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This log is current to March 29, 2010 January 19, 2011 In all our travels, we have never before indulged in such luxury as this ship. Better yet, the passenger load was 50%, meaning that there were 571 p Our first stop was in the Cayman Islands, south of Cuba. Grand Cayman is fine, but other than beautiful beaches, we couldn’t understand the attraction. The ship stood a mile offshore, “hovering” over one spot rather than anchoring, in order to avoid damaging the coral. This was a rare opportunity to dress up a littl The Serenity is a lot classier than our lifestyle then, and a whole lot more expensive. But we figure, ya gotta do everything at least once. The Panama Canal locks were fascinating. They raised the 69,000 ton Serenity 80 feet for the crossing of Panama. Then they lowered us down to the Pacific The Crystal Serenity is a “Panamax” ship, meaning that it was built to the maximum width of the Panama Canal locks. It transits the locks under its own power, but large electronic “mules” on both sides keep it centered in the lock. The maximum number of passengers on this ship is 1,080. On our cruise there were only 571 paying passengers, and 630 crew members. This was a real highlight of our lives, something to save up for, if only once. In our opinion, this is the finest shipboard experience at sea. After our nine hour transit of the canal, we exited into the Pacific ocean and headed for Mexico. It’s worth mentioning that Panama City continues to grow rapidly. One factor: dramatically bigger locks now being constructed. The 110 foot wide locks com Bridge of the Americas: This bridge is the extension of the Pan-Am highway and is just outside Panama City. Originally, it was intended that the highway would extend from the northern part of North America to the southern tip of South America. It was never completed across the portion of Columbia just south of Panama. Mexico: We took this picture of the Crystal Serenity from the beach at Huatulco, in sout While here we explored the nearby hills on 4-wheeled motorized vehicles. This beach scene gets a lot quieter when there are no ships at the dock. February 9, 2011 at headquarters March 29, 2011 at headquarters |
ise ship, the Crystal Serenity. Departure was from Miami, Florida, and the destination, Los Angeles. Between the two, the fascinating Panama Canal (right) and stops in the Cayman Islands, Columbia and Mexico.
assengers and 630 crew members.
e. The Serenity is the precise opposite of our previous experiences on the ocean. Then, we sailed Pioneer, our sailboat and only home more than 10,000 miles.
Ocean.
pleted in 1914 will be paralleled in 2014 by new locks 180 feet wide.
hwest Mexico. We consider it particularly unfortunate that the drug problem in northern Mexico keeps many people from the United States from driving to southern Mexico. The climate is terrific, the people nice, and the winter weather outstanding.