GOLDEN STATE DISCOVERY - DAY 8 CRYSTAL SERENITY

GOLDEN STATE DISCOVERY - DAY 8 CRYSTAL SERENITY

Before dinner last evening we had the family to our room for canapés and some drinks.  We had pigs n' a blanket, vegetables and chicken wings.  

We enjoyed our final dinner of the cruise at the Crystal Dining Room.  It had been a few days since we had been there. When we were greeted at the entrance way by Maitre d' Leo and Head Waiter Augusto we said "we're here and we hadn't leave the ship".  LOL.  

We pre-ordered a couple of items; Tuna Tartare for Keith & Eric and an entree of Penne Pasta and Lobster for all the adults.  Augusto made both of these items and he showed Keith the two different sauces he had made for the entree; one less and one more spicy.  The children had their own pasta; macaroni and cheese for Emma and Andre and spaghetti with butter sauce for Jackson.

The grand children did very well.  The boys kept busy with toys and Emma did well with all of us talking with her and the wait staff coming by to check on her.  

We want to thank the entire wait staff team for all they have done to make this cruise so very special for all of us.  Everyone has been helpful and the service wonderful.  We have also been very pleased with the cuisine.  The menu has been diverse and the challenge was that often there were several items that were appealing to each of us and which one to choose.  Decisions, decisions.  We found the portion size to work well.  We also want to thank our sommelier and head sommelier Tilmar.  We enjoyed some great wines and champagne throughout the cruise.  

Those nights in the Crystal Dining Room dining with the entire family went better then we had expected as we were all concerned how long the grandchildren could sit patiently.  This is one of the reasons we had some meals in our room.  Keeping them busy with toys was a great help.  The length of last night's dinner was like the other two times in the dining room at a little over two hours which can be a lengthly time for young children.  

The evening entertainment continued to be diverse and plentiful.    It began at 5:15 PM in the Galaxy Lounge where Magician Mark Haslam performed.

At 8:00 PM the Galaxy Lounge featured a farewell variety show which included violinist Irina Guskova; Dance Due Curtis and Natalie; Vocalist Michel Bell and a special appearance by  vocalist Carol Draper.

As usual, live music was available in the evening in the Crystal Cove, Palm Court and Avenue Saloon and DJ Edgar played music in the Pulse.

The movie; A Street Car Named Bob was shown two times in the evening.  

Lastly the Casino was opened from 7:00 PM to 2:00 AM.

​When we got back to the room, we put the clothes we wore to dinner in our luggage along with a couple of other items and then placed our luggage outside the door.  

We slept well as the ship sailed to Los Angeles where we began this voyage only seven days ago.  Keith slept a little longer then usual and passed on a workout.  We had coffee in the room and then our final breakfast and meal of the cruise.

With afternoon flights for each of us Keith had arranged with Crystal Cruises to have vehicles for each of us at 10:00 AM and we met the concierge at 9:45.  We were escorted off the ship at little after 10:00 AM and went went through immigration and customs.  A Crystal Representative already had the luggage for our entire family on two carts with two porters ready to take us outside with the Concierge.  We were driven to the airport.  All of us except Eric, Kara and Jackson are on the same flight.  One of the main roads to the airport was closed due to a fire which our driver new about in advance. There was also a lot of traffic at the airport.  This is why we don't go with early flights.

As we post this we are at the airlines club lounge.

In a few days we will post some final thoughts about this cruise.  

For those interested in following our travels please check back to this website on May 29 as we get ready to go to Paris, France.

We wanted to close with a quote from President John Fitzgerald Kennedy that we read to ourselves from time to time.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came."  - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thank you all for following our Blog and be sure to check back for our final thoughts and our upcoming trip to Paris.

​Anne Marie & Keith