Joey's Guide to: Atlantis Harmony 2023 Cruise
This page will be updated as Atlantis and Royal Caribbean releases more information on the cruise, so check back often!
Welcome to my guide for everything you need to know about the Atlantis Harmony 2023 cruise! Gathered here are all of my advice for those who are booked on this sold-out ship.
Official Website: https://atlantisevents.com/vacation/harmony-southern-caribbean-cruise/
Checklist
1. Book Flights & Hotel (ASAP)
2a. Order party outfits (2-4 weeks before)
2b. Order cruise cards (2-4 weeks before)
3. Register online with Royal Caribbean
4a. Order door decor (1-2 weeks before)
4b. Make virtual cruise card (anytime before cruise)
5a. Purchase drinks package (at least a few days before cruise)
5b. Purchase Internet package (at least a few days before cruise)
6. Pack!
7. Final preparations & Boarding day
Bonus: Get familiar with the ship
#1: Book Flights & Hotel (ASAP)
Unless you live near the Fort Lauderdale area where the cruise will set sail from, you’ll need to book your flights there. I strongly recommend flying in the day before (or earlier), so you’ll need a hotel room also.
#2: Order Party Outfits & Cruise Cards (optional, 2-4 weeks before)
I’m prioritizing these (optional tasks) ahead of registering with Royal Caribbean (perhaps against Atlantis’ official recommendations) as cruise cards and party outfits may take a few weeks to ship and get delivered, whereas it only takes 5-10 minutes to do the RC registration.
Party Outfits
There will be at least 11 (!) dance parties in total throughout the cruise - every single night, plus a few during the afternoon. Most of the parties have a theme that you can coordinate your outfit to, it’s a great opportunity to get creative with costumes!
Cruise Cards
Cruise Cards are a fun way to exchange your info with others you meet on the cruise, and you’ll be meeting lots of people! These can take a couple of weeks to print and be delivered to you (if you don’t use the rushed shipping).
#3: Register Online with Royal Caribbean (at least 2 days before sail date)
Everyone who is officially booked with Atlantis by the end of 2022 (that is, you got a confirmation directly from Atlantis) should have received their Royal Caribbean confirmation number in a January 5th email. Follow the instructions in the email to register online with Royal Caribbean.
TIP: Pick a later arrival time slot when you register with RC to avoid lineups, unless you are a Suite / The Key guest. The arrival times for this cruise range from 12pm to 3:30pm.
A lot of Atlantis cruisers are (understandably) very eager to get onboard to start their vacation ASAP, so they pick the earliest time slot they can. Then they show up an hour before the time slot they picked. So well before the doors even open, there's 1-2k people just standing outside doing nothing in a massive queue. This get compounded if there is some delay in when they start screening and checking people in (it happens sometimes) - the first time slot comes and goes, then everyone in the first 2 time slots all go in at the same time. Rush hour traffic jam.
Generally, the later you come, the less you have to wait. Just don't be late and miss the ship 😅 everyone should arrive at the port no later than 3:30pm, or 1 hour before the scheduled sail-away time.
The exception here is for Suite / The Key guests which should have priority boarding. Your SetSail pass will say "suite" or have an icon of a key.
#4: Other (optional) things that can wait a bit
These are things that are easy and fast to buy or get.
Door Decor
Put some decoration on your home away from home for the week 🏠 Door decorations are a fun way to show some of your personality to others. Think of it as a sort of IRL social media profile of yourself for everyone who passes by.
Virtual Cruise Card
A digital version of the physical cruise cards mentioned above, plus it’ll help you reunite with your phone if it’s lost during the cruise!
#5: Packages for Drinks & Wi-Fi
You can optionally purchase different things online in the weeks leading up to the cruise, usually up to a few days before the sail date. Most folks will be interested in the drinks & alcohol packages and and Wi-Fi Internet access.