Provincetown, Mass.

It was funny on this being the third consecutive voyage we have had to fill out a Canadian Declaration Card in preparation for our arrival to Canada. Coincidentally Keith  was organizing paperwork and saw that he had a blank form from the last cruise as we were given an extra one. If filled it out and when he opened the door guess what?  Yes, there was the new form in the slot outside the door. Crystal does provide a great set of instructions to use in filling out the form. When he turned it into reception they looked over the form and I said I hope by the third time I got it right. LOL.  He did and even the first two times. LOL.
 
 

Dinner menu from Waterside

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We returned to Waterside last evening and once again had a fab time between outstanding service, cuisine and the beautiful dining venue. There is no formal night on this cruise since it is seven days in length, but the evening menu was what one would enjoy on a formal night.

Dinner included Caviar and Lobster and a great salad and of course the wine. Our waitstaff team include Head Waiter Jacque, Senior Waiter Enver, Waiter Edson and we now have as our Sommelier Rodolpho once again. Head Sommelier Jiri came by as did Restaurant Manager Paolo.

And in case you wanted to know the special butter was Nori (Seaweed) and Toasted Sesame.
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Evening entertainment included a classical concert performance by Emmanuel Rodulfo and a show by comedian Steve Caouette.

Today's Daily Reflections Program.

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Today Serenity anchored off Provincetown at 10:00 AM. 
 
Provincetown is in the extreme tip of Cape Cod. We visited Provincetown on a prior trip of Cape Cod. 
 
Like all of Cape Cod its tourist season is very strong during the summer months when each town is very busy with people visiting for a day, a weekend, or even a week.
 
It was the harbor that the Mayflower pilgrims sought shelter from challenging seas on the way to the Colony of Virginia. Before settling in Plymouth, the pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact which some refer to as America’s constitution.
 
It is a small coastal resort town with a population of under 4,000 residents. During the summer the population grows to 60,000 people.
 
Throughout much of the 20th Century, Provincetown attracted many writers and artist and is also regarded as the nation’s oldest continuous art colony.
 
Major attractions include:
 
Pilgrim Monument which was finished in 1910 and commemorates the pilgrims first landfall in 1620. 
 
Pilgrim Landing National Site commemorating the pilgrims landing at the harbor at Provincetown five weeks before they would get to Plymouth.
 
Province Land Trails which is comprised of 5.5 miles of trail providing lovely views of nature and access to Herring Cove and Race Point beaches.
 
Commerce Street which is three miles of street that trace the shore of the bay and is home to restaurants and cafes, art galleries and other local shops.
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Entertainment and Enrichment

Today we wanted to give a shoutout to the Entertainment team on land and at sea.

The team is led on land by the VP of Entertainment which includes entertainment and enrichment.
 
On board each ship it is the Cruise Director who oversees all this including the schedules of all of the entertainment and enrichment and works closely with other departments such as Food & Beverage when scheduling the time of evening including the evening entertainers. And as we’ve seen on some of the cruises, if a port is missed due to weather the Cruise Director and the rest of the team put together a schedule of events as if this was a planned day at sea.
 
The onboard entertainment team at Crystal is amazing and they are such talents. This includes the Crystal Showband, the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Entertainers, the Lead Vocalists.  Add to this the pianist, guitarist and violinists who perform in the various lounges. 
 
Doing a show on land is challenging enough but at sea there are other factors including the movements of the ship in all sorts of sea conditions. While on occasion a show has to be rescheduled due to sea conditions and also sometimes, they are scheduled on other evenings as the cruise director in consultation with the navigation department considers potential weather conditions based on where the ship is sailing the reality is there is ship movement and on occasion it just happens. These musicians and singers and dancers do not miss a beat even in these conditions.
 
When a land-based vocalist or musician comes on board including those who have never entertained with Crystal often there is one practice with the Showband yet when they perform the show one would think they’ve been doing this for years. This is an example of the talent of these professionals’ musicians.
 
Let’s also not forget the Flair Duo who play music and sing and are joined by the Ambassador Hosts two times each evening and the DJ how plays hits late at night and also at some other functions.
 
Entertainment under the Cruise Director includes all of the enrichment such as the Library Golf Pro, Bridge, the Odyssey Art At Sea, the Catholic Clergy and on certain voyages the Rabbi and the Protestant Minister, the Magician on selected voyages, Team Trivia, other get together’s and a slew of other items. 
 
I am sorry if I have forgotten or failed to mention other items. All of this is why we find Crystal to be very special.
 
Bravo. Bravo, Bravo

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith