The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, And Me!

[zooma]

2 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

Looks like you have some good recommendations.  Ours are from Wild hard Outfitters?  Not sure the specific type. 

 

I zoomed in on your pic, and it looks like the brand is Wildhorn Outfitters. Their website does show a few different kinds. (Wonder if all airtight enough around the eyes to keep contacts from floating away.)

 

Anyway, looks like a good rec -- thank you for that and for this terrific review!

[Grenouille21]

1 hour ago, zooma said:

 

I zoomed in on your pic, and it looks like the brand is Wildhorn Outfitters. Their website does show a few different kinds. (Wonder if all airtight enough around the eyes to keep contacts from floating away.)

 

Anyway, looks like a good rec -- thank you for that and for this terrific review!

 

Ha ha typo!  I meant Wild horn.  Man, autocorrect is trying to make this into a very different kind of review!

[Cel_cruise]

 
Ha ha typo!  I meant Wild horn.  Man, autocorrect is trying to make this into a very different kind of review!

Hahahahahhaha - this made my night!!!


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[Grenouille21]

Day 6 continued

 

We had plans to see iSkate 2.0, the other ice show on Symphony.  No reservations are needed, just show up.  I was a little nervous about finding seats, so I planned to arrive early.  You can guess how this went by now.  But for a different reason!  The Cruise Compass says the show starts at 7, but somehow I had 7:15 in my head.  I swear I checked the app and it said 7:15, and I swear I checked it later and it still said 7:15.  So we show up at 7 ("Yay, we're early!" I thought to myself on the way down there) and the freaking doors are closed.  NOOOOOOOOO!  How did this keep happening to me?????

 

Luckily they let us in, and we found seats.  Thank goodness because once again this show was awesome!  This is a fun show, no story, set to music you will mostly know, where they just go out there and show off their moves.  If you like the first show, see this one.  It has all the skating of the first show.  The only thing missing is the drones.  I have video, but when I posted it on Instagram and Facebook I received a notice of copyright infringement for the music from BOTH sites, so I don't want to post the video here.  Songs include: We Are the Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody (not the whole thing), This is Me, and other upbeat songs.  

 

 

 

The do all of these projections on the ice that add to the show and make it more immersive.

 

 

 

This was during Bohemian Rhapsody, I think.

 

 

During a song from The Greatest Showman which I cannot share here because I do not own the rights to the song or music (OK Facebook/Insta, I GET IT)

 

 

Great show, once again.  Try to sit in the middle and in the front, especially with kids as they will high five kids etc.

 

After the show it was time for dinner.  I had the Caprese Salad as a starter.  Could they have used less balsamic?  I don't think so.  But still, otherwise very difficult to mess up a Caprese Salad and this one was fine.  

 

 

I believe I also ordered the Onion tart because I couldn't imagine what that was, and Shadeik said it was like a quiche, and I like quiche.  I guess I really liked it because I ate it without photographing it.  

 

I think this was the tenderloin, which was pretty rare.  I know, I had a lot of red meat on this vacation.  I hardly ever eat it at home, so on vacation I order it often.  DD ordered a steak "medium" one night and it was SUPER rare (Shadeik took one look at it after DD cut into it and was like "Whoa, that's not medium, can I get you a new one?" so they were on top of it), but that and this were the only times the meat was a bit undercooked.  

 

 

For dessert... Baked Alaska!

 

 

Side note: the first time I had Baked Alaska I was in... Alaska.  

 

DD ordered the chocolate lava cake.

 

 

On the way up to wherever we were going next (probably to the room, to change into "normal" clothes, as it had been formal night again), I heard piano playing and singing, and I thought "Wow, the guy at Schooner's has his microphone turned waaaay up and has a huge crowd tonight!  As our elevator ascended, we spotted the Stowaway Piano Man!  

 

 

This guy moves all over the ship, and you never know where he'll be.  Sometimes he is in an elevator (DS found him there twice) and sometimes out near the dining rooms or other locations.  

 

Super short video:

 

[MEDIA=vimeo]327644520[/MEDIA]

 

You never know when or where you'll find him, so keep your eyes open, and watch other elevators through the glass, too!   

 

So we went up to the room, and this guy was waiting for us:

 

 

Then probably DS went to the club and DD and I went to check out other places besides Schooner's.  We checked out On Air, the karaoke club.  I had stopped in there after the adult comedy show, and there were teens there, so FYI this is a family-friendly place.  Would your young kids be entertained?  Maybe earlier in the day but not at 10pm.  I swear they brought in ringers for karaoke.  There is NO WAY there are that many amazing singers on one cruise ship, even if it is the biggest cruise ship in the world!  NO WAY!  A family sang Bohemian Rhapsody (I wonder if that is a popular song on the Rhapsody of the Seas?  Probably not), two teens sang "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night," a woman sang "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and it went on and on.  Really fun, and usually standing room only!  Bring your A Game to karaoke on RCI!

 

Then it was back to the room for bed.  Our last day was tomorrow!  Hard to believe it was almost time to say goodbye to the Symphony, and to our vacation!  In the past we had scheduled a few days at Disney or Universal after a cruise (sailing in and out of Port Canaveral) but this time the kids were leaving to visit their dad's family the day after we returned, so no post-vacation for us.  

 

We were docking in Nassau on Day 7, and our plans were a bit different than usual.  

[perfect match]

I have the iSkate show on my must do list on Symphony already. At this point on the app it does not indicate a 7 PM show. I hope that changes once we are onboard, or I will have to miss something else in order to see it. For now, keeping my fingers crossed, but I am fully aware that there are so many wonderful things to do on Symphony that I will never in my wildest dreams be able to fit in everything I want to do. We have been on Oasis twice, and I still haven’t managed to fit in everything there! 

 

Grenouille21, great trip report! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to share with us!

[perfect match]

For those of you interested in full face snorkel masks, I found this list of highly rated masks that might be one good place to start your research.

 

https://www.divein.com/full-face-snorkel-mask/

 

Hope this helps. 

[perfect match]

16 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@perfect match I bought the Olympus TG-5 two weeks ago and will try it out on 4 snorkel excursions during our Reflection cruise starting April 12. I chose it because of the latest underwater camera reviews on DPReviews, which said the picture quality and availability of higher rate on 4K set it apart from comparably priced models. I will hopefully post some pics starting @ 4/15 or so if those might help. Allow for total inexperience with the camera!

 

@mayleeman, I’d love to hear how you make out with your TG5. I need to test my old TG2 to see if it is really as much in need of replacement as I think it is. If I need a new camera, I want to be sure I have time to practice with it and also do an underwater test or two before we sail. Time is getting short, so I’d better get going! 

[Ralphinsc]

This has been a wonderful review @Grenouille21 . We fly out for our pre-vacay in Miami for our Symphony cruise early tomorrow morning and your review has been the perfect thing to get me hyped, ready, and set for this cruise! Thanks again for all the wonderful pictures, comments, and information! As a parent of a teen and with the Key for this upcoming cruise, this has been the perfect lead-in review to what we are looking forward to. 

[Lionesss]

6 hours ago, perfect match said:

For those of you interested in full face snorkel masks, I found this list of highly rated masks that might be one good place to start your research.

 

https://www.divein.com/full-face-snorkel-mask/

 

Hope this helps. 

Thanks for sharing

 

Now I am really glad we ordered them from Amazon.

 

Should be delivered today or tomorrow.

 

Thanks again.

[dreadpirate3]

I've enjoyed your review so much, especially since I am 52 days from my first cruise on Symphony!

 

On any RCCL ship, in the main dining room, you can ask for freshly whipped cream, sweetened or unsweetened. 😍

[ShillyShally]

11 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

I heard piano playing and singing, and I thought "Wow, the guy at Schooner's has his microphone turned waaaay up and has a huge crowd tonight!  As our elevator ascended, we spotted the Stowaway Piano Man!  

 

 

This guy moves all over the ship, and you never know where he'll be.  Sometimes he is in an elevator (DS found him there twice) and sometimes out near the dining rooms or other locations.  

 

Ha, I was wondering if they were now doing this on all ships!  We found this guy our first night on Indy when we got in an elevator - it was fun!  

[ShillyShally]

8 hours ago, perfect match said:

For those of you interested in full face snorkel masks, I found this list of highly rated masks that might be one good place to start your research.

 

https://www.divein.com/full-face-snorkel-mask/

 

Hope this helps. 

Thank you!!

[Cel_cruise]

This has been a wonderful review [mention=892633]Grenouille21[/mention] . We fly out for our pre-vacay in Miami for our Symphony cruise early tomorrow morning and your review has been the perfect thing to get me hyped, ready, and set for this cruise! Thanks again for all the wonderful pictures, comments, and information! As a parent of a teen and with the Key for this upcoming cruise, this has been the perfect lead-in review to what we are looking forward to. 

Ralph - we sail on Symphony with the key the week after you! Would you mind trying to post the info in your welcome letter about the Flowrider / zip line usage etc when you get on board? Would love to have a little more info on Symphony and Key!!


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[Ralphinsc]

1 hour ago, Cel_cruise said:

 

Ralph - we sail on Symphony with the key the week after you! Would you mind trying to post the info in your welcome letter about the Flowrider / zip line usage etc when you get on board? Would love to have a little more info on Symphony and Key!!


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I'll try to post it in the Key thread. I don't generally access the forums from my mobile device though, so there's no telling how that will go! LOL!

[Grenouille21]

19 hours ago, perfect match said:

I have the iSkate show on my must do list on Symphony already. At this point on the app it does not indicate a 7 PM show. I hope that changes once we are onboard, or I will have to miss something else in order to see it. For now, keeping my fingers crossed, but I am fully aware that there are so many wonderful things to do on Symphony that I will never in my wildest dreams be able to fit in everything I want to do. We have been on Oasis twice, and I still haven’t managed to fit in everything there! 

 

Grenouille21, great trip report! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to share with us!

 

Keep checking the times.  I don't remember when I saw this.  There was another one, maybe at 4pm one day?  We were struggling to make that one work (shocking, I know) then I saw the 7pm one and it saved us.  Also, they had to reschedule a couple of Aqua Shows because of the ship's movement, so they may shift things around once on board, too. 

 

13 hours ago, Ralphinsc said:

This has been a wonderful review @Grenouille21 . We fly out for our pre-vacay in Miami for our Symphony cruise early tomorrow morning and your review has been the perfect thing to get me hyped, ready, and set for this cruise! Thanks again for all the wonderful pictures, comments, and information! As a parent of a teen and with the Key for this upcoming cruise, this has been the perfect lead-in review to what we are looking forward to. 

 

Awesome!  I know you will have a wonderful time!  I want to hear all about your Key experience, and compare notes.  I am hopeful that ours was a one-off, because I hate to think that others are not getting what they expect/hope for.

 

10 hours ago, dreadpirate3 said:

I've enjoyed your review so much, especially since I am 52 days from my first cruise on Symphony!

 

On any RCCL ship, in the main dining room, you can ask for freshly whipped cream, sweetened or unsweetened. 😍

 

NOW YOU TELL ME!!!!!!  🤬😡🤬

 

😜

 

This should really be a sticky thread on the RCI page.  Just that particular bit of info, as a thread title, pinned to the top, because who WOULDN'T prefer real whipped cream over the weird almost-solid stuff?  

 

10 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Ha, I was wondering if they were now doing this on all ships!  We found this guy our first night on Indy when we got in an elevator - it was fun!  

 

So fun!  Is he only on Oasis and Freedom class?  We will be on Adventure next year and I would love to try my luck at finding him.  If not, I guess we will have no choice but to sail again on RCI. 😉

 

9 hours ago, Cel_cruise said:

 

Ralph - we sail on Symphony with the key the week after you! Would you mind trying to post the info in your welcome letter about the Flowrider / zip line usage etc when you get on board? Would love to have a little more info on Symphony and Key!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

8 hours ago, Ralphinsc said:

 

I'll try to post it in the Key thread. I don't generally access the forums from my mobile device though, so there's no telling how that will go! LOL!

 

Yes, I want to hear about your experience, too!

[Grenouille21]

You guys, I had a panic moment (OK, panic 30 minutes).  My photos disappeared from my phone.  I have no idea where they went.  They are on the SD card, but the SD card gallery is gone.  I can't get the SD card out, either, because you need some pin-sized thing and an actual pin doesn't work, apparently.  I thought I was out of luck!

 

Thank you Google, for backing up my photos!!!!!!  They're here, but it is taking me twice as long to load them to Flickr.  I am hoping to finish this up tonight or tomorrow.  

 

OMG it is a miracle.  I restarted my phone and it is back to normal.  Well, I can't get those 30 minutes of my life back, but at least now I can get the photos updated and finish this up tonight or tomorrow. 

[Grenouille21]

Day 7.  The Last Day.

 

It doesn't matter how long your cruise is, the last day is always sad.  Well maybe unless you go on one of those World Cruises that are 150 days long.  Then maybe you are ready to resume life on land.  

 

 

 

 

 

Today we would be docking in Nassau at 10:00.  We woke up at around 8:30, and when I went outside I saw this:

 

 

Which is strange because it meant we were approaching Nassau.

 

 

I'm not sure I have ever been on a ship that arrived early, but maybe I have.  Doesn't matter, we were there and that's what's important.  

 

 

 

 

We did a 180 so we could back into the dock.  Wouldn't it be funny if cruise ships made that beeping noise when they backed into a dock?  

 

 

That meant our side of the ship would be against the dock.  This meant I could watch us dock.  

 

Celebrity equinox was already there.  Show off.  

 

 

I tried to raise the dead (you know who I mean) and only one of them thought this was worth watching.  I now wish I had taken a photo of all of the heads I could see looking over their balcony railings, watching us dock.  

 

 

Here comes the Pilot!

 

 

We would have lots of new neighbors when we returned later.  But for now, it was just us and our show off Celebrity sister.  

 

Sloooowly backing up now...

 

 

 

I've always wondered how these massive ships dock.  I used to sail at overnight camp, on sailboats that could hold 4-6 girls.  I was quite the sailor, but even so every now and then I would hit the dock too hard, or fly past the mooring and have to try again.  I know cruise ships sometimes have to try again, and again, and again.  It was smooth, so we wouldn't have to try again, but still, I was very interested in how this would work.  

 

 

This gave me pre-nightmares.  The kind of nightmare you have while you are awake and nothing bad has happened, but it really looks like something bad could happen at any moment.  This guy was out on the black thing, with his feet in the water, and all I could think was "What is he DOING???  What if he falls!??!"

 

 

I had started to go back inside because, well, pre-nightmare.  But I couldn't tear myself away.  I was behind the glass now, though, because I wanted to hide if something bad happened.  (Nothing bad happened). The guy was farther off the black thing at one point, and that is when I hid behind the glass.  You know, because then I can't see anything.  Behind glass.  Clear glass.  Yeah not sure what I was thinking.  

 

 

So it seems he had been pulling a very thin line out of the water.  By the way, if you know what is going on, and I am sure many of you do, don't tell me.  I like my uneducated version better.  Its more fun.  

 

 

Now even I know that line isn't going to hold the ship.  I've seen the lines that hold the ship and that ain't it.  But I couldn't imagine what he was doing with that tiny line.  Line?  Rope?  I don't know.  I haven't sailed in 30 years.

 

 

Ohhhhhhhhh, there's a bigger line/rope there, and the smaller line/rope is pulling it.  Ok, that's making more sense now.  

 

 

Now that I was fairly sure the guy wasn't going to fall in the water, I was fully invested in watching.  At least for 5 more minutes.  They hooked the line on that little forklift.

 

 

And the forklift started to drive away.

 

 

 

I decided to film this part, for some reason.

 

[MEDIA=vimeo]328084456[/MEDIA]

 

Interestingly, this is when I decided I was done watching this and we should go get breakfast.  I'm so disappointed in myself.  But, in my defense, we were eating at Johnny Rocket's for breakfast (included with your cruise fare!) and then we had plans, and I didn't want to spend all morning watching us dock.  Next time.  Maybe.  

 

Johnny was calling my name, so off we went.  Why?  Well let me tell you.  1) We had not successfully had an official breakfast in a buffet or restaurant once on our cruise. This in itself is both shameful and impressive.  2)  We had held out on the buffet so long, I decided to go the distance and avoid it again.  3) I don't even like buffet eggs, so that wasn't really a sacrifice.  4) I DO like buffet waffles, and the strawberry syrup that always happens to be nearby, and the whipped cream that also happens to be nearby (but only the real whipped cream, not that solid stuff that looks like whipped cream but tastes like paste.  5)  Not that I was planning to eat waffles anyway.  6) Or strawberry syrup.  7) Or fake whipped cream.  And 😎 because I wanted an omelet and I forgot that the Solarium Bistro exists and also has an omelet station.  

 

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!  (At Sea!)

 

 

I was very happy to get my omelet.  It was good!  Nothing like the disappointing room service eggs. The potatoes were basically French fries, so that's awesome.  And the toast is toast.  

 

 

Somebody got this well-rounded meal of pancakes and bacon and someone else got French toast and bacon.  

 

 

 

Neither of them got the potatoes.  I did not want to share, but I did.  A little.  Luckily they liked their food so it was all good.  We ate outside and it was so nice. It was quiet, sunny, but we were in the shade so it wasn't hot.  It really was the perfect outdoor dining situation.

 

I wasn't sure what to do when we were done.  Do we still get a bill?  Do we just leave?  The servers were fawning all over this (admittedly adorable) baby who was hamming it up for them but I asked at the door and they said we could just leave.  Oh, I had ordered a Diet Coke (don't judge, I need my caffeine and I do not like plain coffee, lattes only for this gal) and it was included in the beverage package, as was the orange juice my kids ordered.  So we paid nothing for the meal.  

 

I am going to be mean and stop here, because it is late.  Sorry!!!!!

[LuCruise]

On 4/2/2019 at 1:32 AM, perfect match said:

I have the iSkate show on my must do list on Symphony already. At this point on the app it does not indicate a 7 PM show. I hope that changes once we are onboard, or I will have to miss something else in order to see it. For now, keeping my fingers crossed, but I am fully aware that there are so many wonderful things to do on Symphony that I will never in my wildest dreams be able to fit in everything I want to do. We have been on Oasis twice, and I still haven’t managed to fit in everything there! 

 

Grenouille21, great trip report! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to share with us!

Sometimes with the app, I found I had to sign out and back in to have it updated.  Other items might have been updated as well closer to the date.

 

For our Symphony cruise, the first night (Day 4) iSkate was showing at 7:15pm and 9pm.  Second night (Day 6), it was on at 7pm.

[Grenouille21]

5 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Sometimes with the app, I found I had to sign out and back in to have it updated.  Other items might have been updated as well closer to the date.

 

For our Symphony cruise, the first night (Day 4) iSkate was showing at 7:15pm and 9pm.  Second night (Day 6), it was on at 7pm.

 

This is what messed me up on getting there on time.  We had planned to see the Day 4 show at 7:15 but then decided to see it on Day 6.  I didn't look at the day in the app and thought Day 6 was at 7:15.  So we arrived as it started.  

[LuCruise]

5 minutes ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

This is what messed me up on getting there on time.  We had planned to see the Day 4 show at 7:15 but then decided to see it on Day 6.  I didn't look at the day in the app and thought Day 6 was at 7:15.  So we arrived as it started.  

Yeah...I remember ours was 7:15pm originally too (checked before we left).  Not sure why they moved it back and those 15 minutes can make a difference.

Amazing review!  And i get to relive our trip . 😊

[TravelGirlinDallas]

8 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

Wouldn't it be funny if cruise ships made that beeping noise when they backed into a dock?  

 

🤣🤣🤣

[Judyrem]

I plan to avoid the buffet too, I eat way too much.🙄  I want to go Johnny Rockets as much as possible for breakfast,.  My granddaughter loves pancakes and bacon, so it is all good for me, and I love poached eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNN8LVX/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=     Best mask ever, no CO2 build up and I used to dive all the time, I am picky about my snorkel masks.

 

[ShillyShally]

8 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

Day 7.  The Last Day.

 

It doesn't matter how long your cruise is, the last day is always sad.  Well maybe unless you go on one of those World Cruises that are 150 days long.  Then maybe you are ready to resume life on land.  

 

So true!  Though I will say when we did an 8 night on Carnival having that 8th night really made me feel like I had truly gotten a week's worth - I think it was having a full Saturday on board at the 2nd end (it was a Sat-Sun cruise).

[2Long2NxtCrz]

On 4/1/2019 at 2:17 PM, mayleeman said:

@2Long2NxtCrz I just reread your post and realized I missed something. Don't refrain from snorkeling because of your vision!!! Go to a good dive shop. If you cannot wear contacts, they have masks that they can replace the glass with prescription glass.  And not nearly as expensive as you might think!

I think it'd be cheaper for me to get contacts, which I was thinking about.  I don't wear them due to problems they were causing me years ago, but having them to use for a week just for snorkeling (or swimming)?  Seems like the way to go.  I wasn't kidding about being very blind, not legally, but so bad that I doubt it'd be feasible to get lens with the right correction in a mask (large glasses definitely start to look like coke bottles, even with high index lenses).

 

I've sent hubby the information about full face masks and we're for sure buying him one.  I think we might buy me one, too.  I figure my daughter can always use it, too.

 

Thanks for all of your help!

[2Long2NxtCrz]

On 4/1/2019 at 1:28 PM, Grenouille21 said:

Every one wore life vests while snorkeling, I think it is a requirement.  They said you could choose how much to inflate it, so if you wanted to free dive you could deflate it all the way, I guess.  But everyone was wearing them.  

Thanks for the information.  I've not done snorkeling on a tour so wasn't sure how strict they'd be.  If I go, I definitely wouldn't free dive!  (Doubt my ears could take it.)

 

On 4/1/2019 at 1:28 PM, Grenouille21 said:

I would have a hard time vacationing with DD's friends' families, but I have thought about seeing if she can just bring a friend with us.  I would have to really like the friend, though.  

It's definitely best if you're compatible.  One of my daughter's BFF's grandmother is my cruise companion.  We have a blast, quite honestly.  But that's rare, I know.  I hope you can work something out!

 

And thanks again for a marvelous review!