"LIVE" from Symphony of the Seas - Sept. 29, 2024 (B2B)

[Scottdalfonso]

11 hours ago, maggieq said:

@Radio no more headliners? Thanks!

I've been checking Symphony cruise comapsses and on the app and noticed they have not had headliners on the ship for a while. 

[Radio]

Good morning and 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟮 𝗼𝗳 "𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘" 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀.

(Week 2)

 

Today is the first of 2 days at sea before we get to the Dominican Republic. Again, the days at Sea will be filled with activities for all age groups. Seminars, trainings, pool games, dance classes and trivia. Let's not forget about shopping. A lot of merchandise will be brought out into the Royal Promenade for  purchase.

 

We had a brief rain this morning with heavy clouds but the forecast for today is mostly sunny and 82F. It should be a nice day at sea, however, the wave heights and motion are more than I've seen at all during my eight nights on board so far. There has been a bit of pitching and rolling for the last few hours. 

 

I will try to make it to the port and shopping talk in the Royal Theater at 11am. There should be a discussion about the options for passengers in the next 2 ports of call.  Here are a few pics from this morning. 

 

Thanks for tuning in 

 

Radio

 

 

Early morning Ultimate Abyss 

 

 

 

Wayfinder DAY 2

 

 

 

Next Cruise desk - Deck 15

 

 

 

Good morning . . .

 

 

 

 

These divers are everywhere. . .

 

 

 

 

Morning dive training at the Sports Pool pool on Deck 15

 

 

 

Hold that thought.

 

 

 

Beach Pool (STB/FWD)

 

 

.

 

Edited October 7 by Radio

[Radio]

Here is our current location. . .

The captain has the pedal to the metal (21kts) so we can arrive at Puerto Plata on Wed by 8am.

 

Radio

 

 

 

 

[buffet24]

13 minutes ago, Radio said:

pedal to the metal

Actually, there are no Pedals on the Bridge...  but there are these three hand levers that control the Azipods...  😂😂😂

 

[poohdreaming]

Thank you so much for doing a live post.

[mets123]

7 hours ago, Radio said:

Good morning and 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟮 𝗼𝗳 "𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘" 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀.

(Week 2)

 

Today is the first of 2 days at sea before we get to the Dominican Republic. Again, the days at Sea will be filled with activities for all age groups. Seminars, trainings, pool games, dance classes and trivia. Let's not forget about shopping. A lot of merchandise will be brought out into the Royal Promenade for  purchase.

 

We had a brief rain this morning with heavy clouds but the forecast for today is mostly sunny and 82F. It should be a nice day at sea, however, the wave heights and motion are more than I've seen at all during my eight nights on board so far. There has been a bit of pitching and rolling for the last few hours. 

 

I will try to make it to the port and shopping talk in the Royal Theater at 11am. There should be a discussion about the options for passengers in the next 2 ports of call.  Here are a few pics from this morning. 

 

Thanks for tuning in 

 

Radio

 

 

Early morning Ultimate Abyss 

 

 

 

Wayfinder DAY 2

 

 

 

Next Cruise desk - Deck 15

 

 

 

Good morning . . .

 

 

 

 

These divers are everywhere. . .

 

 

 

 

Morning dive training at the Sports Pool pool on Deck 15

 

 

 

Hold that thought.

 

 

 

Beach Pool (STB/FWD)

 

 

.

 

I was on onboard this past May and don't remember the divers. I'll have to look for them next May when I return. I have to remind you that most port shopping talks I've attended to lately talk about Effy for 75 percent  of the time. Maybe you ll get lucky.

 

[Radio]

3 hours ago, mets123 said:

I was on onboard this past May and don't remember the divers. I'll have to look for them next May when I return. I have to remind you that most port shopping talks I've attended to lately talk about Effy for 75 percent  of the time. Maybe you ll get lucky.

 

Thanks mets123, you were right about the port and shopping talk. I discussed that in my reports coming soon. Thanks again.

There are two more divers I have to find. 

 

Radio

[Radio]

Hello everyone and good evening. Today was a delightful and restful day. I attended the Port and Shopping talk, in the Royal Theater this morning. 

 

That was a big mistake. My thoughts about the talk were . . . We are going to 2 New Ports for Symphony of the Seas. It would be nice to have a discussion about the options available for passengers, or maybe some excursion, and maybe the shopping that may be available in these ports.

 

There was none of that during this Port and Shopping talk. The discussion was all about Effy Jewelers. Let's talk about the history of Effy, where you can buy Effy on board. "And these are the promotions that we have with Effy for your jewelry needs"

 

The only mention of the 2 ports we were going to were "There is no shopping in Labadee or Puerto Plata, all shopping can be made on board today or tomorrow"

 

Ok, Rant over. . . Today was a beautiful day with blue skies and blue seas. Yes, the ship was rolling a bit but it did not appear to affect many passengers. As with most days at sea, there were many passengers enjoying the sun and the pools. The Ultimate Abyss, FlowRider, Zip Line, and Mini Golf all had a workout today. Most passengers seem very happy. 

 

I had too much to eat at Jamie's Italian in Central Park. It was very good, but I am stuffed. When I arrived at 5:30, Jamie's was almost empty. By the time I finished dinner it was a full house.  I think I may need to go to the "Secrets to a Flatter Stomach" seminar tomorrow. 

 

There are a few pics from today. Thanks for tuning in. 

 

Radio

 

Another delightful day at sea.

 

 

 

The Solarium is filling up quickly

 

 

 

The Solarium pool is on Deck 15 (FWD)

 

 

 

The Solarium bar has a lot of crew taking care of passengers.

 

 

 

 

Blue skies and blue seas. . . It was great weather today

 

 

 

Just a few clouds, and a lot of sun.

 

 

 

 

Jamie's Italian was very good.

 

 

 

 

It wasn't very crowded when I arrived.

 

 

 

 

You can also sit outside in Central Park at Jamie's

 

 

 

 

A view overlooking Central Park at night

 

 

 

Secrets to a Flatter Stomach

 

 

.

 

 

 

Edited October 8 by Radio

[Radio]

I love the view from up here . . . The blue skies and blue seas really help the view.

 

Radio

 

 

.

[Radio]

Elevator view from Deck 16 down to Deck 2, early this morning.

 

Radio

 

 

.

[Radio]

Good morning and 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟯 𝗼𝗳 "𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘" 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀.

Sorry for the late post. I slept late but when I tried to make this post around 8:00 am, I received this message with every attempt: 

 

[This site can’t provide a secure connection

boards.cruisecritic.com uses an unsupported protocol.

ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH]

 

(Things seem to be working now)

 

We sailed into a severe thunderstorm for about 2 hours last night, but now the skies are cloudy and gray with a light rain. The aqua theater show was canceled last night due to weather.

 

I was however able to go to a show in the Royal Theater. Hairspray (The Broadway Musical).
Wow, what a great show. It was fun, the dancing was good, and the hair was BIG.

I stopped by Dazzles for a bit and saw "Pavy and the Biggie Boys" They were a live band that offered very good dance/pop music.

 

The forecast for today is Cloudy skies with heavy showers at times. Temperatures forecast is 78F. Here are a few pics from last night and this morning. 

Thanks for tuning in

Radio

 

 

Hairspray, in the Royal Theater

 

 

 

The dancing and music was very good. 

 

 

 

It was a real fun show.

 

 

 

It was very colorful and very fast paced.

 

 

 

This Band played in Dazzles

 

 

 

 

They were a very good pop/dance band.

 

 

 

There is a good reason why there won't be any chair hoggers today.

 

 

 

It will be raining most of the day.

 

 

 Starbucks open at 6am. Oops, it was only 4am when I took this image. 

 

 

.

[Radio]

Heavy rains around noon. . .  On Symphony of The Seas.

Deck 16 is closed. (𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘬 15) 
We are about 300 nm from Puerto Plata, DR.

 

Radio

 

 

 

.

 

[CruisinMaterial]

Hey Radio,

 

For the missing diver, check the Central Park. There's one there leaning on the glass looking into the Royal Promenade below. I was on last week and caught all the ones you've found so far and that one as well.

 

As for the pitching of the ship, we experienced that when the Captain retracted the stabilizers after the shows were over on the two sea days on the way back to NJ. You had to be up later in the evening for it. It's the first time on an Oasis-class ship that I felt the motion of the ocean!

 

Sounds like your Hairspray went off without a hitch. I was on the embark night version and the computer went awry resulting in a show stop. They handled it with grace and I caught the rest the second night. 

 

Seems like the weather you were sailing through today has to do with that disturbance that is East of Florida. It won't form into much but now I'm wondering if you folks are going to hit the Dominican Republic and turn right around and come back north to get in front of the storm or else you are going to hell one hell of a ride back after it passes.

 

Didn't realize you were on as I booked last week's voyage the Thursday prior so never made it on here. Bummer!

[CruisinMaterial]

On 10/5/2024 at 11:39 AM, Radio said:

Crazy Quest in StudioB

 

 

 

A crowds were fun and energetic 

 

 

 

This show was very popular 

 

 

 

I need to come to this show again.

 

 

 

.

 

 

Elated that was all you shared. I got nailed into doing some parts but it was closer to the end LOL. That was crazier than NCLs version!

[Radio]

1 hour ago, CruisinMaterial said:

Hey Radio,

 

For the missing diver, check the Central Park. There's one there leaning on the glass looking into the Royal Promenade below. I was on last week and caught all the ones you've found so far and that one as well. >SNIP<

Thanks, Cruising material. I saw the one in Central Park, but I heard there were 4 divers.

Thank you.

 

Radio

[grouchomarx]

I finally took the time today to read this entire live post and I love it!  I’m sailing Symphony June 2025 and really looking forward to my first Oasis class ship.  You do an amazing job of documenting and describing everything, thank you so much!  I will be following from now on.

[Radio]

2 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

I finally took the time today to read this entire live post and I love it!  I’m sailing Symphony June 2025 and really looking forward to my first Oasis class ship.  You do an amazing job of documenting and describing everything, thank you so much!  I will be following from now on.

Wow, thank you for the nice comments. 😀 I think you will love this ship.

Edited October 8 by Radio

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

 I’m sailing Symphony June 2025 and really looking forward to my first Oasis class ship.

 

 We are on the June 6th, 2025 sailing.  First time back on RCCL since 2023 on Harmony. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

@Radio  Wondering if you would do me a favor.  The RCCL is currently showing the same price for both lunch and dinner in Izumi but I thought I remember the price for lunch being lower than the price for dinner.  Would you please take a look and let me know if the prices have changed or it is just an issue with the app showing the wrong information? 

 

Thank you.

 

[grouchomarx]

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We are on the June 6th, 2025 sailing.  First time back on RCCL since 2023 on Harmony. 

 

 

Cool I’ll be on the same sailing! Haven’t sailed Royal since before the pandemic in fact we were one of the last cruises to sail before complete shutdown. I remember in the steakhouse a lady next to us hacking her brains out and we were like ok, we’re getting covid for sure but we did not.  I am over the moon the try Oasis class, only did Anthem twice and that’s it.  Everyone says it’s absolutely amazing.

[grouchomarx]

4 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@Radio  Wondering if you would do me a favor.  The RCCL is currently showing the same price for both lunch and dinner in Izumi but I thought I remember the price for lunch being lower than the price for dinner.  Would you please take a look and let me know if the prices have changed or it is just an issue with the app showing the wrong information? 

 

Thank you.

 

I noticed that too in the planner this evening and thought it was strange.  Thanks for asking.

[Radio]

Hello everyone good evening. The Captain wasn't kidding when he suggested there would be periods of rain throughout the day. Wow! We had "𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯" for most of the day. Deck 16 was closed for safety, and we had very heavy rain for several hours.

 

All of the outdoor activities were cancelled today. There was still many activities, and shopping being held inside.

 

The Crown and Anchor Top tier Event started at 10am, but was cancelled after 10 min due to torrential downpours where we were at the AquaTheater on Deck 6. The captain suggested that they would hold a special indoor event just for Pinnacle Members, and the rest of the graphics for Crown and Anchor counts would be on TV.

 

Things are much calmer now. The rain stopped, and the seas became much calmer around 5pm. We have just over 200 nm until we arrive at Port Taino Bay, in Puerto Plata, DR. The weather should be much different tomorrow with the highs around 92F, and mostly sunny skies.

 

Tonight was Mexican night in the MDR, and it was very good. The service has been very fast, and the food has been very good in the Main Dining Room.

 

Here are a few pics from today. Thanks for tuning in. 

 

Radio

 

The calm before the storm. 

 

 

 

 

There was no rain at 10:00 a.m. when this event began. 

 

 

 

(L-R) The cruise director, the loyalty manager, the captain, and hotel director we're thanking everyone for coming to the Top tier even. 10 minutes later the downpour came and the Event was canceled.

 

 

 

 

It came down very hard at times. 

 

 

 

After the rain stopped, the seas became very calm.

 

 

 

The MDR is on Decks 3-4-5

 

 

 

 

The MDR is beautiful.

 

 

 

Passengers can dine solo, originate table for up to 10 passengers.

 

 

 

The Taste of Mexico Dinner.

 

 

.

 

 

Edited October 9 by Radio

[grouchomarx]

15 minutes ago, Radio said:

Wow, thank you for the nice comments. 😀 I think you will love this ship.

You have honestly written one of the best, most enjoyable ship reviews I’ve ever read.  Can I ask one specific question, how do you think I will do as a solo female traveler on Symphony?  I’m a seasoned cruiser and have done two solo cruises for the first time ever this year on NCL Joy and loved it, but some people have said this class of ship can be overwhelming to do alone since it’s so massive and full of options.  Any thoughts I appreciate it.  I am healthy, fit and active if that plays at all into advice.  TIA and I know you’re busy with your posts so if you don’t have time it’s ok.

[Radio]

18 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@Radio  Wondering if you would do me a favor.  The RCCL is currently showing the same price for both lunch and dinner in Izumi but I thought I remember the price for lunch being lower than the price for dinner. >SNIP<

 

The prices are lower for lunch. Here is a screenshot of the App created just now.

 

Izumi Hibachi

 

1

 

 

 

2

 

 

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[buffet24]

Pre-cruise purchase was a good deal...  And doing this over lunch meant we still get to eat the MDR Dinner!!😉

 

For Hibachi:

 

For Sushi:

 

And our Chef even sent us a Text Message using his Fried Rice!!!  😂😂😂