has Symphony improved?

[JediNeo]

We also spent a lot of time waiting in lines. If you wanted a reasonably good seat without having paid for the key, we had to get to everything 30 mins before doors opened. That's with having made reservations before hand. Then when they did open people cut the line!

 

The crowds were much worse when they had make up shows due to them being cancelled the previous night.

 

They did a poor job of announcing show cancellations. One night we let our MDR staff know we had reservations for a show. They did a great job of expediting our food. Went to the show only to find out it was cancelled. The worst part is workers were standing in front of the venue and people were lining up for the show. They did not even inform the line the show had been cancelled.

[BirdTravels]

On 10/18/2019 at 11:38 AM, joyhannah said:

OK I have been reading Lots of really bad review about Symphony of the seas:

 

I have book for November 30 and cant go and rebook for one of the other boat . I am now worried.

So looking for people that  can tell if the food and service has improved or not? or is it really bad?

MDR - Food is it still bad?

Buffet is it still Bad?

Restaurants wasted of money?

no luggage valet?  so sorry  this boat is going of Miami

Am I missing anything?

 

Is this boat new with lots of things to work out? 

I really love everything on the Oasis I was so hoping for that again

 

Just looking for your experiences and tips with anything your think I should know?

 

Thanks everyone

 

 

What  you should know is that just because it is on the internet, it does not make it true. We were recently on the Symphony and were very pleased with the SHIP. We found the food in the MDR equally good to any other ship. The Windjammer buffet, because of it's physical size and organization, is actually better than other ships. The SHIP is not new, and is running like a well oiled machine. 

[mac_tlc]

18 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

What  you should know is that just because it is on the internet, it does not make it true. We were recently on the Symphony and were very pleased with the SHIP. We found the food in the MDR equally good to any other ship. The Windjammer buffet, because of it's physical size and organization, is actually better than other ships. The SHIP is not new, and is running like a well oiled machine. 

Too funny. I love your capitalized words!!😉

 

mac_tlc

[rbschultz]

I was onboard Symphony this summer. Great food, great service, no issues. Take reviews with a grain of salt... people are more likely to voice their displeasure than praise.

[Pratique]

I sailed Symphony across the Atlantic last year and it was one of the best cruises I've ever been on.

[PhoenixCruiser]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

We were recently on the Symphony and were very pleased with the SHIP. 

 

Exactly!

 

The overuse of the word boat just screamed troll to me

[Andy C]

On 10/18/2019 at 11:39 AM, John&LaLa said:

We board the 26th. I'm sure I'll be posting my thoughts

 

Looking forward to it.

 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

 

Exactly!

 

The overuse of the word boat just screamed troll to me

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

On 10/18/2019 at 3:45 PM, parsec0298 said:

We were on her in January and this was our experience as well.  We loved absolutely everything about the ship, and the food was great.

I've seen you posting negative experiences with Symphony several times now, and I just don't know how to explain how you had such a bad experience when lots of others, including myself, have reported the opposite.  I almost wonder if the OP is reacting to your posts.  Are you perhaps being hyperbolic?  Not ONCE did we have a meal, in ANY venue, that was as bad as McDonalds.  Maybe the pre-cooked hamburgers in WJ, but those are easily avoided and there were plenty of other good options to choose from.

 

Totally agree.  We were on the TA  fall 2018 and I thought the ship and crew delivered one of the best cruises we have taken.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

4 hours ago, JediNeo said:

Having recently cruised on this ship I agree the food wasn't that great, especially the desserts. Which is disheartening as I have a sweet tooth.

 

Made reservations for the solarium bistro for dinner. Arrived for the first 5:30 seating. The food looked pretty but was way overcooked and lacked flavor. 

 

Wonderland was ok. The presentation was great but again the food was just okay. Also there was no mad hatter the night we ate.

 

150 Central Park was average. My wife liked the truffle butter bread. My braised pork was very rich. I think the fried cheesecake missed the mark.

 

We tried the WJ for lunch once. Had a hamburger and was sick the rest of the day. Not sure if it was from the burger or people not following proper hygiene practices.

 

There MDR was the best food we had on the ship. The dinner rolls were soft. Food was hot but bland. I loved the baked Alaska. The service was good even though they forgot my drink even though we ordered two and wasn't asked if we wanted coffee 2 out of 4 times we had dinner there.

 

We enjoyed the ship but it did feel crowded, especially on the elevators. Do we really need to remind folks to let people off before you get on? Don't know how many times I had yup yell I wanted to get off and nobody moved.

 

The entire wait staff are dressed as the mad hatter.

 

really???

 

jc

[garnetpalmetto]

34 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

The entire wait staff are dressed as the mad hatter.

 

really???

 

jc

 

Nope, only one person - the waitstaff, or guides, are in silver coats, white shirts and I can't quite remember what color pants. There's a single individual dressed as the Hatter who's not actively serving/waiting, but holding court. He'll go from table to table for pictures, tell Lewis Carroll-esque jokes or riddles ("What's yellow and smells like blue paint? Yellow paint!"), and in general hold court over the dining room. At our Wonderland experience when he wasn't going around to tables, he was standing at the service line drinking a cup of tea and looking over the dining room or looking out the windows over the Boardwalk and occasionally waving to people on the Boardwalk who spotted him. Ours was Russian and his look was highly inspired by Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter.

[rbschultz]

40 minutes ago, garnetpalmetto said:

 

Nope, only one person - the waitstaff, or guides, are in silver coats, white shirts and I can't quite remember what color pants. There's a single individual dressed as the Hatter who's not actively serving/waiting, but holding court. He'll go from table to table for pictures, tell Lewis Carroll-esque jokes or riddles ("What's yellow and smells like blue paint? Yellow paint!"), and in general hold court over the dining room. At our Wonderland experience when he wasn't going around to tables, he was standing at the service line drinking a cup of tea and looking over the dining room or looking out the windows over the Boardwalk and occasionally waving to people on the Boardwalk who spotted him. Ours was Russian and his look was highly inspired by Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter.

Ours was super creepy. Would have been fine with or without him there. Food was outstanding.

[deliver42]

We were on the Symphony last December, and loved the ship. The food was good, not great, but its been a long time since the food was great on any Royal ship. The only crowding i remember was after the shows, but that;s to be expected. Service was super throughout. Don't over think it, and enjoy your cruise.

[parsec0298]

Since the OP was talking about negative reviews I realized it might be helpful to link to a positive review.  Here’s one I wrote earlier this year: 

 

[vacationlover_mn]

On 10/18/2019 at 10:38 AM, joyhannah said:

 

I have book for November 30 and cant go and rebook for one of the other boat . I am now worried.

So looking for people that  can tell if the food and service has improved or not? or is it really bad?

MDR - Food is it still bad?

Buffet is it still Bad?

Restaurants wasted of money?

no luggage valet?  so sorry  this boat is going of Miami

Am I missing anything?

 

Is this boat new with lots of things to work out? 

I really love everything on the Oasis I was so hoping for that again

 

Just looking for your experiences and tips with anything your think I should know?

We did symphony this year with UDP and loved her!  Specialty restaurants great!  Ship great!  Everything, except chair hogs- great!!