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Symphony and lots of questions! :)


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Hi everyone. This is my first post on here, and I have a lot of questions.

 

Some background: 

We (husband, 15 year old daughter, and myself) are considering taking a Caribbean cruise next May on Symphony.  We have been on one cruise...on Holland America to Alaska.  It was out of Seattle and 10 years ago. It has been ten years because the seas were very rough out of Seattle for about a day, and I was honestly miserable because I was so sick.  I struggled to even walk from the bed to the bathroom.  It calmed down, and I got better...but I was thankful every time we were in port so I could get off the ship because I always felt it moving.  However, it was a nice way to see different parts of Alaska, and I enjoyed the food, atmosphere, spa, and the ship.  It was just the darn motion. I would still love to try again....So many people tell me that the Caribbean (for the most part) is much smoother and the big ships are better with handling motion.

My first question would be about movement and motion on Symphony.  I know you can't predict the weather, but just in general, does it have less motion that a small ship like Rotterdam out of Seattle. (I should have also said that I tried everything...bonine, dramamine, sea bands, ginger, and brought patches from the doctor...which I put on after that first day.)

Next, there are so many cabin types and I'd like to get some of your opinions.  My oldest daughter is getting married next April, so we will no doubt be broke (lol)...but we want to do something special with my youngest daughter (and she was the only one who didn't get sick in Alaska, so she is wanting to go to the Caribbean. She is also very athletic and loves the look of all the activities.)  Of course, an inside cabin is the cheapest....promenade view is cheapest but only aft is available, and I know I should get mid ship with my motion issues....next is a Central Park balcony ($900 more), ocean balcony is $1800 more than inside.  I want us to have a great time and enjoy ourselves, so if an inside cabin would be super crowded for us, I don't want to do that. Opinions for the three of us?

On the day we get back to the ship, it says arrival at 6 am.  We really need to get as early of a flight as possible...my husband has to be back home as early as possible.  Could we make a 10:30ish flight?  Can we carry our luggage off and get off the ship fairly quickly?

I would love to be convinced to try Symphony and Royal Caribbean, so any advice and encouragement, would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!! Dana

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If symphony is anything like Harmony you won’t even know you’re moving most of the time. They both have a new propulsion system that creates a cushion of bubbles in front of the ship to minimize resistance with the water. 

The Central Park balconies always seemed like a great compromise between an inside and a regular balcony. They also come with a great inclusion (i think it’s a free meal at Jamie’s now) 

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While we aren't in our room that much, we do appreciate the space to get ready.  That being said with your motion sickness, location would be my top priority, mid ship on deck 6 or 7.  You may want to get the patch.  We still enjoy our cruise despite the occasional motion sickness.  

Some people will say to never get a flight before noon.  However, many people get earlier flights.  Just know you are taking a chance that you could miss your flight if anything goes wrong.  That being said we are trying an early flight on my next cruise on Symphony too.  

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43 minutes ago, Andrew72681 said:

If symphony is anything like Harmony you won’t even know you’re moving most of the time. They both have a new propulsion system that creates a cushion of bubbles in front of the ship to minimize resistance with the water. 

The Central Park balconies always seemed like a great compromise between an inside and a regular balcony. They also come with a great inclusion (i think it’s a free meal at Jamie’s now) 

Great to hear! Thank you so much.

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Just now, melski94 said:

While we aren't in our room that much, we do appreciate the space to get ready.  That being said with your motion sickness, location would be my top priority, mid ship on deck 6 or 7.  You may want to get the patch.  We still enjoy our cruise despite the occasional motion sickness.  

Some people will say to never get a flight before noon.  However, many people get earlier flights.  Just know you are taking a chance that you could miss your flight if anything goes wrong.  That being said we are trying an early flight on my next cruise on Symphony too.  

How early is your flight? 

I'm just thinking a balcony (even if it's central park) would give some options if we were in the room.

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On 4/20/2019 at 5:02 PM, teacherdl said:

My first question would be about movement and motion on Symphony.  I know you can't predict the weather, but just in general, does it have less motion that a small ship like Rotterdam out of Seattle.

Yes, Oasis Class ships are larger and thus it takes more "motion in the ocean" to shake the ship around than a smaller vessel.  But I certainly do not want to paint the expectation that it's motion-free.

On 4/20/2019 at 5:02 PM, teacherdl said:

I want us to have a great time and enjoy ourselves, so if an inside cabin would be super crowded for us, I don't want to do that. Opinions for the three of us?

Three people in one room isn't awful. You can easily make the argument that on a ship like Symphony, how much time will you really spend in your room? Unlike a hotel room, you will be out and about on the ship and in many cases, the stateroom is just a place to eat, sleep and shower. 

If money is tight, I'd skimp on the room and spend more on the experiences on shore or elsewhere in the vacation where you will truly make memories.

On 4/20/2019 at 5:02 PM, teacherdl said:

Could we make a 10:30ish flight? 

It's in the realms of possibilities. Generally I recommend no flights earlier than 11.  The key will be for you to disembark as early as you can and hustle.  

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15 minutes ago, Matt said:

Yes, Oasis Class ships are larger and thus it takes more "motion in the ocean" to shake the ship around than a smaller vessel.  But I certainly do not want to paint the expectation that it's motion-free.

Three people in one room isn't awful. You can easily make the argument that on a ship like Symphony, how much time will you really spend in your room? Unlike a hotel room, you will be out and about on the ship and in many cases, the stateroom is just a place to eat, sleep and shower. 

If money is tight, I'd skimp on the room and spend more on the experiences on shore or elsewhere in the vacation where you will truly make memories.

It's in the realms of possibilities. Generally I recommend no flights earlier than 11.  The key will be for you to disembark as early as you can and hustle.  

Agree with everything provided so far, the room may be tight, but you don't spend a lot of time there, getting cleaned up at the end of the day seems the worst especially with a teenage daughter, a trick here is to possibly have your husband gather his stuff and go to the health club and shower, saves time and space.

My wife also had motion sickness, check with your doctor, but putting on the patch a day or two before the cruise gets the medicine in your system so when on the ship it is already active.

Good thing to know is that my wife and I are getting ready to go on our 18th cruise and she no longer needs patches or anything, she has grown out of the motion sickness, does not seem to bother her any more. She still keeps them with her just in case though,

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On 4/20/2019 at 4:02 PM, teacherdl said:

Could we make a 10:30ish flight?  Can we carry our luggage off and get off the ship fairly quickly?

This is a risk depending on whether you are flying out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale. 

MIA is closer and more expensive. FLL is cheaper with Southwest and some Jet Blue flights, and is about 40-45 minutes away from Port Miami. 

If Symphony was sailing out of Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale), I would feel ok with making at 10:30 flight out of FLL. Since Symphony sails out of Port Miami instead, I would lean toward a flight after noon to allow for unforeseen circumstances.

In terms of motion, you will feel very little on an Oasis class ship, and a lower deck stateroom (deck 6 or 7) would be a good choice to limit what little you do feel. We were on deck 10 on a Allure in June and I can’t recall feeling any motion.

We are sailing Symphony this year after sailing Allure last year  she will completely blow you away. I hope you choose to go! 

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For non-suite rooms, the promenade, central park interior and boardwalk interiors are the largest rooms at 191 sq ft. Not a huge difference, but just a note.

We stayed 4 in a promenade room and it was fine...and 4 in a boardwalk balcony.  The latter was on Symphony and recently and our kids are 13 and 9.  SO I think 3 of you in one stateroom would be ok with a 15 year old.

It's a personal choice but if a PR becomes avaialble, this would be a good option...esp if you are just sleeping, changing and showering (vs spending lots of time on your balcony).  I know what you mean, and the staterooms get exponentially more expensive as you go up a category.

As for motion...you feel it less on big ships, but I will be honest...Our son is very sensitive and he did have one night when it bothered him.  We had the ice show in Studio B and he left a bit early feeling yucky.  But he is oversensitive and as ok otherwise.

Symphony is amazing and I highly recommend it.

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If you’re the kind of person that overpacks so much that you buy a new bag on the cruise, for extra stuff, and then you walk out of the terminal forgetting you have the extra bag, don’t fly out early.   If you do that they make wait until the very last person has left the ship, then they bring you the bag.   They don’t care how many times you tell them you are going to miss your flight. What that means for Symphony is that you won’t get your bag until around 11.   Don’t ask me how I know this.

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On 4/21/2019 at 6:02 AM, teacherdl said:

My first question would be about movement and motion on Symphony.  I know you can't predict the weather, but just in general, does it have less motion that a small ship like Rotterdam out of Seattle.

You're going to have a very different ocean! The Caribbean is far calmer than the Pacific during that transit to the Inside Passage. That, coupled with technological improvements should mean a much smoother sail.

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On 4/22/2019 at 4:36 PM, KristiZ said:

You're going to have a very different ocean! The Caribbean is far calmer than the Pacific during that transit to the Inside Passage. That, coupled with technological improvements should mean a much smoother sail.

Just what I needed to hear! Thank you! ?

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On 4/22/2019 at 2:49 PM, LindaN said:

If you’re the kind of person that overpacks so much that you buy a new bag on the cruise, for extra stuff, and then you walk out of the terminal forgetting you have the extra bag, don’t fly out early.   If you do that they make wait until the very last person has left the ship, then they bring you the bag.   They don’t care how many times you tell them you are going to miss your flight. What that means for Symphony is that you won’t get your bag until around 11.   Don’t ask me how I know this.

LOL! Love this!

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Hello. I have cruised 4 times now. I am very nervous about getting motion sickness as well. We were on the Symphony the 6th of April this year. I always wear the patch and take gravel each day whether  I needed it or not. Not sure why people say they can’t feel the ship move. There is always a feeling of movement especially on higher and front or back of boat. It bothers some and some it doesn’t.  We picked a midship inside deck three this time and when we were in our room there was less movement. There were a couple of nights that the boat was rocking that our family in the back of the boat were very uncomfortable in their rooms. We embarked in Miami and made our FLL 1020 am flight but had no hiccups. Got off boat with our luggage and into an Uber by 715. 

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