Enjoyed A Fabulous Pre-Dinner Cocktail Cruise Of The Sydney Harbour with Friends Bob and Glo ✔ Had A Wonderful Dinner At Prego Last Evening With Bob and Glo ✔ Enjoyed Thoroughly Enjoyed Sydney, Australia ✔
G'day from Down Under
Several of you posted comments to our Blog and we thank each of you for the very nice and thoughtful comments.
Kevin had asked if we have climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have not done the climb but on each of our visits, including, today we have walked across the Bridge.
We overnighted in Sydney last night. We want to mention that we love overnights such as this one. By overnighting it provides more time for us to visit places such as Sydney without the pressure of having to worry about getting back to the ship on the first night for fear that the ship will sail without us.
On top of our enjoyment of overnights in port, it is equally wonderful for the crew as they will go out later at night to get a break from the ship. While from time to time when we are in port just for the day they will have time off, often it just doesn't provide enough time for them off the ship. The overnight opens up many options for them.
We wanted to mention that yesterday afternoon and last evening we saw several from the crew on land.
The other item we wanted to mention is the location of the ship. Their are two piers for Sydney and we are docked at the best of the two which is the Circular Quay Terminal. It is the best because of its location and proximity to the downtown area and to various attractions including the Botanical Gardens and the Opera House. Yesterday, there was another cruise ship docked at the more remote of the two piers plus one Cruise Ship that was anchored.
We were asked how many guests are now on board the ship. There are approximately 650 guests on board this leg of the World Cruise which is about 100 more guests than the previous leg. When we get into Asia the ship will be close to full occupancy on legs three and four of the World Cruise and then there will be a sharp decrease in guests on the final leg of the World Cruise. Since about half the guests on the first leg of this voyage are taking the full World Cruise and since several other guests are sailing on more than one leg, relatively few guests disembarked the ship in Sydney.
As we mentioned, we went back out after lunch yesterday afternoon and walked for a couple of hours. The good news is that there was no rain in the afternoon or in the evening and the clouds provided a reprieve from the temperature getting too hot making it far easier to walk around.
These are some photos from yesterday afternoon.
We walked all around the Royal Botanic Garden
Look who posed for Keith
We caught a glimpse of the Crystal Serenity from another side of the Harbour
Late yesterday afternoon, we met Bob and Glo at the Crystal Cove and then we went ashore to take a cocktail cruise with Captain Cook Cruises. When we visited Sydney last year we picked up some brochures including the one for this cruise and decided this would be something nice to do this time around. The cruise was 90 minutes in length and it was done very well. We were seated at our own table and we enjoyed cocktails/wine and some light snacks as we cruised all around the Sydney Harbour. We went outside from time to time to take some photos and we had a beautiful view from our table. During our cruise we saw many apartments, condominiums, and houses that are built all along the Harbour giving those who live there beautiful views of the Harbour. Sydney truly has one of the most beautiful Harbours in the world.
It was not crowded at all on the ship and it was very well organized. The weather was also fine. What made this evening so special was sharing it with friends Bob and Glo. We love their outlook on life and truly treasure our friendship with them.
Another view of the beautiful Crystal Serenity from our Harbour Cruise.
The Celebrity Century was anchored in the Harbour. We sailed on the Century with our children the first year it came out in the 1990's.
We had a World Cruise shore side event at this amusement park area in 2008.
The beautiful Sydney Opera House with two ferries passing nearby
One of many ferries that sails the Harbour. The ferries are not only used by tourists but are used by locals to get to and from the city for work or during other times of the day and week.
A view of the Sydney Skyline
Afterwards, we returned to the ship. While we dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with Bob and Glo last evening, we wanted to post the dinner menus from the Crystal Dining Room. The menu featured a Bon Voyage theme. We wanted to mention that rather than having early and late seating that there was open seating from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This recognized that some guests will be having dinner on shore and/or will be spending more time on shore so the open seating would provide a good deal of flexibility to everyone.
G'day from Down Under
Several of you posted comments to our Blog and we thank each of you for the very nice and thoughtful comments.
Kevin had asked if we have climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have not done the climb but on each of our visits, including, today we have walked across the Bridge.
We overnighted in Sydney last night. We want to mention that we love overnights such as this one. By overnighting it provides more time for us to visit places such as Sydney without the pressure of having to worry about getting back to the ship on the first night for fear that the ship will sail without us.
On top of our enjoyment of overnights in port, it is equally wonderful for the crew as they will go out later at night to get a break from the ship. While from time to time when we are in port just for the day they will have time off, often it just doesn't provide enough time for them off the ship. The overnight opens up many options for them.
We wanted to mention that yesterday afternoon and last evening we saw several from the crew on land.
The other item we wanted to mention is the location of the ship. Their are two piers for Sydney and we are docked at the best of the two which is the Circular Quay Terminal. It is the best because of its location and proximity to the downtown area and to various attractions including the Botanical Gardens and the Opera House. Yesterday, there was another cruise ship docked at the more remote of the two piers plus one Cruise Ship that was anchored.
We were asked how many guests are now on board the ship. There are approximately 650 guests on board this leg of the World Cruise which is about 100 more guests than the previous leg. When we get into Asia the ship will be close to full occupancy on legs three and four of the World Cruise and then there will be a sharp decrease in guests on the final leg of the World Cruise. Since about half the guests on the first leg of this voyage are taking the full World Cruise and since several other guests are sailing on more than one leg, relatively few guests disembarked the ship in Sydney.
These are some photos from yesterday afternoon.
Look who posed for Keith
We caught a glimpse of the Crystal Serenity from another side of the Harbour
Late yesterday afternoon, we met Bob and Glo at the Crystal Cove and then we went ashore to take a cocktail cruise with Captain Cook Cruises. When we visited Sydney last year we picked up some brochures including the one for this cruise and decided this would be something nice to do this time around. The cruise was 90 minutes in length and it was done very well. We were seated at our own table and we enjoyed cocktails/wine and some light snacks as we cruised all around the Sydney Harbour. We went outside from time to time to take some photos and we had a beautiful view from our table. During our cruise we saw many apartments, condominiums, and houses that are built all along the Harbour giving those who live there beautiful views of the Harbour. Sydney truly has one of the most beautiful Harbours in the world.
It was not crowded at all on the ship and it was very well organized. The weather was also fine. What made this evening so special was sharing it with friends Bob and Glo. We love their outlook on life and truly treasure our friendship with them.
Another view of the beautiful Crystal Serenity from our Harbour Cruise.
The Celebrity Century was anchored in the Harbour. We sailed on the Century with our children the first year it came out in the 1990's.
We had a World Cruise shore side event at this amusement park area in 2008.
The beautiful Sydney Opera House with two ferries passing nearby
One of many ferries that sails the Harbour. The ferries are not only used by tourists but are used by locals to get to and from the city for work or during other times of the day and week.
A view of the Sydney Skyline
Afterwards, we returned to the ship. While we dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with Bob and Glo last evening, we wanted to post the dinner menus from the Crystal Dining Room. The menu featured a Bon Voyage theme. We wanted to mention that rather than having early and late seating that there was open seating from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This recognized that some guests will be having dinner on shore and/or will be spending more time on shore so the open seating would provide a good deal of flexibility to everyone.
We had a very nice time with Bob and Glo at Prego as we always do.
We each had a salad to begin the meal. Keith had his standing order salad and Anne Marie had a Caesar Salad.
We had the additional fish entree which featured Tasmanian Black Bass in a wonderfully tasting cream sauce. This was another A+++++ entree.
Bob selected a wonderful red wine which paired excellently with the meal. It is an Italian Cabernet that was very flavorful.
Recently, they added a new dessert to the menu which is a Limoncello like Souffle. For those ordering the dessert you are asked to place the order at the time that you order your entree. We shared one dessert.
We slept well last evening while we were docked in Sydney, Australia. We could not hear and any noise from the city. Keith woke up early to get in his workout at the Fitness Center.
Anne Marie didn't workout since we walked so much in Sydney today.
Keith stopped by the Lido Cafe for some coffee and there is a new Lido Deck Steward team at the Cafe. There are three major teams that rotate every couple of cruises between the Lido Cafe, the Trident Grills and Tastes and the outdoor Swimming Pool Area. Several familiar people are on the team.
We had breakfast in our room an hour earlier than we usually do so we could take advantage of our time in Sydney.
After going ashore we headed directly for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and we walked over the bridge. This is our third time walking the bridge. After crossing the bridge we walked around for a little while and enjoyed the spectacular views of Sydney. Sydney is one of our most favorite cities in the entire world. It is a clean, picturesque, and easy to get around on foot or by a variety of means of transportation including by monorail, bus, taxi, and ferry. There are lots of places to see all around the city from historical buildings to the arts.
On our return after walking back across the bridge we headed towards an areas known as the Rocks which has hotels, restaurants, shops and other establishments. It is a tourist type of area but has lots of charm and character.
During our walk we ran into friends John and Linda who are spending a few days in Sydney and then flying to Maui for a couple of weeks vacation over there. We also ran into some other fellow guests in other areas such as Dwight.
We were very fortunate to have started our walk at 7:45 AM since it began to drizzle a few hours later.
There is a nice path to take when you walk the bridge. We were out there early and there were many locals walking to work as well as other people jogging. On the other side of the bridge there is a path for bicyclists.
While walking the bridge we had some beautiful views including a nice view of the Crystal Serenity.
After crossing the bridge we walked around for awhile in a residential area.
We walked over to Sydney's Luna Park where we attended a World Cruise Shore Side event in 2008. F
While we were walking around we spotted another cruise ship pulling into the other pier.
Another view of the bridge.
A view of the Crystal Serenity from the other side of the bridge.
There she is.
We didn't do the bridge climb but we stopped by the place where you can sign up for this climb. They also have a store there and we purchased a bear (keep this a secret) for Grand Baby Andre.
We passed a number of bakeries/cafes during our walk.
We did stop off at the cafe with that fabulous coffee and we each had a decaffeinated cappuccino coffee.
This is Jelena from the Shore Excursion Group. Jelena was just promoted to this position starting with this leg of the World Cruise. She had previously worked serving drinks in the various lounges around the ship. She is very friendly and we think she will do an outstanding job in her new position.
We had lunch back on the ship. To save time, we had lunch in our room. The other day we had posted that the Discovery Channel is on board the ship and coincidentally they filmed the butler delivering our lunch along with us. Not sure whether or not this will make the final cut but it was a lot of fun to participate.
After lunch we went back out before returning to the ship later in the afternoon. We were very fortunate with the weather. Only twice did it drizzle and not for very long and the cloud cover provided some nice moderate temperature for us so it was not too hot.
Keith met up with Bob in the afternoon and Anne Marie took care of some other items.
Before dinner this evening we will go to the Muster Station drill for the lifeboats. This drill is mandatory for not only those guests who just boarded the ship yesterday but for all other guests. Since we last did the drill on the first voyage back in December we think it is great that we all have to attend the drill again. As they say, practice makes perfect and safety is the number one priority of the crew.
This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room and after dinner we will be attending a Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle Party.
G'day.......
We each had a salad to begin the meal. Keith had his standing order salad and Anne Marie had a Caesar Salad.
We had the additional fish entree which featured Tasmanian Black Bass in a wonderfully tasting cream sauce. This was another A+++++ entree.
Bob selected a wonderful red wine which paired excellently with the meal. It is an Italian Cabernet that was very flavorful.
Recently, they added a new dessert to the menu which is a Limoncello like Souffle. For those ordering the dessert you are asked to place the order at the time that you order your entree. We shared one dessert.
We slept well last evening while we were docked in Sydney, Australia. We could not hear and any noise from the city. Keith woke up early to get in his workout at the Fitness Center.
Anne Marie didn't workout since we walked so much in Sydney today.
Keith stopped by the Lido Cafe for some coffee and there is a new Lido Deck Steward team at the Cafe. There are three major teams that rotate every couple of cruises between the Lido Cafe, the Trident Grills and Tastes and the outdoor Swimming Pool Area. Several familiar people are on the team.
We had breakfast in our room an hour earlier than we usually do so we could take advantage of our time in Sydney.
After going ashore we headed directly for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and we walked over the bridge. This is our third time walking the bridge. After crossing the bridge we walked around for a little while and enjoyed the spectacular views of Sydney. Sydney is one of our most favorite cities in the entire world. It is a clean, picturesque, and easy to get around on foot or by a variety of means of transportation including by monorail, bus, taxi, and ferry. There are lots of places to see all around the city from historical buildings to the arts.
On our return after walking back across the bridge we headed towards an areas known as the Rocks which has hotels, restaurants, shops and other establishments. It is a tourist type of area but has lots of charm and character.
During our walk we ran into friends John and Linda who are spending a few days in Sydney and then flying to Maui for a couple of weeks vacation over there. We also ran into some other fellow guests in other areas such as Dwight.
We were very fortunate to have started our walk at 7:45 AM since it began to drizzle a few hours later.
There is a nice path to take when you walk the bridge. We were out there early and there were many locals walking to work as well as other people jogging. On the other side of the bridge there is a path for bicyclists.
While walking the bridge we had some beautiful views including a nice view of the Crystal Serenity.
After crossing the bridge we walked around for awhile in a residential area.
We walked over to Sydney's Luna Park where we attended a World Cruise Shore Side event in 2008. F
While we were walking around we spotted another cruise ship pulling into the other pier.
Another view of the bridge.
A view of the Crystal Serenity from the other side of the bridge.
There she is.
We didn't do the bridge climb but we stopped by the place where you can sign up for this climb. They also have a store there and we purchased a bear (keep this a secret) for Grand Baby Andre.
We passed a number of bakeries/cafes during our walk.
We did stop off at the cafe with that fabulous coffee and we each had a decaffeinated cappuccino coffee.
This is Jelena from the Shore Excursion Group. Jelena was just promoted to this position starting with this leg of the World Cruise. She had previously worked serving drinks in the various lounges around the ship. She is very friendly and we think she will do an outstanding job in her new position.
We had lunch back on the ship. To save time, we had lunch in our room. The other day we had posted that the Discovery Channel is on board the ship and coincidentally they filmed the butler delivering our lunch along with us. Not sure whether or not this will make the final cut but it was a lot of fun to participate.
After lunch we went back out before returning to the ship later in the afternoon. We were very fortunate with the weather. Only twice did it drizzle and not for very long and the cloud cover provided some nice moderate temperature for us so it was not too hot.
Keith met up with Bob in the afternoon and Anne Marie took care of some other items.
Before dinner this evening we will go to the Muster Station drill for the lifeboats. This drill is mandatory for not only those guests who just boarded the ship yesterday but for all other guests. Since we last did the drill on the first voyage back in December we think it is great that we all have to attend the drill again. As they say, practice makes perfect and safety is the number one priority of the crew.
This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room and after dinner we will be attending a Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle Party.
G'day.......
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY........
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
- Groucho Marx
Keith and Anne Marie
My wife and I have done the Bridge Climb. The view from the top is worth the effort and it is not difficult providing you are in reasonable physical condition. I do not recommend it if you suffer from vertigo or in bad weather.
ReplyDeleteI noticed on the starboard web cam a lot of construction alongside the pier between the ship and the art gallery. Hard to see what it is, a block of apartments or building of some kind. Did u hear what this was? Pretty sure it was an empty lot last year when I was there. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteYour photos of Sydney are spectacular!!!! I feel like I am there again.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Paula
Loving reading this Keith and Ann Marie. Looks like you have had more than your share of driizzle. Oh well more chance to use your world cruise jackets. Question of the day:
ReplyDeleteDoes Crystal still give gifts each leg to full world cruisers?
thanks for writing,
Ilene
Oh my goodness - this is by far the best blog entry, at least for us. As you know I was back and forth to Sydney with work for many years. I have great memories there, along with great friendships. Seeing all the photos was a trip down memory lane and made me 'homesick' for this amazing city. I can't believe you even have a photo of my favorite bakery in the rocks - Cafe Patisserie. I go there all the time and eat their delicous creations. They make the best sausage rolls and coming from England where we have the best sausage rolls, thats saying something! Your outing with Bob and Glo sounded really nice. Please be sure and tell them we send our best. We have enjoyed the blog since we left you both three weeks ago and will continue to do so. This next leg promises to be really interesting and we only wish we were with you.
ReplyDeleteJelena is the girlfriend of our Senior Waiter, Petar. She is so lovely and joined the ship to be with him as they were dating back home for some years. We think she is perfectly suited to Shore Excursions. Please can you tell her congratulations from us - I think she will know who we are but you can remind her we were with Petar for 30 days over the holidays. Such lovely news to learn that someone we liked got promoted within. Thanks for sharing the photo and the news with us all.
ReplyDelete