THE JOURNEY NEVER ENDS - DAY 94

We thought we would began our final entry with "Today's Thought For The Day".

"Our journey never ends, as there are more places to visit, more adventures to enjoy, and more memories to make which will last a lifetime."  - Keith and Anne Marie

We hope that you have enjoyed our Blog.  When we posted our first entry we highlighted some of the things you will read and see on the blog, along with those items that you will not read on the blog. 

This is the recap of what we said and we hope that we have done just that (or as close as possible) with our daily entries and updates.

Some of the things you will read and see on the blog:

1.  Lots of photos of food, fellow cruisers, crew members, ourselves, shipboard events, along with buildings, statues, scenery, people and an array of other items whether at sea or on land.

2.  Narratives of our experiences at sea including some repetition of those items that we enjoy, including those daily morning workouts.

3. Background information on ports of call, including some statistics related to population and local economy.

4.  Our thoughts and observations from those glorious days at sea, as well as those wonderful visits to each port of call.

5.  Some typos and grammatical errors because there is just not enough time in the day to reread what we have written or smooth out any rough edges prior to posting each and every entry.  

Some of the things you will not read nor see on the blog:

1.  Gossip or criticism of others.

2.  Emphasis on those few things that might go wrong.

As many of you know, we tend to take the glass is half-full approach which carries over to cruising and travel.   We do this because in the scheme of things we realize that life is relatively short, and we get pleasure by focusing on all of the wonderful events and items that we experience each and everyday on our journey. We realize that we may experience just a few hiccups, but keep in mind these are relatively few and minor.  We also talk about making memories that will last a lifetime, and we would like to remember all of the positive experiences from our adventures and not dwell on the few items that didn't go our way.  We consider ourselves very fortunate (lucky too) to be able to take these journeys.  

To illustrate this point, a few months ago Anne Marie faced some health issues that we dealt with collectively.  This served as yet another reminder that we are far better off by focusing on all of the good that we experience each and every day and it reenforced what truly is important in our day-to-day lives.

3.  Making fun or trashing if you will any of the ports of call we visit.  Sure, we have favorite ports, but in the end we know that most places will have their own identity as they do in our very own country and we know there is beauty to be found in almost each and every place around the world.  Sometimes, you just have to look a little closer but it likely is right in front of your nose if you care to take the time to find it.  While some areas might not be our favorites, we can usually learn something from each and every place we visit.  We do our best to be balanced in our observations of all ports of call. We also remind ourselves that this is part of discovery.  If one doesn't want to see and experience places that are different from their own home towns, travel might not be for them. 

This has been an absolutely amazing journey starting with our six night pre-cruise stay in Miami before the January 4 Round Trip Miami Cruise, and then continuing with the 2013 World Cruise.

The World Cruise included so many memorable events both on and off the ship.  Highlights of the on-board special events included:

On Board World Cruise Gala

Bon Voyage Balloon Drop

Expedition Inca which was one of two on board shows and dinners.

Equator Crossings.  We crossed the Equator multiple times.

Super Bowl Party

Shoreside Events in Valparaiso at a winery in the beautiful Casablanca Valley and in Buenos Aires with a celebration of the Tango

World Cruise Games

Valentine's Day Mixer

Chile Not Really show

Academy Awards Viewing

Down South America Way when we toured the Senior Officers Quarters

The Carnival Games including Keith getting a bullseye and Cruise Director Gary Hunter getting drenched with water

St. Patrick's Day Party

Back of the House Tour where we visited the crew decks and got a big behind the scenes look at several areas of the ship

Amazon on Fire which was the second of the two on-board shows and dinners

Serenity Pops

World Cruise Video Screening

Farewell Balloon Drop

At the same time we enjoyed so many special moments from the places we sailed.

Some of the highlights included:

Transiting The Panama Canal

Panama City

Cartagena

Lima

Valparaiso

Buenos Aires

Rio

Cruising The Amazon River and visiting so many ports in Brazil other then Rio which we had never visited before

What made this even more enjoyable is sharing all of these events and experiences with so many good friends and the wonderful members of the Crystal Cruises Crew.

This World Cruise and R/T Miami Cruise was not only wonderful but exceeded our overall expectations.  We have created memories that will last a lifetime.

We hope that you have enjoyed our Blog.

Until next time.

These are some additional photos from our journey.

Keith and Anne Marie

WELCOME TO MIAMI, FLORIDA - DAY 93

A Look At What Is Happening Today:

Final Breakfast ✔  Last Minute Goodbye's ✔  Travel Back Home ✔

We enjoyed our last evening on the ship last night.

Before dinner, we attended the showing of the World Cruise Video.  The video is prepared throughout the World Cruise.  From the very start of the World Cruise Pianist John Mentis takes hours and hours of video on and off the ship.  In Buenos Aires, Jeff Walters came on board and he not only took video along with John, but he also went through all of the video taken by John Mentis to produce the World Cruise Video.  This entire process takes countless hours.  This video was shown to all of us so that we could relive the great moments of World Cruise 2013 and even included highlights from the Crystal Serenity Pops Concert.  When we arrived back to our room after dinner last evening a copy of the DVD had been placed on our coffee table so that we could take it home with us.  It was very moving.

At the end of the showing of the video, Cruise Director Gary Hunter said some words and then he introduced World Cruise Hostess Elise.

Elise gave Gary a Puppet she had purchased for him in one of a ports.  Gary performed for a minute with the puppet in hand.

At the end of the video many members of the crew came up to the stage.

The singers sang one final song for us.  Also singing was the seamstress of the ship and one of the stewardesses.

The Ensemble Singers and Dancers also Sang.

At the Conclusion of the Video Showing, Anne Marie with Cruise Director Gary and World Cruise Hostess Elise.

We enjoyed our last dinner of this extraordinary World Cruise Adventure in the Crystal Dining Room.  

Our Sommelier Jiri had decanted some wine for us.  Anne Marie had Chardonnay but tried some of this Malbec Wine as she had enjoyed this a couple of weeks ago.

Sommelier Jiri Showing Anne Marie the Chardonnay That He Know She Has Enjoyed From-Time-To-Time.

Anne Marie with our Senior Waiter Jijo.

We spoke with Maitre d' Leo, Head Waiter Augusto, Senior Waiter, Jijo, Waiter Christoph and Sommelier Jiri and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the best service and cuisine on the high seas.

For an appetizer Keith had Tuna Tartare again and Anne Marie had a scallops appetizer.

We each had salads.  Anne Marie had the Heart of Romaine Salad and Keith had his standing order Salad

We each had the Broiled Fresh Atlantic Salmon Fillet for our entree and Keith had a Baked Potato and we both shared a large bowl of Steamed Vegetables.

For dessert Keith had the Sugar-Free Pistachio Budino and Anne Marie had a Sugar-Free Ice Cream Sundae.

As you will recall, the World Cruise began the first evening with a Word Cruise Kickoff and Balloon drop.  It was fitting that the World Cruise closed with a World Cruise Farewell Party including a Final Balloon Drop.

A Toast before the Balloon Drop.  From L-R Hotel Director Josef, Captain Okland, Cruise Director Gary and World Cruise Hostess Elise.

After counting from Ten to One the Music Played and the Balloons Dropped While Confetti Also Came Down.

As you might expect there was a lot of hugging yesterday, starting with the video and ending with the balloon and confetti drop.  This included both crew and our fellow guests.  Like most people, we don't say good bye but rather until next time.

When we arrived back to the room, we put the final items in the last suitcase and then placed all of the large bags outside the room.  Later in the evening, they were picked up by crew members to be placed in the holding area until the ship arrived to Miami.  At that time, the suitcases were taken off the ship and placed in  an area of the Cruise Ship Terminal for us to pick up today.

We also received the final photos that were taken of us by the Photo Studio and three thumb drives with an electronic version of each and every photo.
We slept very well last evening as we sailed to our final port of call of this cruise; Miami.


We awoke early and we did not exercise for the very first time since boarding the ship on January 4.  Keith did go up to the Lido Cafe for some coffee.

He spoke individually with Lido Deck Stewards Ross, Martin and Rozzano and thanked them each for all of their assistance throughout this marvelous journey.

Keith also brought some coffee back to the room for Anne Marie.  We got ready for breakfast and enjoyed our final breakfast in the room.  

When we spoke with Rao we said it seemed like just yesterday that we had our final breakfast in our room from World Cruise 2012.  Time does go by quickly and at times much too fast.

We then packed our final items, and made sure everything was in order to vacate our room.  We then proceeded to the Hollywood Theatre to wait until it was time for us to be escorted off the ship.  We were in the first group to leave the ship.

As we left the ship Josef, the Hotel Director, was that the exit of the ship which would lead to the gangway and we thanked Josef for all he did to make this an outstanding World Cruise.  We also saw Melanie the Concierge as we left and Johan the Chief Concierge at the exit of the terminal.  We found our luggage and a porter helped us and in a couple of minutes we were through customs and out the door where we turned in our luggage for shipment.

We were then met by the Crystal representative who directed us to our vehicle.  It turned out to be a very large limousine which took us to Miami International Airport.

As Cruise Director, Gary Hunter, mentioned at the conclusion of the Pops concert and at the conclusion of the World Cruise Video showing, once we were on the airplane it was a reminder of what it is like once you are no longer on the Crystal Serenity where you are taken care of very well.  Laughing Out Loud (LOL)

Until next time......

We will post final comments in a few days.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY............

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

Keith and Anne Marie