Day 13 (Jan 23, 2020) – Crystal Symphony – San Diego to Guam – Seventh Day at Sea

Since we talk a lot about our daily walks, we thought that we'd show you what the promenade deck looks like. So, these pictures show what we see each day. It's a wonderful place to walk. Each lap is about 0.26 miles (according to our Apple watches).

Port

Stern Exercise Machines

Stern

Starboard

Bow area

Exact view of sitting in the exercise machine and what you see - INCREDIBLE

During our cool down period after our walk we watched Russ’ (Cruise Director) daily morning show.  We truly find it a great resource for the expected weather, and activities for the day.  He also has a short 5pm daily show with a video trivia game and then shows an old TV sitcom.

When we have breakfast up in the Marketplace (Deck 11) in the back of the ship, this is the stern area.

Tonight was the second formal night of the cruise. So, we got all dolled up again.

As a formal night, the dinners are always over the top. Note - you may find it interesting, but Crystal does not repeat menus. On more traditional cruise lines, they usually repeat their menus about every 14 days. Anyway, our dinner tonight was in The Waterside. We both had Smoked Wagyu Beef Crudo  with Mashed Potatoes, Horseradish Cream for our first appetizer. As you can see, it was served in a small sealed jar. Opening it and you were inundated by the smoky smell. It was incredible, maybe the best appetizer we've ever had.

For our second course Julie had Poached Lobster Medallion with Black Pepper-Vanilla Crème Fraîche and Chilled Melon Soup, while Bob had an appetizer portion of Penne Pasta "Puttanesca" with Anchovies, Capers, Tomatoes, Black Olives, Chili Flakes and Italian Parsley.

Finally, we both enjoyed the same entree, Chateaubriand (Pink Roasted Beef Tenderloin) with Glazed Vegetable Medley and Dauphine Potatoes with Sauce Bordelaise. And for dessert we both had Vanilla Creme Brulee.

Dining room view from one of the serving stations

More dining room shots

After you travel with Crystal once, you become a member of the Crystal Society rewards program. The Crystal Society party was held at 7:45 pm.  There are many Crystal Society members on this sailing.The person with the most cruises onboard is Tracy from Cruise Critic with 168 cruises (this was not an official milestone as those are celebrated on the 5s, i.e. 165, 170, etc).  The top milestone being celebrated was 135th milestone (1611 days).

Starlight Club with dancing at the Crystal Society Party

The featured performer tonight was Anna Fegi-Brown, a Sony/BMG recording artist from the Philippines.  Her husband is her musical Director and served as the drummer with the Crystal Showband.  Anna’s voice is incredible and she is very personable.  She sang covers of Donna Summer, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.  What more could you ask for?  It was a terrific show.

Galaxy Lounge

 Tonight we go to sleep on Thursday night, it will be Saturday when we wake up. We crossed the international date line going from UST minus 12 hours to UST plus 12 hours. Strange.

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Data for Today

Morning Exercise: 4.2 miles, Exercise Machines: Yes (5:45am start time)
Weather: 72 degrees and partly cloudy skies
Seas: About the same as yesterday, nice with following seas
Breakfast: Marketplace, Omelet from Lucky plus fresh fruit, Ate outside
Talks:

• Dr Khalid Sheikh - “Emotions” 
• Dr Robert Freedman - “The Israeli Parliamentary Elections of 2019 and Their Impact on the Middle East” 
• Dr Richard Turnbull - "A Micronesia Primer”

Trivia: 9/15
Fun Trivia Question: What is the second most widely known, world-wide, company logo behind the Christian Cross?
Lunch: Marketplace, Salad, ate inside
Movie: "Abominable" (animated from Dream Works) - it was ok.  Crystal repeats the previous evening’s movie in the afternoon of the next day.  So, there are two opportunities to see each movie.
Dinner: Marketplace (see food porn)
Trivia Answer: Coca-cola
Daily steps: 16,883
Daily miles: 7.4

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