iamchrisstone

My buddy and i are booked for the jan 3 2023!

Im taking the Encore Inaugural sailing from london to NYC.  What is the best floor to get the solo studio?  Also, is solo cruising worth it over me just getting an interior or oceanview by myself?

2 hours ago, evandbob said:

I believe that drones are on Carnival's prohibited items list as well.

Carnival permits them.  So does Royal.  As of right now, the only cruise line that I've had an issue with my drone was Norwegian.

2 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

How did you take drone footage in Amber Cove?  They have signs all over the place saying it is a drone-free port.  (Pretty sure it was Amber Cove, might have been Grand Turk.  Question would still apply.)

Well, this was 2017 so I'm not sure if it was the same back then.  However, many cruise ports have signs that say no drones, but most of them are talking about the actual port/pier.  For instance, I was in Freeport and actually had the police rush to me with loud speakers on saying land the drone immediately.  I had written permission to fly anywhere in the Bahamas and expressed that to them.  They explained to me that is fine, but the pier's are usually (and certainly in Freeport) a no fly zone due to security.  So, I've been to many other ports with signs and if you go into town, or more inland, etc, most country's will permit you to fly.

by the way, to correct the ones that said it is a snorkeling thread, that is incorrect.  OP (me) posted this about the cost vs free on CoCoCay.  

either way, i love to see people's experiences.

On 5/30/2019 at 9:13 AM, CapeGal said:

We appreciate the work you did on this thread. Sometimes it IS difficult to get cut and dried information from Royal. And definitely finding prices to make a decision on a budget beforehand is futile! So thanks again to all here.

thank you so much for the compliment.  and thats exactly right!  when i was trying to get the info when they added the cruise to our schedule at the last minute, i didn't see anything crystal clear

22 hours ago, rusty nut said:

 

Royal Caribbean's literature says they added 5 new complimentary dining options.

 

 

interesting!  even their map said 3 venues, but maybe the pay just wasn't updated.  thats cool if there are 5 now!  either way, i was impressed.

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

Apparently, to criticize you!

 

Great overview, by the way!

hahaha right!?!?  but thanks for the compliment.  i'll be doing a recap video of the symphony hopefully this month.  Drone footage and everything!  Here is a recap video of the Carnival Sunshine (so obviously the one of the Symphony will blow this one out of the water).

For those of you that have never been on the Sunshine, we enjoyed it.  Here's proof!

44 minutes ago, lowbass said:

I'm not sure where you and others keep getting this wrong info about "all the charging on Coco Cay", but maybe in the future you should check with the official RCCL web site instead of on the cruise site boards. I recently went on my first cruise on RCCL and although we went to Labadee instead of Coco Cay, I still found all the "CORRECT INFO" about both of these private islands by simply checking on the RCCL web site and Royal related web sites.

 

I didn't have to be told that activities such as jet skiing, zip lining, and such would be an extra charge. Those things are expensive to maintain so a charge is to be expected. Beaches are free. Any port you go to will have free beaches. You just have to pay to get there and for loungers. The new water park at Coco Cay is an extra. Royal spent a lot of money building it so it shouldn't be a surprise. At least they're charging those who want to use the water park instead of raising cruise prices for everyone. They supply you lunch on Coco Cay and drinks. It's just like being on the ship, with more room.

 

Think of the private islands like this: Instead of Royal stopping at another island like Cozumel, or St Maarten where you have to pay for a driver to take you to a beach. Pay for food, drinks, beach loungers, or excursions. Royal is taking you to their own island that is included with your cruise fare and has beaches you can walk to. Food, drinks, beach loungers that you don't have to pay extra for. And a water park and water sports that you can pay extra for just like everywhere else.

Loungers ARE free. And no need to be a smart alec.  I DID do my research and the rci site has wording where one could  interpret as admission just to get on the island. And as i said in my op, the  excursions and water park does cost And i never thought or stated otherwise.  This post was to inform those that had the question i had to begin with.  If you are not on the boards to give or research information, then what truly is your purpose

3 hours ago, tinkertwo said:

What are the food options on the island that you have to pay for?  That seems odd that they would have an upcharge on dinning.  I want to be prepared though.   

Not an up charge Per se, but restaurants that charge as normal. But 3 are free.  

I recently sailed on the Symphony and about a week before our sail date, they added CoCoCay to our itinerary.  I immediately began researching on here and elsewhere.  I came across a lot of mixed information, but it appeared that the island charged for nearly everything.  In fact, in some of the RCI literature, the wording almost sounded like they charged just to get on the island!

What did we do?

My information here that I will provide you is based on no excursions and just walking around the island.  With that being said, I may be limited on any answers I can give to your questions. 

Beaches

The beaches are free!  Well, most of them.  There appeared to be a private beach or two, but the rest of them are free. In fact, the loungers are free, too!  That surprised me.  I thought for sure that they would charge for lounge chairs. 

There is a beach in the middle of the island that seems super neat because the ocean water flows under a bridge to there. So cool!

Some of the beaches have restrictions on how far out you can swim, but the beach that runs the length of the island on the opposite side of the dock has no such restrictions. 

The beaches were clean, not crowded and the water was crystal clear.  In fact, we captured under water footage up close to a sting ray!  I should have a recap video put together later this month. 

Food

There are some places that charge for food, but RCI has 3 different places for free food, and I don't mean crackers and water.  A full lunch spread! Steak burgers, taco bar, salad, etc. 

As we kept walking there were nice hammocks hanging from palm trees that were free.  The pool is huge, warm, clean and free. 

There is plenty of shopping from the locals that rent tiny huts to set up their booth.  The water park obviously has a cost. 

If I remember anything else I will post later and I'll also post these videos and I create them.  But those of you on a strict budget, you can really, REALLY enjoy this island without spending a dime.

All the ship tracking websites and apps show her in port tonight.  Is this accurate? If so, why?

The wife and I are sailing into Nassau on the Symphony next Monday and want to find free or cheap stuff to do.  We just got married and really don't have much of a budget.  We arrive at 7am on Monday and out by 4pm. 

She loves hiking or anything not "touristy".  I'd love to jet ski but doubt its affordable.  

I think we will do queens staircase for sure.  Any other advice???

The wife and I are sailing into Nassau and want to find free or cheap stuff to do.  We just got married and really don't have much of a budget.  We arrive at 7am on Monday and out by 4pm. 

She loves hiking or anything not "touristy".  I'd love to jet ski but doubt its affordable.  

I think we will do queens staircase for sure.  Any other advice???

On 2/9/2019 at 1:44 PM, MrFunInTheSun said:

Lunch today was at Chops.






Mushroom soup. Now this was the best mushroom soup I’ve had in a long time. It even topped the many I had on Oasis this past November and Harmony this past September. Not sure what they did differently but it surely was the best.





Some tiny shrimp





Steak



Chocolate cake










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Please excuse any typographical errors.

Is chops free for lunch on day one?

what is the best rate hotel that shuttles you to the terminal for symphony? 

Is there a charge just to get off the ship and onto the island? My aunt thinks there is a charge for that.  She just wants to walk around and explore.  

Is there a weight restriction?  On a recent NCL cruise, they had a 300lb weight limit.

Do they allow GoPro's?  Usually I've never had problems using the actin camera's, but on the Breeze back in December they stopped us for some reason and said no.

Oh, and what about on the zip lines?  Does anyone know if they allow gopro's on the zipline?

1 minute ago, molole said:

Hairspray
Hiro
1977
Flights
Comedy
Late night comedy

thanks!!!  all free?

Is there a way to know all of the shows that will be on the Symphony for a 3 night May 25 - 28?

Our widowed mothers are going with us so I'm trying to do all of the research for stuff they may enjoy before hand so they don't feel overwhelmed.

Thanks!!!

Hey everyone.  I have sailed Carnival and NCL, but never RCI.  This is my first cruise with them and I have been following the Symphony since they announced her plans to be built, so imagine my excitement!

We are sailing (for our honeymoon) May 25 - 28 of this year, so a very short  sailing.  That being said, I'm trying to experience everything there is to experience on her.  We have one stop (Nassau) and unless my wife decides she wants to spend all day on land (I've been there many, many times), I'm hoping to just explore the ship.

So, I'm looking for every little trick, tip, secret and advice.  What all is there to do on there?  I read something (rumor maybe?) that they have interactive art and they even have some art that you use your RCI app and hit an x-ray mode or something and it shows you what's on the other side of the wall.  Is this stuff true?   Little hidden things like that is what I really want to find out about, but even other things like the shows, activities (for instance, is ice skating free, how is the laser tag, etc) and free food venues?  On Carnival, the day you sail away from port, many of the specialty dining options are actually free for lunch on that day.  Anything like that with the Symphony?

Ok, I'm sure I'll have other questions, but PLEASE fill me in!!!!!  My buddy has told me since my very first cruise that RCI is the ONLY way to go....  even though he is really starting to like Carnival.

I really look forward to the dialogue with all of you in this post.

One last thing.... does anyone know where the "coin" is on the ship?  For those of you that don't know, all ships have a special coin embedded somewhere on the ship.  On cruise ships, it's usually some place the passengers can see it, but usually not obvious.  It's fun to go find it. 

i was on the NCL Getaway and the Internet on there was 80% of the time crazy fast speeds and the other 20% of the time, not nearly as much.  People say the Symphony is much much faster than that.  I don't know how accurate any of this info is.  just curious.

and to the user that said put up the devices.....  i understand what you are saying, but we require Internet access for one day due to a project we are working on.  It is what it is.

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

$28 for 24 hours of Stream. 

thanks man!

is it truly as fast as everyone makes it seem?  people say its as fast as good land internet.  just doesnt make sense to me