Symphony was amazing!

Wow! Our group is in the same rooms on the other side!

We have been on a few Royal cruises and my kids have liked the kids clubs (ages 4/8 and then 6/10 on our last cruise), but I am a little worried that with so much else to do that my daughter won’t enjoy it as much this time. It will only be my 8 year old with me and while I will have a 12 and 14 year old in our group - I am still hoping she loves it enough to go whenever I need her to!

I am worried the teens won’t make friends but trying to encourage them to go the first night and meet some folks so that they have others to do all those onboard activities with!


Definitely make sure they go the first night. If they wait they might feel awkward when the other kids ion the club have already met and started hanging out together. My kids have always been able to find other kids to hang out with by going to the teen club the first night. Chances are if you go during a school break there will be a ton of teens and the club will be separated by 12-14 and 15-17. If school is in session there will be a lot less kids and they'll probably combine the 2 groups.

On our last cruise in November there weren't many teens at all because school was in session. My kids still found a few other kids to hang out with.
 
Definitely make sure they go the first night. If they wait they might feel awkward when the other kids ion the club have already met and started hanging out together. My kids have always been able to find other kids to hang out with by going to the teen club the first night. Chances are if you go during a school break there will be a ton of teens and the club will be separated by 12-14 and 15-17. If school is in session there will be a lot less kids and they'll probably combine the 2 groups.

On our last cruise in November there weren't many teens at all because school was in session. My kids still found a few other kids to hang out with.

We were so surprised with the lack of kids onboard! It was odd.
 
Thanks for the reply!

One more question or two if you don’t mind!

Did you do any of the cupcake making sessions or see if there was a kids only class vs the kids/adult class?

And did you happen to remember the weight/height requirements for the zip line?

The cupcake class was $30 pp for everyone- kids and adults.

Zipline has a 75 lb minimum. My 10 year old was bummed he missed it.
 


we are interested in trying a cruise on the Symphony. Only ever really sailed with DCL (Fantasy) and 1 time on MSC (due to family event).

Just having a hard time making the switch.

We have watched a full ship tour video on youtube and the Symphony looks massive. Just wondering would you recommend any of the paid dining?
Just trying to work out the difference between this and DCL. What we need to book in advanced ect.
 
we are interested in trying a cruise on the Symphony. Only ever really sailed with DCL (Fantasy) and 1 time on MSC (due to family event).

Just having a hard time making the switch.

We have watched a full ship tour video on youtube and the Symphony looks massive. Just wondering would you recommend any of the paid dining?
Just trying to work out the difference between this and DCL. What we need to book in advanced ect.


I have not cruised Symphony yet (we cruise in april) but I think I can gife some feedback on this.

Symphony has many free venues for dining - you will never go hungry! If cost is a concern - don’t think twice about skipping them!

The paid venues inn symphony are generally a very nice upgrade but come with a hefty price tag if you are not on some sort of dining plan. If Wonderlands menu excites you - I would highly recommend that you book it - it’s just such a unique experience. (Admittedly - I have never dined here myself as our taste buds are not aligned but which they were!)

You can reserve dining in the cruise planner ahead of time for a savings of what is paid on board. There are options for BOGO for the first two nights only, there is a 3 night, 4 night, 5 night, and unlimited package plus individual meals booked for lunch or dinner available. Prices range from $25 (lunch at a restaurant) to $200 - unlimited package for lunch and dinner all week per person.

Regarding booking in advance - Royal offers discounts on all cruise planner purchases compared to their on board prices. You can pre-purchase various drink packages, excursions, restaurants, upcharge activities and internet packages - as well as book (free) entertainment.

Cruise Planner prices fluctuate with sales - for my upcoming cruise we have seen internet prices as low as $12 for a single (shareable) account, refreshment packages down to $18/day plus tip, drink package at $52/day plus tip, and first two night dining package was as low as $40 per person when it first opened.
 
We’re looking at booking Symphony for Summer 2020.

Having done specialty restaurants on Allure and Harmony, I can say that the paid dining is good, but I don’t think it’s a “must do” on board, especially if you’re budgeting. If you’re of the type that “must” book Remy and Palo, then I think doing things like Wonderland or 150 Central Park might be up your alley. I do like Chops and Jamies, but Chops is more the Keg than Ruth’s Chris, and we have Jamie’s in Toronto so we don’t necessarily need to eat there.

If you get a dining package, you’ll get the most value out of specialty dining
 


We just got off the Symphony, having done back to back eastern/western Caribbean cruises. The ship is gorgeous and the only time it felt crowded was after the assembly drill, as everyone on board goes to the aqua theater for it. It was difficult to get an elevator after that. Other than that we never felt the crowds were too much. We always got a seat in Windjammer. We especially loved Central Park and would go sit there and listen to the birds. I have sailed on DCL and Symphony felt less crowded than Fantasy.

We did not do any specialty dining and even ate dinner in Windjammer a few times. We had My Time Dining and after getting to know our servers the first night, we requested to stay at the same table with them the entire cruise, which we did.

Make sure to make reservations for the shows Hairspray, 1977, and Hiro. We LOVED the cruise and ship.

Denise
 
We stayed in an ocean view balcony on deck 8. Loved it!!!! I did miss the split bath on DCL, but that’s about it. Service was outstanding all over. We saw all 4 shows- Hiro was our fave. Everyone raves about Flight and 1977, but they were just okay to us. Really liked Hairspray too!!! Make reservations ahead of time on cruise planner. The food was typical cruise food. I’m gluten/dairy free and they were wonderful to work with! Our favorite place was El Loco Fresh!!! Yum! Also the solarium bistro makes omelets for bfast. We did main dining every night for dinner.
Kids clubs don’t even compare to DCL. My kids stayed very busy doing putt putt, ping pong, sports court, laser tag, scavenger hunts, zipline, flowrider, water slides, rock wall, and the abyss! Can you tell we miss it already?
Is there a charge for the activities such as Flo Rider, zip lining, golf?
 

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