Harmony of the Seas review

[BigKFamily]

Hi, all,

 

Hubby and I just returned from our 8th Royal Caribbean Cruise, our first on Harmony of the Seas (Oct. 1 - 8). Somehow after 15 years of telling my cruise-averse brother and his wife how fabulous a cruise can be, they finally joined us and were blown away.  So I thought I'd share our impressions, from veterans and newbies alike.

 

1. My brother is an amputee, and walks with a prosthetic leg; for anything longer than 20 yards or so, he uses a motorized wheelchair.  They initially had concerns about accessibility, especially in the stateroom.  We booked them an accessible room, with a balcony overlooking Central Park; we were a few doors down, also overlooking Central Park on the 14th deck.  Beautiful view! Their room had plenty of room for his wheelchair, including in the bathroom.

2. Check in was a breeze!  I am normally a compulsive rule follower, but despite a 1:30 assigned check-in time, we arrived at the terminal a little before 10:30 a.m., and were on the ship by 10:50.  My brother was complimenting everyone there, "You guys are a well-oiled machine."

3. We sailed Oasis in 2014, so the layout was familiar, but there were a few noticeable differences.  The Solarium has hot tubs but no pool, which we thought was odd.  The dining room is 3 levels, but is oddly shaped, so even at the railing it's hard to see above or below.  Ordinarily you don't notice it, until they bring out the cooking staff to be thanked and you can't see them.  We did the early seating, and went to the main dining room every night.  The food was terrific every single time.  I know there are big fans of the specialty restaurants here, but for what we pay to cruise, we partake of what is included, and were never disappointed.  My brother and his wife were impressed with the level of service, and friendliness of everyone.  

4. The shows were unbelievable.  A Fine Line in the Aqua Theater was just amazing!  We saw Grease and Columbus: The Musical and loved them.  The ice show (I forget the name,) Love & Marriage, stand up comedy ... all of them were great.  We went to the Crazy Quest, which we have always found hilarious in the past, and were somewhat disappointed.  Maybe a few new ideas are in order.

5. The app has been improved since we last cruised so you actually get notified when someone in your group sends a message.  By the way, maybe everyone but us already knew this, but you can save yourself some money by purchasing internet for one person with two devices, as opposed to two people with one device each.  Just share the login.

6. With more and more people used to carrying around their own refillable water bottles, RC is going to have to begin finding a way to allow convenient ways to refill them.  Most ice and water machines are marked "No Water Bottles."  Some of us fill cups and pour it into the water bottles, but lots of people are using the machines regardless.

7. Elevators are always a challenge, especially when you HAVE to use them.  We were pleasantly surprised when people allowed my brother to go first, even when they had been waiting.  Some even vacated elevators for him.  Our only frustration was actually from RC itself.  At our first port, they announced the gangway was on deck 3.  After finally catching an elevator there, staff said, "Oh, there's an escalator to deck 2, so go back to the elevator."  That wasn't too bad, since most people were getting off.  The real problem actually came on departure day.  We had an excursion scheduled in Miami, and they told us to meet in the Schooner Bar on Deck 6.  When it came time for our group to depart, they headed for the stairs for the exit on deck 5.  We tried and tried to get an elevator, but of course, every single person on the ship was now packed into elevators going to 5!  My brother had to walk down the stairs with my husband carrying the wheelchair.  What would a person do if they didn't have that ability?  Poor planning on RC's part!

8. The walking track is on Deck 5.  It's nice that they've learned NOT to put it on the pool deck!

 

All in all, we were so happy that they enjoyed the cruise so much and are already considering another.  

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

So glad to hear that you (and particularly your brother!) had such a great experience. It's nice to hear from people who enjoyed themselves. 🙂 

 

[cruiser0216]

Thanks for the review! We're trying to convince some cruise-averse friends to join us vets on the harmony this spring. So far, no such luck. 🤷‍♀️ 

 

Curious, where did you eat for embarkation lunch? We're looking for a less crowded option. 

[loman]

Glad your cruise was enjoyable . 

We were on the harmony last month and enjoyed it also. 

We started lunch at the pizza joint as the windjammer is a zoo on embarkation day. 

We then went to the solarium bistro which was almost empty and had a little more to eat.

Less selection there but enough of a selection and has a nice salad bar also.

[fenton04]

We booked harmony November 2024.  This was very helpful.

[BigKFamily]

On 10/10/2023 at 6:59 PM, cruiser0216 said:

Thanks for the review! We're trying to convince some cruise-averse friends to join us vets on the harmony this spring. So far, no such luck. 🤷‍♀️ 

 

Curious, where did you eat for embarkation lunch? We're looking for a less crowded option. 

 

We went to the Solarium Bistro.  Plenty of options, but we easily found seating.  

[volk904]

We were on this cruise.  I enjoyed the Harmony.  After reading on the dining room menu complaints I can say it was petty good.  Maybe not 10 years ago but our family of 5 found things we liked every night.  On Lobster night I ordered the Filet to go with it.  It was very good.   Grease was a pretty good show.  We did not see Columbus because it was canceled over a prop issue.  Overall the staff was very good in my opinion.  On thing I like about the Oasis class is eating breakfast and lunch in places other than the Windjammer.  We enjoyed the Park Cafe for breakfast and lunch several times.  The Solarium Bistro was good and we also like Johnny Rockets for Breakfast. Biggest complaint was JR  has limited hours for Breakfast and the manager kep closing early so we missed a few times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SAS21]

Does Park Cafe serve coffee and hot tea?

 

[LHARTWICK]

Thanks for the review and glad you had a wonderful time!  We sail on Harmony in December for the first time.  Did you book show reservations before embarkation day, and if so, how far in advance did the reservations open?  Our check-in begins today, but so far the reservations aren't open.  Looking foward to Grease especially.  Sailed Allure last year and loved it, so we are definitely looking forward to Harmony!

[rondl1]

Did you happen to see the thermal spa?