December 12, 2025 – Oranjestad, Aruba – Partly Cloudy – Warm – 87F

December 12, 2025 – Oranjestad, Aruba – Partly Cloudy – Warm – 87F

We are back in Aruba – no excursion today or for the rest of the cruise, it looks like. The Norwegian Pearl is here today as well.

Before going up to breakfast, I stepped out on Deck 7 and took photos both directions forward and aft.  Just an interesting perspective and the color of the Caribbean was eerie.

Another nice breakfast up in the Marketplace Restaurant.  Today, they had biscuits on the buffet so I passed on the cereal.  Biscuits and butter, the Food of the Gods.  The breakfast as always was very good and the coffee service was fantastic.  Good morning, Oranjestad.

At 9:00 AM, we met Rick Hutto and his wife Katherine in The Bistro (Ellen had breakfast and I had some coffee).  It was an interesting time – mostly spent talking about our ship lecturing careers and grandchildren. 

We decided to get off the ship – we took the ship shuttle to the cruise terminal entrance (good thing – it was quite a walk).  Near the shuttle pickup area was the Freewinds Cruise Ship, owned by the Church of Scientology.  We have seen the ship docked each time we visit Oranjestad.  

We then walked toward the commercial area, hoping to find the spas we once went to.  The phone signal was strange today in Aruba – phone service but no internet.  Because of this, I could not search and get directions to anything.  

One of the things we did see today in the town were ceramic horses and cows – I think they were here on one of our previous trips – they may be the same ones.

Oranjestad is basically Rodeo Drive of the Caribbean – every high end store in Beverly Hills is now here.  They are tearing down the gaudy Casino at the entrance to town and replacing it with condos.  There are still some rustic areas interspersed with fancy stores.  We escaped momentarily from the heat by ducking into a fancy mall.  Again, all the high end stores were here.

We came up dry on finding any spas (we did find one near the port but it was very pricey).  It was also hot and humid so we headed back to the ship.  

There was a bar just before the port entrance that had a bench with a cow (I think) on it.  It just screamed for a picture so we obliged.

It took a while for the shuttle to pick us up - we could see the bus next to Serenity in the distnce.  The problem was no shade and no seats at the shuttle stop.  We did get back on the ship and went upstairs to eat.

I had an Impossible Burger and Gazpacho for lunch and Ellen went to the Buffet and got Fried Cod but no chips.  The fish was good – I always forget to check out the buffet before ordering at the Trident Grill. A Corona completed the lunch.

We spent the afternoon in Palm Court including having tea and listening to Leandro on the piano.

During the sail away, I was able to get both our Pilot and the Norwegian Pearl in the same shot.

We got ready for dinner in the Waterside Restaurant.  Our special meals for today are a pastrami (turkey, it said although I wasn’t sure) sandwich on rye for me (very good if a bit salty) and tongue for Ellen (Ox it said) – also very good.  We both had the cream of carrot soup, which I liked more than Ellen did.  No dessert tonight.  Instead we had tea out in Crystal Cove.

We did not go to see Stephani Parker (Whitney Houston covers) because we have walked out of her shows twice before in the past - a little too much volume and riffin for us.  That's just us because the audience loves her.

I have a tickle in my throat and I wanted to start some Tylenol just in case so we went to the room a little earlier than usual.

December 11, 2025 – Willemstad, Curacao, NA – Party Cloudy – 87F

December 11, 2025 – Willemstad, Curacao, NA – Party Cloudy – 87F

We are once again in Willemstad.  We are birthed today at Mathey Wharf, which is right next to the Otrobanda ("other side") Neighborhood.  I am pretty sure, we have never docked here in the past but we usually come here in much larger ships (or all the other berths in town are taken).

Also here today is the HAL Rotterdam, Carnival Horizon (following us), and Oceania Insiginia, docked in front of us at another wharf. 

Up early but got back to sleep and didn’t get up until 6:30 AM – another wonderful shower and off to breakfast.

Breakfasts in the Marketplace continue to be sparsely attended at the opening.  I was able to get my usual table and while I was getting my cereal and raisins, coffee in a to-go cup appeared at my table.  I am continuing my two pancakes, cottage cheese, and strawberry and orange marmalade preserves plus a tablespoon of scrambled eggs with American cheese.  Just enough protein and calories for breakfast. 

This is the view at breakfast.

While I was finishing up, the local authorities, 

those folks who clear the ship, came in for breakfast.  These guys (and one woman) looked like the real thing including packing heat. 

I went with Ellen to breakfast in the Waterside Restaurant – she had he usual French Toast and two egg over.  I had a bagel and some more coffee.

We spoke to the Guest Relations desk about a tour of the island and the agent told us that taxis would be outside the gate.

We did find the taxis and they were taking several people at once – a private cab would run over a $100 so we passed. Besides, we checked out the map and the main destinations were beaches and we were not looking to do that.

Instead, we went down the hill from the wharf 

toward the downtown area.  Along the way we saw the Punda Floating Market

 (across from the market are a whole lot of phone stores - I was close to buying a cellphone here a few years ago). We also got good views of the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge.

Looking across St Anna's Bay, we saw Punda ("point"), the other half of Willemstad.

At the bottom of the hill, we turned right at the Brionplein, 

the large square already being decorated with holiday stuff and then onto the main drag, Breedestraat.  We hugged the buildings as we walked – it was hot and no shade – passing clothing shop after clothing shop.  After about four blocks or so, we decided that going on would not be wise, we crossed the street because we saw an interesting work of art on a storefront wall.  It was a rooster and it was composed of whatever the artist found around the house - buttons, paperclips, etc. It was quite interesting.

Ellen went in that art store and I found a seat while she looked around.  Based on the heat and how far we had walked, we thought we should head back to the ship – before we left the store, I asked the owner about spas in the area.  Her first answer was go to the hotel near the big ships and they will have a spa there (I know and it’s pricey). 

We were about to leave when she said she just remembered that there was a spa in the alleyway - less than 100m - in a white building.  We found the building and the spa - Annanails Salonyspa.  The charge would be 100 ANG ($57) per person; the massage lady was Tibisey (phone number 6656326). Ellen was extremely happy with her massage and went back to the ship while I was having my session.  While it was a good massage, mine came up a few minutes short for some reason.  Nevertheless, a place we would come back to.

I walked back to the ship, and got the only shot of Serenity docked,

and met Ellen in the Marketplace Restaurant. I had some tuna on a roll along with gazpacho and a salad (the same meal as yesterday but not as good this time around).  I had an Asahi Dry beer (I thought it was Japanese but it was Italian) which was good.

After lunch we spent a few minutes in Palm Court but left when the afternoon tea service started.  I need to get the massage oil off (the woman used a lot of oil).

Before dinner, we spent some time in Crystal Cove and I had a Blue Curacao Sour with some spicy nuts.  I also captured another iconic shot on the Promenade Deck.

We had dinner in the Waterside Restaurant – off the menu tonight.  I had the Angel Hair Pasta Aglio a Olio a Pepperoncini preceded by Cream of Cauliflower Soup (really good).  

I also had a side of sauteed spinach.  I ate all of the pasta – it was great. Ellen had the Dover Sole Meuniere along with a baked potato.  I had the Bailey’s Trifle and Ellen had the Pecan Pie a la mode for dessert.  We had time so we had coffee and tea as well.  We checked tomorrow’s menu and with nothing for us, we ordered special meals.

We went to the Stardust Lounge and caught Steven Scott’s second show “Catskill Humor”.  He’s a little quick and slurs his way through some jokes but he was funnier tonight.

We are not going to the Production Show “Club Nights” – just too loud and too late. 

We heard some drums outside the ship.  We went out on the Marketplace back deck and found that Willemstad had quiet the night life and that there was a festival/celebration underway.  All of the buildings along the waterway on both Punda and Otrobanda were decorated with lights - the two ships, which were also lit for the night, just became part of the overall decorated landscape.  There was traffic as cars tried to maneuver to the restaurants and bars for the evening.  To top it all off, a marching band (the drums) crossed the Queen Emma Bridge into Punda.  It was like Mardi Gras but with a ton of lights.  You couldn't tell what was going on during the day.  It was something.  I captured what I could considering the lighting conditions.

Now, it was back to our stateroom; we didn't hear anything so the parade must have ended or it was too far away.

A very nice day in Willemstad.

December 10, 2025 – Kralendijk, Bonaire – Sunny – 87F

December 10, 2025 – Kralendijk, Bonaire – Sunny – 87F

Not having very good luck getting excursions so far and we none today in Bonaire.  We will probably walk the town and perhaps find a spa.  Serenity is docked at the North Pier (not usually where we dock but this ship is smaller than our usual ships, which park at the main cruise terminal.  Today, the other terminal is hosting the Carnival Horizon, which I photographed as she arrived.

I was up pretty early and had a chance to try out the new shower.  While the water pressure is lower in this part of the ship, the shower worked fine.  I like the two position shower head holders (one at the usual end and another in the middle of the shower). This is a better situation for a lot of people, including me, since you don't have to step over the bath tub walls to get in and out of the shower.

The Marketplace this morning was essentially empty with just me and another couple there at the opening.  

I had my usual breakfast and at this point in the cruise, my coffee is already at my table when I get back from my first pass at the buffet.

I guess we are far enough east that I caught my first sunrise of the cruise.

After breakfast, I went down to Guest Services to talk to the Concierge about ordering special meals for tonight – we didn’t do that yesterday because we wound up staying in all night – tired and other reasons.  The Concierge wasn’t there yet but a nice desk agent took my order (I wrote it all down for her) and said that she would get the information to the Marketside for tonight.  Should be interesting.

At 8 AM, I took our laundry to the self-serve launderette on our deck.  The Lauderettes are located at the far Forward end of the deck - a healthy walk even from midships.

The launderettes are now accessible via key card, which is better than before when they were wide open.  I started a load, which takes 45 minutes to complete – the instructions this time out were clear (and not symbol based).  The drying cycle also takes 45 minutes.  But the whole process is easy and now you have clean clothes.  Terrific.

Ellen got Room Service this morning – Pancakes and fruit – good.  The pancakes from Room Service are twice as big as those up in the buffet.  The small pancakes upstairs tend to be a bit over because of their size.

After putting away the laundry, we exited the ship and walked down Juan Abraham St (the second street beyond the one that runs along the water) looking for a spa I found on line – “Beauty Inside Out Spa”.  We found it in a shack like building but the woman in there (a White Danish Woman) told us she was booked until 4 PM. That wouldn’t work for us so we walked back toward the ship. 

I did get some nice pictures of both Crystal Serenity and Carnival Horizon as we walked along the waterfront.

We also found the modest Bonaire City Sign (cleverly constructed with a model car seats) and took the obligatory picture (we have been lucky on this cruise to find random people to take our pictue).

On the main pier, there was another spa – “Tulip Spa” – that also was booked for the day.  People must have made reservations on the websites for these places.  One more option was in the building that held a spa that I tried to go to several times.  The spa – “Pure Essence” was now part of a complex including an upscale clothing store.  The store was not here the last time we visited Kralendijk but no matter, the prices were absurd - $150 for an hour session.  No spa on this trip – we have not been successful getting a spa appointment in several visits to Bonaire.  It’s just not Cozumel.

The spa search burned 5000 steps.

It was getting hot so after a brief visit to the vendors across from the ship, we headed back to the coolness of Serenity. 

Before I went in, I shot a picture of the World War II Monument at the dock.  It needed some repair.

When the Marketplace opened at Noon, we went through the line.  I put together a green salad with a pretty good blue cheese dressing.  I also took a roll that I would use with the two scoops of tuna I got from the Trident Grill (along with the compulsory gazpacho).  The tuna was good on the roll and light enough not to impact dinner.  Diet cokes rounded out the lunch.

We went to Palm Court for afternoon tea and piano music. This is also a good location to shoot pictures of essentially the whole city 

including the W.E.B. DuBois Footbal Stadium.

From there, it is back to the cabin – all spiffed up by the cleaning crew.

Dinner tonight was in the Waterside Restaurant, where our special ordered kosher meals were waiting.  We are back at Table 141 for this cruise and our two terrific waiters Edson (from Brazil) and Vincent.  We started off with the Butternut Squash soup which was very good. Ellen’s veal chop was huge – who knows what that might cost in the market being kosher and beef (beef prices are in the stratosphere these days).  My hot dogs were, as usual, delicious.  

Both meals were top notch and were served quickly.  We passed on dessert and instead had tea in Crystal Cove served by our super waitress Jelena. 

We stayed down there for a while and are now back in the room. We are passing on the shows tonight – “Rock and Pop a Mania” at 8:30 PM and the White Party at 9:45 PM. 

The cabin’s temperature control is a bit wonky – we had the heat all the way up and it was cold – when we got back to the room it was hot and I turned it down.  The room is cooling down now.

The room is quiet.

December 9, 2025 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea – Mostly Cloudy – 82F

December 9, 2025 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea – Mostly Cloudy – 82F

On route to Bonaire and our ABC Island itinerary.

Steve Friedman is on this leg but I haven't seen him or Brenda. We apparenly have diffeent schedules.

Slept pretty late for me – 6:30 AM – and still had time to shower and shave before breakfast – the Marketplace is opening late this morning at 7:30 AM.  My usual breakfast was good as usual – I cut down a little (one pancake instead of two) – no cheese in my scrambled eggs.  The service was excellent this morning – coffee cup was never less than half full.  Another nice view.

I joined Ellen for her breakfast in the Bistro (the clouds outside look threatening so I took pictures).

Ellen had her usual bagel with lox and cream cheese and I had a grapefruit half with brown sugar.  I then ordered a mocha and took it with me to the morning talks in the Galaxy Lounge.  At 10 AM, I heard Nigel Hetherington speak on the “A Timeless Fascination: Exploring the Seven Wonders of the World Ancient and Modern” and at 11:AM, I stayed and listened to Rick Hutto speak on “Princess Diana’s Family Heritage”.  I left a little early from Rick’s talk to meet Ellen for lunch. 

Today we had lunch in the Waterside Restaurant – Ellen had trout, her favorite, and I had the Vegetable Lo Mein.  Both were good – I could not finish the lo mein.

I had to get ready for my 1:30 PM Talk – “Forensics and History – Identifying the Famous and Infamous” in the Hollywood Theater.  

I’d say the theater was almost half full – a good turnout for this venue and time.  I got a nice intro from Raphael and the talk went well running about 50 minutes.  It was a little longer than last cruise because I had to put a little more of my background in, which wasn’t covered in my bio in Reflections. I spoke with a couple of guests afterwards before heading to the room.

I went to the watercolor class at 3:30 PM in the Marketplace.  The class was full and we had to share some materials.  I chose a photo that had too much detail for a watercolor and was not happy with my work so I didn’t keep the painting. 

I’m still achy from yesterday’s encounter with potholes so I limped back to the room. 

We decided not to go to dinner in any of the venues and instead, get Room Service.  We ordered a Cesar Salad (really good), a Margherita Pizza (small and cheesy but good), and spaghetti with marinara sauce (it came with meat sauce by accident and the marinara sauce was delivered later – it was OK as well).  The dishes got picked up and now we are in the room relaxing. 

We passed on both shows tonight – Karin Kovacova “Unplugged” at 8:30 AM in the Stardust Lounge and "Icons in Concert" at 9:45 PM in the Galaxy Lounge.

December 8, 2025 – St. George’s, Granada – Mostly Cloudy – 87F

December 8, 2025 – St. George’s, Granada – Mostly Cloudy – 87F

New Passenger Information:  Total Passengers 566 – In transit 170.  That is a very high continuing passenger percentage.

Crystal Serenity is docked at the Melville Street Cruise Terminal - right next to the downtown area. We are the only ship here today.

I wasn’t sure how the new passenger contingent would deal with breakfast.  I was up there when the Marketplace opened – there were more people up there than last cruise but I still got my table.  The breakfast was, once again, perfect.

On the way down to the room, I spoke to the Concierge and told him we wanted to take up his offer and change cabins.  He made me two new key cards and told me to call down to Guest Services when we were ready and the bellhop would come up an move us. 

I called down and within 10 minutes the bellhop was there with his cart.  He told us we could go to breakfast and it would all be done when we got back.  We went to the late breakfast at the Trident Grill and then checked out the new room.  It was a nice, refurbed room – no bathtub but a big shower with two places to located the removable shower head.  Only one sink but lots of storage.  Very bright room with a built in night light.  A nice improvement. This room has a strategic location - the elevator (just two doors down) goes up to the Markeplace and down to the Waterside Restaurant.

We disembarked the ship and walked the very long pier to the shopping mall just off the end of the pier (I walked and Ellen sprinted to avoid the strong Sun).  I did get her to sit for a picture on the pier.

We got the obligatory picture of the Grenada sign along with Crystal Serenity

and checked out the Esplanade Shopping Complex (The Mall). I was looking for a cap but all of the stores were selling the caps at the same price - $15 or two for $20. I didn’t need two caps and Ellen didn’t want one so I passed on the caps.  

One very interesting store in the mall was a bagel shop, boasting that they served "New York's Finest Bagels".  We didn't verify that but I was amused by the ad for the store.  Perhaps an expat from NYC runs the place.  

We exited the mall and were on Melville Street, the main drag.  We walked a couple of rustic blocks along Melville Street.  One nice touch was the flowers and plants lining the sidewalk.  The palm trees completed the tropical feel of the port area.  

I also got a shot of the bustling shopping area perpendicular to Melville Street

 

and the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on the hill overlooking the town.

While out there, an older taxi guy asked us about a tour (we had been accosted in the mall by several pushy taxi tour guys).  We went back and forth on the price and settled on $60 for a two hour tour.  We walked about three blocks to his cab, which was a pretty comfortable, late model, black min-van.  We sat in the back seat, which had nice seat belts - the taxi was in good condition, contained a lot of tech, and did not smell of cigarettes or anything at all. 

The tour took us ocean to ocean – the Caribbean to the Atlantic.  We headed up the hill near town, passed the Grenada National Cricket Stadium, 

saw some nutmeg trees (the island’s claim to fame)

to the Allendale Waterfall – we opted not to buy tickets and hike down to the waterfall. Instead, he took us to a small waterfall for a picture.  

From there we went to a view point where we could see Serenity docked in St Georges (along with another passenger ship – a clipper).  

We drove on a bit further to Ft. George, which was closed but we were able to use the facilities. I was also able to get another shot of Serenity in the harbor from here.

We drove through the countryside with its heavy vegetation 

and simple homes. Our driver told us the island was indebted to Ronald Reagan for ordering the invasion of the island in October 1983 ("Independence Day" Holiday here).  The invasion was to prevent another Russian presence in the Caribbean (like Cuba) and to create stability in the government). Personal Note: In October 1983, Ellen and I were flying to Barbados for a DPC junket and we were concerned about the military activity in nearly Grenada. 

The next stop would be down the hill to the Atlantic Side of the Island.  We saw Woburn Bay and it’s islands (Hog Island).

We stopped for a few minutes at the Grand Anse beach.  

The beach was beautiful – white sand.  There was fruit of some kind on the sand – we were told they were almonds from the almond trees lining the edge of the sand.  There were lots of people at the beach as well as umbrellas and chairs. 

From there we headed back to St George’s passing the Port George Marina (lots of boats including some mega yachts).  

The taxi then encountered some serious traffic on the way to the shopping mall – we saw the oldest building in Grenada (from 1704) (photo below).  

We finally made it to the shopping mall.  Another note on the tour.  I saw only one stop sign and one signal light the whole way.  The roads were very bumpy – one very nasty bump actually resulted in some kind of damage to my back – will feel it tomorrow.  The roads were also narrow with cars missing each other by very little distance. And yes, this former British Possession does drive on the left.

We paid our driver – (I wish I had gotten his name) $60 plus a $15 tip for not kidnapping us.  We got off at the shopping center – made one more pass at the stores and went back to the ship.  At this point and I don’t know if the bumpy ride was the cause but I was really hurting and limping down the pier to the ship.  Yes, this pic tells you all you need to know about the length of the pier.

Ellen got to the ship ahead of me and we connected in the Trident Grill/Marketplace for lunch.  I had the salmon burger again along with the obligatory gazpacho.  Ellen explored the buffet for something to eat.

The gazpacho seemed real fresh and crunchy to me.  I also had a bottle of Lagunitas IPA, which took a while to locate but was good (very light with notes). 

We headed to the Forward part of the ship.  In the open area near the Theater (where the Bridge classes are held) is a large model of the Crystal Harmony.  When I first saw it I thought it was going to be Crystal's third ship.  Actually, it was built in 1990 for Crystal but was transferred to Crystal's Japanese parent company in 2006 and is currently sailing as the Asuka II.  So, not a new ship but a monument to Crystal's past. 

 

Again, we spent the afternoon in Palm Court, staying once again for Afternoon Tea (more delicious scones).  The new violinist on board, Ely Lee, treated us to an amazing version of "Hallelujah".

While up in Palm Court, I got a shot of the hillsides surrounding St George's and captured some rainbows both in the sky and along the hillside.

I also got the first photo of a sunset (over the Caribbean) this cruise (from the cabin).

Dinner was in the Waterside Restaurant, where we had pre-ordered Kosher Meals tonight. My two hot dogs were delicious and Ellen’s duck was also good.  I don’t believe I would get tired of the hot dogs (they are premium polish sausages – not the skinny little dogs were usually get).  We’ll probably take a break and then get back to them again.

We passed on the first show tonight (a combination of pop and disco – couldn’t tell what the show really was from the description.  The second show, at 9:45 PM, featured Steven Scott, NY Comedian. 

We had seen him a few years ago but my log had little intel on him.  It turned out he wasn’t as funny as we thought he would be so we stayed for just a short time.  We headed to the room – it was late.

The new room is pretty quiet – there is a little rumble in the background – maybe from the engines or “transmission” but that is manageable.

It was a nice day in St George's - Ellen was right again.