DAY 51 - DAY 45 CRYSTAL SERENITY

WELCOME TO AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND.

Alison...Thank you very much for your very nice comments which are most appreciated.  

Gilly...Thank you for your very nice comments.  Yes we enjoy revisiting places and seeing new ones as well.

We began last evening with a drink at the Avenue Saloon with John & Linda.  This will be our last pre-dinner drink with the two of them on this cruise.  Linda and John will be returning home tomorrow.

This is the menu from Waterside.

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We returned to the Prego Italian Restaurant for dinner.  It is unusual for us to go two consecutive nights to specialty restaurants let alone one specialty restaurant.  However, we were dining with World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston and Cruise Director Gary Hunter and thought this would be the perfect venue for a quiet dinner which it was.

The food, service, venue and conversation were amazing.  We could have talked for countless hours.  We enjoyed lots of laughs throughout the meal.

Once again our waiter was Azem and our sommelier was Lubo.

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Clockwise starting from the top left.

Keith had the Lobster & Octopus.

We both had Caesar Salad.

Keith had the Pan-Fried Fillet of Branzino Fish and Anne Marie had a half portion of the additional entree of Pasta with Crabmeat in a Saffron Sauce.

This was the first time that Keith had the Branzino Fish on since we boarded although he has eaten it before.  Although he favors other fish over the Branzino he enjoyed the entree.

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Speaking of Prego, on the next segment of the World Cruise (starting tomorrow) the Prego menu is being updated with some new items.

The entertainment last evening included vocalist Peter Cousins who performed two shows at 7:45 PM and 9:30 PM.  The Crystal Cove had music throughout the evening between Pianist Richard Pucci, Violinist Irina Guskova and Ana & Humberto.  The Crystal Quartet performed two different times at Palm Court and there was dancing and guitarist Carlos Rayan played from 9:00 PM to Midnight.  Dan Davies played background piano from 6:45 PM to 7:30 PM and from 9:30 PM to 12:30 AM played piano and sang at the Avenue Saloon.

When we arrived back to our room last evening a copy of the World Cruise Photo Album was placed on our bed.  It has a photo and the name of each guest on the World Cruise who agreed to have their photo/name in the book.  .  It also includes photos and names of the Senior Officers and World Cruise Hostess who presently are or will be on this adventure.  It is very useful to help remember names of those on the World Cruise and a wonderful keepsake.

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We slept well as we sailed to Auckland, New Zealand.  Keith enjoyed another early morning workout at the Fitness Center.  We had an early breakfast.

We are scheduled to Auckland at around 8:00 AM.

Auckland is the largest city of New Zealand.  Close to one-third of the entire population of New Zealand lives in Auckland.  The city is along the shores of an extinct volcanic cone.  It is a beautiful city.  It is fun to walk around and the people are wonderful.

Major attractions include:

Auckland War Memorial Museum which has an extensive collection of Maori and Pacific items.

Sky Tower which you can see from several locations around the city and measures 1,076 tall.  

Parnell Village which is Auckland's oldest suburb.

Auckland Art Gallery which has a treasure trove of art.  Established in 1888 it has the most extensive art collection in New Zealand.

Maritime Museum which provides a comprehensive history of seafaring in New Zealand.  Exhibit included Maori canoes and outrigger boats along with the items from whaling equipment to musical instruments.

We have visited Auckland many times in the past.  This time around we will have no time in Auckland as we are leaving the ship today for a few days.

This afternoon we are flying to Sydney, Australia to spend time with our daughter, Jennifer; son-in-law Gui; grandson Andre; and granddaughter Emma who presently live there.  When the ship arrives to Sydney on February 8 we will return to Serenity.  Our family will come on-board for dinner that evening.  

​Since we are leaving a day early those of us who are leaving today or very early the following morning were asked to meet for a face-to-fact inspection with New Zealand customs/immigration personnel with our luggage and passports in hand.  Once this is complete, we are  free to leave the ship at any time.  
 
We have a Crystal Cruises private vehicle transfer arranged by the Crystal Concierge Department to take us from the ship to the Auckland International Airport.

We did want to note that this evening Crystal Cruises is holding the first of two World Cruise Shoreside Events which is for all those guests on the full World Cruise.  It is called "100-Years of Military History Through Song & Dance.  We wish those participating at this special event a wonderful time.
 
We  will continue to post daily while we are in Sydney so look for an update tomorrow.

Anne Marie & Keith

Below is the daily Reflections Program.

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