GOLDEN DAY DISCOVERY DAY SEVEN SERENITY - ENSENADA, MEXICOLast evening we babysat the grandchildren so our own children and their spouses could enjoy dinner at Silk Road on their own. We considered going to the Dining Room but thought that the grandchildren would be more relaxed in our room so that is precisely what we did. This evening we will all be back at the Crystal Dining Room. Since we were babysitting it was not possible for us to attend the entertainment but we did want to comment about that. Before dinner, Philip Wojciechowski performed a Classical Concert. We first saw him perform when he debuted with Crystal Cruises in early 2010 on-board Crystal Serenity. He was a hit with the guests the first time he performed and we remember standing up at the end of his performance to give him a well-deserved standing ovation. He is by far one of the best pianists we have seen. In addition, he is a genuinely nice person with no ego and we have enjoyed conversations with him since we first met him in 2010. We have been on several cruises where he has performed. From 7:45 PM to 8:30 PM the Crystal Showband performed in the Crystal Plaza which also included vocalist Nicola Ward. On top of this there were two performances of the high tech light and dance show called The Tourist. If that is not enough pianists Richard Pucci performed at the Crystal Cove, pianist Dan Hodge entertained at the Avenue Saloon, The Crystal Quartet performed at the Palm Court and DJ Edgar played music at the Pulse. Two showing of the Movie Logan were show in the Hollywood Theatre. Back to the photos. This is Keith writing. Emma started to cry missing her Momma. Nana to the rescue. She took a Crystal Brochure and made it into a storybook showing Emma photos of animals and airplanes and all sorts of other things and Emma loved it. Then Jackson and Andre joined in on the fun. We ordered the children pizza, pigs n' blankets, macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and gave each child a little of everything. They did great. We have added a Junior Cruiser' Menu to the Menu section of the blog. A photo of our son at Silk Road.  On our final fully day of the cruise we began it as we normally do with an early morning workout for Keith, breakfast and then a long walk by Anne Marie. We arrived to Ensenada, Mexico on schedule and decided to make the stop a sea day. Question: Why stop at Ensenada? Answer: To comply with theJones Act where cruise ships were not USA built, not USA owned, and not carrying a USA crew and traveling between the same two USA ports must stop at a foreign port. If the two USA ports differ then the ship must stop at a distant foreign port. In our case, we required a stop at a foreign port. On a round trip we took that started and ended in Los Angeles on another cruise line that sailed Hawaii we stopped at Ensenada for a couple of hours to comply with the requirement at the time and guests were not permitted to step on land. This itinerary called for a full day stop between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Keith, Jennifer and Eric walked for an hour while they were waiting for the Paddle Tennis courts to dry. Anne Marie walked with Kara, Gui, Emma, Andre and Jackson. For a couple of hours the entire family was up at the Paddle Tennis Court. While it was mainly Keith, Eric, Jennifer and Gui playing along with another guest, the Grand Children got into the swing of the game (no pun intended) so we will call this Family Tennis. Our final lunch of the cruise was the Lido Cafe. We ate with the family. The most popular part of the lunch for the Grand Children was..........You guessed it.............Ice Cream. You can see Emma enjoying her Ice Cream Cone. While we were eating we saw Specialty Restaurant Maitre d' Bruno. When we first met Bruno he was a Head Waiter in the Dining Room. Eventually he moved to Prego. He was the Head Waiter when the Maitre d' of the Specialty Restaurants was on board but would swing to Maitre d' when the regular Maitre d went on vacation. Almost four years ago he was moved to Crystal Symphony where he did this same role. With the retirement of the Serenity Maitre d' they made a few changes and now Bruno is the permanent swing Maitre d' for both ships.  The two of us took a long walk together on the Promenade Deck after lunch and spent time packing. Keith plans to take a walk with Jennifer later in the afternoon. We will have the family here before dinner for canapés and drinks and then our final meal will be in the Crystal Dining Room. We will post all about that tomorrow.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....... This cruise has been very special and has been a celebration. We celebrate our family, our marriage of forty years and our happiness sailing the world with Crystal Cruises. We consider ourselves very lucky. Anne Marie & Keith Comments are closed.
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