Keith1010

I walked into Umi Uma a little while ago and to me they don't look as bright but for me before was not a big deal. I will ask when we dine there but as I say I think they've adjusted them. Keith

Well that means I won't be posting them. Rather than taking photos of them I went to Crystal's intranet site and took screen shots using iPhone and posted them. Oh well.

Many thanks for the kind Bon Voyage wishes and comments. They are very much appreciated. As they say there is no place like home. We spoke with several guests yesterday including some we have sailed with and some we have met in person for the first time. The general comment was how well embarkation was handled. We are sailng with a full ship. It was great that the debarkation process went well. The Miami terminal was busy. There were some very large ships in port and the maximum total of 9. Many people I checked with seemed to get their luggage relatively quickly which is always nice. As always it was wonderful to see not only guests but the amazing Crystal Serenity Crew. There were some surprises as well with some crew here who I didn't think we would see this time around or until we sailed Symphony. The crew is as excited as they were on those first two cruises and their positivity, professionalism and warmth radiates throughout the ship. Thy are truly amazing and the heart and soul of the ship. I am posting the Reflections Program from yesterday and today. Cheers, Keith

Not sure. We'll find out when we visit in a few days. Keith

Nine ships in port today. You will find 7 to 9 ships in port on a Saturday between November thru the next couple of months. Saturday and Sunday are the most popular for cruise lines such as Carnival, MSC, Royal Caribbean and NCL and then add to this some other lines. Most offer 7 days cruises and this way people don't have to take time off from work. Keith

We are not used to sailing so late out of Miami. This is the benefit of having two sea days over the next two days. Today has been great. We have met lots of guests who we have known for many years and others we know from CC. OK now the most important things. The lighting in Osteria has been adjusted so for those who thought it was too bright the light has been lowered. And, they changed out the table cloths so they are not white but are like a light berry. Food was perfect. More tomorrow. Keith

Yep nights

On the milestone chart I mentioned toward the bottom it shows this. For sailings 16 days or more you get 2 cruise credits. Wonderful that you are taking the World Cruise. Happy Holidays. Keith

And easy peasy boarding in Terminal E. Serenity was easy to spot even though we were the smaller of the ships in port today with eight other ships. Keith

We are home right where we belong with Crystal. This morning we awoke with great anticipation for our return to Crystal Serenity and to make new memories will last a lifetime. We enjoyed our last breakfast and got ready to be driven to the Port of Miami. We were driven on the same route that we have walked this stay and previously when before embarking or after debarking other Crystal cruises. Like boarding on July 31 of this year, it was wonderful to be back on-board Serenity and we shed some tears. After all that occurred between Covid-19 in 2020 and carrying over to 2021 when Crystal was forced to stop operations because of the previous owner's insolvency, we feel blessed to sail with Crystal. Since first sailing Serenity in the Fall of 2005 after prior sailings on Crystal Harmony in 2002 and Crystal Symphony in 2002, 2003 and 2004, we have sailed 1,200+ days on Serenity or the equivalent of 3 years and 4 months on this one vessel. We never felt the need to have a second home because Crystal is our second home and that includes Symphony. Words cannot adequately describe how much we love and enjoy the Crystal product. We have met so many nice people, both crew and guests sailing Crystal, celebrated so many special moments including birthdays, family get togethers, wedding anniversaries, retirement milestones, and even renewing our wedding vows in 2017 with our family with us. The ship has gone through many changes, including the most recent ones, after the vessels were purchased in 2022 that one would never know she in her 20th year of service. What has not changed is the glue which holds everything together, creating that special bond which is the crew. We have known some of the crew not only since our first Serenity voyage in 2005, but from earlier sailings on Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony. This voyage marks our fourth Crystal Holiday Cruise. The ship looks beautiful decked out in holiday attire and within the first couple of hours we have seen so many of the crew who are part of our extended family, along with several guests who we have sailed with before along with others who we know from the Crystal Society Face Book group page. When we arrived to the Terminal, we saw Golf Pro Joe Hubert outside as he was waiting to return to the ship. Once inside, we saw friends including Ashley from CC Eventually, we saw familiar faces from the crew including our butler the Hotel Director Hubert and Front Office Manager Marco. Once on board we saw Chief Concierge Ariela and Thomas who works in Reception. We saw Captain Birger who goes home today and Captain Vincent who just came on board. We sailed with Captain Birger on the July 31 Cruise and Captain Vincent on the following cruise. We started to get settled in our room unpacking items from our carry on roller boards. Waterside opened at 11:45 AM earlier than normal to coincide with embarkation starting at 11:45 AM as well. This is a full ship with every room sold out. We enjoyed our traditional embarkation lunch of a flute of champagne toasting our love for one another and to a wonderful voyage along with a Cobb salad. Senior Waiter Ayhan who we have known for years took our order. We saw Senior Head Waiter Jacques and Restaurant Manger Paolo and several other members of the waitstaff team came by to check on us. We saw some guests we have not sailed with before and some who we have known for years. We are super excited to being on board. We received the best gift possible when news arrived that A&K Travel under the leadership of Manfredi Lefebvre d”Ovidio had purchased Crystal Symphony & Serenity, the name Crystal and the customer lists. It culminated when we had the honor of being on-board for the inaugural cruise starting on July 31 of this year and the one after that. I will do our best to share our experiences over the next 13 days through words and photos. Cheers Keith

Thank you Jill, Colin and Bill. I see Serenity on the Port Of Miami Webcam. Keith

Yesterday, we enjoyed our final day in Miami until next time. A few observations. Prior to 2007, our prior cruises in and out of Southern Florida involved sailing Port Everglades and staying in Fort Lauderdale. We had driven into Miami a couple of times on vacations but never stayed in the city. In 2007, we stayed downtown as this is where Serenity was sailing for the World Cruise and the pre-cruise hotel was the Four Seasons. We couldn't get over the volume of construction which was well underway. Many buildings were torn down and replaced with high rise condominiums, apartments, and office buildings. Often, we would have to cross back and foth on Brickell Road as sidewalks were closed due to construction projects. We never saw more cranes in a city until we visited Dubai for the first time in 2007. A couple years later when we returned several of the buildings were complete, some vacant, and other construction projects were on-hold due to the financial impacts of the "great recession". Over the next few years as the economic outlook improved, vacancies turned to occupancies, construction restarted to complete buildings that were in various stages of work, and some new projects were started. Even today, there is some new construction, but far less than in years past as so many projects are complete. On our last visit in November of 2021 sailing Crystal Serenity construction was taking place on many of the Brickell sidewalks forcing pedestrians to detour. This work is now complete. Compared to 2007 there are so many more venues including restaurants, hotels, condominiums, apartments, offices, and shopping. The downtown area is vibrant day and night. Another change we have seen over the years in this area is a far greater number of motorists who yield to pedestrians crossing the street. In 2007, you crossed at your own risk. The one item that has not changed is when you walk one wants to look closely at the sidewalk. Why you ask? Well, some owners of dogs do not clean up after their dog. Enough said. LOL. One of the things we enjoy about cities is walking and taking it all in and that is what we do when we visit Miami. In our younger years, we would go to the beach, but this is something we have less interest in. Yesterday morning, we walked along a path from our hotel towards Brickell Key Island with beautiful views of Biscayne Bay We crossed the bridge over to the Island. From there we could see many of the cruise ships in port. They had nine passenger cruise ships in port which I believe is their max. For those who want to stay at the Mandarin Oriental we learned about the plans for the property. The reason that there is a detour as you walk around the island behind the hotel is the construction of a sales office for the eventual sail of residences. The plan is to construct a second tower which will have residences. Sometime in 2025 they plan to demolish the existing hotel and build a new hotel. We suppose all of this will take several years to complete. Weather was nice with moderate temperature and a little less breezy. I took advantage of the weather running over to Bayside Centre to pick up something and then walking back to the hotel. Today we return to Crystal Serenity to begin another adventure and create memories which will last a lifetime. Some photos follow. Cheers, Keith I posted this on the Bistro Thread. A few restaurants deliver meal orders this way as we've seen in another city we recently visited. IMG_3669.mov

I thought I would change things up today from my usual posts. As we've been walking around Miami a few restaurants are providing delivery services like this. We saw this in another city a few months ago. Keith IMG_3669.mov

If you look at post numberr 7 I had posted a PDF of the Crystal Society Program which will show you the current benefits as milestones are achieved. Keith

An option is to make it a back to back or even a back to back to back cruise. https://www.crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-csy-s06-240402?fbclid=IwAR0QU4ps4umabPtdYh7lkgDOxc3-Hw-9ErIvtYxcrqd8BSwTsx_ubIhuE4o Keith

Thank you so much for the kind wishes. I am glad you have had a great time. Safe travels to you and Happy Holidays. Keith

Muriel, Yes the MCI I know. We still see them when works is getting ready to be done or has done in certain cities so that contractor knows to call and have someone on site before work commences. This is where the fiber runs as part of local services MCI provided and now are provided by Verizon. Even though Version has their own extensive local services they still record these facilities as being MCI. Keith

Another view of Crystal Serenity from January of 2017. Keith

After enjoying breakfast at the hotel, we went out for another walk. After one quick stop, we headed over to Bayside Marketplace. Unlike Brickell Centre, which we visited yesterday, with its high-end stores, Bayside has many stores and restaurants oriented to the many tourists that visit Miami each year. In fact, from end of October 2022 thru end of September 2023 the port welcomed 7 million plus guests. On past visits we usually spend part of a day in South Beach but decided not to visit this week. Also, we normally go to one or two Miami Heat games during our stay, but the home schedule was limited, and we didn't want to go to a game tomorrow evening the night before we board Serenity. We would have made an exception for the Dallas Mavericks or the Boston Celtics though. LOL. Continuing with yesterday's weather patterns, it was windy for portions of the walk but still a delight to be outside and to take in everything around us. We even had a few minutes of rain. In the afternoon, I took another walk to take some photos for Roy and then I stopped by to take a photo at the JFK memorial. A little later, we both enjoyed one final walk for the day. It's been another great day in Miami. And I took two photos of another area marked with the name of my former company; MCI. Cheers, Keith

All of the posts is a reminder that the devil is in the details. Initially, some were disappointed when this promotion came out saying it wasn't fair if you already booked. As it turned out the promotion has turned out well for many people. Maybe not everyone but it is rare when a promotion works for each and every person. Keith

Roy, I took a run over there and took these photos. Keith

Roy if we go in that direction tomorrow I will take a photo. We would have been there earlier today but I just saw your post. Keith

For me it's easy. But I love to walk so not a big deal. From our hotel about 3 miles each way. From say Bayside I believe around 1.2 miles each way. Keith

I hear you. This is a complaint I've heard as long as I've sailed with Crystal. With that said, I can say the same thing about pretty much every customer service center I call such as stores, hotels, airlines, and a range of service providers. Some have complete information and on occasion some provide incorrect information. Even at hotels or on ships once in awhile information is also wrong. I realize the goal should always be 100% accurate and complete information though. Keith

Ivi, another nice walk is to walk on Brickell and go over the bridge that takes you to the man-made Island where the Mandarin Oriental is located. You can walk around the island and view Biscayne Bay and read the signage and see the port from the distance. There is a slight detour as you are towards the back of the Mandarin for about a few minutes of your walk. From there clear sailing. I can't remember if you are staying downtown or in South Beach. South Beach is always fun to walk around. In our case we have them drop us off by the Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive and walk with the beach/ocean on our right continuing on the board walk and then go as far as we want before heading back. We were discussing Miami with some people yesterday and how much we enjoy it. It's vibrant and we like the diversity of the locals and the visitors. Just fun for us to walk around. Only issue is watching the sidewalks closely as the locals are not always good about their dog droppings. Ouch. Keith