Terrific time; not my favorite ship
Harmony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 47
7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 14, 2017
Ship: Harmony of the Seas
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 1245
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
We had a blast because how can you not on a cruise!...but the ship was a bit disappointing for our group. We did not care too much about the ports as most of us have been to those ports before and looked more to enjoying the ship. I do feel that the new Falmouth port, unfortunately, does not bring really economic advantage to the local economy as it is a sealed off port shopping mall fortress.Embarkation
They need to have more check in personnel for this large ship. Checking in online ahead of time did not save any time. Still had wait in line.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food in the main dining room was excellent. The Windjammer was a bit disappointing. On previous RC cruises it seemed that the Windjammer had more specialty options such as Asian, Italian, etc. like a food court where you could order what you wanted. This was more like a big buffet cafeteria with everything out. While the selection was pretty varied the food was good, not spectacular. There was no midnight buffet or midnight deck dessert night or anything else special. I am used to the nights where the ship has late buffets with the ice and fruit carvings or a big desert spread on one of the decks. Eating options were very limited unless you wanted to pay a fortune extra to eat in a specialty restaurant. The Solarium cafe (included in price) was very nice for dinner. We got the drink (alcohol) package which was definitely worth it as drinks were in the $12-$13 range per drink. Depending on what you had (beer, wine, liquor, specialty) then about 4-6 drinks a day were the break even point. Easy to do on cruising days. We were lucky to get our packages before RC changed the rule that everyone in the room had to buy the package. My roommate and I both got it but friends we were traveling with only needed one package. It is unfair to guests who are double occupancy when one person doesn't drink.
Onboard Activities
The ship has a vast array of activities and would be an ideal choice for people traveling with kids. Not so much for older adults. I'll let people with kids say more but the flowrider, the water park and slides, zip line, rock climbing etc would keep kids busy constantly. For an adult, there seemed to be less space for us to enjoy. We did ride the ultimate abyss slide which was fun. For adults, there were very limited free activities common to cruise ships during the day. Most of the activities had surcharges such as some of the cooking demos, jewelry making etc. They did have the "Love and Marriage" show which was hilarious and trivia about every night in one of the bars but beyond that not much. The pools were way to small for 6500 passengers. The adults only Solarium was very nice but had NO POOL! ...only hot tubs which are not refreshing when it is sweltering. The adults only pool outside of the solarium was the size of a postage stamp. During days at sea, the pools were standing room only. They need a walk in pool in the solarium. For older folks, the only option to get into the pool was the straight steep ladder which many people cannot do in their 70"s and up. I will say that this ship had plenty of deck chairs. On other ships I have found that on days at sea, finding a lounge chair was near impossible if you weren't on deck by 9:00am. We never had a problem finding a chair regardless of time. There also seemed to be a good number of hot tubs.
Entertainment
There were lots of shows but I have to say, very disappointing overall. Grease is way outdated and while the performers did a good job, the show choice is rather boring. The Columbus show was pretty awful. Almost walked out after about 30 minutes but stuck it out. We were really looking forward to the aqua theater show(s). The big night show was a total disappointment. Had a very dark theme and lots of men stomping around in the water (dancing) and water "ballet" parts were very uninspiring. It was loud, melancholic and repetitive. The day show, Hideaway Heist was more lighthearted but nothing to write home about. The best part of the shows were the platform dives. The Headliner show was Earl Turner. For those who like musical "oldies" this show was enjoyable. The comedy act in the "Attic" was by far the best, although the warm up comedian was better than the headliner. Musicians in the bars were very variable from pretty good to mediocre.
Service and Staff
Service for our rooms was overall as expected. This ship, however, is the first time in my many cruising experiences, where some of the staff were actually a bit rude. This was surprising and limited, but have never had that experience on RC and we were not asking or demanding anything special. Our wait staff in the dining room were terrific!
Ship Quality
The ship was super clean as it should be for a brand new ship. The design is not my favorite. There was just no character to this ship other than all the activity bells and whistles. There is the central royal promenade with many bars and shops but virtually no individual character. It was very difficult to navigate this ship. The only crossovers from front to back were the pool deck and the Royal promenade so you were constantly going up and down to the 5th floor to get to the opposite side of the ship. The Royal Promenade was generally pretty crowded until late at night. The Schooner bar one deck up off the Royal Promenade was very difficult to access. The Solarium was 3 decks high and only one bar on the top deck so if there were no bar waiters nearby it was a hike to go get a drink. The towel pickup and return areas, especially in the Solarium were frequently closed and so you had to hike around the ship to figure out where to return your towels. Usually by the pools on the opposite side of the ship! I will say that this ship had lots of elevators and while there were occasional waits, I have been on smaller ships and had longer elevator wait times.
Cabin / Stateroom
The room was spacious enough and as expected. The bathroom design has been modified from previous ships for the better. The shower was larger than previous ships I've been on and there was plenty of shelf space. Closet and drawer space was quite adequate for two people. There was a couch but no small "cocktail" table which was a bit annoying especially as we had continental breakfast delivered to the room in the morning rather than navigating the crowds in the Windjammer. The most irritating thing was the safe which had no instructions and kept malfunctioning. We had the beds separated into two twins which worked fine but there is only an electrical outlet on one side. So if you were not on that side you had to plug in your phone a mile away on the desk/vanity. Bring a 10' foot phone charger if you want your phone by your bed! Also it takes a PhD to figure out how the lighting works. You have to keep your sea pass card in the slot in order to have full control over the lights. Other than these things, the beds were quite comfortable and for an interior room, no major complaints.
Ship tip
If you have kids, this is a great ship. However, I would not go on this size ship again. I thought I would really like the grandeur of the size but most of the excess size is dedicated to kid's activities. The smaller ships seem cozier, have more character, greater diversity of venues on various decks and more options to walk around the outside decks which are nice to wander at night. If you are an older adult, this is NOT the ship for you. Also, big disappointment was no pool in the adult's only solarium.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)
This was a nice, secure place owned by RC. I would advise RC to give passengers more information about what is actually the layout of Labadee because until we got out there we did not know there were several beaches or where the market, etc. was. Unfortunately, the shoreline into the water on the main beach is VERY rocky! You must wear water shoes or Teva type sandals if you don't want a painful entrance and exit into the water! The Zip line is a major highlight. Very expensive for the ride but well worth it if you are adventuresome. They do need more umbrellas available as the beach was very hot (October) and not many shady areas to choose from.
This is a new port built by RC to accommodate their largest ships. It is basically one big shopping day. There is nothing in Falmouth except the RC owned pier/port which is full of high end shopping as well as other local vendors who rent space there. We did not venture out of the port area since I've been to Jamaica before. Excursions require a fair amount of driving time.
Cozumel is a great location. We rented a jeep with a driver through cozumelcruiseexcursions.net This was outstanding. Our guide was awesome!! You can choose to go wherever you want. We went to the hand made tequila plant (a bit of a tourist trap but if you like tequila its a must), Eco Park and then drove up the coast making a few stops including lunch which was part of the overall price ($70/person) for about 4.5 hours. The lunch was excellent right on the waterfront. Jeep was in great condition with AC. RC also has a large shopping port right at the pier which has local and upscale shops and merchandise. You definitely can bargain with the merchants!
Disembarkation
This was well organized for the most part considering the number of passengers on this ship. Clearing customs was a snap although we tried to use the mobile passport app which didn't work. Finding luggage was pretty simple and well marked areas. Outside the port was pretty chaotic with people trying to get their transportation. That could be better organized.