Harmony of the Seas – Cruise Ship Review

Dates: 20-22 May 2016

Reason for being on board: Pre-inaugural sail

Who are you? Francesca from Ocean World Travel

Name of the ship: Harmony of the Seas

Cruise line: Royal Caribbean International

Harmony of the Seas review: I have been one of the first people onboard!

Food: the food has been excellent everywhere, I have been eating snacks and main meals in the following venues: the main restaurant, the buffet area, the Solarium eatery, the Pizzeria, the Promenade café, the Central Park Café and the SPA bar. Just as a reminder Starbucks coffee is served onboard in specific locations.

Prawn salad

Lobster bisque

Salmon fillet

Dark chocolate cake

Salmon starter

Main course

Chocolate pudding with caramel sauce

Grilled prawns

Wrapped fish fillet

Walnut cake

Solarium buffet: healthy eating

Meal at the solarium buffet

Cheesecake from the Promenade Cafe

Yogurt from the bar of the gym

Grand Marnier souffle from the main restaurant

Buffet breakfast

Buffet breakfast

Ocean World Travel team at the main restaurant

Entertainment: the entertainment can be described with only one word breathtaking. There are many things to do on board, for example there are a great variety of outdoor activities, such as minigolf, a basketball court, waterpark, various themed park style attractions, including the terrific Ultimate Abyss slide (a really scary and tall slide!). As for the live sessions, the Grease Musical has been most acclaimed and the Jazz bar offers high quality performance and a relaxed atmosphere. The water theatre and the ice rink are the other two spectacular venues for entertainment. Plus may bars and lounges, such as the Latin music bar or the karaoke bar. There is literally no time to get bored on board.

Jazz bar

Jazz bar

Card room

Mini golf

Flow rider

Water park

Theatre

Casino

Puzzle game room

Ultimate Abyss slide

Work of art

Work of art

Tequila bar

Bionic bar

Ice rink

Facilities: The level of the facility is stunning, there is everything you can wish for. For example, the gym is well equipped and spacious, it counts 5 different rooms, the SPA is rich in offers and packages. The venues for drinking and eating are endless, another very impressive venue is the Alice in Wonderland inspired restaurant that allows to customise your dishes. There are some really distinctive features such as the menu that appears only if the surface is wetted with a brush, also the décor of this space is surreal with handmade drawings in the walls and a magic golden door.

Wonderland restaurant

Wonderland restaurant

Magic door

Wonderland restaurant

Wonderland restaurant

Wonderland restaurant

Gym

Sorrento’s pizzeria

Jamie’s Italian

Cabins: I stayed on a balcony cabin which was stunning. The room had abundant walking space, a sofa and ample storage, the bathroom was quite compact however this was compensated by the big balcony furnished with two comfy chairs and a table.

Double with balcony

We were lucky enough to take a tour of other cabins.I was particularly impressed with the family cabin and the suite. The family stateroom we saw featured two bathrooms, one of which ensuite with bath, two bedrooms and a very large living room with sofa and table.
The suite was in a similar style with a much larger living area with a spacious dining table and a lot of storage space. The décor of all the above staterooms was extremely similar, very high standard furniture and accessories.

Type of décor: modern/contemporary décor. All the furniture onboard is extremely high quality, from the bed frames to the armchairs in the restaurants. The design is really appealing and elegant.

Courtesy of the staff: superb. All the staff has been always extremely polite and nice.

What did you like the most of this ship?

Central Park: this is one of the nicest spaces of the ship. This outside promenade resembles a park, with all its plans it is so realistic that you don't have the impression of being on a ship: It is a relaxing place adorned with nice cafes and restaurant. This is the ideal spot to sit and read the newspaper in the morning.

Escape the Rubicon Puzzle: this is a game for adults that consists of a puzzle to be solved within one hour in a group. It is an extremely intense experience, absolutely phenomenal that teaches you the importance of teamwork and the fact that our brain is far more powerful than we think.

Our team after the game

What did you like the least of this ship?
Many fun activities cannot be performed if the weather is not nice, such as the Ultimate Abyss slide, I believe there is room for improvements to get some of the most exciting features of this ship weather proofed.

Pizza in the Sorrento pizzeria, here you can have a slice of pizza. Despite being called after a city from the South of Italy, the pizza is not really Italian: it would be nice if RCI could create a more authentic pizza.

SHIP STATS

• CREW MEMBERS 2,100
• PASSENGER CAPACITY 5,479
• NUMBER OF CABINS 2,747
• ENTERED SERVICE May 2016
• GROSS TONS 227,000

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