Live From the Symphony-October 15- Awesome Archipelago Adventure!

(I just like the way that sounds better than “Luxury Bermuda Escape.”

About now, Jeannie and I were supposed to be getting ready for a Tauck cruise on the Duoro River.  After too many cancellation (who can even keep track anymore?), since everything turned to swill in March of 2020, it was beginning to look like this might actually be a go, and we were starting to get super excited.  And then Delta happened.  As much as it hurt, we decided that with all that was involved in international travel (airport lines, long masked flights, hotels, etc, all amongst persons of unknown vaccination status), the time was just not right for us.  Plus, given Tauck’s very generous cancellation policy, which allows for 100% of payments being applied to another trip at any point in the future, we decided to pull the plug.  We rebooked the Duoro for October, 2023. Only 733 days to go!😶


 
So now what?  Cruise withdrawal syndrome is getting pretty earnest here.  If only there were a cruise that

·        departed and returned to a port within driving distance to our home, so as to  avoid flights and hotel stays
·        was on a fabulous cruise ship, on which we are all but guaranteed to receive top notch cuisine, entertainment and service
·        had an alluring, exciting itinerary
Well, hey- 2 outa 3 ain’t bad, right?*

Bags all packed, docs all on phone and also printed. Now heading to Southampton prior to boarding. A night at Chilworth Manor on their cruise package. Boarding / testing time 12:15. 🤞all goes smoothly. 
 
We are joining 2 friends who are Cunard virgins. Also looking forward to comparing current Queens Grill with our recent Retreat experience on Celebrity Apex. Not been in QG since Nov 2019, that time it was Queen Victoria. 

It was March 21, 2020, when we were unceremoniously ejected from the Amsterdam world cruise in Perth, Australia.  Since then, we've had to depend on FaceBook posts, old photos, and the HAL Cruise Atlas.  We've booked some cruises, but I'm sorry, planning and thinking about future cruises is NOT the same as sitting on the balcony watching the sea go by or wandering the hallways and greeting old friends, both passengers and crew.  

Hello CC!
 
It’s finally time!!! The day I’ve been dreaming of for almost a year and a half.  
 
I just got my negative COVID test results from CVS and my luggage tags are printed out. Tomorrow I fly to Miami for my return to cruise


 

Ahoy! First time HAL cruiser here, onboard celebrating my 40th birthday 🥳 🎂🎉 This will be my first time also writing a LIVE(ish) trip report of any sort, so please be patient with me as this writer seeks to find her sea legs.

Hello everyone and good morning. Welcome to DAY 1 of “LIVE” from Oasis of the Seas. I am currently enjoying a freshly brewed cup of delicious coffee at the Café Promenade on Deck 5.  Yes, I am already on the ship as I am doing my first consecutive cruise. That’s how Royal Caribbean says it, but most passengers just say B2B. I have to meet with about 110 other passenger on B2B in the Royal Theater by 8:30am.

My husband and I are on day twelve of the first Britannia cruise out of British waters post Covid.  I am posting our observations and opinions about how everything is running on onboard at present, the good and the bad, in the hope that it might be useful to others. 
 
The staff are excellent as always and they have made us very welcome. Sadly, the Club Dining option is not operating (will it ever come back?) so there is no rapport with “your own” waiting staff at meal times.  The dining arrangements are that you have to join a virtual queue via the app or turn up and be given a pager at busy times.  The waiting times are very long at popular times.  See traffic light notification that is part of the daily Horizon newsletter.

Hello fellow cruise critic members.  We boarded the wonderful Grand Princess today for a  five night sailing. I will post my impression of boarding and our cabin and staff
1.  We arrived at 11:30. We were greeted by several Princess staff members who directed us to a staion for processing. Total time was five minutes
2.  We are in a Window Suite F305. We received priority passes to board. We went up the escalator and right onto the ship. Time to board was five minutes. We had to wait untill noon for club class dining to open for lunch
3.  I went to Sanctuary to reserve a few days for my wife and I. That took five minutes

Hi everyone. We are a thirty-something couple from outside of Washington DC.  This is our first Celebrity cruise and the first time we‘ve splurged on a suite.  

Like many of you, COVID-19 ruined a bunch of trips we planned. We had low expectations this trip would take place as planned so we are extra excited it is here and actually happening.  

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Twas the night before our vacation starts, when all through the house, not even a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The bags were packed, winter clothes gathered, new masks ready with care. Visions of a cruise ship danced through our heads.

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Greetings!  Join us as we FINALLY set sail on our first cruise in what feels like decades. My last cruise was January, 2020 with NCL and DS sailed several times in 2019 with NCL, RCCL and Celebrity.  But DM has not cruised in 15 years! Her last cruise was the Miracle to Alaska.  

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I'm writing this as we're waiting on folks to complete their safety drill. SMH! Around 330pm there were 400ish not in compliance. 4pm  200ish not in compliance. He just announced 130 left. We can not sail until they complete it. SMH! 
 
Hi I'm Cynt. I thought I would post a few items I wondered about on this 9 night cruise. Itinerary 2 sea days, Port Canaveral, Miami, Nassau and Coco Cay and 2 more sea days. 

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This will be my first attempt at a “live” post. 
 
The complementary pre cruise hotel was the New Orleans Inter Continental. Check in was very smooth and the boarding docs were well presented . Voucher for breakfast , boarding group and Covid test info was in a folder as well as lanyards with our name. 

Embarkation day
 
a preset breakfast was served in a dining room reserved for ACL passengers. We had to show our vaccine card to be seated. We were offered mimosas which was a nice touch. 
Following breakfast we went to the Covid testing room where we handed in the health questionnaire and presented our vaccination card. 

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Hello everyone!!! My husband (Brad) and myself (Nicole) are heading to Miami on Sunday to sail the beautiful Scarlet Lady! Fair warning- my posts won't be as robust and amazing as Sid_9169's have been, but hey- it's something! I am going to try and update live as much as possible, but worst case I will share most thoughts post-sailing!

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Happily arrived in Lisbon this morning around 8.30am.😀........we were early.  The sun was shining and I think I slept almost all 6 hours! Customs was a BREEZE!!!! Literally the line just flew. Bags took about 15 minutes to come through....we had a full plane. I booked my hotel and transfers through SS and went out to the area where all the drivers have names on signs........could not find mine. Fortunately, after a few more minutes I saw a couple with a guy and the sign. Yea! I had walked out to the left and they were all the way over on the right side.  So off we went and on to the hotel. Staying at the Intercontinental.

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I’m currently sipping champagne on a Royal Suite balcony aboard the lovely Celebrity Summit.  The day as of yet has gone absolutely swimmingly, and I have no reason to believe it will take a turn for the worse. She is a fantastic vessel with an outstanding crew, just like she was a couple months ago when we got off. 

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This is a pretty quick little cruise, and I know some of my fellow roll call peeps will join in here with post cruise reviews.  
 
We arrived at the Port at 11:30, a tad later than planned as I had a hard time getting my husband out the door.  He had no idea we were going on a cruise for his birthday, and I made him wear an eye mask on the drive.

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LIVE SYMPHONY OF THE SEAS
U.F.O.
Unbelievable Floating Object
(Or so I Heard)
 
This live thread will consist of a couple different stages.
Stage 1 will be pre-cruise jibber jabber including some media inserts, pictures and itineraries.
Stage 2 will consist of all details from the start of the cruise till we disembark, of course pictures and dialogue.
Stage 3 to be determined.
 
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I have decided to fire up this thread a week early this time as I am actively planning since we booked on such short notice.  Something we have never done before.
After returning from our last cruise I still had the itch to get back to cruising.   When I saw the Pacific Coastal cruises I suggested to Iain that we take one and he responded only if we can do a B2B.  Minutes later I was contacting a new agent and getting some quotes.   

We are a party of three- mom and two daughters, celebrating DM’s birthday on the Sunrise setting sail tomorrow.  We have two cabins- a Cloud 9 Balcony and interior just across the hall.  
Booking was odd- we needed two cabins but all had different specials tied to our VFIP number. I had the “Free Cabin” special and ended up booking the Cloud 9 interior for $50- no kidding. But wait!  DM and DS had a RU1 offer and booked for a low low price WITH free drinks! I had to spring for Cheers on top of the cheap room.  

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