🎊⚓Shining, Shimmering, Splendid! NYE SY 12/31/22 – 01/07/23🎊⚓

[Lovetocruise2002]

32 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

I love your pictures as you walked around the empty ship.  Why do I keep hearing crickets in my head?  I would love to have that empty ship to myself.    

Stay on board for port days! Lol

[Jax]

Beautiful family. Beautiful pictures. It is nice to put faces to your family. Can you believe it’s been 3+ years already since we met here. One day timing will work out and we will meet onboard. Maybe we will both be in an ATS. LOL 

[Lovetocruise2002]

16 minutes ago, Jax said:

One day timing will work out and we will meet onboard.

Yeah, we need to make that happen! 

[asquared17]

your family portraits turned out phenomenal!! what a beautiful family

thank you for the advice re: CK - it's usually our first stop on board when we arrive so i will definitely keep with the tradition. hopefully we'll be able to scoot in

loving all the PDCC empty ship photos you have set the tone beautifully for us all next month!!

[Lovetocruise2002]

15 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

loving all the PDCC empty ship photos you have set the tone beautifully for us all next month!!

Symphony really is a great ship. I have long flip flopped between whether I like SY more or HM. My issue with SY in the past has been CK. However, this sailing CK has been phenomenal so my favourite is tipping towards SY now. 

[Sweety]

I love the pictures. Family is what makes cruising awesome.

[Ampurp85]

The photos are beautiful and so is your family.

I have to say we did a family photo on our last cruise, the first time I actually took pictures on a cruise, and it came out beautifully. I thought they were going to look so bad because we all had been drinking and most of us were a slight mess. 

My least favorite day on a cruise is disembarkment but I hope everything is smooth and hassle free. 

[Rags1]

Beautiful family!

[GregD]

@Lovetocruise2002 the pictures of the family came out great!!! I especially like the B&W one of the 4 of you. Those will look great in your home I'm sure!!!

I love when the ship is empty. I really enjoy strolling around the ships early in the morning, watching them "wake up"

We were so spoiled to sail Oasis right after the pandemic when it was so empty. It will be eye opening in a few short weeks when we board her again at full capacity. 

As always, that you for sharing your adventures with us. Hopefully the kids don't give you too much grief while packing tonight, and have a safe flight home tomorrow.

Oh.....I'm still working on the boss for FR 3/9/25!

[Lovetocruise2002]

21 minutes ago, GregD said:

We were so spoiled to sail Oasis right after the pandemic when it was so empty. It will be eye opening in a few short weeks when we board her again at full capacity. 

Symphony was sailing at pretty full capacity this sailing. The only place it felt crowded was leaving the shows and elevators. That is one thing I love about Oasis class ships. Lots of places for people to go. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

What is happening here?! Does this normally happen the night before?

[Lovetocruise2002]

Last dinner in CK tonight. Chicken noodle soup for all. Tonight was also the menu with Braised Beef Gnocchi and my favourite Tofu

Coastal Kitchen has been consistently good this sailing. We have had breakfast and dinner there each day and the one lunch. I am beyond happy with their food quality and service. 

We learned something really important from our server tonight in CK. He said the comments are not as important on the post cruise survey as the rating is. He told us that ratings are linked to the server’s table and that directly impacts them. So continue to do those post cruise surveys everyone!

[bellemiche]

@Lovetocruise2002Tell your hubby that the photos are amazing and well worth the cost! @Neesais correct about the spotty wifi in the ATS, but we loved it! You will have to book it one day! 

Thanks for sharing your journey. I've been living vicariously through you. While I'll be on a cruise in March as well on a Celebrity ship, I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing all about your 4 bedroom villa! We were lucky enough to book one for July 2024.

[Yesiamthere6]

Wow!  The pictures are awesome.  You will never regret buying those pictures.  Question for us older people:  Can the photographer do touch ups on the pictures?

[Lovetocruise2002]

53 minutes ago, Yesiamthere6 said:

Wow!  The pictures are awesome.  You will never regret buying those pictures.  Question for us older people:  Can the photographer do touch ups on the pictures?

Yes, they touch it up before they let you preview it. And then after that, if you have additional things you want touched up, they can do that as well before they give you the final product. For example, when we picked out our final 15 shots, we noticed that D14 had glare from her glasses on her cheeks. They took that out before giving us the USB. 

[ellcee]

Gorgeous family!

[Lovetocruise2002]

Off the ship now and disembarking was very smooth. We met Mohamed at Deck 17 elevators around 9am and were off the ship and through customs in about 20 mins (elevator to curb). 
 

For the first time ever, ride share (Lyft) was a fiasco. We camped out directly under the Zone 3 sign and texted the driver our location. About 5 mins later, she clicked off “driver is here” on the app, she was nowhere to be found. Then I called her, she could not communicate in English, she just kept saying, “Bus drop off”. Hubby, being the nice guy that he is went over to the bus area and she was not there. This whole time, the app was showing her location as not even having rounded corner where the pick up zones are. Long story short, we were exactly where we were supposed to be, she was not and could not communicate her whereabouts, we cancelled the ride after 16 mins on the phone with her, and had to hop in a cab instead. 
 

Now sitting at the gate waiting for our flight home. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Overall thoughts: 

- Great sailing this week on SY!

- The ship was pretty much at capacity but there were still plenty of loungers, space, etc. 

- The entire SL/CK team was fantastic! Our CK waiter Shikui, was one of the most attentive waiters than we have had in a long time. Bartenders, Abraham and Glen, were very friendly and Abraham makes the best drinks.

- I cannot say enough about Mohamed the SL concierge. We first met Mohamed on board Harmony. He was with Elaine at the time. Last Saturday, when we got on board, he recognized us right away. He was actually the one who reminded me which HM sailing it was that we first met him. When you think of a what a suite concierge should be like, Mohamed is all of that and more. He told me two nights ago that I should see Elaine on my next sailing. That makes me beyond excited. 
 

I cannot think of anything else to sum up that I have not already. Let me know if anyone has any other questions.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Where are we off to next? 

It’s cruise day exactly 9 weeks from today!
 

Wondering if we will find any harmony on Harmony?
 

[Lovetocruise2002]

So long Symphony! Until next time…
 

[SweetPea]

Wow, your week went really quick for me, can't imagine how it flew by for you!  Happy New Year and thanks for taking us along!

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 hours ago, SweetPea said:

Wow, your week went really quick for me, can't imagine how it flew by for you!  Happy New Year and thanks for taking us along!

Thanks for following along! 

In reflection, Hubby and I were both saying that the week went by quick cause we never want cruises to end, but yet we also feel like we got some good relaxation in as well. It wasn’t too busy like how some sailings are. 

It’s back into the trenches now. Kids need to focus in for exams at the end of this month, and I have report cards to do. Back to reality. 

[AshleyDillo]

13 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

For the first time ever, ride share (Lyft) was a fiasco

I've noticed it's a mess if you don't get off early.  I left earlier (815ish) and hopped right in my Lyft with no issues after an Oasis sailing in November. I was picking up a rental car and going back to get the rest of my family and holy backup. Rounding that last corner took forever and when you pull up it's several cars deep and it's super hard to find anyone in that mess!

[MamaShark]

On 1/5/2023 at 9:36 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The chicken noodle soup is a must try! Kids are sad that tomorrow night is the last night for it. Next sailing we are back in star and they want to know how they will get that in specialty restaurants. 
 

@Lovetocruise2002 No worries. Our Genie had Chicken Noodle soup served everywhere we ate with our 7 old. He also had it for breakfast in our suite one morning while waiting to go to CK for real breakfast with his grandad and uncles. He’s an adventurous eater but he was on a real noodle bender somedays

[Lovetocruise2002]

12 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I've noticed it's a mess if you don't get off early. 

I had wondered if this was the reason too. This was probably the latest we have left the ship (9am). It also did not help that the driver could not communicate with us. It's all good though, Lyft waived the cancellation fee and we got to the airport till with plenty of time to spare.

12 hours ago, MamaShark said:

Our Genie had Chicken Noodle soup served everywhere

I just passed this along to my girls. They said, "Yeah, but he's 7 and we are double that age and more." 

I don't think that will deter them though lol

[MamaShark]

I cannot say enough about Mohamed the SL concierge. We first met Mohamed on board Harmony. He was with Elaine at the time. Last Saturday, when we got on board, he recognized us right away. He was actually the one who reminded me which HM sailing it was that we first met him. When you think of a what a suite concierge should be like, Mohamed is all of that and more. He told me two nights ago that I should see Elaine on my next sailing. That makes me beyond excited. 

@Lovetocruise2002I forgot how kind of Mohammed was until I saw him again Christmas week.  He and JJ hijacked PRIORITY elevators for us a couple times when Genie Hossain wasn’t around (shhh, we were all over the place) .  We caroled down the hallway on 17 with Mohammed and JJ very late Dec 25th.  Really felt like old times with Mohammed Jeremias, and Elaine…when Harmony was our favorite ship. HOPING for a future sail date with you also.  Oh what fun!!!

[Lovetocruise2002]

I wanted to follow up here with one last thing. If you recall, I did mention at the start of this blog that Symphony 12/31/22 was not my original booking. The original booking was for Oasis 12/18/22 and I had booked this way back in February 2021. That original booking was well within the window for the C&A double points promo.

Fast forward to April 2022 (outside the double points promo window) when I realized I had to cancel Oasis, I told my TA that I need to keep the original booking number to attempt to retain the double points promo. After we moved it, I tried to get a solid answer from various sources whether they would honour this or not. Like all things Royal, the answer was inconsistent and I could not get it in writing anywhere.

The whole time, my new (moved) reservation for Symphony still showed the original booking number and booking date of February 26, 2021. The day I boarded Symphony, I made it a point to speak with the Loyalty Ambassador about this and even her answer was a bit vague. She said according to her system, she could see what I see, which is that the original booking was well within the window. She also told me that when I return home, if they don't honour it, I can email C&A. 

Happy to report that as of early yesterday morning, my points have been updated and yes, even though I moved my reservation after the promo expired, I still got my double points. And so ends the fast climb to Pinnacle lol. Back to the regular climb. Still have a long way to go.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Portrait Session Update:

Good news: Our canvas that was ordered on January 4th arrived by FedEx today. Very impressed. They said 6-8 weeks. It's only been 12 days. We live in Canada. I would imagine that those living in the US would have an even faster shipping time.

Bad news: The guy on the ship was wrong. Shipping was included. We had to pay duties and taxes, $62.81 CAD.

As you can imagine, the kids are beyond thrilled. The excuses are rolling as to why they cannot help in hanging this up. Exams, must study, homework, blah, blah, blah 

No comment on the quality yet. Will do that after we unpack it.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Portrait Session Final Update:

It took me a while to post this because we ran into a bit of a snag and I wanted to see how it would play out before posting my final thoughts.

The canvases arrived by FedEx a few days after they shipped. Very impressed. They were packaged very carefully and arrived in excellent condition. We have zero complaints about the quality of work as it looked fantastic!  Hubby is also quite picky about image quality etc. so I feel that is saying quite a bit. Anyway, because Hubby is so picky, he did notice one small problem. The side edge (not the face front edge) of the canvas was white, not black. On the ship, the sample on the wall, in the portrait studio, the side edge was black. Hubby also asked specifically when we finalized the order on the ship if the edge would be black. They assured us it would be. Now, because of what we were wearing in the photos, and the colours in our house, either colour would have been fine. The white is not that bad. But Hubby likes the black edge more and that was what he was promised so he wasn't satisfied.

This is where the land Genie goes back in her lamp (cruise over lol). I sent Hubby our reservation number and sailing info and told him to reach out to Royal via email with the complaint. I did warn him that they might not be very quick to respond to email. Surprisingly, they were. However, their response was for Hubby to reach out again to them via social media. So Hubby reached out to them via FB messenger and they asked him to give them a few days to reach out to Symphony's portrait studio. It took them a little bit but they got back to Hubby and informed him that they were sorry for the mix up and that they will send out a new set of canvases (with the black edging) asap.

Two days later, Hubby received an email from FedEx saying that the new order had been shipped out, and a few days after that, we received our second set of canvases! 

Hubby took some photos to show how nicely it was packaged upon arrival. He said the water bottle is there to show perspective for sizing.

As you can imagine, the girls are beyond thrilled because now there are not one, but two giant sets of canvases with them on it. 

Overall, great service and quality by Royal. I would highly recommend the portrait session and products if that is your thing. For us, we probably won't do this for a while. But we might again down the road when celebrating another significant milestone. For example, last cruise with kids before one gets married, or with grandkids, etc. Now I am getting really far ahead of myself lol. Sure hope that I am pinnacle by then. 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

For example, last cruise with kids before one gets married, or with grandkids, etc. Now I am getting really far ahead of myself lol. Sure hope that I am pinnacle by then. 

How are old are the... never mind, better get cruising!