My experience on Symphony of the Seas April 14

[moonflower0906]

I just returned from Symphony of the Seas about a week ago and wanted to share my experience. I know it might not be what people are expecting to hear. This is, after all, a Royal Caribbean, fan blog and I get that a lot of people like them. I was so excited to sail on this ship and hoped Royal Caribbean would be a cruise line I would choose to stay with but perhaps, it's just not for me. 

Before I start, I'll give a little background on my cruising style:

I might not be your typical cruiser. I don't go on with plans to drink a lot (we had a handful of cocktails) or spend a lot of money doing specialty dining. My first cruise (to the Caribbean), we focused more on the cruise. This time, the itinerary was port-intensive and we booked it with the intention of seeing a lot of Europe in a short amount of time. We knew we were going to get off in every port (which many on the ship did not do) and see the sights. We are serious about our food and wine but our emphasis was on eating and drinking local when we were at port. (We live in California and drink local wine at home so for us, traveling to another wine region is about trying their wine.)

We considered booking a cheaper cruise with less activities since the trip was so port intensive but I had been wanting to sail this trip and try Symphony of the Seas for a long time so we went for it. We hoped to have great activities and eats on the ship when we got back in the evenings too (I was not intending to sleep) but as the cruise wore on, we realized we'd have to eat at port if we wanted to be satisfied.

My review:

I sailed on the April 14 sailing on Symphony of the Seas and it was one of my worst vacation experiences. 

I’ll start with the positives:

The ship is beautiful. The artwork is beautiful, I love the whimsical feel and every room is classy. The staterooms are nice and the beds very comfortable.

The shows are cool. Some of them are a bit high concept. I honestly think if the ice show was iSkate 2.0 expanded, audiences would be just as happy as trying to figure out that strange storyline in 1977 but overall, a talented team. 

I like the emphasis on cleanliness with hand sanitizer and sinks everywhere.

Here are some of the problems we experienced on the ship:

The food is not great. The breakfast at the Windjammer is cold in areas it shouldn’t be and the potatoes are dry. I assume it’s a given the scrambled eggs are a mix. In the Main Dining Room, I had to send back the tuna one day because it was rubbery. The Royal Chocolate Cake doesn’t taste like chocolate. In Park Central, we took some sandwiches with us on a temperate day. 2 hours later, we took them out to eat and parts of the sandwich changed color, stemmed from what we believe to be poor ingredients or improper temperature food storage. Beyond that, the dishes were inconsistent. Some were good but many were average to below average. The menus were not inspired by the local foods or ports. It was completely generic.

The wine list contains generic wines you could get in any American restaurant or Costco (like Duckhorn and Francis Ford Coppola) and there’s no cocktail menu at the dining room. This is a Mediterranean cruise. Wines are made in every country we ported at. Why not celebrate the local flavors a little more?

The service ranged from good to poor but really, it was inconsistent. Rooms are barely cleaned. When we moved the pillows off the bed to sleep, the staff would not pick them back up when making the bed. They would just make the bed AROUND strewn pillows. Cups were left around for days. I found a mug in my nightstand after THREE days! Eventually, this got better so I assume it’s a kink the team is working out. 

In the Solarium Bistro breakfast, tables would be covered in empty plates, giving the appearance of a trashed restaurant. Guests would have to shove plates around on the table to make room to eat and even when I asked they be cleared off, they were not always cleared off. 

When we called (from the hall) about our phone problems (more on that below), the operator tried to tell us it was late and could he just come tomorrow. We said no. They did fix it but then ANOTHER guy showed up later in the night to fix it again. Seems like poor miscommunication. 

We had a guest services officer tell us iSkate 2.0 was free skating time for passengers. It’s a show. Please educate your guest services team. 

The spa was small. The “lobby area” for the thermal suites connects to the aroma spa (which had no aroma), the tiny dry steam room and the rainforest shower so you can hear every door slamming and everyone struggling with the rainforest shower, which only lasts 10 seconds. The worst part is that the ceiling shook every time someone above in the gym lifted a weight, took a step on the stair master etc. Why would you not soundproof the spa?! Also, I really missed the floor to ceilings windows of the sea that Carnival had. The noise was too distracting and I had to get a refund. 

The nightly dance parties with the life-of-the-party cruise director are lacking. Oh and all the cool activities you advertised? The escape room was only open once at a port time. The skating rink is only open once for passengers. Things open and close at weird times and the hot tubs are not hot. The advertised activities, especially those in Studio B, were a gimmick. 

The technology on this ship is not good.

First, a tech/service issue:

The automatic door at Central Park malfunctioned and nearly slammed in my face and instead of noticing he should report it, the staff member laughed at me! A second time, it slammed me hard in the shoulder because the automatic doors in Central Park are slower than ALL the other automatic doors on the ship!

Back to the phone: our room phone needed 3 work orders so we basically had to go to guest services or do it ourselves every time we need something. Why am I paying $14.50 a day for service? (To their credit, guest services originally offered us 10% off my next cruise because of this complaint. I declined saying I didn't want to sail Royal Caribbean again so then they gave us $50 onboard credit.)

The app sucks. You can’t bookmark events, message other guests on the ship (I know you can on some ships but this isn't one of them), it listed incorrect times for trivia, listed an ice skating event and then we got there and it was iSkate 2.0 and it generally lacks info like “don’t bring any loose items to laser tag.” We missed events because of the app.

FINALLY, the billing issues! First, I got billed twice for a spa pass and had to have it refunded. Then, on the last day, I was told I didn’t return towels and charged $50! First of all, we last used towels on day 5. We brought them back and the employee barely paid attention when we returned them. Or perhaps the technology malfunctioned again! We spent the last night at midnight at Guest Services (AGAIN) to clarify the towel billing. We were told they would take it off and it would reflect on our account in the morning. In the morning, on the tv, the towels were still there but on the paper invoice, it was gone (slow technology yet again!?). We figured that’s fine but then I got home and got billed for the towels AGAIN! I had to call and then had to explain yet again how I didn’t take the towels. I’ve been told the charge will be refunded in 7-10 days so only time will tell if it’ll finally happen.

This cruise was an awful experience. To their credit, a Guest Services Officer did offer 10% off our next cruise but we declined (got $50 on board credit instead) because we will never sail Royal Caribbean again and will never recommend it to our friends.
 

[RBRSKI]

?

[GlennGlenn]

Once persons review, can't wait to hear others and won't flame. Won't flame the guy/gal because it's their opinion/observation. You can take the  Nomex suit off. 

 

What I do find curious is no mention of prior cruises, so no benchmark to compare it to.   I do agree that skate times are unusual on the ships and often in middle of day when you're hoping to catch some sun.  Perhaps it's the inexperience in knowing RC that lead to frustration. New boat , so let's let RC get her up and running. Suggestion to @moonflower0906 you'll get an email with survey about now.  Fill it out completely and don't be shy. 

[rjac]

So sorry you had such an unpleasant experience. Perhaps it can be attributed to the fact that is one of her first cruises and they are working out the kinks. I hope you have voiced what you reported here to Royal. They need to hear this so they can get it fixed. 

[rjac]

Well said @GlennGlenn!

[BigRTraveler]

We have all had bad events on a past cruises.....but I never let it affect my vacation.  A new ship is bound to have a few (maybe a lot) of hiccups. Did you enjoy the ports you visited?  Many ships do try to have food and drink from the region visited.  We have always enjoyed it.

[tonyfsu21]

I think if you set the bar too high your gonna be disappointed (although OP appears to be comparing to Carnival which is often viewed as the “budget-budget cruise line”). At the end of the day Royal Caribbean is a budget cruise line and there are plenty of things that are just not perfect. I would expect perfection on Regent or Silver Sea. Hopefully the majority of these issues could be attributed to the fact that Symphony is a very new ship and there’s many issues that have not been corrected. I do have to say with near certainty that the $50.00 towel charge issue is a racket for RC! I don’t think I’ve been on a cruise to date that I haven’t had to call and get a $50 refund for the stupid towels! Next time I’m taking a picture of the return and I’m simply going to send it to corporate. 

[moonflower0906]

Interesting towels have always been an issue. Like I said, some kinks, like housekeeping, I could see some improvements happening throughout the cruise so hopefully they will keep coming. We definitely learned to not take anymore cruises in its first few sailings.

About prior experiences, this was my second cruise. I’ve been on a Carnival Caribbean cruise before that. I know Carnival is considered lower end so I expected RC to be better and it wasn’t! Other than the spa, something we liked on Carnical was every night they would have dishes and drinks inspired by the next port. On Symphony, the food is generic throughout. I know something like Regent is higher end than RC. We hoped RC was going to be the perfect medium of luxury and budget for us but alas, this trip nixed that possibility. I’m hoping to try Celebrity cruises next since I heard they have the best food.

I did voice my feelings to RC when I went to the front desk for the  non working phone (when they gave us our credit), which was when they found a record of work orders to our room, and again when I called about the towels. And I shared this feedback in the email survey.

@BigRTraveler, we did still have a good vacation. The cruise was just half of the Europe trip for us and so overall, it was still great. The cruise is also port intensive so the ship is just part of it. As far as the ports go, Barcelona was amazing. We stayed for a few days before the cruise, which I’d highly recommend, especially if you love seafood, wine and art! 

 

[BigRTraveler]

@moonflower0906 Glad you still had a good trip.  A cruise is an excellent way to see many ports (destinations) in a short period....but nothing compares to staying there for a few days.

 

[psakid]

Sorry to hear about these issues that ruined your Western Mediterranean cruise aboard the Symphony of the Seas.  My family (wife & kids 15/13) cruised on the pre-inaugural Mar 31st cruise and had didn't experience most (if any) of your issues.  

Our room steward was great and removed items once used throughout the day.  

We missed any open skating time (not sure there was any) due to port intensive cruise and two fewer days.  

My wife and I enjoyed the Laser Tag (she won); however, someone lost an earring when they removed the target vest.  We helped them look for a minute, but moved on without a resolution to the situation.  Also, we were denied admission towards the end of an earlier session since they had enough players to finish the session.  It takes them an hour to an hour and a half to deflate the walls and clean up the room.  We made sure that we had enough time the next night.

The Voom was great everywhere I used it onboard.  I understand we still had RCI corporate staff aboard to help out with any issues that came up.  You could see them everywhere around the ship from all different departments checking on things.

The escape room was still under construction but I was allowed a peak inside.  Also, the solarium pool was closed as they were still installing the art feature (lights) above it.  I felt the water (warm, but not hot) and it felt fine for sitting in water and talking to others (isn't that what happens in the adult pool anyway?).  No biggie, we were on the first cruise and expected some incomplete venues or areas.

The food was well, Royal Caribbean standard fare.  We wen't disappointed or wowed either.  I liked the eggs to order station in the middle of the Windjammer and visited it regularly.  My wife and I went to Hooked for lunch and it was good but the service was better.  Our evening in Izumi was nice as we meet friends of royalcaribbeanblog (from England) and talked with Chef Ken (owner of the Izumi chain) and had a picture taken.  The kids didn't have much (I forget that 'hot rocks' aren't on the menu when Hibachi is available) to choose from, but that was my mistake.  The main dining room head chef and sous chef even asked us specific questions about our meals the first two nights.

Yes, the ship had the 'new ship smell' (carpet) and everything was clean.  We even saw the first black mark along the dock bumpers in port at Naples 

Can't speak to the wine or spirits available or service as we don't drink that much.  What service we encountered fpr our non-alcoholic drinks was fine.  Oh, the coca-cola self service machine near Loco Fresh wasn't working all too well.  It kept saying that I had to come back in 30 minutes or something.  I just went to a bar or another coca-cola machine.

Guest services was helpful and even asked to see pictures from our upcoming excursion in Naples.  I didn't bother her with them, but I thought it was a nice thing to say.  Using the TV to check your charges can be difficult (especially with two rooms).  We were going to try and get our Spanish VAT refunded at the airport, so Royal Caribbean had to credit the multiple charges then combine them into one to meet the minimum amount for refund.  Seeing all of that on our TV was very difficult to add up.  It all worked out; however, we didn't have enough time at the airport to go through the multiple steps to get our refund.  It was a minor cost to us getting Business Class on the non-stop back to JFK vs missing the flight.  Kids loved the seats so they are officially spoiled now.

I can remember that the vibe onboard was different than our normal experiences during caribbean cruises.  I just chalked that up to the european market, time of year (cooler weather) and international makeup of guests.  Americans were definitely the minority.  We didn't see much night life except for the bands playing in the Promenade (a little too loud to carry a conversation in the Next Cruise office) in the evening.

 

We loved the ship, crew and overall experience.  Also, were booked on the inaugural Western Caribbean 7-day cruise in Nov2018 and can't wait (just like so many other RLCblog group cruisers).  The weather was comfortable (60 - low 70's F) and without rain, port experience was nice and we enjoyed our two excursions.   We plan on taking another mediterranean cruise just as soon as we check off some others on our bucket list.   

As stated earlier, I regret your negative experiences and hope the positive ones out weight those others in time.  Ours were just different...

 

[Carlos A.]

So sorry to hear you had an unpleasant cruise, it sounds like Carnival it's more suited for your needs.

[tiny260]

I was on Harmony's 4th overall cruise in 2016, we noticed similar issues with some of the services through out the ship, I wrote it off to a new ship and new to the ship crew, but overall the cruise and ship were very enjoyable, to this day I still plan on sailing on Harmony again because my wife and I both felt that because of the port intensive itinerary we really didn't get to experience the ship to it's fullest potential. 

Unlike you, we were totally exhausted when we got back on ship, but we did enjoy the dinning and thought it was amazing and the shows were awesome as well, then we promptly fell asleep.

[Stephanie]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy RCCL.  I personally love them, but they're the only cruise line I've ever sailed with.  We're sailing this itinerary in September and I've been looking forward to it for over a year.  I have to say - other than your stateroom attendant issues - most of the things you were dissatisfied with (spa size, food quality, open times of activities) - are standard qualities of all RCCL ships..  When we sailed on Anthem last year, we wanted to do the trapeze flying.  It's only set up for that on certain days b/c the location is also used for bumper cars and basketball.  On the day they had allotted for the trapeze setup, the seas were rough, so they did not allow passengers to do the trapeze.  They setup the bumper cars instead.  I was disappointed, but it is what it is.

The food in the Windjammer is definitely mediocre, but it's a buffet.  As to the employees and their knowledge... I, too, would love it if all their employees knew all there is to know about the ship, activities & shore excursions, but the fact is they just don't.  And, just like any company - big or small - you're going to find super employees who go above & beyond and employees who do what they have to do to get by.  I've rarely seen the really bad RCCL employee, but they exist on every ship.

As to the spa ... I bought that same package on my last cruise.  Your description sounds identical to mine.  It's a small area & the doors do slam.  It seems ALL the doors on the ship tend to slam, which I assume is due to the fact that it's a ship & they try to make sure doors latch rather than flailing about during rough seas.  I agree that it did distract from the relaxation of the spa area.  While I enjoyed the thermal ceramic beds and the saunas, I would not purchase that package again.  I'm glad they refunded your money.