Harmony of the Seas Review – February 4-11, 2017

Hello all,

I returned from the Harmony of the Seas and finally got around to writing a review. I have seen a number of Harmony reviews posted lately, but I figured one more couldn’t hurt.

Overview

As some background, I made an open booking on our Brilliance of the Seas cruise to the Western Caribbean in January 2015. We booked this Harmony cruise in June 2015 and got an outstanding deal despite the long wait. The 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary included Nassau, Bahamas, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This was my 12th cruise and 11th consecutive on Royal Caribbean. I (27) traveled with my boyfriend (29), and we flew in from Washington, D.C. the morning of the cruise. It made me exceptionally nervous, but the price difference was significant enough to risk it, and fortunately, our flight went smoothly.

Embarkation –10/10

We arrived at FLL at about 9:45am, grabbed our bags, and called a Lyft at around 10:10am. We arrived at the pier at about 10:30am and got through check-in and security in about 10 minutes. It was the fastest I’ve ever gone through the boarding process. We sat in the Emerald waiting area from about 10:45am until boarding began at 11:15am. Super easy!

Cabin – 9/10

Upon boarding, we had to wait until 1pm for our rooms to be ready. We grabbed lunch at the Park Café, which was a perfect, quiet spot before the masses boarded the ship, and then walked around the Boardwalk. At 1pm, the doors were opened, and we made our way to our cabin – a D7 Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony – Room 9190. Our room was not quite ready, so we got out of the way and sat on our balcony until our stateroom attendant was finished. The storage and bathroom layout on Harmony was fantastic, and our room was clean.For the ship only being six months old, I was surprised by a few stains on the headboard and some rust on the balcony door, but those were inconsequential. Our stateroom attendant, Keith, was noticeably stressed and short when we saw him a little after 1pm, but when we had our formal introduction a few hours later, we had time to chat. He did an excellent job throughout the week.

I recommend this cabin since it’s on the hump and had some extra balcony space.

Entertainment –9/10

I thought the entertainment on Harmony was hands down the best I have seen on a cruise. I loved Grease, The Fine Line, and Columbus: The Musical! The ice show, 1887: A Journey Through Time, had a strange plot, but the ice skaters were impressive.

We saw the late-night comedians and were not overly impressed, but we had a good time. As always, the Love & Marriage Game Show did not disappoint.

Dining/Food – 5.5/10

For breakfast each morning, we ate in the Windjammer. First,I loved and appreciated that all guests had to wash their hands in the sinks at the entrance before going to the buffet. The food was standard; nothing really blew me away, and nothing was terrible. For lunch, we usually ate at the ParkCafé or the Windjammer. I thought the paninis, Kummelweck sandwiches, and salads in the Park Café were tasty. The Windjammer was hit or miss.

We tried My Time Dining for the first time and would highly recommend it. We made reservations for each evening at 8:15pm (and therefore did not purchase specialty dining), but we sometimes went to dinner a little earlier or a little later depending on other activities. We never waited more than 2-3 minutes for a table and were able to have the same waiter 3 of the 7 nights. The flexibility on a ship with so many options was nice.

As far as food goes, there were some strong dishes, but I must admit that overall, I was disappointed in the options and quality. As many others have stated, the food quality has certainly slipped in recent years. I am a bit of a foodie but think I have reasonable and appropriate expectations. My boyfriend and I cook the vast majority of our meals and only eat out on occasion. Some of the dishes, such as the horseradish-crusted salmon and all of the soups were fantastic. Almost everything else we ate was just ok. I was surprised by the number of dishes that had some sort of potatoes and a heavy sauce/gravy as the side. The crab cake and carbonara pasta were horrible.

We ate at Sabor one night, and although the guacamole was delicious,the biggest culinary surprise and disappoint from the cruise were the “pork carnitas.” I have to use quotes because the pork was not prepared with spices in some sort of slow cooker and then pulled apart. It was julienned pork chop with just a dash of paprika. It was really, really bland and gross.

Itinerary/Excursions

Nassau, Bahamas – 6/10 – On the first full day of the cruise, we arrived in Nassau at 7am and departed at 2pm. Since we woke up at 4:45am to catch our flight the day before, we slept in and then only explored Nassau for a couple hours. I have been to Nassau a few times before and don’t think there are many exciting things to do, so we went to Junkanoo Beach to relax. Overall, I wish Nassau was replaced with another island not only due to the early/short time in port but less tropical temperatures (especially in February) and limited excursion options, as well.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas – 10/10 – In St. Thomas, we booked the Caribbean 'FastCat' 2-Island Snorkeling Safari and Beach Getaway excursion through Royal Caribbean. We took a catamaran to Buck Island to snorkel with sea turtles and then had some rum punch on the boat before heading to relax at Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. Overall, this was an excellent excursion! The only negative was the heavy seas that day. I don’t really get motion or seasick, but I was white-knuckling the railing on our way to Buck Island. My boyfriend was seasick on our way to Water Island, so be sure to take some Bonine or avoid this trip if you are prone to motion sickness.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten – 10/10 – In St. Maarten, we went over the Divy Little Bay Beach Resort to relax. We walked the 1.5 miles to the resort from the cruise ship in the morning, which took about 50 minutes. We got settled with two beach chairs and an umbrella for $15. We purchased a bucket of beer and two bottled waters for $30 after taxes and tip. It was a perfectly relaxing day in the sun. After a little more than 4 hours on the beach, we took a $12 taxi back to the ship. It was a perfect, relaxing afternoon.

Crew – 8.5/10

All of the crew members we encountered on the Harmony were friendly and professional, but they seemed overworked and rushed. Our stateroom attendant, dining room staff, waiter at Johnny Rockets, and bar staff always seemed too busy to chat for even a few seconds about our trip. It was far more transactional than my experience on other ships. Our favorite waiter that served us three nights in the dining room commented that although we had various waiters during My Time Dining, they all would earn the same service score from our survey. She also apologized for rushing around and was thankful for our patience since she had too many tables and too much to do. It was a bit disheartening to hear in that moment of her clearly being very tired. Again,our service throughout the ship was nothing but outstanding, but it lacked the personal touch that I enjoy.

Our cruise director, Simeon Kirkiles, was top-notch! He was absolutely hilarious and engaging. I learned from watching RCTV one night that he is a comedian and typically hosts the late night adult comedy on Harmony, but since the regularly scheduled cruise director had to attend a meeting/conference with Royal Caribbean, he was asked to step up. I hope to see him again!

Disembarkation - 10/10

The crew had disembarkation down to a science, and it was as smooth as can be. We ate breakfast in the Windjammer, vacated our rooms by 9am,and waited in the Royal Theater until our number (37) was called. We walked off the ship, grabbed our bags, and waited in line to go through U.S. Customs,which took about 15-20 minutes.

Overall Experience– 8.5/10

This was my first time on an Oasis-class ship, and I was simply stunned by the size, modern décor, and number of activities/amenities on the ship. Aside from a few notes about the food and lines around the ship, we had a truly phenomenal time. I hope to cruise again on the Harmony or another Oasis-class ship!

I'd be glad to answer any questions.

Derek

Nice breakdown. Thank you.

I really hope that Simeon is our CD when we sail on the Harmony in September.

Thank you for the review - we are booked for June, have been on Oasis. It was a toss up between Harmony & Allure. I hate that there isn't a pool in the Solarium, did you miss that?

Nice review. On the nights you had reservations, how early did you get in line to watch the shows? Did you have good seats?

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Thanks for your review. We were also on this cruise and couldn't agree more about Simeon. He did an excellent job!! Also felt the Windjammer was quite disappointing in the food options at breakfast and lunch. Just not much variety, and missed having the omelet station in there.

Thank you for the review - we are booked for June, have been on Oasis. It was a toss up between Harmony & Allure. I hate that there isn't a pool in the Solarium, did you miss that?

I typically don't spend much time in the Solarium, but since it was February and a little chilly at the beginning and end of the trip, I would imagine the whirlpools sufficed. In warmer weather, I would personally miss the Solarium pool, as every time I was on the pool deck, the pools were generally quite busy.

Nice review. On the nights you had reservations, how early did you get in line to watch the shows? Did you have good seats?

 

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Thank you! We typically got to our shows about 10-15 minutes advance and got very good seats. For shows in the AquaTheater and Studio B, I suggest arriving about that early. The one night we showed up a little later in the Royal Theater, getting decent seats wasn't too difficult.

Thanks for your review. We were also on this cruise and couldn't agree more about Simeon. He did an excellent job!! Also felt the Windjammer was quite disappointing in the food options at breakfast and lunch. Just not much variety, and missed having the omelet station in there.

Thank you! I could not agree more. Perhaps you already knew this, but Johnny Rockets does not charge a cover fee for breakfast and serves made-to-order omelets. We went to the Windjammer since it was faster, but we also wished omelets were available there.

Strange, I was just on the ship and I swear there was a station at the very back where you could have eggs made to order. I didn't use it but my wife said it was there. I've learned not to doubt her. I get yelled at.

Strange, I was just on the ship and I swear there was a station at the very back where you could have eggs made to order. I didn't use it but my wife said it was there. I've learned not to doubt her. I get yelled at.

Maybe Mini Bites?

No, she said it was at the back of the Windjammer where they do the stir fry and things like that during lunch and dinner. I know there were lines there during breakfast.

Strange, I was just on the ship and I swear there was a station at the very back where you could have eggs made to order. I didn't use it but my wife said it was there. I've learned not to doubt her. I get yelled at.

They had a fried egg station set up there each morning, but no omelets.

Thank you! I could not agree more. Perhaps you already knew this, but Johnny Rockets does not charge a cover fee for breakfast and serves made-to-order omelets. We went to the Windjammer since it was faster, but we also wished omelets were available there.

Yes, we did have breakfast there one morning, and it was excellent! Also had made to order omelets up at mini-bites.

They had a fried egg station set up there each morning, but no omelets.

Got ya. Like I said. Didn't partake. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

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Glad you had a great time on the Harmony. Thanks for the feedback.

Hi Derek

Thanks so much for your detailed review! My fiancé and I are traveling in three weeks -- definitely looking forward to getting out of the cold! You mentioned that you traveled with your boyfriend. Just curious about how a gay couple was perceived on the ship. Did you encounter any problems? We are hoping that we run into other gay couples on board -- sometimes it happens but sometimes it doesn't. Just curious about your experience! =)

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review! Do you happen to have a photo of your balcony? We are in 11590 for our cruise in June, which is also the first cabin on the hump.

I somehow understand the "lack of personal touch" on a ship this size. Makes total sense but you get what you sign up for I guess. Thanks for your interesting review.