trihawks1

We are just starting to pull clothing items for our cruise and will begin packing in the next couple days. We have Hooked book and wanted to know for dinner what outfits did you see men wearing? My husband wondered if he would be out of place to wear his khaki shorts and black polo shirt? He usually wears khaki slacks and polo shirts for dinners…trying to pack light without being turned away or ridiculed.

A huge thank you for all of your awesome info and photos. We will be on Symphony in a couple weeks! Have a safe trip home.

Wow now I’m wondering if we should cancel our upcoming Hooked restaurant….we were thinking about surf n turf or the lobster. Guess we will see in a couple weeks.

So…we are in GS on Symphony in a couple weeks. We plan on CK every night for dinner except night 5 of 6 we had planned at specialty restaurant (Hooked). Various posts are saying night 5 would be lobster/dress your best/formal night for MDR. If that is the case, would lobster or surf and turf be served in CK? If anyone knows for sure, we might change Hooked reservation to a different night.

Deck 8 is our favorite bc of Central Park. Deck 6 would be good too but we book balcony cabins…so Deck 8 or higher is best for balcony.

Everything I have read the past couple months basically states Royal was trying to speed up the MDR so it wasn’t taking 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Their goal supposably was to serve within an hour or less. But I assume size of the tables (2&4 should be quicker) and whether people chat a lot could make a difference too. Plus it’s less dishes to prep. We are disappointed with not being able to always have shrimp cocktail and our favorite French Onion soup in the MDR. A few of videos also have said most were served within an hour now…I don’t like spending close to 2 hours to just eat.

Just wondered if anyone has been able to stream a football game while on the ship? We will have Voom & Stream package on Symphony in December. Hubby wants to watch the games lol….

I agree that service is as important as the food quality. The change in menus was suppose to help the wait staff get tables in and out faster. Most reviews had been stating they were getting most tables finished 45 minutes to an hour. I also loved our cruises on Freedom class ships pre-Covid. Now Oasis class is what we prefer basically because we have way more options for eating on the ship.

This is our first Grand Suite on Symphony and we were wondering what some items might be available for the “upgraded” room service? Also do we still pay the $7.95 plus the 18%? We obviously will also tip the staff person who delivers it to our cabin.

We have a Grand Suite for the first time. We were planning on going to coastal kitchen on embarkation. Lol we did The Key last cruise and enjoyed a chops lunch in MDR…super easy, quiet, just awesome start to the cruise. This time we are planning on using coastal kitchen most days. I’ll miss my chops lunch to start the cruise.

We have reserved a 6 pm for Hooked on Symphony in a couple months. We don’t get “fresh” seafood Per se where we live…mostly red lobster type places. Anyway, we decided that since we have done chops a couple times in the past we wanted to try Hooked as it isn’t on a lot of ships. So…fingers crossed we enjoy the dinner. We are looking forward to the clam chowder, lobster, crab cake, surf & turf, etc. if anyone can give any recent updates on the selections of what they loved or disliked (wouldn’t order again)…please post your opinions. Thanks!

When I had my JS on Oasis I was not allowed in the suite lounge. Coastal kitchen for dinner was offered if table was available. This time I upgraded to Grand Suite bc I wanted one time to enjoy Coastal Kitchen, larger cabin, and suite lounge plus embarkation etc.

I was offered 5 categories/cabin types for my Royal Up. I’m in a Grand Suite now…GS 2 bedroom started at $260pp. I didn’t want to wait and not get a Royal up bid accepted so I paid dearly for my GS in December. There were only 4 GS available two days before final payment so I just upgraded from OV balcony. Funny the Junior Suite was more cost than the GS I picked.

On my booked cruise for December…I upgraded to a GS 1 bedroom…yes I paid dearly…but I didn’t want to chance Royal Up. There are only 3 GS available at this time and I got a Royal Up today. At the time I booked the GS, two days before final payment, JS was more than the GS…silly! Prices overall are way up bc demand is up. Needless to say I am keeping my GS and not doing the Royal Up as I love my location.

Oh ok…I was thinking Oasis class since they have Park Cafes

We always try to cruise between thanksgiving and Christmas for two reasons…kids are back in school and cruise fares tend to be a tad bit cheaper.

You mean Solarium Bistro?

Usually in MDR, we always do early seating so we have the same staff and table every night. We give our tip to wait staff the last night. Our next cruise on Symphony we plan on eating at Coastal kitchen for 4 of 6 nights of the cruise. What do people typically tip for the wait staff and do you do it each night since you might not get the same staff? also, if you use the concierge, do you tip them as well?

We started with a Central Park balcony bc that’s what was available for December on Symphony. We then upgraded to OV balcony which is what we usually book. I debated to do Royal Up if offered to go to a suite. Our sailing is basically sold out and OV balconies were $3,800 when we originally booked the cruise. Since it is basically sold out, I doubt that a lot of suites will open up AND it is past final payment now. Long story short, I bit the bullet and when a Grand Suite opened up I upgraded. Yes I paid dearly!!! My husband had triple bypass surgery in May and it made us cancel our April cruise 10 days before sailing. Plus we celebrated 42nd wedding anniversary in August AND his early retirement last year. So hubby doesn’t know…hopefully a big surprise. And the adult kids aren’t cruising with us for the first time since 2013. Our GS is, lol, 8260! I loved deck 8 on oasis in a JS…I wanted to also enjoy Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge for the first time. I didn’t want to chance not getting a GS on Royal Up…to me the cost is priceless.

I was able to find the safety icon and it showed me E2. However the “Find on Deck” didn’t show the actual location. Maybe it’s bc our check in isn’t until late October.

Wow thanks for quick replies. We use to dress up especially on formal nights…now my husband wonders if khaki slacks and polo shirt at dinner would be okay for Coastal Kitchen. Husband recently retired early and we prefer to be relaxed dressers now lol. I tend to dress in black slacks with nice tops.

We are booked on Symphony and wondered where Muster station E2 is located. thanks!

We just upgraded to a Grand Suite on Symphony. First time we will be enjoying Coastal Kitchen. Questions: 1 - what is the dress code for dinner time? Are shorts and capris for breakfast and lunch okay? 2 - how do I make reservations for dinner as it does not let me do so right now (cruising in December 2023)…I wasn’t sure if concierge will email a week before cruise and can reserve at that time OR wait until we board the ship? 3 - any special dishes you enjoyed for dinner that we should order? thanks!

We only do The Key on Oasis class ships. First you do get on the ship a tad earlier with a special line vs one line with tons of people (depends on port). Second, we love dropping off our carry on bags at the MDR where the staff will take to your cabin for you. Third, the Chops lunch in MDR is a nice way to start the cruise without fighting for places to eat on the busiest day. Fourth, we both do Voom so add that into the cost. We don’t do Flo Rider, Zip line etc. Fifth, saved area of seats for The Key at the Aqua Show, Ice Skating show, theater, etc. (still need reservations). Sixth, disembarkation breakfast in MDR. Then after breakfast, we went a different way to disembark (might have changed…depends on ship). This allowed us to avoid the LONG lines of passengers getting off the ship. We also had a separate area to grab our suitcases vs thousands to search thru. Then once we had our suitcases we had a separate line to go thru customs/face recognition etc and off the ship. Add the cost of a Chops lunch with gratuity, two Voom devices, and to us it’s worth the extra to have less stress to the start and ending of the cruise. Not strolling our carry on luggage around until cabins open up, nice lunch, reserved seats, and disembarkation…makes things smooth and relaxing.