HAPPY READING!
Every Crystal World Cruise features two exclusive shoreside events for those taking the full World Cruise. This year we were quite fortunate to take part in both of these which have given us memories to cherish for a long time.
The first one was to a race track in Abu Dhabi called the Yas Marina Circuit Formula 1 racing arena. Not having experienced much in the way of racing, this was unique for us. Not only did our motor coach drive us around the whole track (quite slowly of course) but we got to see some actual demonstrations from professional drivers. We enjoyed our drinks and canapés while we watched them zoom by. What Fun!
The second event was truly the highlight of our cruise. We got to pay a visit to Israel’s 2,000 year old Bell Caves. Just like you probably have not heard of them, we had not either. The Bell Caves are actually man made quarries which supplied building materials to the people who lived there at Beit Guvrin during the early years of the Common Era and the people who dug these caves also had as many purposes for them as you can think of. The workers would first dig a narrow hole in the hard rock layer and soon reached the soft chalk layer. As they dug deeper they widened the base of the caves, thus making them bell-shaped with a narrow opening on top. We could see these “holes” to the sky in each cave that we visited.
We left the ship at 5:30 PM and drove for 1 hour. From there we had to walk about 7 minutes through a lovely candlelit park lined with various trees to reach the cave area. When we entered the first cave, we felt like it was something out of Disneyland. The sides are rather smooth and were lightly and colorfully illuminated and it hardly looked real but it was. There was a small orchestra playing while we were served wine, orange juice, and lemonade along with 3 different canapés. We were welcomed by the senior deputy director-general of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the ship’s Captain. We all thought this was it and we were delighted with the fact that a buffet was being set up for us on board ship when we were scheduled to return after 10 pm.
THEN an announcement was made to move to the next venue as a curtain was parted and we proceeded to the next massive cave where long dining room tables and elaborate candelabras were set up for us. As we all sat down, plates of delicious food were put on the table for us to enjoy along with more wine and soft drinks. Skewers of chicken, salads, vegetables (you name it, it was there) and we finished with delicious desserts of fruits and puddings. There was plenty of bread and even Matzohs since Passover had just begun. Who needed the ship’s buffet after all this.
While we were eating and drinking, we were treated to several live performances including traditional Israeli drummers and Fire dancers. The Black Hebrew Choir was fantastic and it was all topped off by David D’or, a well known Israeli opera singer thrilling us with his renditions of some beautiful Hebrew prayers as well as many folk songs. He finished with the traditional Hebrew Folk song “Havanna Gilah” and everyone got up and danced around in good spirits. Each of us was given a miniature drum as a souvenir along with a certificate certifying us as a Tourism Goodwill Ambassador for Israel. WHAT A GREAT EVENING!
It truly was a great evening and we were honored to be there since this is a site usually reserved only for religious visitors during this time of year. And it was one of the best Crystal events we ever attended. When we returned to the ship we all bypassed the lovely buffet that had been set up for us. We had no room for anything more. Hope one of these days you can experience this as well.
Love,
Mom and Dad
