DAY 30 ST. MAARTEN AND DAY 22 ON CRYSTAL SERENITY

We enjoyed a special evening on board Serenity last evening.

Before dinner, we had a pre-dinner drink at the Avenue Saloon rather than the Crystal Cove as we came down later since dinner was later than usual for us.

In the first photo, you get an opportunity to see the front and back of Anne Marie's Dress.  LOL, but true.  Anne Marie actually posed with Keith's wine rather than her spritzer.  We thought that was a little more classy.

We wanted to share an example of how wonderful and amazing the Crystal Cruise Crew is.  On the majority of evening's we have been going to the Crystal Cove for a pre-dinner drink.    The bartender at the Avenue Saloon joined Serenity at the start of this voyage so we had not yet gotten to see him until last night.  Yet, without looking at a note, he remembered the wine that usually has for a pre-dinner drink (not only the type of wine but the winery) and also what Anne Marie often has.  If only we had that type of memory and so many members of the crew can do that.  For us, it is truly amazing.

We then had dinner at Prego.  We were invited by Bob and Glo to attend Bob's Birthday dinner at Prego with the two of them along with their daughter Diane and two of their grand children; Becky and Spencer.  We sailed with Diane, Becky and Spencer on the 2011 Holiday Cruise.  We have celebrated several birthday's for Bob on board Serenity in the last few years and also a couple for Glo.  

It was so nice to celebrate Bob's Birthday at Prego.

We cherish our friendship with Bob and Glo and think the world of their family.  Everything was perfect.  On top of the outstanding cuisine, service and the ambience of the dining venue, it was wonderful to be part of Bob's Birthday Celebration.

Bob had pre-ordered a white and red wine and Bob and Glo had pre-ordered a couple of other items.

One of the items that was pre-ordered was eggplant parmigiana.  You could have this as an appetizer, an entree or a side to another entree.  The two of us had it as an appetizer.  

For our second course we each had Keith's standing order salad from the Crystal Dining Room.

For our third course, Keith had the striped bass and thought it was the best one he's had to date as the serving was a little thicker, very moist and very tasty. Anne Marie had veal.

For dessert, a special ice cream had been ordered so we first had a scoop of this ice cream which was served in a parfait glass with a cookie.

Next, Head Waiter Mario  arrived to the table with Cake and was accompanied by Waiter Maria.  We sang Happy Birthday to Bob, and after he blew out the candle the cake was cut.  We each had a small piece of cake (small was good given how much we ate) and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For us a major part of cruising is the people and the friendships that follow and it was so nice to be part of this celebration with two dear friends.

We wanted to mention that last evening also featured a variety show that was performed two times featuring the dance team of Reno and Elena, Vocalist Roger Wright and Comedy & Special Musical Performer Steve Stevens.

The two NCL Playoff Games were not available for viewing in each guest room but it was also shown live in the Stardust Club. Before dinner, we poked our head into the Stardust Club a couple of times, before and after we went to the Avenue Saloon since the Stardust Club is located right next door to the Avenue Saloon.  First time we poked our head in, New England was losing by 14 points and then second time it was a tie score.  For those of you who watched or read about the game, New England got behind by another 14 points and then went on to win the game.

We slept very well as we sailed to St. Maarten which we reached this morning.

Our morning routine was the same as it has pretty much been since we boarded Serenity.  Keith was up first and worked out at the Fitness Center.  Afterwards, he enjoyed coffee at the Lido Cafe while he read and wrote.  

A short while before Keith left the Lido Cafe, he smelled the aroma of cinnamon and other baked goods and then looked up and the chef was baking pastries and also preparing others to be heated up in the oven.

On his way out from the Lido Cafe, Lido Deck Steward Jun assisted Keith with takeout coffee for Anne Marie.  Jun is so very kind and thoughtful and part of our extended Crystal Family as we have known him for so many years.  

Anne Marie walked inside the ship before we both enjoyed breakfast in our room.

We then spent the morning in St. Maarten.  We had just visited this Island while on the Holiday Cruise.  We have come to appreciate St. Maarten over the years and enjoy our visits here. 

We walked from the pier over to the nearby town.  The walk takes about 20 minutes and for those who would prefer not to walk a ferry is available to take passengers between the pier and the town. Since it had rained briefly when shortly before Serenity arrived to the port we took an umbrella.  As we were walking it was sunny so we thought why did we take the umbrella but as it turned out later in the morning it rained for a few minutes (poured) in the downtown area but as we walked back to the ship we realized it did not rain near or at the port.

When we were last here on Sunday, December 28 the stores were all open by the time we walked into town at around 9:15 AM but this time the majority of stores didn't open until between 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM.  We think that is because the last time we were here there were a few ships in town and this time other than Serenity there was the Costa Magica but it didn't begin its arrival to port until 11:15 AM as we were just returning to Serenity.

As we proceeded to walk from the ship to town we ran into Shore Excursion Assistant Manager Joyce at the pier right before you get to the various shops at the Cruise Ship Terminal.  We spoke with Joyce and also to Shore Excursion Manager Daniel.

We understand that the Ferry that can take people between the town and the terminal was not operating today.  Since we wanted to take a long walk it had no impact on us.

We followed this sign which took us past shops and onto the road for us to walk into town.

We walked most of the town before the shops opened and it was not very crowded which was nice.  We passed three Churches where locals were worshiping.  Later we saw locals leaving one of the Churches and most of them were very well dressed which is always nice to see.

We passed various shops, homes, churches, schools, and also walked along the beach where we could also see the Crystal Serenity.

Last time we were here we purchased something for Anne Marie's Milestone Birthday at a Jewelry Store that we also shopped at in January of 2014.  There was one item that they were awaiting a shipment that would arrive a few days ago and the good news is that they had it for us and we purchased it today.

With purchase in hand we started to head back on the same route we had taken into town.  It felt like spring time or summer as opposed to winter.

We stopped to talk with dear friend Peggy who was heading in the opposite direction into town and a few minutes later we saw other friends including Stanley, Linda, Stu and Carrie and as we continued walking towards the ship we saw many crew.  We saw Mario the Maitre d' of the Crystal Dining Room, along with two Head Waiters, Carmello and Bojan.  Then who do we see but Head Waiter Franz on his bicycle.  From time to time Franz tells us about riding his bicycle at certain ports and he and Head Waiter Augusto (who is home on Holiday) would tell us about some of Franz's escapades with the bicycle.  

When we arrived back to the ship we saw Crystal Society Hostess Alissa who had just boarded today with Crystal Society Hostess Jaque Brown.  Alissa boarded a few days early so she could transition with Jaque as Alissa will be not only on board for the entire World Cruise but this will be her very first World Cruise.

Shortly after returning to the ship we had lunch at the Lido Cafe and then Keith played Paddle Tennis for several hours.  At one point Keith hit the ball over the side of the court and coincidentally it landed on the Promenade Deck where Anne Marie was walking and she brought it up not knowing who had hit it.  When Keith got back to the room he said he hit it and Anne Marie said it almost hit her in the head.  

Later in the afternoon we both read and wrote.

We will be back at the Crystal Dining Room after being away for three consecutive nights and will post all about it tomorrow.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

 “In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing.  The worst think you can do is nothing.” -  Theodore Roosevelt 

Keith & Anne Marie