Before dinner last evening, we had some Ocean View Portraits taken at the back (stern) of the ship and then we went over to the Avenue Saloon where we sat with dear friends John and Linda and had a pre-dinner drink.
We then made your way over to the Tastes Specialty Restaurant where we dined with friends Ilene and Andy.
Early on during the World Cruise the four of us dined together at Tastes so it was only fitting that we have another dinner reunion at Tastes as World Cruise 2015 slowly comes to an end. This was our first sailing with Andy and Ilene and we look forward to sailing with them again in the future.
As usual, we had an absolutely wonderful time at Tastes. As we've mentioned, for one night every segment Tastes takes us out of the routine that we normally have of eating mainly seafood and salads and vegetables and fruit for dinner. We enjoy the small sizes of each item at Tastes and true to its name we find each item on the menu to be very tasty and certainly unique in both the ingredients and in its presentation. We love the ambience of Tastes and it has the charm, look and the feel of being at a land based restaurant at a luxury resort. The waitstaff is fantastic and we really appreciate the efforts of Head Waiter Luigi, Waiter Deirdre and so many other people who work at Tastes including Clark who take outstanding care of us.
The memory of the crew is amazing. When we were seated Deirdre mentioned that before she arrived she was trying to guess who would be joining us for dinner since for Tastes you don't provide names of the guests in advance. Deirdre looked at Andy and Ilene and said that she remembered that their introduction to Tastes was their first meal there when they ate with us. Deirdre will be going on Holiday, starting in Miami and we will miss her. The good news is she will be back on board in Dover in late July, the same day we board Serenity.
The two of us shared nine items. Well, actually Keith had the smoked salmon shown below and Anne Marie had a small Caesar Salad so we shared seven items and each had one item for ourselves.
This is the Octopus Salad that Ilene and Andy had. It looked good and this is one we have never tried so we will be sure to give it a go on the next voyage.
The good news is that we turned the clock back, once again, before we sent to sleep for the very first time of the World Cruise. We began the World Cruise on Eastern Standard Time and now we are on Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
We slept very well last evening as we were sailing to our next Port of Call in Barbados.
Keith was up first which is no surprise to any of you after all of these days at sea and enjoyed another strong workout at the Fitness Center. Afterwards, it was coffee, reading and writing at the Lido Cafe.
A short while later, it was Anne Marie's turn and after having some coffee complements of Keith, she went on a one hour walk inside the ship.
Afterwards, it was breakfast in our room as we got ready to explore Barbados for the second time since we boarded Serenity on December 21. We arrived to Barbados at around 7:00 AM.
Barbados was one of the ports on the Holiday Cruise. However, we visited Barbados on Boxing Day when most places were closed for the Holiday. We have been to this beautiful Island several times in the past though so we have seen so many of its sites over the years. We prefer Barbados over many of the Caribbean Islands.
We docked at Bridgetown, which has a population of around 100,000 people. The walk to the downtown area takes around 30 minutes each way. It is a nice walk with Carlisle Bay on one side. The downtown area has several attractions which we have visited several times in the past. This includes:
Bridgetown Synagogue which was formed by Jews who left Brazil in the 1620's and introduced sugarcane to Barbados. The cemetery has tombstones dating back all the way to the 1630's.
St Michael's Cathedral which is said to have been where George Washington prayed on his only trip outside of the United States of America. It was destroyed twice by hurricanes and was rebuilt in 1784 and, once again, in 1831.
Parliament Building which overlooks the National Heroes Square in the Center of Town.
We walked to the centre of town as we normally do. We walked along the water.
Parliament Building
National Heroes Square
Nidhe Israel Synagogue
Cemetery
Synagogue
Mikva which is a ritual bath used for Judaism
On our return to serenity we stopped off at the Pelican Craft Centre including a store where we bought some items in 2013.
Photos of the Crystal Serenity and Team Crystal at work and ironically an NYK Carbo Vessel. NYK is the current owner of Crystal Cruises until the sale of Crystal to the Genting Group is completed sometime soon.
In preparation for clearing USA customs upon our arrival to St. Thomas tomorrow afternoon Keith picked up our passports at the Reception Desk. As he was walking away from the desk he heard his name being called and looked up and Hotel Director Hubert came walking up to Keith. Hubert had just boarded Serenity about thirty minutes earlier and had seen the two of us at the port entrance making our way towards where the Serenity was docked. We knew Hubert was arriving in Barbados as this gives him a couple of days to get settled and for Hotel Director Josef to do his handover with Hubert prior to Josef going on Holiday once we arrive to Miami and Hubert assuming Hotel Director responsibilities beginning with the Miami to Lisbon Voyage. Hubert had started his Holiday on January 4 so Keith welcomed him back to the ship as we were all on board together for the December 21, 2014 Holiday Cruise.
We enjoyed lunch back on the ship at the Lido Cafe and we made our Salad Entrees.
Afterwards, Keith played Paddle Tennis for a couple of hours and then met up with dear friend Bob and a couple of other guests. Anne Marie walked for an hour outside on the Promenade Deck and then continued to work on her knitting projects.
This evening we will dine at the Crystal Dining Room where we will be joined by two friends.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....
"Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities." - Aristotle
Keith & Anne Marie
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