It’s a big day for cruise fans as Royal Caribbean’s record-breaking Harmony of the Seas sets sail with paying passengers for the first time.
At 226,963 gross tons and 362 metres in length, Harmony is the largest cruise ship eve, dwarfing the famed Titanic (at 46,328 gross tons and 269 metres long). Harmony is more a floating mega-resort than a ship, with three main pool areas, a water slide complex, an adults-only solarium, an ice skating rink, two rock climbing walls, a basketball court and a mall-like indoor promenade with shops, bars and eateries. It departed Sunday from Southampton, England on a four-night voyage to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
People watch from the shore as the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship sets sail from Southampton. Photo: AFP
A visitor exits the Abyss slide on the Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. Photo: Bloomberg
Harmony is a larger version of Royal Caribbean’s giant Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, the previous size leaders in the cruise world. While a number of its features are the same as its siblings, it also offers a number of new additions. Among them: Ultimate Abyss, two swirling slides that drop 10 storeys from near the top of the vessel down to one of its lowest decks.
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Harmony also is home to a Bionic Bar where the drinks are served by robot bartenders - a concept that first debuted in 2014 on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas. In addition, Harmony has larger cabins than Oasis and Allure in some categories, and windowless “inside” cabins are outfitted with Royal Caribbean’s exclusive Virtual Balconies, which offer a real-time view of the outdoors. It’s a concept that first debuted in 2014 on the line’s Navigator of the Seas.
A jazz band practises in one of the bar areas on board the Harmony of the Seas. Photo: Bloomberg
An employee rides a wave machine on board the Harmony of the Seas. Photo: Bloomberg
Visitors take photographs of the Harmony’s Wonderland bar and restaurant. Photo: Bloomberg
The water slide area on Harmony is something Royal Caribbean just began adding to ships this year.
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Like Oasis and Allure, Harmony also has an open-air, tree-lined area called Central Park with restaurants, bars and upscale shops such as Bulgari. The vessel also has a 1,380-seat theatre that will show the Broadway musical Grease, comedy club, jazz club, casino, aquatheater and karaoke bar. It has more than a dozen eateries including an Italian restaurant by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
