A photo of the inside of a church not to far from the pier.
We wanted to answer a couple of questions that we were asked in recent posts.
The answer to the question from Trivia about what is the first item that Heinz sold is Horseradish.
The voyage we are on right now from Miami to Los Angeles is not part of the World Cruise. The World Cruise will begin in Los Angeles.
Just to recap yesterday afternoon. Anne Marie enjoyed another wonderful walk on the promenade deck and then she sat out on the verandah later in the afternoon. Keith played a good deal of paddle tennis with several guests for a couple of hours. There was a paddle tennis tournament in the early afternoon that brought out many more guests so it was good to see more people playing.
Before dinner we attended the second classical concert of the cruise performed by Pianist Philip Wojciechowsky. As mentioned, we first heard him perform on the Crystal Serenity on the 2010 World Cruise. This is his second time with Crystal and he will also be back later this month. He will also be on three sailings this summer. He is an outstanding pianist and we thoroughly enjoyed his concert. He is a very gifted individual. We also enjoy the fact that he is very thoughtful and there is no ego. We got there about twenty minutes early to get a seat in the first row because it is amazing to watch him up close. The staff also had a couple of wide screens so guests sitting further back could get wonderful views of him playing the piano. Again, he is one if not the best pianist we have ever seen in a live concert.
Afterwards, we walked around the ship and spoke with several fellow passengers and many members of the crew.
We dined at Prego for the second time in two nights. Jaque Brown who is the Crystal Society Hostess invited us to dinner along with friends Bob and Glo and their granddaughter Becky for a Crystal Society Dinner. Since we dine at early seating, and Bob, Glo and Becky dine at late seating we had dinner last night at 7:00 PM, which was a good time for all of us. Jamie Brown the on board Sales consultant also joined us for dinner. We had just a wonderful time. We had an excellent conversation throughout the dinner. The food was just outstanding. We had the seafood special of the evening, which is a King Fish that is similar to Mahi Mahi, but in our opinion was even tastier. We also enjoyed a special salad that is not on the menu but they make for us and it is called by our last name. As usual, service was just outstanding and it was another very memorable meal. For those of you familiar with members of the crew that work there we spoke with Specialty Restaurant Maitre d’ Bruno Marques and the Head Waiter Enzo who always add to our overall dining experience. A few years ago, Bruno, was our Head Waiter in the Main Dining Room and he really knows the types of seafood and other related items that we enjoy and over the years has made excellent suggestions for items for us to try. Dinner with friends at such a wonderful dining venue was an end to another magical day on the Crystal Serenity.
We slept very well last evening as we have since we boarded the ship in Miami other than Anne Marie waking up for a very short time.
Captain Glenn had said that we would have windy conditions as we sail towards Hualtuco. To minimize the impact for all of this he took a route that was close to the coastline. During Captain Glenn’s morning talk from the bridge he noted that at one point the wind was 65 knots which is equivalent to a category storm. Anne Marie heard the wind at about 2:00 AM and put her ear plugs in and Keith did not hear anything.
Once again, Keith woke early and began his day with another wonderful workout on the Elliptical Machine. As he has done throughout the cruise he worked out for ninety minutes while he watched some television. A fellow passenger who we met for the first time arrived to the Center about thirty minutes before his workout and then Keith saw his wife walking up to the center as Keith was making his way down one flight of steps to the Lido Café.
On his way back to the room he stopped by the Lido Café to bring back some coffee to the room. Anne Marie took an hour-long walk on the Promenade Deck.
We enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room. Keith had some of the coffee that Alexander picked up for him in Colombia and it was excellent coffee.
We arrived at Hualtuco, Mexico on schedule. This port of call was a late addition to our November cruises as it replaced Acapulco but since two other ships were in port that day the plan was to tender passengers between the port and the ship but due to rough seas the tender service could not safely run. Since this port was on the schedule for this voyage from the get-go we had space secured at the port. This area looks like a very special island that one would see on a post card with its very attractive and lush landscape.
Hualtuco has a city population of only 25,000 inhabitants. Tourists enjoy Hualtuco for its beautiful bays and it beautiful beaches and its jungle terrain. On top of this there are the many villages, which make up the resort area of Santa Cruz, which is where tourists from the various passenger cruise ships, arrive. Here you can also browse around and find many leather and silver goods.
About a mile from Santa Cruz is La Crucecita, which is very new and looks like an old Spanish colonial village. Tourists enjoy taking a nice stroll around this area and visit shops, dine at restaurants and enjoy a drink at a local bar.
This area also boasts several major resort complexes where tourists come to stay.
We made arrangements to meet friend Glo at 9:30 AM to walk around together as Bob and Beck were booked on a shore excursion. We spent a wonderful morning in town with Glo.
We were very fortunate to be the only cruise ship at this port so it was not crowded in port. The locals were very friendly and we felt very comfortable walking around the area. The weather was quite nice in the morning with temperatures in the high 60’s. In the afternoon, it was much warmer and humid but it was a lovely day.
Once back on the ship, Anne Marie and Keith enjoyed another fabulous lunch in the Lido Café and each had a nice salad entrée.
Keith saw the wonderful pianist after lunch and told him how much Anne Marie and he enjoyed him. Later today he and a couple of other entertainers were leaving the ship while at the same time some new entertainers were joining the ship for the remainder of the voyage until we arrive at Los Angeles.
In the afternoon, I was able to play Paddle Tennis and Anne Marie was able to get in another nice long walk on the Promenade Deck. I played when many passengers were either off the ship or at lunch so I played with the crew and today was a good day for me on the court.
We look forward to another nice evening on the Crystal Serenity.
There is a sail away party with complimentary margaritas. After being away from the Main Dining Room for three consecutive nights, this evening we will, once again, be back at our special table. After dinner we will attend Crystal’s newest production show which on this ship that we have not seen before called Across The Pond. As we understand it includes many British hits from the British Music Invasion including The Beatles which to this day is still Keith’s favorite musical group.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……..
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned this meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” Muhammed Ali.
Keith and Anne Marie
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