Symphony of the Seas - Live 11/24/18-12/1/18

[YogiDog]

Anyone know why departure from St. Thomas was delayed today?  One couple was half hour late and did the run of shame to the ship but then 15 minutes later there was a different couple who got off the ship with their luggage and the police got off at the same time but drove away separately.

[JessyCruises]

23 minutes ago, YogiDog said:

Anyone know why departure from St. Thomas was delayed today?  One couple was half hour late and did the run of shame to the ship but then 15 minutes later there was a different couple who got off the ship with their luggage and the police got off at the same time but drove away separately.

Sorry I am not sure.  I assumed it was because of the people that were late boarding.  There were 6 people late yesterday in Sin Maarten too. I have not heard anything about today

[JessyCruises]

Day 6 Cruise Planner

Edited November 29, 2018 by Canadian Disney Mom

[Ralphinsc]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this during your cruise. Really appreciate the cruise compass postings!

[friday109]

For those of you who have already sailed on the Symphony out of Miami,  do you know what the early dining time is?  I looked it up & it said 6:15, but I want to check.  On another cruise, I was told that the 6:15 was the early time when the ship was sailing from a European port & when it sailed from the US, it was 5:15.

THANK YOU!

 

 

[JessyCruises]

Current view

[T-2]

May I ask if there has been any option to send your luggage to MIA for certain airlines or where you don't see it again until you get home?  I saw the transfers for $16 ec but there are 4 of us with an evening flight at 7:30 so hoping there might be a luggage only option.  Thanks for sharing Everything- its super appreciated.

[fielddreamer]

The charge is $25 per bag and applies to certain airlines like Southwest, American and a few others ! I have used it 4 times and never had a issue.   Bob

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, fielddreamer said:

The charge is $25 per bag and applies to certain airlines like Southwest, American and a few others ! I have used it 4 times and never had a issue.   Bob

 

Royal's Luggage Valet is $25 per person.

[mcatmcat]

Hi

Are the Christmas decorations up in this ship?

[T-2]

We'll be on American but I wasn't sure given the size of this mega ship that they might still do it, I had my fingers firmly crossed, Thank You!  Its a huge help in the planning :0)

[JessyCruises]

Coastal  kitchen Day 6

 

mushroom Risotto

 

Shrimp Cocktail

 

wedge salad

 

Lobster

 

scallops

 

[JessyCruises]

3 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

Hi

Are the Christmas decorations up in this ship?

They started putting them up a few nights ago.  I feel like there were more on freedom

and Oasis. And they were normally already on when we got onboard on a Saturday.  They were not on when we boarded but were added mid sailing

[Suzcruz57]

Apparently they had to order new decorations for this new ship and they were delivered to the ship on Saturday, the day we sailed. And they aren't allowed to decorate while sailing, so they've been decorating while in port.

[Feeling Sand-tastic]

On 11/21/2018 at 9:38 PM, barb65 said:

Anxious to read your review since we will be on the Symphony in 2020. Would appreciate information about the Coastal Kitchen (pics of menus, plus dinner recommendations). We will be in a junior suite and will have access to the CK only for dinner, but plan to dine there most evenings.

When I was on Symphony in September, dinner reservation for junior suites in CK is only available after GS and above are accommodated.

[phabric]

Interested to see disembarkment paper with the times.

[windjamming]

On 11/29/2018 at 7:18 PM, T-2 said:

May I ask if there has been any option to send your luggage to MIA for certain airlines or where you don't see it again until you get home?  I saw the transfers for $16 ec but there are 4 of us with an evening flight at 7:30 so hoping there might be a luggage only option.  Thanks for sharing Everything- its super appreciated.

 

On 11/29/2018 at 8:29 PM, fielddreamer said:

The charge is $25 per bag and applies to certain airlines like Southwest, American and a few others ! I have used it 4 times and never had a issue.   Bob

 

On 11/29/2018 at 8:34 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Royal's Luggage Valet is $25 per person.

 

Just FYI, when we were on the Symphony last week, Luggage Valet wasn't available yet. Guest Services thought it would be another few weeks before it would be offered. Hopefully by the time you sail, it'll be running smoothly.

 

[T-2]

Thank You!!  We're not until Feb but juggling luggage and steering a wheelchair is a new challenge for me so I'm hopeful its an option, my husband wasn't using a wheelchair when we booked.  So my skills in this area are virgin territory, I'm hopeful he's recovered in time but trying to plan 'just in case'. 

[racerxspeedy]

I wanted to add a couple things we noticed during this cruise.   Dropped luggage at 10am - walked up the stairs, was immediately greeted,  scanned passport and set sail, walked onboard in 5 mins.   Walked off ship with luggage at 8am, no lines at face scanners, off in 5 minutes - amazing!!

The 1977 ice and Hiro water shows use hi res laser projectors that are pretty cool.  I included 2 pictures.   Not much story, but the costumes and skating were great.  

Edited December 3, 2018 by racerxspeedy

[racerxspeedy]

We ferried to St John and enjoyed Trunk Bay.   The island is looking much better than expected.   The only difference I noticed at the park was a lack of food or drink.  The showers and bath rooms worked well.  We had a great meal at Cruz Bay and did some shopping.  St John is my favorite. 

 

[TheInnocentAge]

37 minutes ago, racerxspeedy said:

We ferried to St John and enjoyed Trunk Bay.   The island is looking much better than expected.   The only difference I noticed at the park was a lack of food or drink.  The showers and bath rooms worked well.  We had a great meal at Cruz Bay and did some shopping.  St John is my favorite. 

 

We were thinking of going to St. John while there next week, but St. Thomas is a shorter day than we're used to. What time did you need to be back on ship, and did you take the ferry from near the cruise port, or taxi to Red Hook first? The Red Hook one is every hour I believe...

 

Thanks!

[racerxspeedy]

We were in port 7-4.  NOTE - ship time was an hour behind Island time.  This allowed us to get Off early and catch the 9am Red hook ferry.  We arrived at Cruz Bay St. John at 9:30 and were at the beach by 10am.  We jumped on a taxi back to Cruz Bay for 12:30 lunch, went shopping and took the 2pm ferry back.  Taxi back to the ship before 3pm (2pm ship time).   This gave us a 1.5 hr safety factor.  We pushed it 1 hour later last time, but that was risky IMHO.  

This trip did not feel rushed,  and it was not busy in St John.  

Edited December 3, 2018 by racerxspeedy

[TheInnocentAge]

2 minutes ago, racerxspeedy said:

We were in port 7-4.  NOTE - ship time was an hour behind Island time.  This allowed us to get Off early and catch the 9am Red hook ferry.  We arrived at Cruz Bay St. John at 9:30 and were at the beach by 10am.  We jumped on a taxi back to Cruz Bay for 12:30 lunch, went shopping and took the 2pm ferry back.  Taxi back to the ship before 3pm (2pm ship time).   This gave us a 1.5 hr safety factor.  We pushed it 1 hour later last time, but that was risky IMHO.  

That's great info, thanks, I forgot about the difference in ship time. We're not sure how many in our group may be going over, could be as many as nine. That might take a few taxis, or one of those bigger van/taxis, but sounds like we may try to get to Red Hook and follow a similar plan. Thanks for the input!

[racerxspeedy]

More FYI - Most taxis are 9+ passenger vans.   The taxi cost to Red Hook was $11pp and the ferry was $8.15 pp each way.  I think the taxi to the beach was $6 pp way.  Trunk Bay was no cost the day we arrived, but typically charges $5 pp.  So plan on $60pp + spending money.   Not cheap, but worth every penny. 

[TheInnocentAge]

8 minutes ago, racerxspeedy said:

More FYI - Most taxis are 9+ passenger vans.   The taxi cost to Red Hook was $11pp and the ferry was $8.15 pp each way.  I think the taxi to the beach was $6 pp way.  Trunk Bay was no cost the day we arrived, but typically charges $5 pp.  So plan on $60pp + spending money.   Not cheap, but worth every penny. 

OK, thanks. The fares have stayed consistent at least. I spent about two weeks in St. Thomas this summer and took the ferry over to St. John about a half dozen times. Definitely worth it!