Royal Caribbean came out with a flurry of announcements today, including the name and details of their newest and largest ship to date. The biggest news: The newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, the 6,780-passenger Symphony of the Seas, will launch in April 2018 as the largest ship in the world, surpassing its sister ship Harmony of the Seas.
Weighing in at 230,000 gross tons, Symphony will be more like a small floating city than a cruise ship. Its 18 decks will hold 370 more passengers than Harmony and have an additional 28 staterooms. The ship is so big that, like Oasis-class Royal Caribbean ships, it will have seven distinct neighborhoods.
Like Harmony of the Seas, Symphony will have a 10-story slide, a trio of water slides, and a water park for kids. And, in addition to Royal Caribbean staples like a rock climbing wall, surfing simulator, and aqua theater, there will be some new features, which the line plans to announce soon.
The ship’s inaugural season will be in the Mediterranean, sailing from Barcelona to Naples. Then, the ship will move to Miami in November, where it will home port in a new terminal for cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.
In addition, Royal Caribbean just signed an agreement with the Bahamas to make enhancements to their private island, CocoCay, and both Symphony of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will call there by the time the renovation is complete in 2019.
