We very much enjoyed our cruise on the Symphony in Dec 2006. We didn't mind the fixed seating, had a great group and got late seating. Also, there are two alternative restaurants with no charge, and we enjoyed them very much. I thought the ship was beautiful and I did tour the PH level cabins, and they are very nice. The PH is the smallest, with the PS being pretty much the same layout, just a little larger and then of course there is the Penthouse, which was amazing :) I think you will enjoy Crystal Doug, and Nancy certainly is the expert on this board. We thought the ship was beautiful and found the staff very accommodating. The Officer's and such definitely have a more "formal", less involved style and we never saw the Cruise Director unless he was on stage - but we still had a great time and met some fun and interesting fellow cruisers.
Have a great cruise!!!