Keith1010

Absolutely. I just noticed that auto correct changed one of my words from Vintage to Vinegar. Mama Mia. LOL. The wine was Metaphora Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley 2013. Keith

Thank you so much for providing the additional details. For my friends they viewed this as N&D. That was their opinion. They had become used to not seeing these types of items on their account. Would I have said that they did? We will never know. But to them this is how they saw it. I do have another friend who sailed them with his family a couple of times (like many aspects) and said the same thing. We all see things differently and as I always say in the end there is only one opinion that matters and that is our very own. Keith

So back to my observations of the first inaugural cruise of "Crystal Serenity" not any other line. This evening we enjoyed a very special wine at Waterside. The Sommelier decanted the wine ahead of time and is trained to know how early to decant the wine. He gave a throughout description of the wine and of the vinegar. The Head Sommelier came by with additional information. For me, travel is discover and tonights experience was how I think of Crystal. Keith

Probably because very very very few people have cruise on Ritz at the moment.

Chairs are enhanced. Do not understand what you mean about rearranged. Yes. There is a Crystal rep on each tour.

First I never said Crystal is inclusive. I just stated what our friends said about Oceania. Those are the words they said. You get one visit inclusive for two of the specialty restaurants (some get more depending on accommodation, cruise (full world cruise) and if they have sailed 50 or more cruises plus no charge for Supper Club and no up charge for Tastes. Nothing on any cruise line is free. In the end you pay. And specialty restaurants across all lines are not created equally.

Yesterday we enjoyed a great Afternoon and evening on Serenity. I played paddle tennis for several hours and Anne Marie took a long walk on the Promenade Deck. It was hot, hot, hot on the court and I came back as if he took a shower. We enjoyed a quiet dinner in our room with a special guest. Last night featured entertainment started with vocalist Bruce Hammond at 9:00 PM in the Palm Court. The venue was perfect for him as he was accompanied by Stephen Roberts on Piano. This performance also allows guests dining early who don’t want to stay up for a very late show to consider going for the 9:00 PM show. At 9:45 PM in the Galaxy Lounge the very talented entertainment team performed Icons In Concert. The seas were very calm this morning. We felt like we were sailing in a lake and have experienced this on occasion when at sea. We both had our hair done in the new salon. The salon and spa are exquisite and contemporary. Service terrific with a great staff. Very friendly and professional. Loved the music and some of the songs on their playlist I would use to teach indoor cycling classes at home when he used to teach fitness classes. Another attribute that is so very Crystal is teamwork and that is evident at all times including on the Paddle Tennis courts this morning. The team was drying the court and also adding netting above on the side near the pool and they will do likewise in the coming days in the area where we sit waiting to play. It takes a team and Team Crystal is amazing. I ended up playing Paddle Tennis with friends for about 2 hours and Anne Marie walked on the Promenade Deck. We have been to Malaga several times starting on World Cruise 2007. We arrived ahead of the 12:00 Noon scheduled arrival time. I ended up not taking the shuttle and walking to the city center. It was humid and I thought maybe I should have taken the shuttle. Anne Marie walked the shady side of the Promenade Deck. Malaga is located in Southern Spain and has a population of 600,000. It is the sixth largest city of Spain. Highlights include: Museo Picasso Malaga a museum which opened in 2003 and has 285 works donated by the Picasso family. Gibralfaro; the castle was built in 929 CE by And-al-Rahman III. Alcazaba Fortress which was build by the Hammundid dynasty in the early 11th century. Catedral de la Encarnacion which is a Roman Catholic Church built in Renaissance Architecture. It was constructed over a long period between 1528 and 1782. Centro de Ar More tomorrow. Cheers

New lounge chairs on the back of the guest decks. More enhancements coming. Keith

I know there have been questions about in-transit tours and just wanted to share that for those of us who are continuing on this current voyage to the next one that we received a letter from the shore excursion team last evening that an in-transit Lisbon City Tour will be offered. I am unsure if this will be done in most places or not but just wanted to note they are doing this in Lisbon with an in-transit tour. In addition, they will offer a complimentary shuttle bus from the parking lot of the port to nearby Vasco de Gama shopping mall. All the times we have been in-transit in Lisbon they didn't offer this. It could be because they note that the city centre is under heavy traffic congestion which I wanted to mention for those of you who are arriving and boarding in Lisbon. Keith

I just asked. When the Breakfast cards with the new Crystal logo arrive they will be used or you can use the iPad when that is available. So two choices. Keith

We have met most of the Butlers and are very impressed with those who are new to the team including those promoted and who came in from the outside. I was very pleased to see that Dennis who used to take care of room service after hours for Decks 10 and 11 has been promoted to Butler. Dennis is from the Philippines and this is the first time someone from the Philippines has become a butler on Crystal. So happy to see this happen and so very well deserved as I was to see how other areas such as Waterside (formally The Crystal Dining Room) evolved over the years. I believe on our first few cruises there were no female Senior Waiters and I remember on the 2007 World Cruise having a female Senior Waiter and she might have been the only one in that role as others were waiters Having butler service throughout the ship (and yes I know of another line that has this) is really good IMHO and I have had butlers on other ships (including the other luxury lines that has this) and also on Premium lines and even one time on a Mass Market line when they had butlers for one year and really appreciate the butlers with Crystal. I know some say they won't use the butler but if you do decide to eat in your room for whatever reason it will be the butler who serves the meal and if you care to have a soft drink, wine, beer or spirits or a piece of fruit it will be the Butler who takes care of this for you and not the room attendant. Keith

Consistency. We have now dined at all of the dining venues where dinner is served at night with the exception of The Vintage Room (stay tuned) and Supper Club although that is food from Waterside. A one word description is consistency about the food served. All meals have been delicious and even in Waterside they have created new items. In short, the food is presented very well, it arrives warm and tastes delicious. I realize this is subjective but years ago I might not have used the word consistency. Keith

They didn't elaborate. I am not sure if this changed but a friend of mine who sailed Oceania with family a few years ago said you had to purchase special coins at the front desk to use the self service washers/dryers. If this hasn't changed that would be an example. Do you pay for pressing on board? They stay in a suite here where pressing is included. Keith

Serenity in Cartagena Spain. Keith

I would just like to remind people that there are only 108 staterooms on Serenity and this includes Deck 7 so take that out of the equation and you have far less staterooms with veranda and that is why they don't have an all out single supplement as before. They added close to 130 suites and on Serenity they were all Sapphire except for six junior CPs. Like all thing I am sure they will continue to evaluate all of this but I am thinking the preference is to fill rooms with two people rather than one to realize more revenue and longer term profit and I do know better to have one person in a room than none. I do think though they will just see how things sort out after several months and then determine if adjustments are needed. For what it is worth there are other categories selling very well and while they are not all sold out on many voyages CP's and Junior CP's are sold out or close to it. This is all still very new. Keith

I haven't seen any tags on the doors so my guess is no but I could be wrong. If I am right, just let your butler know. If it is a standing order tell them that but if not just let them know what you want and the date/time. My guess is this will be a feature on the iPads. Keith

And so it is. Neighbors came back from Oceania who used to like it and told us food quality had been cut back (their opinion). Friends on board the ship right now booked two voyages on Oceania and while on the first of the two contacted their TA asking if she could get them on the first two cruises of Serenity so they left Oceania after first sailing, losing money on the second one, spent five days on land in Europe waiting for Serenity to arrive. They said they could't take the nickel and diming (their words not mine) on Oceania. In the end, I really don't think anyone has to justify their choices and the only opinion that matters is their own. Just want to say what one thinks is value another person might see it totally the opposite. Keith

Ray, the breakfasts and lunches at Marketplace are the way you remember it. Great quality and lots to choose from. Breakfast features the same items daily whereas for lunch a good portion of the items change daily. Keith

Memory is great. Used to be two shows when there were many more rooms on the ship. Also worked well with fixed dining. Keith

Yes.

Yesterday afternoon after we posted we had a great time on Serenity. I ended up playing three hours of Paddle Tennis with many people he very much enjoys playing with. Anne Marie walked and enjoyed the ship.Before dinner we enjoyed some canapés and wine in our suite. Each afternoon the butlers offer a selection of canapés which changes day-to-day to those in the suites. This is the first time we had this since boarding. Including a photo so you can see it. We dined at Tastes for the first time of this cruise with a friend and her daughter We had a great time.Aa most of you know, Tastes has an array of tapas representing different regions of the world. We ordered tapas while our friend and daughter ordered tapas for themselves so we could share ours and they could share what they ordered.The menu is subdivided reflecting what they consider to be appetizers on the left side of the menu and the right side includes items they consider to be entrees. For example, salad on the left side of the menu and steak on the right side. The menu is now two-sided and on a card stock versus paper which was rolled up.Typically people share three-to-four appetizers and four-to-six of the entrees.Last evening's entertainment included a comedy performance by comedian Martin Beaumont in the Galaxy Lounge and a 10:30 pm performance of Sweet Soul Music in the Stardust Lounge.This morning Serenity arrived to Cartagena, Spain. We’ve been to Cartagena several times but that was in Colombia. LOL. We believe this is our first time to Cartagena, Spain.The city has a rich history of Roman ruins. Originally, we had a private tour featuring the ruins but we decided to cancel the tour.I went off to explore the local area while Anne Marie visited the salon and was pampered with a manicure/pedicure.I walked for quite a while with a map from Shore Excursions in hand. The part of the city I saw features beautiful architecture on the facades of its buildings and blends new with old. Everywhere I went they were cleaning the street. Many streets have separate pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes. People were friendly.Cheers

Dwight they are on the ship. Right now Paddle Tennis. Sone who mainly play Pickle are playing Paddle Keith

I have now spoken with someone in a solo room. What's not to like? The only issue is the smaller closet but otherwise they are very well appointed and you have the same room as a double room. If you are in one on a World Cruise ask about bringing in a rolling rack which I know people have done in the past. Maybe you could even ask about this for other cruises. Keith

They are fine tuning the start times of the shows and trying to see if they can have something at 9:00 AM in addition to other shows later for those dining early. Maybe even slightly earlier. The goal is to have consistent times which will help all of us when booking specialty restaurant reservations. Keith

With each passing day the internet is getting better. As some of you know performance of the internet is a pet peeve of mine and when it is bad I have discussed it on CC. The past couple of days the performance has been the best we have experienced with Crystal and for us the best we have experienced on any cruise line. I can even view the videos that Dwight posted on a separate thread. Keith