Video: Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas begins her Transatlantic Crossing

Fun facts about Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas offers guests quite a bit to see and do onboard, and the ship itself is a marvel, when you consider just how large it is and how much work and coordination is required to make it run flawlessly. Here are some fun facts about Harmony of the Seas that put into perspective the sheer scale of everything on this ship. Neighborhoods: Seven (7)

Ship Stats Construction Facts Food & Beverage Facts Consumed in an average week

Harmony of the Seas Transatlantic Crossing Infographic

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is making her away across the Atlantic to her new home in Port Everglades, Florida, and Royal Caribbean has released a new infographic that shows off how long this journey really is. Harmony of the Seas will arrive in Port Everglades, Florida on November 5, 2016, in the early morning hours.

You can track Harmony of the Seas' progress during her journey, via our Harmony of the Seas ship tracker.

Royal Caribbean names Brittany Affolter as Godmother to Harmony of the Seas

Royal Caribbean has found its Godmother for its newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, and that person is South Florida educator Brittany Affolter. Following a search that lasted months, Affolter was among three finalists, who then competed in a vote by the general public.  Brittany was won that popular vote, and was selected to become the ship's Godmother. For winning, Affolter will be recognized for her incredible contributions to the education of South Florida youth with a grant of $25,000 donated by Royal Caribbean. The grant money will be donated to Teach for America Miami-Dade.

In addition, Affolter will have the privilege to officially name the ship and bless the vessel and all those who sail onboard, during the prestigious naming ceremony at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, FL on November 10, 2016.

Brittany will take part in the inaugural cruise and then be invited back to enjoy a seven-night Caribbean voyage on he Harmony of the Seas.

Video: Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas By The Numbers

Wonderland menu on Harmony of the Seas

Last updated on May 30, 2017

Menus provided by RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com are unofficial and subject to change.

Radiant vegetables playfully reinvented

Baby Vegetables in the Garden

Soil & pebbles

Reconstructed caprese

Liquid olive, ricotta powder, basil

Tomato water

Pepper spherification, bread foam

Chilled to exhilarate the palate

Oceanic Citrus

Spicy tuna & floral yuzu granite

Crispy Crab Cones

Cilantro, avocado mousse & ohba leaf

Tue, 05/30/2017 (All day)

Royal Caribbean Secrets: Tony the Gnome on Harmony of the Seas

Secrets, Tips and Tricks
Central Park

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is filled with a lot of fun activities, exciting shows and incredible dining choices.  The level of detail on this brand new ship is truly amazing, including one very small (and cute) bit of detail that is easy to overlook.

Hidden in the Central Park neighborhood, among the beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers, is Tony the Garden Gnome!

A photo posted by Tom Brownlee (@caribbeanplantdoctor) on Oct 8, 2016 at 5:43am PDT Photo by Tracey Van Leeuwen

Tony was donated by Matt and Samantha Alexander, and have been adopted by the ship's horticulturist, Tom Brownlee.

Guests can find Tony under a tree, opposite the Trellis Bar in the Central Park neighborhood.  While not as thrilling as the ship's water slides, Tony is a great example of a fun hidden gem onboard Harmony of the Seas that you can visit once onboard.

Royal Caribbean selects finalists for Harmony of the Seas Godmother

Royal Caribbean has narrowed down the choices for who will be Harmony of the Seas' Godmother to just three amazing women.

Anike Sakariyawo

Physical Science Teacher, Miami Norland Senior High School

Katherine O'Fallon

Magnet Coordinator, New River Middle School

Brittany Affolter

Manager, Teacher Leadership Development, Teach for America Miami-Dade

"We’ve seen an overwhelming response from the community with an outpouring of exceptional nominations from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. It is an honor to be able to recognize such inspiring educators for the work they do to make a positive impact on our youth," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "These three upstanding individuals have demonstrated unwavering passion and dedication, going above and beyond the classroom to make a huge difference in the community. We thank everyone who participated by recognizing our many heroes in education; they are leading the way in inspiring our youth to dream big, and that’s work we all can be proud of."

The public can now view each of the essay submissions and vote for the educator they feel is having the most positive influence on South Florda's youth. The winner will receive a $25,000 grant for their non-profit organization, and the honor of becoming the Godmother to Harmony of the Seas. The winner will receive an invitation to the naming ceremony of the Harmony of the Seas on November 10, 2016. The Grand Prize winner will also receive A 7-night Caribbean cruise onboard the Harmony of the Seas for two in a double-occupancy balcony stateroom (winner and a guest) awarded in the form of a cruise certificate.

Online voting is open from October 6 at 12:00pm to October 14 at 12:00pm EST, 2016 at local10.com/godmother.On Oct. 24, one finalist will be named the winner, and honored as Godmother of Harmony of the Seas, the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ship, during an official naming ceremony on Nov. 10, 2016.

Answers to many common Harmony of the Seas frequently asked questions

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas has generated a lot of interest among Royal Caribbean fans and first time cruisers alike, and with a ship this intriguing, there are a lot of concerns and questions people may have.

We decided to list answers to some of the most commonly asked questions related specifically to Harmony of the Seas for everyone's future reference. When can I reserve shows onboard?

Royal Caribbean has added a lot of great entertainment on Harmony of the Seas. Guests are able to reserve shows on their Harmony of the Seas cruise, although when exactly they become available varies from sailing to sailing. The truth is, there is no rule about when these kinds of activities become available for booking, and every sailing can be different.

Typically, we see enteratainment become available to reserve online around 75-60 days prior to the sail date, but your experience may vary.

What exactly is the Wonderland restaurant?

Wonderland is a specialty restaurant that has a cover charge and is an imaginative take on specialty dining, where the experience is just as important as the food offered.

Wonderland first debuted on Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class ships, but Harmony of the Seas is the first Oasis-class ship to offer this unique restaurant. In fact, it is a two-story Wonderland restaurant.

It is loosely based on the Alice in Wonderland books, and features an eccentric design motif.  Dining at Wonderland is more than just another place to eat.  Rather, it is an opportunity to try something completely different and the wait staff is part of the experience as much as the food.

What are the Windjammer hours?

Exact times can change, but here are the Windjammer dining hours we have seen thus far.

What is Royal iQ and how does it work? Royal iQ is Royal Caribbean's smart phone app available on Harmony of the Seas for iOS and Android devices. Royal iQ already let guests track their luggage delivery status on embarkation day, manage a personal calendar of reservations and events, communicate with other guests onboard, book shore excursions and modify existing reservations.

Guests do not need a Voom WiFi plan for the Royal iQ app to work.

Ideally, the app should be downloaded before the cruise and then once onboard, connect to Royal Caribbean's WiFi network and open the app.

The app's core functionality provides the ability to track luggage, manage personal calendar and book shore excursions and dining reservations without any additional cost.

There is a communications option, which costs $7.95 for use onboard and provides the option to text or call someone else that is using the app and has activated their iQ Unlimited Call & Text Package. Photo by Kayy McKay‎

Each person needs to have the app for the iQ communications package to function.

How do the stateroom lights work?

Staterooms on Harmony of the Seas feature a card slot near the entrance to each stateroom that requires a card to be inserted into it for the lights and air conditioning to work.  This ensures an energy-saving means of reducing the ship's impact on the environment.

Just insert your SeaPass card (or really any card you might have) in the card slot and the lights and air conditioning will remain active as long as the card is in the slot.

What makes Harmony different from other Oasis-class ships? There are a number of large and subtle differences between Harmony of the Seas and her sister ships, but here are the big ones.

What is the Escape the Rubicon puzzle room?

Escape the Rubicon is a puzzle game, which is a timed game where guests compete to figure out a series of clues hidden throughout one room in an allocated amount of time (usually 60 minutes) in order to find the "key" to escaping the room.

After a briefing, guests search a room for clues and hidden messages and then try to put it all together to figure out the key phrase. There are word searches, patterns and other challenges designed to get you thinking in a lot of different directions.

Each game requires at least six guests and is located near the Adventure Ocean club.  Guests can sign up for it once onboard the ship (although some guests have reported seeing it available on the Cruise Planner site).

Can you open balcony partitions? If you have a connecting balcony stateroom, often guests want to open up the balcony divider between the rooms to allow for a larger balcony space.

The key to getting this done is to ask the stateroom attendant. Talk to your stateroom attendant and ask if you can have the balcony dividers opened up because you are friends with the balcony stateroom(s) next to you.

Who will the Captain and Cruise Director be when Harmony of the Seas does its trans-Atlantic sailing?

Captain Gus Andersson will be Harmony of the Seas' Captain and Abe Hughes will be the cruise director for the repositioning cruise to Harmony of the Seas' new homeport in Port Everglades.

Eventually, Captain Johnny Faevelen will resume his duties aboard Harmony of the Seas. Each Captain takes a 10 week rotation, so Captain Johnny will be the ship's Captain once again sometime after Harmony of the Seas arrives in Port Everglades.
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