Sort of Live from Symphony of the Seas.

[billc23]

On 12/8/2023 at 7:31 PM, abbydancer said:

We did book a Crown Loft Suite, which apparently is a Sky class suite.

That is a great suite. Unfortunately I have a balance problem and now prefer one story cruising -  so the Owners suite is the one for me. If you do sail with kids/grandkid the they have a few 2 bedroom grand suites that are basically an owners suite footprint with a smaller living room and an extra bedroom for the grandkids. Grandparents in an owners suite and Kids/Gkids in a 2 bedroom Grand suite works well. Be aware that on the older RC ships there is no suite restaurant. 

 

We waited about 6 minutes, and the elevator came, but it was full of people and bags.  At that point, I called the front desk and asked for someone to come up to get us from the service elevator.   

 

I often push the up button to get a spot on the elevator but usually stay at a smaller hotel that is not cruise centric and therefore not an issue. Las Olas Blvd is also a great area to spend a few days in. It may provided you with a different prospective on Fort Lauderdale and is a 15 minute trip to the cruise port by cab/Uber. Lago Mar Beach Resort is really nice too - particularly if traveling with younger kids.  

 

[raudacruise]

Mega ships are not for me but I’ll still be following your adventures with interest.  Our first cruise was on little bitty Grandeur of the Seas.  

 

Nice pictures.  The Crown Loft is pretty, I like the brightness and view from the tall windows.  Don’t think I’d like tromping up and down the stairs.

 

[mafig]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

We like going to the suite area on Labadee.  Lots of shade and they usually have a nice buffet offering. 
 

 

Is it just me?  I found getting into the water on Labadee (the suite beach, I've forgotten the name, is it Barefoot) treacherous.  I fell (flat on my face) getting in.  The sand was very soft and at an incline.   I watched and saw no one else fall, so it was just me that provided the comic relief that day, but now I hesitate to go back to the beach because of this.

[abbydancer2003]

4 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

Bon Voyage! 

 

We did SY when she was new in Europe. We had the last sailing before she was leaving for US. So we sailed a 9-n med cruise. Really was a great way to have time to enjoy the ship. 

We really enjoyed some of the things and saw other things we disliked by this ship size compared to X. 

The entertainment is really outstanding. We truly enjoyed that. 

 

We did specialty dining in Jamies, Wonderland and Teppanyaki. All was great. 

We had a Central Park balcony. 

 

Really looking forward of your sailing in the suite and costal kitchen🤩

 

 

Thanks, BTW, I've always wondered why you say "Cruise Compass" when showing the daily.  Now I know where it comes from.  Carry on.

[abbydancer2003]

Finishing boarding day ...

 

On our way to our room after lunch, we met our two room stewards, both from Indonesia.  They were very friendly and helpful.  I also asked about doing some laundry, since we don’t have quite enough to get us onto the Apex and get a first load back.  They’ll bring me a “load of laundry” bag.

 

Next, Glen finished his unpacking, and suitcases are now under the bed.  Of course once I put mine there, I realized I forgot to do one thing.  

 

 

I wanted to get the luggage tag switch done at the start of the cruise, so I don’t forget.  My plan is to carry the tags in my purse or backpack on Saturday, and remove the RCI disembarkation tags once we’re waiting for the ride (I will of course detail that on Saturday), and put these on.  I had to dig out the ones I didn’t use, because we’ll have an extra small bag for our overnight stuff.

 

After I got that set, and Glen finished packing, we decided it was time to tour the ship.  Since we were on Deck 17, we started with 16 and worked our way down.

 

This took a good two hours, as compared to anything we’ve been on, this ship is huge.  Along the way we decided we’d do the rock wall, the big slide, maybe the water slides, definitely not the flow riders, the carousel, and maybe mini golf.  I think that’s it, but maybe I’ll remember something else.

 

We did see a lot of people on pool decks, and a lot in the spa for a raffle, but here and there I we were in lobbies or venues alone or with few others.  For example, walking through Dazzles, there were a couple of people reading or on electronics in there.

 

Here are a few highlights, in no particular order:

 

Ship view from Boardwalk

 

 

 

View from an elevator lobby

 

 

 

View of X Ascent from outside promenade.  This is better than on X, as it goes all the way around outside.  It is behind the lifeboats, but I could still get pictures.  

 

 

This is a view of the Royal Promenade.  Balloons positioned for the balloon drop later on.

 

 More Art in lobbies.

 

After the walking tour we went back to the room for a while.  Glen napped, and I did some things on my laptop, including this.

 

At about 7 we got dressed for dinner and headed to the lounge for a drink.  It wasn’t terribly busy,  I’ve seen nothing official about 60 drinks we get without a drink package.  My understand is from 11-11 we get water, soda, beer and wine at no charge in the lounge (and espresso drinks from the machine), and from 5-8 a limited set of happy hour drinks.  We also have 4 drinks a day from our status match.  We’re not heavy drinkers, so I guess we’ll see what happens.  

 

At a little after 8 we decided to head to Bolero’s and see if there’s dance music.  On the way, we stopped at one of the main dining rooms, since apparently we have late seating there at 8, but we’re eating in Coastal Kitchen.  

 

They told us everyone gets a dining room assignment, and the table was ours if we ever wanted it.  Good to know I guess.

 

After that we did check out Bolero’s but the band was finishing.  They have an area for dancing, but not a dance floor.  We did do a cha cha to some recorded music.  Then we wandered for a bit and headed to dinner.

 

We first were seated by the bar, but at our request they moved us to a window table.  Our waiter is from Romania, and was very nice.  At the beginning they bring out a plate with a small scoop of hummus, olive tapenade and butter, and a basket of various breads.  We’ll see if they vary by day.  

 

 

 

I started with smoked tomato soup with focaccia croutons and Parmesan.  It was good.

 

 

 

Glen started with cured salmon, after asking the waiter what it was cured of.  Waiter got the joke and came back and said loneliness, because there were two pieces.

 

I also had burrata, but the picture was too blurry.  Glen shared it with me.

 

 

This medium blurry picture is my grilled filet mignon.  You can also see the spread plate in the back.  This was actually very good.  Glen had the duck breast, and liked it.

 

I had the warm honey pear with mascarpone and Glen had the chocolate Praline Tart.  

Service is good, but assistant waiter almost nonexistent.

 

After dinner, we decided to go find the suite sun deck, which is forward on 17.  To do that, we had to cross at 16, So we got our raincoats, changed our shoes to sneakers (it was raining) and visited.  It looks nice, but it was windy, so of course we didn’t stay.

 

After that we called it a night, because we have an early start tomorrow.  One thing I noticed is that on both Celebrity and Prices, the bathrooms are a small step up.  Here, they’re flush with the floor.  I almost tripped twice.  I guess I’ll get used to it.

 

 

[LisaLisa87]

Glad to hear you went to filet night at CK and enjoyed the filet. I thought it was excellent on Harmony a few months ago. I love your waiter's response to the joke about the cured salmon! 😂

 

Others may have had different experiences, but we've never had an assistant waiter in CK -- just one, who was our waiter each time we ate dinner at CK. We've occasionally had others stop by to see if we wanted another round of drinks.

[h20skibum]

2 hours ago, abbydancer said:

and from 5-8 a limited set of happy hour drinks.  We also have 4 drinks a day from our status match.

The drinks you get in the Crown Lounge (former Diamond Lounge), count against the 4 drinks a day from your status match.

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

The drinks you get in the Crown Lounge (former Diamond Lounge), count against the 4 drinks a day from your status match.

But I don't think they count vouchers in the Suite Lounge during Happy Hour? 

[mafig]

41 minutes ago, Coralc said:

But I don't think they count vouchers in the Suite Lounge during Happy Hour? 

I find this very confusing.

If I am in a suite and in Coastal Kitchen for dinner, can I order a cocktail from the Suite Lounge (it'll be Happy Hour)?  Or if I want it complimentary, do I have to get up from my table and physically order it from the suite lounge.  My understanding is that the suite lounge and Coastal Kitchen are one big room.

 

 

[Coralc]

Just now, mafig said:

I find this very confusing.

If I am in a suite and in Coastal Kitchen for dinner, can I order a cocktail from the Suite Lounge (it'll be Happy Hour)?  Or if I want it complimentary, do I have to get up from my table and physically order it from the suite lounge.  My understanding is that the suite lounge and Coastal Kitchen are one big room.

 

 

I don't know. Someone who has stayed in a suite on the Oasis Class ships, would know better than I. ☺️

[kj_connections]

6 hours ago, abbydancer said:

Finishing boarding day ...

 

On our way to our room after lunch, we met our two room stewards, both from Indonesia.  They were very friendly and helpful.  I also asked about doing some laundry, since we don’t have quite enough to get us onto the Apex and get a first load back.  They’ll bring me a “load of laundry” bag.

 

 

 

Just curious how much the bag of laundry costs and how much can you fit?

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, kj_connections said:

 

Just curious how much the bag of laundry costs and how much can you fit?

35.00 or so and whatever you can fit, but it's a limited set of things.  When I get ready to fill it out, I'll post a picture.

 

And FYI - I'm exhausted, and hoped to finish todays tonight, but that's not gonna happen.    I may not post tomorrow (Tuesday) because I have a final to take tomorrow night, but I'll be back after that!

 

Thanks

Edited December 12, 2023 by abbydancer

[Concord Slim]

11 hours ago, mafig said:

I find this very confusing.

If I am in a suite and in Coastal Kitchen for dinner, can I order a cocktail from the Suite Lounge (it'll be Happy Hour)?  Or if I want it complimentary, do I have to get up from my table and physically order it from the suite lounge.  My understanding is that the suite lounge and Coastal Kitchen are one big room.

 

 

On Oasis class ships the suite lounge and CK are in the same space and you can order drinks from 5-8(think those are the times) that will NOT count against your diamond vouchers.  Drinks ordered in the crown/diamond lounge will count against your vouchers.  You can also get water, pop, beer, seltzers, etc from the suite lounge from like 11-11 during the day for no charge...  

[mrpie90]

55 minutes ago, Concord Slim said:

On Oasis class ships the suite lounge and CK are in the same space and you can order drinks from 5-8(think those are the times) that will NOT count against your diamond vouchers.  Drinks ordered in the crown/diamond lounge will count against your vouchers.  You can also get water, pop, beer, seltzers, etc from the suite lounge from like 11-11 during the day for no charge...  

The Drinks Between 11 and 11 are dependent on what Suite class you are in.

The lower class suites do not include drinks

[Biker19]

9 minutes ago, mrpie90 said:

The Drinks Between 11 and 11 are dependent on what Suite class you are in.

The lower class suites do not include drinks

If you are allowed into the SL, you get the drinks, regardless of exact cabin category.

[mrpie90]

7 hours ago, Biker19 said:

If you are allowed into the SL, you get the drinks, regardless of exact cabin category.

If you are in a Sea Class Suite ( ie. A Junior Suite )

 

From Royal Caribbean Site.

 

Dinner at Coastal Kitchen 

based on availability *

 

*reservations are required .Drinks are  not included

[LisaLisa87]

I think this gets tricky since the lounge and CK are one continuous space. Technically, JS guests are allowed in CK for dinner (space permitting), but do not have all day access to the lounge. During our cruise on Harmony in September, we were asked for our room number almost every time we went to the bar in the lounge. After the first couple of days, most of the bartenders recognized us, but they still generally asked for our room number. I wondered at the time whether they were tracking how many drinks people were getting during and outside of happy hour. Could they have been verifying we were in a full suite?

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, mrpie90 said:

If you are in a Sea Class Suite ( ie. A Junior Suite )

 

From Royal Caribbean Site.

 

Dinner at Coastal Kitchen 

based on availability *

 

*reservations are required .Drinks are  not included

We were talking about the 11-11 drinks in the SL - customers in a JS are not allowed in the SL. 

[abbydancer2003]

So far, no charges against our whopping 150.00 OBC.  We're doing laundry tomorrow, partly because we need enough clothing to get our first of 4 free loads on Celebrity back, and partly because we're mostly hanging out in the suite lounge and drinking wine and beer, so not racking up drink charges yet.  

 

And my final is finished!  I spent most of the afternoon studying and it paid off.  There are 2 essay questions and 25 multiple choice.  The MC are instantly graded, and I got 24/25.  The class by the way, is junior college American History 19th century.  Anything you want to know about the civil war, reconstruction, the railroad barons, or our bad behavior towards Native Americans I can tell you.  (I took the final for the 16-18 century class in Tierra del Fuego - I love starlink.)

 

Updates will resume tomorrow.

[DaKahuna]

On 12/10/2023 at 11:45 PM, abbydancer said:

We went to the front of the hotel, and one of the valet people called the shuttle and told us it was on the way.  What they didn’t tell us was that it doesn’t pull up to the front of the hotel (we’ve never taken it before).   At 11:01, a different valet person asked us what we were doing there.  When we said we were waiting for the shuttle, that’s when they told us we missed it.  He did find another one and said it would be 5-7 minutes.

 

Was this at the Renaissances ?  The shuttle has always pulled up in the front of the hotel in the past.  

 

When we have encountered full elevator's when trying to leave, our normal procedure is to take an up elevator and then ride it back down.  I think more and more people are starting to do this as well. 

 

What was the name of the Italian restaurant where you ate?  

 

[BecciBoo]

On 12/10/2023 at 7:41 PM, DaKahuna said:

We use to stock up on JBM

I remember how much I loved Blue Mountain way back in the 1970's (LoL) when I visited NYC!  I had a cup at  Sabor's Deli and bought some on our very first cruise in 2004.  Bought some in Jamaica...Nothing like.  We have an auto  espresso now, and I buy only Lavazza Italian espresso now. 

Edited December 13, 2023 by BecciBoo

[alfaeric]

On 12/12/2023 at 7:59 AM, Biker19 said:

If you are allowed into the SL, you get the drinks, regardless of exact cabin category.

Wish that was true, but as a Pin, our SL and CK drinks count toward the 6. Even in a JS. 

[abbydancer2003]

Symphony/Apex Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We had an early start today, so we had an alarm set for 7:45.  We had the backstage ship tour at 9:00 and we wanted breakfast.

 

It’s convenient having two bathrooms, although today is really the only day on this cruise where we need to get up early.  

 

By 8:15 we were ready to go.  We went to Coastal Kitchen and were seated quickly.  We both had eggs, bacon and hash browns.  At about 8:50 we took the elevator down to main dining on floor 5, and found the shore Excursion people.  We got checked in and waiting until 9:15.  I found our assigned table, and was relieved that it was a table for 2, so by not being there, we inconvenienced nobody.  

 

At about 9:15, Mu, our guide introduced herself.  She told us the tour would take about 2 hours, with several flights of stairs, but not from deck 3 to the bridge.  

 

Our first stop was the dining room on deck 4.  A head waiter gave us an introduction to dining operations, and how to work your way up from entry level (dining attendant) to Head of food and beverage.  He then introduced one of the chefs who took us to the galley.  We saw dishwashing stations, the cooking area and the baking area.  Of course this tour is when the bakers are working, but only a little prep going on.

Here’s the line where the waiters collect the different courses.  

 

And the bakery is in full swing.

 

Next stop was provisioning, where they store and distribute food and drink.  We went in to the chilly fruit room, where there were actually grocery store size boxes of berries.  Next we went into the chicken freezer, which was very cold.  Apparently for a one week cruise they will load 12,000 pounds of chicken.  And, yes, they occasionally run out of things..  They order a few months in advance, based on the make up of the guests and crew.  (Apparently the percent of some nationalities will slightly change the order.

 

Following the visit to provisioning we headed to the engine control room, which they called the brains of the operation.  One of the officers there gave a fairly detailed talk on how it works - fortunately today there wasn’t a retired engineer who wanted to dig very deep (that seems to happen every time I do one of these).  It was interesting and we learned there are 6 engines and 3 azipods.  The gentleman in the picture below pretty much ignored us the whole time, doing his job.

 

 

The provisioning and engine room were along the major crew corridor of I 95.  She didn’t point out a whole lot except the corner of the crew Buffet.  Apparently if, when the passenger one closes, unused (ie, still in tray) food is brought down there.  

 

Then it was down the stairs, below the water line, to the laundry.  We saw the folding machines and the washing machines.  They do crew laundry and guest laundry there as well as towels, sheets, tablecloths, etc.  Apparently towels have to be hand folded, but the rest can be machine folded.

 

Following that, we walked back up to the passenger elevators and headed to the bridge.

 

Random art picture from the elevator.

 

They decided to not do another security screening before the bridge, since they’d done one less than an hour before, and we headed to the bridge.  Mu took us to one of the wing control areas, and in this case the bridge was mostly roped off (we do have a picture of Glen in the Captain’s chair, wearing his hat, from Princess), and she gave the informattion. On X and Princess, an officer does come over to explain it.  The captain did stop by to talk to us and answer a few questions on rotations.

 

Random bridge picture.

 

After we left the bridge, we ended the tour in the elevator lobby.  We did get two souvenirs of our visit.  First a fact sheet about the ship (2759 staterooms, max 6,680 guests - I think she said we have about 6400).  She also gave us:

 

 

Inside is the little rope in the picture and instructions for knots, as well instructions to set a table.  Not close to what Princess gives you, but Celebrity gives you nothing, except the lanyard.  Celebrity takes the “All Acmes” badge back, but here we got to keep it as a luggage tag. 

 

We headed back to the room for a bit, and ran into our stateroom attendant and asked for a feather pillow for me, as the two they have are too bouncy for me.  He deliver it soon after.

 

After that, we headed to lunch in Coastal Kitchen.  I started with tomato soup, which may have been the same soup as last night.  It was served with two small Crouque Monsieur sandwiches,  I removed the ham and they were yummy cheese sandwiches.  I also had a penne pasta with mushroom sauce.

 

For dessert I had a favorite, key lime pie.

 

After lunch we hung in the room for a while, and I worked on the blog, and read cruise critic.

 

Our first pre-reserved show as at 4:00pm, the ice show.  We got there just after 3:30, which was a little earlier than we needed to.  It was fun, and the skating was pretty good, but not a lot of content (the rink is pretty small though) and I’d say there were falls on about 1/2 of the double jump attempts.  (On the other hand, I’ve never landed a double except on a harness).  There was a story but it was hard to follow.  My view is that if your show needs a narrative intro, it’s too complicated.  All that said, we did enjoy it.

 

There were a lot of people trying to get into the elevators, so we headed up to the boardwalk and rode the carousel.  

 

 

On the way to the elevators there’s the piece of art that looks like a wig.  Apparently if you stand in it, you hear music.  Glen tried it.

 

 

We went back to the room after that to get ready for formal night.  Glen then realized that he didn’t pack his ties.  He went to the lounge to ask the concierges if there was somewhere he could buy one.  Apparently not, so Jennie, went to find one for him to borrow (apparently one of the staff in the lounge offered to give him hers to use, but he didn’t want her to be out of uniform.

 

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.  Jennie had come through!  We will try to buy one in either Falmouth or Nassau.  

 

Once ready, we headed down to Central Park and the Royal Promenade to see if there was anywhere that might have a tie. There wasn’t.  We did notice the Rising Tide Bar, that apparently movies between those two.  It claims to be the moving bar at sea.  I believe that the Symphony and X Edge came out the same year, and Edge had the Magic Carpet, but that’s only a bar on one deck, so I guess Royal is right.

 

We went to the lounge for a drink and light snack before dinner.  Tomorrow, I’ll take pictures of the spread, but it’s a lot more complete than the retreat lounge on X (at least on M & S class).  It’s more like a hotel spread.

 

For dinner I started with beef tartare, a little better than X, and RC’s version of a ribeye.  

 

As some know, the ribeye on Celebrity is a center eye cut (something like that) and not a ribeye as we know it.  As you can see, this is a ribeye, and a good one.

 

For dessert, I had rosewater panna cotta.  It was pretty good.  

 

 

It’s advertised with an almond tulle, No sign of the almond.  That was a piece of chocolate.

 

Glen had the mascarpone cheesecake.

 

It had ice cream with it.  He liked it.

 

In general, the food has been good.

 

After dinner, I worked on the blog for a bit, and we called it a night.  Nothing early tomorrow, so we can sleep in.  However when we got back to the room, we had this:

 

 

 

Towel animals are rare for me, but I’ve had a few on Princess.  First time we did the room steward offered to let us take them home, but they’d eventually fall apart and we’d just have some extra towels that matched nothing.

 

Finally, here’s the Cruise Compass daily planner.  I can barely read it, but here you go:

 

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Wish that was true, but as a Pin, our SL and CK drinks count toward the 6. Even in a JS. 

We were talking about access to the SL via cabin category booked, not other means (like due to your C&A level).

[alfaeric]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

We were talking about access to the SL via cabin category booked, not other means (like due to your C&A level).

You posted “if you are allowed in the SL…”. Doesn’t mention anything about the state room category. 
 

And the whole thing was about if the drinks count against your C&A count. Hard to see how it’s not taking about both since it’s about C&A and state room at the same time.