Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Diamonds are Forever- Day 2

 From Hardy to the Gulf
Sea Day #1
July 5, 2026 


I love and miss you Keener! 

Morning
I met the boys for breakfast in the Windjammer and as soon as I walk in I see a familiar face from my time at CC Hardy Elementary- Stacey Keener! Stacey and I taught together for 4 years and had the best time. We gathered breakfast and talked for over an hour just catching up. It is amazing how you can live near a friend for years and not see them and then get connected on a cruise- Life is wild sometimes! 


I loved this view from breakfast! 


Keener...Let's not go 6-7 years without seeing each other again! 

We left the Windjammer and went to the Flowrider as it opened at 9AM and Luke was the first in line. He was able to get 2 full sessions in before the line got too busy and he went to the hot-tub. TIP- Always try and be at the Flowrider just as soon as it opens to avoid a 15-30 person deep line. Chris and I stopped at the Sand Bar on Deck 15 before going to the Crown Lounge to see what continental breakfast items were offered. 

I don't even really like Bloody Mary... except on a cruise! 

The Sand Bar on Deck 15:



This was a perfect morning (in the shade too). 


I am officially in my HAPPY PLACE! 


It's going to be a great day! 


Luke absolutely LOVES the Flowrider... And he's gotten really good at it! 

Luke on the FlowRider: 

The Crown Lounge offered light breakfast options like donuts and muffins. 
Don't forget about the Latte Machine as well. It is a great option for a less stressed and crowded breakfast option. 

We met up with Luke at Boleros for the Morning Trivia but we did not even come close. The boys tried to win at the Flags of the World Trivia and did well but still did not win. Natalie grabbed Luke and they spent an hour at the gym before grabbing a smoothie from Vitality Cafe and meeting us at Schooner Bar for the Search for the Nations scavenger hunt. We have always watched this from afar but Natalie really wanted to participate so they grabbed the paper and took off looking for signatures. TIP- Royal Caribbean offers this crew member scavenger hunt on most longer cruises and it is a 4-6 day search for crew members from specific nations. The kids had a lot of fun with this but it is not for me. I come on a cruise to relax- but to each his own. 


This boy used every single Diamond drink coupon for a virgin Strawberry daiquiri.
I think he had a total of 37 for the entire cruise! 

On Air (Trivia and Karaoke) on Deck 5:

We opted to meet the kids at El Loco Fresh on Deck 15 aft for lunch and that is where we first felt the 6K other passengers. The food and overall experience at El Loco was good and much better than we remember on Allure of the Seas 2023 and remarkably better than the Harmony of the Seas 2026 but it was definitely not worth the over 20 minute wait we endured. I think this would be a great option for a later lunch after returning from port but the sea day noon rush, I would not recommend. 

Afternoon
We enjoyed a slower afternoon of listening to live music in Schooner Bar and enjoyed the less crowded venue before trying to layout for an afternoon nap in the Solarium. The Symphony of the Seas Solarium is better overall than that of the Harmony but it offered quite literally ZERO shade. At least the Harmony offered an upper deck to the Solarium that was completely covered. The Symphony only had 1 level for this adults only area and the Solarium Bar was smack dab in the middle of sun. The hot tubs were larger and there was a "pool" in the Symphony Solarium but we much prefer the Harmony since it allows shade. Unfortunately, we did not spend a lot of time here as it was just too hot most of the time. 

Despite only laying out in the Solarium for 20 minutes we were hot and sweaty and needed some AC so we ventured to the Casino knowing it blows super cold air to try and overpower the smoky smell. The bar service at the Casino Bar was fantastic and we enjoyed talking to the bartenders. We spent a little time in the Smoke Free Casino on Deck 4 and after nearly an hour we grabbed some drinks to go and met the kids at the AquaTheater for the World Cup game but it, too, was not in the shade and we got really hot really quick. Of course this is nothing a Johnny Rocket's shake cannot fix so we all got a treat and enjoyed the Boardwalk on this gorgeous afternoon. 

While Chris took a nap and the kids went looking for more signatures, I got my walk in on the Promenade Deck 5. The weather was hot but at least half of my walk was in the shade and I loved getting to see the wake each lap! I walked over a mile and it was glorious! 


And afternoon walk with a wake view is PERFECT! 

We got ready for the Formal Night spent aboard the Symphony of the Seas and then all met at OnAir for the Big Bang Theory Trivia. Natalie really loves this show and Luke is getting into Young Sheldon as we speak but, once again, we did not win. 

Evening
We made our way to the Crown Lounge for Happy Hour and enjoyed the Formal Night appetizers and bar service before going to a comedy show before dinner. The comedians were not that funny but we enjoyed the evening.


Time is a thief... that is all! 


Luke is almost as tall as Natalie! 


We love Formal Night on a cruise ship! 


Central Park for Formal Pictures is one of our favorite things on an Oasis Class ship! 


Be still my heart! 

As per our usual, we stopped in Vintages for our pre-dinner drinks and enjoyed the peace and quiet this venue provided while the kids went searching for more signatures for the Search for the Nations. TIP- We loved the service from Roger and Richard and they are quite easily some of the best bartenders we have ever had. 


I love these moments SO MUCH! 

Dinner in the Main Dining Room for our 8:30PM dining time was fantastic and we all really enjoyed the menu selections and the service was some of the best we have ever had in all 30 cruises. We were in and out of the Main Dining Room (on a formal night) within an hour. 

The Taste of France Menu in the MDR 

French Onion Soup 
Kellie, Natalie & Luke- 5.0
This was our favorite of anything in the MDR. 


Calamari 
Kellie- 4.0 & Chris- 4.5


Steak a Parve 
Luke- 5.0
He devoured this and loved the asparagus. 


Seafood Linguini 
Kellie & Luke- 4.5, Chris- 4.0, Natalie- 3.5


Creme Brulee 
Kellie & Natalie- 3.5, Chris- 3.0

After dinner Chris went to take his medicine and the kids changed and played ping-pong on the outside promenade of deck 5 while we wait for the 10PM showing of the Aqua-Show HIRO. This show was phenomenal and I still cannot believe they can do all of this from a CRUISE SHIP. We all agreed this was the best Aqua-Show we have seen to date! After the show, they all went to bed and I went to listen to live music in Dazzles before calling it a night shortly before midnight. 

Check out our day onboard: 


It was a great sea day spent onboard and we were able to see and do a lot of things the Symphony of the Seas has to offer but I am so grateful for a longer cruise to try and get to enjoy every single part of this ship! She is a beauty but is also a BEAST!

DID YOU MISS DAY #1? Check it out:
Click Here- Symphony Day #1

Up Next... Cozumel, Mexico! 

God is Good... ALL THE TIME! 

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Mariner of the Seas- June 2026










 


Carnival Conquest- 2006

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Diamonds are Forever- Day 1

 Red, White and Royal Blue
Galveston, TX 
July 4, 2026 


Happy 250th Birthday America... From the Symphony of the Seas!

Morning
Despite it being a Saturday and a holiday, we left the house earlier than we normally would since there was a World Cup game being played in Houston at noon. We made our traditional stop at Kolache Factory and were on the island shortly after 9AM, which was really early, but the parking lot was still PACKED. Once we got parked we dropped off our bags at 9:35AM and were checked in at 9:44AM. 


This sign always gives me all the feels... It's go time! 

The boarding announcements started at 10:10AM with Suites and the Key guests. We were called as Diamond guests at 10:14AM and we heard the first "ding" at 10:17AM. Once onboard, we immediately went to our Muster Station to get checked in. 

We have arrived... It's going to be a GREAT Cruise! 



We have made it and we are ready to make this the BEST CRUISE EVER! 

Luke really wanted to go to the Windjammer for lunch when they opened so we could be one of the first in the Windjammer and get the crew's welcome so we obliged. This happened to us on the Anthem of the Seas 2025 and Luke LOVED it! (Classic rookie mistake- NEVER eat at the buffet on embarkation day. It's just TOO busy and luggage everywhere). We were there before it opened and it was still a hot mess. The Oasis class Windjammer is so compact compared to Voyager or even Freedom class ships. TIP- Seriously, try to avoid the WJ on embarkation day. Royal Caribbean offers SO MUCH more; such as, Cafe Promenade, Sorrento's, Park Cafe, Boardwalk Doghouse and even Playmakers (for a fee). The buffet will be there ALL week. Avoid the chaos and enjoy a less crowded venue on embarkation day! 


Yay... We got the Welcome Celebration from the Crew! 


Royal Caribbean really knows how to celebrate... EVERYTHING! 

Once we were done with lunch we went to the back of Deck 15 to sign all of the Flowrider waivers for the kids and got our first drink of the trip at the Wipe-Out Bar. Luke got into his swimsuit and he was the first person on the Flowrider and he loved it. 


Cheers to Cruise #30! 

Afternoon
We all met at Boleros around 12:30PM to wait for our stateroom to be ready at 1PM. Once we got to Deck 11, there was an actual line to get into staterooms... I had never seen anything like it. Once at our side-by-side interior staterooms, we found all of our luggage and unpacked it all quickly. 

Embarkation Day and July 4th on the Symphony DID NOT disappoint: 



We loved the proximity of Boleros to our Forward cabin and it became home base for this cruise- which was new to us as we typically prefer Schooner Bar! 

Interior Stateroom 11553 is very well kept and clean but I do prefer the more open layout of stateroom 11551. Oddly enough, the boys had the much larger interior stateroom than the girls. Both were fine for our trip but know there are various layouts of the interior cabins on Oasis class ships. 


Interior Stateroom 11553

Symphony of the Seas Interior Stateroom 11553

We decided to go to Deck 4 forward to check out the Crown Lounge for Diamond and above Crown and Anchor members and let me tell you... it was GLORIOUS! They offered cookies and snacks during the day and even a latte machine. We were surprised to find out that we were able to attend Happy Hour nightly in the Crown Lounge from 5-8PM for drinks and appetizers. This became the highlight of our daily routine on the Symphony of the Seas. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know the Symphony of the Seas. This seemed like a carbon copy of the Harmony of the Seas of which we sailed in February 2026. We love the Boardwalk on Oasis class ships but I much prefer the Playmakers Sports Bar to be INSIDE like it is on the Mariner of the Seas 2026. It was SO HOT in Playmakers and while we loved the vibes, it was just too hot most days for us! 


Classic Oasis Class ship picture! 

Evening
We watched sail away from the outside promenade on Deck 5 and it was a perfect sail away. We were able to see dolphins and gorgeous weather as well.


Goodbye Galveston... We will see you in EIGHT days! 

The kids decided to enjoy the hot tubs while Chris and I ventured to one of our favorite spots on board- The Schooner Bar. It was crazy busy and we had a hard time finding a chair at all, let alone at the bar so we opted to go to Vintages. Here we found Roger and Richard from our Allure of the Seas 2023 cruise and they even recognized us before we recognized them. This is the kind of customer service we love as these crew members really make relationships with their passengers and go above and beyond. The fact they recognized us and then remembered the type of wine we liked THREE years later baffles me. I can barely remember my students name from May to August. Thank you Roger and Richard! You truly are the BEST! 

We met up with the kids and tried our hand at the US Presidents Trivia and did well, but not enough to win. We also tried the American Jukebox trivia and we LOVED singing along but we didn't even come close to winning this one. 


We are loving all the July 4th and American decor! 


It's time to win our first trivia... Haha, not! 

Next it was time for gym waivers. TIP- Royal Caribbean allows 16+ to go to the gym unaccompanied and 13-15 can have parents sign a waiver to attend with parent supervision. Luke was really excited to keep up with his baseball workouts- and he did, for the most part! 

Right before dinner we went back to the Crown Lounge for Happy Hour. Where has this been my whole cruising life? This was so incredible with tasty appetizers, desserts and even a bartender taking orders from 5-8PM. The food was delicious and the bar service was phenomenal. 

Dinner in the Main Dining Room was perfect. I met with the Maitre'D upon arrival on the ship and asked for a table "isolated" and we were placed in the middle of section and it was absolutely PERFECT. TIP- If you have MDR requests, be sure to go see the Maitre'D (usually on the lowest level of the dining room) just as soon as you get on to get the requests made and accommodations squared away. Our waiters were literally some of the best we ever had as well. 


We are ready for dinner! 


The July 4th Menu in the Main Dining Room.


Chilled Shrimp Cocktail 
Luke-4.0


Scallop Gratin 
Kellie-3.0 & Natalie- 3.5


Baked Potato Soup 
Kellie- 3.0 & Natalie- 2.0


Beef Brisket 
Chris- 4.0, Kellie- 2.5 (tough), Luke -2.0


Jambalya 
Natalie- 1.0 & Luke- 3.5


Strawberry Shortcake 
Kellie- 2.5 & Luke- 3.0


Red, White and Blue Cheesecake 
Natalie- 4.5


Fudge Brownie 
Luke- 3.0

(Not pictured is Chris's Pecan Tart- not worth a picture) 



Dinner on a cruise ship is my favorite. Not because of the food but the family time! 
I swear we are so busy during the school year we only get 1 or 2 meals at the dinner table all together each week. These cruise meals are PRICELESS to me! 

After dinner Chris went to take his medication and a brief "power nap" (he was not 100% but did well managing his exhaustion) while the kids and I walked outside on the promenade before the ice show in Studio B. The 1977 performance was really good but the storyline was lacking in my experience. 


We were all excited for a show to be based in London! 


We are loving this Ice Show! 

We all met at Boleros for the July 4th Party in the Royal Promenade and the Balloon Drop. TIP- Royal Caribbean offers balloons drops on ALL Oasis class ships on Embarkation night. DO NOT MISS THIS- Trust me! We all partied well past midnight and then called it a night. 

It was a great embarkation day and the PERFECT way to celebrate America's 250th birthday! 

Check out our Day #1 on Symphony of the Seas:


Up Next... Sea Day #1

God is Good... ALL THE TIME! 

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Mariner of the Seas- June 2026










 


Carnival Conquest- 2006


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