We had a great time but there were disappointments
Harmony of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 35
7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 11, 2022
Ship: Harmony of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 14176
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
All in all, we had fun. The food was great, we met some awesome folks, we really enjoyed the Schooner Bar, On-Air and the Park-West Art Auction. Sadly, because of the lack of an adult only pool and the poor service in the Solarium, we won't go back on the Harmony again.Embarkation
The port was extremely disorganized. We arrived at 11:30 for our 12:00-12:30 check in time. It was complete chaos to the point it took us until 1:30 to actually get in to the security portion of check in. It was then another 1.5 hours to get through security. The whole process was a mess and it seemed that the staff putting folks in lines didn't care what your times were. They just put you in whatever line they wanted.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We had fantastic servers in the dining room We ate during the 7:45 pm dining. Our servers, Orianto and Kristiiya were fabulous. You'll be very lucky to get them.
Onboard Activities
The pool entertainment is very limited. The band comes on for 45 minutes and then again for 1 hour. HEADS UP - There is NO SWIMMING POOL IN THE ADULT ONLY AREA (SOLARIUM). There are also no towel availability, no cocktail servers and staff cleaning up empty glasses. If you want a drink, you must go to the third level of the Solarium. If you want towels, they are only available on the opposite end of the ship in the smoking area. The place seemed dirty because of all the empty and dirty glasses/dishes all over the decks.
The Schooner Bar had terrific trivia contests which were fun. There was karaoke at On-Air. Dancing lesson at 10:30 at night on the Promenade.
The art auctions are NOT to be missed. They are so much fun. I knew nothing about art but went for the free champagne. I learned so much from Woeter. There is zero pressure to buy anything. You can just sit back and watch, ask questions, and learn so much. I cannot recommend the auctions enough.
Entertainment
It's tough to rate this. We only saw Grease and it was pretty good. We didn't get a chance to see anything else because they all required reservations made on the app only. By the time I learned how to use the app, everything was full/sold out.
Children's Programs
I don't have children
Service and Staff
HIGHEST of praises to Adika, our room steward for room 14176. He was phenomenal. He made sure we had fresh ice twice daily, our room was kept immaculate, he kept checking with us to make sure we had everything we needed, answered any questions we had, and knew our first names immediately. He always greeted us with our names, a big wave and smile.
We ate at table 624 at the 7:45 dinner. Our waitstaff was Orianto, our head waiter and Kristiiya, our Assistant Waiter. They were super attentive, made fantastic recommendations, served us quickly, made sure we enjoyed everything. The night my husband was ill, they even went above and beyond to make sure I had tomato soup and chicken noodle soup to bring up to him in the room.
Ship Quality
My only complaint is with the adult only area - The Solarium. No adult swimming pool, no waitstaff, no housekeeping, no towels. You have to go to the 3rd level to get your own drinks since there are no cocktail waitstaff. There are no pool towels available. The station was closed the entire week. We had to go to the opposite end of the ship to the smoking area to get our towels. Because the adult area was so ignored, we will never sail this ship again.
Cabin / Stateroom
Thanks to Adiza, our room was cool and comfy, very clean and the size was more than adequate considering how little time we spent in it.
Ship tip
Do not sail on this ship if you are looking forward to an adult only pool/section. It is non-existant.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We did the Trolley Tour Excursion. DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR. You do not go for a cheese sampling or a rum sampling. There is no Pirate Show. There is no sightseeing tour. You go to a convenience store just off the ship on a childlike train you see at county fairs. They give you 1/2" shaving of 1 type of cheese. That is it. Your tour will consist of riding this "tram" up and down front and back street of over an hour. The driver, Big Al, will not interact with you or point out any areas of interest. He will however, stop and chat with his buddies in the shopping area. Finally, you get 1/2 teaspoon of 1 rum at the "pirate show". The Pirate show is a homemade movie where you are shown a 5 minute inaccurate clip of a "documentary" about Calico Jack then moved like cattle into a different room where you see the next 5 minutes and so on for 5-6 viewings. It had to be the worst excursion I've ever taken. Royal Caribbean is also refusing to refund our money for this excursion. We didn't get what we paid for or what was described.
We did a bus tour that was available at the port. This was not a Royal Caribbean excursion. It was, one of the best tours I've ever been on. It was 2.5 hours and cost $25 pp. They took us all over the island, pointed our places of interest, stopped at photo locations, took us to Drake's Seat, Mountain Top where the banana daiquiri was invented, told us all about historical and information facts/myths and legends regarding the island.
He then dropped us off, at our request, at Emerald Beach for some snorkeling and swimming. He will go back to port as well but we wanted to get off and go swimming. I cannot recommend this tour strongly enough.
Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas
Our excursion was swimming with the pigs. So much fun. Be aware, you cannot feed the pigs as described. You also cannot bring your camera down to the beach where the pigs are but they do take photos you can purchase when you get home. You will need cash/credit card if you want to purchase one of their shirts. They do not accept the SeaPass as a form of payment. It was a wonderful, unique experience.
We usually do snorkeling on Coco Cay but with the hurricanes nearby, that excursion was canceled. We did have plenty of fun swimming at Chill Park, South Side and finally Oasis Lagoon. There just isn't enough time in one visit to do everything there is to do on the island.
Disembarkation
We chose to take our own luggage off the ship since we drove over to Cape Canaveral. We were off the ship and to our car within 30 minutes. Getting off was so much easier than getting on.