LIVE - B2B 10/26 and 11/2 Halloween, Birthday, and President's Cruise

[luvcruzing]

I love your sense of humor.  Sounds like it’s going to be a fun review.Have a great time and thank you.

[aring75]

So we arrived at the terminal this morning around 11 am. It was quick and easy having the Uber driver, Javier, drop us off. He said he actually loves it when his fare is going to Terminal A. It’s the easiest to get in and out of, and almost no lines. 
 

From the time we dropped off our luggage to the time we were walking down the gangway to board the ship...11 minutes. 
 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by aring75

[aring75]

3 hours ago, luvcruzing said:

I love your sense of humor.  Sounds like it’s going to be a fun review.Have a great time and thank you.

Thanks a bunch! 😀

[aring75]

Staterooms were opened up at 1:30 and room cards were waiting at everyone’s doors. There was no problem charging to the printed set sail pass or using the digital copy in the app. Plus, if you have the beverage package, there is no problem using that as soon as you board also. 
 

Ask me how I know. 😁

 

 

[aring75]

This is the cost of the beverage package once you board (for this sailing anyway).

 

 

[aring75]

We are in an Oceanview Stateroom with Large Balcony portside on the first hump. 
 

 

On the balcony there are two regular chairs and two lounge-style chairs with footstools, plus a small table. 

 

[aring75]

Dinner tonight was pretty excellent. 
 

Score:

Symphony - 1

McDonald’s - 0

 

 

The menu (sorry about all the shadows, we have weird lights above our table).

 

 

Appetizers - Crab Cake & Escargot 

 

 

 

Entrees - Pork Chop (Mark said this was excellent) and the Salmon

 

 

 

 

Dessert - Key Lime Pie (I love a good KLP. This one was pretty yummy.)

 

[aring75]

Tonight was supposed to be Hairspray at 8:30 pm, but we got stuck in the Guest Services line and missed the show. We are going to try to see it later this week, or if not, get a reservation next week. 
 

Instead, we stopped in the casino for a few. Put $40 in one machine and very quickly lost it. Decided to try one more. Put $20 in and walked away with this. 
 

 

We both agreed that was a good place to stop for the night. I needed to go back to the room to finish unpacking some of our things. I don’t feel like I can relax until our stuff is put away. 

[Buccaneergirl]

Congrats on the winnings!

Really looking forward to your report from this week vs next week.

[patattack]

Enjoying your review.  Cruised Symphony last year B2B and had a great time.  Going back to the Harmony this November.

 

Pat

[Lady Hudson]

Thank you for writing a review.  Following!  Katherine

[jk04]

Following along on your review.  We board Symphony in December and can't wait.  Like you, Allure also holds a place in my heart since she was our first Oasis class ship, just loved her.  I was torn between sailing on Symphony and Allure when making the booking.  But, I had done this so late and spur of the moment, there was not a lot of choices left on the Allure sailing we could take.  I'm loving your review and hope you enjoy your B2B!

 

If you have a chance to look through the mountains of sales papers they give you, can you see if the Spa offers like a 10-20-30% special if you book three services, please?  Thank you so much!  😊

[cruise wizard]

Your cabin looks great - love that deeper balcony. What do you think about the closet / storage - enough room for 14 nights of cruising? Space under the bed for the suitcases?

[Oakman]

Enjoying your review!!! Just off the Symphony Oct 5, and stayed in a JS with extended balcony on Deck 7. Your cabin had much more furniture than ours. We only had the 2 chairs with the footstools and the small table. Great you had extra furniture for unexpected new friends to visit. Have a wonderful time!!

 

 

[aring75]

14 hours ago, Buccaneergirl said:

Congrats on the winnings!

Really looking forward to your report from this week vs next week.

Thanks!! Those winnings are gone now, lol. I am terrible at casino-ing. I’m always like, “I could’ve done great things with that fifty bucks.”  And Mark’s over here saying, “You gotta think of it like entertainment!”

 

We are not on the same page. 😂

 

13 hours ago, patattack said:

Enjoying your review.  Cruised Symphony last year B2B and had a great time.  Going back to the Harmony this November.

 

Pat

 

Thank you! I still haven’t made it to every deck in this ship! It’s enormous. 

 

3 hours ago, Lady Hudson said:

Thank you for writing a review.  Following!  Katherine

You are quite welcome! Thanks for following! 😊

[aring75]

2 hours ago, jk04 said:

Following along on your review.  We board Symphony in December and can't wait.  Like you, Allure also holds a place in my heart since she was our first Oasis class ship, just loved her.  I was torn between sailing on Symphony and Allure when making the booking.  But, I had done this so late and spur of the moment, there was not a lot of choices left on the Allure sailing we could take.  I'm loving your review and hope you enjoy your B2B!

 

If you have a chance to look through the mountains of sales papers they give you, can you see if the Spa offers like a 10-20-30% special if you book three services, please?  Thank you so much!  😊

I think you will love the Symphony too. They are definitely more alike than different. And so far, we think Symphony is great!

 

And I haven’t received any specials from the spa yet, but I will take a picture for you if I do. 
 

2 hours ago, cruise wizard said:

Your cabin looks great - love that deeper balcony. What do you think about the closet / storage - enough room for 14 nights of cruising? Space under the bed for the suitcases?

 

Love the cabin. And there’s absolutely space for suitcases under the bed. We had to lift it a little in order to slide ours under, but we brought the big boys!

 

Storage is good. We kind of packed for 7-9 days with the intention of sending things out for laundry. Let me know if you want more specific info. 😊

 

1 hour ago, Oakman said:

Enjoying your review!!! Just off the Symphony Oct 5, and stayed in a JS with extended balcony on Deck 7. Your cabin had much more furniture than ours. We only had the 2 chairs with the footstools and the small table. Great you had extra furniture for unexpected new friends to visit. Have a wonderful time!!

 

 

 

Funny, but we got back from breakfast and the chairs were gone. It’s just the loungers and footstools with the table now. Fine for us, but still thought it was funny. You must have to request the extra furniture. 

[aring75]

Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle was this morning at 9:30 am held in Jazz on 4. We were late because Mark was getting fitted for his tuxedo. There was a really good turnout, and Royal raffled off two bottles of wine, a free movie, a bag of RCCL goodies (backpack, water bottle, key ring, zipper pull, etc.), a free entry into bingo, free meal at Johnny Rockets, and 20% off any spa treatment. 
 

The top tier event was held at 10:30 am in the Aquatheater. They gave out several different types of free drinks. Mimosas, “champagne”, screwdrivers, and rum punch.

 

They gave awards to two ship “employees of the month” and recognized the cruisers with the highest number of cruises. The number one most travelled Pinnacle had more than 4000 cruise points. 
 

At the end, the aerialist from HiRO performed. 
 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by aring75

[aring75]

So Mark was fitted for his tuxedo rental this morning around 9:15 AM. We got back to the cabin after lunch and it was there waiting for him. Jacket, pants, two shirts, tie, cummerbund, studs and cuff links. Easy peasy. 
 

Good thing because tonight is our first formal night. But he was very happy with the process. 👍

[aring75]

Lunch menu for the first Sea Day:

 

 

On Symphony, MDR lunch is on Deck 3 and there are two sides. You line up in one side for the MDR buffet and the other for a la carte (ordering from the menu). There are signs directing you where to line up, but this seemed to make the process go much more smoothly than it did on Vision in June. And Vision was a much smaller ship. 

[bobmacliberty]

Thanks for doing this live review!  Two weeks until we board Symphony.  Between you and John, I'll be able to pretend like I'm already onboard for the next couple of weeks.  Love that larger balcony.

[aring75]

Thanks for doing this live review!  Two weeks until we board Symphony.  Between you and John, I'll be able to pretend like I'm already onboard for the next couple of weeks.  Love that larger balcony.

You are very welcome! Yes reading reviews are the best way to make that time before the next cruise pass quickly. Happy to help! [emoji16]


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[aring75]

Pre-dinner drinks in the Schooner Bar. I always think it’s funny that the bartenders assume Mark’s Piña Colada is for me.




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[Jimbo]

How long ago did you book this B2B to get the same cabin on the hump. That couldn't have been easy?

[aring75]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

How long ago did you book this B2B to get the same cabin on the hump. That couldn't have been easy?

Nope. Not easy. But just lucky I think. Booked the 11/2 cruise Sep 2018. Then added the 10/26 as a B2B at the beginning of 2019. Changed cabins in order to have the same for both cruises, but since it was the same category, I didn’t have to pay any additional fees. 

[PaulInPGH]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences!

 

We'll be joining you on the Nov. 2 sailing. We just booked this cruise last Friday (extreme last-minute). We were originally headed to Spain for 10 nights but changed plans after all the current issues in Barcelona. This will be our first cruise on an Oasis class ship and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Cheers.