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Wednesday, September 28th – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Embark Crystal Harmony – Depart 5:00 PM Thursday, September 29th - Cruising the Pacific Ocean Saturday, October 1st – Mazatlán, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 am – Depart 6:00 PM Sunday, October 2nd – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 AM – Depart 7:00 PM Monday, October 3rd – cruising the pacific ocean Tuesday, October 4th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Wednesday, October 5th – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Arrive 6:00 AM – Depart 5:00 PM Thursday, October 6th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Friday, October 7th – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – Arrive 1:00 PM – Depart 8:00 PM Saturday, October 8th – Mazatlán, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 AM – Depart 6:00 PM Sunday, October 9th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Monday, October 10th – Acapulco, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 AM – Depart 11:00 PM
Tuesday, October 11th – Wednesday, October 12th – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Arrive 9:00 AM – Depart 6:00 PM Thursday, October 13th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Friday, October 14th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Saturday, October 15th – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Arrive 6:00 AM – Disembark crystal harmony
We are cashing in our 35th Milestone reward for this cruise, which consists of an upgrade from a category A stateroom to a Penthouse, among other things. That was good enough, but on September 9th, our travel agent called to say that Crystal wanted to know if it was OK to upgrade us to a Penthouse Suite instead. Uh, gee, what do you think the answer to that was? Obviously we took the additional upgrade. Now, what's the reason behind it? For those of you familiar with Crystal, you already know that free upgrades are extremely rare. In fact, we have never received a free upgrade and we are reaching our 40th Milestone on this cruise. Anyway, we'll take it, shut up, and enjoy it! Well, maybe not quite shut up, but we do plan to enjoy it. Wednesday, September 28th – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Embark Crystal Harmony – Depart 5:00 PM PACIFIC FIESTA The thing we love about these Los Angeles round trips, no matter what the interim destination, is the ease of getting to and from the port. We left our house at about 1:00 PM and arrived at the port at 3:30 PM, even with a brief stop in Seal Beach to drop something off. There was very little traffic to speak of, so the trip was quite easy and stress free. Arriving at 3:30 PM meant there was no one else waiting to board. In fact, now that Crystal begins embarkation at 11:30 AM there is never anyone waiting around. We walked right up to a check-in counter and were onboard within a matter of minutes. The woman at the counter remarked on the number of cruises we have taken, so we know for sure that every computer screen announces that fact to the staff. Although we need another boarding photo like a hole in the head, we did stop for that ritual since nobody else was around. We were escorted to our Penthouse Suite without delay by a friendly waiter. The Bistro was jam packed, although we have no clue what the total passenger count is. We do know that very few of the Penthouse Suites are occupied. Neither of the two Crystal Penthouses next door are occupied either. Our best guess is that we were upgraded because they could sell our regular penthouse at the full price, so they bumped us up. That made us happy and earned Crystal a few extra dollars besides. The Penthouse Suites are significantly larger than the regular Penthouse accommodations. We'd say the room is about the size of a standard hotel room, which is large by ship standards. However, newer ships do have nicer and larger penthouses these days. In any case, we would never pay for this category since the regular rooms are satisfactory and the standard Penthouse room is more than adequate for two people. Our suite has a full sized sofa and upholstered chair, an l-shaped desk/vanity and a large bar area housing a mini refrigerator stocked with our choice of complimentary soft drinks, wine and beer. Each guest may also select a full-sized bottle of alcohol from a set menu. Our fridge was already stocked with our preferences based on requests on previous cruises, which was nice. We must say that the room appears to be brand spanking new. Either it has been maintained to excess or recently refurbished. There certainly is no sign of age for a ship to be retired in just a month or so. Penthouse Suite PhotosOur stewardess, Diana, and her assistant, Joy, were the first to arrive to welcome us aboard. Both were very pleasant. Diana had already taken care of our preferences by removing the duvet and replacing it with a blanket and regular sheets. She also knew we wanted extra Kleenex before we had to ask for it. This type of service has been fairly consistent ever since we became "World Cruisers", but we assume they are supposed to do it for everyone. However, we did find it a bit of a challenge to get a few of these things taken care of when we were booked in a standard stateroom previously. We received an invitation for a Crystal Society dinner on October 1st, which we will most likely decline. If we were to do that we would only be in the main dining room four nights out of the first seven, so we would prefer to do this dinner during the next segment. Besides, we aren't hot to go to Prego anyway. We start off this cruise with the following gifts and credits:
A glaring absence from this list is the usual bouquet of flowers from Crystal Society. Lately these have been beautiful bunches of roses. This seems like an odd thing to cut out since they have been giving these since day one and it is quite obvious when they are missing. There is a lovely bouquet of red tropical flowers on the table, but these appear to be a standard amenity for a penthouse suite. The mandatory lifeboat drill was scheduled for 4:15 PM, so we donned our life jackets and wandered down to deck 7 to wait for the alarm. There was only one other couple there when we arrived at 4:10 PM. Everyone else arrived at or after the alarm. A man standing next to Dave immediately told him a vaguely dirty joke, which was an odd thing to do first thing out of your mouth to a total stranger. He was nice enough and chatted briefly about rough seas and whether we had experienced any. We had, obviously, and he had also in the past as a merchant marine. All of this was discussed much to the horror of the woman in front of us who seemed to be on her first cruise ever. Speaking of first time cruisers, she seems to be in the majority this cruise. When we were waiting to make Kyoto reservations after the drill, several women came by to ask why people were in line and should they be doing the same thing. By the looks of most of the other passengers we'd guess these aren't diehard Crystal fanatics. The average age is much lower than usual, which could be a good thing depending on your perspective. It doesn't matter one way or the other to us. We stopped by the salon to see if our friend Benji is back on board. The stylists standing in the hallway insisted on taking us back to see her in the gym where she was taking appointments. There was a long line for spa appointments, but only one person waiting for the salon. Benji ran over and made a scene over us. She was aware we would be coming because Marco (her husband and Shore Excursion Manager) had already found our names on the guest list. We chatted a bit with Benji before Dave decided he needed repair work done to his recent haircut. Benji insisted he come tomorrow and she would fix it, plus we would have more time to catch up on things. Benji said that she and Marco will be moving to the Symphony after the last Harmony cruise. In fact, she has to fly to the Symphony and start there the day after the last Harmony cruise. Better than being fired though. She said that many long-time crewmembers have decided to leave the company, something we can't say is a bad idea under the circumstances. Many of them have been here almost since the beginning, so this is probably all they need to prod them to get a life started back on land. Upon our return to the room, we found a note from our good friend Elizabeth, a ship's photographer, along with a photo she had intended to mail to us at home. Her note said that she knew she would see us one of these days on board, so she saved it for us, which was very nice. We were quite surprised she is on the Harmony. Last time we saw her she had reluctantly transferred to the Serenity, so we never expected to find her here. It sure is a pleasant surprise, however. Our butler arrived to introduce himself, Costa from Portugal. He is extremely pleasant and friendly. He sort of insisted we order our two bottles of liquor, although we never drink in the room. All the free wine and liquor keeps our home bar stocked up, that's for sure. The Crystal brand "C" wine is quite good, by the way, but not low priced by any means. There was also a bottle of champagne on ice waiting when we arrived, which is typical in a penthouse. We watched the sail away at 5:00 PM, then took the computer up to be configured for use from the room. Since the previous cruise information was unchanged on the laptop from a month ago, there was no charge to do this (normally a ridiculous $15.00 fee applies). We still think the $30 a day for up to three hours use is outrageous for a luxury cruise ship. If we didn't have shipboard spending credits to pay for it we would be far more annoyed than we already are. We may have heard incorrectly, but we both think she told a guest it costs $5.00 to send an email. If so, that is a huge increase over the $2.75 it cost a month ago. Let's hope we misunderstood. It doesn't matter to us since email use of our personal account is included in the flat internet rate, but for anyone else it is quite exorbitant. Crystal really needs to pull their head out and come up with a better way to charge for the computer access since everyone is annoyed by it. Back at the room we unpacked in all of thirty minutes. That killed enough time until our dinner reservation in Kyoto at 7:30 PM. Tonight's dress code is Casual. Embarkation day is always open seating in the dining room, which we have never liked nor understood. Nothing like starting off a luxury experience with a cattle call for dinner, which is why we now rush to make a reservation in Kyoto for the first night. When we checked in this afternoon, the agent told us we could attend either seating in the dining room tonight, which was a first. Usually they give you a dining card for a specific seating regardless of what your regular assignment will be. Today's option was better, but we still don't grasp the reasoning behind not seating people at their regular table when all of the table assignments are waiting in the staterooms anyway. As is our tradition, the items we actually ordered from the menu will be highlighted every evening we are able to obtain a copy of the menu for you. We were seated promptly in the very full Kyoto. All night people were streaming in and waiting to be seated. We have never seen the alternative restaurants so popular, especially on the first night of a cruise. KYOTO RESTAURANT MENU
S T A R T E R S Food review: As you can see, we ordered a lot of food! One item not on the menu was an appetizer of deep fried sesame-coated chicken. It was good, but nothing special. The lobster dumplings were fresh, hot and crisp, but not outstanding flavor-wise. The salad was very fresh and tasty. All of the entrees were outstanding, the beef in particular was incredible. The tempura was very good, but a bit on the greasy side. The green tea ice cream was a pleasant finish to the meal. It is nice that guests may order as much or as little as they wish. For example, the waiter asked us how many pieces of tempura we wanted when he took the order. We skipped the vegetable tempuras and only had the shrimp, which was really all we wanted anyway. Service was, as always, friendly and attentive. Our waiter recognized us from the Alaska cruise, so he was particularly pleasant. Paulo, the wine steward, rushed over to greet us. He has known us, our names, and who is who, since day one fourteen years ago. Even if he hasn't seen us for years, he knows who we are and what we like. He really is incredible. We were starving when we arrived and stuffed to the gills an hour and a half later. The evening entertainment was scheduled before dinner, which we find very inconvenient. So, with no show to go to, we just wandered down to deck 6 to see what was up (nothing, as usual) and then went up to the room, done for the night. We move forward one hour on the clock tonight. Thursday, September 29th - Cruising the Pacific Ocean After sleeping in until 11:00 AM or so, we wandered down to the dining room for lunch. There was a Nuevo Latino buffet around the Neptune Pool today, but we knew it would be jam packed with so many newcomers on board. They serve the same theme in the dining room on buffet days anyway, so we figured we'd rather be served and avoid the crowd. We ran into Elizabeth in the hallway on the way down to lunch, so we chatted with her for a while. She's not sure where she will go after this because she doesn't want to go back to the Symphony due to the microscopic photo lab she'd have to sit in all day. That leaves only the Serenity that already has a full staff. We were seated by one of the few waiters we had ever seen before, but we did not know the friendly waiter who actually served us. We were familiar with several of the headwaiters and the wine steward who came over to greet us. It is our speculation that Crystal is moving people to this ship so they can cut them loose when it leaves the fleet, but we have no specific proof of this yet. It is just odd that so many long time crew members are suddenly on the old ship again. Lunch was satisfactory, but not as good as usual for this menu. The chicken enchiladas have never resembled a real enchilada, but they are usually more flavorful than today's version. Everything was edible and the service was good, however. After lunch it was time for Dave's repair haircut. Benji was waiting in the lobby, so we went right in. She confirmed that they are in fact sending staff members to this ship who have decided to leave the company. It seems a good way to move them out of the mainstream without making a scene. When the ship goes away, so will they. With newly short hair that doesn't look like a bowl cut, we were off to wait for Carolyn, the Crystal Society Hostess, in the lobby. A guest was hogging her desk with his laptop and lunch when she arrived. He did leave when she came up carrying all of her stuff, but it sure was blatant of him to take over an obviously used desk while she was on a break. Our intention was to decline the special dinner invitation, but Carolyn insisted it would be a good time because it would be just us, Randal, the Cruise Consultant, herself, and one "fun" single woman. So, we decided, why not? We'll be here for another cruise anyway, so we can get to the dining room then. We whined about losing our nearly $7,000 in 40th Milestone credits because we don't want to cruise next year. Carolyn told us that we should at least book something short and maybe get it for nearly free by using the discount. Otherwise we will, in fact, lose that benefit. After chatting for a while about nothing in particular, she took us across the room to Randal to sort things out and find a way to use our credits before they expire. She did seem well prepared to help guests get the most of the credits while they are still available, but said nothing about anyone being disgruntled about it. It appears that the total count for this cruise and beyond is close to 900 or more. So, as we suspected, the final cruises are selling out or close to it. We have the fifth highest in cruise numbers this time. The highest count is 70-something with another two couples in the high forties. We learned today that the operation of the onboard shops will transfer to an outside vendor soon. Crystal was one of the only cruise lines to operate their own shops, so this isn't a big surprise. Hopefully the merchandise will improve since it has been a complaint of many guests for several years now. There are some items in the shops that have been the same for the past fifteen years and still nobody buys them. The only cruises for next year we were remotely interested in are two 7-day cruises out of Los Angeles in January before the world cruise. Ordinarily we wouldn't book 7-day cruises, but since we can get them for a huge discount using the credit we will otherwise lose, we thought it might be OK. The only issue is that one of those two cruises was changed to six days and it appears that there is a one-day gap between them. Randal thinks that is a mistake and the gap is really between the last 7-day cruise and the start of the world cruise. There are so many full world cruisers this year that Crystal couldn't find a hotel to accommodate the pre-cruise bon voyage party. So, they want to bring everyone on board a day early and have the festivities on board. Makes sense and we assume it is also a good way to save some big bucks. So, we are waiting now for Randal to get a response from the office about what the real itineraries are. If there is no gap in there, we will be cruising in 2006 after all. We bumped into Bulant, a headwaiter from the Serenity, in the stairway. He said he came here because he is "retiring" with the ship, done with ships. We were back in the room by 3:00 PM. The weather is quite pleasant in the mid 70's and a bit hazy. It isn't too humid yet, so it is nice to sit outside. We did manage to drag ourselves upstairs for an ice cream snack around 4:00 PM. Of course, we had to wait behind a woman who decided to stop and eat her ice cream while standing at the service counter. What the heck are people thinking when they do something like that? Costa was in the hallway when we returned, so we finally remembered to ask for dinner menus. He returned promptly with that and our two free bottles of liquor. He said basically the same thing we already knew, that crew who don't want to return are coming to the Harmony and will go away with the ship. We were already aware that the butlers don't like working on the Serenity, which plays some part in why many of the long-time staff from this ship are leaving. There was a noisy party going on next door on the verandah, so napping was out of the question this afternoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching TV and generally killing time until it was late enough to start dressing for the evening. Tonight's dress code is Formal for the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party. We used the express lane to bypass the reception line and went directly to the Vista Lounge where we could see, but not participate in the evening. We were surprised how many guests did the same thing considering that the main room wasn't completely full. Marco was wandering around looking for us, and eventually joined us. We chatted about various things of no interest to anyone except the three of us. The speeches were so loud that we had to stop talking for a few minutes while the formalities were covered. Luckily, this captain isn't particularly interested in giving lengthy speeches, so it was short and to the point. We will try to arrange a meeting for drinks or whatever with Marco and Benji for an upcoming date. Benji in particular wants to see current photos of our house that we have been promising for the past four or five cruises now. Down at the dining room, we were escorted to our table around the inside partition, exactly as we had requested during our previous cruise. The maitre d' always finds it unbelievable that anyone would not want to sit at a window table, especially someone like us who is practically guaranteed anything we could possibly imagine. However, we assured him this was a fine choice. Our waiter is Mark, from Belgium, who is quite pleasant. His assistant is from India and is also very nice and friendly, but we didn't catch his name tonight. Both of them came back to chat after dinner was over about a variety of things. It is apparent that all of the crew who do not wish to quit are on pins and needles about whether they will transfer to Symphony or Serenity. For obvious reasons, Crystal won't announce this information until after the final Harmony cruise. In any case, we have seen absolutely no reduction in friendliness or service from anyone. If anything, the crew is even nicer than before, although that is nearly impossible. CAPTAIN'S GALA MENU APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD SHERBET PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: The fruit appetizer was attractively presented, but was a bit skimpy. The salad was fresh and tasty with a balsamic dressing, but it contained nothing unusual. The sherbet was especially tasty and would be worth ordering as a dessert. We both thought the pasta was above average with some complex flavors. The beef entree was very good, but the portion was microscopic. We'd judge that it is less than one-third of what the portions of this dish have been in the past. The plate contained exactly two tablespoons of potatoes, two white and two green asparagus spears, and two slices of meat, one of which was about the size of the bowl of a tablespoon. No kidding, that's it. Anyway, everything on the plate tasted good, which is a plus considering the potatoes on either of the other two ships are inedible. Mark insisted on serving us the vanilla mousse in addition to everything else we ordered. The coffee flavored cake was very good, the lemon tart was outstanding, and the mousse was attractive, but didn't have a distinct flavor. We have to point out that the presentation on this ship is heads above either of the others. The desserts in particular are works of art. Bulant and Tamas (our headwaiter) stopped by to chat a couple of times. Tamas was our waiter during our first Harmony cruise, but we're not sure he remembers that. Bulant has been around on the Symphony and Serenity for years, so we know him quite well. He has said that he will not be returning after the Harmony leaves, which is why he is here now. Tonight's entertainment is the production show "Curtain Call". Attendance was about as expected for a production show. We were so bored about halfway through that we were more interested in looking at the lighting and production values rather than the show itself. This is a reasonably good show the first couple of viewings, but it doesn't have the lasting impact that some of the other Crystal productions have. There wasn't anything obvious wrong with the talent and the audience seemed to be quite enthralled by it. However, a few guests did leave early, which is unusual for a production show. This could have more to do with the late start and the extra length than a true reflection of how they felt about it. Although the sea appears to be fairly calm, the ship has been rocking a bit all day and a bit more tonight. It isn't rough by any means, just obvious we are on a ship and not in a hotel. The temperature outside today was always pleasant and although it was hazy in the distance, the sky was clear. Friday, September 30th
– Cabo San Lucas is nestled on the southernmost tip of the
Baja Peninsula, where the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean meet the warm
waters of the Sea of Cortez. Commanding rock formations, timeless desert and a
translucent sea provide a compelling introduction to this tranquil resort town.
The old girl is really creaking this morning...Crystal Harmony, that is. It was very rough and extremely windy starting before dawn today. So rough that the stop in Cabo San Lucas was cancelled. It isn't anything near some of the rough seas we have experienced on other cruises, but it is rough for this part of the world. Our first stop was the dining room for lunch. We didn't think it would be the best idea to try to carry a tray through the Lido on a day like this. It seemed as though everyone had the same idea because the dining room was nearly as full as it is on a normal dinner evening. We were seated by the window in the general vicinity of our regular table and served by Nada, a waitress we hadn't met before today. During lunch, Tamas came by and told us that hurricane Otis is the cause of the weather, but it is "a small one" and doesn't necessitate a big diversion in our route. He said last year they had to veer out toward Hawaii to avoid a bigger hurricane. As lunch progressed the weather worsened and rain began to fall off and on. Still it isn't anything we consider unusually rough. In other words, nothing fell from shelves or anything like that...yet. Everything we ordered for lunch was satisfactory, but nothing stood out as exceptional. The portions of the main course were quite skimpy, even for lunch. On the way out, we chatted briefly with Tadas who was our assistant waiter a few cruises ago. He was a waiter last time we were on board and still is. He expects to transfer to one of the other ships after the Harmony leaves. We informed Tamas that the area where we were seated smelled of mildew. He went over to smell for himself and agreed it was pretty bad. If we had to sit there all the time it would be unacceptable. After lunch we went up to say hello to Shelley, the shop manager. She was feeling a bit seasick, but was otherwise chatty as usual. She was in the process of marking almost everything down by 20% or more. There were clearance signs all over the shops. We were interrupted by real customers, so we didn't have a chance to discuss anything in particular. We finally found the photo shop open so we could view our boarding photo. Elizabeth came out to make fun of Dave's haircut upon boarding. She said she had seen our photo come through as it was developed and was appalled. She was very happy to see this issue had been rectified. She offered to alter our photo digitally to fix the hair issue, but we didn't care that much. We wouldn't have bought it at all if we didn't have credit to spare. We decided to go back to the room to retrieve a credit card to put on our account. Since we will be booking another cruise after all, we'll end up owing a few hundred dollars for the deposit on that. Unfortunately, we can't use shipboard credit toward future bookings. Back at the room, we spent the afternoon watching DVD's we had brought from home. Although the weather is rainy it is too hot and humid to sit outside. Of course, the crew is complaining that they missed a port, but we could care less. We ran into Benji on the way back to the room and she said that Marco was tearing his hair out with the sudden cancellation and refunds for all of the shore excursions in Cabo San Lucas. Randal called to tell us that he was correct about the mistake in the altered itineraries for the two January, 2006, Serenity cruises. In fact it ends up being a 13-day combination that ends on the 17th, not the 18th as shown on Crystal's website. Quite frankly, mistakes like that are way too common and, in our opinion, inexcusable. Doesn't anyone proofread the information before it is published? Anyway, we seem to be confirmed on that combination of cruises for January in a category A verandah stateroom. At 4:30 PM the captain made an announcement saying that we are now sailing east toward Mazatlán and away from the hurricane. So, it should get less windy and rough the closer we get to shore. The hurricane is going northwest while we are going east. However, he also announced that they might have to shut down the engines around 6:00 PM tonight for maintenance that was supposed to be done during the stay in Cabo San Lucas we missed today. That will mean that the stabilizers will have to be turned off for the duration, which could be interesting under the circumstances. He claimed that the ship would be oriented so that the movement would be minimized. We'll see! By the way, despite how it looks from inside, it is very hot and humid outside. We decided we needed a snack and being the lazy asses we are, called the butler to have something brought to us. God forbid we should get dressed and walk up one flight to the Lido deck. Costa brought us some tea sandwiches, as requested. He thought maybe we were sick in the room like everyone else, but we assured him we were simply too lazy to get off our sofa and fetch something ourselves. Tonight's dress code is Casual. The aforementioned engine stoppage never occurred to our knowledge and the sea had calmed down considerably by dinnertime. That doesn't mean it was absolutely smooth sailing, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary. It was 84 outside at 8:00 PM even with the rain and clouds. We went directly from the room to dinner pausing only briefly to look in one of the shops. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT Food review: The fruit appetizer was an interesting variation. Usually whatever the theme is has just been tossed on top of the usual melon cubes, but this one was entirely made up of apples and pears, topped with toasted walnuts. There was no cinnamon discernable and the walnuts were not caramelized, however. The roasted vegetable soup was a puree of vegetables and was superb. The cold soup was good enough, but didn't really have much flavor. The fish entree was very good, as were the potatoes they were served atop. The greens crowning the fish filet were a bit incongruous, but it looked attractive. The light vinaigrette sauce was a nice touch. The only other things on the plate were five, count 'em, five snow peas. Complimentary wine was offered to everyone "due to the rough weather". We have been through far worse weather before and they have never offered anything free. However, this is only the second time in 40 cruises that we have had to skip a port that we can recall. By the looks of several of the guests in our vicinity, they could have been serving free alcohol in the bars, as well. The woman at the next table alternated between animated conversation with her husband/boyfriend, bouts of crying, storming out of the room, being forced to sit down, apologizing to the headwaiter, waiter, etc., crying some more, and eventually being lead out of the dining room. The youngish man at the other adjacent table looked a bit worse for wear, too, although he appeared to be more seasick than intoxicated. He slowly slid down in his chair as he played with his food, eventually leaving early, as well. By this time of the evening it was nowhere near rough enough for people to just be getting seasick. The dining room was quite full though, so most people did manage to make an appearance tonight. We figured out that the four large tables across from us are part of a singles cruise, which is a bit annoying while they are being seated by their hosts. Otherwise they don't do anything disruptive, which is a first for a group. By the way, we finally asked our assistant what his name is. Lukose from India. He seemed beyond thrilled that we even cared what his name is. He is quite pleasant, as is Mark, our waiter. Actually, everyone in the dining room has been very friendly. Much more so than in the past on this ship, although they were fine then, too. We had about half an hour to kill before the show, so we stopped by the room, then took the scenic route back down to the Galaxy Lounge. Tonight's after dinner entertainment is The Music and Comedy of Jimmy Travis. Attendance was quite good for a non-production show. In fact, we would say it was about equal to last night's crowd, which was pretty good. With the semi-rough seas, this was an excellent turnout. Jimmy did an entertaining show using almost all new material since we last saw him on the reunion cruise in June. It wasn't roll-on-the-floor funny, but it was quite amusing in a homespun kind of way. Everything is expected to be normal for arrival in port tomorrow, meaning temperatures in the high 90's with humidity to match. We're guessing that it might be cloudy and maybe rainy with a hurricane still nearby, but that makes no difference to us one way or the other. Saturday, October 1st – Mazatlán, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 am – Depart 6:00 PM The massive lighthouse of El Faro welcomes you to the
thriving seaport of Mazatlán. Located on a peninsula just south of the Tropic of
Cancer, this fast-developing resort is a fishing and sportsperson's paradise.
Supposedly there are as many fishing boats as tennis courts here! Offshore,
scores of sailfish and marlin frolic in the temperate waters while para-sailors
drift lazily overhead.
We were up earlier than usual, mostly due to the anticipation of the crew fire drill at 10:00 AM. This results in several announcements, alarms, etc., in the rooms, so it is impossible to miss. Today's weather is very hot and humid. Definitely not tempting at all to go outside for any length of time. However, since we had 30 minutes to kill before lunchtime, we sat out in the shade by the pool to wait. During that entire time, the deck stewards offered no drinks or anything else to anyone. They were too busy standing around talking amongst themselves, apparently. We noticed that all of the tables along the pool only have three chairs around them rather than the usual four. Also, last night in the dining room, they were short of the chargers that feature maps of various Crystal destinations, so four tables, including ours, had the chargers for the Neptune dinner instead. There must be a majority of first-time cruisers on board because it appeared most of the guests went on tour today. Usually in Mexico the population of the ship is about the same as on a sea day. The Lido was nearly empty, which is a good thing considering the totally incoherent layout. Although the food selection looked appealing enough, in reality it was barely worth eating. Even the carved chicken was awful and that is usually a safe bet. The service in the Lido was satisfactory. Our iced tea was replenished often and the stewards were friendly. After lunch we walked the upper deck to the front of the ship just for kicks, then went back to the comfort of the air conditioned room. We did venture up to the grill for another lunch of hot dogs and fruit, but other than that we stayed in the room until sailing time. At that point we moved outside to our verandah for about an hour. Tonight's dress code is Informal for the Crystal Society Party before dinner. We are having dinner in Prego tonight for our "special" Crystal Society dinner with Carolyn and Randal, but we have included the menu from the Crystal Dining room so you won't miss anything. The party was as usual except for the low attendance. When we arrived, with the intention of skipping the reception line, nobody was waiting to get in. So, we did the proper thing and had our picture taken with the captain and Carolyn at the door. The room was nearly empty when we arrived, so we did sit in the Palm Court for once. More people did trickle in, so it was reasonably full by the time the brief speeches and introductions of high cruisers began. The highest number of cruises on this cruise is 76. CRYSTAL DINING ROOM MENU APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERTS
Crystal Cruises offers a unique
association with the acclaimed Valentino Granchio Reale dell’ Alaska all’
Insalata con Fette di Arancia e Balsamico Vecchio All of the food was good, but not spectacular. The tomato-mozzarella salad was especially tasty. The pumpkin ravioli, usually a highlight, was tasteless and had no flavor other than that of the pasta shell and butter. All of the portions were quite tiny. For example, the lasagna slice was only about 2" x 3" tops. The other honoree at dinner was interesting and shared many of the same thoughts we do about the entertainment, etc. She had a lot of fun things to say and had been to a lot of places we also enjoy. We had never had a lengthy conversation with Randal before, so it was nice to hear a bit more from him, as well. We had already had a dinner with Carolyn during another cruise, so we were already fairly familiar with her. She certainly was looking quite stunning tonight, although she always is very well put together in general. Tonight's entertainment is Star of "Phantom of the Opera", Dale Kristien. As usual for these special dinners, it went on way beyond the start of the show, so we didn't attend tonight's performance. Not that we haven't heard Dale many times before, of course. We received information regarding our in-transit return to Los Angeles. The instructions are that we have to meet in the Galaxy Lounge that morning at 9:15 AM to wait to be escorted to immigration in the terminal. This will all happen only after all of the disembarking guests have left the ship, so we're a bit skeptical it will really occur by 9:15 AM, but stranger things have happened. There is only a slight rocking motion tonight, as expected. The weather should remain clear and hot for the duration now that the hurricane has passed to the north. We more an hour forward on the clock again tonight. Sunday, October 2nd – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 AM – Depart 7:00 PM Embraced by rugged tropical mountains on one side and
the beautiful Banderas Bay on the other, Puerto Vallarta is second only to
Acapulco when it comes to the Mexican Riviera's leading resort cities.
During the dinner conversation last night, we heard that a gentlemen who had refused to dress appropriately was asked to leave the public areas after 6:00 PM. Of course, he was furious, but who doesn't know how dressy a Crystal cruise is by now? It is one thing to dress down, but to try to get away with shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt on an informal evening is pushing it a bit too far. Although we are surprised anyone made an effort to enforce the dress code, that is what they should do if they are going to continue to be as formal as they have been so far. We feel that these cruises are way too dressy, especially for the hot Mexican weather, but we also don't expect Crystal to bend to our desires. If we really find it so oppressive, then there are plenty of other options out there. So far, we aren't even close to being so offended by the dress codes to switch cruise lines based on that alone. We were awakened earlier than usual again, but there was only one announcement for a crew drill of some sort. We thought the ship was still moving because there was so much vibration, but the ship had been docked for hours by then. The weather is about the same as it was yesterday, very hot and humid. The temperature reading says it is 84, but it feels more like 94. There are some clouds over the mountains, but no rain had fallen on the ship by late afternoon. Our day started with sitting in the shade by the deserted Seahorse Pool until noon when lunch was served. Today we were offered drinks after sitting there for about fifteen minutes. Better than nothing, but still not as attentive as Crystal's other ships where the deck stewards arrive within seconds of a guest's appearance. Lunch in the Lido was better today. At least the main course, chicken chow mein, was tasty. The carved chicken breast was also very good. However, the service was very disorganized considering how few guests were there. One of the entrees was labeled as a "Crystal Kabob", but it was clearly some sort of sandwich. We checked the other side of the line and it was improperly labeled there also. Few waiters were available to help guests with their trays, so the maitre d' was doing double duty with that task. We received our preliminary statement for this cruise and we have a credit of $568.00 remaining. When that carries over to the next cruise and is added to that segment's credits, we'll have a lot of spending or tipping to do. Unfortunately, this will be one of the last times the credits will be given by Crystal, which does play a bit of a role in our desire to try other cruise lines in the future. Both sides of the dock area are completely torn up. It seems like it was only a few years ago that the landscaping was finally completed. We expect it to be a complete mess for the next 30 years now. The Regal Princess is docked at the main terminal. Crystal Harmony is at the smaller, adjacent pier across the street from Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. We spent the afternoon, as usual, in the air conditioned comfort of our suite or on the verandah, emerging only for snacks. Costa asked if we had been or were going ashore, which he knew wasn't an option. Just before sailing, the captain announced in a very vague manner, that it will be rough sailing tonight and tomorrow. This is again due to hurricane Otis, now headed north into central Baja California. So, Crystal Harmony is sailing out to sea, toward Hawaii, in order to avoid passing directly through the storm. We found most of this information by asking a bar waiter before dinner. All the captain said was to hold the handrails because there might be some swells. We think that is just a little too vague if it really is expected to be rough. We stopped off in the Palm Court for drinks before dinner. There are always more people dancing and sitting around in this ship's Palm Court than the others. This could be that the lights aren't turned down to nearly pitch black, but we're not sure. On the Symphony this room is a ghost town unless there is a party going on. Tonight's dress code is Casual/50's. We thought the 50's night theme was long gone since the show hadn't been offered on the past two cruises. However, it appears they dredge it up when the demographic skews younger than the mid 80's. They are going with the whole theme this time, including the related production show, crew costumes, 50's midnight buffet, and a Sock Hop after the show. 50's DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares and also available: DESSERTS Food review: We both declared this to be the worst meal overall we have ever had on this ship. Actually, we can't recall ever having a really terrible meal here, although that can't be said for the two other ships. In any case, the best item ordered was the shrimp cocktail that was very fresh and consisted of four large shrimp. The corn soup was a huge disappointment. It tasted pretty much like nothing. The watermelon gazpacho was 95% juice with a few chunks of something crispy tossed in. It tasted like apple juice that had been dyed red, to be perfectly honest. The "Las Vegas Style" salad was a tiny portion of a standard Caesar salad, nothing at all different about it. Our prime rib, while a reasonable portion, was overcooked and dry. It was edible, but that's all we can say for it. The corn on the cob was so overcooked that it was translucent and basically just slid off the cob when bitten into. At least the banana split was satisfactory, although it only contained one tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a banana that had been "split" down the middle lengthwise. Is anyone else put off by the strolling string trio in the dining room? We sure are tired of having our dinner interrupted while we listen to a song we didn't request and didn't want. Our table is directly in the path of the main trail of waiters going to and from the galley (our choice, by the way). This means that if the strings stop to play at any adjacent table, the entire system backs up. We saw waiters at other tables barge in front of the trio to serve the guests being serenaded. Although most people do seem to enjoy it, we'd suggest a better way to do it would be to flag them down as they pass or request they stop via your headwaiter or maitre d'. In any case, we successfully waved them by after an awkward silence when they asked what we wanted to hear. "Nothing" is the answer, but we aren't quite rude enough yet to say that. We just said, "It's OK if you want to just move on," which they did. Tonight's entertainment is the theme-related production show, "Rock Around the Clock". This is a good enough show, but c'mon, it has been around for the last fifteen years. We were really hoping it was gone for good since it isn't used on the Serenity at all and hadn't been here for the past few cruises. There is also a Sock Hop after the show in the Club 2100. Dave vowed two cruises ago to never attend this show again after spending the hour looking around the room and analyzing the lighting scheme rather than paying attention to the actual show. Bill, however, did attend. He declared it just short of a train wreck, besides being tired and boring. A few guests left early while others were more interested in their own conversations than in the show. We set our clocks back one hour tonight. By the way, we just noticed today that this is a "Health and Fitness" Theme Cruise. OK, whatever. The only evidence of it besides a couple of fitness-related speakers, is that they have marked things in the schedule as being part of the theme. Yeah, well, that's fine except they always offer ping pong, paddle tennis, walking around the deck, and aerobics classes. There isn't one thing among the activities that is unique to this cruise that we are aware of. Just before bedtime, we did begin to feel a bit of motion. Nothing unusual, just some rolling from side to side. Monday, October 3rd – cruising the pacific ocean It never did become unusually rough over night and by morning there was no more movement than usual in the open sea. In fact, it turned into a very pleasant day with mostly clear skies and warm, but not hot, temperatures. There were swells all day, but it was consistent and not even enough to make walking a straight line difficult. We started our day with lunch in the Lido, which was actually busier than we expected. This is the Gala Luncheon Buffet day, so we thought most guests would be downstairs. There was an attractive sushi bar setup in the Lido that was quite popular. Our lunch selections ranged from inedible to very good. We should have known better than to take a piece of the grilled minute steak crusted with macadamia nuts on a bed of roasted rutabaga. Let's just say we learned a valuable lesson. It was so ghastly that it was difficult to even keep the first bite in our mouth, let alone swallow it. If we hadn't been in public we would have spit it out. Yes, it was that bad. Luckily, everything else was good enough to eat, although not spectacular. There were meat patties with some sort of brown gravy, BBQ pork sandwiches with onion rings, and a few other items that were relatively tasty. We were amused when the chef came out and made the attendant take away the tray of sandwiches just as we arrived. The ones that were sitting out were whole, about the size of a hamburger bun. They were quickly replaced with the same thing cut in half. That speaks to our belief that they are serving everything in smaller portions to save money. Of course, anyone can have as much as they want, but most people would only take one of each item rather than a pile of it. One constant about Gala Buffet day is that the outstanding bread pudding is also served in the Lido. So, who cares what else is served! After lunch we wandered up to the pool deck to listen to the band for a few minutes. We thought just maybe since the deck was jammed with people that they would play a bit longer. No such luck. They packed up at 1:30 PM sharp. We were entertained by the water sloshing out of the overfilled pool, so who needs music? Every available lounge chair was taken and guests were wandering around looking for places to lay out in the sun. The deck stewards were quite attentive today, offering drinks and helping guests move loungers around. However, they are nowhere near as solicitous as those on Symphony or Serenity and they never have been that we are aware of. It always appears to us that they are shorthanded besides being more interested in talking among themselves than serving. Once they are out and about, they are very pleasant though. As mentioned previously, the deck area is missing at least a third of the chairs that used to be around the tables in the shade. All of the tables have a maximum of three chairs while a few have none at all. However, since most people wanted to be in the sun, there were plenty of available chairs in the shady areas where we always sit. We stayed outside until it started to get a bit warmer than it had been. This was around 3:00 PM, by the way. So, we went to look at the route chart to see if they had revised anything, which they had not. Our next intention was to purchase some chargers with maps on them that are the same as those used in the dining room onboard. However, the shops were too busy to suit us, so we wandered by instead. Shelley was just coming out of another shop and stopped to chat. When she found out we wanted the chargers she grabbed a saleswoman and made her write it up right there in the hallway with the merchandise to be delivered to our room later. How's that for service? She tried to push off some Alaska wear that is on dump sale, but we didn't really need anything unless it was down to $3.00 or something. They did have some good markdowns at $9.99 from $49.99, but nothing we were interested in. There was one table full of women's tops that were all $20.00. The clothing on Crystal is very expensive, so $20.00 is a good deal for most of it. We told her when the stuff gets to $5, to let us know and we'll think about it. It's all free to us anyway with so much shipboard credit hanging on, but we'd still rather get a cheaper price. We can't recall the last time we saw dump sale tables outside a shop on a Crystal ship. Shelley said that they were doing a brisk business this morning with guests lined up to buy stuff. They are actually starting to mark down some of the better, more expensive items now. The Crystal cookbook, which was ridiculously priced to begin with, is now $9.99. Shelley said the Prego oil and vinegar decanter and the pepper mills were marked way down, too, but we're not interested in either of those items. Bill went to the backstage tour at 3:15 PM just to do something. He described it as "white trash central", besides the fact that it was so hot backstage that several people left in the middle of it. The alternative restaurant maitre d' called to say we can come up and make reservations there for the next cruise tonight at 5:00 PM, or anytime thereafter before the new guests arrive. The rest of the afternoon was spent in the suite, as usual. We did go out for ice cream to kill time before going to see the maitre d' in Kyoto to make reservations for embarkation evening and for the final formal night. Tonight's dress code is Formal for the Captain's Farewell Gala. There is a cocktail party in the Palm Court before dinner for this occasion, as usual. During the captain's speech, he announced that the ship would be sailing through the remnants of hurricane Otis tonight starting around midnight, but he also said it shouldn't be any rougher than it was right now. That would mean there would be some movement, but nothing out of the ordinary. As we walked across the open pool deck to get to Kyoto Restaurant, it was just starting to sprinkle and the wind was picking up a bit. We will be dining in Kyoto tonight to avoid the Baked Alaska Parade in the dining room, but the menu is included anyway so you won't miss anything. CAPTAIN'S GALA DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT By the way, this is the "French Dinner" menu that is served during longer than 7-day cruises, not the traditional farewell menu. It isn't one of our favorites anyway, so we are doubly glad to be dining in Kyoto this evening. KYOTO RESTAURANT MENU
S T A R T E R S Food review: The lobster dumplings were excellent. Both the Beef Tataki and the Yakitori were good enough, but nothing special. The sashimi was very fresh and attractively presented. The seasonal greens were fresh with a nice variety and fresh-tasting dressing. Both entrees were as good as usual, but the beef would have been better if it had been seared more than it was this time. We ordered the rice pudding just to try it because we had never had it before. It was edible, but would have had no flavor at all if not for the caramelized sugar on top similar to that found on a crème brulee. Both of the other desserts were outstanding. The sampler is cleverly served in three separate porcelain spoons, which is very attractive. Elizabeth ran by to take table photos in Prego. She stopped briefly on the way back to chat. Paulo, a wine steward we have known since day one, said he doesn't yet know if he will be able to transfer to another ship. We find that outrageous since he has been with the company almost since the beginning. The way they treat the Filipinos is really appalling, although the workers themselves carry on at length about how generous they are to them. While that may be true in comparison to other cruise lines, we still believe they are treated with a different standard than everyone else working on board. Tonight's entertainment is the production show "Encore - By Popular Demand". This show was put together from previous shows from the past fifteen years of Crystal Harmony in tribute to her farewell season. It had its debut during the 15th Reunion Cruise last June, but the show we saw tonight was vastly improved. The first time we saw the show the accompanying videos made no sense at all, but tonight they were properly arranged. Two numbers from the long-running "Symphony of Nations" show were added that were sorely lacking from the first version. We assume it wasn't ready at the time. In any case, this was a very different, much better show that what we saw in June. That's not to say it couldn't use some improvement, but it is very good as it is. It rained all through dinner, but we didn't notice any appreciable increase in movement any time during the show or afterwards. However, when we opened the verandah door to peer outside, the wind was whipping up whitecaps, rain was pouring horizontally, and the drapes were nearly sucked out of the room. It was so creepy that it looked like something from a horror movie. Back inside with the door closed and the drapes closed, all was calm and no one was the wiser to what was going on outside. That sure is a testament to how well this ship rides in spite of it's creaks and rattles. All guests received a Farewell Season pin tonight as a pillow gift. We'll have enough of these to sell on eBay with all the cruises we still have left to go. We already have a set of pins from the Reunion Cruise to add to the collection. We received letters with the shore excursion order form for the next cruise so we may book before new guests arrive. We're not interested in doing that, of course, but it is a nice gesture they have been extending as long as we can remember to those guests remaining on board for another cruise. Also, we got the impression that there would be no restriction on the number of reservations we wanted for the alternative restaurants during the next cruise. Ordinarily, each guest may make one reservation for each restaurant until later in the cruise if there is still room. By the way, Kyoto and Prego were nearly full even tonight, which is unheard of. Usually only crew and staff show up on formal nights at all, let alone the final one of a cruise. We move one hour back on the clock tonight. Tuesday, October 4th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Most people would probably consider today's sailing conditions as rough, but for us it is nothing unusual. The weather is partly cloudy and in the low 70's, but it is extremely windy. That is whipping up whitecaps and coating the windows with salt spray. In the 9:00 AM announcement, the captain said the pools would be closed today because they couldn't keep the water in them. We were up earlier than usual, for no particular reason, so we had the opportunity to sample the Late Risers Breakfast by the Neptune Pool. The menu hasn't changed, so we had the Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast, which is much tastier than it sounds. The deck stewards serve this meal, so it is hit and miss whether you get what you ordered. In our case, we both got the side order of fruit and of bacon, rather than one of each. Also, this was after sitting there for longer than it should have taken for someone to take our order. A pet peeve of ours is when staff begin packing things up before the designated ending hour. In this case, they began picking up the table settings ten minutes early. We heard at least one couple, who wanted to eat there, turn back because they thought it was too late. Plus, while we were eating we were constantly interrupted by the stewards collecting the menu, condiments, etc. Another group had to chase down the ketchup because it had been taken away before their food arrived. None of this is of the utmost importance, but it should be a bit more polished on a ship of this caliber. On the way back to the room for a pit stop, we chatted with Cetin, a butler we had several cruises ago here. He wanted to know if our house had ever been finished, etc. He filled us in on a few things going on with the ship such as the staff from the Asuka coming over to check things out. He says all of the nearly new linens and such will be replaced because they aren't what the Japanese want. He also indicated that they plan to sell the dining room china and other items to the guests to be shipped to their home. We're not sure when they will start doing this, but they'd better start soon. Apparently there is a huge stash of it that has never been used. Cetin was waiting in the hallway for the return of the group of 80-something women staying in the Crystal Penthouse. He had set up a surprise birthday party for one of the women turning 80 today. He did this of his own accord, which was certainly nice of him. He said that they used to compete among themselves to decorate the cabin doors with balloons and signs until there was a "significant incident" that forced them to stop doing so. He didn't elaborate about what that incident was and we didn't ask. Cetin has been with Crystal Harmony since the beginning, so he says he will be leaving with the ship to manage a hotel in Turkey. He doesn't want to make the effort to get used to the other ships and we can't say that we blame him. Fifteen years is a long time to be on board, that's for sure. We decided to dig through the dump sale tables for anything we could possibly use for our shipboard spending credits. We managed to find four Nautica polo shirts in our size marked down from $79.99 to $23.99, so we bought those. That's a good deal for that brand, but not really cheap enough to get us excited about it. They are regular shirts, not something with the Crystal logo on them. They had some Alaska wear marked 50% off, plus a lot of ladies tops marked down to $20.00. Some of the gorgeous ladies evening gowns in another shop were marked down 70%, but we know they are hundreds or thousands of dollars to begin with. However, if someone is into that sort of thing, they are probably a good deal. Back at the room, we completed our Quality Assurance Questionnaires to be turned in later today. We have to be careful what we say when we are staying on board because negative comments can prompt outrageous fawning that borders on annoying. We don't have anything major to complain about particularly, but we are wary of criticizing anything until we are on the way out. We have always found it appalling that staff who are criticized are told which guests did the complaining. We know the point is so that they can make amends, but all to often they just cop an attitude instead. Since we had breakfast at 11:30 AM today, we waited until later in the afternoon to have lunch at the Trident Grill. The food was fine, but we were never offered drinks and no one was available at the bar to provide them either. This wasn't at some off hour, it was 3:30 PM when there were still plenty of guests out on deck. After lunch we stopped by Carolyn's desk to tell her she didn't have to invite us to dinner again. She said that she had already decided not to because there isn't a "fun group" to put together that she felt we would be interested in. We're certain she is correct in that assumption. We had a lengthy, pleasant conversation with her about what she will be doing after leaving the ship, etc. She is a very nice person and we're sure she will be successful in anything she tries. We learned that a few of the top Crystal Society members with whom we are familiar will be returning for the final cruise in November. It does appear somewhat that the reality of Crystal Harmony leaving the fleet and being changed forever is starting to sink in with guests and crew. If the ship was run down or very dated it wouldn't be quite so startling, but most areas of the ship appear nearly brand new. There is certainly nothing visible to the public that is worn out or terribly out of date. Crystal has done a wonderful job of keeping up the appearance of this ship and updating the decor as necessary. It is too bad that the bathrooms were so poorly designed even when they were new. There is just no way for this ship to compete in the ultra-luxury market anymore. Also, we know that there are mechanical reasons behind the scenes for her to be transferred to Japan where replacement parts are more readily available. It appears that the disembarkation will be completed much earlier than usual. The cruise director said in his speech that everyone will be disembarked by 9:30 AM. In the past, disembarkation has barely even begun by that time. All of this is due to the immigration procedures taking place in the terminal rather than on board, which is normally a huge inconvenience. Tonight's dress code is Casual. Tonight's entertainment is the usual "Time to Say Goodbye" variety hour featuring Jimmy Travis, Dale Kristien, and the Crystal Ensemble. The show was presented before dinner, so there is nothing entertaining going on after dinner except a Farewell Jazz Jam with the Galaxy Orchestra in the Avenue Saloon. If you are into that sort of thing, they are are usually very good. We didn't attend any of the evening's entertainment. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERTS Food review: Everything tonight was satisfactory, but nothing stood out as wonderful. The fruit was nothing at all as described, although what was served was perfectly acceptable. The cream of chicken soup had no chicken flavor at all and was very boring. Both salads were fresh and tasty, but very small portions. There were no fried eggplant chips in the mixed green salad that indicated they were included. The sweet and sour pork was very good, but the chunks were not crispy and had not been deep fried. They were obviously sautéed pork chunks in sweet and sour sauce. Again, it was good, just not as described. We had ice cream for dessert, which was the best choice. Service was a bit spotty tonight, although it made no difference to us at all. With no show after dinner we could sit in the dining room until midnight and we wouldn't care. When we arrived there were was no glassware on the table. Mark said the first seating guests had stayed until 8:25 PM, so they only had five minutes to change the tables before we arrived at 8:30 PM. He seemed to be pulled in every direction tonight and we only saw our assistant at the end of the meal. He told us he had been stuck in the kitchen, but we have no idea what he was doing all night. After dinner we wandered around the public areas, then returned to the room. They have new farewell videos showing on the TV on the final night that are pleasant, but also tear jerking. Mostly it is emphasizing the end of Crystal Harmony, showing clips from when she was built until now, with various crew members waving goodbye with the "Time to Say Goodbye" theme playing in the background. It was slightly rough and stormy all night, although it did calm down just slightly after dinner. The waves aren't huge, but it is very windy, as it has been since yesterday afternoon. Wednesday, October 5th – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Arrive 6:00 AM – Depart 5:00 PM Spectacular natural surroundings combined with the
vitality of a creative and artistic community make Los Angeles one-of-a-kind.
Sunshine, majestic palm trees and the sandy beaches of the Pacific share the
spotlight with L.A.'s glamorous movie industry and its world-famous celebrities. We got up at 7:30 AM so we would be sure to make it for breakfast before 9:00 AM, and then to be ready for the in-transit immigration inspection at 9:15 AM. This was our first breakfast this trip, by the way. We were satisfied with the food, which is surprisingly good for a buffet. They do offer made-to-order waffles and eggs, but the lines are quite chaotic, so it was easier to choose things from the buffet. The pastries were particularly fresh and tasty. We sat in the Kyoto Restaurant where there were a few others, including the captain. After breakfast we wandered down to the Galaxy Lounge to await our 9:15 AM call. We stood in the lobby and waited, and waited, and waited, until eventually most of the guests had departed and there was room to sit in the Galaxy Lounge. There we sat for another 30 minutes while everyone else left except for a handful of in-transit guests, the ambassador hosts and some entertainers who are continuing to the next cruise. One man was particularly upset because he and his wife had plans for today, as did we, and the clock was ticking. Finally, after he went out and complained, we were ushered out to the immigration station in the terminal at around 10:00 AM. The immigration officer looked at Dave's passport and asked, "Do you ever stay home?" Other than the fact that one of the officers barely spoke English, the first part was easy enough, although a total waste of time. Getting off the ship would be much faster if any other guests paid attention to the 400 announcements to have your keycard in hand for scanning. We're amazed at how little seasoned travelers are aware of as far as procedures go. It is the same in every port and they do a very good job of informing us what is going to happen, what time, and where. Then they make 200 more announcements in the lounge repeating the exact same thing over and over. Still, people have no clue what's going on or what to do. Literally all one has to do to disembark is to show up in the Galaxy Lounge at the time specified, have your keycard and passport ready, and walk out when called. It was downhill from there. We had to go downstairs, outside to the sidewalk, walk the length of the terminal to the Embarkation door. There, we ran into Ann, one of the ground crew who always recognizes us. She had to stop everyone because the terminal security hadn't approved in-transit guests to return to the ship. She was annoyed with them, of course, but there was nothing to be done about it. Once clearance was given we walked up to the security at the door. He asked our name, but couldn't find it on any list. Of course, we weren't on any lists because we had ship I.D.'s in hand. We finally pointed out that we were holding up the card he needed to admit us. At that point, another guard came over, called him an idiot, and waved us through. We went up the escalator where our I.D. was checked again, twice. Nobody had ever heard of an in-transit guest before, apparently. Well, the Crystal reps had, but they were powerless to do anything. We finally made it to the X-ray machine where our I.D. was looked at again. Then they started screaming for baskets to put things through the X-ray until we pointed out that we had nothing with us. Through the X-ray, our I.D. was checked again. We walked about thirty feet and our I.D. was checked again at the gangway. Then two feet later, by the ship's security. Eventually we made it back on board. it only took thirty minutes to make the round trip through B.S. hell before we were finally back on board. Our plan was to load up the liquor and our purchases and drive home with them. So, we loaded up some bags not knowing if we would have to be inspected or not. Off we went to the terminal where all of the inspectors were gone and a shortcut had been opened up to the exit. We walked right out with our stuff with no questions asked. We didn't have anything that would have been a problem, but we certainly could have. Once outside we decided to call home to have someone meet us in Laguna Niguel because it was getting a bit late to risk driving all the way home. From that call we were reminded that our street was being resurfaced today and we couldn't get in or out anyway. So, we dumped everything in the trunk of the car and hauled ourselves back to the ship. We went through the same multitudinous I.D. checks on the way back, except this time they had been educated about in-transit guests. As usual. there was a Crystal rep stationed at intervals lest anyone go astray between the street and the gangway. We're not kidding when we say that our I.D. was looked at at least six times on the way in. We certainly understand checking at the door and at the gangway, but what is the point of three people checking it within ten feet of one another? Besides, what exactly are they discerning from a Driver's License? Anyway, back aboard, the ship wasn't recognizing our new cards yet, so we had to use the old one to scan back on. Guests were already waiting in the lobby to embark, but we breezed right past them. They probably wondered who the heck we were to get through the express line, but that's part of the fun of staying on board to another cruise. Costa was re-stocking his stash of soft drinks, so we stopped to chat with him about general stuff. The area where he lives in Portugal sounds about the same as where we live in Bonsall. Except, of course, that he is never there. So, that is officially the end of the first 7-day cruise. We judge it to have been a great cruise, with no real problems to speak of. We're sure a few others will feel cheated by missing Cabo San Lucas due to rough seas, but we could care less. Even though the ship is at the end of her life with Crystal, she is in good condition and not showing her age in any obvious way. Service was good to excellent, with the exception of the deck stewards who were a bit lackadaisical although still quite friendly when you could get their attention. We ended this cruise with about $450 remaining in shipboard spending credits. MEXICAN RIVIERA RENDEZVOUS Crystal certainly had the disembarkation/embarkation process refined to near perfection. In spite of the dippy government procedures, the last guest left the ship by 9:45 AM and the started receiving new guests on board at noon. When guests arrive they are ushered directly to the Crystal Dining Room for lunch where complimentary champagne is served. This is certainly an improvement from other cruise ships and a pleasant way to begin a voyage. We arrived at the dining room around 12:30 PM and it was over half full at that time. Eventually, it filled to near capacity, minus the center area that was not staffed. Everything we ordered was very good, but the service was inconsistent. We were served by the waiter we had for the Alaska cruise and he did remember us, but his friendliness, or lack thereof, hadn't improved any. We ran out of water twice and the headwaiter ended up clearing our dirty dishes. Yes, it was busy, but he was only serving three tables of two and one table of six. Once lunch was finished, we went back to the room for napping until the boat drill at 4:15 PM, which we were not required to attend (and didn't). After that, the sail away was just a short time away, so we moved out to our verandah for that event. It was very hot until the ship pulled away and our side of the ship was in the shade. Once Crystal Harmony began sailing out of the port it was very pleasant outside, so we stayed out until we were well out of the harbor and the sun had set. We start this cruise off with the remaining credits from the last cruise still on our account, plus the following:
That probably sounds generous, and it is, but we are short several bottles of wine usually delivered upon embarkation and, more importantly, seven days worth of prepaid gratuities for our 35th Milestone. We received the credits for the just concluded 7-day cruise, but we are entitled to fourteen days worth, so we will have to whine to Carolyn tomorrow so she can "sort it all out" as she puts it. The welcome aboard show for the late seating was performed at 6:30 PM tonight, before dinner, so even if we had wanted to see it we wouldn't have gone. Lucky for us we despise this pretentious bore of a show, so we weren't out anything. Tonight's dress code is Casual. Our dinner tonight is again in the Kyoto Restaurant, but here is the Crystal Dining Room menu so can make your own choices: BON VOYAGE DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT KYOTO RESTAURANT MENU
S T A R T E R S The restaurant was as full as we have ever experienced. We were seated in one of the alcoves by the window and the other table for two in it was also occupied. That's certainly a first. All of the food was very good to outstanding. We had never ordered the hot noodle dish before and it was very good. We'd definitely order it again, but certainly not on a formal night when were were dressed up. When the waiter brought the check (for the tip), he asked if we wanted separate checks. When Dave replied, "What is this, Denny's or something?", he reacted as though it was the most hilarious line he had ever heard. He repeated it to every waiter in the restaurant while pointing in our direction and laughing out of control. At least we inadvertently brightened up their evening. Victor, our first headwaiter on this ship and the maitre d' during the Alaska cruise, walked by and informed us he would be our headwaiter for this cruise. He's fairly amusing, so it should be an enhancement to the dining experience. There was nothing wrong with Tamas, but we are more familiar with Victor. After dinner we took a walk from the aft to the forward elevators on deck 6, then went up to the room to get ready for bed. Exciting, aren't we? There didn't seem to be much, if any, nightlife going on anywhere. Needless to say, that doesn't affect us one way or the other, just making a comment. This does appear to be an older and more sedate crowd than the last batch, which we assume has something to do with the cruise being a bit longer. We set our clocks forward one hour tonight. The captain announced earlier that there would be a swell as we sailed down the coast and everyone should, "Take appropriate precautions," meaning take seasick drugs. While there was a bit of a slow rocking motion that began after dinner, it certainly is not rough by any means. Actually, when we sailed by the hurricane during the previous cruise it was less rough than the two times we left Los Angeles for Hawaii during normal weather. Thursday, October 6th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean There was no reason at all to warn us about movement overnight as there really wasn't any to speak of. Today is absolutely clear with calm seas and just a bit of wind. The temperature is in the low 70's. All in all, very pleasant. Today is the Nuevo Latino buffet on deck, so going up there anytime before late afternoon is a zoo. We're not big fans of the theme buffets anyway, so we went to the dining room for lunch. Unlike the last cruise when the dining room was packed on buffet day, it was nearly empty today. More people straggled in over the course of the meal, but it was never filled. It was deja vu for us with the same menu and same waiter serving us on Nuevo Latino day. Unfortunately, the sandwich of the day, a grilled ham and cheese, wasn't nearly as good as it was last week. It tasted more like Cheez-Whiz and ham today. Although the sandwich was edible, the warm potato salad with it was not. No matter, we had a fruit cup, tortilla soup, and a salad or pasta course before the entree anyway. Nobody is likely to starve around here even with the tiny portions. After lunch we walked around the Promenade Deck since the weather was neither too hot, too cold, or too windy as it had been for the previous week. We did go up to the pool to survey the scene there and it was, as expected, completely full with every available seat occupied. As these final cruises are nearly sold out, they are going to regret not replacing the missing deck chairs pretty soon. Back at the room we spent the day on the verandah or watching TV, as usual. It was freezing when we returned to the room. The air conditioning issues are one of the major reasons for the ship leaving the Crystal fleet. We haven't touched the thermostat since we arrived, but it alternates between refrigerator cold and too warm with not apparent rhyme or reason. It doesn't seem to matter what the weather is outside related to inside. It isn't as bad as it was last year when the air conditioning didn't work at all for seven out of ten days of the cruise when it was 100 degrees outside. While the ship doesn't look old from the guests' point of view, the behind the scenes mechanics of it are starting to break down more frequently. The fountain in the lobby hasn't worked for two years that we know of. That is a shame because it is a major focal point and it is quite attractive when it works. Now it is just a dingy testament to what used to be. Tonight's dress code is Formal for the Captain's Welcome Gala. We have noticed that the dress code information no longer says "Recommended dress". Now it states what the dress code is "Throughout the ship after 6:00 PM," so they do appear to be making more of an effort to force the issue. This is a bit of a losing battle, but they are trying. The Captain's Welcome Reception was held in the Palm Court before dinner. We arrived around 8:00 PM and went directly through to the Vista Lounge, which was not as empty as it usually is during these parties. The captain announced that there are 832 guests on board for this cruise, so it is more than 100 guests short of being sold out. He also confirmed that we will be arriving late in Cabo San Lucas due to a strong current the ship has to fight to get there. CAPTAIN'S GALA MENU APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD SHERBET PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: VEGETARIAN SELECTION DESSERT Food review: Everything was very good, as expected for this menu. The only disappointment was the pasta dish, which was below average. The portions of the beef were larger because our new headwaiter went to the chef and told him to give us larger pieces. This came from a conversation earlier today when we casually mentioned how small the portions were last cruise. So, he took it upon himself to be sure we got larger pieces of meat tonight. That certainly is the kind of service Crystal is known for. Our waiter is now Karol, a long-time Crystal waiter, who we had once before on the Serenity. He knows us fairly well and we like him just fine, but we were surprised our waiter and assistant were changed. Usually guests who remain on board keep the same waiter, stewardess, etc., unless the crew member has gone on vacation or otherwise left the ship. As far as we know, Mark is still here since we saw him at lunch. We're not hysterical about this because we already know Karol, but otherwise it would be somewhat disruptive. In any case, Karol seemed quite happy to be our waiter, so we have nothing to complain about. This is a decidedly more "Crystal" batch of guests. In other words, older and better dressed than the previous cruise. There were several large groups on the past cruise and even though they didn't do anything improper, not having them in the dining room makes for a much less chaotic atmosphere. The table groups are smaller, so it is less crowded in general. Dinner service moved along very quickly and many guests were already gone by the time we finished just before 10:00 PM. Since the show doesn't start until 10:45 PM on formal nights, we had plenty of time to stop by the room to kill some time before going to the Galaxy Lounge. We received two bouquets of white and purple roses from Crystal Society tonight, but no wine. Tonight's entertainment is the lavish production show, "Million Dollar Musicals". Ordinarily this is our favorite show currently running on any Crystal ship. This wasn't the best performance we had ever seen, but it is still far better than anything else Crystal offers at the moment. There are no glaringly inappropriate numbers and the costumes are spectacular. The show has a peppy opening and wraps up nicely while flowing at a reasonable pace throughout. Poor adjustment of the bass made the sound quite poor through the entire opening number and it was never completely fixed. There were a few glitches with the costumes, but this was the first time in years we have seen the big reveal of the black and white ladies' costumes for "My Fair Lady" come off as designed. On the way back to the room Carolyn jokingly attempted to get us to go to the disco for karaoke. The horrified looks on our faces were what she was after and she certainly got them. We heard a woman after the show carrying on about how it had become so rough during the show that she thought she would end up tossed onto the stage. Listen up, IT WAS NOT ROUGH AT ALL! No kidding, the ship wasn't moving in any discernable way. None, zero, no movement. OK, we'll concede that after the show it was possible to tell we are sailing on water, but that's the extent of it. We'd hate to see her comments if she had been on the previous cruise, although it wasn't all that rough then either. Apparently, someone takes these guests' money and sends them only God knows where. What a shock it must be to find themselves on a ship that actually left the pier. Friday, October 7th
– Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – Arrive Cabo San Lucas is nestled on the southernmost tip of
the Baja Peninsula, where the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean meet the warm
waters of the Sea of Cortez. Commanding rock formations, timeless desert and a
translucent sea provide a compelling introduction to this tranquil resort town.
The ship was still sailing south along the coast at 11:00 AM, so we didn't actually arrive in Cabo San Lucas' harbor until 12:30 PM or thereabouts. We went to the Lido for lunch at noon and didn't hear the announcement that the ship was cleared until around 1:00 PM. This was due to a strong current that slowed down the ship's progress the past few days. It wasn't at all rough or particularly windy. Lunch was chaotic in the crowded Lido. For example, one of the hot dishes was Lamb Curry. That's fine, but the condiments for it were placed before the actual item. So, if a guest wanted the toppings, they had to back up through the line. It is always arranged so incoherently that the lines clash, people are always barging in, etc. We relied on the rotisserie chicken that is always outstanding. There was a weird sandwich with pepperoni, Fontina cheese, and grilled peppers that was actually quite good. We sat in the Prego restaurant area, which was like stepping into another world it was so quiet. The room was nearly full of guests, but it was like a church in there. There are two other huge ships in port today, also. We are anchored adjacent to the Carnival Pride and there is a large Princess ship (Dawn?) in the distance. With those two mega ships in town we expect everything in Cabo would be jam packed with people. Of course, none of that matters to us since we had no intention of going ashore anyway. Back in the room, Costa came to replace our perfectly good plate of fruit with a new selection. He thinks we are quite bizarre because we're always in the room when he comes by to replenish things. However, we have noticed lately that we aren't in the minority anymore getting up at noon. We are never the last ones out these days, so things seem to be changing with guests preferring to sleep in. We went up to take a lap around the Sun Deck to check out the scenery. It is crystal clear today, so the views are spectacular. We have never seen so many small boats and jet skis buzzing around the famous Los Arcos rock formations. It doesn't seem like a very relaxing place to be today, that's for sure. As we were walking by the paddle tennis courts where several of the ship's officers were playing, the Hotel Director rushed over to talk about our note regarding purchasing discards from the ship. Since the Harmony is leaving the fleet in November, we wanted to be sure they were aware that we, among others, are interested in purchasing not only souvenir type things, but also serving items, furniture, etc. He wanted to let us know that he had contacted the office and they are not going to sell anything directly from the ship. Everything has to go to a warehouse in Los Angeles to be inventoried and accounted for financially. Then it will be sorted and sent out to the other ships or perhaps sold to the public at a later date. That all makes sense. He did say that many people want signs and such from the ship, so we do hope Crystal will think to save those items rather than take the easy road and toss them in the trash during drydock. Most of the pool deck usually in the shade was too sunny to suit us, so we went back to the room. Nothing exciting happened until we looked up and noticed that the Carnival ship was a bit too close outside our window. Harmony was moving to the other side of that ship at the time. We had been constantly drifting toward it all day, so they must have decided to move to a better anchorage. Once we made it to the other side of the Carnival ship we were in the wind and the ship kept rocking from side to side. That makes boarding the tenders impossible. Next thing we knew, there was frantic honking from the Carnival ship, we went outside to see what was up. Crystal Harmony was crossing the ship's bow within just a few feet, not to mention the anchor lines and such. They certainly had every right to get huffy at that point. It must have been quite nerve-wracking from their point of view since it certainly was from ours. Eventually the ship ended up quite close to the beach in the center of town, where it stayed for the rest of the day. Tonight's dress code is Casual. Casual dining is available by the Neptune Pool tonight, one of only two evenings this is offered during the cruise. We went up just after sunset to look at the view and take a walk around the Sun Deck. It appeared that the casual dining was very popular as there were a lot of people eating at the tables by the Seahorse Pool. Only the tables under the roof over the Neptune Pool are set up for casual dining, so we assume they were mostly filled if people were outside. The pool was still popular at this late hour, also. Before dinner we went up to Palm Court, but found it quite crowded with a private party on one side and most of the tables occupied on the other. Since we only had to kill fifteen minutes before dinner, we went down to the lobby and sat opposite the bar area. It never ceases to amaze us how oblivious people are. The doors to the dining room were closed since it wasn't yet 8:30 PM. Even so, people just pushed them open and wandered right in. This all in front of the line of people patiently standing in the lobby waiting for the dining room to open. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT Food review: The fruit was good, as usual. The split pea soup had a very nice flavor, but the few solid peas in it weren't cooked through. The chilled soup was fairly nondescript, although edible. Our spinach salads were good except for the big slab of extremely salty bacon sitting on top. Both entrees were outstanding. The beef without sauce was tasty and a substantial portion. Unfortunately, the bacon-wrapped green beans were awful and not worth eating. The cheesecake was very good, but nothing special, but it was nicely decorated. The dining room was sparsely attended since so many people had chosen to dine by the pool tonight. By the way, the poolside dining was the regular offering, not a special buffet or BBQ they sometimes offer. Walter and Victor both stopped to chat tonight. The conversations were pleasant, but nothing worth repeating here. Tonight's entertainment is Star of Phantom of the Opera, Dale Kristien. We did not attend the show, going directly up to the room after dinner. Other than a slow rocking from side to side due to the strong wind, there is no substantial movement tonight. The weather was calm and clear when we sailed away from Cabo San Lucas and we expect the same tomorrow. Internet service was not available tonight, which is common in this part of the world. However, it worked fine in Cabo San Lucas and we haven't sailed far since then. Saturday, October 8th – Mazatlán, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 AM – Depart 6:00 PM The massive lighthouse of El Faro welcomes you to the
thriving seaport of Mazatlán. Located on a peninsula just south of the Tropic of
Cancer, this fast-developing resort is a fishing and sportsperson's paradise.
Supposedly there are as many fishing boats as tennis courts here! Offshore,
scores of sailfish and marlin frolic in the temperate waters while para-sailors
drift lazily overhead.
Although we weren't particularly aware of it, there was quite a storm going on overnight. We did notice at one point that the ship was rocking slowly from side to side, but other than that we didn't feel or hear anything. However, when we woke up everything outside was soaked. It was very cloudy all day, but it wasn't raining anymore from 10:00 AM onward. With the inclement weather we figured everyone would still be onboard, so we went to the dining room for lunch rather than braving the crowded Lido. We arrived when it opened, so we had no problem getting a table, but the room was nearly full by the time we were finished. Both of us were happy with our food, a tuna melt and beef tacos. The tacos were barely recognizable as such, but they were tasty. One of the fruits in the appetizer was called "Dragon Fruit". We didn't know what it was and still didn't after seeing and tasting it. It was very sweet, with soft red flesh full of tiny seeds. Bulant insisted on going to the kitchen to get a whole one to show us. They didn't have any so he sent someone all the way down to provisions to find one to show us. He finally came back with a bright pinkish-red fruit with long fleshy spikes sticking out of it. The color was very bright, so it would probably be an attractive tree to add to our landscape if we can find one, besides the tasty fruit. Walter was happy that the dining room was full because then he doesn't have to watch the waiters so much because they are kept busy. He said it was especially busy because two of the "big tours" were cancelled today due to the weather. After lunch we went up to the top deck to take a walk around the ship and see what we could see. The carpet inside the doors to the outer deck were soaking wet and the door sills were stuffed with towels. It must have been stormier than we thought over night. We received confirmation of our booking on the Serenity for the first two cruises in January, 2006. Also, we got a call from Benji inviting us to meet she and Marco for drinks after dinner tomorrow, which we gladly accepted. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing nothing in particular, as usual. We did manage to drag ourselves to the upper deck for the sail away. The sun came out very briefly while we were sailing out, but it was and still is mostly cloudy. Although the captain said it would be smooth sailing to Acapulco, it looks to us that there will be some rain tonight at the very least. One good thing about the clouds is that it kept the temperature down to a reasonable level all day. It was very nice out on deck at sunset. Costa brought us some books about Portugal where he lives, but we weren't in at the time. We saw him in the hallway later and agreed that we would swap pictures tomorrow during a less busy time of day. Tonight's dress code is Informal, although with it being a port day it really should be casual. We missed this menu last cruise because we went to Prego that night, so at least we have something new to look forward to for tonight. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERTS Food review: We had several items tonight that were outstanding. The shrimp roll appetizer and the pasta were both extraordinary. The fish entree was good in itself, but the crab croquettes served with it were nearly inedible. The salad tasted more like wet lettuce with the Bella Vista dressing. It was better when requested with balsamic instead. The citrus soufflé cake looked quite bland, but was otherwise acceptable. We had a couple of informative conversations with Vincent tonight about the electric trolleys vs. the gas used on this ship for tableside cooking. He says it doesn't make much difference except the electric models use induction heat and sometimes heat too rapidly. They also only have one burner, so it is impossible to cook a pasta dish and then switch to a flambé dessert. However, as he pointed out, they only do pasta here once or twice a year, unlike the Symphony where it was virtually forced on everyone. It could be it has fallen by the wayside there, as well. Tonight's entertainment is The Comedy and Music of Jimmy Travis. We did not attend the show. Nothing against Jimmy, but we have seen his act a number of times in just the past few months, not to mention about four days ago. We went directly up to the room. Tonight was an informal night, as mentioned previously. We saw more dress code violators tonight than ever. Ties are not required anymore, but even so, the ratio of men with ties has tilted heavily in favor of no ties. We really believe they should drop informal dress altogether and just have formal and casual. Besides, it was ridiculous to have an informal evening on a port day. There were no warnings tonight about rough weather in spite of how it looked as we sailed out. There was a bit of motion from time to time, but again, nothing unusual for this part of the world. We move another hour forward on the clock tonight. Sunday, October 9th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Today's weather is overcast with occasional light rain. It sounded a bit stormy overnight, but it was mostly smooth sailing all day. We never set foot outside today, so we can't judge the weather personally. There was an Asia Cafe buffet by the Neptune Pool today, but we opted for the dining room instead. We know that they serve a few of the items from the buffet, so there is really no need to fight the crowds. There wasn't any rush at all to the dining room where we were seated by the window on the opposite side from where we normally sit. All of the food was fine, but nothing was outstanding. The "Spicy Orange Chicken" would have been better if it wasn't so salty, but it was otherwise just fine. After lunch we went looking for Shelley in the shops to see if she had time to look at the pictures she wanted to see of our house. She was free, so we retrieved the computer. We did make a purchase, so it wasn't all pleasure. We're slowly trying to us up our credits before it gets down to the last day when it is busy in the shops. Shelley and the other shop girls were suitably impressed with the progress we have made. Next we stopped by another shop to purchase a few gift items, then went down to talk to Carolyn about the missing gratuity credits and to show her the photos, as well. She was quite sympathetic after seeing all the never-ending work that is going on. She made us promise to take new photos and bring them to the final cruise, which we intend to do. Those two photo-showing opportunities and the shopping adventure used up a couple of hours, so by the time we were finished talking to Carolyn, we were ready to return to the room to rest up for the formal night ahead. Costa came by to show us pictures of his house that we had wanted to see. It is similar in it's location on a hill to ours, plus it has quite a similarity to the general floorplan, as well. He was really excited to tell us about where he lives in the south of Portugal and we were happy to hear about it. Tonight's dress code is Formal. The Crystal Society party is tonight at 7:45 PM in the Palm Court. We arrived at the appointed hour and found the room already full, so we had to sit in the extra chairs set up just inside the express lane entrance. We wanted to see who the highest cruisers are, so we didn't go up to the Vista Lounge as we usually do. The announcement of our 40th Milestone caused gasps among the audience, but we weren't in the top three. The next highest to be recognized had 46 cruises. The highest was the same woman from the previous cruise with 76. That announcement nearly caused people to faint. We're so used to the crowd on world cruises who don't bat an eye at 100 cruises, that all the expressed shock was unusual to us. FRENCH DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT Food review: This is our least favorite menu of all and one we usually avoid with a reservation in an alternative restaurant. No such luck this cruise. The room was sparsely populated, which is unusual for a formal night. Anyway, the fruit appetizer was nicely arranged, but nothing unusual. It was the same with the salads that had way too much dressing on them. The onion soup was good, but was a bit too heavy on the red wine. The lamb and the cheese ravioli were outstanding, however. Good enough to request a second serving for the lamb, and a double portion of the ravioli. The soufflé was also very good. Victor offered everyone who ordered it a splash of Grand Marnier, but we declined. We had to wave off the strolling musicians again, so they didn't learn last time that we don't want them to stop. In our opinion, they should be trained to know that if guests don't look up at them as they pass that they shouldn't stop. Seems like an easy enough solution to stopping at guests who aren't interested in being interrupted. They are very polite and they do move on, but it shouldn't be necessary to even say anything. Tonight's entertainment is the production show, "Curtain Call". We had a date with Benji and Marco, so we did not attend the show. Instead we went by the room to collect the computer with the photos and then up to the Vista Lounge to meet them. Randal joined us also, so we had a lively discussion during the photo showing about any number of things with all three of them interested in a different aspect of the remodeling. All in all, it was fun for everyone. Poor Marco has to get up at 6:00 AM tomorrow, but even so the evening didn't break up until around midnight. Back at the room, we found that the cold water in the bathroom was just as hot as the water from the hot water tap. So, taking a shower with the water turned all the way to the coldest setting resulted in water that was a bit warmer than we would normally set it. This seems a bit dangerous to us because someone who turned on the hot water thinking the cold would temper it could be scalded. This happened all the time when the Symphony first started sailing because they had neglected to install a chiller for the water. We hope this doesn't mean all of the coolers are broken down. It is a bit less cool in the room also, which would mean an air conditioning issue as well. Let's hope this is all worked out by the morning when it is 90 in Acapulco. The satellite connection was unavailable all day, so we were given a credit on our account for it. This was only because we had signed up for the flat rate service for the entire cruise. It is common for them to credit your account if the internet connection isn't working for a large chunk of the day. We have never had to ask for the credit when there is a lengthy loss of a connection. We were impressed that someone from the computer center called to tell us that the internet wasn't working and promised to call back when it was, which he actually did. Monday, October 10th – Acapulco, Mexico – Arrive 8:00 AM – Depart 11:00 PM Spectacularly situated where rugged mountains meet the
sea, legendary Acapulco is the gathering place for pleasure-seekers from around
the world. Considered Mexico's capital of fun, it is its most glamorous Pacific
resort. Outdoor activities abound, from aquatic sports to golf at emerald green
courses. Golden beaches await you and glistening seas beckon swimming,
snorkeling and surfing enthusiasts.
Hallelujah, the water is cold again! OK, so we're thrilled by small things these days. Anyway, we arrived without incident in Acapulco, docked as usual across the street from the fort. There is a Princess ship at the main terminal, so we are a bit farther down the pier than usual, across from a pedestrian bridge over to the fort area. The weather is unusually beautiful today with temperatures in the low 80's and a nice breeze. We wouldn't necessarily want to be out walking around, but it is pleasant on the street and the clear sky makes for a lovely view of the city in the distance. Our stewardess, Diana, was itching to get ashore to go bungee jumping. Her assistant, Joy, seemed appalled by the whole idea. Unfortunately for them, we are not the latest risers by far, so they have to wait until the very last minute to be able to go ashore. We went up to the Lido for lunch where were found several things to try. One thing for sure, Crystal can't make a pizza worth eating. Everything else was good, but nothing was special. Since the Lido was pretty much a geriatric ward today, we only stayed long enough to finish our meal, then went to retrieve the camera for some new pictures of the Harmony's public rooms. Nothing has changed except for the dysfunctional fountain in the lobby that looks quite dreary now. Crystal Harmony Photo TourAfter wandering around for the ship photos, we went outside to get some port photos, such as they are. At least the weather was beautiful today. After the photos we chatted for a while with a guest we had met a few days ago, then went up for some ice cream. There we sat in the shade by the pool until 3:30 PM when they started collecting the furniture for the casual dining tonight. God forbid the deck stewards should pick up dirty dishes or serve drinks, but they sure did jump and remove the furniture at the stroke of 3:30 PM while the area was still full of guests. They didn't kick anyone out of their seats, but it was plainly obvious they wanted the furniture. They also handed out cold towels at about the same time. We were back in the room watching DVD's shortly after 3:30 PM, where we stayed until dinner time. Diana returned in one piece, giddy from FOUR bungee jumps. She was exhausted, but said she had a wonderful time. To each his own! Tonight's dress code is Casual. As mentioned, the casual dining option is being offered by the Neptune Pool again tonight. That makes twice this cruise. Crystal's literature leads one to believe that casual dining is a regular option, but we have never seen it offered more than once or twice per cruise. When we walked by all of the tables except two were occupied, so this was a popular venue tonight. The alternative restaurants were also doing a booming business. We were surprised to see them using the Lido buffet lines as setups for the Prego kitchen. We had never noticed it before, but it must always be that way. As we were walking along the deck above the pool we saw that the Jacuzzi had malfunctioned and spewed all of its water onto the deck. We missed the actual event, but it appeared to have just happened. The remaining few inches of water still in it were a dark grey color. It will be interesting to see if it is fixed tomorrow or if that was the last gasp for it. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT Food review: The crab appetizer was satisfactory, but bland. It needed a bit more spice to make it better. Both soups were outstanding and had improved significantly from the same items the previous cruise when they were rather boring. The pasta was very good, also. Both entrees were outstanding, although the steak was not cooked to the degree it was ordered. As expected, the dessert was also outstanding. We passed on the crepes Suzette offered by Victor tonight. The dining room was nearly empty tonight with two to three times more empty tables than occupied ones. Most of the waiters were standing around looking for something to do most of the evening. We had to purposely dawdle to stretch the evening out until 9:45 PM. With no entertainment we are interested in, the only thing left to do is to wait for the sail away at 11:00 PM. Tonight's after dinner entertainment is essentially non-existent unless you count the piano concert in Palm Court. The attendance for both shows of the piano concert were fairly well attended. The offering in the Galaxy Lounge tonight is an "Old Fashioned Movie Night" showing the movie that would ordinarily be shown in the Hollywood Theater with the addition of popcorn and other movie treats. Not that we're hot to see local folkloric entertainment, but that is the usual offering on late departures from Acapulco. We went out to the upper decks to watch the sail away where it was still quite warm and pleasant. Sailing out of a large city at night is always spectacular and rather rare, so it is something not to be missed. There was a bit of a delay while we waited for the Regal Princess to depart because she was blocking our way out of the pier. Once that ship left, very slowly, Crystal Harmony backed all the way out into the harbor before turning around to sail out to sea. It was a beautiful night out, warm, but not hot. There were many more guests out to watch the sailing than usual, which was nice. Tuesday, October 11th
– The seaside port of Zihuatanejo was established over
100 years ago. Today it maintains the rustic charm and easy-going ambiance of
that period. Picturesque and unspoiled, its golden beaches and brilliant waters
are somewhat reminiscent of Polynesia. Just five miles away lies its twin town,
the burgeoning resort of Ixtapa, an isolated oasis of high-rise hotels.
It was somewhat rough overnight, although nothing out of the ordinary. However, we again had to skip a port today because the swells made tendering too dangerous. We learned later that only one ship can fit into the protected harbor and all others have to anchor in open waters. Obviously, that wouldn't work on a day when the swells were causing the ship to sway from side to side, so we are continuing on toward Puerto Vallarta instead. If we arrive early we are assured of a place at the dock there. The weather was beautiful today with moderate temperatures and a strong breeze. The cruise director slapped out a new afternoon of activities, including entertainment by the pool for most of the afternoon. We started with lunch in the dining room because there were several palatable choices on the menu. Both entrees were good, but the fajitas took the edge over the BLT Sandwich of the Day that was rather bland. We skipped dessert and went up to listen to the band by the pool and get ice cream there. When we arrived the Galaxy Orchestra was on stage doing one of their jazz jams. We're not big fans of jazz and we are even more confident about that now. They were talented and all, but the music was a bit too screechy for poolside listening. It was a nice effort to add something though. Music Vision, the regular pool and dance band, came after and did an hour of 70's music that had people dancing in the aisles and even in the pool. It was rather windy and almost chilly in the shade. Almost all of the tables and lounges were occupied again today. The Jacuzzi that spewed its guts onto the deck was still out of service today, but there were several guests in the pool and the second Jacuzzi. Everyone appeared to be enjoying the pleasant weather. We received a call from Carolyn to come down and see her about the missing pre-paid gratuities. She did say we were getting additional credits, but there is some sort of explanation that goes with it she wants to discuss. When we spoke to her about it she said we are getting about $350 more credit rather than gratuity credit for a variety of reasons. Part of it is for the unused limo transfer that we didn't know we were entitled to. In any case, it is more than we expected, so we're certainly glad we asked. The lesson here is to never be afraid to ask for what is due to you. The worst that can happen is they will say no, but it is more likely a mistake was made that will only be remedied if you speak up promptly. By the way, this is another "theme" cruise. This time it is a Food and Wine Festival. The only evidence of it is the Guest Chef Menu for the dining room tonight. We assume he also did some sort of demonstration in the afternoon the past few days, but since we no longer even look at the activities, we can't vouch for that. In our opinion, these theme cruises are totally bogus. Anyone who booked just for whatever the theme happens to be will be sorely disappointed. Nothing we have seen so far is anything not offered on all or most cruises anyway. An announcement was made at 4:30 PM saying that there would be free drinks in the bars tonight to make up for missing port today. Also, we should expect a letter from the President of Crystal Cruises in our stateroom tonight. That's all very nice, but missing a port where we were supposed to stop for only five hours is far less important than missing Cabo San Lucas during the previous cruise where we were scheduled to stay until 8:00 PM. Seems to us that was a more drastic event, yet nothing was compensated then. Mind you, we don't think anyone is entitled to anything for a missed port except maybe a refund of whatever port charges applied to it. Otherwise, you take what you get and shut up about it. As long as the ship feeds and entertains us, what more can we expect? Everyone in the lobby when we went down was absolutely freezing. We usually like it when it is on the cool side, but it was extremely cold down there. There haven't been any terrible problems with the air conditioning this cruise, so we don't consider it an issue at the moment. Back at the room we filled out our gratuity form to turn in tonight. We'll probably have a bit of credit left to spend, so we'll load up on more t-shirts before the end of the cruise. Tonight's dress code is Informal. We were invited to a Captain's Quarters Cocktail Party tonight at 7:45 PM. There were a few talkative people there who entertained us and all went well. These are never the most dynamic functions anyway, so there isn't much to report. GUEST CHEF DINNER SPECIAL GUEST CHEF MENU FEATURING THE
CUISINE OF SOUP HOT APPETIZERS MAIN FARES MENU APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN
SELECTION Upon your
request, these Traditional Main Fares are also available: DESSERT Food review: We have a new winner of the worst meal ever aboard Crystal Harmony. Why they continue dragging in guest chefs, we have no idea. We have only had one or two meals from one of them that was any better than what Crystal's chefs put out on a daily basis. However, this chef's choices were particularly poorly executed. Where to begin...first, the lobster "enchilada" didn't even look appetizing. It was mostly a beige blob on a white plate. There was no distinct flavor or spiciness at all and the avocado salsa added nothing, not even color. The crepes wrapping the lobster were soggy and tasteless. All in all, terrible, but edible. The corn soup was better. We'd judge it at least average. We had no idea the red fluffy thing plopped in it was flan until we looked at the menu again. Now, the worst part of the meal. By far the worst choice was the lamb. The shank, which was sort of a loaf shape that had been dragged through some flavorless beans, was actually quite good. But, the lamb itself was too tough to eat and had no special flavor. This was the first entree so far that wasn't completely eaten. The halibut was edible, but that's all that can be said for it. The fish wasn't braised, it was poached and seemingly in plain water. The fish had no flavor of its own at all. The green sauce with it was barely adequate and should have been much spicier. It was very thin and beginning to separate. There were a total of four tiny onions on the plate, plus about three tablespoons of bland Mexican-style rice with nothing in it except tomato sauce and some spices. Our original intention was to order the guest chef's dessert, but we chose instead to order the tiramisu. It wasn't anything like a traditional tiramisu, but it was so good that we ordered a second serving of it. Looking around the room we could see that not many, if any, guests liked the guest chef items. We saw at least two guests complain about what they had in front of them. Victor couldn't say anything negative, of course, but he did agree that the fish was boring. Apparently, the lobster appetizer elicited the most disdain from the guests, and for good reason. Tonight's entertainment is Star of Phantom of the Opera, Dale Kristien. We did not attend the show. When we walked by the entrance five minutes before show time, there were no guests seated in the outer rows and only a few toward the center. The promised letter from Gregg Michel, the President of Crystal Cruises, was delivered to the room. It is an apology for missing the port today as well as an explanation of why we had to skip it. Basically, the harbor isn't big enough to hold two large ships when the swells are too large. It would have been too dangerous to have both ships there trying to tender guests to shore. The letters include a voucher for credit toward a future cruise of $125 per person. That seems a very generous offer considering the short stay that was planned. We stick to our original belief that the missed port during the previous cruise was much more disruptive than this one and we expected no compensation for that either. It is our understanding that some guests believe that the port was skipped for the benefit of Crystal's bottom line. In our opinion, that is a cynical reaction with no basis in fact. Hopefully the weather will stay as it has been for the past couple of days. It is mostly smooth sailing tonight with no unusual movement. Wednesday, October 12th – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Arrive 9:00 AM – Depart 6:00 PM Embraced by rugged tropical mountains on one side and
the beautiful Banderas Bay on the other, Puerto Vallarta is second only to
Acapulco when it comes to the Mexican Riviera's leading resort cities.
The ship arrived early this morning and docked in the same location as before, across the street from Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. Quite a bit of progress has been made on the construction project since last week, surprisingly enough. The air conditioning was off for a while when we first arrived, but was working again by 11:30 AM. We received an additional shipboard spending credit of $350 to make up for the missing pre-paid gratuities, among other things. So, we still have about $450 to spend before we end up owning anything at the end of the cruise. Most of that will be used up when the purchase of the Crystal map chargers are posted to our account, so we really only have about $150 to spend. This is after all of our generous tips have been charged to our shipboard account along with the flat rate internet fee of $270, less $30 for the day it wasn't working. Our first destination was the dining room for lunch. We found several courses worth ordering, plus a very good pot roast entree. We watched several backups of tenders from the two large ships anchored off shore, the Regal Princess and the Oosterdam. These, along with the huge Carnival Pride, make for a very busy day in Puerto Vallarta. As far as we know, Crystal Harmony would have had to anchor off shore had we not arrived very early this morning, which was ensured by our skipping port yesterday. We don't think that is the reason we skipped it, but it did increase the odds of us securing one of the two docking locations. After lunch we walked up to the Sun Deck to see what was up today. Throngs of people were arriving in tenders from the two anchored ships. Otherwise, all was as usual. It is hot today, but not terribly so since the humidity isn't as high as it was last time. The sickly Jacuzzi by the pool has been repaired and was bubbling away normally this afternoon. Back at the room, Diana and Joy were waiting for a late guest to vacate their room. We chatted with Diana for a while until those guests finally emerged and they could clean their penthouse. The guests next to us had requested their mattress be replaced with a softer one. That had been done, but apparently wasn't much of an improvement. We will admit the beds are a bit hard, but nothing worth complaining about. They are comfortable enough for us, but then again, we are still sleeping on the floor at home. Pretty much anything is better than that. With construction going on directly across the pier from the ship, sitting out on the verandah wasn't much of a possibility today. The noise isn't outrageous, just a bit disruptive from time to time. They have filled in part of the shoreline and have begun to pour foundations for what appear to be new terminal buildings where there were none before. We watched a crew member wheel away a large motor, leaving it sitting in the middle of the walkway to the pier. it was still there after we sailed. Costa came by with a fresh supply of ice and an unsuccessful attempt to serve us a tray of cheese and crackers. We opted to finish the fruit already in our room instead. He told us about a beautiful place he went this afternoon outside the city, halfway up the hillside where the heat is moderated. Sounds lovely, but we still wouldn't be bothered going ashore here. A few minutes before sailing time, announcements were made looking for a woman reported as still ashore by the tracking system. This is quite common and usually the guests are found to be on board already. We assumed this was the case today, as well, because we sailed away on time. The actual sailing was rather dramatic because the Carnival ship was still at the other dock, so it was quite a tight squeeze to turn Crystal Harmony around to point toward the open sea. The pilot boat and another small boat were working like tugs to push the aft end of the ship away from shore. It didn't look like they had much of an effect though. From our vantage point it appeared that the ship ran over a red buoy near the shoreline. Once we were safely moving forward, the sail away music was finally played. We had sailed for a few minutes and were just past the bow of the Carnival ship when the pilot boat raced up. There was the missing woman, sitting in the back and looking quite embarrassed. She certainly will have a story to tell. At least now we know for sure that even if the ship knows you are missing, don't be late or you'll be left behind! In this case it probably has a lot to do with the distance we have to cover and that there are expected to be winds blowing against us up the coast. So, there wouldn't be a minute to spare if we are to make it back to Los Angeles on schedule. The weather had been getting cloudier all day. As we sailed it was looking quite stormy in the distance, although it wasn't particularly windy out on the water. By the time we made it up to the Vista Lounge before dinner, the sky was mostly clear. The sunset got applause from the guests in the lounge. Tonight's dress code is 50's Casual for the typical 50's theme night. As mentioned previously, we thought this theme and accompanying production show were long gone. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, so we're left with the fourth night in a row with no entertainment that interests us. 50's DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares and also available: DESSERTS Food review: There were some changes to the menu from the previous cruise, which was a pleasant surprise. You may recall that this dinner last week was the worst overall we had had on board this ship. Of course, that was superseded by last night's Guest Chef meal, but you get the idea. However, there was not a repeat of that this time around. The few menu items that changed were improvements. Both entrees were very good and plentiful portions. The salads were not as described. There were no deep fried cheese balls in the iceberg lettuce salad, for example, but otherwise they were fresh and crisp. The soup was a bit on the salty side, but was otherwise a nice change. Dessert was satisfactory, but not great. It consisted of small cubes of somewhat stale brownie in a sundae glass, topped with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and whole toasted walnuts. A few executives from Crystal's office arrived today. Other than that, we don't have much information to report about it. We assume it has something to do with the final cruise coming up in just a few weeks. Tonight's entertainment is the ancient production show "Rock Around the Clock". During the previous cruise, this show was a disaster. It was night and day compared to last week's performance. Funny how executives arriving from the office suddenly improves the production shows. If they can pull it out for them, then they should make the effort every time keeping in mind that there are guests on board who are seeing the show for the first time. We move one hour back on the clock tonight. It was smooth sailing until bedtime. Thursday, October 13th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean Today's weather is as good as it gets. There is not a cloud in the sky, the temperature is in the high 70's and there is enough of a breeze to keep the decks cool without blowing everything overboard. Since the ship is sailing directly into the swells, there is no noticeable movement. We received our disembarkation information and luggage tags. If all goes according to the plan, we should be off the ship a bit after 9:00 AM. This is the first time in years we have seen a notice to vacate your stateroom by 9:00 AM. They never force anyone out, but they haven't even made the request for quite some time now. However, they are expecting a full ship up until the very last cruise, so that could have something to do with it. This is Grand Gala Buffet day in the lobby for lunch, so we went directly to the Lido for lunch. That proved a popular option with many guests making the same decision. It wasn't jam-packed, but it wasn't empty either. We were happy with the food choices, especially the bread pudding always served for dessert on this day. We moved out to a table by the pool at 12:30 PM when the band started and ate our dessert there. We stayed outside until around 2:00 PM, variously listening to the band and watching the water slosh out of the pool. That is more entertaining for us than it should be, by the way. This ship's pool isn't as likely to toss itself onto the deck as the one on the Symphony, but it was amusing enough for a few minutes. There were many guests out enjoying the beautiful weather, but it was not completely full and there were many available loungers and tables. After going back inside, we killed an hour until deciding to go down and use up our remaining shipboard spending credits on more crap we don't need or want. But hey, if they're going to give it to us, we are sure going to us it! Tonight's dress code is Formal for the Captain's Gala Farewell. There is a cocktail party before dinner in the Palm Court, as usual. We sat in the Vista Lounge, also as usual. We are dining in the Kyoto Restaurant again tonight. We'll do anything to avoid the Baked Alaska Parade in the dining room. However, for those diehards who would opt for the dining room anyway, here is the menu: CAPTAIN'S GALA APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SHERBET SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERT KYOTO RESTAURANT MENU
S T A R T E R S Food review: There isn't much to say that we haven't said several times before, so we'll suffice to say everything was as expected and as usual. We were quite happy with everything we ordered. The only item that wasn't anything special was the Yakitori and the only thing wrong with it was that it was boring. Service was attentive as it always is in the alternative restaurants. It wasn't quite as jam-packed as it was during the previous cruise, but it was more full than it has been in the past. Could it be that others are growing weary of the Baked Alaska Parade also? In any case, this is a far better way to spend the final formal evening on board. Tonight's entertainment is the production show, "Encore - By Popular Demand", presented to honor the past fifteen years of Crystal Harmony. While we do believe the premise of this show is a great idea, some of the numbers are way too long. We would prefer to see shorter pieces of more shows. There are over twenty shows to choose from and only about four are showcased here. There are a couple of sections we find quite tedious, but no parts of the show are terrible and we would probably attend again in the future. Tonight's production wasn't the best nor the worst. There were several mistakes and costume glitches, but nothing so glaring that a normal guest would notice it. We chatted very briefly with Gregg Michel, Crystal's President, in the lobby after the show. We are familiar with several of the executives who arrived yesterday, but we haven't had a chance to greet any of them until tonight. Mostly that is because we don't want to be like those guests who feel it is their prerogative to barge into a conversation and assert their views at every opportunity. We realize these people are on board for a reason and they have a limited amount of time to accomplish their goals. Besides, if they really want to know the truth they can always read this diary. We move back one hour on the clock tonight. Another set of Crystal Harmony Farewell Season pins was delivered to the room tonight. Friday, October 14th – Cruising the Pacific Ocean It's a grey morning off the coast today, overcast and in the low 70's, if that. There is a bit more of a swell than yesterday, so the ship is moving somewhat. It still isn't what we would consider rough at all. We received our immigration inspection information. We are supposed to report for inspection sometime between 6:15 and 6:45 AM, after our group number is called. This has never been on time in the past, but we'll have to be ready just in case. There certainly is no sleeping in on disembarkation day. Our first destination was the lobby to turn in our QAP forms and to check the dining room menu for lunch. We had a few minutes to wait, so we stood around in the lobby. Cetin, a butler we had previously here, came over to chat briefly, then Randal ran over between guests to thank us for the stuff we brought for him. He wants to invite us for dinner when we come back for the final cruise, which is fine with us. Lunch in the dining room was a popular choice today. There were virtually no empty tables by the time we were ready to leave. Our food was satisfactory, not great, not bad. We'll never figure out why they insist on calling a plain old roast beef sandwich a "French Dip", but that's the way it has always been on Crystal ships. There is nothing dipped about it and nothing provided to dip it in, so it appears they don't quite grasp the concept. However, it was quite tasty with grilled onions and some sort of creamy sauce on the meat. After lunch we went back up to the room to find Diana and Joy just finishing up the cleaning. As usual, our luggage had been pulled out from under the bed and arranged for easy packing. This is a nice thing to do, but we're never ready to pack this early in the day. It only takes us a few minutes to do it, so there is no rush to start for us. We made the "goodbye" rounds up to see Benji in the salon, where we chatted for a few minutes. Then out by the pool to get some ice cream. The fog rolled in about 2:00 PM and it remained quite foggy for the rest of the day. The water in the pool was sloshing vigorously out all over the decks. After the big thrill of the pool sloshing, we went back to the room and packed our bags. That took all of maybe thirty minutes now that we have this packing thing down to a science. We stayed in the room until time to venture out for the show. Tonight's dress code is Casual. The evening entertainment is performed before dinner tonight at 7:45 PM. It is the short "Time to Say Goodbye" mini production show and a brief act by comedian Jimmy Travis. The show was as usual, good, but nothing terribly exciting. If it were up to us, we'd change the production portion of the show to something less heavy, but that's just us. DINNER APPETIZERS SOUP AND SALAD PASTA SPECIAL SALAD ENTREE MAIN FARES VEGETARIAN SELECTION Upon your request, these Traditional Main
Fares are also available: DESSERTS Food review: All of our selections were tasty and fresh, although nothing was outstanding tonight. Victor offered us some lemon soufflés with raspberry sauce for dessert, which were very good. Another party had special-ordered them and didn't show up for dinner tonight. Some nerve, isn't it? Their loss was our gain though. We chatted with Victor for a few minutes, then headed up to the room, with a brief stop at the maitre d' podium to talk to Walter and Tamas. Walter said he already has a note for us to have the same table when we come back, if that's what we want. We said that was fine, or the other side of the dining room would be OK, too. After that, there was nothing left to do except cram our last bits of dirty clothes into the bags and put them out in the hallway. Saturday, October 15th – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Arrive 6:00 AM – Disembark crystal harmony Someday a cruise line with concoct a way to streamline the ridiculous immigration inspections, but until then we are all stuck with this pointless ritual upon returning from a cruise. Crystal does as good a job as is possible with disembarkation, that's for sure, but the government somehow manages to screw things up anyway. Consider yourself lucky if your cruise ends in any country besides the U.S. Our appointed time to "present" ourselves to the immigration officials was between 6:15 and 6:45 AM. With no way of knowing when during that time we would be called, we awakened at 5:30 AM, got dressed, and sat waiting in the room for the announcement that finally came at 6:43 AM. We wandered down to the Club 2100 and got in a non-moving line in the hallway. We were in group three, by the way, so it had taken over thirty minutes to get this far through the numbers. Once the line moved, it didn't stop. First up was the ship's officer who scanned our cards to prove we had been there. Then we waited in another short line for an immigration official who asked the most basic questions possible, "Where do you live?", "What country are you a citizen of?", "When were you born?", etc. We assume if someone was hesitant it might flag something for them, but come on, most of these people are 80+. Anyway, that escapade took all of about five minutes, if that. Our disembarkation time was issued for 8:50 - 9:05 AM, which is incredibly early. We have never disembarked that quickly, but they did it during the previous cruise when the last guest was gone by 9:30 AM. This is good for the new arrivals because they allow boarding before noon now, although rooms are not ready until the usual 2:00 PM. We went to the Lido for breakfast, which was fine, food wise. Otherwise it was a zoo with lines going every which way, as usual. We always end up sitting in the Kyoto restaurant area, which is very quiet, so no problem finding a seat. Since we still had over an hour to kill before we had to even begin to think about leaving, we took a lap around the Sun Deck to see what they were loading or whatever. For every pallet that came in, another one was being removed. The ones we could identify were liquor, so either it is being returned or taken to one of the other ships. It certainly makes sense to start removing anything that won't be used up in the next month. No need to have it sitting around to be unloaded at the very end with everything else that has to go, which is just about everything come to think of it. By the way, we were appalled on the way out of Kyoto by the wife of on of the lecturers who was rummaging through the storage drawers for something she wanted. A waiter was looking on in horror as she pawed through the formerly clean cutlery for whatever it was she was after. These people need to realize they are not at home no matter how long they are on board. Their behavior is often quite arrogant and inappropriate, although we are aware that Crystal has cracked down on them somewhat. In our opinion, there is still more to be done to put these people in their place. Eventually we wound up back in the room where we chatted with a very friendly Diana, and a bit later, Costa. Both of them were very congenial, as are most crew members even on the last day. The only crew who seem to stop caring when a cruise is over are the alternative restaurant waiters who look as though they would just as soon kill you as be nice at this point. No other crew member even hints of anything but pleasantness until each guest is long gone. At 8:55 AM we figured it was reasonable to go down to the lounge and wait to be called. The best thing about Crystal's disembarkation is that guests don't have to get out of their room at the crack of dawn and sit around in the public areas. Ordinarily guests may stay in their room until fifteen minutes before their appointed time. Today there was a notice to please be out by 9:00 AM, but Diana told us to stay as long as we want to, "No rush at all." That is usually the way it works. Down at the Galaxy Lounge we went to find someone with a clipboard to see if our group had been called yet. That person happened to be Carolyn who was all hugs and goodbyes. She said she would probably be ready for the insane asylum by the time we get back in a month. We can't believe how patient and gracious she is all the time with even the dippiest guests, so she probably has quite a bit of pent up insanity waiting to burst out at any moment. We were standing in the lobby when an officer came by and said we could go ahead and disembark if we wanted to since nobody else was. So, that's what we did. Our luggage was readily available with no problem at all. We are completely self-sufficient once we are off the ship, so we didn't need a porter or anyone to help us. We rolled our stuff over to where Marco was directing traffic and said our goodbyes to him before heading out to the parking lot. We were in the car by 9:05 AM and home at 11:20 AM. We would have been there sooner if we hadn't come to a dead stop on the Harbor freeway while they towed away a wreck. Plus, there was a bit of traffic that started a few miles north of our exit from the freeway. Otherwise, no problems at all returning home. All we can say about Crystal Harmony is that they sure are doing wonders with the chewing gum and duct tape to keep this thing together until the end. There are no obvious signs of wear and the ship is, as always, immaculately clean. We know that there are mechanical problems behind the scenes and things are practically falling off at this point, but none of that is obvious to the guests. When something major broke down, such was the Jacuzzi incident, it was fixed the next day. The only thing we finally realized was dead and gone was the automatic door between the outdoor and indoor pool. And, we didn't figure that out until two days ago. We had read other reports of a feared decline in service, but that was definitely not the case. In fact, we thought some of the staff were even more friendly than usual. We never get the sense that they are motivated by tips, although the deck hands appear a bit iffy in that regard. Some of the crew members are looking forward to retiring along with the ship while others are hoping for a position on Symphony or Serenity, so it wouldn't behoove them to behave badly now. The food was a tiny step below previous standards, but still far better than we have ever experienced on Crystal Symphony in the past. We thought they made more of an effort to vary the menus slightly between the two cruises than previously. There was no lack of service and everything was available, although we would guess that as the end nears certain supplies may dwindle or run out entirely. At this point, all is well. There was a noticeable reduction in the size of the portions served, but anyone may request more of whatever they want, so this isn't something that affects the guests particularly. Overall, the entertainment was very tired, but perhaps someone who hasn't seen the productions twenty times might feel otherwise. The headline acts were also getting a bit tedious since they haven't changed all year for the most part. However, we knew all of that going into this, so it doesn't bother us particularly. However, we certainly would prefer something new occasionally just to prod us enough to get out of the room now and then. We are looking forward to seeing our crew member friends again in just a month for Crystal Harmony's final voyage. We know that sailing is completely sold out for real, so it should be action packed to say the least. There are many of the highest Crystal Society members returning for one last go, most of whom are familiar to us. See you all again soon!
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