Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Embarks on Trans-Atlantic Crossing

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Embarks on Trans-Atlantic Crossing

The Harmony of the Seas is currently returning to North America, having started a trans-Atlantic crossing to Port Canaveral in late July.

Sailing from Barcelona, the 13-night cruise is highlighted by visits to destinations in Spain, such as Palma de Mallorca, Cartagena, Málaga and Cádiz.

The repositioning voyage also includes eight days of cruising in the Atlantic before arriving at the ship’s homeport in Central Florida on August 8, 2026.

As part of its new year-round deployment in Port Canaveral, the Oasis-class ship will kick off a series of four- to seven-night itineraries to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

For its first sailing in the region, the Harmony of the Seas offers a four-night cruise to the Bahamas that features visits to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The vessel’s schedule is also highlighted by short cruises to the Western Caribbean, in addition to longer itineraries to the Eastern Caribbean.

Other ports of call set to be visited by the 2016-built ship include Cozumel in Mexico, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

Before starting its repositioning voyage to North America, the vessel spent the past few months offering summer cruises in the Western Mediterranean.

Sailing from Barcelona and Rome, the itineraries were part of Royal Caribbean’s summer season in Europe and included visits to destinations in France, Spain and Italy.

The Harmony of the Seas also underwent a modernization project while in Europe, introducing new features as part of the Royal Amplified initiative.

Among the new features that debuted onboard the 5,558-passenger ship are a Caribbean-inspired pool deck and Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade.

Royal Caribbean also added nearly 100 staterooms to the vessel, replacing technical areas and public rooms with additional accommodation space.

Carnival Cruise Line to Offer Sailings to Cuba from New York, Virginia

cruise, ship, Cuba

Classic Pink convertible driving past a cruise ship in Havana, Cuba. (photo via WoodysPhotos / iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

Carnival Horizon Construction Moving Along

Horizon Construction

Carnival Cruise Line has released three new photos of the construction scenes surrounding the Carnival Horizon, which will launch from Fincantieri in spring of 2018.

Horizon Construction

The Carnival Horizon is set to debut April 2, 2018, with a 13-day Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona – the first of four roundtrip departures, the company said.

The Carnival Horizon will then reposition to the U.S. with a 14-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to New York May 9-23, 2018, positioning the vessel for a summer schedule of four-day Bermuda and eight-day Caribbean departures from Manhattan.

Horizon Construction

Carnival Horizon will shift to Miami to launch a year-round schedule of six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises beginning Sept. 22, 2018. Carnival Horizon will also offer a special two-day cruise to Nassau from Miami Sept. 20-22, 2018.