Harmony still a "construction site"

[Uelandir]

The areas still not open are the aqua theatre, Starbucks and two of the waterslides. Everything else is great [emoji106]🏻

 

 

Any estimated time Starbucks will be ready?

[shorehaven]

Thank you for the honest view. Glad you had a good time. It would take more than a few workmen to spoil my holiday as well

 

Having just come off both the 4 and 3 night "cruises" in a Central Park balcony cabin on deck 14 where we had workmen drilling, grinding and sanding the decks above our heads trying to complete / repair a kids pool from 05.00am constantly through to after midnight some nights I'm afraid I cannot agree with you! Whilst the vessel was perfectly seaworthy it was far from completed. Whoever signed it off from the shipyard should really think about making an appointment with spec savers!

On the plus side the crew worked really hard, they should be commended by management for keeping smiling throughout, a credit to the company.

[Adcro]

That "23 swimming pools" thing can't be right can it? That seems silly!

 

20 restaurants I suppose, maybe 23 bars? But swimming pools?

[padiho]

We got 25% FCC after the Oasis TA straight after dry dock. I didn't think things were too bad, but a lot of people complained. I spent it on my Ovation cruise earlier this month. She most definitely was completed :)

 

 

Would you be kind enough to give me the contact point to complain about the 4day cruise onboard Harmony ? I bought this 4 day cruise as a 50th birthday present for my daughter in law. I can assure you that most of what has been commented on was confirmed to me whilst her and my son was onboard. They both say that the ship was not ready to accept full fare paying guests. I was sold this cruise as its maiden voyage not as RCCL now say as a pre inaugural. They went with great anticipation and excitement as to the facilities they wished to try out...all were closed. It was impossible to find somewhere to sit in the windjammer etc, they were continually stepping over cables or avoiding workmen. They did however find the shows excellent and the cabin was superb. I cannot understand how RCCL sold this to me back in October 2015 as its maiden voyage yet didn't ,nearer the time , contact me to say that it wasn't finished. Had they informed everyone , perhaps offered a refund or the choice to still take it at a cheaper rate is what really annoys me. I personally feel huge embarrassment at giving a birthday present that has turned out as it has. I intend to go for some compensation ( if I can find where to go ) not to be greedy as some of you suggest but to put right that which was wrongly sold to me by RCCL.

[Clarea]

That "23 swimming pools" thing can't be right can it? That seems silly!

 

20 restaurants I suppose, maybe 23 bars? But swimming pools?

We tried to add them all up recently, and even with counting every hot tub as a separate swimming pool, it was tough to get 23.

[joeyancho]

Would you be kind enough to give me the contact point to complain about the 4day cruise onboard Harmony ? I bought this 4 day cruise as a 50th birthday present for my daughter in law. I can assure you that most of what has been commented on was confirmed to me whilst her and my son was onboard. They both say that the ship was not ready to accept full fare paying guests. I was sold this cruise as its maiden voyage not as RCCL now say as a pre inaugural. They went with great anticipation and excitement as to the facilities they wished to try out...all were closed. It was impossible to find somewhere to sit in the windjammer etc, they were continually stepping over cables or avoiding workmen. They did however find the shows excellent and the cabin was superb. I cannot understand how RCCL sold this to me back in October 2015 as its maiden voyage yet didn't ,nearer the time , contact me to say that it wasn't finished. Had they informed everyone , perhaps offered a refund or the choice to still take it at a cheaper rate is what really annoys me. I personally feel huge embarrassment at giving a birthday present that has turned out as it has. I intend to go for some compensation ( if I can find where to go ) not to be greedy as some of you suggest but to put right that which was wrongly sold to me by RCCL.

 

Sorry your gift did not turn out the way you had hope for. I would have been heartbroken. You have every right to be angry. Another example of corporate greed. Be prepared to get flamed.

[mdb77]

Yep we had a fantastic time on Harmony - yes there are a few bits that are being finished off but the vast majority is in full working order. The Grease show is very good , I liked the Solaruim area , Central Park is an amazing space , yes the Bars do get busy at night but the staff are working so hard , the silent disco is a must as well - wish I was going to Barcelona today

[LMaxwell]

Would you be kind enough to give me the contact point to complain about the 4day cruise onboard Harmony ? I bought this 4 day cruise as a 50th birthday present for my daughter in law. I can assure you that most of what has been commented on was confirmed to me whilst her and my son was onboard. They both say that the ship was not ready to accept full fare paying guests. I was sold this cruise as its maiden voyage not as RCCL now say as a pre inaugural. They went with great anticipation and excitement as to the facilities they wished to try out...all were closed. It was impossible to find somewhere to sit in the windjammer etc, they were continually stepping over cables or avoiding workmen. They did however find the shows excellent and the cabin was superb. I cannot understand how RCCL sold this to me back in October 2015 as its maiden voyage yet didn't ,nearer the time , contact me to say that it wasn't finished. Had they informed everyone , perhaps offered a refund or the choice to still take it at a cheaper rate is what really annoys me. I personally feel huge embarrassment at giving a birthday present that has turned out as it has. I intend to go for some compensation ( if I can find where to go ) not to be greedy as some of you suggest but to put right that which was wrongly sold to me by RCCL.

 

I am not sure of UK based contacts or how helpful these US ones will be, but you should at least be able to contact someone to get you pointed in the right direction.

 

http://elliott.org/company-contacts/royal-caribbean/

[moqui_girl]

Any estimated time Starbucks will be ready?

 

 

I've not hear anything. The doors were blocked with screens so you couldn't see it. I did see (from a distance) when the screens were down briefly - it didn't look like it was nearly ready. I did see people working in there around the clock though so I bet it won't be that long.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[padiho]

I am not sure of UK based contacts or how helpful these US ones will be, but you should at least be able to contact someone to get you pointed in the right direction.

 

http://elliott.org/company-contacts/royal-caribbean/

 

Thank you so much for that link. That will at least get me started and is far more than I've managed to find so far. I appreciate your help

[myfuzzy]

I watched the building of the ship last night on the Smithsonian channel. When I heard the workers comment on how they were being pushed to get the work done in time, I seriously had my doubts everything would be "ship shape" upon guests boarding. I guess the only thing that matters is $$$$

[Loujul]

I learned the hard way never to sail the cruise before a dry dock. The Celebrity ship we sailed was dirty, the staff was inattentive to the point that there were dirty dishes sloshing in the pool water overflow onto the deck. I didn't know to look at the schedule before that!

 

Wow, I'm really surprised to hear that. We sailed on the Summit the week before it went into dry dock this past February. If anything, I found the staff to be extremely upbeat and attentive. They were all looking forward to time off.

[fstuff1]

I watched the building of the ship last night on the Smithsonian channel. When I heard the workers comment on how they were being pushed to get the work done in time, I seriously had my doubts everything would be "ship shape" upon guests boarding. I guess the only thing that matters is $$$$

 

enhancing shareholder value.

 

surprised there wasn't a shakedown cruise b4 this one?

the one where only family who worked at royal were the only passengers

Edited May 29, 2016 by fstuff1

[besberry]

Would you be kind enough to give me the contact point to complain about the 4day cruise onboard Harmony ? I bought this 4 day cruise as a 50th birthday present for my daughter in law. I can assure you that most of what has been commented on was confirmed to me whilst her and my son was onboard. They both say that the ship was not ready to accept full fare paying guests. I was sold this cruise as its maiden voyage not as RCCL now say as a pre inaugural. They went with great anticipation and excitement as to the facilities they wished to try out...all were closed. It was impossible to find somewhere to sit in the windjammer etc, they were continually stepping over cables or avoiding workmen. They did however find the shows excellent and the cabin was superb. I cannot understand how RCCL sold this to me back in October 2015 as its maiden voyage yet didn't ,nearer the time , contact me to say that it wasn't finished. Had they informed everyone , perhaps offered a refund or the choice to still take it at a cheaper rate is what really annoys me. I personally feel huge embarrassment at giving a birthday present that has turned out as it has. I intend to go for some compensation ( if I can find where to go ) not to be greedy as some of you suggest but to put right that which was wrongly sold to me by RCCL.

 

I didn't complain to anyone, I just had an email a couple of weeks after the cruise and the physical certificate arrived in the mail a few weeks after that. It was all initiated by RCI. BTW it wasn't 25% it was 20%, my mistake.

I

[juliemc]

Any estimated time Starbucks will be ready?

 

 

Starbucks is now open! We boarded yesterday and not really seen evidence of the construction site described last week.

[Uelandir]

Starbucks is now open! We boarded yesterday and not really seen evidence of the construction site described last week.

 

Awesome, thanks for the update :)

[Huggy79]

Having just come off both the 4 and 3 night "cruises" in a Central Park balcony cabin on deck 14 where we had workmen drilling, grinding and sanding the decks above our heads trying to complete / repair a kids pool from 05.00am constantly through to after midnight some nights I'm afraid I cannot agree with you! Whilst the vessel was perfectly seaworthy it was far from completed. Whoever signed it off from the shipyard should really think about making an appointment with spec savers!

On the plus side the crew worked really hard, they should be commended by management for keeping smiling throughout, a credit to the company.

 

I totally agree. A previous respondent said that we all knew the state the ship would be in. That is simply not true. I expected ship to be up to the usual RCI standards save a few glitches which the ship's excellent maintenance crew could deal with. I was not told beforehand that the ship was not finished. In fact apart from the e-mails about check-in and having the Sea Pass ready I had zero communications from RCI. I was also under the impression that this was a normal cruise. Apart from the Cruise Director using the term "pre-inaugural cruise" three days into the cruise I had no reason to expect anything abnormal. Even using that term in no way communicated the state that the ship was in. The ship was certainly seaworthy, but not paying passenger-worthy.

[Huggy79]

Sorry your gift did not turn out the way you had hope for. I would have been heartbroken. You have every right to be angry. Another example of corporate greed. Be prepared to get flamed.

 

I don't see why the respondent should get "flamed"? (Or am I taking the wrong meaning of the word?!?!?!). The respondent gave a balanced and factual view of the experience which their daughter-in-law had.

All passengers have expectations. Experienced cruisers who admire RCI/Celebrity have very high expectations. Without being communicated with prior to the cruise that things would not be up to up to their usual standards how would their expectations be managed downwards? They would be disappointed. In my case very disappointed.

The problem that RCI now have is that new cruisers for whom this was their inaugural cruise, now have very low expectations of the cruise line.

[luv2cruzuk]

I've not hear anything. The doors were blocked with screens so you couldn't see it. I did see (from a distance) when the screens were down briefly - it didn't look like it was nearly ready. I did see people working in there around the clock though so I bet it won't be that long.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Starbucks was actually open for the first few days of the 4 nighter. But I heard they had a problem with the water supply so had to close it.

[April_2000]

Would you be kind enough to give me the contact point to complain about the 4day cruise onboard Harmony ? I bought this 4 day cruise as a 50th birthday present for my daughter in law. I can assure you that most of what has been commented on was confirmed to me whilst her and my son was onboard. They both say that the ship was not ready to accept full fare paying guests. I was sold this cruise as its maiden voyage not as RCCL now say as a pre inaugural. They went with great anticipation and excitement as to the facilities they wished to try out...all were closed. It was impossible to find somewhere to sit in the windjammer etc, they were continually stepping over cables or avoiding workmen. They did however find the shows excellent and the cabin was superb. I cannot understand how RCCL sold this to me back in October 2015 as its maiden voyage yet didn't ,nearer the time , contact me to say that it wasn't finished. Had they informed everyone , perhaps offered a refund or the choice to still take it at a cheaper rate is what really annoys me. I personally feel huge embarrassment at giving a birthday present that has turned out as it has. I intend to go for some compensation ( if I can find where to go ) not to be greedy as some of you suggest but to put right that which was wrongly sold to me by RCCL.

 

So sorry to hear that. I can imagine your embarrassment. As I said on another board, the sad fact is that Royal puts shareholder profits above all else these days. In a publicity blurb I saw, the CEO stated that "Royal Caribbean puts passengers first". Talk about insincere! Royal is prepared to forego the goodwill of its customer base just to save a few more "nickels and dimes" for the fat cats. Unfortunately for Royal it seems to have sorely underestimated the importance of such goodwill (much to the benefit of its competitors I suspect).

[April_2000]

Padiho,

 

Sorry, I forget to add the email address that I used for my follow up with Royal (you were asking for useful addresses). I emailed mbayley@rccl.com and copied it to customerrelationsuk@rccl.com Hope this helps and hope you get some satisfaction promptly.

[Baowen]

Wow - total exaggeration!! What ship were you on??

[moswinner1]

Would you be kind enough to give me the contact point to complain about the 4day cruise onboard Harmony ? I bought this 4 day cruise as a 50th birthday present for my daughter in law. I can assure you that most of what has been commented on was confirmed to me whilst her and my son was onboard. They both say that the ship was not ready to accept full fare paying guests. I was sold this cruise as its maiden voyage not as RCCL now say as a pre inaugural. They went with great anticipation and excitement as to the facilities they wished to try out...all were closed. It was impossible to find somewhere to sit in the windjammer etc, they were continually stepping over cables or avoiding workmen. They did however find the shows excellent and the cabin was superb. I cannot understand how RCCL sold this to me back in October 2015 as its maiden voyage yet didn't ,nearer the time , contact me to say that it wasn't finished. Had they informed everyone , perhaps offered a refund or the choice to still take it at a cheaper rate is what really annoys me. I personally feel huge embarrassment at giving a birthday present that has turned out as it has. I intend to go for some compensation ( if I can find where to go ) not to be greedy as some of you suggest but to put right that which was wrongly sold to me by RCCL.

 

This is just Clever (Misleading) marketing. It says "Maiden voyage to Rotterdam "But this just because it's never been there before! A ship that's many years old could make it's "Maiden voyage to Rotterdam if it had never been there before! :(:(:(

[mdj101]

We are on board now and everything is open, not seen a single workman yet.

 

If you a really unhappy, take it up with your credit card (or debit card) company (if you are in the UK)

 

This is the route I would take if I needed too.

[April_2000]

As I just posted in the other thread (but it's appropriate for this thread too)...

 

My own reasons for complaint (and, I suspect, the reasons of others) were quite legitimate and certainly not an exaggeration:-

 

The banging and clattering of works being carried out - noise which intruded into my cabin - unacceptable;

 

The toilet not flushing - unacceptable;

 

The entire ship running out of supplies (e.g. orange juice) - unacceptable and very poor planning;

 

Cables sticking out which I almost tripped over - unacceptable, not to mention a health and safety hazard;

 

2 Aqua Theatre shows which I had booked cancelled - because the theatre steps/flooring construction was not finished yet - unacceptable;

 

Whirpools closed intermittently with no explanation given as to why when I asked staff - unacceptable;

 

Room service complimentary menu reduced to just 3 soups, two wraps and 1 salad. A fee charged to have eggs and/or pancakes from the room service menu - unacceptable, and a blatant example of "nickle and dime" mentality taken to extremes; (and when my room service order was delivered after a 50 minute wait, not everything was I ordered was there);

 

Rude and confrontational behaviour from a customer services representative (fortunately her manager stepped in and corrected her, but the damage was done, reputation-wise, for Royal) - most certainly unacceptable;

 

And finally, Royal attempting to explain all the problems away by stating the 2 mini cruises were just preview-cruises. They were not sold as such and I paid full price as a solo cruiser - £781 for the 4 night cruise in an oceanview cabin, and £940 for the 3 night cruise in a junior suite. Even Royal cannot surely pretend that these were "shake-down cruise" prices.

 

Watch this space to see if Royal come good on the compensation offered to me for the problems I experienced. Regardless, compensation notwithstanding, Royal has gone down in my estimation by a long chalk and I speak as a Diamond C&A member.