Beautiful Ship Service Needs Help

Item: Harmony of the Seas
Rating: 3
Author: dferrentino

Harmony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

dferrentino

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 66

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 18, 2017

Ship: Harmony of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12211

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Stunning Ship....Park Place Balcony Room great location. Royal Caribbean seems to want to nickel and dime you to death on this ship. If you are not paying additional for your restaurants the service is horrible. $13.50 per day per passenger is added to your shipboard account daily for gratuities, so everyone from the waiters in the main dining rooms to the room stewards they simple do not care how fast or slow they move or how clean or dirty your cabin is they get their tips anyway. Poolside drinks are absolutely HORRIBLE at over $11.00 per drink. If you are traveling with any type of handicap person in a wheelchair or scooter or if you should have a carriage be prepared to spend half your cruise waiting to get on an elevator....spoke to several different customer relations people onboard about this situation and they just shrug their shoulders....there are no elevators at all designated for handicap and it is a BIG PROBLEM. We first sailed on Royal on the Oasis of the Seas and it was one of the best cruises we had ever taken and although the Harmony is just as beautiful the service onboard certainly left a lot to be desired. The additional charges for many of the things offered onboard (we took a Sushi making class which indicated a minimal charge and turned out to be $30.00 per person, it cost us $60.00 for a 30 minute class on how to make Sushi) all this nickel and diming left a very bad taste and for those reasons will be not be sailing with Royal Caribbean again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Restaurants with surcharge were fine, all other dining rooms which were complimentary were HORRIBLE.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

$30PP for Sushi making class, $61.00 for 20 minutes of Bingo pay, pay, pay!

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Service left a lot to be desired

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Room steward we had was leaving at the end of our cruise so he did absolutely nothing more than he was supposed to, room was never cleaned the was it was supposed to be. Was the worst room steward we have ever encountered .

Ship tip

Best restaurant on the entire ship was the Solarium Bistro from the Chef to the wait staff top notch.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

9 Comments

prazo 7 years ago

We always go to the service desk and take off the 13.50 and get the envelopes and tip them that way. It is there's to keep and they don't have to share. We also tip even though we get drink packages to the bartenders and they get to know you then

Thumbs Up 0

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Dukeblue 7 years ago

Before booking, it informs you of the gratuity charges. I'm not sure why people gripe about this. If you don't agree with it, simply don't reserve the trip. There are plenty of 'free' things to do on this ship so anyone who is worried about being 'nickeled and dined", don't. There are multiple restaurants that you can eat at without paying additional (at least five). We went on Harmony a few months ago and didn't have a problem with the service. We are going again this summer.

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DJ72466091 7 years ago

I thought every one on the ship was very eager to please us. Attitude makes a difference in what you get back. We loved Harmony of the Seas and can't wait to do it again!

Thumbs Up 3

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thedonjose 7 years ago

I love cruising.

Thumbs Up 1

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csheehadavie 7 years ago

There is so much to do on Oasis Class ships that you don't have to do the extra things that "nickel and dime" you. Also I don't think $13.50 divided among the hundreds of service personnel is enough. Royal Caribbean is the best cruise line.

Thumbs Up 3

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funtimes1010 7 years ago

Unfortunately all of the major cruise lines are "nickel & diming". It is how they increase their profit. I don't necessarily agree with it, but can understand it from a business profit stand point. The days of getting everything included on a cruise for one set price are long over.

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sgaul7113 7 years ago

The sushi class is $30 per person. You eat what you make and I have friends that took it last week - it's a plateful of sushi. 2 full rolls, a couple pieces of shashimi and a hand roll. Only problem is that it's offered during the day on one of the ports of call.

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kinjon 7 years ago

Deer renting are you new to cruising? That 13:50 Been around for a few years.

Thumbs Up 2

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SeaNY109 7 years ago

Can you elaborate on the Sushi making class?

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