Harmony of the Seas Not Quite What I Expected

Harmony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

msannak

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 65

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 04, 2017

Ship: Harmony of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12722

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

I was so excited to go on this ship! I was excited for all of the activities, etc. It is a beautiful ship and so new. I really enjoyed that. However, I was disappointed in the overall experience.

The kids camps weren't great and were very poorly organized. The crew seemed unfamiliar with dealing with crowds of our size (it is very possible that this was their first fully booked sailing) and there were a lot of chaotic moments that took away from things.

I loved their Central Park area - very peaceful and the boardwalk but food, free-style dining and the overall friendly factor fell far short of what I wanted.

I don't think we will sail with Royal again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Do NOT choose freestyle. You will wait in line for hours to get a table.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The diving show was great. Limited with other options.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Very disorganized.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Beds were the worst I've ever slept on. Rock hard.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

11 Comments

Cruzthrulife 7 years ago

I just want to point out that when you're going on any of the Oasis class ships, you need to realize before that there are going to be large crowds with over 5,000 passengers on board. You can't let that bog you down, you just have to go with it considering you're on the biggest cruise ships in the world

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mimi9times 7 years ago

I was disappointed...too big and it was fully booked! Too crowded. I love Royal Caribbean but will stick to the smaller ships. Sailed on Oasis and Allure as well...liked them better than Harmony

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wilsail67 7 years ago

wvacca10: exactly!

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funtimes1010 7 years ago

@ davis08. have fun. make your own vacation memories. everyone is different. what bothers them, u may not see as a bother. what makes you happy, may make them feel chaotic and stressed. i've never had a bad cruise vacation and I've been on a ship during hurricane type conditions. this is their business, and they are very, very good @ it. Rccl is 900% better then Carnival. Enjoy every minute of it!

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clinfante 7 years ago

We have been on The OASiS 4 times Allure 3 times. HArmony once. Love them all. Everything is so organized. Food is good, service great and entertainment awesome. You must book your entertainment 3 months out so the crowds are not a problem. Don't let the crowds disappoint you. The size either. Plenti of things to see and experience on the big ships.

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2cruz4me 7 years ago

sailed on the HARMONY in December and the ship was filled to capacity I did experience a minor issue with crowd control but that was only during the at sea sale that was held in the center of the Promenade. otherwise I had a fantastic time!

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migrose 7 years ago

the ship is so big and so much to do it really doesn't feel like more people than reg size ship I want to go again cause I didn't get around to doing all the fun stuff I wanted to on allure so much choice

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raineywife 7 years ago

I have reservations regarding the new larger ships. Just too many people in one space for me. with the cutbacks across the board, I believe service levels would suffer. The crew to passenger ratio seems to grow larger. my husband wants to go big; while I would love to see one, I really have no desire to sail for the reasons you listed. no more than about 3000 is OK with me.

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fkullerbb 7 years ago

Sailed Oasis in February. Fantastic experience. So good booked Harmony for February of 2018. Taking my daughter and grandbabies. If Harmony is half as good as Oasis (and I am sure it is equal) all will be extatic.

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davis08 7 years ago

Oh. This is so disappointing to hear. We sail 4/15, first time on Royal and I have been very nervous about the food and crowd control. Don't get me wrong, I knew going Easter week was going to be some what chaotic. But I was really hoping Royal would have better crowd control aspects in place and better food than Carnival.

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migrose 7 years ago

that disappointing. we just cruise on Allure and loved it so we booked Harmony hoping for more of the same

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