Cruise control: Epic scale of luxury and fun on board Royal Caribbean’s new Symphony of the Seas
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I am a cruise holiday convert. I was blind but now I see. So when the chance came to spend a few days on Royal Caribbean’s new monster ship — Symphony of the Seas — I jumped at it.
Until I went on a week-long Mediterranean cruise a few years ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead on one. I had been a firm subscriber to the stereotype, namely that it’s a cast of thousands of dull retirees packed into a rather uncomfortable floating 1960s dance hall.
I was wrong, and I was reborn.
So with that in mind, you can imagine my excitement on being one of the first in the world to take a short but sweet trip from Malaga to Barcelona on board Royal Caribbean’s newest ship. Not just any old ship, but the largest and most luxurious cruise ship in the world.
So, after a two-day trip, would I spend my hard- earned cash on a full holiday in the Caribbean on this latest behemoth? 100% yes.
It truly is an experience to remember. Once you step on board, you enter a little bubble of luxury and relaxation that encapsulates the best of what a cruise holiday is all about. Forgetting about days of the week, time and money, and just switching off. Indulging in too much food and cocktails and, generally, having a time to remember.
As I am not a travel writer, the first impressions of the over 1,000 assorted international travel media on the ship were instructive. Our little Ireland/UK posse was truly blown away by the sheer size of Symphony.
It is enormous from a distance but, standing underneath it dockside in Malaga, the only word is ginormous. It is not only long but also incredibly wide. Try 362m (1,118 feet) long and 66m wide for size.
The ship can carry a whopping 6,680 passengers whose every whim is catered for by 2,200 staff from all around the world. The staff are also some of the friendliest, most attentive and all-round fun people that I have encountered.
Symphony has 2,759 staterooms over 18 decks, accessed by 24 elevators. So, you get the idea. It’s big. Very big.
It has seven complimentary dining experiences along with 13 specialty restaurants. Both options — I ate in both the complimentary dining hall and the specialty restaurant Chops Grille — are superb.
As for bars, there are just too many too mention. If you like fine wine, there’s a superb high-class wine bar. If you like your sports and beer, you have a sports bar option. If you like a bit of jazz, hey presto there’s a jazz bar. If you’re young and need to party until the sun comes up, you have no shortage of nightclub options. I tried some of those options and from what I can remember, they were superb also.
In short, Symphony offers you everything you can want, but the real joy of travelling on this ship is that is just so much damn fun.
It’s perhaps the highest praise I can pay any holiday offering that it allows me to regress, for at a substantial period of my day, to my 12-year-old self.
Even though I am not a swimmer, I am partial to a water slide and Symphony, like its sister ship Harmony of the Seas, has three fast — and I mean fast — slides on the top deck. The yellow and blue Typhoon and Cyclones are aptly titled while the third — Supercell — spits you out into a champagne bowl which you swirl around before dropping through a hole in the centre to the splash area. In short, they are a hell of a lot of fun.
If water is your thing, there’s just so much for adults and children alike. There are two surf ride pools and a kiddie aqua park with more slides. That’s before you take in the miniature golf, the zip wire across the Central Park area and the dry slide Abyss which sends your hurtling down 10 stories. Billed as the tallest slide at sea, it’s definitely quite the ride.
At the stern of the ship is another great attraction — the Boardwalk. Once again, it has something for young and old alike. There’s a family-friendly sports and arcade bar called Playmakers, and an ice cream venue of the Gods called Sugar Beach either side of a beautiful wooden carousel. All of these are framed by a stunning aqua theatre which has live shows of incredible high dives which will make your eyes water.
For those with tens of thousands to spare for a week, the family suite has to be seen to be believed. It is the ultimate for families that want to give their children a Willy Wonka- style cruise experience. Two decks high, the suite covers over 1,300 sq ft and contains a slide from the children’s room to the main living room. That’s just for starters. The suite also has a floor to ceiling high lego wall, an en-suite 85-inch cinema, a whirlpool on the balcony. And you get your very own private butler. Not cheap, but there’s only one on board and you need to have plenty disposable income to book it.
I spent just two days on board the ship on a preview sailing from Malaga to Barcelona, and it is no exaggeration to say that you simply cannot cover the number of activities, bars, shows, musicals, and restaurants and all of the other stuff there is to enjoy on board in that time.
Not only that, you might even bump into one of your own on board. Ballinhassig native Ciara Ambrose has worked for over 10 years in the cruise industry. She has been with Royal Caribbean for five years and is now revenue manager on Symphony of the Seas.
In her time in the industry, she has seen a huge change in terms of how Irish people view the cruise holiday. In particular, young people and young families are opting for a cruise holiday over a traditional sun holiday.
“It’s totally evolving. There is an evolution happening.”
Ciara spends months on end on the ship and has seen the world probably a few times over. She notes that the offerings on board cruise ships like Symphony are so good, passengers are not even leaving when in port.
“More and more, especially the Irish, Europeans, and British, when they come here, they are not getting off the ship. The ship is the vacation. The ship is the destination,” she said.
After just two days on Symphony, I can certainly see that. There is so much to see and do on this ship that days simply aren’t enough. You might not even get around it in a week. But it’s a challenge I’d like to take on some time soon.
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