Harmony of the Seas, Star Class, Aquatheater Suite Review

[Cloudybay]

I tried posting this under the reviews and was blocked. So here goes.

 

Here is my review of our first time on Royal Caribbean, fortunately traveling in Star Class on the Harmony of the Seas in a 2 bedroom Aquatheater Suite [9330]. This was a 7-day Barcelona round trip cruise in early October.

 

Although this was our first RCCL cruise, we have cruised many times, previously on Seabourn, Crystal, Oceania, Holland America, and Costa.

 

This was a great cruise and we had a wonderful time, but I think comparing this to other cruise line products can be helpful for others. I also understand that we were very fortunate to travel in Star Class, and so any criticism I have is minor considering.

 

Embarkation: We arrived early and boarded via the secondary terminal C, for those with cabins on the Aft of the ship [? maybe all Star Class, too?]. We were escorted through to check-in and then seated in a “VIP area” which was an awkward little roped off area in the middle of the vast terminal surrounded by fake plants and plastic chairs. Approximately 15 minutes later we were escorted to the ship, met our Royal Genie, Cleon. Embarkation was all easy, a bit clumsy, but efficient.

 

Room: This suite is excellent, enormous, and if you enjoy being outside, the deck has everything. A great view inward to watch the aqua theater shows and activities, a large eating area with loungers, and on the water-side a very private area for reading and sunning. You can only hear noise in the bedrooms during the actual shows. It never bothered us except one afternoon during a nap [not a big deal].

Comparing the interior of the room, the bed and furniture were nice. In fact, the mattress was one of the best we’ve ever slept on. The fixtures and soft products, the Royal product is not as nice as Celebrity’s suite products, and to be fair, won’t spend time comparing to the “fancier” lines like Oceania, Seabourn, or Crystal.

There is enormous storage space everywhere except the bathrooms. There are plugs next to the beds, near the vanity, in the bathrooms, and living room.

The bathrooms were a bit disappointing for a suite. Both are small, with single sinks, not much storage. The tub/shower combo in the master was really weird, had a minimal partial door, and when showering got the bathroom floor very wet. I ended up showering in the second bathroom, which is a proper shower and great.

The L’OCCITANE bath products were fine, I think I prefer the Bulgari product on Celebrity, and certainly the Hermes product on Seabourn is my favorite.

 

Star Class: Having the star class treatment was great, and made the cruise. We loved the Ultimate Drink Package, which as a Star Class passenger included Starbucks. We were never charged additional for ordering a glass of wine over the limit of $13.95. It was also nice to show up at any restaurant without paying the supplement. Even the times when I was inadvertently charged, rather than making a fuss, I just presented the receipt to our Genie and he took care of it.

We never made reservations for the shows, and our genie saved seats for us wherever we wanted. It was kind of embarrassing to show up at the last minute to our seats, but those around us were at least not outwardly unhappy about it. I hope they understood it was part of what we paid a premium for. Our Genie would also have drinks delivered to us after we were seated.

Access to the Coastal Kitchen was nice, but there were always kids running around and it didn’t feel very exclusive. Service was very good.

 

Royal Genie: Our Genie was Cleon, and we really enjoyed him. I don’t think we used him as often as others, but we didn’t have excursions that needed coordination. We also were well taken care of and didn’t have many outside requests or issues. He was always connecting to make sure we were OK, and occasionally surprised us with snacks, or drinks, or small presents. He even overheard me wishing I could get a pepperoni pizza delivered to the room [like at home], and the next day it happened. These small gestures are great. Having a Genie helped raise the level of service to more closely match the more exclusive cruise lines. We were not aware of the Loop app [oversight] that would have helped us communicate with our Genie.

 

Specialty Restaurants: We had good meals every night, but I will admit, I had to remind myself we were not on Seabourn or Crystal when food was a little off. Being in the Star Class sometimes unfairly raised our expectations and the Harmony struggled to achieve that level of service in the restaurants. I know that sounds snobby, but it was true.

The service in the specialty restaurants was always good, but honestly never outstanding. Chops and 150 Central Park were both good, but Murano is better on Celebrity. There seems to be too much commotion and noise. It didn’t feel exclusive like Murano. Wonderland was a fun night, and a good concept, but the food sometimes was room temperature or mushy and felt like it was made ahead of time.

My big issue was kids running through the restaurant on multiple occasions. In fact, kids seemed to be everywhere [i know, Royal is a family cruise line, I need to get over it].

OTHER food and drink: The Ultimate Drink Package included the soda fountain drinks with a special cup. This was a complete waste as the machines usually only offered ~20% or less of the options. Maybe this was just a Europe issue that will be resolved in the Caribbean.

Sorrento’s was not a great pizza option. The pizza’s were small and hard and options few.

MDR: We only ate in the main dining room one night, and it was a very good meal. The grilled lobster was one of the best I’ve ever had at sea. Since it was included in the Star Package, I didn’t pay the premium, but it would have been worth it.

We were surprised when we arrived as we looked on the Royal IQ app at the menu, but it didn’t correspond, a little annoying.

 

Public Spaces: The casino was a big stinky hot mess. There must have been 100 smokers at all times. There is a non-smoking side, but like most things, rules are rarely enforced.

The public bathrooms are fine, but I do prefer Celebrity’s system with bathroom attendants and cloth towels around dinner/show times.

The gym was very large and had everything you would want. Unfortunately there was a very stale smoke smell at all times. Looking at the deck plans, this must have been near a crew smoking area, because it wasn't near the casino!

 

Disembarkation/Debarkation: This was super easy, our Genie walked us off and our bags were sitting right there. 10 minutes.

 

Overall: This was an awesome cruise, the Aquatheater suite is fantastic, and there is WAY too much to do in 7 days. I’m sure this is a strategy to bring you back. The Royal Genie program is a very nice way to make the very large cruise ship more intimate.

We are doing another RCCL cruise in December on the Brilliance, and will certainly miss the Genie and Star Class program. As for future cruises, we may be better suited for Celebrity, but don’t regret this cruise for a moment. Hope this helps others.

[Lionesss]

Thanks for your review and sharing both good and bad with your cruise.

 

It is always nice to get different points of view.

 

Enjoy cruising, we do.

 

Sea ya

[didicruiser]

Thanks for the review