Review of my FIRST cruise ever on Symphony of the Seas--I am converted!

[baelor]

I got off Symphony of the Seas yesterday a new man--one who is definitely going to add cruising to my vacation/travel rotation. 

 

I will try to make this review thorough but efficiently presented.  I intend to go day-by-day (each day a separate post), so entertainment and restaurant reviews will be interspersed.  Obviously Ctrl+F for anything you are especially interested in.  Also happy to answer any questions.

 

Ship:  Symphony of the Seas

Dates:  August 13-20, 2022 (7 nights)

Itinerary:  Miami (Day 1), St. Maarten (Day 4), St. Thomas (Day 5), CocoCay (Day 7), Miami (Day 8 )

Group:  Four friends (mid-20s to mid-30s) celebrating graduation

Dining:  Two of us got the 3-night package and paid separately for lunch at Jamie's Italian.  The other two joined us on Day 7 for dinner at Wonderland.

Drinks:  Two of us got the DBP; one got the Refreshment package; one got nothing.

Room:  Two connected Central Park balcony rooms.

Edited August 21, 2022 by baelor

[Sea Dog]

Looking forward to your review. Please mention if you found any food or alcohol shortages. We will be on Symphony next month.

[baelor]

Just now, Sea Dog said:

Looking forward to your review. Please mention if you found any food or alcohol shortages. We will be on Symphony next month.

No food shortages (at least for our group); I especially liked the unlimited self-serve guac.  Many other passengers seemed to enjoy the unlimited self-serve bacon as well (I only need 1 or 2 pieces).  

 

There was a mint shortage (never rectified) both on Symphony and at CocoCay, so mojitos were a bit sad starting around Day 4.  At least evening on Day 6, there was a Remy Martin shortage at Schooner Bar--we did not end up going back so not sure if just that day or for entire rest of cruise.

[baelor]

Day 1

 

Embarkation + Reservations

Embarkation was quite smooth; I had an 11:00 slot and the rest of the group had an 11:30 slot.  They did not separate us, so we could all board together.  The entire process took around 10 minutes, so we were on board around 11:30.  As soon as we were on board, we prioritized reservations and did them all in Central Park.

 

Our ship WiFi was fantastic throughout the entire week, so we were able to book all the shows right away (it took around 5 minutes).  We had linked our reservations months ago, which made things easier.  

 

We booked restaurants next; both Chops and 150 Central Park were virtually empty, so we were helped right away.  The two 3-night package people booked Hooked for Night 2, 150CP for Night 3, and Wonderland (all four of us) for Night 7.  The package people also paid separately for Jamie's Italian for lunch on Day 6.

 

Lunch--El Loco Fresh

We were all hungry and went to El Loco Fresh on the recommendation of some family friends of one of our group who had just been on Symphony the week before.  

 

Bottom line, El Loco Fresh was probably our favorite quick-food venue because we all like Mexican food, there were a lot of bright and fresh flavors (especially using the condiment bar), and quality was consistently good.  

 

My food and drink:

• Bowl of chips topped with some chili, then some fresh cilantro from the condiment bar.  Chips and chili were standard and good; cilantro was awesome.
• Beef taco, which was good but a bit fatty.  I topped it with some guac, which was Mexican-style (smoother and slightly thinner and without tomatoes/onions, used more like a sauce than a dip).  Guac was quite good.
• Chicken quesadilla, which everyone in the group loved because the Monterey Jack flavor came through.  
• Margarita, made at the drink cart in the venue.

 

The food did not change day-to-day, but that did not bother me because I like the bright flavors and relatively light offerings so much.  I would have liked a salsa verde at the condiment bar; we only had one of pico de gallo and salsa roja at any given time.

 

Exploring the Ship and Our Room

After lunch, we explored the ship (pools, Promenade, basically everything).  The one thing that was unpleasant was the smoke smell around the casino, which actually extended to the front tables in the MDR (glad we were not seated there).  I am admittedly sensitive to smoke, but it was pretty crazy how strong it was.

 

We also went to our staterooms, where we met our superlative Stateroom Attendant Yudi.  He was amazing throughout.  We asked him to open the connecting door and the balcony, which he did right away.  We also asked for a doorstop for the connecting door, which he provided with a warning that we be careful given the weight of the door.  

 

I may as well review the room (Central Park balcony) at this point.  It was much larger and better than I was expecting.  There was plenty of storage, including two closets, a living area with a sofa, and a nice balcony.  I am glad we paid a bit more for the extra space and view/natural light present in the balcony stateroom.  Everything was consistently clean, the bathroom and shower were large enough, and it was relatively quiet during the day.  

 

Yudi also provided us with wonderful towel animals during the turndown service several evenings.  He outdid himself on Night 6, when one room got a penguin resting on the pillow holding the TV remote and dressed in one of our sunglasses and the other room got an elaborate piglet stretching out and relaxing.

 

Overall, the stateroom was great, and I have no complaints.  I am curious about higher levels of staterooms, though, since I would probably enjoy a tub for reasons that I discuss below.

 

Dinner--Main Dining Room ("MDR")

By the time we had explored and unpacked, it was time for dinner.  We had dinner in the MDR, although one stateroom's Early Dinner request did not go through (either because our group did not submit it properly or because the system glitched), so we arrived at a two-top.  The situation got resolved pretty promptly and we ended up at a four-top.  Our waiter was Sony and our assistant waiter was Komang; they were excellent--attentive but not overbearing, and always willing to make recommendations.

 

We sat near a window on Deck 4; our sense by the end was that Deck 4 had the best views, so we ended up feeling lucky that we were randomly assigned to that deck.

 

My food and drink:

• Shrimp cocktail--good and fresh, with standard cocktail sauce provided.
• Prime rib--quite good and not too fatty (although obviously the cut is a bit fatty in general)
• Indian dishes--somewhat of a surprise.  We asked what Indian dishes they had that night, and the waiters were not sure.  They asked whether we wanted vegetarian or meat; we just wanted to know the options!  One of our party just asked what the vegetarian options were, and they brought out three full dishes--egg curry, cauliflower curry, and dal.  All were quite good, but we liked the spicing in the egg curry the best.  I was happy that we were able to finish pretty much all of them, since I do not like wasting food.  (I also do not care for cauliflower, so I am happy I was not dining solo...)
• Dessert--I did not get one, but I had a bite of my friend's key lime pie.  It was quite good, and it was probably her favorite dessert until she ate at Wonderland.  I would say that desserts were probably Royal's weak point across all venues, especially the pies.  In particular, the crusts were a bit crumbly and unstable.  I remember cutting into my pie with my fork at some point during the cruise, and the force of cutting through the crust at the bottom of the slice actually dislodged the entire crust on the back side of the pie!  I am not a big dessert person, so the dessert "issue" did not really affect me very much anyway.
• Martini--gin (obviously).  I do not care for olives, so I asked for a twist.  It came with an olive garnish--not an issue, I just removed it.  What was funny is that Komang got increasingly frustrated on my behalf over the course of the week when the bars kept making my martinis with olives instead of a twist.  I assured him (correctly) that it was not an issue at all.  But he persisted, and on Day 6 (our last dinner in the MDR), my martini finally came with a lemon wedge!  Not exactly a twist, but I will count it as a victory.

 

Entertainment--Acoustic Guitar at Jazz on 4

After dinner, we went to Jazz on 4 to hear some acoustic guitar.  But when we went, there was only one other couple, and no musician.  (Turned out it was intermission.)  The musician improvised everything and was generally awesome.  But it was just the four of us for quite some time until others eventually showed up.  I felt a bit bad, especially since he was so amazing.  Maybe Royal needs to add a bar in there or at least have waiters come through (more?) regularly?

 

Back to the Room

We eventually tired out and were also on all different time zones (including Australian), so back to the room we went.  One person went to bed immediately; the three others watched part of a terrible new movie called Morbius that one of our group had inexplicably wanted to see.

 

At this point, I should mention that the movie and TV selection were pretty awful, especially since movie rentals were $12.  It was really weird that we could not watch the movies they screened in the Aqua Theater, even for a fee.  

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, baelor said:

there was a Remy Martin shortage at Schooner Bar

 

Oh no! They will need to restock in hurry for my cruise. I love my Remy. Thanks for your observations.

[Tlbecker1]

Glad that you enjoyed your first cruise!  The Symphony is amazing!

[baelor]

12 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

Glad that you enjoyed your first cruise!  The Symphony is amazing!

Thanks!  It was definitely amazing!

[baelor]

Day 1 Addendum

Forgot to mention that I also had the black beans and the Mexican rice at El Loco Fresh.  The former was great; the latter was disappointing.  The rice was a bit bland, and the spicing seemed off to me for some reason.  Adding tomatoes/onions/cilantro would have brightened the rice nicely, I think.

[baelor]

Day 2--Part I

 

Solarium

We woke up pretty early (for us)--before 8 am--and grabbed some chairs in the Solarium, which we expected to like.  We wanted somewhere relatively quiet during the day, and the natural light and adults-only nature of the Solarium was appealing.  The Solarium was generally very much chill-vibes-only until later in the afternoon, when the people who had been drinking all day started getting a little rowdy/noisy.

 

Complaint Alert!

At this point, it may be worth mentioning my only real complaints about the Symphony itself.  First, the lack of shaded pool chairs.  Second, the lack of cool-water pool space.

 

The only consistently shaded chairs were along the edges of the ship on Deck 15 and near the Spa pools.  They were full pretty much all day until the late afternoon.  In contrast, vast areas of sunny chairs stayed empty throughout the entire trip.  People also did not hesitate to enforce the no-"reservation" rule for the shaded chairs.  This tells me that demand exceeds supply.

 

It seems like RCI should consider how to increase the number of shaded chairs.  Perhaps awnings over some of the chairs on Deck 15 or 16, parasols, etc.  Even in the Solarium, there were basically no beach chairs that stayed shaded throughout the day, even with the metal "screens" above them.  A lot of them were especially sunny noon to 3, which is the time when you most want the shade!

 

The whole situation was completely baffling.

 

The second--lack of cool-water pool space--was even more mind-boggling!  Our group had a couple of people who just wanted to read in a cool pool in (relative) peace/quiet for a couple fo hours.  This was difficult because there was so little pool space.

 

The Solarium pool regularly reached 30+ people in it (basically packed in like sardines) throughout the sea days, and the main pool and activities pool were generally also very full.  The latter were also more splashy because of the kids (which is great; go at it).

 

What made no sense is how many hot tubs there were.  The temperature was pretty much always over 80 degrees F, and the Solarium had TWO hot tubs, in addition to the FOUR Spa pools plus all the OTHER hot tubs around the primary pools.  WHAT?  WHY!?!  Most of them were only lightly occupied, and given how many people were in the cool-water pools, there was a clear demand-supply discrepancy.  On CocoCay, there were easily 500+ people in Oasis Lagoon.

 

Maybe there is some weird engineering reason, but I have no idea why RCI doesn't just leave the Spa pools and a couple of hot tubs unheated during the day to provide more space for chill (but cool-temperature) pool experiences.

 

Again, I just find the above decisions totally incomprehensible.

 

RANT OVER

 

 

[baelor]

Day 2--Part II

 

Breakfast--Windjammer

Breakfast at Windjammer!  On the whole, we really liked the Windjammer buffet--there were plenty of both savory and sweet options.  It did not have more exotic fruits like cactus fruit, guava, papaya, passionfruit, mango, etc., but on the whole very extensive.  Getting drinks was a bit of a challenge; waiters basically needed to be flagged down (and did not even pass by our table that quickly).

 

My food/drink:

• Avocado toast with egg--good, but the egg was hardboiled rather than poached, which I strongly prefer (I also really dislike hardboiled yolks).
• Corned beef hash--fine, but a bit bland.
• Fruit smoothie--refreshing and very banana-forward (which also made it quite thick, which I did not mind).
• Hash brown--quite crispy on the outside, which I like.  The hash browns and croquettes were very consistently and well-prepared across all ship venues.
• Mimosa--strong and tasty.
• Fresh-squeezed OJ--delicious.

 

One member of our group had the Muesli with sweet cream and loved it.  Another had the salmon with squid ink, which he said tasted good but was a complete mess to deal with because the squid ink got everywhere.

 

Waterslides

We LOVED the waterslides and when on them probably 20-30 times throughout the trip.  The race ones were fun but heated up quite a bit later in the day.  The blue one was noticeably rougher (but faster) than the yellow one.  Most of us preferred the green one, however, which ended with a "champagne bowl."  I ended up refining my technique enough to consistently go around the bowl 3 or 4 times before going down the hole.

 

Chilling in the Solarium

During the morning and some of the afternoon, we just relaxed in the Solarium, hitting up the bar, reading, relaxing in the pool, and relaxing in the hot tubs.

 

Lunch--Solarium Bistro

Easily our most disappointing dining experience.  Our sense was that it would be a pretty healthy and big Mediterranean spread, but it was not really much different than WJ.  Nothing was bad, but there were several misses and nothing was more than fine with one exception--the made-to-order stir fry (which I ordered spicy and was delicious).  Notes:

• Tzatziki--entirely desecrated.  I had been looking forward to having some tzatziki on board for quite some time, and the description noted that it had not only yogurt but also SOUR CREAM.  Not only does sour cream not belong in tzatziki in the first place, I also hate it lol.  So no tzatziki for me.  Extremely disappointing--RCI ruined it for no reason.
• There was a selection of Mediterranean spreads, but no pita.  HOW?
• Sweet & Sour chicken--fine.

 

We ultimately concluded that there was no reason to come back given how much we enjoyed El Loco Fresh.

 

Assorted Afternoon Activities

We went to the Copper & Kettle pub for trivia.  We were a bit late, had a hard time understanding the MC through the mask, and did not imagine our doing well since it was all about different beers and none of us are really beer drinkers.

 

We did hit up the belly flop competition, which ended in an allegedly unprecedented 3-way tie.

 

We redeemed our free play at the casino just for fun, and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the Solarium and on the slides.

 

Dinner--Hooked

Dinner was at hooked.  Our waiter, Ali, was great.  Overall, it was a good experience and provided me with what I wanted--fresh seafood that was able to just be itself.  My food and drink:

• Soft-shell Crab--Well-fried and delicious.  Remoulade was good as well.
• Clam chowder--standard preparation.  There were two full clams on the shell in the chowder, which was nice.
• Whole Maine lobster--obviously quite plentiful; tasted fresh and paired with drawn butter.  No complaints.
• Captain's Platter--(ordered by my friend) Shrimp and lobster tail were good; halibut was fine but a bit overcooked and therefore dry.
• Brownie--good; tasted like a standard brownie and served a la mode.
• Coconut cream pie--(ordered by my friend) not too sweet.  Crust was bland (see above), and the flavor was pretty light and delicate, which some will like and some will not.
• Elderflower spritz--great and refreshing cocktail that is basically an Aperol spritz with St. Germain added.

 

We also appreciated the nautical decor and looking out in front of the ship.

 

Dazzles--Karaoke

We went to family karaoke.  The kids were cute but the singing was pretty universally bad (sorry, children) until one guy got up and delivered a professional-quality rendition of Fly Me to the Moon.

 

Hairspray

Awesome performance in front of a full house. The entire cast was great, but I thought Tracy, Seaweed, and especially Penny were standouts.  It was just a total blast.

 

The performance cut some of the dialog-heavy scenes, so I imagine that some people may have been a bit confused by the plot if not already familiar with the story.

 

They had popcorn available outside, which I thought was free but seems to have been for a fee based on the charge on my SeaPass.  The lines were pretty long, and one super rude guy starting hassling the employee managing the line about how the wait was unacceptable and they needed more machines, and then challenged the employee when he acknowledged the complaint, asking whether he really got it or was just trying to get the guy of his back.  Super uncomfortable and rude.  I told the employee he was doing great and to not worry about the crazies.

 

Bedtime

We were thinking of hitting up Sorrento's for a slice or a bar for a drink after the show, but the outpouring of theatergoers crowded up all the venues, so we just went to bed.

[notscb]

1 hour ago, baelor said:

hassling the employee managing the line about how the wait was unacceptable and they needed more machines, and then challenged the employee when he acknowledged the complaint,

 

It's weird how many folks go on vacation to be so upset at every turn. Any day standing in line on a cruise ship is still better than on land, IMHO.

[bgoff60]

5 hours ago, notscb said:

 

It's weird how many folks go on vacation to be so upset at every turn. Any day standing in line on a cruise ship is still better than on land, IMHO.

Motto: Don't be a Richard

[JamesEM]

Following along, will be on her in 3 weeks.

[baelor]

More days coming tomorrow!  Again, if anyone has questions, please ask!

[gingerpeaches]

15 minutes ago, baelor said:

More days coming tomorrow!  Again, if anyone has questions, please ask!

Would you mind sharing some photos of the ship please? 

[Havin'fun]

Symphony is the ship that made me love the Oasis class ships again. 

Enjoying your review - welcome to cruising. As you have now found out - it's addicting. 😊

[Joebucks]

12 hours ago, notscb said:

 

It's weird how many folks go on vacation to be so upset at every turn. Any day standing in line on a cruise ship is still better than on land, IMHO.

 

As much as I hate lines and waiting, I know I often find myself in the lines just thinking how glad I am to be back, and all of the fun things I did / am about to do. Nothing brings down my vacation except for bummed weather / missed ports.

 

Some people are just insufferable. Doesn't matter if they are on a cruise or not.

[MJSailors]

@baelorVery detailed review. Just curious- did you keep notes while on this cruise to refer to when writing this review?

So far, only day 2 has been posted with so much information. 

Looking forward to the continuation of your vacation recap.

MJ🙋🏻

 

[LobsterStalker]

19 hours ago, baelor said:

Itinerary:  Miami (Day 1), St. Maarten (Day 4), St. Thomas (Day 5), CocoCay (Day 7), Miami (Day 8 )

Going on same itinerary (Symphony) in a month !

I had been reading a fair bit of complaints(from a few months back) about short staffing , and particularly how it was affecting dining , specifically wait times. I have "my time"  dining booked and I had heard some horror stories of people waiting well over an hour just to be seated on some nights. Did you notice any specific issues surrounding dining . ? Only interested in MDR as we rarely do specialties

 

Thx

[CoolChange37]

11 hours ago, baelor said:

More days coming tomorrow!  Again, if anyone has questions, please ask!

Did you happen to take pics of the Dailies?   We are trying to plan our show times and specialty restaurants so when we get on board we can "get 'er done!"  Love reading your reviews!   

[HelenaCruiser2012]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review!  Following along, we sail on Symphony on 9/3.  Thanks for all of the info!

[baelor]

11 hours ago, gingerpeaches said:

Would you mind sharing some photos of the ship please? 

Yes, but I cannot get to them until a bit later, so the reviews will probably come first.

[baelor]

4 hours ago, MJSailors said:

@baelorVery detailed review. Just curious- did you keep notes while on this cruise to refer to when writing this review?

 

I did keep notes, especially regarding the restaurants and the staff so I would not forget anyone's name!

[baelor]

2 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

Going on same itinerary (Symphony) in a month !

I had been reading a fair bit of complaints(from a few months back) about short staffing , and particularly how it was affecting dining , specifically wait times. I have "my time"  dining booked and I had heard some horror stories of people waiting well over an hour just to be seated on some nights. Did you notice any specific issues surrounding dining . ? Only interested in MDR as we rarely do specialties

 

Thx

I did not notice any short-staffing.  In other words, I did not really ever have to wait for anything (MDR, bars, Sorrento's, etc.) beyond reasonable/expected waits at places like the Promenade Cafe, where the staff is making items to order.  The one line we had was the popcorn line, mentioned above.  Guest Services and the Excursion Desk also had longer lines--the former all the time; the latter on port days.

 

Note that I had no point of comparison since this was my first cruise, but the ship did not feel understaffed to me.

 

To answer your MDR question directly, we had the early time.  When we left, there was often a bit of a line--maybe like 5-15 parties most nights, around 7 pm.  I passed by the line on lobster night closer to 8 and there was basically no line, for whatever that is worth.

[baelor]

51 minutes ago, CoolChange37 said:

Did you happen to take pics of the Dailies?   We are trying to plan our show times and specialty restaurants so when we get on board we can "get 'er done!"  Love reading your reviews!

Is that the Cruise Compass?  If so, no, we did not, since we used the app.

That being said, the musical was playing on two nights I think, Hiro was on for two or three, one ice show had a couple nights, the other had only the last day IIRC.  Flight happened a couple days later in the cruise.  There were numerous comedy performances throughout the ship.  There was live music pretty consistently throughout the evening on all days.  All major performances had multiple times per day, typically around 8-9 and then again around 9:30-10:30.

 

I hope this was at least a bit helpful.  We booked entertainment before restaurants so we could reserve dinner around our shows etc.  It was not difficult at all to slot all the activities in, and we kept one or two port days completely clear of entertainment and still got to see everything we wanted (which was pretty much everything).