Welcome to the Symphony of the Seas

It's our first time staying in this kind of cabin. It's called a Neighborhood Balcony and it looks over the Symphony's Central Park neighborhood. So it's a balcony in every way except you can't see the ocean. 

It's been a little disorienting since we use the ocean view as an indicator of whether the ship is moving or if we're close to docking. On a regular balcony you can generally open the drapes when at sea knowing that no one is across from you. This is very much like hotel rooms I remember from NYC where your window looked out across to other hotel windows. So it is very authentic in that way. 

Our initial booking was in a standard Ocean View (no balcony). We submitted a "Royal Up" offer which is where you provide a bid amount you'd pay to move to a different cabin type. We submitted several bids for different balcony types. And this one was accepted. So I am excited to try this out. Watching the neighborhood "wake up" will be interesting. And we can just sit outside and listen to the live music playing down below. We'll see by the end of the cruise whether we'd intentionally stay in one again.  

We had lunch and first day at Jamie Oliver's. This is what we ordered at Jamie's Italian:

Ultimate Garlic Buns

Truffle Burrata

Squid Fritti

Straight Up Lasagna

Creamy Prawn Linguine

Avocado Caesar

We usually don't get dessert. But I had to try the Meringue Lemon Cheesecake. Such a great meringue on top of creamy cheesecake with a berry drizzle. Angie had the decadent chocolate brownie with salted caramel gelato. Great finish to an outstanding lunch.  

We just got back from a Pickleball clinic. It was Angie's first time playing and she really picked up the game quickly. They have open play every morning from 8-11.  

Tonight we're having dinner at the Solarium Bistro. It's a casual setup which I believe will be at least partly buffet. But away from the huge Windjammer Cafe which is the main buffet.  

Tomorrow is a sea day. No plans yet maybe Pickleball. Pool if the weather cooperates. The captain is expecting 30 mph winds and 8-10 foot swells tonight and tomorrow.

Last day on Ascent

Spent most of today at the Retreat Pool Deck. A bit windy but great scenery and company!! For lunch we finally tried the Luminae Burger. A very tasty thick patty cooked a perfect medium. Nicely toasted seeded bun. 

 The buffet also had a Seafood Extravaganza. Lots of shrimp, calamari and crawfish!! And so many roasted meats. No seafood for me. I just had some roasted turkey with cranberry sauce which I had been craving.   

One last dinner tonight at Luminae as we sail towards Port Everglades.

Ascent Sea Day

Yesterday was our second sea day. While Angie worked, I spent the morning at the Sunset Bar on Deck 15 Aft. Beautiful weather! She joined me after a little while. Lunch was at Luminae where we both had Cobb Salads and Asian Stir Fry. Both so good!! At 2PM we had a premium wine tasting. We got to taste some excellent wines and see how the flavors changed with cheeses. 

 The most unusual was the Amarone which is a style and grape I had never had. It has a very smokey aroma - almost like burnt tires. Not a great start. But surprisingly once it opened up more it was terrific with the Parmesan Romano. The saltiness really balanced the flavor. Definitely not a sessionable wine to drink on its own. But amazing with a salty cheese.  

At 4:30 we had a Captain's Club event to meet the senior officers. And before dinner we headed to Craft Social where they had make your own old fashions. The menu has your options and you filled out a card with your choices. Also ordered some Sriracha wings and sliders. Both very good snacks.  

We went back to the cabin to get ready for the evening show and dinner. Last night it was "Bridges". As good as "Residency" was on the second night, this was on the opposite side of the spectrum. It was just a series of songs with a few subpar costume changes. And they never really utilized the set pieces. It was definitely a "Bridge Too Far" for me. 

Dinner was at Luminae. It was the same menu we had on the Reflection last week. I again ordered the poached lobster and scallops. Both very good. After a long day, we were both pretty tired so instead of pushing ourselves to catch the show in Eden, we headed to the cabin. 

Today is our last sea day. We had breakfast at the Spa Cafe. Our last Detox smoothie!! Until we sail Celebrity again in December. We're now at the Retreat Pool Deck enjoying a nice breeze. Smooth seas as we head back to Port Everglades tomorrow. Then we'll board the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas.

Views of Tortola

Yesterday we were in Road Town Tortola BVI. The ship docked at 8AM. We had no plans to get off the ship. We'd create our own sea day. But first a little breakfast at Spa Cafe. While Angie worked, I went to the fitness center for elliptical and weights. It was very quiet and peaceful. I got back to the room and cleaned up. Angie still.hadore.work so I headed up to the Retreat Pool to get some chairs. Even though many guests were off the ship, there weren't too many chairs available. Or at least many of them were taken up by towels and phantoms!! Since the number of towels far exceeded the number of people in the pool, hot tubs or ones that could reasonably fit in the restroom. I did manage to find a good spot and camped out. 

 Angie joined me about 11AM, just in time for lunch. We again ordered from the snack menu this time trying the shrimp cocktail and Turkey BLT wrap. Both very good. It was a very warm day in the 90's so it was time to cook off.om the pool. The pool is a decent size although surprisingly the posted sign said the maximum occupancy was five people!! After cooling off it was back to our chairs. About 4PM we headed back to the cabin to get ready for our afternoon and evening activities.  

At 5PK we attended the Music and Mixology event. We have attended this on other ships. One of the flair bartenders makes three cocktails and the band has a complimentary song. This event was a bit different. The four piece band (including vocals) would start with one instrument and then add another as the ingredient was added. So the song was built along with the cocktail. And Kadik the bartender from the Martini Bar showed his skills!!

Dinner was at Le Voyage which is the Daniel Boulud signature restaurant. The menu is based on his travels around the world and given a French twist. We started with a spicy tuna amuse bouche. Followed by tuna crrudo with fennel, capers and olives. The tuna was amazing. The capers were a bit too large so unless you cut them, your "perfect bite" would be too briny. Still a well composed dish.

Next was Tamarind and Peanut encrusted prawns. A great spicy sauce with well cooked shrimp. But again with the tails!! Made it difficult and awkward to eat. The next dish was my favorite!! It was a Moqueca from Brazil. I had never heard of such a dish in the short time we spent in Brazil last year. It had a beautifully poached Halibut filter along with shrimp and squid. And the sauce!! It was a succulent coconut broth along with some thinly sliced sweet and spicy peppers. And the cashew rice added the right texture!! I loved the way they served the rice on the side so you could add just the right amount. And the shrimp was perfectly cooked. And guess what? No tail!! So they do know how to remove a shrimp tail on this ship.  

Next was a beef duo of super tender short rib on one side and a perfectly medium rare tenderloin on the other. The most interesting part of the dish was the small "blocks" of salsify. This is a root vegetable that has a savory taste when cooked. And here it was layered and then compressed. Very inventive l!!  

Desserts were a Raspberry Pavlova and a Cafe Cardomon. Both really excellent. The Pavlova had pillowy amounts of raspberry flavored meringue along with a rich raspberry sorbet. And of course whipped cream. We haven't been ordering dessert so I am glad I waited it out for this one. Overall a really excellent meal. I could have that Moqueca again and again.  

After dinner we headed to Eden o Deck 5:Aft to listen to a very talented piano entertainer. He played "Fly Me To The Moon", our wedding song. Then it was time to check out a rocking pool deck party. The cruise director really got the crowd going!!

 It was about 11:30 and we headed back to the cabin.  

Today we're in St Kitts with no plans to get off the ship. Angie is having a well-deserved two hour massage. I'm back at the Retreat Pool which is much quieter today.

Views of San Juan

Yesterday we were headed to Old San Juan! Estimated arrival was 2:30 PM local time. We started our day with breakfast at the Eden Cafe. This is a quick service included restaurant with things like breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls and yogurt parfaits. At 10 AM we had a Behind The Stage tour with the dance captain, the technical manager and the stage manager. Always interesting to learn more about how the shows come together. It's quite a complex operation, especially since guests continue to want more varied entertainment.  

Our lunch today was at the Retreat Pool Bar. They have a small snack menu. We ordered chicken Caesar salad and grilled chicken sandwiches. Both pretty good. The Caesar salad we had from room service was much better, having much more flavorful chicken. The sandwich was tasty but the meat to croissant ratio was way off. Still nice to have a lighter option available.  

After lunch Angie had work to catch up on so I went out adventuring (sometimes referred to as "untethered"). Ended up at the Sunset Bar (Deck 15 Aft) as the ship headed into port. Met lots of fun people who were telling me about the excursions they had planned. Angie joined me about 4:30. Soon after we headed back to the cabin to get ready for the evening. The main show was an Aretha Franklin tribute show for which we had no interested. The singer was also on the Reflection last week. We got all cleaned up and headed to the World Class Bar to chat with the bartenders. 

Dinner was at Luminae. We had Fennel Soup (with lobster!!!!), fettuccine with calamari, green asparagus, salmon sashimi and roasted chicken. The soups onboard have been phenomenal. They must use a brinoise to achieve the smoothness. Such a great balanced fennel flavor. The fettuccine was tasty but desperately needed a spicier sauce. And it included one of my pet peeves!! It had small shrimp with the tails still on. Those are so awkward to eat in a dish like this. Great for shrimp cocktail. Not for a pasta dish. No dessert. 

Today we arrived in Tortola at 8AM. No plans for any tours. We do plan on taking advantage of many people being off the ship so we can have our own "sea day". We expect to be up at the Retreat Pool. Tonight's dinner will be a special tasting menu at Daniel Boulud's Le Voyage. He is Celebrity's "celebrity" chef. We ate in one of his restaurants when we were in Bejing many years ago. We're both very excited to try the wine pairings. Especially since we saw that our favorite sommelier Adrian is on board. We have sailed with him a few times over the years. Most recently on the Apex in September 2021.

Welcome to the Celebrity Ascent

On Sunday we disembarked the Celebrity Reflection in Port Everglades after a truly relaxing and spectacular cruise!! We stayed onboard as long as possible, walked down the gangway at 9:35 and were through immigration by 9:40. Most terminals in the US  have facial recognition so you don't even have to interact with an officer. Unless your passport gets flagged or you're being naughty. 

We were taking another cruise from Port Everglades on the brand nee Celebrity Ascent. It was berthed in an adjacent terminal so we could definitely walk. If you have never been to Port Everglades it's not the most user friendly for walking. Not too many sidewalks. That is mainly because unlike PortMiami, the Port Everglades cruise terminal also supports a large commercial operation. It was one of those cases where you can see exactly where you need to go. Just a matter of figuring out the path. We did a little sleuthing and figured out we just needed to walk through the adjacent parking garage and get to the other side. Once we did that, the Ascent was in our sights!!

We were staying in the Retreat which is the suite experience on Celebrity. It was a super smooth check-in process. The Retreat has their own separate security line, separate waiting lounge and personalized check-in. 

 We were boarding by 10:50. Such an amazingly designed ship. We've been on sister ships Edge and Apex which have a similar design. But this ship has made some terrific design updates from guest feedback. Make sure you're following Angie's FB and YouTube Trips with Angie since she'll have some tours of this ship and our cabin.

After dropping off bags in our cabin, we started touring the ship so Angie could film some areas before the ship got too busy. Soon it was time for lunch at Luminae which is the suite restaurant. Angie had a green salad and I had a Cobb salad. Both delicious. I loved the green goddess dressing. And for mains we both had the pan roasted halibut. It could have been served warmer but it was still cooked perfectly. 

Since it was a day of football games, we decided we spend the rest of the day watching them away from the crowds in our cabin. 

 At halftime of the first game I ran up to the buffet to get some pizza. Then when the best game started at 6:30, we ordered some dinner.  

Monday''s breakfast was at the Spa Cafe. One of our favorite spots for a lighter breakfast and lunch. The Detox Smoothie with Avocado to the rescue!! Along with some Greek yogurt and granola. We spent the rest of the morning at the Retreat Pool Bar and I had a Bloody Caesar. 

So tasty!! We could tell the rain clouds were moving in so we decided to find an indoor spot to stay dry before we had our lunch at Eden Cafe. A delicious roast turkey on ciabatta with cranberry ailoi and some savory mushroom soup. 

In the afternoon they had a very cool game show. They projected a game board on the dance floor of The Club. And then players were the controller. Angie and I played a few times. 

 One of the games was kind of like old school Pong where you had to shift back and forth to move the paddle and keep the ball from going into your goal. You had three lines and the last person standing was the winner. Angie played one where the board was a part of octagons. And a green part was lit up. Then you had to remember which octagons were lit up and follow the path with your feet. You got more points if you made no mistakes. 

After that activity we had afternoon tea at the Retreat Lounge. A good assortment of snacks and teas. It was then time to head back to the cabin for a mandatory rest period before we got ready for tonight's show Residency. Prior to the show, we had a Negroni at the World Class Bar and chatted with the bartenders. A fun bar. We'll be back!! The show was honoring musical acts that have had residencies in Las Vegas. Some great performances.  

After the show we headed to dinner at Luminae. We both had a creamy Jerusalem artichoke soup and the cold poached lobster tail. Both so tasty. I've had more lobster the last two weeks than in all of my previous cruises combined. And it has been so good!! For mains, Angie had the rib eye and I went with the grilled red snapper. The rib eye was more like a tenderloin. Super tender and full of beefy flavor. The snapper was well cooked and served with a peanuty housin sauce. No dessert.  

We headed to Eden for the Wonder show. We love all the dancing and acrobats. 

Today we will be in Old San Juan. We have an arrival time of about 2:30 local time. We probably won't get off the ship. But you never know. We were both now sitting here in Cafe Al Bacio enjoying some tea. I am having a peach mango iced tea. They have such a great presentation!!

 Later this morning we'll have a backstage tour in the theater.

Last Sea Day on Reflection

(By Angie)

I started the day with a lovely pedicure. Glenn headed up to the Alcove. It rained a bit, but the overhang held it off. 

We decided to try the Lawn Club burgers for lunch. The tuna burger was my favorite. 

We had a decent last dinner at Luminae.

We said our goodbyes to Peri and Jess - our room steward and butler. They really made the week special. 

We also said goodbye to Olympia in Michael's Club. 

Off to the Celebrity Ascent.