Symphony - 11/24 - 12/1 2024 “A Return to Royal”

[Southern Dan]

I’m going to share my thoughts on my first Royal Caribbean cruise in almost 25 years here.  Last one was Splendour of the Seas in January of 2000 so ALOT has apparently changed.

My wife and I are going to head to the airport in about an hour and we are staying at the YVE hotel this evening.  Looks like a decent place and it is apparently close to the port.  Very excited as I’ve done a bunch of research for this trip and it has finally arrived.

[asquared17]

yayyyyy symphony!!! the best!!!

would love to hear your thoughts on the YVE as well! 

fly safe

[Southern Dan]

Thank you so much, I will definitely let y’all know about it.  Just got to Gate A here at Hartsfield to find out our flight is delayed 45 min.  No biggie, just more beers before the flight!

 

[Southern Dan]

YVE seems pretty no frills, clean/basic and we have a room with a nice view of one of VV Ladies…about to get into a lil trouble for a few hours before we call it a night!

 

[Southern Dan]

This place is around the corner and it has not disappointed.  Highly recommend! 
 

[Southern Dan]

Yeah that dinner was A++. Cannot recommend it enough for those cruising out of Miami…. 

[perfect match]

Great view from your hotel, great looking dinner! 

[Southern Dan]

A beautiful sunrise, it’s cruise day!  Let’s do this!

 

[asquared17]

it’s cruise day!!!!

[Southern Dan]

A few thoughts about the hotel…

Our room has a very small bathroom but not a big deal for my wife and I.

Elevator situation is a little crazy as there are only two and they are also small.

$25 breakfast buffet was good.

Beds are comfortable and the AC cranks which is the most important thing.  Would stay here again.

Here’s a pic of Explorer of the Seas from our room…

 

[Cactus527]

CRUISE DAY! I hope you have the best embarkation day ever!!!!

[Southern Dan]

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

CRUISE DAY! I hope you have the best embarkation day ever!!!!

Thank you so much!  Besides traffic getting into port which took 30 minutes bc they sent us far around everything and back again went very smooth.  From the time the cab dropped us off it only took 15 minutes until we were onboard!

Had a cpl drinks at the Trellis Bar, enjoyed a Park Cafe Roast Beef sandwich.  CP is absolutely amazing to experience for the first time, Matt’s amazing videos pain a picture but Holy Crap.  Beautiful!  We’re on Deck 8 too so we’ll be there a lot.

Then we went to the Solarium and wolfed down a bunch of lobster and snow crab which was incredible.  Now we are in our room relaxing for a bit before we explore some more.

Home for the next 7 nights…

[Southern Dan]

Bye Bye Miami!  About to head to Chops…

 

[asquared17]

the best thing in the world is seeing that miami skyline in the receding distance

HAVE A GREAT FIRST NIGHT!!  

[Southern Dan]

Dinner was A+.  My wife had Mushroom Soup, I had the Lobster Bisque.  We both enjoyed them a bunch.  She went with the filet and I opted for the NY Strip…good first showing for specialty dining night one.

She is exhausted and just passed out next to me here at the room…I’m gonna go to the casino soon and see how far I can stretch out $200…thinking not far but ya never know!  

[Southern Dan]

So I dropped $300 into the infamous Dancing Drums machine and although I played for just shy of 2 hrs and got a lil lover 200 points I realized I’m never making Prime.  Got a couple hundred more to gamble with the next 6 nights but I’m not itching to go back. 
 

Perfect Day tomorrow, going to call it a night and be well rested for Hideaway Bay!

[ScottD]

18 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

A few thoughts about the hotel…

Our room has a very small bathroom but not a big deal for my wife and I.

Elevator situation is a little crazy as there are only two and they are also small.

$25 breakfast buffet was good.

Beds are comfortable and the AC cranks which is the most important thing.  Would stay here again.

Here’s a pic of Explorer of the Seas from our room…

 

We have stayed at YVE before, as well. It's exactly how you describe it. Rooms a little small, elevators a little wonky (only 1 worked when we were there and I ended up dragging our bags down a few flights in the morning)  We Loved being able to walk right across to the bayside marketplace, there was a small included buffet which I did- just enough to hold me over.  We planned on staying there again in 2 weeks, but due to a big art show\festival going on, the room was about triple what we paid last time so we stuck to the airport area!    

[Southern Dan]

We had to carry our luggage down 11 flights of stairs because the elevators were slow/non-existent at check out…that was very irritating. 

[Southern Dan]

Woke up to the Oasis pulling up next to us at Coco Cay, was not quiet.  

Had a lovely breakfast at the Solarium Bistro outdoors and about to get off the ship…

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Hope you have a Lovely Day at Coco Cay!    

[asquared17]

enjoy cococay!!!!!

[Southern Dan]

Hideaway is f*cking popping off, love it hahaha

Super fun and no screaming kids, I can deal with screaming adults having fun.

[Generalchadwick]

What was the weather and temperature like? We will be there Sunday.

[Southern Dan]

Was warm but not hot.  By 2pm was overcast and more clouds than sun.  Great experience though, DJ was great!

Did Hooked for dinner and took a nap before Hiro which was absolutely amazing,  About to call it a night, what a great day.  Glad we still have 5 days left even though it’ll go by quickly.,.

[Southern Dan]

Day 3 here in beautiful Nassau Bahamas!

Productive morning, ate at the Solarium Bistro for breakfast again and then napped for a couple hours.  Got off and walked around in the port area for a bit and now we’re back on the ship.  Going to check out the waterslides shortly then grab a bite at El Loco Fresh.

Doing 150 Central Park for dinner this evening which we’re very excited for.

 

[melmar02]

32 minutes ago, Southern Dan said:

Doing 150 Central Park for dinner this evening which we’re very excited for.

Enjoy! Everyone in my family loves the braised short rib appetizer!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Thanks for the update photo of the Nassau Beach Club (to be).  Wow…they sure scraped that place clean !

[Southern Dan]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Thanks for the update photo of the Nassau Beach Club (to be).  Wow…they sure scraped that place clean !

It is such a narrow strip of land, going to be interesting to see how they put it all together over the next year prior to opening it up!

[asquared17]

my favorite random spit of land in the bahamas going to be weird to see it developed 

[Southern Dan]

So 150 CP was great, got two apps (Braised Short Rib and the Scallops) and both were amazing.  The lobster was very good too.  My wife’s bday is tomorrow so it was an early celebration.  She is in a food coma…think our night is over lmao.

Waterslides were so fun, tomorrow we’re going to do the Great Abyss and have Jamies for lunch at noon.

 

[Southern Dan]

Day 4 at Sea.  Woke up stupid early, tried to catch sunrise from Solarium but the clouds didn’t allow for it.  Watched the Top Tier event and then went to Jamies for lunch which was excellent.  Don’t know why I’ve seen so many negative comments about it, we had the meat board and I had the bolognese.  Left very stuffed and it’s time for an afternoon nap.  

My wife found a duck too which made her very happy!   

[asquared17]

jamie’s!! YUM

[Southern Dan]

Woke up early and hung out in the Solarium for a cpl hours and enjoyed the tiny pool and hot tub.  Got off in port here in Falmouth for a few souvenirs, experienced the Ultimate Abyss slide.  Found some ducks, ate Sorrentos and Boardwalk Dergs for the first time and now it’s pouring rain and we’re 25 min past all aboard and got lots of runners.  Great times, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[Southern Dan]

Did double breakfast at Park Cafe at 6:30 then JR at 8:30.  Spent 3 hours on Labadee, had a lovely time but it was very humid and it’s so nice back on the ship!  Heading to Playmakers for a burger in a lil bit and then have Izumi Sushi for dinner tonight and Flight after.  Lots of eating and sleeping mixed in with the fun stuff.

 

[Southern Dan]

Izumi Sushi was great last night as was our Chops lunch today.  Just packed (sad!) and it looks like Atlanta looks to be unusually chilly already so getting home tomorrow afternoon is going to be a stark difference to this beautiful weather we enjoyed all week.

Today has been a very lazy day, my wife is napping so not doing Solarium Bistro for dinner in 15 minutes I’m thinking.  Oh well, we have eaten so much this week and we’ll just do it another cruise.

[Southern Dan]

Disembarkation was a breeze.  20 minutes with self assist from the time we left our cabin until we got in our taxi.  Already at the airport lounge with many hours to kill before our noon flight.

[perfect match]

Thank you for doing this review. I enjoyed following along with you!  Hope you’re safely home by now. 

[Southern Dan]

It was a wonderful trip, thank you all for reading.  

[ScottD]

21 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

It was a wonderful trip, thank you all for reading.  

Thanks! Can't wait to check her out next year! 

[Southern Dan]

28 minutes ago, ScottD said:

Thanks! Can't wait to check her out next year! 

She is truly a remarkable lady, you will love her.  Cannot wait for my sailings on Odyssey and Allure next year.