Wonder of the Seas vs Symphony of the Seas

How do two of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ships compare to each other?

Wonder of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas are the two newest Oasis Class ships, and that makes them the biggest vessels packed with lots to do onboard.

You might think the ships are mostly the same, but there's some major differences between the two vessels. Truthfully, the ships are more the same than different.

Here's a look at the key differences.

Ship size

Wonder of the Seas is slightly bigger than Symphony of the Seas, which was a marketing decision more than anything.

By making Wonder "bigger", she gets to assume the mantle of the world's largest cruise ship, and that gets Royal Caribbean more attention.

Here's how they size up:

Dining

Both ships have complimentary and specialty dining choices, but it's the extra-cost restaurants where you will the variations.

In terms of complimentary food, you will find on either ship:

• Main Dining Room
• Windjammer Cafe
• Solarium Bistro
• Park Cafe
• Cafe Promenade
• Sorrento’s Pizza
• Boardwalk Dog House
• El Loco Fresh
• Vitality Cafe
• Coastal Kitchen (suites only)
• Room service (continental breakfast only)
• Johnny Rockets (breakfast only)

The Windjammer on Wonder of the Seas is arguably better, as it's been moved to deck 15 and is significantly larger and with a better layout.

For the specialty dining, here's what the differences are:

The differences in specialty dining are few, with primarily being a different Italian restaurant in Central Park, and having Mason Jar.

In terms of bars, there are minor differences between the two ships.

Suites

One difference Royal Caribbean made with Wonder of the Seas was having less suites than on Symphony.

Considering how lucrative suites are for the cruise line, as well as how in-demand suites can be for passengers, it seemed a strange decision to change the amount of suite cabins.

Wonder of the Seas has an entire suite neighborhood, which is the first Oasis Class ship with an eight neighborhood. In order to make room for the new amenities suite guests will enjoy, the amount of suites had to be cut back so there could be room for it all.

By adding a private deck area for suite guests, it cut into the amount of suites the ship can have.

There are 188 suites on Symphony of the Seas, while Wonder of the Seas has 174 suites.

Symphony has a few more suite categories that Wonder does not have:

• Villa Suite
• Star Loft Suite
• 2-bedroom Grand Suite

Read more: Royal Caribbean suites guide & review

Entertainment

Nearly every Royal Caribbean ship differs on entertainment.  The cruise line likes to offer different shows on its ships, although sometimes you'll find a show repeated across multiple vessels.

The show lineup in the main stages are completely different on Wonder and Symphony.

Wonder of the Seas is currently the only Oasis Class ship without a full-length Broadway show onboard. Here's a look at the shows:

Royal Theater

• Wonder
  • Voices
  • The Effectors II
• Symphony
  • Hairspray
  • Flight: Dare to Dream

AquaTheater

• Wonder
  • inTENse
• Symphony
  • HiRo

Studio B

• Wonder
  • 365: The Seasons on Ice
• Symphony
  • 1977

Speaking of these venues, the AquaTheater on Wonder of the Seas is semi-enclosed in glass, which means it's more protected from the wind.

Activities

There's so many activities on both ships.  It's what has made the Oasis Class such a hit with cruisers, but there are notable differences among each.

Wonder of the Seas has Wonder Playscape, which is underwater-themed climbing playground for kids. Kids can explore slides, climbing nets, and games. The Wonder Playscape is connected to the Wonder Dunes mini golf.

The space taken up by Wonder Playscape replaces what would have been a Flowrider, so Wonder only has one Flowrider while Symphony has two.

Both ships have Splashway Bay aquapark, as well as three water slides.

In addition, Wonder of the Seas has Music Hall instead of Dazzles on Symphony of the Seas.

Both venues specialize in live music, but Music Hall tends to have more cover bands.

Symphony of the Seas has a dedicated escape room game.

Cabins

The assortment of standard cabins is the same between Wonder of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas (minus the suite differences mentioned earlier in this article).

There are a few things within the staterooms that are different.

The bathroom door on Wonder of the Seas is magnetic, which means it doesn't have that "ka-chunk!" sound the door makes when slamming shut.

The bathroom doors use a magnetic element which pulls shut the the door when it's within about 1/2 -1” from closure. 

There's also many more USB outlets on Wonder of the Seas.

In addition to the USB outlets at your desk, they've finally added USB outlets near the beds.

Something else helpful on Wonder are hooks on the wall. Below the television are a series of hooks that came installed already.

Wall hooks are very helpful in a cabin because you can use them to keep apparel off the ground, and more importantly, free up drawer space.

Bottom line

Wonder of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas are very close in look and feel, with a few minor differences.

By far the most notable difference is with the suites, as Wonder has a more expansive offering. If staying in a suite is important to you, then having an entire suite neighborhood would be a nice option.

The shows are different across both ships, which is standard among any Oasis Class ship.

Another difference worth mentioning between Wonder and Symphony is the price.  Generally speaking, Symphony will usually be priced a bit lower than Wonder simply because it's not as new.  Royal Caribbean tends to price newer ships with a premium.