TheHawk1

Massive, yes. Beautiful… not so much. It looks like a giant beluga whale with water slides strapped to its back.

Given that, in both the stage and film version, the lead role in Hairspray is played by a male in drag, I actually applaud Royal for sticking with the show. Considering how many Americans, especially in Florida, disagree with that form of entertainment these days, I thought Royal might have been pressured to find something more “family friendly”. And I agree, the Symphony production is a very good show.

Not every entertainment experience has to be sanitized for children. If you feel it's not appropriate for their delicate ears, then don't take them. More space for the adults, who will actually appreciate the show.

Consider yourself lucky you at least had something resembling lobster. When Symphony was in Europe this summer, there was no lobster to be had on "lobster night". It was replaced by shrimp. Apparently supply issues according to our waiter, although I'm not sure I believe it.

There was a thread started earlier today. Seems to be a problem several people are experiencing.

Just checked my Mar. 2 Apex cruise and see the same message. I first noticed it on the Celebrity app the other night, but didn't think much of it, since that thing is always buggy and unreliable. But when nothing is showing on your calendar planner on the Celebrity web site, then you know their IT dept. has bigger problems to solve.

We took this same excursion last February on the Edge. It was one of the better ones during our cruise and we sampled four of them. The guided tour was good, the lunch was good and the beach was average, but that wasn't the main focus of the trip for us. Nevis is more picturesque and less depressing than St. Kitt's. I would certainly recommend.

I suspect you are in the minority.

Agreed. Even though it’s just an inside corridor, you would think after four attempts at this, the Celebrity designers could come up with a better use for this space on Edge class. No one wants to walk through a funhouse hall of mirrors, especially after a few drinks.

Those swinging chairs at the back of the Retreat pool are pointless. I wish they could have come up with a better design for poolside seating after four iterations of this ship.

I did a Med cruise in early September, 2022 and it was still very hot. Did the same itinerary again this year in early October and it was much nicer. I've heard Oct can have more rain, but we lucked out with a perfect week of sun and temps in the high 70's (mid 20's celsius).

If you think that's not well attended... I was on the Symphony Med Cruise in October and the Top Tier event was held in Dazzles. No acrobats there, maybe about 25 people in total. Clearly not as many C&A folks on European cruises. However, there was a lot more champagne to go around 😄

I bought it on sale for $73 CAD, including gratuity, back in September for a winter Apex cruise. Now the Black Friday price is $107 plus gratuity. It's a nice restaurant, but there's no way I would pay that!

And this is why you’ll be very happy with all the other fashion police in your new members only club

This is helpful information. Was checking out Celebrity's beach excursions for an upcoming March cruise and they only use Coral Beach Club. I'll take a pass on those and find a taxi to take us to Governor's Beach instead. I understand there are no facilities there, but for a few hours, it appears to be a good no-cost option.

Was looking at a potential cruise on the Odyssey and noticed that most of the JS cabins are located near the elevators on each deck. However, on Deck 9, there is a large number of the JS cabins right in the middle of the ship. They are also priced at a substantial increase above the other JS suites. Does anyone know from experience whether these cabins justify the higher premium price? Are they larger or is it just a better location?

Oh there's a 90's version alright on Wonder of the Seas and it was bad when I saw it. The era of grunge rock does not exactly scream party time. I agree with the OP... get rid of the tired 70's disco party and stick with the 80's for now. It's the better decade for retro music.

I'm not saying I don't like the Wonder, as I had a great time on it. But being on Symphony recently reminded me of why I thought it was slightly better. First Wonder is more crowded, as they have added more cabins on only a slightly larger ship, so you will notice there are more people in common areas and around the pool when it is full. The entertainment is better on Symphony, with Hairspray and a great ice show and aqua show. On Wonder, they have no Broadway show, but a Royal in-house main theatre show Effectors II, which is really bad and the rock music for the aqua show takes away from the performance. I was also not a fan of the enclosed Solarium on Wonder. It was so hot during our cruise, that it felt like a greenhouse. I was on the ship when it was brand new and my sense is the crew didn't understand how to operate it. I've seen reviews since that say the temperature seems to be fine.

Everyone has a different idea of the perfect cruise vacation. I wouldn't take even a free vacation on a ship as small as Jewel, as I know I would be bored to tears. I just finished a Mediterranean cruise on Symphony, my second time on this ship after a Caribbean cruise in 2020 pre lockdown. After two sailings, I think this is the best Oasis class ship in the fleet (and I've been on all five).

Yes, the MDR staff mentioned the importance of the survey at least twice while dining during the week on my recent Symphony cruise. Did that influence my rating? Absolutely not. I rated the service a 10, because that was my experience. I also rated the food a 7, because that reflected how I felt overall about the dishes I was served. I can't control what RCI chooses to do with that feedback, but hopefully it is aggregated with the opinions of others and they can determine where changes are needed.

Just off Symphony a month ago and while I don't think the food overall was amazing, I don't agree either that it has hit an all time low. There were a few hits like the crab cake, pecan crusted salmon and lasagna and some misses like pan seared white fish that tasted fishy, chicken cordon bleu that was dry and no free lobster on any night... it was replaced by grilled shrimp. None of the desserts were standouts, but there was always something ok. There was no push back when ordering two appetizers or even two entrees, which we would sometimes share just to try. The service is definitely faster than it used to be and if you're not one to linger over wine and/or coffee (we're not), then service usually lasted 60-75 mins, which is more than enough time for dinner in my opinion. I go on a cruise now accepting the fact that the MDR is not fine dining. Maybe it was many years ago, but it's now more like above average cafeteria food provided in a nice atmosphere, with decent service (if you're fortunate to get a good waiter). I don't do the WJ, as there other better choices on Oasis class, like Solarium Bistro, Park Cafe, El Loco Fresh and even Sorrentos if I'm hungry and desperate.

It pays to check CC regularly. I don't go into the Cruise Planner every day, so without seeing this post, I would have likely missed the deal.

Surprised that some people would agree to pay for this kind of treatment. There are other airline choices. It's supposed to a leisure flight, not army basic training.

Just came back from a week on Symphony. It’s the first time in six cruises I didn’t bother booking my next cruise. I decided to wait to see if Black Friday sales are any better than current pricing. I didn’t really see much incentive to book onboard anymore.

That "rule" of putting one item under the seat in front of you doesn't apply if you are sitting in a bulkhead seat or sometimes even in an exit row aisle, as there are no seats directly in front of you. In those cases, these people (usually me since I always pay more for an exit row) are instructed by the crew to put both of their carry on items in the overhead bin. So it's not always a choice to use up extra overhead storage space.