twangster

Day 4 - Sea Day
Finally out of the rain (for the most part).  A little bit of 'motion in the ocean' in approximately 14' seas.  This is the first morning I didn't sleep in past 9:30am.

Time for breakfast at Johnny Rockets.

Included in the cruise fare for breakfast only, it's a great breakfast venue and since I can see it from my cabin, it was calling me this morning.



Cooked to order Omelette 

Plus some french toast

Yum.

Noted some new screens on the cabin TV.

Our progress up to this point:

With some time to kill before the Halloween party in the promenade I went to the Wonderland Bar.  A lot people don't know you can visit the bar like any other bar on the ship.  You don't have to eat at Wonderland to visit the bar.  They have some unique concoctions in the Wonderland theme.

They have a table in the bar area that serves as a waiting area.

Like the restaurant the bar menu is also unique and backlit.

Down the Rabbit Hole:

The Smoke Rings cocktail is made with real smoke.


Mmmm.  Good.  With a hint of oak wood smoke.

Day 4 - Sea Day
Finally out of the rain (for the most part).  A little bit of 'motion in the ocean' in approximately 14' seas.  This is the first morning I didn't sleep in past 9:30am.

Time for breakfast at Johnny Rockets.

Included in the cruise fare for breakfast only, it's a great breakfast venue and since I can see it from my cabin, it was calling me this morning.



Cooked to order Omelette 

Plus some french toast

Yum.

Noted some new screens on the cabin TV.

Our progress up to this point:

With some time to kill before the Halloween party in the promenade I went to the Wonderland Bar.  A lot people don't know you can visit the bar like any other bar on the ship.  You don't have to eat at Wonderland to visit the bar.  They have some unique concoctions in the Wonderland theme.

They have a table in the bar area that serves as a waiting area.

Like the restaurant the bar menu is also unique and backlit.

Down the Rabbit Hole:

The Smoke Rings cocktail is made with real smoke.


Mmmm.  Good.  With a hint of oak wood smoke.

Day 4 - Sea Day
Finally out of the rain (for the most part).  A little bit of 'motion in the ocean' in approximately 14' seas.  This is the first morning I didn't sleep in past 9:30am.

Time for breakfast at Johnny Rockets.

Included in the cruise fare for breakfast only, it's a great breakfast venue and since I can see it from my cabin, it was calling me this morning.



Cooked to order Omelette 

Plus some french toast

Yum.

Noted some new screens on the cabin TV.

Our progress up to this point:

Here is our position as we approached the Strait of Gibraltar:


I tried to venture up top but found the upper decks closed due to high winds so I headed to deck 5, the running track.

That pyramid looking object is the rock of Gibraltar. 

At this point we were in the Strait of Gibraltar and you could see lights on both sides.
Africa on the port side:

Spain and the rock of Gibraltar on the starboard side:

Walking a few steps, Africa on the port side:

Yes they are stored externally.  Perhaps when you get home.   

Define "motion".
Yes, there was some pitch (front to back) and some roll (left-right) associated with minor jostling like one would get riding a subway or train.  I am all the way aft so if it is going to felt, you would feel it here.  There is 'some' movement' but like a bartender said to me, it's better than what he has experienced on smaller ships. 
The Atlantic is rarely flat on any transatlantic.  It happens occasionally where some transatlantic sailing is perfectly calm the entire way, but many times there is "motion in the ocean".    If you are thinking about a transatlantic I would be ready for small to moderate seas.  I sleep through this stuff without batting an eye but other's may not.  

Here is our position as we approached the Strait of Gibraltar:


I tried to venture up top but found the upper decks closed due to high winds so I headed to deck 5, the running track.

That pyramid looking object is the rock of Gibraltar. 

At this point we were in the Strait of Gibraltar and you could see lights on both sides.
Africa on the port side:

Spain and the rock of Gibraltar on the starboard side:

Walking a few steps, Africa on the port side:

While we were in Malagar the Captain had recorded a video which was placed on channel 14.  This would provide an update on our course for the next few days. 
The audio is digitized in a few places, it was that way onboard.
Here it is:

Day 3 - Hairspray
Let me start by saying I'm not into musicals.  In the past if I were asked to go to a musical I would rank it right there with "Go to the hair salon with me" or "Help me pick out a dress".  When Hairspray was first announced for Symphony of the Seas I paid it little attention because I had somewhat already decided to pass.
Since that time I have be able to go on a number of back stage entertainment tours on various Royal ships.  On those I learned a lot of technical details and the level of effort that Royal Caribbean puts into its shows.   When Symphony first started sailing earlier this, Hairspray was getting pretty great reviews.  Consequently I settled on taking in this show, after all, we have 12 nights on this sailing so why not?
I'll let the pictures tell the story.





























The music was good, the vocals were strong and the cast did a great job.  I never found it dragging or felt the need to come up with an excuse to leave.  It was a great performance and I highly recommend it, even for the non-musical types. 
If you've sailed Harmony and you couldn't find an excuse to book Symphony this just may be it.

Here is our position as we approached the Strait of Gibraltar:


I tried to venture up top but found the upper decks closed due to high winds so I headed to deck 5, the running track.

That pyramid looking object is the rock of Gibraltar. 

At this point we were in the Strait of Gibraltar and you could see lights on both sides.
Africa on the port side:

Spain and the rock of Gibraltar on the starboard side:

Walking a few steps, Africa on the port side:

While we were in Malagar the Captain had recorded a video which was placed on channel 14.  This would provide an update on our course for the next few days. 
The audio is digitized in a few places, it was that way onboard.
Here it is:

Here is our position as we approached the Strait of Gibraltar:


I tried to venture up top but found the upper decks closed due to high winds so I headed to deck 5, the running track.

That pyramid looking object is the rock of Gibraltar. 

At this point we were in the Strait of Gibraltar and you could see lights on both sides.
Africa on the port side:

Spain and the rock of Gibraltar on the starboard side:

Walking a few steps, Africa on the port side:

Day 3 - Hairspray
Let me start by saying I'm not into musicals.  In the past if I were asked to go to a musical I would rank it right there with "Go to the hair salon with me" or "Help me pick out a dress".  When Hairspray was first announced for Symphony of the Seas I paid it little attention because I had somewhat already decided to pass.
Since that time I have be able to go on a number of back stage entertainment tours on various Royal ships.  On those I learned a lot of technical details and the level of effort that Royal Caribbean puts into its shows.   When Symphony first started sailing earlier this, Hairspray was getting pretty great reviews.  Consequently I settled on taking in this show, after all, we have 12 nights on this sailing so why not?
I'll let the pictures tell the story.





























The music was good, the vocals were strong and the cast did a great job.  I never found it dragging or felt the need to come up with an excuse to leave.  It was a great performance and I highly recommend it, even for the non-musical types. 
If you've sailed Harmony and you couldn't find an excuse to book Symphony this just may be it.

Day 3 - Hairspray
Let me start by saying I'm not into musicals.  In the past if I were asked to go to a musical I would rank it right there with "Go to the hair salon with me" or "Help me pick out a dress".  When Hairspray was first announced for Symphony of the Seas I paid it little attention because I had somewhat already decided to pass.
Since that time I have be able to go on a number of back stage entertainment tours on various Royal ships.  On those I learned a lot of technical details and the level of effort that Royal Caribbean puts into its shows.   When Symphony first started sailing earlier this, Hairspray was getting pretty great reviews.  Consequently I settled on taking in this show, after all, we have 12 nights on this sailing so why not?
I'll let the pictures tell the story.





























The music was good, the vocals were strong and the cast did a great job.  I never found it dragging or felt the need to come up with an excuse to leave.  It was a great performance and I highly recommend it, even for the non-musical types. 
If you've sailed Harmony and you couldn't find an excuse to book Symphony this just may be it.

With sail away approaching I realized I needed to get ready for my Hairspray reservation so I ventured up to the Solarium bridge wings to see what I might be able to see of Malaga.  The rain had almost stopped so I snapped the best photos of Malaga that I would get on this visit.  




A local fishing boat was returning to port.  They must have been tossing the remainder of their bait because the birds loved this boat.

With that I ventured down to the theater to line up for Hairspray.  I had a specific part of the theater in mind and I would need to be near the front of the line when they opened the doors.

Since I had my fish eye lens on I was wondering how a round scrunched up car in the shape a sphere would look with a fish eye at close range.  It pretty much looks like it does in person.

Time for lunch and with Sorrento's right there...

Barbecue Chicken on the menu today.  This was actually pretty good on Adventure recently.  
I found Symphony's variation a little too cheesy for my liking.

I thought I might as well take some more ships photos instead of walking in the rain.
MDR Entrance

MDR


I ran into some friend's and one drink led to another, so...

Day 3 - Malaga
After a visit to the Thermal Spa I had this great idea to walk down along the pier and get some pictures of the ship.  As I stepped off the ship and on to the gangway the skies opened up and the rain came down.  
Normally with a fish eye lens I can capture most ships at this range.  Not so with the largest cruise ship in the world.

I had to at least check out the terminal.

There are a series of shops including duty free liquor and wine.

I didn't feel like taking another shower today so I headed back to the ship. This would be as close as I came to Malaga on this day.

There was a 40' truck with supplies that were being transferred to the ship.  St. Francis and Decoy wine among other supplies.  I think we'll be fine making it across.

Since I had my fish eye lens on I was wondering how a round scrunched up car in the shape a sphere would look with a fish eye at close range.  It pretty much looks like it does in person.

Time for lunch and with Sorrento's right there...

Barbecue Chicken on the menu today.  This was actually pretty good on Adventure recently.  
I found Symphony's variation a little too cheesy for my liking.

I thought I might as well take some more ships photos instead of walking in the rain.
MDR Entrance

MDR


I ran into some friend's and one drink led to another, so...

Here is our position as we approached the Strait of Gibraltar:


I tried to venture up top but found the upper decks closed due to high winds so I headed to deck 5, the running track.

That pyramid looking object is the rock of Gibraltar. 

At this point we were in the Strait of Gibraltar and you could see lights on both sides.
Africa on the port side:

Spain and the rock of Gibraltar on the starboard side:

Walking a few steps, Africa on the port side:

Day 3 - Hairspray
Let me start by saying I'm not into musicals.  In the past if I were asked to go to a musical I would rank it right there with "Go to the hair salon with me" or "Help me pick out a dress".  When Hairspray was first announced for Symphony of the Seas I paid it little attention because I had somewhat already decided to pass.
Since that time I have be able to go on a number of back stage entertainment tours on various Royal ships.  On those I learned a lot of technical details and the level of effort that Royal Caribbean puts into its shows.   When Symphony first started sailing earlier this, Hairspray was getting pretty great reviews.  Consequently I settled on taking in this show, after all, we have 12 nights on this sailing so why not?
I'll let the pictures tell the story.





























The music was good, the vocals were strong and the cast did a great job.  I never found it dragging or felt the need to come up with an excuse to leave.  It was a great performance and I highly recommend it, even for the non-musical types. 
If you've sailed Harmony and you couldn't find an excuse to book Symphony this just may be it.

Jamie’s Italian
Welcome to speciality dining part 2 – this time not on the 5 night package because it would’ve left us one venue short and Jamie’s was the cheapest to book individually. Our original reservation was for 8 pm but that clashed with our entertainment plans. So we changed the dining reservation to 7 pm but it never showed up in the cruise planner. I emailed Royal and got the answer that they’d forward it to Symphony but when we boarded and did our package reservations, Jamie’s was still at 8. Luckily, booking dining was the first thing we did on board, so they were able to change the time.
 
Unfortunately no table mates this evening – in fact not even neighbours. Our waiter was Juan Carlos (no, not the former king of Spain!) and he was brilliant. We always went with his recommendations (might have added a dessert choice of our own) and were never disappointed – quite the contrary. I’ll have to write down the names of the crew who impressed us the most for WOW recommendations, currently on the list are Juan Carlos and Baptiste (MDR).
 
Onwards to the real reason you’re here for: the food. We wisely chose to have a meat plank for only 1 person and share that. Good thinking with the portion sizes coming later. The plank was good but nothing out of the ordinary. Our other choice was the Ultimate Garlic Bread which was really tasty and – by recommendation – the Crispy Squid. If you ever find yourself at Jamie’s, get the squid! Best dish we’ve tried the whole cruise up to now – it was so good that hubby had to get a second serving.


 

For entrees we only went with Juan Carlos‘ recommendations: Lamb Chops Scottadito for Michael, Genaro’s Tagliatelle Bolognese for me. For sides we both chose a Caprese Salad and hubby added Crispy Polenta Chips. Hubby’s verdict: best lamb chops he ever had and he really enjoyed the polenta chips. Bolognese was also really good, though I also love my Maggi Fix glutamate and curry ketchup version ?


 
We decided to share desserts because we both couldn’t decide between the same 3 choices: Epic Brownie, Amalfi Lemon Meringue Cheesecake and Tiramisu. We didn’t care for the cheesecake (guess there’s a first time for everything) but loved the tiramisu – it tasted really light with all the orange cests (I no it isn’t light J). Our favourite was the Brownie which really deserved the Epic.

Verdict: although seemingly more ordinary than Hooked, we prefered Jamie’s. Might’ve been because we had less expectations and were truly surprised, but I can’t give a real reason. Food just sometimes is subjective.

With sail away approaching I realized I needed to get ready for my Hairspray reservation so I ventured up to the Solarium bridge wings to see what I might be able to see of Malaga.  The rain had almost stopped so I snapped the best photos of Malaga that I would get on this visit.  




A local fishing boat was returning to port.  They must have been tossing the remainder of their bait because the birds loved this boat.

With that I ventured down to the theater to line up for Hairspray.  I had a specific part of the theater in mind and I would need to be near the front of the line when they opened the doors.

Since I had my fish eye lens on I was wondering how a round scrunched up car in the shape a sphere would look with a fish eye at close range.  It pretty much looks like it does in person.

Time for lunch and with Sorrento's right there...

Barbecue Chicken on the menu today.  This was actually pretty good on Adventure recently.  
I found Symphony's variation a little too cheesy for my liking.

I thought I might as well take some more ships photos instead of walking in the rain.
MDR Entrance

MDR


I ran into some friend's and one drink led to another, so...