VENICE, ITALY DAY 2 WE ARE POSTING EARLY TODAY AS WE ARE GETTING SETTLED IN OUR NEW ROOM. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink with Hotel Director Hubert and his lovely wife. Hubert is still on holiday and visited the ship today. These are the menus from dinner at Waterside. We decided to have dinner in our room last evening not knowing what time we would get back to the ship from Venice and also because we are moving rooms. More on that in a moment. We made it a pizza night. We began with salads from Prego and enjoyed Pizza for our entree. We finished with popcorn. We slept well as we remained docked in Venice and began today as we always do. Keith enjoyed an early morning workout at the Fitness Center. At around 5:50 AM we lost power on the ship. The emergency lights were on. We open the drapes to our room to get more light inside. Power was restored about 30 minutes later. First the lights came on, followed by the A/C, followed by the water. While Keith was walking around the ship there was an elderly couple by the elevators on one of the guest decks who didn't know how they would make their way to the deck where the gangway was located and Keith got assistance from them. Another woman was walking down with a medium piece of luggage and Keith assisted her with that. We enjoyed Coffee and Breakfast in our room for the final time of our stay in this room. Speaking of our room, this is the first time we have stayed in this specific room. We usually stay in the room located next door. The room is located across from the laundry room. The bed faces a different direction from the other bed. It faces towards the back of the ship. We mention this because from time-to-time we have been asked about room location and about the direction of a bed. Both were non-issues fur us. In fact, being across from the laundry room was a delight. We never heard anyone in the room and being a few steps closer to the laundry room was nice. The direction of the bed was non-factor for us. Today is turn-around day as the Monte Carlo Cruise ended and we continue on for the next voyage from Venice to Athens, Greece. Those guests who remain on-board are considered in-transit guests. We can come and go between the ship and the port as if it is any port day. This is the itinerary for the next voyage. The vast majority of the guests on the previous cruise disembarked Crystal Serenity. This includes guests who joined the ship in Monte Carlo as well as several guests who continued on from the World Cruise. Some people we know remain on board through the next voyage. A few guests remain on board from the last sailing including us. We are moving today as some say We are Movin' On Up. This will be our second move since boarding the ship. We moved after two voyages next door to our present room as the room we were in was not available for the World Cruise. Today we moved to the Crystal Penthouse which is located on the deck above where we have been staying. There are four Crystal Penthouses on Serenity. The good news is that it is located closer to the Fitness Center, Marketplace and the Paddle Tennis Courts. LOL. As part of our 100th milestone which we celebrated on the final segment of the World Cruise we receive a complimentary Crystal Penthouse Suite for up to twelve days. Between this cruise and the one that follows we will pay for those days that exceed the twelve days. The only time we have ever stayed in the Crystal Penthouse was for our seven day family cruise in May of 2017 when we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. We took the room so that we could have some family dinners together, enjoy time with our family during the daytime including the three grandchildren we had at the time. We now have four grandchildren. We also renewed our Wedding Vows in the suite. The ceremony was conducted by Captain Birger with our family in attendance along with some officers and senior members of the crew and the former Captain of Serenity Captain Glenn and his wife in attendance. This is a wonderful way for us to enjoy our final couple of weeks on-board Serenity. We waited in our room until the room we were moving to was ready for us. Unfortunately the people in the room chose to leave the ship one hour after all guests were asked to leave. Oh well. Butler Rao was amazing and worked diligently to get us moved into the new room. The Penthouse Attendants were also terrific getting the room ready. As we post this we are still getting settled. To save time we had lunch in our room. The Florist who creates marvelous arrangements met with Anne Marie to discuss the flowers for the room knowing that Anne Marie is allergic to scented flowers. She created these amazing florals. This is today's daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Anne Marie &Keith
1 Comment
WELCOME TO VENICE, ITALY Doris we have not visited the Synagogue but will try to on a future cruise. Thank you for the recommendation and your kind comments about the blog. Last evening we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon with fellow guests Charles and Alice. It has been very nice to meet them on this cruise and we look forward to cruising with them again. They are a lovely couple. When Keith suggested where to get-together he didn't realize that Avenue Saloon Pianist Ged Scott was hosting Name That Tune which drew a good sized crowd. We thought that Ged Scott has an outstanding voice. These are the dinner menus from Waterside. We were invited to dinner at Prego by Hotel Director Scott Peterson. We had a wonderful time with terrific service and cuisine and non-stop conversation. This was our first time dining with Scott by ourselves. Keith and Scott share a lot of passion for sports and for one team in particular and the three of us share a passion for cruising and travel. The photos we posted include a lobster and octopus appetizer and an additional entree of Tuna. The lobster and octopus appetizer was prepared differently than we have had in the past and Keith really enjoyed it. We slept well as Serenity sailed to our next port of call; Venice, Italy. This is the last full day of this voyage which ends tomorrow morning. We began our morning the way you are accustomed with. The morning started with a workout for Keith at the Fitness Center followed by coffee and breakfast in our room. After breakfast Keith took an indoor cycling class while Anne Marie walked. This was the most athletic group taking the class since we boarded in December. Fitness Instructor Melanie asked if we wanted to extend the workout and most of us said yes. There was lots on the program in the morning with a scheduled 2:00 PM arrival to Venice. This included a talk by destination lecturer Marcus Sherwood on Venice and a talk by World Affairs Lecturer Ken Walsh who shared White House Photographs about several USA Presidents. We dined at Marketplace for lunch and before we arrive to Venice Anne Marie walked and Keith played Paddle Tennis. We first visited Venice, Italy in 1998 while on a twelve day Mediterranean cruise on-board the Grand Princess. We had an overnight in Venice and this was back in the day when the Princess ship was allowed to dock downtown. We remember that the ship looked larger than all of the downtown buildings. Originally, we booked a 2005 Crystal Serenity twelve day cruise from Rome to Venice. Our plan was to spend a couple of nights in Venice following the cruise. When we considered the cost of the hotel, restaurants, and flying home from Venice we compared this to adding a second twelve day Crystal Serenity cruise from Venice to Athens and decided to book the back-to-back cruise which gave us three full days in Venice. This twenty-four day cruise was not only our introduction to Crystal Serenity but the longest cruise we had taken at that point in time. We remember that cruise as if it was yesterday. The first cruise was Anne Marie's introduction to Rome. Keith had been there for business. One the first cruise we dined at a table for six people and had late seating. On most cruises with our family and by ourselves we had late seating and sat at large tables and on the Mediterranean cruises late seating was in great demand. On the second cruise we began at a six person table with late seating. To make a long story short on the third day we asked the Maitre d' if we could be moved to another table. In order to keep it very simple we moved to early dining and to a two person table as there was a lot of space in the early dining. This was the start of early dining for us. On some subsequent voyages we continued with tables for six people until evolving to a table for two. We had such a good time on that cruise and realized that Serenity was an excellent fit for us and would work well for a long cruise. We had been wanting to do something special in 2007 to celebrate our thirtieth Wedding Anniversary and originally had booked a Seabourn Cruise of 30 days. It was on these back-to-back cruise when we met Ernie and Val. Over a lunch a dinner they walked us through the experience they had of World Cruise 2005 and between the information they provided and our enjoyment of Crystal Serenity we booked our first World Cruise for 2007 with former future sales consultant Nikki Andrew. As they say the rest is history. We consider Venice to be one of the most unique cities of the world. Similar to San Francisco, we think of it as a city that comes from a story book. Venice is made up of 118 islands that are separated by canals and linked by 400 bridges. The islands are located in the Venetian Lagoon. Major highlights include: San Marco. The original church was built as a private chapel for the Doge and a shrine for the remains of St. Mark in 830 CE. Since the 11th century the church has been coined as "Church of Gold" for the design and gold around mosaics. Palazzo Ducale. This is the large structure made up of three large blocks. One of the wings was built in 1340 and the other wing was built in its present form in 1424. Gallerie dell Accademia. This historic gallery traces the development of Venetian art between the 14th and 18th centuries. The Great School of San Rocco. The building was named after San Rocco who is known as the protector of the plague. Rialto Bridge. This is a well known bridge to those visiting Venice. Until the 19th century it was the only bridge across the Grand Canal which becomes very wide in portions of the canal. It is lined with high-end boutiques and very popular with tourists. Ca'Rezzonica is an example of what a Venetian home looked like in the 18th Century. There are many other sites to see. One that we have visited it the Jewish Ghetto which today is still home to Synagogues and to some of the Jewish people who live in Venice or nearby. A few photos and a short video we took from the ship as we arrived to Venice. After the ship was cleared we went ashore. This was the first place in Italy that required us to carry our Passport with us. We walked from the Cruise Ship Terminal into Venice and we made our way to the Jewish Ghetto. Along the way we went up and down various side streets and into some churches and to other sites. It was crowded as Venice usually is. In general, the quiet month(s) are November and part of December when it is cold and rainy. We passed hundred of restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and stores. We saw about 100 children in grade school lined up to get Gelato and many people eating. When we arrived to the Ghetto there were many locals out and about. Some students were getting out of school while others were waiting to visit the Jewish Museum. As we walked the area we thought about what life might have been like for the people living in the Ghetto and all of the struggles during World War II. This is a reminder that no matter how bad people thinks it is today it was more challenging for tens of millions of people before, during and after World War II. Even after the war was over there were many hardships and challenges due to lack of fuel and food. After spending a good deal of time at the Ghetto we went on another street for quite awhile. We then turned back to head towards the cruise ship terminal with several stops along the way. The weather was a delight with a high of 67 degrees Fahrenheit. During the course of this adventure we have had to carry our passport in port a few times including today. Upon our return to the ship when we entered the cruise ship terminal for the very first time we were asked to show our passport along with key card. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon in Venice and are happy to return after fourteen years. Following is the daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith WELCOME TO DUBROVNIK, CROATIA Lisa.....We feel the same way you do about Kotor. An amazing town. Karin....Thank you for your comments and good wishes. We wanted to begin by saying how much we enjoyed Kotor. It is an absolutely beautiful town between its natural beauty and the lovely homes that sit along its coastline. The major driver of the economy is tourism. The country does not have its own currency. The Euro is the currency that is used. Many of the homes are owned by Russians and this does help to fuel the economy and brings in the Euro rather than Rubles. It does not have its own military but does have local police. Before dinner, we enjoyed a pre dinner drink at the Palm Court. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Kotor through the bay windows of the Palm Court. These are the Waterside Dinner Menus from last evening. Last evening we had dinner with Captain Vorland Birger and Cruise Director Rick. We enjoyed the cuisine of Waterside. We had an entree of scallops, a salad, and the ahi-tuna. We had a great time and very much appreciate the Captain and Cruise Director having dinner with us. Although we were in-port until 9:00 PM when we departed Kotor there was a lot in the way of evening entertainment. Filip Wojciechowski who is a wonderful pianist performed two shows at 7:45 & 9:45 PM and Vocalist Betsy Wolfe performed two shows at 8:45 & 10:45 PM. On top of this was live entertainment in several lounges. We departed Kotor at 9:00 PM. We slept well as we sailed to our next port-of-call of Dubrovnik, Croatia. We began our day as we normally do with an early morning workout for Keith followed by coffee and breakfast in our room. Our first and only prior visit to Dubrovnik was on our first voyage on Crystal Serenity in 2005. We enjoyed the city on that visit and again today. It began with the beautiful sail-in to the port. Dubrovnik is located on the Adriatic Sea. It has become a major tourist destination attracting many people by cruise ship plus those wanting to spend time in the beautiful country of Croatia. The city was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site beginning in 1979. The population of Dubrovnik is 43,000 residents. Major attractions included: Wall Walk which we did in 2005. The walk provides the opportunity to walk around and view the old city from atop the ancient wall. Placa Stradun which is a pedestrian limestone-paved street running that the Old Town and the historic part of the city. We walked this in 2005 when we enjoyed the Main Street of the city with all of the shops, restaurants and cafes. Dominican Monastery which was built in the 14th century. Rector's Palace which was one the home of the state government and theme of the Rector of Dubrovnik. The palace was build in the 15th century. Maritime Museum which was founded in 1949 and is located inside St. Ivan Fortress. The items on display related to the history of the Ragusa sea industry. Rupe Museum which was open in 1991 and has 5,000 exhibits about the Dubrovnik region. We went ashore shortly after the ship was cleared. We were surprised to see not one but two Viking Ocean ships in port. We took a taxi to and from the downtown area of Dubrovnik in lieu of the Crystal provided shuttle. This allowed us to arrive to the walled city one hour before the shuttle and before it became crowded with tourists. We began with the Wall Walk. Unlike our first visit in 2005, Euros are no longer accepted. Only local Croatian Kuna is accepted. One sign said Credit Cards only. Price is much higher than it was in 2005. We walked along the Wall and enjoyed beautiful views of the local area. It was far less crowded than it was in 2005 when we walked the wall late morning. The sun was out and the skies clear so we enjoyed all that was in and around us. The temperature was already at 60 degrees F. After we walked the wall we walked the old town and this included Place Stradun. We walked the main area. We visited several churches. We walked up and down several of the side streets. The side streets contain stores, cafes and restaurants. We walked another side whose side streets contained 150 stops leading homes and apartment buildings. These streets also contained stores and some small cafes. We must have walked by 100 or more restaurants many of which have indoor and outdoor seating. We visited more churches and saw monuments and other historic buildings. By the time we finished there was a line for those wishing to visit the Walk Wall and the nearby area was getting crowded with tourists. When we arrived back to Cruz Port we looked at a few stores and spoke with a couple of members of the crew including Ronnie. Ronnie has held many positions during his career with Crystal Cruises. This has included librarian, operator, working in the engineer department along with his new assignment which is at the Computer University. It is always a pleasure to speak with Ronnie who is a wonderful member of Team Serenity. We enjoyed lunch on the ship at Marketplace. Following lunch Anne Marie walked outside. Keith played Paddle Tennis. The weather was lovely. The weather was a reminder about how much we enjoy the Mediterranean this time of year. We are enjoying the rest of the afternoon on Serenity and look forward to a fun-filled evening. Following is today's daily Reflection Program. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith WELCOME TO KOTOR, MONTENEGRO Before we begin with last night I wanted to mention we thought that Kotor, Montenegro is one of the prettiest and most pristine areas of the world we have visited. The views from the ship and from the town are truly breathtaking. This was our first visit to Kotor and it has been amazing. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon. Bartender Mel took very good care of us. We arrive to the Crystal Cove about 15 minutes before dinner and Richard Pucci was kind enough to play a Beatles song. Thank you Richard. These are the dinner menus from Waterside. We had looked at the menu for Saturday evening's Black Tie Optional night even though we were dining at Prego. Having seen Lobster on the menu we asked if we could have it on Sunday night and Head Waiter Augusto was able to special order it for us to enjoy last night. We have been happily married for close to 42 years and have a lot in common. Last night was an example of that when our first three courses were the same. We each began with the Seafood Salad Appetizer. This was a wow. It comes from the Modern Menu and was very tasty between the delicious seafood and sauce and other items which accompanied it. Our second course was an Iceberg dinner salad. Our third course was the delicious lobster flown in all the way from Maine. With very few exceptions the lobster always comes in from Maine. It was delicious. I had a double serving of Lobster while Anne Marie had a single serving. On most evening’s we don’t have dessert other than fruit plate for me and a decaffeinate cappuccino for Anne Marie but we made an exception last night. I had some cheese which Augusto cut for me from the Cheese Cart and Anne Marie had a single scoop of ice cream. It was a great way to end a delicious and wonderful meal. When Keith was playing Paddle Tennis on Saturday he met one of the older sons of San Carlos Wines. They own a winery called Domenico Winery. They also have two wine clubs (one in New York and one in California) and members from their club (90 or so guests) are on board. At the end of the game the son came up to Keith and said we were welcome to ask for one of their bottles of wine that they brought on-board Serenity to enjoy at Waterside so we had the Sommelier bring out one of the bottles. It was very kind of him. They have several varieties of wine on-board and we enjoyed one of their Cabernet Wines. The evening entertainment featured the return of James Fox (he was on board for one segment of the World Cruise) and he performed two showings of the upbeat show called My Life: The Music of Billy Joel. For those of you familiar with this show it had been on Serenity for a few years and for one year was no longer performed. It is now on Serenity where it will continue to be performed on most voyages throughout the year. The first show began at 8:30 PM rather than 7:45 PM so they could have the Captain's Reception and Crystal Society Party at 7:45 PM. With late night departures from Sorrento the other evening and one this evening from Kotor the party was held this evening. Having the party on the Black Tie Optional evening was not a good option since they had the Supper Club that night. The good news is that when we returned back to our room we set the clocks back one hour as we are sailing into a new time zone. We always enjoy moving the clock backwards. We slept well as Serenity sailed to our next port-of-call at Kotor. Keith was up early and began the day with an early morning workout at the Fitness Center. After the workout we enjoyed coffee followed by breakfast in our room. We arrived to Kotor on schedule. Today marked our first visit to Kotor and we will be returning on the following cruise. Kotor is a coastal town of Montenegro. It is a secluded town with a population less than 15,000 residents. Starting in the year 2000, Kotor has seen an increase in tourism brought about mainly due to the expansion of the Passenger Cruise Ship industry. The area which surrounds Kotor included fortifications built during the Venetian period. The town which was first mentioned in 168 BC was settled during the Ancient Roman era. The town was fortified during the early Middle Ages when the Emperor built a fortress. Kotor is considered to be the best preserved medieval old town in the Adriatic and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Major highlights include: Maritime Museum which includes many portraits and other items related to vessels. Sv. Tryphon which is one of the oldest monuments along the Adriatic Sea. Gradska Kula which is a central clock tower in the old walled town. Originally, we had a tour planned that included a visit to Perast by vessel including a tour of Our Lady of the Rocks Church and a walking tour of the old town city of Kotor. We were uncertain about the weather and how the tour would be impacted with potentially cooler weather and the possibility of rain. As a result we checked and found out we could cancel the tour. These are photos as we entered a channel this morning as the sun was coming up. This was an unusual site as we were about twenty minutes from docking. Some views from our room. Our arrival to Kotor was some of the most magnificent scenery we have seen. It felt like we were sailing in Norway combined with this area of Europe. As soon as the ship was cleared we walked ashore. We made our way across the street over to the old town of Kotor. As we walked the city it reminded us of Venice as it has that influence. The items in the shops ranged from items you might see in Turkey (those copy items) to many items locally crafted. A couple of shop owners did say the same thing and almost what we might here in Turkey. They said"let me help you spend your money", or "let me help you spend your money and lighten up your wallet". They were all very nice and not pushy. We did purchase one item as a gift for someone on the ship. We both made our way over to the area to walk up to the Church Of Our Lady Of Remedy built in 1518. There were steps and also in the center a walkway made from rocks. At one point Anne Marie stopped at the St. Roko Position while Keith continued his walk. Keith does have a fear of heights. Between his ability to walk on the walkway made from rocks and the height of portions of the wall where the steps were located he was able to continue his walk. When he was about 90'%+ into the walk the walkway ended and the height of the wall was no longer very high. He thought he could make it all the way up but was concerned with walking down that portion with the low wall. He did enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding areas including Crystal Serenity. Once we both made it back to where the first step is located we walked all around the old town. Our walk included most of the side streets and the larger areas. We walked into several churches. We took in the beautiful views and scenery. We even walked into a shop that was selling old LP albums and on the top was an album by The Beatles. They must have known we were coming. When we concluded our visit to the old town we walked other nearby areas, also the market and to a park. On our return to the ship we saw Natasa who works at the front desk and her husband Dennis who is a bartender. They are a lovely couple. They were waiting for Natasa's family to arrive as she is from Montenegro. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. This is such a beautiful place. We do have a beautiful world. Once back on the ship, we enjoyed lunch at Marketplace. Keith played Paddle Tennis while Anne Marie walked and we are enjoying the rest of the afternoon on board Serenity. Coincidentally, less than two minutes after Keith finished playing Paddle Tennis it started to drizzle. Prior to that it was sunny and the temperature was perfect. The good news is we return to Kotor on the next cruise. Following is today's daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith WELCOME TO CORFU, GREECE Thank you Gilly. It was very nice to hear that you stayed at the hotel that we had lunch at during our drive of the Amalfi Coast. It is a stunning hotel. Thank you so much Emily. You are right. We are sailing a wonderful area of the world. Last night was Black Tie Optional (BTO) on board Serenity. There is only one BTO night on this cruise given that it is a ten day cruise. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in our room. These are the dinner menus from Waterside. We dined at Prego with friends Lieve and Hector. Hector is an internationally acclaimed Organist who performs on selected Crystal Cruises each year. He is absolutely amazing and we have enjoyed his many concerts on-board Serenity and look forward to his upcoming performances as we close out World Cruise 2019 and on the voyage that comes after this one. Keith and Lieve share a passion for playing Paddle Tennis and that is how Keith first met Lieve and this led to the four of us getting to know each other on previous cruises including having drinks together as well as dinner. We are very happy to be sailing with Lieve & Hecto. We enjoyed an absolutely wonderful dinner with them which included non-stop conversation, delicious dinner, great service and the ambiance of the dining venue. These are photos from the food that Keith had. He had a Lobster/Octopus appetizer, followed by Caesar salad (light on the dressing) and for his entree Bronzino. Anne Marie had a Crab Tower for her appetizer, the same salad Keith had and Veal as her entree. Prego was very busy last evening as we expected it would be. We have a full ship and with it being a sea day it is a nice time for people to visit dining venues such as this one. The waiters work as a terrific team helping one another. This includes helping each other serve the courses and clear the dishes from the table. The seas were calm as we sailed throughout the evening to our next port-of-call of Corfu, Greece. It was nice not to forward the clocks by one hour as we did the night before. Keith was up early and enjoyed another workout at the Fitness Center before we had coffee and breakfast in our room. Today is Palm Sunday. There is always a Catholic Priest on-board. On the World Cruises and on selected voyages that celebrate major holidays there is a Rabbi and Reverend on board. Reverend Ed is on board as today was Palm Sunday and on the next voyage he will continue as Easter will be celebrated and a Rabbi will be on-board to celebrate Passover. The Catholic Pam Sunday Mass was scheduled for 4:00 PM and the Protestant Palm Sunday Workshop at 5:30 PM today. Our only visit to Corfu was on-board our first Crystal Serenity sailing in 2005. Corfu is a Greek Island located in the Iornian Sea. It is a popular destination island for tourism. Its overall population is 100,00 residents. Highlights include: Palace of St. Michael & St. George which was built between 1810 and 1924 and presently the palace house the Museum of Asian art of Corfu. Antivouniotissa Museum which includes the old collection of icons from Corfu's Museum of Asian Arts. Liston Promenade which was build between 1807 and 1814. St. Spyridon Church which was built in the 1580s and houses relics of Saint Spyridon and is located in the old town of Corfu. Corfu Cathedral this is one of the oldest monuments in Corfu. New Venetian Fortress which was built by the Venetians between 1572 and 1645. We arrived to Corfu on schedule. We didn’t book a tour since we had visited before. We were the only cruise ship in port other than smaller ships and ferries. Contrast this to when Serenity was here in the summer and five passengers’ ships were docked and three were anchored. With thunderstorms and rain in the forecast we went ashore once the ship was cleared. These is an in-port shuttle taking guests from the ship to the cruise terminal but since we were allowed to walk we walked to the terminal. Crystal offered a complimentary shuttle over to the old town area but we decided to go by foot. Upon our arrival to the old town we walked up and down several streets. We made our way to the New Venetian Fortress. New is a funny way to describe a fortress built between 1572 and 1645 and current buildings within the fortress that were built by the British during their rule of the Island in the early to mid-1800’s. We made our way over to other sites. It was early and a Sunday so the area was very quiet. We returned to Serenity by foot. We encountered a short drizzle on the way over to the old town. On the way back there was no rain although once we were within the port, we could hear thunder and see lightning from a distance. As it turned out, we were wise to take the walk as early as we did. We enjoyed the rest of the day on Serenity. This included having lunch at Marketplace followed by a walk for Anne Marie and Paddle Tennis for Keith. When Keith first went to play there was some water on the court and we dried it off. Later while playing there were some raindrops and a little while after that the sun came out and it warmed up. This is the daily Reflections Program from today. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith ON THE ROAD TO CORFU GREECE - A DAY AT SEA Some additional photos from yesterday's tour of the Amalfi Coast. Although it was rainy during a good portion of our tour this didn’t damper our spirits. We now have the experience of seeing the Amalfi Coast with full sun and also with overcast skies and rain. It does give you different perspectives. One of the advantages of the rain is that it cleared out the sky and there were times that we had very clear views of the coast and the sea. We are reminded that we have visited the lost city of Petra on two different occasions; one time sunny/hot/no clouds in the sky & the other time cooler temperature/overcast sky. It gave us two different perspectives and it brought out a different look of the area in terms of colors of the city. During the course of our tour we visited inside a couple of churches and also a museum. We learned a great deal about the history of the area along with current day life from our tour guide. We realized that there is so much to see and one could spend a week or more here to visit each town and spend lots more time exploring the area. We also wanted to note how much we enjoyed the lunch experience at the restaurant. We sat at a table overlooking the beautiful coast and enjoyed beautiful views. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch of close to two hours. Service was truly impeccable. There are two dining areas and they sat us at one with only one other person dining there and he left about the time we finished our first course so we had that portion of the dining venue all to ourselves. This is the kind of restaurant that the service is professional/elegant but not obtrusive. There were several people attending to our table. One of the waiters has worked there for 42 years and is retiring shortly. We also wanted to mention once again how much we enjoyed our tour guide. She along with the tour guide we had when we toured Florence last September were represent some of the best tour guides we have ever had. Maria shared a lot of information with us but did it in a manner that was not overwhelming as some guides can be. She clearly knows her subject matter and it showed throughout the day. She was also very attentive and willing to change things up to please us as after all as she noted it is our day and tour. Towards the end of the tour she told us how much she loved the company she works for and being a tour guide and that was very evident throughout the day. We both believe that being happy with one's profession has many benefits to ones health and makes for a successful career. After along tour of the Amalfi Coast we decided to have dinner in our room. These are the dinner menus from Waterside. We ordered in from the Prego Italian Restaurant and from Waterside. We enjoyed Caesar salad from Prego and Swordfish from Waterside. Butler Rao arranged everything for us. The Swordfish was prepared and came from the classic side of the menu. It was very tasty along with the sides which came with it. There were two sets of shows last evening. Comedian John Joseph preformed his show at 7:45 and 9:45 PM and Curtis and Beverly performed Crystal Dance Stars at 8:45 and 10:45 PM. On top of this was a mixer in the Crystal Cove called Dixie in the Cove with the Crystal Showband. We set sail from Sorrento at 10:00 PM. The only downside to the evening was forwarding the clocks by one hour as we sail into a new time zone. The good news is a few days from now we will turn the clocks back one hour. We began our day as we always do with an early morning workout for Keith followed by Coffee and Breakfast in our room. Keith had a haircut appointment at the salon and Anne Marie walked inside the ship while he was having his haircut. At 10:00 AM we transited the Straight of Messina. It is a narrow start between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. The transit took 45 minutes. Today's program featured two lectures in the morning. The first talk was given by Destination Lecturer Marcus Sherwood who spoke about upcoming ports of call of Corfu and Kotor. Later in the morning World Affairs Lecturer Ken Walsh spoke about the Trump Presidency and also spoke briefly about the 2020 election campaign. In the afternoon there was a complimentary wine tasting with Domincik and Glria Chirchillo. Although this is not a wine themed cruise they are on-board with some members of their wine club. We enjoyed lunch at Marketplace. Sea days are always special and this one has been a great day. The weather turned out great with lots of sun, mild temperature and a lot of Paddle Tennis for me and a nice walk for Anne Marie. Below is the daily Reflections Program from today. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith |
Archives
May 2019
Categories |