Royal Carribbean symphony of the Seas. 🥳🛳️🚢 — Attraction in Miami

I recently embarked on a Royal Caribbean cruise aboard the Freedom of the Seas. The experience was, in my opinion, the most unsatisfactory I have encountered on any cruise line. The company employs several strategies to reduce costs. Firstly, the food quality is substandard. The steak was excessively fatty and unappetizing, necessitating a substitution. Even the alternative option was not satisfactory. It is evident that the company is compromising on quality to minimize expenses, to an extreme degree. They intentionally provide small portions, anticipating that customers will be less inclined to request additional servings, thereby saving the company money. Beverages are served in small cups at dinner, whether water or lemonade, and larger cups are not provided. The company is employing a deceptive strategy by intentionally offering small cups, knowing that customers will consume less if they must repeatedly request refills. When purchasing a soda package, the company has a limited number of Coca-Cola Freestyle machines available. However, they anticipate long wait times, so most customers will not want to keep waiting in many long lines to refill their cup, thereby saving money. This approach is a way to reduce costs by having fewer soda machines, eliminating the need for long lines when customers have already paid for the soda package. It is clear that this cruise line has gone to an extreme degree in reducing costs to save money, rather than providing a comfortable cruise experience where customers do not have to repeatedly request more food or ask for refills due to small cups. I have never witnessed a cruise line or any company employing such extreme measures to save money through deceptive and discreet methods. It is so bad that I would say it is unethical and embarrassing when you really consider it. I understand that companies need to make money, and I completely agree with that; however, the problem is to such an extreme degree that Royal Caribbean is doing just to save a buck. I anticipated enjoying exceptional cuisine upon the conclusion of the cruise. The customer service is commendable, with a dedicated and positive workforce. However, it is possible that the company’s cost-cutting measures may lead to dissatisfaction among passengers. This situation often results in employees receiving criticism and numerous complaints for actions beyond their control, which are ultimately managed by the corporate entity. Consequently, this may be increasing the challenges faced by Royal Caribbean employees, which is undesirable. I feel sorry for the great employees on the Royal Caribbean cruise. I am sure that they are taken advantage of by the companies, big corporate greed for money, and always have to listen to a lot of upset people on the cruise. And it’s not like the employees on the ship can make any big changes that need to happen. I hope they pay their employees great, but they probably don’t…...

WOW! Where do I start? From boarding to deboarding, it was an amazing experience. The first person we met and talked with was Johan, our room attendant. He was so friendly and helpful. And he made us feel welcomed right from the start. He explained the different things happening on the ship including where to get lunch (which was delicious). All the staff were very friendly. Even the staff at the Windjammer restaurant entrance had a very pleasant way of telling people to wash their hands before eating. "Washy washy before yummy yummy" (I'll never forget that jingle). There were hand washing stations before entering the restaurant.

Our dinner waiters were exceptional. Manolo (waiter) and Jeffrey (asst waiter) were ever present and attentive. They responded quickly to our every request. Since we had the same waiters all 3 nights for dinner, they already knew what we liked and had it ready for us. Manolo went out of his way to get my husband fish for dinner on our 3rd night even though it was not on the menu. And let's not forget the evening entertainment by the restaurant staff. It was so much fun. (please see pictures on my Google review).

We chose to skip the CoCo Cay Island and opted to go to the spa instead. We made the right choice. We got the hot stone massage, and we felt so good afterwards. We were so relaxed that we headed back to our cabin for a short nap.  My therapist was Alma. She was so knowledgeable. She explained about circulation and how important body brushing can be to improve circulation. I realized I had been doing it all wrong, oops. She supplied me with a very detailed regime I could follow at home to get rid of soreness and improve overall circulation.

We also took advantage of a free bracelet promotion that was offered by the on-board jewelry store. The young lady who helped us was named Twinkal, yes Twinkal! And she was a shining star. She was so friendly and far from the pushy salesman you normally encounter in Jewelry stores. We did of course buy other merchandise. We went back each day for 3 days to buy new charms for my bracelet since they had new ones daily.

We didn't want to leave and considered stowing away, but we had to get back to our little doggy. We already reserved our next cruise before leaving the ship. See you again soon, Royal Caribbean Family! Thanks for an...

We just spent 8 nights on this ship and had a wonderful time on board. The food was plentiful and really good. Our stateroom was spacious for the three of us with a good size balcony on the 9th deck. Everything looked so clean and new. The staff was top notch, so ever friendly and went beyond their way to accommodate us. We love Aireen, our stateroom personal "housekeeper". She remembered everything and we never had to ask her what we needed, because it was done and without using the cruise app. The only thing is that it was difficult to make a reservation for the main dining room at the time we wanted, so we ended up eating after 8:45 pm for most nights. We eventually canceled our reservations and ate at the Windjammer instead, but we were charged anyway. It would have been nice to have more outlets in the room. There were lots of activities for everyone and we enjoyed them all. We reserved our excursions a bit late, so we didn't have the best ones (our fault though). The app was not the best to use (in our opinion) because we had to locate some information and didn't know where to find it. The pools were always crowded during the day, so we would go at 5:00 when everyone had enough. There was a ceremony for the military members and veterans on the promenade which was really nice to see. Overall, we had an awesome time and we will...