Very Relaxing Crusie
Symphony of the Seas Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 34
7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 03, 2022
Ship: Symphony of the Seas
Traveled as: Family (young children)
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Overall amazing. Again, it was a very chill relaxing cruise. The waves could've co-operated a little. We did feel the motion of the ocean at times but you get used to it. I can never say anything negative about cruising because I love it so much. Food, drinks, entertainment is so good. We love the Schooner Bar and at 9pm a Piano man would come to sing. You can also put in your requests and he would sing it.Embarkation
It's was so smooth and fast. I encourage that you download the app and fill out all information required along with an attachment of your photo to save more time. It's also important to choose your arrival time when you check in through the app. Once you pass security, the next person scans your boarding pass on your phone and away you go onto the ship. Your seapass is now given in your stateroom instead at check in.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We didn't eat at any specialty restaurants nor at the Windjammer buffet. Only because my niece has a food allergy to nuts and they can never guarantee how the food is handled. So we always had our breakfast and Dinners in the main dining therefore the waiters knew her situation and it was handled better. For lunches we would have Sorrentos pizza or eat at the Park Cafe in Central Park. Love that area so much.
Onboard Activities
I'm only giving it a 3 because personally I didn't do much LOL. As my title of this review was "Very relaxing cruise". But there's so much activities you can do and my niece who is 6 loved the rock climbing and the kids pool and also tried a few times the Abyss slide.
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Sebastian was our stateroom attendant and he was so good. Always kept our room clean and fresh towels. And if we requested anything extra he would make it happen.
Ritesh was our waiter and Ebbie was our assistant waiter. Both went beyond with their service. They were so kind and nice. Ebbie k ew our name by the second day and already knew what drinks and coffee we wanted.
Ship Quality
The ship was clean all the time. Whatever was spilled, it was cleaned up right away. I've seen workers walk around wiping down railings and the bottons for the elevator all the time. It's a very well maintained ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
This is not the greatest shot. It's just partial of one side of the cabin. Not sure why I didn't snap more LOL. However, this was a balcony room on the 9th floor. Balconies are the way to go!! The room is amazing and clean and so spacious. They did have our beds together at first but we asked Sebastian our stateroom attendant to separate it. I found the beds not as comfortable as my previous sails. It's a bit smaller and harder.
Ship tip
Lose 10 pounds before cruising. There is so much drinking and eating. LOL
Thumbs up
1
Ports of call
The cabs guys out near the port suggested us to go to Divi Little Bay Beach Resort. It's free to the public. You just have to rent chairs and umbrellas which were pretty cheap. The beach is really nice. The water was nice to but a bit rough at times with big waves. But we enjoyed jumping into them. They have a place you can eat and buy drinks as well. And you don't have a lot of solicitors bothering you. I recommend this beach.
Every time I come to St. Thomas our go to beach is Koki Beach. However, I know with the pandemic a lot of these islands suffered a lot. It just wasn't the same. The beach had tons of seaweed, which I've never seen before. Nobody bothers to at least remove the seaweed. It smelled as well. If I ever have St. Thomas as a stop again, I heard Sapphire Beach is the place to go. You don't see much of the seaweed because I tried to snap photos without it.
Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas
It is a perfect little island with so much to do, eat and drink. We stayed mostly on Chill Island. There are a lot of free places to eat and there are some that you pay for. Same goes for drinks. But if you have a Deluxe Package you can use your seapass. I want to try the Oasis Lagoon Pool on my next cruise. It's suppose to hold over 2000 people. We didn't bother buying any of the Thrill Packages to go on the big waterslides.
We flew in 2 days before our cruise. We didn't do any excursions. The hotel offered lunch and dining and drinks and all their amenities.
Disembarkation
Leaving the ship was so easy. Again through your app you can choose if you want luggage tags for them to carry it out and pick up at the terminal outside or you can carry your own luggage out. You are assigned a time that is on your app. If you are flying back home the same day, they offer shuttles to the airport BUT, make sure you make those arrangements as soon as you get on the ship or at least till the 6th day of cruising. We left out of the Miami port and our flight was leaving from Fort Lauderdale. We got the piece of paper in our stateroom the last day for us to make reservations. So when I went to Guest Services to make the arrangement for a shuttle they said it was closed and too late. So I said, how, when I just got the paper today? And he said that it should be booked between the first day and the 6th day. And that they had it up on the screen at Guest Services. But I'm like, I didn't need to come to Guest Services for any reason all week so how would I've seen that? Anyway, they should be more clear about that and maybe leave that notification in our room at the beginning of the cruise. In the end me and my friend had to pay $100 for a taxi ride from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale.
Traveler Photos
