DAY 7 - WELCOME TO CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA

Happy Chanukah from the Crystal Serenity.





We thought we would begin with a few more photos from our transit of the Panama Canal.  We were fortunate to have had nice weather with a high of about 82 degrees fahrenheit.  For those of you who might not know this, each time a ship goes through the canal they must pay in cash.  No checks nor credit cards are accepted.

Last evening we had dinner in the Main Dining Room with former USA Ambassador to Morocco, Marc Ginsberg.  Ambassador Ginsberg is also a subject matter expert on Middle East affairs.  He was raised in Israel and the Arab World after moving there from the USA at a relatively young age.   He actually speaks fluent Hebrew and Arabic.  His extensive career included being a foreign policy legislative assistant to the late Senator Edward Kennedy, White House Liaison for Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Deputy Senior Advisor on Middle east Policy for President Carter, and he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as USA Ambassador to Morocco.  Often, he appears on many of the Cable News Television Networks.

A very nice aspect to our cruises with Crystal is the wide range of enrichment lecturers that give talks on the cruises and also having the opportunity to get to speak with them outside these lectures.  It really provides the opportunity to learn much more about them but also to ask a wide range of questions to learn about many items of interest to us.

We not only enjoyed our conversation with the Ambassador Ginsberg, but we also learned a great deal from him about an array of items and issues on both past and current issues.  We also learned that we went to the same university as we did (he graduated four years before us) and that we had the same major.  He will be on for the last leg of the World Cruise and we plan to have dinner with the Ambassador and his wife.

We also enjoyed the meal and the service of the Crystal Dining Room.  We each enjoyed a salad and we each ordered the Broiled Fillet of Arctic Cod Loin for our entree.  It was a very tasty fish. The fish was quite moist and the potato crust enhanced its overall taste.  It  was accompanied with sweet corn, & roasted pepper ragout along with a Pommery Mustard Sauce.  We went with the wine recommendation from our sommelier, Pierre.  Keith had tasted some of it the other evening and it really paired nicely with the meal.  Keith had a bowl of berries for dessert and Anne Marie had the low fat cappuccino yogurt.

This is the menu from last evenings dinner.

We slept well as we have so far throughout our voyage.  We've mentioned that the gentle rocking of the ship does make it easy to sleep and we find the mattress to be very comfortable as well.

Before arriving at Cartagena, Colombia we each did our morning workouts and then enjoyed breakfast back in the room.

Keith also did a load of laundry.  Rather than let the laundry build up we try to do it with frequency and the major reason is to wash our workout clothes just to keep things smelling fresh as you can imagine.
For those of you who have not sailed with Crystal Cruises or on the Serenity we took a couple of photos of the Laundry Room.  There is a laundry room on each passenger deck.

On this deck, there are five washing machines and the five dryers are stacked on top of the washing machines.

There are two irons and not pictured is the sink and a television set.  Laundry detergent is provided and comes directly from the machine and fabric softeners are provided.  For a long voyage as this one we actually bring our own laundry detergent just because Anne Marie prefers  this and it makes sense given how long we are on the ship.

While Keith was doing the laundry he went back and forth between the laundry room and the Lido Cafe for coffee.  He spoke for awhile with one of the Lido Deck Stewards Benjamin.  Benjamin has been with Crystal Cruises for many years and a few years ago while we were on the Serenity he was recognized as employee of the year for the Serenity.

There was one other passenger (someone who looked mid twenties) who was asking Keith about Cartagena.  He wanted a recommendation on doing something adventurous.  He said his friends recommended to him to use caution but he doesn't mind pushing the envelope.  Keith tactfully told him that his friends were right and by using caution not only here but in his other travels hopefully this would allow him to travel for many years to come and see all those places on his bucket list.  Hopefully, he will take the advice of Keith and his friends.

One of the new features in all of the passengers rooms on the ship is the electronic do not disturb/makeup the room indicator.  On most cruise ships and in most hotels guest leave a tag on the door that indicates whether they do not want to be disturbed or if they want their room to be cleaned.  This new feature allows the guest to do this electronically making it easier for them to do this and also not having to constantly move the tag from the door handle to the wall where when the ship is rocking it would sometimes fall to the floor.  We think this is a terrific feature.

This photo shows the electronic panel inside the room.  This includes a panel to indicate a request to not be disturbed or to have the room cleaned.  Right below this is a panel for the lighting.  Before the lighting panel was installed there were several light switches and as often as we stayed in this room over the years we never could remember which switch operated which light.  With this panel we can easily adjust the levels of the lights.  There is also a  panel above each end table at the bed to easily allow for the adjustment of the lights in the room.

This is the panel outside of the room which indicates to the staff who take care of the room whether or not someone wants to be disturbed and whether or not they want their room to be cleaned.  There is also an electronic door bell which is nicer than having to knock on the door.

We arrived to Cartagena, Colombia at around 6:30 AM about ninety minutes earlier than our planned 8:00 AM arrival.  Since we have been to Cartagena twice in the past fourteen months we did not take a tour nor did we go into town.  The major attraction is a visit to the old city. We will also return here on the next voyage and have signed up to do an excursion where we will do some volunteer work.

Instead, we walked from the ship over to the terminal where there a couple of stores and a very nice outdoor garden that always has a variety of birds and other animals to view.  Today was no exception.

Ah.  To be young and in love.

These four birds were playing with this dish the entire time we were there.

We walked along a path and look who we spotted.

Anne Marie Posing With The Beautiful Crystal Serenity

The crew is always working to keep the ship in tip-top and spotless shape.

Anchors Aweigh.

Once back on the ship we read, wrote and also took care of some items.

We had lunch in the Lido Cafe where we, once again, enjoyed nice salad entrees.  Afterwards, Keith played Paddle Tennis.

Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck and also sat by the pool.   Keith also took a late afternoon Spin (indoor cycling class), his first of this class and was excited to be back on an indoor cycle.

This evening we will be back in the Crystal Main Dining Room for dinner and will post more about that tomorrow along with the rest of our evening.

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


“Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.” - Julie Andrews


Keith and Anne Marie