Harmony of the Seas Review

A perfect ship for a SHIP vacation

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Harmony of the Seas
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Anita Latte
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2020
Cabin: Central Park View Balcony

Booked 16 months in advance to celebrate relocating to Florida and have a vacation on the books that also celebrates what would be the first year of our empty nest. I had sailed the inaugural eastbound TA on Allure of the Seas without my husband, and since then had been just waiting for the right time and opportunity to take him on an Oasis class cruise ship.

With our efforts to have a more active lifestyle (more kayaking, more walking/hiking, beach time, swimming, etc), I wanted a ship that would be the most supportive of such a lifestyle and not necessarily be a vacation that we would have to recover from. Like needing a vacation post-vacation to catch up on sleep, etc.

I love Oasis class for the sheer number of active activities on board. The gym is one of the most extensive in my experience. The walking/running track may be the BEST on a ship. The variety of dining options, both complementary and specialty is all that you could ask for to be able to eat well, as defined by tasty but also more nutritious than typical restaurant food. I debated the Ultimate Dining Package (UDP) and how necessary that would be with so many complementary options, but with all the specialty options, it seemed like taking advantage of the Ultimate (or Unlimited?) would be the most special thing on Harmony.

Cabin Review

Central Park View Balcony

An excellent cabin located right next to the living wall, it has a double wide balcony with a table with two chair and ALSO two lounge chairs. Lovely if you like to enjoy a larger personal outdoor space. We used our balcony a lot and were generally one of the only balconies in use. Love the evenings especially with the lowlight ambience and the live instrumentalists.

Port Reviews

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

Use the app to check in. Embarkation is very easy when you have scanned your passport, taken your photo, and given your credit card for check in on the app.

St. Maarten

We did a DIY walk into Philipsburg. The walk is generally easy, but I had pictured a nice pedestrian walkway the entire way and it isn't. At times, it is undefined and you can just follow next to the road...beware of the puddles and the cars driving through them if it has rained.

We went to the Yoga Guy Movie Exhibit. I highly recommend for fans of Star Wars and/or those interested in film production. Nick Maley also works at his store and you can find him there and talk to him if he is in town. Admission to the exhibit is written up as a donation to his foundation, Follow Your Star which supports and encourages young artists.

San Juan

It is easy to walk all around San Juan. If you have a US cell phone, it can be very helpful for mapping out things that you may have figured out that you want to see. We meandered through Old Town toward El Morro, seeing several historical sites along the way.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

We went to CocoCay in December on Mariner. South Beach is now open and that's where we decided to park ourselves. The funnel cake was fresh made this time with a choice of sauce. It was EXCELLENT. We also decided to not walk over to the main buffet area (though we knew the tacos there were excellent from our last visit) and decided to give the burgers a try at the nearby Snack Shack. They were ok. Not awesome. Would definitely go for the tacos again. The water was cool for entry but if you got in, it was lovely. We brought our own goggles and swam around to see what we could see. We saw quite a few different fish, including barracuda and so many conch...and an absolutely enormous ray.

The music playing from the facilities was fun and I was really disappointed that there were two different parties that had brought their own bluetooth speakers...so we three different had competing types of music playing...very annoying. Others complained later that the Captain has understated the weather conditions...thus, I think South Beach is somehow sheltered from the flow...because we didn't deal with strong winds.

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