Traveler

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

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.

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 :-).

Thanks , let me know if you have any questions. But I must ask @Matt question, you do know no star class on Voyager ?

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

A good start :

I had many thoughts if to start a live cruise or not as this is the same itinerary as I already bloged from but I saw many people are looking for information about Europe cruises so I'll try to do my best. Before the cruise itself we stayed two days in Barcelona. This time we stayed at Hilton Diagonal Mar which is very close to the sea and around 10 minutes from the cruise port. This hotel is not in the center but it has a huge mall just across the street with allot of food options plus 8 minutes walk to the nearest subway which only 10 minutes ride and you are in the middle of Rambla. For the first dinner we went to one of the Tapas restaurants at the mall , I used the Fork application to get 30% off, food was good but we both had better Tapas before. The second day we spent mixing some shopping and walking in Barcelona. For the evening we booked a Tapas tour at the Gothic quarter. The tour took us to 4 different locations, over each location we got several Tapas and wine/Sangaria and other drinks , refills was offered for the drinks. It was a lot to eat and drink and as always the fun part is to meet people from all around the world. The tour was enjoyable although everyone was wondering why our guide did not explain anything about were were visiting (I guess part of it was since it was is third tour of the day and he felt professionally obligation to test all the drinks just to make sure they are OK). More about the cruise and embarkation next. For , I will watch the new Chris Wong vlog from the ship.

So exited to see it again , just in few hours we are back on Symphony.

The plan for sure a doable plan , The flight you are taken ( I assume United by the landing time) is a good one and most of the times it will even land earlier. There might be some line in immigration but not too bad. The Car rental is on the same building as the arrival building (you will need to take the escalators or elevator one or two level up). from the airport to the dead sea it will take you around two hours (pending traffic) best way will be to take the tool road #6 south and come from the south. If you will use GPS it might send you via Jerusalem as it might be shorter but this road is going via the south part of the west bank. Same when you are going to Jerusalem. In the dead sea it is better to take at leas half board hotel as the option to eat out around Ein Bokek (which is a good place to take the hotel) unless you care for fast-food or a sandwich (yes it has a MacDonald's there). The half board is a buffet style. Please mind that some of the hotels have there own beach and some you need to walk few minutes to go to the beach. A tip to save some money, there is a small mall near the hotels area which you can buy the mod and other dead sea products much cheaper than you will get in the hotels. If you want to visit Masada try to aim for the morning when the cable car will be less busy. Jerusalem at Saturdays is OK, There some restaurants open (not like in Tel Aviv but there are) some of the museums are open , including the biggest Israel Museum https://www.imj.org.il/en which has large exhibitions of archeology, arts from all around of the world and the dead sea shrine (children under 17 are getting free entrance on Saturday) , also the market on the old city is open. On the way to the north , Caesarea is a good option , plan few hours there its not a small site , its also a good place to eat lunch , although there are many other options around. When you bring back your care take into consideration that the Hertz Haifa location is opened between 0800 to 16:00 .

Few questions : 1. Are you planning to rent a car or you want to use public transportation , combination ? 2. Israel is the size of NJ , so if you are staying in Tel Aviv , its one hour drive to Jerusalem (pending traffic), two and half hors to the north and 2 hours to the dead sea . Based on that do you prefer to take one hotel for the 4 nights and plan a day travel to the different places ? 3. Self guide tours or guided ? 4. Any must do in the north and Jerusalem in your list ? 5. How old your kids ? Anyway , here is one option for self guide that includes a car : Day one - depends when you are landing , take a taxi to Tel Aviv (35-50 $) , drop the luggage in the hotel , visit the boardwalk of Tel Aviv , visit Old Jaffa during the night. Day two - pick a car , if you want to start very early , you can take the train to the airport (15 minutes ride) and take the care from there ,once you took the car you can go to Jerusalem (50 minutes) , you can park at the "Mamila" parking which is 10 minutes walk from the old city. Go to the Jaffa gate of the old city, you can visit first the Tower of David Museum (https://www.tod.org.il/en/) after the visit you can go up the wall (adjust to the museum) take the right path and walk over the wall until the last exit , you will have very nice photo ops, that can take 30 -40 minutes. Go down from the wall and walk to the right until you will get to the wailing wall . After the visit in the Wailing wall you can take the exist on the other side and walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , after that you can visit the market and go via the market back to the Jaffa gate. You can choose to stay in Jerusalem and visit other part of the city, for nice view of the old city I would visit Mount Scopus. Now there are two options , one is go back to Tel Aviv , the other one is to continue to an hotel in the dead sea. if you choose to go to the dead sea on the same day , I would recommended not to take the short road to the dead sea but to go via road 6 (tool road) to the south and go via the town of "Arad". Day 3 , visit the dead sea (mind not all the hotels will allow you one day stay during the weekend) and visit Masada , at the end of the day I would drive back to Tel Aviv or stay another day in the dead sea hotel (which mean a very long drive the day after). Day 4 , North , Hotel near the city of Tzfat , visit to Sea of Galilei and Nazareth , if you want to have a nice wild life (mainly birds) I would go to visit https://agamon-hula.co.il/home-en/. Day 5 - Checkout and drive to Haifa to drop the car , take taxi to the port (it will take around 1 hour drive). Its allot in 4 days , so you can change several things , you can choose to take a full guided day trip from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the dead seas and take the car the day after to go to the north which mean less driving.

First , you can be sure that RCL will not put the passengers or crew under any risk , if they think the area is not safe enough they will cancel. More likely they will shift the cruise to go out of Cyprus and offer a way to go there. For now , although there is allot of news you do not really feel it in Haifa (were the port is) or even in Tel Aviv as things get to normal very quickly here. I think that after the holidays here things will be much less tense so May , but that is just my opinion. Anyway , there are still several weeks before your cruise , many things can change 50 times but then, hope everything will be fine and you and your family will enjoy Israel and the cruise. Let me know if you any questions or require any tips regarding the locations or port.

For Santorin I will always suggest to take RC excursions as you will get priority out of the ship. If not , I would say around 9:30 / 10 you can catch the tender , depends on the lines and how many RC excursions were taken. Even with RC , the cable car is a huge issue. last year we took a tour with RCL which started in the new port and ended up in Fira where we suppose to take the cables down to the port. It was 1.5 hour line to get the cables so we decide to go down by the donkey trail , not a recommended thing either.

Few things : Lockers exist in the train satiation across the street but you can access them only when the train station open which mean on Friday until 4 PM and on Saturday from 8 PM. There are some local car rentals around 0.5 miles from the port , one of them also have a branch in Jerusalem (https://www.carrentalsisrael.com/) although never used them so I can not tell you if they are good or not. The big international car rentals companies are 12-15 minutes drive from the port and I do not think they have shuttles so you will need to take a taxi (should be around 20-25 $) . Regarding public transportation , trains and buses during Friday will have a good service until 3- 4 PM. IF you want 24/7 car rental service the best will be to take the train to the airport (direct train 1.20 minutes) and take it from there but it will take you further south from where you want to tour. Maybe if you add more information , how many days you want to be in the north ? is it only one day and then go to Jerusalem on the same day ? not sure you will have a place to drop the car in Jerusalem at late Friday (most of the local car rentals will be closed between 1 pm to 3 pm).

Although both Florence and Rome are quite far from the ports, there are several options to get to these places from the respective ports. If you are arriving at Palma, you can buy round tickets to a bus that will take you to the city for approximately 10 Euros per person. If you are docking at Marseille, you can take a bus from the port to the old port for around 20 Euros per person, or you can walk 12 minutes to take a free shuttle from the port entrance that will take you to the downtown area. If you are arriving at La Spezia, the port is about two hours from Florence. If you want to go to Florence, I highly recommend taking a self-guided ship excursion. If you aim to visit Cinque Terre, you can take the free shuttle to the port entrance, go left (if facing the town, right if facing the sea), and walk 5-10 minutes on the boardwalk until you see a ticket office and small boat. For around 50 Euros, you can buy a ticket to the boat that can take you to any of the 5 towns where you can visit and jump on the next boat to the next town or back. Just check the timelines and plan accordingly. I suggest going off first at the most distant place you want to go and making your way back, stopping at more places. If you are docking at Civitavecchia and want to go to Rome, you have several options. You can take the shuttle to the port entrance, where you can go on one of the self-guided tours to Rome (external companies). Once the bus is full, they will start driving and drop you near the Vatican City. They are much cheaper than Royal Caribbean. The cheaper and faster way will be to take the train. To go to the train station, you can either walk 15 minutes or take a bus outside the port for 2 Euros. Prices for the 50-minute trains are around 10$ per person each way, and the 70-minute ride can cost around 5$ or less. Here is the website that I use to book such trains, but there are others as well: https://www.thetrainline.com/en/train-times/rome-to-civitavecchia-citta. This will bring you to Termini station in Rome, around 15-20 minutes' walk from the major attractions or a quick ride using the Metro or taxi. Finally, if you are arriving at Naples, the port is walking distance from the city. If you want to go to Capri, you can book a one-hour ferry from the port, which will be one-fourth of the price compared to the ship.

I think Icon was suppose to cruise first from UK but then it was changed. Maybe Utpia it will start in Europe until the winter before going to the US.

And here is the ChatBoot song for CocoKey Verse 1) I'm feeling the sunshine on my skin As I step on the sand, I'm ready to begin Exploring a place, so full of fun CocoKey Island, where the good times have just begun (Chorus) CocoKey, CocoKey, where the island never sleeps A place to swim, surf, and play, the memories we will keep From lounging on the beach to zip-lining through the trees CocoKey Island, the place to be (Verse 2) The crystal clear water, so inviting and blue Jet skis, paddleboards, there's so much to do Taking a dip in the pool, that's just the start A day full of adventure, let's play our part (Chorus) CocoKey, CocoKey, where the island never sleeps A place to swim, surf, and play, the memories we will keep From lounging on the beach to zip-lining through the trees CocoKey Island, the place to be (Bridge) Feel the sand between our toes As the island breeze blows We can relax and let it go Or try something new, you never know (Chorus) CocoKey, CocoKey, where the island never sleeps A place to swim, surf, and play, the memories we will keep From lounging on the beach to zip-lining through the trees CocoKey Island, the place to be (Outro) So let's pack our bags and hit the road To CocoKey Island, the perfect abode A place to make memories and have some fun CocoKey Island, under the Caribbean sun.

ChatBoot to the rescue : CocoCay is a private island in the Bahamas that is owned by Royal Caribbean International, a cruise line company. However, many people have referred to the island as "CocoKey" instead of "CocoCay." While some people might argue that it's not okay to call it "CocoKey" because it's not the correct name, others might argue that it's simply a matter of personal preference or a harmless mistake. Here are some reasons why it might be considered okay to call CocoCay "CocoKey": Similar Names: The name "CocoKey" is very similar to "CocoCay," and it's possible that some people simply get the two names mixed up. This is especially true for people who are not familiar with the island and are hearing the name for the first time. Familiarity: For some people, the name "CocoKey" might simply be more familiar or easier to remember than "CocoCay." This could be because they have heard the name "CocoKey" used more frequently or because the name "CocoCay" is less intuitive or memorable. Common Usage: Language is constantly evolving, and sometimes words and phrases take on new meanings or change over time. It's possible that "CocoKey" could become a more commonly used term for the island, even if it's not the official name. Inclusivity: Finally, it's worth considering that the name "CocoKey" might be more inclusive than "CocoCay." The word "key" is often used to refer to islands in the Bahamas, and by using this term, people might be acknowledging the island's cultural and historical context. Of course, it's important to remember that "CocoCay" is the official name of the island, and using this name is the most accurate and respectful option. However, if someone accidentally calls it "CocoKey," it's likely not a big deal and doesn't require correction or criticism. Ultimately, what's most important is treating others with kindness and respect, regardless of what name they use for a particular place or thing.

If the cruise is from the US we need to take a TA flight so we will come 2 to 4 days before the cruise combine it with some land trip near the cruise port. If it's from Barcelona/Rome , a day or two before . If it's from home port (happened only once) which is 1.15 hours drive/train ride , same day.

First, try from time to time to enter maybe something will become available. Second , I think they leave some seat to book on board , also people tend to cancel+ you can always be in the stand by line. Also, in the new system if you have dinner booked on the same time as a show they will not show you it as available , sometimes you just need to move something else