We travelled on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas with our 11-year-old Kidsetter. Harmony of the Seas is the 2nd largest ship in the world currently and can carry up to 6500 guests with 1500 crew members. 17 stories high and 1,188 feet long, you really didn’t want to forget anything in your room. Royal Caribbean deliberately keep the layout the same on all their fleet of ships. We’ve been lucky to have travelled on 5 other Royal Caribbean ships so we familiar with where things are. That said, this is the largest RC ship we’ve been on and we still were lost from time to time.
The Fine Line aqua show is a feature show on board Harmony. Professional divers dive from extreme heights into a small pool which must look like a tiny pool of water from that height. Our Kidsetter sat in the splash zone and was saturated ! Unfortunately, the story line wasn’t obvious so it’s unclear as to the artistic journey they were taking us on. This been said, it was a spectacular show with plenty of acrobats, extreme diving and high energy synchronised swimming. Well worth seeing.
We also attended Grease The Musical in the main theatre. The cast was slick and well suited to each of their roles. They really were faultless. Our Kidsetter liked the music but didn’t like the storyline asking ‘Are girls really that mean?’ He also didn’t like the way Sandra Dee felt she had to change to fit in. Great insights at such a young age.
We watched an ice skating show called ‘iSkate’. A dazzling showcase of the skaters very best moves set to their own favourite tunes. The skaters are all ex-ice skating champions. Normally, the skaters are told what music to skate to, what costumes to wear and how to skate to please the judges. The storyline was a rebellion to this and was a thrilling display of their skill.
We watched a second ice skating show set in 1887 about a girl on her quest for finding love. The costumes and sets were simply stunning. Our Kidsetter was seated on the edge of his seat the entire show enthralled as to what might be coming next. To see such skill, story line and athleticism in a complete package was breathtaking. Very pleased we watched this after the ‘iSkate’ show.
Level 15 has a large outdoor area with a basketball court, ziplining, rock climbing, flow rider, the Abyss and ping pong tables.
Our Kidsetter enjoys ziplining and did this 4 times. It is only a short zipline however still thrilling.
Our Kidsetter played a round of mini golf with his dad and loved it. Admittedly the sun is too bright for my eyes and the area is not protected by the sun, so I had to give it a miss.
Our Kidsetter wanted to give the Abyss a go which is a 10-storey dry slide however bailed as the day before he had experienced a waterslide with a 50 foot vertical drop in the dark and was still upset about it. As I’ve aged and have inner ear issues I personally now loathe all rides and slides, pretty much anything that is offered at a theme park. However, because of our Kidsetters experience the day prior on Coco Cay, I knew I had to dig deep and prove to him that if Mum could do this ride, so could he. So, I did it and it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Our Kidsetter had psyched himself up to do it 2 days later however a storm came through and they closed the slide. He was so disappointed he didn’t take the opportunity when we did it 2 days earlier.
Our Kidsetter loves to play ping pong and we had a few sessions and he managed to include himself in a game with a few other fellow passengers. He could’ve played for hours but alas on board such a big ship there is so much to see and do and we are the types of people that want to see and do it all.
Prior to boarding this ship we didn’t think our Kidsetter would spend a lot of time in the onboard kids club for his age group called ‘The Voyager’s’ ages 9 – 11 years old. He’s getting older and thought he’d be interested in doing more of the activities on board the ship. Well, our Kidsetter LOVED the kids club. He would literally count down the minutes until it opened. The crew have designated fun names. Ghost, Aladdin and Unicorn were our Kidsetter’s favourite. The area itself is bare and looks bland but the crew are very skilled at creating an inclusive environment with loads of fun team building activities such as Flinch Ball, Dodge Ball, Silent Ball, Protect the King and Minefields. He made plenty of friends, so much so, everywhere we ventured on board the ship we’d hear a person call out to him saying hi. He has been to many kids clubs on board ships and Royal Caribbean are the best.
There are many restaurants and cafes on board to choose from. Off the promenade there is Sorrento’s which is a great place to pick up a quick slice of pizza. Promenade Café is the place to pick up your coffees and a snack. There is also an Irish Pub, which serves typical Irish tucker.
On deck 5, unique to this class of side is a bar named ‘Rising Tide’. This was fun as it literally moved slowly as we sipped on a drink whilst reaching level 8 where you could exit and wonder through Central Park, yes there is a park on board the ship or travel slowly down to level 5 again. We met a couple of American’s on board named Austin and Scott. There were a barrel of laughs. Austin teased our Kidsetter as a couple of girl ‘friend’s’ from the kids club saw him on the Rising Tide and quickly moved on board to join him. Very cute !
The are several speciality restaurant’s which you pay extra for and are well worth it. These include Jamie’s; Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant, Sabor; a fabulous Mexican restaurant, Park Central; a New York style restaurant, Alice in Wonderland, Chops Grill; a steak house restaurant, Izumi; a Japanese cuisine restaurant.
Alice in Wonderland restaurant is a magical themed high-end restaurant. We entered the rabbit hole upon entering the restaurant and immediately you are transported into another world. The décor is quite surreal, very Salvatore Dali inspired. We were greeted by the Mad Hatter whom escorted us to our table. We were introduced to our waiter named Milo from Montenegro. He is welcoming and hands us a frame each with a paint brush. We dipped the paint brush in water and painted our frames and alas, the menu appears. Our Kidsetter loved this.
I wondered how he would eat all the dishes served as it’s an adventurous palate serving a 9-course degustation menu. We commenced our dining experience with lobster and caviar and ended with a dinosaur’s egg for dessert. Each dish was served with an awe of mystical illusion. At the end of the fun evening the Mad Hatter escorted us out of the rabbit hole. It’s a beautiful and fun filled experience.
We dined at all the above restaurants and they are truly incredible cuisines. Our Kidsetter’s favourite cuisine is Japanese is he was in heaven here.
On deck 14 there are many pools to choose from catering for all ages. Our Kidsetter couldn’t wait to explore the Perfect Storm water slide areawhich includes a yellow-and-green ‘champagne bowl’ slide called Supercell. He went down them at least 30 times. As he had made friends in the kids club, he was able to race his friends down them and had a blast.
On deck 6 there is an area for the entire family named Boardwalk. The elements of the Boardwalk are a dynamic way to enjoy classic fun with a colourful Carousel. One sea day Royal Caribbean set up a special fun fair with hula hoops, bean bag toss games, a big band playing live music, a roaming clown and a humongous sized chocolate sponge cake for all the guests to partake in.
We enjoyed the upbeat atmosphere of Royal Caribbean’s ‘Harmony of the Sea’s. An excellent option to spend quality family time without the hassle of having to perform daily chores, it is all taken care for you.
