2018 Crystal World Cruise as seen by a 4-Star Mariner

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report with great pictures.

Love the picture of you -- you look as though you ready to go out on a dig..

[rafinmd]

Thank you but I think I'm ready to leave the digging to others.

 

Trivia for April 10:

 

3. What is the common name for Cape Agulhas, and it’s the southernmost point of which continent?(2 points)

4. Dr. Jonas Salk made a great breakthrough in battling what disease?

6. Bray Studios was home to what brand of horror movies?

10. What tourist attraction, first described in 565 AD was a huge impetus for Scottish Tourism?

13. What name did Mikhail Gorbachev jokingly give to a 1989 doctrine in the waning days of the Soviet Union where satellite countries had more control over their status?

 

Trivia answers:

 

3. Cape Agulhas is commonly known as Cape Needles and is the actual southernmost point in Africa. (Missed it)

4. Dr. Jonas Salk created a vaccine for polio (got it)

6. Bray Studios was home to Hammer movies.(never heard of them)

10. The Loch Ness Monster (got it)

13. The doctrine was jokingly called the Sinatra doctrine (as in “My Way”–missed it)

 

I got the musical selection “Leaving on a Jet Plane” but had forgotten it was written by John Denver. The winning team had just 10 of 17.

 

Most of my post on the Crystal forum was about a behind the scenes tour for those of us on the Full World Cruise. That's not offered on the HAL ships I usually sail, but I did get one tour on the Amsterdam, the day Copper10-8 visited me last year on the Symphony in Huatulco.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Trivia answers were easy.

Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine right here in Pittsburgh.

[rafinmd]

Thank you Krazy Kruizers.

 

Day Symphony55, Wednesday, April 11, 2018, Pisco, Peru

 

The Crystal Serenity is in Cochin, 9190 miles away. The sun rose at 6:11 and set at 6:01. The moon rose at 2:20 and set at 3:12. The early morning was mostly cloudy but I did get a fleeting view of the moon. The weather was 25/77 and primarily sunny.

 

The Humboldt current brought a bit of chill to the morning area but it was otherwise pleasant and I finished my 6 lap just before the morning show. The sun was not quite officially up yet but there was a nice band of color above the horizon.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dawn0411.jpg

 

On the morning show both Paul McFarland and co-host Carina Karcher indicated they had never been here before but it is actually my 4th visit. I had an upper Amazon River cruise in 2007 and stayed here on a pre-tour visiting the Nazca Lines. It is also my 3rd consecutive port call here after the Symphony in 2016 and the Zaandam in 2017. It’s quite an isolated cargo port apparently primarily for bulk cargo. I wonder if the port was once more active as a corner of the wharf now has just pilings remaining connected by cables. It looks unsuitable for docking and is mostly a massive bird roost.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/birdroost-e1523534596434.jpg

 

I had expected we would pick up the pilot at 7 but when I went out on deck we were already tied up nose to nose with the Hamburg Pearl. About a dozen popups with souvenir stands were soon set up facing us on the dock.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/vendors.jpg

 

None of the day’s excursions suited my fancy. There were tours to the Ballestas Islands by Motorboat (119) and yacht (499), and a look at the Nazca lines from the air ($769). I had done these things in 2007 and did not feel the need to repeat them. The lunch at a Hacienda ($219) sounded a lot like something I did in 2016, and Wine discovery ($279) did not interest me. While on the Zaandam I did a dune buggy adventure ($529) which I also did not really need to repeat but that was also cancelled.

 

I have never actually been to Pisco (the purported destination) and it sounded like there was little of interest there. There wasn’t really too much in the nearest town Paracas either but there was a shuttle. I boarded it about 8:30 for a little look around. Memory does fade a bit. My recollection was that I had stayed at a small local place in 2007, but the Hotel Paracas is a Luxury Collection Marriott property, kind of behind a fence. It was about a half mile down the main street from the shuttle stop. The street itself does not seem very busy.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/htlparacas.jpg

 

I returned along the waterfront which was a big marina for fishing boats and for tour boats going out to the Ballestas Islands.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/marina.jpg

 

I had also hoped to load some maps on my IPAD and found a little café with wifi. I was not really planning on breakfast in port but was able to change my meal plan just a bit and get what I wanted done.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/bkfst.jpg

 

The map showed a “path to obelisk” near the entry point to town. There didn’t appear to be much of a path (just some tire and foot tracks in the sand dunes but it wasn’t a bad walk. It also didn’t look much like an obelisk but sure enough there was a triangular one inside some curved structures that looked almost like sails.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/obelisk.jpg

 

Along with the nearby attractions of Ballestas Islands and Nazca Lines Paracas is home to the Paracas National Reserve, a large desert. On our route to town and back we were surrounded by massive sand dunes.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dunes.jpg

 

I developed a bad habit in 2007, and now whenever in Peru get a craving for Inca Kola. I actually feel a little less guilty about it now as the store had small bottles and in a sugar free version. I will probably buy several more bottles.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/incakola.jpg

 

I was back on the shuttle about 12:30. I still have this little boy’s fascination with big mechanical stuff and was watching as the Hamburg Pearl was being unloaded. 3 cranes on the ship were dumping piles of something that looked like gravel in piles on the wharf. A large lot just outside the port was filled with trucks waiting to come in and be loaded by front end loaders. The material appeared to be very dense as each truck was carrying only a thin layer of the material.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/unloading.jpg

 

 

All aboard was 3:30 and Louis sang at 3:55. With the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle at 6:30 there was no way to have dinner at 6 and attend both that event and the 7:30 show. Instead I stopped by the Trident Grill for a burger followed by ice cream from Scoops. The burgers are excellent but just too much for a lunch.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dishes0411.jpg

 

We had one of the most perfect sunsets I’ve seen on this trip.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dusk0412.jpg

 

There were probably about a dozen people at the Meet and Mingle along with several officers. I was amazed that one couple at the event had ties to Howick, the little town outside Montreal where my mother grew up. Several Crystal personnel were in attendance as well.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/mingle.jpg

 

The featured entertainment was the venerable Curtain Call, this time with 2 new dancers and 2 lead singers just back from vacation. I’ll kind of go from there with my parting shot. The spot show 2 days ago was cancelled and I subsequently learned that lead singer Karl Grunewald was virtually bedridden with a back injury. Due to the miracles of modern procedures (including acupuncture) he was back in good form. Welcome back to the land of the vertical, Karl.

 

I was somewhat mistaken, I had thought that I would be visiting most of these ports again next year but have found that the Prinsendam will be leapfrogging most of the South American ports and I'll have mostly new (or at least different from this year) ports next year.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great report.

We will enjoy reading about your new ports next year.

[erewhon]

Thank you for replying to my cookie query.

Lovely sunset photo.

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

[rafinmd]

Thank you erewhon, Krazy Kruizers and Lucky TGO.

 

Day Symphony56, Thursday, April 12,2018, Arrive Lima

 

The Crystal Serenity is on a maiden call in Mangalore, India, 9174 miles away. The sun rose at 6:13 and set at 6:05. The moon rose at 3:15 and set at 3:56. I got a glimpse of it on my morning walk. There were more clouds than sun with comfortable temperatures low 20's/low 70's.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/moon0412.jpg

 

I think this will soon be my most visited South American city as it was my base of operations in 2007 and a port of call each year 2016-2019. It was hazy almost to the point of fog as we approached the port about 6:30. There seems to be one berth in Callao used for cruise ships, normally a bulk cargo berth. There’s a container pier on one side and an auto carrier berth kind of diagonally behind us. As we docked we seemed to swing awfully close to the Swan Ace.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/swanace.jpg

 

I don’t think there’s a cruise terminal here at all. The only thing at the dock was a few stalls set up by the locals selling fabrics. There were 2 shuttles, a port shuttle went just to the gate at Callao, a city that did not have much in the way of tourist facilities and kind of a seedy reputation.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/callao.jpg

 

The ship had a shuttle that went into the Indian Market in the Miraflores neighborhood. It was a pretty slow 45-minute ride. I had booked a volunteer tour to a burn center but it was cancelled and I did not replace it, but rode in on the first shuttle with plans to stop at a Starbucks for computer updates.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/indian.jpg

 

Starbucks was about a 15-minute walk across a major street from a park dedicated to John F Kennedy. The internet was not good but I did manage to get my primary computer successfully updated.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/kennedy.jpg

 

On the way back I walked through Kennedy Park. There was a church I thought might have been a Cathedral but Virgen Milagrosan was pretty much an ordinary parish church. I bought a couple more bottles of Inca Kola on the way back to the market.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/milagrosa.jpg

 

It was after 1:30 and Marketplace had closed when I was back at the ship. I noticed on the way in that Swan Ace’s back ramp was sealed up. As we drove up 2 container ships had arrived on our bow. The NYK Libra was directly on our bow with the Dublin Express ahead of it. Dublin was the maximum width for the Original Panama Canal while the Libra was significantly wider. The difference in width was pretty striking.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/containers.jpg

 

As I headed up to the Trident I briefly looked down on the restocking operations for the ship with a nice row of containers being unloaded.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/restock.jpg

 

The Swan Ace took longer than I expected to get under way but finally left about 4 and before long was replaced by another car carrier.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/uglyswan.jpg

 

When I stepped a little later for a look at the vendor stalls the Libra was spewing water from the anchor opening.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/libra.jpg

 

While sunset was officially after 6 I stepped out on deck on the way down to dinner and it was just dropping behind the Dublin Express. The view I saw was awesome but the camera even highlighted the colors beyond what I saw.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dusk0412.jpg

 

There were just 5 of us at the shared table and service was the fastest for this voyage (If only it would be like this when we had 7:30 shows. I enjoyed the (½) pork chop, consume, and Cherry Garcia Ice Cream. We were out in about an hour.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dishes0413.jpg

 

The Crystal Show Band did perform mid-evening in the Crystal Cove (with the brass adding an antiphonal effect from deck 6) but the featured entertainment was a group of local singers and dancers.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/local2.jpg

 

I took relatively few pictures for a port day so I’m adding one from the Captain’s Welcome Party.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/welcome8207.jpg

 

My parting shot, may Friday the 13th not live up to it’s reputation.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

Another lovely sunset.

Looking very smart with the Captain.

[bennybear]

My reply was ozoned. Thanks for the picture of those dunes, wow! Wondering what the star carries? Looks immense. You looked very relaxed and suave with the captain!

[perfect match]

Thank you for all the time and effort you have put into this wonderful report, Roy. While I haven't managed to check in every day, I am once again all caught up. I had never seriously considered doing a world cruise before I started reading your report, but to my total amazement, I'm now trying to figure out how and when I can make it happen. I'm not sure if this means you've been a good influence on me, or a bad one! ;p I prefer to think you've been a good influence, but I think my bank account may beg to differ with me! :eek:

 

I will continue to check in here when I can, as I'm enjoying following you on your voyage. :D

[kazu]

So enjoying your posts and pictures, Roy.

 

Seems ironic that the dinner service is fast now that the 7:30 show times are gone.:confused:

 

All your pics are great but the one with the captain is very good of the 2 of you :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report and pictures.

That sunset is lovely.

Great picture with the captain and you.

[rafinmd]

Thank you everyone.

 

Day Symphony57, Friday, April 13, 2018, Leave Lima

 

The Crystal Serenity is at sea from Mangalore (9174 miles away) to Mumbai(9033 miles). The sun rose at 6:13 and set at 6:05. The moon rose at 4:05 and set at 4:37. The weather was hazy with a temperature of 22/72.

 

I saw neither the sun nor the moon on my 6-lap morning walk. The Dublin Express had been replaced overnight by the larger Cartagena Express while the NYK Libra’s space was vacant.

 

The tour I had booked for the second day in Lima, Colonial Lima with a Renowned Historian, was still on. We were warned that the traffic might be a problem due to the Summit of the Americas but it didn’t seem to be any worse than usual. It was just under an hour until we were dropped off at our first stop near Casa Aliga, the hemisphere’s oldest continuously occupied house. The bus dropoff point was a corridor between 2 buildings. The “ceiling” was a network of steel frames. Our guide explained that this had once been a large stained glass window. It was lost in an earthquake but never replaced because “it never rains”.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/lostwindow.jpg

 

The historian met us here and pointed out the balconies on all the area’s buildings, a sign of the Moorish heritage of the neighborhood.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/balconies.jpg

 

Casa Aliga was entered via a corridor which ended in a staircase, leading up to the living quarters at the end of the stairs starting with a couple of rooms suitable for receiving guests.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/aligaentry.jpg

 

Next up was the main bedroom used by the matriarch of the family until her death about 3-5 years ago. The bedroom suite had a number of photos with her and her large family.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/masterbedroom.jpg

 

The dining room was quite large and used for receptions.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/aligadining.jpg

 

The center court had a large tree and was surrounded bu a boardwalk on the level of the living quarters.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/aligacourt.jpg

 

Religion is very important in South America and the final room we saw in Casa Aliga was a small family chapel.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/aligachapel.jpg

 

While traffic was not badly affected by the Summit of the Americas the police presence was very obvious as we left Casa Aliga, and walked across to Plaza Mayor with the Cathedral on one side.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/limacathedral.jpg

 

Looking counterclockwise around Plaza Mayor was the Governor’s Palace. In previous years we had watched changing of the guard there but it was not really a great place to hang around with the Summit of the America’s inside.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/gobierno.jpg

 

A couple blocks’ walk away was the Santa Domingo Convent with a lovely courtyard in the middle.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/conventcourt.jpg

 

The convent is home to a library with an extensive collection of liturgical treasures.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/domingolibrary.jpg

 

Our final sightseeing stop was San Marcos University, the oldest in the Americas. The building was closed as were all government offices due to the summit but the tower in the courtyard was nice.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/marcostower.jpg

 

Our actual final stop was the Sheraton hotel where there was a demonstration of Pisco Sour making. We were back at the ship about 1.

 

I had chosen ham as my dinner entree and decided to skip the usual ham and cheese, selecting the Trident hot dog instead. It was the first time in ages I’ve had one and I didn’t think it was that great.

 

All aboard was at 2:30 with a sailaway party scheduled for 2:45. It was on the pool deck with music by the Crystal Quartet and trays of Pisco Sours making the rounds. The only thing missing was a sailaway as the crew kept standing at the gangway watching for late arrivals. A van finally pulled up about 3:15 with what appeared to be new arrivals, presumably from a delayed flight.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/limasailaway.jpg

 

Once everyone was onboard sailaway proceeded quite quickly. Louis sang at 3:26.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/timetogo.jpg

 

The Nordic Beijing had come into the berth ahead of us while we were on tour. The crew now has at least one female officer and she was stationed on the bow as we left watching our clearance.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/lookout.jpg

 

There was not a lot of free time after sailaway as Jon Malay had a 4PM presentation on weather. There were just 2 of us at the shared table and the meal went very quickly. None of the appetizers appealed to me so I had a second type of bread along with the pagan ham and the key lime pie.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dishes0413.jpg

 

There were 2 major shows, both featuring the Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers. The dance production 5-6-7-8 was presented both at 7:30 and 9:15. It was followed at 10:30 by the spot show Rock and Pop-A-Mania. I was in bed immediately after the show.

 

My parting shot will be a wish for a safe and productive Summit of the Americas.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Thank you for all the time and effort you have put into this wonderful report, Roy. While I haven't managed to check in every day, I am once again all caught up. I had never seriously considered doing a world cruise before I started reading your report, but to my total amazement, I'm now trying to figure out how and when I can make it happen. I'm not sure if this means you've been a good influence on me, or a bad one! ;p I prefer to think you've been a good influence, but I think my bank account may beg to differ with me! :eek:

 

I will continue to check in here when I can, as I'm enjoying following you on your voyage. :D

 

Good luck with that. You didn't ask but I'll make a couple of suggestions anyway. A full world cruise on Crystal is probably not a good option if the bank account is an issue. I think a full world cruise will be a rarity for me. I can afford it but doing it again would probably call for more sacrifice in other areas than I'm ready to make.

 

For a first hand look at a world cruise I'd suggest at least starting with a segment or 2, and there are several good choices in cruise lines. The 3 I've done are Crystal, Holland America, and Cunard, and been very happy with my experiences on all 3.

 

 

Since we're on the HAL forum I expect that you would be comfortable with that and I'll highly recommend it. One thing that's a bit different about HAL is that they have not just a World Cruise but several other Grand Voyages (frequently Grand Asia, Grand South America, and perhaps Grand Med) that have much the feel of a world cruise.I've done segments of HAL's 2014 World Cruise and 2017 Grand Asia and had an excellent experience on each. Most full HAL world cruises are a little longer than I want to be away from home but I will be on the full Grand South America in less than a year.

 

 

One proviso on HAL; If you MUST have a balcony that will not be easy on your bank account. In that case, have a look at Cunard. Crystal, HAL, and Cunard all have great public spaces on their ships and I've never felt the need for a balcony on any of their ships, but if it's essential for you then the surcharge for a balcony on the Amsterdam or the Prinsendam will not be easy on the bank account. The balcony premium on Cunard is much less than on HAL and my segments on Cunard world cruises have all been great. A segment or 2 on Cunard would be a great intro to a world cruise.

 

On Crystal there are usually some segments that don't sell particularly well and that's also a possibility. That's a possibility as well.

 

 

I hope you'll find some slice of a world cruse that works with your schedule and your budget.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loved the tour you did today -- that would be one we would select.

Great pictures.

[rafinmd]

Thank you Krazy Kruizers.

 

As a number of trivia regulars are away on a tour to Machu Picchu and I joined a team for the day.

 

1. What is the highest possible score in figure skating?

6. What movie starring Cary Grant involves a hunt for rare stamps?

7. What airplane nicknamed “connie” was popular and who built it?

9. How many noggins in a pint?

13. In what city is the Maracana stadium?

 

Trivia answers:

 

1, The highest figure skating score is 6 (entire team missed it)

6. Charade starred Cary Grant and involved a hunt for rare stamps(entire team missed it)

7. The Lockheed Constellation was nicknamed “connie” (got it)

9. There are 4 noggins in a pint.(entire team missed it)

13. Maracana stadium is in Rio. (Team knew but I did not)

 

My team had 10 right and would have been at 8 without my contribution about the Constellation. The team and I knew the musical selection was “Brown Eyed Girl” and others supplied the artist Van Morrison. The winning team had 15 (out of 18)

 

Roy

[RuthC]

1. What is the highest possible score in figure skating?

...

1, The highest figure skating score is 6 (entire team missed it)

Actually, at least in International competition (such as the Olympics and the World Championships), the scoring system has been changed. It used to be 6, but now you see scores near 200 for the highest performing skaters.

 

The trivia organizer should correct the answer, or lose the question.

[Krazy Kruizers]

These were easy trivia questions.

Our doctor's daughter has been involved in figure since she was 5 years old when they introduced her to skating. She is now in her second year of graduate school and still skates. She has won a lot of awards but will not be in the Oylmpics -- parents won't allow it. Six is an old number -- they score around 200 now a days.

Charades was easy -- we have watched that movie quite a few times -- just last month again. With Audry Hepburn.

When we toured around Rio we went by Maracana stadium.

Rest easy as well.

[TiogaCruiser]

Actually, at least in International competition (such as the Olympics and the World Championships), the scoring system has been changed. It used to be 6, but now you see scores near 200 for the highest performing skaters.

 

The trivia organizer should correct the answer, or lose the question.

Ruth is correct.

The traditional 6 scale (with Artistic Impression and Technical Merit) went out a long time ago, (a few years after School House figures were discontinued.*)

 

Whoever wrote that question hasn’t been around modern figure skating. Even the national recreational skating organization doesn’t follow it. Some of the younger parents in the bleachers aren’t old enough to remember it.

 

*(Moves in the Field took the place of figures for learning purposes).

Edited April 15, 2018 by TiogaCruiser

[rafinmd]

Thank you RuthC, Krazy Kruizers, and TiogaCruiser. I found it a bit interesting that nobody questioned the answer when it was given.

 

I'm sure HAL visits Guayaquil but both my 2017 Zaandam and 2019 Prinsendam cruises pass it by for Manta.

 

Day Symphony59, Sunday, April 15, 2018, Arrive Guayaquil, Equador

 

The Crystal Serenity is on a 3-day call in Mumbai, 8925 miles away. The sun rose at 6:17 and set at 6:21.the moon rose at 5:57 and also set at 6:21. The weather was hot, mostly sunny during the day and humid with a temperature of 34/93.

 

In his noon update Saturday Captain Willheim had indicated we would be picking up the pilot at 2AM. When I went on deck just after 5 we were within a few miles of the port with the port lights showing ahead of us.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/portlights.jpg

 

I went out for breakfast and to complete my walk after the morning show. We had reached the dock with the bright red bulk carrier Navios Krypos and the sun was just finding a place to show through behind the port cranes.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dawn0415.jpg

 

Guayaquil is not new to me. It was my base of operations for a 2009 Galapagos cruise and I returned on the Symphony 2 years ago. Like most places on the West Coast of South America there is no cruise terminal and a cargo dock is used. The only cruise modifications were some popups where vendors had their wares out.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/portguayaquil.jpg

 

I did not take a tour but instead rode the shuttle (about 30 minutes) into town. There were dancers out on the pier as I left.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dancers.jpg

 

The shuttle went to Bolivar Park in the Center of Guayaquil, also known as the Iguana Park (I didn’t linger long and missed the Iguanas).

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/iguanapark.jpg

 

My plan for the day had been to find wifi and update my secondary laptop and also visit Santa Ana Hill, a prominent feature of the landscape. It’s a modest walk along Malecon 2000, a seaside promenade.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/malecon.jpg

 

Just below the summit there is a recreated fort. The view from the fort seems pretty good, assuming that some houses were not there when the fort was in use.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/fortview.jpg

 

There is a lighthouse at the summit, reached by 444 steps. The steps were numbered although I ended up on an alternate route to the top and encountered the numbers only on about the last 60 steps. The view from the summit was also quite nice.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/santaana.jpg

 

A small chapel was also at the summit. A sign on the door indicated there was a Sunday Mass at 3PM.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/chapelb.jpg

 

On the shuttle bus we had been given a pamphlet about the city and my attention was drawn to a Firefighter Museum at the foot of Santa Ana hill. The pamphlet listed the hours as 10:30 to 5 on Sundays but I stopped about 11:30 and it was closed. There was wifi on the malecon but I stopped in a coffee shop. I could not get their wifi to work but did get the malecon to update my antivirus and an browser but not windows. On the way back I walked up a couple streets inland passing the Basilica de La Merced across the street from a statue to former president Pedro Carbo.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/basilica.jpg

 

Churches are common in Guayaquil and just past the Basilica was the San Francisco Church.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/sanfrancisco.jpg

 

I returned to the ship about 2. While on the top deck for lunch I got a look at the unloading of the Navios Krypos, which was emptying huge structural steel members from it’s hold.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/heavystuff.jpg

 

Fr. Klemmer’s interdenominational worship service was held at 5 followed by dinner at 6. The shared table had 4 early people and 4 more late but service continued uninterrupted for those of us who arrived early. I chose the veal consume, Wiener Schnitzel, and rum raisin ice cream.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dishes0415.jpg

 

Entertainment was late. The dance team had shows at 8:30 and 10:30 but the main show was Neil Lockwood with his tribute to ELO at 9:15 I caught a glimpse of the Navios Krypos setting out to sea from my window before the show.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/navos.jpg

 

Maybe my parting shot will be about team trivia. I think our World Cruise Hostess is quite new to team trivia and clearly doesn’t always get it right but she’s trying to give it her own touch and I appreciate that. After all, it’s only a game.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have never been to Guayaquil.

We went to Manta, Ecuador.

Love your reports and great pictures.

[erewhon]

Thanks for the updates.

Iguana park looks lovely.

[kazu]

Guayaquil looks to be a charming spot, Roy.

 

Love the churches.

 

Great pics.

[rafinmd]

Thank you Jacqui, erewhon and Krazy Kruizers.

 

Day Symphony60, Monday, April 16, 2018. Leave Guayaquil, Black Tie Optional

 

The Crystal Serenity is completing a 3-day call in Mumbai, 8925 miles away. The sun again rose at 6:17 and set at 6:21 while the moon rose at 6:48 and set at 7:10. It was mostly sunny with a sailaway temperature of about 35/95 and humid. The currency situation is a bit unusual. They have adopted the US Dollar as the unit of currency and greenbacks rule. They did not really adopt US coins (probably due to shipping costs) and mint their own coins.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/quarter.jpg

 

The temperature was still comfortable for my 6 lap morning walk. Sunrise came during the morning show but there was still nice color in the sky above the cranes after the show.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dawn0416.jpg

 

Since I had not succeeded in updating Windows on Sunday I wanted to give it another try, and decided to beat the heat by going into town early. The first shuttle was at 7:30 and I was in town about 8. I had hoped to find wifi at the Guayaquil Library which opened at 9 so I started out not really rushed and had a bit of time at Bolivar Square where several iguanas were sunning themselves.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/iguanas.jpg

 

The Cathedral was just across the street. The entrance to the main sanctuary was behind a closed gate but I looked in a chapel, kind of a strange area ornately decorated but using lawn chairs for seating.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/eqsanctuary.jpg

 

There was supposed to be a McDonalds nearby in Malecon 2000. It was not open (may have opened at 10) and I took a bench and was able to load one update. I had not noticed it on Sunday but there was a clock tower right at the street from the Iguana Park to Malecon.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/clocktower.jpg

 

It was not clear if there were more updates or not but I decided to go to the library for an additional try but they did not have wifi. On the way back to the shuttle I noticed an interesting sculpture, one of piano composer Ana Villamil. I have heard that the sculpture is configured to play piano music at times but did not witness that. I was on the 9:30 shuttle and back on the ship just after 10. In time to get an English Muffin at the Trident Late Riser’s Breakfast.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/villamil.jpg

 

I walked around the bow after the muffin and there was a hulk of a ship ahead of us. It appeared to have been docked at it’s location with the dock space just about completely silted over.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/hulk.jpg

 

I assume that most people were expected back early as sea day type activities began late in the morning beginning with an 11AM presentation by Bob Donaldson on Putin’s Russia.

 

While we were still in port team trivia was held at noon:

 

2. What is the name of the region between the Eastern US and Canada consisting of 1700 islands and a popular summer resort?

4. What country was the song “Guantanamera” about?

5. What was the name given to the “road” between China and Europe?

10. Which state’s name means “snow”?

12. What do Conficker, Code Red, and Michelangelo have in common?

 

All aboard was originally planned for 2PM but moved up an hour a few days ago to meet an early appointment for the Panama Canal. That proved a bit of a challenge with some of the tours not arriving until about 1:10.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/last-in.jpg

 

It was further complicated by a rather large tidal fluctuation and an unusual gangway was put in service for the end of the call which had to be walked back to the stern and loaded by hand. I expect Captain Willheim was getting a bit nervous about the delay in leaving our final Pacific port.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/waiting.jpg

 

Louis sang at 1:55, and as we left we had a bit of a look at the 2 freighters behind us.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/neighbors.jpg

 

Jon Malay had a 1:30 talk on the moon. I caught the last part of the talk on live TV after the sailaway and the first half later in rerun.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dishes0416.jpg

 

It’s also a bit unusual to have a black tie optional night on a port day. It’s a long sail down the Guayas River and the pilot boat was just outside the dining room windows as I entered. There were just 3 at the shared table, where I had the Consume Double, Spaghetti, and ice cream.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/8207farewell.jpg

 

Captain Willheim’s farewell reception and the Crystal Society party were held at 7:45. The top cruiser on the voyage was honored for about 130 cruises.

 

The featured entertainment was “The Speakeasy”

 

My parting shot is a hope that Americans will not be too stressed out on tax day. I had a bit of a rude awakening as I found out I could not do an online tax extension either through Turbotax of IRS. The only help I got was from IRS with a list of sites where I could file electronically, but if I’m away at this time in the future I’ll be sure to do some kind of filing before leaving home.

 

Trivia Answers:

 

2. The region between the US and Canada is the Thousand Islands (got it)

4. “Guantanamera” is about Cuba (guessed right)

5. The ancient “Silk Road” connected Europe and China. (Got it)

10. Nevada means snow (missed it)

12. Conficker, Code Red, and Michelangelo were all computer viruses (missed it)

 

I knew the song “When a Man Loves A Woman” but did not know it was by Percy Sledge. The winners had 13 right.

 

Roy