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Skates on the Symphony


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12 hours ago, Paige said:

As for the skates that passengers can use, are they the plastic, molded skates or the MUCH more comfortable leather ones?

The smaller sizes are molded plastic, the larger sizes are "hockey" skates.

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I actually have a question about this.  And its going to seem REAL weird, but are you allowed to bring/use your own skates?  Yes I realize they take up valuable bag real estate but I used to figure skate and got very very accustomed to wearing my custom skates.  I think if I was allowed to bring my own I'd never leave the rink!  

My only concern would be Royal's desire to check all passenger brought skates prior to allowing them on their rink.  I mean if you get a hockey player bringing actual hockey skates it could be very dangerous with how thin and sharp the blades of those skates are (heck even my customs are super sharp), and then you have the potential of the other end of the spectrum of someone with a very poorly kept pair of skates hardly able to be used on a standard rink much less a moving rink at sea.  

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I don't know much about skates but I do know there are VERY limited hours that the rink is open for skating.  That alone would deter me from using up packing space for my own skates!  Try finding a Cruise Compass for a trip similar to yours and see if it actually makes sense to bring your skates.

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1 hour ago, ThyriC said:

And its going to seem REAL weird, but are you allowed to bring/use your own skates? 

Yes you can. In the past, if you did bring your own, you were supposed to skate at one of the advanced skate sessions onboard.

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  • 2 months later...
2 hours ago, FroggyFlo said:

What is the advantage of advanced skating vs "rest-of-the-world" skating? Do you have to be a strong skater to go? Do you have many more skating slots?

I believe you are permitted to skate faster/do tricks.  

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On 5/22/2019 at 10:52 AM, ThyriC said:

I actually have a question about this.  And its going to seem REAL weird, but are you allowed to bring/use your own skates?  Yes I realize they take up valuable bag real estate but I used to figure skate and got very very accustomed to wearing my custom skates.  I think if I was allowed to bring my own I'd never leave the rink!  

My only concern would be Royal's desire to check all passenger brought skates prior to allowing them on their rink.  I mean if you get a hockey player bringing actual hockey skates it could be very dangerous with how thin and sharp the blades of those skates are (heck even my customs are super sharp), and then you have the potential of the other end of the spectrum of someone with a very poorly kept pair of skates hardly able to be used on a standard rink much less a moving rink at sea.  

 

On 5/22/2019 at 12:31 PM, Matt said:

Yes you can. In the past, if you did bring your own, you were supposed to skate at one of the advanced skate sessions onboard.

I can confirm this.  When the rinks first began on ships, Hubby (being Canadian and he plays hockey) was so excited he would bring his skates every cruise.  We laugh about that now because it was so cumbersome and ridiculous. 

Truth is, he stopped bringing them because he realized that the Studio B rinks are not your typical arena rinks.  The ice is not very smooth and there is not many "tricks" you can do in a small space with others.  However, it gives us an appreciation for what those ice skaters have to do each night under those conditions.  It's not easy on regular ice, let alone the ice on a ship.

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45 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

gives us an appreciation for what those ice skaters have to do each night under those conditions.

I wish everyone realized this. When one of the show skaters fall and someone has a nasty comment, it makes wish I could just smack him! And the great part is when they do fall, even if not immediately, they do the same move again to get it right..."and the crowd goes wild"

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So I can conclude this is not the right place to skate in if you're an absolute beginner? 

My DD9 plays ice hockey, so she is comfortable at skating. I, on the other hand, have never skated so far, but I was considering going with her for the fun of it. However, if I end up with a broken leg… Well, I'm not sure whether it is worth giving this experience a try...

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2 hours ago, FroggyFlo said:

So I can conclude this is not the right place to skate in if you're an absolute beginner? 

My DD9 plays ice hockey, so she is comfortable at skating. I, on the other hand, have never skated so far, but I was considering going with her for the fun of it. However, if I end up with a broken leg… Well, I'm not sure whether it is worth giving this experience a try...

Non-skater from Australia here, I'll field this query.

On Explorer I gave it a crack and it was fine. It feels very foreign at first but you can hug the perimeter until you find your steadiness (It will take a little while.).

Once I gained confidence I started whizzing around the rink. My confidence turned into over-confidence and I took a turn way too tight, lost control and thudded onto my back, elbows and helmet. It served me right.  No major damage done, shook it off, kept going.

As long as you don't start thinking that you are Wayne Gretzky or Nancy Kerrigan, you will be fine. Slow and steady ?

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The rinks are small, and during open skate there are many, many beginners, so if you know how to skate, then going during "the key" time or during advanced means less people on the ice, which I feel is safer and more fun. Open skate will have people hugging the wall, and some that can zoom right by - the same can be said for roller skating on Quantum class ships. Falling is part of ice skating. If you have neck, back, or balance issues don't wreck your trip. If you are OK with falling, then go skating on the high seas, it's fun.

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11 hours ago, KWofPerth said:
11 hours ago, KWofPerth said:

Once I gained confidence I started whizzing around the rink. My confidence turned into over-confidence and I took a turn way too tight, lost control and thudded onto my back, elbows and helmet. It served me right.  No major damage done, shook it off, kept going.

Thank goodness it ended well for you. I worked with a woman the took her grandchildren skating. Same thing happened to her, except she broke BOTH elbows. OUCH!

 

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Another question is: how cold is it on the ice rink? I totally forgot ice skating takes place on ICE. When I packed for Florida in early July, the warmest I got was a velvet jumper and a pair of long pants. No gloves, no fleece… Even if I pile up 2 tees underneath, it might not be enough. And of course, forget buying wooden gloves in Florida in July!!!

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Good! DD will be able to skate after all! I won't go, since I do not want to break my 51 y old bones, I'm too old now to recover easily.

You planned your future cruises 2 years in advance, I'm impressed! Ours (Aug 11, 2019) was booked end of May...

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8 minutes ago, FroggyFlo said:

Good! DD will be able to skate after all! I won't go, since I do not want to break my 51 y old bones, I'm too old now to recover easily.

You planned your future cruises 2 years in advance, I'm impressed! Ours (Aug 11, 2019) was booked end of May...

I do this so that I get the best possible pricing and I have the choice of rooms I want.

An example, in December for 2019 (Don't know the exact date) Royal will release the Caribbean cruises for the remainder of 2021 through April of 2022, when they are announced I will book cruises for the beginning of 2022 and get my picks of dates and rooms. If by chance life happens and a date will not work, I will move the cruise to a new date and pay a $100pp change fee and I will not loose my non refundable deposit.

If you were to look at booking something in 2021 the furthest out you can book is April of 2021.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thank you all so very much.  Now I know I can bring my skates!  My husband teases me because with my disability, I shouldnt be able to skate anymore, but its the one place where I'm upright and moving normally, even gracefully.  I came up as a skater on an uneven rink.  I've skated on ponds and lakes, and bumpy rinks.  

If you've never taken the plunge to go ice skating or roller skating on a cruise, give it a small try.  Even if you're clinging to the wall, take a lap or two around, its one of the most invigorating sensations in the world.  And a tip about falling.  If you feel yourself falling, and you;re not a confident skater, dont try to stop the fall.  I know its instinct to flail around and try to catch yourself.  Its ice.  You wont be able to.  If you can, try to land on your rear end.  Most cushioning!  Crumple at the knees and sit.  kick your legs out from under you and voila!  you're on your rump!  I'm really not kidding here.  You might bruise your backside, but its better than flailing wildly about and possibly injuring someone else, or falling forward and risking injury to your wrists or shoulders or knees.  Or trying to catch your balance with your ankles.  The skates arent THAT strong to save you a broken ankle from trying to compensate your center of gravity with your ankles.  I KNOW falling is counterintuitive.  But its one of the first things any skater learns.  How to fall.  And your butt is best for falling.

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