Symphony of the Seas is a treasure trove of exciting adventures! Every age group can find a place of exhilaration or relaxation. Though we are over 60, we were invigorated by everything offered and loved to engage in activities that held our interest. From exciting shows, to terrific learning experiences, to great dining and lively dancing, this ship has it all!
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation was fair on this ship. Usually, the process moves smoothly, but this time, on this ship, several staff seemed to be in disarray. Passengers crowded the area where the lines were not clearly marked which led to several passengers jumping lines to board.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We only ate in the dining room three times. We sat at table 622 in My Time Dining. Kleine was an attentive and kind server, making us feel right at home. In every other dining area, staff was fun and friendly and worked hard to keep everything spotless! Food was very good everywhere. ***NOTE-Having "service" dogs brought into the dining areas made me quite upset. Just before this journey we had a good friend, a retired Army soldier with PTSD and a real service dog, commit suicide. To see these"emotional support" dogs on board and witness people feeding their dog under the table, sit on their laps, and lick a plate was disgusting. We know real service dogs cost $22,000 to train for the disabled soldier and are not allowed to do such things. It is so dishonorable to those who really need these dogs. These "fake" support dogs you allow on board make it difficult for soldiers to gain access to places they really need to be. We witnessed this first hand with our friend. RCCL needs to have stricter rules concerning dogs. Dogs should be limited to our military. All others should have to go through a process to vet their animals and then confine the pet to the cabin unless it is being walked. Others may have allergies and not appreciate animals on board either. Still others are deathly afraid of animals. To let people who "can't live" without their "baby" is offensive to so many others. Maybe a confined area for those people might be good. But allowing owners to have free rein with their dogs all over the ship is just too much. (Rant over.)
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Everything we did was so nice with one exception. I play Pickleball all the time and was so excited to know this ship had courts. But when I went to play on Day 1, I discovered the courts were not regulation size making play very difficult for all involved. Because the courts were too small, people kept beating their hands against the glass wall when serving. With Pickleball being the fastest growing sport in the world, one might expect the courts to be regulation size. Other than that, I loved the running deck, the gym, etc. A lovely ship!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Entertainment staff was excellent. We loved, loved, loved The Las Vegas Tenors! We also loved Mr. Knotts enrichment class on The Andy Griffith Show. Would love to see more enrichment classes!
Children's Programs
No children on board.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Though most staff members were so good, there were some standouts. Anika who worked in Boleros. She made us feel as though we were family. We hated to leave her behind! Elizabeth or Eli, as we called her, worked in On Air and always took time to make us feel special. Our cabin steward, Warren (Cabin 14250) was awesome! He never rushed us and kept our space perfectly clean at all times! We loved him.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything was so clean. One of the cleanest we have ever sailed on. One thing we did not like was that the most popular deck (Deck 5,) never had enough seating. Chairs in boleros were too big and took up too much space that could have been better utilized. Promanade Cafe was set up too awkwardly for so many people to try and get coffee in the morning. No matter what went on in that area, we could never find a seat anywhere which made us feel that we had to miss so much. No place had a decent sized dance floor or seating. The ship is pretty, but does not accommodate the kinds of crowd aboard this sailing that like to listen to Karaoke, dance, or drink coffee. Have your designers think about the importance of seating when you crowd so much in one area.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Everything was perfect! Loved our room!
Ship tip
There is so much to do for everyone, especially families, but get to the shows early, as there are very few places to get into the rows of seats, which makes it hard if the end seats fill up.
As someone who has 2 ESA in our family I agree 100%. We are well aware that others may be allergic etc and that always must be taken into consideration. There are some places an ESA should not be welcomed and restaurants are one of them. Other then actual service dogs, pets and food are not a good mix.
My condolences on the loss of your friend.
Appreciate your detailed review. Understand your rant. On our last sailing (Carnival) we had a service dog with his military veteran. The cruise (Princess)
before we had one of the tiny “service” pampered pooches. The difference is notable. Glad you enjoyed your cruise in spite of that issue.
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