Mr.Cruiser

Dinner options in the Solarium... what we had was good except the salmon was dry.  But much nicer than sitting in the WJ ... #spoiled 

Glad you enjoy them.   I find it kind of a therapy to take time and just write about the day.   
Haven't done the king on this cruise 🙂 but will send my son to check it out.  
We haven't done the MDR since probably 2009.  The WJ ... um let's just say it seems good but we got spoiled to other places to eat.  Mainly the coastal kitchen because we had access ... this trip we don't.   We ate at the WJ once a few days ago and it was ok.   However, I think what I ate didn't agree with me but that's just me 🙂
if you are diamond you can hit up the club there for happy hour and snack on something like the below.  If not, sorry for the tease 😜
oh, the little Irish pub on the boardwalk doesn't have food which sucks because on the anthem they do and it was pretty good. 
You may want to book dinner in the Solarium, well you have to if you want dinner in there.   Breakfast and lunch are open to all.  It's included but you get a little nicer atmosphere.  That's where we heading tonight ... oh on about 10 minutes lol
hope this helps, anything you want pics of or have other questions I'll try to post ya back

@TheHobbys
 
Thanks for your daily blogs ! 😀
I'm doing the same cruise this summer, so I find it interesting how things are currently going on the Symphony.
Are there places on the ship that you should definitely have seen and not miss? 
Have you been to the "King of the World" near the Solarium yet ? 😉
How is the food at MDR and Windjammer?
If the food has also gotten worse on my cruise I will have to look for alternatives where you can still eat well for dinner.
Thank you

I wasn't on the particular cruise in question but people posted about it on the boards (either here or over on Cruise Critic, or maybe both). I followed the thread because it was an 8-night Anthem cruise and I was going to be doing a similar one not long after. Luckily, on my sailing, the ports were the other way round so we were not affected by the situation.
According to the reports, and due to US law, the ship had to be fully cleared so everyone on board had to get off and go through immigration even if they had intended staying on the ship all day. The problems arose partly because not everyone obeyed the instructions and a number of guests had to be hunted down to get them off the ship, and partly because there just weren't enough officials to handle the number of passengers. The whole thing was further complicated by the fact that because these guests were expecting to walk off, go through immigration and straight back on board, they didn't bring essentials for a lengthy wait, such as water and food. So instead of being able to enjoy a relaxing day on board the ship, many people were left crowding the terminal for hours and there were reports of some fainting or requiring other medical attention.
It's significant that within days of this incident happening Royal changed the itinerary on an identical sailing for 2024 by dropping Miami altogether.

There are two aspects of CBP.  Customs and Immigration.  The stuff you acquire and bring into the country is a matter of customs policy.  Your citizenship and the ability to enter the US or come home is a matter of Immigration.  
CBP handles both customs and immigration but in the case of a first stop into the US on a cruise CBP is more focused on immigration matters as opposed to customs which for a cruiser would be handled on the final return into the US at the final port of call.  
In my example of Symphony stopping in Port Canaveral we did not have to bring all of out stuff off the ship to meet with CBP since CBP was focused on immigration for this first entry for the ship into the US.  They may have asked customs related questions just to see if someone is bringing excess money or purchases but we were not required to pack our stuff and show it to CBP in Port Canaveral.    
When we arrived in Miami the next day it was more like arriving back after a normal US cruise.  

I‘ve also read some reports of people get double points in the past but last year I was in same situation and only got solo points. They didn‘t want to give me double points, even when paying for 2 people, because then I’d had to book solo … 😞

@mathiegirl
If you have booked a tour with bus ride to Oia you will be tendered to another pier. There are buses ready to take you to a parking lot in Oia. From the parking lot you have to walk a bit up to the street and from there it is only a few steps until you are in the middle of Oia. I think this is doable if you are not in a wheelchair.
 

I saw that screen several times for the 3NDP for my cruise too. I booked it before anyway but one day it appeared with another picture on the overview site and a cheaper price so I checked it out. When I went to the 3NDP site I saw that sold out button and the currently unavailable message. The same message appeared for MDR so you could not book my time dining. After 1,2 days it was all OK and booking was available again. But 1 day later it was the same situation again. That game repeated several times. Either it was an error or maintenance or maybe they were adjusting options and prices these days.
When dining packages are really sold out they disappear and you can‘t choose them anymore.
 

We were at the beginning of May this year on a cruise on the Jewel. We made all our excursions with the local agencies in Norway.
"Olden adventure" to Olden and "Norway excursion" to Geirenger, Alesund and Molde. Much cheaper than RC.
They are accustomed and adpatent schedules to cruise ships.
In Geirenger, we were one hour late beacuse the manoeuvres of an AIDA boat. The buses waited.
In Alesund, we left earlier than planned. The tour was scheduled (email and SMS the day before). There are always correspondents in the various ports. Norway is very organized:-)

Our tour on Wonder was 3 full hours.  Yes, it was worth the money.  I didn't realize it included behind the scenes at the theater, too.  I regretted not taking more pictures in the kitchen.  Seeing the 3000 shrimp cocktails they start making at 9am.  Seeing how clean everything is and hearing how strict all the food safety standards are.  It all made our last couple meals more meaningful.  But you feel like a VIP the whole 3 hours.  We were so happy we did it.

Our experience on Jewel last year with photography was this:
2 crew from shore excursions were our guides. The rules were everyone stays together, still photos were permitted without restriction, and NO video anywhere we were taken to visit. 
Got some great stills of the bridge, coaxed my wife to stand at the starboard wing pedestal on the glass floor panels for a photo, followed by a crew member taking one of us together. That is a long way down when the ship is underway.............😲

Their ships sink more than Royal Caribbean's and they have cowardly captains.

That's the only difference I know of 😄

This was a transatlantic, meaning this ship was going from the US to the Med to start the season there. 

Wow bands are good for the opening the cabin door when you hands are full of drinks.  Not that I have any experience with that.  

Amped Oasis class as others have pointed out.  I think also Quantum class.  I know we used one on Anthem in March.

I am on Anthem right now, I see they are selling them.  Also, there's lots of ppl are using them too..

Norway is just expensive period. Check out the third-party excursions from your favorite site to see what I mean. With that said, I'm on the 13-night Arctic Circle in 2024, and the only shore excursion I'm definitely booking with Royal is the Aurland, Laerdal & Borgund Stave Church at Flåm. And I'm considering the Bird Safari by Boat at Honningsvag, Norway if it's offered through Royal on this sailing The majority of the ports it's Hop On/Hop Off direct booking or using public transport. For Olden, I'm probably booking the Briksdal Glacier Shuttle Bus direct. 

Looks like just Oasis class ships as in Oasis, Harmony, Wonder and Symphony.........I haven't heard anything about Allure yet.

Hotel Continental Rome.  You can pay with these.  Ask the sommelier for a tasting.

Oh wow! Guys, I still can‘t believe it but since the last app update on my iOS device I finally can choose my Rome Interport Cruise in the app! 😲
AFAIK this is the first time ever because so far only guest boarding in Barcelona have been able to use the app. If your Western Mediterranean Cruise starts in Rome you couldn‘t use the Royal app for your sailing at all - until now. 😄
I guess this is what they meant by „… enhanced functionality related to multiple port stops.„
I mean when I choose my cruise in the app there still shows up the known message saying my sailing isn‘t available in the app but my cruise gets loaded anyway and I can clearly see my booked excursions in the app! 🤩
I find this is a significant improvement and a long overdue step in the right direction. 👍
Check it out!
 

Oh wow! Guys, I still can‘t believe it but since the last app update on my iOS device I finally can choose my Rome Interport Cruise in the app! 😲
AFAIK this is the first time ever because so far only guest boarding in Barcelona have been able to use the app. If your Western Mediterranean Cruise starts in Rome you couldn‘t use the Royal app for your sailing at all - until now. 😄
I guess this is what they meant by „… enhanced functionality related to multiple port stops.„
I mean when I choose my cruise in the app there still shows up the known message saying my sailing isn‘t available in the app but my cruise gets loaded anyway and I can clearly see my booked excursions in the app! 🤩
I find this is a significant improvement and a long overdue step in the right direction. 👍
Check it out!
 

Oh wow! Guys, I still can‘t believe it but since the last app update on my iOS device I finally can choose my Rome Interport Cruise in the app! 😲
AFAIK this is the first time ever because so far only guest boarding in Barcelona have been able to use the app. If your Western Mediterranean Cruise starts in Rome you couldn‘t use the Royal app for your sailing at all - until now. 😄
I guess this is what they meant by „… enhanced functionality related to multiple port stops.„
I mean when I choose my cruise in the app there still shows up the known message saying my sailing isn‘t available in the app but my cruise gets loaded anyway and I can clearly see my booked excursions in the app! 🤩
I find this is a significant improvement and a long overdue step in the right direction. 👍
Check it out!
 

Oh wow! Guys, I still can‘t believe it but since the last app update on my iOS device I finally can choose my Rome Interport Cruise in the app! 😲
AFAIK this is the first time ever because so far only guest boarding in Barcelona have been able to use the app. If your Western Mediterranean Cruise starts in Rome you couldn‘t use the Royal app for your sailing at all - until now. 😄
I guess this is what they meant by „… enhanced functionality related to multiple port stops.„
I mean when I choose my cruise in the app there still shows up the known message saying my sailing isn‘t available in the app but my cruise gets loaded anyway and I can clearly see my booked excursions in the app! 🤩
I find this is a significant improvement and a long overdue step in the right direction. 👍
Check it out!
 

I really only had one major issue; we boarded early, so we were able to book all of our shows "in person" on the promenade once we got onboard.  Everything before Barcelona went into the system immediately (I assume they held back some slots for those of us boarding in Rome). 
The only "post Barcelona" show we asked for was in the comedy club.  Since they couldn't book us yet, they wrote down our request on a piece of paper and they said they would book us once it opened. 
Not sure what happened, but we mentioned it offhand to the Diamond Lounge concierge and he told us to come back and check with him to make sure it was handled correctly.  Turns out he was right, we were not booked for it yet, and he quickly got us added.  I'm really happy I checked, as otherwise we would have showed up that day and been turned away!

On our sailing, we did not overnight in any port. I would love to do the trip again, there are several excursions we would like to go on. In almost every port, the bus rides are time consuming because there are no interstate type highways.
Having said that, there were several stops on every excursion to fill the day.