A Detailed Review of Our Western Caribbean Cruise

Embarkation was amazingly smooth.  I checked the information we received from Royal Caribbean and found that we were departing from Terminal A.  There were also digital signs at the Miami Cruise Port indicating that Harmony of the Seas departed from Terminal A.  We decided to park first  ($30/day) and bring and bring our luggage down to the drop-off location.  Fortunately, there was a nice porter who took our bags as soon as we got off the elevator.  Since we had filled all those documents online, it took less than 5 minutes to check us in.  After that, we walked onto the ship.  From the time we parked our car until we were on the ship was 20 minutes including one bathroom break.  It was one of our best experiences to date.

We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches in the Windjammer and all our dinners in the Main Dining Room each evening. We had a special section for the Card Player members and we started early around 5:15 so the poker players could be finished and get to the card room in the front of the ship by 7 pm. The quality of the food in general has definitely diminished over the last 5 - 10 years. Main entrees simply don’t feel and taste like the meals you get in a fine restaurant. It’s understandable. Rising food prices have to be balanced against the overall cost of the cruise. In the Main Dining Room, my wife enjoyed the appetizers more than the main courses and often ordered multiple choices. The main dishes were satisfactory, but no one raved about their choices. The choices in the Windjammer Marketplace were consistent and did not change much from day to day. There were a few main dishes that changed based on the cuisine of the day, but almost everything else did not change. My wife especially enjoyed the Indian food section, but there were not many other international choices. Salad choices in the Windjammer were minimal. They had the same three salad dressing choices each day: Ranch, Caesar, and balsamic vinaigrette. I was surprised at the number of stews featured as main dishes in the Windjammer. I actually went to the Solarium Bistro a few times. The food was similar to the Windjammer, but they had honey mustard dressing. I needed a change. Supposedly, the Solarium Bistro is less crowded, but each time I went it was overcrowded.

Most of the activities we participated in were related to entertainment. We tend to avoid spending long periods of time in the sun and swimming in pools. My wife did use the Poker Room that was set up in the Conference Room for this cruise. She enjoyed that it was open long hours and used it daily until late in the night. Both of us used the gym facilities located in the Vitality Spa on Deck 6 each day. There was an ample number of treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, cam weight machines, and free weights. I exercised almost two hours each day and never found the room overcrowded. I never waited for an elliptical machine or weight machine. There were a good number of activities for everyone. You will only be bored if you want to be bored. The activities are continuous and usually don’t end until after midnight. We purchased the Vroom Internet access on Harmony online before the cruise began for $19.99/day and it was very good. We generally like to disconnect when we go on vacations, but we have found that good Internet access can enhance our experience. We also have family members back home we needed to check on, and we have come to enjoy sending photographs and updating our family and friends. We purchased a 2-Device package with Streaming for this cruise. Download speeds were good and we had no problems at all. This was the best Internet connectivity we have ever had on any cruise ship. We did not have any problems anywhere on the ship.

I always look forward to the entertainment portion of our cruises and try to do one or two things each evening.  On most nights, I usually saw only one show.  I tried to make reservations ahead of time through the Royal app, but most were filled.  Fortunately, when I got on the ship, I checked again and all were available.  Make reservations if possible, it gives you more flexibility as to when you can get seated. Here are my assessments: >Grease: I enjoy watching Broadway shows so I was looking forward to seeing Grease.  I had seen it 4 years ago, and it was essentially the same show with a different cast.  The show runs for 90 minutes without an intermission.  In my opinion, the RC show is more of a concert than a show.  All the famous Grease songs from the show and movie are here.  What is missing is a lot of the story.  The original Broadway show had a great story, but it was 2 hours and 30 minutes long.  Much of the dialogue was cut and the transitions between songs were often confusing.  On the other hand, the cast was enthusiastic and talented.  The singing and dancing were energetic and lively.  My advice would be to see the show and enjoy the music.  Don’t think too much about the story.
 >Jenifer Singer: Midway through the week, the headline performer in the Royal Theater was Jennifer Singer.  She has been designated as Royal Caribbean’s first signature artist.  This was our favorite performance of the week.  Jenifer Singer (her real name) was excellent and she had terrific backup singers.  She was so good, I watched both of her performances.  Unfortunately, the show was not well advertised.  The first performance was at about 40% capacity and the second performance was less at about 35% capacity.  I don’t think that most people knew about it.  Royal Caribbean should have done a better job of promoting her performance by making it a reservation-based performance.  >1887: A Journey In Time: This show had a Cirque du Soleil-like storyline.  The story follows a Juliet character through time.  The transitions between skating performances were hard to follow, but the special lighting effects were very good.  All the skaters performed well.  This show was a good night of entertainment.  It’s cold in Studio B so wear long sleeves and bring a sweater.
 >The Fine Line Diving Show in the Aqua Theater: The show was done in a Cirque du Soleil format.  Like most shows of this style, we were not sure what it was about, but the individual dances, acrobatics, and diving performances were terrific.  You will enjoy it even if you don’t understand it. >Columbus, The Musical!: Unfortunately, due to a malfunction with part of the stage scenery, all three performances of this show were canceled.  We saw this show in 2019, and at the time we enjoyed it, but parts of the show didn’t stand up to the standards of the other Royal Theater shows.  We thought it was a good way for performers to sing some of the popular songs of the day, but the storyline was confusing and sometimes just silly. >Adult: Stand-Up Comedy: The comics on our cruise were Louis Johnson and Steve White.  I saw two late-night adult shows and the adult show in the theater.  Both men were very funny both times I saw them. Be warned that their material is very adult and NOT for children.  No topic was off-limits for these comics.  I personally enjoy no-limits comedy, but If you are easily offended, stay away.  What each person enjoys in a comedy show can be very personal.  You will have to check out the comics on your ship and see if you enjoy their material. >iSkate: The show is very good, go see it.  It was billed as a performance where the ship’s skaters showed off their talents to contemporary music.  I expected an exhibition-style skating performance.  It is not that at, but rather a highly choreographed show using different styles of contemporary music.  Nonetheless, it is very good and not to be missed. >Big Daddy’s Hideaway Resort: This is another diving show with a loose story line about a crime taking place at an upscale resort.  I enjoyed this more than the fine line because it featured more diving and synchronized swimming.  It is worth taking the time to see.  Get there early, because the Aqua Theater fills up very quickly.

We did not have any children under 18 with us. Overall, I was surprised by the large number of children on this cruise, especially elementary and middle school children.

Our room steward, Oka, was exceptional.  He continually greeted us each day and made us feel valued.  We used the Do Not Disturb and Make Up My Room magnet when we went in and out of our to communicate with her when it was okay to clean our rooms.  Everything went smoothly.  The service and towel animals were simply outstanding.  The wait staff in the Windjammer Cafe was attentive, polite, and helpful.  We were continually greeted and made to feel welcome.  When we asked for help, we were given it immediately.  Our two dining room servers Jamee and Sumit did an excellent job.  Jamee always made us feel welcome with a smile and went out of his way to make sure we were happy with our food and service. Sumit quietly attended to us constantly. As a pair, they were exceptional!

The Harmony of the Seas started carrying passengers in 2015. Even though it is 8 years old, it still looks very new. The crew can be seen continually working to keep it clean and looking fresh. The ship is large and has different areas such as the Promenade, the Boardwalk, Central Park, the Pool Deck, and the Solarium. There are so many places that it is easy to forget that there are multiple places to sit, listen to music, read a book, and relax. Take time to explore these areas. We especially liked the peacefulness of the Central Park atrium.

As part of our Card Player Cruises package, we were given a balcony room on the 7th floor near the front staircases. It was a great location. It was only 2 floors down to the 5th floor Promenade, restaurant, and activities areas, but was 7-8 floors up to the pool deck and Windjammer Marketplace. The stateroom was the standard-size balcony room. In our opinion, most rooms on cruise ships are of similar size unless you opt for a suite. The room was in good order and there were ample storage areas for hanging clothes and drawers for folded clothes. Both my wife and I had a wardrobe closet next to our side of the bed. Unfortunately, the bathroom did not have much storage space. There were only two 15-amp US standard wall sockets in the room. I anticipated this and brought a USB hub so that we had enough ports to charge our phones, earbuds, Kindles, laptops, etc.

Since we live in Florida and have about a 3 - 4 hour ride home, we chose an 8 AM luggage-assisted departure.  The entire process was amazingly easy.  We got up around 6:30 AM, ate breakfast, grabbed our backpacks, and were at our car by 8:10 AM.  The facial recognition technology worked well and made our exit quick.  We did not wait for an elevator to retrieve our car in the parking garage and we were on Interstate 95 by 8:30 AM.