Just off Symphony. A FANTASTIC time!

[leisuretraveler223]

2 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

Which is important to remember because the time in ports will be different (Aruba and Curacao) so if you've booked private excursions you need to make sure you coordinate the local time vs. ship time!

 

As a general rule of thumb, the ship will stay on ships time if local time moves ahead, but will adjust if local time moves back. That way if someone leaves the ship and starts looking at the incorrect time, they will think it's LATER than it is and will be back earlier.  Ships are much more likely to adjust their time on a western itinerary, so  no one making the same mistake will think they have an extra hour and get back to the ship late.

[ajtaylor29]

11 minutes ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

 

As a general rule of thumb, the ship will stay on ships time if local time moves ahead, but will adjust if local time moves back. That way if someone leaves the ship and starts looking at the incorrect time, they will think it's LATER than it is and will be back earlier.  Ships are much more likely to adjust their time on a western itinerary, so  no one making the same mistake will think they have an extra hour and get back to the ship late.

This makes sense! I had always heard that it was the captains decision that's why it varies from ship to ship. Don't know why it would be his/her decision but that's what i've heard?!? Aruba/Curacao - they WERE an hour ahead....once we realized that we did have to contact our excursion company to adjust our arrival time with them.

[sdrocks]

2 hours ago, DamonG said:

My wife and I were also on this cruise. It was amazing! We had breakfast every morning in Coastal Kitchen, and ate dinner in specialty almost every night. All of our servers were fantastic. The food was mostly very good. By the end of the week, we just tired of eating so much food, and skipped dinner the last 2 nights.

The shows on Symphony are the best of any cruise I have been on. Hairspray and Hiro were very good, Flight was spectacular. 

Getting on Symphony Saturday for the 8 day cruise.  Looking forward to it.  This will be our 3rd time on Symphony.  Love all the Oasis class ships.

[mchin]

Thanks for sharing some of your experiences with us.  Sailing on Symphony in June.  So looking forward to it! 😁

[TeeRick]

On 3/5/2024 at 6:44 AM, FionaMG said:

 

 

@leisuretraveler223, I hope you don't mind if I reply to this, since we did go to Hooked one evening.

 

@mets123, we went for dinner and although we didn't try the lobster roll, we had a great meal. The restaurant itself is really nice too and we had an absolutely outstanding server. Her name is Pupae and, if you do decide to go, ask if you can be seated in her section. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she patiently explained all the dishes to us (it was our first time at Hooked) and made sure we understood what we were ordering. She also explained to us how to eat the soft shell crabs, which were something we'd never had before. We told her we wanted to share everything so she set everything out in the centre of the table for us.

 

Dinner menu. I think it has more items on it than the lunch menu.

 

Here's what we had:

 

Soft shell crab:

 

Maryland crab cake.

 

Fresh hand-tossed salad:

 

Captain's platter. We were offered a choice of halibut or salmon for this one. We chose the halibut and it was really good.

 

Royal platter:

 

Desserts: Coconut cream pie and lemon tart. We were too full to eat these in the restaurant and Pupae got them made up for us to take back to our cabin to eat later. They weren't great tbh. The coconut cream pie was ok but the lemon tart lived up to its name and was far too tart for our liking.

 

All in all, it was a very nice meal. I really liked the Captain's platter but found the Royal platter to be just a bit too much fried stuff for my liking, so I'd definitely not choose that one again.

We had the Captain's Platter (with Halibut) and the Royal Seafood Platter.  We found them both pretty good but not the best we ever had to be honest.  

[TeeRick]

On 3/4/2024 at 5:02 PM, leisuretraveler223 said:

 

Hiro was very good. Albeit a little longer than I felt it needed to be. It's about 50 minutes and it was cool, but honestly felt like I could've seen it all in about 25-30 minutes.

 

Didn't make it to Hairspray, but did see 1977, the ice show and that was FANTASTIC!  I'm not a big figure skating enthusiast, but to sit close and watch them was really impressive. Great music too!

Totally agree about the Ice Show!  Sit up close and don't miss it.  We found that Hairspray was a bit long and dragged on in spots but overall good.

 

Hiro was cancelled twice on our cruise due to high seas and winds so we missed it unfortunately.

Edited March 6 by TeeRick

[ajtaylor29]

On 3/5/2024 at 10:08 AM, ajtaylor29 said:

Which is important to remember because the time in ports will be different (Aruba and Curacao) so if you've booked private excursions you need to make sure you coordinate the local time vs. ship time!

I just came back to add - once we shift to daylight savings time this weekend...the ship time may be the same as local time now?!?

Why can't we just keep time the same?!?! It's so confusing.... 🙂

[Sarbear1681]

Thanks so much for sharing about your Symphony experience! We will be sailing on her in 16 days, so it was great to get very recent feedback!

[Sarbear1681]

On 3/5/2024 at 5:44 AM, FionaMG said:

 

 

@leisuretraveler223, I hope you don't mind if I reply to this, since we did go to Hooked one evening.

 

@mets123, we went for dinner and although we didn't try the lobster roll, we had a great meal. The restaurant itself is really nice too and we had an absolutely outstanding server. Her name is Pupae and, if you do decide to go, ask if you can be seated in her section. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she patiently explained all the dishes to us (it was our first time at Hooked) and made sure we understood what we were ordering. She also explained to us how to eat the soft shell crabs, which were something we'd never had before. We told her we wanted to share everything so she set everything out in the centre of the table for us.

 

Dinner menu. I think it has more items on it than the lunch menu.

 

Here's what we had:

 

Soft shell crab:

 

Maryland crab cake.

 

Fresh hand-tossed salad:

 

Captain's platter. We were offered a choice of halibut or salmon for this one. We chose the halibut and it was really good.

 

Royal platter:

 

Desserts: Coconut cream pie and lemon tart. We were too full to eat these in the restaurant and Pupae got them made up for us to take back to our cabin to eat later. They weren't great tbh. The coconut cream pie was ok but the lemon tart lived up to its name and was far too tart for our liking.

 

All in all, it was a very nice meal. I really liked the Captain's platter but found the Royal platter to be just a bit too much fried stuff for my liking, so I'd definitely not choose that one again.

Thanks for such a great review! We have the 3 night specialty restaurant package, and now I absolutely want to try Hooked. My husband loves soft shell crab, and all of the food looks fantastic. March 23rd cannot get here quickly enough!

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Sarbear1681 said:

Thanks for such a great review! We have the 3 night specialty restaurant package, and now I absolutely want to try Hooked. My husband loves soft shell crab, and all of the food looks fantastic. March 23rd cannot get here quickly enough!

My pleasure. I hope you have an amazing time. ☺️

[royalmariner24]

We were on Symphony in February and returning in April. Loved Chops as usual but I have to say that the Windjammer had a lot of fried foods, and not a great selection of food in general there for dinner. Was a bit disappointed. We have been spoiled by the Wonder of the Seas. They have a beautiful Windjammer and excellent food. Symphony was great otherwise. Aruba , Curaçao and Labadee were great ports. If you want to go to Eagle Beach or Palm Beach in Aruba walk from the ship to the bus station which is across the main road I’m sure there are signs but it only costs $2.60 per person to take the bus one way to the beach. Well worth it. Enjoy your cruise.

[Destaw71835]

I’m saling on Symphony May 4th and I cannot wait!

[edrussell]

Such a refreshing thread to read as opposed to the countless threads with people just whining and complaining about the smallest possible things they can find. Thanks for posting it.

 

[TeamCan]

On 3/4/2024 at 4:28 PM, mets123 said:

How was the seafood restaurant? My wife wants lobster rolls for lunch one day and I am trying to determine if it's worth the trip.

 

On 3/5/2024 at 3:44 AM, FionaMG said:

 

 

@leisuretraveler223, I hope you don't mind if I reply to this, since we did go to Hooked one evening.

 

@mets123, we went for dinner and although we didn't try the lobster roll, we had a great meal. The restaurant itself is really nice too and we had an absolutely outstanding server. Her name is Pupae and, if you do decide to go, ask if you can be seated in her section. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she patiently explained all the dishes to us (it was our first time at Hooked) and made sure we understood what we were ordering. She also explained to us how to eat the soft shell crabs, which were something we'd never had before. We told her we wanted to share everything so she set everything out in the centre of the table for us.

 

Dinner menu. I think it has more items on it than the lunch menu.

 

Here's what we had:

 

Soft shell crab:

 

Maryland crab cake.

 

Fresh hand-tossed salad:

 

Captain's platter. We were offered a choice of halibut or salmon for this one. We chose the halibut and it was really good.

 

Royal platter:

 

Desserts: Coconut cream pie and lemon tart. We were too full to eat these in the restaurant and Pupae got them made up for us to take back to our cabin to eat later. They weren't great tbh. The coconut cream pie was ok but the lemon tart lived up to its name and was far too tart for our liking.

 

All in all, it was a very nice meal. I really liked the Captain's platter but found the Royal platter to be just a bit too much fried stuff for my liking, so I'd definitely not choose that one again.

 

On 3/5/2024 at 3:44 AM, FionaMG said:

 

 

@leisuretraveler223, I hope you don't mind if I reply to this, since we did go to Hooked one evening.

 

@mets123, we went for dinner and although we didn't try the lobster roll, we had a great meal. The restaurant itself is really nice too and we had an absolutely outstanding server. Her name is Pupae and, if you do decide to go, ask if you can be seated in her section. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she patiently explained all the dishes to us (it was our first time at Hooked) and made sure we understood what we were ordering. She also explained to us how to eat the soft shell crabs, which were something we'd never had before. We told her we wanted to share everything so she set everything out in the centre of the table for us.

 

Dinner menu. I think it has more items on it than the lunch menu.

 

Here's what we had:

 

Soft shell crab:

 

Maryland crab cake.

 

Fresh hand-tossed salad:

 

Captain's platter. We were offered a choice of halibut or salmon for this one. We chose the halibut and it was really good.

 

Royal platter:

 

Desserts: Coconut cream pie and lemon tart. We were too full to eat these in the restaurant and Pupae got them made up for us to take back to our cabin to eat later. They weren't great tbh. The coconut cream pie was ok but the lemon tart lived up to its name and was far too tart for our liking.

 

All in all, it was a very nice meal. I really liked the Captain's platter but found the Royal platter to be just a bit too much fried stuff for my liking, so I'd definitely not choose that one again.

 

On 3/4/2024 at 4:28 PM, mets123 said:

How was the seafood restaurant? My wife wants lobster rolls for lunch one day and I am trying to determine if it's worth the trip.

We were on the same cruise and dined at Hook's for lunch.  My DH had the fresh-shucked and baked oysters and thought they both were very good.  I had the soft-shell crab, clam and crab chowder. I had never eaten soft-shell crab before, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I thought they were tasty.  The clam chowder was so thick and too creamy...too much cream = too many calories and there were hardly any clams or chunks of crab meat. We both had the lobster roll which we thought was ok. The roll was quite small with small chunks of lobster.  I guess I'm comparing it to the best lobster roll we've had at Luke's Lobster in Portland, ME.  Desserts: cherry pie and decadent chocolate brownie were ok.

On a side note, we also dined at Jamie's for lunch. Food and service was excellent. Starters:the meat plank, calamari were very good. The garlic buns were the best! Prawn linguine also very good. The pan-roasted salmon was very good...perfectly cooked and the portion was huge.   Dessert: cheesecake and mango gelato topped off a delicious meal. Definitely will do lunch at Jamie's again.

[mets123]

Thanks. We actually have reservations for both.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, TeamCan said:

 

 

 

We were on the same cruise and dined at Hook's for lunch.  My DH had the fresh-shucked and baked oysters and thought they both were very good.  I had the soft-shell crab, clam and crab chowder. I had never eaten soft-shell crab before, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I thought they were tasty.  The clam chowder was so thick and too creamy...too much cream = too many calories and there were hardly any clams or chunks of crab meat. We both had the lobster roll which we thought was ok. The roll was quite small with small chunks of lobster.  I guess I'm comparing it to the best lobster roll we've had at Luke's Lobster in Portland, ME.  Desserts: cherry pie and decadent chocolate brownie were ok.

On a side note, we also dined at Jamie's for lunch. Food and service was excellent. Starters:the meat plank, calamari were very good. The garlic buns were the best! Prawn linguine also very good. The pan-roasted salmon was very good...perfectly cooked and the portion was huge.   Dessert: cheesecake and mango gelato topped off a delicious meal. Definitely will do lunch at Jamie's again.

We had lunch at Jamie's on boarding day. I loved that salmon! 

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, TeamCan said:

 

 

 

We were on the same cruise and dined at Hook's for lunch.  My DH had the fresh-shucked and baked oysters and thought they both were very good.  I had the soft-shell crab, clam and crab chowder. I had never eaten soft-shell crab before, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I thought they were tasty.  The clam chowder was so thick and too creamy...too much cream = too many calories and there were hardly any clams or chunks of crab meat. We both had the lobster roll which we thought was ok. The roll was quite small with small chunks of lobster.  I guess I'm comparing it to the best lobster roll we've had at Luke's Lobster in Portland, ME.  Desserts: cherry pie and decadent chocolate brownie were ok.

On a side note, we also dined at Jamie's for lunch. Food and service was excellent. Starters:the meat plank, calamari were very good. The garlic buns were the best! Prawn linguine also very good. The pan-roasted salmon was very good...perfectly cooked and the portion was huge.   Dessert: cheesecake and mango gelato topped off a delicious meal. Definitely will do lunch at Jamie's again.

We also go to dw's family place near Portland every year so we have learned not to expect any kind of comparable lobster on a cruise, even if it is listed as Maine lobster on the menu.  That's ok and we usually order something else.  

 

On Symphony we also went to Jamie's and Wonderland in addition to Hooked.  We enjoyed Jamie's the best of the three.  On other nights we dined in Coastal Kitchen which was overall excellent.

[TeamCan]

16 hours ago, TeeRick said:

We also go to dw's family place near Portland every year so we have learned not to expect any kind of comparable lobster on a cruise, even if it is listed as Maine lobster on the menu.  That's ok and we usually order something else.  

 

On Symphony we also went to Jamie's and Wonderland in addition to Hooked.  We enjoyed Jamie's the best of the three.  On other nights we dined in Coastal Kitchen which was overall excellent.

We had dined at Wonderland on Odyssey. I agree… we thought Jamie’s was the best of the three too.