Just off Symphony - First RCL Cruise - Brief Review/Thoughts

[Newcruiser215]

Hello Everyone.
 

Just like the title states, we are fresh off the Symphony of the Seas and I wanted to briefly share my experience with everyone. Before I get into the actual cruise, I’ll share a little info about our travel party and our pre-cruise hiccup. I’m 34, my wife turned 30 today and we have 3 kids (10, 4 & 3) but they did not join us on this trip. We are frequent Disney world visitors so we decided to fly from Philadelphia to Orlando on Thursday and then Orlando to Miami on Saturday morning. This proved to be a major rookie mistake because our 9:30am flight to Miami was canceled and then 6 Uber drivers canceled our trip once they saw where we were going. One driver agreed to take us for $250 cash instead of going through Uber but I was not comfortable with that. Finally a driver agreed to take us, so 4 hours later and my bank account $286 lighter we made it to Miami around 11:45am. Now onto the show…..

 

Embarkation - A little overwhelming. Very busy and very rushed but also, very efficient. We were on board by 12:10pm. 

First Impressions - Wow! Pictures and YouTube videos just don’t do it justice. Beautiful ship that shows no signs of aging. The Royal Promenade was a mad house and trying to make specialty dining reservations at one of the desks was chaos. Didn’t seem well organized and we ended up with the wrong reservations. Getting our freestyle cups was also a hassle. They were not in our stateroom so I went back down to promenade, walked over to where they were signing up guests for a beverage package and asked for two cups. I was directed to Boleros, but Boleros was all out so back to the desk I went. It seemed like they did not want to give out their cups to people who already had the package but after some hesitation, they finally gave me what I paid for. Gee thanks. 
 

Stateroom - We had a Oceanview balcony (2D) on deck 10. Very spacious, bed was comfortable, everything was in great condition and our room was cleaned twice a day. 
 

Entertainment - Hairspray (A+) was performed several times through the week, Hiro (A) was also shown multiple times, however, it was canceled one night due to a safety issue, 1977 (B) was shown 3 times towards the end of our sailing, as was Flight (B). We also saw the Love & Marriage game, which was very enjoyable. 
 

Specialty Dining - Chops was our favorite, with Jamie’s a close second. Hooked was a big miss for me but my wife really enjoyed her 2 pound Maine lobster. The crab cake was not good, my surf was very mushy and my turf was not flavorful at all. Izumi Hibachi was another miss. I’ve never had bland fried rice before that night. The chef was very entertaining but the food just did not do it for me. 
 

Complimentary Dining - The windjammer was okay. Solarium bistro was open everyday for breakfast, lunch & dinner and it was much more enjoyable than Windjammer. El loco was very popular with long lines everyday and the food was pretty good. The main dining room for dinner was hit or miss. The beef tenderloin was amazing, however, the following night the lamp chops were not good. My wife had the NY strip twice, one night it was very good but not the next time so there was some inconsistency. We also took advantage of the unlimited soft serve ice cream cones. 
 

Other dining - Playmakers overall was a good experience. I didn’t love the onion rings but everything else was good. Finally, my biggest dining disappointment…. Coco Beach Club. I was not expecting 5 star dining but I wasn’t expecting that both of us would have to send our lobster back because it was simply not edible. We were not the only guests who experienced this that day. 
 

Pools - We loved all of the pools especially the solarium pool. What we didn’t love was people reserving pool chairs at 7am even though there are numerous signs telling people not to do it. By 10am, good luck finding a couple chairs. 
 

Ports / Excursions- St. Maarten, we booked the Great Bay Beach experience. Decent beach, the only downside was locals asking you every 2 minutes if you wanted a massage or purchase a hat, bag, beads, etc. St. Thomas, we did the 5 star island tour. Driver took us around the island for picture stops, down to Magen’s Bay (great beach) for two hours and then 2 hours of downtown shopping. Perfect Day (amazing island), we did the Coco Beach Club. 
 

Voom - Terrible and very unreliable. 
 

Crew members - Excellent. Very friendly, attentive and very personable. I never felt like just another guest, which is amazing when you consider how many other guests are on board (over 6,000 for our sailing). Our MDR waiter Rande was excellent. He always went out of his way to stop and talk to us when he would see us in other dining venues. My wife wanted to take him home with us. A+ all around. 
 

Disembarkation - A breeze. Took no time at all. 

 Final thoughts- Overall, this was a great experience. I can’t wait to share this experience with our kids and we’ve already booked our next cruise on the Wonder. 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Newcruiser215
Format change

[soremekun]

Was this cruise great enough for you to dump Disney or does it need to be a democratic decision?

[Newcruiser215]

2 minutes ago, soremekun said:

Was this cruise great enough for you to dump Disney or does it need to be a democratic decision?

She’ll never allow it. 

[BNBR]

1 hour ago, soremekun said:

Was this cruise great enough for you to dump Disney or does it need to be a democratic decision?

 

Is Disney still a thing?  Gross.  Who would take their kids anywhere near there?

[Oceansaway17]

42 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

Is Disney still a thing?  Gross.  Who would take their kids anywhere near there?

hey Disney is still a great place to visit and ya do not have to take a test beforehand.

That is why I went last fall 3 times instead of cruises.  I only did one and that I drove to for Anthem.

[JuliaSugarbaker]

2 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

Is Disney still a thing?  Gross.  Who would take their kids anywhere near there?

I feel like you have to not live on planet earth to not realize that Disney is still very much a thing.

 

🙄

[Cherries Jubilee]

Thanks so much for the review! I’m so happy things seem to be up and running normally for the most part.

[Newcruiser215]

8 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

Thanks so much for the review! I’m so happy things seem to be up and running normally for the most part.

You’re welcome & yes, I imagine this is how it was pre-Covid. 

[Sea Dog]

Where there liquor shortages at any of the bars?

[Newcruiser215]

14 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Where there liquor shortages at any of the bars?

My wife ordered Zinfandel a couple times from different specialty dining venues and was told there was none available onboard. Other than that, everything else was available. 

[sharonslex]

Very good review, thanks for sharing

[drrich2]

Thank you for the detailed listing of varied experiences, the good, the bad, etc...

 

Regarding the Disney World tangent, we took our then 8-year old to DW near Orlando summer of 2021. More 'work' than a cruise in terms of walking around and waiting in line. Far more work in terms of advance research to try to wrap my mind around the options and offerings so as to make informed decisions and plans. Total cost for our family for a 7-day trip was maybe a grand over what a Royal Caribbean Oasis-class cruise would've cost. Definitely a different experience, very 'apples to oranges' vs. cruising, and it's a blessing to do either, but...as a parent, I look forward to cruising as a relief. Disney was more like a 'challenge.' 

Edited June 27, 2022 by drrich2

[Newcruiser215]

27 minutes ago, drrich2 said:

Thank you for the detailed listing of varied experiences, the good, the bad, etc...

 

Regarding the Disney World tangent, we took our then 8-year old to DW near Orlando summer of 2021. More 'work' than a cruise in terms of walking around and waiting in line. Far more work in terms of advance research to try to wrap my mind around the options and offerings so as to make informed decisions and plans. Total cost for our family for a 7-day trip was maybe a grand over what a Royal Caribbean Oasis-class cruise would've cost. Definitely a different experience, very 'apples to oranges' vs. cruising, and it's a blessing to do either, but...as a parent, I look forward to cruising as a relief. Disney was more like a 'challenge.' 

My wife and I literally just had this conversation. There’s nothing “vacation” about Disney and I would much rather spend my money on a cruise then standing in long lines on a 90 degree day. It’s just not worth it. 

[F27TW]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:19 PM, BNBR said:

 

Is Disney still a thing?  Gross.  Who would take their kids anywhere near there?

 

"Don't Say .. Disney"   ....  something like that, you mean, right?  

[Mira28]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:19 PM, BNBR said:

 

Is Disney still a thing?  Gross.  Who would take their kids anywhere near there?

Love cruising, love Disney. 

Yes, it’s still a thing. I even think it’ll be around awhile. 

[LBumb]

good review

[JeffT237]

16 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

There’s nothing “vacation” about Disney and I would much rather spend my money on a cruise then standing in long lines on a 90 degree day. It’s just not worth it. 

 I agree 100%, my kids who are now young adults and have had the privilege of traveling quite a bit still give me grief for never taking them to Disney world and Orlando.  Standing in long lines to go on a ride isn't my kind of vacation!  Oh Yeah, we also live in SoCal and we've all gone to amusement parks for our entire lives, especially Disneyland since we have so much family that works there we get signed in all the time.  Glad you enjoyed the Symphony, we love the Oasis class and our next cruise is on the Wonder as well.

[Newcruiser215]

3 hours ago, LBumb said:

good review

Thank you!

[drrich2]

On 6/26/2022 at 10:39 PM, Newcruiser215 said:

There’s nothing “vacation” about Disney and I would much rather spend my money on a cruise then standing in long lines on a 90 degree day. It’s just not worth it. 

After reading the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, compiling notes, reading articles and watching videos online, getting a travel agent, having selected a list of which attractions in each of the 4 main theme parks I wanted us to get to, I subscribed to a paid service whereby an app. on my iPhone would give me a customized schedule for the day, telling me which order to go after the rides in (e.g.: hit the highest demand rides right away), estimating the time it'd take us to get from one to another, and basically the service calculated us an itinerary intended to keep wait times as short as possible, based on usual foot traffic patterns in the parks. 

 

We went during the pandemic restrictions, so the Fast Pass system wasn't in effect, and this was before newer options got put in, so planning wasn't as complex as it can be. 

 

In comparison, for an Oasis-class ship, it was needful to decide on a dining time, a shore excursion at each stop, and unfortunately they're not letting us book show times until we get on the ship so I imagine boarding day will be a bit of a rush. But it still entails much less research and planning than Disney. 

 

On a cruise, after we're back from the day's excursion, if any, I might ask my wife and daughter what we want to do. At Disney, I was often telling them what we were gonna do. And people who just wander around pursuing whatever draws them are apt to face much longer line times. 

 

I'm glad we took our kid to Disney World; none of us had ever been. Just wish the planning didn't feel like I bit off more than I could chew. 

[marchand28]

Great review. Agree with you about Izumi's fried rice. Strange thing with Playmakers onion rings, is it depends on which ship you are on as to how they are made. Great onion rings on Odyssey and then went on Oasis and completely different onion rings.

[cruisegal40]

Thank you for this. We will be on her in September!

[hotsauce126]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:48 PM, Newcruiser215 said:

Getting our freestyle cups was also a hassle. They were not in our stateroom so I went back down to promenade, walked over to where they were signing up guests for a beverage package and asked for two cups. I was directed to Boleros, but Boleros was all out so back to the desk I went. It seemed like they did not want to give out their cups to people who already had the package but after some hesitation, they finally gave me what I paid for. Gee thanks. 

 

This was my exact experience on the Odyssey back in December. Our freestyle cups weren't in our room so we went to guest services who directed us to a bar who directed us to another bar who directed us to another bar and acted strangely about it the whole time

[Crusin Cindy]

Thanks for your review. It was nice and to the point.  Do you have any trouble getting reservations for the nights and times you wanted?

[Newcruiser215]

32 minutes ago, Crusin Cindy said:

Thanks for your review. It was nice and to the point.  Do you have any trouble getting reservations for the nights and times you wanted?

Yes, and that tied into my early frustrations once we were on board. We booked the 3 night dining package so once I got onboard and connected to the WIFI, I thought I could just go into the app and make my reservations there. Wrong. The app did not recognize that I had the package so any reservation I tried to make, it wanted me to pay. Now I have to stand in line and try to make my reservations and surprisingly I was told that Chops was unavailable for the first 3 nights so I settled for Jamie's. The kicker is, when I checked the app a hour later, I somehow had a reservation for Chops on the first night and 4th. It was a mess but it got straightened out. 

 

In terms of entertainment reservations, I did not have any issues getting those times. A couple shows we attended without reservations and we had no problems getting in. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by Newcruiser215

[ARandomTraveler]

3 hours ago, drrich2 said:

After reading the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, compiling notes, reading articles and watching videos online, getting a travel agent, having selected a list of which attractions in each of the 4 main theme parks I wanted us to get to, I subscribed to a paid service whereby an app. on my iPhone would give me a customized schedule for the day, telling me which order to go after the rides in (e.g.: hit the highest demand rides right away), estimating the time it'd take us to get from one to another, and basically the service calculated us an itinerary intended to keep wait times as short as possible, based on usual foot traffic patterns in the parks. 

 

We went during the pandemic restrictions, so the Fast Pass system wasn't in effect, and this was before newer options got put in, so planning wasn't as complex as it can be. 

 

In comparison, for an Oasis-class ship, it was needful to decide on a dining time, a shore excursion at each stop, and unfortunately they're not letting us book show times until we get on the ship so I imagine boarding day will be a bit of a rush. But it still entails much less research and planning than Disney. 

 

On a cruise, after we're back from the day's excursion, if any, I might ask my wife and daughter what we want to do. At Disney, I was often telling them what we were gonna do. And people who just wander around pursuing whatever draws them are apt to face much longer line times. 

 

I'm glad we took our kid to Disney World; none of us had ever been. Just wish the planning didn't feel like I bit off more than I could chew. 

😂 I read that book and did the same kind of plotting and planning (without the app though as I did it back in 2011). It was a lot of work...but it worked. We hit up the major rides early and fit more into our day than we would have otherwise. The hard part is pulling your kids along past the rides on the way to the "scheduled" ride. 
 

Our last trip to Disney was during the week of the shut down in March 2020 (we were there when they announced they'd be closing down for "2 weeks" and we stayed at the park until they closed for good on Sunday March 15th). Interesting experience.
 

We were invited Disney guests on their trip though, and had unlimited line skipping privileges, no reservations necessary. I can never do Disney again because that spoiled me. Didn't stand in a line longer than 5 minutes the whole week.