Royal Caribbean's New Ship Will Blow Your Mind

I do n’t really like sail . To me , they ’re typically four or five day on open water with shitty Wi - Fi , mediocre food , cramped rooms , washed - up comics , and over - the - hill showgirl . By the third day my personal highlighting is unremarkably well-chosen hour triviality on the lido pack of cards .

But Royal Caribbean ’s Harmony of the Seas is n’t at all like what I associate with cruising . It ’s now the big ship on the water , an advanced , technologically sophisticated cruise lining that ’s more drift resort urban center than marine vessel . If you ’re into cruising – or even if you ’re just curious about what form of unbalanced stuff they ’re putting on sail ships these days – here are 11 thing that will absolutely amaze you about the newest ship on the water .

The Boardwalk lets you relive childhood summers

The ship is divided into seven themed " neighborhoods , " but the coolest by far are Central Park ( which we ’ll get to afterward ) and the Boardwalk .

The first thing that pip you when you take the air out to the Boardwalk on Deck 6 is the smell of the red-hot hotdog standpoint , and the grilled peppers and onions serve with its impressive array of sausage . Then you ’ll see the medicine and express joy from the grand carousel , a merry - go - round with as many adult riding as kids . go across that and you ’re overwhelmed with the smell of Zea mays everta , the noises of the arcade , and the screams of people sliding down the Ultimate Abyss water slide ( more on that later , too ) . But if you feel like snapping out of your puerility nostalgia and enjoying the perks of being an adult , it ’s also home to an onboard Starbucks and a margarita Browning automatic rifle .

Harmony’s Central Park > actual Central Park

keep back with the theme of " nice , cleaner New York , " Central Park is an out-of-door green blank in the eye of Deck 8 that reek like bracing flowers and look like an urban museum . Metal sculptures stretch through the middle , lessening the predominate effect of the eight level of staterooms that surround it . The car park is lined with restaurants , all with out-of-door seating so you’re able to enjoy the Dominicus . But your practiced bet is to grab a table at the car park ’s central bar , bring a book , and forget you ’re in the middle of a cruise ship .

You can eat at a Wonderland-inspired restaurant

The Harmony of the Seas stays rightful to the expectant cruising custom of sprawling buffets and main dining elbow room where you’re able to literally say clobber like " I ’ll have page three . " And the ship has no shortfall of specialty eatery either , let in Chops steakhouse , Izumi Hibachi & Sushi , and Sabor – Harmony ’s Mexican concept with tableside guac and house - made tortillas . All of which are hunky-dory if you require something a little fancier than tidy sum - produced dining - room fare .

But the meal you ’ll commend for the respite of your living is at Wonderland . This Lewis Carroll - inspired restaurant begins with an entrance that ’s a literal trip through the rabbit yap , leading into a two - level dining room decorate with psychedelic artwork , velvet stall , and a bird’s-eye view over the Boardwalk . Your fare is written in inconspicuous ink , and once you " paint " it with water you ’ll find offerings of accessible , inventive food like Buffalo chicken eggs that total out smoking and a salt - crust scant rib . Your velvet - robed waiter can also suggest craft cocktail , a deconstructed burrata salad , a " forbidden apple " molecular dessert . And the $ 45 upcharge is a spate less than a repast like that would cost you on land .

The inside cabins actually aren’t terrible

Interior cruise ship cabin commonly make you palpate like you ’re sleeping in a mausoleum , and are typically places designed to check that you pass as much prison term as potential NOT in your room ( where you are NOT spending any money ) . But Harmony of the Seas makes them a small more supportable .

The interior cabin here have " virtual balconies , " a jut from a photographic camera put on on the side of the ship that plays over an entire wall of the room . So even though you ’re not getting any of thoseactualbenefits like " fresh air " or " sunshine , " you still wo n’t experience completely claustrophobic . And if you want to sleep until 3 pm with no construct of time , you’re able to turn it off and get the true inside - cabin experience .

There are three legit water slides

At some age , most people discontinue going to the waterpark , and the delight of shout out down a piece of hard PVC delineate with chlorinated water system becomes a distant memory . The only time they look even gently enticing is after a few fruity drinkable on a cruise ship , but when the sloping trough expect like they came straight out of the kiddie surgical incision , you lose your enthusiasm . Harmony of the Seas ' three slides are actually pretty fun and manage to pack a respectable serial publication of twist and drop into an confessedly limited area . The risque and yellow sister slide have surprisingly frenetic speeds for cruise ship slides , with unmortgaged section so you’re able to delight the view on the way down . The third slide is the traditional toilet - bowl variety , that circle you around until coldcock you out the bottom – though ascertain middle - aged people get stuck and crawl their manner down is one of the more entertaining thing on the ship .

Plus a scientifically engineered adrenaline rush called the Ultimate Abyss slide

majestic Caribbean employs this guy describe Brendan Walker , a monocled , bald - headed Brit who has spent his life studying the genius chemistry behind agitation . He blend in by the name Professor Thrill , and measure mentality natural action during unlike phase of an uttermost experience : from the decision to take a risk of exposure , to the expectancy of doing it , to the ups and downs one encounters while experience something dangerous , to the excitement after . His enquiry went into creating the Ultimate Abyss , a 45 - meter , 10 - news report slideway that sends you hurdling through an allmouth Pisces ’s mouth down a tunnel of atomic number 10 lights and swarthiness at speeding approaching 9 foot per second .

To enhance anticipation , it requires you to climb to the top pack of cards of the ship , and look down at the weewee 16 decks below . You then climb ANOTHER set of stair … and wait . With that nervous energy built up in your mastermind , the slide starts out with a outrageous pearl , spike your epinephrin before send out you on a twisty- turny perpendicular ride . The ride takes about 17 seconds , and every sentence you think you ’re fix conformable , it jolts you in a raw counselling until you finally feel the substitute of fall out the bottom . And your brain by all odds take on a lilliputian while to regress back to normal .

The Bionic Bar brings a drink and a show

The ship ’s Bionic Bar is essentially two robotic arms define under a ceiling of liquor nursing bottle , pre - programme to immix potable to exact specifications . Just order on an iPad , see the screen next to the barroom to see when your drink is being made , then model back and love the show . When it ’s ready , scan your room key at the front of the taproom and the Bionic Bar will slew the drink to you . Though the golem do n’t makequite as good amateur therapistsas the human kind .

The Rising Tide Bar is part ride, part bar

Rotating eating place are so 1970s . Elevating bars , however ? wholly 2016 . The Rising Tide Bar take up at the Royal Promenade as a humble lounge situated in the midriff of the shopping strip . But about every 10 minutes , the side doors near , taking whoever ’s inwardly on a three - story slip up to Central Park . Where the streak instantly becomes an outdoor beer garden .

There is art everywhere

From the jumbo metallic head that greet you in the Royal Promenade to the garden sculptures in the Solarium to the psychedelic material on the wall at Wonderland , public prowess is everywhere on board . And it ’s not the motel way beach scenes / Britto crap you typically see on ships , either . Some of it is even , dare we say , view - provoking . Or , at the very least , it give you something interesting to look at other than the water .

The entertainment? Just former Olympians.

You ever enquire what Olympic divers do once the Olympics are over ? Well , we do n’t really be intimate either , but apparently some of them have gigs on Harmony of the Seas . The nightly shows at the Aqua Theater feature some former Olympian divers performing the same aquatic stunting they did in challenger , all sic to music and a high - tech lightness show . The ice present at the indoor trash skating rink bring more former Olympians , doing stunt in menses costumes that direct to multiple mid - performance standing ovations . in spades outfox renown packing .

The Wi-Fi actually works

Once upon a meter , I may have warned some hoi polloi tonever , ever use Wi - Fi on a cruise ship . And now I stand objurgate . The Voom Wi - Fi on Harmony of the Seas is literally faster than my Wi - Fi at home . The connection swiftness on this ship is enough that you’re able to take Google Voice or WhatsApp calls without needing an international calling architectural plan . And if you want to spend your entire vacation streamingUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , you’re able to do that too . It ’s not free , though : one twist will run you $ 15 per day , two gimmick is $ 22.50 . But can you really put a price on being able to Instagram the Ultimate Abyss ? No . No you’re able to not .

The ship comes to the Americas this summer

So now you ’re probably suppose , " Well , gosh , fast internet , crazy food , weewee slides ? I ’m in ! " But check you money box account first . Royal Caribbean is n’t running a charity , and a seven - day cruise from Barcelona through the Mediterranean will run you anywhere from $ 1,700 to $ 2,100 per person this summer . If you want to expect until the ship is stateside , that monetary value drop to $ 850 - $ 2,000 , depending on your stratum of cabin . None of that include drinking either , which can run from $ 5 for a beer to upwardly of $ 15 for some drinks at Bionic Bar . But none of this is out of line with what novel sail ship cost , and Harmony of the Seas is the coolest new one to come around in a while .

Harmony of the Seas Royal Caribbean