Symphony of the Seas recently returned from her four day sea trial, where more than 80 tests were performed onboard.

Royal Caribbean released new photos of Symphony of the Seas during her testing.

There will be another short sea trial that will need to be schedule prior to delivery in order to perform "a few more nautical performance trials."

STX France shipyard reported Symphony of the Seas' first sea trials were a success.

The sea trials took place between February 15 and 18, where almost every onboard system was tested.  The ship is in its "completion phase", which means it is getting prepared to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in late March.

The sea trials included over 80 hours of sailing that covered 1,000 nautical miles off Belle-Île island.  During the trials, the full range of the ship’s systems were activated at sea, most of those being already adjusted and presented for commissioning, both to Royal Caribbean and to the classification society.

STX France reports each and every performance goal was reached.

There will be another short sea trial that will need to be schedule prior to delivery in order to perform "a few more nautical performance trials."

Royal Caribbean will take delivery of the world's largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, on Friday, March 23, 2018.

The event will celebrate the handing over of the ship from French shipyard STX France to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The ship cost 1.2 billion euros, and will be the 13th ship delivered by the shipyard to Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis Class cruise ship measures 362 meters long and 66 meters wide, and weighs in at 228,000 gross tons.  

Sea trials are scheduled to commence on Thursday and last to Sunday, which will test the ship's performance. 

Symphony of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean International's 25th ship in the fleet and will start its inaugural season in the Mediterranean Sea this summer, before arriving in her home port of Miami.

After being postponed a few weeks ago due to bad weather, Symphony of the Seas will try for sea trials again for three days of testing next week.

The soon-to-be largest cruise ship in the world will head out at night on Thursday, February 15, at 4:30 pm during high tide. She will return to its basin Sunday, around 4:30 pm.

Symphony of the Seas will sail between Noirmoutier, Belle-Ile and Saint-Nazaire in the meantime, with a hundred or so people on board.

Delivery of Symphony of the Seas to Royal Caribbean is scheduled to occur in March 2018.

Royal Caribbean held a special event in London, England last week to preview its upcoming fourth Oasis Class cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas.

The event was held in Central London, where members of the public that had registered for an invitation were able to preview some of the exciting new features coming to Symphony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Joel Alderman was able to attend the event, and shared photos a synopsis of the event with us.

Photo by Joel Alderman

Guests entered a reception area, which then leads to a corridor and stairs that are meant to look like the Ultimate Abyss slide.

Photo by Joel Alderman

At the end of the hall is a slide that leads to a ball pit, which is meant to represent a hot tub that is featured in the Ultimate Family Suite stateroom.

Photo by Royal Caribbean UK

Photo by Joel Alderman

From the Ultimate Family Suite, guests go into the room next to it where you are shown a video of some of the places you can visit and adventures you can experience when traveling with Symphony.

Then from another hidden door comes a man dressed as an explorer who takes you through a jungle trail to a waterfall. 

Photo by Royal Caribbean UK

Photo by Royal Caribbean UK

Then the waterfall stops and you go through to a Hairspray experience, it’s a mock up of a dressing room and one member of cast encourages you to assist her with a song from the Broadway show.

You then are ushered to a red curtain where you are asked to perform the song with her but as the curtain opens you are actually led into the “sweets” room, where you meet "Lolly." She helps you work out the code to a treasure chest, which contains free sweets given to all participants.

Photo by Royal Caribbean UK

Photo by Royal Caribbean UK

Photo by Joel Alderman

Royal Caribbean released a new set of construction photos, showing off the progress the ship is making as she nears her debut in March.

Photos by Royal Caribbean International

Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's newest Oasis-class ship, under construction at the STX shipyard in France. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in March 2018.

Royal Caribbean is redefining the family vacation with the most adventurous and dynamic family suite in travel. Set to debut in March 2018 on board the world's largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, the next generation of family accommodations comes to life with the two-level Ultimate Family Suite. Filled with activities and amenities designed for discovery, from an in-suite slide and a floor-to-ceiling LEGO wall to a 3D movie theater-style room, the 1,346-square-foot space activates the imagination of travelers of all ages.

Royal Caribbean has provided a new photo update of its next two cruise ships that are under construction.

First up is Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's cnewest Oasis-class ship, under construction at the STX shipyard in France. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in March 2018.

Photos by Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean also showed some photos of Spectrum of the Seas.  Specifically, we have a look at a large block from Spectrum of the Seas as it is prepared to transfer from the Neptune shipyard down the River Ems to the Meyer Werft shipyard. Spectrum is scheduled for delivery in 2019.

Photos by Royal Caribbean International

The first sea trials for Symphony of the Seas have been pushed back due to inclement weather.

STX France shipyard had originally planned for Symphony of the Seas' first sea trials on January 19, but it had to be postponed 24 hours.  Despite the delay, Symphony was unable to begin her sea trials on Saturday either.

Mer et Marine reports weather conditions, particuluarly wind, exceeded the limits that STX France has for ships to leave the shipyard and enter the English Channel. The weather conditions were deemed too risky.

In addition to wind, certain other sea conditions need to be met, such as the tide needs to be at a certain level for the keel to have enough under it in order for the ship to reach the channel. With the delay due to wind, the tides are now unfavorable and will not offer a favorable window until four weeks from now.

Royal Caribbean is schedueld to take delivery of Symphony of the Seas in late March. 

Royal Caribbean has started to open up specialty dining reservations on some Symphony of the Seas sailings, with Hooked Seafood now providing more detail on what guests can expect.

Hooked Seafood was one of the brand new specialty restaurants announced by Royal Caribbean that is coming to Symphony of the Seas.

Hooked is described as, "This is the ultimate catch if you’re angling for the freshest seafood. It’s a real taste of New England in a casual atmosphere — and it’s a brand-new addition on our newest ship, Symphony of the Seas. Introducing Hooked Seafood — taste bud-tempting fare to satisfy every seafood craving, including raw bar favorites, a variety of crab claws and a selection of just-shucked East Coast oysters. Plus enjoy classic apps, clam chowder, lobster and fresh caught local fish. It’s reel fresh, real good."

On the Cruise Planner, we are seeing prices of $40 per person and here is what the sample Hooked Seafood menu looks like:

The restaurant description on the Cruise Planner mentions your waiter can provide gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegetarian options.

Hooked Seafood will be located in the Solarium of Symphony of the Seas.