If you are looking for a Symphony of the Seas cruise review, you’ve come to the right place! Symphony of the Seas is a fantastic mega ship and part of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class. This class of ships is known for its iconic aft aqua theater and for being the world’s largest cruise ships!
The ship can host nearly 6800 guests at maximum capacity and 2200 international crew members. There is so much to see and do on this ship that your cruise ports may be an afterthought. In this post, I’ll share with you the highlights from our time onboard and a few tips for planning your own Symphony of the Seas adventure.
We sailed on Symphony of the Seas to celebrate my husband, Brian’s, 50th birthday, with our close friends. The ship sailed from Miami to the Eastern Caribbean, with port days in Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean’s private island), the Bahamas, St. Thomas, USVI, and St. Maarten. We love all of these destinations!
Related Post: St. Maarten on a Budget
Neighborhood Concept
It’s worth repeating that we are huge fans of the neighborhood concept. While the ship can hold over 6,000 guests, it doesn’t feel as crowded as some other ships. There are simply more places for people to spend their time, and therefore the ship doesn’t feel as congested – most of the time. Plus, where else can you ride on a full-size carousel, take a stroll through Central Park, and hop on a board and test your surfing skills?
Related Post: Allure of the Seas
Decor on Symphony of the Seas
If you love a fresh and modern ship, you’ll love Symphony of the Seas. Built in 2018, the ship still has a newness to it that can’t be denied. The decor is modern, playful, light, and bright.
Entertainment
You can’t offer a Symphony of the Seas cruise review without talking about the spectacular entertainment. Royal Caribbean is known for its high-quality production shows, but this ship was overflowing with big stage talent! This section is really difficult for me to narrow down. I jotted down a few favorites, then immediately thought; What about Flight? What about the comedian? I loved ALL of the production shows!
Hairspray! Believe it or not, I couldn’t wait to see Hairspray on Symphony of the Seas. I am a musical theater junkie and I take every opportunity to see live theater. It was lively, fun, and super entertaining.
Aqua show – HIRO – The Symphony of the Seas version of the aqua show is called Hiro, and it is a non-stop, action-packed show full of great music, diving, acrobatics, high-wire balancing, and so much more. This is a must-see show, and truthfully, I usually try to catch the Aqua show twice during a 7-day sailing. I also really enjoy the venue. There is something extra special about seeing this amazing show out in the fresh sea air!
Flight…Dare to Dream: This show was a surprise and highly entertaining. Royal Caribbean’s multi-million-dollar original production, which chronicles the evolution of flight, was quite refreshing. The show begins with a futurist launch of the first commercial flight to Mars and backtracks to the beginning of air travel and the Wright Brothers. It’s unique and entertaining throughout the production and there is a pretty impressive surprise at the end that you will want to check out!
A quick pause for my standard complaint…
My only negative comment concerns the audience’s behavior. The loud, full conversations, along with people arriving and leaving 45 minutes into the show, were SO distracting that it was difficult to focus on the show. But, back to the great entertainment onboard.
iskate 2.0 – Another surprise highlight was the second ice skating show of the cruise. The highlighted production was 1977: A Thrilling Adventure on Ice. It was very good. However, we noticed another show on the schedule later in the week, so we decided to check it out. Brian isn’t a big fan of the ice shows, so he opted to try his luck in the casino.
iskate 2.0 was fantastic! It featured fun music and highlighted each of the performers as individuals, partners and part of the group. It was high energy and very entertaining. If I had to choose only one of the two, although both were good, I would choose Iskate 2.
Pub Singer, Piano guy, DJ’s, and more
I love entertainment and genuinely value anyone willing to share their talent with others. Therefore it’s with great caution that I say that the individual performers throughout the ship were not as high caliber as I have seen on ships in the past. It could have very well been an off week for the pub singer, etc. but there wasn’t a spot that I felt like I wanted to go back night after night because the entertainer was exceptional. That’s a rare experience for us.
Drinks Anyone?
If you like to partake in adult beverages you won’t have to go far. There are 23 bars onboard and we tried several! Bar services was pretty quick at most bars throughout the cruise while table service in Schooner, the Pub, etc. did seem to be a little slow at times.
Tip: Take The Abyss from the Wipeout Bar down to the boardwalk! The view from the top is a little scary to those of us with an irrational fear of falling, but 100% worth it! In fact, plan your own bar crawl as we did, and your group can slide their way down to Playmaker’s Sports Bar!
Dining
Another reason I love this class of ships is the variety of dining options. Now, I’m not a foodie, and I haven’t convinced myself to spend the money on Wonderland, but the food is quite tasty on Symphony.
My favorites – Our favorite specialty dining experiences continue to be Izumi (both sushi and Hibachi) and Chops Grill. The main dining room was very nice, and our group enjoyed the new daily menus. We had no trouble finding something tasty for dinner. Other included dining favorites include grabbing a slice at Sorrentos and lunch at El Loco Fresh.
Note: If you’ve sailed on Oasis or Allure and you enjoy your morning lattes, please note that Symphony of the Seas did NOT have a barista in Park Cafe. The cafe did have regular and decaf carafes, as well as hot and cold water, but the made-to-order coffee station was not available. This is my favorite spot to grab my morning brew, so I do hope that this was a temporary issue.
Service
I always enjoy the quality service we get on Royal Caribbean. With very few exceptions, I have high praise for the entire staff. Each and every crew member we encountered was welcoming, polite, and eager to provide great service. In general, the ship did seem a bit understaffed, but that is solely based on a feeling. I also sailed several times in the early days of the restart when capacity was greatly reduced, so my perspective does need to adjust back to “normal” sailings.
Final Thoughts for the Symphony of the Seas Cruise Review
I asked my Facebook Group what they really wanted to know about my time on Symphony, so Cruise Crew, this section is for you.
Favorite spot to hang out – My husband and I are huge fans of the Solarium. We enjoy spending our mornings lounging, catching some sun and reading a good book. In the evenings, and this one is a new one for me, I have really become a fan of Vintages. It’s a wine bar in Central Park. I just love the wine bar vibe.
Brian’s favorite was Playmaker’s! He spent the first two days of our trip watching football. That’s okay, though, our K.C. Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl!
Favorite spot to people watch – Gosh there are so many good spots on this ship. I think the middle of the pool deck is always great for people watching. I also find that you can be easily entertained by others anywhere on the Boardwalk or while sitting at Cafe Promenade.
New favorite drink – I’m probably late to this party, but I really enjoyed the Passion Spritz! We became fans of the Aperol Spritz during our time in Italy, and I think the Passion Spritz is even more to my liking. Thank yo,u Vodka. 😉
Passion Spritz – Aperol, vodka, passion fruit syrup, lemon juice, and sparkling wine
Undecided – As stated previously, we love entertainment and typically enjoy all of the different venues. This ship has a venue called Dazzles which is a multi-purpose venue. We stopped by once; a DJ was playing, another time a small ensemble was playing, and another time there was a hosted game. While the two-story venue has a really nice view of the ship, we can’t quite put our finger on the vibe of the space. I suppose that’s the point of a true multi-purpose venue.
Comparison to other ships and cruise lines – Our time on Symphony once again confirmed that I am a HUGE fan of the Oasis Class of ships. I love the design, layout, and the countless things to do onboard. I enjoy this layout more than the Quantum class and older ships, and more than other cruise lines that focus on an Atrium or Centrum design. I love being able to look down the Royal Promenade from end to end and appreciate this aspect in most of the other neighborhoods as well, like Central Park and The Boardwalk.
What I appreciate about the smaller class of ships is their design relationship that brings IN the ocean views. I love to sit with a book and stare out at the ocean. It’s so peaceful. If this is your #1 reason that you love cruising, stick to the smaller ships. While I prefer the Oasis Class, I’m sure you could spend an entire day roaming the ship and not see the ocean.
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Okay, cruise friends, that wraps up this Symphony of the Seas cruise review. Have you sailed on Symphony or another Oasis Class ship?
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