First impressions - Harmony of the Seas

[bertrande]

We are on the current sailing which departed 7 June (yesterday) and are now enroute to Civitavecchia. Having explored the ship for the last day and a half, I feel ready to share some initial thoughts on our voyage. As background, we are a family of 5 staying in a royal family suite so Sky class under the new system. Not new to RCL but due to miscarriage/pregnancy etc, haven't sailed for a while.

 

I've taken a linear approach to this so it is like a mini review; this is easier for me to remember things.

 

We arrived at the port just before noon. Traffic from the city was smooth. The ship dwarfed the also-docked Brilliance and there was a swell of pride as it came into view (weird I know!). Boarding was an absolute breeze. From terminal to ship, we took less than half an hour and would have been shorter if not for the fact that DD needed to go to the toilet during check-in.

 

RCL had positioned the drinks and dining packages sale booths right where the passengers board so you couldn't miss them. This was where the greenness of the crew could be felt. You could not fault their enthusiasm; we just felt they were a little wet behind their ears so as to speak. I knew I wanted to get the Royal Replenish package and said so when I was approached. I also asked how much it was per day because I was aware that there was some extra tax payable for sailings out of Barcelona. I felt bad that the poor crew member couldn't really figure out how all the additional taxes added up to - she really tried and even asked for help but the other person was equally clueless. She came back with a figure of USD19.34 a day. I was already feeling bad about the episode (she looked quite tortured by my question) so quickly let her issue me my sticker (and protected it with my life as I hadn't gotten my stateroom card at that point lol) and moved on.

 

We went to the dining booth and explained we had gotten the 3N dining package. I had expected to be told that my first night reservations would be in my room and was very pleasantly surprised to be asked where we would like to dine for the three nights. We settled on Chops, Wonderland and 150 Central Park. The crew member went about arranging the reservations and came back with a concerned look, saying that as Wonderland and 150 Central Park were meant to be adult venues, we should be prepared to take our kids out if they fuss during dinner and that we might not be able to get appropriate food for them. No problem with that. However today, I went to check the menus and was surprised to see a kids menu for 150 CP. So I'm not entirely sure that it's not child friendly. We were also told that the amounts we had paid for the children would be refunded back to our account as OBC and are currently waiting for that to be reflected in our stateroom.

 

We had lunch at Sorrentos because Promenade Cafe was full. It was so so. I really kicked myself when I realised we could have gone to Park Cafe or Coastal Kitchen instead for lunch - it just didn't cross my mind duh. The freestyle machines in Sorrentos were both out of order and there was a sign pasted there informing of the same. Unfortunately the sign was only in English and so there were non-English speaking people eagerly trying to fill their cups without realising the machines weren't working.

 

We finished our lunch and headed to our cabin. The ship is beautiful. Spanking new, great understated decor and just so elegant. It was also very big and we got lost LOL. DH went to find directions to our cabin and returned to say we should go right to the front as he was told our cabin was very forward. I was puzzled as I thought I would never book a fwd cabin given DH's motion sickness but followed since he had gone to seek directions from the staff. Turns out I was right (phew!) and we were actually quite centrally located. Not a biggie but it was a long walk down the narrow corridor for us. I am sure with time the crew and repeat passengers will become more familiar with the ship.

 

The cabin. I'm not sure we could ever go back to a "normal" stateroom. The cabin was so spacious and very well appointed, with a huge master bedroom and wonderful living area. Perfect. Bed was very comfortable and we all had a good first night's rest. Verandah was nice and big as well so to us, it was all very luxurious. We were also surprised to find, neatly placed on our bed, our platinum pins. We were not expecting them as we have been platinum for a number of cruises already but it was really nice seeing them anyway.

 

The cabin is our favourite place onboard and also the place where most of the service lapses have occurred. First, I had requested for a medical fridge in advance, not once but twice (in case RCL forgot) but it was not in our room when we arrived. It was only about six hours later when it arrived. We had our ice bags with us so the delay wasn't the problem. The problem was that they didn't seem to have our request on record (we had gotten acknowledgments from the special needs department both times) and seemed reluctant to rectify the situation. We were told "there's a fridge in your room - it's quite cold" when we called housekeeping. When they finally sent someone down, ostensibly to bring in the fridge, the person came empty handed and proceeded to check if there was indeed a fridge in the room and told us it was under the television...which we obviously already knew. I am not sure if it's all one big miscommunication but felt there was a better way around the problem.

 

The second service lapse was the result of an IT problem. I was trying to get the menus of the MDR on screen but couldn't find them. I brought it to the attention of my stateroom attendant who said oh it would appear after sailing. However, the menus did not show even after we came back from dinner. I called room service to enquire and the crew member who was initially quite brusque ("are you entitled to in room dining?") was very nice when he realised it was a technical fault. He told us to call room service any time we wanted to order from the MDR menu and they would send the menus to us. He also said he would inform IT about the omission.

 

This afternoon we called room service asking for the lunch menu and were rebuffed by the person on the line saying it wasn't their job and they would send us the menu but that really it was the responsibility of the stateroom attendant to have a brown folder with all the menus. Well, point taken but first, we didn't know and second, her colleague had told us the previous night to contact them. We asked our stateroom attendant for the brown folder and were told these were no longer placed in the room as they are now available on the TV. When we explained about our technical problem and asked for him to send up the folder, I was told that the menu is the same as what was placed on the table. Which was the generic room service menu. I told him no it's the expanded menus that I was talking about and was met with a "OH you want the in suite menu and not the normal menu? Ok I'll ask my supervisor to send someone to deliver to you." We were frankly a little put off by the tone of the delivery. I must have said main dining room menus about ten times in our conversation. Oh well.

 

Apart from the above, and one grouchy On Air bartender, service everywhere else has been exemplary. Concierge was efficient, the kids club staff were fantastic and we feel there's a great friendly vibe on the ship. We have eaten breakfast at CK and last night's dinner at Chops and wait staff at both venues have been excellent.

 

One thing we really missed in the stateroom was the ability to turn down the volume of the announcements. The 7-month old is quite sensitive so gets a fair bit of nap disruption each time there are announcements. Good thing they don't stay 7-months old forever. :)

 

Foodwise, we haven't eaten enough on this ship to say for certain. We all thought Chops was way too salty (every course except dessert). We ordered in lunch from the MDR today and it was very enjoyable which leads me to believe the saltiness in Chops is not due to over sensitive tastebuds. Breakfast at Coastal Kitchen was very enjoyable in equal part due to the ambience so will reserve judgment until we have had another meal there.

 

I realised that for me, having a Royal replenish package made me drink more and think more about keeping myself hydrated. Not a bad thing. And I love the smoothies from Vitality Cafe. It's something I will definitely think about getting again in December when we sail on the Mariner.

 

It's been a really fun cruise so far and I only wish we had a longer voyage; it's impossible to sample everything on a 5-night sailing!

[KiwiGal117]

Thank you for sharing... if I may ask a question, were you given the Inaugural Season hats and flags that others had on the earlier sailings?

[bertrande]

Thank you for sharing... if I may ask a question, were you given the Inaugural Season hats and flags that others had on the earlier sailings?

 

 

No, not given. But I did see some inaugural merchandise for sale.

[swoopy2110]

Did they have the roaming staff with iPads in the terminal or was it at the desks?

[bertrande]

Did they have the roaming staff with iPads in the terminal or was it at the desks?

 

 

Was at the desks. It was all manual, if I recall correctly.

[setsail]

If you used Sl/CK there is a rack or a place in there where all the mdr/Sr. Menus are kept, but they should be in cabin /on tv also

 

On O/A the fridges in the room have been cold enough for meds

Edited June 8, 2016 by setsail

[bertrande]

If you used Sl/CK there is a rack or a place in there where all the mdr/Sr. Menus are kept, but they should be in cabin /on tv also

 

On O/A the fridges in the room have been cold enough for meds

 

 

Thanks - will have to take a look at the rack!

 

The minibar was not cold at all when we entered the room and stayed the same for much of the first day - there was also tremendous sweating going on. Workers came the second day and it is now working. It is quite cold now (and definitely colder than the usual minibar we have encountered on ships) but not nearly cold enough for breast milk, which, in addition to the vitamins and meds we have, is also kept in the fridge in sizeable volume and stored over a number of days. We feel more comfortable with a medical fridge for this purpose.

[Thelongos]

Hi Bertrande,

 

Thank you for posting the review, it's very informative.

[streamlines]

Silly question but what time was All aboard in Barcelona and what time was the muster drill. We are on the harmony in just over 2 week and trying to work out what times things are on the first day.

[TxStacey]

Did you have a specific check in time to board the ship or did you just show up when you wanted to? Just wondering if they really stick to the time that they give you or if you can board earlier? Thanks for taking the time to check in while you are on board!

[bertrande]

Hi Bertrande,

 

 

 

Thank you for posting the review, it's very informative.

 

 

Pleasure! I'm getting the blues now that we are halfway through.

 

Silly question but what time was All aboard in Barcelona and what time was the muster drill. We are on the harmony in just over 2 week and trying to work out what times things are on the first day.

 

 

All aboard was 4.30pm if I recall. Muster was at 5.30pm and the ship sailed shortly after. We had two medical emergencies that first evening and the ship returned to Barcelona and also had a helicopter come out to us.

 

Did you have a specific check in time to board the ship or did you just show up when you wanted to? Just wondering if they really stick to the time that they give you or if you can board earlier? Thanks for taking the time to check in while you are on board!

 

 

We had 12pm-1230pm printed on our Set Sail passes. We arrived shortly before noon and got through very quickly as lines were still very manageable. Didn't have to wait till it was noon or anything. Hope this helps!

[TxStacey]

Yes thanks for your reply! Have a great cruise!

[A&L_Ont]

Thanks for your cruise update. I wish there was a volume control in the cabin as well. Hopefully that will be the last of your problems, and it will be smooth sailing going forward.

[Princessa7]

Hi,

 

Do you perhaps have the cruise compasses?