Harmony of the Seas is one of my favorite Royal Caribbean ships, so I was excited to sail on her for a second time. There’s so much to do onboard, from watching impressive shows to trying different restaurants.
My college friend and I went on a 7-night Western Caribbean sailing that visited Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, as well as Roatan, Honduras. Honestly, the ship was more exciting than the destinations we visited!
Here’s what I think you should know before sailing on Harmony of the Seas, including my honest thoughts on the cabin, dining, and entertainment.
Overview of Harmony of the Seas
Harmony of the Seas, debuting in 2016, is one of Royal Caribbean’s popular Oasis Class ships, offering a huge range of dining, entertainment, activities and amenities. If you’re planning a Royal Caribbean cruise and want to learn more about the cruise line’s ships, dining, destinations, drinks and cruise tips, check out our Ultimate Guide to Royal Caribbean.
Harmony of the Seas is so big that it’s split into seven neighborhoods:
- Central Park
- Boardwalk
- Royal Promenade
- Pool and Sports Zone
- Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center
- Entertainment Place
- Youth Zone
More than 6,000 guests can sail on Harmony of the Seas. In fact, there were 6,565 guests onboard during my particular sailing, so the ship was practically fully occupied! Of the 6,565 guests on my sailing, there were 2,200 children, or about 34% of the total passengers.
In 2026, Harmony of the Seas got a major upgrade, adding 91 new cabins, new dining options (like Playmakers and El Loco Fresh), a revamped pool deck, and more.
Interior guarantee cabin
To keep the cost of our cruise down, my friend and I decided to stay in the cheapest cabin available: an interior guarantee.
A guarantee cabin is where the cruise line assigns your cabin location rather than you selecting where you want to be. This is the cheapest route you can take because you forgo the freedom to pick the best cabin location (which is midship for less movement).
Soon after booking our cruise, we were assigned cabin 10673 on deck 10. At first glance, this cabin appeared to be satisfactory. However, when looking at the online deck plans, I saw that our cabin was located above the music venue Dazzles. I was initially worried because I imagined we would hear thumping music all night long.
Cabin 10673 is located on the starboard aft of the ship, meaning it’s slightly towards the back of the ship. I hardly ever felt ship movement, so I was happy about that. And luckily, we never heard any loud music at night!
Our interior cabin included a large closet, a vanity with drawers, a chair, a king bed (which we split into two beds), and a small bathroom.
We encountered a few things that could’ve been improved upon, like the slow shower drain and the inoperable USB ports on the vanity, but overall, the cabin was in great condition.
Dining on Harmony of the Seas
Harmony of the Seas offers 20 places to eat! Throughout my cruise, I thought the quality of the food was excellent, especially at the specialty dining venues.
On the first night of the cruise, I used my Diamond Plus BOGO offer, which allowed me to purchase one specialty restaurant dinner and get complimentary dining for a second guest. This offer can only be used on the first or second night of the cruise, so my friend and I decided to start the cruise off right with dinner at Jamie’s Italian. (As of 2026, Jamie’s was replaced with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen.)
My favorite dishes were the truffle arancini, ultimate garlic buns, truffle tagliatelle, and the chocolate brownie with salted caramel gelato.
For the rest of our dinners, we ate in the Main Dining Room. The Main Dining Room on Harmony of the Seas is spread out between three decks with different names. We were on deck three in the American Icon Grill.
Here are the themed menus we enjoyed for dinner each night:
- A Taste of France
- A Taste of Italy
- A Taste of the Caribbean
- A Taste of Asia
- Royal Night
- Bon Voyage
Every night, dinner was incredibly fast — faster than other Royal Caribbean ships I have sailed on. For the two of us, dinner was normally only an hour long. Our food was always hot, too, which I was pleased about.
On one of our sea days, we wanted to try Johnny Rockets for lunch. This is a specialty restaurant that costs $15 per person. We felt the cost was reasonable for what we got, which was an appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
I haven’t had Johnny Rockets food in a very long time, so I loved coming here to see what they had to offer. I really liked my BBQ chicken bacon melt, and the super sundae was super yummy!
Speaking of Johnny Rockets, my friend and I often treated ourselves to a nightly milkshake. I was able to use my Diamond Plus drink vouchers for these milkshakes. This was a popular late-night dessert option among many cruisers because it was normally busy until it closed at 10 p.m.
Onboard entertainment and activities
I don’t think anyone can be bored on an Oasis Class ship when there is so much to do every day of your cruise.
During the day, you can participate in several activities and events, and then in the evening, you can watch top-notch entertainment.
Themed parties
Almost every night of the cruise, there was a themed party of some sort in the Royal Promenade. I’ve seen some of these parties on other Royal Caribbean cruises, but some were new to me, like the Totally Awesome 90’s Party, the Caribbean Dance Party, Royal Roundup Country Party, and the 50s and 60s Rock n Roll Dance Party.
I attended all of these parties, and I thought they were all very similar, just with different styles of music.
Theatrical performances
A unique show on Harmony of the Seas is called Columbus…The Musical! After watching this musical, my first thought was how cute the storyline was. I anticipated the songs were going to be originals based on the plot, but I liked that the music was a mix of old classics and modern songs everyone will recognize.
I also liked the plot twist at the end, but I won’t spoil it for those who are going to see it!
You do not need a reservation to see this show.
My favorite shows to see on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class ships are the ones in the AquaTheatre.
The Fine Line was the first show we saw here. I didn’t fully understand the storyline, but I was amazed by the talented divers, synchronized swimmers, and dancers.
For this show, you do need a reservation — be sure to get this as soon as you can on the Royal Caribbean app.
On the last afternoon of our cruise, my friend and I were hanging out when an unexpected announcement was made that a second aqua show was going to be offered at the AquaTheatre: Big Daddy’s Hideaway Heist. We were both pleasantly surprised that there was another show, so we got there extra early to secure a spot.
This show wasn’t advertised in the Cruise Compass or on the app, so I thought that was strange. Maybe this was because they didn’t know if the weather would cooperate to put on the show? Either way, you would only know about the show happening if you were listening to the ship announcements.
We decided to go to the first show at 3:30 p.m., and it was super busy. We were thankful we got there early and got a good spot. The show was entertaining to watch, and it was a plot that I could actually follow!
There are also fabulous shows in the Studio B ice skating rink. We were not able to see 1887: A Journey in Time due to a cast member’s injury. This was a bummer, but we were able to see another show called iSkate, where the cast performed alongside their favorite tunes.
Other entertainment options
In addition to seeing the shows, we took advantage of the many fun activities offered on Harmony of the Seas. These include:
- The Ultimate Abyss (dry slides)
- Waterslides
- FlowRider
- Zipline
- Carousel
- Rock climbing
- Mini golf
Why you should cruise on Harmony of the Seas
After sailing on Harmony of the Seas for a second time, she remains one of my favorite Royal Caribbean ships. My friend and I had so much fun during our Western Caribbean cruise!
The excellent staff, impressive entertainment, and variety of restaurants were highlights of our week.
If you enjoy a cruise with plenty of dining, entertainment, and activities to choose from, Harmony of the Seas is worth considering. I’d happily sail on her again!
Not sure which Royal Caribbean cruise or ship is right for you? Our Ultimate Royal Caribbean Cruise Guide can help, with ship rankings, dining guides, destination information and practical cruise-planning advice.
