The Ship
As the world’s largest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas offers something for everybody. The third ship in the Oasis-class, Royal Caribbean has learned a thing or two about building these massive vessels. Featuring signature entertainment, various dining options, and 7 distinct onboard “neighborhoods”, there is plenty to discover during your trip. Having previously sailed on both Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, we knew what to expect when it came to ship layout and features.
Harmony of the Seas Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review
Harmony of the Seas replicates many of the popular restaurants and bars found on the two older ships but also has some nice additions and modern twists. Given the sheer size of this 226,000 gross ton vessel, you will need all 7 days, and then some, if you truly want to do and see everything. Those who do not plan may be out of luck as shows fill up quickly. The ship looks sharp with modern finishes and public venues that are easier to navigate than the two previous ships.
Itinerary
We booked the 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise going to the ports of St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau, Bahamas - all ports that we have been to before this trip. Given the size of Harmony of the Seas, there are only so many ports of call that the ship can visit in the Caribbean. Due to weather conditions, our itinerary was changed on embarkation day. While we ended up visiting St. Maarten, on a different day, we headed further south to stop at San Juan, Puerto Rico and Labadee, Haiti.
Arguably a better itinerary, if we had not just visited those ports recently. We were able to reschedule our shore excursion for St. Maarten, but did not get off the ship at San Juan (It was a early morning call leaving at 1:30pm anyway.) and spent only a few hours on land in Labadee before the rains came. In all honesty, you sail on this ship for the onboard experiences, so missing the ports were not terribly upsetting.
Highlight
Hands down the signature entertainment is where Harmony of the Seas shines. The two main theater shows, Grease and Columbus, the Musical! provide family friendly entertainment that are far more engaging than the typical Broadway review shows on most cruises. The performers were excellent, and production quality top-notch, with some of the most high-tech props found on the high seas.
In the Aqua Theater, the Fine Line took the trophy as our new favorite aqua show. A mixture of light, sounds, and high flying acrobatics, it is a Cirque caliber show that you would expect to see on land. Add two different ice shows, the Attic comedy club, and the best headliner act we have seen on Royal Caribbean, and there was never a dull moment when the sun went down during our cruise.
What’s Missing
During our cruise, we interacted with many staff who were friendly and working hard to serve guests. However, compared to other cruises, we felt that service was less personal than previous trips. With 5,000+ cruisers, the crew are constantly trying to help guests whether it is at the bars, restaurants, or Guest Services. Though overall, it felt like the ship was understaffed, leading to some long waits and staff who did not have time to get to know the guests. While we never encountered “bad service”, we also did not experience any “Royal Wows” from the staff, besides our superb stateroom attendant Julian. The little touches like knowing our names or having our dinner cocktails waiting at the table for us were missing this trip.
Main Takeaway
Harmony of the Seas packs a mighty punch. For a contemporary cruise, it is a great value coupling 5 star entertainment, solid complimentary dining, and typical cruise activities, from trivia, to bingo, to silly game shows. But don’t kid yourself, this ship has close to 8,000 people (both passengers and crew), so there will be some crowds. Though, we were pleasantly surprised with crowd control.
The ship also caters to families so even during an off-season January cruise, there were plenty of little ones around. We found the Perfect Storm and Escape the Rubicon to be nice additions to the ship; whereas, the Ultimate Abyss was a bit of a let down. All in all, cruising on this ship is worth it just for the bragging rights alone, never mind the surreal experience you will have on the 18 decks of Harmony of the Seas.