- The world’s largest cruise ship has 2,759 staterooms.
- Rooms are cleverly designed to feel big, but not actually take up too much space.
- My room was approximately 182 square feet with a 50-square-foot ocean-view balcony.
- The bathroom was small, but had everything I needed. There was ample storage and closet space, as well as a sofa bed.
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Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship. It’s almost three-and-a-half times the length of a football field and twice as high as the Washington Monument.
It also has a theater, casino, zip line, ice-skating rink, escape room, 23 eateries including a Starbucks, multiple pools and waterslides, and even a park. Not surprisingly, these things take up a lot of room, so when it comes to the ship’s 2,759 staterooms, they need to be space-efficient and practical: they’re small, but feel big.
I recently spent a week in a 182-square-foot stateroom that had a floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door leading out onto a 50-square-foot balcony with an ocean view. Keep scrolling to see what a room aboard the world’s largest cruise ship is like.
Welcome to what was my home for a week! Room 538 on Deck 12 of Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas.
My room was right on the end of a hallway, at the very front of the ship – or starboard forward, as they say in ship lingo.
A handy little map under my room number showed me exactly where I was in relation to the rest of the ship. But I still spent the first two days getting lost.
I had an ocean-view stateroom with a balcony.
Some rooms have no windows at all. Others have balconies looking out onto "Central Park," a real-life park on the inside of the ship.
The room was approximately 182 square feet, with two twin beds that created a "Royal King."
The bed was super comfy, and the bedding smooth. That, paired with the soft rocking of the ship, had me sleeping like a baby every night.
The balcony was around 50 square feet. It had two comfortable deck chairs and a small coffee table.
I spent whatever time I had on this balcony, away from the ~6,000 other guests on the ship.
Pro tip: Bring your food from the buffet to your room and eat it here in peace.
The railing was made of glass for unobstructed views of the endless ocean.
A floor-to-ceiling glass sliding door led out onto it.
Despite being small in size, the room felt pretty spacious.
It even had a sofa that could turn into a lay-flat bed.
The room had a big closet on either side of the bed, as well as a chest of drawers.
One closet was a mix of shelves and hanging space, while the other one was hanging room only.
There were also drawers and clever little nooks on either side of the bed.
There was honestly more closet space than I knew what to do with, and I definitely overpacked for the week.
The room had a fridge...
Since you can take food from the buffets to your room, this fridge comes in handy.
... a hair dryer ...
The hair dryer was in a drawer by the desk/vanity, not in the bathroom where I would have expected it, so I didn't find it until the last day.
... a large flat screen TV ...
With an estimated one million activities at any given moment, I didn't turn the TV on once.
... and a desk.
Note how the chair cleverly fits under it, like some sort of Russian nesting doll.
The bathroom was small, but had everything I needed.
A little night-light showed me where to go. Without a light on, rooms were very dark at night since there was nothing but ocean outside the only window.
Metal rims ensure that none of your stuff rolls off the edges when the ship rocks.
The bathroom had more shelf space than I knew what to do with.
The sink also has a lip that stopped my makeup from falling onto the floor.
This would be useful on my sink at home too: my mascara is constantly rolling off it.
The bathroom had a bunch of practical hooks for wet swimsuits.
There were also two hooks on the door.
I was surprised to find what looked to me like a real tile floor.
I was expecting linoleum or something lighter.
That said, the only bathroom toiletry provided was a bar of soap and a 2-in-1 hair and body wash.
It was not good for my hair.
Outlets are strategically placed all around the room, exactly where you need them.
There are USB outlets, as well as American and European outlets.
The bedside table was small, but just big enough for a book.
A bedside lamp hung from the wall above.
Wanderlust-y art decorated the walls of my room.
There was also a large mirror above the desk, and a full-length mirror by the door.
- Read more:
- What it's like aboard the world's largest cruise ship
- The world's largest cruise ship has a bar with robot bartenders. Here's how my margarita compared to one made by a human.
- The world's largest cruise ship has everything from an ice rink to a zip line, but it's the Starbucks that surprised me most
- A cruise ship worker reveals what it's really like to work on a cruise ship
