Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas right after departing STX France shipyard

Updated First Look: Symphony of the Seas

This post has been updated to include higher-res photos.

The world’s largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, has now been delivered to Royal Caribbean. In our series of First Looks, which replaces the Inaugural Liveblogs, lets take a look and see what makes her the worlds largest.

The Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship. These trace their origin back to 2009 when the Oasis of the Seas was launched. The Allure of the Seas quickly followed her and was launched in 2010. Those two were built at STX Finland (now Meyer Turku). After that there was a long pause in her development as there were some financial issues with the Finnish banks. The third sister, Harmony of the Seas, was delivered in 2016 from STX France in Saint-Nazaire. The Symphony of the Seas, also from STX France, is therefore the fourth sister in this class. She is officially 228,081gt, air draft of 238ft, and an LOA of 1,188ft. At double occupancy levels she’ll carry 5,518 pax.

Captain Hempstead maneuvering Symphony out of St Nazaire.

The Harmony and Symphony are both about a foot longer that Oasis and Allure. Due to the gap in construction between Allure and Harmony some machinery and equipment have been enhanced or replaced on the later sisters. That’s why both of those ships are technically a bit faster as there’s been an increase in the efficiencies of her propulsion units. They also use a different lifeboat as the original manufacturer of Oasis’ boats was dissolved in a merger. The Symphony and Harmony use a Fassmer SEL 12.5 which carry 40pax less per boat. As a result, the Symphony and Harmony actually carry two extra lifeboats each.
There were also some other small modifications done to the French build ships including a slight change to the Solarium, bringing it down an additional deck in the front.

Other new features introduced on Symphony are:

Hooked Seafood: An upscale eatery atop of the Solarium that serves up New England-inspired seafood selections. The menu offers classics such as lobster rolls, crab claws, a signature fish sandwich, and a raw bar where oysters are shucked to order.

Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade: The Boardwalk has been re-imagined and now features this new bar. 31 big-screen TVs play all current sporting events during the day and into the late night. There is also an indoor and outdoor arcade. The venue features classic American bar food such as wings, burgers and popcorn shrimp.

El Loco Fresh: Made-to-order tacos and burritos.

Sugar Beach: The signature candy and ice cream shop with over 100 different varieties of sweets.

Battle for Planet Z: Royal Caribbean’s first glow-in-the-dark laser tag game.
Escape the Rubicon: a sophisticated, custom-built escape room.

The Ultimate Family Suite: A two-level, 1,346-square-foot suite designed for families. Features include an in-room slide, a private cinema with an 85-inch HD TV, a floor-to-ceiling LEGO wall, a 212-square-foot balcony complete with table tennis and a full-size whirlpool.