Truly the Harmony is a beautiful ship, great for a family trip or those with children covering a spectrum of ages. There are so many things that require an additional payment, though, that I was a little taken aback. The bars were always active and service did not seem to be taking too long. By the way, the small view that we got of Coco Cay as Captain Johnny practiced docking there, looked like this will be a fabulous perk for going to the private island when using Port Canaveral as your embarkation point.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Having not been out of Port Canaveral in a while on Royal Caribbean, the APP and the automation with agents using tablets and scanners really sped up the process. Having the room key at your room instead of distributing them at the entry point also made things go faster. For those cruising soon, pictures are now mandatory on RCCL check in.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was most excellent every where we went on this ship. Not to be missed is Jamie Oliver's Italian -- note, don't eat the meal prior so you have LOTS of room for the deliciousness to be served. And do save room for dessert. The ice cream with smashed honeycomb was awfully tasty as was the tiramisu and lemon cheesecake. Sabor is okay but not for $20/person. Just chips and guacamole are $12/person so unless you're truly craving it, save Mexican for when you are there. Central Park 150 (and the restaurant name comes from it being 150 meters from the front of the ship per our waiter) was a fabulous treat. Do be prepared for the Windjammer to be overcrowded and sometimes closed to incoming guests as it is full. Not a great design. Ship staff need to fully advertise ahead of time those places where you can get free food, especially at breakfast. American Icon on our short trip didn't open until Saturday for breakfast. However, the quality of food in the Windjammer is good. Dinner in MDR was also very good and our server was great and attentive.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
If you are a kid, or one at heart, there is something for everyone on this ship. The slide at the ship's AFT that goes from floor 15 to floor 6 was exciting. Take an afternoon or two just to savor the things to do. Pools are often crowded (like dumplings in a pot) but as I don't normally get in the pool, I wasn't overly concerned about that. Same with the hot tubs. Again, not my thing.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
As a live music fan, this was a disappointing trip as aside from the island type music band or the latin band, there wasn't much entertainment. However the stage shows are hugely entertaining. NOTE TO SELF: make sure you plan your evening entertainment in advance of boarding so that you do not have to stand in a line on Day 1 to book these events. The dive show in the Aqua Theater was my favorite.
Children's Programs
No kids traveling with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff is fully engaged, helpful, friendly and plentiful. Captain Johnny was very funny at the Captains party. Everyone was working hard to make sure you were having a good time.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
On a 3 day cruise, you spend much of the first day or two at the wrong end of the ship. This ship is so large that you spend ALL of the cruise on the wrong end of the ship. Our cabin was on deck 14 and most of the things to do are on 8 and below or 15. The jogging track was great. To pinpoint scale, 2 1/4 laps = 1 mile on this ship. My last ship was 11 laps = 1 mile. The Harmony is a floating city and if that's your kind of thing, you will definitely love this ship. Not a lot of places to be quiet and get away from it all but on a family cruise which this ship caters to, that may not be what one is seeking anyway.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Aside from music trickle down from the pool deck (which starts at 8 a.m. be forewarned) and the ambient noise from Central Park several floors below, this is not a bad location. The room itself is very spacious with ample storage for clothes and seemed to be longer than other ship staterooms. The bathroom is nice -- no shower curtain here. Plenty of outlets for your charging needs. The beds are a bit firm so if this is an issue for you, ask for a comforter to double on top of the matress.
Ship tip
DO prepared to have so many things to do that you can't them all done. Enjoy the size of the ship and take in all of the sights. Read the signs on the wall for inspiration. And always take a glass of water with you for bedtime as there is no where near any of the cabins to get water that you don't pay for.
We visited Melia Resort at the north end of the island. Absolutely fabulous beach. However, without a discount from my cruise agent, it is not worth the $$ for the day even with food and drink included. Nassau itself is not my favorite island unless I take an excursion to a beach. The downtown area does not always feel safe for two ladies on a day trip.
Other than the ship halting exiting due to over crowding, it was pretty seamless. We were group 99 to disembark (what????) as we were not flying out of the Port. Anticipated exit was 9:40 and we were almost right there.
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