Know before you go on symphony

[Tntt]

I just got off my cruise on Symphony, I will start off by saying the ship is beautiful and it is massive!! I just want to share my story for anyone that will be cruising on symphony or any other oasis class ship that has the Abyss slide....my daughter and I decided to do the abyss and the staff gave us instructions and I followed them directly but as I begin to slide and the slide turned angles my mat shifted and It caused me to slide down the slide all the way down going 10 mph on my right arm, all I felt was burning pain the whole way down, when I got off the slide the skin was gone all the way to my elbow on my arm. My family even told me who was waiting at the bottom of the slide they actually heard the squealing sound when I was coming down which was my arm screeching down the slide.

 

I got to my stateroom in excruciating pain, had to go down to the medical facility and file a injury report and the dr seen me cleaned the wound, bandaged it  with gauze and I had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics , I was told I could not get in any water, not the pool and especially not  the ocean because of bacteria, so my dreams of enjoying perfect day at Cococay the next day were ruined... I had to go back to the medical facility the next day to have it re bandaged because it was oozing and I started running a fever.... I faced so many obstacles prior to this trip and I was so excited for this cruise then this happened.. I spent the remainder of trip in pain and I cant even touch my arm and I'm sure I will have a scar when it heals....when the staff came in to talk to me after the accident report they told me these burns happen alot.... if this is happening alot there is obviously a design flaw on the abyss and royal needs to  fix it....I don't know if I need to contact the corporate office to address my concern or just let it go but I just want to warn everyone especially children wear a jacket or a long sleeve shirt and hopefully you wont experience what I experienced....

Edited June 1, 2019 by Tntt

[BirdTravels]

Ouch. I was not paying attention when I went down the abyss on the Symphony and rubbed some skin off my elbow. It didn't look bad at first, but got worse over the next couple of days. 

[Clarea]

If this kind of injury is happening often, I'll bet corporate already knows about it.    Perhaps a social media post might be more effective in getting some sort of action from corporate.

[MightyMike]

I know the decision has already been made and the time is too late, but I soooo wished that Royal Caribbean would have passed on adding Ultimate Abyss to Oasis at its upcoming dry dock. For me, the injuries and eyesore outweighs the benefits.

Edited June 1, 2019 by MightyMike

[voyager70]

A lot of reports of people getting burnt on Abyss.  I'll pass.

 

[BekkaW]

I’m really sorry this happened and put a dampener on your vacation ☹️ I really enjoyed the abyss and didn’t realise they were having these kinds of problems. When we were on Symphony (October 2018) the instructions were that our elbows had to be tucked in to our body - essentially sitting on our stomach. Was that the instructions you received also? Just wondering if they have changed something. 

[DustFSU]

Instead of going head first maybe going feet first laying down or sitting up if enough head room

[ReneeFLL]

Maybe the mats should be larger? I don't know since I haven't been on it.

[BekkaW]

24 minutes ago, DustFSU said:

Instead of going head first maybe going feet first laying down or sitting up if enough head room

 

You don’t get a choice of how to go. It’s always feet first 

[Crazy planning mom]

I am so sorry this happened to you.

Definitely post on social media to get Royal's attention like someone else mentioned.

[DustFSU]

30 minutes ago, BekkaW said:

 

You don’t get a choice of how to go. It’s always feet first 

I should of put maybe they should change it to feet first. Or make some kind of protective suit to put you in.  Seems like mostly peoples arms are getting messed up, so if they gave some kind of dry fit sleeves like NBA players wear that would help

[2ManyCruises]

That's a shame. We too slid down the Abyss 1 week ago today. The 3 of us have minor elbow burns.

I lifted my arm as soon as I felt a burning sensation. Still left with a scar though. 

 

I think it would be a good idea to require long sleeves.

Edited June 2, 2019 by 2ManyCruises

[37645]

Sorry that some of you have had burns, that’s too bad. I haven’t done this yet but just curious those that have gotten burns, were you wearing a long sleeve short or jacket or just short sleeve? Thanks 

[BixBebe]

This happened to my sister but not as severe. She said she felt her mat riding up the side of the slide and it felt like she was going to flip over. Her elbow rubbed the side as she was trying to right herself. Minor burn but still caused her discomfort. Long sleeves would be best as a caution.

[reallyitsmema]

We were just on Harmony a few weeks ago and we were listening to the crew member give safety instructions on how you have to hold the bag underhanded so your elbows will not stick out.  He was also turning away people who were not in long sleeves and was also recommending longer shorts or pants.  We didn't end up riding Abyss but I really didn't like the look of the bag/mat that you ride on.  What were they saying about long sleeves on Symphony?

[Tntt]

3 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

We were just on Harmony a few weeks ago and we were listening to the crew member give safety instructions on how you have to hold the bag underhanded so your elbows will not stick out.  He was also turning away people who were not in long sleeves and was also recommending longer shorts or pants.  We didn't end up riding Abyss but I really didn't like the look of the bag/mat that you ride on.  What were they saying about long sleeves on Symphony?

They said nothing about long sleeves.. I held on like instructed and leaned back and my mat still shifted....

[JamesEM]

When I was on the Harmony last month, riders were given instruction and not allowing some passenger to ride that did not have enough clothing and/or were not dry.  I wore my big boy pants and a long sleeve shirt and did have any problems.

[DISFANS3]

Thanks for info..

[ZoeyVictoria]

I wonder if there is something different about the Abyss on the Symphony vs. the Harmony.  I rode three times on the Harmony with no issues, and loved it.  I rode once on the Symphony and somehow twisted to the side and slid down with my forehead rubbing along the slide.  I had only two areas of skin actually rubbed off my forehead, luckily (I think my hair was caught between my head and the slide).  I just don’t remember this many stories about the Abyss on the Harmony.  Sounds like there might be subtle changes on the Symphony that are causing these problems. 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

10 hours ago, Tntt said:

I just got off my cruise on Symphony, I will start off by saying the ship is beautiful and it is massive!! I just want to share my story for anyone that will be cruising on symphony or any other oasis class ship that has the Abyss slide....my daughter and I decided to do the abyss and the staff gave us instructions and I followed them directly but as I begin to slide and the slide turned angles my mat shifted and It caused me to slide down the slide all the way down going 10 mph on my right arm, all I felt was burning pain the whole way down, when I got off the slide the skin was gone all the way to my elbow on my arm. My family even told me who was waiting at the bottom of the slide they actually heard the squealing sound when I was coming down which was my arm screeching down the slide.

 

I got to my stateroom in excruciating pain, had to go down to the medical facility and file a injury report and the dr seen me cleaned the wound, bandaged it  with gauze and I had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics , I was told I could not get in any water, not the pool and especially not  the ocean because of bacteria, so my dreams of enjoying perfect day at Cococay the next day were ruined... I had to go back to the medical facility the next day to have it re bandaged because it was oozing and I started running a fever.... I faced so many obstacles prior to this trip and I was so excited for this cruise then this happened.. I spent the remainder of trip in pain and I cant even touch my arm and I'm sure I will have a scar when it heals....when the staff came in to talk to me after the accident report they told me these burns happen alot.... if this is happening alot there is obviously a design flaw on the abyss and royal needs to  fix it....I don't know if I need to contact the corporate office to address my concern or just let it go but I just want to warn everyone especially children wear a jacket or a long sleeve shirt and hopefully you wont experience what I experienced....

Get a lawyer!👍

[er345]

Tntt, thank you for posting this warning.  You are just trying to be helpful for future cruisers.

 I think until you are in the slide it’s hard to realize how impossible it is to adjust your position once in motion. And holding your arms exactly as they instruct does nothing to help if you are going down on your side. 

 

As as I posted on the other thread, I now have a 3 inch by 2 inch pink scar on the back of my arm.  I am old so I don’t really care, but it might really bother some people. 

The slide can be fun. Future riders just bring a long sleeve shirt to put on before The Abyss. Having just short sleeves isn’t enough. 

 

[kruzerci]

I did it on Harmony a couple years ago and also got a minor arm burn when riding as directed. 

 

The slide wasn't even fast or fun. No thanks!

[Ocean Boy]

This is the first that I have read about injuries like this occurring. I do find it a bit concerning that the same type of injury is repeating and, apparently, there is no response to stop it. 

[blueridgemama]

There is a previous thread somewhere on these boards about arm burns on the Abyss and recommendations to wear long sleeves.  The post was "Getting burned on the Ultimate Abyss" and was posted earlier this year. I haven't been on it yet. Is it different from other similar slides in the size of the mat or instructions given?

 

Perhaps you could rename your thread and include the Ultimate Abyss in the title so people won't miss that it is about the slide

Edited June 2, 2019 by blueridgemama

[Travelling2Some]

Thank you very much for the warning.  My daughter is on her honeymoon now on the Symphony (first sea day) and I was able to text them to wear a long sleeved shirt and take the instructions seriously thanks to your post.  They said they were about to head over there after lunch so your warning was very timely.  Very sorry this happened to you.