TeeRick

We also really enjoyed the ice show on Symphony called 1977.

A few years back we really enjoyed Chicago - forget which ship. A few weeks ago on Symphony we saw Hairspray and it was mediocre IMO. Dragged on in spots and was overall too long.

Ship - Symphony of the Seas Sail Date - Feb 10, 2024 (8 nights) Ports- FLL, Aruba, Curacao, Labadee, FLL Deck - 17 Stateroom # - 1714 Stateroom Category – SKY Class - Crown Loft Suite Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? Yes- very quiet. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No. Balcony View - Excellent. No obstructions. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal CL Balcony size Was wind a problem? - No If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A Any specific problems with this cabin? - First Floor bathroom - shower leaked a bit Any other comments? - The 17th Floor CL Suites are excellent overall. Great access to Coastal Kitchen, the Suite Lounge, Concierges, etc. Almost a private little quiet enclave on this enormous ship. Service was excellent.

I did notify them at times but it was always on my Seapass card and I never got charged. If perhaps that happened (it didn't) I think Guest Services would remove it. They only time to notify the bar staff is to tell them which Seapass card to charge if you and your spouse (cabin mate) have different amounts of coupons later that day and you want to use one account vs the other. It is all pretty easy and seamless!

Sky suites on X are getting their butlers back soon.

Or you will get check-in any time if you have a suite. Or earlier check-in if you buy The Key program.

Yes agree. I was just adding a comment to the discussion (in case it was useful to some) that people could also book onboard the ship if necessary.

I have been told repeatedly on board by the dining staff that only about 40-50% of available specialty dining slots are pre-sold. They hold back the remainder on purpose. When you board the cruise on any RCCL ship there will be availability if you go to any dining venue or restaurant right away when you board. Make your reservations then for any restaurant.

Do you mean RSV? There is no vaccine anywhere including Canada for Rhinoviruses.

Yes we had a very nice Crown Loft on Deck 17 on Symphony. We loved it!

On the ship we were on last week (Symphony) the limit was $14 a day. We are D+ so we had 5 drinks per day each. We ordered what we wanted and never got charged anything but we did add tips.

You know back then I didn't even think about it as smoking everywhere was the norm when I was growing up. Both of my parents smoked. As did most of my aunts and uncles.

Yes that was mentioned above by @RobInMN. 😁 I do remember smoking vs non-smoking sections in airplanes. And in restaurants.

Yes exactly. The experiment on Celebrity was bound to fail for that reason. They presumably studied revenue on the vaping-allowed ships vs. the smoke-free ships over a month. They did not release the data of course but they decided against introducing vaping casino areas fleet-wide.

Just sailed in a mid-level suite (SKY Class) on RCCL last week. No butler (or genie). There was a cabin steward and an assistant cabin steward. They met all of our needs and requests. We did not ever think about a butler. There were also two dedicated suite concierges. Service was excellent overall. I think I remember back when Celebrity serviced cabins with two people (steward and assistant).

Yes for sure!

Did you get the new RSV vaccine this year?

Brought it up as a discussion topic. That's all. I did bring it up on my post-cruise survey.

They had a recent trial on Celebrity allowing casino vaping on a few ships in the previously non-smoking casinos. The experiment was abandoned due to negative customer feedback.

My experience last week on Symphony was that in the entire main casino there was very much a strong smoke smell. Coming out into the nearby areas. People seemed to be smoking everywhere particularly at night. Not sure if there was any kind of enforcement of the sections. People would come into the bar, smoke and leave. I am not judging the smokers. In fact, I enjoyed a cigar outside one afternoon in the designated outdoor smoking area. I am just asking the very simple(?) question - can they switch the casinos? That would not eliminate smoking, just distribute it differently.

Sorry to bring up this topic of casino smoking. Not trying to start an anti-smoking thread as there are thousands of those. But really a policy question that I brought up with an officer on board Symphony on our cruise last week. Symphony has a very small smoke-free casino and a very large casino that allows smoking. There were about 5500 passengers on board. The vast majority were non-smokers. A few percent of people on board were smokers, reflecting the general population these days. So why not just switch the casino areas? Smaller one for smokers and large one for non-smokers? Reasonable? I do not think this is about revenue from smokers. We are non-smokers and usually gamble a decent amount on a cruise. Not this time. There was a very small selection of tables and slots in the non-smoking casino. The main casino had people smoking who just came in to smoke (not gamble) and left. Easy to see them doing that. They could easily use the side of the pool deck for that. So why does the RCCL casino policy cater to the very few (smokers) instead of the vast majority (non-smokers)? Just switch casinos! Am I missing something? PS. We usually sail Celebrity with smoke-free casinos so this was a big change for us on Symphony.

Interesting question. A rhinovirus is the most prevalent of the viruses causing common cold. Usually no severe symptoms at all requiring hospitalization (about 3% of total cases and those have underlying conditions). Sorry it happened to dliteu's mom. We always carry a GeoBlue Trekker annual medical policy renewable each year.

I just came off Symphony. A few patches of higher seas here and there in the wind near Aruba- we did Southern Caribbean. Honestly it was nearly impossible most of the time to feel ANY motion on the ship at all. Rock stable. I was impressed with how smooth it was. We were in the center on the highest deck (17). But all over the ship it was unusual to feel any motion. I know anything can happen at sea, but this ship is a very good choice to avoid motion. We brought some ginger chews just in case, but never had a need to use them. Several of the shops on board carried motion sickness medications up near the checkouts.

Yes I believe so.

I wish they would! But they don’t. If I added together my cruises and points on RCCL and Celebrity I would be both Pinnacle and Zenith! Spent a lot of money with the RCG corporation. No extra credit for that.