Buzz’s comments on his Cruise from
Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles on the Crystal Serenity December 2025 to January
2026
This
cruise consisted of 2 segments. Fort Lauderdale
to San Jose, Costa Rica and the San Jose to Los Angeles. The ship was completely full on the first leg
and there were many families including 73 children celebrating Christmas
together. The entertainment was very
good. The food especially Umi Uma was
excellent. I really enjoyed Dan Davis in
the Avenue Salone performing on the piano.
SUN DEC
21 AA 3219 PHL – FLL 3:35 PM
to 6:26 PM Nice flight left a little early due to late arrival of the
aircraft. Fort Lauderdale airport
struggled to handle the traffic and my ride crept though the airport to pick me
up and then leave the airport. I had a
very good dinner with a friend from college that recently moved to
Florida. We ate at Rendezvous Waterfront Bar and Grill about
two blocks from the hotel.
SUN DEC
21 – MON DEC 22 Maritime Hotel Fort
Lauderdale. Nice room with a large
screen TV, refrigerator, safe, iron, in room coffee and many easy access
electrical plugs and USB charging ports.
I used my status to get a free breakfast ordered from the menu. It was very good.
MON DEC
22 FORT LAUDERDALE, UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA. Traffic to get to the
ship was very slow since there were 8 large cruise ships all boarding
passengers. The check in process took
about 15 minutes. Suites were ready at
2:30. My luggage was delivered to my suite at 3:30. I went to the solo
traveler’s get together and had dinner at a shared table. I went to the show Crystal in Motion.
TUE DEC
23 SEA DAY. I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment
program talks: Michael
DeDonno presenting “The Mind of a Psychopath”, Roman Pryjomko presenting “What Putin Really Wants –
Unravelling Russia and the Posin of Politics”, and Andrew
Roberts presenting “Panama Canal part 1 – the French”. I played duplicate bridge. I went to the show Unpluged. I had dinner at a shared table.
WED DEC
24 GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN,
CAYMAN ISLANDS – Tender port. I booked a
1 hour helicopter tour of the island. We
flew over sting ray city, several wrecks, seven mile beach and some of the most
expensive homes. I played social
bridge. I went to the magic show. I went to Traditions – A Holiday Show.
THU DEC
25 DAY AT SEA. Formal night.
I went to two Crystal Visions Enrichment program talks: Michael
DeDonno presenting “Does the Fountain of Youth Exist” and Roman Pryjomko presenting “How Can We Manage the Crisis in
Democracy? Why Good Governance Matters”.
I played duplicate bridge. I went
to Umi Uma (Crystal excellent Japanese restaurant) for dinner. I went to the show Broadway Baby performed by
Sabrina Alqueche.
FRI DEC
26 CARTAGENA,
COLOMBIA. I booked a six hour tour Taste
of Cartagena. This tour
included a coffee tasting event where we tried two types of coffee, both
filtered and made with a French Press.
We visited the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. We stopped for a mediocre lunch and then
wandered around the old city before returning to the ship. I had dinner with two of the passengers I met
playing bridge.
SAT DEC
27 CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA. I walked around the port area. I
went to the Crystal Visions Enrichment program talk given by Andrew
Roberts presenting “Panama Canal part 3 – the Panamaians”. I played duplicate bridge. I went to the show performed by Judy
Carmichael: Swinging Music, Salty Vocals and Sassy Humor.
SUN DEC
28 PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT. I played social bridge. I went to the show Icons in Concert. I had dinner to the Italian restaurant
Osteria D’Ovidio which has a new menu. The food was good but not great and I
will not go back there again because my blood sugar tested high after eating
there.
MON DEC
29 DAY AT SEA. I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment
program talks: Michael
DeDonno presenting “The Female Brain vs. the Male Brain”, Roman Pryjomko presenting “Clear and Present Danger:
Profiling the Radicalized Mind”, and Andrew
Roberts presenting “Panama – Water or the lack of it.”. I played duplicate bridge. I went to the show Club Nights. I had dinner at the Beefbar.
TUE DEC
30 SAN JOSÉ (PUERTO CALDERA)
COSTA RICA. There was significant police
presence in the port so I stayed on the ship.
I went to the solo traveler’s get together and had dinner at a shared
table. I went to the show Crystal in
Motion.
WED DEC
31 DAY AT SEA. Formal Night.
I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment program talks: Scott Cuttler
presented “The Rapid Rise of AI Part 1- From the Beginning to the End of 2023
and ChatGPT”, Melinda
Bates presented: “Backstage at the White House, one woman’s extraordinary
adventure in World’s Most Famous House” and Bill Miller presented “Floating Palaces:
the Great Atlantic Liners”. I played
duplicate bridge. I went to the show
performed by Judy Carmichael: Swinging Music, Salty Vocals and Sassy Humor.
THU JAN
01, 2026 DAY AT SEA. I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment
program talks: Scott Cuttler presented
“The Rapid Rise of AI Part 2 – Beyond Chat – AI can hear speak and reason”,
Melinda Bates presented: “Backstage with First families” and Ed Larson
presented “Huatulco, Manzanillo & Mexican Beach Resorts”. I had lunch with Melinda Bates to discuss my
experience at the White House. I had
dinner at Umi Uma. I went to the show
performed Martin Kay: “Great
Balls”.
FRI JAN
02 HUATULCO, MEXICO. I wandered around the port area. I played
social bridge. I had dinner at Umi Uma.
I went to the show Broadway Baby performed by Sabrina Alqueche.
SAT JAN
03 DAY AT SEA. I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment
program talks: Scott Cuttler presented
“The Rapid Rise of AI Part 3 – 2025”, Melinda Bates presented: “Entertaining at
the White House” and Mel
Olinsky presented “Early Days of Television Memories”. I played duplicate bridge. I went to the show Crystal in Motion. I had dinner at a shared table with Scott
Cuttler.
SUN JAN
04 MANZANILLO, MEXICO. I stayed on the ship after receiving warnings
about walking in town alone. I watched
NFL games but the ones I was most interested in were not shown. I had dinner at Umi Uma. I went to the show Night Fever performed by
Daniel Allain.
MON JAN
05 DAY AT SEA. I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment
program talks: Scott Cuttler presented
“AI’s Transformational Role in Healthcare”, Bill Miller presented “Getting
There was Half the Fun – The Last Atlantic Liners” and Ed Larson presented
“Baja California Dreaming – Past, Present and Future”. I played duplicate bridge. I went to the show performed by Kenny James. I ate at the Beefbar.
TUE JAN
06 LA PAZ, MEXICO. The ship docked about 10 miles from the
center of town. I took the stuttle bus into town and wandered around. I played social bridge. I had dinner with the bridge
instructors. I went to the show
performed by Sabrina Alqueche. I went to the show Club Nights.
WED JAN
07 CABO SAN LUCAS (BAHIA
CALIFORNIA SUR), MEXICO. Tender Port. I
was at this port last year, so I wandered around the port area. I played social bridge. I went to the magic show. I ate at the Beefbar. I went to the show Crystal Showband and
Friends.
THU JAN
08 DAY AT SEA. Formal
Night. I went to three Crystal Visions
Enrichment program talks: Scott Cuttler presented “When Giants Pivot – Google’s
AI Comeback through the Lens of Disruption”, Bill Miller presented “Sailing to
the Sun – Cruising History and Evolution” and Mel Olinsky presented
“Development of Television”. I went to
the Captain’s Farewell Reception. I had
dinner at the Supper Club (Crystal’s version of a 1930’s New York night club).
FRI JAN
09 DAY AT SEA. I went to three Crystal Visions Enrichment
program talks: Scott Cuttler presented “Digital Hygiene – Safeguarding Your
Online Presence”, Ed Larson presented “California Here We Come” and Mel Olinsky
presented “Slam Dunk”. I went to the
show performed by Kenny James.
SAT JAN 10 ENSENADA, MEXICO. I wandered around town. I went to the show performed by James Fox “My Life: The Music
of Billy Joel”.
SUN JAN
11 LOS ANGELES
AA 3013
LAX-PHL 12:12 PM to 8:16 PM
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