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Symphony of the Seas - Update from onboard

flyguyjake

By flyguyjake,
in Royal Caribbean International

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jamestown478

jamestown478

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, GregDaniels813 said:

Ditto! Trying to decide about going on the 15th. My wife and I were looking forward to our first RC cruise, but are wanting to know how the situation is looking.

I will be on that sailing as well and am hoping for the best.

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Eddie Wilson

Eddie Wilson

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

Just very quiet past few days from all current sailings. Hoping that is a good sign and everyone is having a great time.

 

I also noted it ‘seems’ a little quieter, So I wonder, is it......

A) The calm after the storm, or

B) The calm in the eye of the hurricane, or

C) As Bill Murray (Caddyshack) said to the bishop.....the really heavy stuff is awhile off....?

 

Eddie

 

 

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detilliondl

detilliondl

Posted
Posted

If you look at page 21 of "Symphony - Terrible, No Shows - Covid?" there is a person on board giving live updates.  If fact if you search on U-Tube (info is on page 21) you will see a video of what is going on with the crew outbreak this week.  Have to warn you, not good news.

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flyguyjake

flyguyjake

Posted
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Posted
4 minutes ago, detilliondl said:

If you look at page 21 of "Symphony - Terrible, No Shows - Covid?" there is a person on board giving live updates.  If fact if you search on U-Tube (info is on page 21) you will see a video of what is going on with the crew outbreak this week.  Have to warn you, not good news.

pg 21... nope... mods must have flushed that

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detilliondl

detilliondl

Posted
Posted

Here is a link to an article posted online at USAToday.com

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2022/01/06/royal-caribbean-moving-covid-positive-crew-vision-rhapsody-ships/9115818002/

 

I found the U-Tube video by searching U-tube with the title in bold below.

 

Here's a copy of the post I read earlier:

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a video that was uploaded to YouTube on 1/5/22 by Siegle Media

 

“Royal Caribbean Shuttles Covid Positive Crew to Quarantine Ship in the middle of the night”.

 

They have viewed this first hand as of yesterday evening and their blog was recorded at midnight and they are docked at St Martin.

They are on the Allure of the seas and are docked across from the Symphony.

 

So if the Symphony has nothing to hide why are they doing this in the middle of the night?

These bloggers have counted well over 100 crew members get off. They have seen multiple bus loads of crew get off the Symphony.

They will update as the film more.

 

Not sure what the 1/8/2022 Symphony cruise will be like.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Pratique

Pratique

Posted
Posted

We're boarding on the 8th.

 

I just sampled a few other YT vids from this week and most everyone seems to be having a decent time. One guy was in quarantine showing off his cabin, admits he brought the virus onboard because he got sick within 11 hours of boarding. I'm not concerned about the midnight crew shuffle. They are being segregated from everyone else.

 

We shall see.

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ticketsunlimited

ticketsunlimited

Posted
Posted

Believe me if it was bad we would of all heard from it.  We leave the 29th on Odyssey and have been watching the boards real close the last few weeks.  For every sketchy story there are 19 people that are making the best of things and truly enjoying their vacations

Life is not a dress rehearsal and you can never get yesterday back.  Make the best of what is offered to you on the cruise and you will have a great time.  While there have been a handful of people that have not enjoyed their cruise there are so many taking advantage of the downtime from the rest of the world.

As most have said a day on the ship even nowadays is better than a day at work.  All of you have a great cruise!!

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nocl

nocl

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, detilliondl said:

Here is a link to an article posted online at USAToday.com

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2022/01/06/royal-caribbean-moving-covid-positive-crew-vision-rhapsody-ships/9115818002/

 

I found the U-Tube video by searching U-tube with the title in bold below.

 

Here's a copy of the post I read earlier:

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

There is a video that was uploaded to YouTube on 1/5/22 by Siegle Media

 

“Royal Caribbean Shuttles Covid Positive Crew to Quarantine Ship in the middle of the night”.

 

They have viewed this first hand as of yesterday evening and their blog was recorded at midnight and they are docked at St Martin.

They are on the Allure of the seas and are docked across from the Symphony.

 

So if the Symphony has nothing to hide why are they doing this in the middle of the night?

These bloggers have counted well over 100 crew members get off. They have seen multiple bus loads of crew get off the Symphony.

They will update as the film more.

 

Not sure what the 1/8/2022 Symphony cruise will be like.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of the cruise lines are moving positive crew to quarantine ships.  It was actually in the early protocols defined by CLIA, cruise lines and the CDC.  The intent is to keep cases off of the ships as much as possible.  The ships are too small to quarantine numbers of crew, while also bringing other crew on board to fill in. 

 

So this is just protocol, even if the number of cases are higher than one desires.

 

Also keep in mind that the crew members from that week will be finishing quarantine soon, if not having done so already.  Since they have been infected with Omicron it is rather unlikely that they will get it again, so as they cycle back onto the ships with passengers, the percentange of crew with increased resistance to Omicron will be increasing.

 

As with any crew ships sailing right now.  There is a chance of cases on board.  While it impacts a relatively  small percentage of passengers, your cruise could be negatively impacted by either reduced services, entertainment, etc with the worst case being a positive test and quarantine.  While low risk if that constitutes an unacceptable risk that probably better off to cancel.

 

Models project that the Omicron wave should peak near the end of January and be pretty much over by the middle of March.  With the number of people, including crew, getting infected, the period after this wave recedes might be a good time to travel.

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Klauser10

Klauser10

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, flyguyjake said:

Hello,

 

Anyone currently on Symphony?

 

Folks on the Jan 8th sailing and Jan 15th (us) would greatly appreciate some feedback from those currently onboard Symphony. I've reached out on the roll call to no avail. How are things going?

What exactly would you like to know? I'm onboard. On our way to coco keys.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Believe me if it was bad we would of all heard from it.  We leave the 29th on Odyssey and have been watching the boards real close the last few weeks.  For every sketchy story there are 19 people that are making the best of things and truly enjoying their vacations

Life is not a dress rehearsal and you can never get yesterday back.  Make the best of what is offered to you on the cruise and you will have a great time.  While there have been a handful of people that have not enjoyed their cruise there are so many taking advantage of the downtime from the rest of the world.

As most have said a day on the ship even nowadays is better than a day at work.  All of you have a great cruise!!

 

We're on the 29th as well. So looking forward to our first Quantum ship

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flyguyjake

flyguyjake

Posted
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Posted
3 minutes ago, Klauser10 said:

What exactly would you like to know? I'm onboard. On our way to coco keys.

Hi thank you for replying. How is your cruise going? Are the shows back up? Any specialty restaurants closed? Do you feel the ship is short staffed? Next sailing has been notified of a 2 hr late departure for deep cleaning. Do you feel your sailing is impacted by covid?

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Klauser10

Klauser10

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

Hi thank you for replying. How is your cruise going? Are the shows back up? Any specialty restaurants closed? Do you feel the ship is short staffed? Next sailing has been notified of a 2 hr late departure for deep cleaning. Do you feel your sailing is impacted by covid?

Hello Flyguy, unfortunately, because this is our first time cruising on this line, we don't have a base to compare. But if I was to compare this line's available entertainment with MSC from two years ago, it's lacking. All I've been able to enjoy is an ISkate show, couple of comedy shows and some jazz. 

 

In terms of food, I'm very happy with the food and the staff. They do not appear to have been stretched thin and we have enjoyed the attentiveness and attention to detail in the restaurants we have been in. They are without a doubt on top of their food game.

 

Covid: Currently, we are at 2.5% covid infections. According to the captain, all those who have tested positive and those close to them have been quarantined. Having said that, my wife and I saw some unusal activity. There were lots of people living the ship on our stop in Saint Martin. We were wondering if those infected decided to go.(that was 3 days ago).

People here do not seem worry but they do wear masks when in montion.

 

All restaurant are opened and if I remember correctly, they were offering 25% off coupons at one point.

 

The two hour late departure email is common, we were also given the xtra time. We liked the idea actually, less pressure. 

 

If you have kids without the vaccine, the entertainment venue will be a nightmare for you. You have been warned.

 

Finally, they canceled Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas for us. We spent those days sailing.

 

Good luck.

 

 

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twinmom22197

twinmom22197

Posted
Posted
56 minutes ago, Klauser10 said:

Hello Flyguy, unfortunately, because this is our first time cruising on this line, we don't have a base to compare. But if I was to compare this line's available entertainment with MSC from two years ago, it's lacking. All I've been able to enjoy is an ISkate show, couple of comedy shows and some jazz. 

 

In terms of food, I'm very happy with the food and the staff. They do not appear to have been stretched thin and we have enjoyed the attentiveness and attention to detail in the restaurants we have been in. They are without a doubt on top of their food game.

 

Covid: Currently, we are at 2.5% covid infections. According to the captain, all those who have tested positive and those close to them have been quarantined. Having said that, my wife and I saw some unusal activity. There were lots of people living the ship on our stop in Saint Martin. We were wondering if those infected decided to go.(that was 3 days ago).

People here do not seem worry but they do wear masks when in montion.

 

All restaurant are opened and if I remember correctly, they were offering 25% off coupons at one point.

 

The two hour late departure email is common, we were also given the xtra time. We liked the idea actually, less pressure. 

 

If you have kids without the vaccine, the entertainment venue will be a nightmare for you. You have been warned.

 

Finally, they canceled Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas for us. We spent those days sailing.

 

Good luck.

 

 

So are your only two stops this week St Marteen and Coco Cay? 

How about the casino?

Live music in the bars/pub?

We don't do shows so that doesn't affect us.

Booked for the 1/22/2022 sailing so very appreciative of your posts.

 

Thanks!

Angie

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Klauser10

Klauser10

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, twinmom22197 said:

So are your only two stops this week St Marteen and Coco Cay? 

How about the casino?

Live music in the bars/pub?

We don't do shows so that doesn't affect us.

Booked for the 1/22/2022 sailing so very appreciative of your posts.

 

Thanks!

Angie

 

18 minutes ago, twinmom22197 said:

So are your only two stops this week St Marteen and Coco Cay? 

How about the casino?

Live music in the bars/pub?

We don't do shows so that doesn't affect us.

Booked for the 1/22/2022 sailing so very appreciative of your posts.

 

Thanks!

Angie

Hello Angie, 

Yes, I forgot to mention that when they canceled PR, they added another stop. (Bahamas). So, we've done Bahamas, St. Martin and tomorrow we will hit Coco Cay.

 

The casino is opened. I have not seen anything unsual there and the Poker Tournament took place.

 

Because they don't have many shows running, the bars / pubs have been popping. Very active venues.

 

I would say be prepare for a limited experience. But being here would beat being at home any day. 

 

BTW: Don't forget your covid tests, try not to do them in miami unless you have to.

 

Let know if you have any other questions.

 

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