Roland4

But the fountain in the Cove/Atrium is running again! It seems to me you once commented on that!

Thank you from the bottom of my Digital Klutz heart!!!😁

We did the V-E-R-Y L-O-N-G all day Legacy of The Ottomans yesterday that went to the Sulieman Mosque (Blue Mosque was closed), Top Kapi Palace, lunch at a Michelin Star restaurant, and the Grand Bazaar. Today was Asian Istanbul and Bosphorous Cruise, which had us back on board by 1:30. There is new cruise port facility in Istanbul that makes getting in and out for tours very easy! We depart Istanbul at 8:00 this evening.

It's me Patty!!!!!😮 I am still learning how to use my iPhone and the pictures saved in an HEIC format. Had to figure out how to change them to jpeg. I tried replacing them, but now I am getting download errors. Turkey is partially blocking Starlink, they are still "evaluating it", and I think that may be the problem. Since I have passed the allowed time to edit, I will try reposting the pictures either later this evening or tomorrow. I did discover that if you download the individual HEIC files, you can then open the pictures, or at least I could on my Surface tablet.

Well, after a very busy first six days, I finally have a chance to post a few pictures of the changes to Symphony. Keep in mind that the last time we onboard was September of 2012, so while some things, Starlite, have not changed, others have to us, so if I post something "old" as something "new".........🙂 I stared at front of Deck 6 and worked my way back. The Lounge IMG_0122.HEIC IMG_0123.HEIC I have to admit this space does seem to be any better used than Serenity, and it is also very cool, verging on cold! One advantage it has on Serenity is the windows down both side. The Bistro IMG_0119.HEIC IMG_0120.HEIC IMG_0121.HEIC We have not had a chance to visit The Bistro as yet, but it always seems as busy as we remember it being on Serenity. It does a lot brighter than I remember it, and the tables against the outside railing give the space a bit of "sidewalk cafe" feel! The Shops IMG_0116.HEIC IMG_0117.HEIC IMG_0118.HEIC My wife made a purchase in Apropos the first night, but other than that, we have walked by every evening. Umi Uma and Osterria IMG_0124.HEIC IMG_0125.HEIC We had dinner The Sushi Bar on night one, and again at a table last night, and both meals were great as usual. We are at the Osterria tomorrow night and will report back. After our one experience with it on Serenity last September, we remain firmly "on the fence" about the change. We unfortunately missed the Suite Open House on Tuesday, so I have no pictures. If they offer another one I will make a point of getting some. I know some asked about staff onboard. Remi id the Maitre D', and while we had not met him previously, he has taken good care of us so far. Bruno is The Specialty Maitre D' and we had a nice "catch up" chat with him last night after many years. Society Hosts/Future Cruise are Beate Zaderer and Andrew Triplow, who we have known since Harmony in 2005! While Serenity is usually "home" for us, we have been having a great time on Symphony. We have been welcomed home/welcomed back numerous times by staff we have never met before, and everyone seems to "know our names"!! Any questions, I will try to get answers, but after tomorrow's sea day, it is a post stop a day until next Thursday!!

The person who told me 400 later revised that number down to 380. The ship feels comfortably occupied, and with the reduced number they can accommodate a single show at 9:15. We had forgotten how much "smaller" Symphony is compared to Serenity! We are just finishing up our first (of only two) sea days and will be in Istanbul for the next two days, with a L-O-N-G tour booked for tomorrow. I will try and post some pictures and observations sometime in the next few days.

We have been told something just over 400 guests this cruise, after having only 60 guests for the previous 7 nighter after the Red Sea. The next several cruises after this one are in the 500+ range apparently. We spoke to one of the crew who was onboard for the Red Sea crossing who said it was "interesting". They were part of a convoy escorted by three US Navy ships, and there were armed guards onboard. They were not allowed on any outside deck until they were well out on the Red Sea.

We got caught coming out of Reykjavik in the tail end of three dead/dying hurricanes. All you need to know is we were in a PH on Deck 10 and had solid water hit our balcony door, twice!!😁

We will be boarding Symphony in Athens on April 13/24 for a 12 night Greek Isles/Turkey voyage. When we originally booked this one, it was going to Israel and, of course, we all know how that turned out, but the addition of Kusadasi (and the concert at Ephesus), plus Istanbul, which we have never been to, turned this into a great itinerary. We are doing this B2B with a Tauck Tours Rhone River package and over four weeks we will only have two ports we have visited previously! Our last time on Symphony was the famous (or maybe infamous) Trans-Atlantic From Hell in September 2012, and we are not hoping for a repeat. Given that there has been very little posted on CC about Symphony of late, I thought I would post our thoughts as we go along. This is a VERY port-intensive itinerary, so this will not be a "Live From", nor will I be posting daily menus/programs, (mostly because I don't have the patience), but if someone has questions, I will try to get answers. No promises, but I will try. 🙂 The bags are almost packed, and the limo arrives at 11:15 Thursday morning! See you onboard Symphony on Saturday!

Personally I am pleased to see them take a hard line on this as I am sure there would be "individuals" already thinking along those lines!

The E-Tickets for our April 13 cruise on Symphony were sent to my office e-mail as the booking TA.

"Rudeness" is in the ear of the beholder if one is easily offended! 😁

There were reports earlier that Mesrs D'Ovidio and Kent planned to be onboard.

Our planned boarding on April 13 is far less important than our hope that she, and all aboard, arrive safely in Athens! ❤️

Crystal has said a number of times that a smaller casino will be added to both ships. The problem, I suspect, and at a guess, is it will have to wait until the next drydock.