Each day they voyage gets better and better. Yesterday’s highlights included the wonderful talk given by Jim Brochu on Lucille Ball, the concert performed by Steve, spending time getting to know Bill and Carolyn and spending time with so many wonderful guests and crew on board the ship.
We had a wonderful time on the ship after posting yesterday.
At 4:00 PM we attended a piano performance given by Steve in the Avenue Saloon for members of Cruise Critic, as well as some other people. Unfortunately due to the limited size of the room, it was not possible for Steve to have Crystal Cruises send out invitations to all members of Cruise Critic so Steve mainly invited people to attend that he ran into. The songs that Steve sang are all songs that he has written. He is truly an outstanding songwriter and singer and musician. Each of his songs was very moving and comes from the heart and we were very moved be each and every word.
Afterwards, we went for wine and canapés at Bill and Carolyn’s room, which is, located right new to our room. It provided a great opportunity to get to know Bill and Carolyn and we enjoyed a wonderful conversation with the two of them.
After a few days away from the Main Dining Room we once again back in the Main Dining Room. We love our waiter and senior waiter and had just a wonderful time being back in the dining room. They are on top of everything and have a wonderful disposition and are truly professionals. We each enjoyed a nice salad and we greatly enjoyed the salmon entrée. It was not only very tasty but its presentation was beautiful. Friends of ours, Steven and Ernestine, were celebrating their 48th anniversary and they sent over to our table two pieces of their St. Honoree cake so we had some of that for our dessert. We ended the meal with decaffeinated cappuccino, which is superbly made by our waiter.
Keith awoke quite early and was the first person to the Fitness Center. Unlike yesterday, it was fairly quiet at the center and about midway through the workout Roy arrived so Keith chatted with Roy for the rest of his workout.
Afterwards, Keith stopped by the Fitness Center for some coffee and sat with friend Chuck and enjoyed a wonderful conversation. It has been a wonderful pleasure for the two of us to sail with Chuck on this voyage. Around the time we finished our coffee, we arrived at the port for Puerto Vallarta.
When Keith arrived back to the room Anne Marie was there and then she left to walk on the Promenade Deck for an hour. Keith did some laundry and then some reading and writing. Around the time Anne Marie arrived back to the room we enjoyed our morning breakfast. As we mentioned the other day, we have a running joke with Sebastian about the coffee. Each day he labels the decaffeinated coffee pot with a had and writes out decaffeinated. Today, to change it up Sebastian labeled the caffeine coffee pot. However, before he left just so we would not get confused he put a top on the other pot so today each day each pot had its own respective hat. We all got a good laugh from that. He’s been wonderful.
After breakfast we explored Puerto Vallarta.
This is our second time to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. This city has an population of almost 200,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Pacific Ocean’s Bahia de Banderas. While archeological evidence shows that that this area may have been inhabited as early as 580 BC, the first hand written accounts of inhabitants date back to 1524. This town is a popular Mexican tourist destination and is known for its resorts.
We walked for a couple of hours. We felt very safe in port. This is an organized city in terms of traffic, road systems, mass transit and streetlights. We felt very safe. As we were getting off the ship one of the Royal Caribbean ships was just arriving. We walked up the street with the beach and the ocean on our right side. We first came to a market and were the first people walking around the area. From there we came to a supermarket, which was quite up to date in what it carried. They had their Christmas decorations up and they were playing Christmas Music. We then continued up the road a couple of miles when all of a sudden the landscape became very attractive with both sides of the street lines with very tall and beautiful palm trees. There were many hotel resorts and high-rise condominiums that had beautiful views of the beach and the ocean. We walked on the beach for a while and it was very quiet as very few locals and tourists were out and about. Afterwards, we continued our walk passing by several additional resorts and condominiums and restaurants. We also walked the area that is called Malecon which is a one mile long seawall that stretches the length of downtown Vallarta. We crossed the street and walked back on the other side of the street passing by several car dealerships and other retail stores and restaurants. As we got closer to the ship we passed by a very large Sam’s and a very large Super Walmart. Right across the street from the cruise ship terminal was a very large shopping mall.
We were glad to walk early in the morning, as it was cooler when we began our walk and by the time we got back to the ship it was quite a bit more humid with temperatures in the low 80’s. Other than all of the exercise we do on the ship this was the first long walk we have taken in port since Miami and it was delightful.
For those interested in taking a taxi or a tour on their own there were very nice taxis and vans that were available for hire. Because this was an unplanned stop there were just a couple of ships tours that were offered including a couple of highlight tours and a canopy adventure.
We will be returning here again on another cruise and next time we plan to visit some other areas including Casa Kimberly, which is now a B&B and a former home of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the Museo del Rio Cuale which is a museum on pre—Hisapanic culture along with old town Vallarta.
We enjoyed lunch in the Main Dining Room and we were able to sit at a table that our regular Senior Waiter and Waiter is assigned to. Lunch was delicious. The only excitement was that Keith spilled one very large glass of Sprit Zero onto his lap. The good news is that it was a clear soft drink and not wine and amazingly not a drop landed on the table.
Keith played Paddle Tennis in the afternoon while Anne Marie did some packing.
Late this afternoon just before we departed Puerto Vallarta there was a Crystal Society “Mexican Fiesta Sail Away Party” which was held poolside. This was another special event held during this voyage.
TODAYS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY….
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney
Keith and Anne Marie
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