Symphony of the Seas - 8-night Southern Caribbean - 10-18 February 2024 - ***RECAP*** with pics

[FionaMG]

22 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

Huh, we have the same itinerary as you at the end of March, but we have Labadee first, then Aruba, then Curacao, with 2 sea days at the end. I wondered when you said they pushed formal night back, when they would do it, but it makes sense when you had the two sea days in the beginning rather than the end of the sailing.

Congrats on D+, big milestone!!!

Thanks! 

[She Sails Away]

Belated happy birthday! 
 

love Aruba, and Symphony is my favorite! Really enjoying your blog!

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

Belated happy birthday! 
 

love Aruba, and Symphony is my favorite! Really enjoying your blog!

Thank you!

[FionaMG]

Day Seven - Cruise Day Four - Aruba (continued)

As I mentioned in part one of today's adventures, we were due to eat at 150 Central Park tonight. I booked this during that sale they had with special prices for C&A. Without knowing at that time what menus they would be having in the MDR on which nights I used an educated guess to pick a night that I reckoned would be one we didn't like. Super Bowl skewed that and I ended up switching this booking from night three to night four. To change it, I had to go to the actual restaurant. The guys at the kiosk in the promenade tried in vain to do it for me and it was only when they called a manager over because the line behind us was getting bigger and bigger and bigger that they realised they couldn't change a cruise planner booking.

Anyway we got it changed to night four without any issues while still holding on to our special price. The MDR menu that we skipped for this was the Mexican menu.

Also, tonight was "white night" attire-wise.

This was hands down the best meal of the cruise (although Hooked, later on, would be a very close second). I would happily have eaten here every night if it weren't for the upcharge. I know, dream on. 

The bread was very good.

For starters, DH had the pumpkin soup. His face was a picture when the server brought the bowl with just the bits in. Where's my soup???? He was very bemused to see it being poured in from a jug.  He thought it was nice but a bit on the sweet side.

I had the roasted organic beet salad. I absolutely loved this. So good! 

We both had the lobster thermidor for the main course. It was very tasty.

And we both had their signature dessert, the fried cheesecake. DH thought it was wonderful; I thought it was nice but no more than that, being that I am not a big cheesecake fan.

The portion sizes were nice. We were pleasantly full when we were finished but not stuffed to the point of feeling uncomfortable. However, bearing in mind the amount we ate, it really wasn't worth the upcharge, even at the reduced rate. People around us were eating far more than we were for the same price. This is the main reason why we only very rarely book specialty dining. I really wish they had à la carte pricing at all of the specialty dining places or a lower-priced option for folks who don't eat much. 

After dinner we went to see the aqua show, Hiro. Usually I would have booked this for the very first night it was offered (which was actually day one on this sailing) but taking the itinerary into consideration, I reckoned there would be a better chance of it not being cancelled on night four when we would be sailing very slowly between Aruba and Curaçao. And also I reckoned it would be warmer and so more enjoyable sitting in the open air.

There were a lot of people in the standby line tonight. We reckoned many of them would have been folks who had had bookings for the previous night's cancelled show. I don't know if they all got in, but the replacement show for them, on night five, did go ahead, so hopefully everyone did get a chance to see it.

Having seen these shows before on Oasis and Harmony, our expectations were high and we weren't disappointed. This was one of the highlights of the cruise. Again; i was too busy watching it to get much in the way of pics. Definitely a do not miss!

 

 

[FionaMG]

Don't you just hate when work interferes with important stuff like cruise blogging? 

I am so glad it's the weekend so I can catch up.

Day Eight - Cruise Day Five - Curaçao

Here is our Symphony parked in Curação.

We were at the pier farthest from the town. I think it was a P&O ship at the closer pier but I'm can't remember for sure.

We were doing another cruise line excursion today, although to be fair it was more of a beach transfer than an actual excursion. I knew this when I booked but there was method in my madness. Firstly, it included a stop at Curaçao artist Nena Sanchez's gallery. I had wanted to go here on our previous two visits to the island but had never managed to make it work for us. And secondly, we wanted to try one of the beaches a bit farther from the port so the cost of the excursion for the two of us was more or less the same as the taxi fare would have been but without the hassle of having to ensure we could get a taxi back to the port afterwards. The beach we went to today was called Cas Abao.

So this was the "Cas Abao Beach and Scenic Drive excursion".

There were two departure times, 8.45 am and 11.45 am. We chose the earlier time, partly so it wouldn't run over lunchtime and partly so we would be able to go back out into town afterwards if we wanted to.

The weather was looking very unfriendly when we set off but at least it wasn't cold and I'm glad to say it eventually cleared up.

First stop at the gallery.

There was a nice expansive view from the top of the staircase leading to the gallery entrance.

Note the little white building in the foreground of this one. Bathrooms! It's tucked away on your right as you approach the gallery entrance so not everyone notices it at first. Ladies, there's only ONE for us, so go there before heading into the gallery to avoid the worst of the queuing once others realise it's there! 

I had not realised that the artist had passed away; I kind of assumed she was still alive and working but apparently she died back in 2017 (the guide found out the year for me). The gallery is run by the artist's older sister, who survived her.

It's mostly just a shop that sells prints of her work but that's what I was looking for. What more genuine souvenir could you get than a picture created by a local artist? In the end I bought two prints set in stiff card that are now gracing a shelf at home. I think if you wanted to buy something bigger or less transportable they would ship it for you but these two fit nicely into my bag. I'm very pleased with them.

After a stop of about 20 minutes at the gallery we headed to the beach, where we would stay for about 3 hours. The excursion included a lounger in a dedicated space, a non-alcoholic drink voucher and a shower token. The space set aside for us was roped off and had enough loungers for everyone in the group. Some had full shade, some partial and some were out in the sun so it's best to try to be at the front of the group as you head onto the sand in order to get the best choice of spot.

This is the third beach we've visited in Curaçao and it is the one I liked best (the others were Mambo Beach and Blue Bay Beach). It's a bit rocky underfoot when you go into the water though, so if you do have water shoes it would be a good idea to bring them.

At the beach there is a bar/snack bar where you can buy drinks and food. We didn't so I can't say what the prices or quality were like but we did see some people in the loungers behind us happily digging in to some generously sized burgers. Next to that is a smaller bar that only has the included waters/sodas, which is where you pick up your included drink. Then you have the bathrooms and showers. The showers are outside and are only really meant for you to rinse off. There was a lady on duty by the showers to turn on the water for you and turn it off again after about 30 seconds so there's no point in taking shampoo and shower gel!  

And there is also what appeared to be a very well equipped dive shop. Details are available on the beach's website. https://casabaobeach.com/facilities/

WiFi is available free in the vicinity of the beach bar and the password was displayed on a poster at the counter. The signal was strong enough that it worked at our loungers, which weren't right next to the bar.

The amount of time we had here - about 3 hours - felt perfect to us. Long enough to actually get settled, relax and go for a dip or two, but not so long that we were bored or getting too hot and frazzled.

On the way back we had a bit of a drama. Smoke starting billowing out around our feet in the bus, accompanied by an electrical burning smell. We and others around us called out to the guide and the driver pulled over. The guide told everyone to get out of the bus and it was good to see that nobody panicked and everyone exited in an orderly fashion. The guide had us all move well away from the bus while the driver investigated. It turned out to be a short circuit in the wiring of the safety lighting and it was deemed safe for us to continue our journey as long as he kept the lights switched off. So we all got back on but had only gone a short distance when the guide told us the company operating the tour (FBTT Travel) was sending out another bus to meet us as they didn't want to take any chances.

After we had changed buses everything went smoothly. We stopped on the way to the port to drop people off who wanted to stay in town and who would later make their own way back. We stayed on the bus as we didn't fancy traipsing around town with all our beach stuff. Plus we were hungry! With these delays we only just made it to the WJ in time for lunch. I heard the maître d' in charge telling the staff at the counters "As soon as these last people (us!) have served themselves, clear everything away!" 

Although we did not go back out again after lunch, there would have been time if we had wanted to, so that's worth bearing in mind if you're not sure whether to get off the bus in town or head back to the ship first.

Tonight's dinner was the Caribbean menu. We think it's an OK one. It wouldn't be our first choice to skip for specialty dining.

Coconut shrimp. Has never disappointed.

DH's pork chop which he said was good but was too big for him to finish. He really liked the plantains although he mistook them for sweet potatoes at first.

Garlic herb-buttered tiger shrimp. One of my favourites. It never looks the same from ship to ship and sailing to sailing but I always enjoy it.

DH's pineapple cake, which he didn't really like, although he didn't say why.

And my all-time favourite classic, the Royal Chocolate Cake. In the past, I would have had this almost every night. I was devastated when they took the classics away in the menu reshuffle. Most of the other desserts I had during the week were second best to this one.

This being Valentine's Day, they had the Love and Marriage Game Show on in the theatre so we went along to that after dinner. It was quite funny but I've seen much better ones. I don't know what it was, I just felt the CD wasn't really interacting very well with the couples.

And after that, and our usual casino and tea & cookies ritual, it was time to head off to bed in readiness for the next day, which would be another sea day.

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Curaçao artist Nena Sanchez

Thank you so much for introducing me to this artist. I really love her work. I just added this to our afternoon walking agenda for the day we are in Curacao (we are diving in the AM). Her style reminds me a bit of a children's author & illustrator I know - Susan Stockdale. I used to babysit for her kids when she was working on her books so she gifted my kids with signed copies when they were born. Something about Sanchez' "Yellow House" appeals to me so I may pick up that print, and I love what you said about purchasing a souvenir created by a local artist. Do you happen to know if the prices were on par with what they would be if you order online?

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Tonight's dinner was the Caribbean menu. We think it's an OK one. It wouldn't be our first choice to skip for specialty dining.

I am desperately trying to figure out what the menu order is for our cruise later this month so I know the best day to go to Wonderland (preferably Italian night but also not a huge fan of Caribbean night). The activities populated, so I can see dress suggestions for each night - I know night 2 and 7 are formal & dress your best. I believe usually the Dress Your Best is also Royal Night with the lobster - was that your experience? Was A Taste of Italy also White Night (I've seen a few jokes about this in trip reports)? I don't think our meals are accurate in the app planner...

EDIT: I reread and you did say that white night was not Italian, but also that your menus are different b/c of Superbowl so never mind! Italy question rescinded...

[jbrinkm]

I will say, though, looking at that Royal Chocolate cake, that I might try to make our Wonderland night the same as Italian night rather than Caribbean. Also, my husband, son and parents are all huge shrimp fans so they might be upset with me if I make them skip Caribbean night...

[FionaMG]

24 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

Thank you so much for introducing me to this artist. I really love her work. I just added this to our afternoon walking agenda for the day we are in Curacao (we are diving in the AM). Her style reminds me a bit of a children's author & illustrator I know - Susan Stockdale. I used to babysit for her kids when she was working on her books so she gifted my kids with signed copies when they were born. Something about Sanchez' "Yellow House" appeals to me so I may pick up that print, and I love what you said about purchasing a souvenir created by a local artist. Do you happen to know if the prices were on par with what they would be if you order online?

I am desperately trying to figure out what the menu order is for our cruise later this month so I know the best day to go to Wonderland (preferably Italian night but also not a huge fan of Caribbean night). The activities populated, so I can see dress suggestions for each night - I know night 2 and 7 are formal & dress your best. I believe usually the Dress Your Best is also Royal Night with the lobster - was that your experience? Was A Taste of Italy also White Night (I've seen a few jokes about this in trip reports)? I don't think our meals are accurate in the app planner...

The colours were what particularly drew me to her work. So bright and cheerful.

The prints I bought are mounted on what feels to be good quality card, size including the card is 20 cm x 25 cm. They cost $20 each. I also saw some posters at $10. I don't see either of these on the website so if you were looking for something small then I guess the shop would be your place. There were lots of other prints in varying sizes and formats but I didn't price them so don't know how they'd compare.

On our cruise, the theme nights and menus were skewed by the fact that Super Bowl was on night two. That would normally have been the first formal night with the French menu and the Italian night would have been on night three. They switched these two around. White night was the Mexican night on night four when we were in Aruba. And the Caribbean night was on night five, when we were in Curaçao. However I can't be sure if white night is usually Mexican or if that was another switch caused by Super Bowl.

Dress your best is indeed Royal Night with lobster. The lobster is TINY. I didn't have it but DH did and once it was shelled there was practically nothing of it.

The meals in the app were all over the place before our cruise too. In theory, they're supposed to reflect the menus on the current cruise but I found that not to be the case. They were showing menus for a 7-night cruise rather than an 8-night.

Between the Italian and the Caribbean menus, I would definitely skip the Italian one. However, on our cruise we also had Mexican and British, which we thought were the worst of all, so those were the ones we skipped when we did specialty.

[FionaMG]

45 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

I will say, though, looking at that Royal Chocolate cake, that I might try to make our Wonderland night the same as Italian night rather than Caribbean. Also, my husband, son and parents are all huge shrimp fans so they might be upset with me if I make them skip Caribbean night...

I think it showed up on another too, maybe the British night which we skipped to go to Hooked.

[jbrinkm]

4 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

On our cruise, the theme nights and menus were skewed by the fact that Super Bowl was on night two. That would normally have been the first formal night with the French menu and the Italian night would have been on night three. They switched these two around. White night was the Mexican night on night four when we were in Aruba. And the Caribbean night was on night five, when we were in Curaçao. However I can't be sure if white night is usually Mexican or if that was another switch caused by Super Bowl.

The other issue is that my itinerary is in a different order than yours, so I just really have no idea. I remember a RC blog article saying Caribbean night is your first night in a Caribbean port, but does Labadee count? Or is it Aruba? For ours, it makes a difference because we do Labadee first. I really wish they would let you know the order ahead of time...

[FionaMG]

Just now, jbrinkm said:

The other issue is that my itinerary is in a different order than yours, so I just really have no idea. I remember a RC blog article saying Caribbean night is your first night in a Caribbean port, but does Labadee count? Or is it Aruba? For ours, it makes a difference because we do Labadee first. I really wish they would let you know the order ahead of time...

Yes, it is very frustrating. That was the calculation I used too, expecting Caribbean night to be on the night we were in Aruba. And then in the end it was the night after that when we were in Curaçao. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. I missed the mark with both of our specialty bookings and had to change them both but I had no trouble doing that other than that you have to go to the actual restaurant to do it.

[DDaley]

On 3/2/2024 at 10:54 AM, FionaMG said:

What more genuine souvenir could you get than a picture created by a local artist?

Love these choices! I always try to buy art as my souvenirs. Usually I can only afford prints but a couple places I have been able to get originals. We’re going to Amsterdam, Germany, France and Switzerland this summer and I’m hoping to add 2-4 A3’s to my staircase travel art collection! 

[FionaMG]

Day Nine - Cruise Day Six - At Sea

Since this was another sea day and we didn't have anything pressing to do, we had our one and only MDR breakfast. We arrived just before 9 am and there was a very long line of people waiting for two-tops. We agreed we didn't mind sharing and so were seated pretty much immediately with seven other guests. We enjoyed chatting with all of them over the course of our lengthy breakfast. And it was LENGTHY. It took ages for our orders to be taken and then the food came out in dribs and drabs, with some items clearly being ready for the waiters to grab and others having to be made.

The menu.

DH ordered the Bagel and Lox with a side of sautéed mushrooms and hash browns. His bagel presumably was one of the grab and go items because it came out pretty quickly. His sides didn't come out until much later, along with the other cooked stuff, so you couldn't really call them "sides" by the time he actually got to eat them. 

I ordered the breakfast power wrap. I absolutely love this and it's why I always insist on going to the MDR for breakfast at least once because I've never found them anywhere else. Today's did not disappoint. Highly yummy stuff.

The morning was spent doing typical day at sea activities (loosely translated as not a lot). Here a few pics from around the ship.

As usual we had lunch in the WJ and today was the one and only time I took a lunchtime food pic. Only because a friend from home messaged me just as I sat down to ask if I was having any yummy food today. 

Chicken and mushroom pot pie. It's exactly the same as the one they serve on British night in the MDR. It was very good.

As we wandered onto the Boardwalk after lunch we realised that there was a show going on, actually just ending, in the Aqua Theatre. This was NOT in the compass but when I checked I found it in the app, so that's something to bear in mind if, like me, you tend to prefer the paper compass. As it turned out, the show, which was called something like Aqua Nation was repeated again a couple of hours later so we were able to see it. No reservations needed.

The pictures don't do it justice. It's every bit as good a show as the evening ones.

This was Royal - aka Lobster - Night in the MDR.

Avocado and melon salad, nice enough and refreshing:

I decided not to bother with the lobster tail since we'd already had lobster at 150 CP and would be having it again at Hooked. DH did order it and by the time Stanley had shelled it for him there was practically nothing left. It was the teeniest tiniest lobster tail I have ever seen and did not even deserve to have its photo taken.

I ordered the spicy shrimp jalfrezi. Like all of the Indian dishes it wasn't really spicy but it was tasty anyway.

Desserts were Baked Alaska, one of DH's favourites

And the warm chocolate cake, one of the better renderings of this that I've had on recent cruises.

After dinner we went to the headliner showtime starring Finis Henderson. I had never heard of him but he appears to be quite well known. The show was OK but I found it a bit off-putting that he was only singing bits of songs. I would have much preferred him to perform the whole song.

And that was another day done and dusted. Only two more to go before they made us get off their boat.  

 

 

[FionaMG]

9 minutes ago, DDaley said:

Love these choices! I always try to buy art as my souvenirs. Usually I can only afford prints but a couple places I have been able to get originals. We’re going to Amsterdam, Germany, France and Switzerland this summer and I’m hoping to add 2-4 A3’s to my staircase travel art collection! 

That will be amazing. I hope you're able to find some good ones. 

[jbrinkm]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

Here a few pics from around the ship.

The pool deck doesn't seem that overcrowded...

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

I ordered the breakfast power wrap

I'm so glad you were able to get this! I remember it is your favorite. Are they still offering lunch in the MDR? Did you see brunch as an option for any of the days?

[FionaMG]

29 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

The pool deck doesn't seem that overcrowded...

I'm so glad you were able to get this! I remember it is your favorite. Are they still offering lunch in the MDR? Did you see brunch as an option for any of the days?

On the whole the ship did not seem overcrowded except perhaps on the first day when everyone was still lost and milling about trying to find their way.

One thing that I did notice was that we would wait significantly longer for the lifts in the aft section than in the forward section. Since our room was quite close to the forward lifts we often used them even when we were heading aft because the extra distance was more than offset by the shorter wait time.

They had lunch twice and brunch twice. I think the brunch was on the first and last sea days and the lunch was on the two middle sea days but I'm not 100% sure.

[Sweety]

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Day Nine - Cruise Day Six - At Sea

Since this was another sea day and we didn't have anything pressing to do, we had our one and only MDR breakfast. We arrived just before 9 am and there was a very long line of people waiting for two-tops. We agreed we didn't mind sharing and so were seated pretty much immediately with seven other guests. We enjoyed chatting with all of them over the course of our lengthy breakfast. And it was LENGTHY. It took ages for our orders to be taken and then the food came out in dribs and drabs, with some items clearly being ready for the waiters to grab and others having to be made.

The menu.

DH ordered the Bagel and Lox with a side of sautéed mushrooms and hash browns. His bagel presumably was one of the grab and go items because it came out pretty quickly. His sides didn't come out until much later, along with the other cooked stuff, so you couldn't really call them "sides" by the time he actually got to eat them. 

I ordered the breakfast power wrap. I absolutely love this and it's why I always insist on going to the MDR for breakfast at least once because I've never found them anywhere else. Today's did not disappoint. Highly yummy stuff.

The morning was spent doing typical day at sea activities (loosely translated as not a lot). Here a few pics from around the ship.

As usual we had lunch in the WJ and today was the one and only time I took a lunchtime food pic. Only because a friend from home messaged me just as I sat down to ask if I was having any yummy food today. 

Chicken and mushroom pot pie. It's exactly the same as the one they serve on British night in the MDR. It was very good.

As we wandered onto the Boardwalk after lunch we realised that there was a show going on, actually just ending, in the Aqua Theatre. This was NOT in the compass but when I checked I found it in the app, so that's something to bear in mind if, like me, you tend to prefer the paper compass. As it turned out, the show, which was called something like Aqua Nation was repeated again a couple of hours later so we were able to see it. No reservations needed.

The pictures don't do it justice. It's every bit as good a show as the evening ones.

This was Royal - aka Lobster - Night in the MDR.

Avocado and melon salad, nice enough and refreshing:

I decided not to bother with the lobster tail since we'd already had lobster at 150 CP and would be having it again at Hooked. DH did order it and by the time Stanley had shelled it for him there was practically nothing left. It was the teeniest tiniest lobster tail I have ever seen and did not even deserve to have its photo taken.

I ordered the spicy shrimp jalfrezi. Like all of the Indian dishes it wasn't really spicy but it was tasty anyway.

Desserts were Baked Alaska, one of DH's favourites

And the warm chocolate cake, one of the better renderings of this that I've had on recent cruises.

After dinner we went to the headliner showtime starring Finis Henderson. I had never heard of him but he appears to be quite well known. The show was OK but I found it a bit off-putting that he was only singing bits of songs. I would have much preferred him to perform the whole song.

And that was another day done and dusted. Only two more to go before they made us get off their boat.  

 

 

Finis Henderson is from Chicago. His Godfather was Sammy Davis Jr. Every time I see him, he is always asking about Chicago. He grew up on the southside of Chicago with Nat King Cole. His father was a jazz musician. I am glad he is still performing with Royal.

[OCSC Mike]

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

And the warm chocolate cake, one of the better renderings of this that I've had on recent cruises.

By far my wife's favorite dessert on Allure in October. She had two. That dessert alone makes that the top choice MDR night for us, lol.

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I decided not to bother with the lobster tail since we'd already had lobster at 150 CP and would be having it again at Hooked. DH did order it and by the time Stanley had shelled it for him there was practically nothing left. It was the teeniest tiniest lobster tail I have ever seen and did not even deserve to have its photo taken.

I ordered the spicy shrimp jalfrezi. Like all of the Indian dishes it wasn't really spicy but it was tasty anyway.

I always thought the old lobster was super overrated even if you could order several... sad that it's still underwhelming (I haven't seen it in person). I would normally feel obligated to order it anyway but I'm beginning to think I should follow your lead b/c I usually order whatever the Indian dish is and I've never had that one.

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

It was the teeniest tiniest lobster tail I have ever seen and did not even deserve to have its photo taken.

I remember them small but maybe not THAT small. My husband ended up with 4 (well 3 1/2) which made him very happy because my daughter and I don't like/eat lobster so we gave it as our 2nd entree directly to him and my son ordered one, tried it, and wanted no more of it so also passed it along. These new cold water ones were supposed to be tastier from what I remember reading, than the larger warm water ones. 

[FionaMG]

37 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

By far my wife's favorite dessert on Allure in October. She had two. That dessert alone makes that the top choice MDR night for us, lol.

I always thought the old lobster was super overrated even if you could order several... sad that it's still underwhelming (I haven't see it in person). I would normally feel obligated to order it anyway but I'm beginning to think I should follow your lead b/c I usually order whatever the Indian dish is and I've never had that one.

I hadn't had it before either precisely because it's offered on lobster night but I'm glad I chose it. What I might do going forward is order the teeny tiny lobster and the shrimp jalfrezi.

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, FionaMG said:

I hadn't had it before either precisely because it's offered on lobster night but I'm glad I chose it. What I might do going forward is order the teeny tiny lobster and the shrimp jalfrezi.

Good call, that's probably the correct answer... I mean, shrimp and lobster are a natural pairing anyway. So what if one is from Maine and the other is from India?

[FionaMG]

Just now, OCSC Mike said:

Good call, that's probably the correct answer... I mean, shrimp and lobster are a natural pairing anyway. So what if one is from Maine and the other is from India?

We live in a global world, right?!

[FionaMG]

Day Ten - Cruise Day Seven - Labadee

Welcome to Labadee

This was our third visit to Labadee. The previous two were pre-Covid on Navigator and Adventure. Like today, we were the only ship there on those occasions, but I did notice that it was much busier today, given how many more passengers Symphony holds over the other two. I'm glad there wasn't another ship here along with us.

The first thing we did was head up to the lookout point where you can get a pic of the whole ship.

They have added a "picture frame" in this spot since our last visit.

I am actually quite surprised that there are no ship photographers up here.

We took the tram to Columbus Cove. We like that spot because the beach is not at all rocky and you get an amazing view of the ship.

You can see the Aqua Park (can't remember the name) in the foreground in this one. It didn't look like it was getting much use. Maybe they were charging too much for it?

There were several places to get lunch. They have different opening hours so it's wise to keep that in mind. The Columbus Café, where we were, had the shortest opening hours, from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm. We enjoyed the food. It's hardly gourmet but it was tasty. We went at 1 pm and there were no lines and plenty of space at the tables by then.

After lunch we slowly wandered back towards the ship, taking a few more pictures on the way. This is still Columbus Cove but looking down on it from just past the waterslide. This is the route to take if you want to walk back from Columbus Cove avoiding the rather aggressive vendors at the market stalls.

We stopped at Adrenaline Beach for a bit to watch the zipliners. The entrance to the water at this beach is rocky underfoot, so if you plan on staying here it's a good idea to bring water shoes, if you have them. There is also more movement in the water than at Columbus as it open rather than being a sheltered cove.

Back at the ship.

Tonight we had the second of our two specialty dinners and it was at Hooked. This was a very good meal and our server Pupae was outstanding, one of the very best servers we have had on all of our cruises. We told her we had never been to Hooked before and she very patiently explained all the dishes, made sure we understood what we were ordering and explained how to eat the soft shell crab, which we had never had before. You could just tell she had found her vocation. I was told that she also works in the Coastal Kitchen at lunchtimes. We had a show this evening, so she also made sure we were ready in time for that.

Menu

Soft shell crab. I'm glad I tried them but I'm not sure I'd bother having them again.

Maryland crab cake. I have no way of knowing if this is the real thing or not, but it was good anyway.

Hand tossed salad. A salad is a salad is a salad, right? But, actually, it was very good.

Captain's platter. We were offered the choice of halibut or salmon and we chose the halibut. It was very good.

Royal Platter. This was good too but I don't think I'd order it again purely because it was just a bit too much fried stuff for my liking.

By this time we were stuffed and didn't have room for dessert, so Pupae had it prepared for us to go and we took it back to our room to have after the show as a bedtime snack. To be honest, this was the weakest part of the meal. The lemon tart lived up to its name and was so tart that neither of us liked it. And the coconut cream pie was meh. Oh well, you live and learn. Next time I'll have the brownie. 

The show tonight was Flight. Oddly, I don't seem to have taken any pictures of it. I guess it was ok and the plane flying out over the audience was pretty cool, but I guess I'm just a bit old-fashioned when it comes to the shows. I like having a nightly production show with the singers and dancers, or magicians and jugglers and stuff, rather than trying to figure out a story line that doesn't really exist, so I would have to say this wasn't my favourite although I didn't fall asleep unlike someone else. 

And that brought another day to a close so we headed off to bed in readiness for our last full day, which would would be spent at sea.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

We took the tram to Columbus Cove. We like that spot because the beach is not at all rocky and you get an amazing view of the ship

This is where I like to spend my Labadee day too!  Views are great…lots of available chairs and umbrellas…water is calm and if you are lucky you can grab one of the anchored floats in the water!  Close to bathroom, bar, and food.

BTW your pictures are great!

[FionaMG]

Day Eleven - Cruise Day Eight - At Sea

Today was our last day and it was spent at sea. I do like having a sea day as the last day of a cruise as you don't have the dreaded P-word hanging over you while trying to enjoy a port.

After breakfast we attended Captain's Corner, which is something we like to do on all of our cruises.

Ship handout.

I wish they still handed out the officers' biography sheet like they used to in the past but sadly those are long gone. 

This was followed by the repetition of the Anchors Aweigh parade in the promenade. We were early enough to grab spots on the overlook at the photo shop. If you don't mind standing, this is a great spot because you can see all the way down the promenade and most of action takes place in the wider section of the promenade just below that overlook. For those unfamiliar with the ship, it's at the top of the stairs right beside the Next Cruise office, opposite Guest Services.

View from the overlook.

For lunch today, we did Izumi Hibachi, which I had nabbed during that C&A dining sale I mentioned earlier.

I knew what to expect since I had been to a restaurant like this a few years back with a friend but it was all new to DH. In the end, the interaction with the chef was something of a let-down for me as he didn't quite seem to click with the group but since DH had nothing to compare it to he was more than happy.

We had deliberately had a light breakfast so we would actually be hungry by what to us was an early lunchtime: 12.30 pm, which was the latest slot available.

The menu.

It is the exact same menu as dinner but at a much cheaper price and there is no extra charge for choosing a premium item over a classic one. We decided to do the Samurai and the Origami combos, so we could try two different things.

The edamame beans which are included. We didn't eat these. I tried one and couldn't see the appeal. When the lady next to us asked if we were going to eat them we happily slid them over to her. 

Before the main part of the meal, the server brought round salad bowls, which everyone else around the table starting tucking into immediately. I set mine aside to eat along with the rest of the food, as a side, and at one point the server said to me, "Let me take that away for you". So I had to explain that I hadn't set it aside because I didn't want it. 

We enjoyed watching the preparation of the fried rice and again I set mine aside after a few mouthfuls. Another lady at the table did the same, saying she didn't want to fill up on rice. It is a lot of food so it's definitely worth taking things easy early on!

The chef preparing the main part of the meal.

The origami combo. This is the one with chicken and shrimp. Our other one, with beef tenderloin, essentially looked the same, except the meat was obviously darker. Both were good but I would have to say, unless you don't like beef, go with the tenderloin. It really lived up to its name. It was so tender and tasty.

We ordered the green tea ice cream and the sesame balls for dessert, neither of which we were particularly thrilled about but we were stuffed anyway so it didn't really matter. Next time, though, I'll go for the chocolate lava cake (you may be seeing a pattern here ).

It was a really lovely afternoon on this final sea day. The strong wind that had been with us for most of the cruise had finally decided to call it a day and we got a last few hours of glorious sunshine up on the top deck before reluctantly heading back to the room to pack.

Tonight's dinner was the Bon Voyage menu. I find the name of this menu somewhat perplexing. To me it's something you'd say to someone at the start of a trip, not at the end and although I understand the meaning behind it I think they should have named it Farewell instead. That's what they used to call the final night's dinner on DH's ships back in the day. In my opinion, this is one of the better menus.

My pan-seared asparagus, which I really like.

DH's seafood cake. He liked the cake but wasn't such a fan of the garlic mayonnaise as it was a touch too spicy for his liking.

My chicken chettinad. I've had this before on Anthem and Odyssey and it is the spiciest of all the Indian dishes I've had on board. It's not very spicy though, just enough so you can feel it.

DH's Mediterranean steak, which he enjoyed although he wasn't impressed with the sauce.

My black forest tart with a side of ice cream. Note that on some ships they call this Vegan Cherry Chocolate Tart, so I don't know if they are the same thing (they taste the same to me) or if the reason for having different names is that there's something different about them.

And DH's layered peach trifle. He actually didn't order this. In fact, he didn't order any dessert tonight but Stanley reckoned he should at least have one to try and brought this out on his own initiative. Good call. The dish went back empty and DH said it was very nice. 

There was another ice skating show in Studio B this evening, called iSkate 2.0, no reservations required, so I went along to that. DH, on the other hand, decided he couldn't be bothered and would rather stay in the casino. After the ice skating show, which was every bit as good as the other one and definitely worth seeing, I found DH sitting at exactly the same machine still playing and absolutely delighted with himself. He'd been on a winning streak and got up to $70 in winnings at one point. (You have to understand here that he's not a high-roller. He looks for a machine with as low a minimum bid as he can find and then plays a $20 bill until the machine has eaten it all up.) By the time I caught up with him after the ice show he'd lost some of it again but was still up $50 when he sensibly called it a night while he was ahead. I don't see us ever getting a free casino cruise but at least we finished off our last evening on a high! 

 

[FionaMG]

Day Twelve - Cruise Day Nine - Eviction 

And so the dreaded disembarkation day had finally rolled around.

We were up at 6 am so we would have time to have our final breakfast without rushing. The WJ was busy as expected but not a complete zoo.

Afterwards we headed to our meeting point in Studio B.

We had tag no. 1 as we were booked on the Everglades excursion with drop-off at Miami Airport. Since our flights back across the pond are usually late afternoon, we find this is as convenient a way as any to get to the airport and not have to spend ages there. On this particular occasion, however, our flight was much later; it was not due to depart from Miami until 11.50 pm, so that was still going to be a lot of hanging around the airport. The plan that we came up with was, on arrival at the airport, dump our bags at the left luggage facility and head into Bayside for a wander and dinner, returning in time to check in for our flight.

On paper this should have worked nicely. In reality we were very badly let down by the weather and it all went a bit pear-shaped. When I checked the weather forecast the evening before it said it was going to be raining in Miami for the whole entire day. Well, of course, we scoffed at that. Showers, for sure, nothing new in Miami, but the whole entire day? Nah. Wrong. Yes. The WHOLE ENTIRE day.

When we got off the ship the sky was like lead. However, the rain kept off all the way to the airboat place, which was the Everglades Holiday Park. We were very relieved to see that the boats had roofs as the last couple of times we've done this trip they were open. I don't know if they maybe have different boats that they use depending on the weather.

Ours was the second boat of the day and the rain started when we were half way through the ride. The wildlife was all in hiding except for a single grey heron and by the time we got off the boat it was pelting. The boat ride was followed by a show, which fortunately was also under cover but with such heavy rain we weren't able to spend the remainder of our time there out in the open. Meanwhile more and more buses were arriving and everyone was packing into the small sheltered area while they waited for what would undoubtedly be rather miserable rides. I felt sorry for anyone who was doing this for the first time because it's really fun if the weather's good and you get to see some wildlife.

Consequently, the only picture we have of this excursion is the free one taken at the park just before we got on the airboat. Still smiling here cos it's not raining yet!

Since everyone was back at the bus way ahead of time, we arrived at the airport way ahead of time. It was midday when they dropped us so we now had nearly 12 hours to kill and it was still pouring. Obviously leaving our luggage and heading into Miami in the pouring rain wasn't going to happen but to make matters worse, the airport was rammed and there were people everywhere, sitting on their suitcases or strewn all over the floor.

It was then that I remembered the hotel inside Miami Airport. Many years ago, we had had lunch there and I remembered it being a much pleasanter spot than the airport concourse. It was very poorly signposted but we eventually managed to find it and made our way up there. It's in concourse E and the restaurant is called Vienna.

This is the view from the window out over the runway, so you can see what an awful day it was.

Anyway, we had the turkey club sandwich for lunch and it was pretty decent and kept us entertained for a while.

In the same area as the restaurant, they have a small lounge corner and a bar, and you have access to the hotel's free wifi. So that is where we spent the whole day. The rain never let up and we eventually had dinner there too before heading back into the airport to check in for our flight.

Pepperoni flabread.

I can tell you that if you ever get stuck for hours at Miami Airport, you could do much worse than spend the time here. It was quiet and comfortable and saved us from having an absolutely miserable last day.

It was STILL raining when our flight eventually left at 1.10 am, so we were pretty tired and I have to say that having the flight depart at a time that did actually equate to bedtime meant that I managed to get some sleep, so that was actually a plus. Apart from being a bit bumpy due to the very strong tailwinds, the journey back across the pond was uneventful. We only had a couple of hours layover in Lisbon and arrived back home early evening local time less tired than we usually are precisely because of getting a good few hours sleep. I would book that late flight again for this very reason.

And that brings our Symphony Super Bowl Birthday Bash cruise to an end. It was very enjoyable, expectations were largely met and I can't wait for the next one! 

Thanks to everyone for following along. It's very much appreciated and I hope to do another in the not too distant future.

[WAAAYTOOO]

You write such a nice blog, @FionaMG.  I truly do enjoy them very much.  Thank you !

[OCSC Mike]

6 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

You write such a nice blog, @FionaMG.  I truly do enjoy them very much.  Thank you !

Agreed. I feel like this is the organized, polished version of how to write long, daily recaps. Not my long-winded ramblings in the middle of the cruise, lol.

I already told @FionaMG I plan to go back through the MDR info and pics before we leave Sunday.

[FionaMG]

Aw thank you very much for your kind words @WAAAYTOOO and @OCSC Mike .

I've always enjoyed writing and to be able to combine it with cruising, which I also love (can you tell? ), is a win-win for me.

[FionaMG]

12 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Not my long-winded ramblings in the middle of the cruise, lol.

The thing with doing a "live" report is that it eats into your time on board, time that you want to be spending with the people you're cruising with. I've done a couple of lives and it's hard work because you need to try and find a balance between your phyiscal companions and your virtual ones. If you notice that it's becoming a chore rather than a pleasure, then you should take that as a sign that it's time to stop. You can always continue it afterwards as a recap if you want to.

My strategy for a live report is to split it into two sessions, one in the morning when I post the Compass, acknowledge replies from other posters and answer any questions, if I can. The second is in the evening, in my case when DH is having his casino time, so it doesn't clash with time that we want to spend doing something together. At that time, I'll post a bit about what we've done during the day along with the MDR dinner menu and the obligatory food porn pics. That helps keep the whole thing under control because otherwise it can get out of hand and you find yourself spending more time writing on your blog than actually doing stuff on the cruise.

That said, I think if I were doing a solo cruise (never done one), I would probably spend more time blogging as my time would be all my own and I wouldn't be missing out on time spent with my travel companions.

 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

The thing with doing a "live" report is that it eats into your time on board, time that you want to be spending with the people you're cruising with. I've done a couple of lives and it's hard work because you need to try and find a balance between your phyiscal companions and your virtual ones. If you notice that it's becoming a chore rather than a pleasure, then you should take that as a sign that it's time to stop. You can always continue it afterwards as a recap if you want to.

Agreed. I used to just do recaps after I got home like you did (at that other site). I have a pretty epic one from our 18-day land/sea trip to Alaska from 2018. It's extremely long but warranted in that case given the trip length and amount of activities.

I was fine doing my Wonder live blog when we were with extended family in a suite in June b/c there was a lot of down time just hanging out on the suite sun deck. When it's just me and my wife, we do spend time lounging in the Solarium, but like you said, it can feel too much like a chore. That's why I'm going to try to follow the style of others... just make shorter posts here and there and include some food pics. The catch is short posts don't come naturally to me and I don't normally take pics, lol, so we'll see how it goes.

[foxrunner]

On 3/4/2024 at 3:10 PM, jbrinkm said:

 

I'm so glad you were able to get this! I remember it is your favorite. Are they still offering lunch in the MDR? Did you see brunch as an option for any of the days?

@FionaMG Does the Power Wrap come with salsa and avocado like the breakfast burrito or did you request the sides?  

[FionaMG]

13 minutes ago, foxrunner said:

@FionaMG Does the Power Wrap come with salsa and avocado like the breakfast burrito or did you request the sides?  

I didn't request the sides; they just brought it to me like that.

However, it may be ship and/or sailing dependent because the previous times I've had it, all of which were on Anthem, it did not have as many sides.

September 2022:

April 2023:

And July 2023:

So the one on Symphony was the best as it came with lots of sides. I expect you could ask for them if they don't come out straight away. The salsa was really good.

[foxrunner]

12 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I didn't request the sides; they just brought it to me like that.

However, it may be ship and/or sailing dependent because the previous times I've had it, all of which were on Anthem, it did not have as many sides.

September 2022:

April 2023:

And July 2023:

So the one on Symphony was the best as it came with lots of sides. I expect you could ask for them if they don't come out straight away. The salsa was really good.

The sides are the reason I love the burrito. I have been meaning to try the power wrap based on your excellent advice. Our next is on Icon in April so we will see. We are not doing any specialty dinning and I love the MDR for breakfast. We rarely eat out at home so MDR just feels better than the Windjammer.  

[FionaMG]

10 minutes ago, foxrunner said:

The sides are the reason I love the burrito. I have been meaning to try the power wrap based on your excellent advice. Our next is on Icon in April so we will see. We are not doing any specialty dinning and I love the MDR for breakfast. We rarely eat out at home so MDR just feels better than the Windjammer.  

I really enjoy the MDR for breakfast too but, unfortunately for me, DH gets antsy sitting waiting for his food to arrive so most of the time we just head to the WJ.

One thing to bear in mind is that the power wrap is not included in the brunch menu that some ships have recently been offering on sea days, so if you want to try it you need to go on a day when it's the full breakfast menu.