DAY 122 - DAY 116 CRYSTAL SERENITY

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.

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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.  

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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

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