Post cruise review - Symphony of the Seas (July 5 to 12) - anyone interested?

[alaska_planner]

Ice skating is free, including the skates. You must wear long pants.

 

wow, that's amazing!!!

[alaska_planner]

You show up at Studio B during the times they offer the skating. You are assigned a timeslot when you are skating - for us, it was 10:20 to 10:40. Once it's your time, they call your group over and you pick out skates and a helmet. No charge for the skates or helmet. Long pants are recommended. My kids play hockey so the novelty of skating on a cruise ship in the Med was too much to resist. Skates aren't exactly sharp and the rink isn't that big so they couldn't build up any speed or do the usual skating nonsense they do at hockey...

 

still i bet it's fun, if not as much fun as on a bigger rink with better skates!

i'm amazed that the skates are free....

we were on the allure, but i never checked it out..

 

.

[bm2wong]

Cruise Day 3 - we're at sea!

 

We're on our way to Barcelona so it's a sea day today to enjoy the ship and squeeze in as many activities as we can. We sleep in and head to MDR for breakfast. There is a buffet section or an a la carte section - we opt for the buffet section to try and get a selection of different breakfast items.

 

After breakfast, we head for some rock climbing - everyone gets a few climbs in as it's not very busy early but when we leave, the line starts to build up. The kids want to hit the pool and water slides again so we go dunk ourselves for a little while.

 

Time for lunch! We've booked a lunch at Jamie's Italian and there is a good selection of Italian options. There are some nice planks and pastas for all to enjoy - it's good, but honestly, it's not as good as Italy :)

 

We then catch the AquaNation show in the afternoon which is excellent - same performers as Hiro but a different show and they get a chance to have some fun with some more contemporary music and dance. Lots of Canadian dancers - glad Royal is hiring talented Canadians in these roles...

 

The boys want to hang out at the teen's club so off they go for a few hours... I shuffle off to the gym and squeeze in a workout. We have reservations for Flight at 5PM - it's a decent show, I'm happy to see that Royal is trying to produce some of their own original content. It was OK, not as good as something like Hairspray or Mamma Mia but I had no expectations going in either. The cast is very talented so enjoyed the performance nonetheless.

 

We head to the MDR for dinner and break off in the evening to do different things. Most of us head to the AquaTheater to watch the World Cup. Along the way we hit the Bionic Bar again to amuse the crew and run into the Piano Man playing the piano in the elevator. I'm not going to lie, I think we rode the elevator for 5-10 minutes just for the personalized entertainment.

 

Next stop: Barcelona.

[bm2wong]

Some day 2 pics:

 

Streets of Sorrento:

 

Enjoying the views:

 

Walking the Main Street in Sorrento:

 

Naples at night:

 

 

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[bm2wong]

Pics from sea day:

 

Rock climbing we go:

 

Wake view is the best view:

 

Figuring our out Bionic Bar order:

 

Piano guy in the elevator:

 

Sunset views aren’t bad either:

 

 

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[BecciBoo]

wow, that's amazing!!!

 

Dont forget socks!

[mickeychicky]

Ice skating is free, including the skates. You must wear long pants.

 

And from our experience on Oasis, they also require helmets and knee pads. Unless they changed those requirements.

[Clarea]

And from our experience on Oasis, they also require helmets and knee pads. Unless they changed those requirements.

Yes, those are required, but they supply them for free. They do not supply the required long pants.

[regent218]

Hello fellow CC members,

 

Just got off the Symphony of the Seas after a Western Mediterranean cruise last week. Anyone interested in a post-cruise review? If so, I'll post details over the next few days. :cool::cool::cool:

can you tell me what was th earliest time you could leave the ship in La Spazia? do the royal carib. excursions get off earlier than others?

[bm2wong]

Day 4: Barcelona!

 

We arrive at port early again and head off to MDR for some breakfast. Usual fare at the buffet - it's getting a bit repetitive... today we're going to DIY touring around Barcelona using the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We asked last night at dinner and Mariana tells us there is a shuttle that will take us into the city that is fairly reasonable and the HOHO tour stop is there as well.

 

We head out around 9AM and weave our way through the cruise terminal. We look out to find an NCL ship docked next to us - I believe it's the Breakaway, but I am not paying attention. The cruise terminal is a bit of a buzz as they appear to have many people disembarking, so there is luggage and porters and people everywhere. We manage to get out of the terminal and ask someone to direct us to the cruise shuttle - to those exiting the terminal, exit left and the shuttle will be at a bus stand along the far left hand side. There will be a ticket taker selling round trip tickets and if you're lucky, the bus with 'CRUISE SHUTTLE' will be parked there too. We wait about 5 minutes for the shuttle and it proceeds to take us into the city. The shuttle will then drop you off at the Ferry terminal, which is a 2 minute walk to the World Trade Centre stop.

 

For anyone planning the Hop on Hop off option, we used:

 

https://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat/en

 

And took the Red route. We boarded at the World Trade Centre stop and started our trip from there. We head out and start our tour. The weather is beautiful and the open bus up top is great in the morning. We weave our way around the south part of the route, taking in the sights and waterfront area. We decide to get off at Barri Gothic and walk into the church here. It's beautiful... it's Sunday so some of the main church is actually blocked off for mass. We then decide to take the walk to Placa Catalunya stop - this is the main Catalunya Square in the city. It's a busy square but it's a nice spot for a water break and take some photos. We navigate around the square and find out the spot where the Blue line will be, and we then hop on the Blue line for the rest of the tour.

 

We weave out of the Placa Catalunya area and head towards Sagrada Familia - we hop off here and take some photos and hope to get inside but looks like they sell out early. We take another water break and walk around the outside of the church - quite the site. We then start heading towards Gaudi Park... we get off at the required stop but do not realize there is a bit of a hike to get to the park. We try and navigate around a place to eat - there are some requests to find tapas or paella but it's difficult to find in this type of scenario. We start heading towards the park but it's uphill, starting to get hot so we settle at some Italian place close to the park. Not our ideal lunch stop but we tired and hungry and thirsty at this point. We refuel with some average pasta (compared to Rome, this isn't that good), and head back out to the park. We also navigate around the Park area but again, we need to have tickets to enter the actual Park area with the Gaudi sculptures - a bit disappointing but not surprising given this is a popular tourist attraction. We then weave our way back to the HoHo bus stop and we're spent. It's hot, we're sweaty and we're running out of water. It's close to 2PM and we're still hoping to stop at the FC Barcelona stadium. We miss a bus and wait for 15 minutes for the next one to come by and we getting tired. Well, my crew is... I could do this for days...

 

We hop on the Blue line again, and we still need to navigate back to the waterfront area - meaning we need to transfer back to the Red line at some point. We talk to the ladies on the bus and they tell us we need about 90 mins to get back to the waterfront. Game time decision - no time for FC Barcelona stadium stop. Sadly, my son is disappointed but he's too tired to care. He crashes in the seat behind me. We enjoy the rest of the tour but the A/C isn't working too well in the bottom section - it's actually cooler up top. I tell my crew to head upstairs to at least enjoy the cooler breezes and nice views. We transfer at I believe Diagonal Les Corts and we find a Burger King for - WATER. WE NEED MORE COLD WATER! After getting hydrated, we hop back on the Red line and make our way to World Trade Center stop. It's after 4PM, and we walk back over to the shuttle and head to the cruise terminal. We stop on the way back to the ship to buy a few souvenirs (an FC Barcelona jersey for my son is must now) and head back to the ship.

 

The kiddies are tired, but are in desparate need of cooling off so off to the pool we go... We have a nice dinner at the MDR again and we have Hairspray tonight. Great show - wonderful cast and again, it's soooo good to see such talented individuals in shows like this on a cruise ship. Definitely Broadway level talent.

 

Tomorrow: Palma de Mallorca.

[bm2wong]

Some Barcelona pics:

 

The view at Playa Cataluyna:

 

Outside La Familia:

 

Looking into Gaudi Park:

 

Outside FC Barcelona:

 

 

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[bm2wong]

Day 5: Palma de Mallorca!

 

Today on the agenda is another Royal Caribbean excursion to the Drach Caves... we wake up before our excursion, head up to Solarium Bistro today for breakfast and find an omelette station! It takes a bit of time to get your omelette - seems like it's quite popular - so we spend additional time to eat up. Also, some fresh donuts and sticky buns. The kids lap these up, but perhaps indulge themselves a bit too much... more on this later...

 

We grab our stuff from the room and pile into the main theatre. We are shuffled off to the bus where it looks like 4-5 buses are heading to our destination. Looks like there is WiFi on the bus - except it isn't really working. Too bad... we start the trek to Porto Cristo towards the Caves site. It seems like the bus ride is a bit bumpy... perhaps a bit too bumpy for my daughter. Combined with having too heavy a breakfast with too much sugar, my daughter is not feeling great tummy-wise and about 45 minutes into the car ride, we have a reversal... good thing I pack some shopping bags to catch it all... feel bad for my daughter but we have to wait until we arrive to settle down. We arrive (finally - feels like an eternity when your daughter is sick) and we are given passes to enter the caves for the 10AM group. A group of 6 of us start into the caves first - my wife and daughter hang back for a few minutes to get their bearings.

 

The Caves themselves are awesome - unlike anything I've ever seen. We start walking through the Caves and it looks more crazy the further you walk in - add to that the lake and it's unlike anything we've seen. My daughter is feeling better so they catch up to the rest of the group. About 30 minutes into the walk, there is a seating area where you sit and enjoy a 10 minute concert. Well, we're definitely not in Canada anymore... here I am looking at this wonderful caves listening to classical music played by a quartet rowing on one of the largest underground lakes. Unbelievable.

 

Total time in the caves is about an hour, maybe an hour and 15 minutes. We end up at the gift shop and browse around. Nothing exciting. We load back up and head to the pearl "factory store" - our typical stop to try and get folks to leave money in the local economy. We enjoy some nice A/C and check in the WiFi - at least that is working now! We head back to the bus and it's back to the ship - we're back on by around 130PM.

 

We're off now to enjoy to ship a bit more. Lunch is at the Park Cafe - I forgot how good this place is. I enjoy the roast beef from the cafe as well as a salad - awesome. The afternoon is filled with activities - the boys head to the pool and teens club while my daughter enjoys the Boardwalk kids party. I head to the gym for another workout and we meet up again for dinner in MDR. The night's entertainment is the ice show "1977" and it's very good. We end the night with the World Cup game and some adult beverages...

 

Tomorrow: Marseilles!

[texas bound]

Definitely. We are trying her in March. Can't wait. Hope your trip was amazing!

 

Would you be opposed to me sending you a list of questions about Symphony if you would see if you would answer them after you cruise in March? We are cruising in May and I have several questions about the ship and other things. I don't know how to private email with someone on here.

[texas bound]

Yes, of course! My turn in November.

 

Would you be opposed to me sending you a list of questions about Symphony if you would see if you would answer them after you cruise in November? We are cruising in May and I have several questions about the ship and other things. I don't know how to private email with someone on here.

[little britain]

Would you be opposed to me sending you a list of questions about Symphony if you would see if you would answer them after you cruise in November? We are cruising in May and I have several questions about the ship and other things. I don't know how to private email with someone on here.

 

 

 

Why not ask them on here instead of privately as I’m sure other would like to see them, and others who have already been on her, may be able to answer them.

I’ll be on her in 3 weeks ( doing the happy dance..) and researching like crazy!

 

 

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[Trixie21]

Why not ask them on here instead of privately as I’m sure other would like to see them, and others who have already been on her, may be able to answer them.

I’ll be on her in 3 weeks ( doing the happy dance..) and researching like crazy!

 

 

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We are on in 4 weeks and also interested in reading answers to various questions.

Taken note of the omelette station in solarium bistro!

 

 

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[crusinot]

Following, excellent review!

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review!

[RN4Nsy]

Enjoying your review. I will be sailing on her in October. 60th Birthday celebration with the girls. Your pics are great too

 

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[bm2wong]

Whoa. Time flies when life gets busy. Sorry for the delay between posts... will post more on Marseilles and La Spezia tomorrow.

[little britain]

Did you use the Royal app on board? If so how was it? I don't think that you need the wifi package to connect to it... but just wanted to check. Thanks.

[bm2wong]

Did you use the Royal app on board? If so how was it? I don't think that you need the wifi package to connect to it... but just wanted to check. Thanks.

 

We did use the Royal app as a bit of an electronic version of the Cruise Compass - but I have to admit, without the wifi package, I found I just locked up my phone in the room safe. I'm on vacation - I'm tethered to my phone on a regular basis IRL so to be free from connections (literally) is a bit liberating.

 

There isn't much functionality when we were there on the Royal app but I see a recent update allowed you to do more things (such as expedited checkin). I can't speak to the recent updates but I'm sure there will be a few kinks to iron out...

[bm2wong]

DAY 6 - Marseilles!

 

Today is a bit of a DIY touring day. We've done a bunch of tours now so we decide not to do a ship excursion and do something on our own. My DD is *NOT* interested in coming with us today so we drop her off at Adventure Ocean while we go touring. The plan is to go to the Vieux Port and take Le Petit Train up to the Basilica, then have a nice lunch by the harbour and walk around the Vieux Port area, stopping for some ice cream somewhere and head back.

 

We disembark at around 930am or so... most folks have already left the ship on excursions already as most folks are probably travelling to Provence or Aix. We head out of the cruise terminal and turn left - there is a line of taxis waiting for us. For those of you wanting to take the free shuttle into the city, turn right out of the terminal and follow the green line painted on the ground. It will take you on a 10-15 minute walk to a bus shelter on the grounds where you can catch the shuttle bus into the city. With the four of us, we opted not to take the free bus and just take a taxi directly where we need to go into Vieux Port. Using our rusty Quebecois French, we tell the driver to take us to Vieux Port and to Le Petit Train. He responds "No problem" in perfect English. Oh well, our French will hopefully be of more use later...

 

We take the 20 minute car right into the city. Not a lot of traffic on a Tuesday so it's a pretty easy right. If I recall, it was approximately 20 Euros for the ride into Vieux Port and he drops us right by the booth for Le Petit Train. We line up and pay for the tickets to take us up to the Basilica. The train ride up was nice - it's about 30 minutes or so to get up to the top of the hill with a winding path along the water and around the harbour area. It's a nice trip up - I recommend it for the views alone.

 

We arrive up at Notre-Dame de la Garde - the view up here is remarkable and you can see the whole city of Marseille. The church is beautiful as well... but there are lots of signs saying to watch for pickpockets. We're pretty cautious already but it's a bit interesting to see it called out so specifically - especially at a church. We spend about an hour or so touring the church and it's getting close to lunch time. We take the Petit Train back down to the Vieux Port and walk around down by the harbour looking for a place to eat. We find a nice little cafe to sit down and have lunch - my wife and the boys order sandwiches (on baguettes no less) and I order a salad. What could be worse? Sitting having lunch at a cafe by the harbour while sipping on a glass of wine. Life is hard, I tell you.

 

We walk through the stands near the shore and do some window shopping. I pickup a nice little salt grinder that I still need to fill with, you know, salt... we walk around more and find a place serving ice cream. Sure enough, they serve crepes with ice cream. EXCELLENT. We enjoy our ice cream standing up and take the walk back to the taxi stand by the Petit Train - there are about 20 of us waiting for taxis and it takes us about 20 mins or so before we get a taxi to take us back to the port. The driver is not happy with the radio selection so he turns on some top French hits from YouTube. These are now in our regular playlist rotation for our boys. Funny what they pick up.

 

We arrive back at the ship around 230-300 and we spend more time at the pool (shocking, I know). I recall we split off at some point and I hit the gym for a quick workout. Dinner at the MDR was excellent as usual and we spend more time hanging out. I believe this night, my DS11 wants to do Teen Boogie Boarding, so we leave dinner a bit early to let him get in about 4-5 rides during the hour there. Hat tip to Jerra helping my son with his technique and tips - helped tremendously!

 

I think we end the night walking the ship and dropping into a game of "Majority Rules" in the On Air lounge. Lots of fun there with my boys and my brother...

 

Tomorrow - La Spezia!

[bm2wong]

Some Marseille pics...

 

Le Petit Train boarding area:

 

Basilique de Notre Dame, on the way up

 

Views from the Basilique, looking down at the soccer stadium:

 

Another beautiful sunset, wakeview:

 

 

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[Trixie21]

Some Marseille pics...

 

Le Petit Train boarding area:

 

Basilique de Notre Dame, on the way up

 

Views from the Basilique, looking down at the soccer stadium:

 

Another beautiful sunset, wakeview:

 

 

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We are joining symphony next week. I think looking at your pictures and reading what you did that we will do it also. Sounds perfect for a relaxing day in Marseille .

 

 

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