ST. NAZAIRE, France -- What will it be like on Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship ever built? See for yourself with a scroll through the carousel above, which offers the first look at the soon-to-debut, 227,000-ton Royal Caribbean vessel as it nears completion.
USA TODAY Cruise has just returned from an exclusive sneak peek at the massive floating resort at the STX shipyard in St. Nazaire, and we're posting photos here and at the USA TODAY Cruise Twitter page.
A sister to Royal Caribbean's giant Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas (the current size leaders in the cruise world), Harmony will eclipse its siblings by more than 1,700 tons and hold nearly 100 more passengers at double occupancy. It's total capacity will be well over 6,000 people, not including crew.
As can be seen in the photos, much of Harmony still is a construction zone. But several major areas of the vessel, including cabin decks, are close to completion, and the ship is on schedule to debut in Southampton, England in May.
Designed for vacationers who love big, bustling mega-resorts, Harmony features a giant, multi-deck water slide area -- a first for Royal Caribbean. Harmony also is the first Oasis class ship with a Bionic Bar where the drinks are served by robot bartenders -- a concept that first debuted in 2014 on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas. In addition, the ship has larger cabins than Oasis and Allure in some categories, and windowless "inside" cabins are being outfitted with Royal Caribbean's exclusive Virtual Balconies, which offer a real-time view of the outdoors -- a concept that first debuted in 2014 on the line's Navigator of the Seas.
Allowing for bigger cabins than the earlier Oasis class ships was a key factor in the line's decision to give Harmony a larger footprint. Executives say it's more than three meters wider than Oasis and Allure.
Among other differences with Harmony as compared to Oasis and Allure: Suite passengers will have exclusive new areas to enjoy including a suite lounge, a private suites-only restaurant called Coastal Kitchen and a full-service Suite Sun Zone sun deck. New restaurants include the whimsical Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine eatery that first debuted on Quantum. Also being added to Harmony is Sabor, the modern Mexican restaurant that Royal Caribbean recently added to Freedom of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
Harmony's first voyage with paying passengers is scheduled for May 22. After an initial series of cruises in the Mediterranean, it'll will re-position to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to offer alternating, seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages.
Click HERE to see the photos above in larger format.
For a look inside Harmony's oldest sister, Oasis of the Seas, scroll through the carousel below.
