Ken23

I just received a call back from the OFAC enforcement office and I spoke to someone in their General Counsel's office.  The answer is...they do not know.  The actual regulations mentioned in the speech have not been drafted, and the people I spoke with had no idea of any kind of timetable.  There is an OFAC page that has the current information and you can sign up for email updates:https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/programs/pages/cuba.aspx  I think I have gone up the chain as far as I can, so now I will have to accept the "just wait and see" situation.

ok.  i'll bring my own !! LOL

Unfortunately, RC does not use (a good thing environmentally) small paper umbrellas in drinks.

I'm not.  The people are very friendly.  The people are not the government and they are not the problem.  

We're taking my 16yo DS and his best friend this summer and we told them about formal night and showed pictures of all different people from our past cruises, some super fancy, us just "dressed up" for "church"...some in formal formal attire, some in nice jeans...we're letting them choose how formal they want to be...they both said they'd like to get new "suits", to dress up. 

Our Symphony of the Seas cruise leaves tomorrow, Apr 13th, 2019.   “Our” being my husband Mike and 7 year old daughter Delilah.  This is Delilah’s first cruise, Mike and my second.  Our first cruise was Freedom of the Seas in 2007.
I’m hoping cruising will become our family thing, but it depends on how this cruise goes with my daughter.
I printed my Set Sail pass, cruise docs, and luggage tags.  I packed magnetic hooks, a USB hub and sea sick bands and pills.  I am at the airport in Sacramento as I type.  We fly Sac to Denver to FLL arrive in FLL tonight at 12:30am.
We have our drink packages purchased, alcohol one for Mike and I, refreshment one for Delilah.  We have ordered the picture package, the octopus stuffed animal for D, and water in the room.  
We got the key because at 19.99 is was only $3 more than the internet and with the chops lunch, it was a no brainer.  I would have even paid 24.99, since you don’t have to wait in line for shows and to get off the boat.   Waiting in any line with my ADHD daughter  is a nightmare.  I was going to also take advantage of the key for flow rider and zip line times but I read in the cruise docs my daughter is not old enough for those.   Had I realized that I would have probably picked a boat with iFly instead and dreamworks characters.  My daughter loves zip lining.
We booked an ocean balcony, #12610.  I’m kind of worried this room is going to be too far from an elevator.  We tend to forget stuff a lot and I think it’s going to be a pain having to run that far to the room.  To make it less painful I bought a Fitbit watch, so I can be happy getting so many steps.  We made low bids for each RoyalUp category, but doubt we’ll get an upgrade since the ship is full.  It would be nice to get a bigger cabin but I mostly bid in hopes of getting something closer to an elevator.
We requested early dining and have all our shows booked.  My daughters bedtime is usually between 7 and 8 so we’ll see if she can stay awake through the shows.  We have all our excursions booked, Atlantis in Bahamas, dolphin encounter in St. Kitts, and Turtle island Sail and snorkel on St Thomas.
Most of my posts will be more pictures than text but I thought I would make an introduction post here.  I have read all the other Symphony blogs and got a lot of my questions and info from them.  I had lots more questions on traveling with young kids, so I’ll try and include info on that too.  I have no idea if my daughter will like Adventure Ocean or if she’ll be with us mostly.  25 to 1 ratio of adults to kids with 40 kids may not be her thing.  If anyone wants pictures of anything or has any questions let me know. 

This is an excellent tip....just remember (those who may be considering it) that your device must be dual power and be compatible with the European currents.  Using a US-only device in a European outlet is an easy way to burn up your hairdryer (or whatever else you have plugged in there).  Most cell phones/computers are already dual voltage so that's a good thing - just be sure before you plug it in.

Text message received just now with a status update:

I'm happily surprised how quickly this has progressed.  Once my bank account receives this direct deposit I'll update again.  
 

Last summer I was on my first cruise with my sister, and her family to Alaska on Explorer OTS.
On the second night, we had dinner in the MDR.  For dessert, a bunch of us also ordered espressos or cappuccinos.
When the Assistant Waitress brought out the coffees, she puts down my nieces drink, and I start laughing out loud.   She used a small oblong gravy boat instead of a small coffee (espresso) cup.  
Of course all our meals in the MDR we would look out for this waitress, as well as kept ordering espresso/cappuccinos to try and get a gravy boat again.

Last summer I was on my first cruise with my sister, and her family to Alaska on Explorer OTS.
On the second night, we had dinner in the MDR.  For dessert, a bunch of us also ordered espressos or cappuccinos.
When the Assistant Waitress brought out the coffees, she puts down my nieces drink, and I start laughing out loud.   She used a small oblong gravy boat instead of a small coffee (espresso) cup.  
Of course all our meals in the MDR we would look out for this waitress, as well as kept ordering espresso/cappuccinos to try and get a gravy boat again.

Maybe when they finish all the construction, they could offer a All Access Island Tour with behind the scene areas.

Sorry for being MIA the past few days......our trip back to Canada was a bot of a milk run.
the acdc show we saw was in 270, but they played another night earlier in the cruise and I don't know if that was also on 270.
Sea plea was busy but never felt overcrowded.  My son was able to get on xbox once in a while. But there was no time limit for play, so the games are harder to get on to.  The air hockey was open fairly regularly, tho I didn't make a big point in checking (sorry).  
i don't think anyone staying in star class should shun the MDR.....if the genie puts the bug in the wait staffs ears about your star class status, I feel pretty confident saying you will be treated like royalty there. Tho I'd advise against ordering the house wine......the Chardonnay was sickeningly sweet and immediately exchanged for a higher price point glass of wine.
I can't remember if I mentioned this or not, but Luciano got us complimentary passes to the thermal spa......hubby requested, but didn't ask if it was complimentary.....but it wasn't on the bill, so guess Luciano made it happen.
the concierge club is on deck 12 aft, which is a lovely spot, but also quite out of the way.  I thought the breakfast and happy hour food up there has gone down a notch or three since we last sailed (2014). never got there for a proper happy hour, but stopped in, ravenous one late afternoon, after ordering pizza to the room that took close to half an hour to get to our room. Appies were standard fare......and the warm food was all deep fried.  
Disembarking was easy.  We put luggage out the night before, took the rest of our stuff to CK where we ate breakfast.  Luciano planned to meet us there at 9 (our requested time) to escort us off, so at 9 bells, off we went.  We took the elevator with everyone else, got in the same immigration and customs line up as everyone else, but when Luciano handed us over to a staff from the terminal, she escorted us to a taxi line up that was very short, and waited with us til our bags were loaded.
so, now we are home, in genie withdraw and jetlagged to the hilt.  
I do think star class was an amazing experience, one I'm sure we will repeat when we can.  Money well spent.  
Thanks for following along, and if anyone has any questions in the future, I'm happy to answer them.
Speaking of gonzo, with dream works apparently a thing of the past, how great would it be if RCI brought in the muppets as a major production?!
happy sailing all!
 
 
 

We do a Pub Crawl - Poker Run ...... not only do we have a drink at each bar, everyone participating draws a card at each bar..... At the last bar, the person with the best Poker hand wins the cash.(everyone throws in $5 at the beginning)

Maybe when they finish all the construction, they could offer a All Access Island Tour with behind the scene areas.

Maybe when they finish all the construction, they could offer a All Access Island Tour with behind the scene areas.

Maybe when they finish all the construction, they could offer a All Access Island Tour with behind the scene areas.

Maybe when they finish all the construction, they could offer a All Access Island Tour with behind the scene areas.

Odds and sods.....
Will mention that friends who saw "the beautiful dream" said it sucked.  So did a couple of other folks, including a genie, so we told Luciano we didn't really care to see it either.  
This cruise has been so wonderful, and this star class experience really is something else.  You literally have to deal with nothing....you want something, you need something.....it's a phone call or email away.  We feel like we got what we paid for.....
oh, and if you are lucky enough to get Marion as your "bar cart guy" he's super!  Love Marion! He's on our doorstep ATLEAST twice between 3:30-5:30.....
our suite was immaculate; Tristan is our chief steward, and Ari is the assistant (yes, you have two people taking care of your room!) and they were very good at their jobs.  And each evening, there was a new towel animal waiting for the kids.  
I was surprised that we rarely used the balcony.....it's large and beautiful, but somehow, we didn't get out on it much.  Hubby says it makes his case stronger for an inside cabin next cruise.  Ugh, I don't think so......
the pools are generally very busy, and I found them to be on the smaller side.  Lots of deck chairs.  The adults only pool area is very lovely. there's a pool bar, comfy loungers, lots of space to sprawl out and read aa good book.
staff on this boat are very friendly.....probably the friendliest boat we've been on.  
Ovation is doing Alaska this spring and summer, and she will be a fantastic boat for that.....so many balconies to view all that gorgeous scenery!  She will not disappoint, no matter what class or room you have.  
My kids never got to kids club once.  Lots for them to do onboard.  They've loved this cruise and taken full advantage of having Luciano to help with things.....It was my son who asked Luciano if we could iFly every day and we very nearly have!
end of random thoughts post.......

You can see which ships are in port here: https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-coco-cay-bahamas.html

Could they offer one way 3 or 4 night cruises from or to Florida, with a one or two night hotel/land stay at the resort/hotel pre or post cruise?
Just a idea.

RC Havana map attached to this post as a PDF.
Unlike the regular port map this was printed on heavy bonded paper like card stock and it's absent of the normal jewelry stores and Diamond Int'l references.
 
RC Havana Map.PDF

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line offers that on old Carnival ships. 

Absolutely loved Cuba and Azamara.  I think what surprised me the most was the ease of the
VISA process.   When we got to the Pier in Miami, FL we had to fill out a form indicating if
we had a tour booked with the cruise line, private tour operator, or independent guide.  Once
we filled this out, they gave us a blank VISA to fill out with our room key>  If you have never
been on Azamara, the check in process is a breeze and the port itself is so quiet and calm,
Bonus of a smaller ship>

Anyway - your account is charged, $75 for the Visa and be careful filling it out because
if you mess it up, they charge you to get a new one. 

The morning we got to Cuba, we disembarked at leisure, right into the terminal and
They good our VISA and stamped the passport, and let us go on our way>  There is a
money exchange right there, so I changed about $100 for ease to buy things.  I did right
outside of the ship in old town see some places taking US$ in smaller gift stores but they
do not offer change, and most do not take $$>

Getting back to the ship we just had to do a security screen, as usual.
ON Day 2, I walked right off the ship, and right through security to Cuba without
having a tour booked an was able to just walk around old town.  NOT sure if this is
just Azamara that allows this but it was nice just to walk around for 4-5 hours and see
places in the downtown area. 

Shuttles from airport to hotel are common for many Newark airport hotels.  You have to take an airport train from the terminal to the hotel pick-up area.  
To reach the port in the morning a ride-share like Uber or Lyft works great.  I think mine was $17 last time.