Visit our travel agent friends at MEI Travel

99 days of Harmony: New shore excursions for Harmony of the Seas

In:
16 Mar 2016

There are less than 99 days until Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts and we are celebrating by posting something new about Harmony of the Seas every day until she debuts!

New shore excursions for Harmony of the Seas

With Harmony of the Seas arrival, Royal Caribbean developed some new shore excursions specifically to coincide with her launch.

Harmony of the Seas will begin offering cruises in Europe, before heading to her ultimate home port of Port Everglades, Florida.

Europe

Caribbean

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Harmony!

99 days of Harmony: Puzzle Break escape room

In:
15 Mar 2016

There are less than 99 days until Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts, and we are counting down every day with something different about this brand new ship!

Escape the Rubicon

Royal Caribbean first introduced an escape room game on Anthem of the Seas and the concept is now going to be added to Harmony of the Seas.

If you are wondering what an "escape room" is, it is essentially a group game, where players must solve clues hidden throughout one room in an allocated amount of time (usually 60 minutes) in order to find the "key" to escaping the room.

This is different kind of onboard activity that was pioneered by a group called Puzzle Break, which have created similar experiences on in a few cities.

After a briefing, guests search a room for clues and hidden messages and then try to put it all together to figure out the key phrase.  There are word searches, patterns and other challenges designed to get you thinking in a lot of different directions.

Escape the Rubicon will take place in a dedicated space designed in partnership with ShowFX Inc., a staple for Hollywood studios’ engineering, design and fabrication of custom entertainment equipment.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Harmony!

99 days of Harmony: Harmony of the Seas tests her engines

In:
14 Mar 2016

Are you excited for Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas to debut? We are too and that is why every day, we are posting something new about this incredible new cruise ship leading up to her arrival in less than 99 days.

Engine tests

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas wrapped up her first set of sea trials over the weekend, and part of that exercise was trying out her new engines.

This was the first time Harmony of the Seas had her engines used, which were aimed at testing the ship's propulsion and maneuverability.

Royal Caribbean released these images of the engines at work and while we are no engineering experts, it certainly looks like they are working well!

Photos by Royal Caribbean International

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Harmony!

99 days of Harmony: Harmony of the Seas returns from first sea trials

In:
13 Mar 2016

We're counting down the days until Harmony of the Seas debuts later this year with our 99 days of Harmony blog series. Each day we will post something about Harmony of the Seas to share with all of you!

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas has returned to the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France after completing the first three days of sea trials.

Harmony of the Seas traveled almost 1000 nautical miles in the time span of about 60 hours.

During the trip, Harmony of the Seas had her power plant capacity tested in its basic configuration up to full power (96 MW), as well as tests for propulsion and maneuverability.  

A statement by STX France indicated the ships' performance was what they expected.

With these sea trials complete, STX will put the ship into dry dock for final cleaning of its hull before delivery. Delivery to Royal Caribbean is expected to take place on May 12.

Prior to delivery, a second set of sea trials must take place in April.

99 days of Harmony: Three ways Harmony of the Seas will be different

In:
12 Mar 2016

When Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts, she will be the world's biggest cruise ship and offer a lot for guests to do onboard.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas will debut in less than 99 days and to celebrate, we are counting down every day with a brand new blog post all about Harmony of the Seas.

Three ways Harmony of the Seas will be different

Today, we have three big ways Harmony of the Seas will be different from any other Royal Caribbean ship in the fleet, including her sister ships.

More efficient than its sister ships

Harmony of the Seas will be about 20% more efficient than Oasis of the Seas or Allure fo the Seas, thanks to improvements in hydrodynamics, equipment, new design for the ship and more.

Royal Caribbean considered all possibilities to find energy efficiencies in an effort the make this ship do more, with less.

They found the biggest savings came from the hydrodynamic piece, but improvesments with new kinds of propulsion units are more effective as well.

The main engines are more fuel efficient than their predecessors and Royal Caribbean changed most of the ship’s lighting to LED lighting, whcih recovers wasted heat.

The air conditioning is more efficient and SMART systems have been implemented to control the consumption of electricity.

Harmony of the Seas will be longer than other ships

We mentioned earlier that Harmony of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship in the world, and that means she is about 33cm longer than other ships.

Harmony of the Seas is also a little bit wider and has a bigger gross tonnage.  Essentially, Harmony of the Seas is bulked up all around.

Harmony of the Seas staterooms will be bigger

Guests will find the staterooms on Harmony of the Seas larger than previous Royal Caribbean staterooms, especially from deck six and above.

Royal Caribbean has made those staterooms on deck six and higher longer, which is part of the reason why the ship is a bit wider than the others in its class.

Learning from Quantum class ships that already have some of the most efficiently-designed cabins, designers on Harmony were able to gain a few inches here and there.

Guests will find there’s a great amount of floor space and they’re versatile in every conceivable way. They have great balcony spaces attached, that means guests can maximize the available space for each of the staterooms. 

99 days of Harmony: Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas to begin sea trials

In:
10 Mar 2016

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is preparing for her first set sea trials, which will take place over the course of three days.

Harmony of the Seas will carry out her sea trials on Thursday, March 10th.  She will return to port on Sunday, March 13, 2016.

STX France indicated this first sea trial is devoted mainly to test her electric power plant and propulsion system, as well as maneuverability tests.

There are 500 people onboard Harmony of the Seas: crew members, STX test teams, suppliers and Royal Caribbean's customer monitoring team.

Delivery of Harmony of the Seas to Royal Caribbean is scheduled for May 12, with departure to Southampton, UK around May 15.

The next set of sea trials is scheduled to be held before the end of April.

99 days of Harmony: Wonderland in London

In:
09 Mar 2016

Did you know that Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is going to launch in less than 99 days? To celebrate, each day we are posting something new about this ship for you to enjoy!

Wonderland in London

Royal Caribbean UK launched a one-night only experience, where one of the premier restaurants onboard Harmony of the Seas was available for Londoners to sample.

Ahead of the May launch of Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean hosted an evenin in Covent Garden that they called  "The dry run."

Guests were served an eight-course menu including crispy crab cones, Berkshire pork belly, halibut cooked in clear paper, and buffalo chicken eggs.

Royal Caribbean director of culinary operations, Michael Gilligan, talked about the experience, "The Dry Run will be as close to the real thing as possible. The waiting staff will be in their uniform, which is purple and very Liberace. The tables, the cutlery, will be there."

"The food is new and exciting, but I didn’t want the menu to all be Harry Potter food or molecular gastronomy for the sake of it. There is a real element of theatre — but it’s not too avant garde."

A photo posted by Ren Behan (@renbehan) on

99 days of Harmony: 2017-2018 Harmony of the Seas itineraries

In:
08 Mar 2016

We're counting down the days until Harmony of the Seas debuts later this year with our 99 days of Harmony blog series. Each day we will post something about Harmony of the Seas to share with all of you!

2017-2018 Harmony of the Seas itineraries

Royal Caribbean has released its 2017-2018 Caribbean itineraries and we now have a better look at the itineraries available for Harmony of the Seas beyond her inaugural cruises.

Harmony of the Seas will remain homeported in Port Everglades, Florida and offer cruises to the Caribbean year-round.

Harmony of the Seas will offer several different seven night cruise options throughout the year

7-night eastern Caribbean: Phillipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Labadee

7-night western Caribbean: Labadee; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico

7-night eastern Caribbean: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Labadee

7-night eastern Caribbean: Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts

At the time of this posting, rates were as low as $808 per person (based on double occupancy, plus taxes, fees and port expenses).

Which itinerary do you want to sail on? Share your thoughts in the comments!

99 days of Harmony: Perfect Storm water slides

In:
07 Mar 2016

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is getting closer and closer to launching and we are counting down the days until she is here with a new blog post every day about this new ship.

Perfect Storm water slides

If you had to list the most exciting new features coming to Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, the new water slides have to be near the top of that list.

There will be three water slides onboard, with the names Typhoon, Cyclone and Supercell.

These are the first real water slides on a Royal Caribbean ship and it promises to be a beacon for families looking for some high-paced fun.

The water slides will begin on a platform elevated above the ship’s bridge level, and end in runouts.

The slides descend three decks through a series of twists and turns over the ship’s tree-lined Central Park neighborhood 10 decks below.

One of the slides also will feature a champagne bowl that swirls guests around as they make their approach to the end of the ride.

What these new water slides represent is a brand new form of onboard activities that kids (and their parents) will absolutely love to do over and over again.  

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Harmony!

Subscribe to 99 days of Harmony