cruisestuff Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) This is my first blog, so I'm completely open to suggestions, tips, requests, and questions. The Sailing: Feb. 29, 2020 - Symphony of the Seas - Western Caribbean & Perfect Day - 7 nights Pre-Cruise Stay: Fly to Miami 1 day before. Stay in Kimpton EPIC hotel, which is newly renovated. We plan to take an Uber/Lyft to the Terminal and arrive there at 10:00 AM. https://www.epichotel.com/renovation/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand-Hotel Name_EXT&utm_term=kimpton epic miami&adpos={adpos}&creative=374937215719&device=c&matchtype=e&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiNnuBRD3ARIsAM8KmlszTemJmHwA0k6GpJvERc3ssH6xnCvyig28ZUmyS3lmrwpFrHMf4JoaAhgsEALw_wcB Cruise Purchases: Unlimited Dining Package - All-Access Ship Tour - VOOM (included in Sky-Class) Itinerary: Day 1 - Miami Day 2 - Cruising Day 3 - Roatan, Honduras - No excursions Day 4 - Costa Maya, Mexico - Chacchoben Mayan Ruins Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico - A Journey Through Mexico's Past & Present (cancelled by RC) Day 6 - Cruising Day 7 - Cococay - Thrill Waterpark Cabana - Up, Up, And Away Helium Balloon Day 8 - Miami Cabin: Crown Loft Suite (1720) Sky Class Please let me know if I forgot anything, and feel free to ask questions. Edited February 9, 2020 by cruisestuff Cozumel excursion cancelled by RC JLMoran, spiralqueen, RWDW1204 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmp5 Posted November 29, 2019 Report Share Posted November 29, 2019 See you on board! cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnickerTail Posted February 6, 2020 Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 Hey, someone else from Virginia! You are fast approaching, have you made any changes to your excursions or purchases yet? I noticed UDP but no beverage package, is that still the case? Did you get a Royal Up offer? cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted February 6, 2020 Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 I'll be getting off the ship as you are embarking. I'll try to remember to leave y'all some food and alcohol We're also staying at the Kimpton Epic - my second time - I love it! I started my own live blog, so feel free to follow along: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17851-symphony-of-the-seas-an-island-is-an-island-is-an-island-feb-22-29-2020/ cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisestuff Posted February 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Sorry I am so late! Been very busy lately. @SnickerTail I have not changed any excursions, other than the one in Cozumel which was cancelled by Royal Caribbean. We do not have a beverage package because we are not heavy drinkers, and we mostly drink water and wine, sometimes cocktails. No RoyalUp offer, which is fine with me. The Crown Loft seems like an awesome room! Also, we recently stayed in the Kimpton Epic (not for a cruise). It was amazing!!! We had the 1-bedroom waterview suite which was newly renovated (like all the rooms). The views were incredible, you could see boats passing through the canal and the drawbridge going up. The room was amazing, with a modern and cozy feel. The staff were super nice and upgraded us for free from the junior suite! Finally the Japanese restaurant downstairs, Zuma, had great food and had luxury yachts docked outside. The lobby was impressive, with fancy cars displayed outside. Sorry this sounds like an advertisement, that's how much I enjoyed it!! These photos aren't mine, I don't know how to upload my photos onto computer JLMoran, Ogilthorpe and The Cruise Junkie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Following. cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncwmark Posted February 10, 2020 Report Share Posted February 10, 2020 Have you previously stayed in a suite on a Oasis Class ship and had access to Coastal Kitchen? If not, you may wish to reconsider the UDP and plan to have most of your dinners in Coastal Kitchen. We were in a crown loft suite on Symphony back in September and had originally purchased the Ultimate Dining Package. We were convinced by a few on this board to drop it in favor of Coastal Kitchen (it was our first time in a suite on an Oasis Class ship) and, in hindsight, we were glad we did. We found the dining in Coastal Kitchen to be superb and, in fact, had most of our breakfasts and dinners there. We supplemented with a couple evenings in specialty dining, but ultimately are glad we didn't do UDP. Just something for you to consider... cruisestuff, JLMoran, Neesa and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisestuff Posted February 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2020 Thank you for bringing that up! We are traveling with another family, and we decided that we would dine at specialty restaurants because we have not been on Symphony before. These were the restaurants we want to go to: Wonderland Jamie's Chops Grill Izumi Hibachi 150 Central Park For us, it made sense to buy the Dining Package because most of our cruise we would dine at specialty restaurants, and we wanted to have the full dining experience. We may not go on Symphony again, so we wanted to try out all the restaurants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisestuff Posted February 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Day of Boarding Hello! Writing this from our hotel room at the Kimpton Epic. We arrived at the hotel at around 9 pm last night. We had a wonderful dinner at the sushi restaurant Zuma. Right now we are packing up. We skipped breakfast, and we wanted to arrive at the port at 10 am, but there is a race near our hotel so the roads are closed for a while. Next update will probably be when we get to our room on the ship. Sooo excited!! We have a great view from our hotel except the crane! I will try to get photos soon. I am new to blogging so please feel free to ask questions or give suggestions! Lovetocruise2002, Ogilthorpe, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srp431 Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Following, enjoy your trip cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Mk Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Looking forward to meet you in Costa Maya, I'm one of the guides that does the Mayan Ruins tours. Hope you enjoy. cruisestuff and KristiZ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisestuff Posted March 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Sorry I am so late, we are having a blast! Embarkation- To start, checkin at Port Miami was a breeze. We arrived a little after 10 am because the roads were closed. There was very traffic and our hotel (Kimpton Epic) was surprisingly close to the port. With the app to checkin, it was very quick. We heard from our Uber driver that the car line is much longer around noon. Day 1- We controversially decided to eat at the Windjammer for lunch. The food was ok, but we were disappointed with the selection. afterwards we explored the ship and later went to Izumi. The Hibachi was a very fun experience, but we weren’t thrilled by the food. After that,we watched Hiro. We found really a really nice place to watch the aqua theater, up on deck 7 near the entrance to the rock climbing wall. (We didn’t sit there, but we might if we watch Hiro again. We didn’t stay up for the balloon drop, because we didn’t have such a good night sleep. Day two and photos are coming soon, I am so tired right now! RWDW1204, Lovetocruise2002, Ogilthorpe and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregD Posted March 2, 2020 Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Have a great cruise. Looking forward to following along. cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAK1906 Posted March 3, 2020 Report Share Posted March 3, 2020 Look forward to following I’ll be getting on Symphony thus Saturday the 7th. cruisestuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srp431 Posted March 3, 2020 Report Share Posted March 3, 2020 On 2/8/2020 at 9:21 PM, cruisestuff said: Sorry I am so late! Been very busy lately. @SnickerTail I have not changed any excursions, other than the one in Cozumel which was cancelled by Royal Caribbean. We do not have a beverage package because we are not heavy drinkers, and we mostly drink water and wine, sometimes cocktails. No RoyalUp offer, which is fine with me. The Crown Loft seems like an awesome room! Also, we recently stayed in the Kimpton Epic (not for a cruise). It was amazing!!! We had the 1-bedroom waterview suite which was newly renovated (like all the rooms). The views were incredible, you could see boats passing through the canal and the drawbridge going up. The room was amazing, with a modern and cozy feel. The staff were super nice and upgraded us for free from the junior suite! Finally the Japanese restaurant downstairs, Zuma, had great food and had luxury yachts docked outside. The lobby was impressive, with fancy cars displayed outside. Sorry this sounds like an advertisement, that's how much I enjoyed it!! These photos aren't mine, I don't know how to upload my photos onto computer Great view from the bedroom cruisestuff and Ogilthorpe 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisestuff Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Hello everyone! I am so sorry that I have not uploaded on this blog recently. The cruise was so packed with activities and we were kind of overwhelmed (in a good way) After the cruise was finished I was very busy. From now on I will try to upload in chunks. Overall I was very pleased with Royal Caribbean and would definitely sail with them again. Thank you so much for understanding! Ogilthorpe, JLMoran, RWDW1204 and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisestuff Posted March 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2020 Day 1 photos: Ogilthorpe, Chadster, Lovetocruise2002 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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