In late 2021, the cruise we had tentatively planned a year prior finally set sail. We embarked on a seven-day Western Caribbean journey aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas—a vessel that was, at the time, the largest ship at sea.
This was a milestone trip: my husband’s first time on the water, and a reunion with my sister and her partner. Coming from a background in travel data, I went in thinking that the “biggest and best” ship would naturally provide the ultimate experience. However, this trip became a lesson in the difference between quantity of options and quality of fit.
We found ourselves in a spacious balcony on the 6th deck, nestled just behind the Boardwalk. It was a clever piece of “weaving”—central enough for convenience, yet surprisingly quiet. Back then, we were both smokers, and much of our social “data” was gathered in the designated smoking areas (a habit we finally traded for fresh air in 2024).
While the ship was a marvel of engineering, we discovered that more isn’t always better. The “gimmicky” feel of the Boardwalk and the high-energy waterslides didn’t resonate with our desire for a more refined escape. Even at reduced capacity, the family-centric bustle was a thread that didn’t quite match our personal aesthetic.
The highlights, however, were found in the rhythm of the sea. With unlimited specialty dining, we turned every evening into a culinary exploration—Teppanyaki being the standout. The entertainment, specifically the high-dive artistry of Hiro and the energy of Hairspray, was world-class. We fell in love with the seamless flow of cruising—the ability to wake up in a new port without ever repacking a suitcase.
While the journey itself taught us about fit, the architecture of the trip began years prior at my desk.
The Planning: > Planning this cruise birthed my spreadsheet planning methods. We were originally sailing in 2020, so planning started in 2018 when I made a table comparing all the restaurants, bars, activities, and shows on all of the Royal Caribbean ships so that we could choose our ship. I needed to make sure that my husband enjoyed the trip so that we could keep cruising, so we ended up on the newest ship at the time, the Symphony of the Seas. Once we had the ship we selected the Western Caribbean route, weaving together our available dates with a desire to explore more of the vibrant shores of Mexico.
Once we had the cruise booked, it was time to decide what we would be doing which called for another spreadsheet. On this sheet I listed every excursion offered by the ship, grouped by location and given a category. We took this list and ranked the excursions as Red, Yellow, or Green depending on how much we were interested. To learn more about the excursions we watched YouTube videos from previous travelers until we had our final choices.
Royal Caribbean is a cruise line where prices in your cruise planner will increase or decrease seemingly randomly from one day to the next. So on our next sheet I listed everything we wanted to buy, and the prices. The prices we could live with, we went ahead and bought. For the rest, we rechecked prices regularly – when something else hit our price point, we bought it. If something we already bought went on sale for less, we cancelled and rebooked.
On our last sheet we compared the Hotel options in Miami that I had access to with my reward points. We wanted something convenient for the cruise, but also clean and comfortable. We were staying a day before and a day after the trip, and we would be taking a post-cruise excursion which would drop us at the airport, so we chose the Wyndham Garden Miami International Airport hotel as it had an airport shuttle and a restaurant on site.
The Ship: > Symphony of the Seas was our “home-base” for this trip. At the time she was the largest ship at sea, and jam packed full of family friendly fun. With 20 dining venues, 13 bars, waterslides, a zip line, four pools, and a whole host of other options, there is literally something for everyone.
The food was good and the vibe was laid back, though this may have been due to the reduced capacity. My husband and I enjoyed the cruise immensely, but we found that Royal Caribbean’s family focus was not what we’d choose for our next cruise.
The Weaver’s Perspective: > Even the most magnificent loom can’t create the right tapestry if the threads don’t match. In the Caribbean, I learned that ‘The Largest Ship’ is a data point, not a guarantee of satisfaction. True travel weaving isn’t about choosing the option with the most features; it’s about finding the structure that supports the specific rhythm of your life.
