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Symphony of the Seas is disappointing


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It's only Day 2 of my cruise and all I can say is the service is lack luster and disappointing.  I'm a Diamond C&A member and Signature Casino Royale member. Since the "comeback" I've been on a cruise every month starting in October 2021 and have no less than one scheduled every month until September 2022.  Sadly this trip on Symphony has been the worst of all my trips so far.  I understand Royal is increasing the number of on board guests in increments but if your going to increase the guests, you need to increase the staff.  Symphony is the first  cruise where I can't get a seat at a show (which I had a reservation for), can't get quality service in the clubs and when you go to the bars directly the wait is long.  The food in the main dining room has been sub par, even at Chops the steak had no flavor.  It's only day 2.  I've never been more ready to just go home.  Worst cruise ever! Hopefully Royal Caribbean gets it together or I'll be forced to move on and cancel my future booking.  Seriously it's that bad.

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10 hours ago, Kevisma said:

It's only Day 2 of my cruise and all I can say is the service is lack luster and disappointing.  I'm a Diamond C&A member and Signature Casino Royale member. Since the "comeback" I've been on a cruise every month starting in October 2021 and have no less than one scheduled every month until September 2022.  Sadly this trip on Symphony has been the worst of all my trips so far.  I understand Royal is increasing the number of on board guests in increments but if your going to increase the guests, you need to increase the staff.  Symphony is the first  cruise where I can't get a seat at a show (which I had a reservation for), can't get quality service in the clubs and when you go to the bars directly the wait is long.  The food in the main dining room has been sub par, even at Chops the steak had no flavor.  It's only day 2.  I've never been more ready to just go home.  Worst cruise ever! Hopefully Royal Caribbean gets it together or I'll be forced to move on and cancel my future booking.  Seriously it's that bad.

Sorry you are experiencing this and hope it gets better for you.  We sail on Symphony in a few weeks, we will enjoy our selves regardless and make the most of it.

I know when I was on Oasis in December the staff was overwhelmed with the guests, but always doing their best.  Now not only is Royal rebounding from COVID and staffing the ships but also putting Wonder into service.  Not giving excuses but the drain is real.  

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

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I think we need to get used to it. This issue is not exclusive to Symphony of the seas or Royal Caribbean it’s just the way the world operates at this point. Can you tell me a place on planet earth that has a fully functioning and trained staff, no impact from COVID-19 and the equipment and material available to meet anyones needs? Personally I have not been to a single place yet from the local Starbucks to the Home Depot that can actually accommodate pre Covid capacity. Once you accept the new reality it’s much easier to enjoy that tasteless steak or wait an extra few minutes for that cold beer on your cruise. It’s not an ideal scenario but I would have to say that anyone on a cruise enjoying life in any way should consider themselves lucky & fortunate. 

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18 minutes ago, Leroyr55 said:

We sail May7th hopefully things keep getting better. Been waiting for this since 2020.

Keep your expectation consistent with what is reality and you will have a great time. I’ve been on quite a few cruises (all oasis class ships) post Covid with zero complaints. You will certainly notice a crew that is not trained to pre Covid levels and there will be disappointments with show cancellations exc but the overall value for the vacation is still top notch. Enjoy 

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I'm sorry to hear you're not having a great time.

Is it possible that since you cruise a lot, you got used to the lower capacity that spoiled us all up until this spring? I know I had to re-adjust my expectations and strategy once capacities starting going beyond 60%. 

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Speak to a manager/supervisor.  You may have better luck speaking to the casino host about your exprience with your Signature tier status.  Give them a chance to make it right within reason. 

With increased capacity since the restart, it is reasonable to arrive earlier to a show even with reservations.  Especially to shows at Studio B and Aqua Theatre where seats are very limited.  

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!  

 

 

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I wonder about the July 21'-to Jan 22' cruisers. I am talking about the effect on expectations. Having that level of service and lack of waiting must have really spoil all of those who were cruising multiple times a month or every month. 

I don't like encouraging people like the OP to speak to customer service because all they will normally do is throw the crew under the bus. I mean most of us can step back and think I am not the only person.........

They sound insanely entitled, because entitled people have to list all their statuses. OP is on Day two, not even through it, but on day 2 and she has had several issues that make no sense. Symphony is designed to hold a lot of pax without sacrificing much. Granted food is subjective, so maybe it was bad. But the other stuff sounds like they were used to 3 and 4 crew fawning over them and now that it is "normal" they can't function.

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My sister, her husband and child are on this same cruise that left on Miami on April 2nd. Spring break is in full swing and this is her first cruise since the comeback.  I text her after reading this and she stated the ship is completely full 100% capacity but again we are in full spring break mode in this country so it is to be expected that ships are going to be at capacity or near capacity.  However  thus far she is having a blast, yes there are lines they've  had to wait 2-4 minutes at times for drinks but the staff has been friendly and helpful from the moment they boarded the ship . She has eaten at the MDR past 2 nights and she had no complaints about the food in the MDR.   I think people have to adjust their expectations going forward the days of ships being at 50%, 60%, 70% capacity is over so for those of who have gotten use to limited capacity on ships and no lines, no waiting there are now lines at bars and other venues. I'm sorry the OP lost their seat at the show but my question is what time did the OP show up to the show.  Ten minutes before show time they release all seats with the ship being at capacity I'm sure Royal back to enforcing that policy where they release all seats 10 minutes out. 

I'm sorry the OP isn't having a good time but at least from my sister perspective there are thousands of people on board who are having the time of their lives soaking up the fun in the sun.

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The expectations of a cruise experience are totally subjective. I might be comparing a cruise with my last cruise before pandemic or with a recent cruise a few weeks ago, so I don't think telling someone that she/he has to adjust his expectations would help anyone as your expectations are completely different.

What I think is completely reasonable is to demand that the capacity increases at the same proportion as the staff/crew. Nothing less.

 

 

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4 hours ago, coneyraven said:

I'm intrigued that the OP dropped this bomb and left .... sort of a "one and done" --- only one post, ever.

On the shipmate app there is a lot of this, even more than on here! All negative posts by seasoned cruisers who suddenly appear new to threads and post. 

Some are hilarious like the 1 star rating for an RC ship because it rained 

Or another 1 star because ports of call were not very good! 

Best 1 was someone posted 2 reviews about 2 RC ships they had been on that sailed the same day...both got 1 star reviews.

You can buy reviews! Good and bad. If you want to help your company you buy good reviews if you want to tarnish the reputation of a competitor you buy negative reviews. People make a living doing it just got to take posts with a pinch of salt and make your own decisions and opinions.

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1 hour ago, GatorCruiser said:

whats always funny is how the OPs are never heard from again, they flame throw and then never come back to discuss peoples responses to their post

I've always called these type people, "malcontents". Cruise Critic is full of them.  When I was a loyal cruiser at Brand X, I was also a member of John Heald's Facebook page.  John Heald is a loyal Brand X employee and makes a living as the Brand Ambassador/Senior Cruise Director.  I really liked his style and humor.  But, he was constantly attacked by Cruise Critic malcontents.  I became disenchanted with Brand X, left them and left John's page.  But, I never said anything, on John's page even though I didn't always agree with him, I just left.  I did write a letter to the CEO of Brand X and, as expected, I didn't hear a word from them.  

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OP, you think you're having a bad cruise?  We had someone post on a group page saying that they personally (NOT someone they heard, they themselves) went to Guest Services on Anthem and wanted a 50% refund because the lifeguards at Coco Cay wouldn't let them swim more than halfway to the ropes.  

Now THAT'S a bad cruise.

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I think the unfortunate thing is because the site is called Royal Caribbean Blog, many folks think this is an official RC website and that if they complain here, Royal will maybe see it or do something to compensate them. Best thing is if you're having a bad experience, go to Guest Services. They'll do whatever they can to help, within reason.

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3 hours ago, Leroyr55 said:

Ok I missed something what’s an OP. I feel really silly posting this.😜

Don't feel silly...I was just about to ask the same!! I'm on Symphony for a B2B in a few short weeks, 26 days to be exact and I certainly didn't want to hear OP's experience. I'm also hoping it was due to Spring Breakers and 'Subjectivity'. I try to keep my expectations realistic, sometimes even on the low side!! I'm just happy to be cruising!!

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22 hours ago, Kevisma said:

It's only Day 2 of my cruise and all I can say is the service is lack luster and disappointing.  I'm a Diamond C&A member and Signature Casino Royale member. Since the "comeback" I've been on a cruise every month starting in October 2021 and have no less than one scheduled every month until September 2022.  Sadly this trip on Symphony has been the worst of all my trips so far.  I understand Royal is increasing the number of on board guests in increments but if your going to increase the guests, you need to increase the staff.  Symphony is the first  cruise where I can't get a seat at a show (which I had a reservation for), can't get quality service in the clubs and when you go to the bars directly the wait is long.  The food in the main dining room has been sub par, even at Chops the steak had no flavor.  It's only day 2.  I've never been more ready to just go home.  Worst cruise ever! Hopefully Royal Caribbean gets it together or I'll be forced to move on and cancel my future booking.  Seriously it's that bad.

You have to have more than a single post to be taken seriously 😉   (And be a member of the forum for more than 48 hours too!)

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7 hours ago, Hotwheels said:

As a newbie to this site, I plead to remind you that all my posts/content approved before it's shown.  Perhaps OP is in the same boat (no pun intended).

The difference is, you're still here and have posted more than just that single rant about how terrible RC is/was.

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Come on guys, don't be so naive. 

It sounds like the usual post from someone who haven't even been on royal ship! 

Way too many people spend days online just posting negative lies!!! 

I've sailed many times and way too many times read total BS about the ship I've just sailed on. 

Bad shows, tasteless frozen food, worst elevators in universe and customer service totally sucks! 

Don't believe! Royal is doing a perfect job. 

Of course not everything is perfect. Perfect is impossible. I've had not so good waiters. But next day, I was given much better one. Some food isn't up to my taste. So without any problems, you can order anything else you want from the menu. 

Options and possibilities are almost limitless! 

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13 hours ago, SpicyCherry said:

Don't feel silly...I was just about to ask the same!! I'm on Symphony for a B2B in a few short weeks, 26 days to be exact and I certainly didn't want to hear OP's experience. I'm also hoping it was due to Spring Breakers and 'Subjectivity'. I try to keep my expectations realistic, sometimes even on the low side!! I'm just happy to be cruising!!

I was just on her from mar 19-26th, Had a blast, service was either fine to excellent. only playmakers was slow once when they had just opened on a sea day, and sometimes the pool bars got overwhelmed. Otherwise it was no different than when I sailed her in 2019. Shes a glorious vessel

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