Day 1 - Embarkation New york city

Today is the start of another mother and daughter trip!  If you followed along on the mother daughter Hawaii adventure this one is a little different as this time I am the daughter.

My wonderful husband drove us to the pier in NYC.  Our arrival time was supposed to be 4:00 PM but that didn’t give us much of a buffer so we planned to arrive around 3:00 instead.  The terminal was like a ghost town with more workers than passengers.  There are a fair amount of steps to complete for the COVID protocols but I knew it would be worth it in the end.  We got registered and were given an antigen test.  The wait from start to finish was about thirty minutes and we were on the ship and by 3:45 we were unpacking our suitcases in our cabin.

We had some time for a cocktail before muster and we enjoyed a socially distant chat with a delightful couple at the end of the bar in the cove.  After the lifeboat drill, we made our way to Palm Court to hear Louis sing and watch us sail down the Hudson.  

We both enjoyed a pre dinner martini.  My mom requested extra olives and our waiter more than complied.  Mom is enjoying the service so far for sure!  The evening view was spectacular.  If you have never cruised out of New York, I feel it is an experience not to be missed.  

We headed to Waterside for dinner at 6:45 and is was fairly empty and nicely distanced.  For dinner, I had the halibut ceviche, beef consommé and redfish.  The redfish was spectacular.  My mom chose the mozzarella cream, clam chowder, and sirloin steak.  She said it was the most tender sirloin ever.  For dessert we both had mixed berries.  

Our server was Hana from Ukraine.  I told her it was my mother’s first Crystal cruise.  Hana said she will be “crystallized” by tonight.  I wonder if she reads cruise critic as I haven’t her anyone use that term except on that site.  I missed my favorite waiter and if you have read previous blogs, you will know it is Viktor, who is also from the Ukraine.  I think it is another sign this will be a great cruise.  

We stopped by the casino for a bit before the show.  The show was great and afterwards we went to the Avenue and enjoyed a nightcap of a stinger while listening to great piano music.  It wasn’t very crowded in there so we stayed for a bit.  When we returned to the room we were surprised to see 2 gifts on the bed in celebration of Crystal Cruise's 30th Anniversary.  The pin and wine stopper were such a nice touch! It was almost midnight before I let the rolling waves put me to sleep.  It feels nice to be home!