MEDIOCRE ROYAL CRUISE

Symphony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 25

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5
Symphony of the Seas

7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 03, 2022

Ship: Symphony of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9590

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

first and last time on Royal Caribbean for my wife and me. Probably most disappointing to me was that Guest Services NEVER responded to my concerns, nor resolved them, despite 4 or 5 separate visits there; also crew did not mingle much with guests ( i.e., captain, hospitality mgr. food and beverage mgr. , cruise director), unlike our recent cruise on Celebrity

Embarkation

3 out of 5
Hectic crowd, but went fairly smoothly

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
menu was very limited with new "experimental trial" on Symphony of the Seas; food was not seasoned well, poor choices; no ability to make adjustment to the menu; meat often not chewable; fish usually dried out; food tasted like reheated banquet meals; crowded dining room; disjointed service for our group traveling together; i am not very picky but I appreciate good quality and flavorful food; sad that often the best food was pizza and hamburgers!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
limited choices during the day; I did do water slide; I don't consider pay-for tasting or class , and shopping "events" reasonable activities; way too much nickel and diming on RCL; excellent evening productions-the only saving grace; too bad many shows were cancelled due to rough seas

Entertainment

4 out of 5
stage productions were AMAZING!; limited music venues available during day and before dinner

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
waiters had their hands tied with new menu limitations and kitchen's ability to crank out the meals; service was slow; bar service was slow

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
way too big! poor ventilation systems and layout with smoke very apparent outside deck 4 dining room due to proximity of casino; cigarette smoke in gym , of all places, as explained due to shared ventilation with crew's smoking lounge; thermal suite was not kept clean at all, with very limited amenities for a spa experience; no keys for lockers in men's locker room, only in women's locker room-unacceptable; there should be NO SMOKING on ALL inside common spaces

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
decent size could have used electrical outlets/USB ports on BOTH nightstands

Ship tip

think twice! better for families with children than for dults by themselves

Ports of call

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

3 out of 5
typical Caribbean island experience

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5
typical Caribbean island experience

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

4 out of 5
nice beaches ; typical food that could be found on ship-mediocre

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
crowded and not well organized-took too long with lines of crowded people all over waiting to disembark
Was this review helpful? 25

10 Comments

scorpio3564    1 year ago

Totally agree this ship is super crowded lines for most things. When we went we could never find chairs just to relax in the sun. We will definitely stick to the smaller ships. The neighborhoods are pretty but take away so much room. If you were lucky to get into the shows they were great.

Cruisersnoozer    1 year ago

Thanks for the review!

janetconant    1 year ago

The Captain on Radiance was just awesome, 11 day to Hawaii was so much fun!

RCgroup    1 year ago

All captain can say is thanks! Appears he was no where to be found. He need to take a cruise on Radiance of the Sea to see and hear what a captain should be.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Oops sorry 😞 thanks

RodoDV    1 year ago

Maybe try Azamara next time, it might be more of what you are looking for. It's the luxury version of RCCL.

Flcruisepro    1 year ago

Interesting about the slow service with the new test menu. The whole reason for changing was supposedly to speed up service. So much for that.

rookmate    1 year ago

yes. no smoking!!!!!!🤮

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Sorry you were disappointed. Thanks for sharing the details.

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for the review

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