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Symphony OTS Live! - Transatlantic Oct. 28, 2018 "Coming to America"


twangster

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11 hours ago, twangster said:

Since I'm staying in a boardwalk balcony cabin, one free meal at Johnny Rockets is included for up to four guests. 

Is this a standard on all Oasis ships? Does the Soda come with the free meal?
Although I am slowly turning into a vegetarian, the burger looks delicious!

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1 hour ago, GoodSmith said:

Is this a standard on all Oasis ships? Does the Soda come with the free meal?
Although I am slowly turning into a vegetarian, the burger looks delicious!

If you stay in a Boardwalk balcony cabin you get the soda package including a Freestyle cup and a one time coupon for a meal at JR for four.  

Just buying a soda package in any other cabin does not include the meal at JR.  

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Day 10 - Dinner

Playmakers

I've heard good things about the food at Playmakers and after ordering the sliders in the Mariner's Playmakers I thought I'd eat dinner here in Playmakers on Symphony tonight.

Menu

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The Hamburger.

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The hamburger is very good.  It is not a Windjammer hamburger with a different bun.  It's more of homemade looking cooked to order hamburger with two patties. 

Way back on day 3 I was up early and took some pictures of Playmakers in the morning when it was empty.

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While Mariner's Playmakers had only the fleet standard draft beers, Symphony's Playmakers has some additional draft options.

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In terms of the question... "Is my game/sport/tournament going to be available on TV?" The answer is... it depends.  

Sports content is licensed and no company can display sports content without acquiring a license to do so (a.k.a pay money).  Royal Caribbean can't steal or pirate the signal and display it onboard.  

What they can do is approach their TV provider Global Eagle and request the cost for a broadcast license.  There is a lot that goes into that request including the ship's position. 

For example, last Saturday while we were in the middle of the Atlantic, the ship could not acquire a license to display NCAA sports.  NCAA strictly controls broadcast rights and NCAA football was not available in Playmakers.  However what several people did was to bring a tablet or phone and watch their favorite team on their own device using a paid Voom Surf and Stream plan while sitting in Playmakers.

That will be different when the ship is in the Caribbean which NCAA in general allows as a region to enjoy their content.

NFL football was available but like other ships they don't tend to display every game that it is active at any given moment.  Using a tablet and a paid Voom account is always a good backup plan if your game/sport/tournament is important to you.

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Day 10 - HiRO Take 2

From my Boardwalk balcony I noted that the wet zone in the Aqua Theater was pretty empty as tonight's first showing of HiRO was filling up.

I threw on some shorts and a water shirt and headed to the standby line.  

It was amazing near the front of the theater like I was the only person in the theater.  Seeing the performers up close was pretty special.

I won't include all the same pictures but here are a few just so you see what the front row in the wet zone is like.

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8 hours ago, twangster said:

In terms of the question... "Is my game/sport/tournament going to be available on TV?" The answer is... it depends.  

Sports content is licensed and no company can display sports content without acquiring a license to do so (a.k.a pay money).  Royal Caribbean can't steal or pirate the signal and display it onboard.  

What they can do is approach their TV provider Global Eagle and request the cost for a broadcast license.  There is a lot that goes into that request including the ship's position. 

For example, last Saturday while we were in the middle of the Atlantic, the ship could not acquire a license to display NCAA sports.  NCAA strictly controls broadcast rights and NCAA football was not available in Playmakers.  However what several people did was to bring a tablet or phone and watch their favorite team on their own device using a paid Voom Surf and Stream plan while sitting in Playmakers.

Great explanation!

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WOW. Just WOW. Thanks for another amazing live blog @twangster. They're so legendary I see you even have fan accounts popping up! Haha that's awesome.

That tour of Central Park was really cool. Is this something offered on all ships? I hope to do the same on Harmony. Can't wait to see both Flight and HiRo as well one day when I can make it on Symphony. Both look incredible.

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Since Royal has ended it's relationship with Michael Schwartz the menu at 150 Central Park will be different going forward.  

While I didn't eat there this cruise, I saw the menus in the lounge and I am including them here along with the Jamie's Italian since that menu varies slightly ship to ship.

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Wine list

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Desert Menu

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Jamie's Italian - Dinner Menu

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Day 11 - Sea Day

Breakfast in the MDR this morning.  Given the large numbers on this sailing, deck 4 has been set aside for Diamond and Diamond Plus.

Breakfast menu for the MDR

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Solarium Bar update

It looks complete at this point.

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Caulking in between glass panels was added last night.

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Did someone ask for some pool pictures?

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Do you remember day one I showed my balcony pictures and the obstruction from the black bag that hangs across the boardwalk behind the Abyss?

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It turns that contains a fishing net that is part of the HiRO Aqua show.  It's function is artistic only.  At the end of the show it flies out in the air over the Aqua Theater and remains suspended in the air as guests are walking out of the show.  It's secondary function is to turn premium boardwalk balconies into obstructed boardwalk balconies. 

Here on day 11 they have lowered the fishing net and it's bag down to the floor for maintenance and the glorious unobstructed views aft returned (for a few hours at least).  I can actually see all of the aqua pool and stage now!  I can see ocean sitting in my balcony chair!

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It actually make a huge difference in the boardwalk balcony experience.

After 11 days this is my only gripe with the cruise.  I guess that's not bad.  

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Sugar Beach

A first for Oasis class we have space to dedicated to anything that contains sugar.  

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Located on the Boardwalk right next to the Carousel.  

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Sugar Beach is a self serve fill a bag to your hearts delight pay by the pound candy store.

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Take a bag, fill it with whatever you want and place it on the scales.  $11 per pound.  

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You don't have to spend $11 if you want a lesser amount of candy.  

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They also serve ice cream and sundaes.

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1 scoop $3, 2 scoops $4.50, 3 scoops $5.75.  Sugar cone or bowl.

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Plus they have some stuffed animals.

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2 minutes ago, Jennifer.Bogue said:

THE ABYSS ISN'T A WATER SLIDE??!??

Nope, that threw me for a loop, too! It's a dry slide, and based on @twangster's photos it seems you go down using some kind of sack or cloth to sit on and put your feet in. Reminds me of the Giant Slide at Dutch Wonderland in PA.

Fun Fact -- On one of the group cruises that sailed on Harmony, the gang doing the pub crawl used the Ultimate Abyss to get down to the next bar on the route! ?

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oH my goodness! Thank you so much for this blog update!  It's been fun reading it all day today!  It's definitely getting us more excited about our cruise next month...on the Independence.  So many great photos and LOTS of great information! We're excited to keep building our points up!

 

And thanks for answering all my questions! 

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17 hours ago, twangster said:

See this blog post:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/questions/what-wow-band

They are now only complimentary in suites, otherwise $5 each, unless you can trade in one from a past cruise.

 

So I am assuming it is similar to the Disney Magic Bands?...but for those of us who are not in suites, we can purchase one to have/wear instead of carrying our sea pass card around with us?  It would take the place of the sea pass card? 

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17 minutes ago, Jennifer.Bogue said:

So I am assuming it is similar to the Disney Magic Bands?...but for those of us who are not in suites, we can purchase one to have/wear instead of carrying our sea pass card around with us?  It would take the place of the sea pass card? 

Yes, it is sort of like the Magic Bands in that you can purchase with them and get in/out of your room. You will still need your seapass card to get on/off the ship.  And it's $5 if you are not in a JS or above.  But Indy doesn't have them (you mentioned that was your next cruise).  Only Harmony/Symphony and Quantum class ships at the moment.

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18 minutes ago, Jennifer.Bogue said:

So I am assuming it is similar to the Disney Magic Bands?...but for those of us who are not in suites, we can purchase one to have/wear instead of carrying our sea pass card around with us?  It would take the place of the sea pass card? 

Correct, it's an optional thing to get. If you are not in a suite, you can purchase a WOWband for $4.95 each.

It can replace most of what the SeaPass can do. The only real exception is you still need SeaPass card for getting on or off the ship in a port.

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Day 11 - Last Sea Day

Sometime around 4:30pm I was in Central Park having a glass of wine when the sky caught my eye.  Have I mentioned I love Central park?

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I saw the early signs of a sunset so I headed up to the Solarium.

The Solarium Bar is back open!

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When sailing into the sunset the Solarium is a pretty great location to take it in.

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I was joined by several sunset enthusiasts tonight.

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It was really kind of special.  Our last sunset in the Atlantic before making Port Canaveral tomorrow for Symphony of the Seas first ever U.S. port of call.

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Day 11 - Dinner

Dinner tonight would be in the Solarium Bistro.  It's a pretty great location for dinner and with the Solarium changes on Symphony it is a pretty awesome venue for dinner.

For those that want a short summary - come eat here.  Must. do.

The Solarium at dinner is by reservation but at no charge unless you want to enhance your dining experience with a special entree.

The 'menu' is offered outside on flat panel displays for your consideration.

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Solarium Bistro is not a full sit down specialty dining venue.  You will be escorted to your table but you will not be presented a full menu to order from. 

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With the Solarium right outside the floor to ceiling windows of the Bistro make it a pretty great dining location.

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Instead of a dinner menu I was offered a wine list to start and informed that the Bistro is more of buffet of sorts.  A foodie buffet.

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My waiter did mention some specials one of which caught my ear.  A filet for $12.  Like a land restaurant the nightly specials don't appear on the menu.   I decided I better try the filet.  For $12 it's all in the name of research.

Having ordered the filet special I was invited to eat from the buffet as if I had not ordered an extra cost item.  

The Bistro is a collection of small items that you are free to pick as many of one, or a selection of many,  as you see fit.  


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There is also a pasta station where you can pick your ingredients and have them make a unique pasta entree.  

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A salad station offers different types of salads to pick from.

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My 'appetizer' tonight.  Mixed Salad, Chicken Kabob and Kofta.

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By this point the sun had set and the beautiful art of the Solarium was illuminated with ever changing colors.  Quite mesmerizing to watch.  

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Perhaps it was the wine, but it is a very unique and nice dining venue that really struck a chord with me.

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Very quickly my filet arrived.

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Cooked just as I requested and very good.  Yum.

Time for dessert.

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O. M. G.  

I would have taken pictures of dessert but I found myself diving into the wonderful flavors.  The Baklava really was good.  So were the two other dessert items I managed to eat.  Three desserts?  I don't normally do that but they were so good.

I wish I had found the Solarium Bistro earlier in the cruise.  While I'm not a foodie by nature the Kofta and Chicken Kabobs were really good as an appetizer.  I would gladly pay the $12 for the filet again.  Dessert - just wow.  

Between the ambiance of the venue itself and the food offered it was a highlight meal of the cruise for me.

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21 minutes ago, twangster said:

I wish I had found the Solarium Bistro earlier in the cruise.  While I'm not a foodie by nature the Kofta and Chicken Kabobs were really good as an appetizer.  I would gladly pay the $12 for the filet again.  Dessert - just wow. 

Thanks for the review, @twangster! That's interesting that they have off-menu specials, and that filet was priced quite aggressively! Now I'm going to have to try the Solarium Bistro on Anthem when I'm back on her next year. We had skipped it this past time because we had dinner in CK each night, but since we won't have that option this time around it might be a nice way to mix it up a night or two.

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1 minute ago, JLMoran said:

Thanks for the review, @twangster! That's interesting that they have off-menu specials, and that filet was priced quite aggressively! Now I'm going to have to try the Solarium Bistro on Anthem when I'm back on her next year. We had skipped it this past time because we had dinner in CK each night, but since we won't have that option this time around it might be a nice way to mix it up a night or two.

The Bistro on Anthem is good, make no mistake, but it wasn't the same experience.  Still enjoyable but Symphony's Bistro is in a different league.  

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With my artistic juices flowing (the wine in the Solarium Bistro at dinner was really good) I was inspired to take more night photos around the ship.

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The Perfect Storm slides were still open.

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Inspired by the color changes within the art in the Solarium that I saw during dinner in the Solarium Bistro I knew I had to try to capture it.

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It really is pretty spectacular and something anyone who sails Symphony needs to experience.

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