SOS Tips

[GatorCruiser]

Hello everyone. Recent Lurker now member with a quick question for those that have sailed on Symphony. My wife and I are about to go on our first cruise with Royal and we are doing a 7 day on symphony. Anyway, does anyone have any insider tips about the ship I should know. I have read this site extensively and have watched youtube videos about SOS, but would like some firsthand accounts of the ship and whats cool. This is indeed a great site with a great community involvement as has been mentioned before which is the reason I joined. Thank you in advance

[WannaCruise]

Symphony is amazing....you certainly picked the best ship to start with. 

First off, book your shows so at least you have a reservation.  The comedy show as well is a smaller venue (not tiny, but not as big as the theatre) so good to book.

If booking specialty in a package, then when you board, go to any of the places and book your restaurant and times.

Take the time to explore the ship...every stairway has really cool art.  There is also interactive art at top of Windjammer stairs, MDR entrance (I think level 5), sound art on Boardwalk and near Shooner Bar, and I think the other interactive art is front of deck 12 (forget offhand but you can try and find it online - this is the one where you need the app).

Quiet seating and pool tables on the running track level.

Abyss is a blast if you like that thing and zipline and laser tag are tons of fun too.

Service and food is amazing.  El Loco as well is a great lunch spot and not crowded.

Have an amazing cruise!

[GatorCruiser]

Ok, this is some excellent stuff. thank you. We purchased the DBP but are still deciding on the dining package. I love cruising and the ship is as big of an attraction for me as the itinerary. I liken it to going to an amusement park but with more bars. has anyone done the martini or whiskey tastings? any thoughts. I plan to canvas every part of the ship. thanks again

[Lovetocruise2002]

I can't give you any insight yet, but I will be on her on the 27th of this month.  I will be blogging in the live blog section as well so if you want me to check on anything for you, let me know.

[Skid]

1 hour ago, GatorCruiser said:

Hello everyone. Recent Lurker now member with a quick question for those that have sailed on Symphony. My wife and I are about to go on our first cruise with Royal and we are doing a 7 day on symphony. Anyway, does anyone have any insider tips about the ship I should know. I have read this site extensively and have watched youtube videos about SOS, but would like some firsthand accounts of the ship and whats cool. This is indeed a great site with a great community involvement as has been mentioned before which is the reason I joined. Thank you in advance

We were on Symphony in May You can see my live blog here

Here are some things for you to think about..hope this helps.

For a GREAT view, go to deck 14 port side, all the way forward past the cabins. Go through the door on your left and you'll be on a bridge wing overlooking the helipad. It's a great uncrowded spot with chairs and loungers. Can get pretty windy, but great anyway.

Speaking of uncrowded, this was our first time on an Oasis class ship and we were absolutely amazed that it never once felt crowded. What a pleasure. Take your time to walk around the ship and explore. Every deck, every staircase, every nook and cranny has amazing and sometimes interactive art work. Check out the musical stairs on deck 15 leading up to the Windjammer. Also check out the picture on deck 5 in the entrance lobby to the MDR...it actually puts you into the picture when you stand in front of it.

The entertainment on this ship is the best. Make sure to make all your reservations as soon as they come out. Every show on this ship is great. Most importantly, make your reservation for the Aqua Theater show for as early in the cruise as possible. Reason for that is because that show can easily be cancelled and rescheduled due to ocean caused movement. If your reservation is scheduled towards the end of the cruise, you may well miss it altogether. (In our case the day 2 show was cancelled, but we got to see the rescheduled show on day 6.)

Suggestion: make your reservations on cruise planner as soon as they become available. Standby lines for the shows were all very long. Same thing if you want bungalows, beach beds or clamshell loungers on CocoCay. They don't have a lot of them and they sell out quickly. aaaah, Cococay...what a magnificent job they did (are are still doing) there. Phenomenal. 

For events on the Promenade (such as the 80's show, which despite what I said before, obviously does get crowded))...instead if standing there, we arrived early  at the Schooner Bar on Deck 6 (Promenade is on Deck 5) and got a small table and chairs that overlooked the stage. It was perfect.

If your itinerary includes St. Kitts, I highly recommend the Thenford Gray Grand tour.  Others on this blog have also recommended it and everyone we have sent has had a great time. He is the best tour guide we ever had. Even if you are not lucky enough to get him personally, it will most likely be one of his family members and you won't be disappointed. It's a 6 hour tour, includes beach time and costs only $55 per person. He WILL get you back to thip on time. We have done it and this past rip my sister in law and her friend went and loved it.

If your itinerary includes St. Thomas, we chose the Royal's Trunk Bay (in St. John) outing just to have the piece of mind of the ship waiting for us. We paid $66 for it and felt it was worth it. It included a narrated 40 minute or so boat transport from St. Thomas to St. John, a narrated 20 minute or so ride from dock in St John to Trunk Bay Beach, guided snorkeling with free rental gear. The driver to the beach (on very winding roads) was the safest, nicest driver we've ever had. If you get the chance, ask for Smittie. The beach was actually not crowded at all (because most on the tour did the snorkeling further down). It came in 3rd on my beach list, tied with Megan's Bay in St. Thomas.  1 is Barbados and 2 is Bermuda (we have not been to Europe).

Cabin: We stayed in 10264 (ocean view balcony). We loved the location, no noise at all, close to elevators and midway between dining on 5, pool on 15, Windjammer on 16, Boardwalk on 6 and Central Park on 8.

If you happen to be doing any specialty dining, 150 Central Park was the best ship restaurant we have been on. Loved it--food and service were top notch.

We did buy the KEY at $19.99 per person and thought it was worth every penny. The debarkation day breakfast and escort off the ship to awaiting luggage was fantastic. Alo, an unpublished perk we had was that we never had to get our card scanned for pool towels. What made that so great, besides avoidng any erroneousd charges for unreturned towels, is that we have had to wait on line to get our card scanned when returning them. Just drop them in the bin and walk away.

Feel free to ask about anything else and happy sailing

[GatorCruiser]

thanks Skid, I actually did follow your blog in may when ya'll were on that cruise, I believe one other member was on it as well (Twangster?) . appreciate the info. I have also perused the compass from that sailing to give me a better idea of the daily activities we might see. we are doing your identical itinerary (St kitts, St thomas) but in November.  Whats funny is we were just in St thomas in may on a family Disney Cruise. 

[JohnK6404]

Hi @GatorCruiser !

Just in case you missed this Symphony link at the top of the page:  https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/symphony-of-the-seas

... and there's one for Perfect Day if you're stopping there:  https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/perfect-day-cococay

Have a great time!