Harmony of the Seas was my first ever cruise experience. When I said this to the commander of the ship Captain Gus Andersson he replied, “well from here on it will be all downhill for you!” And we both laughed because the Harmony of the Seas is currently the biggest cruise ship in the world! I was on the pre-media sail from May 20 to 22, 2016. We sailed from Southampton in United Kingdom.
Its a Large(st) Ship!
I had seen videos and pictures of the ship, and yet when I was there in person it didn’t help one bit! It was a huge ship and I initially felt lost. I just could not get a sense of it. But it lasted only for a short while. I realized that the public areas were clearly marked on the panels next to all lifts. Many floors have only rooms or staterooms as they are called on the ship so they are not of public interest! In spite of its huge size I got a sense of the cruise in a while, and if I can do that, well anyone can!
There is Internet, they call it Voom
As I was on a media sail the internet for me was free. Otherwise I saw internet packs being advertised on the ship. In the media briefing they said a satellite beam follows the ship all along and that is how there was internet on it! And it was fast.
My Sea Facing Stateroom
I had a nice sea facing room. It was a lovely room, it served me well. There was a shower in the bathroom. I was happy with the sea facing balcony, but then I hardly spent any time in my room! It was also a pity that the weather decided to remain a uniform grey all the time I was on the ship! There are large glamorous suites on the ship too.
The Entertainment Areas
There are many public areas to explore. With two nights in hand, I explored a bit of everything I could. The most popular hangout place was the Royal promenade that features a Bionic Bar, the rising tide bar and the Cafe Promenade among many other places. My breakfast used to be in the Windjammer Cafe which was huge! There is a central park, there is broad walk and there is a pool area with slides too! Then there are bars, everywhere you walk, you end up being near a bar! And I had only two nights to figure out all this!
The Ultimate Abyss
The Ultimate Abyss is probably the most discussed talked about thing on the Harmony of the Seas! All I am going to say here that I did it! And I will tell that tale too! But it deserves a separate post!
The Theater On-board
I watched a musical for the first time ever at the Royal Theater of the Harmony of the Seas! The musical’s name is Grease and it was an amazing experience for me. The crowd gave the actors a standing ovation at the end of the show! I also watched an ice skating performance, 1887, on board which was once again pretty impressive!
The Verdict
Our pre-media sail was just a spin around in the ocean so there were no offshore tours. And yet there was so much to do on the ship itself! We sailed at about 1000 people and it didn’t feel crowded at all! The ship at full capacity can carry more than 6000 guests!
I was showing some of the pictures to my father. He laughed and said he didn’t imagine such a ship! I agree with him! I went in knowing not what to expect but I can certainly say that I came back impressed!
PS. I was invited by the Harmony of the Seas on the Media Sail
PPS. It was fun to share the experience with Siddhartha Joshi!
Damn that Bionic Bar !!
Ha ha that and the coffee shop attracted the most crowd!
Amazing is a small word for this kind of exuberance! Loved seeing the pics. With your hair styles both you and Sid look like brother and sister. 🙂
Ha ha thank you Indrani! Sid is great company!
Bookmarked this post, will share with my family, for long time asking them to go through such an experience,hope this post will make them interested.
you have gone through an amazing experience…
Thanks a lot for sharing.
I hope your family will go! This when there were no off shore excursions on this media sail! 😀
Looks like you had an amazing time 🙂
But it seems the review of the ship is not that great and construction work is still going on.
I for sure had amazing time! 😀
Sounds fabulous. Have a great time!
Thank you Niranjan!
These are truly Man made Marvel 🙂 …
It was a first for me so I was all wide eyed!
Amazing, Awesome pics. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Nice to see Siddhartha Joshi 🙂
Thank you so much Rupam!
Such a beautiful ship. Thank you for sharing your experience. I can’t wait to go on board the Harmony of the Seas 😀
I wish you a good cruise!
Looking at your face I can tell you enjoyed your trip immensely,which was altogether a different one
Yes Easwar a first for me so it was a lot of fun!
Amazing…! This cruise is very impressive with all the things you talked about, Mridula. I would be too happy about voom relaying my trip online as it happens, if ever 🙂
Bushra do plan a vacation 😀 you guys would love it!
Simply AWESOME!
Thank you Moon!
Coolest cruise ship ever I guess…
Till they come up with something new in a few years!
Just one word – FANCY!
Looking forward to more posts on this trip!
There are many more to come but before that another trip is coming up!
Looks fabulous! Love your room. Been on a ship twice – once from Chennai to Andamans and then on a cruise liner from Mumbai to Goa and back. Both were very different and interesting experiences.
Cruising is fun. However, some people get bored. My first cruise experience was in 2000 when we took 7 days Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska. We enjoyed it so much that we took 4 more cruise trips in past 10 years. However, cruise is not a good option if one wants to explore a city/ country.
I have never imagined a cruise that massive. No doubt anyone can be lost here 😛 And that Bionic Bar looks awesome.
Super super! Let’s go for another trip together 🙂