Down the U.S. East coast on the Crystal Serenity

Last night Crystal Cruises premiered a new production show, “My Life: The Music of Billy Joel”

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – Last night the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers premiered a new production, “My Life: The Music of Billy Joel,” to a full house. From the standing ovations given, I would say it was a smash hit. Headliner James Fox, who played the piano and sang as Joel, nailed his role. He was great, the eight singers and dancers were great, the two back-up singers (who are usually the lead vocalists) added …

Read moreLast night Crystal Cruises premiered a new production show, “My Life: The Music of Billy Joel”

Crystal’s passengers are loyal and sailings fill up fast

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – Crystal Cruises only operates two luxury ships but it certainly does know how to fill them up. Crystal passengers are extremely loyal and return time after time. So far on this cruise, I have only met one person who is on their first Crystal cruise. At the Crystal Society cocktail party last night, several passengers were honored for reaching significant milestones. Dr. and Mrs. Nancy Kaplan were on their 60th and 61st …

Read moreCrystal’s passengers are loyal and sailings fill up fast

Fine cuisine is a very important part of the Crystal Cruises experience

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – No question about it, food … rather, make that “cuisine” … is a very important part of the Crystal Cruises experience and a major reason that people choose this cruise line and usually become loyal passengers. During my earlier Crystal Cruises, dating back 15 and 20 years, there really were only two options: The main dining room and the Lido. However, even then Crystal was known for fine dining. They have only …

Read moreFine cuisine is a very important part of the Crystal Cruises experience

It’s hard to make choices among all of the activities offering on Crystal Serenity — and all are included!

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – We have now had at least three days at sea on this trip and I am only beginning to fully comprehend the wide range of activities offered on this ship. Free of charge, mind you. Now, Crystal does know the demographic of its passengers: 50+, and even leaning to an older group on this repositioning itinerary. The activities reflect that. So far we have been in cold climes and so, with the …

Read moreIt’s hard to make choices among all of the activities offering on Crystal Serenity — and all are included!

New York City: An emotional visit to Ground Zero

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – Yesterday morning we arrived in New York City and our plan for the day consisted of only one activity: To visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum which opened earlier this year in Lower Manhattan at “Ground Zero,” where the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed 13 years ago after a terrorist attack. While the ship did offer several shore tours that included this, we decided to plan our …

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Dealing with unexpected bad weather during cruise aboard the Crystal Serenity

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – The past two days on this cruise have been a good example of dealing with what comes. In this case: Bad weather. On Sunday we were in Boston and the weather was even worse than in Bar Harbor. Rain, sleet, snow and driving winds. However, the passengers who went on bus tours reported having good experiences anyway. We had planned to spend part of the day in the Boston Commons park with …

Read moreDealing with unexpected bad weather during cruise aboard the Crystal Serenity

Aboard the Crystal Serenity to begin a repositioning cruise down the coast of the United States

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ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY – Yesterday we boarded our ship in Halifax. It was a lovely, sunny day but of course we were eager to explore our home for the next two weeks so I don’t think we totally appreciated the weather. Because today, in Bar Harbor, Maine, the weather was terrible – gray, rainy, windy and cold. Most people were that visited the cute little town were scrambling to find warmer hats and gloves, including us. …

Read moreAboard the Crystal Serenity to begin a repositioning cruise down the coast of the United States

Traveling to Halifax, Nova Scotia to board the Crystal Serenity for a cruise along the eastern coast of the United States

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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – I am very fond of small cities. They have a certain charm, a degree of friendliness, not found in their larger counterparts. Cities like Dublin, Charleston and San Juan come to mind. Halifax certainly fits that description. It is compact, walkable, easy to get around and everyone is helpful. We flew into Halifax on Wednesday in advance of boarding our cruise on the Crystal Serenity today. We added an extra day to our …

Read moreTraveling to Halifax, Nova Scotia to board the Crystal Serenity for a cruise along the eastern coast of the United States

A rather unique itinerary: Down the U.S. East coast on the Crystal Serenity

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Today I am madly packing for our upcoming cruise on the Crystal Serenity which begins Friday. We are traveling for 19 days on the ship, all the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the north, to Aruba in the Caribbean and ending in Miami, Florida. This unique repositioning itinerary poses some real packing challenges: Half the time we will be in quite chilly even cold weather, and half the time we will be in hot weather. Which …

Read moreA rather unique itinerary: Down the U.S. East coast on the Crystal Serenity