Page updated
06/03/2008
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Page updated
06/03/2008
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Monday,
january 5th – depart los angeles, CA - 6:00 PM tuesday,
january 6th – san diego, ca – 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM wednesday,
january 7th – cruising the pacific ocean thursday,
january 8th – cruising the pacific ocean friday,
january 9th – puerto vallarta, Mexico – 8:00 AM – 6:00 pm saturday,
january 10th – manzanillo, mexico – 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM sunday,
january 11th – cruising the pacific ocean monday,
january 12th – acapulco, mexico – 7:00 am – midnight tuesday,
january 13th – zihuatanejo, mexico – 8:00 AM – 6:00 pm wednesday,
january 14th – cruising the pacific ocean thursday,
january 15th – mazatlÁn, mexico – 8:00 AM – 5:00 pm friday,
january 16th – cabo san lucas, mexico – 8:00 AM – 6:00 pm saturday,
january 17th – cruising the pacific ocean sunday,
january 18th – san diego, california – noon – 6:00 PM monday, january 19th – arrive Los angeles, california – disembark
introduction The only purpose of this trip, for us, is to experience the new Crystal Serenity. Since we missed the inaugural in July, we wanted to catch up with the latest addition to Crystal's fleet. We do not intend to go ashore in any of the ports, so the main thrust will be comparing this ship to her older sisters. Perhaps it is because of media coverage that the City of
Angels is often known more for its troubles than its treasures. But for a
metropolitan area serving more than 15 million vastly multi-ethnic people, one
has to wonder how problems could possibly be avoided. Known to most people as LA
(elay), it has not always been a sprawling metropolis. When Spanish
explorers first visited in the 16th century, there were only a few small native
settlements on the shores of what is now Los Angeles. There were no crowds waiting to board and plenty of chairs for those who had already arrived. Embarkation was scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM, so we had about an hour to wait. At check-in, we were given color-coded boarding cards. When embarkation began, they called each color in order of arrival. The process could have been speeded up a bit, but it wasn't a problem. Anyone who arrived at the official embarkation time of 3:00 PM would have walked right onto the ship. We boarded through the upper level of the lobby where we were greeted by Bruno, our waiter during the second half of last year's World Cruise. We were escorted to our room by a friendly woman from the shops. In the elevator lobby, we ran into Mary from the shops who we have known for years. As with all Crystal ships, there is a crystal fountain with a bronze statue with a musical theme. In our opinion, this is not the most attractive of the three fountains and the sculpture is way too big for the space. Our first impression of the ship is very positive. There is a lot of dark wood and chrome, no brass or mirrors. The only jarring decor is very unattractive gray marble facing on the elevators and stair landings. Otherwise, the decor is beautiful, more like Crystal Harmony than Crystal Symphony's modern style. There is some contemporary, ocean-themed artwork in the stairwells and elsewhere, but it certainly isn't anything museum-quality. Our penthouse is roughly the same size as those on Symphony, but it appears smaller due to the layout and oversized furniture in the sitting area. The two lamps by the sofa are way too large for the space. The verandah is twice as deep as the other ships', which is nice, but the privacy walls do not go to the ceiling so they do not feel especially private. The room features plenty of storage space and drawers, but the way it is arranged is a bit inconvenient. There is a sort of desk arrangement that divides the bed from the dressing area. The side facing the bed has drawers, a flat-screen LCD TV, DVD player and CD sound system, plus a desk with computer connections. At the end is a bar stocked with soft drinks and water at no additional charge. Penthouses also get a free supply of alcohol upon request to the butler. There is a smallish walk-in closet with a door that won't stay open on its own. The bathroom is well appointed with attractive decor, but the toilet is squeezed into a small alcove created by the glass walls of the adjacent shower. The shower enclosure is spacious and a big improvement from clingy shower curtains. Unfortunately, we found later that the drain is inadequate and the shower routinely flooded the bathroom floor. We waited around for the usual welcome aboard by our stewardess and butler, but neither of them showed up within the first hour. So, we went off to explore the ship and see who was out and about. The first familiar face we ran into in the lobby was Tayfun, now the assistant Food & Beverage Manager in charge of butlers and alternative dining. He told us to tell him if we need anything and was somewhat appalled that our butler hadn't come by already. We didn't complain about that, but there was no avoiding it when he asked if we had met him yet. Tayfun is always very friendly to us. We've known him almost from the beginning when he was our headwaiter. We were on our way to the reception desk to ask if our friend Harry was still on board. He was, and came out to greet us and chat for a few minutes before departing for Australia and his vacation. While waiting for Harry, we chatted briefly with Renato, the Shore Excursions Manager. He was glad to hear we like the ship so far, but wants to hear what we think after we have been here for a while. As we were wandering the stairways, we bumped into Peter, a butler from the last World Cruise, who actually became misty-eyed when he saw us. He wasn't our butler then, but we did have many lengthy conversations with him. He is currently a waiter in Prego, but intends to go back to being a butler for his next contract. He expected Prego to be more exciting, but has decided he has more meaningful interaction with guests in the more laid-back butler position. We confirmed an issue we had heard about regarding the butler service for the "AA" category staterooms on Penthouse Deck. Originally, these rooms were not intended to have butler service, but when they didn't sell well Crystal added that perk. However, the butlers were told not to serve the pre-dinner canapés or free liquor, plus some other services. This has caused many complaints and problems, hence the reason many of the butlers took other jobs. We have learned that butler service may soon be eliminated from the "AA" (changed to "P") category as was originally intended. No word yet on whether this includes a price reduction as well. It remains to be seen whether any of these changes are actually implemented. After chatting with Peter for a few minutes, we returned to the room to prepare for the lifeboat drill at 5:15 PM. Unlike the other Crystal ships, the lifeboats here are tucked into the side of the ship on deck 6, rather than hanging over the promenade. This allows for unobstructed views from all staterooms, but causes some long, narrow hallways in the public areas devoid of windows. This results in a somewhat claustrophobic feeling and being totally cut off from the sea. Also, the muster stations are located in lounges rather than the outside deck. They have decorated the hallway next to the casino with a Roman theme to match Caesar's Palace, so that side isn't quite as dark as the Photo Shop section. The elevator lobby near the Galaxy Lounge is way too narrow and quite creepy. We arrived a few minutes early for the lifeboat drill at our designated location in the Galaxy Lounge, where chaos was in full swing. The lifeboat captains were asking people for their lifeboat number, of which most were completely oblivious. When the staff member didn't get an answer, he would ask to see the room key where this information is printed. This also resulted in many blank stares from guests. How did these people intend to get back into their room if they didn't bring the key? In any case, the whole thing couldn't possibly have been more incoherent and we have no confidence whatsoever that we would find our way out in an emergency. Typical of Crystal's lack of advance planning, the stage crew was attempting to prepare for tonight's show during this whole fiasco. That meant opening and closing the curtains, turning the lights on and off, etc. Hadn't someone thought to take down last night's scenery before this? The evening show starts in just a few hours and we find it hard to believe they couldn't have done this at a better time. After the drill, we returned to put away our lifejackets. Christina, our stewardess, came by to introduce herself and to see if we wanted anything special. Although she did have a list of our preferences, she had not acted upon them at this point. However, she did take care of it during dinner. We told Christina that she didn't have to wait for us to emerge on port days if she wants to go ashore, much to her delight. Simon, our butler, also came by to show us the room and to insist that we call him for anything we need. This in spite of the inability to program the telephone to page him. He seems like he will be a good time. As soon as he left, Dave opened the door to ask for the dinner menu and found him telling another butler how nice we were. By this time we were starving, so we went up to the Trident Grill for hamburgers, which were very good. The grill here is larger, but offers the same selections as other Crystal ships. The grill man was an old friend who had moved to the galley. We also ran into Benjamin, a deck steward who had told us last year he would not be returning. He is one of the nicest and most attentive of all the deck hands. That's saying a lot because they are all extraordinarily pleasant. Benjamin remembered our names and that Bill likes his iced tea watered down. He also knew where we liked to sit out by the pool. All of the other deck stewards came over at various times to ask our names and to introduce themselves. We were also greeted by Ruel, who almost knew our names. We continued wandering around the ship and ended up taking the laptop to the Computer University @ Sea to be configured. We had stopped by earlier, but Jesse told us we had to bring the computer down with us. Lara, formerly Crystal Society Hostess, is now the Dean and she rushed over to greet us and talk about her dog and her recent marriage to Atle Knutsen, the Vice Captain. Jesse configured the computer which took all of three seconds and cost $25.00. Due to many complaints about high internet rates, Crystal now has a flat-rate for the entire cruise available for $30.00 per day for up to 3 hours access per day. This is still ridiculous, but much better than the $5.00 connection charge plus $.75 per minute. It appears that they have eliminated the per byte charge that was indecipherable before. Lara said that it wasn't economical to access our shipboard email from the room, but the computer center is open 24 hours, so we can either use our regular email addresses with our flat rate, or come down there to send emails for $2.75 each. We feel strongly that these fees are outrageous and significantly higher than other cruise lines charge. By the way, the computer center is nicely arranged with a reception desk and a separate area for casual users that is segregated from the teaching section, a vast improvement. When we passed through the hallway where Antonio, the maitre d', was holding court, he ran out of his office to greet us by name. He insisted we come in and verify that the table he assigned to us is acceptable. For such a short cruise we really don't care as long as it is a table for two, but we pretended to be thrilled with a table by the window. Ordinarily we don't like the window tables, but on this ship all of the window tables are for two with tables for 6 and 8 next to them. The tables around the center of the room are also large, but this may be due to the nearly sold out capacity. We stopped to chat with Richie, a waiter from an adjacent station and Jerry's roommate during the World Cruise. He said he would tell Jerry we said hello when he returns for the World Cruise. As mentioned previously, the ship's decor is extremely beautiful and far superior to Harmony or Symphony. It looks like a very upscale hotel. The biggest improvement is in the lighting. Gone are the washed out fluorescents and in are halogen spot lights and incandescent recessed lights that are dimmed at night. They still do not understand the science of dimming though and the lobby is way too dark at night, in our opinion. There are several new rooms used for various classes. The Studio is used for a variety of enrichment classes, including keyboard instruction. We heard many people saying they were going to sign up for classes. There is also a room for private dinners that can be arranged with matching wines, we assume all for an additional charge. These rooms are located on Deck 7 where staterooms are on the other ships. This is also the location of the two alternative restaurants, Prego and Silk Road. Silk Road also features a first-come, first-served sushi bar. The alternative restaurants require advance reservations and a gratuity of $6.00 per person is suggested. The decor in both restaurants is very attractive and they are significantly larger than on the other ships. We have heard extremely good reviews of Silk Road's contemporary Japanese cuisine by famed chef Nobu. We asked Simon to make us a reservation for next week to sample it for ourselves. Tonight's dress code is casual with no assigned seats in the Crystal Dining Room. As is our custom, the highlighted items on the menu are the items we actually sampled. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP & SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: Overall, the food was about the same as it is on the Symphony. In other words, not bad, but not great. Everything was satisfactory except the tomato salad that had no flavor, and the fruit appetizer. Everything else was slightly above average, but nothing special. We were seated in the general vicinity of our assigned table, but not with our permanent waiter. We were served by Zoltan, who seemed to be extremely thrilled to wait on us. He knows us from the World Cruise, but hasn't waited on us before. Tonight's entertainment is the "Bon Voyage Show Time" opening with "Chorus Line" and closing with "Grand Hotel", with a special appearance by À capella Group "The Plaids". This is the first welcome show we have ever seen that was worth looking at. All of the acts were outstanding. Although the tiered seating arrangement in the Galaxy Lounge is an improvement for viewers, the overall decor is drab. The small lamps on the cocktail tables do add a nightclub atmosphere that is nice. The stage does not protrude into the audience which tends to limit visibility from the side seats. Also, there are railings on the side of the stage that intrude upon the view. After the show we were wandering by the Avenue Saloon and found one of the cocktail waiters standing in the hallway. Marko chatted with us until Ross, a bartender, rushed out to chat with us right on cue. We had just told Marko that this was not our first cruise. Erika came out shortly thereafter and joined in the conversation. They said that the days leading up to the inaugural were a nightmare because the French shipyard workers spent most of the time smoking and sitting around when they weren't stealing the $16,000 cappuccino machines. The crew started swapping stories about what had been installed that day and stolen the next. They had to assign someone from Crystal to go around and check all the crew cabins for mattresses, etc. She checked off each room as they were completed and sent others back for missing items. Later, when the stewardesses went in for final bedding and such, they found that when a mattress was missing from one cabin, the workers had just taken it from one she had previously marked as completed. In other words, they did basically nothing because it was easier to do that than go onto the dock to get another mattress. Another story we heard from several crewmembers was that when the ship was delivered there was a design flaw that caused the sewer gases to be sucked into the air conditioning intake, making the entire ship smell like sewage. When they asked the ship yard to send out workers to correct the numerous problems, 200 workers showed up, again doing mostly nothing. Eventually, the entire plumbing system had to be replaced. We saw little evidence of this because our shower continued to flood the bathroom in spite of an attempted repair to the drain. The only other problem in our room is that the volume control in the bathroom (for the TV sound) does not work. By the way, everyone agrees that the location of the bar immediately inside the doorway into the Avenue Saloon creates an unfortunate bottle neck. Although this is one of the most beautiful rooms on the ship, getting into it can be nearly impossible. Apparently, there are a number of other technical problems looming, but they are to be taken care of shortly. We have seen some poor finish work, but nothing unexpected for a new ship. Here is a list of the gifts we received today: Two bottles of wine and two bouquets from Crystal Society $200 shipboard credit from Martha Carpenter (Crystal Cruises) $200 shipboard credit from Auto Club $700 shipboard credit from Crystal Society $400 shipboard credit from American Express So, we have a total of $1,500 in shipboard credits to spend on this voyage. $420 goes to internet access right off the top.
When Europeans first reached San Diego in
1542 under the command of Captain Juan Rodriguéz Cabrillo, they found thriving
long-established Amerindian settlements along the shores. The centuries-old
small villages remained until the mid-1700s, but the original inhabitants
represented a diverse group, comprised of more than 30 tribes. It is not likely
that they all arrived at the same time. Various clans probably stopped here
during the long migration from Siberia to the tip of South America over a period
of thousands of years. Unfortunately, land ownership was not in the cultural
traditions of these nomadic peoples, and when the first of five Spanish
expeditions came in 1769, the end of their way of life was close at hand.
Although we were awake in time for breakfast, we dawdled until 10:45 AM before venturing out, much to the surprise of Christina who was in the hallway. By the way, we had been told before the ship was launched that they planned to eliminate the unsightly carts used by the stewardesses, but they were still very much in evidence. There are now two choices for late risers breakfast. Table service at Tastes by the Neptune Pool, or the usual Continental breakfast items in the Bistro. We walked by to look at the menu at Tastes and it does look somewhat appealing. However, it was too warm to suit us on the pool deck with the roof closed, so we went down to the Bistro to just snack. We will have photos of these areas as soon as we can get them without throngs of people in the way. The Bistro on this ship is quite large and very attractive. The furniture is comfortable and the service prompt and friendly. We only knew one of the waiters, but everyone else was equally attentive. The buffet is much larger than on the Symphony and roughly the same as the new configuration on Harmony, but the selection is exactly the same. After snacking on fruit and sweet rolls, which were very fresh and tasty, we retrieved the camera to get some shots of the ship as we explored. We are docked just steps away from downtown San Diego today, along with the Statendam and Monarch of the Seas. This was boarding day for both ships, as well as Crystal Serenity. Boarding was well underway for us before we left the Bistro. There are over 200 guests arriving today to make up a near-capacity crowd. The weather is beautiful, but somewhat chilly in the shade. Here are some observations and comparisons of various public rooms. The Palm Court on this ship is a combination of features of Harmony and Symphony. This wasn't a particularly wise thing to do. The entrance lobby is large to accommodate the crowds before the Captain's parties. However, there is an ugly planter filled with tacky petrified plants flanking the doorways. Immediately inside the room is a large dance floor with a small stage. There is a shortage of furniture compared to Symphony, but it is attractive enough. They have situated the bar between the Palm Court and Vista Lounge section, but there is not a wall dividing them and the lounge is not nearly as attractive as it is on the Harmony. They really should have stuck with the Symphony's design for this room. The Seahorse pool area is essentially the same as it is on Symphony except there are two spas attached to the pool rather than one. Later, we realized this was not an additional spa as there is no spa at the Neptune pool as on Symphony. There is a larger bandstand at one end and a larger covered seating area at the other. Both of these are improvements. The attempt at modern art is not. Both sculptures are too small for the space and look like something one could buy at Pier One. Serenity boasts a return to a separate disco for the late-night crowd, such as it is. Pulse disco is attractive on the outside, as well as on the inside where there is a central dance floor and abundant seating. That's assuming one is willing to brave the dark, very creepy, narrow hallway to get inside. Apparently, few do, because it is empty most nights except for the staff entertainers who hang out here. This ship has the Harmony's version of a cabaret lounge at the back of the ship, which is a vast improvement over the dreadfully uninviting Starlite Club on the Symphony. The Stardust Club is an attractive, warm room with intimate seating arrangements that encourage people to drop in and listen to the band for a while. There are way too many huge chandeliers, but they are attractive in themselves, so we'll forgive the quantity. We decided to have lunch in the Lido today, which was very crowded. The design creates a sense of crowding although the space itself is similar to the Symphony. However, the way the seating is spread out along the sides and at the back creates some bottlenecks. All of the tables along the windows are too large. They should be changed to smaller tables to make more room for the lines and to appease the guests who most definitely do not want to share tables with strangers at lunch. The serving line is completely incoherent with hot items popping up before and after the salads, etc. The outside seating area is half the size of either Symphony or Harmony, but is probably adequate. We chatted with Peter behind the line, who again expressed his excitement to see us. The line moved slowly because there was a station for smoked salmon with all the accompaniments placed in the center of the line. This should have been placed elsewhere so guests would not block everyone else while they picked up each tiny onion or olive. The food was essentially the same selection as usual, except it was served in ceramic casserole dishes in smaller quantities. This resulted in a much-improved overall quality and the best Lido meal we have ever had on a Crystal ship. We still think the selections are too fancy for a casual buffet, but everything we had was very good. Benjamin took us outside at our request. We eventually got too cold, but it was OK while we were eating. Gianlucca came over to greet Dave because he had missed him earlier. He is now a headwaiter in Prego, where he belongs being from Rome and all. Besides, it is pretty much impossible to look any more Italian than he does. Several new deck stewards came over to ask our names and introduce themselves. Word travels fast among the Filipinos when we show up. After lunch we ran into Lara's mother who joined today for this cruise. She lives up the street from Dave's uncle Doug in Point Loma. She arranged with her husband to flash a beacon at the ship as we sail away, so we said we'd look for it. As we sailed out at 2:00 PM, the ship blew the horn three times as it passed their house. And, we did indeed see the beacon flash in return! Is that cute, or what? Tonight's dress code is Informal. Ordinarily, this would be the Captain's Welcome Party with formal attire, but that will be held tomorrow due to the large number of guests who arrived today. Simon did not deliver dinner menus tonight, so we do not have a copy of the actual menu for you today. However, it was the same as any second night on any Crystal cruise. In fact, we simply copied the following menu from the World Cruise and made a few changes that we can remember. We arrived in the lobby about half an hour before dinnertime, so we stopped to chat with Mary in Captain's Choice. The shops on this ship are very attractive and the area resembles an upscale mall. However, the merchandise is identical to that found on the Symphony right down to the Chinese Gambling Chip necklaces they have been trying to unload since day one. Mary said that although she doesn't like sushi and thinks it is a "trendy fad", that we have to try the sushi in Silk Road because it is incredible and "like nothing you have ever had." Throngs of guests were still leaving the Crystal Dining Room when the late seating was set to begin, so, needless to say, there was a delay for our seating. It wasn't much, but was enough to cause quite an uproar among the waiters who only had a few minutes to prepare for us. DINNER Appetizers Soup and
Salad Pasta
Special Salad Entrée Main Fares Vegetarian
Selection Dessert Food review: Again, everything was good, but not spectacular. There really isn't anything to report other than the meal was satisfactory. The Roman soup was nothing like the versions served on the other ships, but was very good nonetheless. We were seated at our assigned table for two along the window. The dining room was pretty much full except for some small tables that were vacant. Although we have seen our waiter before, we were not familiar with him. Both he and his assistant, Dominic, were pleasant and the service was fine. Our sommelier is Astrid, who we have known for quite a while. She knew we did not order much wine, but came by anyway just to be pleasant. Later she returned to present us with a gift of wine from Adair, hence the reason we never have to buy any! Our headwaiter is Igor, who was promoted during the last World Cruise. We know him only from a distance. Mario, another headwaiter, came over after he saw us. We have known him forever. During the meal, the waiter from last night came over to say that he had "been hoping against hope" that he was our permanent waiter. Are we popular, or what? Although it didn't seem as though there were any lulls during dinner, we were not finished until 10:00 PM. Tonight's entertainment was a Variety Showtime featuring "Dance Champions" Clive & Samantha Keay and Banjoist Peter Mezoian. Both acts were OK for what they are, but not worth writing home about. Unlike every other cruise at this point between San Diego and Mexico, the sea is like glass. It is almost impossible to tell the ship is moving. We move one hour ahead on the clock tonight. We were awakened before 10:00 AM by announcements for the crew fire drill. Then at 10:00 AM the alarms sounded and more announcements came for the crew. We've never understood why it is necessary to make announcements in the cabins for this, except maybe one to warn us about it. In any case, we didn't venture out until noon when we went up for the Asia Cafe luncheon buffet around the Neptune Pool. We were anxious to see if they had improved anything about it. The biggest improvement was that they have built in kitchens that eliminate the grease-spewing BBQ grills that used to foul the air during these events. The food variety was unchanged, but the flavor of all of the dishes we sampled was vastly superior to the other two ships. We sat outside to listen to the band while eating. We were fawned over in the extreme by the deck stewards. Their supervisor came over and told us that they had told him we were so nice to them that they want to serve us. Every one of them has come over and begged us to order something from him. Benjamin literally pushes the others out of the way to get to us first. We stayed outside until after 1:30 PM, then went down to pick up the preliminary cruise itineraries for 2005. So far we are limiting our choices to shorter cruises that are round trip from Los Angeles, mostly for convenience sake. After returning to the room, some maintenance men arrived to leave a temperature meter that records the room temperature over 24 hours. We haven't noticed any problems with the temperature so far. They came right back and installed a noise meter in the bathroom. Again, we have had no problems with noise in the bathroom. What they need is a flood sensor for the shower! It's also impossible to keep the toilet seat up which results in some acrobatics at times. As usual, we fell asleep and had just enough time to get dressed and make it to Palm Court for the Captain's Welcome Reception. Tonight's dress code is Formal for the Captain's Gala Reception. There was a line in the lobby, but it only took a few minutes to make it inside. Herbert Jaeger, the Hotel Director, came out and asked us if we wanted to go through the back door, but we declined. This Captain likes us and we hadn't seen him yet, so we thought this would be a good way to get it over with. At the head of the line, Paula Jean, the Crystal Society Hostess, was asking names and introducing guests to the Captain. There were no other officers in the reception line, which was odd. Paula Jean doesn't know us, but when she heard our names she said, "Oh, I have to talk to you." We assume that means we are in the group of highest number of cruises this time, so she'll want to call us onto the stage at the Crystal Society Party on the next formal night. We aren't hot to do this, but it is relatively painless, so we do it if they ask nicely enough. The Captain was doing his usual idle chit chat with the guests and hurrying them along. That is, until we arrived and he launched into a lengthy conversation about whether we had been on the Harmony, how it was, are we going on the World Cruise, etc. We had to break it off because it was holding up the line. Paula Jean was flabbergasted. He seemed as though he had a cold and wasn't shaking hands with guests, which has been the policy for over a year now. We sat to the side of the room, which was packed to standing room only. An older couple sat with us and the man complained constantly about the lack of hand shaking. He didn't buy the excuse of spreading germs and asked everyone he could whether that was the real reason. He was also annoyed that there were no other officers in the line, which is unusual, we must admit. However, who cares? After the usual speeches, which were entertaining and brief, Nikki came over and greeted us warmly, as always. She said she has been so busy this cruise with new bookings it is unbelievable. She asked about the house and heard a short summary of the nightmare we found upon our return last year. We told her we'd be down to see her for our next booking as soon as we can stay awake long enough to make it. We stopped by the room on the way to dinner, mostly to kill a few minutes while the crowd filtered into the dining room. By the time we arrived it was an easy walk in. The room was packed, with only a few tables for two unoccupied. GALA WELCOME DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD SHERBET PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: Again, the meal was satisfactory for the most part, but nothing outstanding. Well, to be fair, the tiny portion of Chateaubriand was outstanding, as was its sauce, but the portion was maybe four ounces, if that. The twice baked whipped potatoes on the plate with it were so dry they were inedible. The two snap peas, one baby carrot, 1/8 of a squash, and 1/4 of a broccoli floret were fine. The pasta appetizer tasted alright, but it was very starchy. In case you are wondering how mousse can be crunchy, it had a piece of what tasted like a Nestle Crunch bar in the center. The dining room was fairly chaotic, but it didn't affect us at all. They summoned butlers down from the Penthouse Decks to help serve some of the larger tables. As is usually the case, if one large table starts on the special orders, their waiter is so bogged down that everyone else at his station suffers. Our headwaiter was occupied with a single table the entire evening. Since we didn't need any special attention, this wasn't an issue for us, just a comment on what was going on around us. Our Waiter, Karol, seemed to be in control of his station. Our Assistant Waiter, Dominic, seems to be a fun guy. Too bad we are on for so short a time. Pat, the leader of the "Harmonic Trio", had seen us on embarkation day, so we knew he would come by and insist on playing for us tonight at the table. Even though we said it wasn't necessary, he said, "But we WANT to play for you," and proceeded to do so. We told him we'd stop by some night and catch up on the ship gossip. He knows all of the information too hot to share here, but he isn't always particularly forthcoming with it unless we pry it out of him. However, you all know we will try! By the way, we find the strolling musicians stopping at each table to be very annoying. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to play from a central location or maybe walk around and let interested parties summon them? We declined the offer for a photo at our table, as did 90% of the tables the photographer approached. We don't mind this practice as long as they take no for an answer, but it does seem rather pointless. By the way, this ship uses the same method of photo sales as the Harmony where you have to look at your photo when the Photo Shop is open and take it to the cashier. The Symphony abandoned this practice during the second cruise because it inhibited sales. There, the photos are always on display and you turn in an order form. The photos are delivered to your stateroom. We prefer this method by far. Besides, looking at all of the photos is one of the favorite activities of many guests. You'd think they might keep the shop open after the show, which is the only time there is reason to be anywhere near it, but of course, they do not. The photo hallway looks like this photo 90% of the time. We had time to stop off at the room to air ourselves out after the dining room became quite warm at the end. We wish they would choose a temperature and stick with it rather than changing it for every complaint of too hot or too cold. At least if you know it will be cold or hot you can dress accordingly. Tonight's entertainment is the lavish production show, "Million Dollar Musicals". This is one of the best shows and we would have said it rated very good tonight. That is until the missed cues, dropped costumes, and technical glitches began to pile up about 2/3 of the way through. This cast is very strong and quite good. To be fair, they did cope with the problems very well and first-time guests probably wouldn't have noticed the missing or half-working video screens during the finale. However, this show usually gets a standing ovation and there was no hint of that tonight, although it was well received. These production errors have plagued Crystal's shows on all of the ships for the past couple of years and it is unfortunate that they didn't work them out for the new ship. We decided to go directly up to the room tonight rather than hang around in our formal wear. The sea remains as smooth as glass and the Captain announced that he expects it to be the same tomorrow. Some people were complaining that it is too cold, but it will be in the 80's at the first port, so who cares? Since Paula Jean had said she wanted to talk to us, we wandered down to the Crystal Plaza to see if she was busy. Finding her at her desk occupied with other guests, we browsed through the shops instead. Mary filled us in on a few of the regulars who are on board. The man with the highest number of cruises, in the hundreds, is here, but we have yet to see him. She wasn't sure of the numbers for this year's World Cruise, but it seemed to be rather low. We know that one of the segments has a total count in the low 400's. This ship is larger than Symphony and holds a bit over 1,000 guests compared to 940 for the other two ships. Our goal was to buy some logo hats or shirts, but the pickings were very slim. All they have are a few sweatshirts with the Crystal Serenity logo on them and not much else. The other two shops have merchandise identical to Harmony and Symphony. For lunch, we went up to the Lido and had another very good lunch. What a vast improvement it is! There were several items on the buffet that were appealing to us and everything was very good to outstanding. We chatted with Peter and Joaquim, who was overjoyed to see us. Of course, he is overjoyed to see almost anyone. Let's just say he's rather cheerful. All of the tables in the Lido, inside and out, were occupied by the time we finished eating. The seating arrangements are at mostly large tables which results in many parties of two taking up an entire table. Crystal needs to learn that this is not a group of "joiners". We moved outside by the pool after lunch and it was fairly full also. The Tastes area tables were all occupied by baffled looking guests wondering how the whole process works. We think they could do a better job of explaining the process of obtaining your food from this location. It is sort of combination of table service and buffet that makes no sense at all, especially when the ship is full as it is now. The weather is a bit warmer, but not hot. It is probably in the low 70's. The sea is slightly choppy, but there is still very little movement. This didn't stop a run on the seasick wrist bands in the shops, however. When the band finished at 1:30 PM, we wandered back down to the Photo Shop to purchase our ghastly boarding photo and a book of interior shots of the ship. We will have our own photos to post of the remaining public areas not previously covered, but we're waiting until the first port day when most guests are ashore. After we returned to the room, a maintenance man came in to determine whether our phone was working. Since it rang several times earlier today, we assumed it was. He determined that it was indeed working. Also, he informed us that the speaker in our bathroom is broken and they are waiting for spare parts to repair it. Simon came by to see if the phone was really fixed (it was) and to say that he was worried because he hadn't seen us for two days. We assured him everything is fine and that we almost never ask the butler to do anything. He insisted on bringing an appetizer of guacamole and chips, which he did at 4:30 PM. Tonight's dress code is Informal. We stopped by the shops to look for a vest for Bill, but the merchandise selection for men was very limited and extremely over-priced. It occurred to us to ask at the Front Desk for Ronnie, formerly the librarian, now a telephone operator. At first the woman at the desk thought he was in back, but it turned out he was back in the library for tonight, so we rushed up to see him. Ronnie was thrilled to see us and proceeded to tell us as much gossip as humanly possible in fifteen minutes. You may recall that Ronnie is the beloved librarian who also dressed in drag for some of the World Cruise parties, to the delight of the regulars. Most of the news concerned who is or is not working the World Cruise. Turns out that pianist Tom will be the only one of our "group" who will be there, so he's a bit depressed over his decision to do the World Cruise again. He told us last year that he wasn't interested in doing it again, but money must talk. We had to run to dinner, but decided to come back afterwards to continue the conversation. Tonight's menu is virtually identical to the old 50's dinner held on the other ships, but that theme night has been dropped here. In fact, there are no theme nights on this ship since both production shows associated with those nights have been replaced, thank God. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: Both soups were outstanding and the highlight of the meal. Everything else was slightly above average. Both entrees looked like they would be really tasty, but they fell short of perfection by lacking any strong flavors. The cheese cake was very good, but the portion was microscopic. The large table next to us was vacant, so it was fairly quiet in our section of the dining room. Dominic kept asking specific questions about whether we liked each course, not accepting our answer of "fine". He asked why the chicken was not great, but just acceptable. The answer to that was that the stuffing tasted like wet coconut pressed together. Otherwise the dish was fine. The prime rib would have tasted like nothing if not for the sauce, but the portion was adequate. We weren't hot to go to the show, so we went up to chat with Ronnie again. That conversation lasted until well after 11:00 PM when the library closed. We heard the story of why he moved to telephone operator, etc. It's basically the same story as last year that the Filipinos have no where to go once they reach a certain plateau, so in order to get the same pay with less work, being an operator was the only option. We think they pile extra work on him because the guests love him so much and he is competent, too. However, extra work does not translate into higher pay around here. He also had some stories about the fun everyone had while they were being housed at a resort in France while getting the ship ready to sail. Since the library wasn't finished until the last minute, he spent almost two weeks lying on the beach and basically taking a vacation. However, all of the books finally arrived only the day before the first sailing and his computer wasn't working, so everything had to be done by hand. We've heard essentially the same story from everyone, but things like that are to be expected under the circumstances. Tonight's entertainment is "Dynamic Vocalist" Danny Walten. As mentioned above, we did not attend the show. We received a letter from the Crystal Society Hostess informing us what valuable guests we are and that she wants to honor us at the Crystal Society Party for being among the most-traveled members at 35 cruises. That's fine, but with two port days coming up there is no way for us to fulfill her request to come to her desk to give her information for her introductory remarks. She'll just have to wing it. We move another hour ahead on the clock tonight. Sweeping 25-mile wide Banderas Bay is
commanded by charming Puerto Vallarta (vai YAR ta). The name
honors Ignacio Luis Vallarta, a previous governor. With the severe coastal
mountains only a few miles inland, the town has an atmosphere of utter isolation
from the rest of the world. Though it is difficult to imagine, Puerto Vallarta
was once a sleepy little fishing village. Original native American settlements
date back many centuries. It is known that the kingdom of Xalisco ruled
the Pacific Coast from the early centuries of our common era. Perhaps the
original inhabitants of Mexico passed through this area centuries before,
as they moved southward from their origins in Siberia.
The ship arrived almost imperceptibly into Puerto Vallarta this morning. The weather continues to be nearly perfect with temperatures in the high 70's - low 80's. It is a bit overcast, but when the sun comes through it instantly becomes way too hot. We left the room at noon when Cristina called to ask if we were going out today. We were, in fact, about to walk out the door when she called. Our first destination was the Front Desk to have a birthday card delivered to Emilie, our Assistant Stewardess from the last World Cruise. On the way, we were intercepted by the maitre d', Antonio, who wanted to chat about moving to California. He seems like a pleasant person. We had never had a conversation with him until today. He told us that Crystal is considering building a fourth ship and assigning the Harmony exclusively to the Japanese market. They have to decide within the next six months. We learned that there are about 185 full World Cruise guests this year. That is roughly the same amount as the year before last, so nothing special. There were a few more booked, but a few people died during the year and a couple of others cancelled. The first segment has less than 500 guests total, but the rest have a bit less than 700, which is an improvement over last year. Antonio said that these round trips from Los Angeles and the same type in the Caribbean have all been nearly sold out. The Front Desk clerk was occupied with an old couple trying to figure out how to pay their account. He asked them for their credit card and the woman handed him her room key. True it looks like a credit card, but the whole point of going to the desk was to provide a credit card for the end of cruise charges, so she should have been aware of what card he needed. We gave up and gave the birthday card to Billy to be delivered. Although the Dining Room was fairly empty, we opted for the Lido lunch instead. The selections are basically the same in both with just a few variations. Once again, everything was excellent and there were many acceptable choices for us. We can't emphasize enough what a vast improvement this Lido's food is over Harmony and Symphony. As usual, we were fawned over by the deck stewards, even the ones we have never met before today. They make a point to come over and introduce themselves and literally beg us to order something from them. After lunch we wandered up to Deck 13, Sun Deck, for a couple of port photos. The view from here is nice with a panorama along the coast and over the city toward the mountains beyond. We also had a chance to chat with Renato who had the same sort of horror stories about the inaugural as everyone else we have talked to. As we had discerned, the quality of construction for this ship is equivalent to Harmony, far below that of Symphony which is acknowledged to be of top quality. That's not to say it isn't more beautiful, just that the actual construction isn't particularly good. It was too hot to stay out on the very crowded pool deck and the Neptune Pool area had the roof closed and every table filled with guests who had just returned from town. The Tastes late lunch appears to be very popular by the number of tables occupied. Antonio told us that the Chinese Chicken Salad is particularly good. It does look good and is served in an unusual ceramic bowl that adds to the presentation. With most guests in town or up on deck, we had a chance to get a photo of the Bistro buffet and it's comfortable seating area. Crystal has wisely expanded this popular venue to more than double the size of the other two ships. However, the selection of bistro-style snacks remains the same. This location also serves specialty coffees and teas at no additional charge. By the way, whenever one asks for water now, they bring bottled water. All soft drinks and bottled water are complimentary. We spent most of the afternoon in the room where it was cooler. Some of the public rooms are kept too warm to suit us, but we're not sure if this is by design or because of a defect in the system. The Crystal Fountain hasn't been functional since the second day. Someone has been working on it for the past two days, but it appears that he has given up and drained the water. The weather was pleasant enough to spend the time before the sail away on our verandah watching the stragglers come back to the ship, including one young man who appeared to have spent the day in a bar. It took him several tries to figure out which I.D. to show at the gangway. He arrived literally at the last second just as they were about to pull up the gangway. Simon brought our nightly supply of guacamole and chips while we were watching the sailing. Tonight's dress code is Casual. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: The salads were satisfactory, but nothing special. Both the pasta special and the vegetarian lasagna were edible, but nothing like what we expected based upon the description. Of the two entrees, the shrimp dish was the best and bordered on excellent. However, the garlic potatoes served with them were as dry as dust. The shrimp portion consisted of three medium shrimp, but they were tasty. The salmon was overcooked and way too dry around the edges. The Profiteroles were about 1" in diameter, but were fairly tasty for the three bites they lasted. Dominic made fun of us because were aren't very excited when he delivers a dish. When we explained it was due to the fact that we have seen these menus 35 times he was shocked. There were some lulls in the service tonight. It must have had something to do with the kitchen because the entire half of the dining room we could see had nothing on the tables for at least fifteen minutes. Karol forgot to serve Bill's side order of garlic potatoes until he was almost finished eating. We asked Astrid what had happened to Daniel. She said he had met the love of his life and moved to the bay area. He is currently waiting for a work permit so he can get back into the wine business. She said she only came back to the Serenity because he had asked her to help him out. When she arrived he was already gone. Everyone else from the Symphony stayed there when they found out he wasn't coming back. Tonight's entertainment is the musical show "Forever Plaid". The performance could not have been any better. The four men did an outstanding job. The attendance wasn't the best and a few people tired of the shtick, but we thought it was a nice alternative to a regular shows. There was a notice on the Computer University announcing that there is a problem with the satellite service, so no internet service is currently available. This happens in this part of the world every time, it isn't unusual. It's not that big of a deal and we haven't had any problems so far. It is still fairly calm, although there is slight rocking motion to the ship tonight. Certainly nothing close to be rough and most likely from the wind that rough water.
Hernan Cortes and his minions,
in search of Chinese treasure in the Pacific, were among the first to visit the
area now known as Manzanillo. In 1522, Gonzalo de Sandoval, under orders from
Cortes, dropped anchor in the Bay of Salagua (north of Manzanillo Bay), looking
for safe harbors and good shipbuilding sites. In the year before he left,
Sandoval granted an audience to local Indian chieftains in a small cove, which
today carries the name Playa de La Audiencia. A great part of his fleet, which
left to conquer the Philippines, was constructed in Salagua.
Paula Jean left a message for us saying she would call us tonight between 4 and 5 because, "You don't do mornings." All she wants is something cute to say about us for the Crystal Society presentation tomorrow night. We were up by 10:00 AM, but made no effort to get ready or out of the room until just before noon. This isn't the most exciting port, but we went up to the Sun Deck to take a couple of port photos anyway. There is a large bay ringed by resorts just across the harbor from the ship. It is warmer and more humid than it has been so far, but it isn't ridiculous because of the light cloud cover. Again, we had lunch in the Lido with less success than we have had prior to today. There wasn't really anything wrong with the food, but the selection wasn't what we wanted. However, there is little chance of starving around here, so we made up a meal as best we could and sat outside on the aft deck. After lunch, we wandered around for a few minutes and ran into Polly, a woman from the office who helps with the shows. We met her several years ago on the Symphony when she was traveling with Philip, who we have known since the beginning. He finally got his big break as a costumer with the Broadway production of "Wicked". She was glad he finally found a way to break away from Crystal. We ran into Simon in the lobby where we were inspecting the latest version of the Crystal Piano. This one has the ability to play itself, but we have never seen it operating. Simon said they sometimes use it on port days, but it doesn't sound as natural as having the pianist there. Simon confirmed our reservation for Silk Road on the 17th. We chose that date so we could avoid the Baked Alaska Parade in the Dining Room. Simon said that guests either love it or hate it. With nothing left to do, we returned to the room for the rest of the afternoon. The sky became darker and there was some thunder and lightning, but that's about it. It made no difference to us and from what we could tell most of the guests had returned to the ship in time for lunch. The Guest List arrived and by our count there are about 782 total guests and 539 are Crystal Society members. From the crowded feeling in the Lido and on the pool deck we thought the ship was sold out, but it is 300 short of that. Paula Jean called to get information for our introduction at the Crystal Society Party tomorrow night. She wanted a special "Crystal Moment", but we couldn't think of anything specific. However, she was happy with our assertion that we make lasting friends with the crew. It's basically the same thing everyone says, although it is true. We expressed surprise that we were high enough up to be recognized, but it's because all of the really high up guests are on the first seating. Not that 35 cruises is anything to sneeze at, but there is at least one man on board with well over 100. It started to rain just before the sail away, with the lightning and thunder continuing well after dark. The sailing was as usual a bit late for no apparent reason. No announcements have been made before any of the sailings as was always done in the past. In the lobby before dinner, we chatted briefly with one of the guys from "Forever Plaid" who is always hanging out by himself. We always feel sorry for the ones who are sort of on the outside of the group. He seemed quite pleasant. Tonight's dress code is Casual. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: The Chinese chicken salad was very good, as were both entrees. Everything else was satisfactory. Our headwaiter came over and removed the bones from the fish without being asked, which was nice. Too bad he didn't do the same for the chicken, but one can't have everything. Antonio stopped to chat for a while. He seems to be contemplating buying property in Temecula for a winery when he leaves shipboard life. Tonight's entertainment is guitarist George Sakellariou and was presented before dinner, which we hate. There is no reason we can see for changing the schedule tonight. However, we weren't interested in this act anyway, so it's not a problem this time. There is a cabaret show in the Stardust Club starring singer Danny Walten at 10:30 PM. We dawdled around in the Dining Room and made it out just as the cabaret show began in the Stardust Club. We stood in back to see if we were interested in the singer. After determining that we weren't all that excited with him, we moved next door to the Avenue Saloon to listen to Collin Salter, the pianist/singer who has been trying to get us to come in for days. He was acceptable, but we wouldn't knock anyone over to get in to see him. The room itself is attractive in a gentlemen's club sort of way. The furniture is comfortable with velvet loveseats and sofas, plus wooden barrel chairs with soft upholstery. It is quite dark and would be too crowded on a regular night to bother with. This is the lounge where the bar is directly inside the entrance, so most people don't even come in. Once past the bar area, there is a nice seating section. We stayed until just before midnight and made our exit during one of Collin's breaks. Marko, one of the new bar waiters, came over and introduced himself and asked our names. He has been very friendly from the first day when he tried to get us to come in. On the way back to the room, we passed the deserted lobby where the Harmonic Trio was playing to a single couple sitting in the bar. There were no other guests in sight. Pat brightened up when he saw us, but we didn't stop. We received a very nice note from Nikki and a gift of two Crystal calendars and a box of chocolate truffles. She expressed her disappointment that we won't be on the World Cruise, but was glad we came for at least a short time. We intend to book another short cruise on the Harmony for September as soon as we can. The day started with stormy skies and slightly rough seas, but all was calm again by late afternoon. It is still quite warm, in the low 80's, and very humid. The coast of Mexico was in sight all day. Today's lunch was the Nuevo Latino buffet around the Neptune Pool. We were out and about early, so we staked out a table and waited for the lines to subside around 12:30 PM. Nearly every table was filled both inside and out. Several Deck Stewards brought bottles of water and iced tea to make our table look occupied, but we took turns getting our food anyway. They haven't quite figured out a coherent arrangement for the deck buffets yet. The first part with the cold foods is roughly the same as the other ships, but the hot foods are around the corner at Tastes. This leads to guests going in every direction and clashing in the center of each line. There were several disgruntled guests at the hot food counter because they weren't serving tacos and didn't have tortillas that weren't already made up into fajitas. We have to say that the only recognizable items were tamales, but they were in odd flavors such as salmon and cream cheese, or vegetarian chorizo. Most of the selections we had were tasty enough and we had plenty of food. At just after 1:45 PM we decided it had become too warm to stay outside, so we went down to the lobby to get a list of rooms that would be open today for inspection. We waited for Paula Jean to arrive at her desk so we could inquire about which Milestones we still have unused. This makes a difference for the next cruise because certain levels give you a cabin upgrade and others are airfare or stateroom credits. We're not sure at this point what levels we have coming. She said she would email the office and find out for us tomorrow. We also gave her our snow story from the last World Cruise for tonight's Crystal Society party. The man with 126 cruises is ill, so he isn't participating in the party tonight. During the first seating party the highest number of cruises is 60. During late seating, the highest is 36, so we are the second highest of three with 35. We determined that they are not taking honorees to dinner, which is perfectly fine with us, but Paula Jean looked horrified as though no one told her she was supposed to do that. It has been so many years since we have ranked high enough that we have no idea whether it is still common practice or not. We took the tour of the open staterooms. The verandah cabins are identical to those on the Symphony except the wood is dark cherry instead of whitewashed oak. The AA or P cabins that are supposedly upgraded versions of regular verandah rooms are identical to the regular rooms as well. The only obvious difference is the addition of a gold accent stripe on the wood. This certainly doesn't warrant the higher price. Penthouse Suites are roughly the same as on the Symphony, but there is the addition of a dining table and four chairs. We don't recall what the configuration is on Symphony, but it seems to us that they were more roomy. After our tour we went down to wait for Nikki to book our next cruise. There were a few people waiting on the sofas near her desk, but several guests barged in out of turn, as always. We decided we would prefer to nap than wait, so we left. Paula Jean was horrified, but we assured her we didn't care and that it certainly wasn't Nikki's fault. The Crystal Society Party was held in the Palm Court beginning at 7:45 PM. We arrived early enough to get a seat where we wouldn't have to climb over anyone to get to the stage during the presentation. Two old ladies sat with us and were appalled when we were called up as the second-highest number of cruises. The best part of the whole thing is the reaction of the other guests. They just can't imagine how anyone could rack up so many cruises. Two instructors from the Computer University had come over to sit by us purposely. They were also appalled by our number of cruises. We received a bouquet of red roses, rose boutonnieres, and a photo with the Captain, Paula Jean and Gary Hunter, the Cruise Director. The Captain even shook hands with us, which he isn't supposed to do. Nikki was somewhat surprised that Paula Jean hadn't sent the bellmen around to collect the bouquets to be put in a vase and delivered to the guests. Apparently she wasn't aware of this procedure. We followed them down the stairs with Nikki carrying the flowers. However, we ran into Cristina on the way and she took them and found a vase. Tonight's dress code is Formal. We were about half an hour late to dinner because of the lengthy discussion with Nikki and Paula Jean, but nobody seemed to mind. The Dining Room was over half empty due to both alternative restaurants hosting large private parties. FRENCH DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD SHERBET PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: Everything was good, but not spectacular. The sherbet course was way too heavy on the alcohol content and was somewhat shocking to eat. The fish was perfectly cooked, but didn't have much of a flavor. The soufflés were very good, but not as good as on the Symphony where they are a highlight. Dominic and Astrid talked about working on Disney Cruise Lines, among others. They said Disney treats their crew equally as well as Crystal does, which is very good. However, the same cannot be said for Celebrity and other large ship lines. Dominic would be fun to have as a waiter some time. He speaks excellent English and has a good sense of humor. He constantly teases us because we always say things are "fine", or "OK". However, once he found out how many cruises we had been on he understood that we have seen these menus so many times that it is difficult to surprise us. We also chatted with Karol. He came from the Harmony and didn't know us before this cruise. He seems pleasant, but his English isn't quite as good so he is a bit more serious. Tonight's entertainment is the production show "Fascinatin' Rhythm". The show opened with several technical problems piled on top of one another. First, the video screens lowered for the introduction, but nothing appeared on them. So, they went back up. The curtains opened and the dancers began their approach to the edge of the stage, while the curtains closed on them. Other than that the show was fine. This cast is outstanding for the most part, which makes up for some of the technical problems. This production has been changed significantly from the version playing on Harmony and Symphony. One entire number has been replaced with the only tasteful costumes in the show. Because they are classy and not vibrant Technicolor extravaganzas, they don't quite fit, but they are nice. The ship is basically just sitting off the coast of Acapulco, which is visible on the horizon. We dock at 7:00 AM tomorrow for an all-day stay. It is supposed to be at least 88 degrees and partly cloudy. The clouds might help to alleviate the heat a bit, but we expect it will be very humid again. Internet service was not available tonight,
as is common in this part of the world. The TV signal was also
intermittent on the satellite channels. Among Mexico's treasures, there are many tangible
components, like gold, silver, oil and rich fertile soil, but perhaps the
greatest prize in the land of mystery is something that is somewhat less
distinct. Mexico wears her beauty as gracefully as la Malinche wears her elegant
white gown for the traditional Matachine. No one has missed the lovely
landscape's natural complexion. The Sierra Madre appears through the
coastal mists as if they were painted upon a watercolor backdrop. It is only at
a second glance that you realize it is real. After WWII, a series of development
projects were launched in an effort to build up the nation's resort areas and
attract foreign visitors. Initially prosperous, the economy later began to
waver, and progress slowed somewhat. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
