Las Palmas to Miami

[Ibis]

Arrived on Wednesday in Las Palmas and looking forward to boarding Serenity on Monday. A side note.. the Aquarium here is amazing and definitely worth a visit. We were totally surprised with the size and quality of this very unusual facility.

[May B]

Bon voyage!

[TRIPACIAN]

We will be joining you on Monday 

[May B]

11 hours ago, TRIPACIAN said:

We will be joining you on Monday 

Bon voyage!

 

I think you’ll have the Schuetts in the bridge room.

 

I hope they’ll still be on from San Diego to Vancouver on June 24th.

[History&Wine]

@TRIPACIAN.  @Ibis

 

Welcome aboard!  

[TRIPACIAN]

2 hours ago, History&Wine said:

@TRIPACIAN.  @Ibis

 

Welcome aboard!  

Thanks, we woke up with the Serenity out our window.  Looks great!

[TRIPACIAN]

On 5/25/2024 at 8:37 PM, May B said:

Bon voyage!

 

I think you’ll have the Schuetts in the bridge room.

 

I hope they’ll still be on from San Diego to Vancouver on June 24th.

The Schuetts are on board!

[Ibis]

Thanks for the welcome on board! All is well thus far; warm greetings from everyone, good lunch in The Marketplace (Waterside closed..:no Cobb salad), 2 of 3 bags already in the room🤗. We are very happy campers! Is there a Cruise Critic get together planned?

[Keith1010]

Have a great time. Bon Voyage.

Keith

[seasack]

For those who are interested I could post the Reflections and Dinner menu’s for this last segment of the to Miami ending of the 2024 World Cruise. 
 

May 27 - Reflections and dinner menu.

C41C8307-A306-44D2-A857-51B53D46E8AA.pdf EA6FDBA1-B0A1-4DB9-AAA0-0CBD12D72920.pdf

[Helene1111]

Seasack,

thank you so much for posting the waterside dinner menu and Reflections. It’s been months since anyone posted these . If possible can you please post as often as possible on your voyage to Miami. Thanks again - greatly appreciated! Enjoy your trip!

[Texas Tillie]

Just noticed on Reflections that the Bistro is open again from 8:30 to 10:30 PM. Has this been going on for recent segments of the World Cruise and does anyone know if they plan to continue it after the World Cruise?

 

Patty

[RoselleU]

Thank you for posting Reflections. I have also missed them. Really hoping the Bistro will continue to be open in September when we board the ship. We love ending our evening in the Bistro.

[seasack]

May 28 - Reflections and dinner menu. 
 

24D06C0E-3822-4DAD-B4AB-7B24CF15076C.pdf 343DDADE-71A4-4661-8F7A-5AB12D4B9919.pdf

[Ibis]

Will try to ask someone if these Bistro hours are planned to continue.😊

[RoselleU]

Thank you

[skybluewaters]

Looks as though there will be a Q & A with several members of senior management, including CEO Cristina Levis, at 4:00PM today.  Might be a good opportunity to get some questions answered.  I'd be particularly interested in what the expected timeline is for the promised ocean vessels (and why they seem to be less prioritized than future expedition vessels).

[TER777]

2 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

Looks as though there will be a Q & A with several members of senior management, including CEO Cristina Levis, at 4:00PM today.  Might be a good opportunity to get some questions answered.  I'd be particularly interested in what the expected timeline is for the promised ocean vessels (and why they seem to be less prioritized than future expedition vessels).

I hope someone will post a summary for those of us not there. 

[seasack]

May 29 - Reflections and dinner menu. 

FD93F6A7-9266-4C81-B78D-04334CA8AAE6.pdf 55166AAA-6BF3-480D-B07A-0F721CEAA9B4.pdf

[Ibis]

Super day yesterday on board! Very impressed with the question and answer with Christina Levis, Jacqueline Barney, Bernie Leopoldo and Manfredi D’Ovidio. Overall, the session was well handled and covered a myriad of subjects. As for a schedule for new ships, there is to be an announcement in June but the indication was 650 passengers, all balcony rooms and a promenade (3/4) round not 360. Also great emphasis on the financial stability of A&K and Crystal going forward as the current low passenger count question was raised. There was appreciation expressed by cruisers for the offer from Crystal for future cruise credits for those who had money down at the time of Gentings demise. Menu changes such as availability at any time of some previous Prego dishes in Waterside. Also some further improvements to be announced for the Osteria; and they will be following Italian cuisine; not American Italian. Appreciation expressed by many cruisers for the return of Crystal, thanks to Manfredi’s desire to return to the cruise industry. In a nutshell, we were both very impressed with all who spoke, very encouraged with the future of Crystal as these are people who are financially solid, very knowledgeable and capable and in for the long haul. I missed a bit at the beginning and also last comments so hopefully others will report as well. As for the rest of the day, it only got better and better. Gala in the Cove with world class opera and accompanying music while cocktails and beautiful appetizers were served, followed by the World Cruise Farewell Dinner. Waterside never looked so beautiful with large white flower arrangements on every table, super service and a great menu. It was greatly appreciated that obvious care had been taken to include all of us  in this final World Cruise extravaganza and not just World Cruisers. We were pleased to have the opportunity to speak with Christina Levis as she circulated and mixed from table to table. Later in the Avenue she and Jacqueline were enjoying themselves with the rest of us as Neil did a great job, as usual.  At the end of the day, we felt that those of us who have loved Crystal for many years are very fortunate to now have this team at the helm. 
 

There is more to be said, but the day is slipping away. We are also looking forward to dinner tonight in the Osteria, as we are among those who think it is a truly wonderful Italian restaurant! All is well here🤗

[goldengatecruisers]

Thank you very much for your reporting from the Q&A session.  A 3/4 promenade!  I will take it and be grateful 🤩

[BWIVince]

16 minutes ago, goldengatecruisers said:

Thank you very much for your reporting from the Q&A session.  A 3/4 promenade!  I will take it and be grateful 🤩

 

I think that's where my mind landed, too. 😆  I really wish it was wrap-around, but all things considered I'd still count this as a win.

 

Thanks for sharing all of that @Ibis!

 

Vince

Edited May 29 by BWIVince

[goldengatecruisers]

I wonder if anything was mentioned about images or artist renderings of the new ship design (both ocean and expedition).   Having a public announcement in June is something we can all look forward to but it would be a great move to include renderings.  Another good comment was the all-balcony accommodations, let's hope the standard suites are more comparable in size to what we are seeing in the ultra-luxury sector.  By chance, did they mention the anticipated size of the entry level accommodations?

[Noggins]

2 hours ago, goldengatecruisers said:

Another good comment was the all-balcony accommodations

There will be a lot of loyal Crystal-lites who will be going 😬 or 🤦‍♂️ or 🤷‍♂️ as they see themselves potentially priced out. Of course, it is inevitable - you can't be in this sector and still have 'ocean view' rooms on a brand new ship. But it will be a shame if we lose too many true Crystal folks simply because their budget can't stretch.

(I like to think of myself as a problem solver but I'm strugging here other than some wild thoughts around the need to cruise as soon as the new casinos get up and running...)

[goldengatecruisers]

Noggins, you bring up a good point and I hadn't thought of it that way.  I was focused more on the new ship design competing with other luxury lines who offer all-balcony options. Hopefully the entry level price point will still be attractive to our friends who enjoy the ocean view category and of course, the solo category.