Tried and tested: Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Senses pop-up

Tried and tested: Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Senses pop-up

by Harry Kemble

“Bizarre”, “outrageous” and “unbelievable” were some of the words spluttered by rather flabbergasted journalists last night after exiting Royal Caribbean’s interactive cruise experience.

I had only been in the room for 30 seconds but already I knew this was going to be no ordinary event.

Billed as the Symphony of the Senses, the experience uses sight, sound, feel, taste and scent to give people a unique preview of the soon-to-be world’s largest ship.

Through clever marketing and a clearly sensational product, Symphony of the Seas’ launch date has been fixed in our diaries for months now.

But on a dreary London night at Victoria House, Royal Caribbean managed to ramp up the excitement levels that little bit more.

The aim of Royal Caribbean’s pop-up, which runs until Saturday, if you want to take a look, is to inspire a new-to-cruise audience.

And they certainly did just that.

Mirroring the features that will be on Symphony, we walked through tunnels reminiscent of the Ultimate Abyss slide, tried some Mexican food that you can eat onboard and learned the moves from Hairspray, the musical that will be performed for the ship’s guests – among other surprises.

Even the most ardent cruise-goer would struggle not to smile at the experience’s “perfect synergy”, as Royal Caribbean’s Ben Bouldin put it.

He also said: “As with all our ships, Symphony will push the boundaries of what is possible when holidaying and this event promises to do exactly that… except in London!”

With more than 400 members of the public expected to pass through the Symphony of the Senses event, Royal Caribbean is giving potential passengers a little taster of what they can find onboard Symphony, ahead one of the most eagerly anticipated ship launches in its history.