January 14th - January 20th 2017 Cruise Poor Review

We traveled on Harmony of the Seas on January 14th for my grandson's 18th birthday.  The ship itself was absolutely amazing and breathtaking.  When we first got on the ship we went to the Windjammer Cafe and it was so busy and there weren't enough seats for the amount of people that was on board.  The food was good but we couldn't get to all stations.  We bought the soda package and we had nobody to get us drinks and the staff was unfriendly. Also when we went in the Royal Theater there was not enough waiters since most of the time we weren't able to get our drinks.  Also the last night we went to Dazzles to get a souvenir drink cup and then had no more.  My 11 year old was very upset.  You shouldn't run out of items.  Also what happened to being able to order room service.  There was almost nothing on the menu.  (that has changed for the worst)

When we got to our cabin nobody had brought our luggage to our room. Everybody luggage was sitting in the hall after we set sail and we had to retrieve them ourselves.  That is unacceptable.  (I have never had that happen before and I have traveled with many cruise lines as well as Royal Caribbean before.)  Then 1 of our suitcases was broken and we didn't meet our cabin steward until the next day.

We went to the dining room that night and the next and had 2 different servers.  The 1st night we weren't greeted and it took forever to get anyone to help us and then it took forever to get our food.  The next night we had a different server and she was great but it took forever because it seemed she was doing everything by herself.  Finally the 3rd night we asked for someone who was nice and efficient and we got the best server and her name was Marion and we sat at her table 803 and she was absolutely wonderful.  We thought the food in the dining room was great, however there wasn't enough variety on the buffet in the Windjammer and throughout the ship. Johnny Rockets was great for breakfast and the pizza place was good and the deserts were delicious.  We felt the staff needed to be more friendly. (most of them)  Also it seemed like all you did was wait in lines for everything.  We were sent away a few times from the Windjammer Cafe because there was nowhere to sit.  I don't like this my time dining.  I like having a set time and a set server.  We booked this cruise a year earlier and there was no early seating left.  I am also disappointed in the prizes for the activities on board.  Years ago you would get something for participating and now you are lucky if you get a pen or a highlighter for winning.  There should be more prizes when there are raffles in the promenade and the casino.

My grandson turned 18 on January 14th and he wanted to come on this ship and gamble and he did but I feel that they should have given him something for his 1st time/birthday.  We participated in the slot tournament and we were knocked out and he placed 13 overall.  I think that when you participate in activities like this you should receive a prize for participating. (like they used to) I have cruised with Royal Caribbean before as well as Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, Princess and many more throughout the years and I found that you are very cheap with the prizes and gifts.  We have decided overall that we will never cruise on this ship again or any other Royal Caribbean ships again.  I think for the amount of money you spend to go on a fancy ship like this, there should be more that they give you and the experience should be much better and you shouldn't have to wait on lines constantly when you are on this type of a vacation.

On a good note: The shows were amazing and our cabin was nice, the ship itself was beautiful and the best was that we had an amazing waiter in "MARION AT TABLE 803)  SHE WAS THE BEST