kontraxed

I am a little confused by the pool in the solarium. I have seen pictures of what looks like a large hot tub with a picture window. Is that the pool or is that the hot tub? Is there an actual solarium pool? I and my wife really enjoy the solarium on different ships and we look forward to spending time at this one! Thanks for your great review!

There is a difference between just making do and being comfortable. Your husband can certainly make do on the cruise. I am a big guy and we always book a junior (mini) suite in order to be comfortable. It gives you a tub/shower combo for ease of taking a shower. It also gives you a walk-in closet and just more space to move about inside the room as well as a nice balcony. I would rather pay more and be comfortable even if it means cruising less often because of the price. Good luck!

Great review! We will be on the Symphony next May. Do you know what the daily price of the drink package is on the ship? I look forward to the rest of your review!

I am concerned about having a large (partial) charter on the ship during one of my cruises. Is there any way to find out if a particular cruise carries a substantial charter group on it and who or what it is?

Nice comments! To answer your question, I am one of those people who don't want to dress up. I am retired now but I spent my entire career in a job where I had to wear a suit and tie every day and I never enjoyed it. I don't wear shorts or T-shirts to dinner but I do wear slacks and a button down shirt. I really don't care what the folks at the next table wear. I do not plan to eat dinner in the windjammer because I won't dress up. Why should I miss lobster night? Finally, I wonder why RCL won't reach a compromise. The MDR on the mid to large sized ships typically has three levels to it. Why not designate one level for formal wear and the other two for casual wear (or vice versa)? They could even ask on your cruise registration what your preference is. No matter. My cruise is in eleven months and I'm already looking forward to it!

They are building a new cruise terminal in Miami for the Symphony of the Seas. This includes a parking garage either attached to or right across the street from the new terminal. Will that parking garage require or accept reservations for parking? If so, does anyone have the contact information for making a reservation? Thanks!

The cooler the better!

I was always a little skeptical of the Chops quality but on my last two cruises, Chops was actually excellent! I guess it can vary from ship to ship or even day to day but I've really had good meals at Chops and at Giovanni's.

Sometimes, it's not the price, it's the availability. I like Blanton's bourbon but you can not find it here in the Houston area. At our last cruise to the Cayman Islands, I went into a little liquor store and there was a whole rack of Blanton's! To make it even better, their prices were much lower than state side! Ah, yes. The cruise memories.

I've seen pictures where it appears that there is actually an outlet on one side of the bed. In that my wife and I both use CPAP machines, I was wondering if there are outlets on both sides of the bed or do we still need to request an extension cord? We will be in a junior suite if that makes any difference. It's amazing that RCL finally put at least one outlet near the bed!

I appreciate exchanging comments and information while on CC and the roll calls, but that's the extent of it for me. Once I am on the ship, I really don't want to participate in a meeting with a bunch of strangers. I go on the cruise to spend relaxing time with my wife and family. The exception for me is if I know the ship's officers will be there to speak and tell us something about the cruise and/or the ship, but that has not been the case recently.

We will be on the Symphony in May 2019. Really nice review. It's good to get someone's perspective who's not a travel agent or blogger.

Finally went under a year. 364 days until we board the Symphony!

I was not able to purchase flowers for my last two cruises. As revenue focused as RCL is, I am surprised that they let this go on for so long. I have another cruise booked for May 2019. I'll try to order flowers again once we get closer.

The more I hear about the Symphony, the more I look forward to it! I just read that there is an outlet(s) and USB charging port near the head of the bed. As a CPAP user - THANK-YOU! I read that RCL is building a new Miami terminal A for the Symphony and another Oasis class ship. This terminal is scheduled to be completed by October 2018 - well before my May 2019 cruise date. They assure us that boarding will be much smoother and faster. I hope they consider parking as well. Additionally, I read about some new App that you take a picture of yourself with your cell phone and that will be the picture for the cruise ship. I hope they give detailed instructions for those of us who are technically illiterate. Now, just in case I need a cherry on the top, Cococay, which I have never been to, is being totally modernized. I'm not sure how much will be done by May 2019. I would really like to take that balloon ride. Oh yeah, there is all that stuff on that brand new, world's biggest cruise ship. Only 367 days to go!

I've been on the Epic and quite a few RCL ships (but not the Symphony until May 2019). I have and would choose the Symphony over the Epic. The real deal breaker was the bathroom facilities in the rooms on the Epic. They had this uncomfortable arrangement where there really wasn't a bathroom. The sink was shallow and splashed and was located inside the room directly across from the bed or the couch. The shower and the toilet were each on opposite sides of the entry doorway and had opaque glass. I found this to have a definite lack of privacy. Take a look at some on-line videos.

I have never sailed on an Oasis class ship before but we will be going on the Symphony in May 2019. We always book a junior suite because of the tub/shower, the walk in closets and the spaciousness. The one perk I kind of liked was priority boarding at embarkation - being able to go in the suite line. When I looked at the FAQs under the "Sea" class, it did not list that. Is that an oversight or an actual change? Cruising used to seem a lot less complicated.

I like the idea of parking right at the port. Anyone know what the address is or the name of the parking facility? Should you (can you?) make a reservation? Was it difficult getting out of the port area at the end of the cruise? Thanks for your help!

We're already looking forward to being in a Junior Suite on the Symphony of the Seas in May 2019. We are emerald level. Will we be able to go to the Coastal Kitchen? What else is applicable (or not) to being in a junior suite on the SOTS? We like the junior suites because of the tub, the closet and the general spaciousness of the room but any other benefits are pretty confusing.

We like Giovanni's better than Chops too. Their osso buco is amazing. I'm not normally a risotto fan but the Giovanni risotto with mushrooms is delicious! Giovanni's is definitely worth the extra money!

We're sailing on the Symphony in May 2019. Our itinerary shows Cococay as docked.

Does anyone know if Royal Caribbean offers a shore Excursion at St Kitts for the Scenic Railroad? We'll be on the Symphony in May 2019 and that Railroad looks interesting.

I read the following in Cruise Critic for Symphony of the Seas: "

and

My wife and I both use CPAP machines and we have been on a number of different RCCL ships. We always request and have always received distilled water and an extension chord with no issue. I will just say again that I do not understand why there are no electrical outlets by the head of the bed. One other thing. For years I always took my own extension chord onboard the ships (yes, I know they're banned) but no one ever confiscated them. On our last cruise, we had to go to the naughty room and our extension chord was confiscated. Just a heads up.

I just heard about "Wow Bands". Without sounding stupid, I thought they were musical bands. Dos the Symphony use these Wow bands? If so, did you like them better than sea pass cards? I liked being able to put my sea pass card in my wallet. Thanks!