Friday, December 9, 2016 – George Town, Grand Cayman – hot – 87F

Distance from New Orleans, LA to George Town, Grand Cayman: 754 Nautical Miles

A hot day in Grand Cayman…

Approaching Grand Cayman Island

Quality Time on the Verandah

Standard breakfasts today.

No tours today.

Even though it’s a warm day in George Town, we are planning to walk around the city and see what was new since we were here last.

We are tendering in to George Town.  There are no tender tickets on Serenity so when we were set to go, we headed down to the tender pontoon.  The tenders run constantly.  As we tendered in (not a long ride), I saw that the Silver Wind is also here today.  The Silver Wind is much smaller than Serenity – I only counted seven decks.

We walked both up and down the main street of George Town – I only remembered a few of the stores (e.g. the Rum Cake shop).  From the beachfront road, I was able to get great pictures of both the Silver Wind and Serenity.  I even got into a picture with the two luxury cruise ships.

Silver Wind (L) and Serenity

On our walk we found a number of colorfully painted metallic lizards around town so I thought I would hop a ride on three of them.

We looked for a spa but the only one we found was Grand Cayman pricey.  While taking a break we met one of the spa employees, who told us that we would be able to find more spas in Ocho Rios (she was from Ocho Rios and commuted to Grand Cayman).

I was also on a search for a cap and quickly realized that today’s island wide price for a cap was $12.  As we made our way throughout the open malls of the town, I came across a kiosk selling medical sundries (Tylenol, sunscreen, etc).  They also had caps but these – identical to the ones in stores, were priced at $10.50 – sold. 

FYI - Subway tuna was $9.00 for a “foot long” ($4.75  6 in).  The best deal here was the “sub of the day”, which was priced at $3.50 (same as in the US).

The heat convinced us to return to the ship for lunch.

We had lunch in Tastes (deck 12 next to Trident Grill).  There is no Tastes on the Symphony (just more seating).  We ordered Asian Noodles (without chicken), veggie pot stickers, Margherita pizza, and a mojito.  Good food.

We spent the afternoon in the cool air of the Palm Court (reading and vegging).  When the ship is not moving there is little breeze on the pool deck.

Kosher Meals in the Crystal Dining Room again tonight.  They actually had hot dogs – two huge brats/Polish sausages, which were absolutely great and I ate both – will not do that next time – too much food.  ET had a duck.

Showtime tonight was the production show - “Across the Pond” – it featured the music of the British Invasion of the 1960s.  It was a good show with recognizable songs and entertaining dance sequences.

Across the Pond

The brats are still digesting but we headed back to the room and the verandah…

Thursday, December 8, 2016 – At Sea – Gulf of Mexico – warm – 83F

NOTE – Neither the Serenity nor the Symphony has deck chairs on the Promenade Deck – the decks are not that wide, the railings are solid so you can’t see the water, and there are cabins on that deck (one way windows for privacy).

Another beautiful day at sea. 

Deck 7 from our Verandah

The Standard Breakfast continues to be good.  My waitress, who is from Brazil, actually spent a year in Fox Valley training at the Y camp.  Globalization.

Personalized Room Service on the Verandah

At 10 Am, I went to see Louis Rene Beres talk on Terrorism.  I was hoping for some insight into ISIS or what was Al Queda up to these days.  But the lecture touched on none of these topics so, for me, nothing new there.

We had lunch, as we generally do, in the Trident Grill and Lido area.  This time out, I had the grilled salmon filet sandwich.  It was good and fresh but two pieces of salmon on a single sandwich is difficult to manage. 

The Reflections circular did a good job of highlighting the talk and included my bio and a photo (which looked pretty drab so I may have to update it). 

My moved-up talk was scheduled in the Hollywood Theater on Deck 6.  The venue is set up just like an old time theater – tiered and tight seating.  The marquis at the theater also highlighted the lecture.

Since I had no video or other fancy stuff in my talk, I only had to show up about 30 minutes ahead of my 1:30 PM start time.  The ship uses its own computers and loads the talks from a USB drive.  Set up took less than five minutes – everything looked good and worked well. 

As is the case in every venue for every event, the audience shows up right on time or late.  I spent a lot of time greeting passengers and chatting with them before the talk began.

Pre-Talk Chat

My talk went well – nice venue and energetic audience, 

Finally Working

Once all of the late comers showed up, the theater was around 60 percent full (about 120 passengers).  Only a couple of people left early (good for this ship) and, after the talk, a spontaneous Q and A broke out that went for more than 15 minutes.  The extra time was available because I had cut the Helena Greenwood case from the presentation.

Am reading Sharon Bolton’s “Dead Scared” – a Lacey Flint novel.  There was a good hook so I am in it for the duration (even though it is longer than previously read Bolton novels).

We pre-ordered kosher meals for tonight.  Ellen had chicken and I ordered a hamburger.  Both meals were good and as we were leaving I asked whether the galley also had hot dogs (they said they would check but hamburger would be my fall back).

Showtime tonight headlined Bob Arno – celebrity pickpocket.  We passed on the show as we had seen it before.

Back to the room – the verandah is nice when there isn’t a lot of wind.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 – Cruising the Mississippi River – Sunny – mid 60sF

Formal Night – Black Tie Optional

This was our first overnight stay in a departure port.

Crystal Serenity departed New Orleans at 8 AM and away from the Crescent City Bridge and into the Mississippi River.  This is our first daylight cruise on the Mississippi and it is very exciting.

New Orleans Sail Away

Had my first breakfast on board – they have all of the components of my standard breakfast – oatmeal with brown sugar, waffles, cottage cheese, whipped cream, assorted preserves, and good decaf coffee.  On this occasion, Ellen and I actually had breakfast together (usually only happens on disembarkation).  The Lido Café is very nice for breakfast – a view from nearly every table and the service is good. 

Breakfast Together

Later in the morning, I went to the Bistro to try their iced mocha latte.  Not bad (thought the glass was kind of small for an iced drink).

Iced Mocha Latte Time

I checked out one of the other lecturers on board (Ken Walsh talked about the Presidential Election and DJT) since I had never seen him before.  No new information there. I also wanted to get a feel for the audiences.  I did notice that people come in late and the applause is kind of so so. 

We had lunch in the Lido Café and Trident Grill.  The café has a very nice salad bar with a great Ranch Dressing.  Again, the gazpacho from the Grill is perfect. 

We are still cruising the Mississippi.

We both went to Barbara Udell’s wellness lecture in the afternoon in the Hollywood Theater.  No new information there but she is amusing.

The transit of the Mississippi River takes about six hours so we went up to the Palm Court (Deck 12 Forward) to see the exit into the Gulf of Mexico. 

Exiting the Delta / Oil Rigs in the Gulf

When we got back to the room, I had a phone message from Valentina indicating that I would in the Hollywood Theater tomorrow afternoon at 5 PM.  There was something else scheduled at that time – things change.

It was so pleasant outside, we decided to walk the deck and log some steps.  We completed about three laps (just short of a mile).

Deck 7 Aft

The golf practice area (very nice) is on Deck 7 aft and I couldn’t resist trying to hit some balls and do some putting.

Our walk took us unto the sunset, which was our first on this trip.

Sunset in the Gulf of Mexico

The night before we inquired about kosher food on board and they do indeed have that option available – we were told that the kosher stuff is kept separate from all the other food and is prepared in a dedicated area.  That being said, we ordered two rib eye steaks for tonight’s dinner.  The steaks were a bit over done but they came with gravy and were very good.  For tomorrow, I ordered a hamburger (yes, they have those too). 

We attended Showtime which was the first Production Show.  “Curtain Call” includes music from Broadway and the West End – we have seen this show on the Symphony but they did it a bit differently here.  There are two lead vocalists – Sarah Combs and Tom Lowe.  There are also nine dancers who deliver the track.  The sound is big and there is also the Crystal Orchestra in the pit.  The show was very good – the choice of plays and numbers was just right.  We are not in the best of seats so I was unable to take any photos.

Our room is quiet and vibration free.

Clocks move forward tonight.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016 – New Orleans, LA – Cloudy - 73F

Embarkation Day

The room was indeed quiet and we slept OK. 

Although the hotel is large and probably had a lot of guests, the breakfast area off the lobby was not too crowded.  The breakfast was good – waffles (pre-made but good), oatmeal, cold cereals, pastries, and good coffee.  Good deal for the price.

I had a little trouble with the app but I finally successfully scheduled an Uber ride to the pier.  She picked us up in front of the hotel and did help a little with the luggage.  The car was not super clean and she had scruffy blankets on her back seat.  The ride to Julia Street Pier was short and the bill was $6.95.

We checked in and waited for our color card to be called for boarding.  The process didn’t take very long and we boarded the ship.

Crystal Serenity seems to be a bit larger than its sister ship. 

New Orleans from the Ship

The welcome aboard Lunch was in the Trident Grill on Deck 12 (Tuna Melt sandwiches and onion rings). Terrific gazpacho (chunky) is available all the time.

The Soup Man Cometh

I also had my first mojito of the cruise –

very good but there was no lime wedge in this drink.  Ellen tried the banana daiquiri and relaxed on one of the couches on Deck 12.

We’re assigned to Stateroom 10018 (Deck 10 Forward).  A very nice room with a verandah, a bath tub, and huge king sized bed.  This is also a PURE room complete with hypoallergenic pillows and an air purification system.

Stateroom 10018

The Life Boat Drill was held at 5:15 PM – we are mustering in the Galaxy Lounge.  Note:  There are two theaters on this ship, the other being the Stardust Lounge (on Symphony, the Stardust Lounge was amidships and more of a lounge than theater).  The second speaker venue is the Hollywood Theater (202 seats), where they normally show movies.

We stayed in the Galaxy Lounge for the 5:45 PM meeting of the Entertainment Group.  Here’s the staff and rest of the cruise-specific entertainers.  Rick Spath – Cruise Director; Valentina Shtyrenko – Assistant Cruise Director (and member of dance troupe).  Other speakers:  Jay Wolff (Destination); Louis Rene Beres (World Affairs); Ken Walsh (Special Interest – Presidential Stuff); Barbara Udell (Health and Wellness); Dane Raushenberg (Extreme Athletics).  My first thought was a lot of speakers and only four sea days.  Found out from Valentina that I will only be giving two talks this cruise.  Could be the easiest gig in my speaking career – Valentina told me to just enjoy the cruise.  I plan to.

The ship is sailing with 700 passengers until we get to Curacao – we then disembark some folks and set sail again with new passengers now totaling 770 (capacity 1050).

We had dinner in the Crystal Dining Room – good soup – striped bass.  We asked for and got a table for two (No. 99).  The Maitre D’ on this ship does not seem to mind seating us at a table for two.  The table was in the back and pretty quiet.  A nice relaxing meal.

The Welcome Aboard show was in the Galaxy Lounge at 8:00 PM.  There are two lead vocalists, two other vocalists, and about four or five dancers.  As was the story on the Symphony, the show included numbers from “Chorus Line” and “Grand Hotel”.

The ship is staying overnight in New Orleans and a lot of people are off eating that Cajun food and checking out jazz clubs.

Our room is quiet and comfortable. 

Crystal Serenity - “Bourbon Street to South Beach” – Caribbean Cruise – December 6-20, 2016

Monday, December 5, 2016 - Travel Day

Hoping for good weather today since it snowed yesterday.  Hazy today but no snow in forecast.

Our flight today, AA4678, has a scheduled departure time of 10:11 AM.  We are planning to use Uber for the first time ever today so I planned to call for the ride at around 8:15 AM.  Hopefully, that will give us enough time to get to the airport comfortably.

Using the Uber App was easy and I could track the car’s progress on the app.  He showed up about seven minutes after I called him.  He didn’t help us with the luggage (maybe the no-tip policy had something to do with it).  The car was small but OK and he drove safely. 

The Uber to the airport came to $31.29 (net 11.29 with a first user coupon).  A cab runs $29 plus tip so Uber is a little better deal.

We didn’t run into any traffic at all so we arrived at the airport in plenty of time.  Our time through security was minimal even through the TSA Pre-Check Lines are getting longer.  Not having to take off shoes or take out your laptop cuts almost all of the delay out of the process.  Even if the lines were equal not dealing with laptops or shoes still makes TSA Pre-Check the better deal.

When we got to the gate, there was no plane and soon the AA app started to issue delays (small incremental ones).  I checked with the gate agents and she told me she had no idea about the length of the delays and I should check the boards.  When the app indicated a gate change, she was unaware of it.  We packed up and headed for the new gate and as we were doing so, the gate change was announced.  AA should look into the information flow to its gate agents.

The plane, an EJ75 finally pulled into the new gate about 30 minutes late. 

AA4678 Late Arrival at ORD

The Embraer 750 is like a mini-737 so cleaning the jet and getting it ready to go is probably a faster process than with other jets.  In about 30 minutes, we were ready to board.  What could have been a major delay turned out to be just about an hour.  The plane is a two by two layout which is comfortable but there are no chargers at the seats.   Ellen had put together mini-bagels with lox spread so we were all set for lunch.  We were not in a very big queue for takeoff so in a few minutes we were airborne.

Takeoff

The takeoff was smooth and soon we passed through the low cloud layer as the jet found blue skies.  Usually, at this point – especially in the cold air of late autumn – my expectations were smooth skies to New Orleans.

I was so so wrong.  The flight was bumpy on the way to our cruising altitude and all the way to New Orleans.  The seat belt sign was on the whole time and the attendants were having trouble negotiating the aisles with their carts.  I had to make one run for the bathroom (only one washroom for coach in the back), when I felt that the chop was easing up (I have developed a sense for that).  When I sat back down, the nasty chop continued in both clear skies and in the shmoo of clouds.  The pilot had very little to say.

I knew from the forecast and from the radar at the airport that there were thunderstorms in the New Orleans area so I expected even worse chop on our approach.  The co-pilot, a woman, came on to indicate we were beginning our initial approach and that the area had rain and thunderstorms (I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a pilot use the word “thunderstorms” – they usually say “weather” or “showers”).

The approach was almost completely in the clouds with lots of nasty chop.  The co-pilot was weaving her way around the storm cells to get us down.  We finally saw the ground at less than a thousand feet and soon the plane was skillfully set down.

Almost on the Ground

Our bags also made it here and were one of the first to come out of the carousel.  I called for another Uber – I also tracked him but couldn’t tell exactly where he was (the app told me that Uber pickups took place across from Baggage Claim 6).  Eventually, the driver called me to tell me he was in the parking lot across from Baggage 6 and that he was in a Dodge Charger.  I found him and we were off t our hotel.

The Uber to the Hotel ran $33 – it was a pretty long drive and based on the drive to ORD I thought the fare was just about right.  The car was very nice and so was the driver. 

We are staying at the Country Inn and Suites on Magazine Street (just two blocks from the French Quarter).  I didn’t book this hotel through hotels.com and must have chosen this property for its location.  It turned out to be a great choice at a great price.  When we pulled up to the hotel, someone on staff greeted us and the desk clerk gave each of us some beads (not even Mardi Gras). 

The hotel itself is very impressive – it used to be a factory that has been renovated (not yet complete). 

ET in the Lobby

Semi-Renovated Central Courtyard

The Hotel Pool (not yet finished)

We are in Room 345 in the back of the building away from Magazine Street. A non-smoking room with a huge king size bed.  The bathroom was roomy enough. 

Room 345

Check out my beads

The room also had a large window with a nice view of downtown New Orleans.

The View from Room 345

Since it was pretty early in the afternoon, we decided to head down Magazine Street to Canal Street, the boundary of the French Quarter.  One of the landmarks on Canal Street is the huge and colorful Walgreens Drug Store.

While checking out the sights of the French Quarter, we were also scoping out a place to have an early dinner.  Almost every restaurant had the same menu (Cajun and creole stuff, as you would expect) and a pricey menu at that.

Some of the streets seemed familiar and a church in the distance pointed us the way to “Jackson Square”.  Not a lot of impromptu jazz going on at the Square today but I did document that we were there.  I also learned something new – when this area was part of the Spanish province of Louisiana in the early 18th Century, Jackson Square was known as the Plaza de Armas.

We passed by Café du Monde (no beignets and chicory this time out either) and photographed the golden statue of Jean D’Arc.  

When we started our walk from the hotel, I noticed a woman carrying a Subway bag.  As we checked out more and more menus,it became clear that we were not going to be sampling any local delicacies.  I used Google to find me the closest Subway, which turned out to be just off Canal Street. 

The Subway guy was very generous preparing the tuna sandwich – he even cut the sandwich 2:1 so we could share it.  We ate our sandwich in the lobby area of the hotel (the hotel had coffee and tea out) – very comfortable and nice.

I arranged for a late checkout at Noon tomorrow.

The room seemed comfortable and quiet.