Trapped in an infomercial for 8 days

Item: Harmony of the Seas
Rating: 2.8
Author: ahubrex

Harmony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

ahubrex

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 12

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 12, 2020

Ship: Harmony of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8304

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Being on this boat was like being stuck in an infomercial for terrible overpriced jewelry. The television only broadcast their ads. The whole experience was only focused on upselling and trying to get as much money as possible. The ship was overcrowded and you could never get in an elevator. The free food closed early to try and get you to buy room service. Gratuities were charged per person, as opposed to per room. There were lots of extra charges and the only thing Royal Caribbean seems to care about is nickel and diming their guests to get as much as possible out of them. The shows and clubs needed reservations to attend and most were already booked full due to the high number of people on the boat. And everything on their island coco Kay has an extra 12% tax added. If you don’t buy their $100 tickets to go on a few water slides there is not much more to do there.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

1 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

3 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

1 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

18 Comments

wgammon1 4 years ago

Extremely poor planning on your part, is not RC's fault. The responsibility of your bad experience lies with you. Having a great cruise experience, is not a spectator sport.

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PegLeg123 4 years ago

Once you said boat instead of ship, I realized you haven’t cruised much in the past. Sorry that it didn’t meet your expectations. Personally, one can always find some reason to complain.

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joolz47 4 years ago

You probably got the message that you need to research any kind of vacation. All your criticisms of life on Harmony demonstrate your failure to research and plan - your bad.

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suesnake 4 years ago

Sounds like you had very high expectations but put zero effort into hour cruise. Did you ever look at your cruise planner?? Coco Cay is a beach day. They also have a pool. What were you expecting?? How one can be at a beautiful beach in the caribbean and complain there's nothing to do is beyond me.

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KrysandChuck 4 years ago

We absolutely love Royal and have been on the Oasis and Harmony. We did book our shows, but it is not needed all of the time. We loved the food, and do not go to the MDR. We go to the windjammer, had 2 specialty restaurants, and ate Sorrento’s and cafe promenade for our late night snacks! We are not drinkers, but would simply buy a drink when we wanted to. We got the soda package and it was well worth it! As far as Cococay, we have planned to go there in February 2021, and are going to the beach and the pool, a vacation is relaxation for us!! We also look forward to Costa Maya and Roatan. We are going to Cozumel again, which is one of our favorites! Good luck on finding “your” vacation!

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cruisereckoning 4 years ago

You might want to vacation a different way instead of cruising.

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Cruiseracer 4 years ago

Better planning ahead next time will make for a better experience

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MyLadyNMe456 4 years ago

Next time, take your family to Disney. I'm sure that Disney will not try to nickel & dime you like Royal Caribbean did! RIGHT!!

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CVCruiser 4 years ago

Someone didnt do their research or watch any walk through videos. Definitely cruising is not for you! Lol

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portofrome 4 years ago

Thanks for your review

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15mustang 4 years ago

We had a wonderful day on coco cay and only spent about $30 for 2 drinks. We relaxed at the beach and the oasis pool. Not sure what you were expecting In the cruise documents it tells you gratuity is per day per person. You don't have to buy anything extra if you don't want to, we normally don't. A cruise is what you make it.

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jonwv2000 4 years ago

Wow. I feel like you brought some of this on yourself. Do a little research and that would have help out a lot.

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CruzeFan 4 years ago

Sounds like cruising isn’t for you and that you did not read all of the documents you agreed to when booking the cruise.

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Simplesweet84 4 years ago

Hmmm I have never read this bad of a review before for the Harmony. Maybe cruising just isn't for you and your family. Everyone has a chance to reserve seating for the shows up to 90 days in advance so if you didnt take advantage of that then well that is on you. As far as what they sell in their shops... You could walked right past them. Have you ever been to Disney, Universal or anywhere else like that? They all try to upsell but you dont have to buy it. I am looking forward to cruising on the Harmony this April.

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Shirley19 4 years ago

gratuities have always been per person not per cabin.

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ramja 4 years ago

All cruise lines charge gratuities per person.

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kknorr0320 4 years ago

The 12% tax is from the Bahamas. Royal has no control there. Even though shows required reservations we've done 2 cruises on Oasis class ships and never had trouble getting in without reservations. A few minutes of research prior to your trip would have told you all of this.

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kknorr0320 4 years ago

Cafe Promenade and Sorrento's are always open.

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