Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I've been waiting for a while. Sometimes, I wondered if I would ever get there. Watching everything about the Symphony launching while I was stuck doing a lot of work that I hate and working through the difficulties of life in miserable Scottish weather. Finally, it is nearly here. 10 days until I board the Symphony of the Seas!!!!!! I am Joe. I have been posting on Cruise Critic for a while now, and have recently made my biggest move by maintaining the Cruise Director List (alongside sharing plenty of opinions). This is my first time doing a LIVE thread on CC, having been inspired by CruiseLifeRick when he did his LIVE thread on Symphony's inaugural in April. I come to you from Glasgow, Scotland, a city well known for it's friendliness: (disclaimer: Don't watch if you have no sense of humor, take things too literally or hate any use of strong language). ;p This will be my 13th & 14th cruise; my 6th & 7th Oasis Class cruise and 2nd B2B. This will also be my 5th & 6th cruise around the Med and my 4th & 5th from Barcelona. There will be one first - my first time on Symphony! Having sailed all 3 sister ships, I am very excited to see everything new that Symphony will have to offer. I am hoping to try both Playmakers (wings! :)) and El Loco Fresh which are new dining venues on SY. Please give any other suggestions of things to try. All welcome. I'll be back with more soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherman793 Posted June 21, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following! Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeCruiser119 Posted June 21, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Thanks so much for doing a review! Can’t wait to follow along! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnelasagne Posted June 21, 2018 #5 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following this for your first week, and then joining you on the ship for the second week:beer-toast::D Cheers from Norway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #6 Share Posted June 21, 2018 CREW: I've heard that a number of the crew from Harmony have moved to Symphony. I'm hoping that they will still be there and that I will see some familiar faces from last year. The Captain is scheduled to be Captain Rob Hempstead from the USA. I've heard a lot of fantastic things about him and cannot wait to sail with him. I am also excited at having a Captain with an accent that I can completely understand. The Cruise Director is scheduled to be Michele Scarpato from Italy. I am quite passionate about the CD role myself and always love to see what they have to offer. On my Harmony B2B last year, we had 2 CD's across the 2 weeks, one was fantastic and the other was not. I'm hoping that Michele is great. The Activities Manager will be Margot Van Erck who I have also heard great things about. Also keeping fingers crossed that it is a good CD Staff. Please tell me about any other great crew members on SY. ITINERARY: I will be on a 6.30am flight from Edinburgh to Barcelona on Friday 29th. Spending 2 days there and then embarking SY on July 1st. We will be in port with the Vision of the Seas on July 1st as well. Always great to see another Royal ship in port. Hopefully I won't be too forgetful and don't board Vision instead. Here is the trip in a nutshell: June 29th - Edinburgh to Barcelona & afternoon in Barcelona June 30th - Full day in Barcelona July 1st - Embark Symphony (not Vision ;p) July 2nd - Palma July 3rd - Marseilles July 4th - La Spezia July 5th - Civitavecchia July 6th - Naples July 7th - Sea Day July 8th - Barcelona Turnaround day July 9th - Palma July 10th - Marseilles July 11th - La Spezia July 12th - Civitavecchia July 13th - Naples July 14th - Sea Day July 15th - Disembark/Fly to Edinburgh and then back to Glasgow For this one, I plan to get off at Naples both times (love the pizza and plenty to do), possibly once at La Spezia (nice town, Cinque Terre nearby) and at least once at Marseilles to practice my semi-fluent French. Also getting off at Barcelona ;p. Not planning to get off at Palma (been there, done that) or Civitavecchia (Rome is too far away and not a fan of Civ itself). I'm on for 2 weeks, so plenty of time to enjoy the ship. Honestly doing this cruise for the ship and not the ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Thanks so much for doing a review! Can’t wait to follow along! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Great to have you here! Enjoyed your past reviews. Hoping you can get on Symphony at some point out of Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #8 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following this for your first week, and then joining you on the ship for the second week:beer-toast::DCheers from Norway Fantastic! Looking forward to the July 8th sailing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #9 Share Posted June 21, 2018 woohooo just what I needed on this slow Thursday afternoon! will be following with anticipation. enjoy your cruise! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnelasagne Posted June 21, 2018 #10 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Fantastic! Looking forward to the July 8th sailing? Like a little boy:D My first time cruising, so really exited about it all, and cant wait to get onboard! Going with my family(parents, its my mums 70th birtday 07-15, and my two brothers with their families) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #11 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Like a little boy:D My first time cruising, so really exited about it all, and cant wait to get onboard! Going with my family(parents, its my mums 70th birtday 07-15, and my two brothers with their families) Wow! A celebration cruise. Having done all 3 sister ships, I'm confident that you will love SY. What a ship to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 21, 2018 #12 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following!! Hilarious video btw [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voyager70 Posted June 21, 2018 #13 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following along as well. Cheers to a fantastic 2 weeks on Symphony! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #14 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following!! Hilarious video btw [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Found it on Twitter. It illustrates Glasgow perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 21, 2018 #15 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Joe...are you scoping in this cruise? If so, what's your periscope handle? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Following along as well. Cheers to a fantastic 2 weeks on Symphony! Welcome and cheers to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 21, 2018 Author #17 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Joe...are you scoping in this cruise? If so, what's your periscope handle? Sent from my iPhone using Forums I will be scoping, but currently setting up my account and testing. Will let you know when it is ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suesnake2002 Posted June 21, 2018 #18 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Loved the video. Lol can't wait for this Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wivian Posted June 21, 2018 #19 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I will join you and Symphony on your second leg :) Can’t wait!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueridgemama Posted June 22, 2018 #20 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Great video! Language will probably shock some Americans😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 22, 2018 Author #21 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Great video! Language will probably shock some Americans😂 That's Glasgow for you. The guy was actually acting - he was Glaswegian himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseturbo Posted June 22, 2018 #22 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Joe- Will you be showing pictures from your 2 days pre-cruise in Barcelona as well? We will be on the TA in October and will be in Barcelona for 2 days prior. This will be our first trip to Barcelona so we are watching lots of You tube videos, and blogs about it until then. We are so excited and can't get enough so I am hoping you will share your adventures with us for those 2 days as well! Have a great trip and I can't wait to follow along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeCruiser119 Posted June 24, 2018 #23 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Great to have you here! Enjoyed your past reviews. Hoping you can get on Symphony at some point out of Miami. Thank you Joe, it was a pleasure to have you along. I plan on sailing Symphony in summer of 2020, so all the reviews are holding me over until then! So... far... away! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise for vacation Posted June 24, 2018 #24 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Looking forward to your review. Will be on the SY in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe12 Posted June 24, 2018 Author #25 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Welcome to everyone that has just joined, and yes, I will post some things from Barcelona. I am super excited now! This time in 1 week, I will be onboard. Question for any past LIVE reviewers - how can I post photos while onboard? My thoughts are that I will post here alongside with Periscope links, and post photos when I get home. Secondly, does it cost to use Periscope abroad? I have the app downloaded on my iPhone and plan to use it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now