dr martini

Yes, technically you can. but it’s going to be a pain.  Why chance traffic or an accident or something god forbid happen and you miss the boat.  You already paid for a day of vacation, why not enjoy it?  Just stop and get the items you need on the way to the ship.  Wouldn’t that work instead?

This is really good (as usual from you Twang) brings a whole new way to look at things.   Thank you!

There a whole other strategy here.  Some people who cruise with friends take this to a whole new level. 
Put the wife solo in a JS and book the husband as a 3rd guest in a cabin with friends.  Wife get triple points, husband stays in that JS with her.  Husband pays 3rd guest rate, wife pays 340 reduced single supplement.  Wife climbs the ladder quickly, husband gets her status changes as she levels up.  
This can be cheaper than a solo inside cabin for husband.

I was on symphony last year during spring break the middle of March for a family cruise with a group of a dozen of us including my wife, some other in-laws and outlaws from toddler aged niece and nephews to my folks in their mid 50's and chose spring break because a couple members work in education and could only go that week.  We have all cruised the voyager class together several times, two of those cruises were also on previous spring breaks and at the end of the day, Royal Caribbean bills itself as a family cruise for all, so spring break with kids is kind of right in their wheel house. 
To try and help answer your questions- yes, it was nuts in certain areas at certain times, but it sounds like you already know that based what you're asking.  Keep doing what you're doing to research now and you'll be fine.  After day 1 it settles in a LOT, everybody gets settled into their routines and nooks and crannies, there are a lot of great little spots, obviously it's a huge ship and that helps disperse the crowds and certain places like central park and the solarium remain quiet (during the day, at least-it would be great if they actually enforced adults only in the solarium or kids playing with elevator buttons, but now I sound twice my age haha, expect a lot of that, take the stairs, expect teens and tweens everywhere at night, kids in all the hot tubs all the time, it just is what it is).  
Also use the the tricks Matt and others here mention a lot, consider staying on board during part or all of a port day if you want more of the ship to yourselves.  Most of us only ducked into Nassau for lunch, and then came back onboard around 1pm and had a blast with low lines on flowrider and slides etc the rest of the day.  Great time.  The pool deck is huge and we could always find a spot to set up some kind of home base that everyone could rotate around and off of.  Solarium was the best of any ship I've ever been on but the bar was always slammed, make friends with a bartender or roaming waiter/waitress, we always kept a little cash with us to tip.  But just prepare yourself for day 1-Embarkation was a madhouse, the promenade and both sets of elevators were busy with long waits basically all afternoon and evening through the end of first night dinner service, shows were full, specialty dining was booked, all of that was annoying, yes moreso than voyager class, but it's more people, still manageable.  Fortunately we had booked the main things we wanted ahead of time for dining, shows, connecting rooms, bev pkg, etc and had zero issues.  Main dining room experience honestly was fine, it was not as high end as voyager class 10 years ago before the upscale dining craze, but it was still fine.  Staff was awesome all around, room was ready when we got onboard before noon, cabin steward was great, many bartenders remembered us....they must send the best and brightest staff to the newest biggest ships.  We had a great time, but....there was always a long line of a dozen or more at guest services and it didn't look fun....barring bad luck or misfortune I would try not to be those people.  And your usual crop of people who are simply mad that the sun came up again, as you'll have anywhere, anytime not just on a cruise.  Oh well.  Sucks to be them.
We found the pub was a good little hideout in the afternoon for trivia or with guitar player at night as was schooner bar and their piano player (it's really an odd placement above and at the end of the promenade, seems like an afterthought on Oasis class considering how much we love its more featured placement on Voyager class)  hooks for lunch was a great spot with incredible view and great food, central park cafe was the best breakfast and lunch spot (easily the lowest line among 'free' food spots), next easiest was probably el loco fresh, avoid the buffets on day one and on sea days, windjammer and solarium cafe both were slammed (like standing room only) from 11am-2pm those days.  After 1 or 2pm Bionic bar usually had a crowd and moved kind of slow, not sure I understand the draw there, our predinner cocktail meeting spot was Bolero's which was almost always completely empty before kicking up for a night full of dancing, etc.  The night club was a big hit and also packed most nights, esp the headphone silent dance party.  Nightclub themed party on the ice arena was a cool setup too.  Hairspray and water shows a must, it's actually really easy to catch the aqua shows at the back without any seat or reservation, you can see pretty good from a lot of places along the back of the ship, grab a drink from playmakers, walk around freely along the boardwalk enjoying the night.  Dazzles was a gorgeous space and the band was good when we stopped in a couple evenings, but it is small and filled up fast, just didn't feel utilized very well, I'm not sure what else was ever hosted there.  150 central park was one of the best meals of my life, the wine bar was not great mostly due to an annoying bartender who just wanted to talk Eastern European politics (the only time I have ever encountered that on RC) and poor value (we all had deluxe bev pkg but most wine across the ship is by the bottle and $$$), but we loved the stationary red bar in the middle of central park (not the moving up and down elevator bar, which seemed like a waste of space, wasn't open much, kind of gimmicky like bionic imo).  Overall we were very happy with our cruise, so many great things about Symphony, honestly we all agreed 7 nights on her for our first Oasis class cruise was not enough to see and do it all, just gonna have to return.
Overall I wouldn't particularly choose any class of ship or any line on spring break; if it was just me and the wife we would prefer to save the money and go when there are fewer kids around, but when it's the only option to vacation with the full family and if you like them (ha) YOLO and you'll still have a great time, there are a lot of ways to deal with avoiding the crowds and on the bright side there will be a lot of kids for your kids to meet and mingle with!

From someone who has climbed the C&A ranks quickly the secret has been a lot of solo cruising on longer cruises and occasional suites.  To make it economical cruising off peak is the key.
Long cruises help a lot.  A cruise of 11 nights solo equates to 22 points.  The snowbird migration last year was 13 nights netting me 26 points.  
The best "bang for your buck" are transatlantics on older ships.  Rhapsody Nov. 2020 14 nights for $1,300 "all in" (inc. taxes and fees) on a solo basis would net you 28 points for a very low $46 per point although you do have to consider the cost of international airfare.  These ultra low fares are few and far between so if you used them exclusively it would take years to climb the ranks.
It's not always about just sailing the cheapest cruises.   You'll want to enjoy the cruise, it is money after all, so not all of my cruises are the bargain variety and often they cost me much more per point.  
If it's strictly a points grab suites can help but you have to look at the numbers.  In some cases the extra cost to move up to a suite is less than the cost of another cruise to gain the same number of extra points, in other cases it isn't.  I've got a 15 night cruise booked in a JS that will net me 45 points solo in a suite.  If I cruised solo in a regular cabin that would be 30 points.  The extra $1,200 to move to a JS comes with an extra 15 points.  I could spend the $1,200 for another 7 night cruise that will get me 14 points or for $1,200 I get 15 points so in this case it made sense to upgrade and I get to enjoy a JS cabin.  More importantly it's a pretty cool and unique itinerary and being 15 nights the extra space will be appreciated compared to an interior cabin for 15 nights.
One feature of C&A to be aware is the ability to put you and your "significant other" in a relationship.  Qualification so far appears to be having the same address on your C&A accounts.  Once in a relationship if one person achieves a certain level in the program, the other person is granted that level even though their actual points remains below the threshold for that level.  They don't get your points, but they get your level.  This is how one can sell the notion of cruising solo to a partner.  You are "taking one for the team" as you will both level up as you advance.  
Cruising just to get points doesn't make sense but if you research and check often you can find some pretty cool and unique itineraries and often they are cost effective off peak when most working class people or those with kids can't cruise.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I must say that it's funny to me, the number of people worried about the number of people on this particular island versus the dozens or even hundreds of other caribbean islands that have four to six cruise ships tied up on any given day, to say nothing of the hotels, resorts, rental homes and other visitors that could potentially add up to 25,000 souls or more.  
For example, I love some of the as yet not hugely developed islands like St. Kitts where there will regularly be an oasis class, another middle sized from another line and a luxury style anchored offshore.  There's not exactly a lot of infrastructure or a whole lot of thrills to seek on that island and yet the only place that feels crowded is right next to the ship.  
I think almost everyone here who's been can tell you how busy St. Thomas feels most of the year.
Royal caribbean has made a huge investment, they are continually expanding what there is to do and see on their ships and on Cococay, I don't have a problem with it at all and have never seen anyone comment that it looks busy, in fact I've only seen people comment with surprise at how sparse and laid back it still feels.

I was on symphony last year during spring break the middle of March for a family cruise with a group of a dozen of us including my wife, some other in-laws and outlaws from toddler aged niece and nephews to my folks in their mid 50's and chose spring break because a couple members work in education and could only go that week.  We have all cruised the voyager class together several times, two of those cruises were also on previous spring breaks and at the end of the day, Royal Caribbean bills itself as a family cruise for all, so spring break with kids is kind of right in their wheel house. 
To try and help answer your questions- yes, it was nuts in certain areas at certain times, but it sounds like you already know that based what you're asking.  Keep doing what you're doing to research now and you'll be fine.  After day 1 it settles in a LOT, everybody gets settled into their routines and nooks and crannies, there are a lot of great little spots, obviously it's a huge ship and that helps disperse the crowds and certain places like central park and the solarium remain quiet (during the day, at least-it would be great if they actually enforced adults only in the solarium or kids playing with elevator buttons, but now I sound twice my age haha, expect a lot of that, take the stairs, expect teens and tweens everywhere at night, kids in all the hot tubs all the time, it just is what it is).  
Also use the the tricks Matt and others here mention a lot, consider staying on board during part or all of a port day if you want more of the ship to yourselves.  Most of us only ducked into Nassau for lunch, and then came back onboard around 1pm and had a blast with low lines on flowrider and slides etc the rest of the day.  Great time.  The pool deck is huge and we could always find a spot to set up some kind of home base that everyone could rotate around and off of.  Solarium was the best of any ship I've ever been on but the bar was always slammed, make friends with a bartender or roaming waiter/waitress, we always kept a little cash with us to tip.  But just prepare yourself for day 1-Embarkation was a madhouse, the promenade and both sets of elevators were busy with long waits basically all afternoon and evening through the end of first night dinner service, shows were full, specialty dining was booked, all of that was annoying, yes moreso than voyager class, but it's more people, still manageable.  Fortunately we had booked the main things we wanted ahead of time for dining, shows, connecting rooms, bev pkg, etc and had zero issues.  Main dining room experience honestly was fine, it was not as high end as voyager class 10 years ago before the upscale dining craze, but it was still fine.  Staff was awesome all around, room was ready when we got onboard before noon, cabin steward was great, many bartenders remembered us....they must send the best and brightest staff to the newest biggest ships.  We had a great time, but....there was always a long line of a dozen or more at guest services and it didn't look fun....barring bad luck or misfortune I would try not to be those people.  And your usual crop of people who are simply mad that the sun came up again, as you'll have anywhere, anytime not just on a cruise.  Oh well.  Sucks to be them.
We found the pub was a good little hideout in the afternoon for trivia or with guitar player at night as was schooner bar and their piano player (it's really an odd placement above and at the end of the promenade, seems like an afterthought on Oasis class considering how much we love its more featured placement on Voyager class)  hooks for lunch was a great spot with incredible view and great food, central park cafe was the best breakfast and lunch spot (easily the lowest line among 'free' food spots), next easiest was probably el loco fresh, avoid the buffets on day one and on sea days, windjammer and solarium cafe both were slammed (like standing room only) from 11am-2pm those days.  After 1 or 2pm Bionic bar usually had a crowd and moved kind of slow, not sure I understand the draw there, our predinner cocktail meeting spot was Bolero's which was almost always completely empty before kicking up for a night full of dancing, etc.  The night club was a big hit and also packed most nights, esp the headphone silent dance party.  Nightclub themed party on the ice arena was a cool setup too.  Hairspray and water shows a must, it's actually really easy to catch the aqua shows at the back without any seat or reservation, you can see pretty good from a lot of places along the back of the ship, grab a drink from playmakers, walk around freely along the boardwalk enjoying the night.  Dazzles was a gorgeous space and the band was good when we stopped in a couple evenings, but it is small and filled up fast, just didn't feel utilized very well, I'm not sure what else was ever hosted there.  150 central park was one of the best meals of my life, the wine bar was not great mostly due to an annoying bartender who just wanted to talk Eastern European politics (the only time I have ever encountered that on RC) and poor value (we all had deluxe bev pkg but most wine across the ship is by the bottle and $$$), but we loved the stationary red bar in the middle of central park (not the moving up and down elevator bar, which seemed like a waste of space, wasn't open much, kind of gimmicky like bionic imo).  Overall we were very happy with our cruise, so many great things about Symphony, honestly we all agreed 7 nights on her for our first Oasis class cruise was not enough to see and do it all, just gonna have to return.
Overall I wouldn't particularly choose any class of ship or any line on spring break; if it was just me and the wife we would prefer to save the money and go when there are fewer kids around, but when it's the only option to vacation with the full family and if you like them (ha) YOLO and you'll still have a great time, there are a lot of ways to deal with avoiding the crowds and on the bright side there will be a lot of kids for your kids to meet and mingle with!

Before I started cruising with RC i did some Carnival cruises.  On one of the ships I used the  laundry room.  Standing there watching my clothes I said to myself " what in the hell am i doing?"  Here i am saving a few bucks doing my own laundry.  Like most people,  I dont like doing laundry at home.  So that ended that.  Take the padlock off your wallet and let the cruise ship do it.  YOUR ON VACATION!!

I worked for a long time at the ground level in hospitality and retail;  I’m now in management and these kind of complaints are so tiresome.  No one wants to hear you rant and rave about one thing (which is why I agree with Matt’s analysis of most short amateur reviews of anything online-they’re useless).  If you’re a loyal customer who has a valid point and if you bring it up in an email or in person on the cruise in a respectable way I’m 1000% sure management would find a way to comp you something, literally anything, some kind of credit, a drink or specialty dining coupon, a discount on the laundry service, anything to stop the complaining and try to send you away happy.
Cruise ships have huge commercial laundry facilities that they’re already paying to operate everyday that run at a scale much more efficiently than any set of personal household size machines on upper decks that obviously weren’t getting used enough to justify taking up space that could be used to sell cabins and/or compensate for the headache of people complaining that they weren’t on the right floor, complaints about other guests hogging the machines and leaving their laundry about, theft, messes, breakdown/repairs...and on and on.  Most hotels don’t have self laundry anymore for the same reasons.

I was on symphony last year during spring break the middle of March for a family cruise with a group of a dozen of us including my wife, some other in-laws and outlaws from toddler aged niece and nephews to my folks in their mid 50's and chose spring break because a couple members work in education and could only go that week.  We have all cruised the voyager class together several times, two of those cruises were also on previous spring breaks and at the end of the day, Royal Caribbean bills itself as a family cruise for all, so spring break with kids is kind of right in their wheel house. 
To try and help answer your questions- yes, it was nuts in certain areas at certain times, but it sounds like you already know that based what you're asking.  Keep doing what you're doing to research now and you'll be fine.  After day 1 it settles in a LOT, everybody gets settled into their routines and nooks and crannies, there are a lot of great little spots, obviously it's a huge ship and that helps disperse the crowds and certain places like central park and the solarium remain quiet (during the day, at least-it would be great if they actually enforced adults only in the solarium or kids playing with elevator buttons, but now I sound twice my age haha, expect a lot of that, take the stairs, expect teens and tweens everywhere at night, kids in all the hot tubs all the time, it just is what it is).  
Also use the the tricks Matt and others here mention a lot, consider staying on board during part or all of a port day if you want more of the ship to yourselves.  Most of us only ducked into Nassau for lunch, and then came back onboard around 1pm and had a blast with low lines on flowrider and slides etc the rest of the day.  Great time.  The pool deck is huge and we could always find a spot to set up some kind of home base that everyone could rotate around and off of.  Solarium was the best of any ship I've ever been on but the bar was always slammed, make friends with a bartender or roaming waiter/waitress, we always kept a little cash with us to tip.  But just prepare yourself for day 1-Embarkation was a madhouse, the promenade and both sets of elevators were busy with long waits basically all afternoon and evening through the end of first night dinner service, shows were full, specialty dining was booked, all of that was annoying, yes moreso than voyager class, but it's more people, still manageable.  Fortunately we had booked the main things we wanted ahead of time for dining, shows, connecting rooms, bev pkg, etc and had zero issues.  Main dining room experience honestly was fine, it was not as high end as voyager class 10 years ago before the upscale dining craze, but it was still fine.  Staff was awesome all around, room was ready when we got onboard before noon, cabin steward was great, many bartenders remembered us....they must send the best and brightest staff to the newest biggest ships.  We had a great time, but....there was always a long line of a dozen or more at guest services and it didn't look fun....barring bad luck or misfortune I would try not to be those people.  And your usual crop of people who are simply mad that the sun came up again, as you'll have anywhere, anytime not just on a cruise.  Oh well.  Sucks to be them.
We found the pub was a good little hideout in the afternoon for trivia or with guitar player at night as was schooner bar and their piano player (it's really an odd placement above and at the end of the promenade, seems like an afterthought on Oasis class considering how much we love its more featured placement on Voyager class)  hooks for lunch was a great spot with incredible view and great food, central park cafe was the best breakfast and lunch spot (easily the lowest line among 'free' food spots), next easiest was probably el loco fresh, avoid the buffets on day one and on sea days, windjammer and solarium cafe both were slammed (like standing room only) from 11am-2pm those days.  After 1 or 2pm Bionic bar usually had a crowd and moved kind of slow, not sure I understand the draw there, our predinner cocktail meeting spot was Bolero's which was almost always completely empty before kicking up for a night full of dancing, etc.  The night club was a big hit and also packed most nights, esp the headphone silent dance party.  Nightclub themed party on the ice arena was a cool setup too.  Hairspray and water shows a must, it's actually really easy to catch the aqua shows at the back without any seat or reservation, you can see pretty good from a lot of places along the back of the ship, grab a drink from playmakers, walk around freely along the boardwalk enjoying the night.  Dazzles was a gorgeous space and the band was good when we stopped in a couple evenings, but it is small and filled up fast, just didn't feel utilized very well, I'm not sure what else was ever hosted there.  150 central park was one of the best meals of my life, the wine bar was not great mostly due to an annoying bartender who just wanted to talk Eastern European politics (the only time I have ever encountered that on RC) and poor value (we all had deluxe bev pkg but most wine across the ship is by the bottle and $$$), but we loved the stationary red bar in the middle of central park (not the moving up and down elevator bar, which seemed like a waste of space, wasn't open much, kind of gimmicky like bionic imo).  Overall we were very happy with our cruise, so many great things about Symphony, honestly we all agreed 7 nights on her for our first Oasis class cruise was not enough to see and do it all, just gonna have to return.
Overall I wouldn't particularly choose any class of ship or any line on spring break; if it was just me and the wife we would prefer to save the money and go when there are fewer kids around, but when it's the only option to vacation with the full family and if you like them (ha) YOLO and you'll still have a great time, there are a lot of ways to deal with avoiding the crowds and on the bright side there will be a lot of kids for your kids to meet and mingle with!

I was on symphony last year during spring break the middle of March for a family cruise with a group of a dozen of us including my wife, some other in-laws and outlaws from toddler aged niece and nephews to my folks in their mid 50's and chose spring break because a couple members work in education and could only go that week.  We have all cruised the voyager class together several times, two of those cruises were also on previous spring breaks and at the end of the day, Royal Caribbean bills itself as a family cruise for all, so spring break with kids is kind of right in their wheel house. 
To try and help answer your questions- yes, it was nuts in certain areas at certain times, but it sounds like you already know that based what you're asking.  Keep doing what you're doing to research now and you'll be fine.  After day 1 it settles in a LOT, everybody gets settled into their routines and nooks and crannies, there are a lot of great little spots, obviously it's a huge ship and that helps disperse the crowds and certain places like central park and the solarium remain quiet (during the day, at least-it would be great if they actually enforced adults only in the solarium or kids playing with elevator buttons, but now I sound twice my age haha, expect a lot of that, take the stairs, expect teens and tweens everywhere at night, kids in all the hot tubs all the time, it just is what it is).  
Also use the the tricks Matt and others here mention a lot, consider staying on board during part or all of a port day if you want more of the ship to yourselves.  Most of us only ducked into Nassau for lunch, and then came back onboard around 1pm and had a blast with low lines on flowrider and slides etc the rest of the day.  Great time.  The pool deck is huge and we could always find a spot to set up some kind of home base that everyone could rotate around and off of.  Solarium was the best of any ship I've ever been on but the bar was always slammed, make friends with a bartender or roaming waiter/waitress, we always kept a little cash with us to tip.  But just prepare yourself for day 1-Embarkation was a madhouse, the promenade and both sets of elevators were busy with long waits basically all afternoon and evening through the end of first night dinner service, shows were full, specialty dining was booked, all of that was annoying, yes moreso than voyager class, but it's more people, still manageable.  Fortunately we had booked the main things we wanted ahead of time for dining, shows, connecting rooms, bev pkg, etc and had zero issues.  Main dining room experience honestly was fine, it was not as high end as voyager class 10 years ago before the upscale dining craze, but it was still fine.  Staff was awesome all around, room was ready when we got onboard before noon, cabin steward was great, many bartenders remembered us....they must send the best and brightest staff to the newest biggest ships.  We had a great time, but....there was always a long line of a dozen or more at guest services and it didn't look fun....barring bad luck or misfortune I would try not to be those people.  And your usual crop of people who are simply mad that the sun came up again, as you'll have anywhere, anytime not just on a cruise.  Oh well.  Sucks to be them.
We found the pub was a good little hideout in the afternoon for trivia or with guitar player at night as was schooner bar and their piano player (it's really an odd placement above and at the end of the promenade, seems like an afterthought on Oasis class considering how much we love its more featured placement on Voyager class)  hooks for lunch was a great spot with incredible view and great food, central park cafe was the best breakfast and lunch spot (easily the lowest line among 'free' food spots), next easiest was probably el loco fresh, avoid the buffets on day one and on sea days, windjammer and solarium cafe both were slammed (like standing room only) from 11am-2pm those days.  After 1 or 2pm Bionic bar usually had a crowd and moved kind of slow, not sure I understand the draw there, our predinner cocktail meeting spot was Bolero's which was almost always completely empty before kicking up for a night full of dancing, etc.  The night club was a big hit and also packed most nights, esp the headphone silent dance party.  Nightclub themed party on the ice arena was a cool setup too.  Hairspray and water shows a must, it's actually really easy to catch the aqua shows at the back without any seat or reservation, you can see pretty good from a lot of places along the back of the ship, grab a drink from playmakers, walk around freely along the boardwalk enjoying the night.  Dazzles was a gorgeous space and the band was good when we stopped in a couple evenings, but it is small and filled up fast, just didn't feel utilized very well, I'm not sure what else was ever hosted there.  150 central park was one of the best meals of my life, the wine bar was not great mostly due to an annoying bartender who just wanted to talk Eastern European politics (the only time I have ever encountered that on RC) and poor value (we all had deluxe bev pkg but most wine across the ship is by the bottle and $$$), but we loved the stationary red bar in the middle of central park (not the moving up and down elevator bar, which seemed like a waste of space, wasn't open much, kind of gimmicky like bionic imo).  Overall we were very happy with our cruise, so many great things about Symphony, honestly we all agreed 7 nights on her for our first Oasis class cruise was not enough to see and do it all, just gonna have to return.
Overall I wouldn't particularly choose any class of ship or any line on spring break; if it was just me and the wife we would prefer to save the money and go when there are fewer kids around, but when it's the only option to vacation with the full family and if you like them (ha) YOLO and you'll still have a great time, there are a lot of ways to deal with avoiding the crowds and on the bright side there will be a lot of kids for your kids to meet and mingle with!

I was on symphony last year during spring break the middle of March for a family cruise with a group of a dozen of us including my wife, some other in-laws and outlaws from toddler aged niece and nephews to my folks in their mid 50's and chose spring break because a couple members work in education and could only go that week.  We have all cruised the voyager class together several times, two of those cruises were also on previous spring breaks and at the end of the day, Royal Caribbean bills itself as a family cruise for all, so spring break with kids is kind of right in their wheel house. 
To try and help answer your questions- yes, it was nuts in certain areas at certain times, but it sounds like you already know that based what you're asking.  Keep doing what you're doing to research now and you'll be fine.  After day 1 it settles in a LOT, everybody gets settled into their routines and nooks and crannies, there are a lot of great little spots, obviously it's a huge ship and that helps disperse the crowds and certain places like central park and the solarium remain quiet (during the day, at least-it would be great if they actually enforced adults only in the solarium or kids playing with elevator buttons, but now I sound twice my age haha, expect a lot of that, take the stairs, expect teens and tweens everywhere at night, kids in all the hot tubs all the time, it just is what it is).  
Also use the the tricks Matt and others here mention a lot, consider staying on board during part or all of a port day if you want more of the ship to yourselves.  Most of us only ducked into Nassau for lunch, and then came back onboard around 1pm and had a blast with low lines on flowrider and slides etc the rest of the day.  Great time.  The pool deck is huge and we could always find a spot to set up some kind of home base that everyone could rotate around and off of.  Solarium was the best of any ship I've ever been on but the bar was always slammed, make friends with a bartender or roaming waiter/waitress, we always kept a little cash with us to tip.  But just prepare yourself for day 1-Embarkation was a madhouse, the promenade and both sets of elevators were busy with long waits basically all afternoon and evening through the end of first night dinner service, shows were full, specialty dining was booked, all of that was annoying, yes moreso than voyager class, but it's more people, still manageable.  Fortunately we had booked the main things we wanted ahead of time for dining, shows, connecting rooms, bev pkg, etc and had zero issues.  Main dining room experience honestly was fine, it was not as high end as voyager class 10 years ago before the upscale dining craze, but it was still fine.  Staff was awesome all around, room was ready when we got onboard before noon, cabin steward was great, many bartenders remembered us....they must send the best and brightest staff to the newest biggest ships.  We had a great time, but....there was always a long line of a dozen or more at guest services and it didn't look fun....barring bad luck or misfortune I would try not to be those people.  And your usual crop of people who are simply mad that the sun came up again, as you'll have anywhere, anytime not just on a cruise.  Oh well.  Sucks to be them.
We found the pub was a good little hideout in the afternoon for trivia or with guitar player at night as was schooner bar and their piano player (it's really an odd placement above and at the end of the promenade, seems like an afterthought on Oasis class considering how much we love its more featured placement on Voyager class)  hooks for lunch was a great spot with incredible view and great food, central park cafe was the best breakfast and lunch spot (easily the lowest line among 'free' food spots), next easiest was probably el loco fresh, avoid the buffets on day one and on sea days, windjammer and solarium cafe both were slammed (like standing room only) from 11am-2pm those days.  After 1 or 2pm Bionic bar usually had a crowd and moved kind of slow, not sure I understand the draw there, our predinner cocktail meeting spot was Bolero's which was almost always completely empty before kicking up for a night full of dancing, etc.  The night club was a big hit and also packed most nights, esp the headphone silent dance party.  Nightclub themed party on the ice arena was a cool setup too.  Hairspray and water shows a must, it's actually really easy to catch the aqua shows at the back without any seat or reservation, you can see pretty good from a lot of places along the back of the ship, grab a drink from playmakers, walk around freely along the boardwalk enjoying the night.  Dazzles was a gorgeous space and the band was good when we stopped in a couple evenings, but it is small and filled up fast, just didn't feel utilized very well, I'm not sure what else was ever hosted there.  150 central park was one of the best meals of my life, the wine bar was not great mostly due to an annoying bartender who just wanted to talk Eastern European politics (the only time I have ever encountered that on RC) and poor value (we all had deluxe bev pkg but most wine across the ship is by the bottle and $$$), but we loved the stationary red bar in the middle of central park (not the moving up and down elevator bar, which seemed like a waste of space, wasn't open much, kind of gimmicky like bionic imo).  Overall we were very happy with our cruise, so many great things about Symphony, honestly we all agreed 7 nights on her for our first Oasis class cruise was not enough to see and do it all, just gonna have to return.
Overall I wouldn't particularly choose any class of ship or any line on spring break; if it was just me and the wife we would prefer to save the money and go when there are fewer kids around, but when it's the only option to vacation with the full family and if you like them (ha) YOLO and you'll still have a great time, there are a lot of ways to deal with avoiding the crowds and on the bright side there will be a lot of kids for your kids to meet and mingle with!

Full ship charters are a huge undertaking and would be booked and set years ahead of time, just as much work as Royal setting their own itineraries.  I would say zero chance of a full ship being chartered in less than 90 days.  Most charters are smaller groups (still could be hundreds of people, but not the whole ship) and they could be on any cruise, anywhere, anytime.

I don't see it that way at all. I think of it as "a la carte pricing".   Instead of charging a much higher fee, and making everything included, you pay for what you do want to use.  If everything was complimentary, you'd still be paying for it, and probably paying for things you might not want.  Some people don't drink alcohol - should they be subsidizing my consumption?  I don't want photos, no point having that cost blanketed in when I have no need or want for them.  If the price of the extras matches your perceived value of it, go for it.  If not, there's still plenty to do.  

Full ship charters are a huge undertaking and would be booked and set years ahead of time, just as much work as Royal setting their own itineraries.  I would say zero chance of a full ship being chartered in less than 90 days.  Most charters are smaller groups (still could be hundreds of people, but not the whole ship) and they could be on any cruise, anywhere, anytime.

I wonder if the MDR is going to be closed on Sunday? ?

Haha yep.  It's always been like this in business, maybe sticks out more here because this is a new category and a new kind of experience.
Supply and Demand.  Kids want the waterpark.  RC wants to maximize profits and also has a limited capacity for the rides.
I feel the same way about the cabanas and the new beach club.  To me, it's highway robbery for one 6 hour experience but some people clearly have a lot of money and want the status, they want to be seen and want to be pampered.  It's like anything else, there are plenty of cars that can drive you from point A to point B, watches that can tell time and hand bags that can hold your personal items; just happen to be some out there with a different logo and a few extra zeroes at the end of their price tag.  Companies wouldn't keep making them if they didn't sell.  

Haha yep.  It's always been like this in business, maybe sticks out more here because this is a new category and a new kind of experience.
Supply and Demand.  Kids want the waterpark.  RC wants to maximize profits and also has a limited capacity for the rides.
I feel the same way about the cabanas and the new beach club.  To me, it's highway robbery for one 6 hour experience but some people clearly have a lot of money and want the status, they want to be seen and want to be pampered.  It's like anything else, there are plenty of cars that can drive you from point A to point B, watches that can tell time and hand bags that can hold your personal items; just happen to be some out there with a different logo and a few extra zeroes at the end of their price tag.  Companies wouldn't keep making them if they didn't sell.  

A for-profit business charging what people are willing to pay? I'm shocked, lol

Explorer was our first "mega" ship which is now not considered a mega ship anymore. Amazing how things change and march forward.
 

From my experience, the price shown includes the discount. The actual price is the best comparison, the name/percentage of the discount rarely coincides with the price in dollars which seems to vary with time, sailing, etc.  Also, note that an additional 18% gratuity will be added at the time of purchase.

Coco Cay is far and away superior, IMO, especially with the Perfect Day at CocoCay makeover. There's a giant freshwater pool, impressive beaches and an awesome water park
Oh yes
Not at all. I think Allure is great for a first time cruise with RC.
 

My favorite go-to for anything is...."its just a way for corporations to make money." It always makes me laugh because...duh the bottom line is to always be black. Cruises are often the most cost efficient way to vacation. A home that takes you places full of cheerful, mostly, neighbors. No one like dirty clothes, especially if it sours the awesome job your steward does multiple time to your room by funking it up. I plan a discretionary budget into my spending for vacations no matter what I choose. That way if I have to shell out $35 to clean my unmentionables I am not breaking the bank. It is a vacation so you shouldn't be doing what you regularly do..like laundry...boo.

Thanks for all the replies. After reading everything it sounds like it will be a no brainer to keep it.