December 3 and 4, the end of the trip

Last night on board.  We went to a magic show, had a really nice time in the Avenue Saloon with Claire and Allan listening to Mark Farris at the piano and dinner at Silk Road with Andie and Rich. The food at Silk Road was, as usual, very good and I particularly enjoyed the rock shrimp and the black cod with miso. 

Funny how on this very short cruise, where on our last day there were still many faces we'd never seen before, we've socialized perhaps more than usual and felt more at home than ever.

Must mention that there is a Christmas craze going on; just when you think the ship's decked out to the max, out come yet more decorations. It's really beautiful and festive but makes you think that when they all come down the ship will look quite bland.  Not true of course.

Disembarkation was a breeze.  We had to clear customs quite early but had a lovely breakfast on the Lido deck and I had one last slice of French toast which I savoured very, very slowly. This is one of Crystal's small treasures and I wanted to make sure the taste stays imprinted on my mind until I have the pleasure of sailing with Crystal once again. 

We're now at the airport and this adventure has come to an end. I'm carrying home a sombrero, a few extra pounds around my waist and a bagful of great memories. Hasta luego!

Thursday was port day in Puerto Vallarta.  We had chosen to take an excursion to San Sebastian, a Unesco site located an hour and a half drive from the port.  The first pleasant surprise was the lush, mountainous countryside, so different from the dry desertic landscape of Cabo San Lucas. The second one was San Sebastian itself; a former silver mining town producing twenty five pounds of silver daily at its peak, nestled high up in the Sierra Madre mountains. It dates back to the 1600's and has retained a lot of its charm.  An unexpected highlight of this excursion  was a visit to a quaint, local museum privately run by the descendants of one of the town's three original founding families.  The tour of the museum culminated with a hilarious depiction of the original families members' pledge to never mix with the indigenous locals which resulted in a series of intermarriages that, through increasingly convoluted bloodlines, created amazing situations in which a single person's uncle is also her nephew, is also her father-in-law, is also her cousin, etc., etc.; mind boggling but funny and true.

A very good authentic Mexican lunch was served at a restaurant located in a most pleasing and peaceful setting.  Altogether a very nice choice for an excursion.

Friday and Saturday were sea days. Days of doing nothing other than enjoying the weather, reading, talking to fellow cruisers and watching a movie in the Hollywood Theatre. No pressures, no important decisions to be made; simply recharge our batteries and eat much too much good food, including the very popular and nicely done Asian and American buffets.

Friday night we had drinks with Claire and Alan at the Avenue Saloon and together went to the farewell reception, twirled around the Starlight Club's dancefloor and, for the last time this cruise, had dinner with the Captain and enjoyed the French gala which was as good as ever.  My choices included the Malossol caviar and, with the memories of Monday night's dinner still causing me to salivate, picked the lobster for my main course.  Insanely delicious Grand Marnier Souffle and carefully chosen wines made for another memorable dinner in the main dining room.

Tonight is our last night on board and we will be joining friends Andie and Rich at Silk Road. This short cruise has delivered exactly as expected.  Another delightful Crystal special, tailor-made to dissolve the stresses and worries of the past few months.  Two more cruises have been booked and we cannot wait. 

Our early morning excursion was a combination of a short but pleasant boat ride to see Cabo's rock formations and wildlife up close, followed by a drive to a restaurant offering impressive views and photo ops.  The tour was enjoyable but nothing too spectacular; this was our fault as we had been so keen on not doing anything but rest that we had neglected to reserve any tours and by the time we got to it the most interesting ones were already fully booked.

Afternoon tea has become somewhat of a ritual for us; a very civilized affair with traditional offerings such as cucumber sandwiches and scones with strawberries and clotted cream, and not-so-traditional ones which today included the sinfully delicious Mozart hot chocolate;  a concoction of belgian chocolate, rum, whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  Today we had to curb our enthusiasm as we had a date with the Vintage Room. 

After tea we went on a tour of the galley.  Some amazing statistics on food procurement and consumption were followed by an interesting Q&A session with the Executive Chef and ended with an enlightening walk through the main dining room kitchen.  Sr. sous chef Daniel from Chile brought to life the behind-the-scenes acrobatics that result in the various thousands of delicious offerings appearing on our tables and staterooms each day and made it sound almost easy!  not so; it is a carefully choreographed dance that produces the famed Crystal dining experience day in and day out.

The Vintage Room

This evening deserves a writeup of its own as a few words cannot properly describe how unique and fun it was.  It began at 7 pm and ended four hours later; the Vintage Room:  seven courses, seven impeccable wine pairings and twelve people from diverse places and of diverse ages and backgrounds meeting for the first time; anything is possible.  A man who's not from Scotland wearing a kilt, another one proclaiming to be a chef who does not make any money, an opinionated octogenarian, a wine lobbyist, an asian woman who fell asleep at the table, to name a few.  The stage is set.

The fun started as the Brut was being poured.  "The bubbles of the best champagne rise elegantly in a single column from the bottom of the glass; these bubbles rise in disarray, someone says ".  As the main course - a lovely duo of grilled Wagyu beef filet and short rib - is placed in front of us, the self-proclaimed broke chef suddenly quips "filet mignon is a disgusting cut of meat". Huh?? Leonard, our head sommelier is in for a good one.  Don't get me wrong, we had a blast.  The food and wines were outstanding, the service was flawless, the experience was wildly entertaining.  I have always believed that the wisest thing to do when meeting people for the first time is to never discuss politics.  Imagine how polarized and at times confrontational the conversation around the table turned that we purposely brought up politics as a safer alternative!  Afterwards, a few laps around the Promenade deck under a star studded sky helped walk it off before collapsing in bed, still laughing about it all.

A dedicated team of Crystal professionals pulled it off brilliantly and we're already looking forward to our next Vintage Room dinner.