Day 1, Symphony of the Seas- Royal Caribbean’s LARGEST Ship!

Last year when my husband and I were planning our honeymoon we were thinking about doing a Mediterranean cruise. While we were on Royal Caribbean’s website we saw that their new ship, Symphony of the Seas, would be debuting a few months after our wedding, and would be in the Mediterranean. Our excitement was real!

We ended up booking a 7 night cruise, on Symphony of the Seas.

Fast Forward a year and a half of planning:
The ship was docked in Barcelona, and we arrived to the cruise terminal around 11am. Getting on the ship was smooth and easy! We put on our luggage tags, that you print from home, and dropped the luggage before we checked in. They deliver it to your room later in the day! After this we went through security and checked in. You get your picture taken for your Sea Pass cards, and you are on your way!
*Sea Pass cards are used as your stateroom key, charging onboard the ship, and scanning to exit and enter at cruise ports throughout your cruise.

After this we entered the ship with our Set Sail Pass, and immediately our photos popped up on the screen and we were good to enter! We entered onto the Royal Promenade of the ship and WOW! If you have even been on a Royal Caribbean ship before you know in the promenade they have their regulars, Sorrentos for Pizza, The Cafe for desserts, small sandwiches, teas, and coffees, and more depending on size of the ship. Symphony of the Seas also had the new Bionic Bar, a Starbucks, and Royal Caribbean retail shops, and duty free shops!

Of course after exploring the promenade we went up to Windjammers! Windjammers is a buffet style restaurant that offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now because this ship was so large Windjammers was always extremely busy. Throughout the week they surveyed us multiple times on our experience in Windjammers because seating was becoming a problem. Hopefully by now, they have all the kinks worked out!

While leaving Windjammers we heard an announcement that you had to make reservations for your entertainment/shows for the week. Basically because the ship was so large they couldn’t seat everyone in the theatres. We love live entertainment so we ran down and set ours up. They had plenty of opportunities to see each of the shows, with different days and different times so you could plan it around your excursions, dinner, or other activities you may have planned.

Shortly after this we went to our stateroom, which was an interior room because I am not going to lie…. I do not like to see the ocean from my room. It sometimes gives me anxiety especially if we are going through rocky waters. Anyways, our room was very cute and modern! Basically same set up as the other interior rooms inside Royal Caribbean ships. Our luggage had already been delivered to outside our room as well!

After this we decided to head back to the promenade and check out the Bionic Bar! We get to the Bionic Bar and they have a few iPad looking things, they could have been a tablets I don’t remember! But you could browse through different categories of drinks or create your own! I ordered a citrus drink and my husband ordered a drink that had his name in the title.  You used your Sea Pass card to pay and thats how they knew whose drink was whose. We went and found a seat and waited for our drink to show up on the queue! People kept getting confused about when their drink was up, and would get visibly upset when they thought someone took their drink. It was quite amusing to watch, outside of the fact that robots are making your drink!! Anyways when it was time to get your drink you would scan your Sea Pass card on the end of the bar and the drink would slide down! The drinks were absolutely on the stronger side, which was fun and set us in the right direction for the week!!

We walked the promenade a little more and headed to our station for the muster drill. These are done for safety incase something were to happen in an emergency situation. When you get there you check in with a crew member and they have you stand in a spot and wait for everyone to get there. Our muster station was in the fitness room on Deck 6 which gave us a chance to check it out. It was a clean and large fitness room, located behind the salon and spa area all the way at the front of the ship. After everyone arrived the muster drill was a short clip on what to do in emergency situations.

After this we explored the ship more:
Deck 4- Royal Theatre, Ice Rink, Casino, and Main Dining Room
Deck 5- Spa Center, Royal Theatre, Sorrentos, Boleros, Starbucks, Retail, English Pub, Cafe Promenade, Bionic Bar, Main Dining Room
Deck 6- Fitness Center, Picture Spot, Schooner Bar, Boardwalk, Aquatheatre
Deck 8- Central Park- featuring restaurants and shopping
Deck 9- Where our stateroom was located!
**We loved being one deck away from Central Park because it had Park Cafe which is a quieter spot with a bagel bar for breakfast in the morning!!
Deck 14- Solarium, Adventure Ocean, Card Room
Deck 15- Solarium, Solarium Bar, Whirl Pool, Main Pool, Beach Pool, Waterslides, Sand Bar, Pool Bar, El Loco Fresco, Teen Hangout, Mini Golf, Sports Court, Flowrider
Deck 16-Hooked Seafood, Master Bar, Windjammers, Zipline, Wipe Out Bar, The Ultimate Abyss Slide

Definitely did not see all of this our first day, and did not get to all of this during our full week on this ship either!
Royal Caribbean Deck Plans -Here’s a link if you would like to see the deck layout!

Our dinner time was 6:30 every night in the Main Dining Room. The other option I believe was 8:30, and you set that up when booking your trip. Now of course you have other options for dinner. You can make reservations to eat at one of the other restaurants where that food is not included in what you already paid for, or you can head to Windjammers and eat at the buffet and that food is included.

Food in the Main Dining room was delicious and our waitress was fantastic. They had a portion of the menu fixed every night, and then there were separate dishes that changed every night. You would order an appetizer, meal, and dessert. If you did not like your meal, you could always get a different meal. Our waitress would sometimes bring us an extra dessert just for the fun!

We then grabbed a drink a headed over to the Casino! The casino was split in half, with a non-smoking side and a smoking side, with a bar in the middle. We chose our luck with the slot machines, my husband lost what he started with, and I doubled what I started with. Always fun to brag about being the winner!

Shortly after this we went to the Royal Theatre and checked into our reservation for Hairspray! It was a great show, singing, dancing, acting all extremely talented.

After exploring all day, we were exhausted and wanted to get up early the next day for the first port of call so we did call it quits after the show! We ended up missing the Sail Away party that afternoon, and we missed the balloon drop that evening. I recommend NOT missing those when sailing with Royal Caribbean!!

Stay tuned for more posts about Symphony of the Seas, and it’s port of calls!

Here are the links for my other blog posts on Symphony of the Seas and its port of calls!
Barcelona!
Marseille, France- Cruise Port!
Capri Island!

Stepping Into Andy’s Backyard! – A few hours in Disney’s NEW Toy Story Land

Let’s step into Andy’s Backyard!- At Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Now if you haven’t heard that Disney opened up Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios I’m not sure we can be friends….

KIDDING! Of course! Read my blog to find out all about it!!

Disney opened up the new land June 30th, and ever since I heard about the opening of the new land I was super excited because Disney knows how to do things. Especially after seeing the Pandora area of Animal Kingdom, I knew Toy Story would be even more special.

Being a Cast Member I was blocked out of getting into Hollywood Studios for the first week or so, but this past week I was allowed to enter. So my husband and I did just that!

We got to Hollywood Studios around 9am and booked it over to Slinky Dog Dash and surprisingly only had a 55 minute wait for the ride! The queue was absolutely adorable! So much attention to detail! Green army men holding up Elmer’s glue, Crayons, Board Game boxes, and so much more 90s memorabilia. The wait went super quick! They even had a cast member selling snacks and water in the middle of the queue incase you are getting a little hangry…..!

Now I was expecting a Big Thunder Mountain type of ride because the height requirements are about the same. But this ride went a bit higher and had a few more bigger drops. It was a lot of fun, and I mean you are riding on Slinky Dog!!! The ride sped up and slowed down on different parts that weren’t expected. And ending was super cute! And that is all that I am going to tell you about the ride because YOU NEED TO RIDE IT!

After riding Slinky Dog, we needed food. Since we were there so early Woody’s Lunch Box was still serving breakfast! We ordered three different things off the breakfast menu: the Raspberry Lunch Box Tart (they also offered a chocolate hazelnut version), the S’more French Toast Sandwich, and a Breakfast Bowl.

Raspberry Box Tart $3.29– um YUM. It was honestly like a handheld pie, and it was a very decent size for $3.29. It had a hard frosting like a pop tart would have, with crispy balls and raspberry crunchies on the top. The crust tasted like the best crust you’ve had on a pie. I am actually craving another one as I write about it.

S’more French Toast Sandwich $7.99– This was very tasty! Two pieces of french toast with warm melted chocolate and marshmallow in the middle. A must try if you are into sweets for breakfast!

Breakfast Bowl $8.49– If you are into a heartier breakfast, this was an excellent choice! It had tater tots (which they called Breakfast barrels on the menu) with a gravy sauce on top of it that seemed to have pieces of brisket in it. Then scrambled eggs on the very top. This was really yummy and enjoyable.

For breakfast they also offer: Smoked Turkey Sandwich $7.49 and a Banana Split Yogurt Parfait $5.99. They also offer kids versions of the S’more French Toast, Breakfast Bowl, and Smoked Turkey Breakfast sandwich. Along with specialty beverages and sides for various prices.

After breakfast we walked towards the Alien Swirling Saucers, and decided not to go on them that day, but they looked so cute and fun!! We ran into some Green Army Men who were recruiting some soldiers and training them!

On our way out we also walked by Woody and Jessie! Woody gave my husband a high five, and then we saw Buzz meeting with guests.

The new Toy Story Land, is an AMAZING experience and so much fun, with tons of attention to detail. I recommend you get there and try it out for yourself!

Is it time you took a staycation?

Well is it? I have lived in Orlando for three and a half years, and I CRAVE staycations here. I mean maybe it’s because I work in the hospitality industry and get to see people on vacation ALL THE TIME. That might just have something to do with it…..

But is it time for you to take one? Do you have places in your city or small town that you just never quite get the chance to check out? Or make excuses for why you haven’t been there? Take some time and explore! Maybe even invite one of your friends who lives in a different town to come explore your hometown!!

That is something I like to do in the summer. I have a friend or family member come and stay with me, and we check off an entire list of things that I probably would not have done, or would have been too tired to do in my work week.

In five days, I have been to 2 malls, 4 different restaurants, gotten donuts, a farmers market, the beach, the pier, and Disney. If I was working would I have had the energy for all that? Nope. Not me. Especially the beach, I mean I haven’t been to the beach in over a year. A year, and I live in Florida.

Anyways, for your staycation I suggest making a list, or taking a calendar and writing down what you want to do for certain days. If you are crazy like me, I even set up an Excel sheet of all the dates, and what I want to do for each day. I know, I said crazy.

Check groupon, find cheap hotels, or cheesy touristy things in your area, and try them out! Live a little and take that staycation you’ve been craving! If you are not into touristy things, try out all those little mom and pop shops and restaurants you’ve been dying to get to! (Always give back to those small businesses!!)

Are you planning your next staycation yet? If not get on it! Or ask your bestie to staycation in their hometown =)

Disneyland Paris- Should I Airbnb near Disney?

My husband and I are both Cast Members for Walt Disney World resort, and it’s safe to say we love it. We love working their, we love the benefits and the perks, we love Orlando, we just love it.

We decided since we were going to be in Europe, why not make our way to Paris and see Disneyland Paris! Both of us were extremely excited to see Disneyland, I was a little more excited to see the actual city of Paris, but my husband admitted to me that he was more excited to see Disneyland!!

I decided to let my husband choose where we were going to stay when in Paris, since he was more excited for Disneyland Paris he decided to stay in Serris. This is where Disneyland Paris is located, it is about a 35 minutes outside of Paris. He wanted to try out Airbnb, so at this point in our planning it turned into okay fine whatever you want. Now this Airbnb turned out to be extremely convenient it was about a 20 minute walk to Disneyland. Which meant that it was free to get there! There was also bus transportation, and lots of ubers if you wanted to do that as well.

There was lots of airbnbs in the area, there was also an inside mall, and an outlet mall about a 5 minute walk away. This was super convenient for breakfast in the morning and for any other needs you might have.

The town was super cute, and clean. The apartment buildings were white and had little antique look to them, the streets were also quiet. Which is a major perk if you want to be away from a loud nightlife.

Now there is also hotels in the area, off Disney property hotels, and Disney hotels. As we were planning we decided that the Disneyland Paris hotels were a little on the higher side, and we wanted to save more money on where we were at.

When we arrived in Paris at Gare de Lyon, we took an uber ride costing us around 55 euros to get to our Airbnb in Serris. There is a subway/metro station, but at this point we had just been on a 7 hour train ride from Barcelona, and just did not want to be on anymore public transportation. But you can take the metro for about 14 euros per person to go one way.

Unfortunately when we got to our Airbnb, my cellular was not working very well, and we could not get ahold of our host. I thought my husband had taken care of the smaller details, but it turned out he had not!! In the end we waited about two hours before we were let in. I recommend you have this sort of thing all figured out when in a foreign country, with limited talking minutes, and not perfect data!! When the drama was happening my husband looked at me and said is this what you want? Would you rather I get you a hotel? Is it okay that you’re going to be sleeping on a futon? I remember looking at him and laughing, saying its a little late now don’t you think?

In all honesty it turned out being fine. It was perfect walking distance to Disneyland Paris, and also an even shorter walk to the metro station which is what we took when we went into Paris. It truly depends if you want to be closer to Disneyland Paris or to stay in the city itself. The metro was very easy to use, just make sure you don’t get on the wrong train! (We only did that once!!)

Capri Island- a quest for some Limoncello!

So if you haven’t heard or seen Capri Island before all I can say is that you must because it is ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!!! It is an Island off of Naples, and Limoncello is also produced here.

Now our cruise ship docked in Naples, and then we took about a 25-30 minute boat ride over this gorgeous blue water to the Island of Capri. During our boat ride we talked about how we had to get Limoncello. This was our last day in Italy and we knew this was our chance.

When you get to Capri and see the beautiful homes on the cliff side you are just in absolute awe! There is also tons of little sailboats floating in blue water, with the sun beating down on them making you want to sail off all around the island to take in its beauty. But I don’t know how to sail a sailboat so I did not do that.

We took a train costing 2 or 3 euros up to the top, to see some more gorgeous views. Then we walked around for an hour and a half and saw beautiful hotels, luxury shops, and restaurants.

Also were stands with lemons and oranges, and iced drinks with lemon and oranges- but they did not have limoncello. Everywhere you looked were gorgeous views, and what looked like a very luxurious lifestyle. Many of the shops had bottles and souvenirs of Limoncello, but we did not want the hassle of bringing alcohol back to the cruise ship. We did get a very cute Limoncello fridge magnet though!

As we walked around still on our hunt for Limoncello, we walked back down the island instead of the train. I am glad we did walk down. It was through a narrow path in between beautiful homes, with cobblestone walls, and lots of lemon trees! The architecture of the homes is unique and stunning, and just makes you wonder what it must be like living somewhere so exquisite.

Back at the bottom there were more shops and restaurants. And that is when I spotted Limoncello! Limoncello di Capri Cafe had a snack bar outside serving Limoncello drinks. We ordered a Limoncello spritzer, and Im pretty sure we wished we could have sat outside, drank limoncello cocktails, and stare at the boats in the gorgeous blue water all day. But we did not, as we also had to see Sorrento and Pompeii! But let me tell you our Limoncello drink that day was more than we could have asked for, probably one of my favorite beverages the entire trip. So our quest for Limoncello in Capri was fulfilled. Seeing the beautiful island was more than we could have hoped for, and we cannot wait to get back there to explore, and possibly drink more…..

Side story: The people in the background of the photo asked if they could sit down, and the bartender told them no only if you were ordering food. When two minutes before he let us sit down knowing we weren’t getting food 😂😂