To put a ship like this into perspective, think about the finest, full-service, apartment buildings in Manhattan, then just add water.

In the first of this three part series of posts, I hope to showcase a sampling of the dining onboard. To completely document everything Crystal Serenity has to offer would take days, if not weeks.

Our day starts early, around 7:00 AM, waking up to the sound of surf and the sun streaming through the deck sliders. Our first order of the day is to head down to The Bistro for freshly brewed coffee of one’s choice, be it a French Press, Cappuccino, Latte or just sit staring out the picture windows as the long period swells lift and settle beneath the hull. There are always freshly baked croissants and an assortments of other breads and pastries, sliced meats, cheese and a spread of freshly cut fruit and cereals for the early risers.

After breakfast we walk 4 laps around the promenade deck (1.3 miles), then attend the 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM lectures. At noon we race up to the Palm Court for triva…. our team has been sliding down hill the last two days(questions are quite obscure). One more day in this run, but I don’t think we have a chance…..

Next on the schedule is lunch. We usually remain on the Lido deck, dining at Market Place, which has almost anything and everything to please one’s desires. But today they had a showcase of their talents in the Crystal Lounge, so we headed there.

Assortment of fine French cheeses

Then it’s off to the third lecture of the day, a gentleman we had the privilege of listening to during our last cruise with Crystal, three years ago– Owen Ullmann, who was a press correspondent to several administrations as well as editor of USA Today.

Then our day diverges: Meredith is off to Bridge and I head up to the Palm Court to write, listening to some great tunes through my noise cancelling headphones, while they serve afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea, accompanied by piano and violin

At 4:30, we met up in our stateroom, drop off our gear and hit the promenade deck for another four laps (1.3 miles). Each day we walk at least 10K steps (5.5 miles on average). We trudge back up to our stateroom and catch up on the news (BBC) have a cocktail on the deck, shower and get dressed for the evening.

Which brings us around to dinner…. the night before we met up with a delightful couple from Sydney who have traveled extensively, many times on Serenity. We started talking about Indian food one night and made arrangements with the head waiter and they specially prepared a wonderful dinner for us.

A lovely evening at Waterside with Leonie and Alan from Sydney.

Curry Prawns

Butter Chicken

Lamb Vindaloo, naan and sides

Getting back to this evening, however, we returned to…… well… let’s just say it is one door away from heaven…

Soft shell crab and spicy tuna rolls

Udon Noodles and shrimp tempura

Lobster tempura

Green tea ice cream and tapioca

From here we are off for an after dinner drink, which will be the subject of tomorrow’s post.