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.
Table of Contents
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.