Symphony of the Seas: Activities, Cabins and Costs

Symphony of the Seas is a 230,000-tonne Royal Caribbean resort ship with 18 decks, around 5,400 passengers at double occupancy, three free waterslides, two surf simulators, an ice rink and a zip line. She sails from Galveston in Texas, with a move to Fort Lauderdale planned, so a UK booking means a fly-cruise.

Who Symphony of the Seas suits

Symphony of the Seas is for families and groups who like the idea of something happening all day. She carries around 5,400 passengers at double occupancy and up to about 6,680 when every berth is full, so crowds come with the ticket.

Families with children

Royal Caribbean pitches Symphony as a family resort, and the hardware backs it up. Splashaway Bay, the Ultimate Family Suite, laser tag, the carousel and the family dining set-ups are all built around children.

Solo travellers

There’s no confirmed studio or single-occupancy cabin on Symphony, so booking solo usually means paying a double-occupancy fare. Check the single supplement before you commit.

Is Symphony of the Seas good for adults?

For adults, Symphony of the Seas has one proper adults-only space: the Solarium, a multi-storey indoor and outdoor retreat at the front of the ship with its own pool and four cantilevered whirlpools 136 ft above the sea. Everything else, including the pools, the Royal Promenade and the speciality restaurants, is shared with families.

If you’re a couple after quiet, a suite helps: the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen give you a corner away from the other 6,000-odd passengers. Without that, the Solarium is your only refuge, and it fills up on sea days.

Symphony of the Seas: length, capacity, decks and age

Symphony of the Seas is 362 m (1,188 ft) long, measures 228,081 GT, rises 18 decks and holds 2,750 cabins. Royal Caribbean quotes 230,000 tonnes and 2,200 crew. The passenger count has two answers: 5,400 at double occupancy, or up to about 6,680 when every berth is filled.

When she was handed over at Saint-Nazaire, Symphony was the largest cruise ship in the world, about 1,000 GT and 28 staterooms ahead of the sister before her. She’s been in service for several seasons now, and the size title has moved to Icon of the Seas at 248,663 GT.

Where Symphony of the Seas sails from

Symphony of the Seas doesn’t sail from the UK. She’s based at Galveston in Texas, at Royal Caribbean’s zero-energy terminal, and is due to move to Fort Lauderdale in Florida for a later season. A British booking is a fly-cruise: a flight to Houston or Fort Lauderdale, then a transfer to the ship.

From Galveston she runs 6-, 7- and 8-night western Caribbean itineraries that call at Costa Maya, Roatán, Nassau, Cozumel and Royal Beach Club Cozumel. The Fort Lauderdale deployment adds 4-, 6- and 8-night sailings. Lengths on sale run from 4 to 10 nights, including a one-way Galveston to Fort Lauderdale repositioning.

Across the programme you’ll see Perfect Day at CocoCay, Nassau, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatán, Willemstad, Oranjestad, Cabo Rojo, Basseterre, Philipsburg, Charlotte Amalie and San Juan. Transfers from both Houston airports, HOU and IAH, are sold as add-ons.

Her maiden season was seven-night western Mediterranean sailings from Barcelona before she moved to Miami, but there are no Mediterranean departures in her current programme. If you want a Mediterranean cruise instead, you’re looking at a different ship and a different set of ports.

Symphony of the Seas activities: what is free and what you pay for

Most of Symphony’s headline activities come with the fare. The three Perfect Storm waterslides, both FlowRiders, the zip line, the ice rink, laser tag, mini golf, the carousel and Splashaway Bay cost nothing extra. You pay for the escape room, FlowRider lessons, poolside casitas and the arcade.

The thrills: waterslides, surf simulators, Ultimate Abyss and zip line

• Perfect Storm waterslides. Typhoon, Cyclone and Supercell are free, and all three are part of the Perfect Storm waterslide line-up.
• FlowRider. Two surf simulators, free, and you can ride as often as you like.
• Ultimate Abyss. A ten-storey, 150 ft dry slide from the Sports Deck down to the Boardwalk. You’re down in under 13 seconds, and it’s the tallest slide at sea.
• Zip line. Nine decks above the Boardwalk, free, and you need to be at least 52 inches tall.
• Rock walls. Two 43 ft climbing walls flank the AquaTheater.
• Sports court and mini golf. There’s a full sports court and a nine-hole course.

The Symphony of the Seas water slides are the quickest way to compare the three. The Ultimate Abyss is a dry slide, not a waterslide.

Pools on Symphony of the Seas

Royal Caribbean counts five types of pool in the Pool and Sports Zone, which sits alongside the Solarium pool and the Splashaway Bay waterscape. The main pool deck, the adults-only Solarium and the kids’ area are where you’ll spend your time in the water. Splashaway Bay has water cannons, small slides and a giant drench bucket.

Bumper cars, ice skating and laser tag: what is on board

There are no bumper cars on Symphony of the Seas. Royal Caribbean’s activity list for the ship covers waterslides, FlowRider, the zip line, laser tag, ice shows, the carousel and mini golf, and no bumper cars.

Studio B has a full ice rink. Battle for Planet Z, the glow-in-the-dark laser tag, is free for ages 5 and up, with timed slots booked in the Cruise Planner app or at the Box Office.

Free versus paid activities

Cabins on Symphony of the Seas: which deck and which side

Your cabin matters more on this ship than on most. Central Park and Boardwalk balconies face inwards, and several decks sit under the pool or over the AquaTheater. There are 2,750 cabins in total, with accessible cabins marked on the deck plan.

Balconies that face inwards

Central Park and Boardwalk balconies look over the neighbourhood below, not the sea. Aft Boardwalk cabins on decks 11, 12 and 14 have wider balconies over the AquaTheater, which is the best view on the ship.

Ocean-view balconies aren’t blocked by lifeboats on this class, so a guarantee balcony carries no view risk. The risk is which deck you end up on.

Decks and cabins to avoid

• Deck 14. You’re directly under the pool deck. Chairs and equipment move overhead, and water runs below Splashaway Bay from roughly 08:00 to 20:00.
• Aft Boardwalk. Shows and rehearsals in the AquaTheater carry into the cabin, bass included, even with the door closed.
• Obstructed Boardwalk balconies. Some deck 14 cabins are marked obstructed on the deck plan: 14315, 14317, 14319, 14715 and 14717.

The best decks for a quiet balcony

Deck 8 is the pick if you want to walk straight out into Central Park. Decks 9 to 11 are the usual choice for a quiet ocean-view balcony.

Higher forward decks feel more movement, so light sleepers should stay low and midships. The guide to choosing the best cabin location covers the trade-offs in more detail.

Suites on Symphony of the Seas

The headline suite is the Ultimate Family Suite: 1,346 sq ft over two storeys, sleeping eight, with an in-suite slide, an 85-inch cinema TV, a LEGO wall, a 212 sq ft balcony with a whirlpool, table tennis and a climbing maze, plus a Royal Genie.

Dining on Symphony of the Seas: what is included and what is worth paying for

Windjammer, the Main Dining Room, El Loco Fresh, Park Cafe, the Boardwalk Dog House, Sorrento’s, Cafe Promenade and Solarium Bistro are all included. The speciality restaurants are the biggest optional spend on board, and the quality varies more than the prices suggest.

Included restaurants

• Windjammer
• Main Dining Room
• El Loco Fresh (Mexican, pool deck)
• Park Cafe (Central Park)
• Boardwalk Dog House
• Sorrento’s
• Cafe Promenade
• Solarium Bistro

Speciality restaurants

• 150 Central Park
• Chops Grille
• Jamie’s Italian
• Hooked Seafood
• Izumi (sushi and hibachi)
• Johnny Rockets
• Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade
• Sugar Beach
• Vintages wine bar
• Wonderland

Hooked Seafood is Royal Caribbean’s first New England-style seafood restaurant and sits in the Solarium. 150 Central Park is the best-value speciality lunch on board and the strongest conventional restaurant on any Royal Caribbean ship. Hooked is the weakest of the paid venues.

Playmakers has 31 big-screen TVs and an indoor and outdoor arcade with more than 20 games. The Bionic Bar on the Royal Promenade is run by two robotic bartenders.

Drinks packages and the service charge

The Deluxe Beverage Package only makes sense if you’ll drink about six or seven drinks a day, counting speciality coffee and bottled water in the total. If one adult in a cabin buys it, every adult in that cabin has to buy it, and it runs for the whole cruise.

The package covers drinks up to a per-drink cap, and anything above the cap is discounted rather than free. There are cheaper soda and refreshment packages if you don’t drink alcohol.

Royal Caribbean doesn’t publish fixed package prices. They move by ship, sail date and demand, and they’re usually cheaper before you sail than on board.

Shows on Symphony of the Seas: what to book and when

The shows you can book on Symphony are Hairspray and Flight: Dare to Dream in the Royal Theater, HiRO at the AquaTheater, 1977 and iSkate 2.0 in Studio B, and an adults-only comedy show. Reservations open on the first day of the month before your sailing, and you can book online or in the app until four days before you sail.

After that, you have to book at the onboard Box Office. You get one seating per show per guest, and standby passengers are let in roughly 10 to 15 minutes before showtime, so a reservation doesn’t hold a seat on its own. Arrive early.

HiRO is outdoors at the stern and can be cancelled or moved because of sea conditions, so book it early in the sailing and leave yourself a replacement night. Show times cluster around 19:00 and 21:00 to 21:30, which clashes with traditional dining at 17:00, 18:45 and 20:30. Check the times against your dinner sitting before you board.

Recent sailings have run without a headliner act, with the headline slot replaced by a red carpet movie night, so don’t count on a big-name performer. Only the production shows, the ice show, the aqua show and the comedy show can be booked. Hairspray is one of the Broadway-style shows at sea that Royal Caribbean builds its entertainment around.

Laser tag takes over Studio B between ice show performances, so check both schedules together when you plan your evenings.

What a Symphony of the Seas cruise really costs

The fare isn’t all-inclusive. Gratuities, Wi-Fi, drinks, speciality dining and some activities cost extra, and the total can run well past the advertised price. Budget for those extras before you compare fares: a cheaper cabin on a longer sailing can cost more overall than a better cabin on a short one.

Automatic gratuities are charged per guest per day, with a higher rate in suites, and you can adjust or remove them at Guest Relations before you disembark. The guide to tipping on your cruise holiday explains how the system works.

Wi-Fi is a paid add-on through VOOM Surf + Stream, priced per device per day and cheaper before you sail than on board. If you’ll be working or streaming, the tips for cutting cruise ship internet costs are worth reading before you buy.

Fares swing widely by date and cabin. Starting fares have run from roughly half the per-person fare on a 4-night Fort Lauderdale sailing to the top of the range on an 8-night Caribbean itinerary.

Royal Caribbean doesn’t publish fixed package prices, so the only number that matters is the total for your date, cabin and extras. A cruise budget calculator makes the sum easier.

How Symphony of the Seas compares with the newest ships

Symphony isn’t the biggest or the newest any more, and the Oasis-class headline hardware isn’t exclusive to her, so the case for booking her is layout and value rather than bragging rights.

The features people pay for, Central Park, Boardwalk, the AquaTheater, the zip line and twin FlowRiders, are shared across the class. Oasis of the Seas had a major amplification that added Ultimate Abyss, the Perfect Storm slides, Splashaway Bay, The Lime & Coconut, Music Hall, Portside BBQ and Spotlight Karaoke, and kept Central Park, Boardwalk and the AquaTheater.

An older sister with the same neighbourhoods can be the better-value way to get the same ship.

Icon of the Seas took the size title at 248,663 GT with 20 decks, seven pools, six waterslides and eight neighbourhoods, and runs year-round seven-night Caribbean sailings from Miami. The newest ship costs materially more and adds family and water features you may never use, so Symphony can be the better spend.

The venue list differs by sister, not just by age, so check the restaurants on the exact ship rather than the class. Some older ships in the class never had Wonderland or 150 Central Park. Symphony has both.

Lifts, queues and the deck 7 detour

Lift waits are the standing complaint on Symphony, worst after shows, at dinner changes and when everyone boards or gets off. The ship is 18 decks deep with 2,750 cabins, and the lifts were never sized for everyone leaving the same venue at once.

The work-around is to walk one or two decks rather than wait, and to avoid the aft lifts on deck 7 altogether. There’s no port-to-starboard route there because the Boardwalk entrance is double-height, so you have to go up or down and back along. Book aft on deck 7 and you’ll do that detour every day.

Symphony of the Seas FAQs

How do you get from Houston to the Galveston cruise terminal?

You can get from Houston to the Galveston cruise terminal on a Royal Caribbean transfer from either Houston airport, HOU or IAH, sold as an add-on. Book it with the cruise or arrange your own transfer, and leave time for the drive between the airport and the coast before your boarding time.

Does Symphony of the Seas sail from Miami?

Symphony of the Seas doesn’t sail from Miami in her current programme. Her sailings run from Galveston, with a move to Fort Lauderdale planned for a later season.

How many wheelchair-accessible cabins are on Symphony of the Seas?

Symphony of the Seas has 46 wheelchair-accessible cabins among its 2,750, all marked on the deck plan.

Is there a Starbucks on Symphony of the Seas?

There is a Starbucks on Symphony of the Seas, on deck 5 of the Royal Promenade.