The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, and Me: A March 2019 Review

Someone asked elsewhere, so I will share here as well.

The Key: We were promised exclusive hours for all of the on board activities, such as Flowrider, ice skating, rock wall, etc. I had been watching the schedules posted, and all of them had multiple hours each week. So when I saw this, I was shocked.

46561788435_23fce5462c_k.jpg


That's it. Those were the "priority hours" for Key guests. All other sailings had multiple hours per activity. Some had hours every single day!

This was absolutely a disappointment. Not worthwhile at all.
 
Someone asked elsewhere, so I will share here as well.

The Key: We were promised exclusive hours for all of the on board activities, such as Flowrider, ice skating, rock wall, etc. I had been watching the schedules posted, and all of them had multiple hours each week. So when I saw this, I was shocked.

46561788435_23fce5462c_k.jpg


That's it. Those were the "priority hours" for Key guests. All other sailings had multiple hours per activity. Some had hours every single day!

This was absolutely a disappointment. Not worthwhile at all.

This might be getting ahead of your review but I’m curious if you used these hours and how crowded they were? There is no doubt that this is a disappointment and I hope that you and others voiced that in your survey!

Also - Did you or your son observe anyone using the priority feature for The Key at the FlowRider while he was in the regular line? And did he do stand up or boggie boarding?
 
I was able to get 2 bottles of water at a time, from any bar. No problem. In fact, one time I said "Can I please have a boiled water?" and someone said "You can actually have 2 bottles..." so I asked for 2.

There is water available wherever the lemonade/flavored water is available, at Windjammer, Park Cafe, etc. Not bottled, just water.

Thank you!
 


There was a guy who would play piano and sing, and it usually turned into a sing along.
One of my favourite people watching games at Schooner's is "spot the people that will get up and dance to a random pop song played by a guy on a mini-grand".

They always had cheese, pepperoni, and veggie pizza, then there was another option.
Did they have an option to order a personal pizza? The pre-made ones are perfect for grab and go, but sometimes you want a fancy-ish pizza. Or pineapples (ymmv, and apologies to those that hate pineapples on pizza).

This place had a Bloody Mary cart out in the mornings, where you could build a custom Bloody Mary. I am not a fan, so that did not appeal to me at all.
I actually like having a Bloody Caesar every once in a while, and yet I really don't like Bloody Marys. Who knew that clamato juice made such a difference?

Yes, I have heard complaints about the "Nickel and Diming" on Royal, but you still spend less than you would on DCL.
It's a psychological thing. It's easy to remember that it costs extra for soft drinks but in the moment, when you don't have free, easy and immediate access to the soda machines, it kind of sucks. Unless you're like me and avoid drinking the fizzy stuff, "daddy sodas" excepted. I'd imagine that those that go to all inclusive resorts have similar shock at having to pay a la carte for things.

Boardwalk Dog House is the only option of these that is included in your cruise fare. They have a few options, different types of hot dog/sausage, not much in the way of side options.
Harmony has the same variety, but Allure has more dog options, plus sauteed onions.

Johnny Rockets has a surcharge for lunch and dinner, but breakfast is included in your cruise fare. Let me repeat that, because everyone hears "Johnny Rockets has a surcharge" and dismisses it. But breakfast is included in your cruise fare.
This is something I always point out. I'm not as big a fan of the food as you are, but aside from that, it's relatively quiet, it's outdoors, and you sort of get a view of the water. Anyone who has been to WJ or Cabanas at peak breakfast times can probably appreciate this little bit of serenity (now).

We chose to dine at Chops, as we all like filet mignon (snobs? I guess?) and the menu at Jamie's wasn't appealing.
I'd be tempted by the branzino. A simply oiled, salted and grilled whole fish can be incredible if that's your thing.

Somehow they had brought an extra mac and cheese for DS. It's almost like they knew he wouldn't like the burger. "Kid, what are you DOING? Who orders a burger in a steak house?
Reminds me of my server on Harmony (Teo. If he's still there he was promoted to the specialty restaurants). One night I ordered the beignets for dessert, and he immediately looked at me and asked "you sure you don't want to order another dessert as well", as if to say "yeah, the donuts suck". He was not wrong.

I'm going with a big NO on that 10-story slide!
Honestly, it's a 10-story drop of meh. To me, it's like Aquaduck - a lot of hype building it up, but a lot of disappointment once you've tried the ride.

I suppose that if you found Aquaduck thrilling you might find Abyss to be fun as well. For me, I was excited and thrilled by neither.
 
This might be getting ahead of your review but I’m curious if you used these hours and how crowded they were? There is no doubt that this is a disappointment and I hope that you and others voiced that in your survey!

Also - Did you or your son observe anyone using the priority feature for The Key at the FlowRider while he was in the regular line? And did he do stand up or boggie boarding?

We didn't use the hours. My son ended up skinning both of his knees somehow, so he didn't want to boogie board anymore (you pop up onto your knees and balance). He also didn't want to try the standing side.

We did not see anyone jumping the line at the Flowrider. And we didn't do any of the other activities, except The Abyss and there was no line for that at all.

I'm going with a big NO on that 10-story slide!

I noped that slide as well, but from all reports it isn't that bad. It isn't a straight drop, and it isn't dark. Those are my two biggest concerns. My son said there is one turn that is kind of hard, and that must be the spot I'd heard of where people have been a little banged up. He was fine, he just said there was one turn that was a bit more sharp than the rest.

One of my favourite people watching games at Schooner's is "spot the people that will get up and dance to a random pop song played by a guy on a mini-grand".


Did they have an option to order a personal pizza? The pre-made ones are perfect for grab and go, but sometimes you want a fancy-ish pizza. Or pineapples (ymmv, and apologies to those that hate pineapples on pizza). Yes, they did. We were fine with the choices they had available, but you could also make a custom pizza. Thank you for reminding me of that.


I actually like having a Bloody Caesar every once in a while, and yet I really don't like Bloody Marys. Who knew that clamato juice made such a difference?


It's a psychological thing. It's easy to remember that it costs extra for soft drinks but in the moment, when you don't have free, easy and immediate access to the soda machines, it kind of sucks. Unless you're like me and avoid drinking the fizzy stuff, "daddy sodas" excepted. I'd imagine that those that go to all inclusive resorts have similar shock at having to pay a la carte for things. I do get it, but I guess my point is there aren't that many "extras" that you are paying for vs other cruise lines or all-inclusives. Really it is just drinks, and if you buy the package then you have unlimited drinks. I actually like the drink package concept better than DCL where you have to pay out of pocket for every alcoholic drink.


Harmony has the same variety, but Allure has more dog options, plus sauteed onions. I feel like maybe they had the onions? I don't remember though.


This is something I always point out. I'm not as big a fan of the food as you are, but aside from that, it's relatively quiet, it's outdoors, and you sort of get a view of the water. Anyone who has been to WJ or Cabanas at peak breakfast times can probably appreciate this little bit of serenity (now). Yes, the food is not exceptional, but it is custom made (not sitting out under warming lights being touched and sneezed on by 5000 people) and you can always find seating.


I'd be tempted by the branzino. A simply oiled, salted and grilled whole fish can be incredible if that's your thing.


Reminds me of my server on Harmony (Teo. If he's still there he was promoted to the specialty restaurants). One night I ordered the beignets for dessert, and he immediately looked at me and asked "you sure you don't want to order another dessert as well", as if to say "yeah, the donuts suck". He was not wrong.


Honestly, it's a 10-story drop of meh. To me, it's like Aquaduck - a lot of hype building it up, but a lot of disappointment once you've tried the ride.

I suppose that if you found Aquaduck thrilling you might find Abyss to be fun as well. For me, I was excited and thrilled by neither.
 


I noped that slide as well, but from all reports it isn't that bad. It isn't a straight drop, and it isn't dark. Those are my two biggest concerns. My son said there is one turn that is kind of hard, and that must be the spot I'd heard of where people have been a little banged up. He was fine, he just said there was one turn that was a bit more sharp than the rest.
I did brush my shoulder on the tube at one point, which would've been bad if not for the requirement to wear sleeved shirts.
 
I did brush my shoulder on the tube at one point, which would've been bad if not for the requirement to wear sleeved shirts.

That must be the spot. Someone I met on the ship said that if you hold your arms they way they show you, it helps avoid getting your elbows scraped up at that part, too. It looks awkward, but I can see how it protects you from tube burn.
 
Day 1 continued:

Lunch was great, and now the rooms were ready.

We headed up to Deck 10 to check out our room. I had booked an Ocean View Balcony Guarantee room, which means I did not get to choose the room, but would be guaranteed an Ocean View Balcony (as opposed to a Central Park or Boardwalk Balcony). Booking a Guarantee room is a great way to save money, but you have to be careful. I had checked out the available staterooms and determined that there were only a few that were somewhat undesirable, due to being near night clubs or restaurants, or in high traffic areas. I took my chances and it worked out well for us. Some ships have obstructed view balconies, and some of the obstructed views are more obstructed than others. Sometimes it is just a pole in the way, but sometimes it is a whole lifeboat, so you have to be careful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it were less expensive and if there were no undesirable rooms in that category.

About 30 days before we sailed we were assigned a room. Actually, before that, I had checked out my Set Sail Pass (kind of like a boarding pass) and saw that it said Deck 10 but the room number said GTY (guarantee). I wasn't sure whether the deck was just a placeholder or the actual deck, but it turned out to be the actual deck.

Our stateroom was 10330, which was allllllllll the way aft on the port side.

33604761288_37222c6af3_b.jpg


This was both good and bad. It was good (GREAT, actually) because it was super quiet. Since the hallway ended with a door to the Aqua Theater Suite 1 door over, the only people who would be passing us would be the people in the suite and the people next to us. The people in the suite seemed to have teenagers, and the people next to us were a couple. So that means no kids running down the hallway screaming in the early morning, and it was likely there wouldn't be kids running above us either since again, the hall ends just 1 door down so anyone running would slam into the door.

It was also nice because it meant we had to walk a lot, which meant we could eat more pizza ;).

It was, however, a loooooooooong walk to the front of the ship. So when I was going or coming from the Solarium (will get to that) or the theater, it was a long walk.

But it was totally fine and I have no complaints about the room location.

Now, I had heard that the sofa bed on the Symphony is actually 2 beds, and one pulls out from the bottom as a trundle. I thought this would be great, and the kids could sleep there and I'd have the big bed all to myself. Perfect, right? Except that on rooms that are configured with the bed near the window, the sofa bed doesn't have the trundle. So this room only holds 3 people. I had no idea this was even possible, as I had only heard that the sofa bed had 2 separate sleeping areas! So we ended up having our Room Attendant, Rodolfo, who was awesome, separate the big bed into twins. It was disappointing, but again not a huge deal since I had saved a lot by not choosing my own room.

The room was still really pretty, though I don't like having the bed by the window all that much.

33600244388_77851d539e_k.jpg


This is where the fridge was, and a few drawers for clothing etc. The hair dryer and 2 boxes of Kleenex were in the top drawer over the fridge. The fridge was empty, and had a lock on it (it was unlocked). The cups you see are the refillable soda cups. All of the cups looked the same, so we used a Sharpie to write our names on them. That rubbed off a few times so eventually I put a Sea Band on mine so I could identify it.

46753437284_fa3f6c9416_k.jpg


The Key: Our carry on luggage was already in the room, and since that was all we had brought we began unpacking. This was a great benefit, since we would have otherwise been dragging our suitcases around until the room was available.

There are two closets. One has hanging space only, and one has some hanging space and some shelves, as well as the safe. I forgot to photograph that side.

47476757031_1814870d48_k.jpg


Our safe was locked, and we couldn't unlock it, so we had to call housekeeping. They came and unlocked it, and we didn't have any issues with it the rest of the trip. But let me warn you, it is SMALL. You cannot even fit an iPad in there. I fit my wallet and our Passports in there and could probably have put our phones in there, and that is all that would fit.

Speaking of small, here is the bathroom. I know, it is a cruise ship, what do I expect? But it is a small bathroom, with a small shower. I will say that over the week I noticed a mildew smell in there as well. Kind of crazy for an almost brand new ship!

46753439504_621c02bb61_k.jpg


40510619603_efc7a5eb43_k.jpg


The shower was fine. You could adjust the water pressure, and the water got VERY hot if you wanted it to. One thing is, the door would close automatically, so if we were hanging wet bathing suits they didn't really get much air. In fact there just didn't seem to be much ventilation in the bathroom at all, which I am sure it what is causing the mildew smell. I had noticed the smell in one section of the hallway, too.

Let me just say, this did not ruin the trip, nor would it deter me from sailing on the Symphony again. It is just something I noticed, and wanted to comment on. The ship isn't perfect, but it is darn close. If an occasional mildew smell is the worst thing that I can say about it, that's pretty good.

Our balcony had 2 chairs and 2 footstools, and a little table. The chair could recline completely flat, so technically you could lay out there if you used the foot stool as well.

46753446154_de72852ba8_k.jpg


This was our view, and it would again be our view a week later. The traffic looked horrible going in one direction, and at no point did it look like it improved. Yuck!

40510623253_91efe9a0c3_k.jpg
 
Day 1 continued:

The photos are still showing up huge on my end, so let me know if this is bothering anyone and I will work on fixing it.

I believe we received our first Cruise Compass in our room.

46759312894_bbd4ebffe9_b.jpg
[/url]

47429861492_e5e170a15b_b.jpg


47482702321_b02a9d3e5b_b.jpg


40516670143_98e538dfb2_b.jpg


Sometimes there was an insert with evening entertainment, sometimes that wasn't included. I'm not sure if we were supposed to get that every night, or if it was only occasional. The Royal Caribbean app also had the shows and activities listed. The app is great for some things, like having a map of the ship, or checking what time an activity is. But sometimes the times are wrong. That happened to us more than once, and it was really annoying. I wish the app had texting capacity so we wouldn't have needed VOOM internet. But right now only Harmony and Allure have texting turned on in the Royal app.

The Key: I've already shared our letters from The Key, outlining the program and the private hours for activities. We also had our internet access codes in our room.

Since The Key included one VOOM Surf and Stream access code for each person who had purchased The Key, we were able to text each other on the ship. We were also able to receive texts and emails from home, and use the internet as we would at home. We didn't try to watch movies or anything, it was mostly for social media and so I could do some work. I know some people say they can't imagine carrying their phone around a ship blah blah blah and back in my day we just left notes in the room to tell each other where we were going... yeah well when you know better you do better. With our room being all the way on the far end of the ship, if we had to go back to the room every time we changed location, we would have spent so much time walking back to the room. That seems so silly! Sure, I would have preferred that DD couldn't text me every 5 seconds when she wasn't with me. But my son was allowed to go places with his friends as long as he let me know where he was going. He could do it discreetly on his phone, vs saying "Hey guys, I have to walk back to my room and leave a note for my mom" then showing up 20 minutes later to find his friends have already moved on to the next thing. This was definitely a worthwhile perk for us, and we definitely benefitted from being able to text each other.

Later on I found this helpful page that listed all of the shows. I remember having this on HAL and it was really helpful in planning our week. This was helpful as well, and I wish I had found it earlier in the week.

46759311114_3e5734a61e_b.jpg


After we quickly unpacked, we headed up to Deck 15 to check out the pool and the Teen Club. On Deck 15 just outside our elevator bank we found the musical staircase. You have to try this out, both alone and with other people. It was funny to watch people use the staircase when they didn't know how it worked. They would just go up or down as usual, then suddenly realize there was music playing, and that it was coming from their movements.


I'll start with the Teen Club and the surrounding area. I'm afraid we never set foot in Adventure Ocean on Deck 14, so I don't have photos of that area. I do have the activity pages for Adventure Ocean, though, and I will share those.

The Teen Club is technically called The Living Room. When you first walk in, you see these game chairs to the right.

47476666671_705bbbdd9c_k.jpg


Then there are all kinds of seating areas.

47423819262_bacaeb7331_k.jpg


I think these were the chairs DD later referred to as The Tim Burton Chairs.

47476674471_9f24e86485_k.jpg


They had some events up on the wall here, so I assume this was sort of the announcement board. They also had a bunch of the Teen Compasses lying here so I grabbed one for each age group (12-14 and 15-17).

46561432275_adc05e8299_k.jpg


There was a foosball table, and another seating area. The counselor desk was just over to the left where the people are standing. That's where they kept the ball for the foosball table, and some other items. Kids had to leave their Sea Pass cards if they wanted to check out items like the ball, or some video games. DS left his card there on more than one occasion and had to go back to retrieve it so he could get off the ship in port.

40510549763_912cc97acf_k.jpg


The teens have their own outdoor area as well, under shade.

47423838612_9fa4ba9f5f_k.jpg


And then there is the Teen Disco, called Fuel. They had a bar type setup, and a dance floor. I know they had dance parties in here a few times. They had a Silent Disco party, and something else. Neither of my kids had interest in that though.

33600191708_357d3a6d7b_k.jpg


These are the teen compasses, with the activities for the week. Now, I am not sure how many of those activities happened, because as I have mentioned DD refused to go t the club and DS went, but I am pretty sure he just played video games and foosball, or left and played mini golf with friends, or went and ate pizza 1 hour before dinner and then claimed he wasn't hungry for dinner so could he just go back to the club. Um, no. You're coming to dinner with us, buddy.

33606410578_2eebf61a0b_b.jpg


47430152132_0af52d0157_b.jpg


47430156262_ef869bac63_b.jpg


47483007591_20112fbee3_b.jpg


32541046777_ee3a3c2bd4_b.jpg


46567713435_aa652c5235_b.jpg


46567717105_3d7bff7d18_b.jpg


33606407588_75ebf001c3_b.jpg
 
I’m really enjoying your posts. We are in the Anthem this summer and we have booked the Key. Also, my teens do not think that the teen room ca compare to Vibe. The cruise compass show some activities I think my kids will love. Thanks for the posts.
 
I’m really enjoying your posts. We are in the Anthem this summer and we have booked the Key. Also, my teens do not think that the teen room ca compare to Vibe. The cruise compass show some activities I think my kids will love. Thanks for the posts.

From what I have seen, the kids make friends quickly and then come and go from the teen club. My kids are currently away with their dad, but I will ask if the club did have activities going on.
 
Now, I had heard that the sofa bed on the Symphony is actually 2 beds, and one pulls out from the bottom as a trundle. I thought this would be great, and the kids could sleep there and I'd have the big bed all to myself. Perfect, right? Except that on rooms that are configured with the bed near the window, the sofa bed doesn't have the trundle. So this room only holds 3 people. I had no idea this was even possible, as I had only heard that the sofa bed had 2 separate sleeping areas! So we ended up having our Room Attendant, Rodolfo, who was awesome, separate the big bed into twins. It was disappointing, but again not a huge deal since I had saved a lot by not choosing my own room.

I've been scowering the internet looking for this info so thank you for posting. It's hard to find clear info on what the sofa bed actually looks like. We currently have a boardwalk balcony room booked and it says it sleeps up to 4 but I missed the part where it says this category only has a single sofa bed. Not sure how you can sleep 4 in the room with a single sofa bed. All the others say double. Anyways now we know and will have to change the category
 
Day 1 continued:

I actually have the Adventure Ocean activities, but it is a LOT of pages and I would rather not post all of them. So I'll share a few, just so you have an idea of what's going on there.

Here's one for a day at sea:

33606708488_6b77e1d823_b.jpg


I can't be the only one who laughs at the name of the morning activity. I mean come ON!!!

47430451452_90df36a528_b.jpg


And here is an example of the schedule for a day in port:

47430455012_305735b677_b.jpg
 
I've been scowering the internet looking for this info so thank you for posting. It's hard to find clear info on what the sofa bed actually looks like. We currently have a boardwalk balcony room booked and it says it sleeps up to 4 but I missed the part where it says this category only has a single sofa bed. Not sure how you can sleep 4 in the room with a single sofa bed. All the others say double. Anyways now we know and will have to change the category

Is there a way to see how many the sofa bed sleeps? I'll have to look into that in the future. I would think if it says they sleep 4 then you have the trundle.
 
Is there a way to see how many the sofa bed sleeps? I'll have to look into that in the future. I would think if it says they sleep 4 then you have the trundle.
Its been kind of confusing. The boardwalk view rooms seem to be the only category where it specifies a single sofa bed. All others say double. Other categories say single sofa for rooms that sleep 3 and double for rooms that sleep 4. The photos of the boardwalk rooms I've seen show the sofa bed near the balcony which aligns with your experience of it being a single. This might be one of those safe then sorry as there are 4 of us so having a single sofa bed would really dampen the experience!
 
Day 1 continued:

So Deck 15 is a busy place. Not only is the Teen Club there, but also the pools, water slides, El Loco Fresh (will get to that), several bars, the arcade, the Solarium (will get to that as well), several hot tubs, The Abyss, and the Flow Rider.

Oh and this GENIUS room that should be not only on every cruise ship but in every hotel and on every corner. All of the Starbucks that opened up 5-10 years ago are closing and THIS is what should replace them.

I call it The Room of Requirement.

Let's start with the best part. It's happened to everyone. You're trying not to use your phone that much, because you're on vacation, and you want to unplug, but you can't stop taking photos because you want to remember everything and then share it with internet strangers, and your DD is texting you non stop because apparently the Teen Club is The Worst And Please Can I Leave Now. So your phone is down to 15%, and your room is alllllllll the way aft, and you have finally found a seat in the sun, and it isn't near those people who sit far away from each other even though they are together so they can yell their entire conversation so everyone around them hears it, so you don't want to leave for toooooo long....

Royal's got you covered in the Room of Requirement. You Harry Potter fans know what the Room of Requirement is. It's a secret room in Hogwarts that only becomes available to you when you need something, and to access it you think of what you need while walking past its location and the room appears.

Royal made it happen.

You're walking back to your room thinking "If only I could charge my phone without having to go allllll the way back to my room!" and bam. The sliding door opens and you see THIS:

46567558785_e47ae45b22_k.jpg


These. Should. Be. Everywhere.

You touch the screen, you choose a cubby, you enter a pass key, you confirm it, you plug in your phone, close the door, it locks, and your phone charges. You can go get lunch at El Loco, you can go spy on your Teen (the one who loves the club or the one who hates, it; take your pick), you can go get some ice cream, or walk past the crazy intense game of dodge ball on the sport court with people screaming on the sidelines as you walk by and you wonder when dodge ball became such a popular spectator sport.

And like 15 minutes later your phone is charged.

But wait, there's more.

A charged phone is not the only thing you need on a vacation.

Those people I mentioned earlier, the ones who sit far away from each other and it seems like the only reason they did was so they could yell their entire conversation so everyone around them has to listen to it. You sat in their vicinity and now you have a headache. You don't want to go down to the Promenade (because they don't have it there anyway, I don't think) for some Motrin. Just walk past the Room of Requirement thinking about Motrin and bam, the glass door opens and you see THIS:

46568250795_fe3b437344_k.jpg


The Health vending machine has a little of everything. Feeling seasick? Health has you covered. Had too much garlic sauce on your pizza? Health has you covered. Aunt Flo got you by surprise and you weren't prepared? Health has you covered.

Health has some friends.

Meet Splash. Splash has everything you need for both sun and fun. Sunscreen? Yup. Goggles? Go see Splash. Ray Bans? Splash has them.

47482845511_343c92ce5b_k.jpg


Health and Splash are the kind, nurturing caregivers of the Room of Requirement. They make sure you don't get too sunburned, too sick, or too gross, and they make sure you look cool at all times. They take care of your needs.

And then there is Tech. Tech takes care of your wants. Tech has all of the things you probably do not need on a vacation, but there they are. I was going to say that batteries are the exception, but what do you even have on vacation that requires batteries any more? A Walkman? Probably not. But if you do, we should talk.

So what DOES Tech have? Well the batteries, for the luddites and their Walkmen. Tech also has a Nintendo DS game. Hmmm, Ok. Not really a NEED, and oddly specific. I mean, what if you already have that game? Ok moving on. Is that an iPod Shuffle? I think it is. Ok, that could be useful, I guess, especially if you're thinking about giving up that Walkman. Wait is that an iPad? Yep. An iPad. From a vending machine. On a cruise ship. It just makes me laugh. It shouldn't, I guess, but it does.

40516793373_49d362abe6_z.jpg


So there you go. You thought the Room of Requirement was just a fantasy, invented by JK Rowling. But no: its real, and its fantastic.
 
Its been kind of confusing. The boardwalk view rooms seem to be the only category where it specifies a single sofa bed. All others say double. Other categories say single sofa for rooms that sleep 3 and double for rooms that sleep 4. The photos of the boardwalk rooms I've seen show the sofa bed near the balcony which aligns with your experience of it being a single. This might be one of those safe then sorry as there are 4 of us so having a single sofa bed would really dampen the experience!

Actually it is the opposite, where if the sofa is near the balcony it is a double. That's what our stateroom attendant said, anyway. Ours had the bed near the balcony, and the sofa near the bathroom. I swear I saw one that had the double sofa near the bathroom, though.
 
Day 1 continued:

So, we are still on Deck 15, but I'm going to jump up to Deck 16 so I can confess that I never once ate at the Windjammer buffet. That's right. We walked through once, and never returned. Not because of anything we saw, just because we never went there. DD has food allergies (tree nuts and coconut) so generally we tend to avoid buffets where you have no idea what people have been doing to the food. On HAL we did go to the buffet because we didn't have all of these other options, but also because you couldn't serve yourself. You had to ask the guys behind the buffet to serve your food. So you didn't have people touching the food, using utensils to take one of everything, slopping food across the counter, etc. I've watched so many cruise videos on You tube and I have seen more than one kid in the background of a video taking something from the buffet, licking it, and putting it back. No thanks, I do not want a Licked Muffin.

DS ate at the Jammer once. He went on the day they had the GIANT chocolate cake, and he said they handed out huge pieces. How did he know that it was cake day? I have no idea. But I'm glad he got to see it, even if I didn't.

The Windjammer has Freestyle machines, and this really cool wall.

47430004362_04fd8a5bbe_k.jpg


And that is all I can say about The Jammer. Maybe next time.

So back to Deck 15.

This is where the pools are. I'm going to share photos of the pools from throughout the week, because it just seems to make sense to do so. There is the Main Pool, the Sports Pool, the Beach Pool, and Splashaway Bay. The pool area forms sort of an H shape, with the pools on the parallel lines and a walkway across the perpendicular line. The negative space in the H overlooks Central Park.

I have no idea which this is, but I do know it is not the Beach Pool.

33600162028_0bd7cfd63c_k.jpg


This one IS the Beach Pool:

47482889421_db95b6dc6e_k.jpg


46567591325_879013598b_k.jpg


47430025552_515acb577f_k.jpg


Several hot tubs all over the place on Deck 15:

47482871721_f880f137d7_k.jpg


The band plays in the middle of all of the pools, on the perpendicular line of the H. They don't play all day, but when they play you can hear them at all of the pools and above on Deck 16. That's not a bad thing, I'm just saying you can hear them.

47423799802_f60e8bbffc_k.jpg


And then there are the waterslides. DS went down the two twisty ones but not the one we refer to as The Toilet Bowl. He refuses to try those. I didn't do any of them because we went to a water park in January and I just got SO motion sick on the one stupid slide I went on. It was dark, and I got disoriented, and it made me feel super seasick. So I kept saying "Maybe later in the week" and that never happened. Maybe next time.

46561406305_db9c7b57af_k.jpg


33600151628_d666a9c439_k.jpg


DS said he liked the yellow one better because it wasn't as dark.

40510513503_fd0172076f_k.jpg


Splashaway Bay looks super fun, and I wish we had been able to experience it when the kids were younger. I think they would have really enjoyed it, and it is fairly contained so you don't have to helicopter.

46759564184_777e9629af_k.jpg


32540969187_126131c434_k.jpg


There is a smaller area for the younger kids, too.

46568677975_35f235e4f3_k.jpg


This whole area is amazing at night.

46567648045_a73e0366aa_k.jpg


33607301828_7430010199_k.jpg


Also on Deck 15 you have 2 hot tubs, with TVs, so you can watch sports and marinate at the same time. Ok that's gross, sorry. The hot tubs were always quite full. But they were pretty at night. And not nearly as full.

47430059162_ba8817e98a_k.jpg
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top