In a previous video, I told you about Symphony of the Seas...
Royal Caribbean's newest ship and a sister to Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Harmony of the Seas.
When I made that video, Symphony of the Seas was still under construction at the STX shipyard in France...
So, I didn't have any actual video of the completed ship...
And had to use a lot of artist's renderings and video of the sister ships in my previous YouTube video about Symphony of the Seas.
But now, construction is complete...
And Royal Caribbean has taken delivery of the ship so I've got real video of the Symphony of the Seas to share with you.
And the first thing I want to show you is the very over-the-top most-expensive suite on the ship known as "The Ultimate Family Suite".
In my previous video, all I had to show you was this artis's rendering.
But now, there's finally real video of the suite.
What kid wouldn't love to stay here?
It's got its own air hockey table!
Imagine all the fun the kids would have with that!
There's also a video game area. And notice the floor-to-ceiling Lego wall in the background.
This area also doubles as a theater for movies, complete with a popcorn machine.
When our son was a kid, he was all about Legos. He would have loved this suite!
Upstairs, there are two bedrooms. See the kids bedroom in the back there?
And this suite can handle a family of up to eight people.
Everything about the Ultimate Family Suite is whimsical and fun... including all the interior decoration and all the furniture.
The signature feature of The Ultimate Family Suite is that big orange slide that kids can use to get down from the bedroom area to the living room on the floor below.
I can't imagine a kid that wouldn't want to experience something like this!
Out on the balcony, there's not only your own private Jacuzzi, but also a little climbing area that young kids can climb in like a little monkey.
Let me show you how it works. This is a bigger version of the same thing.
This is the one down in the Boardwalk neighborhood that is accessible to all passengers.
And now here we're back to the one on the balcony of The Ultimate Family Suite.
There's just one of these suites onboard and for a family of four it goes for about $30,000!
Even more over the summer and during holidays.
Only a few very rich people are ever going to experience a suite like that...
So now let me show you some things on Symphony of the Seas that are there for the rest of us.
Let's take a look at something completely new back in the Boardwalk neighborhood that Symphony's sister ships don't have.
Of course, they stuck with the popular hand-carved carousel that all the sister ships have had since Oasis of the Seas first came out, but...
We've finally got some real video of the new sports bar and arcade called "Playmakers".
There it is on the right there.
It spans the entire length of the Boardwalk and features both indoor and outdoor dining.
Let's go inside for your first look.
And of course, draft beer is an important part of the experience. But notice all those big TVs, too.
And here's a look at some of the food.
Just exactly the kind of things that you'd expect in a sports bar.
Wings, sliders, burgers. They have fries, nachos, and salads.
And a big arcade section with a lot of games to play.
This reminds me very much of what Carnival's been doing with their "Red Frog Pub".
I think it's gonna be a huge hit on Symphony of the Seas and I bet it'll get added to some of the rest of the fleet eventually.
On the other side of the Boardwalk, the new candy and ice cream shop is called "Sugar Beach".
In the previous video, all I had was this artist's concept...
But now, finally... real video of it.
There's no shortage of candy, as you can see!
And you're on vacation, so go for it.
What do you like? Jellybeans? Candy corn? Good and plenty? Peanut M&Ms? It's all there for you.
Plus, Sugar Beach is all about the ice cream, too. Don't even try to resist it!
You know you want some! And you're on vacation, so it's OK. Resume your diet when the cruise is over.
Something else I finally got some video of is the laser tag set-up in Studio B.
That's the place that can be an ice-skating rink, or can convert into a great little venue for game shows
But here's what Studio B looks like in laser tag mode.
They call it "Battle For Planet Z" and as a Zim, I totally love that!
And you better be watching your back when you're playing this game because there will be people popping up all around you trying to take a shot at you.
This is something all-new for Symphony of the Seas... An epic glow-in-the-dark laser battle.
And I bet we'll see this roll out to much of the rest of the fleet after this, too.
I've also got video of a couple of the new dining venues on Symphony of the Seas.
In my previous video, I just had this artist's rendering of the new casual Mexican food venue: "El Loco Fresh".
Now, finally... some real video. They've got tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos... All at no extra charge, in a buffet style setup.
I think this was a brilliant idea and I think Royal Caribbean finally got Mexican food right with this one...
Their third attempt at a Mexican venue on the Oasis-class ships.
Also, the new seafood venue: "Hooked" It's located at the front of the ship up on the top level of the Solarium.
Super-fresh seafood... including oysters, lobster, and locally-caught fish that they bring aboard in the ports of call.
And here's a look at how "Wonderland" turned out on Symphony of the Seas.
This is a restaurant where they aim to surprise you with unusual, imaginative cuisine.
And the interior decoration of the restaurant is definitely your first clue that this is a place where things will be far from ordinary.
You will hear the word "wow!" here at least a dozen times during your meal!
Everything on the menu is unusual and out of the ordinary with a big emphasis on the presentation.
Even the drinks are completely different than anything you've probably ever had before.
It's in a great location on Symphony of the Seas with an awesome view of the Boardwalk neighborhood through big picture windows.
And be sure to save room for dessert!
One of Wonderland's signature items is this chocolate-covered ice cream dessert.
Where the ice cream slowly reveals itself in a way that you probably never would have expected.
(Female passenger) Wow, that's so cool!
That's a unique experience you'll only find at Wonderland.
Here's some video of Central Park on Symphony of the Seas.
Just a great, relaxing place with lots of greenery that smells fantastic and there's the sound of birds in the background.
You just don't feel like you're on a cruise ship when you're in Central Park.
It's set down low in a very dramatic fashion between the two sides of the pool deck.
No other cruise line has anything like this. It's one of the signature features of the Oasis class of ships.
And whenever I need to get from one end of the ship to the other, I always take this walk through Central Park.
Because it's just a nice place that makes you feel good when you walk through it.
In the evenings, it's even more beautiful. And they sometimes have music up here in the evenings, under the stars.
I love it!
Let's also go up to the "Pool and Sports Zone" and see how that turned out on Symphony of the Seas.
The star attraction is a trio of water slides known as "The Perfect Storm".
When Royal Caribbean first introduced the Oasis class of ships back in 2009... there weren't any water slides onboard.
And I think that put them at a competitive disadvantage compared to Carnival and Norwegian who have been big on water slides all along.
In recent years, though... Royal Caribbean finally gave in and started to add water slides to their ships...
And on Symphony of the Seas, as you can see, the young and the young-at-heart will have a lot of fun going down these water slides.
There's also several swimming pools placed in a really cool location high above Central Park.
One thing I want to point out about the pools is the depth.
Notice how everyone can comfortably stand up in the pool with their head above water.
This is the smart way to design a cruise-ship pool.
I've been on a few ships on other cruise lines where the pools were over six feet deep.
And that's just not relaxing when you have to tread water or swim all the time when the pool is too deep to stand up in.
These pools do not have that problem. They were nicely designed by Royal Caribbean.
And some of the other cruise lines could learn a lot from these guys.
Here's a look at the all-new children's water play area called "Splashaway Bay".
On a warm day in the Caribbean, it's just an awful lot of fun to bring your young kids or grandkids to a place like this...
And just let them have fun in the water in a very safe environment
If you're a parent with young kids, you are going to spend a lot of time here!
And before I wrap this up, I'll just recap a couple of the other big notable fun features on Symphony of the Seas...
You've got a zip line far above the boardwalk area down below...
A mini-golf course...
Two Flowrider surf simulators...
And the longest slide at sea: "The Ultimate Abyss" Not a water slide, this is a dry slide.
It gives you a great ride. You drop over 90 feet in 13 seconds doing a series of twists.
I like that this is a dry slide... so you don't have to be in a swimsuit and you don't get wet.
When you get to the bottom, you reach a very gentle end of the ride...
And you're in the Boardwalk neighborhood where you can just walk off and keep having fun without having to dry off or any of that.
The end of the ride is right next to another unique feature of the Oasis class ships: the Aqua Theater.
No other Cruise Line has this.
If you've never been on Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class ships... you've really gotta see this. It's so unique!
Here is a little video that Royal Caribbean let me share with you...
That really shows you what's so cool about the Aqua Theater.
I'm Jim Zim. Keep an eye on my YouTube channel for more cruise ship videos. It's my favorite vacation.
My next cruise will be on the brand-new Norwegian Bliss.
And I bet I'll have lots of good video from that cruise, including video from one of the best water slides at sea.
(woman screaming)
For now, I'm going to recommend a couple of my previous cruise ship videos to you.
These are some of my best videos... So, click on one that looks interesting to you and enjoy!