A Tale of Two Cruises - Connecting Balconies to Ultimate Family Suite B2B - Symphony W. Med 8/20 - 9/3

[berkeleykel]

Hello!  I failed miserably at my last blog, but why not try again?

My family (me, my husband, and our sons M (7) and A (2)) are already on board Symphony for a week in adjoining ocean view balcony cabins on deck 6 midship. Later this week we will be moving into the Ultimate Family Suite, which my kids have no idea about.  I think they are the perfect ages to take advantage of the suite and can’t wait to surprise them on Sunday!

Last August we did a week on Wonder from Barcelona on the same Western Mediterranean itinerary in adjoining balcony staterooms. We learned a lot from that trip — the heat in August is miserable and will tear down our will to live, and it is so hard for me to extract myself from my job such that a 1-week vacation is more trouble than it is worth. Because we are limited to school vacation times and working around colleagues’ vacation schedules, August was unavoidable, but I thought a back to back would give us the flexibility to go at a slower pace and build in a lot of days where we’ll stay on the ship to break up the long, hot port days. The UFS was a dream of mine and it opened up for a relatively reasonable price for our dates. To balance out the still-absurd cost of the UFS, we saved money the first week by booking balcony cabins. We like connecting cabins for the extra space, bathroom, and privacy which is all at a premium on a week-long sailing. We also actually like Windjammer and the MDR, so the first week we are more or less eating there exclusively, whereas the second week will be all Coastal Kitchen and specialty dining. 
 

I am late starting the blog because I’ve been finishing up some urgent work matters, but I’ve kept notes and will try to catch up on the first few days of the first sailing tomorrow (we are currently finishing up day 3). Posting this now to force myself to commit! 
 
The goal of my blog is to be informative as possible about details specific to our itinerary, excursions, the UFS, and practical details related to sailing with young kids. I don’t plan to go into too much detail on the minutia of our day, but might for example give detailed recaps of our excursions, as it is hard to find reviews for a lot of the Western Mediterranean excursions.

[LandstromCruise]

I’m with you on the railing miserably on the first blog. I tried, but am awful at remembering to take pictures and actually post daily about the trip. I’m hoping to try again in November on my next cruise. Hope you are enjoying the first few days of your cruise and I’m sure you are super excited for the UFS! 

[JohnK6404]

Enjoy! We'll be following!

[berkeleykel]

It’s crazy to me that it’s already the evening of day 4. It feels like we boarded yesterday. 

Backtracking quickly, we flew from London to Barcelona this past Saturday, one day before embarkation.  We like to fly from Gatwick because it’s a quick train ride from our flat. Our choices from Gatwick were EasyJet or Vueling. Last year we tried Vueling for first time and had a bad experience (see my previous blog), so this year we went back to EasyJet, which we’ve taken about 12-15 times before without major issues. 

Our flight ended up delayed over two hours due to a mechanical issue that required us changing planes. We had to cancel our dinner plans and deal with a whining 7 year old, but other than that it wasn’t a big hiccup. I was just glad that the flight landed on Saturday so we didn’t have to worry about missing the cruise.

We pre-booked a van from Sun Transfers from the airport to our hotel in Las Ramblas. It was around €75 and included a car seat and booster seat for our 2 year old and 7 year old.  We were in the van headed to our hotel within 35 minutes of landing and our transport was waiting despite the delay, with no extra cost. I was a bit worried whether we would fit in the van — the booking said we could fit five “medium” size suitcases and we had three 81” suitcases, a carry-on suitcase, a stroller and three bookbags, but it all fit easily.

We stayed one night at Citadines Las Ramblas. Citadines is an apartment-style hotel chain in Europe. I like it because they sleep up to four, which can be hard to find in Europe, and include a kitchenette, which is good when traveling with young kids. The location in central Barcelona can’t be beat.

The hotel is not luxury (I’d rate it at 3 stars), but it is convenient, so it is our go-to for Barcelona.  

 

 

 

[berkeleykel]

[berkeleykel]

On to day 1, no time to waste. 
 

We bought a few breakfast items (yoghurt, apples and muffins) at the grocery store directly across from our hotel the evening before, so the kids ate that for breakfast. We ordered our Sun Transfer van to arrive at 10:05 -  he arrived at 9:55 with both the car seat and the booster seat as requested. It was again around €75. We could have gotten a taxi for cheaper but I like to have it booked in advance with a reliable company that will provide car seats.  
 

We arrived at terminal B at the port around 10:30 and were able to check in with no lines. We had a boarding time of 11 am (the earliest available to select) and were given boarding group 20.  Th first groups were called around 10:50 and we were called right around 11.

We headed straight to Playmakers to watch the WWC finals and were pleasantly surprised by how quiet it was.  Rooms were ready around 1 pm and our luggage was just down the hall by the time we made it to our rooms around 1:30 pm.  

We ate at the MDR at 6 pm (early seating) and I have to say it was our worst MDR experience yet, and I’m an MDR apologist. They didn’t bring any food out for the kids (even starters) until after the adults’ mains were delivered, despite us inquiring twice. M was at a breaking point by the time his food was delivered.  The kids mac and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches were comically bad. They just half melted a square of cheese on the macaroni, and didn’t even half melt the cheese for the grilled cheese. Even our two year old turned his nose up at the food. The adult meals were better, but check out how many vegetable were included in our “seasonable vegetables” side!

[berkeleykel]

[berkeleykel]

I should add that the first night we had booked the main ice skating show, 1977. When we showed up it was announced that it was changed to iSkate 2.0 due to injury to two of the cast members.

We liked it okay. M fell asleep about 2/3rd through but our two year old powered through and clapped his heart out. While waiting for the show to start we saw an extremely stressed genie who had reserved seats front row center for a family who did not show until the minute the show was starting. In the meantime he had to ask three different groups to vacate the reserved seats. When the family finally arrived, he put on a game face and didn’t display any of the stress to them. Moral of the story -  don’t keep your genie waiting!  They have a stressful job and may not always show it, but they do a lot of work behind the scenes to create a seamless experience. 

[LandstromCruise]

40 minutes ago, berkeleykel said:

WOW, that looks pretty awful.  I will say went on Symphony back in early 2019, and it by far had the worst food in the dining room of the 5 RC cruises I have been on.  Most nights we ended up eating in the Solarium Bistro for dinner.  

[ckruetze]

13 hours ago, berkeleykel said:

Moral of the story -  don’t keep your genie waiting!  They have a stressful job and may not always show it, but they do a lot of work behind the scenes to create a seamless experience. 

I did that ones and I felt so bad about it. I got the show time wrong by 15 minutes

In the second week when you have your Genie, they can provide blankets for the ice show as front row might get cold with shorts and a t-shirt. As for the change in show. The story in the normal one is better (as in there is a story) but I prefer the music in iSkate 2.0 and the skating is more or less the same. When we were on Symphony earlier this month they had two guest skaters (a magic quick change act that they incorporated in the normal show). So you didn't miss out on too much. But maybe you have another time to see the other show.

Also if your kids like skating the second week your Genie can help with the public skating times as in possibly get you longer on the ice and if your kids really want to do it there might be the option to book a private skating lesson for the kids (for a small fee).

 

For the Ultimate Family Suite, your kids will have a lot of fun. The only thing that might annoy you is the various TVs and remotes for them. Also we had a lot of people "not in the room" try to connect the phone to the big TV in the living room which always turned on the TV. In the end I unplugged it. I'm curious if this also happens when you are in the suite.

If Gloria is your loft attendant please say hi to her from "Christian and family".

[berkeleykel]

Day 2 - Palma de Mallorca. Excursion: Easy Palma & Valldemossa

Last year on this stop we took an RC bus to a beach for the day. This time we actually wanted to see some of Palma. Due to the heat (forecasted high of around 94F and sunny) we changed from a walking tour to this excursion at the last minute since this one would primarily let us sit comfortably on a bus. 

We ordered room service breakfast to arrive between 7:30 - 8:00 (we hung our order out on the door the night before). It arrived at 7:25. The kids were very happy with it and now want room service every day.

The excursion was slated to start at 9:30 for 3.5 hours. We were told to meet at 9:00 at Studio B.  There was a cart just outside Studio B where we were able to pick up bottles of water for free with our deluxe drinks package. 

We headed out to the buses at 9:10. The directions were not clear and we lost our group, but realised that regardless of group number everyone was heading down to the gangway on deck 3, through the port building, and to a cluster of buses waiting which had signs with the tour numbers. Our bus was a new modern coach with air conditioning.  We had a tour guide who talked the whole time we were driving to give us the history and background to the locations we would be seeing. He used a microphone and was easy to hear (no headsets required). 

Our bus departed right at 9:30. The first stop was Bellver Castle which took around 20 mins to get to. We were given 20 mins there to get off the bus and take photos at a viewpoint. The castle itself was closed because it was a Monday and no toilets were available. 

The next stop was Valldemossa which was about a 30 min drive away, the second half of which was very scenic with mountains and fields of olive (?) trees. Valldemossa was founded in 1399 as a monastery. We were given 1 hr 15 mins here to explore on our own.  There were free public toilets (women’s toilet were a bit on the side but good in a pinch) up a slight hill close to the main street and next to some gardens.  We walked around the garden, had a rest and some cake and coffee in a cafe, then bought a few souvenirs. 

We drove back to Palma and parked down the road from the Cathedral and were given 20 mins to explore. 20 mins is not enough time to get all the way to the cathedral and back, but we were able to get close enough for a few photos before heading back. Anyone who wanted to could depart from the tour and this point and make their own way back (the spot where we were parked as right next to the shuttle buses that would take you back to the ship if you were exploring Palma on your own, I think it was €10).  We were happy to return to the ship so hurried back to the bus. We were told to be back at 1:05. The bus pulled away at 1:07, leaving some of our group behind running for the bus. 

I’d rate the Palma part of the tour a 3/10. You couldn’t see much from the bus and it didn’t feel like we got to experience Palma at all. Valldemossa was nice and it would good to have free time there, so I’d rate that part an 8/10, for an overall tour rating of 6/10. If it hadn’t been so hot and we didn’t have a whining 7 year old, it would have been much better if we’d stayed in Palma after the tour to explore on our own. I think next time we’re in Palma we’ll just take the shuttle bus and plan to do a self-guided tour. 

Back on the ship, it was time to dress for formal night. We had sent out my husbands clothes for pressing in the morning. The prices were around $2-3 per item, but with a 50% increase for same day service. Clothes were promised by 5:30 pm.  They arrived at 5:25! Husband changed quickly and we took some family photos in the promenade before dinner.  Lines for all the photographers were short to non-existent at that time.

Dinner was greatly improved the second night. They brought our fruit for the kids immediately upon arriving, remembered our drinks order from the day before, and the roast beef was really good.

One the first day of boarding we had booked some slots are the nursery for A and tonight was his first time going. He was the only kid at the nursery when we dropped him off at 7:30 and when we picked him up at 9.  He did okay but had been a bit fussy for us.  The staff worked really hard to get him settled.

While he was at nursery, M happily went to kids club.  On Wonder last year all kids 6-12 were put together in one large room and M had mainly played the switch. On Symphony, the kids are divided into smaller groups based on age. He was with the other 6-8 year olds in Explorers. It was well attended and they played some group games.  There was also a PS4 but no switch.  M was very happy and stayed until we forced him to leave at 10pm (after which time we would have been charged an hourly fee).  

While the kids were both in AO, husband and I played slots in the casino. I was up $75 in the slots within 15 mins, ultimately left up $55.  

We grabbed some (forever free!) Sorrentos pizza, then off to bed. 

[berkeleykel]

Oh no, has anyone elected lost a casino cash out slip and been able to recover the money?

[berkeleykel]

[berkeleykel]

On 8/24/2023 at 1:14 PM, ckruetze said:

If Gloria is your loft attendant please say hi to her from "Christian and family".

Will do! 2 more days!

On 8/24/2023 at 1:14 PM, ckruetze said:

The only thing that might annoy you is the various TVs and remotes for them. Also we had a lot of people "not in the room" try to connect the phone to the big TV in the living room which always turned on the TV. In the end I unplugged it. I'm curious if this also happens when you are in the suite.

What a strange thing. I’ll report back!

 

 

[berkeleykel]

Day 3 - Marseille - Excursion: Scenic Marseille

Last year we didn’t get off the ship at Marseille so this time we wanted to make sure to do a tour of the city. Similar to the Palma excursion, we chose this one because it was mostly on an air conditioned bus with little walking. I think the temperature was around 95F. 

It was scheduled as a 3.5 hour tour beginning at 9:30 am. We were told to meet at 9 am at the Royal Theater.  The ship was a little late being cleared so we ended up starting around 9:45.  Similar to the Palma tour, we were in a modern air conditioned coach with a tour guide who spoke through a microphone as we drove around Marseille. This tour made two stops, the Palais Longchamp for 15 mins and the Vieux Port for about 1 hour (40 mins of which was free time, first 20 mins was a guided tour). We also drove by the Notre Dame cathedral and along the sea front (sit on the right side for better views of the sea). We ended back at the ship right around the scheduled time of 1:00 pm.   
 

I think this tour was much better than the Palma tour for getting a sense of Marseille and seeing the main areas and sites. The tour guide was also very informative and I learned a lot about the city and culture. However, I felt that the Vieux Port was a bit of a tourist trap and not really worth the time. Also the bus parked a 10 min walk from the port and a few people go lost getting back as instructions were extremely unclear, so definitely mark on the map where the bus is before you get off. My oldest had a tough time holding his bladder until the Vieux Port stop, which was at the very end of the tour, and we ended up buying a soda from a cafe I order to use the toilet as the public toilets were not close. There is a carousel in the port area, although we did not try it.

I’d rate this a 7.5/10. It is great if you want a taste of Marseille and have limited mobility/kids/can’t face a long walk in terrible heat.

Once back on the ship we had a quick Windjammer lunch, then Husband and A took a nap while I took M for mini golf and some arcade games. I’ll do a separate report on the arcades on the ship. 

We went back to the MDR for dinner which was pretty good, then dropped off M at Explorers and took A with us to see Hairspray. A was enthralled. I was impressed and would liken it to a touring-level quality of a Broadway/West End musical, but my husband the critic thought the acting was poor (the actors seemed not to understand some jokes so the delivery was wrong) and thought parts were approaching high school theatre level. Cleary reasonable minds may differ here. 

White night was very impressively attended, as have most theme nights so far. 

[berkeleykel]

[berkeleykel]

And just like that I’m a week behind. I’ll try to summarize the rest of the first week quickly to get on to the good stuff. 
 

Day 4 - La Spezia - no excursion booked/not getting off ship.  

We wanted to break up our days getting off the ship so planned to stay on the ship today. I had a facial in the morning. The facial itself was good and there wasn't really a hard upsell on products or services, but I was subjected to an intense interrogation about my skin care routine which was a bit over the top (what do you mean you don’t exfoliate? You can’t find 5 minutes in your day to exfoliate? Why not? ). We might go back for massages at some point. 
 

Later while A and husband were taking an afternoon nap, I took M for rock climbing. The wait was very short, maybe 5 mins. Then we played some games in the arcade on Deck 15 and in Playmakers.  The arcades are a little embarrassing for Royal I think. Like at least 1/3 of the games, if not 1/2, are broken.  I’ll post photos below so you can see the games available and which are labeled as out of order. Even several that don’t have signs weren’t actually working though. But probably for the best because we could easily waste $50 at a time in the arcade if it were fully functional.

the rest of the day was pretty bland. We dressed up for Hawaiian night and took some family photos before dinner. Then we had dinner in the MDR as usual and it was pretty good. 
 

We tried to drop A at nursery in order to see the adult comedy show, but they called us back to get him after 15 mins because he was fully distraught. So we just saw some karaoke and tried to make use of our drinks package while M was in kids club. 

[berkeleykel]

[berkeleykel]

Day 5 - Civitavecchia- Vatican/Sistine Chapel on our own (pre-booked private tour directly via the Vatican)

Last time we were in a Rome we saw the Coliseum, and this time my husband really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. 

We ordered a room service breakfast for 7:30 am and left the ship at 8:15.  Once outside the ship we followed the signs to the buses and took the shuttle bus that would drop us off at the Civitavecchia train station. The bus was EUR 6 per adult (kids free), cash only.  We were on the bus and leaving the cruise terminal by 8:35.  It is around a 10 min ride to the train station.  We had pre-booked tickets for the fast train from Civitavecchia to Roma Termini departing at 9:16 (arriving at 10:03) so had some time to wait in the extreme heat (100F), but I’d rather be way early than rushed.  We had booked the tickets directly with the train provider, Trenitalia, maybe 2 months in advance and it was only around €25 total for 4 round trip seats in first class. I was able to select the specific seats at the time of purchase as well so we were all around a table. 

Once in Roma Termini we had a bit of a hiccup because I had planned to take the metro from Roma Termini to the stop closest to the Vatican  Museums entrance (Ottoviano), but the whole line was closed for maintenance. Instead we trekked about 20 mins to the taxi rank at the front of Roma Termini station and got a taxi right away. It cost €13 and travel time was around 20 mins by car.

It was around 10:45 at this point and our tour was schedule for 11:30, so we grabbed some pizza at a cafe close by called Giselda.  It was lovely and air conditioned and only a 5 min walk from the Vatican Museums. I definitely recommend it for a quick snack in the area.  They also had sandwiches, fresh juice, coffee, pastries and cocktails.

We were told to be at the security entrance 15 mins before our start time. The line for people with tickets was almost non-existent and we were inside within 5 mins.  The area for people with pre-booked tours was clearly marked.  There were vending machines inside with water and soft drinks; coins only.

I had booked a private guided tour of the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel directly through the Vatican’s website around 3 months before the trip. The cost was €340 euros for us (2 adults/2 children).  This was hands down the best decision of the entire trip.  We had the loveliest, most knowledgeable and passionate tour guide you can imagine. She was an archaeologist and had worked at the Vatican for 11 years.  The place was so packed and hot so having the attention of an individual guide was invaluable in getting the most out of the experience. She was not allowed into the Sistine Chapel itself with us, but talked us through everything we would see in advance.  The tour was around 2 hours and ended at the Sistine Chapel. After that we were free to spend as much time in the Vatican museums as we wanted, but we just had some ice cream at the cafe attached to the museum and headed back to the train station.

There is a little food court inside the Vatican Museum next to the cafe. I’ll post a photo of the menu.  

We didn’t see any taxis when we left so we took the replacement metro buses from outside the Ottoviano station back to Roma Termini, then stopped for juice and coffee at a cafe inside the station until it was time to board our return train at 3:57 pm. Note there is a baby change station in the toilet closest to the family car (in our case it was around car 4).  There were also plenty of regular toilets and some vending machines.

Once back in Civitavecchia around 4:45 we again took the €6 shuttle back to the ship.  Be sure to check with the driver which ship the shuttle would be heading to. An NCL ship was also in port and the shuttles to that ship were identical to the ones heading to Symphony.  They only way to distinguish was by asking.  I’ll post photos below.

We made it back to the room at 5:20pm and were greeted with some cute towel animals.  We quickly showered (it had been sticky hot all day) and changed for dinner.

No recollection whatsoever of what we did after dinner. Probably involved karaoke in On Air at some point and kids club for M. 

 

[berkeleykel]

[berkeleykel]

Day 6 - Naples - No excursion booked/walked into Naples for pizza

Last year we didn’t get off in Naples because it was too hot. This was day was even hotter, maybe 103F? But we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to finally get a good Italian meal off the ship.  A few months in advance I had researched pizza places within walking distance of the port and settled on Pizzeria Speranzella, a little place on a side street in the Spanish Quarter about a 20/25 min walk from the ship. 

We left the ship just before 12:30 to make our 1:00 pm reservations.  I found the port of Naples to be confusing and we probably asked for directions twice to figure out how to get headed in the right direction. It was something like downstairs and outside, then around the corner and back inside and upstairs, down a long hallway, then finally downstairs and outside again?? I wish I could be of better help.  

I’d heard a lot of negative things about Naples, including from a native, but I found once we were a 5/10 min walk away from the port into the Spanish Quarter area it was very nice.  We were sat quickly at the restaurant (they hadn’t held a table open for us, but gave us the first one to empty up with priority over others waiting without reservations, which I think was reasonable given it’s a tiny restaurant and a lot of people probably no-show their reservations). 

The pizzas took around 20 mins to arrive once ordered. We ordered 3 pizzas for our family, but probably could have gotten away with 2.  They were relatively cheap though (maybe around €8-9 each) and we liked trying a couple different varieties. I’d rate them as pretty good.  I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant as well, although it is not for everyone. Our table was outside on a narrow street and mopeds drove by regularly, and even some cars squeezed past.  To me it gave the place character, but some might not like the exhaust fumes mixing with their lunch.  There also wasn’t any wine on the menu and it’s not the type of place you’d go for a slow leisurely lunch, but that’s not what we were looking for at the time so we were happy to be in and out. Overall I was happy with the choice and would be willing to go back again.

After lunch we stopped for dessert at a little cafe inside the Galleria Umberto, which I think is worth a peak into if you’re in the area.

Then due to the heat we headed straight back onto the ship and straight to the showers to get ready for Dress Your Best Night. We had dinner in the MDR, then took A to see Flight while M went to kids club (once again our attempt to drop A at the nursery failed). 
 

Flight was…something else.  I certainly recommend seeing it once. We probably won’t see it a second time.  Some parts were spectacular and others were head scratching.  Inventive for sure. 

 

[berkeleykel]

I should add that around the time we were getting ready for dinner I realised I couldn’t find my Apple Watch. I checked the Find My Phone app to see the watch was currently located inside the Vatican. This was a bit of an issue because we were in Naples and the Vatican is in Rome (which my 7 year old helpfully pointed out).  

I emailed the Vatican and they responded quickly to say they had found a watch!  I provided detailed info to establish proof of ownership. They now acknowledge the watch to be mine and are working with me to have it shipped back home to London (we will have to pay shipping fees). I’m hoping this works out. We’ll be back in Civitavecchia this week but I’m not looking forward to cancelling the massage I had planned and trekking all the way back to the Vatican.

[berkeleykel]

[Xaa]

2 hours ago, berkeleykel said:

We’ll be back in Civitavecchia this week but I’m not looking forward to cancelling the massage I had planned and trekking all the way back to the Vatican.

Just for the day or an overnight?  If the latter you might could arrange for them to ship it to your hotel.  Really glad it worked out however they return it to you.  Enjoying the blog and taking notes.  Thanks!

[WAAAYTOOO]

As many times as I have traveled to Italy on business, I have never really learned to appreciate Italian pizza.  I know that's a rare opinion since pizza is essentially the offspring of Italy, but I guess I'm too Americanized to appreciate its special qualities. I am a pepperoni lover and if you ask for pepperoni in Italy, you will get pepperoncini which is NOT pepperoni.  Even if you manage to get them to understand basically what you're asking for, you will get some nasty local salami-esque topping that is equally as unappealing as pepperoncini.

On the other hand, the mozarela d'bufala is to die for !  You cannot get that particular taste anywhere else (at least, nowhere in the very limited travel universe that I live in).  The BEST mozarela d'bufala is served from a salty brine.  OMG, it is so good !

It's a fair trade, IMO.  I will stick with the mozarela and leave the pizza to the rest of y'all.  

[Ampurp85]

@WAAAYTOOO Yes to all of that. I had pizza several times in Italy, but it did not taste like pizza, I found it more amazing for the crust aspect. In Europe I find the pepperoni is more so a summer sausage, which is disgusting imho.  I knew better because once in Germany I asked for a pepperoni pizza and got the peppers instead. But when we did Odyssey last year she was just coming from her Med season and all the pepperoni pizza had summer sausage on it, everyone was disappointed. 

[Yesiamthere]

When we lived in Geneva, Switzerland we ordered pizza with pepperoni.  The server didn’t understand so a person at the next table translated for us.  We got a pizza full of green peppers.  Yuk!  Eventually, we got to know the owner who allowed us to sneak him pepperoni to put on our to go pizza. We got the pepperoni when we visited the army post in Germany. At the same restaurant we wanted their special of the day thinking it was beef…..it was horse meat!  

[ckruetze]

On 8/29/2023 at 1:42 PM, berkeleykel said:

And just like that I’m a week behind. I’ll try to summarize the rest of the first week quickly to get on to the good stuff. 

I know the problem. I'm glad that I'm not the only one with that problem. But on the other hand it must mean that the cruise is so good that there is no time to write a blog.

[ckruetze]

On 8/29/2023 at 1:42 PM, berkeleykel said:

what do you mean you don’t exfoliate? You can’t find 5 minutes in your day to exfoliate?

And then you post here? Isn't that against the forum rules???
I think that is really strange, why would they care what you do at home. It is not like they can sell you a daily treatment for home or anything like that.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Can’t wait to read your continuing posts especially now that you have moved to your new “suite digs”!!!

[Sweety]

On 8/29/2023 at 10:15 AM, berkeleykel said:

Beautiful

[berkeleykel]

If I try to catch up from where I left off we’ll be off the ship before I even post any photos of the room, so here are some views from the UFS on our sea day today.

 

[SweetPea]

I'm late, but I'm here! I'm bookmarking your trip for when we start flying again and get back to Europe! And hey, of all places to lose your watch ... the Vatican! I mean if you have to lose something like that, a religious tiny country would be the place to do it!

Enjoy the UFS!

[berkeleykel]

I left off in Naples, Day 6 of Week 1. Picking up with day 7, it was a sea day and our last day in the balcony rooms before our upgrade. The mood was super upbeat as we were able to take advantage of all of the sea day activities with no dread of imminent departure hanging over our heads.  
 

We started the saying spending an arm and a leg buying photos (2 prints and 20 digital photos was something like $325).  Then we watched the parade from the photo gallery area.  This wasn’t the best viewing spot because the stairway blocked most of the action. Probably better to be in front of the pub area. 
 

I lost at bingo with M while husband and A took at nap. M and I also went ice skating, which I’d booked on the app a few days prior. You need to book 30 min windows for ice skating and laser tag via the app.  There didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to when the booking windows opened for that.  Ice skating was well organised but because there were no skating aids a long of people held along to the side the whole time, M included, which was a but limiting. After a few falls M had enough and we headed  out. 

Dinner was in the MDR again where we said goodbye to our servers since we planned all specialty dining for week 2. The vegetable portion was measly again, but besides that and some of the kinks in the first night, we enjoyed having dinner in the MDR each night for the first week and really liked our servers.

In the evening we went to the 60 seconds or less and Friendly Feud game shows in On Air, then went back to the room to pack up all of our stuff in order to be ready to leave the room around 8 am the next morning. 
 

[WAAAYTOOO]

OMG I can literally count the number of peas on that plate !  How sad.

[Curt From Canada]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

OMG I can literally count the number of peas on that plate !  How sad.

Has anyone tried (recently) to ask for a side order of steamed vegetables?  

Curt from Canada

[SweetPea]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

OMG I can literally count the number of peas on that plate !  How sad.

Who else went back and actually counted the peas after @WAAAYTOOO's comment?

 

[Rags1]

1 hour ago, SweetPea said:

Who else went back and actually counted the peas after @WAAAYTOOO's comment?

 

Me

[Yesiamthere]

8 hours ago, SweetPea said:

Who else went back and actually counted the peas after @WAAAYTOOO's comment?

The Broccoli said “the peas have no reason to complain.” 

 

[berkeleykel]

On 9/3/2023 at 1:15 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

OMG I can literally count the number of peas on that plate !  How sad.

It was advertised specifically as being served with peas, I really was sad.