*~LIVE REVIEW~* 50x + Cruiser Tries RCCL (Symphony Eastern 7-Night)

[drumexpert510]

11 hours ago, countess5 said:

“Also, the Park Cafe has some amazing quick service and grab and go lunch options”

 

Have your tried the carved beef sandwich with the horseradish sauce? You don’t know what your missing! Two sea days to get there! 😂

 

Cheers! 

I did try that for one of the days. It was very good!

[drumexpert510]

Had a “Perfect Day at Coco Cay” today (see what I did there?)! We docked around 9am and the Odyssey Of The Seas was already docked next to us. Nothing like the Symphony of the Seas to make the Odyssey look small! With that being said these are both two NOT small at all ships and boy I wish someone prepped me for having around 10,000 cruisers running around Coco Cay. Every beach chair was full by 10am. ALL excursions sold out. All cabanas and day he’d sold out. Water park over sold. It was a mad house!!! BUT, I found my oasis, I had fun and it was an amazing day. The water was FREEZING, but only at first then you go numb. I highly recommend getting your lunch at one of the 3 “Snack Shacks” on the island… the shack chicken sandwich was amazing and a refreshment from the standard “burger” you always find on the private islands. You can also get fries, mozzarella sticks and funnel cakes! Great option for a snack for the kids! After lunch, I headed to the pool…….. wow. It was crazy there. Think a South Beach Miami hotel pool with a swim up bar and DJ. The party was jamming and that was the place to be. The pool was packed and drinks were flowing. I hung out for a bit, got a couple drinks and then headed back to the ship. Hot tub for a bit, shower and then ready for tonight’s show and dinner. 
 

Iskate 2.0 and 150 Central Park. Coming up soon!

[The Fun Researcher]

Yowza.  That’s two huge ships at once!  We ran into something similar like this summer with the Allure and the Mariner at once.   Still not as bad as what you had. Same with you, all loungers gone at 10 AM we finally found a few at the very back of the island.  Coco Cay is cool but like an amusement park moreso than a relaxing beach day.  Personally we like their other private port better, Labadee.  More laid back, but that’s just us.  I did a poll a litttle while back and it was 60/40 in favor of Coco Cay.  Probably depends a lot if you’re the only ship in port.

Edited January 14, 2023 by The Fun Researcher

[Amberle3]

4 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

  I did a poll a litttle while back and it was 60/40 in favor of Coco Cay.  Probably depends a lot if you’re the only ship in port.

I have to admit that I hate Coco Cay. I am not fond of crowds, or noise. I'm not a huge "beach" person but if I'm at one then I just want to have some quiet time away from people. One of the reasons we picked our next cruise itinerary was because it didn't have a stop at Coco Cay.  The next time I'm on a ship that stops there I will almost certainly just stay onboard instead.

[tcmagnum]

On 1/10/2023 at 9:35 PM, drumexpert510 said:

“America’s Cup Sailing Regatta”… I was a little apprehensive at first but OMG! I loved it! We had a great group and crew so that definitely helps. You being with being assigned a “job” on the sail boat, mine was main grinder. You race against another boat crewed by other passengers to see who can finish first and all along the captain is calling out jobs and what to do… it was SUPER FUN! I highly recommend this tour.

 

I have a couple questions about this excursion…

Did you notice if anyone of the others felt like the ‘jobs’ were too much for them?
Did you get to go ‘fast’?  I know it says a race, but do you really get to go fast?
Do you need any real sailing experience?  It’s been awhile since I’ve been sailing.

But this excursion is calling to me.

Thank you for any information.

Enjoying your posts.

Have a great cruise!!

[Ocean Boy]

13 hours ago, drumexpert510 said:

I did try that for one of the days. It was very good!

I have yet to have a good one. I have given up trying. 

[Stratford1950]

It sounds like overall you’ve had a good experience on Symphony. We’ve been on it twice…first time on its first trip to Florida from the Mediterranean and then this past summer in the Caribbean.

We really liked the ship but we tend to hang out in the Solarium on cruise ships and for us this is where the Symphony doesn’t do well. The solarium is a sweat box it is wall to wall glass. On our TA nobody hung out there once we hit the Atlantic and it wasn’t any better this summer in the Caribbean.

We prefer the Oasis and the Allure…having said that how did you find the Solarium?

[Hoopster95]

On 1/12/2023 at 10:36 AM, drumexpert510 said:

Dinner was at Izumi, great chef, server and company. 

I’m sitting at the other table in your Izumi photos lol!

 

For those of you that remember me on these forums…. Hi! Sitting here at MIA in the lounge awaiting my flight, and I thought I myself “I haven’t lurked on CC boards for months… maybe I should see if someone posted a live review”. Lo and behold.

 

I feel compelled to post for the first time since Covid. Hey drumexpert great job with photos. Did you happen to go Jazz on 4? If not, you

missed a genious percussionist! They were Argentinian and that drummer needs to be discovered for a record label or major artist. 
 

You focused a lot of your review on food…. I too had the UDP and also agree with your positive opinions at all venues. In my opinion this was the best ship by far for food since even before Covid. All specialty dining was above average compared to previous sailings. I always stay away from Jamie’s … I sailed this time with 1st time cruiser so we tried everything regardless of my preconceived notions. Jamie’s is normally mediocre at best, but even this venue was great here on Symphony.

 

I’ve often compared RCL dining to Oceania because of my few experiences with Oceania  regarding amazing elevated food… both times in CP150 could’ve been on Oceania. Absolutely top notch foodie quality awesome meals, beyond tasty exceptional and just great service. The beef tenderloin and lobster thermadore were exquisite. CP150 wins on Symphony as the best dining venue hands down.
 

I cant be any more positive regarding the specialty dining on this ship this time around. Very surprising as I’ve always experienced various hits and misses no matter what sailing. 

 

Anyways, good to see you had a great time drumexpert.

[CruisinMama2003]

Glad to see you back on CC @Hoopster95! Ive been wondering about you for awhile now, use to follow all of your Lives. I even perused the Oceana boards to see if you were there posting a Live lol 

 

Safe travels home, hope to "see" you around more often on CC now, and really hope to see a Live from you again 🙂

[aubreyc1988]

On 1/14/2023 at 8:25 AM, tcmagnum said:

I have a couple questions about this excursion…

Did you notice if anyone of the others felt like the ‘jobs’ were too much for them?
Did you get to go ‘fast’?  I know it says a race, but do you really get to go fast?
Do you need any real sailing experience?  It’s been awhile since I’ve been sailing.

But this excursion is calling to me.

Thank you for any information.

Enjoying your posts.

Have a great cruise!!

Not the OP, but I did this in 2017 and they are pretty good at matching people with the jobs. and yes, you do go fast! No need for sailing experience, and you should definitely do it! 

[The Fun Researcher]

So drumexpert510, what are your general takeaways from your cruise with Royal on the Symphony versus what you're used to on other cruise lines?  I'd be very interested in your thoughts.

Dan

[fla33023]

How do you play that large billiards game? What do you use to hit the balls?

[Envelope21]

Will be on this ship in March for a Transatlantic. Are you able to book any of the shows online before the cruise ... or do you have to do it on the ship. Where on the ship do you go to do so? Thank you.

[Biker19]

15 hours ago, Envelope21 said:

Are you able to book any of the shows online before the cruise?

That should become available in the planner next month.

[Busybeeva]

On 1/11/2023 at 8:39 PM, drumexpert510 said:

Goooood evening,

 

Went on the Xmas snorkel excursion today and it was good. The snorkeling itself was average, mostly grass and fire coral. It was a nice swim though, they give you about an hour in the water. The highlight of the trip was I saw 3 separate turtles on the sea bed grazing so that was pretty cool. After the snorkel they take you on about a 45 min leisure trip back to the ship where they give you free rum punch. On this return trip you find out you were snorkeling at Little St. James Island and at a point for keeping this PG, it was the spotlight of a recent documentary (you can do your own research). Beyond that it was a fun little day trip and after returning I hopped in a taxi and headed to the “top of the mountain” to grab a banana daiquiri. I highly recommend making this trip for anyone who goes to St. Thomas. (With a little haggling it is possible to get the driver to do $20pp round trip.) The daiquiris and the views are equally amazing and I have attached photos of both. After a drink and taking in the sights, I headed back down the mountain to the ship where we had an all aboard time of 3:30pm. 
 

Once on board… now time to sleep off the drinks!

 

Thanks for the great info! Question: is Top of the Mountain the same spot the tram goes to? Or a different view point? 

[SuiteLady]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:25 AM, Biker19 said:

That should become available in the planner next month.

I sailed on 2 Oasis class ships (Harmony and Oasis) and for both you had to book all shows once your onboard....is Symphony different?

[SuiteLady]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:01 AM, Busybeeva said:

Thanks for the great info! Question: is Top of the Mountain the same spot the tram goes to? Or a different view point? 

No tram, but a sky ride up the mountain

[Biker19]

30 minutes ago, SuiteLady said:

.is Symphony different?

The ship isn't but since you sailed RCI has reopened the possibility of booking shows pre-cruise.

[Ocean Boy]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:01 AM, Busybeeva said:

Thanks for the great info! Question: is Top of the Mountain the same spot the tram goes to? Or a different view point? 

The tram you are thinking about goes to Paradise Point. Mountain Top is a different area of St. Thomas. You will need transportation to get there. The views are awesome. 

[Coralc]

15 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The tram you are thinking about goes to Paradise Point. Mountain Top is a different area of St. Thomas. You will need transportation to get there. The views are awesome. 

Yes! Mountain Top overlooks Magen's Bay and the coastal islands. 

[SuiteLady]

On 1/27/2023 at 1:02 PM, Biker19 said:

The ship isn't but since you sailed RCI has reopened the possibility of booking shows pre-cruise.

Oh great!  I will keep my eye out as my cruise gets closer!