Boston Babe

Did I mention that I want to cruise like @twangster?!  So jealous. Remember the lowly Diamonds when you make Pinnacle. At your cruising rate, that should be soon ?

In the words as sung by Britney Spears...  ? Oops, I Did it Again ?
For those who are wondering what is he talking about?  (or thinking I've enjoyed one too many happy hour drinks)  I just finished 14 nights on this little beauty last week.  You can read about that B2B experience here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14213-empress-b2b-14-nights-on-the-biggest-little-ship-july-2019/
Those cruises were great but they were Western Caribbean and this 8 night cruise is Eastern Caribbean including a stop at Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.  Royal hasn't visited the BVI very much in recent years so when I saw the BVI added to the itinerary in the wake of the Cuba cancellations I knew I had to do it.  Icing on my cake comes courtesy of another visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay. 
Itinerary
Miami Perfect Day at CocoCay Sea Day San Juan Tortola St Thomas Sea Day Sea Day Miami Our Perfect Day ends at 2pm so we can make it to San Juan for a 3pm arrival after a day at sea.  We stay until midnight in San Juan so if all goes well I hope to get some evening and night pictures around San Juan.
Sailing in a Junior Suite I have scored one of the most forward deck 9 JS cabins this time.
I love this small ship and her big heart.  It's a good thing I love this ship because this will be my fourth cruise on her.  My Crown and Anchor points haven't been posted yet from my last cruise on her so with the "paint still wet", I'm heading back to the love of my life, or at least the love of my life right now. 
Because I'm flying I don't like taking just one cruise so with a night off the water in between, I'm doing a side-to-side over to Majesty right after this cruise.  A few years ago I started dreaming about a tour of the small ships and this marks another step towards completing that goal.  
I think I set a record this time having packed my suitcase a full two days before the cruise.  Basically I took my cruise clothes from the dryer and put them right back into my suitcase.  
      " You see my problem is this
       I'm dreaming away
       Wishing that heroes, they truly exist
       I cry, watching the days
       Can't you see I'm a fool in so many ways
       But to lose all my senses
       That is just so typically me
       Oh baby, oh "
Okay that doesn't make total sense but it's the only part of the lyrics that somewhat fit so I'm going with it.  

Shame on them!  They didn't direct us to the suites elevator either two weeks ago for Symphony but I just ignored them and followed signage and walked up to the elevator myself.  The lady who tried to send us up the main escalator followed us and tried to send us back.  I just told her we were suites and there was another lady at the elevator area who took one look at our sea pass card and said we were good to go.  But that should not have had to happen.

Boy I’m gonna hear about this one....but I actually like the hamburgers in the WJ. When I’m just looking for a “bite” I usually grab one.  While they don’t look all that appealing (I’ll concede that), they taste pretty good.  

I want you to do all y bookings!!?

This topic has been discussed a bit here of late and I thought I would share my experience today.  As many of you know, I track pricing on my bookings.  Many have asked lately what happens when a cabin is "sold out" and if it would still be eligible for a re-price?  I have had very good luck with this situation in the past.  You can see how I go about doing it here. 
Yesterday I noticed that the current August promo includes KSF up until December 2020.  We have the Villa booked on Harmony with 5 kids on that reservation under the age of 12.  That cabin is obviously "sold out" as there is only one of those on the ship and we have it.  I did a mock booking yesterday morning and checked it against my records and there appeared to be a price drop on the suites overall with the KSF promo.  Later in the day, I emailed my TA and heard back this morning.  Saved an extra $1315 with KSF even with a "sold out" cabin. 
The reason why I am sharing this is not to say that this will always be the case, but it does pay off to check and ask.

JUst catching up!  What a fabulous blog!  I loved all of it and your input!  Happy Anniversary again and safe travels home!!

Happy Anniversary!! Happy Cruise Day!  Looks like off to fabulous start with the hotel!  Look forward to following! 

Interesting you bring this up too, on Grandeur this Thursday as I said they are opening the main dining to room to Suite guests only, so I asked, Not Pinnacle??  As an afterthought he emailed me back, oh yes, Pinnacle too! LOL  I'll be dead long before that happens so I guess I'll just have to keep being a Suite snob! LOL 

Interesting you bring this up too, on Grandeur this Thursday as I said they are opening the main dining to room to Suite guests only, so I asked, Not Pinnacle??  As an afterthought he emailed me back, oh yes, Pinnacle too! LOL  I'll be dead long before that happens so I guess I'll just have to keep being a Suite snob! LOL 

Yup that July thing as you need to be back in September!!  Not sure when Sweety's is.  She's on Adventure right now.

Looking forward to following hopefully from Grandeur!  Our 25th is today!!  Happy Anniversary and have a fabulous time!!

Looking forward to following hopefully from Grandeur!  Our 25th is today!!  Happy Anniversary and have a fabulous time!!

?: Royal Caribbean International
“Whenever you are with me, life plays a beautiful symphony!” --- Avijeet Das
For Hubby and I, there is no better way to spend quality couple time together than to go on a cruise.  We started off that way on our honeymoon back in 2002 and we have tried to get away around this time every year to celebrate our anniversary.
Symphony was on our radar almost two years ago.  Being huge OA class fans and having sailed every Oasis class ship so far, sailing this one was a given.  I booked this cruise knowing that this summer would be our first chance to sail it since she spent last summer in Europe.  Even upon booking back in the Fall of 2017, prices were crazy for this ship.  However, because of fixed vacation times, that is just something that we are used to.
How did the title for this blog come about? 
Other than being fond of cruising and shopping, I also love music.  Trained in classical music since I was a little girl, and with a ship named Symphony, I could not resist to draw parallels between this blog title and music. 
So why Symphony No. 17? 
Symphonies written by the same composer are often given a generic name that involves a number so that one can identify which piece it is by that composer.  Playing on that thought, this is cruise #17 for us, and, as coincidence would have it, it is also our 17th anniversary on this sailing.  Notice the theme?  In addition, a Symphony is typically written in four movements.  So there lies the logic behind the rest of this title.  I expect that those will be our four experiences on Symphony this sailing.  <Music geek off>
Let’s begin…

She looks like my kind of ship!! So pretty! 

She looks like my kind of ship!! So pretty! 

I made good use of the beverage package on day one but didn't keep score.
Lacking a pub the beer choices on Empress are a little lacking beyond the large scale brands.  At the Schooner Bar I asked for a Guinness.  They have only a small stock on board and it was being saved for a beer tasting event.  #disappointed  
Returning later the bartender had asked the food and beverage manager and obtained special permission to offer me Guinness.  Outstanding!  #winning   

I didn't buy The Key but I noticed the large banner welcoming guests who had.

Carry on holding area in the theater.

A half dozen guests were in Chops enjoying a lunch.

Dedicated theater seating for The Key along with Gold card holders. 

Empress has a casino that is open to other guest areas so it is non-smoking.  Here is the casino bar.

They wasted no time opening the casino after sail away as soon as we were in international waters.

Empress was ordered by Admiral Cruise Lines but then in 1987 Royal Caribbean acquired Admiral while Empress was being built so they absorbed her into the fleet.  Since the ship was designed and ordered by Admiral before acquisition she has a unique design that couldn't be modified in a significant way before taking delivery.  They were able to get a Viking Crown Lounge and a Windjammer cafe added as signature Royal Caribbean features. 
Admiral had plans to use her on the short cruise market to the Bahamas so the cabins were not designed to be as large as they would be on ship designed for longer itineraries.  
Empress is smaller than Vision class but she has a bigger heart (and a smoke free casino).  

Someone's hacked @twangster account. Where's all the drool-worthy photos? #NotMyTwangster

I wasn't sure I would live blog this trip but Empress is secret favorite of mine and she doesn't get much attention here in the live blogs.
Empress is a small ship yet she doesn't feel small on board, as long as you pick the right cabin.  In the wake of the abrupt Cuba changes fares have been very reasonable including Junior Suite rates.  On a small ship the added space and balcony of a Junior Suite goes a long way to not feeling the size of the ship. 
The fact that cruising solo in a suite will net me triple Crown and Anchor points wasn't lost on me.  That's a whopping 42 points for the price of a 7 night cruise in a balcony on an Oasis class ship.  
Since I'm flying to the ship I always prefer a B2B.  If I'm coming all this way I might as well cruise twice.
I thoroughly enjoyed my last Empress cruise so given the great last minute rates and affordable suites I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sail this little beauty again.
Itinerary 1 - 6 nights
Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel
Itinerary 2 - 8 nights
Key West, Costa Maya, Belize, Cozumel, CocoCay
I like to scuba dive so the opportunity to visit Belize again was appealing.  This will also be my first trip to see the new Perfect Day additions.  Cozumel is a perennial favorite as is Key West.  Costa Maya is also an easy port to spend a day at. 
Put it all together and the answer computed to... YOLO, why not?
I am going to take a more relaxed approach to blogging this one.  It is after all a small ship and I've got two weeks to spread my posts over so I may not be as active on this one as I have on other cruises.  
Flying in the night before my plane takes off in a couple of hours.  Time to finish packing and get moving. 

FManke, I don't think you have anything to worry about about. As an underwriter, most type 2 is from overweight and lack of exercise. You are licking it and you should be proud.  As others have said, you know what to eat and portion control. Enjoy that ice cream if you want it (one scoop! LOL). Have a great time, relax and enjoy your trip!

Interesting, I asked for several items and he got back to me right away, made reference that it was our 25th anniversary etc.  Francis never did that and didn't get back to me till days later. We shall see! LOL