This ship is new and beautiful. There are a few things that I would recommend them adding and changing such as, the soda package comes with a refillable plastic cup which is nice and eco friendly but the problem I am having is there is only about two soda machines accessible and most of the time one is closed your forced to go to the one at the pizza restaurant. Also, I would recommend longer hours for things such as food places etc. if you don't make it to dinner your stuck eating the same thing late night m, your two options are pizza or this small sandwich spot across from the pizza place thats all... on a cruise you expect there to be things like food places open for a much later time with much more options. Also, ice cream spots are very limited as well at close at 7pm so if you want some later on in the evening its not open. Now on to other things the ship itself is very nice and new we loved the ship. I do recommend more pools as it gets very packed on sea days. Staff all around has been amazing. Our house keeping lady Nancy is truly the kindest person ever!!! She always checks in with us and greets us at all times & helps us with anything we need she is amazing!!! Thank you Nancy! Your hard work is truly appreciated. For entertainment we saw the Greece show which was awesome! We also saw the Aqua show that was one awesome show as well very talented actors. Over all it was an amazing cruise with a few changes it would be the best cruise. I do recommend it. Read Less

I sailed with my two adult children and 8 yr old granddaughter. We chose this ship for her and the myriad of things for her to do. The ship is beautiful and my cabin, a superior balcony, was very roomy with a lot of storage. The balcony was roomy also, with two lounge chairs and foot rests. We dined in many different areas of the ship. The Icon restaurant, one of the main dining rooms we loved. The food was very good and many choices. Breakfast and lunch can be al a cart or buffet style. But patrons are allowed to do both if they desire. The buffet, was also good. We rotated all of them with the MDR except on formal nights. No dressing up for this group. There are many activities available for adults and children. My granddaughter enjoyed the children's club and the many slides and pools that were available. The shows were good and were enjoyed by all. Very talented people on board. Don't miss the Aqua show. The ports were not great, with Roatan, being the worst if you do not scuba. And most of all, the service was great. We had no complaints. The MDR waiters are attentive and helpful. Thank you to Chris at breakfast, and Win at dinner. Now, for the disappointments. We drove to Port Canaveral. There was no signage available, to guide us to the terminal. I rented a scooter from Special Needs Group and I was not pleased. The scooter would not hold it's charge and it just stopped twice and almost left me stranded. For this reason, I did not get off the ship. It was charged daily overnight and once in the afternoon for two hours, to get me through the evening. It should have some kind of odometer available to let the person how far they have traveled. I do not think I exceeded the distance, since I was just on the ship. I did file a claim and they said it would take one week to review. I am anxious to see what happens. Even with these problems, I would go on this ship again, only with a different itinerary. Read Less

We chose this cruise for a family vacation and it did not disappoint! What an amazing ship and the staff was wonderful. It never felt overly crowded and we hardly ever had to wait in lines except for my time dining and that was not bad at all. We had 7:45pm reservations every night and we waited maybe 15 to 20 mins tops. We sailed from Port Canaveral. Embarkation and Disembarkation were a breeze! We drove and tipped a porter on the sidewalk to take our bags. We then practically walked right onto the ship with no lines or problems whatsoever! The ship was amazing. It was so clean and there was plenty to do as far as entertainment and activities. We did see Grease and the Fine Line Aqua show. Both were wonderful although Grease was a bit long. My only complaint is that they charged for popcorn for the show. I thought that was a bit cheap but the entertainment was excellent. We also caught the Love and Marriage show, which was quite funny and a couple of pool contests like sexy man and belly flop. These are always fun and entertaining. Our children are 18 and 20 so we really enjoyed the solarium in the late afternoons. It would have been nice to have a pool in the solarium but the hot tubs were wonderful and plentiful with cooling stations. There always seemed to be plenty of pool chairs and we never felt like the ship was over the top crowded. For dining, we did the my time dining because there were no reservations left. This was our first time doing that. It was nice to be able to go whenever if we didn’t show up right on time for our reservation but we missed not getting to know a specific group of servers. We had a different set of servers every night. The service was good but not as good as what we have experienced when we had regular times and the same set of servers. We did not choose any specialty dining as we have done this on past cruises and do not find the food to be that much better. The windjammer was the best windjammer we have eaten at so far with a large variety of quality good food available. The solarium restaurant had a nice salad bar. The park cafe had a wonderful selection of paninis for lunch and breakfast. Sorrentos Pizza was good. There was always a nice selection of pizza. Small bites was the only place to get chips and cheese unless you pay at Sabor, which we did not. They were just ok. We had nice chips and salsa off the boat but it would be nice if they would bring this back in the windjammer with Guacomole and some chunk cheese and crackers. We did not get a chance to try the dog house. We did order coffee and basic fruit as room service but the options are limited for breakfast and we enjoyed main dining and park cafe for our breakfast options. Overall the food was very good. The bars were great! We really enjoyed the Mimosas and Bloody Mary bar in the pub. The schooner bar is always a fav and their lavender daquari is amazing! Boleros has a coconut mojito that is wonderful. Wonderland is fun to pop into for a nice drink and to check out the scenery. Vintages had a nice wine selection. All the pool bars were great with very little wait time and the solarium was the best. All staff were polite and quick. The customer service on this ship is top notch! Our cabin was on the 7th floor. We had an extended balcony. It was wonderful. The rooms on this ship are laid out so nice with lots of storage space and drawers for clothes. We each had our own closet on either side of the room. The bathroom was roomier than any of the other royal ships we have been on. Our stateroom attendant was our favorite so far. She went out of her way to make sure we had a wonderful experience. The excursions were great. Coco Cay is wonderful and it is so nice that Royal honors your drink package and food on the island. The lunch was wonderful. We stayed on Chill Island for most of the day and did go to the pool with swim up bar for a bit. It was busy but so fun. We ended up spending $40 on 2 lounge mats for the day for the beach. I’m not sure that was worth it. I noticed some people brought their own small blow up loungers with netting and I would probably pack something easy like that for next time but the loungers were nice. Next we went to Cozumel and ended up booking an excursion at Mr. Sanchos all Inclusive. It was awesome and we cant wait to go back. I reviewed that on Trip Advisor and that is where I found them. Next, we went to Honduras. I booked Little French Key all island access pass. This was amazing!!! I booked directly online and have also reviewed them on Trip Advisor as this is where I found this excursion. Last we went to Costa Maya. We just got off the ship and shopped around the port. It was a lot of aggressive vendors on the inside that were willing to cut the prices if you started to walk away and a lot of expensive vendors in stores surrounding this. I probably would not get off the ship next time. They did have a pool and swim up bar people seemed to be enjoying. Overall this is our 7th cruise and the best yet! We would love to go back on Harmony of the Seas! Read Less

We booked this cruise (for my mother and me) about three weeks prior to embarkation, leaving few cabin options. We ended up in an ocean view balcony cabin, which would not have been my first choice (I usually book a Junior Suite), but it was fine -- more on that later. Embarkation was surprisingly smooth. I use a wheelchair, which always complicates matters. But we went through security quickly, then, having checked in online, the rest of the process was quick. I made my way to the area where the scooters were, and was given the option of leaving my wheelchair at the port and just taking the scooter onto the ship. This made a lot of sense (space being at a premium on board), and my mother and I boarded within a few minutes. No one took our photograph at embarkation, setting up a pattern on voyage. We boarded hand luggage in tow, and headed for the Windjammer, where we proceeded to have lunch. As per usual on embarkation day, the Windjammer was packed. As per usual for the Windjammer, lunch was uninspired. Service was good. After lunch, we made our way to our cabin (7592), and proceeded to unpack. Now, let me explain something. I packed a (European) carry-on sized Samsonite and a personal item. My mother went old-school cruise, packing what she calls a "medium" suitcase (bigger than my large suitcase) and her carry-on suitcase (larger than my carry-on). Somehow, she still complains about my packing style, because I, "Carry too much." Anyhow . . . I placed my packing cubes into a drawer in the cabin, and my formal night dresses (knit) I placed into one of the closets. I was unpacked, basically. My mother's unpacking was much more complicated, and her suitcase took up quite a bit of room in the cabin, especially given how much room the scooter took up. There was no room under the bed. Sigh. The balcony had bits of food that had not been cleaned up from a prior occupant still lying about. As to dining: We went to Chops, Izumi, and 150 Central Park (we had the 3 night specialty dining package). Chops was very good, as usual. The food was very good, as was the service. It is a solid choice (if you are a steak lover). At Izumi, we went to the sushi side. The food is excellent (obviously, you have to like sushi). However, service is on the slow side. The emphasis here seems to be on the hibachi side, and the sushi restaurant gets shortchanged. This is a real shame. They simply don't have the staff for the number of guests coming in. We had to wait to make a reservation. We had to wait (a remarkably long time) to be seated. The wait time for our food was unacceptably long (we ended up missing a reservation for a show that night). In contrast, 150 Central Park was a delight. Excellent food. Excellent service. The highlight of our cruise. I am still salivating over the pumpkin bisque. The MDR (American Icon for us) was kind of a mess this time (this was our second time on HOTS, FWIW). Very long lines in spite of reservations for dining, every single night. Disorganized waitstaff that often seemed to take exceedingly long to fulfill simple orders for things like soda and sparkling water. We missed reservations to another show due to slow service in the MDR. The Windjammer was terrible. I just will never understand. So much food there, and so much of it cold when it is supposed to be hot, completely unappetizing, and just . . . blech! One day, in despair, I asked for a cheeseburger. One of the gentlemen behind the counter rather dismissively told me there were the burgers, then pointed to the squares of cheese product. Fine. I made myself a cheeseburger. Arrived at my table, and found. that the burger, which had been sitting under heating lamps, was somehow cold and greasy. I set it aside after one bite. End of meal. We were disappointed to find that little things had changed, too: If you were dining in a specialty restaurant, there were no photographers to take your picture. The Shrek and Madagascar characters who had roamed the ship are no longer around. Bingo (one of my mother's favorite activities) was sometimes in the afternoon (yay!) sometimes late at night (making it unlikely that my mother, a senior citizen and avid bingo enthusiast, would partake). Our cabin attendant was terrific -- he went above and beyond, every day. Both my mother and I had our hair done at the spa by different people, and both of us had good experiences. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and had fun. However, it sometimes felt like the ship was understaffed. Read Less

EMBARKATION-Very organized, quick, and easy DEBARKATION-Easy and well explained the night before and the day of leaving SHIP-Exceptional, elevators can be a problem on Embarkation and Debarkation,also after the popular shows. Best to take stairs, if you are able. Staterooms are very adequate for three people, four people would be tight. Bathrooms are definitely a one person only. Definitely bring your own shampoo and conditioner (none provided). Our room 12581 & 12580 were well appointed and very quiet. Water slide lines can get long, but they move quickly and they are well worth the wait. The Abyss, dry slide, is fun, but not as challenging or scary as they make it sound. Many of the activities are well supervised and cover everyone’s choices from small children to adults. SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS- 150 North Central, Chops Grille, and Izumi Hibachi are amazing. Service was outstanding and menu choices covered anyone’s pallet from meat to vegetarian. Beef choices was excellent and very good quality. Seafood was very tender, large portions and the shrimp was large and meaty. AMERICAN ICON GRILL DINING ROOM-Service was excellent and main entree choices was excellent. EXCURSIONS-Perfect Day at CocoCay for our day was cut short due to severe storms. While we were able to go on the slides before the storms rolled in, were a lot of fun and yes, the lines do get very long. If there is lightning within 10 miles of the island all water slides get shut down. They do reopen when they get the “all clear” signal. Unfortunately their was such a severe storm that hit the island they shut down the island and very efficiently had everyone get back on the ship. Royal Caribbean is such a high class ship they refunded everyone’s money if they paid for the Thrillpark portion of the island. St. Thomas-We had seen the town and did shopping on pervious cruises, so we opted for the St. John On Your Own. DO NOT , I repeat DO NOT. Do this tour!! This was totally misrepresented in the excursion detail. It showed and explained that you would be dropped off at a beach and be picked up at a designated time to get back to the ship. WRONG! We were dropped off at a pier and told if you want a beach you had to walk three miles one way in very unsafe conditions. Dirt, rocks, and stones on a man made path. Nobody knew that we went this way and we were all in bathing suits and flip flops. Finally made it to Honeymoon Beach, no chairs, no drinking water, and nothing around. Please do not do this tour especially if you have younger children. St. Maarten- we chose the Power Boat tour with lunch. Well worth the money and excellent narration of the island and the many different areas. Overall this was more than all of us ever expected. Looking forward to going on another Royal Caribbean cruise in two years. Have to save money for the newer ship in 2021. Read Less

The service at dinner was great. And the visit to Magen’s bay was fantastic. Other than that, the weather was quite unpredictable, coco cay was not perfect, all excursions cancelled because of stormy weather, we were able to enjoy part of the day. Be warned that you cannot do lap swim on the ship, the pool is very small, crowded and dirty. Jacuzzi was good. They put the smoking section near the swimming pool. You will smell quite a bit of ship exhaust in the sports area and the aqua theater. The surf rider if you don’t know what you are doing don’t ride the surf, you can get seriously injured. The food was okay, most of it was salty. The breakfast and lunch have little variety, if you have a balcony get it at mid or front section to avoid the exhaust. We did not do the tour on st marten , the beach there are many scammers trying to get you pay fit chair and umbrella. It is not a bad cruise, we had plenty of bad luck, it is definitely one of the worst I had gone, the cabin lock did not work at first Read Less

We chose this cruise specifically because it had childcare service for our two year old toddler. We are a family of four with 2 kids a nine year old and the toddler. The itinerary was ok as we have been to the Caribbean many times but not to Labadee and we’re eager to explore San Juan. The ship is beautiful and embarkation was a breeze. The ship is tastefully decorated and a welcome relief from the garish decor of the Carnival ships. There is lots to do and we took advantage of all of it - the pools, slides, carousel and the zip line. We chose a boardwalk view cabin to save on cost. The room was small but had good storage. The bathroom was small but adequate. The balcony is teensy. There was a partial ocean view. We did not partake in much of the entertainment but what we did see was top notch. The bars were all very good but beware of high drink prices - think $13 Mojitos. Basic beers are $8 plus the high tips just makes the drinks even more expensive. We did not buy the drink packages and our final tab confirms we did not drink enough to justify it. We like to stay in shape and the fitness center was well equipped but sometimes very crowded. There is access to a very nice jogging track. I like to use the sauna to detox and relax but there is none - except in the spa for a fee. :-( The food was hit or miss. I had high expectations with RCL but was frankly disappointed. The Windjammer was fine good choices and mostly tasty but the food in the main dining room consisted of over cooked seafood or grisly steaks. My wife, a vegetarian was lacking in choice as there we nearly none. Desserts were blah. Service was spotty as well. The cabin steward was ok but we received towel animals only two nights where on Carnival it’s every night. My kids get a kick out of it. In the main dining room we chose my time dining due to the lack of information on the babysitting service prior to sailing.. I didn’t realize My Time meant waiting 30-45 minutes for a table! All this while paying for child care. :-( Ports: LABADEE We loved Labadee so many activities and very nice. Wish we were provided a list of activities or a map beforehand we could have planned it better. The zip line looked real fun. SAN JUAN We didn’t go due to protesters in San Juan. i understand the reasons for safety sake, but no alternative ports offered as well as no credits. Not good customer care if you ask me. ST MARTIN We took an independent excursion to the beach it was just ok. The island is very dry right now and recovering from the hurricane. PROS: Our kids loved the ship my toddler especially loved the carousel. The camps and baby services were excellent. The pools and amenities were really good, lots to do. Entertainment was top notch. Good and varied bars. CONS: Average food especially in the MDR. High drink prices, and the TIPS. Oh my you are now paying $58 per cabin for a family of 4 PER DAY! Plus drink tips! Yikes. I also felt that RCL should have offered something for the loss of one port. We got nothing. Wait times in the MDR were ridiculous. Would I sail RCL again? Probably not, at least for a while. They charge a premium over the other lines such as Carnival and NCL, presumably for better food and service. But the gap is closed and I don’t see the need to spend the extra $$. Read Less

My husband and I are frequent cruisers with RCCL, but this was our first time on Harmony. We have always driven down in the past since we live in South Carolina, but decided to fly this time (so much better!!). We caught a direct flight out of Charlotts for a good price, and booked hotel and transportation with Go Port Canaveral. Flew into Orlando, caught hotel shuttle to hotel for the night, then the shuttle to the port the next morning. Easy peasy. Embarkation was a breeze! RCCL now has employees with tablets posted at the front of some lines to check people in who already have their Set Sail pass printed and ready to scan, so take time before your cruise to do the online check-in and print your passes!! We were on the ship within 10 minutes, and our ship cards were waiting at our room. So easy! Our room was ready at 1pm sharp, and was beautiful! We had our usual Central Park balcony, as on the Oasis OTS, but the layout was different and the room seemed much more spacious! Very clean, cool, comfortable, included a bottle of wine and some extras. My only complaint is that the pillows were extremely flat. I recently had a disc replacement in my neck so by the end of the cruise I was really hurting. My fault for not bring my own pillow. We went to eat in the WIndjammer, which was busy but manageable. Food was yummy. They were REALLY pushing the deluxe beverage package, offering buy one, get one 50%. We never get the beverage package, but after cruising on Norwegian Sky with drinks included we decided to try it on RCCL. Almost $900 later, we had our drink package and began enjoying it immediately. Drinks were mostly good but bars got crowded and slow, and kids using the bar areas did not help! Parents and RCCL: PLEASE keep kids out of the bars, at least prohibited from sitting at the bar and ordering sodas. There are other places to get sodas. Leave the bars to adults drinking bar beverages. Especially where the seating is limited, like the Rising Tide Bar. I get it, it goes up and down and kids dig it, but a bar is for adults and we should be able to find a seat not occupied by kids eating pizza with their faces in their phones. Sea days were fantastically relaxing! Roaming the ship, watching the Flow Rider surfers, shopping, CASINO!!! (I love this casino has a non-smoking side! As a heart patient who can't be around smoke, it's lovely to enjoy a casino!) We ate in the dining room once, with My Time dining. Luckily I reserved our time online in advance because the non-reservation was ridiculously long! Windjammer was really good for dinner and lunch, as was Solarium Bistro and room service. I cannot say enough about the ports we visited (besides Coco Cay which we didn't participate in due to the upcharges). 1. In Costa Maya we booked the Port Pass excursion thru the ship and that was great! Included tequila tour and tasting, chocolate theatrical tour and tasting, and aviary which was very cool. And 3 free drinks per person. All without leaving the cruise port! 2. In Roatan we booked a private tour with Daniel Johnson's Monkey and Sloth Sanctuary. One of his tour guides, Felicia, picked us up at the pier and drove us around the island before stopping at a chocolate factory, the animal sanctuary (phenomenal to hold a sloth and play with monkeys), the iguana and marine sanctuary (loved this! huge iguanas, lobsters, huge tarpon fish and amberjack fish), and a beautiful local restaurant with the best seafood and view right on the water! ) FYI: the ship offered an excursion to the monkey and sloth sanctuary for about $149 per person; we got a 5-hour private tour of the island, including the sanctuary and more, and paid $40 per person by booking directly with them. Plus, this ensures the islanders get all the financial benefit from our visit, not the cruise line. 3. In Cozumel we booked an excursion via Vacations To Go, called Taste of Mexico. This was so much fun and educational! We learned about the chocolate-making process, ground our own beans and made our own chocolate bars, enjoying authentic Mexican mole dip and chocolate with tequila drinks. We learned all about tequila: difference between sipping and mixing tequilas, the process of growing and harvesting blue agave plants, the proper way to drink sipping tequilas, and even got our own graduation certificates at the end! We also enjoyed the all-you-can-eat taco bar with home made tortillas. Entertainment, as always, was top notch! I, personally, found Grease to be a huge disappointment, but the aqua show, ice skating, Columbus musical, and everything else more than made up for it! Again, I was glad I reserved our seats and times online before the cruise because a lot of people without reservations did not get seats for some shows. All around, a great cruise that we will always remember and look forward to going again!! Read Less

Great ship, wonderful staff, but MUCH too crowded! It was FULL capacity! The pools were so crowded most were unable to swim, standing room only! I was truly disappointed in the food. American Icon lines were worse than Disney! The Key lunch was great and then it went downhill quickly. Three times I had to send food back and I am not a "foodie". Jamie's Italian was expensive for okay Italian food. I could not text my granddaughter because I had an I phone and she had a Samsung and were unable to communicate with each other except for email. Royal needs to specify that fact. They recommended using Whatsapp, she did not have it and mine was inactive. We could not use the Royal App because she had to be thirteen in order to download it! The Internet was a total waste of money. Please be careful when ordering it. Shows were excellent and nothing at sea can compare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would do it again but approach the trip in a different way. Once again the staff was exceptional and are a HUGE factor in my four star review. Read Less

We chose this cruise for our honeymoon as it came highly recommended. Unfortunately we were ver disappointed with our experience. Day 1 - we were not let into our rooms till after 1pmm this left many passengers holding onto hand luggage meaning activity options were limited. None of the bars had menus out and the staff were only intrested in selling the drink packages rather than service. Day 2 - coco cay was a pleasant island but there was a lack of communication around what activities would be available along the beach. There was very little signage to tell you what drinks you could buy or where advertises activities were being held. Dinner at Icon grill was also a mess. The servers did their best with a very overbooked restaurant, but we were kept waiting for 20 minutes for a pre booked table. Our food then took so long to arrive that we missed a show we had booked for 2 hours after our dinner reservation. It was too noisy to even have a conversation with the person across the table so we ate in silence. Day 3 - at sea. Entertainment offered was great, however there were not many activities offered for entertainment. Rather most seemed to be focused on seeing how much they could get you to spend. This made for quite a boring day aboard. Day 4 - getting off the ship in Mexico was a mess. There was no organisation of your groups, rather we were told to go to the end of the pier at a certain time. The timeframes given to get to the designated area was ridiculous as it was set for 15 minutes after we were able to leave the ship, meaning everyone else was also trying to get off at the same time. My husband and I had also purchased a dining package and were told we can dine at any specialty restaurants. After dining at hibachi we were informed this was not included. We felt very ripped off as nowhere on the ship website is this outlined. We were also told at the end of the dining experience, removing our option to choose. Extremely disappointed as we spent a lot of money on this cruise with expectations of a relaxing vacation, when really we were sucked into a money eating scheme and have yet to see the benefit of the cost. Read Less

Long lines everywhere. Forever to get drinks at some bars. Room steward MIA.. Room service Non existent. TRIED 4 times. Once food never showed up Once received COLD horrible food. Twice received message that room service unavailable..even though ordered during "open" hours. We will not be booking any further MEGA ships. We did the same things and had as much fun as we have on smaller less expensive ships. It's impossible for the crew and ship to keep up with that volume of people!! Staff are overworked and stressed out. Not all. There were some that were great. Putra and Mark at pool bar were great..even though Putra was in the aqua show in addition to bartending 12 hours at pool bar. He would leave do the show and come back to bartend. ???? Staff spread toooo thin!! We still had a fabulous cruise. Ports were amazing !! Too big is a thing!!! Read Less

I had a great time and enjoyed being with my friends but there were pros and cons to the ship. I’ve been on six RCL cruises over the past 30 years so compared to my first cruise 30 years ago some things have gone downhill. My first cruise years ago was amazing. Every bite of food was absolutely delicious. The ship was gorgeous and the guests were treated like kings and queens. The staff was overly friendly and accommodating and would practically knock you down to say hello with a big smile on their face. I understand that with over 6000 passengers it’s a different experience but even The Majesty of the Seas, that I went on several years ago, the quality of the food had gone down. Pros HOTS- The entertainment was amazing! I loved the ice skating shows and the comedians were great. I was so glad they celebrated the 4th of July with the National Anthem and 2000 balloons. The ship was beautiful, especially Central Park. Cons- The food- Some things were good . I enjoyed the seafood and desserts but the meat and chicken were not good . They basically had the same menu each night except for one or two entrees and one or two desserts would be different There was no midnight buffet with the beautiful ice sculptures. That used to be one of the highlights of a cruise. There was no where to sit inside to enjoy the ocean view. All the bars and public places were in the center of the ship with no views. They charge you for a lot of things that used to be included. Also, they add on high gratuities on everything. We have always tipped well but now they automatically make you tip. Probably because some people didn’t tip well. I think for families it’s a fun ship but if you are looking for something a little more upscale for couples another cruise line might be a better choice. Read Less

We took our adult kids and grand kids (19 in total) and chose this ship because we had done Oasis in the past and the kids liked it. Also, we live in central Florida so it was easy to get everyone to the ship. The Harmony was nothing short of spectacular. We parked at Park Port Canaveral lot and got to the ship fairly early (noon) so check-in was a breeze. We were hesitant to do the buffet on embarkation day so we went to the Solarium buffet instead. It was much quieter and the food was fine. Dining: We had early dining for the group (2 tables of 10) and the only disappointment was that they have moved the dining to 5:00. That is very early, particularly on a port day. But we couldn't do my-time dining for a group of 19. The ages ranged from 5-up and all enjoyed the food immensely. We had 2 different waiters and asst. waiters and all were some of the best we have had on our 42 cruises. Nobody had a 'bad' meal any evening. Even the free steaks were quite good. Our teenaged grand kids are huge eaters and the waiters seemed to love trying to fill them up. We usually ate breakfast and lunch in the restaurant also and the food and service were great. We did have lunch at Jaimie's Italian in Central Park one day and it was fabulous. I highly recommend it. Ports: The revamped Coco Cay is beautiful with much better seating and more food options. Some of our group paid for the water park and were disappointed with the very long lines and crowds. They said that they would not do it again in the future. St. Thomas and St. Martin were simply standard Caribbean islands. Certainly nothing special. The kids all did water-related shore excursions and were happy with them. Entertainment: Here is where we had some disappointments. Usually we love the ice skating and aqua shows. The shows on the Harmony were terrible. They made no sense and were not well-choreographed. Neither show did a good job of showing off the talents of the young performers. Everyone leaving the Fine Line Aqua Show was saying 'what the heck was that all about?'. Really bad. 'Grease' was fine (singing, acting all ok) but we were surprised at the amount of sexual innuendo since we had 9 kids under age 18 there. The one bright spot was the group Mo5aic. We had seen them on the Oasis and they were fantastic. Activities: There seemed to be the standard activities and nobody seemed bored. We had good weather so the kids spent a lot of time on the water slides. We like to dance, though, and found there was basically no chance for ballroom/swing type of dancing. We were on the ship on the 4th of July and they did a great celebration. The running track was great as usual as was the gym. All the staff seemed happy and seemed to enjoy this ship. Complaints (gotta have a couple): This ship has the HOTTEST elevators we have ever experienced. No air conditioning and very crowded. Everyone was talking about it. Miserable when you were stopping at every floor. Prices of drinks. It used to be that drink prices were about half of what you would pay in a restaurant. Now they are more than you would pay. We paid $42 for a bottle of wine that we purchase regularly for $12. Our kids were glad that they had carried on wine and just had a glass in their room before dinner. Also, a glass of fresh orange juice at breakfast was $8. REALLY, $8?? Read Less

I have been on a total of 5 cruises, this was my 2nd time on Royal Caribbean. This was by far the worst experience I have had. There are those experiences you look forward to once you finally make it on the ship. You hear people talk about the giant party at the beginning as you sail away from the dock. You can't wait to see it for yourself, well my family and I where all ready for the sail away party but NOTHING no music or dancing on the top deck just tons of people confused. Apparently on this ship they try to crame 6500 people on deck 5 where you can't even move or see anything. Just imagine being in a small mall like setting, trying to watch a concert or show. With 6500 other people. No bigger them a basketball court. Having little kids with that many people is not safe. So we missed out on a lot of activities on that floor due to the safety of my children. And of you are interested in food at anywhere close to that time you are out of luck if you want to sit and eat as a family on your family cruise. The food was just ok nothing blew me out of the water. I have been on other cruise lines where the food was fantastic this was by far the worst food. Same thing over and over nothing different and the same all of the ship. You want the same burger you have 4 different places to get it but nothing different. The desserts were pathetic!! The pop machine where broken so you get flat 2 litters of Sprite to drink!! I mostly come on cruises for the food and energy you get from all the music and staff that make it fun. But I didn't get that energy till the last day on the ship. Kids things this was by far my most frustrating part of this cruise. If you say you are going to have face painting from 230-430 and someone gets there at 345 and they tell you sorry that your kid can't get it done because the line is too long is not ok!! This happened multiple times to use and not just on the face painting. It also happened on the moon light rockwall climbing which we got there an hour before it was supposed to close and was told no. If you tried to rock wall climb in the daytime your hands got burned so needless to say that was out. But once we walked back by the face painting booth to see all the kids with face paint and see different people at the end made me furious. They picked and chose who got to get the face painting done. Not a happy momma!! I also purchased the Deluxe Beverage package for my husband and I. I did this so I could order whatever I wanted and not worry about the bill at the end of the cruise. We that didn't work because I would get charged anyway even with my package. So I would have to take time out of my day to go down and sit in the line to talk to the guest service and explain what I ordered. One day while i was at guest service ( which i had to go to at least 5 times) I asked about the wrist bands you could purchase instead of your card. I was told they didn't have anymore which I thought was crazy because it was only the 1st full day of the cruise. He told me the inventory was gone. I am sorry were we not just docked so you could restock your inventory?!? Don't have something for certain guest and not all 6500 people. If I want to purchase something then I should be able to purchase it. And if I waited till maybe day 3 or 4 and they had sold out, I would have understood. But don't say you just don't have enough for everyone. That is crazy to me. Don't plan on using their app to message back and forth while on the ship. You spend more time fighting to keep it up on your phone and miss out on the messages you thought sent. The TV in your room was pointless!! Other cruise lines give you some type of free movies to watch and decent TV. Not on this ship! This ship you get to watch Duggie Hauser family matters and cricket! And the next day can watch the same episode again!! For a ship to not have a huge sporting event on somewhere in the ship is crazy!! On the same cruise line I have been talking about throughout this post they put the the world series games on over the pool so anyone who wanted to watch could and also had a pub in side that had it on aswell. Which means people with kids could still let the kids play while they watched the game. But you could watch Cricket anytime of the day. So as my mom was sick in bed the last 3 and half days she hated the TV! The kids splash pad was great except you had no room to move on the deck around it. The chairs with stools where on top of each other and if you had time to stand up and move you would trip on the one next to you. Another problem I had was this all inclusive?? What does that mean?? Because you had to pay 2.50 per bag of popcorn the side of a juice box! How is this all inclusive??? Other ships give you blankets as much popcorn as you want and a great movie!! The Icecream was so monitored you couldn't even make your own cone!! The kids always look forward to coming back from dinner and seeing what animal they made well we only received 3 out of 7 nights. My other cruise line we received 7 or 7 ! It is all about how your staffs energy reflex on to us as passengers! We really looked forward to this cruise because it was geared more towards kids then before. I will say of you have young kids this is not the ship for you!! Go on the Carnival you will have the time of your life and worth every penny. I do want to say that I had one great experience on this ship and that was our very last night our server Joseph and his right hand man made my girls laugh so hard and finally got to see what I was hoping for the whole cruise! They did magic tricks and even got to see the "pet" mouse!!! They truly made the last night special. I even had to head back early to make sure our luggage made it out by the door in time. He helped my husband carry all of our desserts from the hall back to our room!!! Thank you for making that one night special!! Needless to say I will most likely not go back on this ship while my kids are young. Thanks Read Less

Best Family Vacation we could have asked for. 2 early 50s adults with 18 and 22 y/o. Had two rooms (not together - decided late in process to get the 18 and 22 a separate inside room - best decision ever.) We had room 9594 - with large balcony. Food - we ate in MDR each night. Loved our waitstaff and was generally pleased with dinner options. The staff was very accommodating if our food wasn't exactly what we wanted. Breakfast and Lunch were mainly in the Windjammer or Solarium. LOVED Park Cafe in the morning - they had breakfast sandwiches/burritos - which broke the "buffet" style offerings. We had to change from My Time Dining to Second Session dining (b/c we made the room switch and ALL my reservations - dinner and shows were cancelled - DUMB way of doing it). But 2nd session worked great with our schedule. Stayed late at the pool or didn't have to rush when we were in port. Doors open at 7:45 and stay open until 8:15. Mini Bites was awesome if we wanted late snack to hold us until dinner. Room - Was awesome. We had balcony/ocean view. We had the larger balcony which gave us lots of room. Before dinner was heaven just sitting there watching the ocean go by. Our room steward was Ricardo - and he was a pleasure to work with. He even went out of his way for our kids room - b/c they were in the inside rooms and we couldn't find their steward. RC had them as one King bed and he called down and got it separated into 2 twin beds. Excursions - we hit a home run in both St. Thomas & St. Martin. CoCo Cay - we just went to beach, snorkeled on our own, visited the Oasis Pool, played in the Sand VB tournament, and ate at the Chill Island Grill. CHAIRS are everywhere. No need to worry about that. St. Thomas - we did the Champagne Snorkel Tour. TOP NOTCH! Staff was awesome, takes you to National Park on St. John - great snorkeling, ride back was super relaxing. A bit of traffic getting to and from so not much time to do anything else, but there are great little shops right at the dock, so easy to grab a few t-shirts before getting back on boat. St. Martin - we did the Rhino Rider tour. Again - excellent staff, FUN boats, they take you to a beach, let you snorkel for about 30 mins (snorkel are okay - nothing too exciting) and then you head back. Heading back they allow you to go rouge a little bit so was fun racing through the waters). After the excursion, the original bus driver had asked if anyone wanted to go to Maho Beach (were the planes fly over) and had a small bus ready to take us and another family over, leave us for a couple of hours and then came back to take us to the boat. We ate lunch and watched the planes. 2 hours there was too much time - but a fun experience. It is super crowded there. Ship - so much to do. We found the shows a little long and repetitive, but was glad we had made reservations. There were always seats for those that didn't make reservations, so don't stress on that part. The planned activities (i.e. - Pool VB, Belly Flop contest, Cannonball contest, etc. were a hoot and made our kids trip). The Bionic Bar was so fun...the drinks we made were hilarious and often tasted like cough syrup but is worth spending time there. Enjoyed Dazzles - was late to the talent show - but heard it was awesome. Casino seemed hopping. Didn't spend a lot of time there. And all the different little bars with music playing was very enjoyable. Really liked the Solarium when you wanted down time...soft jazz music played here (I read a complaint that there was no music here - but we had music every time I went in) Pools - pool for everyone. 2 middle pools were for everyone. 1 adult pool (16+ and life guards stick to that policy), 1 kiddie pool. And again - always found a chair. Sometimes not exactly where I wanted to be - but usually one would open and I could move. And lots of chairs in the shade too. (Never made any of the hot tubs - but SEVERAL on the pool deck) Drink Package - we did the Deluxe package with alcohol and felt like we got our money's worth. Always grabbed bottled waters on way to room. Great way to try new drinks, had wine at dinner, also includes milk shakes at Johnny Rockets...so a little of everything. Bartenders and Pool Runners were always around and never had to wait long. Check in/check out was a breeze. We did send our luggage down the night before and it was right where they said it would be. Customs looked like long line but went fast. What I would change: Bring back plastic straws (or at least give you that option) - and yes I understand the environmental aspect...but the paper straws fell apart before you could get a drink down. I bought a "special" cup that had lid and straw at CoCo Cay and poured my drinks in it all week. Highly advise. Photos - give more details on checking out your picture package. LAST NIGHT was disaster in this area. Pictures were supposed to all be picked by 11 PM. At 9 PM all the computers were going offline and people were getting frustrated. I think if they would let you look at them in your own room, this area would not get crazy. Make the store near Mini Bites - open at better times. If in port it was closed, and during sea day it was only open for 2 hours. Always crowded. And you might want to add a few more "phone" accessories. As one child needed ear phones and other charger - and no where to get either (that we found). All in all - GREAT vacation. Read Less

Great trip! We were worried about sailing on a mega ship but we were pleasantly surprised. The only time we had issues with crowds were during evening dinner hours. The elevators were extremely busy during this time but we had to wait due to one member of our party using a scooter. We enjoyed the food in Windjammer, American Icon dining room, Small Bites, and Johnny Rockets. There were plenty of activities for children on board. My 6 year old had lots of fun on the abyss, mini-golf course, rock climbing wall, and carousel. He was disappointed that he was not talk enough for the water slides. Cocay was a fun stop for the kids. The water park was great and we also had fun snorkeling. We took a private handicapped accessible island tour on St. Thomas and a snorkeling excursion on St. Martin. Harmony of the Seas is a great ship and we can't wait until we can cruise again. Read Less

Hi, I have received so much help from posts on Cruise Critic, I thought I would pay it forward with my own review of our seven-day cruise last week on Harmony of the Seas. First, a little info about us. I was traveling with my DH, his three siblings and their families. There were 11 of us (six cabins) and we were all on Deck 9, forward. My DH and I have cruised many times on RC, but none of the other folks had ever been on a cruise. Since our nieces are in college and our nephews in high school, we didn’t experience Adventure Ocean or the teen programs. We all arrived in Cocoa Beach the afternoon before and stayed at the Holiday Inn-Cocoa Beach, next to the Publix. We hit a slight snafu when the hotel decided to arbitrarily change our hotel rate ($40-per-room increase). We had a copy of our confirmation with the rate displayed, but we were told that they could change the rate at check-in. The desk staff was not very friendly and we had to call corporate to get it resolved. Not a great way to start a vacation, but we vowed not to let it damper our trip. Because of the way we were treated and spoken to, I can’t recommend this hotel to anyone. The next morning, we took a private shuttle, booked via Larry’s Limos, and arrived at the terminal at 10 a.m. since I like to get to the ship early! In fact, we also used Larry’s Limos for our shuttle from MCO to the hotel the night before and I highly recommend them. Very fair rates, and they were very prompt and friendly! Security and check-in were a breeze and we were walking on the ship around 11 a.m. Of all the embarkation ports we have used, Port Canaveral was the easiest and quickest that I have experienced. They have really figured it out! We headed to the Windjammer for lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship. Muster went very smoothly and we set sail promptly at 4:30 p.m. The rest of the review, I will break down in categories. CABINS We were all on Deck 9 forward, near the elevators. Two of us had balconies and had the divider removed. The other four were inside cabins directly across the hall. My sister-in-law had connecting cabins with her two sons. All of us commented that there was plenty of storage room. I was impressed with how the bathrooms were laid out. Plenty of storage and the shower seemed bigger than smaller ships we have sailed on. Because there was so much to do on the ship, we really didn’t spend much time there other than to sleep and dress. DINING We did not eat at any specialty restaurants, so I can’t comment on them. We had breakfast each morning in the Solarium Bistro and loved the quiet atmosphere versus the Windjammer. It’s the same food, but less people and a more relaxing area. We also had lunch either in the Solarium Bistro or Windjammer, based on what part of the ship we were at once we realized we were hungry! I realize food is very subjective, but we enjoyed the breakfast and lunch offerings at both locations. For dinner, we had early Traditional Dining in Silk. Our oldest niece has severe food allergies and the staff was wonderful in addressing her concerns and providing her meals each night without the worry of an allergic reaction. In fact, the waiters and entire staff provided top-notch service to all of us each night. The food was very good, and my only “criticism” is that I have noticed over the years that the offerings tend to repeat more than they used to. SHOWS We had reserved all the shows prior to sailing, so we had no problems seeing them. The Fine Line was fabulous! By far the best show at sea I have ever seen, especially considering we were on a moving ship as they were performing their high-flying acrobatics. The second aqua show later in the week was fun, if not a little “campy.” We also enjoyed Columbus and the ice show, 1887. Again, Columbus was a little “campy,” but it was funny and enjoyable. The comedians on board were also very good and provided a lot of entertainment. I did not see Grease, but those in our group who did attend really liked it. The only show none of us made it to was the Headliner Show. GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT We saw a few entertainers at Dazzles. Very good singers and the variety of music offered something for everyone. Some of us participated in karaoke and we only wished it was offered earlier than 11 p.m. so we could have participated more often. CASINO The casino was a pretty good size and we never really had trouble finding a seat at the blackjack table. Half of the casino allows smoking and the ventilation system worked pretty well in keeping the air pretty good. I wish they didn’t allow smoking at all, but it didn’t bother us too much. The wait staff was a little slow at times bringing drinks. OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES We were lucky to have fabulous weather the entire week, so the pools and whirlpools were always crowded. That being said, our group never had trouble finding lounge chairs by the pools and we never had to deal with “chair hogs.” The kids enjoyed the water slides as well. We also played mini-golf and table tennis. None of us dared to try the flow riders, but enjoyed watching those who did. A couple of us experienced the Abyss and zip-line and enjoyed those as well. COCO CAY Since my husband and I aren’t really “beach people,” we decided to stay on the ship and explore. The rest of our family spent the day there and really enjoyed swimming and hanging out at Chill Island. They all said they would love to go back again. They did not use the water park or other “paid” options. ST. THOMAS We did not book an excursion, but took a taxi into Charlotte Amalie and went shopping for jewelry and other souvenirs. All the taxis have specific rates posted based on where you want to go, so no one needs to negotiate or worry about being taken advantage of. After shopping, we took another taxi from downtown to Magens Bay. We took a wild ride over the mountains to see this beautiful beach. The roads are very narrow and the locals seem to have no fear when navigating them! We really enjoyed Magens Bay before heading back to the ship. Our taxi driver also stopped at a couple of lookout points for us to take pictures. All in all, we all enjoyed St. Thomas. ST. MAARTEN This was my first time back to St. Maarten since the hurricane and you can still see restoration projects in process. Our group took the ship’s excursion to Maho Beach. Many in our family are aerospace enthusiasts, so we really enjoyed spending the day watching the planes land. This really isn’t a swimming beach (there was noticeably less sand than our previous visit before the hurricane), but our nieces and nephews did take a dip in the water. The adjacent restaurant, Sunset Beach, offers a great outdoor space to sit and have lunch while watching the planes land. We all enjoyed having a Guavaberry Daiquiri with our meal. The food was excellent and plentiful as well. Typically, I am not a big fan of large groups on a tour. However, this time, it worked well since we were only going to one location and no one on the bus was interested in stopping for optional photo ops or stopping in downtown for shopping. PORT CANAVERAL I have cruised out of many different ports over the years and this was by far the best experience I have had with a port. From baggage handling to check-in to customs and ground transportation, it was such a smooth experience. I look forward to many more cruises out of Port Canaveral! GENERAL OBSERVATIONS We booked this specific cruise because we knew Harmony would offer something for everyone. Harmony is a beautiful ship and in great shape! It was so smooth, it didn't feel like you were on a ship. Before the cruise, I was concerned about potential crowding problems. These concerns were unfounded as the layout of the ship and “neighborhoods” really spread folks around. The only time I really noticed the crowds was when the shows let out and at lunch at the Windjammer. Almost everyone on the ship seemed to be having fun and we only observed a couple of people who weren’t in the best of moods. This was a fabulous vacation for our entire family and are thrilled that our “cruise newbies” really loved the cruising experience. Read Less

Sailing on the Harmony is like sailing on a mini-City. There’s always something to do and always something new to explore. Embarkation- well-organized. The parking lot is a little crazy, but once you’re out of your car it’s smooth sailing to the ship. Cabin- the cabin is a cabin. Go for the balcony room. There are inside balconies that overlook the central area of the ship, but the outside balconies offer much more privacy. Luggage fits nicely under the bed and out of the way. Closets and drawers offer more space than I expected. Our attendant was outstanding. Fitness- The fitness center is quite large. Many cardio machines and many weight machines. Free weight area could use an upgrade. The running track is extremely nice (although it has only one running and one walking lane). I ran 4-5 miles every day. My only complaint here is that there is no free sauna and steam room. No excuse for that. Outdoor activities- the Solarium is the quiet place to hide out! Designed for 16+ guests, it offers plentiful seating, a bistro, and several hot tubs. It would be nice if there were a pool here, but it’s a minor drawback. The main pool deck is pretty routine with salt and fresh water pools. The biggest problem here is that no ship with 6500 passengers is ever going to have enough pool space for sea days. It’s just super-crowded. Other activities include water slides (OK), zipline (pretty lame), rock climbing (definitely fun), flow rider (super fun), scuba lessons in the pool (we didn’t try that), and ice skating (my family enjoyed it but each session is only 20 minutes and the ice gets pretty rough). I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but you get the idea - LOTS of stuff to do. Entertainment- our sailing offered some of the best entertainment I’ve encountered on a cruise. You have to be early to get a good seat and be sure to reserve a seat online before the cruise. Tip for first time cruisers - if you go to nothing else, go to the Love and Marriage game show. It’s a must. WiFi- They advertise the fastest internet on the Seas. Fastest speed test I ran was 3.76 down/2.01 up. It was also a little spotty and downright awful at times. It’s the most overpriced choice on the ship, but they know people will still buy it. At least you can stream shows and the picture is decent. Main Dining Room- We ate in the American Icon for My Time Dining. They were totally disorganized the first few nights. The lines to get in looked like Wal-Mart lines for Black Friday. It got better as the week went on. We ate there 6 nights with 3 different wait staffs. Service was good only twice. The menu was pretty repetitive and I thought the food was rather bland. My family’s favorites were the spaghetti (offered 3 nights), chicken bread (offered most nights), and chicken parmigiana (offered only once). The biggest disappointments were the turkey and the ahi tuna. Desserts were very ordinary. On the bright side, breakfast in the American Icon was very very good. The offer a buffet as well as a la carte dining. I highly recommend the American Icon for breakfast - but check the hours. Windjammer- the main cafeteria gets pretty crowded, so seating can be a problem. Lots of variety in the food and, if you don’t like something, just get something else. Upgraded dining- with tons of free food available every moment of the day, we’ve never felt the need to pay in one of the specialty restaurants, but on this trip we had vouchers for one lunch and one dinner. For lunch we tried the Mexican restaurant on the Boardwalk. My wife thought the guacamole was the best she’d ever tasted. Otherwise, nothing special. For dinner, we visited Chop’s Grille. The steaks were very good and the sides were a little better than what is available in the main dining room. Desserts were very good - definitely better than the main dining room. It’s also much quieter. Overall, Chop’s Grille is a nice choice if you don’t mind spending a lot of extra money. My family won’t be. Best other choices- Solarium for breakfast. Park Cafe in Central Park, and Sorrento’s Pizza all day long. Those 3 are always good. Cleanliness- the crew do an amazing job. The ship is very well maintained. Route- the Eastern Caribbean isn’t a very good route. Our cruise had 3 stops and, while RCs waterpark at CocoCay is fun, none of the ports are the kind you’ll remember the rest of your life. While I would gladly sail on the Harmony again, I would never sail this route again. Excursions- CocoCay was fun. We spent the extra money for the water slide area and it was worth it. On St. Thomas we chose the BOSS undersea adventure. You get 30 minutes to snorkel and 30 minutes on your underwater jet ski-like rider. It was a fun day although there weren’t as many fish to see as I expected. We did the horseback ride on St. Maarten. It was maybe a 45 minute walk along the coast with a short plunge into the water. Maybe a little boring for most, but we liked it. Read Less

My wife and I have been on many cruises including the Oasis and Allure of Royal Caribbean. Of all the cruises we have taken this one was our biggest disappointment. The entertainment is the highlight of this ship. I do not think any other cruise line does a better job. Make sure if you are considering booking that you book early. Many of the shows fill quickly, especially the comedy shows. The room although small was comfortable and the steward kept it neat and clean. The excursions were organized although a little high priced. I strongly recommend XPLOR in Mexico. A little high priced but a great time. The biggest disappointment was the food. The amount of choices have dropped dramatically. Many items repeated constantly. Quality was average. We ate mostly at the buffet. The first morning it took us forever to find a seat and the line was so long we decided we would skip breakfast the rest of the cruise and go to an early lunch. The line was always long. Seating was usually difficult even though they sometimes closed off half the dining room. One night we went and it was so packed we decided to go to the show and then come back later. We got there a little after 9 and the buffet was closed! The enjoyment of a cruise is you eat when you want to. Never been on a cruise were they closed all free eating by 9! The pay to eat restaurant were all still open and doing good business, some being open till 3 in the morning. I think they are trying to force goers into pay to eat. We actually went to be hungry that night because we refused to pay more. Of all the cruised we have gone on we enjoyed this one the least. Read Less

Cruised with 27 others. Had family, friends and Niece and Nephew 17&18. HOTS june 2019. We all felt the free food was excellent except for Solarium poor service & food. I reserved two times for free dinner every night, Solarium 6pm and then also My Time Dining 8:30 since we had no idea of show times & did not want to miss since dinner service is alloted 2 HOURS every night. The room attendants and food staff that we saw or spoke were almost all exceptional. There is an 18% tip already paid, we paid an extra 10 to 15% on top and could charge to our room. RC constantly nickel and dimed during the entire pre cruise, items that stated would be included were not get everything email led to you if they tell you something. Voom almost NEVER worked, no way to communicate with rest of our group, RC should atleast put dry erase boards on doors so we could tell everyone where wewent and in four hours where we will be. Print out your entire daily planner, to prove what you paid for and time you scheduld since their app hardly worked. I had to fight to get 1-arcade $ back, since card did not work( had already worked with attendant night before), 2- $ back from cancelled port RC excursion, 3- proof of dinner reservation # reserved and time 4-i have limited mobility and diarrhea was noted on my reservation and RC could not confirm where the $1200 Chill Island Cabana i paid for was..of course 2nd in line on Day one excursion CS had my reserved cabana the farthest last one as far away from bathrooms as possible to walk in 4 inch sand THANKS RC for working with me . 4- got $ back on voom since down so many days. 5- got $ money off cabana since items that should have been included were not - combination locking lid, speaker, usb outlet all none Existant. 6- Got bottle of wine since CS sold me personal Flowrider for my Fam of 3 (my Ipad blocked some drop downs for some reason and i never could read the excursion notes) but not the personal whole hour one on one, was only personal with 12 other guests. 7- RC sponsored excursion start time changed weeks ago, noth Ng noted on my stuff, noone informed us i guess they dont know how to pick up phone or knock on door but willing to interupt my meal to ask me to change my dinner time to 9pm for the remainder of the cruise. Oh the biggy, the weather was crummy, the second largest ship in the world swayed all day and night the first 3 days - in bed, during day, durring dinner, on top deck on bottom deck while walking, everywhere. It was not killer, but i have vertigo so it affected me more than others, but everyone was talking about it. Cool to watch the water swaying out of the pools though. So when it rains no Flowrider, mini golf, rockclimbing or ofcourse pool..could use hot tub since under cover. Since voom did not work, dinner reservation for everyone went out the porthole, first three nights instead of 2 hrs, took an extra 30 to 45/min to seat, so turned into 3 HOURS for dinner. Which dominoed into evening events , that were cancelled. Bummer again. Ps RC luggage tags are competely different, confirm size and shape before buying the cutesie tags. We had an okay time, expectations were high, being let down could have been avoided. Check out Rcblog to get good tips. Read Less

GREAT ENTERTAINMENT, BAD SERVICE AND MEDIOCRE FOOD THE BAD RC has gone to new depths to encourage you to spend money. There is no comfortable seating anywhere in the ship, including your cabin, except in the bars. There is no place to sit and read a book. Indeed, there is no library on board. The only half decent food is in the specialty restaurants. So if you do plan to go, despite my warnings herein, add the cost of specialty restaurants to the price of the cruise and make your reservations early. Their on ship app is awful and frustrating, it has limited information, doesn’t always work, and doesn’t notify you if you get a message. So....you will have to buy the WiFi package. The upsell is constant and they must be under a lot of pressure to make quota because they won’t take no for an answer......so very annoying. The shops are over-priced, you can get the same thing in the overpriced tourist traps on shore cheaper. One thing of note, an 18% tip is added to all the bills and called a “service charge”. . So when you are contemplating a tip keep in mind that you have already given them 18%. For myself, I don’t appreciate the deliberate deception. Give great service for a great tip. THE UGLY MEDIOCRE FOOD. Looking forward to great food on your cruise? You won’t find it here. This ship falls way below standards. In main dining the chef does a decent job of cooking the meat properly, but the meat is of the poorer cuts and such low quality that it is tough to cut and chew. The sauces are watery and served skimpily, perhaps a tablespoon. I can’t say if they are tasty as there is not enough served on your plate to make a determination. I don’t know what the eggs are, but they are not real eggs....powder maybe? Note: if you still take a cruise on this ship, there is a fried egg station hidden aft ..... we found it on Day 6. OJ is simply disgusting, not made from oranges. I could go on. Most of the alternatives for lunch, such as Johnny Rockets, aren't worth paying extra for. BAD SERVICE. The wait service in main dining is non-existent. They are quick to take your drink order and charge your account, but you can wait up to 17 minutes (we timed it one night) to have your food order taken. THE GOOD WONDERLAND SPECIALTY RESTAURANT In contrast, we ate at Wonderland one evening and experienced the best meal we had of our life. We have traveled around Europe and the US to some of the best restaurants, so that is saying something. The creativity, the imagination...and I’m talking about the food, not just the surroundings. Bread made into foam, clear tomato juice, meringue dessert in the shape of toadstools. The explosion of flavors as they hit your palette. I won’t spoil the awesome surprise with the smoking eggs and chocolate dessert. Don’t let the menu dissuade you, this is an experience not to be missed and be prepared for the gastronomic experience of your life! THE GOOD GREAT ENTERTAINMENT. I was very impressed with the variety of entertainment and quality of the performers. The ice shows were spectacular. We saw 1887 and the iSkate show, the latter being one put together by the performers themselves. They are world class champions skating for your entertainment pleasure. The aqua show was equally outstanding. The stage rises and falls, the choreography is wonderful.....high divers, tight rope walkers, and a guy who twirls for 10 minutes. We asked, because we had to know, but apparently he meditates and that’s how he can do it for so long. The thing to keep in mind is that they are doing all this on a ship that rocks back and forth! There is also a lot to be said about the cool things on the ship. Imagine the elevator doors opening up and there before you in the elevator is a funky guy with a funky hat, singing and playing the piano.... a piano in the elevator! I rode up and down with him and had a jolly good time. So cool! Or you can order a drink and watch a robot make it for you! Too cool! Or you go sit at a bar in Central Park to have a drink and the entire bar rises and falls three stories! Or ride a carousel....on a cruise ship. Or how about watching a replica of the kinetic sculpture of Kafka in Prague (a silver head that turns around in sections). Hard to describe. Zip lines, water slides, this ship has it all. For us, this was our first and last RC cruise, even if they did improve the service and the food. In addition to the things discussed above, there is music everywhere. You cannot get away from it. Music in one area competing with music in another area. Then on top of that, the many passengers trying to talk above it all. Waiting long periods of time for the elevator because of the masses of people waiting for one.The lack of comfortable seating. The void of a place to go an sit quietly and talk or read. The awful food and service. I can spend my money on a ship far more enjoyable that doesn't confront you with a sales pitch at every turn Read Less

My son, daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, wife and I sailed on the Harmony of the Seas departing on June 9, 2019 returning on June 16, 2019. The itinerary was Perfect Day at Coco Cay, day at sea, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and two additional days at sea. Our staterooms were 7630 and 7632, adjoining Jr. Suites. Note that my wife and I are experienced cruisers with more than 20 cruises, most with Celebrity and Royal but with others as well. This cruise vacation is summarized below. We live in Orlando so getting to Port Canaveral is an easy drive. We left the house at 9:45 and arrived at the port about an hour later. I dropped off our bags passengers and parked in the onsite garage which was very convenient though a little pricey. Check-in was very quick as we used the Royal App and had all information on our cell phones. I purchased the digital photo package on-line prior to the cruise so we had numerous photos taken on boarding. The on-line price for the package was $249, onboard it was over $300 (although Royal had different promotions for it throughout the week). Our rooms were obviously not ready so we headed to Park Café for lunch and to make our home base until the rooms were opened up which occurred at 1:00 as advertised. While others were getting their lunch I headed up to Country Kitchen to make our dinner reservations for a party of 6. This was my first disappointment on the cruise. I asked for reservations at 6:00 each night but was informed the restaurant opens at 5:15 so I could have 5:15 or after 7:00. They told me that they only had two tables for 6 so that was my only option. After much haggling they gave me 5:45 for the first 3 nights but 5:15 for the remaining nights. I chose to chill and explain the situation to my son and daughter-in-law but they were not happy as 5:15 as it was way too early for them. 5:15 was too early for my wife and I as well for that matter. Getting two young children (5 & 23 months) and themselves ready by that time would significantly eat into their afternoons. In hindsight I should have bumped up my issue to a higher authority above the restaurant manager. This situation resulted in much stress each afternoon but we all coped the best we could. I am not sure why they couldn’t accommodate my request as the restaurant was half empty each night and they easily could have created a table for 6 as they did one night. After lunch we headed to staterooms and met our stateroom attendant. As always the rooms were very nice and spacious with lots of storage space. If within your budget I would highly recommend booking a Jr. Suite as it just makes the cruising experience a little more pleasant. We had the divider opened between our two rooms making it essentially a two room suite. The grandchildren enjoyed being able to come over at will. Our stateroom attendant was friendly and did a great job doing his job. I would say he exceeded my expectations for service. Day two was supposed to be our Perfect Day at Coco Cay. It turned out to be anything but perfect. I bought tickets to the Thrill Water Park for all (the 23 month old was free) paying a little over $300 on-line prior to the cruise. I did my research and both my son and I clearly understood the restrictions for the 5 year old and what she could ride. However once inside the park what we thought the 5 year old could ride she could not even though she was well over the lower height restriction. The problem, we did not put a life preserver on her, our bad. But the life guards did not advise or direct us to do so either. They simply said she could not ride. Also for the adults the wait times on the rides were anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. They also closed the rides for 2+ hours do to lightening in the area (10 mile radius) although it never rained on site. Bottom line is that in a best case you could get maybe 5 rides in. In our case after taking time out for lunch and letting the kids play in the areas outside the water park none of the adults rode any of the thrill rides. The next day I received a message asking me to review the Perfect Day at Coco Cay and I gave it a very negative review. Subsequently I was contacted by guest services to clarify my review and in that conversation I requested compensation for my dissatisfaction. At first they offered 25% refund, which they were refunding everyone because of the weather closing, but I was adamant that I received zero value for my money. After two additional conversations with guest services and the manager of shore excursions they refunded me my total amount. I am happy that Royal eventually took my complaint seriously and did what I believe is right but I am disappointed that it took so long to do so. Bottom line is make sure you are willing to wait on long lines and maybe get only a few rides in. Also if you have a young ones over 40 inches but not yet 48 inches put a life vest on them (note though I only saw a 48 inch height gauges no 40 inch gauges). Also RCL should figure out how to accommodate chaperones who do not ride on the attractions such as older grandparents, why charge someone who is not using the facility. Will I use the facility again, maybe, but at least I will go in with full knowledge that I am just giving Royal my money with little value in return. Other ports were essentially noneventful. Getting off and boarding at each was easy and quick. We didn’t take any tours and simply made them beach days. In St. Thomas we took a taxi to Emerald beach which worked well for us. In St. Maarten we took the water taxi to town and rented chairs and beach umbrellas. We also had a great lunch in town in a restaurant along the boardwalk. The water taxi worked out well so I would recommend it if it works into your plans. On previous cruises to St. Maarten we simply walked into town which is an easy walk. Our dining experience onboard was mixed. We only used Windjammer for breakfast and lunch a few times. I was very disappointed in the breakfast served there. In the past on Harmony you could get eggs benedict there but not on this cruise. Also in the past you could get omelets made to order, no more, only pre made omelets. Pancakes and waffles were also pre made and were cold and dried out. You could get fried eggs to order though. Lunch in Windjammer was a little better. Windjammer food quality and choices though are simply declining. We went to American Icon twice for breakfast and it was ok but not great. I ordered eggs benedict and the eggs were over cooked and the Hollandaise Sause was dried out on top. Second time I simply ordered eggs over medium and they came out as you would expect. They also had a very good French toast that I enjoyed. In short I would say everyone in our party enjoyed their breakfasts in American Icon. The best breakfasts we had on the ship however was at Johnny Rockets, killer omelets with nice country fried potatoes in a nice location on the ship. Also Johnny Rockets had plenty of seating and service was quick and friendly. We also used Mini Bites a few times for lunch and snacks and were pleased with the offerings there. We ate dinner the second night of the cruise in Wonderland as my wife and I enjoyed it on our last cruise on Harmony. No so much this time. We simply remember the dining experience being much better. The meal was ok but nothing to write home about. We used a specialty dining coupon we had from our TA and in retrospect we should have eaten at Park 150, we have never been disappointed there. All other dinners were in Coastal Kitchen. The reservation times aside the staff there was spectacular. They honored our every request including asking for several items from the MDR. They were great with the children. The food offerings there however were not as good as I remember it on past cruises. One of the reasons I book a Jr. Suite is to dine in Coastal Kitchen. In the past we found it better than any specialty restaurant on the ship, but not on this sailing. We found the menu selections ordinary, nothing special. The head chef came by each evening and one night I asked him if the menu was his or Miami’s, he said Miami. Too bad, I think in the past the chef may have been given more flexibility to use their creativity in creating dishes. The food was not bad, just not the exceptional dining experience I have become accustomed to. One big mistake serve what is on the menu, one night they said they had Pear Salad but when it was served it was apple salad with a different dressing. The server should have known that the Pear salad was not available. No killer nightly dessert either, just ho-hum. As with Windjammer dinner in Country Kitchen appears to be on the decline, at least on this ship. The nightly entertainment was enjoyable. We have been on Harmony in the last 18 months so the shows have not changed. Make sure you make reservations online well in advance on line, we did and it worked out great. Although we enjoyed the shows we look forward to RCL rolling out some new shows on Harmony. I found the musicians on this cruise to be outstanding, better than I have been accustomed too. The two comedians onboard Nery Saenz and Heath Harmison were fantastic, very funny guys. The Headliner Showtime act, Tribute Band, Private Stock, was ok but not a great show although many in the audience enjoyed them more than I. Another new item I did not appreciate was the large number of reserved seats for suites (Grand and above), Diamond Plus (not there yet, maybe never) and Pinnacle as well as seats for those that purchased The Key. It used to be that the first couple of rows were reserved for Suite guests, now 2/3 of the seats in the center section are reserved for the above, very disturbing. It simply means getting in line early at the front so you can run to get your seats when the doors open. This simply creates more stress and watch watching during dinner. Guess it is just another indication of the cruise line going back to the class system; regular paying customers are not as appreciated as they were in the recent past. Daytime activities onboard were very good and what have become accustomed to. Note however a change in the procedures on the Flow Rider. My son is a very experienced Flow Rider having sailed on Freedom, Independence and Harmony. He signed the waiver, got his wrist band and was in line for about 30 minutes for the standup Flow Rider when the attendant told him he needed to ride the knee board Flow Rider first and get a different colored wrist band. So this cost him about an hour of wasted time in total. He should have been advised of the change in procedure when he signed the waiver. He complained and they began making announcements to this requirement, it would have been nice if they were making announcements prior to his complaint. Apparently this is a new procedure implemented a few months back, not sure what its purpose it has. I do not like writing what is mostly a negative review, particularly since my past sailings on RCCL have been outstanding. So what is my take away, will I sail with Royal again, sail on Harmony again? Probably yes to both depending on value and the itinerary. As I live in Orlando I will likely sail on whichever Oasis class ship Royal is sailing from Port Canaveral, not sure it is worth the drive to Fort Lauderdale or Miami for me. But given the value of the cruise and itinerary driving south is always an option. Will probably only sail RCL though with grandchildren, for me Celebrity is still my go to cruise line and ships. But I will also be looking more closely at Princess as I have had good past experiences with them as well. Read Less

We' cruised on the Allure out of Ft Lauderdale the past two years and wanted to try a new new ship. We traveled to CoCo Cay, St Thomas and St Marteen on the trip. OUr daughter and her best friend just graduated from college and the trip was a gift to them. We took the Cortrans shuttle service from the Embassy Suites airport hotel in Orlando to the cruise port and from the cruise port to the airport at the end of the cruise. Relatively inexpensive, timely, friendly and comfortable. Embarking at Port Canaveral was a breeze. On the ship in 15 minutes from the time we stepped off the shuttle. The Harmony is big, beautiful, and busy. Longer lines than the Allure, but nothing severe. All the shows were fantastic, and the food was great. We tried the Abyss slide (very cool, only slightly terrifying at the beginning) and the water slides. Both were fun. We also did the Escape Room on the trip and found it very entertaining. We did "escape" with ten minutes to spare lol. We've done the zip line and rock climbing on previous cruises. The water view rooms we booked (3654, 3656) were fantastic! Quiet, convenient and perfectly situated. After the cruise the wife and I both agreed that we liked it better than our previous interior balcony view rooms on deck 12 on the Allure. Steps from the elevator and main dining room, but around a corner so there wasn't much foot traffic going by, and plenty of room to move inside, with lots of storage. St Thomas, St Johns and St Marteen have all come a long way from the hurricane damage of 2017. We love St. Marteen and toured the nation park on St. Johns. It was incredibly beautiful and we would love to go back. On St Marteen we toured Ft Luis in Marigot and took the See and Sea tour at Grand Case. Much cooler than I expected! Saw sting rays, sea turtles and a barracuda at the reef. The "kids" did the sting ray excursion at Coco Cay and the Sea Lion excursion at St. Thomas and can't stop talking about them. And speaking of, Coco Cay was wonderful. Lots of activities on the island, beautiful beaches and the water was amazing. We went kayaking and saw coral reefs and sting rays swimming by. Also spent some time swimming in the huge freshwater pool. We both liked it even more than Labadee. Dining room was excellent as always and it seemed that the staff on the entire ship have been given happy pills. The crew members on RCCL have always been great, but this was over the top. You always felt like a VIP every time you interacted with a crew member. All in all a great time! Read Less

This cruise ship was amazing and the staff was really nice and informative. After watching YouTube videos I had expectations of the embarkation and disembarkation to be a madhouse and frustration. But to my surprise both the embarkation and disembarkation was really smooth. We got to the terminal around 11:00 and we was on the ship by 11:30. (we did online check in prior, which I highly recommend) As far as disembarkation we left around 9:00 we waited in line to get off of ship for like 20 mins. Our suitcases were easy to find as well. Overall for disembarkation it took us like 45 mins to actually get in the shuttle to go to the airport. The ship was sold out so we had close to 6,000 people and yet it didn’t feel crowded. We wasn’t bumping into each other. The ship was so nice and clean. My husband and I stayed in a ocean view balcony cabin and it was spacious. I wasn’t feeling our stewardess, I feel she could had been a little more attentive. We had prepurchased dinner for 2 specialty dining and let me tell you that we wasted our money. The food nor the wait staff was good. We went to 150 Central and Chops Grill and we were so disappointed. We had a reservation for hibachi for our anniversary but we cancelled and got a refund because we were afraid we would had the same bad experience that we had with the other two restaurants. But let me tell you... the main dining for dinner was really good. Also the windjammer for breakfast and lunch was on point. They had plenty to choose from and the food was delicious. We saw the shows and hands down the best one to me was Columbus. Grease was not good at all!!! It was too long ( 90 mins) and boring. If we weren’t sitting in the middle of the row we would had been left and found something more exciting. The karaoke had limited out of date songs. They really need to update this. But overall this was a nice experience and I most definitely will go again. Next year we are doing the Symphony of the Seas only because it’s a littler bigger than Harmony and I want to see what it has to offer. Read Less

4th tone on Harmony. Never disappointed. Great crew and service. Ate in the Main Dining Room Early seating and also for breakfast. Food was very good. We did Wonderland one night and loved it. Will do it again next cruise.First time to Coco Cay. Amazing day. Only cost was for the Balloon ride. What fun. Got some great photos. The pool is great. Perfect depth and little benches and in water lounges a plus. The food was outstanding. Good variety. Can't wait to go back ..Had fun in the ports.Did the Chocolate tour in Roatan. Very informative and made some chocolate from bean to candy. Just walked around Cozumel and Costa Maya as we have been on most of the tours there already. Embarked at 11am very quick and was on the ship and eating lunch by 11:15. Disembarked at 6:30 and it was a very quick walking. About 10 min to car. Read Less