Disney Cruise Line may get a lot of airtime on this blog. But, guess what, there are some other great cruise lines to sail. Royal Caribbean is a fantastic cruise line for all travelers. Whether you are going on your Honeymoon, a family vacation, a kid-free vacation, a family reunion, friends traveling together, or a grandparent trip, Royal Caribbean ships have something for everyone.
This post is all about one of the larger ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Let’s get to know the Symphony of the Seas!
The Symphony of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Oasis Class ship, is a very large ship that holds A LOT of people. Somewhere in the vicinity of 5000. But, because there is so much to do it doesn’t usually feel crowded. Also, because the ship is so large you feel a little less ocean movement.
Symphony Departure Port
Currently the Symphony of the Seas sails out of Miami.
Symphony Itineraries
Western Caribbean
You can choose 5, 6 or 7 Night Western Caribbean itineraries. On a 7 night cruise you might stop in Costa Mesa, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Mexico; and a Perfect Day at Coco Cay (an awesome beach day).
A 6 night cruise might take you to Falmouth, Jamaica; Labadee, Haiti (a more laid back private island experience) and then on to the Perfect Day at Coco Cay. How great is it to have two beach day options!
On a 5 night cruise spend a day in Cozumel, Mexico and then a fantastic, Perfect Day at Coco Cay.
Eastern Caribbean
Most of the itineraries for the Symphony of the Seas are in the Eastern Caribbean. These 7 night cruises have some amazing port options. You might choose a cruise that stops in Puerto Rico, St Maarten, Antigua, or St. Thomas. On each trip you will also get to experience a wonderfully, relaxing but full of fun and excitement, Perfect Day at Coco Cay.
Southern Caribbean
The Southern Caribbean itinerary is a teriffic option if you love days at sea as much as you love port days. On this 8 night cruise you will visit Royal Caribbean’s private port in Haiti, Aruba, Curacao, and the Perfect Day at Coco Cay. Your other 4 fabulous cruise days will be at sea enjoying all the Symphony has to offer. And that is a lot!
Special Neighborhoods on the Symphony
Central Park
The Boardwalk
Note: The staterooms above the Boardwalk and Central Park allow guests to enjoy having a balcony and the outside without having to spend as much as an oceanview balcony.
Dining on the Symphony of the Seas
Complimentary Food Options
- Main Dining Room–This gorgeous 3-story dining room serves delicious sit-down meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Choose from a varied a la carte menu for lunch and dinner. Up until now, there has also been a buffet available at breakfast. At lunch, in addition to the menu, there has been a delectable salad bar with buffet. It is yet to be seen how Royal Caribbean is going to handle these buffet options in the future. Dinner is similar with more delicious food but is taken up a notch. You will have choices such as lamb chops, pork roast, beef tenderloin, ahi tuna, or standards such as sirloin steak or roast chicken. Premium selections such as Maine Lobster or filet mignon for an additional cost. You will sit at the same table and have the same servers each night who get to know all your preferences. Don’t miss dessert after dinner!
- Windjammer–This has been a buffet restaurant. RCL hasn’t made a commitment in regard to the buffet future yet.
- Sorrento’s–All day, everyday pizza! What could be better than that!
- Park Cafe–This small cafe in the heart of Central Park serves up breakfast and lunch. Pick up a bagel and cream cheese with fruit for breakfast or a roast beef sandwich and garden salad for lunch. This is a great grab and go place or sit out in the garden and enjoy your meal.
- Solarium Bistro–Enjoy a meal up in the beautiful adults-only solarium. Serving up Mediterranean inspired food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this venue is sure to please. Breakfast and lunch have been buffet in the past, so we will have to see what happens to this restaurant.
- El Loco Fresh–Up on the pool deck is where you will find this Mexican eatery. Burritos, tacos, nacho, and other favorites along with a salsa bar are available from just before noon until early evening each day. YUMMY!
- Coastal Kitchen–This lovely dining room serving California-Mediterranean cuisine is available all-day for meals, drinks, and snacks for those staying in the Sky-class suites and above. Those who stay in Sea-class suites may enjoy the Coastal Kitchen for dinner.
- Soft-Serve Ice Cream on the pool deck–a personal favorite
Specialized Dining (additional cost)
- Izumi Hibachi and Sushi–The sushi is available for lunch or dinner while hibachi is just for dinner. Reservations in advanced are necessary as this is a small dining room.
- Chops Grille–A classic steakhouse with delicious surf and turf and other contemporary American selections like roast chicken. This restaurant is sent in the romantic setting of Central Park.
- 150 Central Park–An upscale restaurant with eclectic entrees and appetizers with a very nice selection of wine and cocktails.
- Jamie’s Italian–Inventive, but no-nonsense Italian food created by Jamie Oliver. The dinner menu is slightly larger than the lunch menu but both serve delicious, modern dishes, pastas, sides, antipasti, and house specialty planks for sharing. This specialty restaurant has a children’s menu.
- Johnny Rocket’s–A diner-style restaurant featuring hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and milkshakes just like you will find on land. By the way, breakfast at this restaurant is complimentary and is a great place to have bacon and eggs.
- Starbucks–You don’t have to be coffee-free for a week. Phew!
- Sugar Beach–Mmmm! Scooping up delicious ice cream cones, sundaes and desserts. You can also eat your fill of sweets and treats.
- Wonderland–This innovative restaurant is more an experience than just a meal. Step into the world of Alice in Wonderland through the decor and the food. The meals are very creative and if you aren’t an adventurous eater you might want to choose elsewhere. If you want just a taste of the experience stop for a drink at the bar. As you would expect there is a children’s menu here.
- Hooked Seafood–If you love seafood then Hooked Seafood is a must-do restaurant. Here you will find some of the best seafood available from both coasts but the feel is definitely New-England even down to the dessert and drinks.
- Playmakers Sport’s Bar and Arcade--A gastropub-style restaurant serves up the best burgers, sliders, wings, nachos, and other crowd favorites. Definitely try the warm chocolate cookie with Nutella, melted marshmallows, and milk shooters!
- Room Service–Continental breakfast is complimentary but anything else will incur a fee.
Things to Do on the Symphony of the Seas
Oh my goodness! There is so much to do on the Symphony I can only give you an overview.
Live Entertainment
- Broadway Shows–Hairspray and other shows with a live orchestra.
- Aqua Theater–Death-defying diving and swimming shows in the evening. If you have an Aqua-class suite then you have amazing views of the performance every night. Make sure you get advanced tickets for the performance you would like to attend.
- Ice Skating Shows–Fun, dramatic ice shows by professional skaters from around the world.
Pools and Slides
- Multiple pools–family and adult-only
- Whirlpools–family and adult-only
- Typhoon and Cyclone twin racer waterslides
- Perfect Storm–another twisting, turning waterslide with plenty of thrills
- Supercell waterslide–a regular slide which dumps you into a bowl to twirl around in before continuing down the rest of the slide
- The Ultimate Abyss–Plummet 10 stories down to the Boardwalk on the tallest slide at sea.
- Splashaway Bay–a colorful and crazy aqua park
- Flowrider–rushing water perfect for surfing and boogie boarding
Other Activities
- Ice Skating–daily skating at the Studio B rink
- Sports Court–basketball, volleyball and soccer
- Mini-golf
- Rock Climbing Wall
- Arcade
- Casino
- Zip-line
- Laser Tag
- Interactive Game Shows
- Carousel
Adult Relaxation
- The Solarium–a relaxing indoor area at the front of the ship with loung chairs, bar, food, and pool for guests 16+
- Spa and Fitness Center–choose a massage, facial, wrap, acupuncture or medi-spa treatment or pamper yourself with a manicure, pedicure, or hair services.
- Shopping–definitely relaxing for some and there are plenty of options!
Nightlife
The evening comes alive at all the different bars and nightclubs throughout the ship. There are 14 different bars and lounges aboard all with different flavor and flair. Try salsa, disco, hip hop, show tunes or a quiet piano bar. And of course, there is definitely Karaoke. There is definitely something for everyone wanting a night out on the town.
Other Fun Stuff Onboard
During the day there are many scheduled activities. You will find trivia, craft activities, pool games, dance classes, fitness and wellness classes, destination seminars, shopping information, and so much more.
Symphony of the Seas for Kids
Adventure Ocean
Adventure Ocean is Royal Caribbean’s award-winning program for children. This program is complimentary but the kids much be registered with the program. The program is divided up into three age groups:
- Aquanauts (ages 3 to 5)
- Explorers (ages 6 to 8)
- Voyagers (ages 9 to 11)
Adventure Ocean is open most of the day but the hours do vary between sea and port days. The complimentary program closes at 10PM. Parents can opt for their children to stay until 2 AM for an additional charge (currently $7/hr) Children can stay at the Adventure Ocean on port days while parents are off the ship.
Activities are planned for the children to interact together and with the crew members. There are even different areas for the kids to experience–play area, science lab, craft studio. They even have their own theater. Children must be potty trained (no pull-ups) to participate at Adventure Ocean.
- Adventure ScienceSM makes learning fun through a blend of hands-on science experiments and wacky entertainment. Experiments include Staggering Through the Stars©, Germ Jungle©, Wacky Water Workshop©, Jurassic Junior©, Environmentation Station© and Volcanoes©.
- Adventure Art offers children the opportunity to exercise their creativity with crafts such as cultural masks and pottery, while learning about the art, history and culture of the regions they visit on vacation. The projects vary according to cruise destination, sharing information on the history, traditions, aquatic habitats and animals indigenous to the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Australia, Asia and Europe.
- Adventure Theater blends educational activities with on-your-feet fun. Adventure Theater participants get a first taste of the actor’s craft, in which entire worlds are created with just their bodies, voices and imaginations. Using structured theater games, vocal and physical exercises, and creativity-freeing activities, instructors guide groups through an exploration of the theater arts.
- Sail Into Story Time sparks imaginations and entertains young vacationers with a story hour followed by creative, hands-on activities and projects.
- Family Activities are a free, onboard programs that allow children and their parents to participate in planned activities within a structured environment to spend quality time together. Activities depend on the length of the cruise and can range from family discos, Karaoke, sporting eventsto talent shows and scavenger hunts.
Get the nitty gritty details about the program here.
Royal Babies and Tots Nursery
Parents can drop off children under 3 to be cared for by trained child care professionals. There is an additional fee for drop-off time reserved in the nursery. Special phones are given to parents so staff can contact them or just to check up. Free-time play is made available for you to play with your children in this area daily.
Teen Program
Teens (ages 12-17) have their own area aboard the Symphony to enjoy. They can come and go as they please until 1 AM. Activities are planned for teens to enjoy if they want. Just for teens, there are sports activities, movies, video games, places to hang, and dance. As long as a waiver is signed by parents, teens can use the Rock Climbing Wall, Flowrider, Zipline, and fitness center. All the slides are also highlights for teenagers. Teens also love to purchase the all-they-can-drink soda beverage package.
Coming Soon: A post about the highly sought after Ultimate Family Suite!
As you can see there is so much to do on the Symphany of the Seas that your week long vacation will go pretty quickly. What about the Symphony is most exciting to you? Please let me know in the comments!
Happy travels to you…until we meet again!
Other links that might interest you:
Comments are closed.