In my first blog (which can be found here), I introduced the Sliversea Silver Explorer expedition ship. This blog will highlight the various ports of call we visited on this 10 day cruise. These ports were:

1. Kobe, Japan (Embarkation Port)
2. Okayama, Japan
3. Takamatsu, Japan
4. Miyajima and Hiroshima (1/2 day in each port), Japan
5. Hagi, Japan
6. Sakaiminato, Japan
7. Kanazawa, Japan (followed by a day at sea)
8. Sokcho, South Korea
9. Busan, South Korea (Disembarkation Port)

Each port that we visited had excursions that were included in the cruise fare. This was nice as we did not have to worry about the costs of the excursions and could choose which excursion to partake in depending on our preference. It should be noted that in some ports there was only one organized excursion and in others there were two or three to choose from. With each excursion we were provided with an English speaking guide and headsets so that we could hear our guides no matter how far we wandered from them.

Kobe, Japan

This was the port at which we boarded the Silver Explorer. We had arrived the night before and stayed at the Kobe Oriental Hotel. Since we were not boarding the ship until 1 pm, we strolled around Kobe on our own and, of course, made sure that we had lunch at a Kobe Beef Restaurant.

Once aboard, we were welcomed aboard the ship by the crew and were introduced to the various expedition leaders whom we would be getting presentations from throughout the cruise. There was also the mandatory Lifeboat Drill & Zodiac briefing. Dinner started at 7 pm and we set sail for Okayama, Japan at 8:30 pm.

Okayama, Japan

We arrived in Okayama at 6:30 am. After breakfast, we joined an 8 hour excursion where we visited Korakuen Garden and Kurashiki Old Town.

Koraku-en Garden was a beautifully laid out Japanese Garden that was built in 1700 and is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, along with Kenroku-en in Kanazawa and Kairaku-en in Mito.

The excursion included a Japanese Bento lunch at a restaurant located next to Kurashiki Old Town. The lunch itself was good, but really just lunch and not much of a cultural experience.

Kurashiki Old Town is the old merchant quarter and contains 17th century wooden warehouses. It was quite nice to tour this are and visit the various shops that represented how the area looked during the Meiji period (1868-1912).

After the excursion we returned to the ship and joined the Captain's Welcome reception in the Explorer Lounge. After dinner, we visited Setouchi Onsen which was located in walking distance from the ship (https://www.seto-tamanoyu.jp/). We had time to do this as the all-aboard that evening was not until 2:30 am. This was quite nice as our cabin did not have a bath tub.

Takamatsu, Japan

Takamatsu is a port city on Japan's Shikoku Island. We arrived at 6:30 am and the first event was a wonderful Welcome Ceremony by the local government officials and Miss Takamatsu as this was the first time for Silver Explorer to visit this port.

At 9:30 am we boarded the buses and headed to Ritsurin Garden. This beautiful garden was given 3 stars by the Michelin Green Guide Japan and is recognized as the most beautiful garden in Japan. It boasts 6 ponds, 13 hills, a waterfall, a bamboo forest and plum, cherry, and pine trees over its 75 acres.

After the visit to the garden, we we headed to venue where they taught us how to make Udon. Although all of the instructors were all Japanese, our on-boarded interpreter was on hand to translate everything. I must admit that at first I was caught a little off guard by this activity, but the instructors made it very entertaining and all of our fellow passengers really got into in and it was very enjoyable.

After lunch, we returned to the ship where we served more Udon by the local representatives of Takamatsu.

As we prepared to leave Takamatsu, we were entertained by a local jazz group that sang a variety of songs as we sailed away from the pier. I was struck by the number of people that had turned out to watch our ship depart and really felt the warmth of the Japanese people in their farewell to our ship.

Miyajima and Hiroshima

Miyajima

We arrived in Miyajima at 6:00 am and this was the first, and only, location where the Silver Explorer would be anchored off shore. This also means that it would be our only opportunity to experience the zodiacs transferring us to shore.

Miyajima is a small island in Hiroshima Bay which is best known for the famous floating Torii Gate, and is classified as one of the "Three Most Beautiful Views" of Japan (this list includes Amanohashidate “heaven bridge“ in Kyoto prefecture and Matsushima“pine tree island” in Miyagi prefecture).

The Torii Gate is located in front of Itsukushima Shrine, a Shinto Shrine and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Another amazing feature of Miyajima is the deer. The deer on the island are everywhere and they are not afraid of humans at all. We were actually warned by our guide that we should not hold any paper in our hands as the deer will eat any paper they come across. One of my fellow passengers did not heed this advice and actually had their ticket to the shrine eaten by a deer. They are beautiful to observe.

After visiting the shrine, we took a short walk through Miyajima to Daishoin, the main temple of the Shingon Buddhism school of Omuroa, on top of a hill looking over Miyajima.

Hiroshima

After leaving Miyajima after lunch, we arrived in Hiroshima at 2 pm.

This was the stop on our cruise that I was interested in the most. Of course, we were all taught about the U.S. dropping the A-Bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, but it is a completely unforgettable experience to visit this city and tour the Peace Memorial site and museum.

This is the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb detonated approximatelu 600 feet above Hiroshima, very close to this dome. Previously the Genbaku Dome, it is the only structure to have survived in the epicenter of the blast. The government had originally wanted to demolish the dome, but the residents of Hiroshima insisted that it be preserved as a memorial.

I was struck on how the entire message of the site at Hiroshima is to serve as a caution to the world on not allowing anything similar of what happened in Hiroshima (and days later in Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945) to happen again. There was no blame, just a clear message of peace.

Hagi

We arrived in Hagi around noon and were greeted by local officials and had a presentation by high school students who welcomed us to Hagi. We were also given a package of their local dried oranges. It was a very nice greeting.

The excursion in Hagi was relatively short as we had arrived at noon, had the presentation at the port and then boarded the buses at 12:30 pm and we would be leaving Hagi at 4:45 pm. We visited the Tokoji Temple which is the resting place of the Mori daimyo (a powerful family in the the time of the feudal lords) and the ruins of Hagi Castle (only part of the foundation was still present).

Sakaiminato

On this day, we had the choice of two different excursions while in Sakaiminato. One would visit Adachi Museum and Yushien Garden and the other would tour Matsue Castle and then take a short boat cruise along the moat that surrounds the castle.

Having already visited a few gardens, I chose to visit the castle and the boat cruise.

A Sake brewery came onto the ship to do a presentation on how Sake is produced and to also provide a tasting. Of course, they also brought bottles for us to purchase if we liked the Sake we tried.

Kanazawa

Kanazawa is located in the Ishikawa Prefecture in Easter Japan on the coast of the Sea of Japan and since it was spared from any destruction during World War II, it has been able to maintain most of it's cultural and historical sites in tact. When we arrived wee were greeted by Miss Kagayuzen and an entourage of Kagayuzen Ambassadors. Kaga Yuzen is the distinct dyeing technique of the Kaga region, most notably displayed on kimonos.

We had visited Kanazawa before, and did not take part in the full schedule of the days' excursions as we made plans to meet with a friend. We did participate in the first activity which was a tour of Omicho Market which is bustling with freshly caught fish sold in many stores in the market, fresh vegetable stands and, of course, amazing food stands/restaurants.

After the market, our fellow passengers headed to Kenroku En Garden, which is a spectacular area located on a small hill in Kanazawa. Once the tour of the garden was completed, they enjoyed a Japanese lunch while being entertained by a Geisha performance.

In the late afternoon, all passengers were required to meet with immigration officials from South Korea as we would be entering their county after our day at sea.

As we departed Kanazawa, we were treated to an amazing performance by a dance troupe. Please make sure to watch the video below, we were informed that each of the flags being waved were 15kg or more.

Day at Sea

After Kanazawa, we spent a full day at sea as we traveled across the Sea of Japan and headed for Sokcho in South Korea. During the day we were offered tours of the Bridge on the Silver Explorer, listened to a fascinating lecture on the Korean War.

Also, as the on-board host, we offered guests on board a lesson in origami.

Sokcho, South Korea

Sokcho is located in the northern part of South Korea and is located close to the DMZ between the two Koreas. From 1945 to the end of the Korean War, Sokcho actually belonged to North Korea.

There were two separate excursions that passengers could participate in while visiting Sokcho. One was a hike in Seorakasasan National Park which is a designated Biosphere Preservation District by UNESCO. With the weather being uncertain the day before arriving in Sokcho, we decided to participate in the second choice of excursion, which was called the "Spirit of Sokcho". This excursion included a visit to Cheongho-dong, which is the hometown to many Koreans with North Korean ancestry. This was followed by a trip to Naksana Temple and finally the Sokcho Fish Market.

At the end of the day, after visiting Sokcho, we gathered in the Explorer Lounge to view a video review of our entire cruise that was created by the on-board photographer. A copy of the video on DVD and a flash drive was provided to each cabin so that the passengers could take a copy home. There was no charge for this video.

Busan, South Korea

Busan was out last stop and disembarkation point for the cruise. There was an excursion offered into Busan, but the majority of the guests did not join the excursion and traveled their separate ways, many  of them continuing their vacations in South Korea, and some returning home. The staff was very organized in assisting the passengers with disembarking.

Busan was out last stop and we headed from the port to the airport as we would be continuing our vacation by traveling to Tokyo, Japan.

Overall, the cruise was extremely enjoyable and, as it was our first expedition cruise, it was really interesting to attend the lectures every day and learn more about the destinations we were heading to including historical, geological, and cultural backgrounds.

Again, the cruise experience aboard Silver Explorer, in essence, can be described as toned down luxury. An expedition ship is all about the destination and not the ship itself. The staff and crew are amazing and definitely have a passion for showcasing the ports of call while still ensuring that the passengers are well taken care of a treated with the upmost in excellent customer service.

All of the Virtuoso passengers on-board were provided with a $150 USD shipboard credit, a welcome reception and Virtuoso Hosts (us) that provided any information and assistance that they required to ensure a wonderful cruise.

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Silversea Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Silversea Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit on select cruises. These can be combined with promotions offered by Silversea Cruises as well.

The post Silver Explorer Expedition Cruise – Japan – Ports of Call appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

We boarded the Silver Explorer, and expedition ship with Silversea Cruises, in Kobe, Japan for a 9 day cruise to various ports in Japan and ending in South Korea. On this particular cruise, we were fortunate to be the Virtuoso Hosts. As the Virtuoso Hosts, we were there to ensure the enjoyment of the guests that had booked this cruise through Virtuoso Travel Agents from anywhere around the world.

Our ports of call included:

• Kobe, Japan (Embark)
• Okayama, Japan
• Takamatsu, Japan
• Miyajima, Japan
• Hiroshima, Japan
• Hagi, Japan
• Sakaiminato, Japan
• Kanazawa, Japan
• Sokcho, South Korea
• Busan, South Korea (Disembark)

As an expedition ship, the Silver Explorer is smaller than the rest of the ships belonging to Silversea Cruises. Is this size allows for it to gain entry into ports that larger ships are unable to reach. It also means that there are less passengers, with a capacity of 144 guests and 118 crew. On our cruise there were 120 guests that essentially gave us a 1 to 1 ratio for guests and crew.

As an expedition ship, Silver Explorer, is designed to provide guests with more of an exploration type cruise, meaning that the focus for the cruise is on the destinations and not the life aboard the ship as is the case with the larger luxury ships. On our cruise we had biologists, geologists, and historians that would provide detailed backgrounds on the significance of the port we would be visiting the next day, as well as recaps in the late afternoon on what we experienced on our excursions. The excursions for Silver Explorer are all included in the cruise fare, as are all of the meals and drinks.

In addition to these experts, we also had a Japanese guide on board for the entire cruise who not only provided translation services when needed, but assisted the crew and passengers on the cultural aspects of the different areas we would be visiting and managed the Japanese guides that accompanied us at each port.

Our Cabin

As Virtuoso Hosts, we are not considered members of the crew, but as passengers, so we stayed in a regular cabin assigned to us by Virtuoso. We stayed in the View Suite, which was 18 square meters. The layout of our cabin is below. As this was an expedition cruise, we spent very little time in our cabin and it was spacious enough for the two of us with 2 pieces of large luggage an 2 carry-on bags that all fit nicely under the bed.

There are higher categories, such as Vista Suite, Veranda Suite, Medallion Suite, Silver Suite, Grand Suite, and the Owner's Suite (which is 67 square meters and the floor plan is pictured below).

Upon arriving in our cabin, we were greeted by our butler who would be attending to us for the duration of the cruise. He showed us around our cabin and answered any questions that we had.

We were also provided with a welcome bottle of champagne and a personalized note welcoming us aboard.

Our Queen size bed was very comfortable an adorned with the style of pillows that we had selected during our online registration prior to leaving for the cruise.

Although Silver Explorer is a smaller ship and can get into many ports, there are times that a Zodiac is used to ferry passengers to the shore. In such cases, a special life jacket is required (pictured below).

We were also each provided with our own Silversea backpacks that are water resistant, the crew was very careful to point out that they are not waterproof, just resistant and that care should be taken when carrying and electronics or cameras in the bags when water is involved in the excursion.

We were also provided with individual water bottles to use during the excursions. Both the backpack and the water bottles were ours to keep after the cruise.

There was a small desk in our cabin, but large enough for a laptop and to do any work while aboard the ship. WiFi was also included on the ship and you could also choose to pay for faster internet should you require it. We had brought along a WiFi Router that we rented prior to the cruise and it provided great internet access while in port.

To the left of the desk, there was a small min-bar that was complimentary and re-stocked daily.

There was amble closet space for our clothes which we had unpacked from our luggage, with the luggage then stored under the bed. There was also a safe for our valuables.

The bathroom, while small, was clean and efficient. Although the shower are was a little challenging as there was only a partial barrier for the shower and water would tend to get on the floor in the bathroom. There was no tub in our category, but the higher categories did have them.

The amenities in the bathroom were Bulgari.

As required for all cruise ships, once we were settled in our cabin we were then required to participate in the evacuation drill exercise. An announcement was made ship wide for all passengers to report to the Explorer Lounge where we were shown how to wear our life jackets and the procedures for evacuation were explained.

The Restaurant, used for both breakfast and dinner was a large open area at the back of Deck 4. Upon arrival at the Restaurant, you were greeted by the hostess who would seat you upon your preference at a private table, a larger table to mingle with fellow passengers, or with your larger group.

Next to the Restaurant on Deck 4 is a small Fitness facility.

Also on Deck 4 there is a laundry room, equipped with washers and dryers as well as complimentary detergent. Next tot he laundry room is a beauty salon (not pictured).

On Deck 5 is the Panorama Lounge where you can enjoy talking with other passengers over your choice of beverage, enjoy the on-board pianist, or join afternoon tea.

Also on Deck 5, there is the office of the Cruise Consultant where you can ask about and also book future cruises. Adjacent to this office is the shipboard shop.

At the back of Deck 6 you will find the Grill Restaurant where you can enjoy lunch in the afternoon, relax in one of the two Jacuzzi's, or simply take in the sites as you cruise.

On Deck 7, there is the Viewing Deck that overlooks the Grill and provides an elevated view from the top of the Silver Explorer.

On Deck 6, there is the Explorer Lounge. It is here that we spent most of our time while on board Silver Explorer. We would have daily briefings on the destination we would be visiting the next day including historical and geographical significance of the area, what to expect in terms of weather and a breakdown of the excursions scheduled for that day. We would also have a recap of the day we just concluded and the experts aboard the ship would answer any questions that the passengers had from the current day or about tomorrows adventure.

Other areas of the ship not included in this summary included the Medical Facilities (with an on-board doctor), Tors Observation Library on Deck 6 across from the Explorer Lounge (here you could have an early morning coffee and pastries or relax indoors with large observation windows).

For the complete deck plans for Silver Explorer, please click here.

The cruise experience aboard Silver Explorer, in essence, can be described as toned down luxury. Again, and expedition ship is all about the destination and not the ship itself. The staff and crew are amazing and definitely have a passion for showcasing the ports of call while still ensuring that the passengers are well taken care of a treated with the upmost in excellent customer service.

All of the Virtuoso passengers on-board were provided with a $150 USD shipboard credit, a welcome reception and Virtuoso Hosts (us) that provided any information and assistance that they required to ensure a wonderful cruise.

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Silversea Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Silversea Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit on select cruises. These can be combined with promotions offered by Silversea Cruises as well.

The post Silver Explorer Expedition Cruise - Japan appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

We enjoyed breakfast on the back of the ship overlooking Monaco and the various ships and yachts anchored off of the coast. By looking at the ships, we could see that the sea was a little rougher than yesterday but thought nothing of it as the anticipation of going to the race occupied our conversation.

Other cruise ships had arrived in Monaco. Below you can see Silversea Muse and two Azamara ships (with the blue bottoms).

The ship below is a Seabourne ship that is anchored at the dock in Monaco.

We had made plans to meet with the Monaco Tourism person who we had run into the previous day at the Tender Boat exit of the ship at 11 am. By the time we arrived at the gangway, there was already a line of people waiting to get off of the ship to go to the race.

It was at this time that we heard an announcement on the ship that the waters in the Mediterranean Sea were too rough to attach the Tender Boat to the ship and that they were waiting for the waters to calm before allowing passengers to disembark as there were safety concerns. People had been able to get off of the ship earlier in the day to go into Monaco, but no one else would be allowed to depart unless the waters calmed.

We waited for quite a while, and then when they made another attempt to tether the Tender Boat to the ship, it was very apparent that the sea was too rough. The captain came down to assess the situation and determined that for the safety of the passengers and crew, there would be no tenders to Monaco any more today.

Obviously, this was extremely disappointing news, especially for those who had specifically taken this cruise to attend the Monaco Grand Prix. Many passengers were upset, but thankfully all were understanding that this was a safety issues and completely out of the hands of the crew.

There was an announcement throughout the ship that no Tender Boats would be taking people into Monaco. With some passengers having purchased expensive tickets, and even hotel suites to view the race, they would be receiving a letter from Crystal for use against insurance claims outlining the situation. Some passengers, however, had not purchased travel insurance and would not be compensated. Those who purchased the shore excursions through Crystal Cruises would receive a refund.

You can see the Tender Boat in the photo below. The picture does not truly capture the roughness of the sea, but it was extremely choppy and the captains' decision was very understandable. His concern now was focused on getting the passengers that had left the ship earlier in the day, back on board before it got too late.

The Tender Boat was never successful in tethering to the ship and need to turn around to the pier in Monaco to wait out the rough seas and hopefully bring the passengers ashore back to the ship.

Since we were not able to attend the race, we went for lunch with the Monaco Tourism representative instead.

From our vantage point during lunch, we could see the other cruise ships anchored in the Mediterranean make attempts at getting their passengers into Monaco. It appeared to us that since their Tender Boats seemed to tether lower on the ships than Crystal Cruise, that they were successful in ferrying passengers back and forth. This is complete speculation on our part in regard to the tethering of Tender Boats, as we are not experts in this by any means but we later confirmed with Silversea that they were indeed successful. We have not confirmed this with other cruise lines.

At the end of the day, we respect the decision made by the captain and no race would be worth the risk to life and safety of passengers and crew.

We were able to hear the sounds of the race on the ship, which only proved to make missing the race a little more painful.

Here again, is a photo and video from the pre-qualifying races on Saturday.

Crystal did set up the Stardust Room for people to watch the race together.

Of course, the race was also available on the television in our cabin.

With the unexpected day on the ship, we went to Palm Court to see the view and were able to take some pictures of the afternoon tea service. As we had consistently been ashore when afternoon tea was happening, we did not have a chance to experience it for ourselves. And, having had a large lunch previously, we did not join it this time as well. Guests we spoke to did mention that they enjoyed it.

Once again, in the late afternoon, our butler delivered our afternoon appetizer.

On our last night on Crystal Serenity, we decided to take advantage of the service that is available for guests in the Penthouse and above cabins. We ordered food from the two specialty restaurants aboard the ship, Silk Road (Japanese cuisine) and Prego (Italian cuisine).

During a cruise (per segment) guests can only visit these restaurants once each due to the seating limitations in the restaurants. However, you are able to order the food and have it delivered to your cabin as often as you like (again for Penthouse categories and above).

We also learned from more seasoned guests who had cruised aboard Crystal ships 10 times, that there is a wonderful desert that you can order (a day in advance), that is not on any of the menus. They were actually kind enough to surprise us by ordering it for us when they placed their order for theirs. It was a wonderful Salzburger Nockerl!

It was spectacular!

We chose to top it with strawberry sauce.

Later that evening, we heard fro the contact from the Monaco tourism board that we had met aboard the ship that she was able to make it into Monaco. To add pain to our misery, she sent us photos of the passes that we were going to receive for the race.

The next day we arrived at the final port of the cruise, Marseille.

It is here that we would be disembarking and ending our journey aboard the Crystal Serenity.

Monaco Shore Excursions

Obviously, the big excursion for the day was the Monaco Grand Prix. For those that were lucky enough to depart the ship prior to approximately 11 am, before the sea got too rough, it was a fantastic day. For those not attending the Grand Prix, there were plenty of other excursions to participate in and those who had purchased excursion and could not depart the ship on a Tender Boat, they were provided refunds from Crystal Cruise. Again, anyone who had made their own arrangements, separate from Crystal Cruise excursions, would have needed to contact their travel insurance provider.

Prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD:

• Monaco Grand Prix Exclusive Grandstand Experience $1,299
• Flavors of Nice $129
• Nice & Eze $99
• Cannes, Grasse Perfumery & St-Paul-de-Vence $199
• Eze & Cap Ferrat (afternoon departure) $99

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Monaco Day 2 appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

Luxury yachts, cruise ships, and other vessels dotted the Mediterranean in front of Monaco.

As this was the qualifying day for the 76th Monaco Grad Prix, the ship was buzzing as many of the passengers had booked this cruise specifically for this event. The timing of the cruise worked perfectly as these 2 days in Monaco would also be the last days of this cruise.

There were many excursion to choose from on this day (listed at the end of this entry), but we did not even think twice and chose to join the Monaco Grand Prix Exclusive Grandstand Experience. With our excursion set to leave at 9:00am, we had a quick breakfast and headed for our meeting point in the Galaxy Lounge. From there, we headed to the Tender Boat as the Crystal Serenity was anchored off of Monaco and not in the port (this would be an important distinction tomorrow...).

When we got off of the Tender Boat, we were met by our guides for the day.

They provided us with our passes for the day and some other items such as water and ear plugs.

As we made our way from the pier to the road towards the Grand Prix, we were in awe of both the yachts and the view of the coastal hills.

The walk to the Grand Prix was actually a little long, but with the excitement of seeing the race, we did not mind it at all. Actually, it was a nice bit of sightseeing as we also passed the Museum of the former Grand Prince of Monaco, Renier III.

The closer we got to the Grandstand, the busier the streets became and the felling in the crowd was absolutely electric.

We made sure to keep a close eye on our guide as it was very easy to get distracted by the sights of the souvenir stands, the people, and the the sounds of the Grad Prix.

As we made our way through security, we entered our seating area gate under the Grandstand. The sounds of the Formula Renault 3.5 Qualifying sessions was loud, yet welcoming.

As it was still early in the day, the stands were not yet full. We found our seats and were immediately impressed with our vantage point for the race and the amazing views of the yachts and sea. From where we sat, we enjoyed long stretched of the race course as well as a large screen monitor that ensured we were never missing a moment.

On our seats were provisions provided as part of our excursion.

This included a seat pad for comfort, water, more ear protection (not really useful to be honest), and a schedule for the days' events.

The schedule came in really handy as we could plan on what we wanted to watch and at which times we could leave the Grandstand to explore the streets and the festivities happening around the town.

As the morning progressed, the parties happening on the yachts across from us began growing larger.

This was the view to our left, you can see the cars on the course. At the base of the buildings tot he left of the picture there was a distant view of the cars as they raced up the hill and headed to the famous hairpin turn of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Here is a closer look at it.

Here is our view to the right (zoomed in a little).

Off in the distance, we could even see our ship.

After the Renault 3.5 Qualifying ended, we had a little time before the Formula 1 - 3rd Practice session started, so we headed for the streets of Monaco to take in the atmosphere.

The streets were alive with people from all over the world, it is the most purely international event I had ever attended.

We had a little gelato and visited some of the stores and stands.

When we returned to our seats, our lunch (provided as part of the excursion) had arrived.

We were give a sandwich, a salad, some macarons, and a cookie.

With the Formula 1 - 3rd Practice session starting, the crowd levels had grown.

The practice session, was exactly that, a practice. It was exciting to watch and really got us motivated for the Qualifying Session taking place later in the afternoon.

It was during this session that the realization of just how hot it was in Monaco. It was beautiful sunny day with no wind, and we welcomed the 2 hour break and decided to see if we could walk over to the casino. Unfortunately, the streets were cordoned off due to the race and the walk to the casino that should have been 15 minutes would have been well over an hour.

From the street, we could see the castle with the flag indicating the the Prince was in residence.

We visited the Monaco Grand Prix Fan Zone to grab a quick bite and watch the activities.

One of the most popular activities was the Pit crew challenge where the fans could try their skills at changing the tires on a race car. The fastest time of all the fan teams won VIP passes to Final tomorrow.

We returned to our seats to watch the Formula 1 Qualifying session.

The Hermitage Monte Carlo terrace was also filled with spectators on the balcony next to the apartment building. When the race is held, there is a minimum stay, and in the case of a hotel such as the Hermitage Monte Carlo or Hotel de Paris in front of the casino, it is about 9000 Euros per night. The cruise cost was about 16,500 USD (all-inclusive) and about 14,200 Euro for two people. Whether you want to visit by cruise or stay at a hotel and watch from the terrace, it depends on your budget and preferences.

Here are some videos we took of the action.

After a full day of racing and events, we walked back to the Tender Boat pick up area and returned to the ship.

We were exhausted from the day in Monaco and re-energized ourselves lying by the pool until it was time for dinner.

On this night, we had made reservations at Prego, the Italian restaurant on Serenity. Guests can eat once a sailing at the specialty restaurants (Prego and Silk Road). For those staying in a Penthouse cabin with Butler service, you can actually order from these specialty restaurants throughout the cruise and have it delivered and set up by your butler in your cabin.

The atmosphere in Prego is that of a classic Italian restaurant from the decor, the staff, and the food was just great. By far, my favourite meal of the cruise (but I love Italian food and may be a little biased in that opinion).

As there is a Hublot shop on the ship, the driver for their team came aboard to meet with the passengers.

During the evening, we were kindly offered VIP tickets for the Formula 1 race the next day. We were not planning to go to the race, but were excited to receive such a great offer. We made a short night of it as we were completely drained from the activities of the day and our rich Italian meal.

We fell asleep eagerly looking forward to our second day in Monaco.

Monaco Shore Excursions

Yes, the Grand Prix was the main event in Monaco while we were there. For those not attending the Grand Prix qualifying events on the first day in Monaco, there were plenty of other excursions to participate in (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• Monaco Grand Prix Exclusive Grandstand Experience $699
• 76th Annual Monaco Grand Prix Exclusive (2 Day Grandstand Silver Package) $2,479
• Flavors of Nice $129
• Nice & Eze $99
• Cannes, Grasse Perfumery & St-Paul-de-Vence $199
• Round-trip Motor Coach Transfer to Nice (afternoon departure) $99
• Eze & Cap Ferrat (afternoon departure) $99

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Monaco Day 1 appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

In the pictures above and below, you can see that from the deck of ship, we had a fantastic view of Barcelona. We could even see the famed Sagrada Familia.

The nice thing about docking at the port, versus being anchored, is that you really have the freedom to come and go to the ship on your own without having to wait for the Tender Boat. The Cruise Terminal itself was very clean and it also had a few shops for any replenishing you may need on personal items or that last minute souvenir.

There was a free shuttle bus available to passengers to travel between the ship and the center of town. It ran every 30 minutes in each direction fro 9 am to 6 pm. Since Serenity was not leaving port until 11 pm, the shuttle continued every 60 minutes after 6 pm with the last shuttle returning to the ship at 9:30 pm.

We had visited Barcelona a few years earlier and had made previous plans to enjoy lunch at Arola, a restaurant in the Hotel Arts Barcelona. Since we were going directly to the hotel for lunch, we chose to take a taxi from the port to the hotel for convenience.

We arrived a little early and strolled along Barceloneta Beach.

There was a Japanese Restaurant on the beach that looked to be quite popular.

The Hotel Arts Barcelona opened in 1994 and is a mix of hotel rooms and apartments. There are 5 restaurants in the hotel and were excited for our meal at Arola. It is a stunning tower that overs amazing 360 degree views.

This is the lobby of the hotel.

We took a little tour of the garden and pool are of the hotel as we walked to the restaurant. The layout of the hotel really highlights the beauty of the area with views of the beach and marina.

The art below, visible from the infinity pool, was constructed for the Olympic Games that were held in Barcelona in 1992. It is a 52m long golden fish sculpture created by  Frank Gehry.

We arrived at Arola, the entire restaurant was just beautiful and immaculate.

We were seated on their outdoor patio. Some of the vegetation surrounding us was actually herbs being grown for use in the restaurant.

Some of the vegetation surrounding us was actually herbs being grown for use in the restaurant.

Lunch consisted of a large assortment of Tapas.

Each item that they brought us was just amazing.

The lobster rice dish was the perfect finale to this wonderful meal.

Our lunch was amazing and if you are in this area of Barcelona, I really recommend visiting Arola

There were some great lounging areas beside the restaurant that offered nice views of the beach. A perfect place for an after meal drink.

After such a wonderful meal, we decided that we would take a scenic walk along the water to the place where we could catch the shuttle bus back to the ship.

Finding the bus was extremely easy and it was running on perfect schedule.

We arrived back at the ship just in time for a light snack delivered by our butler.

With our large lunch and the afternoon snack, we decided to skip dinner tonight. Of course, should we be hungry later, there would always be options on the ship to grab something to eat.

In the information that we received prior to our cruise, we knew that this night would be the "Crystal White Extravaganza". We were encouraged to dress in all white clothing and to enjoy live music performances and dancing in the Crystal Plaza.

It was a wonderful day in Barcelona and we really enjoyed taking the day to enjoy it on our own with no set plans.

After Barcelona, our next stop would be Monaco and the Grand Prix!

Barcelona Shore Excursions

Since we had made prior arrangements for lunch in Barcelona (and have visited/explored this city in the past), we did not participate in a shore excursion. As always, there were plenty to choose from (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• Panoramic Barcelona $69
• Montjuic Treasures & Cable Car Ride $109
• Tapas & Gaudi: Feast for the Senses $159
• A closer look at Gaudi $109
• Barcelona Discovery $119
• Vineyard Wine Tasting & Barcelona Highlights $289
• The Marvels of Montserrat $79
• Crystal Boutique: Special Mass at Sagrada Familia $139
• Crystal Voluntourism Adventures: The Rescue & Rehabilitation of Marine Animals: Free
• Montserrat & Monastery of Saint Benet $209

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Barcelona appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

This Spanish Island is the 3rd largest of the Balearic Islands and is rich in history as well as famous for it's nightlife and party scene, mainly in the summer months. The island of Ibiza itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On our visit to Ibiza, we decided to explore the "Upper Town", of Dalt Vila (seen in the photo above).

But first a little breakfast on the outside of Lido Cafe at the rear of the ship as we look over Ibiza.

Having docked directly at the port, we took the walkway to the parking area where we boarded the shuttle bus that ran every half hour.

After a very short air-conditioned bus ride, we arrived at the Station Maritima de Formentera to start our exploration by foot.

We had arrived early in the morning and the streets were fairly empty with only a handful of tourists and the main activity was that of the residents setting up their shops or on their way to work.

After a short stroll, we arrived at the base of Dalt Vila ("Upper Town") and started our climb up the stairs a through the fort. Dalt Vila has existed since the 7th century to protect the residents from invaders and has gone through many rebuilds over the centuries. Most of the walls currently in place have been standing since the 16th century.

Within the wall of the Dalt Vila, we were mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded us. From the architecture of the buildings, the multi-coloured walls, the amazing floral displays, and the spectacular views... we were often left speechless.

Just beautiful views of Ibiza.

You can see the Crystal Serenity below.

At the top of Dalt Vila, sits the Cathedral of Santa Maria.

After enjoying the view from the top of the town, we started our slow and winding walk back down through a different section of Dalt Vila.

We were in awe every time we turned a corner by the sheer beauty on display.

It truly felt as if we were in a postcard.

Near the bottom of the Dalt Vila, there was a wonderful cafe that overlooked the port and the Station Maritima de Formentera.

Back in the main town, we visited the shops and fell in love with this wonderful area.

After a long, and great day, of exploring by foot, we decided to head back to the ship to relax our tired feet.

As always, our butler showed up just in time with a few snacks to enjoy while we prepared for dinner.

We set sail from Ibiza to Barcelona at 6pm. It was very interesting and entertaining to watch the Pilot Boat lead us out of the harbour.

Dinner tonight was in the main dining room. We were lucky to be seated at a table with a window.

After Ibiza, our next stop would be Barcelona, Spain.

Ibiza Shore Excursions

As mentioned, we did not participate in a shore excursion in Ibiza, but there were plenty to choose from (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• The Village of Ibiza (walking tour) $119
• Old Town Walk and Tapas $99
• Hidden Ibiza $79
• Can Maymo Wine Tasting $119
• Can Marsa Caves Exploration $99
• 4x4 Adventure & Beach Break $269

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Ibiza appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

We docked right at the port and after a great breakfast we left the ship to join our morning walking tour excursion of the town.

There was another large cruise ship docked next to us.

As we entered the town, we came upon a farmers market. It was fascinating to see the local selection of vegetables, cheeses, hand crafted soap, and other items.

A monument of Napoleon as First Consul located in a piazza in Ajaccio is seen below.

As we continued our walking tour, we were brought to the birthplace and childhood home of Napoleon.

Unfortunately, on this day it was closed to the public and we could not enter.

We also stopped and did a tour of the Fesch Museum. The entrance fee was included in our excursion fee. The museum houses many impressive works of art many centering around the Bonaparte family as well as many religious pieces.

The Ajaccio Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, is an impressive site to explore.

At the conclusion of our morning walking tour, we strolled through the town and visited many of the shops.

One of the famous sites to visit in Ajaccio is the Place d'Austerlitz. Located at the top of a hill, this statue of Napoleon looks over the town of Ajaccio and provides magnificent views of the town and the port.

You can see the Crystal Serenity docked at the port in the background from the statue of Napoleon.

As we descended the hill and started our walk back towards the port, it started to rain. We decided to head back to the ship to relax. The nice thing about this stop was that the ship was docked in the port meaning that we did not need to wait for a tender boat. After a quick stop at the security check-point in the Cruise Terminal, we were back on aboard.

Today, our afternoon snack brought by our butler was shrimp cocktails.

The wonderful thing about cruising is that you can meet some great people. During our walking tour in the morning, we got to know a beautiful couple from California and made plans to have dinner with them in the main dining room.

Over a fantastic dinner and great conversation we learned that the couple we had met were taking part in their 10th Crystal Cruise. They were able to share many stories of past cruises as well as provide us with valuable tips that only frequent cruisers would have knowledge of.

After Ajaccio, our next stop would be Ibiza, Spain. We wouldn't reach Ibiza until the following day which meant tomorrow would be a day at sea and enjoying the activities aboard the Crystal Serenity

Ajaccio Shore Excursions

In addition to the Fesch Museum by Foot walking tour that we participated in, here are all of the excursions that were available to us to choose from  (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• Ajaccio Acquaintance & Old Town Walk $79
• Fesch Museum by Foot $59
• Scenic Prunelli Gorges & Tolla Lake $89 (2 different starting times were offered)
• Ajaccio by Bike $139
• Crystal Lake Riser: Ajaccio Acquaintance & Old Town Walk $79 (afternoon departure)
• Ajaccio by Bike $139 (afternoon departure)

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Ajaccio appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

Having done an excursion the day before in Villefranche (see that blog here), we chose to visit Saint-Tropez on our own and explore the town by foot. After a very short ride on the Tender Boat, we were ready to start our day.

Saint-Tropez, as is true of most of the coastal towns along the Mediterranean, is steeped in rich history with remnants of this still on display today.

As we made the short the walk from the Tender Boat to the town, we were mesmerized by the beautiful scenery of the town and the yachts lined up along the docks. As you can see, we had perfect weather on this day.

The restaurant below was just starting it's preparations for the day as we passed. When walked past it again, a few hours later, it was quite busy.

As Saint-Tropez is definitely a destination for those in search of luxury and beauty, the town does a very impressive job in incorporating the best of luxury shopping while maintaining the unique and beautiful essence of the history of the area. Here is just a small photo sample of the more famous brands that can be found here:

What we loved about Saint-Tropez was the ability to walk leisurely around the town with little to no traffic on the streets. The abundance of shops, beautiful scenery, and friendly people made it the perfect day.

We were lucky enough to see a parade performed by some of the citizens of the area.

In the picture below, you can see our ship, the Crystal Serenity, on the right hand side.

After a wonderful day in beautiful Saint-Tropez, we headed back to the ship to take in some activities before dinner.

As we got ready for dinner, our butler brought by our late afternoon snack.

As we start cruising out of Saint-Tropez, we headed to Tastes on Deck 12 for dinner. Not having any reservations, we were able to go at our leisure.

We passed on dessert at Tastes as we wanted to go to The Bistro on Deck 6 to take advantage of their large selection of sweets and enjoy the view as we headed towards Ajaccio, Corsica.

Saint-Tropez Shore Excursions

Although we did not participate in a shore excursion today, there we plenty of choices if we had wanted to (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• Saint-Tropez by Foot $89
• Visit to Gassin & Port Grimaud $119
• Saint-Tropez Beach & E-Bike Experience $279
• Provensal Village of La Garde-Freinet $139
• Hiking around Saint-Tropez Peninsula $129
• Catamaran Sail & Snorkel $259
• Wine Art & picnic Lunch at Chateau Saint-Martin $309
• Panoramic Coastal Drive (afternoon departure) $109
• Grimaud Exploration & Wine Tasting (afternoon departure) $119

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Saint-Tropez appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

After breakfast in the Lido Cafe, we headed to the Tender Boat to transfer us to the dock in Villefranche.

Today we would be boarding a bus in the morning as we were participating in a shore excursion to visit the Village of Sainte-Agnes and to tour of a old World War II fort that was part of the Maginot Line.

The drive to Sainte-Agnes had us climbing up into the mountains which presented us with some spectacular views.

Sainte-Agnes is a beautifully small village situated in Provence, France and is considered to be the highest coastal village in Europe.

As you can imagine, with it's higher elevation, Sainte-Agnes was much cooler than the temperatures that we experienced on the ship. With it's mountain location, the village also presented some steep and narrow passage ways for us to navigate.

At the heart of our visit to Sainte-Agnes was a tour of L'Ouvrage de Sainte-Agnes, a WWII Fort built to protect France from forces coming from Italy.

After our tour of the fort, it was time foe lunch which was included in the cost of the excursion.

We were given some free time on our own to tour the village prior to boarding the bus back to Villefranche.

There were actually quite a few cats in the village...

After returning to Villefranche, we explored the area by the docks where we would later take our Tender Boat back to the ship.

Villefranche is quite picturesque with wonderful little cafes and boutiques.

The south of France has amazing soap made with olive oil.

After strolling through Villefranche, we headed to the dock to catch our tender boat back to Crystal Serenity. They had refreshments waiting for us as wee waited for the boat to arrive.

A view of Crystal Serenity as we approached aboard the tender boat.

In the afternoon, there were various activities to participate in on the ship. One such activity was a Pilates class in the gym. Other activities included Afternoon Tea, a TaylorMade Golf Clinic, and an iPhone Photography class. Some of these require a reservation, so make sure to check before making your plans to participate in an activity.

Our afternoon snack delivered by our butler today was an assortment of cheese and crackers.

As we sailed out of Villefranche on our way to St. Tropez, we headed to the main dining room for dinner.

Dessert was delicious... don't worry about the size, you can always order a second serving as the meals are included with the cruise.

We had a fantastic day in Villefranche and could not wait to visit St. Tropez in the morning.

Villefranche Shore Excursions

We participated in the Village of St. Agnes & WWII Fort excursion, the total list of shore excursions offered while in Villefranche included (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• French Riviera by eBike $199
• Azur Helicopter and Independent Exploration of Monaco $589
• Village of St. Agnes & WWII Fort $159
• Cannes, Grasse Perfume Factory & St-Paul-de-Vence $199
• Eze & Cap Ferrat $119
• Nice, Monaco & Monte Carlo $259

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Villefranche appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

Every afternoon we would have a copy of "Reflections", the Crystal Cruises' daily newsletter (typically 10 pages or so) delivered to our cabin. This newsletter was great to read as it would give you a snapshot of the history of the port we would be arriving at the next day, what shore excursions would be taking place and where to go to meet for them, a summary of the activity that would be taking place on the ship throughout the day, sailing times, and a lot more information.

This issue referred to Livorno as a the "Gateway to Florence" as it is the closest port to Florence and is still 1.5 hours away from Livorno by car. Livorno also provides access to Pisa, Siena, and Lucca. Having visited Florence in the past, we decided that we would explore Livorno and see what this cozy port town in Italy had to offer.

After breakfast, we walked off the ship, and boarded the complimentary shuttle bus that operated every 20 minutes between the ship and the center of town, Piazza Grande.

It took us about 10 minutes to arrive at Piazza Grande. Although there were multiple cruise ship in Livorno at this time operating their own shuttle services, everything was very well organized.

Our first stop or our self-guided tour of Livorno was to the visitor's center located right next to where the bus dropped us. After grabbing a map we were on our way (with the help of our smartphones as well for better navigation).

Our first stop was to view Fortezza Vecchia. The majority of the ports and coastal cities/towns in Europe will have historic remnants of  forts that were built to protect them from invaders from the sea.

While walking around the fort, we caught a glimpse of Crystal Serenity in background.

Returning back to the center of town, we walked along the canal network in Livorno.

Livorno also had a few nice sidewalk cafes and a beautiful outdoor market.

There was also and indoor market with a wide selection of meats and cheeses at different stands. There were also a few food stands and other types of shops inside the market as well.

In the mid-afternoon, we returned to the ship.

We headed back to the pool for some relaxation before heading to the cabin and preparing for dinner.

From the Sun Deck we were able to see some of the other cruise ships anchored in Livorno, such as this Seabourn ship beside us.

Arriving back in our cabin, we were happy to see that all of the shipboard credits that we were eligible to receive had arrived. In total for the both of us, we received $1900 USD in credits for our cruise aboard Crystal Serenity.

This total included: a shipboard credit as part of the Crystal Choice options of $600 USD each, a $250 USD credit each from Virtuoso by booking this Virtuoso Voyages cruise, and a $100 USD special credit each supplied by Crystal Cruises

We really started to look forward to our daily afternoon visits from our butler to see what treats he would deliver today.

Today, it was a vegetable medley plate.

We were scheduled to depart from Livorno at 7:00 pm. Every time Crystal Cruises departs, they play Louis Armstrongs' "What a wonderful world" over the ships speaker.

You can see the Seabourn ship departing ahead of us.

The ship below is Silver Whisper, a Silversea ship.

Tonight we dined a Tastes located on Deck 12. The concept is shared dining where smaller servings are provided for everyone at the table to share.

The food was very good and the staff were great, Definitely a more relaxed atmosphere at Tastes that most of the other dining spots. We would actually have dinner here a few times over the course of the cruise.

After dinner we took a beautiful evening walk around the Sun Deck to take in the evening sky and the night lighting of the ship.

Later in the evening, we stopped by The Bistro on Deck 6 for a little dessert and coffee.

The assortment of fruits, desserts, and appetizers was impressive.

We did enjoy our day in Livorno, but if you have not been to Florence or Pisa, you would likely prefer to visit these spots over a day in Livorno. Again, it was nice but it does not have the breadth of attractions or fame as these other two destinations.

As mentioned earlier, there were shore excursions offered while in Livorno, the available shore excursion were (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):

• Panoramic Florence $599
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa $159
• Medieval Lucca and Countryside Estate $309
• Round-trip Motor Coach Transfer to Florence $139
• Michelangelo's Florence and David $399
• Siena & San Gimignano Discovery $389
• Florence: All the sights $399
• Florence & Pisa in a day: $369
• Chianti Wine & Dine at Verrazzano Castle: $419

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Livorno appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

We started our day with a wonderful breakfast in the Lido Cafe on Deck 12. The buffet was extremely well equipped with items to satisfy anyone's tastes. We would recommend that you try to sit in the same area as the staff in the Lido were amazing in learning and remembering our names, our seating preferences and our beverages of choice.

As you can see by these pictures, there were a range of items to choose from and the quality of the food was very good. We really enjoyed starting our days here, and would actually look forward to seeing the staff.

After breakfast, we left the ship and took a quick bus that picked us up right in front of the ship to the entrance of the port; it was approximately 5 minutes. If you like, you can also walk to the entrance. We did this on our return from town back to the ship at the end of our day.

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy is located approximately 47 minutes by train from Rome. There were excursion options with our cruise that included a transfer into Rome for people to visit this iconic city, but having spent 2 days in Rome prior to the cruise, we chose to relax and explore Civitavecchia as we had not been here before.

As you leave the port area after disembarking from the bus, you walk along streets that run parallel to the port and are lined with impressive stone work.

It was nice to see our ship through these arches.

From town, we had a great view of the port with Crystal Serenity sitting in the distance. With Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy being a major cruise ship terminal, it was not surprising to see an abundance of cruise ships docked in the port.

As we made our way through town, we came across the Cattedrale Di San Francesco.

The buildings in Civitavecchia were adorned with beautiful pastel colours that stood out in contrast to the building and homes that you see in a typical North American city. This would become an amazing recurring theme throughout the visits we made in our cruise.

One of the things that we love to do while traveling is to visit supermarkets to explore the local specialties. It was nice to see the members of the crew were provided discounts in many of the shops.

Civitavecchia is a very nice town, but it is definitely a port town and there were not a lot of sites for us to take in. After a few hours, we were ready to walk back to the ship.

Being mid-May, the weather was extremely nice. Even though we were next to the Mediterranean, it was warm and comfortable.

Walking all the way back to the ship was a a great idea as it gave us an opportunity to get our real first look at Crystal Serenity from a distance. We were also able to get a better look at some of the other ships. In total we counted 8 cruise ships in the port, that we saw anyway.

After returning to the ship, we spent a little time by the pool.

Once back in out suite, we had the opportunity to meet our butler who would be indispensable to us throughout our cruise in helping us with a wide variety of arrangements, refreshments and reservations. Every afternoon between 4:30 pm and 5 pm, he would arrive with a treat for us from cut fruits, shrimp platters, ice cream, etc. It also became a tradition throughout the cruise that we would look forward to.

After our snack and taking some time to refresh ourselves, we participated in the mandatory safety drill, Putting on our life jackets we headed to our muster station and were given a presentation on what to do in the very unlikely scenario of an emergency situation on board the ship. This is a mandatory exercise and every cruise line performs this procedure at the start of a new sailing.

After our safety drill, it was time for dinner. With the mandatory safety drill, there was a bit of a mess come dinner time. With early seating being interrupted by the drill and the late seating being delayed by the drill, there was a higher number of people dining in the main dining room on this night than there would be on other nights and seating was quite crowded. The staff did there best to accommodate everyone, and it really did not have an effect on the quality of the food, which was delicious.

We had a fantastic first full day aboard the Crystal Serenity and looked forward to our next port of Livorno (Florence) Italy,

As mentioned earlier, there were shore excursions offered while in Civitavecchia, the available shore excursion were (prices are per person and in USD):

• Panoramic Rome $299
• Etruscan Treasures & the Tarquinia Necropolis $199
• Farmhouse Culinary Experience $339
• Round-trip Motor Coach Transfer to Rome $129
• Rome: All the sights $389
• Gardens of Villa Lante & the Medieval Village of Viterbo $319
• The Ruins of Ostia Antica $189
• The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica $349

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

The post Crystal Serenity - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy appeared first on Luxury Experience Travel.

Prior to our Mediterranean cruise departing we did a Crystal Serenity Ship Tour to acquaint ourselves with the ship that would be our home for the next 12 days. This post will be focusing on the public areas of the ship as, of course, we did not have access to the various cabins on all of the decks (our Penthouse with Verandah cabin can be viewed in the previous post here) meaning that there will be no photos for Decks 8 through 11. We will work our way from the top of the ship on Deck 13 and end on Deck 5.

Deck 11 - Sun Deck

Located on Deck 11, the Sun Deck, you will find the Crystal Spa, Fitness Center, Crystal Salon (not shown), the Paddle Tennis Courts (Wimbledon Court), and plenty of lounge chairs in which to soak up the sun and enjoy the magnificent views from the top of the ship.

Crystal Spa

Fitness Center

Wimbledon Court

Lounge Chairs

Deck 12 - Lido Deck

On Deck 12, the Lido Deck, you will find a lot of the facilities that you will be visiting often over the course of the cruise. The Lido Deck is home to the Lido Cafe, Tastes, Trident Grill, Scoops Ice Cream Bar, the Seahorse Pool, and Palm Court with the Sunset Bar.

Lido Cafe

The Lido Cafe is where we started the majority of our days with a fantastic breakfast buffet with a tremendous selection to choose from and wonderful staff that took care of our every need. It is also open at lunch with just as impressive a buffet.

Tastes

Tastes is a wonderful little restaurant that serves appetizer sized portions that are simply fantastic!

Trident Grill and Scoops Ice Cream Bar

The Trident Grill is located in the same area as Tastes and provides your classic diner type fare such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, etc. It is a wonderful choice for that quick bite. Scoops Ice Cream Bar has a great variety of ice cream available and a welcome treat to enjoy while sitting poolside.

Seahorse Pool

The pool area on Crystal Serenity is absolutely amazing! With the pool, Jacuzzi, and amazing service from the staff, you have everything you need to enjoy the sun and relax aboard the ship.

Palm Court and Sunset Bar

Palm Court is located at the front of the ship on deck 12. Here you can enjoy afternoon tea, live music in the evening and enjoy the spectacular views.

Deck 11 - Penthouse Deck

On Deck 11, there are 3 different categories of suites, the are: Crystal Penthouse with Verandah, Penthouse Suite with Verandah, and Penthouse with Verandah.

Deck 10 - Penthouse Deck

On Deck 10, there are 4 different categories of suites and staterooms, they are: Penthouse Suite with Verandah, Penthouse with Verandah, Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah, and Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah Forward.

Deck 9 - Seabreeze Deck

On Deck 9, there are 2 different categories of staterooms, they are: Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah and Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah Forward

Deck 8 - Horizon Deck

On Deck 9, there are 3 different categories of staterooms, they are: Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah, Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah Slightly Limited View, and Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah Forward.

Deck 7 - Promenade Deck

Deck 7 also has 3 categories of staterooms: Deluxe Stateroom with Large Picture Window, Deluxe Stateroom with Large Picture Window Slightly Limited View, and Deluxe Stateroom with Large Picture Window Forward.

This deck also has the 2 specialty restaurants aboard the Crystal Serenity, Prego (Italian) and Silk Road (Japanese). On this deck you will also find the Computer University and IT Support, The Studio (learning workshop area), the Library with books and DVDs available to be checked out, The Bridge Lounge, and The Vintage Room, and the Century Suite.

Prego

This amazing Italian Restaurant was one of my personal favourites. The food was very authentic and the atmosphere and service was phenomenal. You can only dine in these specialty restaurants one time each during a leg of the cruise due to the limited seating and the goal to have everyone aboard experience them. However, if you are in a Penthouse with Verandah stateroom, or higher category, with Butler Service, you can order from their menus and have their food delivered to your stateroom.

Silk Road

Computer University

Here you can take courses on computers and get technical support for your devices.

The Studio

Here you can take a wide range of classes during your cruise covering different areas.

Deck 6 - Tiffany Deck

The Tiffany Deck is where a lot of the action at night happens on the cruise. Here you will find the Galaxy Lounge (here there are typically 2 live shows per night), the Crystal Casino, various stores such as Apropos (fashion and accessories), Facets (jewelry and gifts), Crystal Collection, The Bistro, the Hollywood Theatre, Photo Shop, Pulse Nightclub, Connoisseur Club (cigar bar), the Avenue Salon (piano bar), and the Stardust Club. At the far back of this deck, you will find their Table Tennis and Golf Zone.

Crystal Casino

Apropos

Facets

The Bistro

Hollywood Theatre

Photo Shop

Connoisseur Club

Avenue Salon

Pulse Nightclub

Table Tennis

Golf Zone

Deck 5 - Crystal Deck

On the Crystal Deck you will find the Main Dining Room, Crystal Cove Bar, as well as the Reception and Concierge Desk. This is also the area where you check in when embarking the ship. This deck also showcases their beautiful stained glass ceiling and staircase.

Crystal Cove Bar

Reception and Concierge Desk

Having fully completed our Crystal Serenity Ship Tour, we could not wait for our Mediterranean voyage to begin! The future blogs will broken down into the different ports of call.

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.

Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.

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