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There are so many blogs to read this week it is wonderful!!! Just wanted to say a quick thanks to all who are taking the time out of their vacations to help those of us stuck in dry dock!

It’s nasty out, but we made it! Our contact really hooked us up and Moved us straight through security and sat us in the suite area. We’ll also get a personal escort onboard when it’s time. It pays to know people!

We got right on the ship as they opened the doors at around 11:15ish. Since we have the 3 night dinging package, we went directly to wonderland and changed our dining reservation tomorrow to Chops from the default assigned restaurant. Then we hit up the shockingly empty Windjammer for a bite to eat. I was immediately offered a rum punch when we walked in, so who am I to say no? They bartenders kept cruising by and offered me another. Why not? I’m on vacation now. We then explored the pool deck and solarium for a bit and right at 1:00 they announced that the rooms were ready. I’ll update more and add more pictures later when I’m not in my phone.

All packed up and ready to get to the port bright and early tomorrow! I think Annie knows that we're going on vacation without her... Last minute change of logistics: G's work does some business with the cruise port and through some of his work connections, he's netted us free parking at the port -now we won't need to Uber over! Also, I've read that captain Henrik has decided to bring the Anthem into port early due to the nasty weather coming in tonight/tomorrow morning... hopefully it won't be so terrible getting there. Either way, next time I post, I'll be onboard! Soooo excited!!

For those of you who were curious. We booked a Norwegian Fjords in September, I know it wasn't originally on our radar but it fit all "criteria". Thank you again for all the help!

As a smoker myself i think smoking should be banned from all in door areas, you cant smoke in bars or resteraunts nowadays ( even in asia ) so why allow it on ships? Even though its allowed i myself will go outside to designated smoking areas.

T-1! After a very short night’s rest we got up at 4.15 am. Thankfully the hotel provided some tea, coffee and croissants. Well, tea for Michael – I usually don’t drink coffee or tea, but if hubby doesn’t get his regular fix he really is unbearable. Airport security was a breeze and we boarded the plane on time. Can’t tell you how the flight was, I slept away most of it ? The good news: all our suitcases made it to Barcelona (I had a bit of a panic over this) and we promptly got them. The bad news: apparently we are NOT the only ones with poison green suitcases, some others indeed had the same model. Well, we got that sorted and everybody left with the right suitcases even though the luggage handlers managed to lose one of our luggage tag covers (the ones that were recommended on this board) ? Luckily, we got one spare. Taxi to the hotel was 45 € (tip included) and I even got the chance to practice my long forgotten Spanish skills. Our hotel is Barcelona Catedral right in the middle of Barri Gótic. We arrived at 11 am, room would be ready at 2 pm so we went to explore the Disney store we saw coming in. Looks like it will be quite difficult to buy something for a baby boy if you don’t want it to be Marvel themed – maybe Miami has a better selection. On the way back we got soaked by torrential rain and decided to wait in our hotel’s lobby for the remaining hours. Thanks Eurowings for the priviledge – our original flight would have gotten us to Barcelona at the right time, but a few months back they decided to cancel it and book us on this 6.45 am flight – of course forgetting to mention this detail to us… it sometimes pays that I have travel OCD and religiously check everything countless times. 2 pm sharp we could finally check in and got a room on the 5th floor – great, I’m already being punished for my self-imposed no elevator rule. After dropping off the luggage we went to Santa Caterina market to get some softdrinks for the day. The market hall is smaller than la Boqueria but also less crowded and touristy. Unfortunately no pictures as they didn’t come out right with our old camera – didn’t want to risk the DLSR in the rain. As the weather was only getting worse we decided to cancel the walking tour and switch to appropiate acitivites – watching sports! German football (Borussia Dortmund) for Michael and eventing cross country in Pau for me. Who am I kidding? We both fell asleep while watching ? When we awoke, the weather seemed ok so out we went. Strolling through Barri Gótic and up and down Las Ramblas. On our way back to the cathedral we found a restaurant to our liking and got some tapas. I even remembered to take a picture! Not bad for someone who’s so forgetful that she forgets to breathe when sleeping ? The restaurant’s name is Colom and we can definetely recommend it – great food, nice atmosphere and reasonably priced. Now it’s off to bed, thankfully we get an additional hour of sleep as Europe is setting back the clocks tonight. Taxi is already booked for 10 am. Side notes: 14,5k steps today Need to get my sister to explain Whatsapp calling to my parents (again) – apparently our crash course on Friday didn’t stick No laps in the (rooftop) pool today – it was way too cold – and yes, I know I’m a wimp

Thanks for all the kind words, love to do this kind of interactive. Actually, the blogging is fun and not a burden. Will be nice ro relive this once post-cruise depression kicks in. Currently waiting for hubby to upload the pictures on the laptop. I'm way too clumsy to type the whole thing on the phone ?

If needed I can provide temporary hosting space from a shared hosting provider. Just need to provide a domain name to use.

My AC Hotel Soms room: Power ports by the deck area: It's a very nice room by North American standards and there are two guest elevators. The staff have been very friendly. I didn't take a lot of picture while walking around since it was raining. I was surprised to see palm trees here:

I second that. To add to this, even if you did book with a TA, you can still call the resolutions department and argue your case. Sometimes you are your best advocate for your cause. Recently there was a mix up with one of my reservations and after my TA dealt with Royal a few times with no success, I still was not satisfied with the response. I called myself and after 4 connections was finally able to get through to the resolutions department and they resolved my issue for me. They key here is: do not take no/not possible for an answer (especially if they are in the wrong), and like @Matt said, be civil but remain firm in your position.

Posting some sunset photos before I continue on later...

Day -2 I've made it to New York! One more flight! Uneventful trip to JFK, I watched two movies on the flight from Denver. I'm sitting Delta's Skyclub writing this. They used to be called 'Crown Room' but having flown a bunch back in those days I used to call them the 'Crowd Room'. The terminal 4 Skyclub is living up to that legacy. Curious how our weather will be on this crossing. It is what it is. On a recent cruise down the U.S. East coast I didn't lose the jacket until we were almost off the Florida coast. My flight is delayed an hour. Just received noticed my bag was loaded on the Barcelona flight. That's always a welcome sign. Forecast is rain tomorrow. I would have liked to stay longer and explore Barcelona but my schedule didn't cooperate. The ship is the destination.

Great job on this blog! Enjoying it greatly so far. Please don't feel like you have to spend a lot of time on your cruise blogging, we will all understand. By the way, your command of the English language is impressive!

Thank god it’s Friday! Only two nights and we’ll board Symphony – it’s finally getting real! The day started early for us as we had to drop off the boys at the cat hotel. Luckily, everything went way better than expected. Four of them have never been there but instead of hiding under an armchair, they just went and explored the rooms and sometimes passed by to get some cuddles in between. We shouldn’t have worried, they’ll also have a great vacation. After rushing home and loading the suitcases in the car, we were back on the road and vacation mode really started to kick in – true German style – getting all annoyed with other drivers because the motorway was packed. Turns out Southern Germany had their last school day before the autumn holidays – and a few other federal states had their last day of autumn holidays today. Not the best conditions for 400 km (249 miles) to get to my parents, but what can you do? Slowly crawl, I guess – at least in comparison as Germany doesn’t have a general speed limit for motorways. 4 hours later we did the required pre-cruise family visits and then went to the airport with my parents. Cue another hour of – you guessed it – packed roads and traffic jams. Finally, my parents dropped us off at the airport and took the car home with them – instead of us paying the astronomical parking fees, we prefer to spend the money on some speciality dining ? Evening check-in was painless – we got rid of the suitcases in 5 minutes and walked to the Maritim airport hotel. After dropping our carry-ons off in our room, we went back to the airport for dinner. Mussels for me and pizza for Michael at L‘Osteria. Sorry, forgot to take pictures (I’m new to this blogging thingy) – but the food wasn’t something to write home about anyway. We also had our first beer as a warm up for the ultimate beverage package – an original Bavarian Franziskaner. The other option would have been Duesseldorf’s alt bier and as a born Cologne girl I’d rather die from thirst than drink that. I’m sure there are similar animosities between neighbouring cities in the US? ? After dinner we went to the spa – Michael for the sauna and me for an hour in the pool to burn off the alcoholic calories. Now it’s off to bed as boarding starts 6.15 am tomorrow.

Just learned that Royal is including a transfer from Symphony to Mariner and Serenade for guests doing a side-to-side. I was just going to use Lyft and figured it would be ~$40-$50 so if this works out it should be pretty easy to move to Serenade after the TA.

Day -3 With a burst of motivation last night I got most of my packing done. Now if I can just get through my work activities I can focus on what's really important. I'm going on a cruise!!! Symphony will be the fourth Oasis class for me having already sailed on her other three sisters. This will be the first time I've sailed Oasis class without access to Sky Class benefits. Sailing solo I just couldn't justify the cost. I booked entertainment the day it opened and secured all of my desired times. Having booked this cruise while on another cruise at the NextCruise desk I have some On Board Credit or OBC to use. I had a 4 night dining package but later cancelled it thinking I'd rather do that when sailing on her again with family in the future. I may do one or two specialty dinners as the mood suits me if they are available. I'm usually fine with the MDR or even the Windjammer for dinner so I may just go without any specialty dinners. Flush with OBC I've booked a new offering, the Thermal Spa pass. It's been available for purchase onboard for a while but being able to purchase this before the cruise is somewhat new and Royal is working through some growing pains rolling this out. When purchased onboard the pass provides access to the Thermal Spa facilities during open hours. In the Cruise Planner I was required to pick a specific time of day. A phone call to Royal confirmed this was my time of day to use the spa for each day of the cruise. If this wasn't a transatlantic with many sea days in a row that sort of time of day reservation wouldn't work for me. I'm hoping that is just a glitch as they roll this out to the Cruise Planner and it will actually allow me access the thermal spa anytime during open hours. I'll find out on Sunday! I had acquired the drink package during a sale at a very good price but later cancelled it. Twelve nights is a long time to drink day after day after day. On my most recent cruise, a 13 night sailing, I didn't have the drink package and even my daily Diamond Happy Hour drinks started to venture into drink fatigue zone after so many days. Consequently I'm joining #TeamNoDX on this sailing. My OBC also covered my Voom plan which was just $11.99 per day for Surf and Stream. As a long time Voom consumer that's a pretty good rate. My remaining OBC will be my drink package offset with Diamond Happy Hour drinks. The Delta app on my phone just let me know it's time to check in. Finally! After waiting so long, it's finally here.

Im from scotland we call 40 degrees with wind swirling round you outside " SUMMER" Also I dont smoke inside my house, be it sun, rain or snow i go outside, it comes down to having respect for non smokers which includes my wife. However respect should work both ways, if im in a designated smoking area outside no one has the right to complain or make comments to me about the smoke or smell

Day -4 A year or so ago I had been thinking about Symphony and when I might be able to sail her. Prices, as expected for her first year were elevated over her sisters. That is until I came across the transatlantic sailing which at the time was priced close to many seven night Caribbean sailings on her. Twelve nights on what would become the largest cruise ship in the world for the price of seven? I was on Anthem when the light bulb went on and I booked it in a YOLO moment that only the drink package can induce. Itinerary is pretty light as ports go: Day 1 - Embark in Barcelona, Spain Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Malaga, Spain Days 4 - 11 - Sea Day Day 12 - Port Canaveral Day 13 - Debark, Miami No excursions booked or planned. The ship is the destination. I'll be sailing in a Boardwalk balcony cabin almost as far aft as you can go on deck 8 right above Playmakers. My step count for this cruise should indeed also be elevated. I'm sailing solo as I often do since friends and family just can't keep up. I won't be alone exactly as there will be a decent contingency from the RCPeriscopers.live community sailing with me. Voom and satellite coverage permitting, there should be ample scopes from this sailing. A business commitment is keeping me stateside until Friday when I'll fly overnight to Barcelona arriving Saturday morning for a Sunday embarkation. Not ideal but I've got to pay for this cruising addiction somehow. Since I'll be in the cruise capital of the world when we disembark in Miami I couldn't let that opportunity go without jumping on another ship so I'll be sliding up the coast to Fort Lauderdale to board Serenade the day we arrive in Miami. That is a factor in my packing strategy since I'm not flying home between cruises. Speaking of packing, I should probably start, later today, ...or maybe tomorrow.

For those that like to track Top Tier stats Gold: 628 Platinum: 136 Emerald: 64 Diamond: 118 Diamond Plus: 58 Pinnacle: 8 Top Cruiser Points 822, 895, and 925? (think it was 925) Bonus: One cruiser 100 years old.

Transitioning over today... Had no plans for Cozumel. So I wound up getting off for a hour or so and walked around the areas around the port. Didn't bother taking my camera off so I'm recycling a picture taken last month. Getting back on the ship as previously mentioned the Halloween decorations had started to appear in the Centrum and other areas around the ship. As a FYI for those that might stay onboard. Only bars opened for most of the day were the R Bar in the Centrum and the Pool Bar. One major disappointment by many were no College football games being available to watch until later in the afternoon. All the Pub had on were reruns of the World Series... of Poker and a bar that wasn't open. Not sure what the outcome was, but I think a munity was going to be started due to a possible lack of showing of the Georgia Florida game.

You cannot price match like getting a refund back after final payment date but you can get an upgrade if it is available. The upgrade is not guaranteed either. So just pay when it close to the final payment date.

Catching up from last night... Delivered to the room was this decadent creation. Can't recall the exact flavor, either way it was a nice sized treat. On the Windjammer Recon front. Selections to night were Caribbean Night, Thai Corner, with the action station being freshly made waffles, and for the other dessert selection cupcakes. Plus the other hot bar selections. Key standouts from the dining room menu were pork shanks and duck.

@Matt So, once it's paid off you cannot apply a price drop/rebook?

Ah yes, one of the first German words I learned when I moved there...Stau. I remember it once taking 9+ hours to drive from Munich to Kaiserslautern (should have been 5ish hours). Also, I love me some Franzisakaner. Enjoy the cruise!

My brother in-law knows someone who is a big shot st the port - he hooked us up as a favor to him.

Yes, when Symphony arrives in Miami I move to Serenade.

Most definitely!!

Nice to see some decorations being setup for Halloween. Last year from what I recall on Oasis it was a one day deal when it came to decorating.

This made me laugh because at first I thought, "WHY?" Then I read the above sentence and yes, yes we do. Enjoying your blog.

Your travel agent should be able to perform this change for you. If you booked directly with RC, you will need to call up for the change. If they tell you it's full, ask to be put on a wait list.

You don't miss out on much in Barcelona, it has been raining the whole day. Predicted to lessen around 8 pm. The forecast for Malaga is even worse. Hope to meet you on board.

Yes. I just got off the Allure and there were two Formal nights, Day two and Day six. We saw the full range, t-shirts and gym shorts to tuxes and ball gowns. There were enough of each that you won't feel out of place wearing whatever you want to wear.

Poor Annie. She looks so sad already.

They recently changed their official policy on what can be brought onboard. I can't for the life of me find the blog post when I search. Pinging @Matt to link it.

Hi Cindy, welcome to the boards! Yes, you can easily switch from traditional dining to My Time Dining. If you booked with a travel agent then he or she will do this for you, just send an email or call to request it. If you booked yourself, you should be able to do it online; but given ongoing web site changes and problems, you might have to call Crown & Anchor or the general reservations number found on the Cruise Planner.

Many may disagree but when it comes to the Oasis class I agree the ship is the destination.

Tough call between A or B. I just did 7 days from Barcelona - Palma - Marseille - Florence - Rome - Naples. I'd love to go to Santorini, but option B doesn't have Naples. For our day in Naples, we took the ferry over to Capri & it was the best stop of our entire trip. The beauty on the island is unsurpassed!! Simply breathtaking. But, I honestly don't see how you could go wrong with either option. In full disclosure - Rome is an 1.5 bus ride from the port and Florence is a full 2 hour bus ride. Those days back-to-back are extremely long & tiring days, but worth every minute.

If you are a water snob who requires your water be poured into a plastic bottle, sealed and then handed to you to open ... nope ... you either buy it or carry it on board. If you are a rational human being, the ship's water is made on board and is basically the same thing as distilled water that you buy at the store ... available for free throughout the ship. I am one of these two types of people, my wife is the other , this does not make for happiness ;)

...I may have found that out the hard way...

As little as I can... And I volunteer at RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com ?

Welcome to the message boards. I just completed a Canada/New England cruise on Adventure a couple days ago that started in Canada on Oct. 8. In my case it was a one-way repositioning cruise from Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale but it stopped at many of the same ports. Adventure will now spend it's winter in Florida and this was the cruise that moved her Southbound to her winter home. Being an October cruise it was definitely cooler and jacket weather until we reached the warmer waters of Florida. In July or August the weather will be much warmer. My live blog can be found here in the message boards at RoyalCarribeanBlog.com: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9521-adventure-ots-13-night-snowbird-migration-quebec-to-ft-lauderdale-oct-8-2018/ By looking at the photos in each port you can judge what people are wearing. Anthem is a cool weather ship. She was designed to be used in cooler climates and features a very nice covered Solarium that Adventure does not. In this sense she would be a much better October New England ship compared to Adventure but the outer decks and balconies will likely be cool in October.

What is there to see or do in Nassau? The only thing I recall doing there the one time I got off the ship was a “tour” of Atlantis followed by a drive around the island in a van we hired locally. This is me on Nassau days... (on the subsequent cruises)

Just remember to pack your luggage and leave all that baggage at home.

Or, counterpoint, nonsmokers could simply pick a cruise line that doesn't allow smoking. (I'm a nonsmoker btw, but I know what I'm getting myself into, and don't expect others to change for me.)

I for the life of me can't understand why RCCL would allow smoking on the port side deck 15 (Main pool area) on Oasis. It seams everywhere we went on this cruise we were running into smoke filled areas. I say put a patch on for 7 days or chew nicotine gum.

I've done both. On Anthem I tried "getting with the program" and letting the power go off and it worked out fine. I mean that's the purpose right? To save energy. So I'd suggest trying it and if it works out for you stick with it.

How will there EVER keep those dolphins still for that long ? Sorry...couldn't resist.

" All guests will be provided with a full refund as well as a 100% Future Cruise Credit. " As much of a downer as this cancellation would be, the compo is essentially a free cruise. I'd actually be very very happy about that.

I'm at Emerald now and I'm all for plans to get you from Emerald to Diamond as quickly as possible. We will hit diamond after the group cruise on Allure coming up in February!