Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Cruising on high-decibel Harmony, with turbulent waterslides and the Ultimate Abyss

By David G. Molyneaux and Fran Golden

Entrance to the Ultimate Abyss, where passengers slip into a pouch for a 10-story plunge to the Boardwalk on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas

There comes a time when the current leader of “Who’s Got the Biggest Cruise Ship” does not mean much. A few yards of steel here, an extra deck plopped on top there, has little impact on the review of a new ship, as long as the added steel is well utilized.

You will hear a lot during the next few months about the size of Royal Caribbean’s new Harmony of the Seas. Harmony is, at the moment, the largest cruise ship in the world at 226,963 gross registered tons, carrying 5,497-plus passengers.

So what? It’s not that much bigger than the last queen of size, Harmony’s sister, Allure of the Seas (2010) that measures at 225,282 gross registered tons and carries 5,400-plus passengers.

Instead, the real questions are about experiences aboard:

Q: Is this a ship on which I want to lay down my hard-earned money to take a vacation cruise?

A: Yes, as long as you are looking for excitement, thrills, commotion, and top entertainment such as the ship’s showcase musical, “Grease,” which well deserves the standing ovations it is receiving in the 1,400-seat theatre, and a terrific show on ice called “1887.” The ice skating show, an original, is a love story through time and space set in Paris and inspired by the pioneer French sci-fi writer Jules Verne.

Q: Will I be wowed by life onboard?

A: Yes, not much doubt about that. Wows abound.

Best of new big cruise ships: Anthem and Escape

Norwegian, Royal Caribbean take different tacks on eating, drinking, entertainment

Tandem racing and free-fall waterslides or floating in a glass tube that feels like sky diving? Craft beers and tasty bites in a warehouse style sing-along keg room or a clubby pub bar? Oodles of outdoor dining choices or drinks mixed and served by robots? 

Waterslides on Norwegian Escape

In the heavyweight bout for the world’s best new big cruise ship in 2015, the winner will be in the eye of the beholder, because two competitive cruise lines each have taken a different tack to show who owns the hippest ship -- Miami’s 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape or New York’s 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas.

No other competitor in the category of contemporary, mass-marketed cruise ships belongs in the ring with these two behemoths, though Carnival’s Vista and Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas currently are bulking up in European shipyards, five months away from entering the fray among 2016’s new ships.

Bring black tie, party dresses, for crossing the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2

On a July voyage between Liverpool, England, and Canada’s Halifax, Nova Scotia, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 spent six nights and five days at sea.

Nearly a week, without possibilities for going ashore, seems a long time when you are looking over a brochure for a future crossing of the North Atlantic.

Popular spot in the library at the bow of Queen Mary 2 (Photos by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

But once Queen Mary 2 leaves the last glimpse of land and the sea-day countdown begins, time zips by in a series of meals, concerts, parties, movies, lectures, games, naps, reading, and hours for staring aimlessly at an expanse of gray-green water that never stops moving or changing.

2014’s best cruise experiences

Before we all get caught up in guessing about cruise trends and goals for 2015 — such as which major cruise line will be the first to announce Havana as a port of call — let’s look back at some favorite cruise experiences from 2014:

▪ Best new onboard activity

Sky-diving on Quantum of the Seas

Simulated sky-diving on Quantum of the Seas, cruising out of New Jersey.

Getting up to speed on Quantum, world’s smartest cruise ship

Remember your first computer, your first smart phone? Royal Caribbean’s revolutionary new Quantum of the Seas, now cruising out of New York, is the first “smart ship.” 

Quantum is as exciting, as occasionally frustrating, and as puzzling as any other new gee-whizzy gadget with the power to change your lifestyle at home, at work, or, in this case, on vacation.

Cruising on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas

Royal Caribbean’s revolutionary new Quantum of the Seas, now cruising out of New York City, is billed as the first “smart ship.”

Quantum of the Seas as seen from the North Star capsule ride

Quantum, the world’s third largest cruise ship behind Royal Caribbean’s sisters, Oasis and Allure, carries 4,180 passengers and offers a bunch of “firsts at sea.” I found these firsts great fun on a two-day cruise out of Bayonne, New Jersey, in mid-November.