DAY 95 - CRUISING THE EAST CHINA SEA

Enjoyed Returning Home (Back To The Ship)  ✔  r Enjoyed Dinner Last Evening At The Crystal Dining Room ✔  


A few additional photos from our visit to Beijing.

 This is the partial vehicle that we were driven in.  There were four rows of two seats for a total of eight seats plus to seats in the front for the driver and tour guide.  With only the four of us it had a lot of room.

In downtown Beijing just like cities around the world you have we saw people of differing economic situations.

Thanks for the nice comments about our Blog and the Photos from our recent visit to Beijing.


We were asked about the general consensus on the three day/two night land program.


As background we did mainly a private tour with friends Bob and Glo, while also utilizing a portion of the Crystal Cruises Land Program and one other Group Program.  For us this worked perfectly.


The vast majority of our fellow guests did the Crystal Land Program and every (and we mean every) person we spoke with was impressed about the program and had an outstanding time. The general consensus is that it worked like clockwork and that everything was perfectly well organized.  Buses could hold 60 people and they were filled with no more than 30 people and  that is way the entire program worked.


We also wanted to note how well people did during the visit.  On our walk of the Great Wall people did what they could do.  Keith went further than most but each person who was with us did a minimum portion of the wall which would give them a fantastic perspective of the wall and of the scenery all around them.  On one of the tours we did hear of one man falling down and breaking his arm.  This could have happened to anyone and certainly could happen anywhere including falling at home.  The person was well taken care of for the remaining part of the land program.


Barb had asked if they still give out large coins in a padded Oriental box that said "I climbed the Great Wall.".  Barb, as best we know that is no longer the case although it's possible this is done at one of the areas but we had not heard about it.


We also wanted to mention that each member of the Crystal Crew had the option of taking an all day tour which included the Great Wall.  They ran the tours on different days and each member of the crew had one day off so they could take the tour or just do something on their own.  They were taken to another area of the Great Wall and lunch was also provided for them at the Wall.  We only heard very positive things from those who took the crew tour and that included very positive comments from our waiter, senior waiter and headwaiter.


While the crew had additional time off during the program there was still much to be done on the ship.  For example housekeeping was able to get certain things done inside and outside the rooms with so many people off the ship.  At the same time, approximately 75 guests remained on the ship the entire time and in total there were about 125 non crew members on the ship and that included enrichment and other personnel.  Some activities were still offered and dining was adjusted accordingly.


As guests returned back to the ship in the afternoon they were greeted by the Crystal Crew at the entranceway.  At the same time as they arrived to their cabins the stewardesses were all out on the floor in their customary evening stewardess attire and welcomed each guest "home".  It was all very touching.


It was nice to return to the ship after three days and two nights in Beijing.


We had a wonderful time in Beijing and for Keith it was great to return to this city that he first visited eighteen (18) years ago and it was wonderful for Anne Marie to visit Beijing for the very first time.  We will remember our visit to The Great Wall for the rest of our lives.  It was extraordinary and it is truly one of the "Wonders Of The World".

With our last stop in China now behind us we wanted to note a few observations.

There is so much to see in China from historic sites including Temples and The Great Wall and Forbidden City, just to name a few, to the sites that are much more modern.  In short, China has both the old and the new for visitors to see.

While we read and hear about the growth that is taking place in China it is hard to fathom what it all means until you see it first hand.  The growth is almost imaginable.  While the leadership of China focuses in on the near term they are highly strategic and clearly have the long term in mind.  They are making investments and attempting to secure key resources to meet their future needs and that includes a range of items from minerals to water.

Labor is still relatively cheap in China.  While many people have moved to the cities the majority still live outside the large cities.  The low cost for labor allows them to build roads, large buildings, and other key endeavors including the infrastructure they put in place for the 2008 Olympics in record time.  It was also evident in the Hotel where we stayed as well as the stores we visited where the level of personnel was unprecedented when compared to other countries we have visited around the world including our own country.

A major challenge for China is pollution.  We saw this first hand and also read about it in one of the Chinese newspapers.  Their people and the world will pay a big price if this is not addressed sooner rather than later.

The challenge for countries in North America and in Europe are the implications of having given up manufacturing to China and what it means both in the near term and the longer term.  Personally, we believe that manufacturing is crucial for our very own country as it is and can be a major economic driver and goes hand in hand with a highly educated workforce. 

We greatly enjoyed our visit to China and would like to return sometime in the future.

We had dinner in the Crystal Dining Room last evening.  It was wonderful to be back at our table after having been away for several days, including the time we were in Beijing.


We each had three courses.  We began our meal with salads and for our entree we had a Pizza.  Yes, that's correct; pizza.  We had prearranged with our Headwaiter Augusto to have pizza.  Anne Marie had a cheese pizza and Keith had a cheese pizza with mushrooms.  It was delicious, and after a couple of days of Chinese food it was great to have pizza.

For our third and final course Anne Marie had the non-fat Cappuccino Yogurt and Keith had blueberries and strawberries.


We slept very well last evening between the gentle rocking of the ship and also needing some extra sleep.  We did have to set the clocks forward one hour as we are sailing into a new time zone as we make our way to South Korea.


Keith was up at his usual hour and back in the Fitness Center for the first time in a few days.  He enjoyed a great workout.  He was joined in the center by Brian about midway through their workout and they talked about their time in Beijing.  Afterwards, he had coffee in the Lido Cafe where he was welcomed home by many of the Lido Deck Stewards, including Nat, Clark, Glenn and Alvin.


Anne Marie also worked out in the morning.  Afterwards, we had breakfast in our room as we watched the Daily Morning Show hosted by Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Elise Ivy.  Elise and Rick were not sure how many people were watching the show given the change in time and everyone catching up on sleep from the land program so they gave a prize out to the first person who called in and Keith got the prize.


Rick and Elise as Rick is making a point.

During Captain Glenn's morning talk from the bridge he shared his thought of the day which goes as follows:


"The biggest room in everyone's house should be the heart."


During the morning, there were two lectures. Ken Rees covered South Korea and spoke about some of the major issues and challenges it faces.  Later in the morning, special interest lecturer, Dr Robert Freedman, spoke about the Middle East and this included a discussion about the background of Turkey's changing policies as well as other areas including the Arab/Israeli Conflict and the Sunni-Shia Schism and the challenges posed by Iran. This was a lot to cover in only 45 minutes.


Keith also took the Spin (indoor cycling) Class.  Maria and Joe Kita (Maria and Joe teach Yoga and Joe teaches Memoir Writing) were able to attend the class since only one other guest attended and that guest got there half way through the class.  There was even one cycle for the instructor.  Evidently, participation was low this morning as many guests slept in to try to catch up on their rest between the time zone change and the Beijing overland trip.

We each had a nice salad entree for lunch.  


This afternoon was  a good day to also just relax.  Anne Marie had a fun time doing her needlepoint and Keith read, wrote and also got together with friend Bob.


Anne Marie also worked out in the Fitness Center for an hour.  It was too cold for Keith to play Paddle Tennis with highs in the 30's (Fahrenheit).


Before dinner, we plan to attend a 5:00 PM Production Show.


After the show we we will dining in the Crystal Dining Room and also attend a cocktail reception.


We will post more about that tomorrow.


TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....


“When you are in Love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams." – Dr Seuss


Keith and Anne Marie