It has been barely 24 hours since Royal Caribbean pulled the curtain back and revealed Symphony of the Seas, and we are already giddy with anticipation. New cruise ships are always exciting because the prospect of a new experience suddenly creates intrigue with the new possibilities, and it seems like the cruise line's 26th ship in the fleet is going to epic.
Without a doubt, there is plenty more for Royal Caribbean to reveal, but with just the news from day one, we found five aspects of Symphony of the Seas that already have us excited to cruise on her.
Different itineraries
Symphony of the Seas is the fourth Oasis class ship, but first of her kind to stray from the sort of itineraries Oasis of the Seas first pioneered.
Symphony of the Seas is headed to some new (or much less frequently visited) ports for Oasis class ships. These new stops include St. Kitts & Nevis, Costa Maya and Roatan.
If you are a fan of the more "traditional" Caribbean ports, there are still some Eastern Caribbean sailings that visit Labadee, San Juan and St. Maarten.
New cruise terminal
Just like when Oasis of the Seas was being built, Royal Caribbean is building an all-new cruise terminal for Symphony of the Seas (and sister ship Allure of the Seas is joining in too).
PortMiami Terminal A promises to be state-of-the-art cruise hub and future home of Symphony of the Seas. The ‘Crown of Miami,’ a 170,000-square-foot terminal, scheduled for completion for the arrival of Symphony and Allure, will be the most innovative cruise facility in the United States. Royal Caribbean anticipates at least 1.8 million passenger moves at PortMiami, thanks to having the world's largest cruise ship calling Miami home.
New twist coming to Ultimate Abyss
Royal Caribbean is bringing back its 10-story thrill slide, known as the Ultimate Abyss, to Symphony of the Seas. While the slide is not new to Royal Caribbean (it originally debuted on Harmony of the Seas), there is something different we can look forward to experiencing.
On Royal Caribbean's website, they included an indication that the version on Symphony of the Seas might have something additional, not found on the version on Harmony.
After riding the Ultimate Abyss on Harmony, any enhancements on Symphony of the Seas are sure to make an already exhilarating ride into an even better one.
Hints at new experiences
If you follow the progress of a Royal Caribbean ship during construction, you will notice that the cruise line really enjoys teasing guests with possibilities of what is to come, and they are already at it with Symphony of the Seas.
Besides the Ultimate Abyss hint earlier in our countdown, there are two other clues of what is to come.
The first tease is with the promise of something "daring" and "a whole new challenge".
It also appears there will be new culinary experiences on Symphony of the Seas to enjoy.
Solarium will be different
During a conference call with members of the media, Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley mentioned something about Symphony of the Seas' Solarium that has caught the attention of a few folks.
With any new ship, one of the most common questions is usually about what makes this ship different from other ships in her class. Bayley was not keen to share many details, but did indicate the adults-only area towards of the front of the ship will be "quite a lot" different from ones on other Oasis Class ships.
What that means is anyone's guess, but perhaps this could signify the return of a pool in the Solarium, following the omission of a Solarium pool on Harmony of the Seas.
