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Travel

The Harmony of the Seas – Epic Fun Cruising

Updated with more details in April 2019

This year, we took a family cruise on the Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. The biggest cruise ship on the water at the time. As most cruisers know the biggest is only the biggest for a season, if that. But we didn’t choose The Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas for its size. We bought in this time for the laundry list of amazing activities on board and the ports of call.

Cruising with teens needs to be fun, which means you need to opt for a cruise ship with a lot of activity. The Harmony of the Seas is non stop epic fun. Recently it was named one of the 8 Most Popular Cruise Ships by Cruise Critic. Here’s why.

An Amusement Park at Sea

Harmony of the Seas is like an amusement park at sea. There’s everything you could want, or ask for, including activities and shows for all ages. From teens, to tots and seniors too, there’s something entertaining for all ages on the Harmony of the Seas.

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NON stop fun. If you plan it right you can have the time of your life on Harmony of the Seas. So start planning early. As soon as you book the cruise, go into your Royal Caribbean app ( Royal IQ ) and get scheduling. There are Broadway style shows that are very family friendly most nights of the week, but you can’t see them if you don’t get a time scheduled. Some fill up fast so don’t take your chances.

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Cruise Ship Entertainment

When we took a family cruise with Royal Caribbean cruise line in January 2017 Grease was winding down. Wish I had realized that and booked the show in advance. We missed out on that one. But we did get to see several others, including a spectacular ice show. That’s right, Harmony of the Seas even has a full sized skating rink on one level. The skating show was like watching Stars on Ice or any other extremely high level ice skating production. All of the entertainment is included, which shocked me. There’s also an incredible water show on this ship. Some shows are kind of late for kids, but not for teens, and in fact you are on holidays so you can stretch the bedtime a bit.

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Family Friendly Activities

There’s a zipline on the top deck and you and your family can zip across the deck 18 floors below. That was a rush, even if I did almost chicken out. But I did it, and it was fast. Wish I had done that one a couple of times. The Carousel Merry Go Round on The Boardwalk is just a unique experience on a cruise ship.

Meanwhile the rock wall is a challenge and a great way to spend an hour. In fact, you may want to do this daily. We signed up one of the first days so we could rock climb at our leisure. The shoes and harnesses are of course provided. This is one you need to work at for a bit if you don’t climb routinely.

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Flow-Rider sits on two sides of the zipline area and is not far from the mini golf too. That’s one heck of a fun activity to try at least once. You can do it standing as if you are surfing, or body boarding. Just ask. Sometimes one of the Flow-Riders is for body boards and the other is for surfing. Skilled instructors will help you surf the waves 200 feet above sea level.

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This climbing area outside Johnny Rocket’s was one of the first things the kids found after we checked in. Spend a few hours exploring and getting the lay of the land so to speak – board early. Don’t wait. I much prefer that to boarding during the big rush of cruisers later in the afternoon. We aimed for 11 a.m. or shortly after the itinerary indicated it was time to start boarding. That way we had a full day the first day on board Harmony of the Seas.

Jim finishing up his ziplining session.

You have to be completely dry to do the zip line. Also no bathing suits allowed. There are a few other rules. For instance you can’t have any loose clothing on either.

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From the moment we boarded to the minute we left (sad panda) we were busy in a good way. This is the kind of cruise we love, because every family can have a boatload of fun family activities day and night.

The waterslides on the Harmony of the Seas are not the fastest ever, but they are fun. There is a racing pair of waterslides and a kid’s play area with smaller waterslides for the young ones. They call the waterslides The Perfect Storm trio. There’s Typhoon, Cyclone and Supercell, one is a fun bowl slide that spits you out at the bottom. We loved that one the most.

MY Favourite Slide

The Abyss drops 10 stories and you ride through it leaning back with feet inside a burlap sack. Don’t wait. Do this one early on and repeat. The slides are so much fun and they are not scary at all. Just good clean fun with a little hit of adrenaline. It’s 45.72 meters above sea level.

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Teen Club

The teen club has numerous scheduled events and activities late into the night for youth. My daughter joined several kids who went ice skating the last night we were there. Typically the Harmony of the Seas teen program is open until 1 a.m. For more information on the kid’s club hours visit the Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas info centre.

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Cruising with Teens or Tweens is a Lot of Fun on the Harmony of the Seas

We enjoy cruising with several cruise lines. Each cruise line and each cruise boat has distinctive merits and personality too. This most recent cruise on Harmony of the Seas was epic. If you are an active family that loves rock climbing, zip lining, theatrical shows and thrilling waterslides this is the cruise ship for you.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

42 Comments

  • Lian

    What a fabulous cruise! I do want to go on a cruise soon, and this one looks amazing. I would love trying the Flow-Rider and the rock wall! I’m glad you had such a great time.

  • Joely Smith

    That looks like SO MUCH FUN! I have not been on a cruise in decades and have only been on one in my life. Cruise ships have changed so much!

  • Mandee

    Wow, it’s really hard to believe that this is all on a cruise ship! I had always thought my 5 boys would be bored on a cruise, but this makes me think otherwise! It looks like you all had a great time and I’m impressed at how many activities they had for the kids!

  • Dawn McAlexander

    I am a bit jealous right now. I would love to take a cruise aboard this lovely ship. I have been trying to book with Royal Caribbean for some time now, but I just haven’t gotten to do it yet. I want to take a Royal Caribbean cruise so bad.

  • CNA Photos

    This looks like such a wonderful cruise! I did the Oasis of the Seas last September and absolutely loved it! The options on the Harmony look amazing and fun for all ages. Will definitely be adding this one to my bucket list to cruise on!

  • Amanda

    I grew up cruising for our family vacations and I can’t wait to bring my boys onto a cruise ship. The Harmony of the Seas looks like such a fun ship with something for absolutely EVERYONE!

  • Natasha

    My husband and I love cruising! We’re looking forward to doing a Mediterranean Cruise sometime in the future as we have done the Caribbean several times already. The Harmony of the Seas looks magnificent, and almost as if you don’t have to get off the ship at any of the ports if you don’t want to!

  • jenny

    I’ve never been on a cruise. I’ll have to keep this cruise line in mind for when I finally venture out to sea on vacation. Looks like a lot of fun and the perfect cruise ship!

  • ricci

    Confession- I have never been on a cruise before but I feel like I need to go on one ASAP now after reading your post!! I love your pics!!!

  • Rebecca Swenor

    Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas sounds like so much fun for any age. I love how there is all different types of activities. The ziplining is interesting for sure on a ship along with rock climbing. Thanks for sharing the your amazing experiences.

  • Terri Beavers

    It’s absolutely amazing at what all they put on cruise ships. This looks like one of the best cruise ships and I’ll have to check it out when we take our next cruise.

  • Marysa

    I would love to take my kids on a cruise. This looks like so much fun, with no lack of things to do! Sounds like you guys had a fun time just on the boat alone! It can be tough to plan travels and it is nice to find something where there are already plenty of things to do.

  • TIm B

    We’ve been wanting to go on a cruise with our kids and these pictures highlight just how fun it would be. My daughter has a severe food allergy though and haven’t received any replies from the cruise lines regarding inquiries I’ve made about what would be there procedures if an accidental exposure occurred while at sea. If anyone has heard of this issue being addressed let me know but for now we’re probably sticking to keeping our feet on the ground. Glad you had an AWESOME time on your cruise!

  • Echo

    I have always wanted to go on a cruise, but haven’t been able to yet! This ship looks amazing. I bet you guys had the best time!

  • Crystal Lopez

    How cool is this! What an ideal place for families to jump aboard on! This looks like a kid’s paradise for sure and so much to do! The ultimate family vacation for sure!

  • `Kathy

    That looks like so much fun. I have never been on a cruise before. This is certainly on my list of things I want to do though. I would love to take my girls on this cruise!

  • Jacqui Odell

    Wow!! Looks like a lot of fun things for kids to do and keep active. I bet they slept great at night!

  • uprunforlife

    This ship looks like a ton of fun. I have always wanted to take my boys on a cruise. I think they would enjoy this ship because there are a ton of fun activities for them to do. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and loved it.

  • adriana

    What a fun time! I love cruises, they make for such fun vacations and they’re really great for all ages and the whole family which is the best. Love your pictures, so glad you had so much fun!

  • Karlyn Cruz

    It’s so awesome that you experienced all that on a cruise! There are many activities and you will never get bored!

  • Jasmine Eclipse

    Cruises look like so much fun! I’ve never been on one, but I hope to one day! It would be a lot of fun to go with my whole family, since I don’t get to see them as much.

  • Carol Cassara

    It’s an awesome way to spend time with the family! It looks like you all had so much fun and I love that there are plenty of activities to try especially for the kids!

    • Paula

      Lauren: When we started out we chose Carnival and we were on the Carnival Pride because it was a smaller ship – 2 to 3 K people and it had waterslides and a few other fun things plus a great kid’s club too. That was a fun start for us. Carnival Pride was refurbished and it was really enjoyable. Plus the food was surprisingly better than everyone had mentioned on that cruise line. It wowed us.