thrifty99

Does anyone know if Freedom has issues with ash on those aft balconies?  We had an aft 2 bedroom suite on Adventure a few years ago and the ash on the balcony was a pain to deal with.  If you forgot to wipe off the chairs before sitting down you stained your shorts.  We were constantly wiping off the chairs and table.  

4 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

However, there was one bar on one ship where, when I  asked for ginger beer, the bar tender asked me if I would like all my 3 drinks at the same time. I was surprised but Ok. He gave 3 unopened cans. Every evening on my way back from the spa I stopped there and he asked the same question.

And those are the bar tenders I enjoy tipping!!!

Something to study before you go are the restaurant choices on this ship as there are so many.  I remember my first time on the Oasis class and at the end of the week wishing I had known about all the options.  

Not sure if this link will work, but it is a great description of the dining options on the Symphony. 

https://eatsleepcruise.com/2018/12/symphony-of-the-seas-restaurant-menus/

Our favorite for lunch is the Park Cafe... love the roast beef sandwiches.  

While I personally would choose the Oasis as that class is my favorite, the Explorer would be a great cruise for your group.  Still plenty for the kids to do with the water slides, FlowRider, mini golf, rock wall, laser tag, ice skating, outdoor movies, and parades.  I don't know much about the kids programs on either ship as we never used those with our kids.  

Activities missing from the Explorer for the kids:

- Zip Line

- Ultimate Abyss slide

- Escape Room 

- Carousel

The shows are where Oasis really beats out the Explorer.  Although, the big show, CATS, is not a show loved by all and may be hard for the younger ones to follow.

Both ships have a decent amount of specialty restaurants if you want a break from the Main Dining Room.  Oasis has a better selection of free options to choose from.  And it has new dining to try (El Loc Fresh and Portside BBQ).

For your group it sounds like the Explorer ports would be new for many so that is a plus.  But the younger ones may enjoy the water park at Coco Cay.  

It's a tough call as you can get 2 extra days and a lower price on Explorer. And you are a big group of 12 so you will be making your own fun no matter which ship you choose.

Let us know what you decide.  

Glad you guys had a fun Christmas cruise.  I can see how the Majesty can be more fun with a family cruising together (it was just the 2 of us).  You guys came up with some fun things for yourselves which is awesome.

A quick note on refrigerators in cabins.  We did have one and we were in one of the Large Ocean View cabins on deck 9.  

Just as an example, here are how some prices have moved around for us on our Harmony cruise coming up in April:

KEY - did NOT get.

     $37.99 on 9-23-19

     $29.99 on 10-1-19

     $25.99 on 10-12-19

     $27.99 on 11-27-19

     $27.99 on 1-31-20

Soda & 1 device Internet

   Price dropped from $23 - $22 - $21 between Sep and Oct 2019

   $17 on 11-27 (final price we paid)

   $22 on 1-31-20

Beach Mat on Coco Cay

     $18 dropped on 9-23-19

     Dropped to $11.99 on 11-27 (final price we paid)

     $15.99 on 1-30-20

CocoCay Wave Jet - originally $104 for 1st person on 9-23-19.

     Dropped to $82.99 in October

     Dropped to $71.99 / $25.99 (2nd person) on 11-27-19. (final price we paid)

Golden Eagle Sailaway (St. Maarten)

     $84.99 each on 9-23-19

     $66.99 each on 11-27-19. (final price we paid)

As you can see, the Black Friday price tends to be the best.  

I also did price checks on our Ocean View balcony, but I never found it cheaper than when we booked it.  Note that Diamond discount applies.

Ocean View Balcony

Booked March, 2018:  $1,784.90 + $100 OBC

3-22-18:  $1,786.98 + $100 OBC

8-4-19:  $4,209

8-25-19: $3,871

1-30-20:  $3,443

I check the prices more frequently, but these are the only ones I had noted for this cruise.  

I usually can get a can to go in the Diamond Lounge but occasionally the server will pop open the can and say it is against the rules to give me a sealed can. God forbid they give me a free can of coke to drink later. I don’t do this very often - maybe once a cruise so it’s not like I’m stockpiling cans of soda. And I bring my own bottles of Pepsi One onboard as that is my preferred soda. 

When I want a can for later I’ve learned now to ask the person if I can get a closed can to go. If they say no, I try another bar. 

Here is a similar post from last week where you can read more of the discussion. 
 

Do the shows matter to you?  Harmony has Grease and its own production, Columbus.  I believe Allure still has Mamma Mia and Blue Planet.  

Also something to consider... Allure has the pool in the Solarium and Harmony does not.  Harmony has some misters instead.  But there is an adults only pool on Harmony out on the main deck.  They do a good job of keeping this for adults only.  

2 hours ago, Tulsacoker said:

I would have reported it at the first sign of smoke

We did a couple of times. Security came and leaned out trying to figure out where it was coming from.  

Have not been in Boardwalk balcony but have done Central Park and Ocean View. For those who have done Boardwalk and Central Park, is Boardwalk balcony hot and dead air like Central Park?  
 

We decided it is worth the extra for Ocean View every time now mainly due to quiet and privacy. Sitting out on a Boardwalk or Central Park puts you on display for too many. 
 

The only negative on the Ocean View is it is easier to break the rules and smoke on them. On a recent cruise we had someone smoking cigars nearby every night and it ruined our enjoyment of the balcony until they were finally caught. 

They did still have the separate Diamond dining area in the MDR for breakfast and there was coffee shown but I don’t recall what exactly they were offering. 
 

I just got my normal coffee in the Windjammer each morning and added a Cafe mocha  packet to it I had brought from home for my own specialty coffee.  

On our September 2019 Harmony cruise they had a table set up in the Port Canaveral terminal waiting area where they were taking restaurant reservations prior to boarding. We had the UDP and were able to make all our reservations there before boarding. Not sure if this is still happening. If so, good reason to arrive early to the terminal. 

Congratulations!!!  Just a couple other things I enjoy about being Diamond on a ship with an actual Diamond Lounge.

1.  I enjoy my morning cafe mocha (coffee and chocolate) as the Diamond lounge is a nice quiet place in the morning.  Ok, I may also grab a donut while I'm in there.  I use the coffee machine in the diamond lounge and add some hot coco mix to the coffee (they usually have the hot coco in the lounge or just ask and they will get some).  

2.  The Diamond Lounge concierge can help with making / changing reservations to shows or dinners.

Be aware that a large ship like the Symphony may have a LOT of Diamond and higher passengers so the lounge can be quite crowded at times.  If you wanted to maximize your drinks during the 4:30 - 8:00pm happy hour you would have better luck using your 3 drink vouchers early at dinner or a bar around the ship and then going back to the Diamond Lounge later in the evening for an additional drink or two.  We have found the lounge less crowded the last hour (7-8) as more are in dinner or at a show (usually, but not always).  

Also note that they are just starting to allow virgin blended frozen drinks as one of your 3 drinks at a bar (these were always excluded in the past).  Hopefully this will be consistent across the fleet soon.

30 minutes ago, internetwhiz said:

Thanks for the complete review. Regarding the lack of the Diamond Happy Hour, Did you go to Captain’s Corner where it was discussed?  Somewhere I read people would ask about it and responses were cut short. 
 

We were on Majesty Last May. Happy Hour was so nice. I really hate that they have removed this event. It changes something I had looked forward to. We sail in two weeks. 

No - I did not go to the Captains Corner. 

24 minutes ago, wellsme1 said:

Well, we must have been  considered ‘cargo’ because I went through a few scenarios with RC our TA and neither would allow us to take this cruise. They all used the ‘Jones Act’ as the reason.

I guess it depends on who you speak to.

They used the term “Jones Act” on Majesty last week when we returned to Majesty for a 2nd time after going to Coco Cay.  Customs had to come on board and have everyone meet with them.  Maybe they feel it is easier to just say “Jones Act”. 
 

Here is a good description of what the 2 are:  

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3363

10 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

You can still get price drops if in a group booking (there are a few special drops, like casino royale that don't work, but regular drops do) I've had two reservations that were in a group booking and had a price drop below the group rate and getting them repriced was no trouble at all.

I recall there were other perks they had offered as part of the group booking (free gratuities, specialty restaurants, etc.).  If we took advantage of a price drop, we were removed from the group booking that provided the extras so it in effect kept us from taking advantage of price drops. Just something to be aware of or ask if not going direct to RC. 

We have booked direct and through large agencies. One problem to be aware of going through an agency is they sometimes put you in some sort of a group booking. This happened to us once and we could not take advantage of a price drop later as it was part of a group booking that we were not aware of. 
 

We mainly just book direct with RC now to have complete control over the reservation. 

9 hours ago, SandiLynn said:

Thank you, we love CCL Dream but she left and Glory is her replacement.  Smoking area was where all the bands played. Is there a way to text others on ship?

If you don’t purchase the ship Wi-Fi then you can’t text others. The Royal app has some basic messaging built in but it works sporadically at best on larger ships we have sailed. It did not work at all for us on Majesty last week. 

9 hours ago, gatour said:

Thanks for review.

 

In regards to speed of the ship.  It is not a factor of the size of the ship.  Generally cruise ships travel around 19-21 knots.  

I thought when I looked up Majesty it had a lower cruising speed of 15 knots compared to 20-25 of some larger ships. 

1 hour ago, SandiLynn said:

How was the smell from smoking? Was the cigarette smoke contained to smoking areas? 

 

Smoking limited to a certain area on deck (near the pool) and in the casino.  Near the pool never bothered me unless I had to use the bathroom in the pool area. You had to walk right through the smokers. 
 

The casino has a small “non-smoking” area but in such a small space it doesn’t help much.  
 

Otherwise you won’t be bothered by smoke anywhere.  A fellow passenger did tell us there was a young couple vaping in the theater. There are always some who the rules don’t apply to. 

2 minutes ago, SandiLynn said:

Thank you!!! How was the smoke? 

Smoke? 

Here are the daily compasses for days 2-7

18 minutes ago, nonnie&dgd said:

I am diamond and cruising with my 7 year old granddaughter. Will they let me bring her in with me? She’s very quiet.

It’s not a matter of quiet... it’s a matter of many having Diamond or higher status and lounges are getting crowded. 

20 minutes ago, jus10cruise said:

Thanks for taking time to post this review! I'll be going on this cruise in March, like you mentioned my main reason for choosing Majesty is  that it's an easy drive to New Orleans from my home. Sounds like your experience was similar to what i was expecting. Although I can totally understand how you wouldn't want to repeat on this ship, I have to admit it a bit disappointing to hear. 😉

 

Justin

March should be better for warmer temps and hopefully you will have good seas to make it to all 3 ports.  That will help on this sailing.