Keeping fit on Symphony of the Seas, one of the largest cruise ships in the world!
When I talk to people about how much time I try to spend on cruise ships, one of the most commonly asked questions that I get asked is ‘is it possible to keep fit and active on a cruise ship?’. It’s a common misconception that it would be difficult to work out when ‘at sea’ - I meet so many people who just don’t realise that the huge cruise ships have fully serviced gyms onboard! Today, I’m taking you onboard Symphony of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, to show you around the fitness offering available onboard.
I've cruised on a range of Royal Caribbean ships, from Rhapsody of the Seas (one of the oldest ships in the fleet) to the much newer, grander and more innovative Symphony of the Seas (the huge Oasis class mega-ship), and a few others in between. To check out more from my adventures with Royal Caribbean, head over to my YouTube channel and head to my Royal Caribbean playlist - I've got so much to show you!
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Symphony of the Seas is one of the biggest cruise ships on the planet. She’s got 15 decks for passengers to enjoy, and there’s LOTS to do on here: swimming pools, bars, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, theatres, arcades, a casino - you get the picture - there a lot going on! However, where do you go if you just want to work out, and burn some of those dreaded ‘cruise calories’? Well, this is where the ‘Vitality at Sea: Spa & Fitness Center’ comes in. You’ll find this facility at the front of the ship, and it spans across both Decks 5 and 6. The main entrance is up on Deck 6, and then you’ll be able to go downstairs to some of the facilities once inside and past reception.
In terms of what’s on offer, you’ll find the following as part of the Vitality at Sea facility, some of which I’ll then expand on with my own photos and experiences in this post:
Vitality Cafe
Onboard Spa Shop
Spa Facilities, including massage and treatment rooms
Salon, including hairdresser and beautician
Thermal suite, including relaxation room
Gymnasium / Fitness suite, including fitness studio
Ok, let me show you inside! Up first, let’s talk about the Vitality Cafe.
This cafe is such a hidden gem on the ship - I found that so many people didn’t realise that drinks from here were included with the drinks packages! In here, you could relax with a tea or coffee, or maybe even a freshly blended juice. On the latter, this wasn’t one of those ‘smoothies from a carton’ places you often find - you choose which fruit and vegetables you wanted them to blend, and they’d put them in the machine directly infront of you - SO fresh, and brilliant! In terms of which packages these are included with, if you’ve got either the Deluxe or the Refreshment package, you’re all good! Having these smoothies included actually made the drinks package pretty good value for me - one drink alone would be worth over $8!
Moving on from the Vitality Cafe, let’s talk about the onboard gym and fitness suite.
The gym onboard Symphony of the Seas, or any Oasis Class cruise ship for that matter, really is fantastic. You’re going to find a massive array of cardio and weights equipment, and you’ll find the usual favourites in here in large numbers, which is great! I exercised 4 times during my 7-night Mediterranean cruise, and I never had to wait for any piece of equipment - it was always available when I needed it!
In addition to this facility housing lots of gym equipment for personal workouts, there’s also a relatively large studio section here, too. You’ll be able to use this whenever it’s vacant, and there are also a number of fitness classes that you can book into when onboard. If you enjoy the usual favourites: think yoga, spin, pilates etc, then you’ll enjoy this space! To find out which classes and group exercises are scheduled during your cruise, you just need to check out your Daily Schedule!
Now, let’s talk about the Thermal Suite, and relaxation room.
As mentioned above, you’re going to enter the spa complex up on deck 6 of the ship, but the thermal suite facility is actually downstairs on deck 5. After you check in at the Vitality reception upstairs, you’ll be led downstairs by a member of staff, who will show you where the thermal suite and changing rooms are.
While I was onboard the ship, I unfortunately wasn’t able to capture any footage of the thermal suite, but here’s what’s inside:
A small room with heater loungers
2 tropical rain showers
A standard steam room
An aromatherapy steam room
A sauna
Now, don’t set your expectations sky-high on this one. My genuine review would be that I wouldn’t recommend paying to use these facilities unless you maybe need to for medical reasons. The thermal suite itself is entirely on the inside of the ship, so there aren’t any ocean views, and it’s so small that you really won’t be spending a great deal of time in here. I couldn’t believe that a ship the size of Symphony would have such a tiny thermal suite - a real missed opportunity from Royal Caribbean here, as this can be a money spinner with other cruise lines!
You’ll also find the usual water stations in the thermal suite, so no need to bring your own from elsewhere on the ship.
While you’re down on deck 5, this is where you’re going to find the spa shop, perfect for any ‘treat yourself’ purchases that you’d like to make while onboard the ship. From personal experience, I’ve never found the pricing to be overly attractive at cruise ship spa shops, but I guess it’s useful if you’ve maybe left something at home, or if you have a treatment and particularly enjoy the products that they use…
Finally, let me tell you about my favourite of the fitness facilities onboard Symphony of the Seas: the running track! You’ll find the running track accessible from many of the main public areas, but the easiest way to find it is to follow the signs downstairs from the gym itself.
I’ve been on lots of cruise ships that have a running track on the top deck, meaning that you’re trying to go for a run while trying to avoid tripping on someone’s sun lounger, or constantly shouting ‘excuse me’ to innocent holiday makers who are out for a walk/heading to the bar. This is totally excusable - they’re on vacation, after all! However, Royal Caribbean have built a running track that goes almost the entire way around the ship, and it’s separate to any other facility! They’ve achieved this by building it much lower down in the ship - genius!
How long is the running track on Symphony of the Seas? Well, one lap of the track equates to 2197 feet, or 0.67 kilometers. If you’d like to run 1 mile, you’ll need to do 2.4 laps of the track - it’s such an impressive size! Here’s the charts by the door to help you calculate your runs, and a few photos so you can see what you’re letting yourself in for!
That’s it - a summary of the fitness offering onboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas. If you’ve enjoyed this post, then please do sign up to receive my FREE email newsletters by clicking here. Also, come over and subscribe to my YouTube channel - this is the easiest way to support my journey!