DDaley

Day 12
After wandering, we were hot and also hungry. We knew from the description of the tour that it didn't include lunch but we figured we could try and fit it in. Mum asked the guide for recommendations and then invited her to join us for lunch, which she happily accepted. We went to a lovely seafood place in the old city, called Montesacro. It wad quite upscale but we managed lunch for 3 with drinks for $70.
After that, we drove back to the cruise terminal, I did a lap trying to avoid the bird areas. They also had a few other interesting species - tortoises, anteaters, monkeys, capybara, peccary. There is also a large shop and a bar. The bar had snacks and I intended to get some arepas but the beer was half the ship price so the lines were crazy!

Back on the ship for a shower, swim, and some reading. It was far too hot to do anything else. You would never believe I lived in Miami for 4 years the way I can't cope with the heat!

Dinner was Italian night. The choice of nights has been a bit strange. We had USA on our first night in Mexico, Mexico at what would have been our second night in Mexico but the port was cancelled, Caribbean on our last night in the Pacific Ocean, and Italian at our only Caribbean stop! There has also been zero singing and dancing from the MDR staff. To be fair, we missed two nights but no one at our table mentioned any so I think it has been quiet. 10 dinners and nothing. 
I got the mushroom risotto which was actually quite good. The truffle oil was noticeable. I also got the polenta fries. This was a dud. The description said chilled hazelnut red pepper dip. I got warm marinara. I've had this before and it wad a completely different dish. I also go the vegan berry and oat bar for dessert which was nice and not overpowering.

I skipped late night comedy and went to bed. 10 pm is way past my home bed time and I was excited to put my freshly washed PJs on!

LOL! Once it falls low enough on the page maybe you'll finally get rid of this ear worm! I

Can I just say I’ve been singing the song from your blog title for WEEKS in my head (and sometimes aloud) and every time I read it I start up again! hahaha 
🎶 you’re a slave to the monay, then you DIE-IEEEE

Day 12 - Cartagena, Colombia 
We did our washing the night before. Mum was very pleased go discover the Diamond discount on the wash & fold bag!
I managed to fit in yoga before we docked in Cartagena. It wad absolutely downpours and there was tons of thunder and lightning. The other couple at yoga said they would head down to guest services and cancel their excursion. I tried to tell them that it was a passing storm on the radar and it would be gone within the hour. I hope I convinced them!
Sure enough, an hour later as we were disembarking, the rain had lightened to barely a drizzle. Disembarkation was a bit of a dumpster fire though. They had stated they would have all of the shore excursions meet in the theatre and they would go down the forward gangway. This left the main one for everyone else. Well that is not what happened. Instead, EVERYONE was coming through the main gangway. People were joining the stairs everywhere from Deck 6 to 2, and also taking the lifts down to 2 to avoid the line. It was chaos. It was shoulder to shoulder going down the stairs. And to top it off, the crew started a drill in the middle of it. Multiple crew came from I-95 and attempted to get up the stairs, only to turn around!
30 chaotic minutes later, we were off and found our guide. If you've never been to Cartagena port, it is good to know that the port is an eco-park filled with tropical birds. I mean HUNDREDS. I did not know this. I am TERRIFIED of birds. It was not a great start.

So I was quite happy to high tail it out of there. Our guide Nohemey and driver Herson were very apologetic about the traffic situation and reorganised the order of our stops to try and beat it. They said whenever it rains, the streets flood, and it just becomes chaos.
We made three scenic stops at the fortress, the monastery, and the old city walls just to look around. Then we were taken to the main tourist shopping area where there were high pressure sales to buy emeralds. My new thing is just to tell everyone I have no money as I'm getting married and weddings are expensive. This is definitely my best strategy I've ever had, because they are always very congratulatory but also realise that I definitely don't have any money and leave me alone!

After this, our driver took the car somewhere while our guide took us on a 1.5 hour walking tour of the old city. It included a visit to the inquisition museum. I had not been aware how far and wide the inquisition went into the Spanish colonies. All the signs were in Spanish, so our guide was very helpful in explaining everything. 
The city is absolutely beautiful! Every building was stunning. I really felt like a single port stop was not enough here. However, the touts were out in full force and we could rarely walk more than a few steps without being offered hats, emeralds, photos with women in traditional dress, coffee, etc. They are VERY aware of cruise ship days.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Are the crab beignets from MJ supposed to be hollow? Feelin like I’m missing something here?

Day 11
The second half of the canal was a lot quieter as the heat wiped most people out. We spent most of Gatun Lake inside, enjoying the air conditioning.
We did MDR lunch, our second one of the trip. They have 5 menus, each repeating once. I think the one we got though is on most itineraries, but some I've never seen before. NZ is very sparse on mozzarella sticks so that is my go to.

Around 2:30, I went back on deck in preparation for the Atlantic side locks. Less busy, but still very crowded. The heat was so intense. 

We would have stayed through the very last lock, but we had a pedicure booked. I always hesitate to use the onboard spa because of the hard sell, but 14 days is a long time.  We checked in on time, but they didn't take us for 20 minutes. Turns out the people ahead had booked online and they had gel that needed removing, and the nail techs were unaware. So we passed under the final bridge out to the Caribbean Sea from the pedicure chair.
Headliner was a guy called Dario El Gaucho, from Argentina. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was a good mix of music, magic, and Argentinean culture. The headliners in general have been a cut above what we normally get on Radiance class.
Dinner was Taste of Asia. Controversial, but I thought the dumplings were better in the MDR than in Izumi the night before. Shrimp pad Thai was one of the few real duds of the cruise. 

After, we went up to Park Café for dessert and then to the helipad for stargazing. One of the lecturers on board has had all of his topics about astronomy so he hosted the session on board. Was pretty cloudy, so less to see, but cool nonetheless! 

🤩 Gotta see the mules! I am thinking Panama Canal 2026 may be in the cards for my 40th birthday! 

🤩 Gotta see the mules! I am thinking Panama Canal 2026 may be in the cards for my 40th birthday! 

🤩 Gotta see the mules! I am thinking Panama Canal 2026 may be in the cards for my 40th birthday! 

🤩 Gotta see the mules! I am thinking Panama Canal 2026 may be in the cards for my 40th birthday! 

It was really something! You couldn't quite touch the walls, but that's more to do with the way the promenade deck walls are set up. If you were willing to lean out, you definitely could have, but they were very nice and asked people to please not 😂
They also have little electric locomotives that they attach to the sides, affectionately known as mules. They are each individually driven and when lowered down, we were face to face with the drivers with not much space between other than their window!

Wow those lock pics are AMAZING! I just did the Rhine and the locks were all from such a low position since our ship was only 3 decks high (pic for reference). This is so cool to see it filling from such a high vantage point. Could you touch the wall from the lower decks? This is making me wanna book this itinerary sooner rather than later! 

 

Day 11
First half of the locks done! We are about a half hour behind the original schedule they suggested, so pretty good!
The deck filled up real fast once they started narrating from the bridge. I stayed on the tip deck until the first lock opened. Then went down to the side of the promenade deck for a better perspective of the ship rising. It is VERY cool to watch!

Took a quick coffee break and while I was waiting, we went into the Miraflores second lock. We also discovered there are webcams at each lock. I've been opening that each time and taking a screenshot as it offers a totally different perspective! 

Standing in the hot sun for 2.5 hours is tiring! And it is sooooo humid. I am not used to this level of heat and actually found my ankles were starting to swell a bit. This did zero to deter me and I squished between people to watch us enter the next set of locks from the helipad.

The next few hours we are on Gatun lake so we'll relax a bit, sort out laundry, and go to trivia. (I've also popped on my compression socks and drank 4 glasses of water to deal with the dehydration.)

Day 9
We are on our way back to the ship after a lovely day out.
We were with Greenway tours, who were also the providers for many of the ship excursions, but instead of a bus of 40, we ended up in a 12 seater van with just 4 passengers! As soon as we got in we were greeted by a little snack box with water, juice, and local lollies. And a giant bag of rambutan to eat!

Our guide drove us about an hour out from the port to Vista Los Sueños Adventure Park, near Jaco. From there we split from the other couple who were doing a chocolate experience and we went to the ziplines. We were joined with a group of 3 Canadian guys and had 3 zipline guides for the 5 of us. 10 lines took us about 2 hours and it was lots of fun. Mum was a champ about it!

Then, we drove about 20 minutes to the Tarcoles river for a crocodile safari. It was about an hour long boat trip down the river and we saw a number of crocs, but also lots of local bird life. They were great at describing them and giving more information. 

The weather held up beautifully and other than a shower on our first zipline and some thunder rumbling in the distance on the river, we had gorgeous sunshine! 
On the way back, our guide offered to have us stop at El Jardin, a very large souvenir shop. Very clearly the place for all the busses to stop, but we popped in and got some coffee to take home and an extra lightweight dress for the ship. Plus, they had free coffee and juice and aircon!

Day 7 - "Bonus" Sea Day
Last night we stopped in to hear the pub singer for a set in person, rather than just through our floor. He is quite good. Then I came back up, popped my ear plugs in from Guest Services and had a great night sleep.
This morning, I once again had high hopes for 8 am pilates, and did not make it. I did make it to CL for a coffee with fruit and a pastry. It was very quiet. And so was everywhere else I went all day! Where is everyone?!?!?!

I read for a few hours and am now about half way through my second cruise book (finished Song of Achilies and am on to The Swift and the Harrier). 
A fairly boring day, I managed to fit in a bit of school work and some wedding admin as well. (We've been having some challenges with transport and a florist that I am trying to sort out sooner rather than later.)
Met up with others for progressive trivia, turns out we are currently in SECOND! We got 15 today, so hopefully we'll stay afloat - 9 rounds is a lot!
I came back to the room to our first towel animal. Current guesses include "anteater", "sloth", "sassy giraffe", and "skinny croc".

Tonight, we did dinner at Chops. It was good, especially the goat cheese salad! I may have accidentally gotten salad dressing all over the table. Mum told me we didn't need four sides, but was happy with all of them. Should have gotten the truffle fries, but alas, instead I got two mains.

 

Day 6 - yet another Sea Day
I think I'm almost in the cruising rhythm now. Usually when this happens, there's only 2 days left, but on a 14 night sailing I've got heaps of time left!

We lost an hour last night so when my alarm went off to go to yoga, I ignored it and went back to sleep. Had a lazy morning in our room and then decided to do lunch in the MDR, as I liked the look of today's menu. I got twice-fried tostones and a truffle grilled cheese. Tostones were yum but the grilled cheese was very light on the truffle and the cheese - bread was delish though! Plus we got a window seat!

Then we had to head to the Colony Club for another round of progressive trivia. We got 12 this round, helped that a lot of the questions were Australian focused this round.
I popped in and out of the CL throughout the day. It was much quieter today so I spent some time reading there. It has good views of the pool, which was as busy as it has been all cruise, and still had lots of chairs. First day I've seen people in the pool and not just the hot tub.

I did go to pilates in the afternoon and then realised it was still 2 hours until dinner so I popped in to the Windjammer when it opened. The greeter looked at me strangely and joked that he hadn't seen me before. I had to graciously explain that we are MDR people and then took my cheese and crackers to our balcony.
Dinner tonight was "A Taste of Royal History" - a very eclectic menu. I got scallops au gratin (which is served exactly like the escargot, but with baby scallops), vegan fried rice, and pecan pie. The fried rice was probably the most average thing I've eaten on board. But my side plate of veggies today was full of asparagus and bok chop so I was happy.

We hustled to the theater to see the show tonight - the singers' showcase. Not sure if they do this on all the ships, but they did it last year on Serenade too. Basically, the two featured singers choose a couple songs each for themselves and just sing and chat. Tonight's was good, but last year the two singers on Serenade were phenomenal. I follow one of them on Instagram and he's now singing on the West End - well deserved!
No port stop tomorrow due to the storm so another sea day! Hoping to convince myself to do something like rock climbing. I always say I'll do it and never do, but with 14 nights I'm bound to run out of things!

I'm just chasing Diamond at this point but he shoots for the rafters, lol. We will probably do the solo interior approach for the next few cruises. Right now we are thinking Greek Isles in 2027, and after that Bermuda and Mexico. After this cruise we will be officially halfway to Diamond so if we can get there in the next 3-5 years I'll be thrilled.
A couple more thoughts about the Symphony!
Crew were amazing. Especially in the dining room. This was the first cruise in a long time that we noticed the dining staff were actually having.... FUN! They were laughing, smiling, joking with one another and the guests while providing super efficient service. I think that's a sign of a positive working environment with upper management. We did the Sip Tour Brunch experience on the last sea day and got to take a peak behind the curtain in the galley and learn about how the dining service works. We spoke with one of the head chefs and head waiters. Both were wonderful and shared that the popularity and quality of the food on Icon has inspired the Oasis class ships to step up their game. The chef said corporate has upped the Oasis class food budgets so they can provide better quality food and I have to agree. We weren't disappointed with the food on Brilliance in May but we did notice a huge difference in the quality compared to Symphony. This was the best food quality we have had on any of our trips across the board.
Entertainment was fantastic, we never ran out of things to do and there were a few activities we didn't get around to doing like zipline and skating. There was all skates on the 6th day that didn't appear in the app until Day 4, but reservations were always "sold out" and then on the morning of Day 6 all the sessions disappeared from the app entirely and never came back. At both ice shows the ice looked SUPER sketchy so perhaps they didn't want guests making more grooves and gouges than necessary. It was also very wavy this day and the ship was rocking a lot so there could also have been safety concerns. We loved doing the trivia and games with the activity staff, our favorites were Daisy and Jaylord, they did the best trivia and had fantastic energy.
We would 1,000% sail this ship and ship class again and are looking forward to whenever that will be. I'm sad to be leaving Royal the next couple years but very excited to try Disney (finally) next year. For now, this is Mrs. Regular signing off!

If you are chasing pinnacle, might I suggest double solo interiors. I can almost guarantee that you each booking solo interiors will be cheaper than even a JS brought when itineraries are just released. That is and has always been my strategy, a solo interior for me no matter who I am cruising with. I mean I also use the casino, but I recently priced JS/GS to try to capitalize on my points versus time off and man at $5-8K, it is just not worth it imho. 

Mr. Regular has declared that next cruise he wants to be in a suite. Excuse me while I perform CPR on myself. Doesn't he know we have a brand image to uphold? If he were to create a username here for himself it would be "Chasing Pinnacle" LOL! He wants to get top status ASAP and, to his credit, he has realized suites get you there faster. Since we don't do the casino, that's the avenue he's picked. We shall see once he learns the price tag associated with it but for now, he's suite-curious and honestly who am I to stop him?

I wish I had seen this thread before my trip to Europe last month! I used Orange and the eSIM was so cheap (19€/2 weeks) compared to a Verizon International plan ($100/month) so I was happy with the consistent coverage through 4 countries over 13 days!
I have one major complaint however, they provided me with a French phone number which was apparently most recently a cab company! I got calls day and night! I turned on Silence Unknown Callers but it was hilarious how often I was getting random calls. I even got a few texts with requested pickup locations in Paris! Easy enough to ignore and the service was great. 
In short, maybe don’t go with Orange! Happy to have found all these alternatives for next time. 

I wish I had seen this thread before my trip to Europe last month! I used Orange and the eSIM was so cheap (19€/2 weeks) compared to a Verizon International plan ($100/month) so I was happy with the consistent coverage through 4 countries over 13 days!
I have one major complaint however, they provided me with a French phone number which was apparently most recently a cab company! I got calls day and night! I turned on Silence Unknown Callers but it was hilarious how often I was getting random calls. I even got a few texts with requested pickup locations in Paris! Easy enough to ignore and the service was great. 
In short, maybe don’t go with Orange! Happy to have found all these alternatives for next time. 

I can’t think of a more important profession than teaching. I wish the pay  was commensurate with its importance.

Day 4
Oh man, we arrived back on board, looked at the cruise Facebook group and discovered we might be the only people who had an easy tender process! Some excursions were delayed up to 2 hours and many people who weren't on a Royal trip, ended up cancelling their plans and staying on board. 
The seas were a bit choppy, but nothing crazy. However, being a longer cruise the demographic is skewed quite a bit and supposedly it was taking over 15 minutes to load each tender because they were helping people in and out so much. 
Well our easy tender dropped us off and we walked the harbour area. We went to find a bar recommended to my mum by a friend. Google maps said 12 minutes and even though it was hot, we decided that was nothing so we did it. We got there and unfortunately the place had burned down about 2 months ago, suspected arson! So more wandering and eventually we made it to the pier again.
Our excursion was Luxury Day Sailing and it was a great time. Our sailboat only had 8 people! We went out first to see the arch and then made our way to Santa Maria Bay. On the way they provided "appetizers" which was a shared giant bento box of grilled shrimp, pico de gallo, guac, and tortilla chips - everything was yum! There was an open bar and the crew constantly came around to ask if we needed anything. (Apologies for the terrible photo - forgot to clean my waterproof case!)

We got about an hour stop at the bay. Unfortunately, being an afternoon trip the visibility was below average. We could still see fish as they came up close and personal, but nothing amazing. The swim was fun anyway! They also had paddleboards. I borrowed one and really struggled to stay up despite having done it many times before. The water was choppy, but after falling off I discovered that it had no fin! In calm water, it would have been very manageable, even for a beginner.
On the way back, the main meal was served - another massive bento box - filled with chicken ceasar salad, pasta, ceviche, fresh cut fruit, and little chocolate things. More drinks too. They asked what time our last tender was (7:15) so they steered us towards the sunset and we got to watch that off the boat too!

One crew member was the photographer all day and at the end we could buy them. We did - it was 700 pesos (or about 35 USD) and we got about 50 photos of us!
We booked through Royal, but it was with Cabo Adventures and we would definitely sail with them again.

Final Thoughts and Stray Observations:
Overall:
I would say as an overall I did have a very good time; it could have been great if I didn't get sick. I loved seeing the natural beauty of the Alaskan wilderness.  I enjoyed my time in the ports, and I really enjoyed my exotic meats burger. The company wasn't as bad as I expected. The vintages were themselves but not as annoying as my bff and mother normally are 🤣. Getting that RUB to the balcony was sweet. I was able to see whales and what I believe was parts of the Northern Lights one night (I got up around 2am to use the bathroom and saw green, blue and orange streaks from the balcony). I can't say at this moment would I sail Alaska or this ship again because I feel like I "came, saw, and conquered."  
The ship:
I was hoping Quantum would sell me on Quantum class in general and it did not. I was not happy with the layout, casino, or Esplanade. I didn't get to try the Horn and Harp but enjoyed Splash Away Cafe. I am not really a fan of how the specialty restaurants are laid out, with tables along the walking area and not sort of "fenced" in like along Central Park on Oasis class ships. If you eat at Izumi's on deck 5, there are people walking through your tables 😱. The shows were limited and somewhat weird. I also think there was a lack of bars imho. Quantum was still very new looking on the inside with great storage in the rooms. The cabinets above the beds are game changers. 
The itinerary:
I enjoyed all the ports. I would have enjoyed Skagway more if I would have just walked in town. In all honesty I could have just done my own thing in each one and would have been just as happy. To me the weather was much better than expected and I am glad I didn't bring heavier stuff because I would have died 🤣. Be prepared for anything. 
The Crew:
In general Royal has some of the best crew around. But I felt like a lot of the crew were too new on this sailing. A bunch of the ones we spoke with, this was their first contract. It wasn't that they were bad in any way, just not as knowledgeable or personable. I also saw almost no cleaning, which was notable because things were indeed dirty and/or sticky (I try to take the stairs and use the handrails on occasion 🤮). 
Observations:
I found that despite Alaksa being sort of "bone-break" city the demographics skewed older.
We met several people, some of the strays the vintages collected, and by the end of the cruise several were in wheelchairs, on crutches and /or hurt in some way. Not just them but lots of people we saw during the first sea day (day 2), were bruised and bandaged by the second sea day (day 6). 
There were a lot of pineapples on this cruise. I learned things I did not want.
The CL was never full, this was probably the most we have ever frequented one, and sometimes we would be the only ones there. 
A man yelled at my brother for looking good. He came up to him on the way to the CL and told him he needed to stop. Apparently, his wife liked the way my brother dressed/looked and had been staring. The man blamed my brother and told him he need to stop, and my brother thanked him for the compliment, and this made the man madder. I tried hard to keep the giggles in during this exchange. 
A lady ate her plate of food from the WJ in the bathroom while waiting on her friend. Thats all I have to say. 
I have seen but not ever participated in the $10 t-shirt sale and it is chaos and war. I picked up a shirt and laid it down to take a photo, this lady snatched it right up. I had to tell her what was what! People were reach up and over to snatch shirts, it was great for people watching.
So, this is the end of that chapter, with Alaska scratched off my bucket list. I now have 105 days of drydock which will lead me to crossing another thing off my bucket list. A S2S2S that involves me going from POM to PE with no hotel stays in-between and my crossing off the last Oasis class ship I haven't sailed, Symphony. 
 
 

We walked the neighborhood today and people watched. Was surprisedto see less homeless folks here. We stopped at our favorite lunch spot The Company Burger.
My brother got a falafel burger, a turkey burger, onion rings and cheese tots plus a cinnamon toast crunch milkshake.
I got tots and a grilled cheese. I have been surrounded by them and it didn't disappoint 😂. I also got a cookies and cream milkshake.
We also stopped by the pizza place for salad and pizza to take back to the room. We have plans to relax and pack up for the flight home tomorrow.