Royal Caribbean has released a new batch of photos showing off parts of Harmony of the Seas' construction.
Harmony of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's third Oasis class cruise ship, and will debut in Spring 2016.
The photos were taken in October 2015 at the STX shipyard in St. Nazairre, France. All photos are copyright Royal Caribbean International.
Royal Caribbean has built a reputation for itself in being a technological leader when it comes to the technological advancements it brings to its cruise ships and on Harmony of the Seas, guests can expect the very latest innovations.
Technology will be at the heart of what Harmony of the Seas offers, so here is a look at what guests can expect to find at their fingertips when they get onboard the largest cruise ship in the world.
When folks think of using the internet on a cruise ship, there is usually a groan and sigh involved because traditionally internet at sea has been mid-1990s slow.
On Harmony of the Seas, guests can enjoy the high-speed internet experience known as Voom.
Voom is Royal Caribbean's new satellite internet service that allows guests to post to Facebook and Instagram, post videos on YouTube, tweet about your shore excursion, and have face-to-face conversations via Skype and Google Hangouts. Plus, you can even stream movies, games and apps via your personal accounts with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and more.
The Voom speeds are the real deal and Royal Caribbean even says if you need to do business work onboard, with Voom you can check email, transfer files, host video conferences, Skype and more, just as if you were on land.
An undeniably cool innovation coming to Harmony of the Seas are the RFID bracelets known as WOW Bands.
WOW Bands give guests everything they have been accustomed to having in a SeaPass card, on their wrist. This means getting access to staterooms, making purchases and checking in for entertainment has never been easier.
Guests can use their WOWband to enter their staterooms, purchase beverages, merchandise and anything else Royal Caribbean sells. Plus, WOWbands serve as an easy way to distinguish which muster station each guest is assigned to.
WOW Bands are an optional feature but once you try the WOW Bands, you will likely be leaving your SeaPass card behind in your stateroom.
What happens when you mix your favorite beverages with cutting-edge robotics? You get the Bionic Bar on Harmony of the Seas.
Makr Shakr created Bionic Bar for the Quantum class ships and they have brought this impressive creation to Harmony of the Seas, where guests can order drinks from iPads and then marvel in the spectacle of robotic arms creating the drink on the spot.
Combining robots and mixology, Bionic Bar is something you have to see to appreciate because every time you walk by, it is so tantalizing to watch the robots in action.
The single armed robot will get the ice, mints and lemon and then squeeze and shake them to make your drink. Eventually, there wont be a limit on what the drinks the robots can make. The customization is what Royal Caribbean is aiming for.
Staying in an inside stateroom does not mean you do not have a view anymore. On Harmony of the Seas, guests will be able to enjoy virtual balconies in their inside staterooms.
What is a virtual balcony? Inside staterooms on Harmony of the Seas offer a floor-to-ceiling high-definition LED screen that shows real-time views from specific points on the ship.
Royal Caribbean designed the virtual balcony to look (and sound) like the real thing, so guests can see everything going on in a port or just the vast serenity of the ocean passing by.
Guests can turn the virtual balcony off at any time, especially at night when sleeping but it's available anytime they want.
There's even natural sounds that are piped into your stateroom to provide as authentic an experience as possible.
The only thing missing is the balcony stateroom price tag!
With the Royal iQ smartphone app, everything is easier to do onboard Harmony of the Seas.
Royal iQ allows guests to track their luggage as it comes onboard the ship, book shore excursions and dinner reservations as well as chat or call friends and family onboard.
Available for iPads, iPhones, and Android phones, Royal iQ gives you the flexibility to decide what to do and when to do it.
Royal iQ allows guests to manage details during the cruise, includes a convenient calendar that provides at-a-glance views of the cruise or conference program.
If you prefer not to carry a phone or tablet with you, Harmony of the Seas will offer eight freestanding iQ stations at Guest Services that give you the same functionality as the mobile apps. You will also find roaming Guest Services staff to assist as well.
Royal Caribbean wants the boarding process for Harmony of the Seas to be the simplest yet. Why waste time in the pier doing paper work?
Guests sailing on Harmony of the Seas can take care of all necessary documentation online including uploading your own photo and receiving digital boarding confirmation.
Without a check‑in counter, there aren't any forms to fill out or lines to wait in.
All of this means less time spent waiting in lines and filling out forms and a quicker way to get onboard and having vacation start a whole lot sooner.
Which tech innovation excites you the most? Tell us in the comments below!
For a limited time, Royal Caribbean is offering its high speed internet service, Voom, for free to those that book qualifying Harmony of the Seas cruises.
Royal Caribbean is tacking on free Voom internet for two guests on top of its popular BOGO Plus deal that is currently available.
Guests staying in an ocean view, balcony or suite stateroom will receive Voom unlimited internet package for two devices. A two-device Voom package would ordinarily cost $22.50 per day for the duration of the cruise.
The Harmony of the Seas cruise must be booked between August 17 and October 11, 2015.
Offer applies to all Harmony of the Seas sailings departing between May 29 - Oct 16, 2016.
Offer includes one Voom internet package for two devices. Offer applies to ocean view, balcony, and suite staterooms. Voom unlimited internet package applicable to guest 1 and guest 2.
Offer does not apply to third and higher occupancy guests.
Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.
When Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts, she will offer a premier cruise experience, with lots of new innovations, things to do and ways to spend to your day.
Royal Caribbean prides itself on being a family cruise experience, so here is a look at what families can do when they get onboard the largest cruise ship in the world.
It does not matter how young or old you are, a ride on the carousel in the Boardwalk neighborhood is timeless.
The carousel on Harmony of the Seas is hand-crafted and especially designed by Carousel Works for Royal Caribbean and is one-of-a-kind.
The inspiration for the carousel was taken from turn-of-the-century carousel designs. Even the original artwork scenery panels located on the carousel’s eight Rounding Boards feature custom painted scenes to highlight the wistfulness of life on the historic boardwalks.
Photo by Royal Caribbean
Onboard Harmony of the Seas, guests will be able to watch first-run movies by DreamWorks Animation and other studios in 3D.
Just like your local movie theater, guests will walk to the theater, where 3D glasses will be provided.
When you consider these 3D movies are included in your cruise fare, going on Harmony of the Seas is a great opportunity to catch up on movies you wanted to see or want to see again without the movie theater costs!
Photo by Royal Caribbean
For teenagers, Harmony of the Seas will offer a lot of activities to choose from.
The focal point for teens is in the back of Deck 15, where they'll find a teen-only hangout called the Living Room, a video arcade and the teen dance club.
Royal Caribbean also promises special events just for teens onboard such as pool parties, open mic nights and more.
The Cruise Compass provides a number of teen activities that offer teenagers events just for them,
Kids are a big part of the cruise experience on Harmony of the Seas, and this ship will feature a central boulevard on deck 14 just for kids to make getting around for them simpler.
Kids Avenue will connect children with dedicated spaces for the Adventure Ocean program as well as various themed play areas.
Kids Avenue will include access to
Photo by Royal Caribbean
For kids that want some thrills, they will find plenty of it on Harmony of the Seas.
Water slides, a zip line, FlowRider surf simulator, rock climbing wall and more are available for kids to try while onboard.
These activities are included in their cruise fare and are sure to get their hearts pounding.
The zip line features a 10-deck high ride that takes them 120 feet above the Boardwalk.
Kids can also try the Perfect Storm water slides, that will take them down three decks through a series of twists and turns over the ship’s tree-lined Central Park neighborhood.
Also brand new to Harmony of the Seas will be the Ultimate Abyss, a 10-story dry slide. It will be located on the aft of Harmony of the Seas and it is being billed as something to try for the super brave!
Photo by Royal Caribbean
Harmony of the Seas will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to feature Splashaway Bay, an interactive aqua park for kids.
Inside, kids will find sea creature water cannons, water slides, a gigantic drench bucket and a multi-level jungle gym.
Splashaway Bay was designed with kids and toddlers in mind and will be a brand new way for kids to cool down while having fun.
Photo by Royal Caribbean
Parents that have toddlers 6 months to 36 months old will love the Royal Baby & Tots Nursery on Harmony of the Seas.
The nursery has become a favorite spot for parents on other Royal Caribbean ships, because it offers supervised care for young children during the day and night.
Having a place onboard Harmony of the Seas to bring your children to so that parents can enjoy a quiet dinner together or some time doing one of the many activities onboard gives everyone involved a great way to have fun.
Parents are never far away from their children, as the nursery provides wireless phones for parents to use in case they want to check in on their little ones or the nursery needs to get a hold of them.
Royal Caribbean's signature and award-winning Adventure Ocean supervised kids program is available on Harmony of the Seas, where kids can play, explore and learn with other children.
Adventure Ocean is available for kids ages 3 to 11 and is included in your cruise fare.
Once inside Adventure Ocean, kids will have the opportunity to take part in a number of daily activities during the day and night. Adventure Ocean is a safe place for your children to spend their time onboard and make lots of new friends.
The Aquanauts (3-5 years old) will enjoy do magic tricks, dress up like pirates and pretend to be super heroes. Explorers (6-8 years old) can take part in hands-on science experiments, try their hand at art and theater, as well as dancing and ice cream. Voyagers (9-11 years old) will be able to do science experiments, backstage tours and new sports like Gagaball.
What is your family excited to do on Harmony of the Seas? Tell us in the comments below!
Royal Caribbean has released new photos of Harmony of the Seas construction.
Harmony of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's third Oasis class cruise ship, and will debut in Spring 2016.
The photos were taken earlier this month at the STX shipyard in France. All photos are copyright Royal Caribbean International.
In less than a year, Royal Caribbean will debut its newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas and already guests cannot wait to get onboard.
While Harmony of the Seas is not the first ship in her class, she will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to offer a number of firsts.
Royal Caribbean may have some more changes and innovations up its sleeve, but here are five ways Harmony of the Seas will be completely different from any other Royal Caribbean ship we have seen yet!
Royal Caribbean will add water slides to Harmony of the Seas, making her among the first Royal Caribbean ship to have water slides added to a ship.
While other Royal Caribbean ships in the fleet will be also getting water slides, Harmony of the Seas will be the first to have the Perfect Storm water slides, which are a set of three water slides.
The three slide names are Cyclone, Typhoon and Supercell. Each slide is three decks in height.
For families, these water slides will be a lot of fun and something to try many times while onboard.
Royal Caribbean has reimagined its kid friendly water play area with Splashaway Bay.
Instead of the H2O Zone that is found on other Oasis class ships, Harmony of the Seas will have a brand new aquatic adventure park.
Splashaway Bay will have, "a vibrant waterscape for kids and toddlers with sea creature water cannons, winding slides, a gigantic drench bucket and a multi-platform jungle-gym to keep everyone entertained for hours."
Need more thrills on Harmony of the Seas? How about a 10-story slide that has a 100 foot plunge!
Ultimate Abyss is a 10 story slide that begins in the Pool and Sports Zone at the aft of the ship down to the Boardwalk neighborhood below.
Unlike the other slides onboard, Ultimate Abyss will not be a water slide and will start at the top of the AquaTheater and bring guests down to the Boardwalk.
Since Wonderland debuted on Quantum of the Seas, guests have fallen in love with the creative aspect of this specialty restaurant.
On Harmony of the Seas, guests will find the first two-story Wonderland restaurant, where guests can enjoy totally inventinve and "maddeningly delicious" cuisine.
Based on artist renderings, it also looks like Royal Caribbean will make this new Wonderland even more intriguing to look at, with a great deal of different decor choices.
Another Quantum class innovation will reach Harmony of the Seas and this is the Bionic Bar.
Harmony of the Seas will be the first Royal Caribbean ship that is not a Quantum class ship to get a Bionic Bar, where guests can order drinks and watch as a robot bartender crafts their concoction from 30 spirits and over 20 mixers.
Like Wonderland, guests have enjoyed watching the robots create drinks and arguably, the spectacle of the drink creation is as fun as the drink tastes.
What are you most excited about on Harmony of the Seas? Tell us in the comments!
Just how impressive a spectacle is Royal Caribbean's newest Oasis class ship, Harmony of the Seas? There's a new visual means of understanding how big she is with this new infographic!
In anticipation of Harmony of the Seas' arrival in Europe in May 2016, Royal Caribbean compared Harmomy of the Seas to well known European landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Big Ben.
Royal Caribbean will offer a brand new aquatic adventure park on its third Oasis class cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.
Harmony of the Seas will be the first ship to feature Splashaway Bay interactive aqua park for kids.
Royal Caribbean describes Splashaway Bay as, "a vibrant waterscape for kids and toddlers with sea creature water cannons, winding slides, a gigantic drench bucket and a multi-platform jungle-gym to keep everyone entertained for hours."
We first posted photos of Splashaway Bay last week and today we have more confirmation about what guests can expect for this special area.
In addition, Royal Caribbean reiterated its three new water slides known as The Perfect Storm, as well as The Ultimate Abyss slide that features a 100 foot plunge.
Ultimate Abyss is a 10 story slide that begins in the Pool and Sports Zone at the aft of the ship down to the Boardwalk neighborhood below.
The Perfect storm slides of Cyclone, Typhoon and Supercell will offer guests even more thrills, with Supercell featuring a champagne bowl swirling guests around as they descend into their approach towards a big splash finale.
Harmony of the Seas will debut in May 2016 for her inaugural summer season in Europe before heading to her homeport of Port Everglades, Florida in November 2016 to begin offering seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings.
Royal Caribbean released a digital copy of its Harmony of the Seas brochure, which previews some of the new and exciting features on its soon-to-be-built third Oasis class ship.
Harmony of the Seas will debut with a European cruise season June through October 2016 and then follow it up with year-round Caribbean 7-Night Eastern & Western sailings starting November 2016 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
You can read the entire brochure here, but here are the highlights.
One of the big hits on the Quantum class ships was Wonderland, and on Harmony of the Seas it will be available too but it will be the first two-story Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine.
Other specialty restaurants on Harmony of the Seas will include Chops Grille, Vintages Wine Bar, 150 Central Park, Sabor Taqueria & Tequila Bar, Izumi Hibachi & Sushi.
Royal Caribbean had announced earlier this summer it was revamping its suite class offerings and on Harmony of the Seas, guests in suites can expect a new kind of suite service.
The new Royal Suite Class will offer
UPDATE: You can read all about the new Royal Suite Class details.
Royal Caribbean has reimagined its pool and sports zones with some new offerings and classic favorites returning.
Royal Caribbean has adding the Perfect Storm water slides, a new H2O Zone, and the Ultimate Abyss 10-story drop.
Royal Caribbean guests can expect to find onboard Harmony of the Seas a lot of entertainment. Some of the highlights include.
Royal Caribbean will roll out its best tech on Harmony of the Seas, with new features first developed for the Quantum class ships.
Guests will have access to high speed Voom internet, that gives guests high speed internet access just like at home for $15 per day, per device.
Royal Caribbean's brand new RFID bracelets, WOW Bands, will also be available, so guests can leave their SeaPass in their stateroom and have an easy and wearable way to enter your stateroom and make purchases.
The Royal IQ smart phone app will be available for guests to let you book shore excursions, reserve entertainment or manage dining reservations.
Guests can book virtual balcony staterooms to have an inside stateroom price but with a balcony view.
Thank you Katina Bradley for finding this brochure.
New renders have appeared that show the H2O Zone onboard Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.
The renderings show the water play area that is sure to be frequented by plenty of kids onboard.
Based on these renderings, there appears to be at least two kids water slides in addition to the play area comprised of fountains, sprayers and buckets.
Last month Royal Caribbean announced Harmony of the Seas would also have three water slides and a giant 10-story slide.
Harmony of the Seas is being worked at STX France shipyard. She is the third Oasis-class cruise ship.
Tip of the hat to Matthew Brand for finding and posting these renderings.
Does the H2O Zone on Harmony of the Seas look like fun? Share your thoughts in the comments!