Symphony of the Seas Water Slides

Symphony of the Seas has three water slides in the Perfect Storm trio, more slides and a splash area for kids at Splashaway Bay, and the dry, record-breaking Ultimate Abyss. All of it’s free with the cruise fare and there’s nothing to book, though height and weight limits decide who actually gets to ride.

Every water slide on Symphony of the Seas

Symphony carries five main water attractions on board. Up on the pool deck you’ve got Typhoon, Cyclone and Supercell, the three slides that make up the Perfect Storm slide trio, plus the kids’ slides and splash zone at Splashaway Bay.

Right at the back of the ship sits the dry Ultimate Abyss slide. Two FlowRider surf simulators sit by the pool deck as well, but those are surf machines, not slides, so don’t go looking for them on a slide count.

Oasis of the Seas has the exact same Typhoon, Cyclone and Supercell trio, same 48 inch height limit and all, so the core slide line-up on the two ships is basically identical. It’s the smaller details, like where you stash your bag while you ride, that tend to differ between sister ships.

If you’re weighing Symphony up against other ships, the top 17 cruise ship water slides round-up puts this line-up in context, and these slides sit within Royal Caribbean’s wider water slide line-up across its ships.

Height, weight and age requirements for Symphony’s slides

Height, weight and age requirements for Symphony’s slides vary by ride. You need 48 inches for the Perfect Storm trio, 42 inches for Splashaway Bay’s bigger slides, and somewhere around 44 inches for Ultimate Abyss, though that number has shifted over time.

Royal Caribbean’s own materials and photos of the rules board at Ultimate Abyss have shown 43, 44 and even 49 inches at different points, and the weight limit gets quoted as either 300lb (about 21.5 stone) or 330lb (23.5 stone). There’s no set age limit for Ultimate Abyss, but kids under 12 need an adult with them.

The posted number can change between sailings, so treat any figure here as a guide rather than gospel. Check the height chart at the top of the slide, or ask the lifeguard on duty, before a child joins the queue.

Splashaway Bay staff stick to the 42 inch rule hard, turning kids away even when they’re an inch short, so measure your child against a door frame or wall before you head up rather than finding out the hard way at the front of the queue.

Ultimate Abyss is a dry slide, not a water slide

Ultimate Abyss is a dry slide, not a water slide, so you stay fully clothed and go down on a custom mat rather than getting soaked. Your clothes need to be completely dry to ride, which rules out going straight from the pool in your swimmers.

At 150ft high and 216ft long across ten storeys, it’s the tallest slide at sea, two spiralling cylinders that get you up to around 9mph on the way down. The entrance sits on Deck 16 in the Sports Zone, through the open jaws of a giant anglerfish, and the whole ride is over in roughly 12 to 13 seconds.

Inside, the tube’s dark, lit by around 300 LED lights with sound effects and graffiti artwork along the walls. You’re told to keep your legs straight and elbows tucked in the whole way down, since parents have reported rug burn where an arm brushed the side.

Only one person rides at a time, so kids can’t sit on an adult’s lap for the descent, and loose bags, phones and jewellery all need to come off before you climb the stairs. A staff member checks height and clothing before letting anyone through.

Splashaway Bay and other options for younger kids

Splashaway Bay and its toddler area give shorter kids somewhere to play even if they don’t reach the 42 inch minimum for the bigger slides there, which also carries a 300lb (about 21.5 stone) weight limit. A smaller Baby Splash Zone sits alongside it where it’s available, for kids who aren’t yet out of swim nappies.

Swim nappies aren’t allowed in Splashaway Bay itself, the same public health rule that applies across all the ship’s pools, so a toddler who isn’t potty trained is limited to the Baby Splash Zone rather than the main slides and splash area.

Do Symphony’s slides cost extra or need booking

Symphony’s water slides cost nothing extra and none of them need a reservation. The Perfect Storm trio and Splashaway Bay are both included in the cruise fare, and Ultimate Abyss is free to ride too, with no time slot to book, though the queue’s rarely long enough that you’d need one anyway.

Queues and the best time to ride the slides

Queues for Symphony’s water slides run longest on sea days, with waits of 15 to 30 minutes during the busiest stretch of the afternoon. Ride first thing when the slides open, or later in the evening while most people are at dinner, and the wait drops right off.

Packing a quick dry beach towel also means you’re not stuck waiting at the pool deck’s towel station during the busiest hours.

Ultimate Abyss rarely builds much of a queue at all. It sits away from the main pool deck and gets through riders in under 15 seconds each.

Safety and what to wear on the slides

Safety on Symphony’s slides comes down to body position and loose items. Keep your legs straight and elbows in on Ultimate Abyss to avoid friction burns, and take off anything loose, bags, jewellery, phones, before you climb up to any of the slides. Staff check who’s eligible at the top of each one and only let one person ride at a time.

Symphony’s Ultimate Abyss entrance has cubbies nearby for storing belongings while you ride, a convenience missing on Wonder of the Seas despite both ships carrying the same three water slides, so it’s worth checking what’s at the top rather than assuming every ship sets things up the same way.

On the water slides themselves, some riders wear a rash guard to cut down on friction against the slide surface.

Weather and night riding on Symphony’s slides

Weather closes Symphony’s water slides temporarily during high winds or rough seas, and all of them run during daylight hours rather than overnight. Royal Caribbean has also closed slides fleet-wide in the past to swap out cracking acrylic tube sections for sturdier fibreglass, so an unexpected closure isn’t always down to the weather.

Ultimate Abyss feels like a night ride whatever time you go. The tube stays dark throughout, lit only by around 300 LEDs and graffiti artwork, so it looks the same whether you ride at noon or at nine in the evening.

Accessibility for guests who can’t use stairs

Accessibility for Symphony’s water slides is limited. Every one of them, including the pools they lead from, means walking up and down several steps or crossing a raised bench, with no way to bring a wheelchair or scooter close. One mobility-impaired passenger’s review of the ship found the pools themselves out of reach for this reason, which rules out any of the slides for guests who can’t manage stairs unaided.

Waterslide manufacturers say slides can, in general, be built with gentle slopes and non-slip, barrier-free entry points. That’s a statement about what’s possible, not a feature Royal Caribbean has confirmed for Symphony itself.

Symphony of the Seas water slides FAQs

Does Symphony of the Seas have water slides?

Symphony of the Seas has three water slides in the Perfect Storm trio, more slides for kids at Splashaway Bay, plus the dry Ultimate Abyss slide, which uses no water at all.

How many water slides does Symphony of the Seas have in total?

Symphony of the Seas has three slides in the Perfect Storm trio, a children’s slide area at Splashaway Bay, and the dry Ultimate Abyss slide, which comes to four separate water slide attractions in total.

Is there an age restriction for Ultimate Abyss?

Ultimate Abyss has no set age restriction, just a height and weight limit, though Royal Caribbean requires an adult to accompany any child under 12.

Do the FlowRider surf simulators have a height requirement?

Symphony’s FlowRiders require a minimum height of 52 inches (132cm) to use the bodyboard and 58 inches (147cm) to use the flowboard.

Can children ride Ultimate Abyss alone?

Children can ride Ultimate Abyss alone once they meet the height requirement, but only one person’s allowed on the mat at a time, so they can’t ride on an adult’s lap.