Harmony of The Seas - Royal Caribbean review!

Hey friends!

Last week, my husband and I went on a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas ship - the mega ship that they show in the commercials. In comparison to other ships that we've been on, this is our first "big ship" that we've been on and it was a bit overwhelming at first. The cruising experience on the mega ships can be a bit different than smaller ships, so here's all the details you need to know about the Harmony & their private island in the Bahamas, Coco Cay!

BEFORE BOARDING

- Check in online - the window for check in is 2 weeks before sailing. Through check-in, you can print your Set Sail Pass, your luggage tickets & pick your arrival time. This means less time in line & more time having fun!

- Book your shows online ahead of time - This is the first cruise that we've been on that we had to reserve a seat for the night time shows. The booking window opens up about 2 weeks before sailing & you can reserve your shows either on Royal's cruise planner website or via their app. You MUST book your shows for the night or you will not be let into the show without a reservation - they scan your SeaPass card to get into the show. There is stand-by seating, but for high-demand shows, they did run out of seats. We were able to book all of our shows on the app before leaving.

- Download the Royal Caribbean App - get this App on your phone about a week before you get on the ship. While sailing, you can use the app to display your schedule (ports of call, show reservations, excursions, etc), help you navigate the ship, text message people in your cabin room & reserve any additional onboard activities or excursions. You can still use the app even if you don't purchase the ship's wifi package. This App was extremely helpful with keeping what we wanted to do organized and seeing what restaurants were open when we wanted to eat.

- Figure out what you want to do at each port - Don't wait until the last minute or when you're on the ship to decide what excursions you want to do; research where you are going! Excursions can book up quickly and you don't want to waste the limited time you have at each port. You can book your excursions online, via the app, or at excursion kiosks on the boat.

WHEN YOU FIRST GET ON

- Explore the ship - Harmony is filled with so many amazing features and floors that you'll want to familiarize yourself with everything on day 1. As with all of Royal Caribbean ships, there are directories in public areas to help you navigate the ship.

- Eat - when you first get on, the Windjammer (a buffet-style dining room) will be open & ready for you to stop by for some lunch! Additionally, if you purchased a drink pass ahead of time, you can head to some of the bars for a drink.

- Swim - Most people check their luggage to be delivered to their room, but you have the option to bring a "carry on" bag or backpack with you. I always take a backpack & put our swim suits in it because the pools are normally open once you get on board.

- Book any last minute extras - When you first get on the ship, you can go to guest services to book any excursions, dining packages, drink packages or onboard activities.

- Check out your room - Cabins open at 1PM. When the doors open to get into the room hallways, your SeaPass Card will be waiting at your door along with your luggage. We got a balcony room with an ocean view and spent a lot of time hanging out here.

THINGS TO DO

Harmony of the Seas has so many things to do on the ship.

- Abyss Slide - this amazing slide is 10-stories high, is lit up with really cool lights, and goes crazy fast. My husband and I were like little kids racing each other on this slide; if you go on a cruise with one of these slides, you have to ride it because it is so fun.

- Water slides - the pool features 3 different water slides that were also very fun to ride.

- Go to the Solarium - a wonderful feature about this boat is that there is a huge adult-only area (with actual doors so kids don't get in) with hot tubs, a bar, a buffet & cool-down sprinklers. It is so quiet, calm & peaceful in here without children or music. We spent a lot of time here relaxing with drinks and enjoying the calm.

- Central Park - Harmony features a NYC Central Park - style neighborhood that is immaculate and beautiful. You genuinely forget you're on a boat in this part of the ship. There are benches everywhere for you to sit down and enjoy the beauty, listen to live music, shop high-end retail, eat at a specialty dining restaurant, get a drink at the bar, or grab a snack from the cafe. We ate breakfast every morning at the Central Park Cafe because it was so nice.

- Ice Skate - you can make reservations to ice skate on the ships ice rink, usually on a sea day.

- Movies - there are many movie nights on the pool deck at night so you can watch a movie under the stars

- The Boardwalk - This is another neighborhood on the ship that is very kid-friendly. It features the end of the Abyss slides, a carousel, a hot dog shack, rock walls, climbing features for children, face painting, an arcade, casual shopping, Starbucks & the Aqua Theater for shows. They even had a Zoltar fortune teller on ship! Sabor, a specialty dining Mexican restaurant, is also located in this neighborhood & is a more family-friendly specialty dining restaurant as well.

- Activities Deck - Up at the top of the ship behind the pool is the activities deck. This is where you can get on the Abyss Slide, surf or boogie board on the FlowRider, zip line across the ship, play basketball, and mini golf.

- Bars - There are so many great bars on ship, all with completely unique atmospheres. The Schooner Bar is my favorite because there is a live piano man there every night. The pub also features live guitar music. The Bionic Bar was absolutely mesmerizing with its futuristic robot bar. On Air is a family friendly venue with karaoke each night. Boleros is a latin-themed bar with live music and dancing each night. The Rising Tide bar is a huge open-air elevator bar that takes you up 4 floors slowly. Dazzles is a live-music centered bar that overlooks the Boardwalk and features the ship's band and their music is absolutely amazing. There are multiple pool bars on the pool deck, as well. We always purchase the drink package for unlimited sodas, water bottles & drinks because we love to hang out at the piano bar.

- Kid/Teen friendly zones - As with all of Royal's ships, Harmony had designated zones dedicated to teens and kids. In addition to the Boardwalk that is very family-friendly, there is a child care center on board and a teen lounge. These zones are really nice, especially for the teens, because they have their own place to hang out without bothering adult guests.

- Casino - The casino onboard the Harmony is absolutely huge. They feature table games, slot machines & their own bar. They even have card game lessons, too.

- Card/Game room - there is a large room with puzzles, chess/checkers, and decks of cards that are open for anyone to come play.

- Ship "excursions" - there are a lot of onboard excursions that you can do on this ship including cooking classes, brunches & exclusive tours into behind the scenes of the ship. We attended the tour of the "bridge" of the boat, seeing where the captains control and operate the ship and it was very informative and interesting.

EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

- Main Theater - In the main theater, the featured shows are Grease, Columbus, family comedy & a headliner show. The cast for the musicals were very talented and so fun to watch. All of the shows were very good and I would highly recommend.

- The Attic - this is Harmony's comedy club that features comedians & some game shows.

- Studio B- onboard the Harmony is an ice skating stage that features 2 ice shows- iSkate (free style, written by the cast) and 1887, a love story. The ice cast is absolutely phenomenal and did amazing stunts and choreography.

- The Aqua Theater - of all the shows/entertainment on board - this was my absolute favorite. The Aqua cast puts on 2 shows - The Fine Line (best at night time, very daring tricks) and The Heist (more of a production show). Both of these shows feature breathtaking stunts, tight rope walking, amazing diving, dancing, and synchronized swimming. If you see nothing else on the ship, you have to make it to these shows as this cast is extremely impressive.

- Parades & dance parties - in the Royal Promenade, the heart of the ship, there are dance parties and parades just about every night. They feature live music, various cast members from the ship, and a very talented dance cast.

PORTS OF CALL

Coco Cay, Bahamas - Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's exclusive and private island in the Bahamas. This island was recently just updated and is very well done. This island has so many things to do - there is a massive pool with a swim up bar, a splash pad with slides for younger children, a beach cove for swimming, a private beach & a large buffet-style open air dining facility. If you purchase the drink package, it works at all the bars on this island. You can also upgrade to a private cabana on the beach, go zip-lining, go into their large water park, or ride a hot air balloon.

Roatan, Honduras & Costa Maya, Mexico - Both of these ports were so amazing that I wrote a dedicated post for them here.

DINING

What’s included - The Windjammer (buffet), Park Cafe (grab & go), Hot Dog stand, Sorrento's Pizza, mini bites (snacks) , Solarium Bistro (buffet) & the Main Dining Room are all included.

What you can upgrade to - For an additional fee (each venue varies in price), you can make reservations at one of the ship's specialty dining restaurants. Harmony features Izumi (sushi), Sabor (Mexican), Chops Grille (steak) 150 Central Park, Wonderland (eclectic) Jamie's Italian, Vintages (wine/fine dining), Johnny Rockets and Coastal Kitchen (suite guests only). We ate at Sabor and enjoyed the guacamole, specialty margaritas & ceviche!

Cruising Gluten Free - I could not talk about dining on the ship without mentioning food allergies. I am gluten free and it can be tricky when traveling, but Royal Caribbean treats guests who are gluten free, vegetarian, or staying away from dairy/sugar so well. In the main dining room & specialty restaurants, the menus are labeled according to food allergens and every single waiter on this ship is well-educated about gluten free diets. In the Windjammer, there is a specific kiosk for gluten-free breads/desserts. In the Park Cafe, they serve Udi's bagels & cookies. Additionally, Harmony also serves Truly at all their bars and Datura (a GF beer) at their pub, giving gluten free passengers a beer alternative, I was so happy about this! They go above and beyond to make your dining experience as "normal" as possible. If you are also GF, Royal Caribbean is the only line I can honestly say you will not be worried about getting sick while on board.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE

Overall, we were very impressed with Harmony of the Seas. We were worried that being on a ship with so many people (6500 passengers, 1500 crew) would feel crowded, but it really did not feel more crowded than the smaller ships because there are so many venues on the ship. Harmony is absolutely immaculate, clean, and well taken care of that there are places on the ship that you truly forget you are on a boat. I would highly recommend this ship for families with children/teens or even adult-only travelers. While this boat was very fun, it didn't take away from the fact that we still love the smaller ships from Royal's fleet as well. If you do choose this ship, be sure to reserve your shows ahead of time, take advantage of the fun activities on board, and give yourself plenty of time to discover the wonderful small touches on this boat.

Where is your next cruise going?

xx

Lil