Boneric

Royal has to do a better job in their non Oasis or Quantum class suite perks. I only sail those 2 classes if anything longer than a weekend booze cruise just because the value isn’t there. It’s ridiculous that you could get a Royal suite on a freedom class and still not have drinks included. The room has a piano in it……

There is a lot for a 2 year old to do outside of Adventure Ocean on Symphony. We sailed this past August, she is 2 and I have a 4 year old son. Didn’t do AO because they would have been split up and we wanted to spend time with them. (They also have play areas for kids in AO that isn’t drop off you can take advantage of) They have 2 splash pads. One of them allows for swim diapers in case they are not potty trained. It’s right next to a soft serve machine so perfect location. The boardwalk is also a great spot for them. They have the carrousel and a large climbing area next to Johnny rockets. Also an Arcade in playmakers. Also there is a candy store there. Note the arcade and candy store are extra charges. The ice skating shows and aqua theatre shows are fun for 2 year olds as well. Note some shows are vaccinated only and obviously that takes a 2 year old out of the equation. Just make sure you check before you walk all the way to one of the shows. Another good thing to note is that any restaurant on the ship can get you pizza or anything else for the kids so don’t worry about heading to a sit down and worrying if it will have food for the kids.

Just got off Symphony Saturday. Went to the fitness center a few times at a few different times of day. No reservation required. Didn’t do a class though so not sure if those are different.

Was just on Symphony last week: Demographic - For a cruise sailing a week before school restarts, there were very very few children and teens. But i didn’t find the cruise average age to be high. A lot of late 30s - late 50s, mostly couples or small groups friends/family capacity - symphony holds around 6500 guest on a full load. We sailed at 1800 guest. Originally capped booking number for that ship was 40% capacity, but a little more than 10% canceled/moved their sailing last minute due to delta variant fear. It was a little spooky at times, and the casino energy (fully vaccinated area) wasn’t exciting, but there was never a line or jam for anything. To put it in perspective for those of us who have cruised before, you could make your way to the pool deck at 11 am and still find ample chairs (and they have distanced and reduced seating)

Not sure how this would fly in the MDR, but it worked at Hooked (with some advanced notice). You can make your own dishes based upon available ingredients throughout the ship. For example on my sailing last week, I was going to be at Hooked for dinner but am allergic to shellfish, effectively eliminating 80+ percent of the menu. At lunch in Coastal Kitchen, my server there was going to be the one at Hooked later that night. He said I could pick whatever fish they had available at any restaurant and also whatever side. So I had 2 halibut filets (think I saw it on the Solarium bistro menu) over a bed of celery root (was a base of a dish in Wonderland). It came out exactly how I envisioned and was so good I ordered it to room service 2 nights later. Don’t be afraid to ask your waiters to go beyond what is on the menu! Everyone is very helpful and super excited to be sailing again so they really go insanely out of their way to provide great service.

When is Harmony first US voyage? I am booked on the 1/28/22 sailing. Got a very good deal on that sailing so would be bummed if it ended up getting canceled.

Just got off Symphony today and I traveled with my 2 and 4 year old kids. Pre-cruise - had to register them to get tested at the port. We all also had to show a negative PCR test from no longer than 3 days out as well. Terminal - kids had to get the Nose swab at the port. The test itself was well organized (crazy for how bad the rest of the Miami port is). They then process you through but you have to be put in a waiting area until your test results emailed to you. Took at 45 mins for us. Then we were allowed onto the ship. Ship - Didn’t put the kids in AO since I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible and they wouldn’t be in the same program at their ages. But it was for sure open. No problem with any dining and splash pads and pools all open. Some shows were vaccinated only though. Only real problem was 1 studio B ice show. I am not sure if Aquatheater was vaccine only since I watched the show from a balcony. Ports - currently, you have buy through royal for unvaccinated to get off the boat. However, Royal does workaround excursions (at least it felt like it). For example, at Costa Maya, they had a $10 bird experience that was in the port town and nobody tracks you after the excursion. Coco cay no restrictions. prior to disembark - kids had to get an antigen test (nose swab but not the one that goes into your brain) the day before disembark. They make you do reservations though so try to be first to book or grab the time that works best for your family. Got the results a few hours later and no problems getting off after that