The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, and Me: A March 2019 Review

Day 1 continued:

Back to the daytime, after you pass the pool area, heading toward the aft end of the ship, you'll pass the soft serve station on your way to El Loco Fresh.

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They have chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. You can do a chocolate/vanilla twist, and a strawberry/vanilla twist. There are identical machines on the other side of the ship and NO ONE uses them. This side? Always a line.

El Loco is included in your cruise fare. We ate here a few times and it was good. I recommend the quesadillas. The nachos were fine, nothing special. I didn't try the burritos or the tacos. They have these hand washing stations nearby, and outside of several of the dining locations. Most people just walk on past them.

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It is really funny to me that there is only one bowl of chips here. I must have taken this when they were closing. Usually the counter was full of bowls of chips.

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There is also a condiment bar, which has everything you would expect to see on a condiment bar for this type of food: salsa (different varieties), shredded cheese, sour cream, and the most important: guacamole.

Oh and dessert. There is a chocolate dessert that is usually out that is much better than the other two, IMO.

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Deck 15 has the zipline over the Boardwalk (the aft end of the ship), and you can see the Sport Court behind it.

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Keep going aft and you'll reach the 2 Flowriders.

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Go even further aft and you'll reach The Abyss.

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So, DS did go down The Abyss. There was no line whatsoever, so we did not use our priority status to jump the line. They show you how to sit in the mat thingy (kind of like those potato sack things for slides at carnivals). You really do need to sit and hold your arms the way they show you, because DS said (and others have said) there is one part with a kind of sharp turn and you can bang your shoulder or elbow.

As you walk up the stairs, if you look down you are on a glass (?) platform overlooking the Aqua Theater 10 floors down, and the ocean. It is kind of terrifying. They let me go up and take photos.

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On the opposite side from the sport court is the mini golf. DS played a few times with his friends.

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Deck 15 has the Solarium, but I'm going to wait and do that one later.
 
Joining in!

I've never been on a RC cruise, but your report is making me want to try one! I'm going on the Fantasy in 9 days with my two teens and I'm looking at your ship kind of thinking there's more to do on RC. My kids do love the teen clubs on DCL though, so I don't expect to see them very much. It's too bad your DD didn't like the clubs. I think you just never know what kind of mix of kids you'll get and maybe she just didn't click with any of the kids on our cruise?

I love that room with the chargers and health vending machines. How awesome is that?! It had everything you could possibly need!.

One question about the stateroom…did it not have beds that come out of the ceiling? Is that maybe just a DCL thing? We got a room that sleeps five for our upcoming trip. I'll get the big bed, my mom likes the lower bunk, DD gets the upper bunk and then we have a Murphy Bed pull-down for DS who is 6'1" and will certainly spill off the end :P

Can't wait to read more!
 
One question about the stateroom…did it not have beds that come out of the ceiling? Is that maybe just a DCL thing? We got a room that sleeps five for our upcoming trip. I'll get the big bed, my mom likes the lower bunk, DD gets the upper bunk and then we have a Murphy Bed pull-down for DS who is 6'1" and will certainly spill off the end :P

Can't wait to read more!

I don’t believe that Symphony has beds that drop down from the ceiling in balcony rooms anymore (Pullman style is what it’s referred to) - although other RCI ships do have some depending on the room type. Not sure if there are any insides that still have them.

Generally RC is switching to trundle sofas to accommodate the 4th. Family state rooms that would sleep 5-6 people do have bunks but I’m not sure if they are retractable or permanent.
 
I don’t think I can convey my excitement about the hand washing stations...I am very anti - antibacterial gel stuff...much prefer the traditional soapy water method of cleaning my hands vs just trying to kill the germs but let them remain on me approach.

Disappointed that folks don’t use them more but they are really a huge improvement from a sanitary perspective over the gel if people would use them!
 


Also, my teens do not think that the teen room ca compare to Vibe. The cruise compass show some activities I think my kids will love. Thanks for the posts.
I think that with kids, how much they enjoy a room/club is directly proportional to how many friends they make early on. And unfortunately there's no way of knowing that ahead of time. I mean there is, but I can't afford a Delorean or plutonium.

So there you go. You thought the Room of Requirement was just a fantasy, invented by JK Rowling. But no: its real, and its fantastic.
Was there a charge to use the, um, charging station?

I have no idea which this is, but I do know it is not the Beach Pool.
Looks like the sports pool, assuming that's the WJ up above. Main pool is where the smoking section is, I believe.

And then there are the waterslides. DS went down the two twisty ones but not the one we refer to as The Toilet Bowl.
So it's not just me that calls it that. Excellent. I tried calling it the Flux Capacitor before, but it went over everyone's head. The lesson: I have an oddball sense of humour.

As you walk up the stairs, if you look down you are on a glass (?) platform overlooking the Aqua Theater 10 floors down, and the ocean. It is kind of terrifying. They let me go up and take photos.
You should check out the glass floor of the CN Tower here in Toronto. Only a "short" 8 hour drive from Chicago!

I don’t think I can convey my excitement about the hand washing stations...I am very anti - antibacterial gel stuff...much prefer the traditional soapy water method of cleaning my hands vs just trying to kill the germs but let them remain on me approach.
I'll use the gel/foam, but if the hand washing stations are there I'll almost always opt for that. Wish they went a step further and had wash stations like the ones in Oceaneers - stick your hands in and the station takes care of the rest - but better than nothing.
 
Following! I was on Symphony in February and loved every minute of it. As much as I love Disney and happily spend far too much on WDW each year, I just can't justify DCL. RCCL is nearly as good, and literally less than half price. Plus, I don't know what I'd do without an adult drink package... :rolleyes1

So can I ask how you made it work? I'm having trouble justifying literally $700 for a week. Plus I'm trying to find out how to get some sort of medical exemption for my daughter who is 25 and disabled. She can't drink because of her medications but the system won't let me reserve for only 2 people.
 
If she’s disabled I’d call customer service and get an exemption. Generally with couples where one is a non-drinker (or “non-drinker”) they will allow the second person to purchase the soda package.

In your situation I’d imagine a full exemption is warranted. So definitely ask.
 


Joining in!

I've never been on a RC cruise, but your report is making me want to try one! I'm going on the Fantasy in 9 days with my two teens and I'm looking at your ship kind of thinking there's more to do on RC. My kids do love the teen clubs on DCL though, so I don't expect to see them very much. It's too bad your DD didn't like the clubs. I think you just never know what kind of mix of kids you'll get and maybe she just didn't click with any of the kids on our cruise?

I love that room with the chargers and health vending machines. How awesome is that?! It had everything you could possibly need!.

One question about the stateroom…did it not have beds that come out of the ceiling? Is that maybe just a DCL thing? We got a room that sleeps five for our upcoming trip. I'll get the big bed, my mom likes the lower bunk, DD gets the upper bunk and then we have a Murphy Bed pull-down for DS who is 6'1" and will certainly spill off the end :P

Can't wait to read more!

Glad you're here! I wasn't sure about Royal but I read a trip report with a ton of photos and it really helped change my mind.

I think DD was overwhelmed by the number of kids who were there. I'll probably get to this eventually, but her claim was "They all know each other already" which couldn't be true, but she also skipped the Meet and Greet so maybe it was true? Who knows. She did end up meeting some girls she liked but she never went back to see if they were there.

Symphony does not have Pullman beds like that, but they have rooms with bunk beds or other options for sleeping 5. A lot of people get 2 rooms across from each other, like an Ocean View Balcony for the adults and a Boardwalk View Balcony for the kids. The people on our other side had that. The doors are directly across from each other so you can go in and out easily.

Other ships on Royal do have the pullman beds that come down from the ceiling. Just not Symphony (or Harmony I think).

I don’t believe that Symphony has beds that drop down from the ceiling in balcony rooms anymore (Pullman style is what it’s referred to) - although other RCI ships do have some depending on the room type. Not sure if there are any insides that still have them.

Generally RC is switching to trundle sofas to accommodate the 4th. Family state rooms that would sleep 5-6 people do have bunks but I’m not sure if they are retractable or permanent.

They refer to the bunks as "Pullman" but they seem pretty permanent to me? I haven't seen them in person, though.

I don’t think I can convey my excitement about the hand washing stations...I am very anti - antibacterial gel stuff...much prefer the traditional soapy water method of cleaning my hands vs just trying to kill the germs but let them remain on me approach.

Disappointed that folks don’t use them more but they are really a huge improvement from a sanitary perspective over the gel if people would use them!

Same! I think hand sanitizer is pretty useless. I carry hand wipes with me when we travel, because at least those have the potential to wipe the germs off your hands. Sanitizer just smears them around. I used the washing stations at every opportunity, and I made sure to look around me obnoxiously, as if to say "See this? This is what good hygiene looks like. Take the hint and wash your dang hands!"

I think that with kids, how much they enjoy a room/club is directly proportional to how many friends they make early on. And unfortunately there's no way of knowing that ahead of time. I mean there is, but I can't afford a Delorean or plutonium.


Was there a charge to use the, um, charging station?


Looks like the sports pool, assuming that's the WJ up above. Main pool is where the smoking section is, I believe.


So it's not just me that calls it that. Excellent. I tried calling it the Flux Capacitor before, but it went over everyone's head. The lesson: I have an oddball sense of humour.


You should check out the glass floor of the CN Tower here in Toronto. Only a "short" 8 hour drive from Chicago!


I'll use the gel/foam, but if the hand washing stations are there I'll almost always opt for that. Wish they went a step further and had wash stations like the ones in Oceaneers - stick your hands in and the station takes care of the rest - but better than nothing.

No, the charging station was completely free. And no one was using it!

We have Sky Ledge here in Chicago in the Sears Tower (I will not call it the Willis Tower) and that gets a big nope from me.

I do like the automatic hand washing stations on DCL. Symphony has automatic door open sensors, though, so you don't have to touch the bathroom door handle. I like that.

So can I ask how you made it work? I'm having trouble justifying literally $700 for a week. Plus I'm trying to find out how to get some sort of medical exemption for my daughter who is 25 and disabled. She can't drink because of her medications but the system won't let me reserve for only 2 people.

You can call RCI and get an exemption for her for the drink package. The way I justified the cost was that I knew I would at least get the Refreshment package so I could get bottled water, lattes (which I never ended up getting), and soda. Then I figured out the additional cost for drinks, and it ended up being the cost of maybe 2-3 glasses of wine per day. That's a no brainer for me. Normally I don't drink that much but on vacation? Sure! A glass of Prosecco in the Solarium pool while the sun set, 2 glasses with dinner (maybe), a glass at the bar later? Pays for itself.
 
They refer to the bunks as "Pullman" but they seem pretty permanent to me? I haven't seen them in person, though.
I think the whole idea of the Pullman is that it's retractable. So if that's not the case, it would suck.

We have Sky Ledge here in Chicago in the Sears Tower (I will not call it the Willis Tower) and that gets a big nope from me.
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So can I ask how you made it work? I'm having trouble justifying literally $700 for a week. Plus I'm trying to find out how to get some sort of medical exemption for my daughter who is 25 and disabled. She can't drink because of her medications but the system won't let me reserve for only 2 people.

It's regularly "on sale" for 30% off in the Cruise Planner, so I think it ends up costing about $350 per person with that. Works out to $50 a day which is about 4 drinks.

For me that's easy- 2-3 during the day/pool, a couple glasses of wine at dinner, and a couple drinks at night. Not to mention the free bottles of water, specialty coffee drinks, etc. As others have mentioned it's easy to get an exemption for the other person in your stateroom, you just have to call.
 
And if you don't get the drink package, a 10-drink card may show up about halfway through the cruise. At ~$8/drink (+18%) it gives good value if you're not planning to do 3-5 drinks a night. Drawbacks are that it may not show up, the card is good for your cruise only and you have to wait half the cruise to find out if it's available.
 
Thank you everyone for the tip to call. I haven't had a great deal of luck via email, I'll try giving them a call tonight to see if I can work this out. :) 51 days and counting! Oh, and we're in the room DIRECTLY below the one you were in - 9330!
 
OK, so now this. I looked at the packages this morning, and the deluxe was $49/pp, but now, just a few hours later, it's $56. Do you think when I call special services that they'd be able to honor the lower price?
 
I would say that they're unlikely to, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, so definitely mention it.
 
Day 1 continued:

This is feeling like the longest day ever, LOL! The rest of the days on this report won't go on as long, I'm sure. I guess this beginning has turned into more of an introduction to the ship, but I am trying to be chronological here.

So we've covered most of Deck 15 from aft to midship. At the front of Deck 15 you will find the Solarium. The Solarium is an area for those 16 and up (I did often see younger kids in there in the evening, on the lower deck). There are deck chairs, sun beds, a bar, 2 hot tubs, and a small pool. The pool is not for swimming, just sitting and drinking, basically. I don't have a photo of the pool and I can't find one that belongs to RCI. So I will show you lots of other photos and let the pool be a surprise. Unless you google it.

The Solarium has a restaurant called the Solarium Bistro. We never ate there, but it has healthier options than your normal cruise food. Breakfast and lunch are a buffet, and they have an omelet station and other offerings. Dinner is a sit down meal with Greek inspired food. This is included with your cruise fare, and despite the fact that the Solarium is restricted to ages 16+ I believe anyone can dine in the bistro.

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There are a lot of chairs, but good luck getting one. I am convinced that people slept on the sun beds in order to reserve them.

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The bar is in the middle of the Solarium, and they have this really cool art installment there.

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It was mesmerizing at night.

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The Solarium is actually 2 levels. The bar etc. are on Deck 15, and the lower deck mostly has chairs.

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However, the lower deck has 2 outdoor areas that extend over the ocean. They are referred to as the "King of the World" deck, or something.

I did go out on it, and so did DD, but between the wind and the glass, we didn't go very far. I was going to post a photo of my feet but I HATE feet photos (you know the photos people post from their lounge chair showing their feet and the pool or beach in the background, and you're like I KNOW you're there, you don't have to show me your feet to prove it) so I will spare you and just show the view down, from almost out on the glass part.

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You could see the helipad from there. One night there were a bunch of people out there. It was some sort of invitation only thing, either for suite guests or top tier guests. but other nights there would be one random person out there, or no one out there.

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It was VERY windy out there when I went there, but it was a great spot for sunset photos. You could look at the Solarium, or at the side of the ship.

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I'm skimming over sail away, because we really didn't do much. The "Good" side of the ship was packed with people. We were on the "Bad" side where all we could see were shipping containers and cranes. I mean, maybe that is the good side, depending on your interests. So, looking at the photo below, *everyone* was looking at the right side of the photo (which was the port side, oh geez I just realized we could have watched from our balcony, d'oh!). We were on the other side. Wah wah.

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So let's move on from the ship tour in the next post. Assuming I can even remember what we did next. No, just kidding, I am sure we went to dinner and I have photos of almost everything we ate, and some stories about the great service in the MDR.

Oh, returning to this post because I forgot. DS tried the Flow Rider for the first time on Day 1.

The Key: DS was not comfortable cutting the line. There were about 8-10 kids waiting (and one adult) at any given time. We found that 5:00/5:30 was a great time to go. They usually closed at 6, so this gave him a few turns with a shorter line. DS enjoyed watching others, and I think it helped him figure out what to do, and what not to do, because he got to hear the instructions over and over, and see some of the more advanced kids (and adult). He only did the boogie board side. I think he was not comfortable trying the standing side because it looked difficult. The Key was no benefit to us with the Flow Rider, because we were not comfortable cutting the line. Perhaps if there were signs up, or separate lines, it might have been better.
 
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Thank you everyone for the tip to call. I haven't had a great deal of luck via email, I'll try giving them a call tonight to see if I can work this out. :) 51 days and counting! Oh, and we're in the room DIRECTLY below the one you were in - 9330!

My advice, which I just realized in my post above: watch sailaway from your balcony. If I am not turned around, you should be on the "good" side for sailaway, unless you actually prefer to be up on deck.

OK, so now this. I looked at the packages this morning, and the deluxe was $49/pp, but now, just a few hours later, it's $56. Do you think when I call special services that they'd be able to honor the lower price?

Ugh. Probably not. Can't hurt to ask, though!

FYI (for everyone) keep checking the price of everything in Cruise Planner. Book at a price you are comfortable paying, and if it goes down cancel and rebook. Our excursion dropped and I saved like $60.
 
I just have to say thank you to all of you. I have posted many of the same questions on another board with very little response. I've never sailed RCI before - 2 DCL/1 Carnival - so I'm very grateful.
 
I just have to say thank you to all of you. I have posted many of the same questions on another board with very little response. I've never sailed RCI before - 2 DCL/1 Carnival - so I'm very grateful.

If you ever have questions you can feel free to PM me. I know there are people here who will likely be able to answer anything, but I wanted to offer anyway. :)
 
Day 1... will it ever end? (Yes)

So, in looking at my photos, it appears that I only have one photo from dinner the first night. So to make up for that, here is another sunset photo from night 1.

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On Royal you have 3 dining options: Early, Late, or My Time. Early and Late are similar to other cruise lines. My Time means you can either make reservations in advance, or you can show up any time. I can see advantages and disadvantages to both. We chose Late, because I can't see myself ever eating at 5:30. I almost switched it to My Time, because late dining interfered with a lot of evening activities and shows. But due to DD's allergies and this being our first time on Royal, I wanted to do a traditional dining so we could have the same serving team each night.

I have heard multiple times that you can request the same serving team with My Time, but there is no guarantee. People respond with "Well it has never been a problem for me and I ALWAYS get the same serving team" well that's great. But I didn't want to take chances on our first go with RCI.

The Main Dining room is 3 stories tall. Traditional Dining people will be assigned either to Deck 3 or Deck 5, and MTD will go to Deck 4. My understanding is that they will also send MTD people to 3 or 5.

I had read a lot about the MDR, and had heard horror stories. "They are constantly pushing the specialty restaurants!" "They are constantly making announcements and interrupting my meal!" "The food is so bad!" "Who has 2 hours to spend at dinner?" We had none of that happen. Well, the announcements happened twice in a week. That's pretty standard, as it was the typical parade thingy. I'll get to that later. But no one tried to sell us specialty dining and the food was fine!

Our table happened to be the same number as our stateroom, which was odd, but it helped us remember where we were sitting. We were also right next to the serving station which was not ideal but really who cares?

We spoke with our Head Server (or was he the manager?) Vinko, about DD's allergies. He was SO nice, and gave me his card and said to contact him any time with questions. Every night he stopped by our table to see how we were doing, and if DD wanted anything, or if we had any questions. Our server was Shadiek, and he was great too! He and Vinko had both worked in Wonderland on Harmony, so they had a good relationship, which is great. Our assistant server was I Putu and we loved him. He was always high fiving the kids, and bringing them mocktail after mocktail. He even got them hooked on a few new mocktails!

I know I have a photo of the MDR somewhere but I can't find it right now. I'm stealing one from another website, hope that is ok.

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So that first night, the Teen Club was having their Meet and Greet at 8:00pm, which is exactly when our dinner time was. I asked my kids what they wanted to do, because I knew it was important for them to go to the M&G to make friends. I said they could skip dinner and it would be fine, I just wanted to meet our serving team and introduce DD and talk about the allergies.

DS decided to skip dinner entirely. I said it was fine, but I did not want it to become a habit. DD decided to dine with me, and perhaps that is why she had a hard time with the club later. But I was glad for the company, and glad that we got to discuss allergies with the servers. The bread basket had a type of bread with nuts in it, so from the second night on they brought DD a plate of her favorite kind of rolls, leaving the rest of the bread for me and DS. Which was perfect, and just what had been done on other cruise lines.

I asked our servers how long dinner would be, because DD was going to the club after, and they said it could be as fast or as slow as we wanted, all we had to do was ask. So ask we did, and we were in and out in an hour or less each night.

I do not recall what I ordered, maybe prime rib? But I know I had a Caesar salad. It is available every night, and I often ordered that as my starter.

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I think I was feeling awkward about taking pics at dinner that night. I took pics most other nights, though.

So after dinner DD went off to the Teen club, and I went down to the Promenade and walked around. Took this photo of another elevator bank.

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I stopped off at Guest Services and bought all of us WOW Bands. What is a WOW Band? Well, it is pretty much the same as a Magic Band at Disney. It works as your room key, you can charge things to your room with it, and it does everything the Sea Pass card does but you can wear it on your wrist. I am not a fan of lanyards. I don't like things around my neck. I don't care how "cute" it is, I don't like it on my neck. I'm not a huge fan of things on my wrist, but this is made of silicone? or something, so it is really comfy, and waterproof. DS had to take his off for the Flowrider but I think that was more about not wanting it to fall off in the machine vs not being waterproof. I had already lost my Sea Pass once so this was a no brainer purchase for me.

BTW if you lose your SeaPass just go to Guest Services ASAP and get a new one. DS had to do that once too. Kids need their cards for the club, I guess. Otherwise we left our cards in the room (unless we were leaving the ship).

WOW Bands cost $5 each and come in Black, White, Blue, and Yellow. By the end of the week most people were wearing these instead of lanyards. WOW Bands are not available on all ships, but if you have it on yours, I highly recommend it.

You do still need your Sea Pass card to get on and off the ship in port.

I looked down at Rising Tide for a few minutes.

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Anyway, I ended up at Schooner's, on a comfy sofa in the back. I had my Kindle, I ordered a glass of wine, and all was well.

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I was enjoying myself, but DD had been texting me almost nonstop. DS was doing it too, a little bit.

"Mom"

"The kids are all older than me."

"They all know each other already."

"No one will talk to me."

"I want to leave."

"Mom"

"Really I want to leave."

"Mom"

"Can I leave?"

On the one hand, who wants their kid to be unhappy on vacation? On the other hand, you can't just give it one try. Also I had really wanted to have MY vacation, too, and have some adult time!

DS stuck with it and ended up making friends (though maybe not until the next day?) but DD refused to stay and refused to go back. I did force her to go back later, but it was more of the same.

Finally I let her join me at Schooner's and I had to abandon my lovely evening of sitting and reading. So we walked around and eventually it was time for the Balloon Drop. This happens at midnight on the first night in the Promenade. The band was playing for a while, and we found a good spot to watch them on Deck 6.

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I enjoy people watching, and this was a great place for it. We saw someone who reminded us of someone we know here, and watched her for a while. The Promenade was really filling up by now, and I was glad we had a good spot on Deck 6.

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As midnight approached, RCI people started moving in toward the balloon nets to release them. The Promenade was packed at this point.

There was a guy right next to me, getting ready to release the balloons. I asked him if I could do it, and he said No. So I included him in the video of the balloon drop :p


It was chaotic, as you can see. The balloons were constantly popping. I have no idea how they were popping so quickly. It was crazy, and I was very glad to be up on Deck 6.

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DD and I were tired, so I summoned DS via text to return to the room. Down the long, endless hallway...

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The stateroom TV had only a few channels, and somehow every night there was a BBC standup comedy show on, so we watched that. It was hilarious! The TV also had the normal things like the weather, activities, etc.

It had been a long day, and Day 2 was a Day At Sea so we knew we would be sleeping in, at least a bit.
 
Loving your review!

Oasis class ships are my favorites! Symphony is the only one we haven't cruised. Too many land vacations coming up so probably not likely until 2021.

We're pretty good about packing light (no formal clothes/8 pairs of shoes for us). I also do some laundry - even just hand washing when we travel.

I think RC does a pretty good job of embarkation. Thousands of people and it seems everyone has a seat. Once Disney stopped addressing my daughter as "Princess Kasha" when boarding, I didn't care what they called us (and we have one of those names that no one can pronounce correctly).

We've never gotten any beverage package (we don't drink soda) but it might be fun to try for mocktails! Do love the pizza at Sorrento's though! Cafe was good too. Daughter and I did the Allure by ourselves (best cruise ever!) and we did Rising Tide. You should have done it!

I agree about The Key and the lines. Eventually everybody will buy it thinking that they're going to get to the front of the line. That's when it will really be
a mess.

Surprised (but understand) that you didn't eat in the WJ. We are there A LOT. I love to try a little bit of everything. :-)

And the pools!!! Ahhhh sooo many pools! That's my biggest gripe about DCL. And I LOVE the live music too!! The toilet bowl was a blast! I lost count how many times we went on it. Enjoyed more than the "Aquas" on DCL. I didn't like the Abyss. I got thrown around inside and burned my arm up pretty badly. My daughter had no problem and enjoyed it. :-)

Looking forward to Day 2.
 

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