First-time cruiser with many questions.

Matt8392 · May 9

My family and I will be going on our first ever cruise in November 2024. We're taking the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas leaving from Miami on November 17 for 7 days and calling at Coco Cay, San Juan, and Saint Marteen. We booked an ocean view suite with a balcony. We will be traveling with our child (18 months old at the time of the cruise).

I'm confused about what is included for free in the price of our cruise, and what costs additional money onboard.

Ever since booking our cruise, Royal Caribbean has been sending me emails every few days asking if I want to buy various beverage or meal packages or shore excursions.

For example, I'm seeing offers to buy a "Deluxe Beverage Package" with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, a "Refreshment Package", a "Classic soda package", and an "Evian water package." My family doesn't drink alcohol and has no need for the Deluxe Beverage Package. We don't drink lots of sugary sodas, either, so we will probably just plan on drinking mostly water onboard our cruise. Will we have to pay for the Evian water package, or is there free drinking water available aboard the ship? I'm assuming that, like on an airplane, you can't drink the water out of the tap in the suites?

I thought that food is included in the price of the cruise, so I'm confused what the "Unlimited Dining Package" and "3 Night Dining Package" offers for sale are about. When I booked the tour, it asked me what time I wanted for our dinner. There were only two choices: 5 pm and 7:30 pm. I chose 5 pm because we have a baby. Are we now locked into that 5 pm time for dinner every day about the ship? How flexible is it if we want to eat at a slightly later time?

For Perfect Day at CocoCay, I'm seeing offers on sale for Hideaway Beach Club, Coco Beach Club, Thrill Waterpark, etc. Is anything at CocoCay free? Is it possible to just spend the day at CocoCay and not pay for any of these things? Is there free drinking water at CocoCay or do I have to pay for that too?

When we call in San Juan and Saint Marteen, are you free to do whatever you want when you disembark the ship? Can you explore those destinations on your own? Is it up to you whether you want to pay for one of the shore excursions that Royal Caribbean wants to sell you?

If you purchase one of Royal Caribbean's shore excursions, does it include transportation to and from the ship?

I'm interested in the Old San Juan City Tour, but it says Restriction Minimum age 3 years. Since my child will be only 18 months, does that mean we can't take him? Even if I'm wearing him on a baby carrier?

When you call in Bahamas and Saint Marteen, do you have to go through a border control process and get your passport stamped? How long does that process usually take?

How long does it usually take for everyone to disembark from the ship? Is it very slow?

Are the shows aboard the ship free or do you have to pay for them?

I don't see any options to pay for on-ship entertainment like the waterparks, so does that mean they are free and included in the price of the cruise?

I read that Royal Caribbean cruises have a childcare service where we can leave our child. Do I need to book that ahead of time? I don't see that as an option to pay for on the Manage my Cruise section of the website.

Will we be able to buy diapers onboard the cruise? Will we be able to get a crib for our suite? Will we be able to get a diaper pail? Who do I contact about these? Do I need to request them ahead of the cruise, or once I've boarded the ship?

Are compact, foldable strollers allowed onboard the ship at no extra charge? Is it convenient to move about the ship pushing a stroller?

gumshoe958 · May 9

To answer a few of your questions:

Drinking water is freely available throughout the ship, from dispensers. It’s perfectly safe to drink the water from the bathroom tap, although it may not taste very nice and will rarely be very cold.

A few other free drinks are available from the Windjammer buffet including lemonade, iced tea and - at breakfast only - juices.

Your meals in the main dining room (MDR) are all included. But Royal will try to sell you an upgrade to various specialty restaurants including a steakhouse, Italian and sushi bar. The quality is better than the MDR but you’re absolutely under no obligation to upgrade if you don’t want to.

If you’ve selected early traditional dining you are locked into that 5pm time - although there is typically a 15 minute grace period before they shut the doors. If you want to eat later you can go to the Windjammer, or call before your cruise and ask to move to My Time Dining, where you choose when to eat.

gumshoe958 · May 9

To add:

On CocoCay it is absolutely possible to spend no money and have a perfect day (sorry!) - there are literally thousands of loungers (with umbrellas) all over the island and most food is included. All the bars will give out free drinking water.

At ports of call you are absolutely free to do whatever you want. You do not have to buy a shore excursion. If you do, then yes it’ll include transportation to and from the port. Most tours are overpriced but the one advantage is they guarantee the ship won’t leave without you if there’s a delay for whatever reason. If you do your own thing, make sure you’re back in good time.

There is no passport control in the Bahamas or Saint Marteen. Disembarkation can take a while if everyone tries to get off at once but the line moves pretty fast and there’s normally more than one gangway.

Shows are all free but you’d be wise to book to guarantee seats. Reservations normally open online 4-8 weeks before departure. Most on board activities like the water slides are also free.

To summarise, Royal will try their hardest to upsell you almost everything. That’s where they make most of their money. But you can still have an amazing time without buying anything extra.

Symphony is an incredible ship, you’ll love her.

firefly333 · May 9

I would do the free stuff and see how you like it. Later on it's nice to add some variety to keep it I interesting.

The windhammer mentioned above is the buffet which usually opens at 6 pm every night for dinner. A lot of people with mids seem to choose to est here. There is a free pizza place and some sandwiches and stuff elsewhere free.

Coco cay I would take the trolley it's free and takes you all over the island. I tried to walk and admit I'm old but its fsr to walk all the way to the back,, maybe it was called south beach. There is also a free pool. 2 free snack shacks which have fresh and hot stuff like chicken sandwich and I love the funnel cake. Somewhere on coco cay is a free buffet. There is a short shuttle down the pier to the meet up area for trolleys. Or can walk down the pier to that area.

The pay areas are just specialty areas. Hidewawy is adult only, includes some pizza. Thrill island is rides and beach pay area has lobster and steak etc. Its the most expensive. There will be a lobster night onboard in the Mdr the 2nd dress up night. It's free.

In the Windjammer they had dispenses of white and chocolate milk maybe your baby can drink. Used to have cartons but havent seen lately. Juice is only free at breakfast. Take a extra glass of whatever you want later and put it in your refrigerator in your cabin for later. Also included is hot tea and coffee, flavored water, lemonade and cold not sweet iced tea. I dont care for their iced tea. But whatever, I drink the rest of the free stuff.

Diapers are not for sale on the ship. You will need to bring your own. If you need a additional trash pail in the bathroom I'd talk to my steward. If you run out of diapers the other 2 ports, or coco cay probably sell them but who knows the cost. Stuff is shipped to islands and sometimes costs more than you pay at home. I've found that at drug stores at grand Cayman, I'd think st Thomas might be similar. Bring what you need.

Royal has something like pack n plays they can bring in for your infant to sleep in.

Edited May 9 by firefly333

Sunshine3601 · May 9

There are plenty of things included in your fare. Several places to get food at no extra charge...including the buffet at Windjammer, main dining room serves breakfast and dinner daily and lunch on sea days, parks cafe or solarium bistro are included as well.

If Symphony has a Johnny rockets they have a nice "free" breakfast.

You can get water, iced tea, juices, hot tea and coffee at no extra charge, as well as soft serve ice cream. Water from tap is just fine.

You can bring 12 bottles of water onboard on embarkment day, if you prefer bottled water. No need to buy their Evian pkg.

You can also bring a bottle of wine on embarkment day. Just make sure to carryon to avoid the hassle of luggage going to the bad room to be checked.

Depending on the type of suit you are in there are various perks such as dining in Coastal Kitchen and access to Suite Lounge for free drinks. Are you in a junior suite, grand suite or?

Biker19 · May 9

6 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

I'm confused about what is included for free in the price of our cruise, and what costs additional money onboard.

Welcome to CC.

The vast majority of RCI's profit comes from on board sales (hence to the ton of marketing emails) - you don't need any of them to have a wonderful cruise - you have already contributed to RCI's profit with your suite.

dragontrainer · May 9

You're already getting a lot of answers above, so I'll add a more generic response.

We sailed on Symphony recently with our kids and I can say from experience you can have an awesome vacation without spending anything additional if you want (I do get the pop/soda package for myself and enjoy the Coke Freestyle machines you can use with it, but have cruised with just the free beverage options with no problem).

We find the food from the "free" options to be good and have never felt the need to do a specialty restaurant ourselves. There are a lot of options for free food on Symphony, including the main dining room, Windjammer (buffet), Park Cafe (in Central Park), the quick Tex-Mex place at the back of deck 15 by the sports court, the Solarium Bistro (though that one you have to pay for dinner I think). It's not well advertised, but you can even get breakfast free at Johnny Rockets (on the Boardwalk - deck 6) if you want a more diner type breakfast (lunch/dinner have a charge there). There is also a hot dog place on the Boardwalk that's free. On the Promenade (deck 5) Sorrentos has pizza and Cafe Promenade has sandwiches/snacks for free. I'm probably missing things.

In case you have any worry, there is not a tracking system for when/where you eat. You can absolutely eat in the main dining room, then go to the buffet (Windjammer) after for second dinner. In the main dining room, you are not limited to a single selection. You'll have a choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert each meal. If you would like two different entrees you are free to order both (there are a handful of items that have a cost, like extra lobster on the lobster tail night, but that will be clear on the menu). I imagine if you're regularly ordering multiple options and not eating them you may get some pushback, but I will often get two appetizers each night, and a few times per cruise will get a couple of entrees. We've also gotten an entree to share with the table while everyone else orders what they want.

We have done both Royal Caribbean excursions and done things on our own at ports, it just depends what looks attractive to us. For example, we've taken a cab to/from Sunset Beach in St. Maarten on our own. An often-noted benefit of taking a Royal shore excursion is that you have some protection from arriving late and the ship leaving without you. If you go off on your own and get back late, you're largely on your own, so it's mainly up to your risk tolerance. There are a significant number of people that do ports on their own, and even book tours with 3rd parties, so you don't need to feel like you're doing something wrong or odd if you don't do a Royal excursion.

The shows are free, though for Symphony you will want to register for the day/time you want to attend before boarding (for Hairspray in the main theatre, the ice show (1977? - The name is a year but I may be off) in the skating venue, and the Aquashow Hiro in the Aqua Theatre at the back of the ship), the Adult Comedy Show, and another production show (Flight?) in the main theatre. There are multiple options for each. Others will be able to give a better timeline for registration but I think it opens ~30 days before the cruise in the app? Then on the ship, I think doors open ~30 minutes before show time (lines may start ~45 minutes before, but we didn't line up that early). There is also a standby line that they let people who are not pre-registered enter for any extra seats ~15 minutes before.

There was also a headliner show (singing act) one night in the main theatre, and an extra water show and ice show on our cruise, those did not need reservations.

The waterslides, flowriders (stand up and boogy board), zip line, rock climbing walls, and ultimate abyss (dry slide on back of ship) are all free (though you'll need to check hours daily). For your little one, there is also a younger kid area (Splashaway Bay?) though I don't know the current rules for swim diapers (I have some recollection of being able to use them on a similar ship when one of our sons was that age, but others again may have more information).

Enjoy your cruise, you should have a great time!

dragontrainer · May 9

I haven't been to CocoCay, but I recall seeing the link below (I believe put together by someone on this site) that has a lot of summary information for Royal Caribbean. In particular, there is a dropdown near the bottom for Perfect Day at CocoCay that shows what is included and what has extra fees. A coworker was just on a cruise that went to CocoCay last week and he said they really enjoyed their time there and did not pay anything extra.

Royal will even have food/drinks available.

Royal Caribbean Information Collection (rc.cruises)

AshleyDillo · May 9

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

For Perfect Day at CocoCay, I'm seeing offers on sale for Hideaway Beach Club, Coco Beach Club, Thrill Waterpark, etc. Is anything at CocoCay free? Is it possible to just spend the day at CocoCay and not pay for any of these things? Is there free drinking water at CocoCay or do I have to pay for that too?

Water is free at CocoCay. They have dispensers at the eating venues and you can ask for ice water at any bar.

You can visit the Oasis Lagoon pool and most of the beaches without any extra charges. Chairs and umbrellas are free. There is a Splashaway Bay and a pirate ship water feature which your little one can enjoy. They allow swim diapers at CocoCay whereas on the ship swim diapers are only allowed at the baby splash area.

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

If you purchase one of Royal Caribbean's shore excursions, does it include transportation to and from the ship?

Yes.

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

When you call in Bahamas and Saint Marteen, do you have to go through a border control process and get your passport stamped? How long does that process usually take?

Nope. The ship handles all the clearance behind the scenes and you don't need to do anything.

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

How long does it usually take for everyone to disembark from the ship? Is it very slow?

It takes several hours to disembark the entire ship. You will be assigned a luggage tag number that corresponds with your debarkation time. You leave your luggage outside your door the night before debarkation and it shows up at baggage claim in the terminal. You can elect to take your luggage off yourself but then you are responsible for getting it off the ship yourself which can be difficult with crowds.

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

I don't see any options to pay for on-ship entertainment like the waterparks, so does that mean they are free and included in the price of the cruise?

Yes.

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

Royal Caribbean cruises have a childcare service where we can leave our child. Do I need to book that ahead of time? I don't see that as an option to pay for on the Manage my Cruise section of the website

You reserve times at the nursery onboard and they will charge you per hour for the time that you use the nursery. Make sure you visit on boarding day to reserve times in advance because space is limited.

7 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

Are compact, foldable strollers allowed onboard the ship at no extra charge? Is it convenient to move about the ship pushing a stroller?

Yes, but you will have to store them in your room when not in use and space is limited. The smaller the stroller the easier it will be to push around.

dragontrainer · May 9

One update to a comment I made above about no additional costs, just in case you aren't aware.

Unless you pre-pay gratuities, you will get a rather sizable charge to your account for gratuities to pay before leaving the ship. They are $18/person per day ($20.50 for suites above junior) charged to your stateroom account.

Payment for gratuities is a whole topic of its own here. We choose to pay them, some choose to remove them, but I won't clog this thread with that discussion.

njkruzer · May 9

I think you said you booked a suite. I may be wrong but that shjp may have Coastal Kitchen for suite passengers. It's included as a free option. I haven't sailed a suite on a ship with that option so don't know much about it but sure someone else can help.

firefly333 · May 9

One additional comment about dinner in the Mdr. If you choose early and have a assigned table, you cannot then change to anytime dining once in a while. It's one or the other.

bonsai3s · May 9

10 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

My family and I will be going on our first ever cruise in November 2024. We're taking the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas leaving from Miami on November 17 for 7 days and calling at Coco Cay, San Juan, and Saint Marteen. We booked an ocean view suite with a balcony. We will be traveling with our child (18 months old at the time of the cruise).

If you are in a suite, you will have access to Coastal Kitchen. IMHO, food and service at CK is better than the Main Dining Room.

At CK, you'll have free bottled water, sodas, and wine from 11am to 11pm.

You'll also have access to the Suite Lounge and Suite Deck.

Happy Hour at the Suite Lounge is usually from 5pm-8pm, with complimentary drinks and hor d' vours (sp).

The Suite Concierge will email you about a week before your cruise. You can ask additional questions then.

* If you are not in a suite...ignore this post.

lovesthebeach2 · May 9

I haven't read all the replies, but I'm sure your questions have been answered.

I came here to say that you don't need to spend any extra money for any of the optional things Royal pushes. For example, Coco Cay has many free places to sit all around the island. You can go online and see a map of the area.

No need for the extra expense of dining in their fancy restaurants, theres food everywhere around the ship.

and since you don't drink alcohol or soda, which is where Royal makes ALOT of money, you’ll have no problem even walking up to a bar and asking for a glass of ice water, of course any food place will have the included beverages. I bring an insulated Contigo so i can fill it up and not have to get up as often and the water stays cold. And they have flavored water and ice tea included too.

enjoy your cruise!

MtnSeaGirl · May 9

I understand all the questions. I had them, too , when I sailed the first time. There are some great seasoned cruisers on this Board that are simply amazing ( I am not one ). I have only cruised Royal twice. My other cruises were on a different line, but I will tell you what we found on Royal.

Food - The MDR is a fixed time dining as others have said. It lasts about 1.5 to 2 hours. We had a couple nights this past April that was closer to 2 hours. Most of the time, we were out in 1.5 hours. Some evenings I did not feel like having a dinner that long so we went to the Windjammer. I will be honest and say we really enjoy the Windjamer. Some do not. Lots of choices. I mean LOTS of choices. A bit more laid back. It was nice to show up in shorts and flip flops and not worry about it. We could eat when we wanted and catch the shows we wanted. I often got early morning coffee at the Cafe Promenade prior to the MDR or the Windjammer opening. They have free coffee and hot tea at the Cafe That is where we also had the free pizza later in the day. You can also order and pay for fancier coffees and teas. Now, I would suggest that you watch the Royal site for your specified cruise to see if any of the speciality restaurants offered a deal on dining. We scored lunch at Giovanni's for something like $ 14.99 pp on our last cruise. Dinner is more, but lunch on a sea day was really nice. We love Giovanni's. Biased opionion here. The steak was excellent as was the fish. But, if you want to stick with the meals included with your fare, you will not starve and you will enjoy them. Opinions on Royal food vary with each person. I'm easy to please most of the time. So, I really like the food. In the MDR, I always order two appetizers and an entree. I don't always get dessert. Hubby may order 2 entrees if we are unsure if we would like something and just want to try it.

Water - we ordered a case of Evian water to be delivered to our room. It was expensive, but easy for shore excursions. We kept it in the mini "cooler" in our room. The tag on the mini refrig said it was a cooler not a refrigerator. You could just as easily take large cups with tops from home and fill up your own water at the cup filling stations. THe bottles fit fine in our backpack so we did that. Others used their own cups.

Entertainment - FREE. You just show up. Some of the larger Royal ships have watershows in which you may try to secure a seating for or be in the stand by line. We have only cruised smaller Royal ships. I will say that if your ship as the Ice Skating Show - GO. Ours had the show along with times people could free skate. We loved the show. We also saw some of the comdey shows and both of the main musical productions when on our ship recently. All are free. Go forth an enjoy!

San Juan - One of my favorite ports, but I love old buildings. SJ has two historic forts and several cobblestone streets made from old ballasts. It is usually humid, occasionally rains or mists from being humid. Once an honest to goodness rain, but it did not last. Don't worry about not being able to do the official tour. Go online and look for Old SJ walking maps. I am not sure where Royal docks in SJ ( could be Old San Juan where you take a right off the ship and kinda meander around the city in pretty much a large circle seeing the two forts; Old SJ was were Carnival docked and very convenient. ) Royal may dock across the little by like area of water. Perhaps one of those seasoned Royal cruisers can tell you which pier Royal will dock at. ( LOVE the Cruise Critic Family ). SJ has several little shops that are fun. Hubby likes one of the open air restaurnts to eat fajitas at. Take one of those umbrella strollers onboard fore the kiddo and have fun!

St Maarten - If you dock where I think you will, you can grab a taxi for the mile it takes to get you to this incredible semi circle of a beach area. It was not always there years ago or if it was, it was not like it is today. Lots of shopping and fun stores on the streets behind this beach. Everything you need is there. We used to go to the beach in which the planes would land so low it seemed you could almost touch them. The beach experenced some erosion in a storm a few years ago. The noise may startle the little one. We just prefer to keep it simple now was the novelty wore off. If you happen to be Star Wars buffs, That Yoda Guy is a great place to go to cool off for a little while. One of the creaters or something of Yoda lives there now and has his shop and little museum. It is a lot of fun.

Child Care - I can't comment on Royal, but we did have very positive experiences with our son on another line. Security is in place so no one can pick up your child but who you say. I think we had to swipe our sea passes on the other line. I'm confidant Royal has most prob an even better system.

Bring your baby supplies on board. Diapers are not for sale. If you need even a small baby powder it is crazy priced ( no one uses that anymore but you get my meaning ). Old SJ used to have a CVS right there in front of the pier. Not sure if it is still there or not. If so, easy to stock up or pick up what you forgot.

Enjoy making memories!

MtnSeaGirl · May 9

PS. Duh...long work day. I forgot to say that we don't buy any of the beverage packages. We may drink 3 alcholoic beverages the entire trip at best. We don't do soda unless we just have to have that Coke. For those, we charge to our sea pass. We drink mostly water but do have iced tea in the MDR or the Windjamer.

Matt8392 · May 9

11 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Depending on the type of suit you are in there are various perks such as dining in Coastal Kitchen and access to Suite Lounge for free drinks. Are you in a junior suite, grand suite or?

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

Matt8392 · May 9

8 hours ago, njkruzer said:

I think you said you booked a suite. I may be wrong but that shjp may have Coastal Kitchen for suite passengers. It's included as a free option. I haven't sailed a suite on a ship with that option so don't know much about it but sure someone else can help.

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

Matt8392 · May 9

6 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

If you are in a suite, you will have access to Coastal Kitchen. IMHO, food and service at CK is better than the Main Dining Room.

At CK, you'll have free bottled water, sodas, and wine from 11am to 11pm.

You'll also have access to the Suite Lounge and Suite Deck.

Happy Hour at the Suite Lounge is usually from 5pm-8pm, with complimentary drinks and hor d' vours (sp).

The Suite Concierge will email you about a week before your cruise. You can ask additional questions then.

* If you are not in a suite...ignore this post.

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

njkruzer · May 9

6 minutes ago, Matt8392 said:

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

Sorry, no to those perks. Most important, just plan on relaxing and enjoy yourself.

taglovestocruise · May 10

1 hour ago, Matt8392 said:

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

You can still get the free breakfast at Johny Rockets.

Sunshine3601 · May 10

2 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

No problem, we were all newbies at one time.

There are plenty of things included in your cruise fare for an interior, ocean view or balcony cabin.

Have fun exploring and discovering what you like.

Like I said on earlier post you can your bottle of wine or 12 pk of bottled water on embarkment day.

Bring all the baby stuff diapers, etc. There is daycare available and you can check out once onboard and see if you like.

You will want to download the Royal caribbean app. Nice to preview menus and activities.

If you want internet for more than one device it is best to buy prior to your cruise, usually cheaper to buy one person 2 devices vs buying 1 device per person.

Have fun planning.

bonsai3s · May 10

6 hours ago, Matt8392 said:

Thanks for the info.

I think I used the wrong word when I said I booked a "suite." I thought that all rooms onboard the cruise ship are referred to as "suites." I think I realize now that "suite" is actually a specific type of room that is larger and costs more. I did not book such a "suite." I booked a normal stateroom. So I'm assuming that means I don't have access to the perks you described such as dining in the Coastal Kitchen or access to the Suite Lounge.

Sorry, no.

But as everyone else said, there are enough free venues on the ship. We love the Symphony...you'll have plenty of things to do and places to eat.

* Let the photographers onboard (and off the ship) to take your pictures. You are not obligated to buy.

* Another quiet, and mostly forgotten, free venue is Park Cafe for breakfast and the Kummelweck (roast beef) sandwich for lunch.

* If you like hotdogs, there's a free hotdog stand next to the carousel at the entrance of the boardwalk.

* The zipline is free and popular. So is the dry slide...brings back childhood memories.

* You will be docked right in Old San Juan...and the forts are within walking distance. There are some hills to navigate but all downhill walking back to the ship. Look for the free trolley...not sure what days it operates.

* St. Maarten is an extremely busy port. Immediately off the ship is an outdoor mall. If you want to just go to town, there are 3 ways to get there. By shuttle bus, boat, ($5-$6/p) or walk. ( Walking not recommended with an 18-month old) In town, there are more stores, restaurants, casinos, a local flea market, and the beach.

We highly recommend watching a review of the Symphony on YouTube. Happy sailing and welcome to Cruise Critic.

bonsai3s · May 10