Beautiful, Very Large, Very Crowded Ship

Symphony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 14

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5
Symphony of the Seas

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 20, 2024

Ship: Symphony of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9153

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 months ago

Review summary

Overall great time! I'm going back to smaller ships (Voyager/Quantum class as well as Oasis and Allure. For me, bigger isn't better.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Very smooth. Even with wheelchair assistance, was on ship in 30 minutes and my room was ready at 1 pm.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Ate in main dining room and Windjammer. Service staff in both areas were excellent!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Was in a scooter so pretty much hung out on pool deck, but there were plenty of activities.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Went to every show and enjoyed them all. Very professionally done productions

Children's Programs

Did not bring children.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
All were outstanding especially my cabin steward, Michelle, on 9th floor forward.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Personally, this ship was too large for my comfort. It was also over-run with children. The overall ratio of children to adults I estimate to be 3 kids per every adult. In a scooter I was always dodging running children (morning, noon, and night). Curfew for children was 1 am. This is a wonderful ship for families. Not so much for older, disabled guests.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Good size and best shower I've seen on any cruise ship. Walls are thin. I could hear every word spoken in the next room.

Ship tip

Enjoy the ship. Pack your patience. Food and entertainment were great.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5
Just enjoyed day before cruise.

Oranjestad, Aruba

3 out of 5
No excursion, just went shopping. I've been here before.

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5
No excursion. Ship is too large to dock by center of town, but a village with shopping was located near where we docked.

Falmouth, Jamaica Did not visit port

I've been here before and was happy to stay on ship while others were off the ship.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Incredibly smooth. I even caught a taxi right away.
Was this review helpful? 9

7 Comments

Chess5709     6 months ago

Oasis and allure are the same class ship

Gwbigdog     6 months ago

Thanks for sharing

AuntPinkie     6 months ago

Appreciate your detailed feedback. The cruises all seem to be filled with children these days. Sorry you had to dodge them. Glad you enjoyed your cruise even with the ship being too big for your liking.

kef2016     6 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. It’s nice to try different ships to decide which type of ship best meets your expectations.

javawoody     6 months ago

I also enjoy the smaller ships

cruising2004     6 months ago

Glad you found which ship class you prefer. Thank you for your review.

HeavySeas     6 months ago

Awesome......thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your cruise

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