Let's get this party started! ~ Symphony B2B in the Med ~ 7/1 & 7/8 - LIVE with Joe!

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:

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!

Following!

Following!

Welcome!

Thanks so much for doing a review! Can’t wait to follow along!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Following this for your first week, and then joining you on the ship for the second week:beer-toast::D

Cheers from Norway

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.

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.

Following this for your first week, and then joining you on the ship for the second week:beer-toast::D

Cheers from Norway

Fantastic! Looking forward to the July 8th sailing?

woohooo just what I needed on this slow Thursday afternoon!

 

will be following with anticipation. enjoy your cruise!

Thanks!

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)

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.

Following!! Hilarious video btw [emoji6]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Following along as well. Cheers to a fantastic 2 weeks on Symphony!

Following!! Hilarious video btw [emoji6]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Found it on Twitter. It illustrates Glasgow perfectly.

Joe...are you scoping in this cruise? If so, what's your periscope handle?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Following along as well. Cheers to a fantastic 2 weeks on Symphony!

Welcome and cheers to that!

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.

Loved the video. Lol can't wait for this

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

I will join you and Symphony on your second leg :) Can’t wait!!

Great video! Language will probably shock some Americans😂

Great video! Language will probably shock some Americans😂

That's Glasgow for you. The guy was actually acting - he was Glaswegian himself.

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!

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

Looking forward to your review. Will be on the SY in August.

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.