Back From Symphony of the Seas- some random thoughts (not a review)

[basketballdad]

This is not a cruise review but some random thoughts and experiences of Symphony of the Seas.

 

Best ship ever.  We kept wondering if they had the goal to put other lines out of business, it was that much better than the other 30 plus cruises we've been on.

 

Embarkation: Since we flew in the day before and our boarding time was 4 pm we went to port A at noon, dropped off our suitecases, walked a bit and got on the free hoho Miami trolley.  It was a free and fun way to kill 2.5 hours and see parts of the town only locals see.  We got back to the shop early and was motioned through to board.  

 

We didn't get our luggage right away and noticed they were with 10 other bags about 7 cabins down the hall.  No worries. 

 

Our bed was rock hard.  We saw our steward the next morning and all the foam pads had been spoken for so he found something to help slightly.  This is the only thing Carnival does Bette... comfortable beds.

 

Went and saw Hairspary, Hilo, 1977, skate 2.0, and Flight and were blown away with each. 

 

We see alot of music and Centerpiece and the other music was really good.  Better than other ships imo.

 

Our room was on the 14th floor under the basketball hoops.  Mistake!!!  Go 12th or lower. Had noise way too much.  Avoid 14th floor.

 

Did the Zipline, flow rider, abyss, etc.  Fun. Flowrider had group lessons for 69 bucks.

 

Tip. The phone app shows all activities for the entire week. Just scroll along bottom

 

Tip.  Phone app has the menus for the whole week also.  Lobster on day 6 in mdr is included.

 

Tip. Even if you buy internet to get their messaging app is 2 bucks a day. Imessaging worked without the 2 bucks.

 

Payperview movies were 11 bucks.  Didn't watch any of them.

 

Internet was super fast. Zoomed several times perfectly. 

 

The cabin had enough drawers for 2 people, 4 would have been right.

 

Ship is in perfect shape..3 years old but 1.5 years Im covid  pause.  About half full.  Overstaffed often.

 

The dj was aweful not knowing or playing to his audience by the pool.  However all the bands played to their audiences and we're superb and mentioned.

 

Food was good enough imo that there was no need for the speciality restaurants. 

 

Tip.  In the cafe promenade most things cost but you can get desserts for free. 

 

The headliner Mark Preston was excellent. Great voice and stage presence.  However he was a very late edition to the Lettermen.  They had like 20 different members.  He joined well after most of their hits. Regardless he was excellent in his show.

 

No need for bottled water as the ship had glasses and free water in all food venues and the ship's water is pure.

 

In St Marteen we hired a cab for $50 per hour just to drive us around near orient beach and then over to Maho beach. We had looked up the incoming flights and was there for a few.  Fun!!!  Watch YouTube videos to see what I am talking about. After that we walked a block east to the roundabout and took a $1 local bus into town and then a $3 taxi into port.  This is walkable but wife didn't want to walk.

 

In St Thomas we took the $1 local bus over to town and did the sky tram for 25 bucks.  Nice to do once.  From the ship you can see where the $1 bus comes.  Just follow the road out of the port slightly to the right up to the stop light.  Cross and go to left 100 feet and the bus stops. You ride with locals.  Fun cultural experience. You pay the driver when you get off.  

 

We missed Coco Cay due to bad weather.  But the day before they leave in your room a great color map to help plan your day on the island.

 

Dress your best 2 nights.  Sadly some folks didn't bring their best but it's all good.

[Sunshine3601]

Sounds like you had a great time.  

We too like to use the buses, water taxis, safari buses, etc where available on many of the islands.

Shame you missed cococay.  Time to book another cruise😀

Did you have surf or surf and stream internet?

 

[ChattTenn]

In. St Thomas where did the ship dock Crown Bay or Haven Sight?.  

[billslowsky]

59 minutes ago, basketballdad said:

In St Thomas we took the $1 local bus over to town and did the sky tram for 25 bucks.  Nice to do once.  From the ship you can see where the $1 bus comes.  Just follow the road out of the port slightly to the right up to the stop light.  Cross and go to left 100 feet and the bus stops. You ride with locals.  Fun cultural experience. You pay the driver when you get off.  

I always enjoyed the cultural experience of walking over to the Pueblo grocery store in the morning and buying some junk food and beer pretty cheap and drinking it by the dock.

 

BTW, the tram used to be infamous for people having their credit card hacked afterwards, so keep an eye out.

[deliver42]

In St Thomas the ship ports at Crown Bay. Glad you enjoyed the cruise. That was our last cruise before covid.

[alexgtp]

How many passengers?

 

Confused on this part?

"Tip. Even if you buy internet to get their messaging app is 2 bucks a day. Imessaging worked without the 2 bucks."

 

Did you still need to get VOOM for imessaging to work? Or you did not need it for imessaging to work?

Edited October 31, 2021 by alexgtp

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, basketballdad said:

Tip.  In the cafe promenade most things cost but you can get desserts for free. 

I think this is confusing the way it's worded.  The FOOD is free at Cafe Promenade (sandwiches, desserts)  but the specialty coffees and teas cost money.  If you have the Refreshment or Deluxe beverage packages, those coffee/tea drinks are included in the plan.

Regular coffee/tea is available for free at Cafe Promenade.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, alexgtp said:

How many passengers?

 

Confused on this part?

"Tip. Even if you buy internet to get their messaging app is 2 bucks a day. Imessaging worked without the 2 bucks."

 

Did you still need to get VOOM for imessaging to work? Or you did not need it for imessaging to work?

Everything is separate.  If you get internet (Voom), you have to use your own messaging app (anything you use on wifi at home will work with Voom). 

If you want to use Royal's own messaging app, you do not need to purchase internet, but you do need to pay $2/day per person who wants access to the messaging app.  (This is only worth it to people who are NOT getting internet but still want to be able to "text" each other on board.)

There are anecdotal reports of people being able to use imessage on an iphone without purchasing an internet plan or the chat app (just connecting to the free Royal network to use their app), however this is very hit-or-miss on any given ship and on any given day, and should not be counted on.  

 

 

[mcatmcat]

33 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I think this is confusing the way it's worded.  The FOOD is free at Cafe Promenade (sandwiches, desserts)  but the specialty coffees and teas cost money.  If you have the Refreshment or Deluxe beverage packages, those coffee/tea drinks are included in the plan.

Regular coffee/tea is available for free at Cafe Promenade.

oh wow thanks , I was like , whattttt ?????  I was scared for a moment

[basketballdad]

11 hours ago, ChattTenn said:

In. St Thomas where did the ship dock Crown Bay or Haven Sight?.  

crown bay

[basketballdad]

11 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sounds like you had a great time.  

We too like to use the buses, water taxis, safari buses, etc where available on many of the islands.

Shame you missed cococay.  Time to book another cruise😀

Did you have surf or surf and stream internet?

 

had the best internet option.  Worked very well.  A hotspot was just outside of our cabin though

[marktwothousand]

Was it busy?

[soremekun]

5 hours ago, basketballdad said:

had the best internet option.  Worked very well.  A hotspot was just outside of our cabin though

Cough..... Access point.  🤭

[Cigar King]

On 10/31/2021 at 9:13 AM, basketballdad said:

Our bed was rock hard.  We saw our steward the next morning and all the foam pads had been spoken for so he found something to help slightly.  This is the only thing Carnival does Bette... comfortable beds.

This really bothers my wife, so we always travel with an inflatable mattress pad.  It packs small and makes for a much more relaxing cruise.