Symphony of the seas Live blog October 2018!!

[Cruisingcouple22]

Here are the cafe promenade menus too

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

Thanks for all the positive feedback, I’m glad people are enjoying it [emoji3]

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

Day 3

We’ve been to Marseille a few times now and didn’t feel like there was anything we wanted to do there, so stayed on the ship for a nice relaxing day today. We tried to do the flowride, but they were still tidying up the top decks from the windy nights before so they were still shut at 10am. We had breakfast at Johnny Rockets, freshly made omelette, breakfast potatoes and English muffin and it was very nice. Good service too despite them being very busy. After that we headed off to do some visual trivia in the on air club which we won! (Jointly). Love the highlighter and bag you get for winning!

 

Then we though we’d give the spa a try, I had a Swedish massage and my wife had a facial. They were both ok but neither of us were particular impressed with the service, and the attempt to sell us products worth about 700 dollars at the end was a shock! Needless to say we didn’t buy them.

 

Then it was lunch time so we headed to park cafe again and had a light lunch as we were headed to wonderland tonight so didn’t want to eat much. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the solarium, trying ultimate abyss (faster this time) and doing a bit of rock climbing. We also took part in an activity called a royal mystery. This was like an escape room but it’s all paper based and working out different clues to see who stole the art work. It was good fun and we met some nice people doing it too. All in all a great afternoon!

 

Saw these Segway boat things as well today, not sure what they are going to be used for though!

 

Slightly battered chocolate sculpture in the windjammer

 

Bent up beetle on the promenade

 

And the running track is LONG on symphony!

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

And then it was time for wonderland, we’ve been to this restaurant on harmony and anthem so knew roughly what to expect and it was excellent. The food is so interesting and tasty, with a massive variety of flavours. And the decor is very quirky!

You have to paint the menu with “magic water” to get it to reveal

They also have a mad hatter wandering around the restaurant saying hello to guests and chatting with you.

 

 

The view over the boardwalk is beautiful too, especially at sunset.

Highly recommended this place even if you are not an adventurous eater as you “culinary guide” (no waiters here apparently!) will help you pick appropriate dishes. The cocktails are great too, and it was happy hour as we got there (5-7 everyday) so it was buy one get one free!

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

These were the starters

Birds nest with boiled eggs

Crab, avocado and wasabi cone

Liquid lobster

Hairy shrimp with a spicy foam

Tuna tartare

 

 

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[vacationlover_mn]

Following!

 

 

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[Cel_cruise]

Thanks for sharing your Wonderland Experience!! I am really so on the fence about that place! Did you see them make anything differently than how it’s presented on the menu for picky eaters?

 

What did you think of the Liquid Lobster? What did the Lobster part taste like - was it like lobster bisque on the spoon with cavier on top? Just not sure what to make of a description of ‘bone marrow’ when it comes to ‘lobster’...

 

 

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[MrFunInTheSun]

Your pictures are amazing.

 

 

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[plus1cruiser]

Thank you for your time doing the blog. We will be on the first cruise for Symphony out of Miami. The only 4 nighter. We are giddy with anticipation and so happy to follow your blog. I would happily eat at Wonderland, but glad we didn’t chose it in our dining package as DH would be making his say to the buffet immediately following the Wonderland dinner!! Will be follow the rest and thank you again!

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

And the main from wonderland

Prime rib and breaded branzino

 

And dessert

 

After dinner we went to see the ice show 1977. We always enjoy hear on Royal Caribbean ships and today was no exception. The show started off with about 50 little drones flying the ice in different formations which was really cool!

They story was a bit hard to follow (time traveller goes to London in 1977, tries to foil a thief but fails, follows them to the jungle(!) desert and snowy landscape, finds out she a female thief, falls in love and they live happily ever after with her I’ll gotten gains!) but the show was incredible. There were spins, lifts and even backflips and handstands on the ice.

There was a very fun sequence where one couple changed outfits about 10 times in the space of two minutes. I highly recommend any one on these ships to catch one of their shows. Do get there early though as there wasn’t a seat left, and many people sitting on the stairs.

We also bumped into the stowaway pianist outside the main theatre, he was attracting quite a crowd!

After all that activity we decided we needed some relaxing so headed for a late night hot tub. It was empty on the top deck and there were a few hot tubs to chose from but we ended up in the solarium for a bit before calling it a night. La Spezia tomorrow and we were heading to pisa!

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

Thanks for sharing your Wonderland Experience!! I am really so on the fence about that place! Did you see them make anything differently than how it’s presented on the menu for picky eaters?

 

What did you think of the Liquid Lobster? What did the Lobster part taste like - was it like lobster bisque on the spoon with cavier on top? Just not sure what to make of a description of ‘bone marrow’ when it comes to ‘lobster’...

 

 

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We’ve been before with someone who was allergic to shellfish, and because they make everything from scratch the were really accommodating and made sure she could have most of the same things (not the lobster obviously!)

 

The lobster is just as you describe, a large piece of lobster meat with a bisque and caviar on top. Don’t worry about the bone marrow, I think it’s just there way of making it sound fancier!!

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

So on our La Spezia day we decided to visit Pisa. We’d been to Cinque Terre the last time we were here, and I’d definitely recommend that for first timers. You have to catch a bust from the ship to the entrance to the port, and then the train station is about a 20-25 minute walk from there. The trains to Pisa take between 45min -1hr 15min depending on if they are a a stopping service. I think two adult returns cost is about 50 euros, which seemed a bit steep! It’s easy to purchase the tickets via the Trenitalia app though, and you can use PayPal to pay for them.

 

Once in Pisa it’s about 30 minute walk from the station to the cathedral and leaning tower, pretty much straight forwards. You just follow the crowds really as that’s where everyone is heading [emoji3]

 

The tower is impressive but I think the huge cathedral is much more beautiful personally. It’s free to enter the cathedral but you need to get a timed ticket. Or if you pay for entry to some of the other buildings on site (baptistery or museums) at 5 euros for 1, 7 euros for 2 or 8 for 3 you get an anytime ticket. It cost 18 euros to go up the tower, and there was a constant queue of about thirty minutes to get in.

 

The cathedral is even more beautiful on the inside, with some amazing mosaics and pieces of art

 

The baptistery is a huge domed building. Whilst we were there the guard demonstrated the acoustics of it by chanting. The echos were amazing! I’ve got a video and I’ll try to find a way to upload it.

 

 

 

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[tx121]

[/QUOT

 

Playmakers is my favourite addition to the ship so far. It takes up most of the port (i think!) side of the boardwalk and has a wide selection of beers and about 30 tv screens showing a variety of sports. On the Sunday 30th they were showing the premiership football, Ryder cup and the NFL! Playmakers also incorporates some arcade games, for a charge, and shuffleboard along with other board games for free. They also have a for fee a la carte menu which we’ll be trying later on.

 

Overall a great, and busy, first day!

 

 

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Enjoying your review! We are also currently sailing on the Symphony as well. We went to Playmakers and really enjoy the atmosphere there. It is much better use of space than the Mexican restaurant they have on the Harmony. Have you tried the menu? We went last night and had the Campfire Cookie Dessert. It’s a warm cookie topped with Nutella and a toasted marshmallow gooey crust. It is served with vanilla ice cream and milk In a shot glass. It was amazing!! Highly recommend you try!

Click the attachment link to view the dessert.

Edited October 6, 2018 by tx121

[Cruisingcouple22]

After that we headed to the Camposanto monument which holds a huge number of frescos and statues. It always amazes me how these have lasted for about 2000 years!

 

After that it was time to head back to the ship. We did the journey in reverse and stopped in a few shops and a cafe along the way. One thing I would note if you are a very nervous traveller, the trains can sometimes be delayed. Both our trains today were about 10-15 minutes late, but the one on the platform next to us was over an hour late. Also ways make sure you give yourself plenty of time if making your own way, or book an excursion with the ship if you are really worried.

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

Dinner this evening was in playmakers, we got there signature burger and some popcorn shrimp and the portion sizes were huge! This was easily enough for two to share. The shrimp is great and you have a choice of toppings and sauce and the burger was very well made, probably a bit better than Johnny rockets over the other side of the boardwalk

 

 

After dinner there was another ice show, iSlate 2.0. This was a selection of dances set to different pop songs and was really fun. No drones in this one, but the ice skating cast had all changed! A new cast was in to do the next few months on the ship, we felt really lucky we managed to see both. The show was amazing again, and this time I managed to get a photo of the back flip!

 

Lastly this evening they had the red carpet experience at the main theatre. They set up a “premiere” (the greatest showman) and have an interviewer and cameramen on the red carpet.

You can dodge past them if you want or you can play along, it was fun being interviewed, until you realise they are putting up on the big screen in the theatre!! Still it was an interesting experience. After that it was off to sleep for our Rome day tomorrow!

We found a little towel animal in our room today 🦅

 

 

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[Cel_cruise]

If anyone snapped a picture of the playmakers menu - that would be swell - I assume it’s all ala cart?

 

 

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[Clarea]

If anyone snapped a picture of the playmakers menu - that would be swell - I assume it’s all ala cart?

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=55672132&postcount=1725

[MrFunInTheSun]

Oh my goodness that meal looks so good!

 

 

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[SillyBlonde]

Thank you very much for your review. We're boarding next week and this is just the sort of information we need!

[cruceriantes]

Thank you very much for the review. Love the pictures. Could you please tell me the name of the Latin band playing in Boleros? Thanks again.

[dedosr]

Great blog .Will be sailing on the Symphony November 24 .

[PhoenixCruiser]

How was your meal at Sportsbook? We are really looking forward to a true sports bar!

[Cruisingcouple22]

[/QUOT

 

Enjoying your review! We are also currently sailing on the Symphony as well. We went to Playmakers and really enjoy the atmosphere there. It is much better use of space than the Mexican restaurant they have on the Harmony. Have you tried the menu? We went last night and had the Campfire Cookie Dessert. It’s a warm cookie topped with Nutella and a toasted marshmallow gooey crust. It is served with vanilla ice cream and milk In a shot glass. It was amazing!! Highly recommend you try!

Click the attachment link to view the dessert.

 

 

 

On your recommendation we went back and tried the cookie, and you are right, it was delicious! Definitely enough to share between two

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

Thank you very much for the review. Love the pictures. Could you please tell me the name of the Latin band playing in Boleros? Thanks again.

 

 

 

We never went into boleros, but on the cruise planner it says Latin music with Matisse

 

 

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[Cruisingcouple22]

Today we were in Civitavecchia, the port stop for Rome. That’s a bit misleading as Rome is an easy 45-60 minute train journey away!

In the cruise compass they say the port is a bit busy so the put on a shuttle bus to town for you, but we found that the bus took us further away from the train station, and you have to run the gauntlet of taxi drivers, souvenirs seller and tour guides to get out.

 

Walking route from the ship

Walking from where the bus drops you off

 

Today’s train was much cheaper, despite being the same distance, and cost us 20 euros for two adults return! Much better value. We were going to the Vatican and Vatican museum today so we’re getting off at Roma San Pietro train station, as it’s a ten minute walk from there to St Marks square. When you get there you’ll have to queue to get into the Vatican as you have to go through security checks. This took about 30 minutes. You get lovely views whilst you are waiting though.

There is also a dress code, no exposed knees or shoulders, but I saw a lot of people getting in with shorts or skirts shorter than their knees. We had a look around St. Peter’s and then headed off to the Vatican museum. We forgot to buy our ticket beforehand (highly recommend you do this) and the stand by line would be about 1.5 hours so we spoke to one of the many people selling tickets and managed to get 2 tickets for 55 euros. Slightly more the the 42 if we had booked beforehand but then i should have planned better! The museum is incredible, there is so much to see that you could spend at least a day looking at everything. There are multiple routes around depending on what you want to look at and how long you have. We took the semi express route and were there about 2.5 hours, but we did stop for a coffee. And we found some very well mannered pigeons eating at a table! [emoji23]

Some of the corridors are very long in the museum!

 

 

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