Crystal Serenity 2010 World Cruise – Dubai to Athens

Serenity had a leisurely overnight cruise to Khsab, a small port town of about 18000, at the tip of the Musandam peninsula that forms the western shoreline of the Straits of Hormuz.  It is part of Oman but it is physically separated from the rest of the country by U.A.E.  The area is surprisingly mountainous, [...] Read more

Crystal Serenity 2010 World Cruise – Mumbai to Dubai

We left Mumbai and its pall of pollution seemed to follow us for at least a day.  The skies were overcast and the visibility was so poor that there was no horizon.  The morning of the third day, I tapped the top of the alarm clock to silence it, rolled and pushed myself into a [...] Read more

Crystal Serenity 2010 World Cruise – Rio to Mumbai

This will be the longest segment of the cruise, almost 3 weeks.  We left Capetown at 6:00PM and enjoyed a calm day at sea on the way to Port Elizabeth.  The city was named by the grieving first governor, not for the queen but for his wife, who died in child birth while they were [...] Read more

Crystal Serenity 2010 World Cruise- Miami to Rio

We have been on board for nearly two weeks.  I don’t see any changes to the physical aspects of the ship, yet there is a subtle difference.  We (and probably others as well) seem to be the center of attention with the crew.  They practically fawn over us.  The Leo Assmair stops by our table [...] Read more

Crystal Serenity 2010 World Cruise-The Beginning!

The limo ride from Sarasota to the hotel in Miami was a piece of cake.  3-1/2 hours door to door with a good driver and a comfortable ride.  We are on board, passports were delivered to the ship as promised and apparently all outstanding issues have been resolved.  Our cabin is awash in lovely flowers [...] Read more