Antarctica Day 2

It is amazing how the daylight hours are getting longer. Yes, it’s called summer in Antarctica. Today, the sun rose at 4:59 AM this morning and this evening the sun will set at 10:00 PM.

This morning we woke up early so that we could view and enjoy the scenery all around us. After breakfast in the Lido Café we went to the Fitness Center to work out for about an hour. Afterwards, we changed our clothes and put on warm weather clothing including our jackets, hats and gloves. Most people did likewise, but believe it or not we saw one man out on deck wearing shorts. Did he really think that going south to Antarctica meant warmer temperatures similar to going south to Florida? Ugh!!!!

We are so very fortunate to be viewing Antarctica on such a clear and sunny day. There was no fog and the sun came out often. As one would expect the temperatures were quite cool with some wind, but the scenery has been spectacular. We have sailed to Alaska on multiple cruises, and we have sailed by the Norwegian and the Chilean Fjords but we have never seen scenery as breathtaking as what we have observed today. There are very few cruise lines with ships the size of Crystal whose itinerary includes several sea days of sailing near Antarctica. For those of you who are avid cruisers but have not had the opportunity to sail these waters we highly recommend it. The areas that we have seen over the past few days are quite unique, very pristine, and are not heavily traveled. We sailed so close to mainland Antarctica that one felt that they could touch the coastline.

The destination lecturers on board the ship frequently described the scenery all around us and we tried to view the scenery from a variety of areas on the ship. It was such an exciting day on the ship as we along with our fellow passenger’s were in awe of all of the wonderful scenery that we saw throughout the day. Words cannot adequately describe all that we have seen today.

At noon we took a break to have lunch in the main dining room. We sat at a two-person table next to the window so that we wouldn’t miss a minute of the breathtaking scenery. We each had a wonderful salad. During the afternoon we continued to view all of the breathtaking scenery from the ship. Later in the day we went to a special Antarctica presentation titled “The History of Port Lcokroy.” The presentation was given by Rick Atkinson from the Palmer Station research facility and included a slide show with wonderful pictures from this location.

This evening we dined with six other passengers’ who participate on the Cruise Critic Board. Keith had recommended that we get together for dinner one evening and we firmed up the date and time while on board this segment of the World Cruise. We all dined at Silk Road, the Japanese Specialty restaurant. We saw the headwaiter earlier this morning and asked to be seated at large round table all of us which worked out very well. It made the dinner conversation that much easier for everyone. We ordered sushi; mushroom salad and Anne Marie had a wonderful Lobster Entrée while Keith had the Cod, which was also wonderful. Following the entrée we each had a fruit plate. We also firmed up our dinner location in the main restaurant for the third segment of the World Cruise with the Maitre d’ Leo. He has been very helpful to us throughout the cruise. For the third segment we will once again have a six person table and this time it will include Sandra and Bill from Canada and Joe and Marlene from Florida. All three couples were part of this evenings get together. Leo helped us secure what appears to be a table in a quiet area of the main restaurant. He highly recommended the senior waiter and coincidentally another couple that we know mentioned how much they enjoyed that particular waiter when they spoke with us today, not knowing that the Maitre d’ had also recommended this waiter to us. The heads waiter (similar to an assistant Maitre d’) that we have had for the past two segments of the cruise is on vacation at the end of this segment. We have been very pleased with his enthusiasm and professionalism. The good news is that we are also familiar with the headwaiter at the new table location as we had him on a previous segment on board this ship in 2005.

This evening while we were eating a very large iceberg passed just a few feet from the port (left) side of the ship. We had never experienced anything like that.

Today has been very special and a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives. To see Antarctica through our own eyes was wonderful.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Antarctica Day 1

Last night we received a nice book and a map on Antarctica along with a music CD. This was in preparation for our journey to this unique continent.

Beginning today, we will have five consecutive days at sea before we arrive at the Falkland Islands. Five consecutive days is a cruisers dream as there are so many activities to take advantage of on the ship. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week we will cruise near Antarctica.

Last night we had fairly rough seas and the captain maneuvered around the rough seas by going around 50 nautical miles out of our way. We are glad that he took this course of action. Even with that the seas were fairly choppy for most of the day.

We woke up early and had breakfast in the Lido Café. At breakfast we spoke with a fellow passenger and then we went to the Fitness Center. We stayed there a fairly long time since today is a sea day. Anne Marie worked out for about an hour on the Treadmill while Keith worked out for an hour on the Elliptical Machine. Afterwards, Anne Marie did stretching exercises while Keith worked out on the weight machines.

Later in the morning, we went to a lecture given by Diplomat Tex Harris on the “Clash of Visions in the Middle East: Pre-Surge and Post-Surge.” This lecture was very well attended as just about every seat was taken. Following the lecture we went to team trivia. Our team had a good deal of success today and finished in a tie for second place.

After trivia we went to the Sunday Jazz Buffet. The buffet includes so many different types of items from roll and bread, to seafood, to various meats, to a variety of salads to tables of deserts and fruits. We each had a plate of salad with seafood and then had fruit. We sat with two other couples; one originally from the United Kingdom and another couple from Reno, Nevada. We talked about a variety of items including tonight’s Super Bowl. The English couple is pulling for the Colts and the couple of Nevada is pulling for the Bears.

We prefer the coffee in the Bistro, which serves a variety of coffee and tea so we sat in the Bistro and each had a cup of coffee before walking around the ship. Later in the afternoon we went back to the Fitness Center and each of us took a short walk on the treadmill while we caught up on the news on the individual television screens.

W then went to see the movie: March of the Penguins, at the Hollywood Theatre. For those of you who have not seen this movie it is a documentary that follows the annual journey of emperor penguins to their breeding ground in Antarctica. Morgan Freeman narrates it and we enjoyed the movie.

By the time the movie was finished it was time to get read for dinner. This evening was originally supposed to be a formal night, including a cocktail party for past Crystal Cruisers, but given that tonight is the super bowl they change the evening attire to casual. The super bowl will be shown on the stateroom television sets but will also be shown in the Galaxy Lounge at 8:00 PM our time and will include hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks. This evening’s restaurant theme remained the same and is French Night. Last evening, we asked our heat waiter, Bruno, if he would make Caesar Salad at the table for the entire table, although we do recognize that it did not originate in France.

This evening we will watch the Super Bowl although there are other alternatives on the ship from the movie Flyboys, which we hope to see another day, to a variety show including a juggling unicyclist and a cabaret act. Other activities include dancing to a live band or going to a lounge for piano music. We suspect that the majority of passenger’s will watch the super bowl.

Keith will be rooting for one of the teams but we will keep it a secret for at least now.

Keith & Anne Marie

Welcome To Ushuaia, Argentina

This is the second time we have visited Ushuaia, Argentina. Our first time was in early 2005 on-board the Seabourn Pride cruise ship.

We woke early this morning in order to have breakfast and to get ready for our early shore excursion. We arrived in Ushuaia at 8:00 AM and we met for our shore excursion at 8:15 AM. We were very fortunate to have calm seas as we traveled from Cape Horn to this port of call.

Ushuaia has a total population of approximately 40,000 residents. Since so many items must be imported, this area has a very high cost of living. The town has a great deal of natural beauty.

While still relatively small, Ushuaia is the fastest growing city in Argentina. There are several factors driving the growth including job opportunities, and the fact that Ushuaia is a duty free port. Tourism is also a major attraction.

The last time we were in this port of call we took a trek through the Natural Reserve Park. Today, our excursion involved taking a Catamaran through the Beagle Channel. It was a lovely morning. After our group met on the pier, we took about a five-minute walk until we arrived at the Catamaran. Once everyone was on- board, we set sail for the first of three major areas where we observed hundred of imperial corman (sp) birds that resembled penguins. We also saw many sea lions. We enjoyed other wonderful views of the Beagle Channel and the surrounding mountains, many of which were still covered with snow. Our tour lasted 2 ½ hours. We had very nice weather as we cruised the Beagle Channel, and the seas were relatively calm.

When we returned from the excursion, we had lunch back onboard the Serenity with Bill and Sandra who are also on the full World Cruise with us. After lunch, we went back on-shore where Anne Marie and Keith walked for about an hour. We passed by a variety of shops and restaurants. There were several other ships in port including the Celebrity Summit and a Holland America Vessel. We really enjoyed this port of call. The town is bustling with tourists and is very safe and clean.

When we returned back to the ship, Anne Marie went to the music room where she practiced on the Piano and Keith walked around the ship. This afternoon we also spoke with our son, Eric, and our daughter, Jennifer. It was so nice to talk with each one of our children and to hear their wonderful voices on the phone. We miss you both very much.

This evening we had a wonderful dinner in the main dining room. The food has just been superb!

Originally, tomorrow evening was going to be a formal night but this has been changed to a casual night because of the Super Bowl.

On our way back to the room from dinner we saw a very large yacht adjacent to our cruise ship and learned that it is Paul Allen’s (Microsoft) Yacht. It is quite impressive.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Ushuaia, Argentina

Last night continued to be quite windy until around 2:30 AM, but we are thankful that we were sailing in the inside passage as this minimized the rolling of the ship. We are very fortunate to be sailing on a ship in the 21st century and we are reminded of what it must have been like when these seas were sailed by sailors many years ago in boats significantly smaller than those of our century with no amenities to speak of and none of the technological advancements that we come to expect today.

This morning we saw wonderful fjords and other spectacular scenery. It is so beautiful sailing around the beautiful continent of South America.

This morning began as it normally does for us with breakfast in the Lido Café. Following breakfast, we worked out in the Fitness Center before we went to forward on the ship called the Palm Court so we could view the beautiful scenery.

At 10:00, we attended a lecture by Ambassador Peck who we had the pleasure of dining with on Wednesday evening with his lovely wife Ann. Ambassador Peck’s first presentation of this segment was titled “Thinking About Our World. An Effort to Provoke Thoughts, Not People – That’s What it Looks Like from Her.” His lecture reminded that there are different views in which to view the world and sometimes how we first see the world is not how it really is. This lecture sets the stage for two other lectures that the Ambassador will give during this segment of the World Cruise.

Ambassador Peck was a diplomat for 32 years. He has served as a White House Deputy Director, Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism; at the Pentagon, Liaison Officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Fellow, Institute of Higher Defense Studies; at the State Department, Deputy Coordinator, Convert Intelligence Programs, and Special Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs. He has also served as Chief of Mission in Iraq and Mauritania, Embassy officer in Sweden, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt.

We thoroughly enjoyed Ambassador Peck’s presentation and look forward to his other presentations.

We also attended trivia in the early afternoon. Our results today were not very good but as usual we had a lot of fun. Following trivia we went to lunch in the dining room with some of the couples from our trivia team and we also met another couple at lunch who we have not had the pleasure of talking with before today.

This afternoon Anne Marie saw the movie Confetti that was shown in the Hollywood Theatre while Keith helped another passenger with their photo application on their computer.

Early this evening, we sailed around Cape Horn. The first recorded landing at Cape Horn occurred in January of 1616. Over the years, there have been many successful sailings around the cape, but many others have failed. It is easy to understand the complexity of sailing around the cape when one considers that, on average, there are 200 day each year of gale winds, 130 days of cloudy skies, and during the other times of the year the winds are quite strong and the seas are quite rough. This is our second sailing around the cape in the past two years. Even without the winds, it is normally choppy because the cape marks the exact point in which the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans join.

We were fortunate to have better than average weather as we sailed around Cape Horn. We would like to commend our captain and the rest of the Crystal Serenity Crew for successfully sailing the ship around the horn.

For dinner we went with another couple to Tastes, which is another restaurant venue that serves dinner in a casual atmosphere on selected evenings by the pool area. While we have dined there a few times for lunch the last time we cruised on this ship, this is the first time we have had dinner there.

Tomorrow morning we arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina.


Keith & Anne Marie

Punta Arenas, Chile

This morning we woke up to sunny skies so it looked like a wonderful day for those who had tours booked either for Punta Arenas or for Antarctica.

We had breakfast in the Lido Café and then we worked out in the Fitness Center. Keith worked out on the Elliptical machine for over an hour and Anne Marie did likewise on the Treadmill. Towards the end of the workout the captain came on the speaker with bad news. Due to high winds the local port authority had temporarily suspended all tender activity between the ship and the shore until further notice. About 15 minutes later there was more bad news as the decision was made to cancel all of the tours for the day. We felt very bad for those passenger’s who had tours planned as they were very much looking forward to them. Our plan was to just take a tender into port and to walk around for a few hours since we were here two years ago and we had taken an outstanding tour to see the penguins. We stayed in the Fitness Center for a little while longer so we could also work out on the weight machines. We have continued to work out in the Fitness Center on a regular basis and really enjoy the exercise.

After the workout we went to the Bistro for some coffee and sat with another couple who is on the Full World Cruise. This is their 8th World Cruise, of which seven of the cruises has been with Crystal. While we were in the Bistro the Cruise Director announced that a new program would be issued and that various activities had been added to the program. One of the activities added was trivia.

We are sorry that we didn’t get a chance to walk around town, but we recognize the importance of putting safety first and we are glad that if there were any concerns that the correct decision was made to suspend the tenders and to proceed to Cape Horn.

We do want to share some background information about this port of call.

Punta Arenas was founded in 1848 and began as a busy coaling station until the building of the Panama Canal. Its current population totals 125,000 people, of which, approximately 25% of the people are descendants of Croatian immigrants. It has one of the world’s largest sheep-farming areas and its major exports include wool and mutton.

This port provides the opportunity for many site-seeing options. Some passenger’s had signed up for an excursion which was to include spending over four hours at Antarctica while others had signed up for an excursion where they were to fly over Antarctica for several hours. Hopefully, many of the passenger’s will get back to this wonderful port another time so that they can have the opportunity to participate on these types of excursions.

When they announced the revised program they added another game of trivia. Our team finished in the middle of the pack today. Following trivia, all but one couple from our team had lunch in the main dining room. We had another great lunch.

The ship left Punta Arenas in the afternoon. Before we left a supply boat pulled up next to the Serenity to drop off some supplies. The captain announced that it would be quite windy with winds gusts between 80 and 100 miles per hour. But he said that after a couple of hours that we would be cruising in an inlet so that the seas would not be too bad. With that said, this is not the day to be walking around the promenade deck.

This afternoon Anne Marie went to the cinema room to watch a movie. She saw Little Miss Sunshine and enjoyed it quite a bit. Keith walked around the ship and spent some time talking with fellow passengers.

Tomorrow we will be cruising around Cape Horn. The weather around the Horn can be very unpredictable. The weather can be very nice and within a short period of time can turn very poor. So, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.


Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Punta Arenas Day 2

Last evening the seas were quite choppy until around 2:00 AM. At that point, the waters became calm as the ship reached an inlet and began to cruise the inside passage.

After we woke up and got ready this morning we first went over to the concierge area for some assistance and then spoke with the cruise director, Gary Hunter. We really enjoy him and we first met him on a cruise on this ship in September of 2005. Keith enjoys him as Gary has an affinity for popcorn as a nighttime snack similar to Keith. With that said, while we are on the cruise Keith skips his evening popcorn snack for the duration of the cruise. We really enjoy conversing with Gary and we are glad that he will be on for the duration of the World Cruise.

We then went over to the Lido Café for our regular breakfast and spoke with a few of our fellow passenger’s. After breakfast, we went over to the Fitness Center where we worked out for longer than normal since we had some extra time before the next activity. Keith worked out on the elliptical Machine for about an hour and then worked out on some of the weight lifting machines. Anne Marie worked out the entire time on the treadmill. We continue to enjoy the fitness center and while this segment of the cruise has more passengers on board relative to the first segment, the fitness center seems less crowded.

At 11:00 AM we attended a special event known as the Royal Order of Sea Legs that was held for both the full world cruisers and those passenger’s cruising multiple segments of the world cruise. Crystal provided complimentary drinks but given the hour of the day we only had a non-alcoholic drink for ourselves. Three teams were formed and comprised of some passenger’s who had previously volunteered to been a team and the rest of the passenger’s enjoyed the team competition. Each team also had an officer representing their team including one team, which had the captain. When the game began a question was asked and the teams would have to figure out the answer to the question and as soon as they did each officer would have to eat two crackers and the first officer who made it up to the microphone and could make a whistling noise and then rang a bell could provide the answer to the question. If the answer was correct the team would be awarded a point and then another question would be asked until the competition ended. It was a fun event and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Those in the audience also tried to answer the questions amongst themselves. There was a whole range of questions from how many feet are in a nautical mile to how many lifeboats are on the ship. Members from each team won prizes and several other passenger’s won prizes as raffle tickets were drawn and each winner received a gift. We’re sorry to say that we didn’t win a gift.

Some good news for this Sunday as the plan is still to televise the Super Bowl on one of the channels for the ship. Arrangements have been made to receive the satellite broadcast via one of two satellite methods. Factors such as precise ship location and weather could affect the broadcast but the crew is hopeful that all will be fine with the telecast. We hope that we will be able to receive the telecast but the time here is hours later than eastern standard time so it might be a late night for us.

Following today’s event, we had trivia. Our team didn’t do as well today and finished towards the middle of the pack. There is always next time. After trivia most of those on our team, including ourselves, had lunch in the main dining room. We both had a wonderful seafood salad.

In the afternoon we relaxed rather than going to any organized activities. Keith read his book and walked around the ship and Anne Marie wrote in her journal and watched a movie and also practiced on the piano for her class.

In the evening we had dinner in the Silk Road Asian Specialty Restaurant with Ambassador Edward Peck and his wife Ann. We had a wonderful conversation with them and of course enjoyed the dining at Silk Road. We will dine with them again right before they depart the ship at the end of this segment. We had met this in the fall of 2005 when Ambassador Peck gave some lectures on our Mediterranean Cruise on board the Crystal Serenity and had spoken with them numerous times throughout the cruise. When we learned that they would be on this segment of the world cruise we made arrangements to meet them for dinner this evening. The ambassador will be giving several lectures during the course of the cruise and we will tell you more about his background along with the topics that he presents in a few days.

By around 8:00 this evening the seas became much milder as we moved back to the inside passage. We all hope for good weather tomorrow and look forward to Punta Arenas.

Keith & Anne Marie

En Route To Punta Arenas Day 1

Today we began the first of two sea days as we cruise to Punta Arenas, Chile. In the morning, the Serenity sailed in inside passage so that we had beautiful scenery al around us. The outside temperature was quite nice with nice clouds descending on the hilltops giving the illusion of snowcaps. What breathtaking views all around us. While we love Alaska, we find sailing around South America to be even more breathtaking with far fewer cruise ships and more pristine views of the coastline.

Chile’s coastline from North to South is 2,700 miles, almost the same distance of the United States between Los Angeles and New York City. Given the length of the country, its characteristics and climate vary to a large extent from lush land to the desert. It is a beautiful country as is other countries in South America such as Argentina.

We started off this wonderful day by having breakfast in the Lido Café. We had a very nice conversation with a fellow world cruiser who we have come to know quite well since the voyage began. Following breakfast we went to the Fitness Center for our morning workout and then caught up on other items.

Anne Marie took some time to write in her journal, which she has been doing her best to keep up to date since our journey began and Keith worked on some other related items. We also took the time to view first hand the beauty of the coastline. Keith also had his first haircut on the ship this morning.

So many activities are offered today including many lectures. This included a lectures given by Dr. Bernard Stonehouse on Antarctica, along with a lecture given by Geologist Geoff Renner on Antarctica: “A Continent for Science, Education and Exploration”. We attended both lectures and each presenter shared so much wonderful information with us.

Since today was a sea day we had trivia at 12:00 Noon. Our team finished in forth place today. There were some difficult questions. Do you know when the internet was launched?

For lunch, as they do on each cruise segment, there was an Asia Café Luncheon Buffet around the Neptune Pool. We passed on the buffet, and ate in the Crystal Dining Room with several members from our trivia team. We prefer the table service in the dining room.

After lunch, Anne Marie took her second class on the Piano and is enjoying the experience. Keith enjoyed the surrounding scenery and continued to read his book. He also met up with one of the couples on the cruise from Cruise Critic. Afterwards, we went to the Bistro, which is a venue that is unique on cruise lines offering morning and afternoon breakfast, lunch and snacks along with various types of coffees and teas. We sat with a very nice couple that we met the other day who is doing two segments of the World Cruise.

We had a very nice dinner this evening in the Crystal Dining Room. We dined with one of the couples at our table, as the other couple assigned to our table ate in Silk Road. Tomorrow evening that couple will be in the restaurant by themselves since as it turns out we will be in one of the specialty restaurants and the other couple also has reservations in one of the specialty restaurants. We always let the senior waiter know of our plans so that they set the table accordingly. So, for example, this evening they set the table for the four of us and tomorrow evening they will set the table for two people.

Following dinner, we attended a cocktail party hosted by the travel consortium, Signature Travel Network, which our cruise specialist is affiliated with. Coincidentally, the travel agent for the other couple who ate with us this evening is also affiliated with Signature so they also attended the cocktail party. These parties provide a nice opportunity to meet other people traveling on the cruise either for one segment or multiple segments. There are pretty much three large consortiums. The most well known of the three consortiums is Virtuoso, and the other two include Signature Travel Network and Ensemble. Each of these consortiums provide their clients with some benefits ranging from complimentary cocktail parties from time to time and shipboard credits and either some type complimentary shore excursion or in our case some shipboard credits that we can utilize for shore excursions. At the same time there are many travel agents/cruise specialists who are not associated with these consortiums and provide other benefits for their clients.

As we sail around the beautiful continent of South America we feel so very fortunate to have the opportunity to sail on this World Cruise adventure. Everything about this voyage continues to exceed our expectations.

Keith & Anne Marie