Liverpoolfan181

Wow shocked by all the negative reviews. To each their own for sure- especially food related opinions. Of all the oasis class ships (and we were on all of them), Symphony was our absolute favourite of all, so much so, we will be cruising in her again this January. never felt crowded (unless you show up to the pool deck late morning, but that’s most ships to get pool chairs) We enjoyed the food throughout the ship (did not heat at Hooked) - El Loco Fresh (replacing mini bites) was such a great added feature with build your own nachos, etc. Smaller ships and oasis Class ships are two very different experiences. Keep an open minds She’s a Beautiful ship, has amazing crew, , great entertainment....don’t read too much into reviews as again it’s very personal- Just go have a great cruise.... I know we are counting down till we sail her again!

Not for Coco Cay

Yes we had the same thing. They asked at the front which service you would prefer. They would then seat you in the appropriate area of the dining room 🙂

Symphony had a continental breakfast each morning in the Diamond lounge on deck 4, for a couple of hours and specialty coffee machine open all day. Happy Hour with drinks and hors D'oeuvres for 3 hours in the evening. The dining room (daily breakfast for all guests) on Symphony had a great breakfast and you can enjoy a la carte specialty items (amazing french toast, etc) along with the buffet and made to order eggs, etc. We loved Symphony so much we are headed back in a couple of months! 🙂

Whenever we have Labadee as one of our Ports of call, we always secure the Over the Water cabanas. As Cabanas are only assigned upon arrival at the beach, in past, all of the cabanas on or around the entry to the water along the beach were deemed "over the water" and all Cabanas that were situated on the actual beach were deemed "Beachfront Cabanas". Onsite we have seen guests who secured over the water but were at the base of the hill at the entry into the water and were upset. Now it seems to alleviate the disappointment upon arrival if guests did not get their preferred cabana location they further broke down the categories and price points. I interpret: Over the water cabanas are the ones with ladder/step entry into the ocean. Waterfront are the cabanas (along the base perimeter of the hill) Beachfront: All cabanas located directly on the beach with the loungers. Have the BEST time at Labadee!!!!

Bang on! Working in the hotel industry within food & beverage, we are also Diamond status. While we haven't encountered the swiping of our cards in the lounge, they have always asked us to see our seapass upon entering the and rightfully so. These "inventory" swipes of the seapass card will yield a whole story line as to guests usage, preferences, time of consumption and location on-board where they enjoyed their drink and so much more. Through their systems, they can see how busy the lounge was during the happy hour period, drinks consumed, age groups, which brands used (and in turn understand what sells and what doesn't, after all- beverage costs are always audited). They can track that Sally with diamond status, visits the lounge each evening for 1 hour, consumes 2 glasses of Chardonnay in the lounge and then has another 2 at other bars on the ship, during the happy hour period. They also know that Sally does not buy a beverage package. They can see occupancy of the lounge daily and peak times. Asides from standard corporate audits, all this will of course determine future strategies for beverage costs, lounge capacities, Crown and Anchor opportunities , brand selection, consumer preferences and of course the % of D's, D+'s etc on-board per cruise. That little swipe of the seapass is a gateway into passenger movement.

As always- thank you for the great intel!

There is a great Facebook page for Perfect Day at Coco Cay that contains live updates to the island, ongoing enhancements, etc. There are a ton of pics and videos being posted daily, including cabanas and food/beverage. Many ongoing discussions...

@crewsweeper you are a wealth of information! I find this port the most difficult one to narrow down for beach clubs as there are so many and will be our first time in Costa Maya. What would you recommend between Jaimie's, Pez Quadro or Nohoch Kay if you had the choice? All adults sailing.... Thank you in advance!

Food and drink were certainly allowed by the pool areas and chairs. I believe they are watching for glass. That being said while we were on Symphony, the lifeguards by the pool were restricting guests from having the drinks in the pool while swimming. Sitting pool side was fine. There was a sign by the pool area, however they were only enforcing no drinks while physically in the pool swimming.

If you want loungers in specific area, just plan to go early to the pool and you should have your choice. Sailed Symphony during peak holiday time and still had our choice of pool chairs before 9am. Solarium was always available except for the couch seating. If you come after 9am, it will be luck of the draw. At noon, forget it. Happy sailing!! :)

Hello @cantgetaname Coco Beach Club is not yet open in Coco Cay. It's scheduled for end of 2019 along with the over the water cabanas... Right no you have The Waterpark, South Beach, Chill Island and oasis lagoon opened and operating. Happy planning!

From a desktop/laptop, if you google the resort, there will be a heading to the right where it displays “permanently closed” in red, where you would click for the website. Yes I tried the website again and it’s just an error message. the pictures did look amazing!:(

@mitsugirly was also looking into Yemaya but it stated "permanently closed" on the website and google.... not sure if you had better luck via email.

Thank you Crewsweeper for your great update. Yes, Trip Advisor looks to have some good reviews. was hoping to compare experiences with cc community :) I didn't realize they are part of excursions... hmmmm Thank you for sending the links. It did appear that they are now AI, which we will have to take into consideration. I will look into Blue Kay as well but haven't heard back from them either....