Great Ship and a much needed vacation!

Harmony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Harmony of the Seas

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 15, 2019

Ship: Harmony of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9595

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

I love Oasis class ships because there's no shortage of things to do onboard and when the sea is rough (and it was pretty bad this week), the rocking is not overwhelming. I will use this box to tell what I didn't like. 1. The wifi package: - I bought the wifi package because I like to document my vacation as I go. They advertised it as fast-speed. It was not fast-speed and the connection was less reliable on lower decks. They need to check this out. 2. The lack of people my age: - We were sailing at full capacity (6500 passengers). There were two kinds of people, children under 18 and adults over 50. I'm 22 and would have liked to have met some people my age to maybe hang out with. There is self-directed activities for guests age 18-20. Hopefully Royal will add something similar for 21-30s. 3. The higher prices: - Prices are going to be high either way but they have gone up some since last year. Hopefully they'll drop or offer some more discounts for people moving up the loyalty program. Be ready to spend some money. Overall it's a great cruising experience but no cruise is perfect. Never let the little things get in the way of you having the time of your life onboard, I didn't. I'll happily sail on Royal Caribbean again in the near future.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Easiest, most efficient embarkation and debarkation process I've ever seen in 13+ cruises.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
The food was good as always but I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 because I saw many of the same menu items from last year when I sailed on this ship and feel like they could change things up more. I highly recommend Chops Grille.

Main Dining Room

4 out of 5

The food was good except a lot of the menu items looked the same from when I sailed on this ship in June of 2018. They should change things up some. There was one night when our assistant waiter forgot to fill my dad's water glass but I told him about it and he never made that mistake again.

Bionic Bar

4 out of 5

It was crowded at times but it was really fun to order a cocktail and watch the robotic arms go to work!

Johnny Rockets

4 out of 5

They went up a little on the price but the food is good and you must have at least one of their milkshakes.

Boot and Bonnet Pub

5 out of 5

Favorite bar on the ship! It is well decorated, the bartenders are very personable, and it's a relaxing atmosphere.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
No shortage of things to do. I'm a sports-oriented cruiser and spent a lot of my time doing flowrider, rock climbing, ziplining, ultimate abyss, and water slides. If you like jacuzzis, the best ones are the ones that extend off the sides of the ship on the starboard and port sides.

Royal Promenade

4 out of 5

The Royal Promenade is nice and has a lot of cool events that take place their. However, it's the most crowded neighborhood onboard in the daytime and nighttime.

Flowrider

4 out of 5

Flowrider is a lot of fun. I recommend doing this on port days or early in the morning when the lines are shorter because you can wait 45+ minutes when the lines get long. Please note that the ramp is like a rubber trampoline and it does NOT hurt to fall.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Grease, The Fine Line (aquashow), and the ice show were good. I rated this as three stars because the first comedian in the adult comedy show was not funny at all (the second guy was) and we were sorely disappointed.

Central Park

5 out of 5

Beautiful neighborhood onboard and never too crowded.

Card Room

4 out of 5

Good place to play a board game or card game. However, it can be hard getting a table sometimes.

Boleros

5 out of 5

2nd favorite bar on the ship. The mojitos are a must try!

Children's Programs

We had no children traveling with us. However, I assume RCI's children's programs are good because there were about 1100 kids onboard our sailing.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
The staff was very friendly and efficient. However, I rated this 4 stars because there was one night our assistant waiter in the main dining room forgot to refill my dad's water glass twice. That was corrected the next night. There were a few other times where we had to ask for things more than once but it wasn't a huge deal.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The ship was clean and well maintained. I did not see anybody get sick, nor did I see finished food sitting out for long periods of time. The restrooms in the common areas were clean too.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
The size felt slightly bigger than other cruises which is good. The beds were comfortable and the room was well kept by our room steward. I rated it 4 stars because I'm used to balcony cabins and probably prefer to stick to those if I can help it.

Ship tip

If you think you'll drink between 4-6+ drinks per day, purchase the delux drink package in cruise planner. It looks pricey but cocktails are $15 and beers are $8-9, you'll at worst break even with the package. If you enjoy steak, eat at Chops Grille one night for dinner. If you want to try Flowrider, do it on a port day or in the morning when there's less people in line to do it.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Easy boarding, easy deboarding.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5
This island has a french and dutch side. Unfortunately one side was on strike, limiting where we were allowed to go. However, Mullet Bay was a great alternative and something we'll consider when we go back.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5
I rated this 3 stars because there's really nothing to do here. I suggest visiting restaurant Barrachina, the home of the original pina colada.

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas Did not visit port

Due to poor weather conditions, this port was cancelled and we visited Labadee instead. Labadee is a great island that, like CocoCay, is owned by Royal Caribbean. I would encourage you to read reviews on Labadee.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Never even showed my passport. We're at that point where facial recognition technology is doing all the work for us.
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