Symphony OTS Live! - Transatlantic Oct. 28, 2018 "Coming to America"

[John&LaLa]

When are you leaving?

 

Never mind, saw you pass by.  Must have left around 5:15

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Lvscruzn]

Just watched the sail-a-way out of Port Canaveral. So excited for the 17th. Have they given you a time of arrival in Miami? Hoping to catch it on the Port Miami web cam.  Thanks again for the great blog! All you info has made me more excited for our sailing!

[sh2738]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Day 11 - Dinner

 

Dinner tonight would be in the Solarium Bistro.  It's a pretty great location for dinner and with the Solarium changes on Symphony it is a pretty nice venue for dinner.

 

For those that want a short summary - come eat here.  Must. do.

 

The Solarium at dinner is by reservation but at no charge unless you want to enhance your dining experience with a special entree.

 

The 'menu' is offered outside on flat panel displays for your consideration.

 

 

 

 

 

Solarium Bistro is not a full sit down specialty dining venue.  You will be escorted to your seat but you will not be presented a full menu to order from. 

 

 

 

 

 

With the Solarium right outside the floor to ceiling windows of the Bistro make it a pretty great dining location.

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of a dinner menu I was offered a wine list to start and informed that the Bistro is more of buffet of sorts.  A foodie buffet.

 

 

 

My waiter did mention some specials one of which caught my ear.  A filet for $12.  Like a land restaurant the nightly specials don't appear on the menu.   I decided I better try the filet.  For $12 it's all in the name of research.

 

Having ordered the filet special I was invited to eat from the buffet as if I had not ordered an extra cost item.  

The Bistro is a collection of small items that you are free to pick as many of one, or a selection of many, as you see fit.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is also a pasta station where you can pick your ingredients and have them make a unique pasta entree.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

A salad station offers different types of salads to pick from.

 

 

 

My 'appetizer' tonight.  Mixed Salad, Chicken Kabob and Kofta.

 

 

 

By this point the sun had set and the beautiful art of the Solarium was illuminated with ever changing colors.  Quite mesmerizing to watch.   

 

 

 

Perhaps it was the wine, but it is a very unique and nice dining venue that really struck a chord with me.

 

 

 

Very quickly my filet arrived.

 

 

 

Cooked just as I requested and very good.  Yum.

Time for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

O. M. G.  

 

I would have taken pictures of dessert but I found myself diving into the wonderful flavors.  The Baklava really was good.  So were the two other dessert items I managed to eat.  Three desserts?  I don't normally do that but they were so good.

 

I wish I had found the Solarium Bistro earlier in the cruise.  While I'm not a foodie by nature the Kofta and Chicken Kabobs were really good as an appetizer.  I would gladly pay the $12 for the filet again.  Dessert - just wow.  

 

Between the ambiance of the venue itself and the food offered it was a highlight meal of the cruise for me.

 

Thanks for posting pics of the Solarium Bistro. I was curious about it because I couldn’t see on the menu on the app any vegetarian entrees so happy to see that there is a pasta station where it looks like some vegetarian friendly pasta could be made. Thanks. 

[msjazzymiss]

Thank you for the great review!  I was able to travel along with you through your pictures and very vivid descriptions of the different sites around the ship.  How I can look forward & dream about my cruise on the Ovation in September 2019.  Hope that ship is as lovely as the Symphony.

[Nunagoras]

Wonderful review and pictures!...

 

Or is it me, or the Symphony is far more beautiful than her very older sisters, Oasis and Allure. Having been on Allure myself when she came to Europe 3 years ago, I think so. This is a far more balanced ship than the others. And more pleasant to such an increasingly more international vibe they might have aboard, no matter if cruising Europe, Caribbean or elsewhere!... 🙂

 

Have a nice day!... 🙂

[John&LaLa]

Sailing out of Pt Canaveral.  Bummer it was so dark.  

 

Clearing the jetty

 

 

Passing our condo

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Pratique]

4 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Wonderful review and pictures!...

 

Or is it me, or the Symphony is far more beautiful than her very older sisters, Oasis and Allure. Having been on Allure myself when she came to Europe 3 years ago, I think so. This is a far more balanced ship than the others. And more pleasant to such an increasingly more international vibe they might have aboard, no matter if cruising Europe, Caribbean or elsewhere!... 🙂

 

Have a nice day!... 🙂

She definitely is more beautiful than all three of the others. The colors, lighting, textures and artwork are very appealing to the eye. The 12 days I just spent on the ship were probably the most relaxing and pleasant of any cruise I’ve taken. She has a smooth and easy vibe.

[twangster]

I plan to continue the timeline and post more to this thread but the last few days have been quite hectic. 

 

More to come...soon.

[vettprincess]

11 minutes ago, twangster said:

I plan to continue the timeline and post more to this thread but the last few days have been quite hectic. 

 

More to come...soon.

Don't worry all in good time-enjoy getting home to Colorado.

18 above zero this am and colder now similar for you.

Watching the symphony in mia now. Looks like fire boats shooting water for her departure.

Hope you are still near there and can enjoy more festivities for the ship.

[countess5]

I have been following since you post and thank you for the fantastic pics and comments! We have sailed all Oasis class ships twice each and will be on the symphony 50th celebration cruise and a B2B Symphony cruise in January 2019.

 

the ship looks fantastic and I am sure we will have a fantastic time, my only comment is that I watched Symphony come into Port Canaveral and sail out of Miami. Royal Caribbean to me has dropped the ball on a real kick off proud sailaway! I hope those on board had a better experience! 🍸

 

thanks again for all the post and for sharing so well the ship! 

 

 

[Missusdubbya]

Thanks for the wonderful review Twangster!

[perfect match]

I have really enjoyed your review, Twangster! Thank you very much for taking the time out of your cruise to share with us. 

[twangster]

Day 12 - Land Ho!

 

"Far,
We've been traveling far..."

Neil Diamond, "America"

 

 

Sometime around 3am I ventured to the port bridge wing to capture our arrival in Port Canaveral and to North America.  

 

 

 

Several people would join me, the bridge wings were very popular.

We did a quick turn in the mid-port turning basin and backed into the slip for Terminal 1 that Oasis of the Seas uses as her home.

 

 

 

Captain Rob expertly brought us in and we gently made contact with the pier.

 

 

Our progress...

 

 

For the first time on this voyage we were pointing due East.

 

 

 

With our arrival complete I went back to bed.  I wasn't expected to meet Customs and Border Patrol until late morning so sleep seemed like a good idea.

[twangster]

Day 12 - continued...

 

Everyone on the ship was required to meet Customs and Border Patrol on this day.  They had to get the ship to 'zero count' meaning all guests had to be off before any guest was allowed back onboard.  

 

With over 2,200 crew they had to be cleared by CBP as well which for them began at 4am as soon as we arrived.  The crew were cleared early and first so that they could go in waves and get back to the ship to prepare our breakfast and all the other things that the crew does.  

 

TV displays around the ship indicated when we were expected to debark.  Guests with excursions were to meet in the theater near the start of the process.  

 

 

Since my muster was G4 I had a couple of hours so I headed to the Solarium Bistro for a buffet breakfast.

 

 

The Bistro is much like the Windjammer for breakfast, self service with open seating.

 

 

 

There is an egg station were cooked to order eggs are prepared as you wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the two story floor to ceiling windows the Solarium Bistro is a great alternative to the Windjammer for a buffet type meal.

 

 

 

That second story seating area is part of the Hooked specialty dining venue.

[amyhphoto]

42 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

 

With the two story floor to ceiling windows the Solarium Bistro is a great alternative to the Windjammer for a buffet type 

I’ve really enjoyed your review, and your images are exceptional. Thank you for all of the hard work you have put into this. 

Question:

Maybe im missing something? Maybe I just don’t care for the Windjammer or MDR, but why wouldn’t everyone want to eat in the Solarium Bistro EVERY morning? It seems like such a no brainer. 

[twangster]

34 minutes ago, amyhphoto said:

I’ve really enjoyed your review, and your images are exceptional. Thank you for all of the hard work you have put into this. 

Question:

Maybe im missing something? Maybe I just don’t care for the Windjammer or MDR, but why wouldn’t everyone want to eat in the Solarium Bistro EVERY morning? It seems like such a no brainer. 

 

That's a terrible idea.  No one should do that.  Except me... and you.

[LuCruise]

Really loving your review.  Thank you for sharing, and with all the amazing pictures!  We quite enjoyed Solarium on Allure as well.  Great selection but healthier and different options from standard. Love the 'bird cage' chairs.  It looks like you can get a good view of the beautiful art work (not sure what to call it) from the restaurant?  I'd love our kids to see but obviously we can't take them there so nice if they can get a glimpse.

[twangster]

13 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

 I'd love our kids to see but obviously we can't take them there so nice if they can get a glimpse.

 

Bring your kids.  The Solarium Bistro shares the name with the adult only Solarium but you do not enter the Bistro through the Solarium.  It has it's own entrance between the elevator banks.  The Bistro has no age restrictions like the Solarium in front of it that does. 

[twangster]

The U.S. Coast Guard performs routine and periodic inspections of all ships.  When a ship arrives from outside of the region or in the event of new ship arriving those inspections are more thorough.  Inspections today had begun.  The crew was also exercising a fire drill throughout the morning witnessed by the USCG inspectors.

 

 

 

My destination today was very close, Grills restaurant where local Florida members of the RCPeriscopers.live group were meeting those of us from Symphony.  Located right behind Terminal 1 it's a great location to get pictures of the ship as well.

 

 

With many guests already off the ship I took advantage of taking more photos with fewer people around.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our cruise director had been making periodic announcements including frequently that port officials had requested they hold guests to avoid over crowding the terminal.  At 11 am I headed down to join the queue waiting to debark.

 

 

Once inside the terminal I eventually reached a point where they separated Canadian and American guests into their own queue for Customs and Border Patrol officials.  Just before noon I was outside the terminal on my way next door to Grills.

 

 

 

They had life boats down exercising them.  All life boats are lowered and operated on a periodic basis.  

 

 

They were also touching up the paint getting ready for the grand debut in Miami.  Who knew there was a 'Baby' Symphony of the Seas?

 

 

A great time was had meeting other members of the RCPeriscopers.live group all of which were extremely jealous that they weren't guests on board Symphony.  It's always great to meet people and put internet usernames to faces.

 

 

 

 

 

After several rounds and some food it was time to get back on board.

 

[MaiseyM]

Thank you for all the photos.  So nice.  I was trying to follow this thread from my cell, but since they changed the format, I find it more difficult to follow.  Thanks for posting all of the pictures.  

[twangster]

Day 12 - Port Canaveral Sail Away

 

Our sail away was the highlight of the local news.  The largest cruise ship in the world coming to America was a big deal. 

 

 

With a water cannon salute we pulled away from the pier with news helicopters flying overhead and a blast of the ship's whistle.

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of people came out to see us off.

 

 

 

We slowly made our way back into the Atlantic for our final night on board this wonderful ship.

 

 

 

Looking back at Port Canaveral we had a beautiful sunset tonight to send us off. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Day 12 - Evening

 

Our last night on board.  Sigh...

 

Our progress so far:

 

 

With 4,551 nautical miles behind us we hug the coast just far enough out to be outside the territorial boundary.

 

 

 

Dinner tonight would be in Playmakers.  Since it's Thursday, football was on.

 

 

I had wanted to see what their wings are like so for $8 I ordered the hot wings.

 

 

They are pretty good and it's a great place to hang out and watch the game.

 

 

Shortly after I ate they announced a hot wing challenge.  The winner got this super sized beer dispenser delivered to their table.

 

 

Perfect for when the doctor or wife says you can have only one beer. 

 

 

While I'm back here I thought I take a few more pictures.

 

 

I'm not normally one to take pictures in a bathroom, but I wanted to show you some of the bathroom art:

 

 

Back in Playmakers for a last night of Jenga with friends.  Not bad on a moving ship doing 20 knots.

 

 

 

Ugh.  What a horrible thing to see.

 

 

[twangster]

Day 13 - Miami and Debarking

 

Since I was up late with friends I slept as we arrived into Miami.

 

Our progress:

 

 

Cruise total, 4,701 nautical miles.

 

 

 

Still dark I ventured up to deck 16 to see what I could see.

 

 

 

 

 

True to his word, Captain Rob had delivered us to Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A first look at the now complete new Crown of Miami terminal building.

 

 

Since I was up here already I zipped into the Windjammer for a final breakfast.

[twangster]

Since I was up here and it was dark outside I thought I'd share another new feature that can be found on Symphony of the Seas.  Electronic vending machines.

 

I tried taking some photos mid-cruise but the glare from the outside light coming through the windows made picture taking pretty hard. 

 

 

 

 

While the machines are disabled when in port due to taxation and other retail regulations at any given port, these machines are generally available 24 hours a day when not in port.  That makes them a great alternative from the retail shops on board if you need something after hours.  

 

I know what you are thinking.  What kind of ungodly money do they charge in these vending machines?  Actually they are pretty reasonable.  I looked at an Over-The-Counter medication that was one of the more expensive items at $17.25.  The same item for the same size was $17.01 on Amazon (U.S.).  

 

 

This is not Costco or Walmart of the Seas so I wouldn't expect prices to compete with land prices on everything but they didn't appear to be very different compared to drug store prices for a few items I looked at.   

 

The electronics do appear to have a higher premium compared to Amazon but realistically it's not fair to compare prices coming off a European transatlantic cruise to pricing at Amazon.  Few retail stores in America are the same price as Amazon.  A bluetooth speaker was priced at $80 when the same item at Best Buy's website is $60.  

 

Are these going to be the cheapest prices for any item?  Not likely but the machines were very popular on this sailing any time I dropped by to try to take some pictures.  When you consider there is no additional tax collected as there would be (or should be) on land it's not that bad.

[twangster]

After breakfast I went down to deck 5 to have a look at the new terminal.

 

 

There is another new terminal that has just started construction.  If I recall this is for another cruise line.

 

 

That's Mariner of the Seas back down at terminal G.  She was using this new terminal for almost two weeks, testing it out and getting it ready for Symphony.

 

 

There were a number of loyal guests transferring from Symphony to Mariner as well as Serenade today.  Royal Caribbean very generously offered a free transfer for us and that was greatly appreciated.  We were instructed to had down to Studio B at 9:15am as our meeting place.  Luggage tag #75 were distributed to us (the last of the luggage tag zones).  I placed my bag outside of my cabin the night before as instructed.

 

Can you figure out what the mess is on the floor of Studio B?  It's the inflatable laser tag from the night before.

 

 

 

There were over 110 guests transferring to Mariner and Serenade today.

 

 

Mariner guest count was in the mid 80s and Serenade guest count around 30.

 

Sometime around 10:15am were led out to be scanned off the ship and down the gangway into the terminal.  We didn't get the full terminal experience but it certainly looked great and had that new building smell to it.

 

 

No customs processing here.  I found my bag and exited the terminal.

 

The pick up and drop off area is under cover of the building and it was pretty busy.  

 

 

 

There was a little confusion at this point with respect to where we were to find our shuttle bus.  

 

 

I found some fellow luggage tag 75 people and discovered they were also transferring to Serenade so we hung out as a group on the assumption there would be safety in numbers.  Eventually a Mariner bus was called and not long after another motor coach pulled up for Serenade.  Safely on board our bus we settled in for the short ride up to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.  

 

 

The transfer could have been a little better organized but it was free and greatly appreciated so I'm not complaining.  I checked Uber and Lyft and both were in the $45 range.  Loyalty does pay.  I don't think this is normally offered as a free service so if you are planning a side-to-side cruise I wouldn't count on this.

 

One last look at Symphony as we drove away in our bus.

 

 

Sometime around noon I was onboard Serenade using terminal 18 in Port Everglades.  

My 'office' here on Serenade as I finish with these last few posts.