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

[bonsai3s]

Those interested on taking the local bus to various beaches...there's "Arubus".

 

* Just outside the cruise terminal gate, across the street, and behind the building/shops...is the bus "terminal"...a large open area where buses end and start their routes.

 

* There's a kiosk (nice lady inside) selling bus tickets. $5/person roundtrip. Bus No. L10.

 

* There are a number of beautiful beaches along this route. You take the same bus back. Buses run about every 15 minutes.

 

* We decided to visit Eagle Beach...a quick 10-minute bus ride. (Note: This beach was popular...almost the entire bus got off.) The Fofoti Tree, the iconic symbol of Aruba, is at the north end, before the rocks.

 

Buses behind this building

 

Ticket kiosk

 

 

Bus L10

 

Eagle Beach

 

Fofoti Tree

[APDMOM]

11 hours ago, buffet24 said:

Hi there APDMOM,

If you get a chance, would it be possible to check the wifi internet speed (ie. speedtest.net) a few different times (if you remember) during mid-day on a Sea day?   Thank you in advance!!

 

Yes, I will do that 🙂

 

[APDMOM]

@bonsai3s Thank you for helping us plan our March 'excursion' in Aruba!  😄

 

We were contemplating doing Trikes of Aruba again, but I think a beach morning will be great!

 

TIP:  For anyone interested - our all-time favorite excursion was Trikes of Aruba.  You can see all about it in my review of Navigator of the Seas (November 2017) in my signature link.  

 

Flashback to 2017:

[APDMOM]

My View: End of Day 5 - Aruba

 

Grateful for night-time walks with my family, and the opportunity to take a photo of our ship at night:

[cruisin73]

On 11/23/2023 at 7:42 PM, APDMOM said:

TIP: Don't miss the campfire cookie at Playmakers.  When I saw reviews that this is a "MUST HAVE", I did not believe it.  Now I do!  It really is delicious.  DS and I will share another one soon!

 

Had one of those in May on Symphony.  Can't wait to have another in a week.

[APDMOM]

Day 5 Cruise Compass - Aruba

 

PDF for Download:

cruisecompass.pdf

 

Images:

 

 

 

 

[Morecruisesplz]

14 hours ago, buffet24 said:

Hi there APDMOM,

If you get a chance, would it be possible to check the wifi internet speed (ie. speedtest.net) a few different times (if you remember) during mid-day on a Sea day?   Thank you in advance!!

 

I will save APDMOM some time: it's slow!

[gizbug]

On the same ship as you currently. Will be curious to read your final verdict. This is our 4th year on RCL over Thanksgiving and have to admit this year there were some changes from previous years that hurt the overall experience 

[Morecruisesplz]

8 minutes ago, gizbug said:

On the same ship as you currently. Will be curious to read your final verdict. This is our 4th year on RCL over Thanksgiving and have to admit this year there were some changes from previous years that hurt the overall experience 

Like...?

[gizbug]

19 minutes ago, Morecruisesplz said:

Like...?

Don’t want to hijack the thread. I’ll post in the next few days after vacation.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by gizbug

[rorito]

I am reading posts that a lot of the fleet has begun decorating the ships for Christmas. Have you seen any sign of that on Symphony yet? 

[sdrocks]

17 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

@sdrocks  The verdict on Aruba is questionable for a wheelchair.  It is doable, but there are not many ramps to cross the streets, some of the sidewalks are narrow, and some are not well maintained.  It depends on the kind of wheelchair you have whether it will be a 'smooth' ride.  

 

Curaçao is much better - very accessible, though still a longer walk from the pier to the fort.  The Emma bridge (Pontoon Bridge) is easy to cross to "The Other Side" - Otrobanda, which has many great shopping experiences.  You may want to look at Google maps for the walking distances.  Hope this is helpful!  All the best for your planning. ❤️

Thanks for the update.  Yes, this is very helpful for planning.  Hope the rest of your cruise is amazing.

[gizbug]

7 minutes ago, rorito said:

I am reading posts that a lot of the fleet has begun decorating the ships for Christmas. Have you seen any sign of that on Symphony yet? 

tree went up at 730am this morning 

[wolfcathorse]

On 11/23/2023 at 7:33 PM, APDMOM said:

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I know I am falling behind 😄  We had such amazing days in Aruba and Curaçao that I have not had much time to organize pictures.  

 

The good news is, we have 2 sea days ahead and I will have time to 'catch up' some.

 

Reminder:  With only 2 days to go, please post your requests as soon as possible so that I can try to find answers and/or take requested pictures for you.  

Who's the captain? Capt Teo? It looked like Capt Teo Strazicic in your picture from the Top Tier party

[Sea Viewer]

Just did speed test in medical center on deck 2. Was better in the solarium 

[APDMOM]

Internet Speeds

 

We have not had trouble, except on the balcony itself…. It is a bir slow right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

4 hours ago, wolfcathorse said:

Who's the captain? Capt Teo? It looked like Capt Teo Strazicic in your picture from the Top Tier party

It is Captain Angel… Really enjoyed the Captain’s Corner.  Will post some info about that when we get home. 🙂

[APDMOM]

Best laid plans…

 

Well Well, I thought 2 Seas days would be enough to catch up, but I underestimated the ship and offerings!! Sorry to be do delayed with posts… I will try to get everything posted by Wednesday. My day job is pretty busy, but I don’t want to drag this out.  

 

I hope I did not miss any requests… If I did, please remind me ASAP. 🙂 Tomorrow, we have to leave this beautiful ship. 

[APDMOM]

7 hours ago, gizbug said:

On the same ship as you currently. Will be curious to read your final verdict. This is our 4th year on RCL over Thanksgiving and have to admit this year there were some changes from previous years that hurt the overall experience 

I will definitely post my verdict on this ship/cruise at the end of the day-to-day accounts. I don’t mind you posting your experience in this thread. I think information is helpful for people who plan future cruises. 🙂 Every opinion has value. 

[trihawks1]

A huge thank you for all of your awesome info and photos.  We will be on Symphony in a couple weeks!  Have a safe trip home.

[Margin Walker]

I really enjoyed this thread.  Thanks for sharing all of this.  
 

My girlfriend and I are arriving at Terminal 18 @ 12:30 PM tomorrow to board Symphony.  

[buffet24]

7 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Internet Speeds

We have not had trouble, except on the balcony itself…. It is a bir slow right now.

 

These are pretty good speeds... Thank you for checking!!!  👍👍

[bonsai3s]

5 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Best laid plans…

 

Well Well, I thought 2 Seas days would be enough to catch up, but I underestimated the ship and offerings!! Sorry to be do delayed with posts… I will try to get everything posted by Wednesday. My day job is pretty busy, but I don’t want to drag this out.  

 

I hope I did not miss any requests… If I did, please remind me ASAP. 🙂 Tomorrow, we have to leave this beautiful ship. 

We'd be happy to help as well...we are staying on.

[amby6063]

Absolutely love your review! Thank you for posting! We are sailing 6 nights on Symphony in January, can’t wait!

[FionaMG]

8 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Best laid plans…

 

Well Well, I thought 2 Seas days would be enough to catch up, but I underestimated the ship and offerings!! Sorry to be do delayed with posts… I will try to get everything posted by Wednesday. My day job is pretty busy, but I don’t want to drag this out.  

 

I hope I did not miss any requests… If I did, please remind me ASAP. 🙂 Tomorrow, we have to leave this beautiful ship. 

 

No apologies required. I, for one, am grateful to you for posting and while I am eagerly awaiting the rest I think it should be enjoyable to you to continue your write-up, rather than a chore. Take all the time you need.

Thanks again for sharing and safe travels home. 🥰