Jump to content

Symphony of the Seas is disappointing


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, GatorCruiser said:

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

SO happy to read this - I'll be sailing on her at the end of this month. Any other big recommends or can't-misses that come to mind?! The only other Oasis class that we've sailed is Allure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/3/2022 at 8:04 PM, 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.

We were recently on Allure and they were short staffed too.   We noticed many of the wait staff were working solo - so waiting and bussing tables.  Mentioned to the matre'd and he noted the have a staffing shortage and many of the experienced staff had an opportunity to launch Wonder.    Seems like staffing a new O-class ship could be a contributing reason for shortages on other ships.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

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

Thank you, and in my defense, seems the moderator takes a bit to approve. And when I originally tried to post, the OP wasn't gone that long. lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Hotwheels said:

Thank you, and in my defense, seems the moderator takes a bit to approve. And when I originally tried to post, the OP wasn't gone that long. lol

I took you off moderation, so you should be good to go now.

We've had a lot of issues with spam in the past, so now we have post approval turned on until you hit a certain amount of time since first signing up or a certain amount of posts. I have no idea what the magic number is, but I know how to take you off moderation, so you're welcome 🙂 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, KLA said:

SO happy to read this - I'll be sailing on her at the end of this month. Any other big recommends or can't-misses that come to mind?! The only other Oasis class that we've sailed is Allure.

trellis bar in central park is cant miss. My favorite place on the ship. I got amazing service in all the specialty restaurants. Never ate in MDR so cant comment. The Wonderland bar is awesome and a great place to get a smokerings cocktail.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

I took you off moderation, so you should be good to go now.

We've had a lot of issues with spam in the past, so now we have post approval turned on until you hit a certain amount of time since first signing up or a certain amount of posts. I have no idea what the magic number is, but I know how to take you off moderation, so you're welcome 🙂 

Wow, I had no idea you could do that.  I had 70 posts before I got off of moderation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But as for the Symphony, we sailed her 2/12.  It was at 50% capacity.  We ate in the MDR most nights and had excellent service and food quality.  We did 150 Central Park one night and the meal and service was superb. We considered doing more specialty restaurants.  But  I really like the experience with the wait staff in the MDR.  We loved our head waiter, waiter and assistant.  We felt like we were cheating on them going to the specialty restaurant.  Now that the ships are at higher capacity, maybe they can't give quite the same service or get to know you the same way.  I love hearing the crew talk about where they're  from their family.  You bond with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, need2cruz said:

But as for the Symphony, we sailed her 2/12.  It was at 50% capacity.  We ate in the MDR most nights and had excellent service and food quality.  We did 150 Central Park one night and the meal and service was superb. We considered doing more specialty restaurants.  But  I really like the experience with the wait staff in the MDR.  We loved our head waiter, waiter and assistant.  We felt like we were cheating on them going to the specialty restaurant.  Now that the ships are at higher capacity, maybe they can't give quite the same service or get to know you the same way.  I love hearing the crew talk about where they're  from their family.  You bond with them.

That's actually pretty standard from what I've read. You always get to know your wait staff in the MDR. Even before the pandemic hit it was like that from everything I've read. It's one of the things I'm excited for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/3/2022 at 9:04 PM, 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.

I am on the same cruise currently. Personally I have the opposite view. Everywhere has felt quieter than expected. Day at sea I expected mayhem but was pleasantly surprised. The service hasn’t been stand out but it’s also not been disappointing. Although I have cruised a reasonable amount, I am an infrequent cruiser, we have an 8yr old child with us and we don’t drink much so not at the bars a lot. Therefore may be having a different experience or view on it all. We found queues for all activities have been instant or 5-10 max.

Edited by Sam D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got off the Symphony on April 2nd and had a wonderful time. Ships capacity was at 4500ish and never felt busy anywhere, and we made full use of the drink package. Maybe 5 min wait at the casino bar during busy nights.

Service was impeccable. We ate at the MDR one night, and our waiter recognized us at lunch at the WJ the next day, and asked about our other party by name! 

We also found out that this was the first time cruise for a lot of crew members. Patience is key, and they were very grateful and wonderful. 

Had one issue that was taken care of promptly and the recovery exceeded my expectations. 

Also a hidden gem is the Hookers bar. Lovely setting over the solarium with glass windows. They serve two different types of oyster shooters, which is included on the drink package!!! They give you two of them!

 

Love love loved our cruise. Cant wait to get back. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suspect Wonder starting has taken away from the “pool” of crew - they’re no doubt training additional staff to replace those who transferred to Wonder, plus of course the extra staff needed for the additional patronage 

 

either way, there isn’t a business who hasn’t been impacted, cruise lines are no different, we need to provide grace and patience

I’ve found also with Hotels & Hospitality in general you catch way more bees with Honey 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...