Day 1 - Embarkation in Quebec City
It is cool and rainy this morning in Quebec City as we check out of Hotel Le Germain, our pre-cruise hotel. At breakfast this morning while working on my blog, I overheard several other hotel guests talking about their upcoming cruise aboard Crystal Serenity, so apparently, at least some savvy cruisers have already discovered this to be an excellent pre-cruise hotel. We will soon be posting a more detailed review of Le Germain on our website in the Luxury Cruise Hotels section, so make sure to check that out.
Lobby of Le Germain Quebec City
Even though the hotel is only a block or two from the port, and an easy walk, the rain this morning forced us to order an Uber for the short drive. It literally took us less than five minutes to drive to the cruise terminal. We felt guilty having an Uber take us such a short distance ($10 ride), so we gave the driver a nice tip.
When we arrived at the cruise terminal, we dropped off our luggage with some porters waiting outside. Crystal informed us that embarkation would begin at noon, and we are about 45 minutes early when we enter the terminal building. The terminal appears relatively new and there were plenty of friendly folks to point us to where we needed to go.
Our first task was to get through security with our personal belongings, which took less than a minute. Oh, and did I mention, there was no crowd? We were the only ones going through security when we arrived. Later, we would discover why that was.
After security, we were directed to a check-in counter where our boarding passes and passports were checked. We also had to answer the typical health questionnaire questions that every cruise line asks. We are then invited to enjoy a cup of tea, coffee or ice water and wait for embarkation to begin. There were about ten other guests already in the waiting room when we arrived. Where is everybody?
From the waiting area, we can see Crystal Serenity through the window. A long enclosed corridor connects the terminal to the ship, so it is not necessary for us to walk in the rain to board.
Embarkation began exactly at 12 noon and after walking down the long corridor, we arrived at the gangway to the ship. There was about 30 feet of gangway between the terminal and the ship which was not covered, and therefore, exposed to the rain. Not to worry, Crystal is not going to allow its guests to be exposed to the harsh elements and board the ship with wet clothes. A crew member is on hand with an umbrella to escort guests across the gangway and onto the ship! This is the way embarkation should be handled on a five-star cruise line!
Rickee is escorted to Crystal Serenity with an umbrella
We embark on Deck 6 midship and are directed to The Lounge, a newly created public space that, if memory serves me correctly (and it rarely does), used to be the ship’s casino. There are several tables here with staff members to complete the check-in process. We surrender our passports, have our security photos taken and are informed that our stateroom, or “suite”, I should say, is ready.
Embarkation on a luxury cruise ship cannot take place without being welcomed aboard with a complimentary glass of champagne. Hostesses are on hand to offer this traditional refreshment as we exit The Lounge and head to our suite on Deck 8.
A glass of welcome aboard champagne
When we arrive at our suite (8009) on Deck 8 forward, we find the door is open and our stateroom keys are waiting for us on the desk.
Our Sapphire Veranda Suite is a new category that was added during the ship’s recent refurbishment. Our understanding is that three suites were converted into two larger spaces to create this new category. We were blown away at first glance by the modern, fresh look of our suite. It would appear that no expense was spared on the materials and workmanship in creating the Sapphire Veranda Suites. The furnishings and all surfaces are elegant and tasteful.
The living room and bedroom are separated by a curtain for privacy. The large bathroom can be accessed from the living room or from the bedroom. Of course, we will do a complete and thorough review of the Sapphire Veranda Suite on our YouTube channel soon, so make sure you are subscribed and have the notification bell selected so that you will know when the video goes live.
Within a few minutes after arriving in our suite, we were greeted by our Butler, Rao, who took the time to set up our phones and my laptop for the ship’s WiFi (which is Starlink). He also showed us through the suite and explained all of the features and services that he offers. Basically, whatever we need, he can provide. Our butler informed us that there are only about 260 guests on this sailing, which explains why we have not seen any lines! This might be the highest crew-to-guest ratio of any cruise on which we have sailed.
Sapphire Veranda Suite - Crystal Serenity
After dropping off our hand luggage, we were a bit hungry. There were a few options for lunch on embarkation day. Of course, the ship’s lido buffet, The Marketplace, is open. The Waterside Restaurant, which is the ship’s main dining room, is also open for lunch. Waterside Restaurant was formerly Crystal Dining Room and this space has been completely transformed into a bright, modern restaurant with all new furnishings and carpeting. We decided to enjoy a quiet lunch at Waterside today.
The Tastes restaurant on Deck 12 was also open from 1:00pm to 3:00pm for a late lunch, which we will definitely try later in the cruise.
Waterside Restaurant - Deck 5
After being seated at a table for two by a window, we were presented with today’s lunch menu, which had a lot of excellent choices. I don’t want this blog to turn into a food review, so I will save that for our upcoming Dining Review on our YouTube channel.
Rickee ordered the French Dip Sandwich and I ordered a cheeseburger. That’s all I am going to say for now.
Lunch Menu at Waterside Restaurant
We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking after our luggage arrived, then walked around the ship to do some exploring. While many spaces have undergone major refurbishment, we could draw on our memory from our last Crystal Serenity cruise in 2015 to know that some spaces have remained pretty much untouched. Of course, we will give you all of that information in our Ship Review video.
As we were unpacking, our stateroom attendant, Peace, arrived to introduce herself and an assistant. Peace takes care of keeping the suite clean and fresh and she also took the time to make sure we had whatever we needed. We asked her for some firmer pillows and additional hangers for the closet, which she brought within minutes. Peace told us that she was with Crystal before the bankruptcy and is very happy to be back at her job. Crystal was able to bring back more than 80% of their previous crew.
We are very fortunate to be sailing once again with our good friends, John and Sandra Nowlan who are food and travel writers from Halifax. This evening, we planned a reunion dinner at Umi Uma & Sushi Bar. This was Silk Road when we were last on Serenity back in 2015.
We met outside the restaurant for our 6:30pm dinner reservation and when we walked in we were all amazed by how the restaurant has been transformed into a much lighter, more casual, Asian-inspired restaurant. The sushi bar is still in the same location as it was before, but all of the tables, chairs, carpet and lighting appear to be brand new.
Umi Uma Formerly Silk Road
The menu here has changed a bit from what we remember, but a couple of favorites remain: the Miso Black Cod, Rickee’s favorite, and the Wagyu Beef, which is my go-to entree.
We enjoyed an amazing meal with our friends, and were all impressed with the food and excellent service. More to come in my Dining Review video.
Dinner Menu at Umi Uma
After dinner, we are pretty tired and ready to retire to our beautiful suite. We say goodnight to John and Sandra and head back to 8009. The suite has been freshly made up for us and the bed turned down. I would say this was a pretty amazing embarkation day aboard Crystal Serenity. It’s good to be back.
