These are the Waterside Dinner menus from January 4.

We enjoyed our last dinner of the cruise in our room taken great care of by Senior Head Butler Rao.


​

Photo of the two members of Computer University who we have known for year. They are very helpful, knowledgeable, and caring. Photos of other people including Chef Jon Ashton, guests and other members of Crystal.
​​

This takes us to the people. In the end, you can take the most modern ship afloat with all the bells and whistles but without the right people it’s just a ship.  On the other hand, you can take a couple of ships that have sailed for many years, enhance them, refine some of the offerings, and staff it with a superb team of crew and you have created two superb ships afloat offering an exceptional cruising experience. This is a recipe for success and to me this is what Crystal is all about.  
 
Will each person like each aspect of what is offered? No.  They never did and never will. Will each person like every change made. Of course not. They never did and never will.  But for many when you take the complete package as we do we say to ourselves what a wonderful Cruise Line allowing us to recognize what a wonderful world there is to see.
 
As we said before we boarded the best present, we have received was the purchase of Crystal.  I remind myself of that each day.  You see whether or not you like each item offered (and we all have our own opinions and in the end the opinion that matters most is our own) I think to myself given a choice of the entire package or no package what makes me happier. The answer is Crystal Clear and that is being able to sail on our favorite cruise line, Crystal.
 
We wish we could list each member of Team Serenity who has made this an exceptional cruise. If we could, we would, and it would include each member of Team Serenity.  We have enjoyed this wonderful voyage, sharing it with several of you on-board and the good news is we have future voyages to look forward to.

We hope you have enjoyed following our travels through this blog and we look forward to sharing our travel experiences with you when we sail with Crystal again.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith 

Today's Reflections.

Last evening was the third and final formal of the cruise. Normally, cruises of this length have two formals nights. Since this was the Holiday Cruise it was more dressy.

Before dinner was the Captain's Farewell Reception.  On this cruise we have had three different receptions; Captain's Welcome, Crystal Society and last evening's Farewell Reception.

This was followed by dinner at Waterside.

Following is the Waterside Dinner Menu

As to the food.  If this was baseball it was a grand slam home run.

Caviar was from the modern menu and the combination of ingredients was amazing. As to the Lobster this was a wow.  Everything was great including the outstanding waitstaff team which has taken excellent care of us throughout this sailing. Bravo.

Keith normally likes caviar without the condiments and with blines but the caviar from the modern menu had an amazing taste.  The lobster was from the modern and was delicious. It was cooked to perfection and was a large size.

As we say the food at Waterside is better than ever and more remarkable since this is a full ship.

We had planned to dine two times each at Umi Uma and Osteria on this cruise.  Instead, we ended up dining at each one once. We very much enjoy both specialty restaurants. However, we decided to go to Waterside on the other evening's other than Tastes one night because we find Waterside to be very special as well.  At the same time knowing some people were waiting for a second reservation for one or more of the Specialty Restaurant hopefully this allowed a couple more guests to be able to dine there. Food at all venues has been wonderful for us.

The good news is we set the clocks back one hour to coincide with the time in Miami for our arrival on January 5.

Following is today's daily Reflections Program.

This is the final full day of the cruise and a sea day.


Lots on the program including two lectures, cooking demonstration by Chef Jon Ashton, classes and other activities.

Some photos from inside and outside the ship.

We have enjoyed the rest of the day on the ship.  Anne Marie did packing and Keith attended the third and final cooking demonstration with Chef Jon Ashten.

We returned to Waterside for dinner again. These are the dinner menus

Dinner was terrific. 

Sommelier John who we have had on some other cruises stopped by to check on us.

For those of you who like the mushroom soup it was on the schedule.

With today being the first of two sea days before we return to Miami there was lots on the schedule.  This included two lectures and a cooking demonstration by Chef Jon Ashton.  There were several classes as well including fitness, computer, golf, bridge, and art. Team Trivia was on the program as well.  

When Keith takes his first morning walk and run he is usually alone.

Visits with Sommelier Ross and Chef Jon Ashton at The Bistro.

Chef Jon held a cooking class demo at 10:00 AM today.

Before the class started we enjoyed an array of Beatles songs to remixes.  When Chef Jon was introduced by Cruise Director Raphael, he said that Chef Jon would love to see us dance. The music played and all of us rose to dance at our seats while Chef Jon danced to the front. A great dancer in addition to being an incredible chef.

Chef Jon showed us how to make Jon Ashton's Sticky Toffee Pudding.  He also took lots of questions from the guests on this and many other topics.

As was the case with the first class, Chef Jon encouraged people to enjoy cooking, not to worry if mistakes are made and to experiment by changing up recipes.

Tomorrow, Chef Jon will have another class. Can't wait.

Below is today's daily program. We are having a great time today.  It did rain so no Paddle Tennis but there is tomorrow.  

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

Dinner Menus from last evening at Waterside.

We enjoyed a fantastic meal. Outstanding service. Excellent food. Beautiful dining venue.  We can't say enough how much we enjoy dining at Waterside.

Following is the daily Reflections Program.

Enjoyed an early morning walk before Breakfast and then we both enjoyed walking after breakfast.

We arrived to our final port of call of this cruise at 8:00 am; Brad Town Tortola.  The downtown area was a 10 to 15 minute walk from the pier, depending on your speed of walk.

City population is 12,500+ locals.  Road Town, Tortola is part of the British Virgin Islands.  Tortola is the capital and the largest of the 50 British Virgin Islands.  The Island of Tortola is 13.5 miles long and 3 miles wide.  

We are enjoying the rest of the day on Serenity doing the things we enjoy including walks, Paddle Tennis, dining, and being with our extended Crystal family. We also got in a walk each with a dear friend and spoke to two other dear friends on our walks.  

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith

We wanted to begin with some photos of the Lido Deck near the pool.  Keith has been walking this area early in the morning as it's less windy than the Promenade Deck. He also makes use of the Fitness Center.

Enjoyed a great evening on the ship as we closed 2023 and welcomed in 2024.  We can’t think of a better way to end the year and welcome in the new year than to be sailing on-board either Crystal Symphony or Crystal Serenity. 
 
Serenity was decorated for the New Year’s Eve party. The night featured  a champagne toast with Captain Vincent and Cruise Director Raphael and a balloon drop. There were two shows of My Life: The Music of Billy Joel with James Fox.
 
Dinner menu was fabulous, and the evening was formal which added to the festivities.
 

Today's Reflections follows.

Last nights dinner menu at Waterside.

Keith began the first day of the New Year with a walk. It was too breezy on the Promenade Deck so he walked by the pool area until it rained and he reverse course and walked on Deck 6. Each crew member he saw today he exchanged Happy New Year greetings.

At the end of his walk he took photos of the Stardust Lounge. The tables provide seating for shows, could be used for a bridge group and are used when Supper Club is offered. They seat 100 people plus around the perimeter of the lounge there is additional seating for shows.

With an arrival of Noon to St. Kitts the first portion of the day was a sea day, including two lectures offered, fitness activities and other classes.  

A New Year's Day brunch was offered at Market Place between 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The earlier time of 11:00 am offered those sleeping in a later start to eating breakfast and to those on tour or on their own visiting St. Kitts the opportunity to enjoy a lunch/brunch before they departed the ship.  

For those of you who have asked whether or not Crystal would have a Grand Gala Buffet or a special Brunch this is very similar to what used to be done in the Crystal Plaza. A little less variety and in Market Place but the food looked great and it was very well done.

We enjoyed the ship in lieu of St. Kitts. We have enjoyed St. Kitts on previous visits but we figured many places would be closed for the day and the ship is a great destination.

We did a combination walk after breakfast walking on the promenade deck (windy) until we could see rain ahead and we were right. We rerouted ourselves to deck 6 to walk inside. We had rain on and off but cleared after we docked. We were able to get in walks (both) and Paddle Tennis (Keith). Four ships in port and one so close to us we think they could hear us talking in our room. LOL.

Once, again we close by saying Happy New Year. May your dreams come true this year.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith