Robertson International Travel

MONDAY, APRIL 20 ~ CRUISING THE KERIL ISLANDS, RUSSIA

ENTERING RUSSIA AND MUCH COLDER WEATHER!

We woke up this morning with snow on our veranda!  As we cruised north, we had a great view from our port side veranda of the Keril Islands, our first sight of Russian soil.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was also our first sight of the string of volcanoes of the Keril Islands (center of picture).  Our entire day was scenic cruising northward.  Tomorrow - Petropavlovsk!

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"A frontier is never a place....it is a time and a way of life.  Frontiers pass, but they endure in their people".

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 19 ~ AT SEA IN THE NORTH PACIFIC

AT SEA IN THE NORTH PACIFIC AND THE GREAT RETURN OF REX ZIAK TO THE CRYSTAL SERENITY!   

"Rex is back"!

   That is what we heard all over the ship and everyone was looking forward to Rex's first lecture on this final segment of the world cruise, "John Ledyard - The most remarkable man you've ever heard of.  Thomas Jefferson described John Ledyard as 'a man of genius of some science, and fearless courage, and enterprize.   Captain James Cook sent him on a mission no one else would do.  Ledyard's life story and his discovery of Alaska's soft gold is a hirotry everyone should know."

Rex's lecture was a smash hit as he used his great maps and his unique style of using colored stickers to show the direction of travel of his explorers.   During Rex's lecture, we thought of our time with him aboard the HMS ENDEAVOR, Captain Cook's ship, in Sydney earlier in our world cruise. 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator." 

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 ~ AT SEA IN THE NORTH PACIFIC

OUR FIRST OF THREE DAYS AT SEA AND A LESSON IN "WHY GEOGRAPHY MATTERS"

 Harm de Blij was with us last year on our Crystal World Cruise and he returns to be with us again, a very popular and dynamic speaker on geography.  Harm is one of the worlds most prominent geographers and  very passionate about geography. 

His latest book, "Why Geography Matters", is a best seller. 

We, too, are very concerned about the learning of geography in our educational system in the United States.  One of the best things anyone can do is go to their local bookstore and pick up a copy of not only this very important book, but one of many of Harm's other books including, "The Power of Place".

Harm de Blij is an author, professor, and television personality being most recognizable to Americans as the former geography editor on ABC's, "Good Morning America." 

Harm speaks today at 11:00am on "What Happened to the New World Order"?

 

 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"With the possible exception of the Equator, everything begins somewhere".

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 ~ YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

YOKOHAMA AND THE TSUKIJI FISH MARKET

Brian had an early wakeup call this morning at 3:30am for a "once in a lifetime" very special excursion - a visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Yokohama.  This market is best known as one fo the world's largest fish markets handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day.   It is very hard to describe this market in pictures, but we will try!  The sight of the many kinds of fresh fish, shellfish and other seafood products and the busy atmosphere of scooters, trucks, sellers and buyers hurrying around is quite an  experience!

A mandatory visit first where all fishermen go to offer forgiveness to the fish and all sea life taken from the sea.  

  

Once inside the market, the size of which as overwhelming and the electicity and enery of the place was astounding.    

   

Speaking of size, this box is 2'X4' so you can imagine the size of this crab...the box was almost too small!

The auctioneer was fast and furious and tough to photograph with "NO FLASH" and the crowd of people! The noise was almost deafening - it certainly wasn't a "silent auction"!  Rounding the corner we got the great view of the auction items - huge tuna with a range of auction prices of $70,000 to $95,000 per tuna. 

The entire experience was being professionally filmed by the Crystal Cruise film crew!  It could very well be the last time this market is ever filmed as it is being moved closer to the airport and much more modern facilities - the live auction will disappear and it will all be done on computer.   Another tradition gone the same fate as the famous early morninng Les Halles Market in Paris.

Two of our Crystal Cruise hosts, Keiko Osugi, Japanese Guest Relations Manager Crystal and Crystal Executive Corporate Chef of the Silk Road Restaurant aboard Crystal,  Chef Hiroshi Nakaguchi....... 

Plus..... our special host was Toni Neimeister (center in the blue jacket), Vice President of Food and Beverage from the Crystal Cruise Corporate office in Los Angeles. 

It was time for Chef Hiroshi to get busy and purchase some fish for Silk Road Restaurant!  Once purchased, guess who had to carry the soon to be high grade sushi to our coach....the big boss, of course!  

To oversee this whole operation, we enjoyed having Antonio with us, Crystal Maitre d' for both Prego and Silk Road restuarants.  

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the cast of characters, we had Walter, Crystal Food and Beverage Manager for the Crystal Serenity (pointing to more fish he wants with Antonio and Keiko with the film crew blazing away! 

It's time for breakfast at a local fish market restaurant and Saki, our guide, shouts, "Let's eat"!

After breakfast, we said goodbye to our little restaurant chef and wrapped up one of the most special experiences of a lifetime....the opportunity to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market with our very special Crystal Cruise family friends!

THANK YOU CRYSTAL CRUISES FOR MAKING THIS SO SPECIAL!  WE WILL NEVER FORGET IT!

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"Go for the big fish....you'll spend the same time baiting the hook".

THURSDAY, APRIL 16 ~ YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

YOKOHAMA - THE LARGEST PORT IN JAPAN AND ALL OF ASIA
Our arrival into Yokohama was, once again, a very warm reception!   This time the Japanese drums were bringing us into the dock and our marvelous Cruise Director, Gary Hunter, wanted to test them out after he receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the City of Yokohama. 

It is interesting to note that as you go back to look at the pictures in this world cruise blog, they are built all the same way thoughout Asia - suspension bridges.  It is to be assumed that all of the countries here have decided this is the best bridge to build!

 

 

Today was a very busy day with our Voyager Club groups leaving and arriving and did not get off the Crystal Serenity with the exception of going into the terminal to find a beautiful sailing ship which was used to train sailors on the riggings of the larger ships.  It was quite fascinating and we know that Rex Ziak, our friend and returning Crystal Cruise lecturer in Yokohama will definitely want to see this very detailed and beautiful model.  Rex arrives this evening and we are looking forward to sailing with him on our last segment of our world cruise from Yokohama to Los Angeles.

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"Today's preparation determines tomorrow's achievement".     

 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15 ~ SHIMIZU, JAPAN

THE PEOPLE AND CULTURE OF SHIMIZU AND MT. FUJI! 

ALL SMILES TODAY!

What we were waiting for....a chance to see Mt. Fuji on a clear day!  We got it early in the morning as we approached our next port - Shimizu. 

Our arrivals in our ports in Japan have been wonderful occassions with very friendly Japanese welcoming us and it just keeps getting better!  Shimizu was celebrating its 100th Anniversary so there was great celebration when we arrived.                              Captain John Okland spoke to the crowd and received commemorations from the city.     

It was a beautiful day with cultural dances, tea ceremonies, and kimono dress demonstrations.   

When taking the pictures of Judy getting "dressed" two dozen Japanese photographers were also flashing away.                                                             Judy likes to make balloon dogs, but this little gal could make anything imaginable.  This was one of the nicest ports with the reception and all of the local people making this the most special day of our entire cruise!  

As we sailed from Shimizu, we looked back into the sunset and there it was - the ever present ferris wheel ready for some couple's romantic evening. 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"It's the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it's the little differences that make them interesting".

TUESDAY, APRIL 14 ~ OSAKA/KYOTO, JAPAN

THE JEWEL OF JAPAN AND OUR EXCLUSIVE VOYAGER CLUB SHORE EVENT

We met this morning in the Galaxy Lounge and departed in two motorcoaches with our wonderful Japanese guides, Sunni and Saki, for Kyoto.  Unfortunately, it was raining hard when we departed, but it did lift a little once we arrived in Kyoto at our first shine. 

 

One of the highlights of our day in Kyoto was our delicious lunch at the Kyoto Okura Hotel where we put on our bibs for a very entertaining meal served by expert chefs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following lunch, we boarded one of the icons of Japan, the Bullet Train from Kyoto back to Osaka to reboard our CRYSTAL SERENITY. 

Even with the rain, our Voyager Club thoroughly enjoyed this special day in one of the most scenic and important cities in Japan with many beautiful shrines and temples. 

 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"We have come from somewhere and we are going somewhere.  The great architect of the universe never built a stairway that leads to nowhere".     

 

MONDAY, APRIL 13 ~ AT SEA AND ARRIVAL OSAKA, JAPAN (OVERNIGHT)

OSAKA AND ANOTHER VERY WARM WELCOME!

Following a day at sea with many lectures about Japan and activities aboard ship, we arrived in Osaka with another very warm welcome by a local fireboat and greetings at the pier.   It was a rather cloudy day and rain was threatening.

In every port city we saw in Japan, there is always a ferris wheel near the dock and we were told that the Japanese do not have a lot of privacy in their homes so to get that privacy, they enjoy going to the ferris wheel for discussions or romance.  Maybe this is Japan's modern day drive-in movie of the 50's to get some privacy from the folks! 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"What we see, mainly depends upon what we look for".  

SUNDAY, APRIL 12 - EASTER SUNDAY ~ NAGASAKI, JAPAN

NAGASAKI - EASTER SUNDAY AND ANOTHER HISTORIC GROUND ZERO

Easter Sunday aboard the CRYSTAL SERENITY was "Chocolate City"!   Our world traveling bears, "Coco", "Syd", and "Crystal" were completely lost in the sea of chocolate bears, bunnies, and many other characters!   

Our first day in Japan on Easter Sunday had to be one of the more emotional days in our lives as we were greeted by the very gracious, kind, and smiling people of Nagasaki.  We decided to take a taxi even though taxi drivers do not speak English.  No problem because would visit the tourist desk on the pier, aske them to write out in Japanese what we wanted to see,  and then hand this to the taxi driver.  When we got to the taxi, we gave the paper to a taxi driver.  As the driver was reading the piece of paper, another taxi driver appoached us and asked, "May I help you"?  Wow - what luck! His name was "Aroshi", a very proud and distinguished Japanese gentleman who was with us for the next 3 hours. 

We first visited Peace Park and the very impressive and beautiful Peace Statue.  The statue's right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons while the extend left hand sympolizes eternal peace.  Installed in front of the Statue is a black marble vault containing the names of the atomic bomb victims and survivors who died in subsequent years.

A delightful Japanese couple, fellow passengers from last year and again this year, have been very intrigued with our teddy bears, "Coco" and "Syd" and wanted to have their picture taken with us at the Peace Statue.   They live in Osaka and will be getting off the ship day after tomorrow in Osaka and return to their home.  We hope to see them again next year!

500 meters from the Peace Statue was the monolith of the hypocenter of the atomic blast, "Ground Zero", the exact point where the atomic bomb hit at 11:02am on August 9, 1945.  After taking our picture, our taxi driver said, "I cry every time I come here", which touched us deeply.  Now, this hypocenter remains as an international peace park and a symbol of the aspiraton for world harmony.  We visited the Museum showing details of the atomic bomb destruction which was a very grim reminder of the devastation of nuclear power. 

On a much lighter note, we visited a beautiful shrine overlooking Nagasaki and came across a photo shoot of a bride and groom which was so refreshing to see.  Our presence there was upon the invitation of the bride and groom to be with them which was such a dramatic contrast to what we had just witnessed.  This very delicate and gracious moment will never leave our memory as long as we live.  Their instant love of "Coco" and Judy's gift of an "Angel" to the bride was very touching.  We wished the bride and groom a long and very special life with one another.                                        We very much enjoyed our time at this shrine. 

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends in Nagasaki and reboard our ship.  We looked forward to our next port of call, Osaka, and our Voyager Club visit in Kyoto.

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"For some moments in life, there are no words".

SATURDAY, APRIL 11 ~ CRUISING THE EAST CHINA SEA / NAGASAKI, JAPAN

A DAY AT SEA WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF OUR ARRIVAL IN NAGASAKI
The weather was perfect today as we approached Nagasaki Harbor.  We cruised underneath the Megami Bridge, a cable-stayed structure completed in 2006.  More than 1500 feet in length, this bridge has thousands of vehicles crossing over it every day.                                                As we approached our dock, we passed a large drydock where the original Crystal ship, the Crystal Harmony, was built. 

We arrived at our dock with our stateroom facing the town of Nagasaki.  We received a very warm welcome, our very first experience in Japan which was very touching with the banner, "Welcome to Nagasaki".                                                   We took a short walk this evening ashore and later,  with the full moon shinging over Nagasaki, we sat on our veranda and gave some thought about our sightseeing in this important and historic city ending to World War II. We knew our day would be emotional for all aboard the Crystal Serenity from both the United States and Japan.   Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"To tell whether an action is right or wrong, ask what would happen if everyone did it".