We had an amazing time…by far the best cruise I’ve been on. Royal Caribbean has won us over…we had a great time and will definitely sail with them again!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I have to say that embarkation onto this enormous ship in Port Canaveral is flawless! It could not have gone smoother. We were physically on the ship by 11:00 am, within 10 minutes of our arrival. It’s amazing that they can move 4,000+ passengers through so quickly. Credit goes to the pre-check-in process through the Royal Caribbean site beforehand which includes your passport information and an image for facial recognition. Amazing!!!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We didn’t do any of the specialty restaurants, but did enjoy the main dining room for dinner 5 of the 7 nights. The service was amazing once we were seated and the food did not disappoint.
If I had any criticism about this trip it was the “My Time” dining. They have some kinks to work out with that. Often we had to wait ½ hr. to be seated even with advanced reservations. The floor that they seated the “My Time” diners on was much more worn then the two other floors that seated those choosing the traditional dining options. When I say worn, I’m really referring to the seats. All of the linens and carpeting were in very nice shape and as I said the service and the food were very good.
We also enjoyed all of the other dining options available for breakfast, lunch & dinner. We ate one night at the Solarium Bistro, it was extraordinary. It’s a complimentary offering with great food and a less crowded, more intimate setting. We enjoyed Sorrento’s pizza a number of times, the roast beef sandwiches at the Park Café and many cappuccinos at the Café Promenade. We did indulge in the Ultimate Drink Package…although a little pricey, we had a really good time with it. Using it for cappuccinos at the Café Promenade, smoothies at the Vitality Café and of course specialty drinks at all of the bars and night clubs on board. There were so many options!!! The Windjammer Buffet was a little crazy…so many people during peak times (which you expect). I was impressed with the layout and the food options as well as the quality of the food, the downside is that someone in your party had to go secure a table while the other went to select their food. What inevitably happened was you either ate cold food together or you ate warm food while the other person was up selecting theirs. Par for the course with any buffet.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We're a little older so we didn't do all there was to do on this ship. We took advantage of the pools and waterslides, the zip line and the Abyss (loads of fun). We also took advantage of some of the traditional cruise activities...towel folding and art auctions. So many things to choose from, it was so much fun!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The entertainment was phenomenal! Ronn Lucas (a ventriloquist) who has performed for several of our presidents and has had recurring shows in Vegas was on our ship as well as Dan Gabriel (a comedian who has had specials on Showtime). Both of them were hysterical!
We saw 2 ice skating shows, 2 water shows and Grease…all so unbelievably good. I love most shows anyway, but my fiancé could take them or leave them and he loved them all!
Children's Programs
We didn't travel with any children on this trip
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We were so impressed with the service everywhere on the ship. These folks are genuinely happy to be working for Royal Caribbean. Not once did we run into anyone with the slightest bit of attitude...even in the most hectic of situations (ie. merchandise sale events). It has to be so hard for them, but it was so refreshing for us as passengers when quality customer service occurs so rarely these days. Royal does a fantastic job selecting their staff.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Harmony is beautiful and exceptionally clean. So impressed with the cleanliness! The ship was enormous and intimidating to some as we were embarking, but what I found (and I’m sure they did too) was that it was so thoughtfully laid out that it was extremely easy to navigate. We were told by several that this was a full sailing, more than 6,000 people on board (passengers & crew). With the exception of the buffet and the pool areas at peak times, it never felt crowded! There are so many places for people to go to eat, drink, be entertained that you never felt like leaving because there were too many people. This was the most relaxing cruise I’ve been on from beginning to end!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This cabin was so thoughtfully laid out that there was more then enough room for 2 people to move around comfortably. Storage was optimal...a closet for both of us with plenty of hangers, a well lit vanity and full length mirror made getting ready really easy while the my fiancé was utilizing the bathroom. The bathroom itself was the nicest I've been in on a cruise ship. They are always going to be smaller then you are accustomed to, but this truly has enough room for everything you need to do and it's a very pretty space with tile floors and a glass tile backsplash. Most importantly, enough shelving to put all of your toiletries. The only thing I found myself looking for was an outlet (my guess is that was intentional for safety reasons). The shower was so impressive. Enough space to move around, nicely appointed shower head with excellent water pressure and an environmentally friendly refillable soap/shampoo dispenser. I wanted to mention the location of this room...it was the last room on the starboard side of the ship before the suite on the aft of the ship. My fiancé didn't really like the distance from the lobby area (which I welcomed given all the eating/drinking I needed to walk off). There were many benefits to this room though...it was totally surrounded by other rooms (above, below, across the hall and next door). This room was extremely quiet! This room doesn't share plumbing with any other room because of the suite being on the side that would have shared plumbing. Outside of a little balcony noise, we didn't hear a thing! Highly recommend.
Ship tip
Download the Royal Caribbean app ahead of time and play with it a lot before your trip. There are deck plans available on the app which will help orient you to the ship before you arrive. It is also an awesome tool to prebook dinners and shows. Note it is really important to book your dinners and shows in advance on this ship. There are so many people trying to go to the shows on a stand-by basis. You'll save yourself a lot of frustration if you prebook. I realize this takes some of the spontaneity out of the trip but it'll be worth it for you in the long run. The same holds true for "my time" dining. If you've elected to use "my time" dining, you'll still want to have a reservation in the system to save yourself some frustration and long lines. Note that you can always cancel, but it's best to have them in advance.
I love the convenience of this port. We make a point of flying down the day before and utilizing "Go Port Canaveral". They put together a package that will provide transportation from the airport to an airport hotel of your choice, then provide transportation to the port on embarkation day and transportation to the airport on debarkation day. They have been in business for many years and it's a well oiled tool. Best part, it's very reasonable...several options below $200 (total, not per person). Keep in mind Port Canaveral is approximately 45 minutes away from Orlando International Airport. Other shuttle options (incl. Uber) can be a little pricy).
Labadee was very pretty with traditional beach & water activities. There were some thrilling excursions available (zip line, jet ski, roller coaster). We took the opportunity to walk around the island, we did do the coaster $25/pp for one ride. It was more thrilling then expected. I would recommend it especially if you book it early enough to get the multi-ride pass for $35/pp. It's also nice that you can use your sea pass card for drinks on the island and they had a nice buffet available throughout the afternoon.
The shopping area that has been created at the port is very nice with several different shopping options. We didn't do an excursion...I had already been to Jamaica so we took this opportunity to go back to the ship and enjoy it.
We did not do an excursion at this port either. Like Falmouth, there are shopping/dining options right at the port. We took a walk around and again went back to enjoy the empty ship!
Disembarkation was a snap. We had "the Key" so we took advantage of breakfast and left the ship by 8:30. With facial recognition (done during early check-in or at check-in, we were able to walk right through and were physically at the meeting place for our transportation back to Orlando airport within 15 minutes.
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