Here, There, And Everywhere

(Anne Marie & Ricki At This Evenings Get-Together)

(Anne Marie With Brian At This Evenings Get-Together)

(Anne Marie Outside Le Rivage Where We Enjoyed A Wonderful Lunch)

(There Is Nothing Like A Bagel From New York City)

We had a wonderful day in the city on Halloween Day of Sunday, October 31.

We had a little confusion with the clocks. Keith made the assumption that we should set the clocks back for one hour, as it was time to go from daylight savings time to standard time. He set the clock back one hour before we went to sleep on Saturday evening. When we arrived to breakfast at around the time they open the doors we were surprised to see so many others already eating. Were they up so early because it was Halloween? Was someone playing a trick in terms of the opening hours? We quickly learned that the answer was that we don’t change the clocks until next Sunday, November 7. J

Once again, we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in the hotel lounge that has a nice variety of breakfast items. We each had oatmeal, fresh fruit and lots of coffee to recharge those energizer batteries that move us all around. While we didn’t have the bagels, they looked great and in our opinion New York does have the best bagels of anywhere in the United States.

We are enjoying the relatively small size of this hotel and the friendliness of the staff and the guests. We hadn’t mentioned that on our first night that our room was off the main street and it was a little too noisy for us. Anne Marie used earplugs, which helped, but Keith prefers not to use them. On Saturday morning, we asked if another room was available similar to the location that we had the last time we were here and sure enough they found us another room whose window does not face the street. They worked very hard to get the room ready for us after the previous occupants checked out and in not time we were moved to the new room. It was very quiet as we knew it would be .

We walked around for a little in the morning and then stopped by a store at Times Square and Keith picked up a shirt for his favorite baseball team; The New York Yankees. We then met Keith’s brother, and our sister in law, her mother and our niece and nephew for lunch at a very nice restaurant called Le Rivage, which first opened in 1984. It is located on restaurant row along with several other restaurants that do a very nice business from those who go to the theater. We enjoyed a wonderful meal with lots of great conversation. We each had salmon and we know what you are thinking. If we keep this up we will each turn into a salmon. After lunch we saw the afternoon matinee of Jersey Boys. We had hoped to see this performance when we were last in the city but waited too long to order tickets. This time we ordered tickets several months ago and we had very nice seats. The show was just outstanding.

After the performance we walked over to a party that was hosted by very nice friends and it included several other people who are members of Cruise Critic who will be sailing with. It was a wonderful party and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone.

We then walked quite a while and ate at a restaurant near our hotel called Papillon. Did we have salmon? The answer is no. We each had a very nice salad entrée, which included scallops.

Throughout our walk today we saw many people who were in the spirit of Halloween as they were in costume. The city was very vibrant and we had another wonderful day.

Today’s Thought For The Day

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keith and Anne Marie

East Side West Side All Around The Town

(Happy Halloween)

(The Beauty Of Central Park - Fall Colors For All To Enjoy)

(Grand Central Station)

(At The Theatre For West Side Story)

(Right Before The Start Of The Show)

(Time Square Was Wall To Wall People)

(Another View At Times Square)

We send everyone Happy Halloween greetings from the Big Apple.

We had a wonderful time as our adventure continued on Saturday afternoon into the evening. We took another long walk in the late afternoon. We went by other landmarks that help to make New York City so very special. After the walk we enjoyed a wonderful dinner before we saw West Side Story. We had dinner at a restaurant called Salmon River. We ate there the last time we were last in New York City in 2007. You ask, what did we have for dinner? You guessed it. We enjoyed wonderfully prepared salmon as the main course of the meal.

After dinner we began our walk over to the theatre district. We stopped off at Grand Central Station and reminisced about the first time we met in the city before we began dating over the December holidays while we were in break from university in Washington, DC. Anne Marie’s family was now living in Pelham Manor so she took the train into the city to Grand Central Station and Keith took the Long Island Railroad into Penn Station and then we met at the New York City Library. It seems like only yesterday.

We have been to Grand Central Station since it has been renovated and it just shows what can be done to restore the majestic beauty of such a famous landmark for all to enjoy. Afterwards, we strolled around Times Square. We talked about what a tourist landmark this area has become since the time we came here when we were both quite young and even how it has changed from the time that we brought our children here for their first Broadway shows in just the mid-1990’s prior to a cruise to Bermuda.

Before we knew it was just about 7:30 PM so we walked over to the theatre were where we saw the play West Side Story. We believe we were last at this theatre around fifteen years ago for a play that we took our children to. While we have seen the play West Side Story several years ago, we always enjoy seeing this performance and last evenings performance was magnificent. We enjoyed the music, the songs, the dancing and the acting. We had great seats, and this topper off our first full day in the city. After the show we walked back to the hotel. In total, we walked about fifteen miles during the course of the day. We slept well.

It is true, there is just no place like New York City.

Today, we have a busy day planned in the city, which will start with meeting Keith’s brother and family for lunch, attending the afternoon matinee of Jersey Boys, and then attending a party after the show hosted, by friends from Cruise Critic.

Today’s Thought For The Day…..

“Tonight. Tonight
won't be just any night.
Tonight there will be no morning star.
Tonight. Tonight.
I'll see my love tonight
and for us, stars will stop where they are.” Lyrics From The Song Tonight, West Side Story.

Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Keith and Anne Marie

Give My Regards To Broadway

(Fall Colors From Central Park)

(Across The Street From Central Park)

(Filming Of A Movie)

(Zabar's)

(Another Scene Being Filmed For A Movie)

(The Plaza Hotel)

(One Of A Few Breakfast Food Stations In The Club Lounge)

(Anne Marie Enjoying That First Cup Of Coffee Of The Morning)

(Keith Also Enjoying Some A Cup Of Coffee)

We enjoyed a wonderful day in New York City on Saturday.

We began the morning with a nice breakfast in the club lounge at Hotel Elysee. They offered an assortment of breakfast items including oatmeal, cereals, bagels, toast, muffins and pastries, fresh fruit, yogurt, various juices, and hot beverages. We each had oatmeal, fresh fruit and a sufficient amount of coffee to wake up.

After freshening up, it was time to walk around New York City. We stopped by Central Park and enjoyed seeing the Fall colors on many of the trees. We walked by several well-known hotels including the Plaza and the Ritz Carlton. At Columbus Circle, which is at Broadway and 59th Street, we saw the filming of a movie. It reminded us of the last time we were in New York City when we saw them filming of the movie Sex & The City. We went by Lincoln Center and then we went to Zabar’s at 80^th and Broadway. Zabar’s sells a wide range of food and coffee and kitchen items. Over the years we have shopped at this store and also ordered items by telephone and via the Internet to be shipped to our home for some of the holidays.

On our return walk we went in some local food markets, walked around 5^th Avenue and we also walked Madison Avenue, which was closed off to vehicles and had a variety of street vendors. A number of vendors were selling Pashima Scarves. We laughed because we thought we have a got great bargains while in Istanbul when we got the price to $8.00 per scarf, and many of these vendors were selling them for 5 for $20.00 or $5.00 each just for one. Maybe, this is why so many people from around the world come to New York City for bargains.

Throughout our walk we could often smell the aroma of a variety of foods and we enjoyed the excitement of walking around the city. We saw many joggers and we just find the city invigorating.

We had lunch at Café Europa where you can get a delicious salad and you can pick from over 50 items to add to your salad.

We went back out in the afternoon, and walked and walked and walked. We went by the New York City Library, Grand Central Station, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and several other well-known landmarks. While today was a bit on the nippy side, it was a typical fall day in New York City.

This evening, we will attend the Broadway Performance of West Side Story. This is one of our favorite plays of all-time. West Side Story also brings back wonderful memories for Keith when he saw this movie as a youngster with his family

Today’s Thought For The Day………

"Give my regards to Broadway. / Remember me to Herald Square./ Tell all the gang at Forty-second Street/ That I will soon be there."

George M. Cohan, Composer

Keith and Anne Marie

New York, New York

(Anne Marie At The Airline Lounge)

(Getting Ready To Enjoy Her First Wake-Up Coffee Of The Morning)

(Keith Is Ready For The Start Of This Adventure)

After almost nineteen months since first booking this cruise, our adventure has now begun. We awoke quite early Friday morning as we were being picked up at 5:00 AM for the drive from our home over to the airport. The driver showed up a few minutes early and quickly loaded all of our luggage into the vehicle. At this hour, traffic was fairly light so we made good time getting to the airport. We prefer to arrive to the airport a few hours before our flights and this one was no different.

In no time, we checked in for our flight. While we were entitled to check in the number of bags we we had for no charge we did have one bag that was well over the 50 pound limit which we knew and we had expected to pay the associated charged for this overage. We were pleasantly surprised when the ticket agent said that we did not have to pay for the overage.

The line for security was a little longer than usual and they actually asked to take a look at one of our carry on bags. We thought it was to look at one of the many electronic contraptions we had in the bab, but as it turned out it was to look at a gift we had brought with us. They reran that item through the machine and all was in order. From our perspective, we would rather that they check and recheck any and all items that they are concerned about. After making our way through security we went over to the airline lounge where we could relax while we waited for our flight.

The good news is that our flight was on time and we had an uneventful flight to New York other then about 15 minutes of turbulence and we arrived ahead of schedule. After claiming our luggage we were driven from the airport into the city.

It’s great to be back in New York City. Our last visit to the city was in the September of 2007 just before we sailed on the Crystal Symphony from New York City to Montreal.

We checked into the Hotel Elysée which is located in midtown Manhattan, not too far from Central Park. We stayed at this hotel in 2007 for the very first time. With only 100 rooms we enjoyed both the size of this hotel, its ambience and features, and the fact that it is located a little of the beaten path.

For us visiting New York is like coming home. After all, Anne Marie grew up in the Bronx just a few blocks from the old Yankee Stadium and Keith grew up in a small town on Long Island not too far from New York City. Before we met, we enjoyed many visits to Manhattan with family, friends and even on school trips so we have so many fond memories of our time in the city. After we married, we have returned numerous times, including on several occasions with our children. On our last visit, we took the subway to the Bronx where we walked around the neighborhood where Anne Marie grew up and attended a Yankees Baseball Game. For us, New York City ranks up there as one of most interesting and exciting cities to visit around the world.

We enjoyed an early dinner and went to a restaurant nearby called Fig & Olive where we each enjoyed a nice salad followed by a salmon entrée. Afterwards we stopped off at a couple of places and then went back to the hotel where we enjoyed some wine at their club room. We ended up meeting a very nice couple from Houston and we spoke with them for quite awhile.

Tomorrow we look forward to spending the day walking around the city and then tomorrow evening we will see West Side Story.

Today’s Thought For The Day……

“Everybody ought to have a lower East Side in their life.” Irving Berlin

Keith & Anne Marie

Ready Or Not, Here We Go

(Picture Of Silk Road Sushi Bar Taken On Our Last Voyage On Board The Crystal Symphony In April Of 2009)

Tomorrow, our adventure begins as we fly to New York City for our pre-cruise stay. We are very excited to begin this adventure.

All our bags are packed and we are ready to go. We will be picked up quite early in the morning for our drive over to the airport. We are fortunate to have a direct flight.

We will spend four nights in New York City before boarding the Crystal Symphony on November 2.

While in New York, we have a lunch planned with Keith's brother and his family, and another lunch planned with friends Allan and Helen and Joan and Mac. We first met Joan and Mac in 2004 on a pre cruise tour that we had with Crystal Cruises at the Dover Cliffs right before boarding the Crystal Symphony for a Trans-Atlantic cruise from London to New York City. We hit it off right away and a couple of days into the cruise we started to meet each night for a pre-dinner drink. Through Mac and Joan we met Allan and Helen who were also on that voyage and several times we all met prior to dinner and the six of us would enjoy a wonderful conversation. We have kept up with both couples ever since. It's amazing how just by having been on the same pre-cruise tour how friendships can develop.

We also have tickets to see the performances of Jersey Boys and West Side Story and we have been invited to attend a gathering one evening. We also plan to spend time walking around the city starting on Saturday.

It is hard to believe that after booking this voyage almost nineteen months ago that our journey begins tomorrow morning. It is true that time flies when you are having fun.

We would like to extend our appreciation to our Travel Specialist and good friend Lynn Segal for all of her help in preparation for this cruise.

We send our love to our daughter and son-in-law Jennifer and Gui, and to our son and future daughter-in-law Eric and Kara, along with big hugs to all of our friends.

We look forward to each and every cruise with Crystal Cruises with great anticipation and this cruise is no exception.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose. Kahlil Gibran

Keith and Anne Marie

Cruise Overview

Welcome to our Ultimate Panama Canal Adventure Blog.

We hope to keep this Blog updated daily once on board the ship.

We just wanted to say a few words about the format of the blog As you scroll down the blog on the right side you will see a map and an itinerary of the voyage, a table of contents to locate posts from a particular day, a motivational quote that will change daily, and if you continue scrolling down towards the end of the blog you will see links to other sites. The main body of the blog is located on the site from left to middle and contains a little background on us relative to when we began to cruise and our thoughts on cruising and as you scroll down you will come to our first posting. The most recent posting will always be first followed by older posts.

This will be our first time back on-board the Crystal Symphony since we sailed from Los Angeles to Hong Kong in the Spring of 2009.

We board the Symphony on November 2 for a nineteen day sailing, starting in New York City and ending at the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise Center in San Pedro, California. This sailing includes stops in Philadelphia, Charleston, Miami, Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Caldera, Acapulco, and Cabo San Lucas, along with nine glorious days at sea, including a transit of the Panama Canal.

We booked this cruise almost nineteen months ago while sailing on the Crystal Symphony. As soon as we spotted this voyage, we knew it would be a perfect cruise. We especially liked the overall length of the cruise, the fact that it starts and ends in the Continental United States, the timing of the cruise which allows us to get back home for Thanksgiving to be with our family, and the nice mix of port and sea days. We thought the stops in Philadelphia and Charleston would be of particular interest. We have never been to Charleston, SC.

Prior to the start of the cruise, we will spend a few days in New York City with family and friends, and we look forward to visiting some familiar sites, and also seeing a couple of Broadway shows.

The theme for this cruise is Crystal Society. Each past passenger who has completed their first Crystal Cruise becomes a member of the Crystal Society. Many frequent cruisers of Crystal appreciates cruises of this length with lots of sea days as Crystal Cruises offers a very comprehensive enrichment and entertainment program that we believe is number one in the cruise industry. There will be several outstanding lecturers and entertainers on board the ship, some who we know very well from other sailings with Crystal.

The Crystal Symphony was built in Finland and entered service in March, 1995. The size of the ship is around 51,000 tons. Assuming two passengers per cabin the Symphony can carry approximately 960 passengers, along with a crew totaling close to 550 people. As many solo passengers cruise with Crystal, often even if the ship has been sold out, there are fewer passengers on the ship.

In addition to the Main Dining Room, there are two specialty restaurants featured on the ship; Prego and Silk Road. Prego features Italian Cuisine. and Silk Road, features Japanese Cuisine.

Most recently, in late October/early November of 2009 the Crystal Symphony received a twenty-five million dollar makeover. This included a wide range of enhancements including a new look for the Lido Cafe which serves breakfast and lunch, new top of the line woks and pizza ovens, new pool deck furniture and Jacuzzi bathtubs, along with a redesign of the two Crystal Penthouses and an update to all of the other rooms on the Penthouse Desk, a makeover to the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant, along with several other changes. Each of the standard staterooms received new couches and these staterooms were updated just a few years earlier as part of a major refurbishment of the ship. We look forward to seeing all of these enhancements.

We will post again sometime next week before the start of our trip.

As we have done in the past, we will share a thought for the day with each and every post.

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides and shrugs; and an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all --he's walking on them."

Leonard Louis Levinson