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