Newport also has several historical buildings dating back to the 1600s.
 
Newport’s history dates to its founding in 1639. Because of its harbor, the town quickly became a major seaport of colonial North America.
 
Newport hosted the first U.S. Opens Tournament in both tennis and golf. It also hosted every challenge for the America’s Cup between 1930 and 1983.
 
Newport was also the location for the Summer White Houses for former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. 
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Our first visit to Newport was in 2004 when we crossed the Northern Atlantic from Dover, England to New York City on the Crystal Symphony. We took a tour of the Breaker and the iconic Cliff Walk. In many ways, we remember this tour and cruise as if it was yesterday. Since that time, we have enjoyed several visits to this charming city.
 
Major attractions include:
 
The Bellevue Avenue Mansions
 
Touro Synagogue which is the oldest surviving Jewish synagogue building in North America.
 
The Breakers which was the summer “cottage” of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. It was constructed at a cost of $12 million which today is roughly $355 million. This is one very expensive “cottage” with 70 rooms within 138,000 square feet.
 
Cliff Walk whose public access walkway borders the shoreline and allows for views of several estates. 
 
The city includes several museums including one about the history of this city.

We would like to close with a shout out to the team that performs maintenance of the ship. This includes the engineering department, those who deal with electrical, plumbing, carpentry, carpeting, painting inside and outside the ship, cleaning of the decks and many other items that keep the ship in good order and looking great. 
 
A ship requires lots of daily upkeep given the impact of outside temperature and salt on the ship exterior. 

There are daily maintenance items like what you might find at a hotel, or a commercial or residentially building or one’s house.
 
Unlike on land, there is the added complexity of having the replacement items on board to make a repair or putting in place a stopgap solution until the permanent repair can be made.
 
On top of this is the routine things that are done behind the scenes to monitor equipment and keep the ship in top tip shape.
 
Some of the people performing these items you might see for a second or around the ship while other working behind the scenes you might rarely or ever see. If it’s an item in your room, then you may or may not see them as often they try to accomplish the work when the guest is not in their room. And on a related note, if it is an item in the room often the guest might not even be aware of it such as a lightbulb not working and it is the attendant(s) from housekeeping, or their supervisor or the butler who identifies it and reports it before we even pick up on it.
 
It takes a team to accomplish all of this and I am often reminded that Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity do not show their respective ages because of all the work performed by these teams plus in addition to the work performed in dry dock.
 
So a big thank you for keeping the ships looking great and for the work done that adds to everyone’s safety
 
 

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith