Day 14 (Jan 25, 2020) – Crystal Symphony – San Diego to Guam – Eighth Day at Sea

Today is the start of Chinese New Year - the year of the rat (Bob and Julie are Dragons). We received a small gift of an envelope with a $100 bill in it. The bill was smaller than normal and had the picture of the captain on it instead of Franklin. Apparently there is a Chinese tradition to give money on the Chinese New Year and that is what the ship gave us, albeit not really worth anything other than something to talk about.

We stopped by the Palm Court for drinks. Julie had one of the two drinks that they offer at the White Night party. It was yummy.

Food porn for the day was focused on dinner in the Waterside. We both began the meal with crisp chicken lumpia with mango dipping sauce (much like a long skinny spring roll).

After that, Julie had Cream of Celeriac Soup with Morel and Chervil and Bob had Heart of Iceberg Lettuce salad with artichokes, palm hearts, and citrus segments. The Soup was amazing and the winner for this course.

Finally, for the entree, Julie had Scallop "Ceasar Salad" while Bob had "Cordon Bleu" (Golden Fried Veal Escalope, Stuffed with Country Ham & Swiss Cheese, Herb Risotto, Paysanne Vegetables, Lingonberry-Peach Relish). The salad was fine and Bob thought that the veal cordon bleu was wonderful, but a huge portion and extremely filling. He was only able to eat about 1/2 of the serving.

For desert, Julie chose the "Dulce De Leche CheeseCake". She thought that it was fine, but didn't make her top desserts list.

Tonight was a production show by the vocalists and singers and dancers called "Crystal on Broadway the Show". Essentially they did 3 micro musicals from Broadway with about 4 songs each: Something Rotten, West Side Story, and Rent. It was terrific.

We walked by the setup for the White Night party (where everyone wears white) and they have drinks, music, and dancing. Unfortunately with it starting at 10:15pm, and we getting up at the crack of dawn, it just didn't happen.

Each evening, we receive a copy of Reflections. This is the daily schedule of information and events and all things happening on the ship. In case you are interested, HERE is a link to the reflections for today.

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Data for Today

Morning Exercise: 4.3 miles, Exercise Machines: Yes (6:15am start time)
Weather: 79 degrees (high of 88) and partly cloudy skies
Seas: Seas were definitely rougher, about 10-12 ft swells
Breakfast: Waterside, Julie had eggs and Bob had a croissant with prosciutto, brie, and truffle scrambled eggs
Talks:

• Jon Malay - "Creatures of the Sea – Marine Biology"
• Tom Faranda - "The Next Ten Years - Medical Incredibles"
• Dr. Barbara Udell - “From now on there’ll be a change in me”

Trivia: 5/15 (Yeah, we were great today - BTW - mostly 12/15 is what wins by the teams of 6 against our little team of 2)
Fun Trivia Question: What country has a symphony that is larger than army (in terms of number of people)?
Lunch: Trident Grill, Julie had a hamburger no bun and Bob had a grilled ham and cheese, ate inside
Movie: "Judy" - with several academy award nominations, the biopic on Judy Garland and the last year of her life was interesting, but depressing (seems to be the theme of several movies this cruise). We both enjoyed it.
Dinner: Marketplace (see food porn)
Trivia Answer: Monaco
Daily steps: 16,622
Daily miles: 7.2

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