As with the two previous cruises we took with Royal Caribbean, this cruise was terrific. We arrived several days early so we could explore Barcelona, especially Barre Gotic as well as taking a half-day tour with Barcelona Day Tours.

Our embarkation and disembarkation experiences were very good and smooth. As other reviews and news stories will note, the Harmony of the Seas is currently the largest cruise ship. There were 7,016 guests on the cruise (our previous in the Western Mediterranean on Legend of the Seas has about 3,300 guests). Although the promenade deck (5) was occasionally a little crowded, we did not experience any problems or concerns.

The layout of the ship in the seven neighborhoods was really nice. The ship offers a wonderful variety of on-board activities. The food was terrific. Our main dining room waiter (Celino) and assistant waiter (Irma) were outstanding -- very personable, friendly, efficient and, when asked, helpful. They provided excellent and attentive service. We enjoyed our oceanview balcony stateroom and our stateroom attendant (Diogo) was very good. We found the vast majority of the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Read more