Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas arrived among a throng of onlookers into Southampton, U.K. this morning.

“Harmony of the Seas is redefining vacations and intriguing a new generation of travellers with a bold and unexpected line-up of first at sea innovations, while enticing them to explore the world from a new perspective,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “From thrilling onboard activities and experiences to visiting awe-inspiring destinations across the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, Harmony places guests at the forefront and encourages them to create their own adventures onboard and at every destination.”

Harmony of the Seas will sail from Southampton, U.K. on a series of short getaways to Northern Europe before embarking on her maiden cruise on May 29, arriving in Barcelona, Spain on June 5.

Harmony of the Seas will officially launch her inaugural summer season with the first of 34 seven-night western Mediterranean sailings on June 7.

In November 2016, Harmony will arrive at her homeport of Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from where she will offer seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings. 

The Carousel in the Boardwalk neighborhood of Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is in place and there are new photos of what the final product looks like.

Carousel Works shared photos of their latest creation on the world's largest cruise ship.

Photos by Carousel Works

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.

Carousel Works said the installation took about a week.  Its design is inspired by classic carousels found near many seaside destinations.

Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas just wrapped up a ship-wide refurbishment and we have some photos to share of some of the changes.

Majesty of the Seas entered dry dock following her April 29, 2016 cruise, and has had some work done to her, including

• New poolside movie screen
• Renovated Vitality Spa
• Addition of Splashaway Bay aqua park
• Voom internet
• Renovated and enhanced casino and lounges

Splashaway Bay & Movie Screen

Renovated Grand Suite

Suites got new carpet, retiled bathrooms and new light fixtures.

Renovated Vitality Spa & Fitness Center

Updated Casino

Royal Caribbean is so proud of its fleet-wide high speed internet, its latest commercial seems to be inspired by some well-known Verizon Wireless ads.

Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean announced it was rolling out high-speed internet to all of its cruise ships and clearly, wants to help spread the word.

Royal Caribbean created an ad that is certainly inspired those commercials, and it is a great indication of Royal Caribbean's ability to poke fun at itself.

Verizon Wireless has featured a nationwide television campaign that used colorful balls to show how fast its network is.

Get a backstage pass to Royal Caribbean’s exclusive performance of the hit musical, Grease. The cast are in final rehearsals and guests are in for some toe-tapping entertainment when the hand jive hits the stage onboard Harmony of the Seas.

Happy Sunday! We hope you are having a great weekend and ready to talk a little Royal Caribbean.

Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean took delivery of its newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.

Harmony of the Seas is now the world's largest cruise ship, following 32 months of construction.

The ship's arrival was marked with a traditional delivery and flag changing ceremony in Saint Nazaire, France.

There was also more Royal Caribbean news this week, so check out these posts too

Royal Caribbean News

• A new WOW sale begins this week.
• Royal Caribbean is offering double free upgrades on Anthem of the Seas. 
• A look at these secret staterooms on Oasis of the Seas with bigger balconies.
• Video of Harmony of the Seas' crew arrival.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 145th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we answer your Royal Caribbean emails this week.

In this episode, Matt reviews his recent cruise on Navigator of the Seas and talks about his experiences onboard, including dining, shore excursions and thoughts on the ship itself.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Travel By Terry looks at how a Royal Caribbean cruise offers liberation by sea.

Forbes has an interview with Royal Caribbean COO Adam Goldstein on a variety of topics.

Eat Sleep Cruise has a review of Dynamic Dining on Anthem of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean is kicking off a 5-day WOW sale, where guests can save 60% off their second guest and get up to $200 to spend at sea.

This WOW sale runs between May 17-21, 2016.

The new WOW sale is valid on all sailings departing on or after June 17, 2016. Offer excludes China departures.

Guests can get

• Buy One Guest, Get Second Guest 60% Off
• Up to $200 per stateroom Onboard Credit
  • Cruises 5 nights of less: $50 USD per stateroom
  • 6-9 nights: $100 USD per stateroom
  • 10 nights or longer: $200 USD per stateroom
• 50% Reduced Deposit

WOW Sale is combinable with the adjoining 60% Savings Off Second Guests and 30% 3rd and Higher Guest Savings, Military Appreciation Month, standard/full fare and restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, etc.) and Next Cruise offers. 60% Savings Off Second Guest and 30% Off 3rd and Higher Guest Savings are not combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military). WOW Sale is not combinable Crown & Anchor discounts, Shareholder Benefits or Loyal to Royal Sales. 60% Savings Off Second Guest and 30% Off 3rd and Higher Guest Savings are combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates. WOW Sale is valid for Cruisetour package. Bookings with a Cruisetour package will receive an OBC based on the combined length of the cruise and Cruisetour component.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

It is a big day for Royal Caribbean, as the company took delivery of its newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.

Harmony of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship, and its arrival was marked with a traditional delivery and flag changing ceremony in Saint Nazaire, France took place following 32 months of constructions. 

Joining the festivities in the ship’s signature AquaTheater were Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International together with Laurent Castaing, General Manager, STX France.

“Harmony of the Seas is the product of our zealous spirit of continuous improvement, where we have combined revolutionary ship design with the technological strides that have defined the Royal Caribbean brand,” said Richard D. Fain. “Thank you to STX France for their ongoing partnership in building our ships, which continue to introduce unexpected industry innovations.”

Harmony is truly magnificent in every sense of the word, from her architecture and design to the level of care and attention to detail with which our incredible crew are taking to prepare for our first guests,” said Michael Bayley. “The ship is the ‘best of the best’ of what our guests love most about Royal Caribbean, combined with new and thrilling experiences never before found in one place but it is the passion and dedication of our crew that will make everlasting memories for our guests.”

Harmony of the Seas will homeport in Barcelona, Spain and embark on the first of 34 seven-night sailings in the western Mediterranean on June 7, exploring some of Europe’s most beautiful locations. In November 2016, Harmony will arrive at her homeport of Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, FL., from where she will offer seven-night eastern and western Caribbean sailings. The newest member of the fleet will join sister-ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, sailing from Port Canaveral and Port Everglades respectively, on the east coast of Florida.

Across Royal Caribbean's fleet of cruise ships, there are some interesting and unique staterooms that are slightly different than the rest of the staterooms in the same category.

Today, we are looking at some balcony staterooms on Oasis of the Seas that give you a lot more space for no extra cost.

Photo by Emmy Schaffer

Certain Central Park balcony staterooms offer guests almost double width balconies for the same cost as other Central Park balcony staterooms.

These rooms are to the aft of the Living Wall and are on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.

Photo by Emmy Schaffer

The cabin numbers are on decks 10, 11 and 12:

• 10229
• 10629
• 11229
• 11629
• 12229
• 12629

It is worth noting that the larger balcony is not indicated on the deck plan.

If you are looking to book a Central Park balcony stateroom and want to get your family some extra living space, these staterooms are a great way to do it without breaking the bank!

Thank you to Emmy Schaffer for providing information for this post.