Stealthdog

Day 3 - Costa Maya, Mexico - Chacchoben Extreme Tour. In Costa Maya we did a tour that included the Chacchoben ruins and the 7 Color Lagoon. Shore Excursion Group contracted the local company The Native Choice for the excursion. The meeting point was near the fake pyramid once you leave the secured port area, but it was really easy to find. We got to the meet up point early and were able to get on the first 9 pax van - there were a total of 2 vans, and the second one was always about 45 minutes behind us (they must have had to wait for some late customers). Everyone on this tour was from the Symphony - it was the only ship in port. The first stop was Chacchoben. I have only been to Chichen Itza, so was not really sure what to expect. It was actually a pleasant surprise. Three of the pyramids are in different states of repair and was interesting to see up close. Our local tour guide told us there are countless other buildings that have not be excavated yet, and they are the "hilly" areas in the otherwise flatland area. Knowing that, Chacchoben was probably a fairly large Mayan city and you can imagine the size when you see the overgrown mounds. The second stop was the 7 Color Lagoon. We were brought to a local resort, where we had free access to cayaks, stand up paddleboards, floatable devices. We (the two vans) were the only customers there, so we did not have to compete with others. At the resort, lunch was included with chicken and pork tacos and three different types of sauces, and complimentary drinks. We had about one hour of free time at the 7 Color Lagoon and spent some time on water. The lagoon was a little disappointing because we didn't see the various colors in the water that gave it its name....maybe because it was partly overcast. Chacchoben was the highlight of the excursion. The Native Choice group did a very good job at taking us around and giving us information on both the ruins and the lagoon. We definitely recommend this group to anyone looking for a private tour in Costa Maya. Back at the ship, we went up to Deck 14 to watch for pier runners. Note in the pictures below, it is a very, very long pier and you don't want to have to run all the way to the ship. We were rewarded for our patience with the Captain honking the ship's horn and watched about 15-20 runners sprint down the pier to the ship. A few were dressed only in bikinis and it was impressive seeing them make that run.

Thanks - hope it was useful! I usually do live updates while on board, but we weren't sure we would have the internet package and there were only 2 sea days. It did make it much easier doing it off a laptop versus a phone. I like to read other people's reviews before I go on a ship, so it is nice to return the favor. Between mine, BennyBrun's and SeaDog's reviews, I think we explored every corner of the Symphony, with some opposing points of views.

We lost 5 pounds each by the end of the weekend (after gaining about 10 on the cruise). 🤣

The last portion of the review will be the ports of calls and excursions followed by some general notes that weren't covered yet. We booked all of our excursions thru the Shore Excursion Group. When we looked at the Royal excursions, many were sold out. We have done private tours before and have been to all of these ports, so we felt comfortable doing private tours for this sailing. The main differences between a cruise line's excursions and private excursions: - If you are late coming back to the ship from a cruise line excursion, the ship will always wait for you. If you are late getting back to the ship past all aboard time and are on a private excursion or just doing your own thing, the ship may leave. - Private excursions are usually cheaper, more intimate, and have fewer people than cruise line excursions. But, you normally have to leave the port area to find your private excursion, while cruise line excursions organize you immediately after you leave the ship (or even onboard the ship). Day 3 - Costa Maya, Mexico - Chacchoben Extreme Tour Day 4 - Roatan, Honduras - Monkeys, Sloths, and Iguanas Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico - Snorkle El Cielo and Colombia Reef with Playa Mia Day 7 - Perfect Day at Coco Cay - No tour

Entertainment - Day 6 - Flight Dare to Dream (Production Show) This will also probably be an unpopular review, but this show was kind of a miss to me. It was the same production cast that performed Hairspray, and their performance in Hairspray was significantly better. Several of the musical pieces just seemed off without harmony, which probably makes sense if they prepare more for their headline show. The production itself was just weird to me - I didn't understand the story, didn't understand most of the characters, and felt bad for international guests because they probably had no idea what was going on. The concept of the production was a chronicle of "the evolution of humanity's endless fascination with flying." But, it is in reverse chronological order, ending with space exploration, which is normally analogous to sailing exploration, not airflight. If it was in chronological order from oldest to newest, it may have made more sense. None of the scenes were related to others, so it was really just a set of about 8-10 independent scenes. When some of cast referred to each other by name, I really didn't know who they were supposed to be - sometimes it made sense because they appeared to be playing the role of a famous aviator, but others it was just generic names that made me wonder if I should know who they were. The songs used were also all over the place, with no theme. It was just a mishmash of contemporary and older songs. The set was nice and they did some fun things with it. Hairspray I would probably give a 9 or 10. Flight is probably more of a 4 or 5 to me.

Entertainment - Day 5 - Jennifer Singer (vocalist) Trying to finish up the review today. Day 5 we saw Jennifer Singer. She performs in Las Vegas and across cruise lines. She is very talented. Its always hard to judge a signer when they only perform cover songs because you automatically judge them to the original singer. Some of the genres she sings, she is much better at - has a Celine Dione tone. If she is a performer on your cruise, check her out - it is well worth the 45-50 minutes.

I don't see anyone suggesting you are lying. I think what people are suggesting is your experience appears to be an exception to enforcement, and most people have experienced a much laxer enforcement.

Thats a really good point - maybe enforcement may be more regional, so very well may be relevant. We have never taken a cruise (from any line) out of the North East. Agree completely with the other poster about celebrity - we have seen dress codes enforced regularly (even from Florida sailings) and wouldn't even try to wear shorts for dinner.

There were only a handful of children in the specialty dining restaurants on our cruise. If there was a crying baby, I'm not sure what my response would have been. In fact on our whole cruise, there weren't a ton of kids. I personally don't care what people wear. We wear what we want, and others can wear what they want. Oddly, every restaurant we went to, the same father and son from Chile went to. The teenager didn't wear shorts, but he wore jeans and a t-shirt every night. The adult men seemed to be more liberal with "dress code" 🙂

On the Symphony last week, about 1/4 of the customers were wearing shorts and tshirts. Went two nights and it was the same both nights. Noone seemed to care (staff or other guests). Chops, Jaimes, and Hooked Seafood were all the same. I don't remember what people were wearing in Wonderland - it was the first night and most tables were empty.

We wore pants and shirts every night, but saw many in shorts and tshirts, even in 150. If there is a dress code, it doesnt seem enforced.

I wonder how that works - there are dozens of large firms and hundreds of small agencies. They all cant have blocked rooms like that or every sailing would look sold out. Maybe specific agencies have some kind of agreement with the cruise lines. I think the cruise lines would have to limit how many cabins are apportioned like this?

Im not sure what you mean by the "TAs inventory". Sometimes rooms can be placed on hold, but only for a couple of days. Unless its a full or partial charter with a group, and that group manages rooms reserved for the charter, Im not aware of various travel agencies owning rooms like that. You have ruined my stereotype view of Canadians - if US TAs are more pleasant than Canadians, my world view is thrown upside down.

Entertainment Day 4 - Hiro. Like the Ice Skating shows, this is a must see. Set in the outdoor Aqua Theater there is just so much going on - tightrope walkers, divers, swimmers, its hard to even catch everything. Like the skating, I can't even imagine how hard it is to dive into a tiny pool, on a ship that is moving, from a platform that looked to be about 30 feet high. Fantastic show and performance by the entertainments. Word of warning - don't sit up front unless you want to get wet!

Entertainment Day 3 & 7 (Ice Skating). General recommendation on entertainment - if you are stuck with a choice between the ice skating shows and Hiro, or production, go with the ice skating or Hiro. If you can see all, no problem. The reason I recommend this is productions are on every ship on every cruise line. Seeing world class athletes performing in person is an experience you don't normally get. To me, the two ice skating shows and Hiro were the best entertainment on board. What the skaters are doing is so difficult - performing on ice in a much smaller rink than normal, with up to a dozen other people on the ice at the same time, on a ship that is moving is incredible. I have a hard enough time staying on my feet, with no one near, on a skating rink on land. 1977: A thrilling adventure on ice. I'll admit up front, I did not understand the story line and had no clue what was happening, other than a jewel thief stealing jewels. A narrator set the scene up front, but probably should have continued narrating through the performance. I didn't even know time travelling was involved, who was doing it, when it was over, or what time period they were even in. That didn't really matter though - the show was so entertaining with all the drones, spins, jumps, costume changes, and group choreography that a story probably wasn't even needed anyways. Well worth the time to see this one. iSkate 2.0 was also great. It was shorter than the other one, but also worth the time to see. Both are held in the Studio B. Reservations were required for 1977, which can be done through the Royal App. Reservations are not required for iSkate 2.0 - its first come, first serve. It is a little cold in Studio B, so if you get cold easily, you may want to consider wearing pants and a long sleave shirt.

Entertainment Day 2 - Comedians Simeon Kirkiles and Paul Ogata. Hands down the best comedian act we have seen on a ship. To often comedians play safe so they don't offend anyone, or their jokes are suited only for a specific generation. Both comedians were absolutely hilarious, and neither were PC. We've seen several acts in Vegas (Tosh, Schumer, etc) and these two were just as good. Its held in the attic which was nice (other cruise ships have their acts in the theater). Word of warning - don't sit up near the stage unless you want the focus of the comedy to be on you. 😂

We didn't get either of them.....but, I was overruled yesterday and we are doing the UDP on the Odyssey in December after my partner saw some reviews on the MDR on here. 🤣 This December, we will probably do Playmakers more because of the fewer amount of restaurants.

We did a tour of the spa on the Symphony and were surprised at how basic the thermal space was. We normally get passes on NCL and Celebrity, but Oasis class ships dont seem to be worth it for us. If you are on the fence still before the cruise, just wait until you are on and check it out. It will probably be a bit more expensive to buy passes on board, but you will at least be able to see it to make that decision.

Entertainment Day 2 - Loyalty Party I love that Royal Caribbean does these events. On the Symphony, the loyalty event is held in the aqua theater and we got a sneak peak of the tightrope performer and the synchronized swimmers from Hiro. The cruise director on the ship is also fantastic - probably the best cruise director I've seen on all my sailings. Its also nice to see the cruise line recognize the people (customers) who have invested so much in the line. The senior staff all take time to be present and thank the loyal customers, which is a very nice gesture. We will never get that far because we sail on too many lines, and we actually get our Crown & Anchor status from our higher Celebrity Captain's Club status. It was great to see so many people passionate about cruising again (post COVID).

Entertainment Day 1 - Hairspray Outside of Disney, Hairspray was probably the best production I have seen on a cruise ship. It was really well done. I've seen a lot of off Broadway in DC at the Kennedy Center, London's West End, and Madrid, and this was definitely a step down from those, but I didn't expect something this good on the ship. The cast's singers and dancers were all good and the set was well done. The only critique I have is really not one of the show, but just a general comment - it is an hour and a half long. Normal entertainment on a cruise ship runs from 30-50 minutes, so Hairspray is going to take a lot of your time. When you factor in getting early to get seats and the time to leave a full theater, you will want to block off at least two hours. There is also no intermission, and I started fidgeting about 60 minutes into the show because I was getting uncomfortable sitting in those chairs that long. But, seeing Hairspray is worth your time.

I'm sorry, but this is the funniest thing I have seen all day. Thank you for making my day. 🤣

If you want it, book it now. If prices drop or a new promotion shows up, you can cancel and rebook with the cheaper rate. There will probably be some good deals during Black Friday promotions, which might be good for your sailing.

I'll compete a review of the shows and entertainment of the ship over the next couple of days. Attached is the full show schedule. This is what we went to that will be included in the reviews: Day 1 - Hairspray (Musical) Day 2 - Loyalty Event & Comedians Day 3 - 1977 (Ice Skating) Day 4 - Hiro (Water Show) Day 5 - Jennifer Singer (Singer) Day 6 - Flight Dare to Dream (Production Show) Day 7 - ISkate2.0 We did not do the Laser Tag or Free Iceskate Time

Ranking of the Specialty Restaurants: 1) Central 150 2) Jaime's Italian 3) Chops Grille 4) Hooked Seafood 5) Wonderland Note rated - Izumi Some thoughts on other dining options: Playmakers - ala carte cost if you don't have the UDP. We loved playmakers and went twice. Had the hot wings, jalapeño poppers, and the nachos. They were all great. Located on the boardwalk, Playmakers is a nice place to go after a show. Playmakers (and the casino) are also the places to go if you want to watch sports. They had about a dozen TVs and showed alot of college football and NFL games. Also saw some baseball, soccer, and rugby on the TVs over the course of the week. If you are looking for a game, they will probably show it at Playmakers. For those who have sailed NCL, the food in Playmakers is very similar to O'Sheehan's Pub. Johnny Rockets - We went for breakfast one morning (its complimentary). It was nice to have a quiet table, where you can sit down and order off menu. The service was quick. I don't think most people knew Johnny Rockets was open for breakfast. We did not try the later meals (which would have been included with the UDP). Solarium Bistro - We tried to go there one morning for breakfast, and it was a mess. I didn't realize it was buffet style, and it looks like we are back to the old habits of cruising - people coughing into their hands and then handling the serving utensils, others not covering their nose/mouth when they sneeze. The reason we didn't go to Windjammers is because of poor hygiene people display on cruise ships....I was disappointed that the Bistro is essentially an extension of Windjammers, and we are back to customers self-serving at the buffets. After seeing the coughing and sneezing, we left and went to the Park Cafe instead. Main Dining Room - We only went there for one breakfast, so not sure how the lunch and dinner experience is. There are three different levels of the dining room - the compass and app will tell you which floor is open for which meal. For the breakfast we did go to, the service was slow and food was average. It took us over an hour to be seated, have our orders taken, and have the food delivered. All we ordered were omelets, so I'm guessing the kitchen was overwhelmed. Two other things we noticed was the breakfast hours start later than what we remember on other ships/cruise lines. There was also no one walking around with pastry plates - we had to ask the server for pastries. I don't know if that is typical for Royal Caribbean. El Loco Fresh - we never tried it. Just not enough time. Dog House - we stopped by there a couple of times when we were in the Boardwalk. They have four different types of dogs - ranging from traditional hotdogs to bratwursts. Nothing special, but it was nice to get something quick like that. Sorrento's - the best pizza on the seas. We only went once, but one thing Royal Caribbean does better than other cruise lines is the pizza. It seemed they had about 4-5 different types of pizza they give by the slice and then a section with additional toppings you can get to add to your slices. Park Cafe - our savoir from the MDR and Windjammers/Solarium. We only went for breakfasts, but they served lunch food too. They had fresh pastries, breakfast sandwiches, bagels with 3 different cream cheeses, and fresh coffee. The lines were never long and we never had a problem finding seating. It was a great option for people looking for a quick meal. Cafe Promenade - big tip for cruises - you can ask the crew for a to-go coffee cup and pour yourself a coffee at the self-serve station.

Chops Grille - Dinner Day 3, Lunch Day 6, Dinner Day 7 We went on the ship thinking Chops was going to be our favorite restaurant on the ship, but we found both Central 150 and Jaime's better. We almost switched our Day 7 Dinner from Chops to Jaime's, but I wanted a good filet after the Hooked experience. Overall, Chops was good, but not sensational. For lunch we got the Mushroom Soup appetizer and Steak Burger and the Filet entrees. The mushroom soup is one of the stars at Chops - the strong smell of the truffles was great and the taste was well done. I tried the Steak Burger to determine if it could beat Jaime's burger as the best burger on the Symphony.......and nope - Jaime's still wins! My partner got the filet and he wasn't as enthusiastic about it as I was. We did enjoy the Gruyere Tator Tots side. For the Dinners, we tried everything over the course of the two nights. The first night we ate inside the restaurant, the second night we sat outside so we could listen to the Spanish Guitarist again while we ate. The highlights: The black pepper bacon was outstanding (better than at 150 Central), the goat cheese salad was awesome, the wild mushroom soup (again) definitely better than the lobster bisque, and the filet was cooked great. The NY strip was fatty and chewy. If you go to Chops get the filet and bypass the NY strip. The Red Velvet Cake and cheesecake for dessert were both fairly good, but we found the desserts at 150 Central and Jaime's better. Our second night, our server was Adson and he was fantastic. If you eat at Chops on the Symphony, ask to be seated in his section.