Robertson International Travel

Wednesday, February 17 ~ Cruising the Mozambique Channel

THE KING OF BEASTS AND A GRACIOUS LADY'S BIRTHDAY

Karyn Planett, our wonderful writer of front page articles in Crystal's newspaper, Reflections, started today with.....

"The King of Beasts stalks the grasslands of Kenya with stealth and cunning. He wears tis tufted mane, the color of a golden savanna, like a royal cape. The lion rises and bellows out of a powerful roar which rumbles across the landscape, echoing a distant time when all within sight was his".

A lucky few of our Voyager Club members saw the African lion in South Africa. The lion, "Simba" in the local language, is the universal symbol of strengh. We are in hopes of seeing this magnificent animal in Kenya when we arrive in Mombasa.

Our Voyager Club member, Mary Ellen French, celebrated her 87th birthday today and our dinner party for her included Ken Rees, our Destination Lecturer, and his lovely wife, Lynn.   Our Captain Glenn stopped by to wish her "Happy Birthday, Mary Ellen"!. This is our third world cruise with Mary Ellen and has become a wonderful inspiration for us all with her wit, stamina, and lust for life!

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....

"Life itself is the proper binge" - Julia Child

Tuesday, February 16 ~ Cruising the Indian Ocean En Route to Zanzibar

VOYAGER CLUB MEMBER CELEBRATIONS AT SEA

We are very busy during the day when we are at sea, especially as it relates to our Voyager Club members. The Bistro is always a great place to congregate over a latte or capuccino and get reports from our Members about their shore experiences. We are now hosting dinners for our full world cruise Voyager Club members and especially when their is a celebration! This evening, we hosted Tom Lavin, Barbara McDaniel, and Paul and Kay Rich who were celebrating their wedding anniversary. We also celebrated Paul's birthday this year - 98! We have enjoyed having Paul and Kay on our world cruises the last 3 years and can say that Paul probably outdoes us all when it comes to taking shore excursions. He is amazing!

After dinner in Silk Road, which is located in the aft of the ship, we walked forward to the large Galaxy Lounge for another breathtaking performance by the Ensemble Singers and Dancers of "My Favorite Things".   What an evening!

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY......

"Don't try to be the person they want you to be.  Try to be the person they want to become".

Monday, February 15 ~ Cruising the Indian Ocean En Route to Zanzibar

OUR FAREWELL TO SOUTH AFRICA ......
   After talking to several Voyager Club members about their experiences in South Africa, we received a variety of reports and all were excellent. Cape Town was the favorite city where you not only had the dramatic Table Mountain, but also the beautiful city from the waterfront boardwalk to Table Mountain tram. Outside of Cape Town, many visited the wineries of Stellenbosch and others. Once we got into Port Ezizabeth and Durban, the call for the day was, "Safari!". And off they went as we reported earlier. South Africa is a wonderful destination and the country is doing everything possible to improve the prospects of tourism for international visitors. Hosting the World Cup 2010 in July will be a huge project and the South Africans assure us that they are ready for the Games! Speaking of Games, the game viewing was incredible from our Voyager Club members and we continue to get more reports and experiences. In conclusion, South Africa for this Crystal World Cruise was a great success!

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"What you did yesterday is what you are. What you do tomorrow is what you will become".

Sunday, February 14 ~ Durban, South Africa

Happy Valentine's Day! 

   

 Much Love To All ~ Judy and Brian

DURBAN - TROPICAL BEACHES AND THE SAFARI GATEWAY

Durban is for the sunlovers and beachgoers and touted as the Miami or Copacabana of South Africa. Durban is also the gateway to the Natal offering the most magnificent and dramatic landscapes in all of Africa. Many of our Voyager Club members ventured out on day safaris including Tala Game Reserve. Others started their overland safaris to Kichwa Tempo, Bateleur Camp, Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara rejoing the ship in Mombasa. We look forward to getting all of the of safari reports.  We received a grand welcome at the gangway and Coco and the gang got quite a reception with "the boys"!

Our Virtuoso On-Site in Cape Town, Trans-Africa Safaris, told us about a fabulous resort north of Durban, Zimbali, and offered to take us up there to inspect it. Upon our arrival, we were amazed at the two gate security system and even though we had lunch reservations, it took a few minutes to make sure we were legitimate. Once in the Zimbali Lodge, we were overwhelmed with the architecture and layout of this resort. You can even buy a home here and they have an 18 hole golf course and all of the amenities of a luxury resort. We had a very nice buffet lunch near the pool with exceptional service.

We returned to the ship and more Valentine's Day activities! Upon sailing, we saw more evidence of The World Cup 2010 with the new modern soccer stadium just waiting for July.

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"Love is not just looking a each other - it's looking in the same direction" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939.

 

Saturday, February 13 ~ At Sea in the Indian Ocean

A NEW CRYSTAL CRUISE LEARNING INSTITUTE PROGRAM - THE TRAVEL CHANNEL ACADEMY!

We had an excellent introduction to this new and exciting program on the Crystal Serenity on how to make great home videos (and keep everyone's attention!).

Travel Channel Executive Producers, Michael Rosenblum and his wife, Lisa Lambden, have trained thousands of people around the world and have produced hundreds of hours of television for BBC, The Travel Channel, National Geographic, Discovery, and others.

We attended class again today and this evening, we invited Michael and LIsa to join us for dinner and discussed this new Learning Institute addition which is being very well received!  Thank you Crystal for bringing The Travel Channel Academy to us!  Classes range from complimentary introductory classes up to 3 more including the Master Class of intensive training into full production.  There are now 12 signed up for the full Master Class program.     

Following dinner, we hosted our Virtuoso Voyager Club Reception in the Lido Cafe which is proving to be a fabulous location for our Receptions.

Looking back on our day, we once again had a magnificent story from Jay Wolff, but this time we were in the much larger Galaxy Theatre.   Jay talked about Cecil Rhodes who had a country named after him, Rhodesia, and eventually set up, in his final will, the Rhode's Scholar foundation.    

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.......

"We can't solve problems with the same kind of thinking that created them".

Friday, February 12 ~ Port Elizabeth, South Africa * Maiden Call

PORT ELIZABETH AND OUR MAIDEN CALL

This was CRYSTAL SERENITY'S Maiden Call at Port Elizabeth or as the South Africans call it, "PE" for short. 500 miles east of Cape Town, this was a delightful port to visit, but more to the point, definitely a gateway to some very nice game reserves. The closest game reserve, Addo Elephant Park, came out the winner of the most game spotted by our Voyager Club members. In addition to some zebras and kudos, the elephants were 300 strong! For those who ventured further out to other private reserves, some game was spotted including leopards, lions, and water buffalo, but not in big numbers. At this time of the year, the game in South Africa is rather limited.

We took the shuttle bus down to the PE Boardwalk and enjoyed our time with destination lecturer, Jay Wolff, and his wife,Carol. We stopped for a coffee and listened to Jay's stories of South Africa.

As we sailed from Port Elizabeth, we could not help but notice the overpowering building near the waterfront, the new stadium where several of The World Cup 2010 soccer games will be played in July.  We understand we have not seen the last of these massive stadiums of which we have  now seen two. 

 

 

 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY......

"Liberty is the right to choose. Freedom is the result of the right choice".

Thursday, February 11 ~ Cruising the Indian Ocean

TODAY IS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RELEASE OF NELSON MANDELA FROM PRISON IN SOUTH AFRICA - A HISTORICAL DAY FOR THIS COUNTRY!

Although we were at sea today, we received local TV reports aboard ship of the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Nelson Mandela's release from prison. Here are some of the headlines we received:

"PACKED PARLIAMENT WELCOMES MANDELA IN SONG"

"MANDELA'S WALK TO FREEDOM RELIVED BY ANC COMRADES"

"VIVA MADIBA !"

"ANTI-APARTHEID ICON IS ENJOYING WELL DESERVED RETIREMENT"

Nelson Mandela is now 91 and his dynamic spirit reigns throughout South Africa. As they celebrate this 20th Anniversary of Mandela's release today, we continue with our own combined 20th Anniversary of Crystal Cruises and Virtuoso Voyager Club! Major events were happening in 1990!

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named, 'Goodness' and 'Forgiveness'". - Nelson Mandela

Wednesday, February 10 ~ Cape Town, South Africa

OUR LAST DAY IN CAPE TOWN AND A NEW DISCOVERY

Taking the shuttle into Victoria and Albert Wharf started our adventure for the day. We much prefer to have a professional guide with us in our travels, but we have "done" the major attractions and needed to fill in the gaps of a few sights we didn't have time for during our first visit. We have never taken the growing method of independent sightsing called the Hop On - Hop Off City Sightseeing Bus so decided to give it a whirl. At the end of our shuttle run from the ship, the City Sightseeing Bus stop was right these so we "Hopped On". This whole idea orginated in England (of course) and is now growing world-wide! We paid the driver for the "A" loop and away we went.

   
Each bus has two attendants to assist the passengers with questions and help them plan their trip. You can stay on for the entire "Loop" or, as the name implies, "Hop Off" at the sight you want to visit and then "Hop On" the next bus (every 20 minutes). On the way, you have ear phones to listen to narration of the sights between stops.   The star of our excursion was "Coco" and Judy told the entire Coco story to all on the bus. It was all great fun!

  
Of considerable significance is the downtown City Hall where Mandela gave his famous emotional speech from the upper middle window in the picture on the right.   Tomorrow is the 20th Anniversary of that momentous and historical time in South African history. 

  From the view of Cape Town at the beginning of the tram to Table Mountain to the beautiful beaches in the 12 Apostles area, this city is among the finest in the world to visit and enjoy! 

   
As we sailed from Cape Town, we got a great view of the new soccer stadium which will be hosting the 2010 World Cup in July.  All of the major cities will be hosting games including our two upcoming ports in South Africa, Port Elizabeth and Durban.  The townspeople are not happy about the 3 condominium towers that apparently went up overnight (as seen in the background) and they call this "architectural terrorism".    

As the sun set over our bow, we left Cape Town with fond memories.....a real jewel on the African Continent! 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY......

"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery"

Tuesday, February 9 ~ Cape Town, South Africa

THE CAPE TOWN VICTORIA AND ALBERT WATERFRONT

  The Crystal complimentary shuttle bus took us into the center of the Waterfront, a vast complex of shops, outdoor restaurants, strolling musicians, singing dance groups, and sightseeing and taxi boats cruising the canals. This was our 2nd visit to Cape Town, but this time was very different from the first which was a combination of attending the Virtuoso Out of Country meeting held in Cape Town and, at the same time, escorting a group of friends from Santa Barbara. We were now seeing Cape Town through different eyes.

 

 

We certainly enjoyed our lunch and meeting our waitress who had so many interesting things to tell us including in a few days South Africa would be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela. 

We walked over to the Nelson Mandela Museum and studied the history of his imprisonment on Robben Island which was very appropriate timing.  Flags were dressed with "Courage" and "Freedom" the strong words of Mandela.  There was a sightseeing boat to take you to Robben Island, but decided we had done enough for one day. 

Before departing the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, we wanted to visit our luxurious Virtuoso partner, the Cape Grace Hotel, right in the middle of the Waterfront, a great location!  The Cape Grace has frequently been listed as one of the top hotels of the world by Conde Nast Traveler magazine and Travel and Leisure.   www.capegrace.com  

   Left to Right: Melody, Judy and Donna

 Upon returning to the ship, we met Melody Neff from Virtuoso headquarters who was going to take over assisting our Virtuoso Chairman,  Jesse Upchurch, on our world cruise as far as Abu Dhabi.  Donna will be leaving us tomorrow after her 30 day cruise with us from Miami to Cape Town.  

We were very excited about receiving so many enthusiastic reports from our returning Voyager Club members on their excursions on the tram to Table Mountain, and the sights of Cape Town. We were also getting reports from those who ventured out to the Cape Winelands including Stellenbosch, the Cape of Good Hope and Kirstenbosch Gardens.

This evening, we had invited our friends from our Virtuoso On-Site company, Trans-Africa Safaris, to dinner aboard ship. We had a fantastic evening with the owners of the family business, Jennifer Paterson and Andre and Lesley Botha. This was their first time aboard the Serenity and loved their dining experience in Prego, our Italian restaurant. They were amazed at the pure elegance of the Crystal Serenity and the superb service they received in Prego.   A grand tour of our ship followed our dining experience!

   

 OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....

 "The relationship is the communication bridge between people". - Alfred Kadushin, Educator and Scholar

Monday, February 8 ~ Cape Town, South Africa

OUR ARRIVAL IN CAPE TOWN AFTER 81/2 DAYS AT SEA CROSSING THE ATLANTIC!

We were up on deck this morning watching our panoramic and fabulous arrival into Cape Town with Table Mountain in full view!   As we approached, we were greeted by seagulls, turtles, sea lions, sailboats, and glorious weather!   Although we were 4 hours late due to a slight adjustment in our course to avoid a storm, we applauded Captain Glen for his attention to everyone's comfort and safety!  

We now have 3 days in Cape Town and look forward to this, our second visit to Cape Town and South Africa.  More to come...........

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....

"Youth is not a time in life.....it's a state of mind."