Traveler

Oh sorry to hear that , just a very bad timing ( from my experience, most likely it will over today/tomorrow) , yes there were two alarms in Tel Aviv (one of the alarm caught me outside) but all were intercepts. Can not blame the Captain for taken this decision  has he responsible for the safety  of everyone although he could give some more time to leave the port . Enjoy the rest of the cruise.

Day 7/8 

We went back to complete packing. At first we wanted to do self disembarking as we had an 1045 am flight but then we got our luggage number which was exactly for the same time we thought to go off the ship anyway. We also had one duffel bag which was quite heavy so we thought to do the regular process. After getting the luggage out we went to find some food to be stored for the early morning.  We got some sandwiches and pineapples and put the in the refrigerator,  it was very useful later. I went back to the Casino to make sure all the points are added including the table games , the host told me I am missing some points for the next instant offer so we went to do what usually I recommend people not do , played  to get reward points. Surprisingly it was working well (at least the end of it) but at the beginning of this session I thought I will give it up as it seems the money I will spend might be more than the benefits I will get. Once got to the required points I went to get the certificate. It was quite late so we went to sleep what left from the night. At 6:30 am the alarm clock went on and we started to get organized and eating the sandwich we stocked last night. Once we were ready and our number called we went down to terminal just to wait 15 more minutes for our luggage, why to call if it's not ready ?  We collect our luggage and went outside to catch a taxi, there were no lines for the taxi. At 7:45 we already in the airport which concluded another cruise.

Regards , Yuliya&Assaf

Day 7 - Sea day.

Finally we could both sleep the extra time until almost 10 am , it was needed after the early late days. We rushed into the diamond club to grab something just to see that they already collecting the food and going to throw it , so sad to see all the berries goes to the trash but we did missed the deadline so no complaining.  We decided to went to to the Solarium as it was or that or the WJ and nothing reminds me it is the  last days as WJ mornings. Food was the same nothing to talk about. We tour the ship for a while , went to choose the pictures we wanted , it was not a warm day but still the sun was out and people used the pools and the water slides. I stood in the line to pay some of the bill with cache , as it was the last day and the casino was not bad. For lunch we decided to go to the Park Caffe for a salad and a sandwich. Salad station was very basic , not many addons like it used to be, not sure if it was some seasonal issues or cutbacks. In general I felt that the free food option went down a notch , if it is the park cafe with less veg options, the Sorento that did not served the antipasti anymore or the El Loco fresh with a very diluted guacamole. I do hope it just because it was the second cruise in the region and its not a fleet wide. Post dinner we went to watch the love and marriage show which was so funny , well maybe not such funny for the cupule that had a very interesting story about the place you tell at such game show just to quickly notice that there 12 years old daughter entered to the theater and was in the audience. That is the issue with only one sea day itinerary , you need to squeeze all the game show in the last 24 hours even it means some of them will be at the middle of the day. We continue our ship tour and went to the casino , nothing to report , it was OK , post that we went to catch some sleep which was interrupted twice by the shore alcohol distribution, at first time they brought only two of the bottles , second time they came with the rest. Dinner was again in the MDR , service was very good and quick , it was the royal theme night but no lobsters just jumbo shrimp. We went to see Flight which is our favorite show in Symphony and went to finish our packing. I went down to use my free play in the Casino , you saw what happened , a nice surprise for the last day.  

Thry are making sure we will plan our next cruise 

Day 6 - Napoli.
There are so many things hs to do in this port of call,  the city , Amalfi cost, Sorento , Pompeii and Capri are just some of the options. We decide on Capari , cheapest way to get there is to just exit the ship, walk 5 minutes and buy tickets to the ferry ride . Few month ago I catch a cheap excursion from RC to go to Capri , it make sense as it contains the small busses and also the chairlift. The funny thing was that the self guided excursion cost 1 $ less , go figure. The issue was that this excursion started very late at night around 7:15 am  , this should be banned by by Geneva low or something like that. We were ready on time with even few minutes to grab something to eat from the DL. Some how we got the same guide as we had four years ago so we already knew all the jokes:-) . The ferry ride took around 50 minutes and we were waiting for our turn to go on the minibusses,  this took 15 minutes and we were doning our way to Anacapri . At Anacapri you get to choose between a museum and a chairlift all the way up the mountain. We love the chairlift as it's a 15 minutes ride in a very beautiful  and tranquility scenery.

On the mountain you can have a view over Naples bay and the famous mountain Vesuvius.

Post Anacapri we took the minibus to Capri were we had some free time which we used for walking  around (it was a very busy day)  and eat a good overpriced pizza with a fish plate for starter.

For dessert we bought some local made cookies and a cannoli which was very good. We had a 30:30 ferry ride that brought us back to the ship. Yesterday we went first time to the main dining room. Food was good and service was excellent. I might add that no lobster night  during this cruise. After dinner we went to watch the battle of the sexes game show follow by the quest that was run by the new cruise director that was just replacing the previous one, she did a very good job .

The quest is in the house by surprise!

If anyone have any questions about the ship or port of calls let me know tomorrow sea days finally I will have some time to check .

Day 5 - Rome.

The ship is arriving the port of Civitavecchia which is 1 hour from Rome. We had train tickets to Rome which we ordered online a month ago, they where for 9:15 am which meant we had to wake up early. Quick breakfast at the diamond club and we done our way to Rome.  There few ways to get to Rome , one by shor excursion,  second by train and third by external company bus. We took the train option, the cost for return fast  trains was around 15$ if you want you can pay 10 Dollars for slower train . To get to to the train you get hope on a 6$ shuttle to the tray  station but the line was long so we took the free port shuttle to the port gate and walked 15 minutes to the station.  In the port gate you cam also take a 25E bus that takes you to Rome it's once the bus is full it will start going to Rome and drops you near the Vatican city. We arrived to the train station on time and went on the train for 45 minutes ride, although we had seat assignments our seat were taken and it's seems no one followed the assignments so we just took a seat like everyone else , at the first 10 minutes people were still standing but after that everyone got a seat , I guess there is some logic in the Italian system.
We arrived Rome Termini station and went the most important place in the station,  the bathrooms, you see in med itinerary you go to the bathroom when you can not when you need , important rule. The bathroom cost 1 E and it accepting CC . We started to work to Trevi fountain. Nice thing about Rome, no matter were you go in Rome there is something to see , we passed several church,  went inside some of them

We arrived the fountain , this is what you hope to see

This is what you see most of the time although you can still come near it with some patient.

We continue to the  beautiful Spanish stairs.

We went to take our first espresso,  the way they do it is different and we like it very much. We started  to feel hungry and went for searching for a nice resturant. We decided on a restaurant that had nice interesting salads and traditional pasta , it was good. Next we did our way to the Vatican city area visiting some interesting places.

We started  our way back stoping in the Pantheon

We stopped in a shop or two and by 4:30 we arrived the station to take our train back. This time our seat was available and we arrived after 50 minutes back.
Total steps 35000 , weather was just perfect for such excursion.

44 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Lol did you leave your cat alone? I have always dropped mine off with family or friends but I do allow her to sleep with me when I get back.

I would not dare to leave her alone,  she is with our son. 

1 hour ago, SweetPea said:

Cats definitely need to be bribed when left!

Gorgeous pics! You're totally making me want to book a Med cruise. 

She will be OK our son stayed with her and she loves him, also my spouse mother is checking on her from time to time but for sure I want to reduce the time I will need to go to work with long sleeves:-)

Day 4 La Spezia.

Sorry for the late updates but as you can imagine it's a super busy ports of calls. 

So we were few hours in the cinque terre and enjoy it very much as usual. Weather was perfect,  I highly recommend this time of year for med cruise as it can be very hit during the summer time. When we returned back to La Spezia I went to by some wines and chocolate,  so now we have wine from each country. If you need to buy wine LA Spezia is the last port with good supermarkets in walking distance.  Had also to add some bribe to the one we left at home so she will let us in welcoming us and not plan a revenge 

For dinner we went to the WJ , must say the food wasn't what we remember,  no sea food at all (we checked all week), not much verity. To complete it we went to the Diamond launch which had nice appetizers. Not sure why but no water station in DL , need to ask why. Post dinner we had the 1977 ice show which we like very much. It's a was the first show of this new ice team and they change some of the act. Three  of the drones crushed , considered to add some RC IT joke here but I know it's not them this time so I will hold myself.  

Lots of activities were still going but we had an early plans for Rome so we wrapped it early and tried (not so successful ) to rest.

Tomorrow Rome.

Day 4 La Spezia.

La Spezia is the port for Florence,  Pisa and cinque terre . In Med cruise its one of our favorite port of call due to the incredible view and possibilities. This time we wanted to visit cinque terre which are 5 very nice colrfull villages. There are few options to visit it. First, the wrong one is to pay 150+ $ to RC excursion. Second is to take the train and third , the best option is to take an HOHO boat that brings you to most of the villages and allow you to visit as many villages you want . The cost is 39 E per person. Since we went to sleep late we missed the first two boats but went to catch the 10:50 am one. The boat peer is on the boardwalk going left from terminal facing the city. When we arrived we saw long line for the tickets,  or so we thought. The line did not seem going anywhere and we thought we are going to miss it. Finally it started to move and move fast , that was when I realized it was the line for getting on the boat and not for tickets. I quickly went to buy tickets and we were on the boat after 5 minutes and started our journey.  The best way is to go first to the last viillage and do your way backwards. The main issue with cinque terre is which pictures to use. Here is a good link with information about visiting the villages 

https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/boat-excursions

9 hours ago, ckruetze said:

That would depend. For me as a European this would be the other way around. If I really want to see Nice, I can fly there for a weekend. I'm hoping that I can enjoy a nearly empty ship every day this summer when I'm on the Symphony.

I agree with you , it would depend where you are coming from and how easy for you /how often you can visit the places outside the cruise. 

5 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

It sounds like it's already pretty warm out there? 

The weather is just perfect 20 C or 68 F. Maybe not for swimming but for site seeing we could not ask for better one.

2 hours ago, SweetPea said:

That's a really interesting statue!

I got a chuckle out of your hummus. I speak exactly one language, and I'm sure I'd have done way worse.

Hopefully the late night parties in the Solarium subside. I would think a more port-intensive cruise wouldn't be as conducive to that. You'd think everyone would be in bed early to rise early. Sorry that is not the case on your cruise!

Oh, don't get me wrong I am happy they have night activities just wandered why it was in the Solarium and not in the attic as usual. I can sleep with any noise,  the only issue is that I can't go to sleep before my spouse do as she claims I am doing more noises than such party (I am denying it ) 

Day 3 - Marseille.

Another wonderful day started with a perfect weather. We got something quick to eat in the WJ and wend for a coffee in the DL. We decided also to take a second quick breakfast at the Diamond launch just because we could not resist the fresh berries and so I will have extra things to report on. 

The port of Marseille is a huge port and around 10 to 15 minutes from the city. Since we did not had special plans we just wanted a way to get to the city. There are  three ways to get to Marseille (if you did not booked shore excursion). First one is to take RC Shuttle which cost 20 $ return ticket, the shuttle will take you to the old port. Second is to take a taxi which will be around 20 E. Thirs is to walk about  10 minutes to the terminal (following a green path on the ground) and take a free shuttle provided as a courtesy by the city of Marseille. The free shuttle bus will take you to the downtown (not the old port) and is leaving every 30 minutes, you will not hear about this option from RC. We took the free shuttle but I think if you are 3 or more people taxi might make more sense. The free shuttle drops you near a big shopping center (important in a hot sumner day) and many things is by walking distance. We wanted to buy some  French cosmetic we wanted to buy so we split and some of us went to the mall and some of us went to enjoy the weather outside. 

As we were in France we went to eat crepes, they had this 12 E option for a salty crep , sweet crep , a soft drink and a real coffee. Not bad it was quite tasty. 

As always I also went to one of the local supermarket to buy some bottles of wine and some local products to use back at home and for some gift , things like herb of Provence. I must admit my French is very limited almost as limited as vegetables in WJ breakfast time, I saw some interesting jar of something  that looked to me as mustard or truffle paste so I add it to the basket. Just on the shuttle back I started to translate it and found out it was Hummus,  oh the irony,  I bring back Hummus from France, almost like someone will bring pasta to Italy. Oh well , lesson learned. We went back to the ship around 3 PM and went to El Loco fresh to grab something. I must admit we weren't that impressed, the food was not that good , the guacamole was very diluted and felt artificial, it used to be much better. We took the regular nap and went to the Diamond club for some drinks and half dinner, we like the appetizers in the DL . We had a nice  discussion with the DL concierge who was the suite concierge on Rhapsody last year and compared the experience. We had reservations to Hair Spray but we decided to skip it , it's not our favorite show and we already saw it. Later on there  was a Latin music party in the promenade, it was full with participants and allot of energy , the band was very good. Most were also wearing white shirts/dress  as the it was indicated in the CC  besides me the non conformist who was with black shirt .

There was some party unil 2:30 AM at the solarium,  so it was hard to get some sleep, instead we went to get some pizza and sandwiches. I sadly  report that at least on Symphony they are not serving the antipasti anymore just the pissa , I hope it will come back soon. 

OK,  found the issue with our cabin , someone decided that to do late party in the solarium will be a good idea,  the main issue I di not have a broomstick to nock on the ceiling:-)

Day 2 , part 2

After the WJ horror we had to recover by taking some nap , med cruise is not easy on Symphony. Post the nap we went to some coffee in the Diamond club and to get ready for the first official night. Dinner plans was the second BOGO in Jaimee Italian. We had some starters (the Avocado salad , the truffle burrata cheese which was excellent and the meat board) 

For main we took the lasagna and spagiti carbonara. The lasagna was good the carbonate was so so but it was our fault as we forgot that no way they will use raw egg on the ship, there are things you should not order while you are on a ship ...

We took espresso martini for dessert .

We were doing our way to the Casino were Sunil saw us near the studio B and said he have some empty seats if we want, best seats and saving some money how we could refuse for that ? 

Right after the ice show we had reservations for the comedy club , they let in anyone that wanted as there were  lots of space mainly with US crowd. The first comedian was very good and even did a full set without any pineapple jocks , I mean the upside down one not new Matt C&A level. The second comedian was OK , more like older jocks but then he done a final act juggling using tennis balls to a Beattie song , it was very  impressive  and unique alsi considering that he is over 70. Very recommended.

We went to contribute some money to RCl , the cassino was given a way a crown loft suite,  it was almost ours but then we thought on all the  repacking and gave it up, we just love our balcony :-). 

The cabin attended must heard that we missed Hooked so he left us this

Tomorrow Marseille.

Day 2 - Palma.

Palma is the shortest port of call we have this week, from 8:30 to 3:30 PM. Almost a sea day :-). For this part  we booked a bicycles ride in the city. We both like to cycle (well we like to think we like it but we only do it once a year ) and that time of year is the perfect day to do so. We booked it with RCL and got it in a good price of 60 $. For breakfast we decided to give a chance to the solarium bistro which has easy access from our cabin, exit to the first floor of the solarium, use the stress near the "pool" and we are there. For sure it was much easy going comparing  to the mad house in the WJ during mornings time. After breakfast we went to the meeting point at the theater just on time to wait 30 minutes until our group number announced, we got on a shuttle bus that took us out from the port to the bicycle shop across the street were we splitef to 3 groups got our bicycle and after short orientation we started to paddle to the city. The weather was perfect for such activity and the ride was enjoyable. Once we got to the old city we stopped in few places for the view (and let's admit also to catch our breath) at the old city we started to cycle inside the narrow streets and the guide gave us some explanations. We even got 15 minutes stop for coffee and quick walking around.

Nice street view 

The famous Gothic cathedral 

I must say I did not believe we can ride were we ride but it was very nice. Most of the ride was over a flat terrain but there were very few hills which we used the low gear of the bicycle to overcome  them. After the city tour we started our way back to the port , all in all it was a 4 hours tour. I highly recommend it if it's not too hot (it was 20 C  outside), it's a nice way to see the city , maybe not if it's your first time in the Island and you want some more time to enter the cathedral or shop. 

Coming back to the ship we went to my love and hate place the WJ for a quick lunch (you must knew there will be at least one time I will complain about the WJ ...) it was quite busy but we still found something to eat and a place to seat. I notice someone filling a glace of water at the station and tried to add some ice. Now I am sure it happend to most of us that we fill the glass too much and when adding the ice cubes it's bounces all around. Well that what happened to her but since she was very environmental aware and wanted to save the wave she collected all the falling ice cubes from the tray , from the table and put it in her glass....  what a sight 

15 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

^^^This is why I love Sunil! There is one more Genie (that I know of) in the fleet who carries that mentality too.

Ugh! I know! I booked it on purpose so that I wouldn't be tempted to go star. Need money for excursions lol

I also loved the itinerary way more on Voyager compared to Oasis in summer 2024.

In Europe the port of calls always wins, love the Nice/Monaco stop. You just don't have enough time to enjoy the ship and when you do you are tired from the long tours. Regarding shore excursions , many can be done a slef guided although some port of calls that are far from the attractions better to do with the ship excursions just to be o  the safe side.

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That’s pretty lame that you cannot select Hooked for BOGO.  I wonder if that’s fleet-wide. 

It is lame , I think they start to think about the all BOGO. BOGO started as many people did not went to the the special restaurant at night one and two but now that more and more getting the UDP it's not the story anymore. I am sure they would love to remove CG from the list but they know it will start riots :-). 

22 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

@Traveler definitely following! We'll be doing a similar itinerary next July on Voyager.

Thanks , let me know if you have any questions. 

But I must ask @Matt question,  you do know no star class on Voyager ?

4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Have a wonderful trip!

They did away with the C&A treats and just give you water now. No cookies, strawberries or sodas unless you select as your D+ amenities. 

Yes I realized it now although today they did sent some fruits which was nice.

 Now , while getting  a free massage from the vibrations of the ship engine  doing her way out of Palma I can continue. We wanted to use the BOGO offer for the first two nights so we found one of the restaurant coordinators in the promenade. While trying to book Hooked she told us it's not part of the BOGO offer so we booked 150 and Jaime. Later in the cabin I saw in the C&A letter it's official and like chef's table and Hibachi Hocked not allowed. Strange, not as strange as club royal logic or RCL IT but still strange. After a very needed nap we went to 150 , it's the second time we are trying 150 and we did not disappointed . We started with the famous cucumber martini, the garlic bread , a very good beetroot and Cesar's salad.

For main we took the tenderloin for two which was excellent and perfectly cooked.   

For desert we got the fried cheese cake and hazelnut bar. 

On our way out we encountered Sunil who was our genie 1.5 years ago on the same ship, to our surprise he recognized us and ask of we need anything as he is genie for life :-). Later we went to the casino just to see of we can say hello  to Chris Wong from the vlog, yes it was the only reason. Since he was not there we stayed more just in case , all the way until the balloon drop

One new thing to me was a note in the cabin bathroom saying they might give you a 100 $ penalty if you will drop some restrictions item to the toilet system 

Day 1 - Barcelona.

As always on a furst day of a  cruise I could not sleep too late, I guess no matter how many cruises you do the embarkation day feeling will always be the same. We still had to re pack as we came back very late  from the local chef table (aka Tapas and wine tour) and did not wanted to start packing in the middleofthe night, oh and we had to pack quite allot , self note , maybe it's not so good idea to take an hotel near a shopping mall. Here is something I found new about Barcelona,  don't trust the taxi applications , if it's Uber or Free now, apparently the taxi drivers just refuse to take rides that way. After fighting trying to fit everything to the two suitcases (don't worry we brought extra folding bags with us just did not want to open them before we are on the ship) we took a very light continental breakfast made out of a chocolate croissant we bought the night before and coffee,  breakfast on embarkation day is both waste of time and waste of important "stomach space" which should better use on the ship. The check in time we had was 11 am so we opted to catch a taxi around 10. I tried to order a taxi using the app and learned  10 minutes later the lesson ,  no luck so we just walked to the street corner and took a taxi there. Even if you are not using a taxi application you can still pay using a credit card at any Barcelona taxi , they might just charge you more . The ride took around 10 minutes  and we came to what looked not such busy port it cost us 20 Euro . We dropped the luggage and entered to the building. There was not any lines for security nor for the checking in , once chrck in  done we got a ticket with a  number as they were boarding per numbers , we were 21. They stated to board 2 minutes after we arrived and after 15 minutes they called our group number so it was not that bad. We entered the next section of the building to find ourselves in the port duty free. This is something I did not figure out yet, since the cruise ports of calls are  only in the European union you don't have duty free on the ship and you need pay the VAT for anything you buy, they don't even sell alcohol on the ship. But this duty free in the port has real duty free prices (cheaper than the airport) and most interesting they even sell you alcohol you can take up the ship , yes it's after security (they just tell you not to bring it to the restaurants) , not sure what I am missing. We were on the ship around 11 am, not bad at all. We done our assembly check in and went to the WJ to complete the breakfast  . Food was as usual but I noticed they are serving chubby hamburger  patties and not the flat Macdonald style I saw before 

We continue to tour the ship to see if anything new after the dry dock . I can tell you they have not  change the jazz club to a non smoking casino yet , not sure why. Rooms were ready on 2 and not at 1 PM  as usual I guess it's due to the new one-time a day make your room system.

This time we are in a balcony cabin near the solarium which is very convenient. I was shocked no cookies were waiting for us , just few bottles of water. We'll we have to take our tour now , will continue later