Harmony of Seas to have kids waterpark

We already knew that Royal Caribbean's new Harmony of the Seas would have some of the biggest water slides at sea. Now we know it won't be all about the big thrills. Royal Caribbean announced that the Harmony will also include an aquatic park just for kids. This is great news for families and gives them one more choice for their cruise vacations.

Two different perspectives on Royal Caribbean's Boomerango

After not having water slides on their ships, Royal Caribbean has gone all in with a series of announcements about future slides on different ships. After drydock, The Liberty of the Seas will be the first at sea to have a "Boomerango" (above). This mutli-rider slide takes passengers up a steep vertical wall before they come back down again. It seems to be the latest and greatest in water slides. Yet for all the positive press Royal Caribbean gets, there are also some words of caution.

Most of the cruise media and review sites love the idea of the Boomerango. Cruise Law News has some other thoughts. They expect many injuries on the slide and also predict Royal Caribbean will not give passengers proper warning of the potential dangers. Cruise Law News uses the track record of the FlowRider and iFly as examples of how the company handles warnings and waivers.

Will there probably be injuries on the slide? Sure, but people get hurt on cruises in all sorts of different ways. The slides become an unmanageable risk or people are too scared to ride, Royal Caribbean will make an adjustment. All these attractions are about keeping people happy (and making money). Once the slide doesn't do that, it will come down.

Inside the Magic takes a plunge on the AquaDunk

We've written extensively about the water slide arms race on cruise ships, but we've never really showed what it is like to ride one. Thankfully Inside the Magic has it covered. Above is their video on Disney's AquaDunk, including point of view shots. It looks thrilling and seems like a great addition to the Disney Magic.

Royal Caribbean announces 10-story waterslide

Royal Caribbean already announced the planned waterslides for the Harmony of the Seas, but no one knew they would be this big. Cruise Fever has all the details on the ship's 10-story waterslide. When it debuts, the Harmony will be the biggest ship at seas, so it makes sense to have the biggest slide.

In addition to the 10-story "Abyss," the Harmony of the Seas will also have three other twisting slides.

For a company that eschewed slides for so long, it is nice to see Royal Caribbean go all in on the attractions. We think it will pay off as a slide is something that will attract more guests that a rock wall or wave rider ever will.

Meet the company behind your cruise ship's water slides

The Orlando Sentinel posted a good article on the cruise ship water slide arms race. One Florida company, Aquatic Design & Engineering worked closely with Royal Caribbean on the concept and design of all their new slides. Although Aquatic Design & Engineering says the goal was to "provide that sense of danger and excitement," ultimately it is about fun. The slides are never as extreme as some of the other onboard attractions. We're sure that all new ships built for families and young cruisers will have slides. What will be fun is to see what older ships add water attractions like Disney did with their AquaDunk.

Royal Caribbean adding water slides

In an interview with TTG Digital Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley announced his hopes to add water slides to Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Royal Caribbean's Harmoney of the Seas -- which debuts next year -- already has water slides in its plans.

Royal Carribean's been one of the innovators in unique cruise ship experiences, so it is somewhat surprising that water slides are not common place on all their ships already. Other lines have already proven how popular the slides can be. For Royal Caribbean this offers a crowd pleasing experience and likely can handle many more passengers (of all ages) than a wave rider.

All these features certainly make for memorable cruises. This couple just got married in Royal Caribbean's North Star. Maybe they can renew their vows on a Royal Caribbean water slide in 2016.