We have sailed with Royal Caribbean many times before, and have loved all our previous cruises. We booked this trip mainly for the Western Mediterranean Cruise from Rome since we wanted to spend time in Rome afterward; when we found out that it was going to be on the Harmony and how huge the ship was, we were worried, as we hadn't been on a ship larger than the Explorer of the Seas-- however, we were happy to try t and excited to try something new.

The Good: Check-in time was very fast and easy; we were on-board and able to relax with some champagne and wait comfortably until our room was ready right before 1:00. Our Junior Suite was spacious and very clean; we loved having the lounge chairs on the balcony and the balcony design which didn't block views when sitting. Our room attendant was attentive and tracked down our missing luggage. (However he was not as attentive as other room attendants as we have had on other ships.) Our dining room meals were very good; we enjoyed our meals, and our waiter was good, we had an excellent table. The Maitre'D was terrific and went out of his way to make us happy. We enjoyed our excursions to Naples, Pompeii and Barcelona, and loved Portevenere and Cinque Terre. Room Service was a pleasure for breakfast in the morning, and we like the complimentary treats we received one evening. "Grease" was very good and fun, the "1887" ice show was enjoyable, and "The Fine Line" was absolutely amazing and jaw-dropping. The Solarium was a nice place to escape the crowds of people some days.

The Bad: The Harmony of the Seas is way too big. It is so big that Royal Caribbean cannot provide the kind of service it touts and we have been provided on all our other cruises. We noticed the lack of friendliness from the crew when passing them on other parts of the ship-- so many of them look unhappy. Service is lackluster. In addition, we were told to make reservations for shows, which we did; yet, Royal Caribbean staff allowed people and kids to push into the shows late, and did nothing when kids ran up and down the aisles, blocking views, or jumped up and down on the seats and were disruptive, making it difficult to enjoy "Grease". Read more