CraftyCat05

Updates, updates, updates!
Calling American at the last minute while enroute to the airport to make a flight to Miami, an absolute miracle worker was able to get my whole trip rerouted so I could actually make to Barcelona on time! I will now go though Heathrow instead of Miami, for no extra charge! Everything seems to be going well....
Except my Macbook Pro has decided to make my "B" key to be very temperamental and only work when it wants to. If you see a lot of missing B's, then you know why. Will try to get this fixed, lol.
Well, Yay for making flights!
 

Following for sure ,  Do not miss the laser TAG , try to do it on the first day were you almost do no have lines , another good way to burn some calories for 10 minutes ? we did it several time and it was enjoyable.
You are going to love the ship on Rome/Florence days were you are staying on board , its going to be just for you almost.
IF you will still have time , try to do a quick tour in Naples even for 1 hour , its a special city.
 
Have a safe flight.

Congrats on the free flight fix! Fly forth to fun and frolicking!

Yay for the flight change! Looking forward to following along.
Safe travels!

Updates, updates, updates!
Calling American at the last minute while enroute to the airport to make a flight to Miami, an absolute miracle worker was able to get my whole trip rerouted so I could actually make to Barcelona on time! I will now go though Heathrow instead of Miami, for no extra charge! Everything seems to be going well....
Except my Macbook Pro has decided to make my "B" key to be very temperamental and only work when it wants to. If you see a lot of missing B's, then you know why. Will try to get this fixed, lol.
Well, Yay for making flights!
 

My SemiLive Blog
Wowzah! Only 3 more days until we are on a plane to Barcelona! Hard to believe, this past year has flown by so fast. So, let's get down to the nitty gritty and get this show on the road! (props to people who get that reference)
Our Cruising History
I am sailing with my mother and father who have both cruised 2 and 3 times, respectively. This will be our third family cruise together (which have all been on Royal), and our second time on an Oasis Class ship. We are all from Texas and excited to get away from the 100+°F summer heat as well! The last time we were on a cruise was in summer of 2016, so we are all excited to get back on the magnificent Royal ships. My mother enjoys the sun and pool, so we may be spending our down-time at the beaches in Barcelona, or the sports deck pool. This is also a partial celebration for my mother's birthday as well! 
Why Symphony?
While being on Symphony for the inaugural season made this cruise very appealing, the itinerary in the Mediterranean (more on that later) for this cruise sealed the deal for all of us. None of us have ever been in the med for pleasure or sight seeing, and we have previously always cruised in the Caribbean, which after awhile gets to look like the same places and beaches. Hence, the idea to sail in Europe was born. All of us are excited to see the tourist traps sights, including the Vatican and Colosseum, which we will see on the excursions while in port.
The Itinerary
We are lucky enough to be doing a B2B Cruise and spend 4 days before the cruise in Barcelona! I plan to do a lighter blog on the first few days while in Barcelona, and do a mini-review on the flight and hotel. For this trip, we didn't book any non-Royal Caribbean shore excursions, due to the convenience and close time windows with the all-aboard call. Feel free to skip ahead to the next section (The Cabin), this is a lengthy one. This is the full itinerary of the trip, including the days before and hours after.
July 24th
Flight to Miami on American - Includes a wonderful 1h and 20min layover in MIA Flight to Barcelona -  Arrive in Barcelona the next day July 25th
Hotel check-in at the Hotel Arts Barcelona July 29th - Cruise Day!
6:00pm Departure from port! 6:30pm Chops Grille 8:30pm Hairspray - Broadway Show. Will be my first time seeing it live, and not on NBC's live show! July 30th - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
8:00am Arrival 9:20am Palma City Sights - RCL Shore Excursion 4:00pm Departure 8:00pm 1977 - Ice Show We also plan to eat at the Coastal Kitchen (more about that later) July 31st - Marseilles (Provence), France 
9:00am Arrival 9:15am Panoramic Marseilles & Aix - RCL 6:00pm Departure 8:00pm Jamie's Italian - We have only tried Giovani's Italian on Allure, so it will be interesting to see the differences between the two Italian restaurants. August 1st - La Spezia (Florence/Piza), Italy
8:30am Arrival 8:35am Florence & Pisa - Cities Tour RCL 8:30pm Departure 9:00pm HiRO - AquaTheater Show  We didn't plan any dinner reservations, as we may decide to eat in the MDR, Costal Kitchen or eat out in the city! August 2nd - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
7:00am Arrival 8:00am Exclusive: Best of Rome - City Tour RCL 8:00pm Departure We didn't plan any dinner reservations, as we may decide to eat in the MDR, Costal Kitchen or eat out in the city! August 3rd - Naples (Capi), Italy
7:00am Arrival 8:00am Amalfi Coast & Pompeii by Land and Sea - RCL 8:00pm Departure August 4th - Cruising
5:00pm Flight - RCL Theater Show 6:30pm Wonderland - The rabbit hole calls us from home.... August 5th - Deja Vu!
6:15pm Izumi: Hibachi - On our last cruise while on Allure, we really enjoyed the food and show that the hibachi offers, and hope that we see some new tricks from the chefs. August 6th
8:40pm Drach Caves - RCL Excursion August 7th
9:30am Biking in Provence - RCL. Have to burn the calories somewhere!  August 8th 
We have no excursion booked and plan to explore on our own and enjoy the ship! August 9th
We have no excursion booked and plan to explore on our own and enjoy the ship! August 10th
8:30am Capri on your Own - RCL. This should hopefully give us some freedom while touring Capri! August 12th - Where the PCD sets in...
5:00am Departure Flight to Charlotte for a layover to catch the plane home The Cabin
Since there are three of us and we need all the space we can get, we decided to splurge and get a Grand Suite cabin on the seventh floor. This also gives us access to the Costal Kitchen, reserved show seats, and other Sky Class amenities. We even get our own bathtub, which is going to come in handy to soak the muscles after that bike ride! We also get some free Voom Internet @ Sea codes, which is how I will be updating you on all of the social medias! We also won't have to move cabins in-between the cruises; we got lucky on that. Expect cabin tour Periscopes and pictures.
Social Media
I plan on doing some Periscopes and posting things to my newly founded Flickr page.
Periscope - CraftyCat05 - Plan on seeing the Cabin Tour, Embarkation, Docking and Undocking, and other things here.
Flickr - CraftyCat05 / https://www.flickr.com/photos/155580610@N05/albums/72157693503806790/with/41744815340/ - Plan on seeing a full album of some of the photos I take here.
(I don't change usernames ?)
Miscellaneous
We haven't gotten any drink, spa, or specialty dining packages, as we find that we never will get our money's worth out of these.  I'm still debating on bringing my Nikon D7000 with me; seems like it won't be a great idea to bring it in port, and my iPhone camera is great for cruising candids. This will be my first time: Live blogging, scoping, and posting images to my gallery. Expect errors, hiccups, and newbie mistakes. (read: be patient, please:)) We loved the Costal Kitchen and it's staff on Allure, and hope the same experience is translated to Symphony. I am a tech nerd, and will also give updates on the new Royal app and the WOW bands (which we will get with our suite). I will be leaving my 26 pound Schnoodle at the Pet Resort in town. He will also be staying in 5 paw accommodations, which include a webcam for us to view him while traveling.  Expect me to post pictures of Cruise Compasses and other documents. My laptop "N" key is starting to get sticky, lets hope it doesn't fail while on the cruise. Biggie One: I really hope that I can get some interaction from YOU! Ask any questions you have may have, give me some tips, or just comment on what you see here. wooh! Time to get my fingers soaked... Too much typing!

Just checked my flight to Rome for October and Delta shaved 20 minutes off a connection in Atlanta. I guess they all do it.?

Best of luck for making the flight!

The Kraken in you must want some water...

As per Matt's recent perfect day at CocoCay podcast, he stated he'd love to do a cost analysis of a weekend cruise vs the same weekend at WDW.
ROYAL PERFECT DAY CRUISE
I picked a 3 night cruise (Nov 1 to 4) on Navigator of the Seas, balcony room. Family of four (2 adults 2 kids).
Base price: $2121.40
Tips: $174.00
Waterpark cabana (includes waterpark admission): $684. (I averaged out the high and the low prices from the official prices).
GRAND TOTAL: $2979.40

WDW
3 nights, Port Orleans Riverside
Disney Dining plan (regular)
3 day Park hopper plus water park tickets
GRAND TOTAL: $3097.68

You could tweak the numbers with Ultimate Dining plan for Royal, or just buying a waterpark annual pass for WDW (or add a WDW cabana at the waterpark), but I think this is a fair comparison.

The Kraken in you must want some water...

@CraftyCat05 They play this on RCTV. Watch it a look at the entire thing in 1m30.
 

Yes, what you said about the Ice Shows is true, but that's not the fault of the cast. It's probably the way ice shows work though. 1977 was better than Flight in that regard.
Careful on the blue side. I nearly blacked out at the end of it. Was a fair splash of water at the exit. Do take care.

You can do it!!!! Good luck!

From my distant memory from Allure, I believe that the on-board Starbucks had most of the things you could get on shore. Doing a little search on the boards here, I was able to find the menu for the Harmony of the Seas Starbucks (may be different) which includes the creme drinks your daughter likes. (https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/06/01/first-look-starbucks-opens-royal-caribbeans-harmony-of-the-seas) 
As for the bed, looking online shows that the headboard is attached to the wall. So going with a desk fan may be your best bet. 
Enjoy the cruise and welcome to the boards!

Let's hope there's no icicles shooting out stereos on this trip... ? Glad to have you aboard!

I will! You can follow the full trip (and my flight experience) at my SemiLive Blog, right here on Royal Caribbean Blog! Link is in my signature below. (and here: 
)

Thanks for the info, and I looked at some terminal maps and see that there looks to be a corridor allowing us to not have to go in and out of security, which would be walking on glass with fire under us.  Not good! Luckily, if there is delay b/c of weather in Miami, there will be delays out of Miami too, but for how long?
Unfortunately, I didn't use Air2Sea on this trip (mistake), but I may be able to call Chase Travel Concierge b/c of my Credit Card, but we are less than 48 hours from the flight, not much they could do I think.
We also can't get there earlier (it's 2 hours away from Monday for a Tuesday flight), so that's a no go. Also took a leap of faith (looks like the parachute has failed on this one), and didn't get Travel Insurance... Oops.
Yeah, this doesn't look good as I said above for moving the flight to Monday, and there are no earlier flights to Miami without keeping the same class of fare. 
 
I did contact American again, and said that I could get a earlier flight to Miami (the one I was booked for originally, but moved from ?), but not in First, which is what I originally booked with to add to the vacation experience. I *may* be able to get a refund for the lost costs, but wouldn't know the refund amount til back home from the whole trip. Could be $100, could be $8.50.
As I said in the post above, things are not sounding good from American, or you, or me. Thanks for all of the well wishes though! Need some fast legs for the transfer time.

Let's hope there's no icicles shooting out stereos on this trip... ? Glad to have you aboard!

You can walk (fast) between those two concourses; you won't have to take a bus.  There are moving sidewalks (walk on them, don't just ride).   BUT, Chicago flights in and out are notoriously delayed.  That connection is very do-able but nerve-wracking.  If your flight in is delayed, chances are your flight out will be delayed as well, but I wouldn't risk it if you can avoid it.  Plus, your luggage might not make it if you are checking bags.  Yes, fly in the night before if you can, it's just too risky on an international connection.  I used to travel cross-country a lot for work and have spent many nights in the Chicago airport on a cot or bused to some third-rate hotel they provided.  It was hell.

Im guessing you didn’t use Air2Sea. I had a similar but even worse connection from Rome and they handled the change for me to my satisfaction. 
Do you have travel insurance? 
Could you go to Miami a day earlier and be there for the flight????
 I would definitely try to change it. Good luck. 

If it was me, I would be very very uncomfortable with a 1hr, 5min transfer time. I would move heaven and earth to change my flight times.
Good luck, I feel for you.

Following, looking forward to National Lampoon’s...er CraftyCat05’s European Vacation! ?

My SemiLive Blog
Wowzah! Only 3 more days until we are on a plane to Barcelona! Hard to believe, this past year has flown by so fast. So, let's get down to the nitty gritty and get this show on the road! (props to people who get that reference)
Our Cruising History
I am sailing with my mother and father who have both cruised 2 and 3 times, respectively. This will be our third family cruise together (which have all been on Royal), and our second time on an Oasis Class ship. We are all from Texas and excited to get away from the 100+°F summer heat as well! The last time we were on a cruise was in summer of 2016, so we are all excited to get back on the magnificent Royal ships. My mother enjoys the sun and pool, so we may be spending our down-time at the beaches in Barcelona, or the sports deck pool. This is also a partial celebration for my mother's birthday as well! 
Why Symphony?
While being on Symphony for the inaugural season made this cruise very appealing, the itinerary in the Mediterranean (more on that later) for this cruise sealed the deal for all of us. None of us have ever been in the med for pleasure or sight seeing, and we have previously always cruised in the Caribbean, which after awhile gets to look like the same places and beaches. Hence, the idea to sail in Europe was born. All of us are excited to see the tourist traps sights, including the Vatican and Colosseum, which we will see on the excursions while in port.
The Itinerary
We are lucky enough to be doing a B2B Cruise and spend 4 days before the cruise in Barcelona! I plan to do a lighter blog on the first few days while in Barcelona, and do a mini-review on the flight and hotel. For this trip, we didn't book any non-Royal Caribbean shore excursions, due to the convenience and close time windows with the all-aboard call. Feel free to skip ahead to the next section (The Cabin), this is a lengthy one. This is the full itinerary of the trip, including the days before and hours after.
July 24th
Flight to Miami on American - Includes a wonderful 1h and 20min layover in MIA Flight to Barcelona -  Arrive in Barcelona the next day July 25th
Hotel check-in at the Hotel Arts Barcelona July 29th - Cruise Day!
6:00pm Departure from port! 6:30pm Chops Grille 8:30pm Hairspray - Broadway Show. Will be my first time seeing it live, and not on NBC's live show! July 30th - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
8:00am Arrival 9:20am Palma City Sights - RCL Shore Excursion 4:00pm Departure 8:00pm 1977 - Ice Show We also plan to eat at the Coastal Kitchen (more about that later) July 31st - Marseilles (Provence), France 
9:00am Arrival 9:15am Panoramic Marseilles & Aix - RCL 6:00pm Departure 8:00pm Jamie's Italian - We have only tried Giovani's Italian on Allure, so it will be interesting to see the differences between the two Italian restaurants. August 1st - La Spezia (Florence/Piza), Italy
8:30am Arrival 8:35am Florence & Pisa - Cities Tour RCL 8:30pm Departure 9:00pm HiRO - AquaTheater Show  We didn't plan any dinner reservations, as we may decide to eat in the MDR, Costal Kitchen or eat out in the city! August 2nd - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
7:00am Arrival 8:00am Exclusive: Best of Rome - City Tour RCL 8:00pm Departure We didn't plan any dinner reservations, as we may decide to eat in the MDR, Costal Kitchen or eat out in the city! August 3rd - Naples (Capi), Italy
7:00am Arrival 8:00am Amalfi Coast & Pompeii by Land and Sea - RCL 8:00pm Departure August 4th - Cruising
5:00pm Flight - RCL Theater Show 6:30pm Wonderland - The rabbit hole calls us from home.... August 5th - Deja Vu!
6:15pm Izumi: Hibachi - On our last cruise while on Allure, we really enjoyed the food and show that the hibachi offers, and hope that we see some new tricks from the chefs. August 6th
8:40pm Drach Caves - RCL Excursion August 7th
9:30am Biking in Provence - RCL. Have to burn the calories somewhere!  August 8th 
We have no excursion booked and plan to explore on our own and enjoy the ship! August 9th
We have no excursion booked and plan to explore on our own and enjoy the ship! August 10th
8:30am Capri on your Own - RCL. This should hopefully give us some freedom while touring Capri! August 12th - Where the PCD sets in...
5:00am Departure Flight to Charlotte for a layover to catch the plane home The Cabin
Since there are three of us and we need all the space we can get, we decided to splurge and get a Grand Suite cabin on the seventh floor. This also gives us access to the Costal Kitchen, reserved show seats, and other Sky Class amenities. We even get our own bathtub, which is going to come in handy to soak the muscles after that bike ride! We also get some free Voom Internet @ Sea codes, which is how I will be updating you on all of the social medias! We also won't have to move cabins in-between the cruises; we got lucky on that. Expect cabin tour Periscopes and pictures.
Social Media
I plan on doing some Periscopes and posting things to my newly founded Flickr page.
Periscope - CraftyCat05 - Plan on seeing the Cabin Tour, Embarkation, Docking and Undocking, and other things here.
Flickr - CraftyCat05 / https://www.flickr.com/photos/155580610@N05/albums/72157693503806790/with/41744815340/ - Plan on seeing a full album of some of the photos I take here.
(I don't change usernames ?)
Miscellaneous
We haven't gotten any drink, spa, or specialty dining packages, as we find that we never will get our money's worth out of these.  I'm still debating on bringing my Nikon D7000 with me; seems like it won't be a great idea to bring it in port, and my iPhone camera is great for cruising candids. This will be my first time: Live blogging, scoping, and posting images to my gallery. Expect errors, hiccups, and newbie mistakes. (read: be patient, please:)) We loved the Costal Kitchen and it's staff on Allure, and hope the same experience is translated to Symphony. I am a tech nerd, and will also give updates on the new Royal app and the WOW bands (which we will get with our suite). I will be leaving my 26 pound Schnoodle at the Pet Resort in town. He will also be staying in 5 paw accommodations, which include a webcam for us to view him while traveling.  Expect me to post pictures of Cruise Compasses and other documents. My laptop "N" key is starting to get sticky, lets hope it doesn't fail while on the cruise. Biggie One: I really hope that I can get some interaction from YOU! Ask any questions you have may have, give me some tips, or just comment on what you see here. wooh! Time to get my fingers soaked... Too much typing!

Ray - I actually bought some magnet hooks, but hadn’t thought of this. Thank you!
 
Thanks Bellemiche - she’s so excited to start each day with a Frap! (And I’ll be happy to give her her gift cards and let her go to town!)