We just did this sailing on the Symphony. We rented a car in Port Canaveral and met relatives at Leu Gardens in Orlando. In Nassau, we did an excursion, then ate at Pirate Republic in Nassau, and shopped. Finally, we went to Hideaway Bay at Coco Cay. In short, we made the most of this itinerary and had a blast on the ship.
Just came back this past Sunday from the same itinerary. It was the exact same thing we did on Allure this past December. Love being able to drive to the port, hate that it was the exact same thing. Symphony was ok but we will never do it again. For a first time cruise, it’s perfect. The ship was way crowded bc of Halloween. Will never do that again either.
Surprisingly holidays tend to be really busy! We really enjoy being able to drive to a port to kick off a cruise. So much less stress than flying, plus a lot less money!
We did this one back in August and enjoyed it. We live in NY so being able to drive down the day before was way easier and cheaper than flying down and back. Canaveral was kind of odd since our other cruises were out of there but we did get to watch a SpaceX launch from the ship out at sea before docking that day. It was really cool to see one from that angle. You are right though that the parking situation is a total shit show there. Took us abou 30 minutes to get to the baggage drop off and then they didn't have the parking sign up so we went past it thinking we had to loop around. Ended up having to get back in line and cut back down the exit street from the parking lot to get back in line. Another cool thing was the 2nd night we went through a line of thunderstorms so there was lightning all around us but the seas were glassy calm.
Its makes great sense for you with the port being so close. Just like us in Florida, we always take advantage of the ports being right there, flights are getting so expensive. Yeah that parking was such a nightmare. No one had any patience and everyone was just driving around each other. We definitely want to try a cruise that heads up the north east and finishes in Canada though, so we may be back in jersey sooner than we'd like lol
@ we are doing Harmony out of Galveston in May. It will be our first times in Costa Maya and Roatan and my first in Cozumel. Looking forward to it for sure
Did this same itinerary last October on the Oasis of the Seas.. we live in Canada and we drove down and did 3 days in New York before the cruise.. I thought leaving from port liberty was a little easier than the Manhattan cruise port we left from on our Norwegian cruise to Bermuda.. really enjoy your videos..👍😀
Thank you! We have yet to cruise out of Manhattan and very well may avoid it unless there is a pretty good itinerary worth jumping on. We still want to do a one way northeast cruise that finishes in Canada.
BUT... you are still on a cruise! :) We did the same itinerary but chose it because it was drivable to the port and by far cheaper. We spent more time on the ship relaxing on those zzzz port days and still had a wonderful time! Great video.
We are doing this itinerary on Symphony in May. It’s our first cruise and we are driving from Massachusetts to port. I really just want to try out cruising before I spend the extra money on plane tickets and all of that.
That’s a great choice and you will undoubtedly love the ship. Symphony is great! Every cruiser is different and that’s why I said that. This was great for a family vacay for us, but just isn’t the right itinerary for us in how we cruise.
@travelwithjoshandtaylor .....I've been checking out sling packs....some with RFID shielding, and some that are even cut resistant to keep someone from cutting off the pack and running off. Also....tips for what you guys carry on your person when out and about. This Christmas when you guys go exploring the Christmas markets....what would you take with you for money, ID, etc?
@travelwithjoshandtaylor .... thanks for the great content as always!! We can't wait to see your videos from Germany. Yo....you need to do some live streaming when over there!! Maybe talk about tips for international cellular services and internet? :)
Great 👍 ship to have close to Pennsylvania. Philly turn into a cruise port next year for NCL . NY is home to carnival and know Virgian and msc all do stop in Orlando that think is little weird or Miami. Think swap for another sea day. As first time cruise why I been over looking that port to start keep think fly or drive to Virgian or go out of Florida like mom and dad done for years .
@@travelwithjoshandtaylor due to a 40% chance of possible storms in the Bahamas and then the storms didn’t even happen lol So the worst part is that It ended up storming in Haiti so we only got to stay in port for like 2 hrs and some people they wouldn’t even let off the ship. Not a great 1st Royal cruise when coming from Disney cruise line
Oooh, always tough coming off Disney to another brand. Especially missing that Disney magic on board. Unfortunately it happens to every cruise line in the Bahamas. NCL is probably the worst. We wouldnt ever recommend them for a cruise that includes their private island in the bahamas. Definitely worth giving RC another try in the future though. CocoCay is a great island, and for as much as we love Disney, we would take CocoCay everytime!
@@heigh-hojourneys4946 I was on the same ship. It really sucked. The storm started right after I had breakfast and I didn't even have chance to get off the ship at Labadee.😢
Another complaining video, why don’t you talk about the stuff you enjoyed on the cruise it would be a lot more engaging and you were not on the world’s largest ship
Hi David! Thanks for your comment! Most of this video discussed the things we really enjoyed, like the activities on board. You’re right this is now the third largest cruise ship but was actually the largest at one time.
For me and my family, the ship IS the destination. Rarely ever get off even at the private Islands.
That’s great! Symphony would be great for you and the family with so much to do onboard!
We just did this sailing on the Symphony. We rented a car in Port Canaveral and met relatives at Leu Gardens in Orlando. In Nassau, we did an excursion, then ate at Pirate Republic in Nassau, and shopped. Finally, we went to Hideaway Bay at Coco Cay. In short, we made the most of this itinerary and had a blast on the ship.
That’s great and sounds like you had an awesome time on this cruise! I love that you went to Leu Gardens, that’s like a little hidden gem!
Just came back this past Sunday from the same itinerary. It was the exact same thing we did on Allure this past December. Love being able to drive to the port, hate that it was the exact same thing. Symphony was ok but we will never do it again. For a first time cruise, it’s perfect. The ship was way crowded bc of Halloween. Will never do that again either.
Surprisingly holidays tend to be really busy! We really enjoy being able to drive to a port to kick off a cruise. So much less stress than flying, plus a lot less money!
Great review!
We did this one back in August and enjoyed it. We live in NY so being able to drive down the day before was way easier and cheaper than flying down and back. Canaveral was kind of odd since our other cruises were out of there but we did get to watch a SpaceX launch from the ship out at sea before docking that day. It was really cool to see one from that angle. You are right though that the parking situation is a total shit show there. Took us abou 30 minutes to get to the baggage drop off and then they didn't have the parking sign up so we went past it thinking we had to loop around. Ended up having to get back in line and cut back down the exit street from the parking lot to get back in line. Another cool thing was the 2nd night we went through a line of thunderstorms so there was lightning all around us but the seas were glassy calm.
Its makes great sense for you with the port being so close. Just like us in Florida, we always take advantage of the ports being right there, flights are getting so expensive. Yeah that parking was such a nightmare. No one had any patience and everyone was just driving around each other. We definitely want to try a cruise that heads up the north east and finishes in Canada though, so we may be back in jersey sooner than we'd like lol
@ we are doing Harmony out of Galveston in May. It will be our first times in Costa Maya and Roatan and my first in Cozumel. Looking forward to it for sure
@ also, we were talking last night about maybe trying Freedom out of Cape Liberty to do the Bermuda trip. We’ve done enough in Nassau for a while
Did this same itinerary last October on the Oasis of the Seas.. we live in Canada and we drove down and did 3 days in New York before the cruise.. I thought leaving from port liberty was a little easier than the Manhattan cruise port we left from on our Norwegian cruise to Bermuda.. really enjoy your videos..👍😀
Thank you! We have yet to cruise out of Manhattan and very well may avoid it unless there is a pretty good itinerary worth jumping on. We still want to do a one way northeast cruise that finishes in Canada.
I don't like that the big ships are more like shopping malls. Plus they hold way too many people.
We have found that we are really starting to enjoy some of the smaller ships that have less people and spend longer hours in the ports.
BUT... you are still on a cruise! :) We did the same itinerary but chose it because it was drivable to the port and by far cheaper. We spent more time on the ship relaxing on those zzzz port days and still had a wonderful time! Great video.
lol absolutely! It’s certainly a “locals” kind of itinerary. Thanks for watching!
We are doing this itinerary on Symphony in May. It’s our first cruise and we are driving from Massachusetts to port. I really just want to try out cruising before I spend the extra money on plane tickets and all of that.
That’s a great choice and you will undoubtedly love the ship. Symphony is great! Every cruiser is different and that’s why I said that. This was great for a family vacay for us, but just isn’t the right itinerary for us in how we cruise.
@ If all goes well I will be for sure trying other places. My kids haven’t been on a plane or ship so didn’t want to overwhelm.
You’ll have a great time! Should be smooth sailing!
Not the world’s largest cruise ship… Clickbait article
You’re right it’s not the 3rd largest cruise ship that did at one time hold the title of the largest cruise ship 🤷
Josh....you should do a video on tips for the kind of gear and brands you use when traveling overseas.
I’ll add it to the list!
@travelwithjoshandtaylor .....I've been checking out sling packs....some with RFID shielding, and some that are even cut resistant to keep someone from cutting off the pack and running off. Also....tips for what you guys carry on your person when out and about. This Christmas when you guys go exploring the Christmas markets....what would you take with you for money, ID, etc?
@travelwithjoshandtaylor .... thanks for the great content as always!! We can't wait to see your videos from Germany. Yo....you need to do some live streaming when over there!! Maybe talk about tips for international cellular services and internet? :)
Great 👍 ship to have close to Pennsylvania. Philly turn into a cruise port next year for NCL . NY is home to carnival and know Virgian and msc all do stop in Orlando that think is little weird or Miami. Think swap for another sea day. As first time cruise why I been over looking that port to start keep think fly or drive to Virgian or go out of Florida like mom and dad done for years .
I'm so happy just to be on a ship. But I will admit, that itinerary would not be my first choice, lol.
We agree 💯 we love being on a cruise! We still had a great time on this ship.
We just did Utopia and just we’re not a fan of Royal as they skipped perfect day and took us to labadee Haiti
What was the reason for skipping CocoCay? That definitely sucks they skipped it and Labadee isnt a good filler for it.
@@travelwithjoshandtaylor due to a 40% chance of possible storms in the Bahamas and then the storms didn’t even happen lol
So the worst part is that It ended up storming in Haiti so we only got to stay in port for like 2 hrs and some people they wouldn’t even let off the ship. Not a great 1st Royal cruise when coming from Disney cruise line
Oooh, always tough coming off Disney to another brand. Especially missing that Disney magic on board. Unfortunately it happens to every cruise line in the Bahamas. NCL is probably the worst. We wouldnt ever recommend them for a cruise that includes their private island in the bahamas. Definitely worth giving RC another try in the future though. CocoCay is a great island, and for as much as we love Disney, we would take CocoCay everytime!
@@heigh-hojourneys4946 I was on the same ship. It really sucked. The storm started right after I had breakfast and I didn't even have chance to get off the ship at Labadee.😢
Another complaining video, why don’t you talk about the stuff you enjoyed on the cruise it would be a lot more engaging and you were not on the world’s largest ship
Hi David! Thanks for your comment! Most of this video discussed the things we really enjoyed, like the activities on board. You’re right this is now the third largest cruise ship but was actually the largest at one time.