Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International

Size of ship and passenger capacity: 226,000GRT and carries 5479 passengers

Year Built: 2016

Where the ship cruises: Europe and the Caribbean

Currency onboard: USD

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Two completely separate gangways were in operation, which made for a smooth embarkation and disembarkation process.

 

Main features: We were impressed by the amazing array of artwork all over the ship. The Bionic Bar featuring robotic bartenders was also great – program in your drink order and the robots will pour and serve it to you! This a grown-up cruise ship! Basically she has more of everything plus some exciting new things.

Most suited to: Everyone. There is something to suit every style of passenger and age group.

Atmosphere: Harmony of the Seas is a stylish ship with a great layout of precincts or ‘neighbourhoods’ offering various activities.

Encounters with Service Staff: Smiling, laughing, welcoming. It may be what the manual says but the staff all played their parts superbly and were helpful and informative.

Staterooms: Our mini suite was fully appointed with safe, tea and coffee making facilities and a flat-screen TV.

 

Dining options: Silks Restaurant (main dining) on decks 4 and 5 was plush and felt like a speciality dining venue with well presented mainstream meal options. Chops Grille (surcharge applies) on deck 8 served great crab cakes and superb filet mignon. The hot dogs were disappointing so stick to the large range of snacks such as paninis available from the deck 8 Park Cafe. The freshly made salads and pizzas at Sorrento’s Pizzas on deck 5 also kept us full in between meal times.
Entertainment: A highlight for us was the standard of the shows… in a word outstanding! ‘Grease’ & the ice spectacular ‘Journey in time 1887’ were both of world-class standard. They are brand new to Royal Caribbean yet they were polished and professional.

Activities: The ship has three large pools and 10 whirlpools, an adults-only Solarium and several areas to lounge around. We travelled on a cruise that was only at 50% capacity and whilst there were some scattered empty loungers, it may not be as easy to find one when the ship is full! In saying that, there were lots of entertainment precincts around the ship so passengers were well dispersed. There are also two rock climbing walls, two surf simulators, ice skating rink, zipline and live music scattered all around the ship, so there is no lack of entertainment!

Family Facilities: This is definitely a kid-friendly ship, with kids club, waterslides and of course the ‘Abyss’ – the world’s tallest slide at sea.

Inclusions: Meals (except specialty dining), entertainment and activities.

Exclusions: Drinks, specialty restaurants, shore excursions and spa treatments.

Self Service Laundry: Self-service laundry facilities are not available onboard, but there is a full laundry and dry cleaning service (fee applies).

Insiders Tips: The ship is equipped with North American standard, 110 volts AC and standard European 220/230 volts AC outlets. Dress code onboard was very casual except for more formal dining outlets, where guests naturally dress up. You really need longer than 7 nights to explore the entire ship and the destinations you’ll visit on the way, so consider booking a back to back cruise to experience it all!