2 cruises – 30 days: part 2 is here! The second cruise was an exploration adventure that I did solo….well almost solo, #Myazz was with me. Of course – #MyazzGoesEverywhere! Mr Hanson could not go, so #Myazz and I set out on our own to experience the AMAZING Symphony of the Seas. She is the newest (and largest) ship in the Royal Caribbean International fleet, and she was SPECTACULAR!
We flew in the night before and on Tuesday morning, started our adventure! The U.S. Inaugural cruise of Symphony of the Seas was a 2 day cruise to Nassau, Bahamas for Travel Advisors, Media and Pinnacle members of Royal Caribbean’s frequent guest program. It did not disappoint! From the time we arrived at the Embarkation Pier and got onboard was so organized and well managed it was almost like you weren’t boarding a cruise ship. So smooth! Tip 1 – I highly recommend that you print your Set Sail Pass, or download the Mobile Version, and have it handy along with your Passport. An agent scanned my pass and checked my passport and I got inline to go through security and get onboard. That fast! Maybe 10 minutes, it was GREAT! Room keys will be in the mail slot outside your stateroom. You just get onboard and start your vacation. All I can say is just “WOW!”
Tip 2 – Speaking of WOW, don’t forget to try out the new WOW band. I got mine at Guest Services. They have several different colors and they replace your room key cards. Pretty cool and they are waterproof, so you can wear them in one of the many pools onboard if you wish. #INNOVATION!
You enter the ship on deck 5, right into the Royal Promenade, and are immediately in awe. You see shops and a beautiful spiral staircase going between decks 5 and 6. This neighborhood has shopping, bars and dining venues. It looks like a high end mall, very nice. Rooms were not ready until 1:00pm, so I went up to deck 8 and walked out onto the Central Park neighborhood. As you can see, this is an area with interior cabins that have balconies overlooking the park. We found a bar and waited for our room to become available. #Myazz was already making friends – he is a traveling party animal!
Since our ‘goal’ was primarily learning all about the ship, they had prepared a ‘scavenger hunt’ if you will, that enticed us to go to various designated areas of the ship to see them and get a ‘badge’. Once we completed getting all our badges, there was a drawing to see who would win a free 7 day cruise aboard Symphony of the Seas. Given that everyone wants something for FREE, I set out on my mission to explore what I could after I got into my cabin and dropped off my luggage. We got to see all of the Royal Family Suites and Loft Suites. Tip 3 – If you have a family and want to stay in one suite, plan WAY ahead and book one of the family or loft suites. #AMAZING!! They book up a year or more out on any of the Royal Caribbean ships that have them. In the Royal Family Suite you even get a Royal Genie that is there to make all your wishes come true. In a nutshell, these suites have multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, are 2 levels and the bottom levels have huge wrap around balconies that offer some amazing views of other parts of the ship. The Aqua Theater suites overlook the Aqua Theater and Rock Climbing Walls.
My stateroom was on Deck 12 and was an interior balcony cabin overlooking Central Park. Central Park has some specialty dining restaurants and a few bars. One of the bars is the Rising Tide bar, which goes up to deck 8 – Central Park, and down to deck 5 – the Royal Promenade. I road it down and it took about 5 minutes, maybe. In this picture I am standing on deck 15 looking down over Central Park and the top of the Rising Tide Bar. You can see the Interior Balcony staterooms. The one with the arrow is mine. You can also see the sundeck and 2 of the water slides. The Beach pool is on the right and the main pool is on the left.
There are several things we have never seen before on Symphony of the Seas. She is part of the Oasis Class family of ships with Royal Caribbean, and on select ships, there are unique features. We have not been on any Oasis Class ship before, so all of the things we saw were unique. The AquaTheater, the Carousel in the Boardwalk, Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade, the Zip Line, the Ultimate Abyss and the Bionic Bar. I wanted to go back and experience the Ultimate Abyss because it looked like a lot of fun. You slide from the 16th deck to deck 5 on a piece of carpet like material in a dark tube with occasional neon lights. And you enter in a big, scary fish mouth – how could this not be fun! Watch this video of the Boardwalk.
There is just SO much I could share about this amazing ship, but it might be better seen. I have created a photo album on my Facebook page. Below is a button that will link you to the album so you can see for yourself all the interesting things that I saw. And I did not see everything, unfortunately. 2 days was just not enough time to experience everything Symphony of the Seas has to offer. I enjoyed my time exploring, tasting restaurant food, drinking fun drinks made by a Bionic Bartender and walking every inch of the ship that I could. She is HUGE! There is something for everyone, and more, on the ship. There are age appropriate kids clubs from 6 months to age 17, so you parents can have some ‘us time’. It was awesome and I want to go back and see more!