DAY 8 - DAY 2 SERENITY

Portoferraio, Italy

We spent the remainder of yesterday afternoon getting settled on-board Serenity.  This included unpacking, getting all of the clothes washed from our pre-cruise stay in Rome, organizing the room, seeing the Concierge & Spa Manager on some items and enjoying the ship.  

Our stewardess Puii came by a couple of times including once to introduce the stateroom attendant Niedja.  We have known Puii from previous voyages but this is the first time she has taken care of us and our room.  We were happy to hear that one of the stewardesses we had on a couple of world cruises has been promoted to one of the housekeeping supervisor positions and that another of our previous stewardesses has been promoted to the head supervisor.  Congratulations to the two of them.  

We received a beautiful floral arrangement from a dear friend which added to the beauty of our room.

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We attended the muster drill at 5:15 PM at our usual spot in the Casino.  This was a busy one and it seemed that almost everyone attended.  The challenge is that while most people pay attention to the talk some feel compelled to talk the entire time.  We noticed new chairs in the casino that are lower to the ground than the former ones.  The tables looked new to us.  Head Sommelier Tilmar is head of our lifeboat should it be needed in an emergency.  Our lifeboat always has the Head Sommelier in charge since we have stayed in this room over the years.  Now the question is will he have wine for us.  We think the simple answer is "NOT".  

Afterwards we sat at the bar (changing it up) at the Crystal Cove.  The assistant stewardess we had in 2017 was promoted to the bar so it was so very nice to see how well she is doing.  We often think of the younger crew members as our own children and enjoy seeing them move into new areas of responsibility.   The bartender spoke with us about the emphasis on some areas such a drinks with gin.

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We had dinner at The Crystal Dining Room.  On this first of three voyages we plan to dine at Prego and Silk Road on night each, in our room one night after we return from an all day tour, and enjoy the remaining nights at The Crystal Dining Room.  We will visit Tastes one time per cruise on the other two cruises for the last time before Tastes is converted to the new Silk Dining Venue during dry dock.drydock

Lylian was as our Senior Waiter.  She took so very great care of us when we had the family on board last year and all on Northwest Passage.  Our Sommelier is Lubo.  We have known him for many years but this is the first time he has taken care of us.  Michael from Cape Town is our waiter.  We will get a photo of him.  This is a terrific waitstaff team.  Headwaiter Augusto came by a few times to check on us and we spoke with Headwaiter Giuseppe.  When we entered the dining room we spoke with Maitre d' Leo.  He was very busy on the first day/night of the cruise so we kept conversation very brief.  Dining room was not as crowded or loud as it can be on the first night of a cruise when guests seated with others for the first time are busy introducing each other to one another and also the wait staff is getting to know them.  

Food was excellent.  We had shrimp (Anne Marie) which is always available each night of the cruise and Ahi Tuna  (Keith) for appetizers, salads for each of us, Fresh Salmon (moist and hot) for both of us and fruit (Keith) and sugar free dessert (Anne Marie)  Dining is something we look forward to.  In our own country we feel the emphasis is to turn tables over quickly and appreciate that we can linger over a meal on board the ship which was also the case in Rome.  

Wine was good.  Keith had the Crystal Cabernet and felt that it has come along way over the years.  This one was quite good.  Anne Marie was pleased with her choice which had Chardonnay and some Chablis and a nice balance.

We did pass on the evening's show. It has been a long day for us having gotten up very early in the morning and we know we can see the show two more times during our stay which we plan to do.    

As to sleep.  A piece of cake for us.  We always attribute this to the comfort of the bed, the gentle rocking of the ship and maybe the wine helps too.

We began the day as we always seem to do.  Keith up very early and he enjoyed his first workout of this trip.  Pretty quiet in the Fitness Center.  LOL.  Just Keith and the machines.  

If we had a sea day Anne Marie would get in a walk around the ship before breakfast.  However,  our routine on port days is for an earlier breakfast as we get ready to go into port.  We also know that on many port days we will do a lot of walking.

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We visited Portoferraio for the very first time. Portoferraio was founded in 1548 and is part of the Province of Italy.  Portoferraio is located on the island of Elba.  Napoleon was exiled to the island and many today credit him as the person who brought an education and legal system to Elba.  Nine months after his arrival to Elba, Napoleon vanished.

The city of Portoferraio is the largest city and the island's capital.  With that said, it has only 15,000 residents.  Many of the older buildings were badly damaged by the Allies and the German during World War II.  

Tourism is the main industry because of the areas beautiful beaches.  

We walked for quite awhile up the main street and then up and down several of the side streets some of which were on steep inclines.  The weather was a delight.  We passed by many cafes and stores and saw several yachts of varying sizes.

After returning to the ship we met with the Crystal Society Hostess, Alissa to discuss some upcoming milestones and On Board Booking Consultant, Jaque to discuss a future cruise.  We enjoyed lunch at the Lido Cafe.  Many know our routine and that is to create our own  Salad Entree.  The afternoon included paddle tennis, reading and writing for Keith and walking, reading and writing for Anne Marie.  We also enjoyed visiting with some fellow guests and members of Team Serenity.

While there are no black tie optional nights on this cruise since it is 7 days the evening does feature a menu and a Captain's party that is typical of a black tie optional night which we are looking forward to.

We will post all about it tomorrow.

​Anne Marie & Keith