I sailed onboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas and stayed within the most cost-effective stateroom obtainable.
Making her grand entrance in 2018, Symphony of the Seas is the fourth ship within the cruise line’s Oasis class and held the title of largest cruise ship on this planet till the debut of the Wonder of the Seas in early 2022.
For $1,400 (together with port charges and gratuities), I stayed in a guaranteed cabin, which signifies that I wasn’t assigned my cabin till a couple of weeks previous to departure.
This was my first time crusing in an inside stateroom. I’ve had balcony cabins on all of my earlier cruises, so I used to be nervous as to how I’d regulate to no pure mild in any respect.
Read extra: Interior vs Balcony staterooms
My inside cabin on Symphony of the Seas was solely 149 sq. ft; nevertheless, it was one of the up to date feeling staterooms I’ve stayed in.
As I used to be crusing alone, I opted to maintain the 2 beds collectively. While this was completely advantageous for me, I might see why a household may wish to separate them into two twin-sized beds to assist make the area really feel extra open and create a pathway in the course of the stateroom.
There had been a complete of 4 American shops within the stateroom: three by the desk and one by the left facet of the mattress, the place there was additionally a lightweight swap current. As a solo traveler, this was loads of energy for me! I additionally appreciated with the ability to flip off all of the stateroom lights from the consolation of the mattress.
Plus, the desk space additionally had one European outlet socket, in addition to two USB plugs.
There was a phone positioned on the opposite nightstand, however I might have most popular if it was hung someplace within the room! The telephone was so massive that it made {that a} non-functioning nightstand. There was simply sufficient room for a telephone and pair of glasses.
Surprisingly, there was an abundance of storage on this cabin. The dresser contained three empty drawers, a fourth that contained a field of tissues and room service info, and fifth that was residence to the hairdryer.
There had been additionally two closets, one on all sides of the reasonably massive sofa. One had 5 free cabinets, with the sixth being occupied by the protected. There had been two further drawers on the backside.
The different closet was only for hanging clothes and contained eighteen hangers.
Above the desk was a single glass shelf. I did not discover it to be that large, nevertheless it was an ideal place to maintain my sun shades and different miscellaneous objects all through the week. When I first entered my stateroom, the desk was stuffed with particulars relating to my cruise trip, comparable to showtimes, Crown & Anchor info, in addition to two masks.
The massive mirror above the desk was illuminated with a hoop mild, which was an ideal contact to this inside stateroom. It additionally supplied nice lighting for my make-up every morning!
Inside the dresser’s massive cupboard was a mini-fridge. I discovered that my drinks had been all the time saved chilly, regardless of it saying that it was a cooler and never a fridge. It had three selves that might be moved and adjusted in line with your preferences, in addition to a single shelf on the facet.
As anticipated, the toilet within my cruise stateroom was small; nevertheless, I discovered it to be fashionable and clear. There was a surprising quantity of counter area, in addition to three cabinets to the facet of the mirror. Additional storage was obtainable beneath the sink, too. On the again of the door had been two hooks for moist towels and swimsuits.
Inside of the bathe, there is a cleaning soap dispenser that distributes Royal Caribbean’s signature bathtub scent: Salt + Breeze. I used to be disenchanted that there was just one small ledge in of the bathe. If I used to be touring with another particular person, it will have been a good squeeze to suit all of our merchandise there.
The water stress within my cabin was neither terrible nor nice; it was simply okay. I did have points with the temperature that by no means acquired resolved. In the mornings, it was practically inconceivable to get any scorching water. Sometimes, I needed to wait twenty-five minutes for the water to warmth as much as lukewarm! In the evenings, I had the alternative drawback: the temperature was scalding scorching.
At the doorway, there was a key slot that powered on all of the electrical energy throughout the cabin to protect power. My room steward left a key in there all week, although. Additionally, there was a magnet that I positioned on the outside of my door which alerted the employees once I wished my room to be tended to. If I wished to be left alone, there was an choice for that, too.
My stateroom was positioned on the ahead of deck 7 in a “secret” hallway stuffed with different inside cabins in between the port and starboard sides of the ship. It felt like a maze once I was first attempting to find my stateroom. However, I appreciated how there wasn’t one other cabin door instantly subsequent to mine.
I’m used to having a cabin positioned close to the mid-ship when crusing, so being positioned all the way in which at a single finish was a brand new expertise for us. While the ahead elevator financial institution was considerably shut, the aft was fairly a stroll from the place I used to be positioned.
For $200 every day, I used to be glad with my inside stateroom. I used to be apprehensive that the shortage of pure daylight would trigger me to really feel cramped, sleep in on accident, or that I might simply flat out miss waking as much as an ocean view.
If I used to be crusing with one other particular person, the associated fee would have dropped to just a little over $125 per particular person, per day, together with all taxes, port charges and gratuities. Now that I do know what an ideal worth inside staterooms could be, I’ll take into account them extra for my private travels!