Symphony April 13 - 25/24

[Roland4]

5 hours ago, cruise_loverinlaval said:

Hello, let me help you post your pictures.  I was able to load them on my iPad.

Thank you from the bottom of my Digital Klutz heart!!!😁

[Roland4]

35 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

Thanks...  The bridge has been gone since the late 90's though, so at least that's not recent.  🙂 

 

Vince

But the fountain in the Cove/Atrium is running again! It seems to me you once commented on that!

[BWIVince]

27 minutes ago, Roland4 said:

But the fountain in the Cove/Atrium is running again! It seems to me you once commented on that!

 

haha. I forgot about that!  Off the top of my head I don't remember what year that was, except it was in the early 2010's...  They had the fountain shut off to re-string all the leads.  The deafening silence in the Crystal Plaza in the morning and afternoon, except for the occasional echo of voices), was really creepy!  I'm so glad that was my only Symphony cruise without the fountain running.  🙂 

 

Vince

[Roland4]

14 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Would you recommend those excursions? 

We thought the all day tour was about an hour too long and we personally could have done without the Grand Bazaar as we are not shoppers. Beyond that, we enjoyed both tours, and we certainly learned a lot about the history of Istanbul! 

[vino100]

Thanks for all the info and pix. Did you notice if there are any tables for 8 in the dining rooms? 

[Roland4]

2 hours ago, vino100 said:

Thanks for all the info and pix. Did you notice if there are any tables for 8 in the dining rooms? 

Can't say that I did, but pushing 4 two-tops together to create one would not be a problem.

[Texas Tillie]

7 hours ago, Roland4 said:

Can't say that I did, but pushing 4 two-tops together to create one would not be a problem.

 

Aren't there still larger round tables in the center section of Waterside? I am aware of an oval table for 12 that was set up for the first night of your current cruise.

[Whipsnade]

Yes. There are larger tables available. Best to try and reserve one. 

[Txcotn]

Yes there are round and oval tables. The oval ones are nice if you have a party of 9, which we did, and we were able to get it every night. Of course that was OC…

[Roland4]

7 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Aren't there still larger round tables in the center section of Waterside? I am aware of an oval table for 12 that was set up for the first night of your current cruise.

There is a larger table in the centre section that I always thought was the Captain's Table, We had dinner with the Captain after the Society party, but there were only six of us, so we were at the next table. Only time this cruise we have been in the centre section, but then we have only been in Waterside three nights of the first eight! Had a great time tonight in the Vintage Room!!!

[Stickman1990]

4 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Yes. There are larger tables available. Best to try and reserve one. 

You can’t reserve tables in Waterside

 

What you can do is let the Restaurant Manager know that you have a large group and what time you’d like to dine so he’s aware of your plans

[vino100]

Thanks everyone for the info. So will I have to reserve a larger table when I get on board or have my TA try and book it ahead. 

[Stickman1990]

1 hour ago, vino100 said:

Thanks everyone for the info

 
Like I said you can’t actually reserve tables in Waterside

You can reserve tables in Umi Uma, OdO and Tastes

[Texas Tillie]

7 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

 
Like I said you can’t actually reserve tables in Waterside

You can reserve tables in Umi Uma, OdO and Tastes

 

No, you can not reserve a table, in the strictest definition, but I was just on the Serenity in Jan - Feb, with an almost full ship, and we had the same table set up for 9 every evening after our group "leader" spoke with Leo the first day. The table was basically ours as we showed up at 7:30 every evening we were there and not at a specialty. Leo was also reminded before the nights we were going to the specialties so that the waiters did not need to set up "our" table. It certainly wouldn't hurt to speak with the maitre'd the first day and ask if this is possible.

 

Patty

[Whipsnade]

Same worked for us on Symphony for two months. We just let them know at 5 PM whether we were coming or not and what time. Couldn’t have been more accommodating. 

[Roland4]

Sliding back on topic! We were in the Osterria two nights ago and are now firmly on the side of liking it better than Prego. They have made a few changes to the menu since we dined there on Serenity last September, adding a Caprese Salad option and a Filet Steak option that I don't recall being there. We enjoyed it so much, we are going again the last night of the cruise!

 

We did the Vintage Room last night and it was amazing as usual! The room is a little smaller than on Serenity, but we had a full table of 12, with lots of wine and lots of conversation!! A good time was had by all!!

 

[BEAV]

2 minutes ago, Roland4 said:

Sliding back on topic! We were in the Osterria two nights ago and are now firmly on the side of liking it better than Prego. They have made a few changes to the menu since we dined there on Serenity last September, adding a Caprese Salad option and a Filet Steak option that I don't recall being there. We enjoyed it so much, we are going again the last night of the cruise!

 

We did the Vintage Room last night and it was amazing as usual! The room is a little smaller than on Serenity, but we had a full table of 12, with lots of wine and lots of conversation!! A good time was had by all!!

 

I’m glad to hear both guests and Crystal alike are adjusting and adapting to “O” as time goes on. I’m definitely looking forward to a more traditional Italian experience vs. what we in North America define as “traditional Italian”. (No personal offense to Mama Celeste…)
 

And there’s no such thing as a “bad night” in the Vintage Room! 🍷

[Roland4]

Our first, and hopefully last, itinerary disruption was just announced by the Captain. The forecast for Santorini tomorrow is for 50 knot winds in the anchorage, so our stop has been cancelled. We are instead going to Nafplion, which is certainly not Santorini, but we were there on Esprit in 2017 and quite enjoyed it! And the side benefit is we don't have to get up at 00:Dark-Hundred as we would have had to do for our very early tour departure!!!!! 😁

[Noggins]

8 hours ago, Roland4 said:

Our first, and hopefully last, itinerary disruption was just announced by the Captain. The forecast for Santorini tomorrow is for 50 knot winds in the anchorage, so our stop has been cancelled. We are instead going to Nafplion, which is certainly not Santorini, but we were there on Esprit in 2017 and quite enjoyed it! And the side benefit is we don't have to get up at 00:Dark-Hundred as we would have had to do for our very early tour departure!!!!! 😁

Santorini has been ruined by the hordes (although I have not checked how many ships were due tomorrow). The only good way to spend the day on a Santorini stop is making it a sea day and enjoy an empty-ish ship. IMHO, of course, Nafplion is a much better stop (and is not naff). Enjoy!

[Roland4]

It turned into an interesting afternoon. About 4:00 we started seeing smoke in the air just above the town. By 5:00 there was a raging inferno burning up into the hills above the town!! Thankfully, the howling winds pushed the flames up into the hills above the town, but it looked pretty scary from the ship!

 

Finally it came time to depart, and nothing happened. And nothing happened. And nothing happened! Apparently the winds and waves were so intense, they could not capture the final tender! It took almost two hours, and multiple attempts. I watched the second last one from Deck 7, and as the tender came alongside, a gust of wind pitched the bow of the tender into the hull and forced it to back off. Finally, it came in. They were able to latch onto the bow davit, and then two crew manhandled the davit into the stern. The moment they got contact, the cables tightened and they pulled it out of the water!

 

The seas are fairly intense, but fortunately are running mostly from behind us as we head west toward Nafplion!

[Roland4]

On 4/22/2024 at 2:16 PM, Noggins said:

Santorini has been ruined by the hordes (although I have not checked how many ships were due tomorrow). The only good way to spend the day on a Santorini stop is making it a sea day and enjoy an empty-ish ship. IMHO, of course, Nafplion is a much better stop (and is not naff). Enjoy!

At the end of the day we turned Nafplion into an "in-port sea day"!! We needed the time off after five days of all-day tours, plus it was a grey, showery and dreary day! Then to top it off the Namseem winds arrived, filled the air with sand, and a weird orange colour! When we walked across the pool deck, there was sand in the bottom of the pool, and I would not be surprised if the pool has a beach tomorrow! 😮😮

[oakridger]

That's a lot of sand!  I would guess that anyone outdoors would soon also have sand in their hair and eyes!!  🫣

 

I just was reading an article online about a cruise ship that ran into the pier in Kusadasi last week and came across the picture of the Celestyal Journey with its bow bulb crunched. Notice its neighbor??!!

 

 

 

 

 

[BEAV]

3 hours ago, Roland4 said:

Then to top it off the Namseem winds arrived, filled the air with sand, and a weird orange colour! When we walked across the pool deck, there was sand in the bottom of the pool, and I would not be surprised if the pool has a beach tomorrow! 😮😮

That describes a GOOD weather day in Bakersfield, the windy dust bowl of California…

[Roland4]

13 hours ago, oakridger said:

That's a lot of sand!  I would guess that anyone outdoors would soon also have sand in their hair and eyes!!  🫣

 

I just was reading an article online about a cruise ship that ran into the pier in Kusadasi last week and came across the picture of the Celestyal Journey with its bow bulb crunched. Notice its neighbor??!!

 

 

 

 

 

We were out on tour when it happened, but a couple of the staff said it came in far too fast, and it sounded like a bomb went off when it hit!!

 

The sand-fall continues today in Mykonos, but not nearly as badly. It looks like a light fog in the air and everything feels gritty. The Lido guys were washing down all the deck furniture and the pool deck itself this morning. We didn't want to get in the way, so I couldn't check the sand level in the pool!🙂

[vistaman]

On 4/22/2024 at 11:22 AM, Roland4 said:

Our first, and hopefully last, itinerary disruption was just announced by the Captain. The forecast for Santorini tomorrow is for 50 knot winds in the anchorage, so our stop has been cancelled. We are instead going to Nafplion, which is certainly not Santorini, but we were there on Esprit in 2017 and quite enjoyed it! And the side benefit is we don't have to get up at 00:Dark-Hundred as we would have had to do for our very early tour departure!!!!! 😁

I never would be feeling sorry that Santorini is cancelled : ok beautiful but overcrowded and over touristic  and those local tenders ...