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Spacecaydet

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    Bourbon and Bottles a live review on Oasis of the seas - June 9th

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted · Edited by Spacecaydet
    typo

    On 6/11/2023 at 7:58 PM, Sea Dog said:


    Totally agree! Bionic is a waste of space. Put in a Tiki Bar!

    ANYTHING else would do! Bionic is slow, time consuming, needs constant human maintenance. It's only good for marketing purposes. So I guess that's why Royal sticks with it. They don't care as much about us as they do about the first time cruiser market. 10 seconds into pouring my first bionic bar drink 5 years ago on Anthem, I knew it was the last time I'd be using the bioinic bar. 

    • Like 1

    Grand Suite on Oasis

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Best deck on ship. But we are biased because we love walking out to the serenity of Central Park and restaurants of central park. You're only two decks above the action of the promenade and the boardwalk. Finally, with your suite specifically you are steps from the elevator. Why is that great in your particular situation? You are situated directly below the elevator lobby which lets out on deck 17 where the suite lounge and coastal kitchen are located. That means at a none busy time especially during the early happy hour it's nothing for you to dart up and grab complimentary cocktails from the suite lounge and head back to your room. Congrats! 

    • Like 1

    Bourbon and Bottles a live review on Oasis of the seas - June 9th

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    18 hours ago, mets123 said:

    FYI... They had Blanton's for sale on the Oasis two weeks ago. It wasn't on display, but if you asked the person behind the register, he would get it for you. It was $110, but I didn't get any because I got three bottles in San Maarten in February for $80 each.

    I've soured on Blanton's because of this. Don't get me wrong it's great but it's not worth the cost when the entry level of the distillery, Buffalo Trace, is usually 1/3 the price and is wonderful. My wife is from Bourbon country she grew up 8 miles from Makers Mark and I've found Blanton's for $90 five miles from a place trying to sell it to unsuspecting bourbon trailers for $140. $110 in a duty free on the ship is price gouging. It's at the CLT airport for $82 duty free for international travelers. The St. Maarten price was very reasonable. Here in Charlotte it's rarely ever found but recently went for retail at $60 during special grand opening of an ABC store. I've heard it can often be found at $60 in big cities. The distributors here in the southeast tell me buffalo trace distillery allocates according to population. So we get shafted in the smaller population centers. I do often get annoyed at Buffalo Trace family of brands for what I think is driving artificial scarcity with their product. Here even the entry level buffalo trace is hard to get so I grab it whenever i find it. When we go back to Kentucky you better believe I'm bootlegging a minivan full for friends and neighbors. I transfer to my bourbon aficionado friends at my cost but you can probably resell it here for nearly twice the cost because the stores rarely have it and when they do they only allow one per customer. 

    • Like 2

    Star Class Connecting rooms question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

     

    The royal loft suite already has two bedrooms.  Basically they are looking for a 3rd bedroom....I can only assume for the additional privacy desired from night time activities 😉

     

    Otherwise the sofa in the royal and/or a cot sleeps kids just fine.

    Sorry somehow missed the party of 6 2 kids. I kept thinking 2 and 2. You're right 2 bedrooms won't do it, makes more sense as to why the extra cost would be incurred. Yeah the best option would be to do the Oasis Royal Loft and CL (L1) connecting. 

     

    And Yungwash...those deck plans are tricky!! The sister ships are almost the same but not exactly those subtle difference will get you every time!  I'd love to help answer any other questions. Also...have you sailed the deck 17 lofts before? So Awesome...so great. You're in for a treat. SO conveniently close to the coastal kitchen and the suite bar. Convenient to what basically amounts to private elevators (at least going down).

    • Like 1

    Star Class Connecting rooms question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, yungwash said:

    If one books connecting staterooms on oasis class such as 1742 and 1744, do both rooms get access to the star class amenities that come with the royal loft suite? we have a party of 6 and want to put the two kids in a separate room in the adjoining crown loft rather than on the sofa bed in the royal loft. Thanks!

    Hey Yungwash I concur with dodgestang those two staterooms receive skyclass suite amenities NOT the Star class amenities. Both of the rooms would indeed include the sky class benefits. Also, please do confirm that those two suites connect because I've done plenty of research on the lofts I sailed one last year on the Symphony and booked myself on it again this year. I do not believe those connect. 

     

    Now, that being said the STAR class Royal Loft 1740 does connect to the neighboring room  L1 category 1738. In that situation your question would be applicable. I do think they are sold together in STAR class package so if I'm right for those connecting lofts all guests would benefit from the Star class amenities. HOWEVER, if they are not on the same benefits your kids will by natural extension have basically all of the star benefits that you their parents will enjoy. THey may not get a refreshment package but your use of the genie services, dining rooms, etc...will all extend to them.

     

    Finally, if it's that important to have the kids in a second but connecting room there are cheaper ways to do this. You can get a star class 2 bedroom Aqua theater likely for cheaper than booking two separate L1 or L2 category (Sky class) loft rooms or if you are OK with "settling" for Sky class suite benefits there is a two bedroom grand suite that will safe you tons of money. 

     

    I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. If Money is no issue I'd go for the 1740-1738 stateroom configuration. 

     

    -Bert

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    Stateroom question Freedom of the Seas

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    On 2/4/2020 at 8:29 PM, cb at sea said:

    Being close to the elevator/stairway FOYER is a huge timesaver.  There's no additional noise because of it.

     

    Hey cb...I haven't been here in a while we are once a year cruisers so my board activity coincides with that timeframe. I definitely remember you and all of your great info...but BOB seems to be absent? Do you know where he is?

    Pricing drops after final payment

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    54 minutes ago, wellsme1 said:

    Received a $272 refund and $100 OBC yesterday, a week after our final payment for a May 2020 cruise. We were surprised. Give them a call.

    Was that an early May cruise? We have may cruise and our final payment doesn't hit until Sunday. Our May 9th cruise final payment is 2/9/2020. We did get a 1K discount a few days ago on a suite. It was sweet. 

    Oasis..Suite or no?? HELP!

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted · Edited by Spacecaydet
    typo

    35 minutes ago, Southern latitudes said:

    I feel you have dinner in CK, you can have the included (very limited) wine and beer selections with dinner. 

    From our perspective we eat specialty two or three times CK the rest. The house offerings of wine and beer at dinner are good enough in CK. PLUS dinner falls during the cocktail hour so it's free spirits if you're ok with brands such as Jack Daniels, Amsterdam, Dewars. Not bad. 

     

    When we go specialty we splurge a bit have a "nicer" glasses of wine or cocktail. But we can't justify the near 1K cost for drink package when we are staying feet away from free beer and wine from 11AM on and relatively good cocktails  from 4:30pm on. I'll often step out of the room and grab a couple of manhattans while we are getting ready for dinner.  We just can't "physically" approach the break even on the drink package with all of the included CK options. That being said we redirect those funds to cabanas. 

     

    Obviously, it's not as convenient if you're not on deck 17 to take full advantage of the CK bar and drinks. This is especially true for some Grand Suites and those Aqua theater suites. When and if we ever book those we'll likely have to book the drink package.

     

    Still the other perks from, priority embark, reserved show seating, escorting off at debark, concierge elevator escort to the gangway during high traffic times at port, to simply asking concierges to book something and it happening, also ask about free bridge tours and other behind the scenes tours from the concierge, the private beach on Labadee, it's going to be hard to go back to non-suite!!

     

    LOVE IT!! GET EXCITED!

    • Like 1

    Oasis..Suite or no?? HELP!

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Yes. For the reasons that Jake and Lady pointed out. If you can afford it definitely worth especially for the older kids. We've gone grand on Allure, Crown Loft on Symphony, and now CL on symphony this may. You can definitely begin to justify the cost with the included internet and if you are willing to run up to the lounge you basically have free drinks all day (including spirits during cocktail hour 4:30-8:30, for us not getting the drink package is just under a $1K savings. Plus tip the bartender well ask for a few beers and waters at a time put them in the suite mini fridge and there you have pool drinks.

     

    Do it. DO IT NOW! 

    • Like 2

    LONG Symphony Review which is LONG overdue 5-2-2019

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Arcades - NOT Great #1 Our kids love the arcades. They do. we were very impressed with the arcades on the Allure last time and the selection of games. The Symphony however dropped a huge notch. The selection of games went from interactive video games to more of the “win tickets” or claw type drop a stuffed animal that you nearly pulled out games. Basically, slot machines for kids! And while just as hard to win as normal slot machines the reward in the junk that they pull out is much less! These machines in large part replaced the fun options that were available on the Allure. Allure has the Symphony beat here. I did buy the $80 for $100 credit ahead of time on the cruise planner so that helped and don’t get me wrong the kids loved these games “kid games of chance” more than the others but I didn’t appreciate it much. I understand, it’s Casino Royale’s way of prepping the kids to be new customers in 15-20 years…but come on. Honestly, mission accomplished..the kids are hooked…but bring back the real games!!!  That all being said, we’ll spend just as much money on the same next time. Gluttons for punishment. 
     
    Some of the good about the arcades is that they at least they kept just as many air hockey and skee ball machines as we’ve seen previously. My wife loves skee ball and we have an ongoing air hockey challenge with each other. I think I soundly beat her this time…I’d love to say that’s usually the case but it’s not so….YES!!!!!! WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!! 
     
    Bionic Bar - NOT GOOD - I admit first seeing the commercials for these drink slinging robots a few years back was a part of us booking the Anthem of the Seas aside from extenuating circumstances that forced us to pick and itinerary with, non-Zika islands. With much anticipation we gave the bionics a turn on the Anthem and the novelty wore off in about 15 seconds…unfortunately it would be another roughly 1500 seconds before our drinks would be ready. Just a few people in the queue is enough to extend the wait and once you’ve seen one drink made, well…you’ve seen them all. That on top of the fact that often the machines get shutdown for maintenance and cleaning. I think it’s time to silently put the Bionic Bar out to pasture and stop adding it to new ships.  I admit though it sure is catchy in marketing! Space is limited drop the robots and putting something else great in there! 
     
    Adventure Ocean - Could have been better. It started off fine, I wasn’t there for Day 1 check-in but from what I understand it was less chaotic than it had been on our previous cruise. Caroline LOVED the first few days of Adventure Ocean and was thoroughly enjoying her new status in the 6-8 year old explorer program. However, at some point during the cruise (or maybe from the start) AO combined the explorers 6-8 year olds with the voyagers 9-11 year olds. One of the activities included a movie that while it may have been appropriate for 9-11 year olds, Caroline (who herself wasn’t bothered) said that some of the younger kids were upset because of characters “rising from the dead”. DON’T take this the wrong way.. I’m thinking some sort of harry potter or goosebumps movie, not "24 hours later" or  "WALKING DEAD” (I know…I would have loved some walking dead on the high seas too…) cinema. While I wasn't able to find out exactly what they had been watching I can see where some of the younger ones may not have liked it. SO here’s what was not good about adventure ocean this trip. I understand that since school was in session there may have been fewer children on this sailing so in order to efficiently use staff they combined to two groups. However, I saw the one big group and it was huge. I didn’t appreciate it. Plus, I had my newly minted 6 year old in there with 11 year olds. The structure of the games sometimes are very active and raucous which Caroline loved/s but it puts the smaller kids at a disadvantage. Plus, the targeted structure for the age groups is much of what we appreciate about the Royal Youth program in Adventure Ocean as opposed to Disney. Disney puts 3-11 year olds together in the same space and that’s one of the prime reasons (aside from the astronomical costs) that we are Royal cruisers. Is combining 6-11 year olds outlandish? It’s not, but it just looked as if Adventure Ocean was trying to save a buck by combining the groups when the group that I saw was gigantic and the combination unnecessary. I am biased because as the parent of child at the younger age of the spectrum, my kid loses out. YES…I hear the shouts.."but Bert don’t you know?, you could have put her in the 3-5s", sure…but the 6-8 is specifically her program and what she looked forward to. And again she did love it for the first few days but later on in the cruise did ask to try 3-5s…it wasn’t clear what the change of heart was but after seeing the gigantic combined group in action and hearing the story about the film that saw I understood. Plus as good as the 3-5 programming is for some it’s just not active enough to keep our kids attention. Reid went a few times and didn’t love it, Caroline gets bored quickly, there’s more coloring and constructing activities there which she can get at home. Again…that’s why we depend on the 6-8 group and the structured activities for the age groups. IN my feedback to Royal I’d remind them that many expect the age groups to operate as presented unless it’s absolutely necessary try not to combine them. NOW…in transparency…if my kid had been one of the older ones…I probably wouldn’t have notice a thing. It’s just the reality of the situation. 
     
    Sport Viewing - NOT GOOD #8 (DAY 1). It just so happened that we boarded this ship on May 4th which coincided with the running of the 145th Kentucky Derby. We are not huge horse racing fans but this 1 day a year we are. My wife is born and bread Kentucky and the most exciting 2 minutes in sports is definitely something we love to watch. SO this huge sporting even will no doubt be playing at PLAYMAKERS right? The Royal Caribbean investment into a beautiful sports restaurant/bar venue at sea right???? WRONG!! WHAT!? Something about not having the rights to the contest…ok. SO…let’s get this straight Royal now has the premier sports venue at sea and is adding it to new ships as well as AMPED ships and we don’t get one of the premier sporting events of the year?!??!? I hear this happens often with other high interest invents that you would expect to see at any land based sports establishment. This one needs to be figured out ASAP….I even tried to instagram shame Royal for not playing this but to no avail. Of course…we were on the first day of the cruise and the excitement was there…I let is slide.. 😉
     
    Broken Aqua Theater Stage (Day 7) - NOT GOOD #9 - The kids hadn’t had the opportunity to see HIRO on the cruise but we had planned to take them to the other aqua show on Day 7 which I think concentrated more on the performers and acrobatics with less of full stage production. I don’t know exactly because we didn’t see it. The audience was seated and ready and after the show didn’t begin nearly 10 minutes after the schedule start time…well…the dreaded announcement came that it was canceled. Not for issues of sea movement but for issues of maintenance and the hydraulic stage not operation appropriately. I know there are a lot of moving parts on this ships and things like this will happen but this was particularly disappoint because the children would have been floored by the event. Two of these shows were scheulde for Day 7 and both were canceled. Major bummer…we’ll catch it next time. I am glad that the same didn’t happen prior to HIRO which is one of the Marquee shows for the Symphony. 
     
    Baby Crib (AKA pack and Play (Day1- 7) - NOT GOOD #10 - We’ve used the cruise provided pack and plays previously. On the August Allure cruise, we actually purchased one on Amazon and had it sent to my cousin’s house in Miami where we were staying for 2 days prior to the cruise. We needed it there and figured we’d bring it with us on the cruise. We didn’t realize until this cruise what a smart move that was. The pack and play “mattress” was rock hard despite the Symphony’s young age. I’m sure things like this come out of fleet's inventory. Anyway, the $50 pack and play that we had in August was incredible and the little lady slept well This pack and play might as well have been a slate of sheet rock and we resorted to placing towels under the mattress to soften it for the little lady. I think next time we do the same and send the cheapest version of a new pack and play ahead. 
     
    Customs (Day 8 ;(Love -13)
    This needs to be part of the review. I’ve never seen anything like it. If you have a US passport you walk up to an agent and a scanner and your face is scanned…just like that you are through customs. WHAT!?!? Yes. That’s it. Done. Out to the rat race that is terminal A pick-up. 
     
     
    Honorable Mention - Much too honorable…to not mention. 
     
    Cruisers….as luck would have and as infrequent as we cruise, we actually met friends from a previous cruise this time around. A pair of pinnacles that we absolutely loved talking to in the Allure suite lounge last August were on the Symphony! We had corresponded over email late into 2018 and let them know that we’d be on May 4th Symphony but at the time they weren’t sure they could make it. Imagine my surprise when I saw George walking through the elevator lobby on Day 1! They got to see the our kids again who they were so kind to the last go around and meet my parents as well. It was fun to see George and Carla and hear about their plans for their upcoming 50th anniversary with their entire family on the Allure. I hope to see them again, and being pinnacles who cruise at the drop of a hat, I’ll be sure to let them know when we the cruise trail again. 
     
    Making myself a part of the cruise critic community pays dividends. Call me a cruise nerd and I’ll wear that with a badge of honor. The things I’ve learned to help make the most of our vacations are too many to count. But this time we actually made some friends prior to the cruise courtesy of the roll call message board. I deliberately looked to meet other traveling families so that our kids, specifically my four year old, would have friends to attend Adventure Ocean with. We literally had two other families in our cabin, hours into the cruise, for sail away. One family coincidentally from our hometown and the other from Canada (so..exotic!! 😉 Both with children with similar ages to ours. Who knew you could meet such wonderful people on the internet! Our kids played and shouted…and drowned out my sail away music…and it was awesome. We even ended up meeting later in San Juan for lunch at Punto de Vista which turned out to be a favorite spot of the couple/family from our hometown. My daughter actually begged and went to share a seat with her new hometown cruise friend at the ice show and weekly asks to get together with her! We’ll make that happen and use it as an opportunity to reminisce and talk about future high seas excursions.
     
    During one of our date nights (Thank GOD for grandparents) my wife and I we were able to get together with our friends friends from up North (Thank GOD for Canadian grandparents) in one of our favorite places at sea, Central Park, for a fun cocktail hour. It’s incredible how much you have in common with people you just met. Maybe it’s the drinks or the sea air, or the fact that the environment of relaxation facilitates friendship. But it was a fun time. We talked about our cruise dinners to date, excursions, and the legality of backyard sheds….long story…but just remember it’s always easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission! We could have been at home with our own friends but we were on vacation with new friends and the vacation part made everything just a bit better. 
     
    Keeping with the theme, roll call participant Unique1782 was a few cabins down from us and we exchanged more than a few words and pleasantries from our balconies and in transit. 
     
     
    Closing Word (If you are Still reading)
    Understanding that this review is nearing 60 days late…it’s only because everything about this cruise was awesome and I tried my best not to leave anything out (I just remembered…I left the piano steps out…the piano steps were awesome. Our family wore them out. You can find them between deck 14 and 15 on the Symphony and by walking them or trotting them it’ll make you feel like Beethoven re-wrote that piano scene from BIG) but I digress. Every time I thought I was finished with this “brief” recap, something else popped into my mind and as non-cruise life would have it I would have to put off completion until the next day…then the next…and the next….and…well you get the picture. If you’ve come this far I hope you get the idea that nothing will every go 100% to expectation but focus on the good (and thank God there is so much good to focus on) you will have the time of your life!
    • Like 5

    LONG Symphony Review which is LONG overdue 5-2-2019

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Price - (LOVED - #1)
    Now…let’s bring it back to the beginning. One month removed from our August 2018 Allure cruise the post cruise blues weren’t subsiding but instead getting worse! The best way to treat the symptoms for the well known, but as of yet medically unrecognized, condition is to book and begin the countdown for the next best cruise. Like it or not, price is normally the first consideration when browsing for the next cruise. I can’t remember if Royal had renewed the Kids Sail Free (KSF) offer in September but it popped up during my search. Let’s not understate how incredible the KSF promo is for a young family with any amount of children, much less 3 like us. For families crowding into the same cabin, KSF It’s MEGA..it’s gigantic. It’s to COST savings what the Oasis class is to the cruise world!! I saw the Symphony available at prices that seemed much lower than the normal premium that the new ships carry. So I looked and after the OK from DW I booked the L1 loft suite which on this sailing was only slightly more than the Grand Suite we had sailed on the Allure last August. I won’t come out with the exact number but I hadn't seen the L1 crown loft for this price on any of the royal suite program previously or since this booking. In comparison I looked at a Disney Fantasy 7 day cruise for this same May 4th time period and we basically booked the loft suite for the same cost of a standard ocean view balcony on Disney. Go ahead and try to convince me, a self avowed Disney enthusiast, that Royal isn’t an awesome cruise line! So while free is the right price, the reasonable real world price we bought into for this “suite” sailing was incredible, throw the apparent lack of the new ship Symphony premium, and we could not have done better. The one thing that I wasn’t enthused about was doing the same itinerary now in May 2019 that we had just completed with the Allure in August of 2018. 
     
    Fast forward to May 2019 and having just sailed the itinerary including St. Maarten, San Juan, and Labadee. It was awesome. Doing the same itinerary again afforded us the opportunity to make the visits even better than the first time. Don’t worry we’ll get back to the ship in a moment but let’s run through the port visits. 
     
     
    Itinerary - (LOVED - #2)
    • Sint Maarten - (DAY 4) - After 2 consecutive days of cruising to start off the trip we reached Sint Maarten for our first port visit. Like our previous stop here we rented a day room at the Holland House ($120) on Great Bay beach. The beach and hotel are only about a mile walk or a quick ferry ride from the cruise pier. We chose to walk with why parents and the kids on the way out to the beach and we made it there in about 20 minutes. The beach isn’t as exotic as some on the island but for a family with 3 young kids it minimizes transportation needs and eliminates the specter of long trips with impatient children (and dads i.e. me). Why book a day room on this beach? The holland house for the day gives us a refuge from the sun. For us a clean full service and private bathroom, included beach chairs, beach service, and a bed for the kids to nap if necessary. As far as this particular day our baby Sofia took a nice long nap right there under the shade of the umbrella on the beach. The weather was a perfect 85 and the water at Great Bay while chilly in the morning warmed up nicely with the heat of the day. Now how did this get any better if we did the exact same itinerary last time? Well, the lines for the ferry to the beach from the pier in the morning were super long and sweaty due to Sint Maarten’s bountiful and powerful sun. SO this time, as mentioned, we walked. Instead of waiting 20 minutes to board the outbound ferry from peer to beach we hoofed it and probably got there faster. Also, in August, we had lunch at the Holland House beach restaurant. While we are huge fans of the beautifully clean hotel room and the tropically infused drinks that the beach bar mixes from morning to evening (hey it’s 5 o’clock somewhere), the restaurant was not our favorite and super expensive. So we dropped that from the plan this time around, my mom grabbed some food from the ship for our lunch “snack” and allowed us to claim back the near 1.5 hours we spent in the restaurant last time. Instead of the overpriced, slow, and unfortunately fly annoyed sit down lunch, we continued to enjoy the fantastically sun-drenched beach. Later in the afternoon we got a quick quesadilla from a neighboring Mexican restaurant for the kids to enjoy. Finally, I noticed last time that wave runners were rented on the beach but we hadn’t planned ahead and weren’t ready to try them in August. This time with the added adult supervision to help with the little ones left behind on the beach, I was able to rent one of the jet skis for 30 minutes and take both the 4 year old and 6 year old on alternating rides. They LOVED it! We went fast but proceeded with caution, we didn’t go wild and the kids were floored by the fun that water motorsports could be. My 6 year old yelled with an excited high pitched delight for the first 5 minutes of the ride. She didn’t want to get off and we toured the bay for about 15-20 minutes. When asked about her favorite experience on Sint Maarten Caroline responds with “wave runners!” While a little more cautious, Reid loved the wave running experience. A motorcycle on water I think he called it. If you make it to Great Bay Beach and want to rent a wave runner be sure to look and ask for DENZEL on the beach tell him Bert sent you. Not sure why because I’m not that memorable… Anyway, he doesn’t have a tour stand but he is true to his word and got us on the wave runner quickly! At the end of the day we showered off the sand in the hotel room and took a leisurely walk back to the ferry which we utilized to get back to the ship. As not everybody returns to the pier at the same time the return lines to board the ferry are non-existent. For the easiest best possible beach day Great Bay beach and a day room at the Holland House is a great move. 
    • San Juan - (DAY 5) - Let’s start off with the bad (Reference NOT GREAT #6). This is the 2nd time in a row we’ve done this itinerary (or very similar) and the ship arrives at 7AM and leaves before 3PM. It’s tough to appreciate all that San Juan or even Puerto Rico has to offer in the evening if we are gone by mid-afternoon. So the itinerary gets a BIG KNOCK for hours at port. Now the good, Old San Juan itself though is classic,  it’s beautiful, it's historically preserved, the daytime sail away is beautiful as you pass closely by El Morro and the culinary talents of the people here are not better represented than at our favorite island restaurant... Punto de Vista. This place is a must if you love the traditional Puerto Rican mofongo. The Pina Coladas as well as the mojitos here are tasty and make fine use of authentic Puerto Rican Rum. We’ve been to Old San Juan 3 times since December 2012, Punto de Vista has been on the list every time. SO no surprise we did this again however it was especially more fun that than last August because we were able to meet up with new cruise friends here. Believe it or not we linked up with two other cruising families on cruise critic in attempt to give the children “built-in” friends on day 1 of the cruise and we were all able to meet the restaurant during lunch after what I think were our respective trips to el Morro. Good food, good people, and good cheer! Make it happen if you get there! Also, an improvement over last August for us was our trip to the fort. With the grandparents with us as reinforcements the DW and I wanted to recreate a full family picture at the historic landmark that we last took in 2012 when our now oldest daughter was showing well in mommy’s belly. Aside from a few sprinkles as we left the el Morro it was a success. Having remembered our routes in and around old san juan in August of 2018 we were able to perfect and make more efficient the site seeing trip and the restaurant visit this time around. Another prime example on why I was WRONG to think the redoing the last itinerary would be boring. It definitely enhanced the trip and our ability to use our limited time at port especially here in San Juan. 
    • Labadee - (DAY 6) - With having the good fortune to again sail a sky class suite we took advantage of the included access to Labadee’s barefoot beach. This beach is the shortest walk from the ship and is reserved for suite guests. Here the repeat port visit again paid off for us in that we were recently familiar with the beach and the location of the cabanas allowing us to request the optimal cabana for our family. Cabana’s are costly but for the reward of an extended beach day where all 3 kids would eventually nap safe from the suns rays WITHOUT returning to the ship, the added cost was well worth it. Are cabanas necessary for everybody? Not a chance. However, we wanted to spend every bit of time on that little piece of paradise so the little home away from home was worth it to us. We did venture out to explore the rest of the island and the kids found the splash pad complete with a pirates ship. At first excited to use and battle with the real water cannons we quickly learned that only one of the cannons was fully operational. (Reference NOT GREAT #5) It was disappointing and overall lacking as it seems a small amount of maintenance would go a long way to making a great number of royal caribbean loyal children very happy. Plus the splash pad on the island while a great idea could use an expansion. My assumption is that all splash pad improvement funds have been diverted to Coco Cay. I’m sure Coco Cay is going to exceed all expectations but in the meantime the Labadee splash pad area was very disappointing. 
     
    Labadee notes - The leeward beaches are beautiful especially the suite dedicated barefoot beach cove. Just off of barefoot beach, there is a sunken cessna by the booey off the right side of the beach. It makes for great underwater exploration! 
     
     
    I realize I’m writing this review non-sequentially ala films such as “Pulp Fiction”, “Memento”, and more recently “Arrival”, or insert favorite hollywood blockbuster that we’ve all seen here    . Not believing for a moment that my cruise review, and tips there in, are an entertainment comparison, much less replacements, for these cinematic masterpieces, like them, you’ll have the complete picture in the end! So if you are still reading stick with it or by all means skip to the section that most interests you! 
     
     
     
    Embarkation and Terminal (Day 1) 
    Embarkation took about 5-10 (LOVED - #3)minutes once we finally stepped into Terminal A. We had done, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you complete, every aspect of online check-in which will help facilitate this process. In our limited cruising experience we’ve sailed the Allure twice, Anthem, and Disney Dream. The longest embarkation process was on the Dream and it wasn’t very long at all. This time with Symphony though we walked on to the ship within 5-7 minutes of beginning the boarding process. This simply cannot be beat.  I will caveat that we did have access to the suite guest embarkation. I can’t speak to the general boarding experience I can however guarantee that if you utilize the royal caribbean app for online check in, and present the app to the person checking you in at the terminal you, will help Royal Caribbean to help you minimize all lines. For us the quick access that the suite dedicated line and the online check-in provide is valuable. Waiting with kids the ages of 17months, 4 years, and 6 years is never an enjoyable experience. (Ask me how we get through Disney parks blowing through the line attractions….I’d love to tell!) We walked in, went through a very fast security line, checked-in using the APP, and walked on to the ship. LET THE FUN BEGIN! 
     
    Terminal - (LOVED - #4) 
    Mentioned in the “LOVED” summary, theterminal is beautiful. You are greeted by two seemingly suspended, to scale, Oasis class golden screws (Propeller Blades) that gracefully float and gently turn in space about 60 feet above. The suite embarkation lounge is complete with comfortable seating, soft drinks, and many available attendants carrying iPads to perform on the spot check-in.
     
     
    Terminal Drop-off (NOT GREAT - #4)
    Terminal Drop-off... It wasn’t all good. Here’s the bad. Despite our quick access to the ship once entering the terminal we diid arrive in the middle of the most busy time for dropping passengers off at Terminal A at about 1:30pm. WE had an 11AM check-in time but received an email from Royal not to arrive before 1pm due to a special inspection that the ship would undergo. Come to find out many people were checking in and boarding right around 11AM regardless. We weren’t too upset about the misinformation because we are late for everything and wouldn’t have been able to get there much before 1:30pmanyway. In our previous experience at Port Everglades with the Allure, while arriving at a similarly busy time, we could hardly get out of the car before a porter (DON’T FORGET TO TIP!) was collecting our luggage and securing it in a transport bin for transfer to the ship. Here on the absolutely chaotic curb in terminal A we basically had to chase down porter to grab our luggage. More over the signage was not great. We dropped off at the first opening we were pointed to when we arrived at the terminal A curb. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the suite access drop-off was at the furthest point of the drop off curb about 100 meters from where we were with all of our carry on luggage and children. I may have very well missed a sign in the chaos and while trying to follow the directions of the traffic but we dropped ourselves off a long, people and luggage dodging haul from where we needed to enter. Not ideal with strollers, little legs, carry-ons, and backpacks in tow! Now we know (and so do you)!
     
    Post Cruise  - Terminal A “pick-up” worse than drop off! (Day 😎NOT GREAT - #4 A lot of this is my own fault for not having solid pick-up plans following disembarkation. I figured an UBER would be simple. It wasn’t. There is hardly a place for the UBERs to pull over and grab the riders much less collect all of our belongings. Most ubers will pick up about a football length from the terminal. So be ready to exit the terminal and turn right and keep walking. Even in May that MIAMI sun is hot! So plan for a busy pick-up area and book transportation shuttles that are available as you walk out of the terminal. 
     
    Service (Day 1 - Day 7) - (LOVED - #5)
    For the most part the service experience on the Symphony was absolutely phenomenal. I don’t seem to recall walking by RCCL team member without hearing a greeting.  Our room steward, Stefan, called us by name for the duration of the trip beginning only minutes after meeting us for the first time. Stefan was no doubt the best room steward we’ve had to date and that’s saying a lot because we’ve had some great ones. At times it felt as if he just stood in the hall waiting for us to pop out of our room with a request of some sort. Luckily for us, suffered from the right place at the right time “syndrome". I joke but how else can I explain not being able to count the many times he was around at just the right time to open our door for us upon our return to the room when our hands were either filled with wet towels, a tired 4 year old or sleeping toddler.  No need to dig for the key or swipe the band when Stefan is there to hold the door! The room was turned over incredibly quickly multiple times each day and on day 1 he recommended that we put a baby gate in and had maintenance come up and install the gate. Seeing the baby’s penchant to head straight for the stairs every time the gate was left open this gave us a sanity check for the duration of the cruise.  
     
    The service was similarly incredible in the suite lounge and coastal kitchen. My parents traveling with us in their own cabin were welcomed without question which of course was not expected but was very kind accommodation as it helped with the child care. I’m sure all diners in the restaurant were thankful for it! My parents are also a challenge when it comes to food as they are gluten free, dairy free, and nearly sugar free. The Coastal Kitchen manager, Ryan, took it all in stride and my parents had a great culinary experience! Yes, you can sail royal caribbean with the strictest of dietary concerns! The staff repeatedly proved this morning, noon, and night! The staff there also learned our names beginning on day 1 and greeted the children with special attention daily. The children loved it. What’s written here about Ryan is minimal, as so much of his work can’t be included even in this extended review.  But for context he ran the busy Coastal Kitchen restaurant like a top making the jammed upscale eatery feel relaxed and fluid. At two different points he went above and beyond to fulfill special requests. The first in trying to track down a gluten free almond cake for dessert for my father when the other desserts didn’t have a combined dairy free and gluten free option. He found it and delivered. One of the final days of the cruise I was concerned that Sofia (the baby) wasn’t getting enough fruit but one morning in particular she started eating the 1 or 2 rasbettries placed on top of servings of mixed fruit. Ryan tracked down a bowl of raspberries which the little lady quickly devoured. It also seemed that he rotated wait staff from meal to meal and table to table with each section given the opportunity to have different servers at any given seating. There was no need to request a specific waitstaff team because in doing this it felt as though all staff members were approachable for assistance at anytime. In essence, every staff member made us feel as they had been dedicated to us. Still a few people there in coastal kitchen and the suite lounge just stuck out as we would eventually dine with the same waitstaff at multiple times over the course of the week. Cecil was one of the best we encountered on any cruise and demonstrated incredible patience with the dietary restrictions as well as the needs of the children. Ronald from “South Philly’ was another coastal kitchen staff member that made us feel at home there. In the Suite Lounge the "two Steve’s" who were manning the bar for the May 4th sailing repeatedly (and when I say repeatedly…I mean repeatedly….a little too “REPEATEDLY” 🙂 mixed some of the best Jack Daniels manhattan’s at sea during the cocktail hour. The margaritas were just as good and they were always quick to hand out the beers or glasses of wine that we might need on the way to the pool or casino. In addition, they never batted an eye when we requested 6 waters at a time (don’t judge staying hydrated is a challenge in the heat, plus..you know…those manhattans repeated). All of this always with a smile and a greeting. I know from talking to him that the Jamaican Steve is looking forward to the days when Symphony begins calling on Falmouth. But who isn’t?  What’s to be taken away from our awesome experience with the service in the suite lounge and coastal kitchen is that it wasn’t just the attempt to get it right, and that of course would have been just fine. But more importantly it was the feeling of a genuine desire to satisfy their customer that made our time there truly special. 
     
    I’d be remiss to walk through the review of service on the symphony without highlighting Jackie and Jennie’s efforts as the Suite Concierges.  Their hand in helping to make the trip special began weeks before the cruise with responses to our requests. They were so easy to talk to and never made us feel like we were a burden with any of our MANY requests. Jackie quickly got us spots on laser tag and Jennie included us in a bridge tour, both of which were highlights of the cruise.  Jackie made the extra effort to find us last minute restaurant reservations on day 2 when we needed to update our choices for dinner. We could not walk by their desks without seeing their smile and a hello. Jackie accommodated our request in getting us into a cabana on Labadee normally reserved for Star Suite guests that had gone unclaimed. This made our day on the beautiful island. Though just setting foot on that island is a reward in it of itself. In the end, it seemed the two worked seamlessly together and one would always know of the status of a request made to the other. The level of communication between suite concierges approached telepathy. 
     
    Stepping away from the service in around the suite lounge we found much of the same elsewhere. I’ll cover more in the spa review but my wife claimed to have the best spa masseuse as well as the salon professionals that did her blowouts on the respective formal nights. 
     
    At the windjammer a dedicated pasta station attendant had somebody run around the ship to fulfill a request for a fresh avocado that I would need to feed our 17 month old. It took about 10 minutes but they succeeded and my baby ate a fantastic lunch! In addition, the kids known for not being the tidiest eaters in Charlotte would bring the infamous status with them to the high seas. There I am trying to clean up after one of our messier experiences at the buffet when the staff shooed me away quickly taking care of the disaster zone. The windjammer staff here did very well in comparison to previous experiences in clearing tables and grabbing drink orders with refill follow-ups. We also had the opportunity to meet the cruise director and assistant cruise director at a cruise critic meet and mingle. While our darling daughter won a backpack fair and square in the raffle the cruise director made the decision to give our four year little guy the final prize of a water bottle as he had been looking a little saddened with envy of his older sister’s success. This was very not necessary but very much welcome and we thank him and our fellow meet and mingle cruisers for the “free win” given to our little guy. 
     
    As to credit the personalized service even more, the attendants distributing the pool towels began to know who we were as the kids had us down there so much that we might have wanted to request a PO Box. I kid.. but honestly, towards the middle of the cruise one of towel attendants said as I requested the usual 3-4 towels and began to look for my card to show him, "you don't need to scan the card" from the suite.  
     
    We had a few service misses when it came to restaurants. The food at Izumi Hibachi was great as it was on the Allure cruise in August. However, the staff on the Allure at Izumi Hibachi made the experience there. The staff at Izumi, Symphony, basically needed to be cajoled along to provide a dish that was clearly part of the menu. Our lead waiter was adequate for the night but much less cordial than we had been spoiled to expect. Would we do it again with the same staff? Yes. So not great…but not over the top. 
     
    Also we did the park cafe (NOT GOOD - #7) on day 1 because we missed lunch at coastal kitchen. It wasn’t great and we didn’t return.NOTE…ARRIVE EARLY! BOARD EARLY…since we are never early, we missed out. But the park cafe staff had about 40% of the tables that needed cleaning and clearing to make room for the influx of boarding patrons seeking a late lunch but unfortunately had what seemed like one staff member to run the grill orders to the tables AND clear the vacated tables. ARE YOU KIDDING!?!?I’ve never taken restaurant 101 but I’m sure this not-to-do is thoroughly covered. Truly an impossible ask and a big miss Royal’s part. For the first meal on the first day it had me a bit worried of what we might expect as for service. Luckily as you can read above this was far outside what came to be the standard. 
     
    Finally, I’ll cover adventure ocean (AO) more later but some of the decision making here by the staff wasn’t great. They put the 6-8 year olds with the 9-11 year olds when those two groups are normally separated. For a number of reasons which will be discussed in the Adventure Ocean specific commentary this wasn’t a great move and was a miss on whoever at AO makes these decisions. 
     
    Let’s move on. 
     
    Cabin (Accommodations) - (LOVED - #6) - At this point we’ve sailed room categories from standard Oceanview (OV) balconies right up through the loft suite (L1) categories and have never been disappointed with RCCL accommodations. From all reviews, youtube, instagrams, RCCL promotional pictures I had it in my mind that this loft suite was going to be great. I hoped that my “lofty” (see what I did there?…;) expectations wasn't setting us up for disappointment. WELL…. IT…. WAS….GREAT! BRILLIANT! SIGN US UP we are LOFT SUITE FANS!! 
     
    SO let’s set this up for a comparison review. We had the grand suite (GS) on the Allure in August and it gave our family of 5 with an infant a bit more room to move around. Particularly, we could stash the little lady behind the curtain there, by the master bed, to give her some space to nap but still needed to tip toe around. The GS while it only had one bathroom did have dual sinks and a convenient tub. But yes…the loft... was even better. First the loft gave us another floor to darken and avoid while the baby napped which was daily. The freedom this provided us was immense. The balcony (in the L1 faced the sea) as opposed to the L2 facing the sports deck, is where we spend a lot of time. It felt like double any previous balcony we had including the GS. Since we do have kids that often need to go to bed early and/or nap the balcony sometimes double as Hubby and Wife oasis. The balcony is also one of our favorite activities to order room service for breakfast area as we pull into port, or a lunch area where the older ones eat, chatter, and laugh while the baby naps. *HINT - if you have a baby bring baby monitor so that you can enjoy the balcony but still hear what’s going on in side the cabin. Warm wind and the sea to boot this large balcony was a plus for the room. I mentioned Stefan, the cabin attendant, above who’s top notch service may have partly been a function of him being dedicated to the suite floor. Plus for our family with kids, that love the pool, we were only 3 floors up from the WET deck and being steps from the suite lounge and coastal kitchen really helped us to take advantage of those important suite amenities that come along with the prolific price. Not that we were willing to pay double for the Aqua Theater suite but I just can’t see that location being as convenient to suite life perks as the suites located on 17. I’m sure there are a bunch of pluses and minuses that come with cabins located in every area of the ship but for us, there were few minuses with the loft. The pluses for a family like us, who admittedly brings everything, and needs the space, win out.  From the added square footage, the bi-leveled living space, the two bathrooms including a tub for the children, easy lounge access, pool access, windjammer access, all of this could not be beat. But how about the elevator rides? Good question. The concierges would often ferry groups of deck 17 passengers to gangway during high traffic time and yes we did find ourselves getting an extra workout in. A negative for some but a positive for us. The calorie war was on and we were losing badly, some days we found ourselves in a full retreat. But those stairs helped us win a few small battles (….just a few). We did miss being on deck 8, where we previously sailed the GS, as we love central park and the central striking distance to just about everything but if again presented with the option, a deck 17 Loft would be the pick. I’m just hoping we can find another deal that allows us to hook those back into our price point. 
     
     
    Specialty Foods Restaurant Venues (Day 1,2,6) - (LOVED - #7) - We purchased the very economical and 100% worth it BOGO deal which requires doing specialty restaurants during each of the first two nights . We chose Chops and Wonderland respectively for Day 1 and Day 2. The last time we had been to Chops was on the Anthem of the Seas and I do remember it being a highlight of dining during that cruise to Bermuda. We chose to go to Chops with the kids and my parents. It wasn’t exactly relaxing because the kids had us up and about but the food was incredible. What the waitstaff did well here was move us through the courses despite either myself, my wife, grandma or grandpa, not being at the table as we attended to the over excited and by this time on Day 1 somewhat overtired children. They accommodated us expertly as I know bringing out the courses per diner's “presence" rather than per table is challenging. I had to compare the way the staff navigated our service in Chops here on Symphony vs. a similar situation in Park 150 on Allure. In Park 150 on Allure, despite choosing the earliest seating time and walking in with 3 children, we didn’t get our water glasses filled for about 15 minutes. That’s a disastrous start to a dinner with children (or at least our children ;). Now this isn’t a review of 150 on Allure but just an emphasis on how well Chops did here on Symphony. Plus, my mother who is a healthy eater to the max and hardly even touches red meat thoroughly enjoyed every bit of her filet as well as the tuna appetizer, to the point where she had an additional tuna ceviche. This is amazing as only the perfect presentation (with the taste to support) could draw my mother to eat two huge dietary avoidances for her. 1st red meat and 2nd high mercury fish (tuna)!! I think Chops is a must on the next sailing. 
     
    Wonderland was our Day 2 choice.  We left the kids with my parents so whatever happened next, this immediately became the first true relaxing dinner/date night on any cruise we’ve been on. The start at Wonderland wasn’t encouraging as we had to wait at a host less hostess stand for about 5-10 minutes with only a word from the nearby bar tender that “she’ll be back shortly.” Ok…so we waited, not a big deal (remember the impatient rugrats were otherwise occupied!). Eventually, we were seated next to a fun table of two couples who basically told us what they loved and what they didn’t and to order everything! We didn’t quite order everything but we ordered a few options outside of the waitress' recommendation and we thoroughly enjoyed the complete experience. The avocado wasabi crab cone was very memorable, the birds nest is not to be missed and dessert which came as solid chocolate confectionary ball melted into a chocolaty goodness before our eyes. We ATE that chocolaty goodness..we ate it until we couldn’t anymore….and that was only because it was gone. I had heard that many didn’t necessarily appreciate the food here and it was for the experience of the presentation. NOPE! We appreciated every bite and there were many bites to be had here. The experience too was wonderful, a wonderful wonderland, but you need to keep your mind open considering the theme. The mad hatter was a bit weird, so much so that at first glance the character might be off putting, but then to remember we’re in a pseudo fantasy land I quickly came to the conclusions, yep he’s exactly who AND where he’s supposed to be. Then he drug it out of us that our anniversary was at the end of the month and made big deal about that. It was FUN, LOVELY, TASTY, and weird (It is WONDERLAND after all)…smash together to explode into a truly unique experience. We will be back…as often as possible. 
     
    We booked Hibachi Izumi (Day 6) separately as it’s not available as part of the BOGO deal. Most of the detail about the experience was commented in the service above. While we weren’t wowed by the staff, I think that’s OK. The food at the Hibachi was incredible. I had the lobster and tenderloin option which proved to be the most expensive option but the chef prepared it expertly and it was tender, buttery, and full of flavor. I couldn’t decide which was better and I think that’s what you hope for anytime you order a surf and turf style dish. 
     
    FOOD - Other - We loved the addition of El Loco Fresh and while it probably doesn’t replace the loss of “Sabor" the quality is better than expected of Mexican inspired counter service and an included (no up charge) alternative. The line was normally long but moved quickly. The kids loved the quesadillas and could live on them if allowed. The guacamole at El Loco Fresh and through the ship (windjammer) needs help. 
     
    Sorentos is an at sea standard which remains so on the Symphony.  Look I grew up in New York and it’s not in any way shape or from comparable to New York pizza (it destroys Chicago style pizza though…burn!!!!) but it is great for what it is. For me personally it was a victory slice while crawling back to even on the last night of the cruise after late night at the casino that cemented this as the the best pizza found on any ship anywhere…prove me wrong. 😉
     
    Our 4th cruise with a Johnny Rockets and we still haven’t hit the burger joint so I can’t comment there. We passed up boardwalk dogs and disappointingly didn’t find ourselves in striking distance of the boardwalk donuts on any of the mornings (this wouldn’t have happened had we been back on deck 8…pluses and minuses). Room service was excellent and quick, we utilized this as least a few times on the journey. 
     
    Most mornings we were at Coastal Kitchen for breakfast and followed with evening dinner. Coastal kitchen as mentioned earlier is the dedicated suites restaurant. The service there was phenomenal (see above) and the menu was basically a mirror of the main dining room with a few upgrades and some deviations from night to night. 
     
    Now we didn’t do Jaime’s Italian but my parents did. They raved about it. So here’s my sum-up. If my parents with dietary restrictions such as gluten free and (mostly) dairy free can have a great meal at an Italian restaurant…and the waitstaff didn’t throw them out for no doubt playing 20 questions before ordering, the place deserves to be tried. We did Jaime’s on Anthem and liked it but we loved Giovanni’s. I’m still a little salty that the Royal Caribbean brand gave up their awesome Italian standard for the cult of celebrity. That being said, because of my parents review, I’m giving Jaime’s a try the next time we get to travel the ocean with Symphony.
     
    Pools  (Days 1-7) (LOVED - #8) - BIG WIN! Let us stand here and applaud the pool deck changes and request an ENCORE!!! Seriously though the major changes to the pool deck came to the kids area AKA splashaway bay.  For the bigger little kids and the little little kids (non-toilet trained toddlers and babies) these are some of the best upgrades possible for a family like ours. I know this is a theme as I keep comparing everything to the (slightly) smaller older sister, Allure (WHO WE STILL LOVE), but it’s a good measure for comparison while detailing likes and dislikes. During our 2014 sailing with the Allure, one of the things that struck us was how inadequate the area for the swim diaper wearing babies/toddlers was. It was a major disappointment during what was our first (…cough…) modern era  cruise as we were basically relegated to a small inconvenient splash area with our then 16-17 month Caroline. In August 2018, on the Allure, we at least knew what to expect with our youngest and still diaper wearing Sofia. But this time, the Symphony just blew away expectations. I had seen the pictures of the new Symphony pools and waterslides. I’d viewed the videos and read the reviews on *****.com and cruise critic. I was excited because it looked as if it was improved. But let’s start at the splash pad. That area replaced an underused and out of place whirlpool on the allure. It basically expanded the splash pad to three times the size, added sprinklers, and small slides. The area was so much fun in fact that even my 6 and 4 years old played there for a good bit making it easy on this Dad to watch all three kids for a good bit of the pool time. But even so, as the older kids went over to the newly minted and adjacent splashwaway bay I could stay with the toddler on the splash pad and easily see the two bigger balls of energy perform lap after lap of splashaway bay. Another great here are the SLIDES! So they had very nice slides here that very much helped removed the sting that our 6 year old felt for not being able to take part in the larger newly added waterslides. Those larger slides LOOKED AWESOME and fun for adults and we regret to inform that mom and dad did not get the chance to try. In the name of research we will need to return PROMPTLY! But as I was saying they had smaller but still adequately exciting water slides for all kids 42” and taller in the splash away bay. Caroline must have hit those 100 times. Reid who just missed the cut off at 40 inches had a set of smaller wet slides to fall back on right there in splash away baby. By the end of the cruise he was going down those headfirst, backwards, and forwards. It was truly great. This is the kind of thing that families need to consider if they are raising water babies (especially those still in diapers) and want a pool area that is incredibly conducive to families. Dare I say it, this area made similar age group water area’s on the Disney Dream look bad (I hope this doesn’t get back to Mickey…I love that little fella and don’t want to hurt his feelings). If you are wondering the height limit for the larger water slides is 48”. You’ve been warned…find those platform water shoes for your borderline kids before you go!
     
    My kids love “night swimming” and it’s a theme of every vacation. We spent at least a little bit of time at the pool during half the nights of that beautiful week that we called Symphony home. While splashaway bay is closed earlier in the evening, about half of the other pools and most of the “warm pools” or oversized hot tubs are open. It’s a serene atmosphere when the sun goes down on the pool deck. This holds true for all Oasis class ships, a trait that all of the sisters maintain. Oasis class ships all seem to suck the frenzied activity inward during the evening with a plethora of engaging entertainment options for the dinnered and showered masses. But we recommend, my kids especially, a bit of time spent interacting with just a very few like minded passengers and enjoying the relative calm of the usually busy hydration oasis. Despite the always breezy and sometimes chilly summer nights, these pools allow for a few more hours of wet fun for those that just can’t get enough of the outdoors. It’s incredible that this class of ship which can carry upwards of 6K people provides so many opportunities like this, where instead of one of the masses, you feel like one of a privileged few. This self avowed introvert finds these moments incredibly relaxing and recharging while doubling as the final opportunity to wear out the kids before bed. 
     
    Spa  (Day 2 and 5) (LOVED - #9) 
    While I don’t think I’ve set foot in a spa at sea…my DW is a spa connoisseur. Most of her experiences across the board have been overwhelming positive with one consistent complaint being a constant upset disturbing what should be peaceful sessions with the masseuse. The over-the-top up sell wasn’t the case this time (but she still came out with spa products …of course!) and as mentioned above in the LOVED! summary she felt that she had the best masseuse and massage ever this trip in particular. She received two other spa treatments in hair styling treatments on each respective formal night. There were basically “blow-outs” to tame the hair that the caribbean humidity has it’s way with on a daily basis. Look back at our pictures I think we all proudly wore our sun kissed, sandy, and wet “cruise hair” more times than not. She most definitely looked “formal night” ready after each and she commented that both salon experiences were great. It’s tough to be a lady at sea and spending hours on vacation getting the hair washed, dried, and styled in room is not the best of use of time. These treatments are cost effective and efficient giving the ladies (and gentlemen who desire such a luxury) a bit of pampering and elimination of work that usually comes with such prep. Just a quick comment to the newly amped navigator in that they specifically included a blow-dry bar for this exact purposes. As my wife sits reading this she’s hopeful that we’ll see similar additions to our beloved oasis class vessels. 
     
    Entertainment (LOVED - #10)
    I’ll start here with something I hadn’t seen before on any ship. Not formalized entertainment by any stretch BUT incredibly fun. Instead of a roaming guitarist as we had seen on the Allure (…or was it Anthem…? Whichever it was, it started with an A..) they had a full on piano playing, pianist (purposely redundant for effect) that would show up in the most random of places. Often he spent time in the elevator and catching a ride with him made those elevator wait complaints turn to... "let’s figure out where he is and wait until we can hitch a ride!!” SO much fun. 
     
    We saw two of the production shows. HIRO and 1977. Hairspray is the broadway offering on this ship which we skipped having seen the show on Broadway a few years back. ON one of our date nights where my parents took the children we attended the late night of HIRO. Way back when in time where we didn’t have kids we made many, many, trips to vegas. Water shows included HIRO did well to stand up to all of them. Then watching the incredible acrobatics, dives, and athletic feats happening before our eyes always in the back of our mind was the fact that these performers were working against the random forces of the moving sea. Awesome show and not to be missed. 
     
    The other show that we did catch was the original production ice show called “1977". We were with our 6,4, and 17 month old during this. While my DW took the baby up to the room about 1/2 way through the show, the little lady hadn’t made peep during the show with eyes wide opened and fully entertained. The 6 and 4 year olds were similarly enthralled without a single utterance of the deadly phrase, ‘IS IT OVER YET!?" from start to finish. The performers were no doubt accomplished figure skaters with more than a few internationally celebrated competitors among their ranks. The skating would have honestly been enough but the costume and the previously unseen (or at least unseen to me) live use of drones, costumes, and lighting to drive the story here was impressive. The choreography here must have been an nightmare to produce but they turned it into a visual dream for the audience. The performers literally played into the audience walking up through the seats on several occasions, even including a few audience members in the show. Caroline who sat with one of her newly minted cruise friends front and center for the show raved about the view and the characters being so close. The only knock that this production gets is that the story itself was hard to follow. It included a stolen jewel of sorts, time travel and a love interest but I’m just not smart enough to piece together. Go watch it, and explain it to me, if you aren’t too mesmerized by the talent to pay attention to the fiction. 
     
    Finally, I said it for HIRO and I need to say it again….ALL OF THIS WHILE THAT SHIP MOVES! What happens if you go up into a lutz and as you come down the ice isn’t where you expected it to be!!! DO you know!??! I don’t!!?? Of course…I can barely stay upright on ice that isn’t mobile but just to emphasize the added nuances that your seeing during these performances!
     
    We did a bit of dancing in Boleros which was definitely hopping on the night we went which happened to be a DJed 60s-70s night. Yes they played all of the hits from this classic era and I did my best to follow my wife’s lead while making it look like my own. 
     
    We did get to spend some time at one of the schooner bar piano nights but left after it seemed that the piano players was talking more than playing. Fun for some but we were hoping to hear those keys dance to full tunes with the smaller amounts of the lighthearted banter. 
     
    Casino Royale (LOVED - #11)
    Ok…no surprises here. For those of you that haven’t been, the Casino Royale is the largest standard cruise ship casino at sea not withstanding the Quantum class ships that have been retrofitted for the Asian market. For those of you that have sailed the other Oasis sister ships I don’t know how you felt but I need to bring up a comparison that is very important to me while playing the games of chance. Like the Allure the casino here is divided into smoking and non-smoking sections. It’s just about 50/50 divided down the middle. However, on the Allure I couldn’t help but feel that the smoke was just as bad on in the “non-smoking” section as it was int he smoking section. I’d sneak back into the stateroom at night wreaking of smoke. Here on the Symphony while the smoke was definitely present and THICK on the smoking side the ventilation on the non-smoking side was phenomenal making the burnt tobacco much less noticeable. For example we walked the kids through the smoking side of the casino as an ill-advised short cut and they both complained about the smell with Caroline rolling out her often used and always accurate “it smells awful” for any odor that doesn’t sit well with her. We didn’t hear the same when we cut through the non-smoking side on a return trip but instead received more questions…what are these “video games”…to which daddy replies these are ADULT video games. How did I do in the casino? Don’t ask…well, good enough that “broke even” entered the description on the last night of the cruise. It wasn’t looking pretty at the start though. Love the Casino Royale here…love the fresh air more…now let’s just make the whole thing non-smoking! My apologies to my smoking friends (but let’s be honest I’m sure there are plenty of things you don’t like about me)!
     
    Activities (Days 1-7 i.e. non-stop) (LOVED - #12)
    Here my only complain is the inability to do them all. Can somebody at Royal please tell me how many cruises I need to be on until I can get it together enough to hit the ice rink? I jest but this is what I tell everybody I love about these mega ships. There are so many things to do you need to consider the ship as a destination in of itself. When you do, you’ll be back, because you won’t get it all done. 
     
    But hands down Caroline loved and conquered the rock wall. I wish you were all my instagram friends so you can see the look on her face after she rang that bell under hot Caribbean sun. Yes…it impresses me more because I’m her dad but what fun. A healthy, active, challenging experience for kids as young as 6 to start on. This is the first time that we were able to play through mini-golf. Reid and Caroline were both huge fans…truth be told after my first 8 shot hole I selfishly started “playing for fun” but the kids started with fun in mind and fund they had. When Reid wasn’t putting he was playing the fixtures…while this is normally frowned upon by dad…catch dad in the evening after a few cruise drinks…and I let a few things slide. I think Susan took us all down in the game and if I recall she had Sofia on her chest in the ergo baby. GO MAMA! 
     
    LASER TAG (Day 7)…alright it’s in bold because my expectations were low…very low. BUT IT WAS GREAT! VERY GREAT! We’ve done laser tag on “land” and it was OK. My only complaint is that the cut off age is 5 and i can guarantee there isn’t much that my 4 year old couldn’t do in the game. Still, Susan, Caroline, and I had a great time. First, you can’t pick your teams…so I was separated from my wife and daughter (OH THE HUMANITY!!) I had told Caroline to not worry, if she was on my team she’d win. I try to be humble and that was a private conversation between daddy and daughter but I share it here because there’s a lesson to be learned. So play ensued and we battled it out…scores were kept and displayed per player and per individual team. The venue Studio B was unrecognizable as an ice rink but was transformed into a veritable laser tag battle field. It was much fun and after many kills and a sore trigger finger the results came out. Caroline and DW were on the victorious team…I sunk into heap and sobbed into my hands (OH THE HUMANITY!!!!!!!!). Alright well…i didn’t sob but instead had a huge smile on my face. It was a ton of fun. Plus I had the cutest little twin 5 year olds who were on my team that kept chasing and shooting me. As coincidence would have it we would bump into them and their dad who were night swimming later that night. Their dad was on Caroline's and DW’s team. I chatted up dad and said hey…your boys were on my team today…they kept chasing and shooting me (luckily friendly fire does not exist in laser tag). He laughed..and said yep “THEY both scored a ZERO” I don’t know what they were doing. I said they “cracked me up”. Anyway…in the end the score was close and next time I guarantee I will emerge the arena victorious (well…at least HAPPY!)!!!  
     
    This was our first time with the opportunity to experience the Ultimate Abyss and my expectations again were low….really low. I was wrong…it was fast, it was fun, it was unpredictable and exciting. Susan and Caroline (who was ecstatic to make the height) both loved it. Caroline’s smile was ear-to-ear…I’d say that mine was too. Just keep your skin off the slide and it’s a fun ride!!!
     
    The Carousel…oh that classic carousel. I’m so glad this continues to be included on the Oasis class ships. We have priceless video of pulling Caroline off her 3rd consecutive trip on the Allure carousel when she was a baby in 2014…Sofia didn’t love it as much as big sister, but Reid who rode it non-stop in August 2018 on the Allure was thrilled to have it back again. Never a line and always fun…whoever thought that up was a genius. It’s hard for us to look at other ships…because we’d miss the ear-to-ear smiles that the bobbing wooden horses bring them…well not Sofia but soon enough she’ll get on board. 
     
    Finally, I need to plug the running track. For me, a life long runner, there is nothing better. You can dump the treadmills overboard as far as I’m concerned and I wouldn’t even notice. Those ships that have a track on the top deck where people dodging is necessary to secure a workout fall far short. The Oasis Class does it right as well as the Disney Dream and Fantasy who have similarly placed running tracks. There are no better tracks at sea. Not to mention running out there surrounded by God’s beautiful ocean, turn after turn, and passing the wake time again makes the vacation calorie burn not only acceptable but crave worthy. Do it…even if it’s only a walk…you won’t regret it. During one of our date nights, my wife took me up to aft portion of the track,just to watch the water pass away. There are seats outside of the running/walking lane situated perfectly for connection to the sea. Day or night…you’re not going to find much more peace than on that track, running or otherwise. DECK 5!!!! 
     
     

    LONG Symphony Review which is LONG overdue 5-2-2019

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Hello! 
    We are a family of five with my Darling Wife (DW) Susan, Darling Daughter (DD) Caroline (6), DS Reid (4), DD Sofia (17 Months), and last and definitely least yours truly BERT. This cruise my parents Bert and Lucy joined us! 
     
    We love cruising. As a family we’ve been cruising since Caroline was 16 months, Reid’s first time on the high seas was at 11 months, and Sofia went on her inaugural Sailing last August at 8 months. We love to cruise and we’ve studied and learned the ins and outs of cruising with the littlest of personalities. This will be heavy on cruise life with a young family perspective but should be useful to all who love the cruise life. 
     
    The above being said, if it were up to us we’d cruise 12 or more times a year but as life would have it, we are more likely to cruise every 8-9 months at best. SO when we cruise we look for the stars to align as far as ships, dates, itineraries, and bang for the buck. We also don’t shy away from splurging since we know that we have to opt for quality over quantity. It’s safe to say that this time the stars, planets, and moons aligned as we were able to pick up the finest, largest, and newest ship that Royal Caribbean had to offer for a price that I hadn’t previously observed for the Symphony of the Seas. I can hear the JEERS and SHOUTS! But I stand by my words! Yes I understand many RCCL fans will take exception to the out of the gate characterization of the ship being the “finest” and that largest does not mean best but that’s a topic for a fun cruising debate. Having sailed previously twice on the Allure (AND LOVED that ship), the Disney Dream, and Quantum class, Anthem, we had an idea of what to expect from Symphony. The main concern however was that of the possibility of disappointment. How could this be any better than the Allure of the Seas? Spoiler alert, while the Allure will always hold a special place in our hearts, the (ever so slightly) bigger little sister in the Symphony, far exceeded expectations! So if those fantisticly discerning cruisers who've I’ve angered have cooled off because I dared to imply “bigger is better” and “Symphony is BEST” (which it is)…please note that I humbly write all that you will see here with the caveat of IMHO. 
     
    I’m going to do my best to cover every little detail from price, to dates, itinerary, activities on shore, cabin, food, service all from the perspective of a young family cruising for fun. This means that you are in for more of a short story of commentary and less of a summary review. But for those of you who love to read about the good and the “bad” but don’t have the time for the dissertation I’ll give you the down and dirty in quick listed summary. Each point in the listed summary below will be further explained in the body for the story. 
     
    SUMMARY 
     
    LOVED (Numbering does not correspond to degree of LOVE)!
     
    1. Price - Sure FREE is good but unrealistic. We all live in the real world and I think we lucked out on the price of this adventure. More below!
    2. Itinerary (Sint Maarten, San Juan, Labadee) - We had done this one before with Allure in August 2018. Spoiler alert! It got better the second time around! I lay out why and the port experience in the review. 
    3. Embarkation - The standard question “how long from curb to ship” does not apply here. Why? Read below. 
    4. Terminal - Terminal A is absolutely fitting of the Royal’s newest flagship. Moreover, I think that it represents Miami’s return from mediocrity to cruise port royalty. Too much? You go see it…let me know what you think.,
    5. Service - On par with previous experiences on the Allure. Incredible. Particularly our Cabin Steward Stefan, Jackie and Jennie our concierges, Ryan the Coastal Kitchen manager and the Steve’s (yes TWO STEVES) at the Suite Lounge Bar during this sailing. Think about how convenient having the bar tenders with a same name especially after a few of their expertly concocted manhattans. This cuts the chances of calling one of the other by the wrong name by 100%!! (manhattans)
    6. Cabin - Crown Loft Suite - L1- 1748 Now on to the trip. We booked this trip in September of 2018 only about 1 month following our August Allure 2018 cruise. At that time we were looking to take advantage of a kids sail free cruise as we have 3 and this type of promotion brings with it an incredible savings for a family like ours. 
    7. Speciality Restaurants/Food Venues - Chops, Wonderland, Coastal Kitchen, Izumi - Hibachi, El Loco Fresh (GREAT ADDITION!), Sorrento’s (oldie but goodie)
    8. Pools - Phenomenal changes from our previous experience on the Allure here, making this  space truly accessible to those with small children. Keep reading I’lll detail them. 
    9. Spa - My lovely wife said she had the best masseuse she’s ever had at sea! 
    10. Entertainment - HIRO water show and 1977 Ice show these shows could hold their own on Broadway or in Vegas…more below.
    11. Casino - No…still not giving away money but one thing in particular was noticeably improved. I’ll explain. 
    12. Activities - Rock Wall - The staff here was great, patient, and supportive. The wall itself needs a bit of maintenance. Ultimate Abyss, Laser Tag, Miniature Golf, Running Track
    13. Customs - Facial Recognition…and DONE! 
     
     
     
    NOT GREAT.
     
    1. Arcades - Definite decline from Allure but there’s hope for improvement! 
    2. Bionic Bar - Cool for a very fleeting moment but it’s gotta go. 
    3. Adventure Ocean - Combined age groups of Voyagers and Explorers on this sailing not great. 
    4. Terminal Drop Off and Pick-Up - Chaotic…port everglades wins here. 
    5. Labadee Splash Park - Needs a serious overhaul.
    6. San Juan Port Visit - Come on…seems pretty standard fro arrive at 7AM and Leave at 2:30PM for the big ship itineraries. WHY!?!?
    7. Park Cafe - overworked and understaffed 
    8. Sports programming review
    9. Broken Aqua Theater
    10. The baby crib
     
    Yes….the lists are lopsided but it’s not my fault that Symphony brings the GREAT! 
     
     
     

    LONG Symphony Review which is LONG overdue 5-2-2019

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Hi All,

    I wrote this a long while ago and will post in two replies. I'll provide an intro and everything else.  It's a complete brain dump of every aspect of our cruise. It's long but I started it off with top 10 Likes/Dislikes so you can skip down and read more into what interests you most. Posting now after having just booked this awesome ship for 5/9/2020. Hope to see everybody there. 

    • Like 1

    San Juan with a 5 year old...

    in San Juan, PR

    Posted

    Hey there! Looking around for things in San Juan to do too, huh!? Well we are on the May 4th Symphony  which we did with Allure in August 2018. In August we had our 5 year old, 3 year old, and 8month old along. If its' the same port hours as the allure (and I think it is) there isn't much time and for our family it's difficult to get moving in the morning. Port hours are basically 7AM until all-aboard at 2pm. Our kids could stand limited amounts of walking (uphill) before they start to lose interest and get tired. Depending on you 5 year old he'd probably get a kick out of the fort it's only about 1 mile as a crow flies from the pier. 

     

    Before August 2018 with Allure my wife and I had last been to San Juan when she was pregnant with our oldest. We found this great place for mofongo, a traditional puerto rican dish of plantains and various meats and love it! The restaurant is called Punto de vista. We basically walked out, stopped at Walgreens, walked up the hill, stopped at a few shops and ate at Punto de vista for an early lunch with 2 for 1 drink specials including to die for pina coladas. The restaurant service is incredibly quick, friendly, and I can't emphasize how incredible the mofongo is. It's all very economical but the portions are huge, skip breakfast. After lunch we walked back downhill again stopping at a few shops and heading back to the ship.

     

    I'd like to try to do the same this time but include the fort as Kings2001 recommended. We visited the fort back in 2012 and on a sunny day the points of view are beautiful and the history is almost tangible. But I'm thinking we take some sort of transportation up to the fort, hit punto de vista around lunch which is not very far from the fort, and then walk back to the ship. As for the transportation I know fromt his forum there's a free trolley, taxis available, and I think ubers. But we have to play everything by ear. 

     

    With the limited port hours excursions are either very early or will feel short. We are a beach family and while Puerto Rico has beautiful beaches the excursions to some of the beach hotels here are super expensive and again, how much can we enjoy it when we have to be brushing the sand off our toes by early afternoon at the latest to get back to the ship. Plus, we need to think path of least resistance with the tykes in tow. 

     

    Hope this wasn't too much and at least helped a little!!!

    Live Review- Symphony of the Seas 1/12/19; First Oasis Class in 7 Years!

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    2 hours ago, OTownNick said:

    Thanks for joining in and following. We are Pinnacle so that’s how we get access to Coastal Kitchen regardless of stateroom booked. Now I’ve heard that suite guests get priority if there are too many Pinnacles onboard. If there are, they would limit Pinnacles not in a suite to the number of times they can dine. If we can eat there twice I would be happy. We MAY go for 3 since the menu changes and it looks really good. 

     

    I do want to eat in Solarium Bistro at least twice and Windjammer at least once.  We will wing it based on availability. I usually do a lot of food photos and food critic review so I expect there will be a lot of food review on this Board.  Breakfast and lunch will be varied as well to see what our favorite options are.

    I guess the fact that you've been on 100+ cruises should have tipped me off to the pinnacle status hence access to CK without being in a suite. I might need to head back to reading comp 101.

    You did post something about dropping off carry-on in suite lounge, I've heard you can do that on many ships but the policy for all is not the same. Have you heard that they let you do this on Symphony? I think we will do the same if you find tomorrow that it is possible. 

    Looking forward to hearing about the biggest at sea throughout your upcoming live review!!  Bottoms up! 

    Live Review- Symphony of the Seas 1/12/19; First Oasis Class in 7 Years!

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    OTownNick looking forward to this review! We sail Sypmhony in May and have previously sailed Allure twice and Anthem once. Anthem underwhelmed! Oasis Class is tops for us. Allure always over delivered and we are looking forward to Symphony. 

     

    Quick question, in your dining options review you mentioned solarium bistro and coastal kitchen as good free options. It didn't seem that you booked a suite? Or did you? If you didn't, tell us how you are going to gain access to coastal kitchen? Is it a special program? 

     

    Enjoy! 

     

    -Bert

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