Greetings from at sea on the way to Hawaii!

My friends, it has been such a busy, busy two weeks. Operator error caused me to take a break from blogging, but I promise I will be better in the future.

To recap: We left Sarasota and drove to Tampa International Airport on January 15. Our flight was delayed, but we were in the Admiral's Club, so at least we waited in comfort.

Our flight was dumpy and bumpy on American and First Class was pretty much like Coach used to be: inedible food and minimal service. Our flight attendant spent the entire flight wrapped in a blanket and the plane was a former US Air Air Bus 319, that had seen better days.

We arrived in Los Angeles late, and it was 1:30 am by the time we got to the Sheraton Universal City. Our time in LA was spent seeing old friends and eating.

We had dinner on Saturday night with friends of 30 years, Jackie and Glenn Braunstein and Bob Cooper at Scheherazade in Westwood..

Sunday night we dined with old friends Steve and Maureen Graham at Odys and Penelope on La Brea.

Both meals were delicious and it was terrific to catch up with friends we have known since our kids were little.

Monday on, we were only with Ben and it was wonderful! We get to see him so infrequently, but were spoiled by his visit to Sarasota in December and now seeing him again in Los Angeles. We got to see his beautiful dogs and his new home

in North Hollywood.

Monday night we ate at Versailles, our favorite Cuban restaurant. The garlic chicken stays with you for days!

Tuesday was Ocean Seafood for amazing Chinese food! We are so deprived of good Chinese food in Sarasota that this was a real treat!

Continuing the Chinese theme, we went to Glendale , Din Tai Fun, on Wednesday night for incredible dim sum! There are many branches of this restaurant including in Shanghai and Sydney. Excellent!

Thursday found us driving up to Walnut Creek outside of San Francisco to see dear, dear Crystal friends Brian and Gary. They put us up at the Renaissance Sports Hotel just down the block from them. Thank you, Brian and Gary, for your generosity! We had a great visit with them and met Brian's sister, Kerri, who I felt I knew already. Again, more food! Gary prepared a wonderful dinner on Thursday evening, comparable to any gourmet restaurant! Friday evening we had Italian and Saturday we had dinner in the old Walnut Creek Railroad Station!

Sunday morning, we were picked up by Crystal's transfer, a Cadillac Escalade, which held our six bags plus a duffle with no difficulty.

Let me digress for a moment: we started out with 9, yes, that's right, 9 bags!! In self defense, both David and I have big feet, so our shoes take up a lot of space. Additionally, we are going from very hot and humid weather to very cold weather where snow is likely, so that requires a variety of clothing. Additionally, there were toiletries and sundries to last us the 102 days on board. We also have one box of donations for an orphanage in Cambodia. While we were in Walnut Creek, we went to a phenomenal Filipino supermarket, so the duffle was filled with Filipino snacks for the amazing crew on board Serenity. So, I am not entirely to blame for all the luggage!

Back to our narrative: We arrived at the terminal and the same thrill of seeing our Crystal ship enveloped us! I get so happy upon seeing the twin seahorses on the smokestack! Our driver was instructed to pull up to the red carpet and remain in the car. We were escorted out of the car by Crystal representatives and our luggage was whisked away. Check in performed in the terminal, was a breeze. We were handed our ship's card and glass of champagne and escorted to the gangway, where we were met by Edie Rodriguez, CEO of Crystal and Captain Vorland. Crystal crew took our hand luggage and showed us directly to our cabin. The three suitcases we shipped via Luggage Concierge were waiting for us on the bed (those 3 are included in our total.)

We are in 7042. I tried for a guarantee with hopes of an upgrade, but none were available. Those who booked segments were given great upgrades, but because these upgraded cabins were not available for the entire cruise, we were “stuck” on Deck 7. I say “stuck” with tongue in cheek. First of all, there are no bad cabins on Crystal and secondly, we are close to a door out to the Promenade Deck, so we can be outside in moments! We have a great stewardess, Tamara, who is taking great care of us.

We managed to unpack and find space for almost everything in our luggage—with difficulty!

Sunday night, January 24, the day we embarked the ship, was the day of the Gala. The Atrium was set up with many tables and the balloons in gold, silver and black were held in a net above us. Edie spoke for about 20 minutes about the exciting future of Crystal: the fleet of planes for “cruises in the sky,” riverboats, three new ships, yachts, etc. She finished by welcoming us to the World Cruise and toasting the group. She remarked that she wished she was going with us. The Captain made a few remarks and the band played and hundreds of balloons and mylar confetti fell from the sky! A conga line formed to the tune of “When the Saints Come Marching In” and we joined in! There was about 20 minutes of dancing to the tune of Raphael and his band and then dinner was served.

We were assigned tables and there were three couples and two single women at our table. All were previous Crystal World Cruisers. Dinner was served with synchronized presentation and removal of the plates. We began with lobster chunks and caviar, followed by tortellini with chopped chestnuts. The entree was a choice between halibut and fillet. I had the halibut and David the fillet. The accompaniments were all molecular gastronomy choices with thumbnail sized servings of a beet reduction and wasabi mashed potatoes. Dessert was a sour cream chocolate cherry panna cotta.

After dinner was a presentation by the San Francisco Opera.

I was surprised that more people did not dress up for the Gala. Edie wore a long gown, and there were a smattering of cocktail dresses, but most people focused on comfort and casual.

The population for the full World Cruise is 358. A sizable percentage are quite elderly, and there are a few that look younger than us, but the bulk appear to be between 65 to 75 years in age.

It has been so great to be welcomed back by dear crew: the Lido guys, Siggy from Silk Road, Liezl the Librarian, Tayfun the Food and Beverage Manager, Hubert the Hotel Director, etc. We are seated at Table 54, the Ship's Doctor's table for this cruise. Hubert, unsolicited, said that he didn't realize that we were on board and will move us to his table in Sydney. We met our table mates last night: a couple from Germany who are only on until Sydney, a single lady the same and a couple from Texas who are on for the full World Cruise.

This morning began with a wake-up call at 7 am and after coffee we attended our first Pilates Class. Oy! I don't know how achy we will be tomorrow after using muscles we have not used in a long time. I think we should get extra points for getting down and up off of the mat!

Trivia is not on today's schedule, which surprised me, but hopefully tomorrow. The World Cruise Games begin this week, and we will sign up for events.

Tonight is Black Tie Optional and the Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party.

David is attending a lecture on the Middle East. I am signing off now! Stay tuned for more installments!

Love from the high seas (well, not too high, yet!)