My View: A Symphony of Gratitude (Live Thanksgiving Week)

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, APDMOM said:

4:30 PM in the Royal Theater. 🙂

 

Thanks. That's a much more civilised time. I've had one at 9 am before! 😂

[Ocean Boy]

5 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

Thanks. That's a much more civilised time. I've had one at 9 am before! 😂

I don't think it is a great time. People with early dinner are showering and getting ready. 9 AM is like the middle of the day for me. That would suit me fine!😀

[FionaMG]

13 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I don't think it is a great time. People with early dinner are showering and getting ready. 9 AM is like the middle of the day for me. That would suit me fine!😀

 

Not a fan of early rising. I've always said that when I retire the first thing I'm going to do is throw away my alarm clock! 😂

[bonsai3s]

Medivac just now, Day 3, Labadee...helicopter left the pier at 1:34pm...genuinely wishing the gentleman is ok.

[APDMOM]

5 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Medivac just now, Day 3, Labadee...helicopter left the pier at 1:34pm...genuinely wishing the gentleman is ok.

 

🙏 

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 8 - Sea Day:

 

Truly thankful for our health and the ability to see another sunrise at sea - the last one until next cruise:

 

 

 

From the Balcony:

Edited November 29, 2023 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

Final day of the cruise, and Royal has finally caught on that we want Christmas Decorations 😄

 

From about 6 AM until after 9, they were busy setting up the tree:

 

 

 

 

Taa-daa!!

 

 

The only other Christmas Decore we saw:

 

 

This could be ornaments 🙂 (All year long on Symphony!):

 

[APDMOM]

Random Sightings on our Sea Day:

 

Carnival Magic trying to pass us... it did not work...LOL!

 

 

 

A random island with a lighthouse (may be Cuban since it was off the coast of Cuba):

 

Independence of the Seas:

 

 

A partial rainbow:

[APDMOM]

Found a little stowaway on Central Park:

 

Playmakers was full, so the Ohio Michigan game played in the Aqua Theater too.

[APDMOM]

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony:

 

 They ran into a glitch, and the tree did not light up, but we were happy to see they got it fixed.

 

 

 

One last 'free diamond' chocolate martini:

 

Lights on Central Park - These were hung the whole week, but they were not lighted up until the last couple of nights.

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by APDMOM
photo error

[APDMOM]

One Final Campfire Cookie at Playmakers:

 

One Final look at the moon at sea:

 

I love evening ship views:

[APDMOM]

My View: End of day 8 - At Sea

 

Thankful we had these 8 days of relaxation and family time.

 

The Cruise Graveyard:

Edited November 29, 2023 by APDMOM
Add view

[APDMOM]

Cruise Compass: Day 8 - At Sea

 

cruisecompass.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 9 - Arrival in Fort Lauderdale

 

The best view of the moon all week... Grateful that I woke up early enough to see this!

 

[APDMOM]

More arrival views:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Sunrise over the brand new Ascent:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Self-Assist Experience:

 

We started doing self-assist a few cruises ago, and decided this is the best way for us.  We had a 5-hour drive home, so we got off the ship around 7:30.  We were through the facial recognition in customs and in the car by 7:45.  The drive home was a bit grueling- 7 hours due to traffic and rain, but we are thankful to be home, planning the next cruise.

 

Tomorrow, I will add some final thoughts and our verdict on the cruise, as well as more  ship pictures.

 

❤️ Thanks for all the likes, loves, laughter, and for following along on our cruise!  ❤️

[CaribbeanCrushed]

37 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

My View: End of day 8 - At Sea

 

Thankful we had these 8 days of relaxation and family time.

 

The Cruise Graveyard:

This is the worst part of cruising! 

[perfect match]

Beautiful views! 
 

I have really enjoyed following along with you and your family. Thank you for taking the time to do this review and sharing your cruise with us.

[TeeRick]

@APDMOM

Thanks for your live thread!  We are on Symphony on this same itinerary this coming February!  

[ericrz]

13 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Random Sightings on our Sea Day:

 

Carnival Magic trying to pass us... it did not work...LOL!

 

 

 

 

Apparently, we passed the Magic (which had departed Curacao about two hours before us) sometime on Saturday morning.  A couple of my family members watched us overtake them, and apparently the two ships were reasonably close to each other!!

 

[floridagal83]

Thank you for a thorough and entertaining review. All the tips were helpful and appreciated.

[jcandjf]

Very much enjoyed all of your posts!  We will be on the same cruise in 2 weeks and this was very helpful!

 

[gizbug]

Here is a quick rundown of some issues/negatives from our voyage last week:

 

Found the Dinner Service in the dinning room to be a bit slow.  The Assistant waiter rarely came to the table. Sometimes we did not get asked for wine until after appetizers.  Water was not frequently filled in our glasses.  Our table location for a table of 5, was a rectangle table with 1 chair on the end that was out in an aisle.  No ideal.  Having 2 young kids, and cruising on Royal Caribbean cruises since I was a kid (30+ years) I found that the lack of attention to the kids was surprising.  In the past, waiter would cut the food up for my 3yr old.  Found this didn't happen at all on this cruise.  Food portions were a lot smaller than past years, and the new menu this year leaves a lot to be desired.  Charging for an extra lobster tail when the last 3 years it was included is kind of ridiculous.

Would appreciate if the stateroom was attended to morning/night.  Seems to have only happened once.  In years past, mints and towel animals were the normal every night.  This year was hit or miss on towel animals and never any mints.  

Bars ran out of ice a few times during the day, causing my family to wait 10+ minutes to get a drink until ice was found. Not ideal for bar service.

The Aqua Park on Labadee was full of Jelly Fish. My son got stung 5 times, along with many others.  Royal was kind enough to refund the excursion for us.  Found the pizza slices to be 1/2 the size of what they were the last few years on the ship. Not sure why, but it's something our family noticed (along with frequent long lines at the pizza place).  

The WOW band we found to be a complete waste of $10.  It rarely worked.  I had to get it reprogramed twice as it would not work at the bars 100% of the time.  It also fell off very easily if it got caught on your clothes.  Cheap material maybe.

Would like to see the Adult Karaoke in Dazzles at night.  It is just too crowded in the current location On Air Club.

 

Been cruising on Royal since the Sun Viking / Song of Norway / Sovereign of the Seas days, so this isn't my first rodeo on their ships.  Hope some of the constructive feedback in my review helps others.

 

PS. We used #GoneCaribe for a private excursion on Curacao, and couldn't be happier!  I suggest you look into their services. They are highly spoke about on these boards, and their service/tours are A+

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by gizbug

[APDMOM]

@gizbug Thank you for your input on your experience.  I am really glad we ate at the Solerium Bistro - service there was excellent.  We only ate in the MDR the first night as our Solarium reservation got cancelled by accident.  I am glad we got to experience it one night so that we have a comparison.