Symphony Of The Seas 23-30 April Mediterranean cruise (again)

[Traveler]

I had many thoughts if to start a live cruise or not as this is the same itinerary as I already bloged from but I saw many people are looking for information about Europe cruises so I'll try to do my best. Before the cruise itself we stayed two days in Barcelona.  This time we stayed at Hilton Diagonal Mar which is very close to the sea and around 10 minutes from the cruise port. This hotel is not in the center but it has a huge  mall just across the street with allot of food options plus 8 minutes walk to the nearest subway which only 10 minutes ride and you are in the middle of Rambla. For the first dinner we went to one of the Tapas restaurants at the mall , I used the Fork application to get 30% off, food was good but we both had better Tapas before. The second day we spent mixing some shopping and walking in Barcelona. For the evening we booked a Tapas tour at the Gothic quarter. The tour took us to 4 different locations,  over each location we got several Tapas and wine/Sangaria and other drinks , refills was offered for the drinks. It was a lot to eat and drink and as always the fun part is to meet people from all around the world. The tour was enjoyable although everyone was wondering why our guide did not explain anything about were were visiting (I guess part of it was since it was is third tour of the day and he felt professionally obligation to test all the drinks just to make sure they are OK). More about the cruise and embarkation next. For , I will watch the new Chris Wong vlog from the ship.

 

 

[Traveler]

A good start :

 

[SweetPea]

Definitely following. Bon voyage!!

[Lovetocruise2002]

@Traveler definitely following! We'll be doing a similar itinerary next July on Voyager.

[Bmederson]

Looking forward to taking this cruise in June-thank you for posting!

[JohnK6404]

Have a great time!

[Traveler]

Day 1 - Barcelona.

As always on a furst day of a  cruise I could not sleep too late, I guess no matter how many cruises you do the embarkation day feeling will always be the same. We still had to re pack as we came back very late  from the local chef table (aka Tapas and wine tour) and did not wanted to start packing in the middleofthe night, oh and we had to pack quite allot , self note , maybe it's not so good idea to take an hotel near a shopping mall. Here is something I found new about Barcelona,  don't trust the taxi applications , if it's Uber or Free now, apparently the taxi drivers just refuse to take rides that way. After fighting trying to fit everything to the two suitcases (don't worry we brought extra folding bags with us just did not want to open them before we are on the ship) we took a very light continental breakfast made out of a chocolate croissant we bought the night before and coffee,  breakfast on embarkation day is both waste of time and waste of important "stomach space" which should better use on the ship. The check in time we had was 11 am so we opted to catch a taxi around 10. I tried to order a taxi using the app and learned  10 minutes later the lesson ,  no luck so we just walked to the street corner and took a taxi there. Even if you are not using a taxi application you can still pay using a credit card at any Barcelona taxi , they might just charge you more . The ride took around 10 minutes  and we came to what looked not such busy port it cost us 20 Euro . We dropped the luggage and entered to the building. There was not any lines for security nor for the checking in , once chrck in  done we got a ticket with a  number as they were boarding per numbers , we were 21. They stated to board 2 minutes after we arrived and after 15 minutes they called our group number so it was not that bad. We entered the next section of the building to find ourselves in the port duty free. This is something I did not figure out yet, since the cruise ports of calls are  only in the European union you don't have duty free on the ship and you need pay the VAT for anything you buy, they don't even sell alcohol on the ship. But this duty free in the port has real duty free prices (cheaper than the airport) and most interesting they even sell you alcohol you can take up the ship , yes it's after security (they just tell you not to bring it to the restaurants) , not sure what I am missing. We were on the ship around 11 am, not bad at all. We done our assembly check in and went to the WJ to complete the breakfast  . Food was as usual but I noticed they are serving chubby hamburger  patties and not the flat Macdonald style I saw before 

We continue to tour the ship to see if anything new after the dry dock . I can tell you they have not  change the jazz club to a non smoking casino yet , not sure why. Rooms were ready on 2 and not at 1 PM  as usual I guess it's due to the new one-time a day make your room system.

This time we are in a balcony cabin near the solarium which is very convenient. I was shocked no cookies were waiting for us , just few bottles of water. We'll we have to take our tour now , will continue later 

[Sweety]

Love your blogs 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Chubby burgers.  I LOVE this term !

[Ampurp85]

Have a wonderful trip!

They did away with the C&A treats and just give you water now. No cookies, strawberries or sodas unless you select as your D+ amenities. 

[Traveler]

 Now , while getting  a free massage from the vibrations of the ship engine  doing her way out of Palma I can continue. We wanted to use the BOGO offer for the first two nights so we found one of the restaurant coordinators in the promenade. While trying to book Hooked she told us it's not part of the BOGO offer so we booked 150 and Jaime. Later in the cabin I saw in the C&A letter it's official and like chef's table and Hibachi Hocked not allowed. Strange, not as strange as club royal logic or RCL IT but still strange. After a very needed nap we went to 150 , it's the second time we are trying 150 and we did not disappointed . We started with the famous cucumber martini, the garlic bread , a very good beetroot and Cesar's salad.

 

For main we took the tenderloin for two which was excellent and perfectly cooked.   

For desert we got the fried cheese cake and hazelnut bar. 

 

On our way out we encountered Sunil who was our genie 1.5 years ago on the same ship, to our surprise he recognized us and ask of we need anything as he is genie for life :-). Later we went to the casino just to see of we can say hello  to Chris Wong from the vlog, yes it was the only reason. Since he was not there we stayed more just in case , all the way until the balloon drop

One new thing to me was a note in the cabin bathroom saying they might give you a 100 $ penalty if you will drop some restrictions item to the toilet system 

[Traveler]

4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Have a wonderful trip!

They did away with the C&A treats and just give you water now. No cookies, strawberries or sodas unless you select as your D+ amenities. 

Yes I realized it now although today they did sent some fruits which was nice.

[Traveler]

22 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

@Traveler definitely following! We'll be doing a similar itinerary next July on Voyager.

Thanks , let me know if you have any questions. 

But I must ask @Matt question,  you do know no star class on Voyager ?

[WAAAYTOOO]

5 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Have a wonderful trip!

They did away with the C&A treats and just give you water now. No cookies, strawberries or sodas unless you select as your D+ amenities. 

I have continued to get my 12+ cokes.  Frankly, I’m surprised every time.  I’m sure there will come a time when they won’t be there, but so far….they have been.

Just got some strawberries and my favorite Fruity Pebbles rice cakes, but those are “Chefs Choice” treats, not C&A.  Actually, I’ve never understood what the Chefs Choice treat is all about.  Are those from C&A (not to be confused with the C&A loyalty gifts) or are they from the casino ?  Who knows.

[WAAAYTOOO]

That’s pretty lame that you cannot select Hooked for BOGO.  I wonder if that’s fleet-wide. 

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That’s pretty lame that you cannot select Hooked for BOGO.  I wonder if that’s fleet-wide. 

It is lame , I think they start to think about the all BOGO. BOGO started as many people did not went to the the special restaurant at night one and two but now that more and more getting the UDP it's not the story anymore. I am sure they would love to remove CG from the list but they know it will start riots :-). 

[Lovetocruise2002]

5 hours ago, Traveler said:

On our way out we encountered Sunil who was our genie 1.5 years ago on the same ship, to our surprise he recognized us and ask of we need anything as he is genie for life :-).

^^^This is why I love Sunil! There is one more Genie (that I know of) in the fleet who carries that mentality too.

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

But I must ask @Matt question,  you do know no star class on Voyager ?

Ugh! I know! I booked it on purpose so that I wouldn't be tempted to go star. Need money for excursions lol

I also loved the itinerary way more on Voyager compared to Oasis in summer 2024.

[SweetPea]

I love the port of Barcelona! We sailed Disney out of there. Disney has no drink package, so it was easy to bring on a few bottles duty free to keep in the room since the store is after security.

I'm sorry you were cheated out of Hooked, but your tenderloin at CP150 looked great!

[Ampurp85]

Hooked and the Izumi/Hibachi seems to be fleetwide as it was also on my letter. I love 150CP, that bread alone ...then the fried cheesecake .

[Traveler]

15 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

^^^This is why I love Sunil! There is one more Genie (that I know of) in the fleet who carries that mentality too.

Ugh! I know! I booked it on purpose so that I wouldn't be tempted to go star. Need money for excursions lol

I also loved the itinerary way more on Voyager compared to Oasis in summer 2024.

In Europe the port of calls always wins, love the Nice/Monaco stop. You just don't have enough time to enjoy the ship and when you do you are tired from the long tours. Regarding shore excursions , many can be done a slef guided although some port of calls that are far from the attractions better to do with the ship excursions just to be o  the safe side.

[Traveler]

Day 2 - Palma.

Palma is the shortest port of call we have this week, from 8:30 to 3:30 PM. Almost a sea day :-). For this part  we booked a bicycles ride in the city. We both like to cycle (well we like to think we like it but we only do it once a year ) and that time of year is the perfect day to do so. We booked it with RCL and got it in a good price of 60 $. For breakfast we decided to give a chance to the solarium bistro which has easy access from our cabin, exit to the first floor of the solarium, use the stress near the "pool" and we are there. For sure it was much easy going comparing  to the mad house in the WJ during mornings time. After breakfast we went to the meeting point at the theater just on time to wait 30 minutes until our group number announced, we got on a shuttle bus that took us out from the port to the bicycle shop across the street were we splitef to 3 groups got our bicycle and after short orientation we started to paddle to the city. The weather was perfect for such activity and the ride was enjoyable. Once we got to the old city we stopped in few places for the view (and let's admit also to catch our breath) at the old city we started to cycle inside the narrow streets and the guide gave us some explanations. We even got 15 minutes stop for coffee and quick walking around.

Nice street view 

The famous Gothic cathedral 

 

I must say I did not believe we can ride were we ride but it was very nice. Most of the ride was over a flat terrain but there were very few hills which we used the low gear of the bicycle to overcome  them. After the city tour we started our way back to the port , all in all it was a 4 hours tour. I highly recommend it if it's not too hot (it was 20 C  outside), it's a nice way to see the city , maybe not if it's your first time in the Island and you want some more time to enter the cathedral or shop. 

Coming back to the ship we went to my love and hate place the WJ for a quick lunch (you must knew there will be at least one time I will complain about the WJ ...) it was quite busy but we still found something to eat and a place to seat. I notice someone filling a glace of water at the station and tried to add some ice. Now I am sure it happend to most of us that we fill the glass too much and when adding the ice cubes it's bounces all around. Well that what happened to her but since she was very environmental aware and wanted to save the wave she collected all the falling ice cubes from the tray , from the table and put it in her glass....  what a sight 

 

 

 

 

[Traveler]

Day 2 , part 2

After the WJ horror we had to recover by taking some nap , med cruise is not easy on Symphony. Post the nap we went to some coffee in the Diamond club and to get ready for the first official night. Dinner plans was the second BOGO in Jaimee Italian. We had some starters (the Avocado salad , the truffle burrata cheese which was excellent and the meat board) 

For main we took the lasagna and spagiti carbonara. The lasagna was good the carbonate was so so but it was our fault as we forgot that no way they will use raw egg on the ship, there are things you should not order while you are on a ship ...

We took espresso martini for dessert .

We were doing our way to the Casino were Sunil saw us near the studio B and said he have some empty seats if we want, best seats and saving some money how we could refuse for that ? 

Right after the ice show we had reservations for the comedy club , they let in anyone that wanted as there were  lots of space mainly with US crowd. The first comedian was very good and even did a full set without any pineapple jocks , I mean the upside down one not new Matt C&A level. The second comedian was OK , more like older jocks but then he done a final act juggling using tennis balls to a Beattie song , it was very  impressive  and unique alsi considering that he is over 70. Very recommended.

We went to contribute some money to RCl , the cassino was given a way a crown loft suite,  it was almost ours but then we thought on all the  repacking and gave it up, we just love our balcony :-). 

The cabin attended must heard that we missed Hooked so he left us this

Tomorrow Marseille.

[Traveler]

OK,  found the issue with our cabin , someone decided that to do late party in the solarium will be a good idea,  the main issue I di not have a broomstick to nock on the ceiling:-)

[She Sails Away]

Love this. I will be doing this cruise in three weeks! Thank you for the info on everything! Following right along!

[Traveler]

Day 3 - Marseille.

Another wonderful day started with a perfect weather. We got something quick to eat in the WJ and wend for a coffee in the DL. We decided also to take a second quick breakfast at the Diamond launch just because we could not resist the fresh berries and so I will have extra things to report on. 

The port of Marseille is a huge port and around 10 to 15 minutes from the city. Since we did not had special plans we just wanted a way to get to the city. There are  three ways to get to Marseille (if you did not booked shore excursion). First one is to take RC Shuttle which cost 20 $ return ticket, the shuttle will take you to the old port. Second is to take a taxi which will be around 20 E. Thirs is to walk about  10 minutes to the terminal (following a green path on the ground) and take a free shuttle provided as a courtesy by the city of Marseille. The free shuttle bus will take you to the downtown (not the old port) and is leaving every 30 minutes, you will not hear about this option from RC. We took the free shuttle but I think if you are 3 or more people taxi might make more sense. The free shuttle drops you near a big shopping center (important in a hot sumner day) and many things is by walking distance. We wanted to buy some  French cosmetic we wanted to buy so we split and some of us went to the mall and some of us went to enjoy the weather outside. 

As we were in France we went to eat crepes, they had this 12 E option for a salty crep , sweet crep , a soft drink and a real coffee. Not bad it was quite tasty. 

As always I also went to one of the local supermarket to buy some bottles of wine and some local products to use back at home and for some gift , things like herb of Provence. I must admit my French is very limited almost as limited as vegetables in WJ breakfast time, I saw some interesting jar of something  that looked to me as mustard or truffle paste so I add it to the basket. Just on the shuttle back I started to translate it and found out it was Hummus,  oh the irony,  I bring back Hummus from France, almost like someone will bring pasta to Italy. Oh well , lesson learned. We went back to the ship around 3 PM and went to El Loco fresh to grab something. I must admit we weren't that impressed, the food was not that good , the guacamole was very diluted and felt artificial, it used to be much better. We took the regular nap and went to the Diamond club for some drinks and half dinner, we like the appetizers in the DL . We had a nice  discussion with the DL concierge who was the suite concierge on Rhapsody last year and compared the experience. We had reservations to Hair Spray but we decided to skip it , it's not our favorite show and we already saw it. Later on there  was a Latin music party in the promenade, it was full with participants and allot of energy , the band was very good. Most were also wearing white shirts/dress  as the it was indicated in the CC  besides me the non conformist who was with black shirt .

There was some party unil 2:30 AM at the solarium,  so it was hard to get some sleep, instead we went to get some pizza and sandwiches. I sadly  report that at least on Symphony they are not serving the antipasti anymore just the pissa , I hope it will come back soon. 

 

[SweetPea]

That's a really interesting statue!

I got a chuckle out of your hummus. I speak exactly one language, and I'm sure I'd have done way worse.

Hopefully the late night parties in the Solarium subside. I would think a more port-intensive cruise wouldn't be as conducive to that. You'd think everyone would be in bed early to rise early. Sorry that is not the case on your cruise!

[Traveler]

2 hours ago, SweetPea said:

That's a really interesting statue!

I got a chuckle out of your hummus. I speak exactly one language, and I'm sure I'd have done way worse.

Hopefully the late night parties in the Solarium subside. I would think a more port-intensive cruise wouldn't be as conducive to that. You'd think everyone would be in bed early to rise early. Sorry that is not the case on your cruise!

Oh, don't get me wrong I am happy they have night activities just wandered why it was in the Solarium and not in the attic as usual. I can sleep with any noise,  the only issue is that I can't go to sleep before my spouse do as she claims I am doing more noises than such party (I am denying it ) 

[Lovetocruise2002]

On 4/25/2023 at 7:58 AM, Traveler said:

In Europe the port of calls always wins, love the Nice/Monaco stop. You just don't have enough time to enjoy the ship and when you do you are tired from the long tours.

Totally agree. I was just trying to explain this exact same thing to my sister last night when we asked why we aren't doing Oasis to the med next year.

[She Sails Away]

It sounds like it's already pretty warm out there? 

[Traveler]

5 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

It sounds like it's already pretty warm out there? 

The weather is just perfect 20 C or 68 F. Maybe not for swimming but for site seeing we could not ask for better one.

[ckruetze]

On 4/25/2023 at 1:58 PM, Traveler said:

In Europe the port of calls always wins, love the Nice/Monaco stop. You just don't have enough time to enjoy the ship and when you do you are tired from the long tours

That would depend. For me as a European this would be the other way around. If I really want to see Nice, I can fly there for a weekend. I'm hoping that I can enjoy a nearly empty ship every day this summer when I'm on the Symphony.

[Traveler]

9 hours ago, ckruetze said:

That would depend. For me as a European this would be the other way around. If I really want to see Nice, I can fly there for a weekend. I'm hoping that I can enjoy a nearly empty ship every day this summer when I'm on the Symphony.

I agree with you , it would depend where you are coming from and how easy for you /how often you can visit the places outside the cruise. 

[Traveler]

Day 4 La Spezia.

La Spezia is the port for Florence,  Pisa and cinque terre . In Med cruise its one of our favorite port of call due to the incredible view and possibilities. This time we wanted to visit cinque terre which are 5 very nice colrfull villages. There are few options to visit it. First, the wrong one is to pay 150+ $ to RC excursion. Second is to take the train and third , the best option is to take an HOHO boat that brings you to most of the villages and allow you to visit as many villages you want . The cost is 39 E per person. Since we went to sleep late we missed the first two boats but went to catch the 10:50 am one. The boat peer is on the boardwalk going left from terminal facing the city. When we arrived we saw long line for the tickets,  or so we thought. The line did not seem going anywhere and we thought we are going to miss it. Finally it started to move and move fast , that was when I realized it was the line for getting on the boat and not for tickets. I quickly went to buy tickets and we were on the boat after 5 minutes and started our journey.  The best way is to go first to the last viillage and do your way backwards. The main issue with cinque terre is which pictures to use. Here is a good link with information about visiting the villages 

https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/boat-excursions

 

 

[Traveler]

Day 4 La Spezia.

Sorry for the late updates but as you can imagine it's a super busy ports of calls. 

So we were few hours in the cinque terre and enjoy it very much as usual. Weather was perfect,  I highly recommend this time of year for med cruise as it can be very hit during the summer time. When we returned back to La Spezia I went to by some wines and chocolate,  so now we have wine from each country. If you need to buy wine LA Spezia is the last port with good supermarkets in walking distance.  Had also to add some bribe to the one we left at home so she will let us in welcoming us and not plan a revenge 

For dinner we went to the WJ , must say the food wasn't what we remember,  no sea food at all (we checked all week), not much verity. To complete it we went to the Diamond launch which had nice appetizers. Not sure why but no water station in DL , need to ask why. Post dinner we had the 1977 ice show which we like very much. It's a was the first show of this new ice team and they change some of the act. Three  of the drones crushed , considered to add some RC IT joke here but I know it's not them this time so I will hold myself.  

Lots of activities were still going but we had an early plans for Rome so we wrapped it early and tried (not so successful ) to rest.

Tomorrow Rome.

 

 

[She Sails Away]

Those photos are incredible!

[SweetPea]

Cats definitely need to be bribed when left!

Gorgeous pics! You're totally making me want to book a Med cruise. 

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, SweetPea said:

Cats definitely need to be bribed when left!

Gorgeous pics! You're totally making me want to book a Med cruise. 

She will be OK our son stayed with her and she loves him, also my spouse mother is checking on her from time to time but for sure I want to reduce the time I will need to go to work with long sleeves:-)

[Ampurp85]

Lol did you leave your cat alone? I have always dropped mine off with family or friends but I do allow her to sleep with me when I get back.

[Traveler]

44 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Lol did you leave your cat alone? I have always dropped mine off with family or friends but I do allow her to sleep with me when I get back.

I would not dare to leave her alone,  she is with our son. 

[SweetPea]

Same! We ask my sister to "babysit" when we go away because she primarily works from home and they love her house. They are so much better behaved when we return.  Though, we do have to fight for them to want to come back ....