We just wanted to begin by saying how much we enjoyed our tour yesterday. After not touring since Keith's medical incident, it was great to tour again and to tour with a tour guide who we not only toured with in 2012 but someone who we truly enjoy. We learned a great deal about the history of Hong Kong to add what we already knew and we got an update on how things have been going there the past couple of years.
Hong Kong is a very vibrant city. At night it even makes New York City look on the quieter side. They must have the most retail space per square foot as any city around the world.
The one thing that is even more noticeable and gets more intense with each passing visit is from the moment you get into the mall people with cards come up to you asking if you would like clothes made or to tell you they can sell you a copy watch. Keith's response, we want the real thing. LOL.
The other noticeable change is that the retailing gets upscale by each passing year. Even Ocean Terminal is much more upscale now but most of that is driven by the very high rental rates for real estate making it a challenge for many of the smaller places to stay in business.
Last night before dinner we went to the Crystal Cove where we spoke with friends John and Linda while listening to John Mentis play the piano.
Hong Kong is a very vibrant city. At night it even makes New York City look on the quieter side. They must have the most retail space per square foot as any city around the world.
The one thing that is even more noticeable and gets more intense with each passing visit is from the moment you get into the mall people with cards come up to you asking if you would like clothes made or to tell you they can sell you a copy watch. Keith's response, we want the real thing. LOL.
The other noticeable change is that the retailing gets upscale by each passing year. Even Ocean Terminal is much more upscale now but most of that is driven by the very high rental rates for real estate making it a challenge for many of the smaller places to stay in business.
Last night before dinner we went to the Crystal Cove where we spoke with friends John and Linda while listening to John Mentis play the piano.
We then had dinner at the Crystal Dining Room. We did not take any photos for a change.
We began our meal with salads as we always do. Keith had his standing order salad and Anne
Marie had a traditional Caesar Salad.
Ayan our Senior Waiter recommended the Seared Sea Scallops
for Anne Marie and she really enjoyed them.
Keith went with the Fresh Red Spotted Grouper but ordered it from the
lighter side menu where it came with mushrooms and broccoli instead of rice
since he also wanted to order a baked potato.
We also shared peas and asparagus.
For dessert, Anne Marie had the sugar free Cocoa Mousse and
Keith had mixed berries of blueberries and strawberries.
Javier, our Sommelier opened up a Chardonnay for us and also
decanted a Red Wine from Portugal. Both
were terrific choices.
This was the last evening, that we will have Senior Waiter
Ayan as he is going back home for a well deserved vacation. We will see him in April after he returns.
We brought our jackets with us to dinner and we went from
the Crystal Dining Room out to watch the Laser Light Show. It was cool but we still enjoyed the
show. The skies were a little overcast,
which actually makes for better viewing. There were lots of people viewing the show. It did get a bit chilly so we had on jackets to keep us warm with a hood.
We also looked at some of the shops at Ocean Terminal. This has to have the best shops of any cruise
ship terminal around the world.
After the show, we walked for a few minutes before returning
to the ship.
We slept well last night as we were docked.
Today marks the end of the second segment of the World
Cruise and the start of the third segment.
We traveled from Yokohama to Hong Kong and we wailed 2,092 nautical
miles or the equivalent of 2,405 land miles.
As we begin the third segment of the World Cruise we will sail from Hong
Kong to Singapore.
Keith was up first as he always is and he began his day with
a workout at the Fitness Center.
Afterwards, he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee. Ironically, as Keith was getting coffee he saw the man who was at the right place at the right time. He is the retired physician who just happened to be walking by the area outside the elevator as Keith was fainting and assisted Anne Marie. Keith wished him safe travels and he wished Keith the very best and his final words were "Stay Vertical" and Keith responded by saying "That Is My Plan". He and his lovely wife are just very nice people.
After Keith had his coffee and finished speaking with friend Linda, he brought some coffee back for Anne Marie and then we
walked for about 45 minutes on the Promenade Deck outside the ship. We saw Captain Birger walking so we spoke with him for a few minutes. He is always so very friendly and informative. This time we were able to reach our daughter, Jennifer, by phone and spoke with her for awhile as we did with our son, Eric, yesterday. We couldn't get through to either one on FaceTime yesterday, but Keith tried a different dialing sequence so after we spoke to Jennifer by phone we tried on FaceTime and we got through. This way we could not only see Jennifer but also our Grandson, Andre and they could see us too.
We had Rao come 30 minutes earlier for breakfast and then we went out to explore the city.
We went off the ship at around 9:00 AM and took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island. We were having a problem with Anne Marie's iPad and the best way to fix it was using the wifi at the Apple Store. It's a long story but we had to reset it to factory specifications as the Apple People tried very hard to fix the problem without doing that. The good news is from there Keith took over and by setting it up to us iCloud we mirrored it to look like Keith's iPad which put all of the apps and associated short cuts onto Anne Marie's iPad. We then took the ferry back and then walked around Kowloon and returned to some places that we are very familiar with where we picked up a couple of gifts.
Waiting for The Ferry to take us over to Hong Kong Island.
Inside the Apple Store. It is multi level. Lots of people there to help.
On the ferry on the way back to Kowloon.
A view of Crystal Serenity from the Ferry.
The famous Hong Kong Hotel; The Peninsula
We returned back to the ship for lunch and ate at the Lido Cafe. It was nice and quiet. We spoke with several members of the crew including Ed who now works evenings in the Crystal Dining Room and to Richie who a few years ago moved over to Silk Road as an assistant waiter.
Shortly after lunch we went back and walked around. We returned to the eyeglass store where we each had ordered the prescription sunglasses and, as promised, they were ready when we arrived. We tried them on and we were both very pleased with our purchase and they also adjusted three other pairs of glasses that Anne Marie brought with her for him to look at. We were very pleased with the quality and the service.
As we walked there were so many people in the streets and in the shops. We went into one department store and it had the feel of a very busy Christmas Season shopping day. That was true for many of the stores we passed by. This does not adequately show the crowds as many streets were wall to wall people.
We had Rao come 30 minutes earlier for breakfast and then we went out to explore the city.
We went off the ship at around 9:00 AM and took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island. We were having a problem with Anne Marie's iPad and the best way to fix it was using the wifi at the Apple Store. It's a long story but we had to reset it to factory specifications as the Apple People tried very hard to fix the problem without doing that. The good news is from there Keith took over and by setting it up to us iCloud we mirrored it to look like Keith's iPad which put all of the apps and associated short cuts onto Anne Marie's iPad. We then took the ferry back and then walked around Kowloon and returned to some places that we are very familiar with where we picked up a couple of gifts.
Waiting for The Ferry to take us over to Hong Kong Island.
Inside the Apple Store. It is multi level. Lots of people there to help.
On the ferry on the way back to Kowloon.
A view of Crystal Serenity from the Ferry.
The famous Hong Kong Hotel; The Peninsula
Shortly after lunch we went back and walked around. We returned to the eyeglass store where we each had ordered the prescription sunglasses and, as promised, they were ready when we arrived. We tried them on and we were both very pleased with our purchase and they also adjusted three other pairs of glasses that Anne Marie brought with her for him to look at. We were very pleased with the quality and the service.
As we walked there were so many people in the streets and in the shops. We went into one department store and it had the feel of a very busy Christmas Season shopping day. That was true for many of the stores we passed by. This does not adequately show the crowds as many streets were wall to wall people.
This evening we will attend a World Cruise shore side event
and we will post all about this tomorrow.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……...
"For us, travel represents discovery as there is so very much to learn whether this involves visits to locations for the very first time, or returning to locations that we have previously visited. - Keith & Anne Marie
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