Joe12

So you have a contract with Royal? What role will you be doing?

No, no, no - I don't literally mean that. I just want to get SY for my first if Royal employ me. I would be Cruise Staff if I joined.

And yes, Margot is fantastic. CD material.

Thanks for the review. Not had Dru, but he has a big fanbase from Anthem (his previous ship). Maybe better suited to that ship than Harmony.

As for 90's night - I like it (plenty of songs), but it doesn't quite have the same feel as 70's night. 80's night is the theme night on Symphony (and on Mariner) and we enjoyed it a lot. Similar format to the 70's with some new twists and great songs.

Haven’t read all of your review, so apologize for asking.. do you know who was bartending in Wonderland?

 

 

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I'm afraid not - never went to Wonderland. Sorry.

thanks for the crew review!

 

so where's your next cruise?

 

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That's a very tough question. I've done all 4 Oasis Class now and given that O5 is not out until 2021, that means that next year is a grey area. We also want a different itinerary as we have done the Barcelona/7NT Western Med 4 times now alongside several in the Caribbean. Was thinking Alaska but don't care for Anthem hence ruling Ovation out and I fear that Radiance would be too small. I'm lost for options. Any suggestions as to where I can go on an RCL ship next summer?

Have fun! Hopefully Harmony hasn't spoiled you too much and you still enjoy Radiance. Would love to go to Alaska, so will be following this to cope with my PCD after 2 weeks on SY.

Jackie Yabut returned as Concierge on Symphony's July 8th sailing. She was fantastic!

CREW:

Stateroom Attendants - 9 - The Stateroom Attendants that I saw throughout the ship were all very friendly. Whilst nobody will ever live up to my first ever SA from Jewel (a guy named Seville), both of the attendants that I had did the job well and were friendly. I only ever reserve 10 for the absolute highlight employees, but they did a good enough job to warrant a 9.




Cafe Promenade - 8 - The Cafe Promenade itself seemed a bit disorganized this sailing. Again, 10 is reserved for the absolute standout employees (such as Latisha who worked at Cafe Promenade on HM), but the folks there seemed friendly enough. Nobody that stood out too much.


Other Complementary Cafe Staff (e.g. Sorrento's, Park Cafe etc.) - 6 - Not a lot of friendly staff here. They seemed to be going through the motions. Not all of them, but I hate to say that the Sorrento's and Park Cafe staff weren't that great. At Sorrento's, the manager had to serve Pizza most nights (he was friendly). I just didn't feel much friendliness from them. Maybe their contracts are nearly up? Can't give them more than a 6, sorry.

Windjammer - 8 - The waiters mostly seemed friendly, alongside the serving staff and greeters. Despite this, some were over the top. The reason that I am docking from 9 to 8 is that yesterday, there was a manager verbally berating staff in front of customers including a racist remark (akin to something Gordon Ramsay would say). That's completely out of order and I am making sure that it is mentioned in this review. The managers who greeted guests seemed really friendly though.

Playmaker's - 9 - The waitress at Playmaker's seemed friendly, so a 9 for her. It was a port day so not very busy.


Cruise Director - 9 - Michele Scarpato was the CD for these sailings. I really enjoyed him. He is not one that is obnoxious and thinks they are the star of the show or one that is bland and uninspired. He has the right balance of energy and professionalism. Did a great job at 80's night and the various show intros/closings alongside the Morning Show and other events. Visible around the ship as well. The only reason that I can't give him a 10 is that we didn't get to see him do the traditional pool events (Belly Flop) or the evening events (Quest, L&M etc) which are the basics, although that isn't his fault given the format of Med cruises and Oasis Class. Definitely a good one.

Activities Manager - 10 - Margot van Erck was AM for both sailings I'm giving Margot a 10 for being the first good Activities Manager that I have seen in years. Very energetic, but not at all over the top and loud like some. I saw her around the ship a lot and she worked with Michele very well in the Morning Show. It was a breath of fresh air to have an AM that was not over the top annoying or one that was bland and was barely seen. She did a great job and would not be surprised if she made it to CD one day (and they made a couple of hints about that in the Morning Show).




Cruise Director's Staff - 9 - There were no bad CS members on this cruise (such as the Bingo guy from Mexico on HM who shouted at guests on debarkation morning and was going through the motions for the entire 2 weeks). The person doing debark on the gangway was much friendlier (I think her name is Gabby). The Bingo Host, Jackpot JP was also much livelier than the guy on HM. Katheryn from South Africa was also a great member of Staff and seemed to be everywhere. The rest were also good, but those are the 3 who I remember off the top of my head.


Sports Staff - I did not interact much with the Sports Staff (too much of a wimp to do some of the sports activities) so can't give a score as such, but from my observations, they came across well. Graeme from Scotland was a highlight on the Staff. He was on Harmony last year and was a great personality on both ships (particularly at 80's night). I recommend that Royal promote him to Sports Supervisor if he intends to stay with them.

Ice Cast - 8 - It's interesting watching a show and then seeing what performers are like when the spotlight is off. The Ice Cast is the only one where this applies. Several members of the cast would get a 9 based on my interactions with them at the Skating sessions, however one came across rather cold and abrupt on pretty much every interaction and also had an argument with fellow members of the cast as to whether or not we could get on the ice for a particular session. I can ignore one 'off' interaction, but as it was almost every time, I have to reduce the overall score to 8. Sorry to the other members though as they were great at the shows (more on that later) and seemed friendly.


Diamond Concierge - 10 - I never interacted with the concierge on the 1st sailing, however we found out that the Lounge offered wings on the 2nd sailing in the late afternoon, so that was where we went each afternoon after the gym. Jackie Yabut was the concierge on the 7/8 cruise and was fantastic. Very friendly and not at all one of the concierges that ignores guests and stays at the desk. She was good enough to warrant a 10.

Loyalty Ambassador - 8 - Louise Japundzic was the Loyalty Ambassador for both weeks. I knew her from Harmony where she was fantastic. This time, we only interacted with her when we did the B2B process and she did seem slightly stressed out (although to be fair to her, the customer in front of us was a bit difficult). She was great on HM though, so still gets an 8.

Captain - 9 - For Captains, I give 5 points for their skills as Captain of the ship and 5 points for their front of house skills as like it or not, they are in the cruise industry where there are guests and if they don't want to interact with guests, they should go into one of several other maritime industries. With that said, pretty much every Captain in the world will get 5 straight off the bat (bar Capt. Schettino who gets 0). As for front of house skills, Captain Rob seemed like a very personable guy, hosted a great Captain's Corner on both weeks and came across likable. However, there wasn't much announcements (maybe a new policy) and I rarely saw him outside of scheduled events, hence why I am giving him a 9 not 10. Would definitely like to sail with him again though, but please bring back the announcements!

As you can see, Symphony has a great crew. Many have been on since the takeout and are around the end of their contracts, so who knows how the crew will be by the time she arrives in Miami? Positive experience all around, with just a few issues.

Goodbye Symphony! What a fantastic 2 weeks. Hope to see you again soon for my 1st contract with Royal! ;)

Now at the airport ready to fly home. Any questions about the cruise or ship itself?

Not looking forward to leaving tomorrow especially since I can't find any Royal options for next year. Also unsure of when I will next be on an Oasis Class ship.

Final day - About to start my end of cruise evaluations:

I will organize them into 5 categories - Crew, Ports, Food, Ship and Miscellaneous.

Everything will be ranked on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 being the worst (Abysmal) to 10 being the best (Phenomenal).

Good luck with your ambitions. I take it you're a young guy. It's a full on life 😁

 

Hopefully you won't get Bobby Brown as your first CD

Worth giving it a shot! And yes - I agree with the latter, but as CS, it's really the AM that is your boss.

Observation:

There seems to be a fair number of Scots on this cruise compared to the last one. Definitely an advantage.

However, there are only 3 Scottish employees that I know of on the ship out of 2000 (all are Sports Staff). We need more of them here! ;p

At least it isn't like a ship in the States where we felt like the only non-American guests.

May be a bit off topic for a review but I'm just wondering do you work for the company? I ask because of your posts about wanting to be a CD which I thought was a role you earned going through the various cruise staff stages?

I don't work for Royal (I do want to though), but the career of Cruise Director is something that I want to do. I know that you have to start at Cruise Director's Staff and then to AM before CD. Without getting too far into things, my aim would be to get to AM after 2 contracts as CS and then take it from there. It's happened before.

'This is Michele your Cruise Director, and Ciao Ciao for now!" - Going to miss hearing that on the PA each day.

Just got the luggage tags. Worst part of any Royal cruise, especially when you are unsure of when you will next be cruising (next year doesn't seem to have any Royal ships or itineraries that match).

we cruising on Symphony in august and looking to book a private cycle tour of Palma. Does the ship dock far from the harbour entrance, is it walkable? TIA for any info....Andrew

It docks at a terminal which is across the bay from downtown Palma. It is around a 10 minute ride on the shuttle bus. Margot made a joke on the Morning Show that you can run to Palma from the ship, but realistically, you are better off taking the shuttle. However, do note that it costs money. It will take you to the harbour just across from the cathedral.

I've been a bit light on the reviewing, but I have seen both ice shows this week and can provide some thoughts.

1977 was fantastic. Great theming and some great uses of technology to enhance the show. I really liked it.

iSkate 2.0 was also good. It really showcased the excellent abilities of the skaters, however my one criticism of this show is that it didn't flow very well. It felt like several 1m30 numbers one after the other, some of which were completely different (e.g. Total Eclipse of the Heart followed by Heavy rock music). It just seemed to lack an easy to follow storyline. Not the fault of the skaters though - a very talented cast.

Also a bit annoyed at the inclusion of a song from the Greatest Showman. That movie seems to be shoved down people's throats these days. My favorite ever movie came out this year and has a soundtrack with a few songs that would have worked for an ice routine, but it is less well known than TGS.

I would bet a large amount of money that given the same exact conditions, all of the Oasis class ships would have virtually the same motion.

I don't remember it being this bad on AL, which we sailed at Summer in the Med as well. Doesn't help that the ceiling is banging quite frequently.

There is a significant amount of motion on the ocean tonight. I have no idea why, but it is much worse on SY than on her 3 sisters. Doesn't help that the cabin for this cruise is a Virtual Balcony on Deck 7 forward.

I'm starting to think that I need to give cruising a miss next year. Cannot find any good Royal options. No interest in doing other lines as none have ships nearly as impressive as Royal.

No one knows who is on AD next summer for sure. If you do have insider knowledge then perhaps you should kindly share, just in case there are others who base their cruise experience purely around who is the CD?

 

ADVENTURE: Clo O'Connor July 6 until early September. (then who?)

The Blairs want Adventure next year. Husband and wife CD & AM team.

Anyway - this is completely off-topic.

Never miss an opportunity to have a dig at Mr Brown do you???? It think it is called 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' if the presence of a specific CD can determine whether you book a cruise or not.

It's not Bobby that I am talking about on AD.

I might pencil in Freedom from San Juan for the future. That itinerary does interest me.

For now though, 2019 is still looking like a grey area. I have a special celebration coming up, but the group object to the ship that I want to do (Indy). I can't sail solo for multiple reasons in 2019 (possibly in 2020) so can't do Oasis Class either as the itineraries have became repetitive. The only possible RC cruise that would fit our needs would be Scandinavia on Explorer. It's only the Med and Canaries sailings that they say is an issue from Southampton.

Wow, but isn't that what one does on a cruise, apart from the smoking for me.....drinking and sunbathing? I'm thinking of Celebrity Silhouette in 2021 if it's still running the western med 14 night from Southampton. No smoking in the casino and only in designated port side areas. And Indy has too much going on. To each his/her own!! :halo:

 

Hope you find something soon so you can enjoy the rest of your cruise.

I did Southampton 3 times and had no issue. Ask them not me. And yes, I am enjoying my cruise and have no plans to stop doing that.

You have ruled out almost the entire RCI fleet. Even manged to insult Texas and Southampton.

 

I suggest nothing.

I didn't insult Southampton, those were my group's opinions. I'd be very happy to go on Independence again. As for Texas, I don't have an issue with Texans, but more a major cultural difference than what I am used to.

Well yes, other (almost all other) ships will be small compared to Oasis class. But each has their charm and each itinerary has its own charm. As others have mentioned Radiance is a wonderful ship for Alaska due to all the glass. You feel connected with the sea and the surroundings. That is something quite lacking on the Oasis class. Also, more than likely in Alaska you would not be on the flow rider or slides anyway due to the port intensive nature and the cooler temps. Alaska is VERY different from the other spots you have sailed and almost everyone who goes there LOVES it.

 

Out of all the choices posted this was the one that seems to be your best option. But only you can decide... :D

 

Sometimes the planning is the most fun part... Enjoy.

Planning can be the fun bit, but it is looking like a bit of a nightmare with this one. I didn't like Serenade much, hence why I am hesitant to do Radiance. Not to mention that I would prefer a roundtrip. If EX was staying, then I would strongly consider her.