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Questions: Possible first cruise on Royal Caribbean (Symphony of the Seas)


lmintzer
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My step dad would like go with the family on a cruise this summer to celebrate his 80th birthday. The travelers will be: my mom, my step dad, his daughter and her two sons (ages 11 and 9), and me and my two sons (ages 18 and 16). We have zeroed in on the end of June, leaving from south Florida. The RC cruise that works with our schedule is the Symphony of the Seas, Western Caribbean. I am not crazy about the itinerary (3 full sea day, and port stops in Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel) but this is the week that will work for all. The ship looks like will be tons of fun for the 11 and 9 year-olds and probably for  my teens, too. I am a little concerned about the adults, in terms of dealing with crowding and having quiet places to comfortably relax. My mom and step dad are used to more adult-focused cruising; I have cruised twice before on Norwegian, once on a medium-sized ship (had no trouble with crowding) and once on a mega-ship but in the Haven where we had use of a private sundeck with plenty of padded loungers, nice hot tubs, a courtyard, a wonderful private dining, room, and a bar without a long wait, etc. Are we going to be able to find anywhere quiet to relax on the Symphony (we are pretty much priced out of suites)?  How is the Solarium? Would we expect to be able to find loungers there?  I see it's for 16 and up, so it's nice that my boys could also potentially join us. Are there any other quieter/less crowded spots on the ship? Also, if my step dad needs a mobility scooter, should I be concerned about that with the crowds? And does there tend to be a lot of standing and waiting (which might be hard on them) for shows, dinners, and to embark and disembark? The younger crew can deal a little more chaos--I just want to make sure everyone will be comfortable. The only other cruise option I can come up with is a 5 day/4 night cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. Looks to be smaller but recently renovated with fun water slides, etc. The ports look fun (Nassau, Coco Cay), as we could spend a day at Atlantis (all 4 boys would love that!). To me, Coco Cay, is more appealing than Labadee. But it's shorter--and has no sea days. Any thoughts? TIA.

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I haven’t cruised this specific ship, but have noticed a ton of canceled Coco Cay port visits due to weather lately, and no canceled Labadee.  Not sure if summer makes a difference though, just my 2¢ on itineraries. 

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We cruised Symphony with a multigenerational Group last year - ages 75 to 8.   Our 75 year old had knee problems and was slow to get around but no scooter.  It was a blast!    We have been one Navigator as well and will be back on Nav in April.  We would choose Symphony for your situation.

 

Room location - we had balcony rooms on Deck 8 near the entrance to Dazzles /Central Park.   This location was excellent for the mobility challenged grandmother in the group.   Everyone loved the close access to Park Cafe for morning breakfast and a nice place to stroll.   If you can get something near there - I would recommend it - if that’s not an option for you with the late booking  - try to find something that has proximity to something you would frequent.. the promendade, The windjammer, pool, Boardwalk etc...you want SOMETHING to be a short walk!!  

 

Entertainment - Symphony has the best entertainment at sea in my opinion.  Hairspray, Amazing Ice Shows - 1977 and ISkate, Flight, Hiro And Aquaventure are all excellent.   I think that all adults and tweens will enjoy these - some are even actually ‘cool enough’ for teenage boys to attend!   

 

Ship Features - the public spaces on Sym are very spacious and vast in number.  We were in a full sailing but the only time we ‘felt crowds’ were when we were trying to get a seat for Hiro and using an elevator after a show let’s out (loitering for 10-15 minutes solves that or have the able bodied take the stairs!).   The solarium and the solarium bistro are good alternatives to the WindJammer buffet.  

 

The kids will love all of the activities - hardest part will be keeping up with them....whether it’s slides, pools, flowrider or eating at el loco fresh or hanging out in the living room - they will have a great time regardless.

 

Ports:   Generally - we prefer Western over Eastern - Routan and Cozumel would be 2 of my preferred stops.  Falmouth is just eh but I do always like to get a cheap chair massage in the port area!!

 

There are some great excursions inn cozumel depending on what you are looking for - great place for beach visits, swimming with dolphins, or visiting ruins if you are into those things (but might be harder with a scooter for many).    

 

Labadee is still a great beach day even though it’s not as developed as Coco Cay!  Since you mentioned Atlantis at $200/person that makes me think that you would be able to add the uppers for zip lining, coaster, parasailing etc  and/or cabana or beach bed at Labadee that will make it an even better day!    

 

Lastly for Symphony  - one of my favorite days on Symphony was when the ship was in Nassau ...and we stayed on board!!!  There is just SO much to do on this ship that having a quiet day to experience it was wonderful!    

 

As for Navigator - it’s a great ship - much smaller - okay entertainment but not AMAZING Broadway quality  like Symphony.  I’d suggest doing a back to back if you wanted a longer cruise experience but it might be hard to find rooms to stay in for both and the shorter cruises are a bit of a party atmosphere. 

 

Good Luck!  

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Just sailed Symphony three weeks ago

As with the Oasis class ships the entertainment onboard is amazing

There is something for everyone onboard with many places to relax.

We did the Western but with Coco Cay. 
As said above Labadee offers a great beach day

Cozumel, check out Trikes-Cozumel, a non ship shore excursion

We are seniors and had a blast 

😊

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Thanks so much for the helpful and reassuring replies! I feel a lot better that there will be comfortable places to relax and not crowds everywhere. In terms of staterooms--it's a little tough to find 3 together at this point--I had better luck on a 3rd party site. Would you recommend these on 8 or these on 11 (I put little red Xs near the ones that were available). Cel_cruiser enjoyed deck 8 for a multigenerational family--but it sounds like those cabins were on port side? Are these likely to be loud due to being closer to Maltings? 

Deck8options.jpg

Deck11options.jpg

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Are you going through a travel agent? (No, I'm not a travel agent). Sometimes they have blocks of cabins reserved that you won't be able to see if you book online. We always go through a travel agent and she always was able to get us the cabin/deck we wanted.

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We took a multi generational cruise last summer. We were in cabin 12612 on Harmony.  This seems close to your cabins shown on deck 11. Harmony and Symphony are similar.  I liked being mid ship.  You were only half a ship away from your destination - which ever side that might be. Although we were not close to any thing in particular, most places didn't seem an eternity away (MDR, theater, Solarium, Park Cafe). 

 

Deck 11 is between two decks with mainly cabins. This is similar to our cabin on 12.  We had no noise issues.

 

My Dad is in his late 70s. I tried to convince him to bring/rent a wheelchair or scooter.  He didn't and this ended up being a problem.  He was in a transition period of his life, and has since found the benefits of his wheel chair. If your step dad is willing and in need, I would encourage the scooter. Even if he just uses it some of the time when he is tired or going a long way, it may be helpful. As with anywhere, I am sure people using scooters on the ship will encounter others that are less than polite. But the benefit may outweigh the downside.

 

My parents were used to Princess, so HOTS was a change for them. While I am sure they would still prefer Princess, they enjoyed Harmony.  Being with family was important.  The Solarium was great and we could always find loungers or wicker type furniture.  We were able to have 4 balconies together. So we opened all the dividers.  This proved to be a great place to gather.

 

Have a great trip - whatever you decide!!

 

 

 

 

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