Transatlantic Cruise aboard Symphony of the Seas – Royal Caribbean (2023)
In late 2022, knowing I was going to drastically reduce my workload in 2023 and have more free time for travel, I asked JB to aim for a more flexible schedule so we could travel (even) more.
We thought a real break could help him in this regard, do him good as JB can’t help but work even on weekends. We thought of:
- a trek to Everest Base Camp
- followed by a transatlantic cruise, without Wi-Fi, for 14 nights
- followed by a road trip in the American West.
These three projects required planning several months in advance and were an excellent way to be forced to adapt the professional pace accordingly.
After our cruise in the Norwegian fjords with MSC over 10 years ago, cruises have held an important place on our wish list. We knew that there are so-called “repositioning cruises”: when a ship finishes its season in Europe, it must cross the Atlantic to start its season in the Caribbean (and vice versa). These cruises are less popular because they are long and have few port calls. You can get interesting rates and have a great experience (a long boat trip, like before the development of air travel).
The dates fit perfectly: I’m supposed to reduce my workload at the end of September 2023 (eventually it happened in May 2023), JB starts the ascent of Everest Base Camp in early October, and the ship leaves for the Caribbean at the end of October. JB, freshly back from Nepal, flies from Paris to Barcelona, while I arrive from Nice.
Barcelona is not a stop per se but the starting point, we will talk about Barcelona in another article.
Symphony of the Seas
The ship on which we will make the Atlantic crossing is called Symphony of the Seas, and belongs to the Royal Caribbeancompany. It’s the 2th largest ship in the world (362 meters long, 18 decks, 16 of which are for passengers). The record is held by another ship from the same company, by just a few meters. Almost brand new (launched in 2018, built in France at the Saint-Nazaire shipyards), it has 2,759 cabins, can carry up to 6,780 passengers, and a crew of 2,200. A city on water!
It’s quite possible we caught a glimpse of it during our quick visit to Saint-Nazaire in 2017; I need to dig up some photos.
UPDATE: our friend M. sent us undeniable proof of our visit, right in front of the Symphony of the Seas. We never would have dared dream of traveling on this ship, and yet! Thanks, M.!
Here’s a very interesting visual comparing the Symphony of the Seas to the Titanic. This visual comes from Visual Capitalist
Itinerary
We would have liked to reduce the cost further, for example by departing from the last European stop (Cadiz), but the itinerary is set in advance: Barcelona (Day 1) – Valencia (Day 2) – Cadiz (Day 4) – Nassau (Day 14) – Fort Lauderdale (Day 15), it is not possible to board only in Cadiz.
At the same time, it’s a good decision because the first few days will allow us to get used to the ship, note what’s missing, and make our last purchases during the stops before crossing the Atlantic. For the crew, it’s a way to get to know the passengers to some extent and eliminate the most problematic elements (you don’t want a crazy person among the passengers and only discover that in the middle of the Atlantic). As you read on, you’ll understand that this isn’t necessarily trivial.
Day 1 :
It’s JB who takes care of everything (choosing the ship, booking) and for once, I want to let myself be surprised, so I don’t do any research, I haven’t even seen a picture of the ship, I only know the itinerary vaguely. It’s also JB who installs the ship’s mobile app for both of us, through which ” we’ll be able to send each other messages ” because he’ll be able to use the ship’s internal wifi, for free.
The app says we can check in at 3 PM, but departure is scheduled for 5:30 PM. If the check-in isn’t done by 4:30 PM, we’re not leaving! JB insists that we be there around 1:30 PM, afraid of an unexpected event that would make us miss the departure. I can already see myself waiting under the scorching Barcelona sun for 1.5 hours, but I’m relieved to see that as soon as the taxi drops us off in front of the ship, we’re immediately taken care of, can board the ship with our luggage (MSC didn’t allow that; you had to hand it over and find it later in your room), and our room is already ready (since 1 PM, whereas with MSC, you had to wait a few hours).
As soon as we set foot on the ship, we arrive on Deck 5 and it’s a true Disneyland. We hurry to find our room on Deck 7, drop off our luggage, take photos and videos before making a mess, and then go out to explore the ship.
Each company has its own way of doing things. With MSC, we were guided from the very beginning, especially with a short presentation in French about how the ship works and safety instructions. With Royal Caribbean, we’re less taken care of : everything is communicated in advance on the app.
The TV screen in the room is on, and we see that we need to watch the safety videos and then go to the place where, in case of danger, we must go to evacuate. Our evacuation zone is C4, and I admit that, not knowing the ship very well yet, it took us a while to find it. Our assigned housekeeper introduces himself, and he has to make sure we’ve completed the required safety formalities.
He shows us how to order breakfast via room service, and how to reach him by phone. The door is magnetic and you can stick a “do not disturb” sign on it, which JB really likes because he finds that the “do not disturb” signs that hang on hotel doorknobs fall off too often as soon as you open the door. Regulars seem to know this too, as you see many cabins with doors decorated with magnets brought by passengers.
So we go from deck to deck, looking at the plans, finding points of interest, getting our bearings, and figuring out where we are. But I admit it’s only on the 8thth day that we manage to know them all.
The ship’s layout
There are 18 decks, 16 of which are accessible to passengers. Decks 15 and 16 (open-air) are dedicated to solariums, pools, slides, hot tubs, mini-golf courses, tennis, surfing, and restaurants. On the 5thth, there is a jogging track that goes almost all the way around the ship. On the 4th, an amphitheater spanning 2 levels, an ice rink. On the 6th, a spa and gymcenter. A huge restaurant occupies the 3rdth, 4th and 5thth decks at the rear of the ship. At the back, on the 6thth, there is an aquatic theater (with a 5-meter-deep pool accessible only for aquatic shows), two climbing walls, two slides. A garden (Central Park) takes up half of the ship on Deck 8.th Deck 5 is dedicated to “people watching,” live music, karaoke, shopping, cafés, Starbucks, cruise booking, guest services, there are two robots that make cocktails (“bionic bar”). There are bars everywhere. Everything reminds me of Snowpiercer, all that’s missing is the aquarium.
At the front of the ship, there’s a helipad, accessible only to the crew. That’s not a big deal because we have a better view from the solarium on Decks 14th and 15th and there are two balconies (very well protected), where you feel like you’re floating on the water and you can see the horizon very clearly.
When I uploaded the Deck 8 video to Instagram, a follower called me out, very surprised to see that the center of the ship was “empty.” In reality, it’s from Deck 8 (forward) or Deck 6 (aft) that the center is “empty” like that.
This allows for two open spaces, but sheltered from the wind, and especially for having many cabins with balconies facing inward. JB tells me it’s typical of new Royal Caribbean ships. Other companies cram in as many cabins as possible, especially those in the middle, which have no window or balcony and are the cheapest of all categories, but Royal Caribbean innovates with these interior balcony cabins.
Granted, it’s tricky: an inattentive traveler might pick this type of cabin, thinking they’ll have an ocean view, only to end up with a balcony overlooking the carousel where Disneyland-style music plays 14 hours a day. But at least having a balcony is always nicer than having none at all.
Likewise, we find very few cozy, quiet spots just to sit and read (and talk to each other). Everything is noisy in the common areas; it’s a totally different vibe from MSC. This feeling is shared by other passengers who find peace and quiet only in their cabins.
Our cabin and its location
Indeed, our room is a haven of peace: bigger than we thought, located two-thirds towards the front, with a balcony overlooking the sea. Its location was not chosen at random.
We chose the right side because compared to our itinerary, I thought the ship would always be docked on the right side (the coast is on the right of the ship), and that from my balcony, during stopovers, I could see the city, instead of the sea as is the case on the left side. Regarding the sun, my balcony would always be sheltered from the sun (I hate sunbathing). I wasn’t wrong.
At the time of booking, there were some reservations about the room’s position, right next to the stairs and elevator, a high-traffic area. In the end, it was even a strong point. Crossing the narrow hallway 10 times a day to the elevator would have annoyed us, whereas being near the elevator, we can get there in seconds. The stairs and elevator are so huge and separated by effective partitions that we hear nothing at all.
Granted, being right in the middle of the ship would have been a more stable location and more desirable for those who get seasick, because our room is a bit too far towards the front and we feel the waves more than passengers in the middle. You’ll learn more by reading this guide written by JB.
Deck 7 is perfect: there are only cabins. It’s very quiet. You just need to go up one floor to access “Central Park” and its restaurants, go down one floor to get to the gym, go down 2 floors to reach Deck 5, where “Disneyland” is, and Deck 4 for shows and the casino. When we need to cross the whole ship, we never take endless corridors, but cross it on Deck 5, 8, 15, or 16, to have more space.
The balcony is non-negotiable! We witnessed the “deck chair war” on MSC and have no desire to fight every day for a chair, a table, or a lounger with an ocean view. We also know we need fresh air to avoid feeling claustrophobic and secretly hope to see dolphins or whales from our balcony. Plus, it makes drying our clothes and swimsuits easier, and we can listen to the ocean.
The dining
JB has already looked into the ship somewhat and was able to give me some info on things he saw. Because on the first day, not finding a buffet (it was closed between 3pm and 6pm), and with the limited choice at the only café we found on deck 8 (I’ve found others since), I thought we’d starve for the rest of the cruise (which is unthinkable on a cruise ship where over 80% of the clientele is American). Being a hungry soul, I had a moment of panic.
The restaurants included in the package and the paid ones are a bit hard to tell apart. Since Americans eat all the time, and there are packages giving access to alcoholic drinks or paid restaurants… there are people everywhere, and we had a hard time in the first few days knowing, before entering a restaurant, what was extra or included. Fortunately, the app is there to help: as soon as it says “complimentary”, it’s included.
So I was relieved to learn that pizzas would be available to us until 3am, that the all-you-can-eat buffet is only closed between 3pm and 6pm and between 9pm and 7am, but during those times, other restaurants take over (the hot dog stand, the café in Central Park, or the Mexican place on deck 15th), that the water (and ice) is good, free, and available all the time, and that we could bring drinks and plates full of food back to the room. And that if we were too lazy, a breakfast (Continental Breakfast) could be served in the room at no extra charge.
The The “main restaurant” is always where you eat best.The menu changes every day and we are served at the table. For dinner, we have our designated seats and our own waiters, instead of running around like at the buffet restaurants.
Passengers are randomly grouped with other passengers speaking the same language. There are two seatings (at 5:30pm and 8pm), to be chosen in advance, and we opted for the 8pm slot right at booking. Our large table is assigned to another French couple and us. They are two retired IBM veterans, and we really enjoy their conversation. However, we won’t see them every evening as they prefer dining in other restaurants on the ship.
The evening menu offers many choices, and we quickly learn that you can order as many appetizers, mains, and desserts as you wish. So whenever there’s “shrimp cocktail”, JB and I each take two because it’s so good.
If the “main restaurant” is only open for dinner on port days, it is open for all three meals on “sea days” when we are just sailing (i.e., 11 out of 15 days in our case). And JB prefers eating there because the menu is always more varied and higher quality than the buffets. Notably, they have salmon bagels, griddled salmon, steak, sometimes a lobster hot dog, a Miami specialty. It’s also quieter and seating is more comfortable.
You can also pay extra for slightly more fancy. For example, I went for lobster one evening, which cost me $20 (including 18% gratuity).
Some passengers opt for plus packages, for example unlimited access to sodas, or alcoholic drinks, paid restaurants, etc. Not wanting to deprive ourselves, we did it for the first cruise, before quickly realizing that it’s impossible to get your money’s worth from these packages, you’d have to drink 8 alcoholic drinks a day per person! Which some people do, but how shall I put it… For us, it’s more economical and reasonable to order à la carte. If we order a bottle of wine, for example, and don’t finish it, the waiter will keep it somewhere and bring it out again at the next meal, which is very convenient.
We also have a fridge in the room, and JB keeps two bottles of wine purchased in Spain before departure, which we’re allowed to bring on the ship on check-in day.
The departure
We’re supposed to leave at 5:30 PM, but it’s only at 6:30 PM that the ship leaves Barcelona. Around 5:00 PM, access to the solarium on Deck 15 is blocked by a “private event” sign; we don’t know who has access to it. I find it so unfair that access to the best view is blocked, because I just want to pass through the solarium on Deck 15 to get to a lower level (14) from where I can see the front of the ship and watch the departure. I carefully study the Deck 14 plan and discover two discreet entrances on the corridor side, and we can slip in unseen and watch the departure with a 180-degree view.
Before leaving, the ship moves slightly away from the port. Then it reverses until it’s completely out of the port. There, it does a 180-degree turn. A small boat comes alongside to pick up the captain of the port of Barcelona (on arrival and departure from a port, it’s always a “local” captain who comes on board to direct the maneuvers) and our ship proceeds on its own toward its next destination. A Virgin cruise ship, also crossing the Atlantic with completely different stops, seems to be waiting for our departure before leaving itself.
Roaming
At 10 PM, we no longer get Spain’s 4G, but in the middle of the Mediterranean, we receive a text saying we’re in the United States and can use the Internet for free. We’re Free subscribers, and the French couple sharing our table, subscribed to Orange, gets the same thing. We don’t quite understand, but oh well… Our 2 minutes of 4G cost us each 70€. The reason is this: as soon as we’re in open sea, we’re using exorbitantly priced maritime phone networks broadcast by the ship. In the following days, we’ll be more careful and only activate our SIM cards when we’re really close to the Spanish coast. We hope to get a refund from Free, because their informational text is completely wrong.
Oscar oscar oscar
Around midnight on the first day, on a full moon night, an incident keeps us worried all night.
Going out onto the balcony, I notice the ship is stopped, as are two distant lights as if marking the location of an anchor. Since we’re still in the Mediterranean, I thought it was normal. But how do you drop an anchor when the depth is 1200 meters (we have this data in real time on the TV in the room)? At the front, a beam of light marks a specific point in the water; all the lights around the ship are on. JB thinks they’re looking for someone but is surprised the beam doesn’t move. But without any announcement, we don’t question it further.
20 minutes later, the captain makes an announcement in English over the corridor speakers (the code is “Oscar oscar oscar”) and since we can’t hear well when the cabin door is closed, we only catch a few snippets: “someone fell overboard… we… rescue boats…”, boats that we indeed see a few minutes later from our balcony. I finally understand the origin of the bad feeling I had about this ship before departure, a feeling I had judged “not strong enough” to worry to the point of canceling the crossing.
20 minutes pass and we’re on our way again without any further announcement. We think they didn’t find him, that we left without him, and we sleep with heavy hearts.
Day 2: Valencia, Spain
The next day, as soon as we arrive in Valencia, we have 4G again, and thanks to a tweet from another passenger, we understand that we misunderstood yesterday’s announcement. There was indeed a man overboard, but during the announcement, he had already been rescued safe and sound. In the middle of the sea at night, a real miracle!
We’ll have to wait until Day 11 to learn, via a FAQ with the captain, what really happened: the fall of a man about 65 years old was spotted live by an officer. He was able to alert the control center, which was able to mark the exact location of the incident. Thanks to today’s high technology, software calculated, taking into account wind and currents, the drift and the estimated location of the said passenger. Thus, the ship was able to turn around, send rescue boats to the exact location to save him. Everything suggests a suicide attempt, because the unfortunate man did not swim toward the beam of light, did not call for help, showed no signs of distress, and even hesitated to get into the rescue boat. While walking around the ship, we also came to the conclusion that you couldn’t simply slip on a puddle and fall. You have to want it, or be drunk and mess around to fall.
The next day, I saw a police car accompanying an ambulance; I think it must be him, because the captain says that in Valencia, the passenger’s family and he were thanked, and they’ve since gone home.
It’s a miracle they found him. Searching for a passenger at midnight in the water is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Despite the full moon’s light, it would have been difficult without the officer’s quick thinking (and the software’s accuracy).
The captain says he’s saved people before when their boats sank, but it’s the first time in 30 years of sailing that someone from his own boat fell into the water, and the crew handled the situation perfectly, I think. A less favorable outcome would have been a bad omen, especially for such a long voyage.
So, our first stop is Valencia, a city we don’t know at all. The port is a bit far from the city center. If you don’t want to pay for the cruise shuttle, you have to take a (free) shuttle from the port to get to the port entrance. From there, take a public bus (number 4 – €1.50) that takes you to the city center in 30 minutes. We make the mistake of being the first to get off, around 8 AM. Because Spaniards get up late and many attractions are still closed during our visit. I think weshould have gotten off around 11 AM only. Despite a 5:30 PM departure, the city center is small enough to be visited (including lunch) in 2.5 hours.
Our weakness is Iberian ham sandwiches, costing between €4.50 and €6 each. Unfortunately, we can’t bring them onboard, so we have to enjoy them only during stops in Spain.
Valencia has a very nice small city center. If we weren’t stopping here, I don’t think I’d have wanted to go there specifically to visit it.
Day 3:
It’s the first day without a stop, and I opt for in-room dining breakfast. The choice is more limited when choosing a Continental Breakfast, but at least it’s free (unlike MSC, which charges a service fee).
I’ll take advantage of this day without a stop to explain how the shows work.
There are 4 rooms/amphitheaters, and each day there are several shows and activities in these rooms. Some shows can only be booked once during the entire stay (via the app, always, or by phone), while others can be booked as many times as you want. We didn’t pay attention, but some shows were only available while we were still in the Mediterranean. For example, there was a concert (by an artist I don’t know) and an aquatic show. I don’t know if it’s just a safety or cost issue (is it economical to keep a 5-meter-deep pool filled during the entire Atlantic crossing?).
In any case, we were lucky to see the HiRO show at the aquatic theater twice, two Broadway-style shows, two magic shows, and two figure skating shows. Compared to MSC, there are more rooms/stages, but the shows are quite repetitive; there isn’t a new show every night like on MSC. So there are evenings when there’s no show and you just rest after dinner (which lets me make good progress on my Proust reading).
The aquatic show HiRO is probably my favorite. The music is superb; it must be a very talented DJ who mixed it because you recognize bits of famous songs, but they mix them so well that it results in a kind of superb playlist condensed into 3 minutes. The pool’s depth changes during the show. Sometimes it’s very deep to allow high dives, sometimes only a few centimeters, making dancers seem to walk on water. When we realize we’re on a ship and have a 5-meter pool in front of us, enabling all possible dives (for professionals, of course), we can’t help but be in awe.
There’s a PADI office on the ship; I wonder if they use this pool for PADI training.
However, the open configuration of the venue exposes it to acoustic issues. During the secondth show, sitting on the sides, I was bothered by echoes, unforgivable for a performance venue. I don’t know if it’s partly due to the wind, but my ears found them extremely annoying.
My second favorite show is figure skating. The only times I watch someone skate is during the Olympics, so no, the skaters aren’t Olympic-level (they sometimes fall during jumps due to the ship’s movement), but they have enough talent (they’ve competed in several championships) to captivate us. The hall is small and poorly designed (columns blocking the view from some seats), but the music!!! The music! An extraordinary playlist, extraordinary acoustics, incredible lighting, and sumptuous decorations.
The ship has some design flaws, but they’re minor, and there are plenty of other intelligent details worth mentioning, for example, as soon as we open the balcony door, the AC in the room turns off automatically. Or, near the elevators: color codes indicate whether an elevator is going up or down. An elevator going up is green, and if it’s going down, it’s red. Yet some passengers seem to be either dumb or colorblind, as they keep getting on an elevator that’s going up when they want to go down, even after spending 10 days on the ship! Since you lose all sense of time while on vacation, the day is printed on the floor inside the elevator—”monday,” for instance. Information screens are placed near the elevators so we know the ship’s time. Since we cross multiple time zones (6 hours in total), they remind us of the current local time. The cabin steward leaves a note on the bed the day before any time changes. So during the crossing, we “turn back time” and gain an extra hour almost every other day, which means we get to sleep in all the time. One last detail about the elevators: depending on the port, we might disembark on Deck 2, 3, or 5—and it’s too much for passengers to remember which deck to get off on. There’s a “gangway” button in the elevator, so on port days, you just press it and it takes you to the level where you’re supposed to leave the ship.
Day 4: Cádiz, Spain
Today we dock in Cádiz. It’s the favorite port for many crew members because the port is a 10-minute walk from the city center. Since they don’t get long breaks, 10 minutes is perfect for them to get off the ship and enjoy the city.
Choosing Cádiz is strategic because it’s also close to Seville. So if we plan well, it’s totally possible to take an excursion to Seville, or hop on a train to Seville (1h30). Several taxis wait at the port entrance with rates for round trips. I figured as much: many passengers plan at the last minute, and when they find out the train is fully booked, they might want to grab a taxi. This happens a lot on Mediterranean cruises, especially in Italy, where the interesting cities aren’t on the coast. To see Rome, the ship would stop 30 minutes away, where shuttles, taxis, and excursions wait, rubbing their hands together for the naive, disorganized, and rushed tourists who only have half a day to visit the Italian capital at all costs.
We don’t have that pressure in Seville, having stayed there for over a month a few years back. Sure, I’d have loved to revisit the palace, but Cádiz in the sun is a great experience too. This city, which we rushed through last time, shows us all its charm under a cloudless blue sky. Even though all museums were closed for All Saints’ Day (including the lithography museum I was especially interested in), I managed to do some shopping before the crossing (two bottles of water, shampoo, cosmetics, thermal water…). That’s how I discovered a fantastic store in Spain: DRUNI, which sells tons of cosmetics available only online.
JB and I buy stuff to (loosely) follow the dress code: a shirt for JB for the “formal” nights, and a white sweater for me for the white-themed evenings. Life on a cruise has its own rules: a dress code for every day. While the Americans are pretty lenient, it’s fun to play along. Some go all out: evening gowns, stilettos, perfect buns, suits, ties—there were even some great costumes on Halloween night.
Knowing I won’t be able to eat sashimi for another two weeks (because the Japanese restaurant on the ship is pricey and not worth it), I settle for a good Japanese spot in Cádiz and a last bubble tea, while JB enjoys his final Iberian ham sandwich.
I try to capture the ship from the port, but it’s so long (the equivalent of 3.5 football fields) that it doesn’t fit in one shot, even on wide angle. The ship’s name alone is huge. It makes a splash every time it enters a port thanks to its massive size—even the crew on other cruise ships are in awe and taking photos 😀 It’s not every day you see the 2ndth largest cruise ship in the world.
(the person in orange is me)
It’s 5:30 PM and everyone must be on board. JB and I head to the back of the ship on Deck 4, where there’s a great view for the departure. I notice two women boarding a small boat—they seem to be tourists. I wonder if they missed the departure time and are trying to catch up by getting on the small boat that’s coming to pick up the port pilot.
Our ship pulls away from the dock and reverses as planned. Once it clears the port, it turns 90 degrees and moves forward fairly quickly, but not too fast, allowing the small boat to pull up alongside and take the pilot off. We’re not the only ones curious about that little boat. A group of elderly passengers also notice me running to keep an eye on it—I’m trying to see who gets on our ship (whether those two ladies were late or just curious), but I can’t get a good look. They watch me with amusement and say, “Ah, you saw them too, they’re pirates” 😀 Then the little boat moves off and I think I catch a glimpse of a white dress on one of the ladies. They were just curious onlookers.
That’s it, we’re off, we’re really going to cross the Atlantic by boat. JB and I are deactivating our SIM cards, so that no €70 surprise can hit us again.
JB tells me, however, that he’s found a way to get 15-20 minutes of free Wi-Fi via Starlink every day, which allows him to grab his daily newspaper and quickly check his emails. It’s actually better that way, because we’d considered buying a 24-hour access pass in the middle of the crossing, which would have cost us $30. But we’d have been glued to our phones for a whole day, whereas having 15 minutes of Wi-Fi a day is enough to check a few small things, make sure there are no urgent matters to deal with, and grab the newspaper for JB. So, like a detoxing addict, JB is better cured of his Internet addiction by having his small daily dose, rather than giving him unlimited Internet for 24 hours and then cutting him off. As for me, I really want to cure myself of Instagram, and during the crossing, I only logged in twice to download a book on Kindle. However, we did cross paths with a few digital nomads. Thanks to Starlink, it’s possible to work from anywhere, even in the middle of the ocean.
Speaking of books, when they saw us with our paperback books (bought specifically for the cruise), a lady asked us, looking curious, for the titles of the books. There’s a library on the ship, but it’s poorly stocked (mostly used for board games and card games), and none of the books appeal to her. Ahhh, we shouldn’t have relied solely on the ship’s library ! In Barcelona, I found a beautiful edition of Dune by Frank Herbert in English, a nice book I planned to resell in the United States. But reading it annoyed me so much (the characters being too stupid) that I decided to get rid of it ASAP as soon as I finished it, as if keeping a book full of stupid characters in my room might contaminate me. I put it prominently in the ship’s library, and it was gone the same day. JB’s French book didn’t have the same success.
Day 5 :
Everyone (i.e., our servers) asks us if we’ve heard from our loved ones because a massive storm has hit northern France and England. They’re more in the loop than we are, who don’t even follow the news on TV. Another illustration confirming the relevance of disconnecting from the news as much as possible : wherever you are, important news will always reach your ears.
In any case, the influence of this storm is felt : the ship is rocking, no one walks straight. Many people stay in their rooms, several people have white patches, apparently for seasickness. There are even plastic bags available on every floor in case of incidents. We wonder why we hadn’t thought of that. We’re on the 2th largest cruise ship in the world, after all, and maybe we trusted its stability too much. The captain later explained to us that the ship has small fins that deploy based on wave height to increase stability and reduce rocking, but the vertical movement can’t be avoided. We’ll get used to it quickly. No one seems bothered by seasickness in the following days.
We’ll learn later, again during this FAQ with the captain, that at the time of departure from Cadiz, he asked someone or other to validate a route he had established based on the weather. And he’s proud of it because the highest waves we had were only 5-6 meters, and not 10 meters if we’d taken another route. And if we’d left Cadiz a day later, we’d have been in big trouble, because he told us about the ship Spirit of Discovery, which ran into difficulties with that same storm (100 injured passengers) (source)
After walking in zigzag like junkies/alcoholics, we settle down, relieved, on Deck 8, in the Central Park garden. JB is with his back to the wall. Suddenly, I notice a movement, I look up and see a waterfall of water from Deck 15 landing on JB and a poor tourist. I have just one second to scream ” aaaaahhh “, point my finger at the sky because it’s too hard to explain to them what’s about to happen. On top of the public humiliation, there’s total confusion, as both think someone threw a bucket of water at them, free and cowardly, from one of the balconies. JB only gets a few drops on his back, but the other tourist is soaked from head to toe. I barely have time to ask JB if he’s okay when a second waterfall comes, and then, seeing me run, the two also start running, look up at the right moment, and finally understand that the water comes from an overflowing pool on the 15th floor. It’s still weird because pools don’t overflow that much, but the ship moves so much, and Deck 15 was so flooded this morning that we have temporary “waterfalls” like this. Following the commotion, a tourist appears at a cabin window, as creepy as the guy in ” American Beauty “, with his smartphone in hand, filming us. I don’t know what’s funnier : the face of the tourist in American Beauty mode filming after the event, or the face of the tourist who got a big shower and thought someone threw a bucket of water at him.
Coming back from the gym, JB is about to hang his clothes on the balcony and exclaims : ” dolphins !!! ». Indeed, we see fish jumping, there are 3 or 4 of them. The day before, a gentleman who had crossed the Atlantic several times on cruises told us that we could see dolphins if we paid close attention, looking carefully, and that it wasn’t rare. He must have brought us luck because we spot them at a totally unexpected moment. Our shouts must alert a neighbor, as we see a passenger, 4-5 balconies away, taking photos of them. JB, however, has doubts: are they salmon, or dolphins? It’s true that without any point of comparison, and being so high up, we are unable to estimate the size of these fish. They must be dolphins, because on the same day, when the captain announces that we have 4-5 meter waves ahead of us, you would have thought they were only 2 meters at most. These fish, compared to the waves, should be around 2 meters, so they would match dolphins.
The following days
As I mentioned earlier, it took us almost 8 days to get to know the ship well, stop getting lost, find the shortest routes, and try the activities that interest us most.
So, after several years, we’re doing ice skatingagain. We only get 20 minutes, but that’s enough to make us sore because we were so tense.
JB also tries his hand at surfing. But the first step, before surfing standing up, is to do boogie boarding. Unfortunately, the board is too short for him, so he hurts his knee, but it’s quite fun. Others are real pros, surfing with such ease! The brand that offers these activities is called Flow Rider and we’ll also see it in Florida, on a beach.
He also tries the zipline, rock climbing, and slides (with and without water). The one without water is so high and scary that I bailed at the last minute. And I’m glad I did because the inside is pitch black and they add weird noises. Even JB found it impressive.
He also wins the ” championship ” in soccer. The championship consists of a few intense 5-minute matches. JB was ” injured ” by another Brazilian player, but he didn’t get a yellow card.
As for me, not really into sports, my daily activity is getting an Italian gelato (too irresistible) and reading as much as possible of ” In Search of Lost Time ” by Proust. This novel obsesses me so much that I might not be able to read anything else until I finish it. However, I intend to take advantage of our road trip in the United States, right after this cruise, to treat myself to nice secondhand books in English, as long as we have the car and the space to take them with us. These American books cost less in the US, and I’ll have more choices than in Europe.
The Snowpiercer effect is becoming more and more apparent: we have everything we need to live on the ship. I tell myself that the famous Orient Express train connecting Europe to Asia no longer seems intimidating.
The weather is changeable: it can be nice in the morning, then nasty and cold in the afternoon. It often rains. But the good news is that the pools are heated, the hot tubs are super heated, and it’s such a joy to relax in the hot tub in the solarium, at the front of the ship, and watch the sunset on the horizon. When the weather is nice, the loungers are well occupied, and you recognize the regulars because they’ve brought clips to secure their towels to the loungers!!
Passengers on this kind of special cruise are probably regulars. However, it’s impossible to know how many passengers are on board. For example, even on beautiful sunny days, there are still available loungers, and even when lobsters are served free of charge in the restaurant, there are also half the chairs empty. But again, the ship is so big and there are so many options and activities that it’s impossible to base an estimate on that alone.
Americans have a cruise culture, because the Caribbean is particularly suited to it. A Canadian couple tells me that cruises in the Mediterranean appeal to them particularly because they can visit several European countries in just one week, with lots of varied things to see. My parents took a cruise of this type, and although the organization is tedious (the city to visit is often an hour’s train ride from the port), they loved the trip and still talk about it with enthusiasm. In contrast, on Caribbean cruises, you go from the mall of one island to the mall of another.
This kind of cruise is disastrous from an ecological point of view: just look at the amount of food, the open heated pools and hot tubs, the size of the ice rink, etc. But! According to the captain, the wastewater is treated better than in many other cities in the world. That after being treated with a complex process, with ultraviolet light, plastic detection, etc., he says the water that comes out is even drinkable. As for fuel consumption, we’re between 5 and 10 tons per hour, and the fuel used seems to satisfy a particularly environmentally conscious passenger, because he seems happy with the captain’s answer about the type of fuel used and its sulfur percentage.
The ocean is so vast that it’s very rare to see other boats. If we do spot a few, in the distance, they’re mostly container ships or tankers. However, we did see a bird, in the middle of the Atlantic. It looks healthy and has no desire to land on the boat. It seems to be following the boat to shelter from the wind, but quickly dives into the water, a little further away, to catch some poor fish. I immediately turned on the TV to see if we’re not too far from an island, but I can’t see it, the island must be so small.
We also see some flying fish, which fly so high and so far that at first, I thought they were butterflies. Anyway, life on the boat quickly becomes monotonous, you easily establish your habits, even if it’s only 10 days at sea.
Being in the middle of the ocean has significant advantages: absolutely stunning sunsets, and a clear sky with very little light pollution (the only pollution comes from the boat itself, with its lit decks and some lit balconies). I thus saw 4 shooting stars in one evening from my balcony.
Sometimes, when I’m all alone at the table, or when they think I’m alone, Americans tend to strike up a conversation with me, as if it were improper for them to leave a person alone without company. It’s through these spontaneous conversations that I learn more about them: many fly to Barcelona just to take this boat. So this cruise isn’t just a means of transport to get home; this cruise IS their vacation. At the end of the conversation, everyone introduces themselves: “My name is XYZ, and you?” If many know they’ll never see each other again in their lives, some feel compelled to exchange contact details. But we know very well that no friendship will come of these exchanges; it’s very American to pretend you’ll see each other again. Exchanging contact details is just a polite way of letting the other person know you enjoyed the conversation.
One of them taught me that with Royal Caribbean’s shareholder program, you can get free onboard credit: so 100 shares of Royal Caribbean would have given $250 of credit for a cruise of this type (14 nights). Some of them even have a (paid) RFID bracelet on which they can put their seapass (access card) and which can be used on all Royal Caribbean ships. Likewise, we understood that after this trip, we’ll get Gold status with Royal Caribbean, giving 25% off drinks and restaurants for future trips. Americans are always good at creating enticing loyalty programs, and we’ll think about looking at these conditions more seriously next time.
Day 14: Nassau, Bahamas
We arrive earlier than expected in Nassau, Bahamas. Today, JB goes on an excursion (a catamaran tour with snorkeling) while I visit Nassau on foot alone.
After several days at sea without crossing other boats, we feel very surrounded this morning with 2 Carnival ships, a Disney ship, and another Royal Caribbean (Liberty of the Seas). Apart from Carnival, the other ships seem as tall as ours (I compared quickly by going up to Deck 15). The other Royal Caribbean looks massive too. But Symphony of the Seas seems to have more balcony rooms (I quickly counted the number of decks on the other ship) and the feature of having an aqua theater.
If the area around the port is very lively and Disneyland-style, you just have to leave the port and a couple of commercial blocks to see the relative poverty of the island. We’re not in the US, just the Bahamas. The port being far from 5-star hotels with private beaches, it could have been any other island in the world.
I take the shortest route to Queen’s Staircase. The road I chose has no sidewalk, so it’s a bit dangerous on foot, and I arrive at the top of the stairs (instead of the bottom, which is the route other tourists take). Oh well, it’s easier to go down than up the stairs.
I first visit Fort Fincastle, next to the water tower (visible from our ship). The Fort is nothing special, you have to pay $3.5 for entry, and then tip a guy who just says a few sentences, but I have a beautiful view of the cruise ships. Honestly, don’t pay for access, it’s not worth it!
I go down Elizabeth Staircase and discover that indeed, it’s easier to come from the port via this route (there are sidewalks). Continuing straight, I arrive at Bay Street, the main shopping street on the main island.
What bothers me a bit on this island is that prices aren’t clearly displayed; it seems to depend on the customer. In the small grocery stores, there are absolutely no prices; you feel like a walking ATM, which isn’t very pleasant.
On foot, I can only access a beach at the end of the port. There’s no way I’m swimming in such a busy port though. However, seen from the ship, the water in the Bahamas seems very clean, paradisiacal, emerald green. There are police officers everywhere, so it seems safe.
On the other side, on Paradise Island, it’s Dubai all over again: you can see the Atlantis hotel, the same one exists in Dubai. You can’t walk there because the bridge to Paradise Island is super far. I think there are shuttles (more like water taxis), or you can pay for a taxi (there are plenty waiting for us in front of the port). This island is home to the massive water park of the Atlantis hotel (entrance $200), but there are also private villas with stilts for their private boats. The water is beautiful, and you can see a small beach in the distance where people are having a lot of fun: jet skiing, water skiing…
I go back up to the ship pretty quickly because it’s too hot. I take in many viewpoints from the ship, before settling at the restaurant on Deck 15.
I see a catamaran pass by and recognize JB easily, thanks to his hat.
JB will tell me later that his catamaran has 59 passengers, and they were taken to a spot where 4 catamarans are snorkeling at the same time, so let me tell you right away that there are more humans than fish in the water. But the water is very beautiful and visibility is good. The snorkeling we did in the Keys a few years ago was much more impressive because there was a greater variety of fish.
I understand why some people tell me that Caribbean cruises aren’t worth it (even though on paper, it sounds dreamy!): if it’s just to hop from one island to another, for people who aren’t really into beaches like us, it’s totally pointless.
When he returns from his excursion, JB tells me he saw suitcases on the dock with the tag “sorry for the delay”. We really hope those aren’t suitcases that didn’t make it onto the ship from Barcelona hahaha. That’s a long 15 days without a change of clothes!
Around 5:30 PM, we watch other ships leave before us and admire how easily and quickly they get out of the port. Since our ship is docked backwards, it has to do a 180° turn before exiting the port, done with such ease that I’m sure the captain wouldn’t even flinch at a parallel park. The other cruise ships are all lit up now; the attraction on the Disney ship (a huge slide called “Aqua Mouse” that would be worthy of an amusement park) is very visible with its multicolored LEDs. Passengers on other ships wave at us.
I know we lead a privileged life, but it’s seeing the massive size of our ship that this realization takes on a visual aspect: Our privilege, our luck, our life seem to be embodied by this luxurious and flashy ship, visible for miles, dominating all of Nassau harbor, so much so that even the other luxury cruise ships can’t compete. Shining brilliantly at night, our ship immediately reminds me of the restaurant scene at the Grand Hotel in Balbec in “In Search of Lost Time”, beautifully illustrated by Stéphane Heuet.
That evening, they didn’t dine at the hotel, where the electric sources made the light flood into the great dining room, which became like a vast and wonderful aquarium against the glass wall of which the working population of Balbec, the fishermen and also the families of petty bourgeois, invisible in the shadows, pressed against the glass to catch a glimpse of, slowly swaying in golden eddies, the luxurious life of these people, as extraordinary for the poor as that of strange fish and mollusks.
In Search of Lost Time (Volume II, Within a Budding Grove)
Day 15: Fort Lauderdale & Hollywood
The cruise ends here. It’s noisy this morning because of the dozens of cars that come down and transport the suitcases. We have to leave the room by 8 AM. Since we have small suitcases, we prefer to take them with us instead of putting them in the hallway the night before (so they’d be taken and we’d pick them up after getting off the ship). Departure is done very smooth, as well as immigration. This time, no stamps on our passports.
We take an Uber to get to Hollywood (Florida), where we stay one night before heading to Las Vegas to pick up our rental car and start a road trip. It’s the hotel (Booking link) where we spent a night during our last Florida road trip. It’s a few meters from the beach (with white, super fine sand) and since Americans don’t sit on towels on the sand (understandably, as the sand is scorching) but on loungers, the hotel lends them to us for free.
It’s hard to come back to reality. We take out our credit card for the first time in two weeks. It’s a café with minimal service, so JB watches how tips are done. When paying, you can choose 10%, 15%, 18% tip on a tablet. But since there’s barely any service, the customer before us refuses to leave a tip by card but leaves a $1 bill in the tip jar. JB does the same.
On the other hand, the beach is paradisiacal, as beautiful as the one in the Bahamas (even though there are sargassum). We wait for the sunset to dip our toes in because the sand and sun burn us.
This is the end of our travel journal, and I hope you enjoyed it. For info, this cruise cost us €2750 for two, tips included + $100 for excursions and miscellaneous ship purchases, knowing we didn’t choose the cheapest room.
JB has already written some practical guides to help you choose your cruise. You can check them out here:
