Overall it was nice to get away. I knew the ship would be amazing because it is like a floating city and has so much stuff to see and do on board. The downside of these mega ships is that there aren't to many ports that can accommodate them so destinations are pretty limited. I also found ships of this size the customer service isn't what I have become accustomed to onboard. I know this will not be my last cruise, however as much as I want to experience Harmony of the Seas, I think my next cruise will be on a smaller ship. It may not have all the bells and whistles of the mega ships but I know there will be a better variety of ports to visit.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was very fast! It is always a bit hectic when you first get there with so many people wandering about (we were also part of a group with 19 people in it, so I am sure that added to the chaos) but inside the terminal it was smooth sailing. Especially since we are Gold RC members our line moved pretty quickly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
I have had better breakfasts on past cruises but it was still fairly good food. I appreciated we didn't have to find our own seats and they actually seat people now. This is really helpful because we are traveling with 3 children so I was happy to see RC does that in the Windjammer cafe now. We did not try any specialty restaurants we dined with our group of 19 in the main dining room every night. We had On my time dining but because of the size of our group we had to make a reservation we so we had a standing 8:30 pm dinner appt. The reason for the 3 stars is because everyday when we arrived to dinner there was never enough chairs and never enough settings. Also all but one night I had to request a high chair for my 18 month old. I thought that was super annoying because we had the standing reservation and we came every single day with our children, I couldn't understand why I always had to ask for the high chair. Lastly, on day 5 of the cruise our server thought I was pregnant and wouldn't drop it when I told him I am not. It went so far I had to tell him this conversation is awkward for the both of us, just please let it go. So that left a really bad taste in my mouth.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
I never understood why cruise ships frown on swim diapers on babies. Because of this my toddler was only allowed to use one pool out of all the kiddie pools (and regular pools) on the ship. It is very frustrating to be constantly run from pools because the baby has on a swim diaper. The reason I was given was because of chlorine? She swims at the Y and no one bats an eye that she has on a swim diaper. Other than that, everything was what I expected and kept fairly clean and always had staff around to help if need be or to clean something.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
This was the first cruise in a long time that I actually went to see several shows, and got to go out dancing a few times. Everything and everyone was very entertaining and we enjoyed ourselves. My favorites were the 90s theme dance party in the solarium with a guest DJ, and the host for the belly flop contest & the marriage show. He was so funny and entertaining, he did a wonderful job.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
I already went into eh negative experience above about the waitstaff. They were helpful when we were there and always remembered the drinks for the kids before being asked, but the minute details that were constantly overlooked night after night are why I gave the low score. The room steward, Sandy was excellent. He would always check on us before ending his shift and making sure we had enough towels and I know its his job but I still always warned him when the baby spilled cereal on the floor.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Thankfully we have already been on the Oasis of the Seas, and they are pretty much the same ship so we had a pretty good idea how to navigate the ship. One thing is for sure anyone wearing a fitness watch will definitely get all of their steps in walking that ship on a daily basis. Expect A LOT of walking on that ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I am thankful for the balcony and it was great that it was a boardwalk view. Every day we watched the evening water show from our balcony and people watched the boardwalk when we herein our room resting or putting the baby down for a nap. Also because of the room we had we got 2 free beverage packages (which came in handy for my 2 older children) and a complimentary meal for 4 to Johnny Rocket's. That was a nice surprise as I hadn't realized this at the time of my booking. As always a cruise ship cabin is tiny and we are a family of 5 so it was tight in there once all the beds were pulled out for the night, so we were happy to have that balcony to go and get some space from each other every day.
Ship tip
I would tell anyone the ship is amazing and has something for everyone to do regardless of their age and to be prepared to walk and wait a ridiculous amount of time for an elevator.
I did not do any sight seeing here but the airport is nice and efficient compared to Miami Intl airport. Also it isn't far at all from the cruise port. There are a ton of hotels near the cruise port with shuttle service to the cruise port and some even pick you up from the airport.
The cruise itinerary kept changing even the day we got on the ship it changed again. I think to go around hurricanes etc. We were in Old San Juan for such a short amount of time we felt rushed and like we had no time to do anything. We were only there from 2pm - 8pm.
Okay Labadee was beautiful. The beach was amazing and the water was so warm it was like getting into bath water. It was very rocky and I wish i had remembered my water shoes to help with that. One thing I wish there were more things included in Labadee. The BBQ lunch was great but some of the items for the water should be included. Like the floats, we have to pay $10 a piece for them we aren't keeping them and it's only for a few hours that is kind of annoying. I never did find the flea market and I was really looking forward to purchasing some local textiles & Haitian rum for souvenirs to bring back home and wasn't able to get any of it. But it was a nice island none the less.
Disembarkation was smooth UNTIL we got into the luggage area. Our luggage was fine and pretty much together, however one of my aunts her suitcase was taken by someone else with the same bag. Eventually we called the number on the luggage tag and the woman indeed had her missing suitcase. My issue is the worker that helped us asked my uncle not to make a scene and said she may lose her job if he makes a scene. I don't understand why she would be fired for a passenger grabbing a bag that looks like hers. She told him to take the bag and meet the woman outside of the cruise port and swap bags. My uncle was not comfortable with this because this is how shady stuff happens and we had no idea what that woman had in her bag, drugs, a body who the heck knows. So other than that debacle the disembarkation process was pretty smooth.
The Freedom class offer much of the same as Oasis class minus central park. They are very popular. They are building a pier at Cococay and extending the pier in St Lucia so those ports will soon be Oasis ready. Itineraries are being updated over the next few years as Symphony is arriving.
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