*~LIVE REVIEW~* 50x + Cruiser Tries RCCL (Symphony Eastern 7-Night)

[drumexpert510]

Jamie’s Italian was very good. I’m not going to say I was blown away but it was some of the better Italian food I have had on ships. What did make the meal though was the top notch service and sitting outside. The was a slight breeze and beautiful guitar music. I highly recommend for anyone eating at Jamie’s to have your meal outside. For food tonight, I had the bruschetta and truffle risotto balls, both were good and I would order again. For my main, I had Jaime’s spin on an eggplant parmigiana. It was a half eggplant baked with sauce and cheese, very good and would order again.

 

I can’t wait to go back!

 

 

 

 

 

[JamesEM]

Following alone, thinking about sailing on this ship.

[countess5]

👍 Told you you would like sitting outside with the music! 😁

 

Make sure to get a beef sandwich with the horseradish sauce at the cafe in Central Park. They will be carving it as you go in. We usually get those with chips and then down to the trellis bar for a beer or cocktail with them. 

 

Cheers! 

[JD2001]

20 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 thanks for the review! Sailing on Symphony on Feb 18th!!! 

 

(Also side note: NCL now does offer "• (6) 1L Flow Water bottles delivered to your stateroom on embarkation day*" to their base level free at sea package) 

my wife and i and another couple will be on the feb. 18th sailing also cant wait and following along......

[cruisegirl1976]

Following along, we were on symphony last Feb and loved the ship!  Enjoy!

[tampadee]

Following.  Thanks so much for sharing!

 

 

[drumexpert510]

I have an oceanview balcony stateroom. Nothing special to write home about here, it is very standard and I am actually disappointed a bit in the lack of decoration or room styling. You get a bed, sofa, dresser and desk. There is a big void over the dresser they could have really done something with, it just looks a little plain to me. Not going to ruin my cruise, but it just felt a little lacking. Now l, with that said the bathroom position is at an angle and give a few more feet of room to move around. The bed itself is… a bed. Two beds pushed together and very… very firm.  Over all,  very standard. Not good, not bad… it just is. 

[drumexpert510]

Lunch today onboard the Symphony is at Hooked. They have some amazing looking seafood options. I am not a huge seafood fan but wanted to at least give it a try and see how it stacks up to Ocean Blue on NCL ships. The lunch menu was ok looking but what really stood out was the service, Sunyoto , took great care of me and even suggested some “off menu” items like shrimp cocktail and Coconut shrimp. I enjoyed the food and would equate it very similar to Red Lobster. I would love to hear others personal thoughts about this restaurant from anyone who has ate here previously for lunch. The dinner menu is very different and included filet and lobster. 

[aubreyc1988]

1 hour ago, drumexpert510 said:

I have an oceanview balcony stateroom. Nothing special to write home about here, it is very standard and I am actually disappointed a bit in the lack of decoration or room styling. You get a bed, sofa, dresser and desk. There is a big void over the dresser they could have really done something with, it just looks a little plain to me. Not going to ruin my cruise, but it just felt a little lacking. Now l, with that said the bathroom position is at an angle and give a few more feet of room to move around. The bed itself is… a bed. Two beds pushed together and very… very firm.  Over all,  very standard. Not good, not bad… it just is. 

Sorry you didn't like the room. It DOES for sure need a piece of  art or some shelving over the dresser, really lack of detail when it comes to designing the room. However, I do think the space in the room looks enormous, esp compared to the picture you showed of the bathroom. 

[George C]

Enjoying your review we have done a couple of oasis class , but not one with wonderland and Jamie’s looking forward to trying them later this year. 

[GetToLivin]

1 hour ago, drumexpert510 said:

I have an oceanview balcony stateroom. Nothing special to write home about here, it is very standard and I am actually disappointed a bit in the lack of decoration or room styling. 

 

Love your review so far, really fun to read the perspective of someone who doesn't normally cruise Royal. I do agree about the OV rooms, whenever we book these ones we notice we spend more time in venues around the ship. When we get into the suite category, we tend to enjoy being in the room a bit more. Can't wait to read more!

[PompeySailor]

Following along 

Looking forward to your 150 CP experience 

Enjoy 👍🏻

[JCDCA]

41 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Sorry you didn't like the room. It DOES for sure need a piece of  art or some shelving over the dresser, really lack of detail when it comes to designing the room. However, I do think the space in the room looks enormous, esp compared to the picture you showed of the bathroom. 

Having sailed in multiple balconies on both Royal and NCL, the standard balcony on Royal (at least here talking Oasis class) is by far roomier than on NCL which can feel a little cramped.  Balconies bigger too.

[aubreyc1988]

22 minutes ago, JCDCA said:

Having sailed in multiple balconies on both Royal and NCL, the standard balcony on Royal (at least here talking Oasis class) is by far roomier than on NCL which can feel a little cramped.  Balconies bigger too.

Oh yeah for sure. I DO think the newer NCL ships have bigger bathrooms than Royal, but smaller Bed/living space area and balcony. I am rarely in the room so for me, that is not a deciding factor when I am booking cruises, but I think everyone appreciates extra room, so I can overlook the lack of pictures. Also really like the storage around the couch area. I am in an inside on Symphony next month, unless I get upgraded, which is not likely, but would love an oceanview! 

Edited January 9, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[drumexpert510]

After lunch today… I tried my hand in the casino and didn’t do too shabby if I say so myself. After I headed to the matinee showing of…

 

Hairspray!

 

I have seen both the show on Broadway and the movie. The cast was amazing and received a standing ovation from me. This cast was well gelled and played the parts very well. I was definitely sad when it ended and will put this in the books as one of my favorites on a ship (my absolute favorite is Choir of Men on NCL Encore).

[AKR2011]

As an NCL girl, I really appreciate your perspective. I'm looking forward to reading more.

[NinnerN]

Thank you so much for this.  We'll be on Symphony soon, boarding Feb. 25th with my husband, 2 adult kids and their spouses.  First family trip, and first cruise ever for my in-laws.  So excited.  

[The Fun Researcher]

Loving your review for the photos and your excellent commentary, especially when you are so well versed in the other three cruise lines!  -Dan

Edited January 10, 2023 by The Fun Researcher

[drumexpert510]

29 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Loving your review for the photos and your excellent commentary, especially when you are so well versed in the other three cruise lines!  -Dan

Thank you. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[drumexpert510]

Tonight’s meal is brought to you by 150 Park Central.  Fun Fact: it is name that because it is directly in the middle of the shop 150m to bow and 150m to aft. I very much enjoyed this meal not only because the food was amazing but was sat next to another solo cruiser and this man was a pinnacle plus member so was great to chat with him and get his prospective. For the meal tonight I tried the braised short rib, Cesear Salad, lobster Thermidor AND the tenderloin for two because the server suggested I try it (they gave me a smaller portion) and finally the fried cheese came for dessert. Everything was amazing but the true winner of the night was the BREAD… omg, if you have had it then you know what I mean and if you haven’t… you have to try it! Off to bed as we have an early morning tomorrow in St. Thomas. I will be going on the Sailing Regatta Tour! 

[countess5]

Looking good this morning! Enjoy your day.

 

 

Cheers! 

[nolegirl01]

omg the bread at 150 CP is amazing. We were just there for a xmas cruise and it was soooooo gooooood. Also loved Hairspray!! the cast was so good! they did an excellent job!

[drumexpert510]

Ok so first off… sorry for not posting earlier today. Was out and off the ship first thing this morning and didn’t get back onboard until right before dinner… this means we have a lot of catching up to do so get ready!!!!

 

To start the gym this morning (port day) was not crowded at all I think I was one of maybe 10 people in the entire gym. After a quick run, I grabbed my usual banana peanut butter smoothie and headed off of the ship. Today we were in Saint Maarten and I was joking one of the ships excursions “America’s Cup Sailing Regatta”… I was a little apprehensive at first but OMG! I loved it! We had a great group and crew so that definitely helps. You being with being assigned a “job” on the sail boat, mine was main grinder. You race against another boat crewed by other passengers to see who can finish first and all along the captain is calling out jobs and what to do… it was SUPER FUN! I highly recommend this tour. Please see picture below.

 

After the morning sail, I hopped in a taxi and headed to one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PLACES, Maho Beach. I stayed there for about 3 hours watching planes take off and land. I keep coming back to this place again and again. I get it is super crowed but for me there is just nothing like having a 757 lane 50 foot above my head. Do note that the current is strong here so please watch little ones if you go and in addition, I would never condone anyone standing behind the jet blast as that is very dangerous. That being said it is someone you have to experience just once and if you head to SXM then a stop at Maho Beach is almost a requirement. (See photos).

 

Side note: as some of you may know from earlier posts on this thread, I am a Jacksonville Jaguars fan and I got an awesome surprise when we docked next to the yacht Kismet, owned by the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. (Photos)

[Gemina]

Loving your review! My husband and I are doing a B2B on Symphony with our three teenage boys starting Feb 11th. We have the dining package the first week. 
 

Thank you for the detailed review and photos!

[perfect match]

I’m loving the live review! Thank you for doing it.

 

Symphony is an awesome ship. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying her as much as we do. 😎  I’ll definitely be following along with you on the rest of this sailing.