We decided to just enjoy dinner in our room which we have never done the night before we disembark but just thought it would allow for a quiet dinner and then an easy way to just get the final items packed in our bags.
It was indeed a nice dinner for us and we had salad, some sushi/sashimi from Silk Road, an entree from the dining room and some popcorn. A fun way to end a fun time on board Crystal Serenity.
Butler Rao organized all of this for us.
Our morning was similar to other morning's on-board Serenity but this time there was no early morning exercise for Keith. He slept a little later and then made his way to the Lido Cafe for some coffee and to read and to write.
A short while after bringing some coffee back to the room for Anne Marie we had our final breakfast in our room thanks to Rao. Usually on the last morning of a voyage, we will have something other than our regular breakfast of Oatmeal and Fruit such as eggs for Anne Marie and a Bagel and Smoked Salmon for Keith, but we decided to just go with our regular breakfast.
We thanked Rao for all he does and look forward to seeing him again.
This has been another extraordinary cruise and in a final post we will share our final thoughts. During this fourteen day voyage we sailed from Dover Roundtrip and sailed 2,604 Nautical Miles or the equivalent of 2,995 Land Miles.
We vacated our room at around 9:00 AM although we could have stayed there until our assigned time to be at the Crystal Cove. We did this so our stewardess, Gloria, could get into our room to clean it for the next guests embarking Serenity today.
A few minutes after we vacated the room we received a call from Head Concierge Natalia. We used Luggage Concierge to ship our luggage. In most ports including this one normally you have to claim your luggage in the terminal area and then go through customs where it is handed off to the Luggage Concierge Representative. We actually experienced exceptions to this in Rome and in Istanbul on two our our last disembarkations which is typical for those ports. Natalia said that they were not doing customs today and asked if we had anything that we needed to place in or remove from the luggage and if not asked if she could hand it over to Luggage Concierge and we said absolutely. It made it all the more easier for us.
While we were on Deck 5, Hotel Director came by to speak with Keith and then walked over to Anne Marie and he wished us the best as we did with him. We look forward to seeing him on our next Crystal Cruise.
While we were waiting in the Lounge, Head Sommelier Tilmar stopped by and we spoke with him for awhile. Tilmar joined Crystal Cruises a few weeks after we departed Crystal Serenity on May 31 after along career with Seabourn. We met him the first night of the cruise when he came by our table at the Crystal Dining Room to introduce himself and we have enjoyed several discussions with him during the course of the cruise. He is very easy to talk with and we certainly share a common interest in wine and in travel and in history.
We were one of the last people to leave the ship as we are going to be flying home tomorrow. We were in the Crystal Cove and at around 9:50 Concierge Louisa told us that our car was now ready for us and she escorted us to where the vehicle and driver was and Head Concierge Natalia was also there as well. We had booked the car with Natalia and Crystal Cruises and it actually was supposed to be a sedan but we were pleasantly surprised that it was a vehicle that could hold eight people. Natalia asked if that was alright and we said absolutely.
We then wished Natalia and Louisa our very best and they did likewise with us.
We were then driven to London Heathrow Airport where we are staying at the Sofitel Hotel which is a short walk from Terminal 5. We have stayed at the Sofitel on a few previous occasions a find it to be one if not the best airport hotels we have ever stayed at. The drive took a little longer than usual as there was on vehicle breakdown on our side of the highway. A little later on there was a several mile backup and that was caused by an accident on the other side of the road which resulted on the other side being completely shutdown but vehicles on our side were looking at the accident which slowed down traffic to almost a standstill.
When we arrived to the Hotel we collected our carryons from the vehicle.
After arriving to the Hotel, the good news is that our room was ready. We checked in, got settled.
We then walked over to the non secure area of the airport to pick up some Salads which we enjoyed in the room.
In the afternoon we read and wrote and we will have dinner at the hotel this evening. We will post about that and our flight back home a day or two after we arrive home.
In a few days, we will also post some final thoughts about the trip.
"Our journey never ends, as there are more places to visit, more adventures to enjoy, more special memories to make, that together, we will carry with us for the rest of our lives." - Keith & Anne Marie
Keith & Anne Marie
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