Robertson International Travel

LONDON-HEATHROW TO LOS ANGELES AND HOME

MAY 8 ~ THE FLIGHT HOME..........

We departed the hotel early this morning and checked in at Virgin Atlantic Airways for our non-stop 11 hour flight to Los Angeles.   It was a very good flight and, before we knew it, we were touching down at LAX.   

After a nice drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, we reached home on Faria Beach which reminds us of so many countries we have visited.  We were lucky to arrive in time to catch a beautiful sunset .... a fitting end to our journey around the world........ ..home again! 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"The sun is new each day." 

We extend our deepest appreciation and gratitute to Virtuoso and Crystal Cruises for giving us this opportunity to be Voyager Club Hosts aboard the CRYSTAL SERENITY 2008 World Cruise.   We thank you!

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND

MAY 7 ~ SOUTHAMPTON AND DISEMBARKATION.........THE END.

Most of our fellow passengers and Voyager Club members were off the ship before the sun came up.   All had early flights home out of London-Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.    We decided to take it easy and disembarked at 10:00am, the very last minute you can stay aboard!   We had a few special last minute goodbyes to those who greatly assisted us with our Voyager Club duties and made our cruise so wonderful. 

We were met outside the British Customs Hall at the Southampton Cruise Terminal and driven to the delightful Virtuoso Property, Stoke Park Club for a good night's rest before flying home in the morning.  We really enjoyed the hotel, but we were so drained that we barely left the beautiful room overlooking the golf course.   For those interested, the Stoke Park Club was where they filmed most of the Ian Fleming James Bond movies, "Never Say Die" and  "Goldfinger".    It has a very serene setting....shall we say full of Serenity!   

Speaking of Serenity, as the sun set and we looked out our window over the golf course, the little bridge was aglow and brought some thoughts. Maybe this was a significant moment looking at that bridge with the little house in the background.   Shall we say this is our bridge back to reality and home.   We slept very well with those thoughts.   Tomorrow is another day....home.

 

IN THE ATLANTIC ENROUTE TO SOUTHAMPTON

MAY 6 ~ OUR LAST DAY AT SEA AND OUR LAST DAY ON THE WORLD CRUISE!

We awakened this morning shaking our heads!  It's over!  Well, we still had today so we had better make the most of it and we knew it was going to be a rather emotional day and evening. 

We met with as many Voyager Club members as possible and met a lot of them in the Palm Court for a farewell drink.    We tried to take in as many activities as possible including taking a break in the Bistro for one last double shot latte and then going up to Scoops for one last ice cream special!    In between all of the activities and the "no-no's" , we still had a few things to do to finish packing before dinner.    

The finale in the Galaxy Lounge was the best show we have ever seen.   We just can't believe that even on our last night, it just gets better!  Wow!   There was Curtiss and Beverly, our fabulous dancers, then the show stopping Crystal Ensemble Dancers and Singers, then our favorite comedian, Mike Goddard.   On top of everything else, we were treated to the Preview of the complete professional video of our entire cruise!   At the end, there was not a dry eye in the place!  What a great video and we will be showing this video in Santa Barbara soon!  Stay tuned!

And then............just like New Year's Eve...........we had the dropping of the balloons in Crystal Plaza signifying the end of the 2008 Crystal Serenity World Cruise!    We danced, laughed, and said a tearful farewell to all of our friends, our favorite crew members, officers, and to the Crystal Serenity.   We shall return someday soon!

OUR OBSERVATION OF THE DAY....

We tried to come up with something to say today and it was challenging.  So many emotions, so many memories, so many goodbyes.   All we can say is .......BRAVO!  Crystal Cruises....this one is in the journal with accolades and roses for a job well done!   Thank you so very very much for giving us this opportunity to serve our fellow Virtuoso Voyager Club members on this incredible journey!   

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....and we were with him!

"Don't cry because it is over, simply smile because it happened."      

      

LA CORUNA, SPAIN

MAY  5 ~ ON THE NORTH COAST OF SPAIN AND OUR LAST PORT OF CALL - LA CORUNA

For our last port of call on this world cruise, La Coruna was a nice surprise!  As we entered the harbor, we were greeted by, of course, a fortress protecting the harbor.    Once inside, we were delighted to see a quaint little city, a beautiful marina, and lots to see!   

We decided to walk into the city and enjoyed the large square with the City Hall and children getting a school lesson at the foot of a beautiful fountain.    The Spanish landscape is famous for its large massive doors so, of course, we took advantage of a photo op.

The famous Tower of Hercules, the oldest working lighthouse in the world, is also the oldest Roman tower still in use which was built by the Romans in approximately 81 AD.   

As we emerged from the old town, our beautiful Crystal Serenity came into view and as we strolled down along the harbor, we couldn't take our eyes off her.   This was our last port and our last chance to see our beautiful home from shore before reaching Southampton.  We stopped for a cup of coffee and just gazed across the harbor at our home away from home with so many memories.   On our way back to the ship, we ran into two of our favorite crew members!  Rossi (on the right), has won the "Best Crew Member Award" many times!

OUR OBSERVATION OF THE DAY....

We asked many of our Voyager Club members if they were ready to go home and all said with emphasis, "NO!"   Crystal Cruises has created a wonderful 2nd home for many people and it is very hard to say goodbye.  For many, they will all be back next year for another full world cruise.         

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"Sometimes forgetting is just as important as remembering".      

 

CRUISING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

MAY 4 ~ OUR NEXT TO LAST FULL DAY AT SEA ALONG THE COAST OF PORTUGAL

The ship was very quiet today....everyone was packing - at least those of us who boarded in Los Angeles!   What a job!  We needed more than one day to pack and were very fortunate to have a great luggage forwarding company aboard to assist us, Luggage Concierge (www.luggageconcierge.com).  This fine company is also a partner and member of Virtuoso.   For customs, we had to list all of the contents in each bag, but once packed, we just put the bags outside our stateroom door and Luggage Concierge took over with bags being shipped to our home.  Great service!

Our evening was lots of fun with Tommy Tune, as he tap danced and entertained us with his famous dance moves.    On November 12, 2003, President Bush presented Tommy Tune with the nation's highest honor for artistic achievement, The National Medal of Arts.   He has won an unprecedented nine Tony Awards. 

Following the Tommy Tune Show in the Galaxy Lounge, we enjoyed visiting with some of our Voyager Club members and talked about our our different experiences on our voyage around the world.   We could not believe it was almost over! 

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really needed." 

GIBRALTER, UNITED KINGDOM

MAY 2 ~ THE ROCK
Our arrival at Gibralter was very cloudy and the Rock appeared to be wearing a large white hat.  On top, you couldn't see a thing!  We jumped off the ship early and saw a beautiful mural depicting the early British influence here. 

We decided to leave the Barbary Apes of Gibralter for another day and besides, rather than being harrassed by very aggresive monkeys, we would rather enjoy the town of Gilbralter and people watch.  As we started up the main street of Gibralter, we first came upon two great mimes. Although we drove right through Vatican Square on our way to our Full World Cruise Dinner at Saxia in Rome, this was going to be the closest we would get to the Pope!  Back to the Apes, there is a saying that when the Apes leave Gibralter, so will the British.

As we sailed from Gibralter at 1:00pm, the "top hat" was lifting to give us a better view of what appears to be a steam train heading south....who knows where the Barbary Apes will go?

For our sail-a-way party, Crystal Cruises put on another great show at the pool, "Mocktoberfest", a wonderful tribute to Germany and Bavaria with the singers and dancers doing what they know what to do best!  You would never know they were our own.....they really knew how to do the great Bavarian dances with beer and all!  We have enjoyed them all so much....the best singers and dancers we have ever seen on a cruise ship!

We visited Gibralter last year on our world cruise and you can see more commentary and pictures of Gibralter there (May 9, 2007 ~ Go to the "Archieves" section in the upper left hand margin of the first blog page and click on "May 2007").

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
   

AT SEA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

MAY 1 ~ MAY DAY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ENROUTE TO GIBRALTER
Today has to be one of the most beautiful days we have had on this entire cruise.  The air is crisp, but warm. The sea is calm. The ambience around the ship is overly friendly and inviting. 

Jay Wolff's lecture today was again, fascinating!  It was the story, "Guernica, a Town and and Painting" which goes back to 1937 and in particular, what happened at the little Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War which was the horrific event that stirred Pablo Picasso to paint his famous and powerful political statement that is now a treasure of art, simply named, "Guernica".   The original 11 foot by 25 foot painting is now in the Museum of Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain. A tapestry of this painting, depicting the horrors of war, hangs in the United Nations Building in New York City.

OUR OBSERVATION OF THE DAY....
Jay Wolff and his wife, Carol, joined us yesterday on our tour of Valencia and we have been so fortunate to have Jay as our destination lecturer on this world cruise!  Jay is the best destination lecturer we have ever had on any cruise.  We were very happy to hear we could purchase all of his lectures in a complete library so we can enjoy these lectures again at home.

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"The more you say, less people will remember."      

VALENCIA, SPAIN

APRIL 30 ~ VALENCIA, SPAIN
We return to Valencia where we were last year during the America Cup races!  We were so involved with the America Cup last year including watching the races from the finish line, that we really didn't get to see much of Valencia except the town center. 

This year we thoroughly enjoyed the Oceanographic Museum and a great tour of this fabulous and very picturesque city, compliments of Crystal Cruises, another complimentary tour offered by Crystal.  Another great day!   

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
"Sometimes silence is golden .........."

AT SEA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

APRIL 29 ~ AT SEA 

Post Pending.

"CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
We can try many ways to avoid the darkness, but none is more effective than increasing the light."

MONTE CARLO (DAY 2), MONACO

APRIL 28 ~ MONTE CARLO, MONACO
  We got our driver, Jean Marc, at 11:00am and along with Elizabeth, Norman, Marlene and John, raced out for a little surprise....Jean Marc wanted to drive us along the route of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix taking place from May 22 to May 25....a month from now.  What a treat!

  We ended up at the Palace for the changing of the guard and then departed for Eze and our delicious lunch at Chateau Eza perched high on a cliff overlooking the French Riviera. Great fun, great company, a great day!

CAPTAIN'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....

"It's easy to be brave from a safe distance."