We took this cruise for my 40th. It was my older kids' first cruise (12, 15, & 16) and my wife's second. We enjoyed it immensely and my kids have been begging me to go on another soon. If you get motion-sick, this is the ship for you. None of us felt any movement (almost), no sea legs after the cruise, and it was a ton of fun!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was my second sailing with Royal and I have gold status, so they directed me toward that, until they saw that my wife and kids did not have it. We then went to sit with the rest of the first timers and wait for embarkation. I fully expected to wait for a while, but we were there maybe 5 minutes before getting up and heading on board. It was quick, efficient, and a very nice building.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food on board was excellent. We didn't order anything that we didn't like, except escargot (but that's not Royal's fault). The buffet was great, and the staff there was friendly. In the main dining room, we returned to the same table each time and our waiter had something new to show us every day. He learned what we liked and often brought extras of what he knew we'd like or something we ordered every time he would have at the table quickly.
Schooner Bar
3 out of 5
This bar is ok, but its long, thin layout makes it not a great place for trivia, yet all the trivia was done here.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The rock climbing and zip line were so fun, but the water slides seemed lacking. The Abyss, however, was amazing! I love games played around the ship, but the layout of Harmony limits them and how they're done. It feels like they're forced in for some venues rather than that the ship planned to have rooms for this sort of thing.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The shows were great! We loved Grease and even though the water show at night was weird, I enjoyed the music and spectacle of it.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Everyone we dealt with on the ship was friendly and helpful, including when I left my sunglasses in the buffet up on top, and went all the way down to guest services to find them, then back up to double-check that they were down there (where they said they'd sent them), eventually one of the guys from the buffet went back down with me and went back personally to find them for me.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The design of the ship is amazing for the room provided and the lack of motion. I forgot we were on a ship more than a few times and almost never felt any movement, other than wind on the top deck and during a turn we made for an emergency. However, the common areas suffer due to the split design. Most ships have large, roundish areas for trivia, games, etc. Instead, much of the trivia is spread out along the thin and long Schooner Bar. They still have plenty going on in the ship, but this is a different experience from a traditional ship or ship layout. Also, we found a limited place to actually look off the ship from, on the jogging track. The ship is much more inward facing than traditional ships. The ship was pristine and clean. They were constantly touching up paint here, cleaning there, so it looked like new.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was large and spacious and kept very clean. We felt very comfortable when we were in our room. However, our room was over the Boardwalk and sometimes that was noisy. We shut the balcony door and played some sound on our phone, so with that we weren't disturbed for the most part.
Ship tip
Find the jogging trail and walk around it (especially at sunset) to find some areas to sit and stare off the ship.
This is a beautiful beach! We loved it and enjoyed it so much. Fresh drinks in coconuts, free chairs, etc. Bring cash to tip people on the beach, if you have someone take you to your chair, or help you out otherwise.
We only explored the port shopping, but there was a good bit of variety, and we enjoyed it. I HIGHLY recommend getting the double-strength vanilla at the Mayan Fiesta Rum Cake Co. (not any of the other stuff, it may be good, but I've been using this stuff and it's the best vanilla I've ever had).
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