WELCOME TO THE BAY OF ISLANDS - NEW ZEALANDThank you for the recent comments. Bill...We appreciate your comments and agree with you about attire including at the Fitness Center. Gilly, Carolyn, Terry, Bob & Jeannie, Karin, Sophie and Diane.... Thank you all for your good wishes about our new Grand Baby Savannah. Joanthan…We do measure though the iWatch our steps and miles. Anne Marie gets 10,000+ steps regularly and Keith gets 20,000 to 40,000 steps and ten to twenty miles. When Keith uses the Indoor Cycling App for the Cycle classes he doesn't get credit for steps. Last evening we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon. We also attended the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle Party. We dined at Prego. It was a Crystal Society Dinner for the two of us hosted by Crystal Society Hostess Alyssa along with Future Sales Consultant Paula Jean. Dinner was wonderful. We enjoyed delicious food, wonderful service and lovely conversation. We dine for close to two and one-half hours. The evening entertainment featured International Jazz Pianist Kym Purling. Serenity was relatively calm as we sailed to Bay Of Islands. We began our day with another beautiful sunrise. We continued to enjoy beautiful views as we ate breakfast. This is our third visit to this area; first in 2015 and most recently in 2019. In 2015 we were supposed to stop at another area but the stop was cancelled as the tender pier did not meet the safety requirements for Crystal. This port-of-call was substituted. The Island has a population of 160,00 residents. It is Northland's main attraction. The island has a subtropical climate and is considered to have some of the finest game-fishing waters in New Zealand. This is the area where the first European settlement was established and where modern New Zealand became a nation. It was in this area that a treaty was signed between the Maori and the British making New Zealand part of the British Empire. Major attractions include: Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the signing of the Maori Treaty of Waiting took place in 1840 between Maori Chiefs and the British Crown. Paihia Harbor which has public access beaches. Russell Museum which reflects history of the town. Haruru Falls where in the 1800s 100 Maori village lined the banks of the Haruru River. Te Waimate Mission which was considered the first farm in New Zealand. Anne Marie stayed on the ship to walk outside on the Promenade Deck. For a portion of the walk she saw dear friends Glo and Bob and ended up walking for awhile with Bob. Keith had already taken the tender over to the Island and Anne Marie saw him getting in the tender. The day began with temperature which called for a light jacket but it warmed up to a delightful temperature. Keith did a combination walk and run from the tender pier into town. He stopped to smell the roses in the figurative sense taking in the natural beauty all around. On the way back he ran all the way from the down to the tender pier and this is when he wished he was not wearing the light jacket. LOL. Back on the ship we enjoyed lunch at Marketplace and after lunch Anne Marie walked and Keith ran. We also spent time with members of Team Serenity and fellow guest. This is the daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith
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ON THE WAY TO BAY ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, DAY 2We enjoyed a drink at the Silk Bar before dinner. This is the first time we have sat at the Silk Bar on Serenity since our first cruise in 2005. The bar makes drinks for Silk, for Marketplace and for those on the pool. Several guests we know stopped by the bar to pick up drinks to take to other areas of the ship. To say the least Bartender Edwin and those who assist him keep very busy. These are the Waterside Dinner Menus. We dined at Silk with World Cruise Hostess and friend Stacey and Jeff. Dinner was terrific. We enjoyed the new menu with several new items. Some of the new items such as the salad and chicken entree are described as being spicy. The chicken most definitely fit this description. As usual the service was terrific as was the venue. We enjoyed a lovely conversation. Before going to sleep last night we did have to forward our clocks by one hour. We do prefer setting them back rather than forward though. LOL. We slept well as we continued sailing to our next port of call. Seas were calmer than last evening. There is something very special when sailing at sea. Getting ready for the sunrise. Often when we are at sea we think of a quote from John Fitzgerald Kennedy from remarks given on September 14, 1962. I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came. We kept to our regular routine on sea days with an early morning workout for Keith, breakfast in our room, and a walk for Anne Marie. Keith took the indoor cycling class offered in the morning at the Fitness Center. Lots on the program including three lectures. Captain Richard Hayman spoke about New Zealand, Retired Brig. General Joe Shaefer spoke bout Russia on the decline and Professor Judith Fordham spoke about Happy Families with the curious case of the killing cousins. There was a Grand Gala Buffet which was set up in the Crystal Plaza for a start time of Noon. A menu featuring several of the items on the buffet. While the Grand Gala Buffet is very special with such a fabulous array of items we had lunch at Marketplace. In our early years of cruising Crystal we would partake at the buffet. If we were on for one voyage we might indulge a little but we try to be careful about how much we eat. Kudos to the amazing team from Food & Beverage for all the efforts which go into the planning, preparation and setup of the buffet. It is a work of art. At Marketplace we do tease when they have the Grand Gala Buffet that we are having lunch at the Marketplace Grand Buffet. LOL. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the ship including Paddle Tennis for Keith, a nice walk for Anne Marie along with reading and writing. The daily Reflections Program follows. Cheers, Ann Marie & Keith ON THE ROAD TO BAY OF ISLANDS - FIRST OF TWO DAYS AT SEAValentine's Day was celebrated on the ship yesterday and last evening. Late afternoon was Valentine's Day Chocolate Tea Time. Before dinner was a Valentine's Day Pre-Dinner Cocktail Dance. Later in the evening Valentines Red and White Night Extravaganza White combined for the Crystal Red & White Valentine Day Dance Party. We visited the Avenue Saloon for a pre-dinner drink. We tried to go with the theme of Red & White. Keith ended up with Red, White & Blue due to his sports jacket. Dinner menus from Waterside. Dinner was at Prego with Hotel Director Hubert. We had a lovely time with terrific conversation, wonderful cuisine, outstanding service. All the ladies in the dining venues received a long stemmed red rose. This just added to the feeling of Valentine's Day. In addition to the Valentine's Day events there were two showings of illuminate: The Tours which is a 30 minute show performed completely in darkness. Photos and Video from the White & Red Night Extravaganza Party. This is one of the few nights where we were awake past midnight. Keith planned to sleep late but we guess his body clock said "It's Time To Get Up" because this is what he did. He kept to the same routine of the early workout at the Fitness Center. We enjoyed breakfast in our room and got ready for another wonderful day on-board Serenity. We do want to mention the seas were choppier last evening. It's not a big deal for us but a reminder we are sailing on a cruise ship in the ocean. LOL. Today marks the first of two sea days as we sail to Bay Of Islands. There was lots on the program. This included three lectures. Captain Richard Hayman spoke about the Epic Voyage of Magellan; Captain John Creighton spoke about how the human body handles space travel and Dr Bill McKay spoke about hidden treasures of the Pacific. In addition to the lectures we both enjoyed a couple of walks around the ship, Paddle Tennis for Keith and Knitting for Anne Marie. In preparation for our upcoming port stops in New Zealand guests were asked to pick up passport this morning to carry with them in port. The Daily Reflections Program follows. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith We hope you are enjoying a Happy Valentines Day. Please note we are one day ahead of many of you. We enjoyed a lovely evening on Serenity. We returned to the Crystal Cove to listen to Pianist Richard Pucci perform. We enjoyed dinner at Waterside. These are the dinner menus. Dinner was terrific. We each had the Wild Mushroom Tart for our appetizer, followed by a dinner salad and for our entree Salmon. The tart is especially tasty and we thought the presentation of the Salmon Entree was great and enjoyed its taste. After dinner we attended the Crystal Society Party. This party recognizes all guests who have sailed Crystal Cruises on or more times and highlights individuals with a high level of milestones. We wore our 100th Crystal Society Milestone Pins awards on the last segment of World Cruise 2019. The evening entertainment featured pianist Chris Hamilton. We had an overnight in Lautoka. We slept well and kept to our same routine. This included an early morning workout for Keith, breakfast and a walk. We gave Butler Jaison, Penthouse Attendant Chan, and Stateroom Attendant Hanmi Valentine Cards and Candy and also gave Candy last night to the Head Waiter, Senior Waiter, Waiter and Sommelier. A pink sunrise just for Valentine's Day. There is lots in store for later this afternoon and into the evening for Valentine's Day which we will cover tomorrow. Crystal Plaza was decorated for Valentine's Day. We did not go back into Lautoka since we have visited five times. We enjoyed the rest of the day on-board Serenity. We haven't watched any of the on-demand movies since boarding. However, we made today an exception. While on the flight to Miami Keith watched part of the movie Yesterday we watched it today. For those who haven't seen or heard of it, many of the songs from The Beatles are sung in the movie. We also walked another time, Anne Marie worked on a new needlepoint project, Keith played Paddle Tennis and we read, wrote and met up with fellow guests. Following is the Daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith WELCOME TO LAUTOKA, FIJIWe welcome our fifth grandchild to the family with the birth of Savanah Ruth Steiner. Savannah is the third child for our son Eric and daughter-in-law Kara and sister to Jackson and Preston. Very exciting news indeed. Thankfully because of internet Keith did a video call with Eric, Kara and Savanah six hours after her birth and the two of us did a second one less than seven hours later. Here she is. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon. They had Music Trivia hosted by World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston and Pianist Richard Pucci. We didn't play officially but we tried to answer each question. Bartender Marvin took great care of us. Dinner menus from Waterside from last evening. We dined at Umi Uma for the first time of this voyage. Waiter Richie and Sommelier Jay took wonderful care of us. Food was delicious. Service was fantastic. We had sushi and sashimi and for entrees salad with scallops for Anne Marie and Soba Noodles, broth with scallops for Keith. The featured entertainment was two performances by Piano Showman Chris Hamilton. As we were sleeping Serenity sailed towards our next port-of-call of Lautoka, Fiji The good news is we moved the clocks back one hour to get on the local time zone for Fiji. We began with a workout for Keith, followed by Breakfast. We both walked and got ready for arrival to Lautoka, Fiji. At 8:00 AM Captain Birger spoke from the bridge to say we were in a holding pattern. When the pilot arrive some members of the Health Ministry came abroad for a medical inspection. The Captain noted as soon as this was completed we would sail to the port at 18 knots which should get us there within ninety minutes. Captain Birger spoke again at 9:00 AM with great news we were cleared to go to Fiji. The only requirement was for guests who boarded in Tahiti to proceed to the Galaxy Showroom to sign a Health Form. Guests were called by Deck number to keep things orderly. This is our fourth visit to this island. Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu. It is in the heart of Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane region. and is known as the Sugar City. These fields are relatively close to the port city. The overall population of the city and neighboring area is 45,000 people. Major highlights include: Central Market which caters to farmers and growers. The markets floor areas is close to 200,000 feet and they sell fresh and local and imported fruits, spices and crops are available. Botanical Gardens featuring groves of palm trees, shrubs and flower beds. Sugar Mill which is the biggest employer of this port city. This is a big mill and is the largest sugar mill in the Southern Hemisphere. Koroyanitu National Heritage Park which includes six village within the park that support conservation. The park features walking trails for visitors to birdwatch, and visit archaeological sites and view waterfalls. Vuda Point Marina for those wishing to view and explore Mamanuca and Yasawa islands. Garden of the Sleeping Giant which opened in 1977 and has a vast array of orchid collections covering 49 acres. We enjoyed the rest of the day on-board Serenity including lunch at Marketplace, Paddle Tennis for Keith and a long walk for Anne Marie. This is the daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Keith ON THE WAY TO NUKU'ALOFA, TONGA - DAY 3We returned to thee Crystal Cove for a pre-dinner drink. Pianist Richard Pucci entertained and as usual played a wonderful array of tunes. These are the menus from Waterside where we dined. We enjoyed a delicious meal. Appetizers of Tuna Tartare for Keith & Soup for Anne Marie. We both had salads. Entrees of Turkey for Anne Marie and Pompano Fillet for Keith. The evening entertainment included two different shows each performed two times. The production show was Icons In Concert Shown at 7:45 and 9:45 PM and Comedian Steve Caouettee who performed at 8:45 and 10:45 PM. We slept well and began our day as we always do. This included a workout for Keith, breakfast in our room followed by a walk together. Speaking of walking: The other day we posted photos about the route we take inside the ship when we walk. We thought we would add photos from walking the outside of the ship on the promenade deck. Crystal Ocean Vessels represent only a few ships offering a full wrap-around Promenade Deck which is all on one level with no steps involved. The one on Serenity is wide enough to accommodate three people walking shoulder to shoulder or two people walking tougher with a third person running by them. It provides beautiful views when at sea and many times when anchored or docked in port. Our first time on Serenity was in 2005 on two back-to-back cruises totaling 24 days. Up until that time it was our longest time on a cruise ship. In fact, when we made the decision to take our first World Cruise while on board Serenity in 2005, the Promenade Deck was one of several factors which contributed to our decision to book the cruise. We saw the Promenade Deck as a great way to get exercise, to take walks together or by ourselves, to enjoy the beauty around the ship and to get some quiet time. There are times when no one is out on the deck creating the feeling you are on the ship by oneself. These are photos which show where we walk outside ether ship on the Promenade Deck. Wee've also included photos we posted the other day showing the area we walk inside the ship. We began our day as we always do. Workout for Keith, Breakfast and a walk for both of us. We then got ready to visit Nuku'alofa, Tonga. However, this changed when we learned Crystal Serenity and three other ships were denied stopping due to concerns about Coronavirus. Captain Birger mentioned Serenity learned the news at early in the morning from the local authorities. Shortly after Captain Birger spoke for the second time Cruise Director Rick spoke to everyone highlight some of the program changes and a new program would be out within an hour. This would've been our second visit to this area as we were here back in 2011. Although we didn't visit we thought we would share some information. Nuku'alofa has a population of 25,000 residents. It is a small South Pacific Kingdom of the Commonwealth. Major attractions include: Talamahu Market located downtown which has a large section of local goods including jewelry and mats. Free Church of Tonga. The church was established in 1885 by King George Tupou I and Reverent Shirley Waldemar Barker. Anahulu Cave which is made up of a network of large limestone caverns as well as Tongapapu's only freshwater pools. Royal Tombs has been the resting place of the royals since 1893. Basilica of St Anthony was build in 1977 and completed three years later in 1980. These are photos from our last visit. We enjoyed another unplanned sea day between the enrichment and other activities on-board the ship. We got in our walks, Anne Marie went to Knitting and Keith played Paddle Tennis in the morning and aftertoon. We are just happy to be here. Following is the daily Reflections Program. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith |
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