The week we ate all the things!

[LoveDaisy]

We (me, DH, my bff, and her DH) went on Symphony of the Seas out of Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) from June 6-13, 2025.

We sailed to Port Canaveral FL, Nassau, and their private island. It was DH birthday and he asked for the unlimited dining plan for his birthday gift (cost was $220 a person for the week).We also added the deluxe drink package ($49.99 a person a day).

For those not familiar with the unlimited dining it allows you to eat as often as you want in the specialty restaurants. There are a few restaurants with an additional charge, I’ll cover that in my review.

We also received $20 in food credits a person a day. I’ll talk about that in my review.

We ate at the following specialty restaurants:
Jamie Oliver’s
Chops
Hooked
150 Central Park
Izumi
Chef’s Table

We did not eat at Wonderlsnd. I have been there before and didn’t love it.

In addition to the specialty restaurants we also ate at:
Windjammer buffet
Solarium buffet
Sorrento’s pizza
MDR
Sugar Beach
Playmakers
DH ate at The Dog House
Skippers grill on Coco Cay.
Snack huts on coco cay

I did not try:
El loco fresh
Johnny Rockets
Cafe promenade
Room service

I also added the birthday package which included a cake.

As a side note I don’t eat much meat so you will see my review is seafood heavy. I will try to remember what others ate. I took some pictures but not of everything we ate.

I hope you will join us for a week of gluttony.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Friday June 6

We left around 6:30 am to drive to the port. We didn’t eat breakfast and the boys were hangry when we boarded around 11. (We had a 10:30 PAT but the George Washington bridge wasn’t our friend).

We went right to the Windjammer for the embarkment seafood buffet. They had all the usual items too but the first day is known as for seafood. It was super crowded so I only took two pictures.

I had tuna tartar, ceviche, lobster, and a coconut cream puff. The other three had a similar plate with a few other items mixed in. DH had paella (he said it was great). The other three all had a sundae for dessert. They had hard scoop ice cream with various toppings.

The tuna tartar was good but was cut a little large and the pieces were not all the same size

The ceviche was more of a Shrimp cocktail with clams. It was really good but not really a ceviche.

The lobster was a lobster tail. I thought this was better than the ones I had in the MDR when we sailed on the Anthem. It was well cooked. I find the tails are often overcooked so this was a great surprise.

The coconut cream puff was surprisingly good. I debated grabbing a second but we had dinner later and I was trying to save room for our first meal in a specialty restaurant. Would I regret this?

Ceviche


Muscles, clams, and tuna tartar.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 6 - Dinner.

Tonight we had dinner reservations at Chops. I was a little nervous as it’s a steakhouse and I don’t eat red meat.

I had the crab cake, lobster bisque, grilled branzino, and key lime pie. Everyone else had steak in one form or another, they all said they were great and perfectly cooked. We also shared the creamed spinach, asparagus, and mashed potatoes.

The crab cake was really good. There was a good amount of crab, it was well cooked and the sauce with it was great.

Their lobster bisque was great, really good consistency with some lobster pieces on top. I would have like hotter but my DH says I say that anytime I get soup at a restaurant.

The grilled branzino was fantastic. It was perfectly cooked and the skin was extremely crispy. I also love a grilled lemon so this made me extra happy.

At this point I was really excited for the key lime pie and it was so disappointing. Not only was it too sweet but the sugar was not properly integrated and it was gritty.

All of us shared the sides and they were really good. The asparagus was perfectly cooked.

My worries were for no reason, the steakhouse delivered even for a non red meat eater.

 

[happybaker]

I'm so happy to see you doing this report We're on the same cruise in August. We'll be a group of 7 - me, DH, my dad (81), my stepdaughter, her DH, our grandson (2), and stepdaughter's BF. We have four balcony cabins all next to each other, so we'll have the steward remove the dividers. We're driving down from Maine, but will head down the day before.

Can't wait to hear about all the food you ate!

 

[LoveDaisy]

I'm so happy to see you doing this report We're on the same cruise in August. We'll be a group of 7 - me, DH, my dad (81), my stepdaughter, her DH, our grandson (2), and stepdaughter's BF. We have four balcony cabins all next to each other, so we'll have the steward remove the dividers. We're driving down from Maine, but will head down the day before.

Can't wait to hear about all the food you ate!

We removed the divider between our balconies and it was a nice size space. Having 4 open will be fantastic!

I’m happy to answer any questions.

 

[evilmommie]

June 6 - Dinner.

Tonight we had dinner reservations at Chops. I was a little nervous as it’s a steakhouse and I don’t eat red meat.

I had the crab cake, lobster bisque, grilled branzino, and key lime pie. Everyone else had steak in one form or another, they all said they were great and perfectly cooked. We also shared the creamed spinach, asparagus, and mashed potatoes.

The crab cake was really good. There was a good amount of crab, it was well cooked and the sauce with it was great.
View attachment 973645
Their lobster bisque was great, really good consistency with some lobster pieces on top. I would have like hotter but my DH says I say that anytime I get soup at a restaurant.
View attachment 973646
The grilled branzino was fantastic. It was perfectly cooked and the skin was extremely crispy. I also love a grilled lemon so this made me extra happy.
View attachment 973647
At this point I was really excited for the key lime pie and it was so disappointing. Not only was it too sweet but the sugar was not properly integrated and it was gritty.
View attachment 973648
All of us shared the sides and they were really good. The asparagus was perfectly cooked.

My worries were for no reason, the steakhouse delivered even for a non red meat eater.

Oh my gosh! I love a good grilled branzino. So glad it was a delicious dish!

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 7 - Day at sea Solarium Buffet

Today was DH birthday and we planned to have a relaxing day. We got up and headed to the solarium to get a spot near the pool and hot tub (this is an18+area).

Once we found our spot we grabbed breakfast at the solarium buffet. We all had made to order omelets and I had fruit with mine. Everything was really good. I also liked that they took your omelet order and gave you a buzzer so it was not crowded with everyone waiting for their omelet to cook.

Mid morning we went back to the room to get more sunscreen and the birthday cake arrived!

DH loves chocolate and it delivered! I was actually surprised how good it was. It was a rich and moist chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that wasn’t overly sweet. The outer wrapper was chocolate with an edible print. The white balls were some sort of a crisp and have a really nice texture. They also brought 4 plates, silverware, and napkins.

I would absolutely order a birthday package through them again. In addition to the cake we had a giant birthday magnet on our door, two fun birthday decorations hanging from the ceiling, a hanging from the ceiling decoration for photos and a birthday picture frame. It was about $75, and I thought worth the price. DH was totally surprised. I didn’t think to take pictures of the decorations.

Edit: I took one picture of the door magnet

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 7 - Lunch At Hooked

We had lunch reservations at Hooked, a seafood restaurant. We ended up eating here a few times throughout the trip.

I had clam chowder, coconut shrimp, and coconut cream pie. DH had calamari with filet and lobster tail, bff had oysters with Cesar salad with shrimp, and her DH calamari with fish and chips. Everyone was happy with their lunch.

The clam chowder was delicious. It was the perfect consistency with potatoes and clam pieces. It also came with a few homemade crackers. As always I wish it was hotter when served to me.

The coconut shrimp were perfectly cooked and not greasy. You could tell the oil was fresh and the right temperature for frying

The coconut cream pie was one of the best desserts of the week and I had it each trip to Hooked. It was not overly sweet and was the perfect consistency.


DH had the filet and lobster. He said both were cooked perfectly. His filet was medium rare and the lobster tail was not over cooked.

He also got the lemon tart. He did not like it and said it was overly tart

BFFs DH said this fish and chips were fantastic, it looked perfectly cooked and fish was light and flakey

He had the brown for dessert and loved it

I didn’t get a picture of the oysters but there were great (I had one) and bff ordered them again later in the week.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 7 - dinner at Jamie Oliver’s.

DH picked this restaurant for his birthday. It was our favorite restaurant when we sailed on the anthem and we were all excited to go back. Would it live up to our memory? Unfortunately it did not and was out most disappointing meal of the week.

We had planned to come back later in the week but decided we would rather go somewhere else. It was really easy for us to change our reservation for another restaurant and were able to get the time we wanted.

I had calamari, veggie risotto, and lemon cheesecake, DH had arancini with lamb chops, bff had the same. Her DH had calamari and a steak.

The calamari were terrible (no picture), they were like rubber bands

The risotto was awful. I’m not sure if it was even Arborio rice. It was severely undercooked rice in what I can only describe as tomato water. Had it been properly cooked (my guess was it needed another 30 minutes of cooking) I think the tomato water would have absorbed into the risotto and some would have evaporated and it would have been a better consistency

The lemon cheesecake was the best part of my meal and it was just ok. DH also got this too, this is his piece.

I tried his arancini and it was ok. A little bit over cooked and truffle sauce was overpowering

He (and bff) said the lamb chops were good but not nearly as good as on the anthem


BFFs DH steak came out well done instead of medium (no picture) we sent it back but by the time in he got a new one we were done eating.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 7 - post dinner snack Sugar Beach

Everyone was still looking for a little something a few hours after dinner. We went to Sugar Beach for a gelato. This is an up charge but with our dining package we get $20 a day to spend. You have to use this $20 all once. You can’t use $10 here and $10 there later. We only used it a couple of times but it was nice to have for a snack.

I had the mango gelato and it was fantastic! (No pictures) everyone was really happy with their choice.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 8 - Florida

We were docked in Florida on Sunday. We were in port from 1-7. It wasn’t enough time to get to Disney so we decided to stay on the ship.

Breakfast- back at the solarium buffet. I had an omelet, hash brown potato, and fruit. Everything was fresh and warm, the omelet was cooked to order.

Lunch- we went to the windjammer buffet. I felt like I needed a vegetable so I made a large salad. The vegetables were all really fresh. DH had the ribs with salad and said the ribs were really good.

Dinner- we went to Hooked tonight. There was some crossover items from the lunch menu and some items they only offered at dinner.

BFF had clam chowder and grilled branzino, her husband had calamari and the lobster with filet.


I had shrimp cocktail, twin lobster tails with local vegetables, and the coconut cream pie. DH had clam chowder and the twin lobster tails

The shrimp were large and beautifully poached. I like my cocktail sauce with a little more horseradish but the flavor was really good.

The twin lobster tails were perfectly cooked. The vegetables were broccoli, rainbow carrots, and asparagus. All were slightly crispy which is how I like my vegetables cooked.


The coconut cream pie was just as good as the last time we had it.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 9 - Nassau

We were in Nassau on Monday. We got off the ship for a few hours in the early afternoon to walk around.

Brunch: we needed to cut back on food and decided to cut out a meal today. We had brunch around 10:30 in the MDR. The brunch menu offered both breakfast and lunch items.

I had a fruit platter and the cherry French toast. The fruit platter had a nice variety of fruit; strawberries, grapes, kiwi, cantaloupe, and pineapple. The strawberries were not ripe but all the other fruit was ripe. The French toast was thick sliced and freshly made. It came with warm maple syrup and cherries in a pie filing type sauce. Both the cherry sauce and maple syrup were served on the side.

DH had a fruit platter and the breakfast bowl. This had 2 eggs (he got them over easy) over stir fry vegetables with sausage. He said the eggs and vegetables were well cooked and he liked how the yolk went over the vegetables like a sauce.

Snack: while walking around on Nassau we found dole whips. It was warm out and the were the perfect refreshing treat.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 9. - Dinner at Izumi Hibachi

BFF and her DH didn’t join us tonight. They went to Chops.

Hibachi is a meal I would recommend reserving before the cruise. This sold out as its only 3 hibachi tables that seat 8 per table.

This was everything you would expect from a hibachi experience minus the fire trucks (due to cruise safety). Our chef was a lot of fun. He sang, juggled eggs, caught things in his hat, and did a lot of the hibachi tricks. Our table mates were fun and I would absolutely recommend going.

This did have an additional charge of $15 a person but we thought it was well worth the additional charge.

Everyone had edamame, fried rice, vegetables (carrots, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers), you chose you protein(s), and dessert.

DH had filet and shrimp. I had scallops and lobster. It also came with a trio of dipping sauces. For dessert DH had the lava chocolate cake and I had mochi.

I love fried rice I was watching closely to see what the chef did differently than me. He used garlic butter. I made a note to try that next time I make it.


My scallops were beautiful cooked as was the lobster. The lobster was great in the sweet chili sauce. The lobster did not photograph well


The mochi was delish. It was light and refreshing and the perfect end to the meal.

 

[LoveDaisy]

June 9 - Coco Cay

Today we were stopping at RC’s private island. We wanted to get off the ship early to get a good spot and to maximize our day so we skipped breakfast.

Lunch - Skippers Grill. Since we didn’t have breakfast we had an early lunch and ate a little after 11. The buffet had several options, burgers, hotdogs, tacos, chicken, fries, fruit, a salad bar, various pasta, potato, and premade salads, corn, etc.

We opted for tacos. I had black beans and DH had one steak and one pulled pork taco (they also had chicken) they had a toppings bar with several kinds of salsa, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. The taco meat and fixings were freshly made and delicious. We each got a soft serve cone for our walk back to the beach.

Later that afternoon we walked over to a snack shack. DH got the mozzarella sticks and I got a funnel cake. They were using fresh clean oil at the right temperature and nothing was greasy.

I left my phone in our beach bag so I didn’t get any pictures.