RCL wants to make money is all possible ways from you! RCL is becoming the Carnival class budget ship with their cheap class ammenities

Symphony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

LoveToCruise007

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 10, 2019

Ship: Symphony of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10310

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This was our 5th RCL cruise over the last 10+ years. RCL cost cutting is becoming so obvious on the food menu, bath room products, etc. The room service used to be free of cost, now they charge $8 per order + 20% gratuity. Vitality Spa Salon service is a must avoid - its a ripoff. They compulsorily charge 20% gratuaity for anything and everything. RCL is becoming the Carnival class budget ship with their cheap class ammenities. Probably this was our last RCL trip. Will avoid RCL in the future and go for lucuxy class cruise lines such as Regent, Viking, etc - for the same price we paid for RCL.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Stuck with a slowpoke agent, took 30 mins to complete the embaration to onboard the ship

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Very crowded, limited vegetarian options. Main dining, Park Cafe are less crowded. RCL charges for all the room services.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Hiru show was awesome! What an amazing set of performers.. Must watch!

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Very very motivated, dedicated set of staff all over the cruise.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Well maintained public areas and room. Too many unhygienic access of buffet food. Although RCL forces people to wash hands - some sneak out directly... very annoying. avoided Windjammer al togather.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Very narrow and congested 10310 - 10312 connecting cabins for family of 4 worked ok.

Ship tip

Too many activities onboard the ship. Plan ahead for all 7 day, and make booking before onboarding the ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Supposed to be an easy and fast onboarding took 30 mins due to the sloth agent

Thumbs Up 2

Basseterre, St. Kitts

3 out of 5

Limited options. Kayaking and Snorkling on the turquoise ocean was a good activity.

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

Not too many good options at this place. Emerald beach - on your own. Within 2 miles from the cruise port, cab charges $4pp.

Thumbs Up 3

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

4 out of 5

Water park is one of the best. With large size cruise - too much wait time for some raids. 1:30 mins for some popular slides. But the whole day can be spent there.

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

About 1 hour to get off the ship; and to complete the immigration and collect the baggages. Very well organized.

7 Comments

wgammon1 3 years ago

Glad you had a good cruise. Thanks for the review.

Thumbs Up 0

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bkle99 5 years ago

I totally agree with you! They’re not good like I expected! I’m really disappointed. No more royal Caribbean for me and my customers..

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twkendrick 5 years ago

I just got off the boat and my group was very disappointed also ,And I was a Royal fan. How can pools , spas outdoor activities be closed, before 6!! Ridiculous and disappointed. But Not on other boats Communication among others (texting) don’t exist unless your paying out the wazoo for internet package. Big deal breaker But not on other boats. I guess it made up for it on shows. Definitely spectacular. Both the ice skating shows good even though they fell about 4 times each show.... really? My brother and sister paid a lot a lot less on Carnival Breeze and everything was met unlike symphony? I went on Norwegian and everything was met unlike symphony. Royal needs to get there act together.

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Cruisequeen78 5 years ago

Symphony was great,!!!I guess we all have different expectations, it was so much fun,food was great,and yes it took about half hr to get on board but that was no biggie,I dont get what someone would expect cause to me it was everything I imagined

Thumbs Up 3

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Gheemaster38 5 years ago

Yes please share that pricing information on Viking. Do they sail from the United States? NOT a fan of the snob crowd..

Thumbs Up 0

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PaTravelers 5 years ago

30 min for embarkation too long? I’ll bet you didn’t complete all your paperwork or do your pictures ahead of time? If you do what you should ahead of time you don’t need to see an agent at the new Terminal “A”. Your fault , not RCCL. Also, where do you see Viking Cruises priced like Royal???

Thumbs Up 3

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TXatsea 5 years ago

Maybe it’s time to try a different type of vacation.

Thumbs Up 2

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