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I Test Out One Of The BIGGEST Mega Ships At Sea! Symphony of the Seas
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Jan 28, 2025
I like cruising on small and medium-sized ships that aren’t busy, and a bit laid back. But I also love going to Vegas, with its big brash shows, buzz, and excitement. So, I decided, to see if a big resort ship would work out for people like me, so I nervously booked myself on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which at the time was the second-biggest ship in the world, holding up to 6,680 passengers. Now that I've experienced the best and worst of a mega ship resort cruising, I now know who should or shouldn't be booking themselves on one of these. And why! For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * T-Shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore * Mugs, notebooks, hoodies etc: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/tipsfortravellers?ref_id=22354 My social media: --------------------------------------------------- * Blog: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
View Video Transcript
0:00
here's the dilemma I usually and like
0:02
cruising on small and mediumsized ships
0:05
that aren't busy and a bit laid back but
0:08
I also really love going to Las Vegas
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with its big brass shows its Buzz its
0:12
excitement so I decided to see if big
0:15
Resort cruise ship sailing would work
0:18
out for people like me so I rather
0:20
nervously booked myself on Royal
0:22
Caribbean Symphony Of The Seas which at
0:24
the time was the second biggest cruise
0:26
ship in the world holding up to
0:28
6,680 passengers now now that I've
0:32
experienced the best and the worst of
0:34
mega ship Resort cruising on that trip I
0:37
now know exactly who should and
0:40
shouldn't be booking themselves on one
0:41
of these and why as you will find out by
0:44
the way if you're new here I'm Gary
0:46
benridge and I'm helping you to discover
0:48
plan and enjoy Unforgettable Cruise
0:51
vacations when I stepped onto the ship
0:54
in Barcelona I was hit by a wall of
0:57
Noise music chatter and crowds it was
1:01
almost overwhelming although that
1:03
freaked me out a bit and I will come
1:05
back to it before actually coming on the
1:08
cruise my biggest concern was actually
1:11
not so much that it was much more
1:13
fundamental with the activities and
1:15
events before and cun for me now look
1:17
I'm older I wasn't traveling with kids
1:19
teens or 20 and 30 somethings so with
1:22
this actually just have stuff I wanted
1:24
to do here's what I found first of all
1:27
the entertainment was mindblowing I got
1:30
to see Hairspray the Broadway show their
1:33
production show called flight dare to
1:35
dream with an airplane flying around the
1:37
auditorium at the end an ice skating
1:39
show which I've never seen it SE before
1:41
which was called 1977 and best of all
1:44
Hero an an aqua Show which was just
1:47
phenomenal now these I realized appeal
1:49
to me as much as they did to all ages
1:51
who attended them the ship had without a
1:55
Shad of a doubt the biggest program of
1:57
activities I've ever seen on the Cruise
2:00
there was so much to do I took a video
2:02
actually of me flicking through the app
2:03
of everything was on in just one day and
2:06
to get through it it was just a blur
2:08
just so much stuff going on now to be
2:12
honest there was not actually as much on
2:14
that program though targeted to me as
2:17
I'd really hoped I did appreciate though
2:20
the detail and the scale with everything
2:22
that they did offer so let me give you
2:24
some examples they had an imarc balloon
2:27
drop party with a staggering
2:30
3,000 Balloons with you know a live band
2:33
playing they did a a magnificent parade
2:36
through the Royal prominade which had
2:38
you know dozens of crew members
2:40
intricate costumes choreography floats
2:43
the themed evening parties were really
2:45
kind of done and embraced properly
2:47
across the ship so for example on
2:49
Caribbean night even the waiters and the
2:51
bman and every single venue around the
2:53
ship were you know dressed in Caribbean
2:55
Garb they ran a family Fair On the
2:59
Border walk one day with free cupcakes
3:02
popcorn stands face painting games band
3:05
entertainment so every single event even
3:07
if it wasn't necessary for me was done
3:09
with detail you clearly kind of money is
3:11
being spent on them and they are really
3:13
well done like as I said many of those
3:16
events weren't for me so I kind of just
3:19
went to see them in the end because of
3:20
their slickness you know the parade was
3:22
kind of for kids you know Family Focus
3:24
the parties were late at night for a
3:26
younger party crowd you know I must
3:28
admit the balloon drop was at midnight
3:30
which kind of meant I had to sort of
3:31
stay past my bedtime to go and see it
3:34
which is probably a bit embarrassing to
3:35
say but you know I was clearly the
3:37
minority because the events and the
3:39
parties kind of they were all packed so
3:42
again kind of not really me some of the
3:44
more regular events I don't think they
3:46
were for me either so they had kind of a
3:48
belly flop competition which really is
3:50
not my taste uh you know I missed not
3:52
having enrichment there were no porty
3:54
motion talks they did have I guess
3:56
probably one enrichment talk which was
3:58
where the production team of the shows
4:00
answered questions it was really really
4:02
sparely attended showing again that the
4:05
people on the ship weren't really kind
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of looking for the sort of things that
4:09
that I think I was really looking for
4:11
now as I mentioned earlier the noise and
4:15
the crowds kind of were a concern before
4:17
going and as I boarded it kind of really
4:19
hit me so how did that actually play out
4:21
in the end cuz that actually was my
4:23
second concern not my first concern so
4:25
one thing that I really came to like
4:27
about the ship that actually helped deal
4:30
with the crowds was that it had seven
4:32
really distinct zones or areas and even
4:36
though you know I was on this massive
4:38
big ship as I went to each of them I did
4:40
feel like I was you know going to almost
4:42
different ships and different kind of
4:44
experiences and I was really clever
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because they they the way they use them
4:48
because they would have activities
4:49
during the day in every Zone at the same
4:52
time and that would kind of spread the
4:53
crowds out around the ship so let me
4:55
explain a little bit more about these
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kind of zones and and and areas now the
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loudest and busiest Zone without a
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shadow of a doubt was the royal
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prominade it had the shops several busy
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bars Guest Services uh the photo center
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excursions desk Starbucks sarentos the
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included Pizza Cafe prominade and so on
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this is where the parties were held it
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was always kind of boisterous here this
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was a Zone to be honest I cared for L it
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because it was too loud it was too
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frantic it was too busy but it was
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clearly loved by most passengers because
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it was kind of the happening place
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Central Park was a place that I way
5:35
preferred and liked they have thousands
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of real plants in here it was a slightly
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kind of quieter space it was a bit Buzzy
5:42
in the evenings because most of the
5:44
speciality dining restaurants are here
5:46
and they' have a guitarist or some live
5:48
music going on here it did offer a
5:51
slightly more piece and quiet space not
5:55
massively but slightly now the other
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Zone which was fun but probably not
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really targeted me as much was the
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boardwalk it was more family and teens
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place it had a carousel had viby kind of
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dining places like Johnny Rocket Steiner
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uh the boardwalk doghouse rock climbing
6:12
the aqua Show theater they had some
6:14
parties in here as well like the silent
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disco for example now the zone that I
6:19
spent most of the time in the evenings
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was in what they called the
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entertainment place and it had most of
6:25
what I was looking for in here it had
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the the main and the ice skating
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theaters had a comedy club uh it had the
6:31
casino which is absolutely massive I'm
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sure there are more slot machines in
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there than than some of the casinos in
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Vegas for example uh the pool and Sports
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Zone is another hugely popular and busy
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one uh it was a massive part of the ship
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it was also kind of loud and really busy
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during the day it included four pools
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with one dedicated for kids uh this is
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up on Deck 15 you often have live music
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or a DJ playing up there you also have
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three water slide sides which I did go
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on and I really enjoyed even though I
7:02
was kind of lining up and shuffling
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around mostly with kids but I loved it
7:06
uh then towards the rear of that deck on
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Deck 15 was an area with the famous
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Royal Caribbean flow Riders um again
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used mostly by teens kind of and young
7:15
men and women uh the abyss which is a
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slide which goes down to the boardwalk
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Crazy Golf really popular with families
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the zip line a sports court with kind of
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constant basketball pickle ball soccer
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uh and then there was also video arcade
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up there it was a little bit Rowdy a
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little bit party-like for me up there so
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I did like that on that area there was
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an adult area called the salarium which
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was for people aged 16 years and over
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this was pretty much though the only
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place on the ship that was adults only
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there was some 18 plus comedy shows and
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a few events like that have like a big
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band playing in Dazzle so that appealed
7:56
more to adults but unlike say on a line
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like like Disney there was no extensive
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dedicated adult only areas of course in
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the sport zone I should have also
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mentioned by the way there was a huge
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spa and then a big Fitness area which I
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actually really liked and used most days
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there was also a youth zone which of
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course for me kind of was not of any use
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because that's where all the kids clubs
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and things were all these zones and
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facilities and the huge daily program
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activities gave me so much to explore I
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did something that I have never ever
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done on a cruise with ports before and
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that is stay on board for all seven days
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I only got off in one port to actually
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see if I could take good pictures of the
8:39
ship and I know I still did not see and
8:41
do everything because people still say
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oh did you go to xace and I didn't see
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it now I wasn't the only one that spent
8:47
time on the ship because every day there
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were loads of people staying on board
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even though places like Rome Florence
8:53
and Pisa were on the roots and my excuse
8:55
was I had been to them quite recently
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now more on that come kind of to come
9:00
around this whole area but before I get
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into that there are two other concerns
9:06
that I had coming on that I do want to
9:08
talk about uh the first of those is
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around service now I assumed that was so
9:12
many passengers events and venues I
9:15
would find service way weaker than on
9:19
the mediumsized kind of Premium lines
9:20
that I go on often princess H America
9:23
celebrity saying that once I was on
9:25
board I was so impressed by the crew in
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service they came across as a really
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kind of happy crew and everyone I spoke
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to agreed that the service was great on
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Symphony Of The Seas obviously it wasn't
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as personal as on smaller ships are gone
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uh you know my waiters did kind of get
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to know me in the dining room uh the
9:43
Starbucks crew got to know me because I
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went there frequently but generally
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speaking of course they just can't
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personalize they don't get to know you
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so whilst they didn't you know get to
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know and personalize things they were
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really friendly they really a beat they
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really efficient they seemed really well
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trained I was really really impressed
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now I also came to real realized though
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that they are clearly incentivized
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because from the middle of the cruise
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onwards so many crew started asking me
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how I rated them and if I would mention
10:08
them in the post Cruise survey at the
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end of the cruise so the crew are
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clearly being encouraged to make sure
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that they get good scores and they get
10:17
mention those surveys and it does seem
10:20
to work but service was great so that
10:22
was one unexpected positive but what
10:24
about one of the make or break things on
10:27
a cruise that I was also sure on a big
10:30
Resort ship would definitely absolutely
10:33
be below kind of those premium midsize
10:35
lines that I mentioned earlier that I'm
10:37
more used to before I talk about that I
10:38
want to do a quick plug if you don't
10:40
mind if you enjoy my content consider
10:42
becoming a patron to get exclusive bonus
10:44
content like live update videos while
10:47
I'm on trips like this one that was on
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there's various exclusive ebooks there's
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unlimited ability to ask questions just
10:53
go to
10:59
to Symphony Of The Seas and that big
11:02
topic I expected the food on this big
11:05
Mega Resort ship would be average at
11:09
best I decided on this cruise by the way
11:12
that I was going to stick with the
11:14
included dining options only and not
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spend money on speciality dining now one
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of the reasons being that I had booked a
11:22
suite and so I had already pushed my
11:24
budget out and the other is that I
11:26
really wanted to see if the included
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food was poor to kind of encourage
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splashing out on those many many many
11:34
speciality restaurants so of course I
11:36
did then D mostly in Coastal Kitchen
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versus the main dining room and although
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the menus were not as large as I'm used
11:43
to on those other more premium and
11:45
smaller ship lines the food was really
11:48
rather good now I used wind jamama
11:50
Buffet actually quite often way more
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than I thought I would especially for
11:53
lunch because I really like the range I
11:56
thought the theme stations I thought the
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salad bar options would absolutely
11:59
without a shadow of a doubt in my view
12:01
it's good as those premium Lions H
12:03
America princess and celebrity that had
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been on I thought it was really good I
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tried the pizzas and sentos really
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excellent the boardwalk doghouse uh you
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know sausages really tasty they included
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ice cream which was good Al Loco Fresh
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Mexican very tasty and went to Cafe
12:19
prominade in Central Park for sandwiches
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which were also really good so I really
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like there was a wide range of these
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included dining options now apparently
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there are nine included dining Ops
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option so clearly from the list of ones
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I went to I missed some but I found them
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all good the ones I did go to now the
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other thing that I did really like about
12:37
going on roal Caribbean was because I've
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been on Celebrity often and it's part of
12:41
the same group they actually allow your
12:44
points to count towards status so I had
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Diamond status which unlocked perks so
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this include the Diamond Lounge which
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had continental breakfast and even
12:53
canipes and importantly it included four
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drinks a day up to $14 which meant I
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didn't buy a drinks package so I came
13:02
away from this trip with a couple of
13:05
really big realizations first of all the
13:08
resort Symphony Of The Seas ship and her
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sister ships is not at all tacky as I
13:13
had probably stereotyped it it was vast
13:16
but I thought it was really designed
13:17
well and well for the particular with
13:19
those zones second thing car of money
13:21
has really been spent on making this
13:25
packed with entertainment shows
13:28
facilities that are really well executed
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really hard to find kind of in land in
13:32
one place thirdly it's absolutely made
13:35
for families multigenerational young
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couple groups of friends that want to be
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busy want to be on the go want to be
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entertained the whole time when they're
13:43
on vacation it's loud noisy and bustling
13:47
everywhere now tellingly I was
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absolutely I would say amongst the
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eldest people on the ship I don't think
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it's really for me it's not supposed to
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be I really enjoyed trying it out but I
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think I'm probably am looking for
13:59
something a bit smaller with more
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enrichment less reason to stay on the
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ship and more to see in the ports kind
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of encourage me though I will absolutely
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miss the shows and the scale of the
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entertainment which was first class but
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there is one other thing I would really
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love you to see and hear about I'd love
14:16
you to see and hear what the sweet and
14:18
the premium experience was like on Royal
14:20
Caribbean I'm sure it's going to
14:22
surprise you so join me over in this
14:24
video and hear why you need to know
14:27
about it see you over there yeah
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