My Harmony Transatlantic Review with Pictures (Better late than never!)

[jules815]

We've been home since November 6th, but jumped right into work, then ended up getting sick (upper respiratory crud from the man sitting next to me on our flight home from Miami.) Then our daughter was home from college for a week for the holiday, and I just haven't had time. I'll be starting on my desk top, and adding pictures from my tablet (somehow that works better for me.) This may take a couple of days, but here goes!

 

First an introduction. We're Julie and Ken from Chicago, in our 50's, love to cruise, but only do 1-2 a year together. This was our first transatlantic, our first time sailing on an Oasis Class ship, and my first trip to Europe. Our adventure began on October 19th, with our flight from O'Hare to Barcelona (layover in Philly). We purchased our flights through ChoiceAir and splurged on business class seats.

 

We spent 3 nights in Barcelona at The Cotton House Hotel (a Marriott property) using points plus 140E to upgrade our room to have a balcony. I'm so glad we did this. Our room was beautiful with a very large bathroom, and the balcony looked out onto a courtyard and the rooftops of other buildings. It was a charming boutique hotel with excellent service, walking distance to all the sights. I'm so happy we stayed here!

 

http://www.hotelcottonhouse.com/en

[easyboy]

Will be following along.

[jules815]

Having a little difficulty inserting my photos, so I'll continue my review and add them at the end.

 

Barcelona. Our flight arrived just before 9am, we got our luggage with no trouble, and took a cab to our hotel. It was maybe a 30 minute ride. We had more luggage than we usually cruise with, and two of our bags were very large. I was amazed that the driver got everything into his small car, but it worked just fine. We pulled up to The Cotton House, and the doorman opened my door and helped me out of the car. This is the kind of service we had for our entire stay there. It was perfect. Our room wasn't ready yet, but they told us they'd contact us when it was. They took all of our bags and we set out to get fresh air and do some exploring on foot. We were both a little jet lagged...even with those nice seats, I didn't get much sleep, and my husband didn't sleep at all. The adrenaline kicked in though, and we were on a mission to find a couple of toiletry items we hadn't packed. We wandered all around the area of our hotel, then went back and sat in the library of our hotel...a beautiful room with Fresco's painted on the ceiling. They brought me a lovely pot of tea, an espresso for my husband, and we waited for our room.

 

As I mentioned before, hotel was just so nice. Our king size bed was probably the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on. Not exaggerating. The linens were top notch, very plush and soft. We had dinner at the hotel, were in bed by 9:30 and slept until 9am! We spent the next couple of days walking all around Barcelona, eating wonderful tapas, drinking wonderful Sangria, and seeing the sights. Surprisingly we never did tour the Sagrada, but we could see it from the rooftop of our hotel. We did tour 3 other cathedrals in Barcelona, and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar was probably one of my favorites.

 

The morning of the 23rd we had breakfast at our hotel, and left for the port around 11:00. We didn't feel the need to be there super early knowing we were going to be on the ship for 13 days. Boarding was probably the quickest ever. We walked up to the Suite and Pinnacle line, had nobody in line ahead of us. We had taken our photos at home, so they only asked for our passports and off we went. Our first impression seeing Harmony was Wow!!! What HUGE ship!

 

We boarded, walked around the Promenade a little and then up the aft elevators to the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen. Had a drink and chatted with a nice couple in the lounge and then had lunch in CK. We really enjoyed all of our meals in CK. Service was very good, and the food was very good as well. I had made reservations online for dinner at CK beginning the first night and then for every other night. We had no other specialty reservations.

[jules815]

Our room was ready by the time we finished lunch. We were in 8660, a Grand Suite. We were close to the elevators, which made it very convenient to get to the suite lounge, CK, and also a quick walk to Central Park, and even the Boardwalk and Promenade. I have to say, even though this ship is very large, we really didn't have a problem finding our way around. It's very easy to navigate and the interactive signs are all around.

 

Our room was nice. It has a similar design to the GS's on Quantum class--the wall separating the living room/bedroom and 2 tvs, the color scheme. The living room has a little cozier feel than the GS's we've had on Freedom class, but we liked it. The wall and having a curtain at the doorway, gives you a lot of privacy. There are at least 6 large drawers in the living room/foyer area, in addition to what you get in the bedroom. Plenty of closet space. The balcony was perfect size with a table (dining height) two chairs, and two reclining chairs with footstools, and a small table between. We were on the port side and had shade for most of the trip.

 

There was a crew door/exit directly across the hall from our room, but we heard no noise from the area. It was not a problem at all. We found the hallways to be very quiet all the time.

 

Bathroom was the usual GS layout. Two sinks, bathtub, no separate shower. One of our complaints about the room was our water pressure in the shower. It was bad. And I know other people on deck 8 didn't have a problem with their water pressure, but we did. It improved slightly when we mentioned it to our steward. You would have to stand all the way to the front of the tub for the water to hit you, or use the hand feature. There's no shower curtain, but two glass panels that separate down the middle (open outward) to make it easier for cleaning. If we didn't put several towels down, we'd end up with a large puddle that formed around a drain in the floor and along the vanity. They're going to have to keep an eye on the area for mildew, because caulk at the base of the vanity where the water was pooling always looked wet (darker). You might be thinking...poor water pressure, how did you manage to get a puddle? The opening between the two glass panels and no shower curtain. The drain in the floor was useless.

[jules815]

The Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen...we really enjoyed this area! I'd been warned here on CC about the massive numbers of top tier C&A members on board, but it was never a problem. Although the suite lounge was full most evenings, we were always greeted by the concierges, and Jade, who brought us our drinks, always went out of his way to find a seat for us. We both had a drink package, but on nights that we had dinner in CK, we always had a pre dinner drinks in the suite lounge. I was drinking Grey Goose martinis, and my husband, Hendrick's and tonic, and they took our seapasses to swipe.

 

Both concierges were very present, and would leave their desks each night to walk around the lounge and greet everyone.

 

The food and service in CK was very good. Natalia greeted us and almost always seated us at the same table. When we dined in other specialty restaurants, we noticed that there were always the waiters from CK working those restaurants as well.

[klass2]

Hi there! Thanks for sharing your perspective on the TA. I enjoy reading other cruisers points of view on the same cruise I was on

 

I wanted to say thank you again for letting us Chicago Cubs fans borrow your universal remote so we could watch the World Series while on the TA.

 

 

 

 

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[jules815]

Hi there! Thanks for sharing your perspective on the TA. I enjoy reading other cruisers points of view on the same cruise I was on

 

I wanted to say thank you again for letting us Chicago Cubs fans borrow your universal remote so we could watch the World Series while on the TA.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You're very welcome!

[jules815]

Dining...

 

We had most of our dinners in Coastal Kitchen. I had made reservations online early, alternating nights beginning on the first night. I believe as it got closer to our cruise, it was showing unavailable for online booking. We were, however, able to get in one evening without a scheduled reservation. We eat later, so getting us in at 8pm didn't seem to be a problem at all. Our cruise was 13 days, so we did start to see the dinner menus repeat, but we liked everything, so it wasn't a problem. The breakfast and lunch menus are always the same. (I love the fresh beet salad on the lunch menu, and the ham wrapped figs were very good too.) On nights we didn't dine in CK, we did specialty restaurants, and one night we had dinner in the WJ. 13 day cruise and not once did we have dinner in the MDR.

 

Windjammer. I think the added feature with the sinks at the entrance is a good idea, but, we did see quite a few people entering through the exits. :eek: This was our first time sailing on an Oasis class ship, and I don't know what it is, but I wasn't a fan of the Windjammer on this ship! Maybe it's the layout??? It just seemed cold, the furniture cheaper. (They didn't have the big rattan chairs like on Freedom and Voyager, and the lighting was different.) And I'm so used to Freedom and Voyager class layout, something about it. We did one breakfast there because my husband wanted to get fresh squeezed OJ, but after that, we would make a stop and grab our OJ and take it up to Coastal Kitchen. There's no made to order omelet station in the WJ on Harmony. They do have a "fried egg" station. They had some pre-made veggie omelets on the morning we were there, and signs directing you to other places on board, Johnny Rockets I think was one of them and maybe Little Bites, for made-to-order omelets. Even our one dinner there wasn't very good. Food was okay, but something about the layout, furniture, etc. We've enjoyed many dinners in the WJ on Freedom, but just didn't get the same warm feeling on Harmony as we did on other ships.

 

Jamies Italian. Loved it. Would definitely dine here again. We had dinner, but they also serve lunch. We had no trouble getting a reservation once we were on board. And we didn't race around to the restaurants on the first day. We were out one morning earlier in the cruise walking through Central Park. Doors were open, so we walked in and made reservations. Easy peasy. Just two of us, so that probably helped.

 

150 Central Park. Very good! Would definitely dine here again. We had an 8:15 reservation, but weren't seated until closer to 9:00 due to some stragglers, but we had a few drinks that evening in the Trellis Bar while we waited so no problem. They'd also run out of all bread, except for onion rolls, which were very good, and it was our first time there, so we had no idea what we were missing. :)

 

Wonderland. Really enjoyed the experience, would dine here again. Our waiter was one of our regular waiters up in CK, so that was nice too. In Wonderland it's all about the presentation and the unique dishes. I preferred the food in 150 Central Park over Wonderland, so if I were on a shorter cruise choosing between the 2, I'd go with 150. (Or do both!)

 

Solarium Bistro. Only had lunch here. They had some good curry dishes on the buffet, and most of the same salads that are available in the WJ.

 

Johnny Rockets. Was craving a burger so went one day for lunch. Meh. It was okay. I did notice you can get milkshakes to go, which I don't remember seeing on other ships.

 

Dog House. Stopped by here late one afternoon earlier in the cruise. I think it was a Chicken and apple sausage. Sausage good, bun falling apart stale. Tried again later in the cruise ("maybe they brought more buns on board in Malaga?"), buns were still stale. I'm sure this won't be an issue in the US. Easy fix as you know they'll be loading fresh buns on every turnaround day. They didn't have chips available, but did have little sides of potato salad, pasta salad, etc. Like someone else mentioned on a different Harmony thread, no soft drink or other drink dispensers here, but they had water available. They also had a variety of beers (bottle) for purchase.

[BlueHerons]

Great report!

 

Loved The Cotton House!

[jules815]

Shows:

 

Fine Line in the Aqua Theater. This was the one show we had reservations for that we really wanted to see. 9pm on the second night of our cruise, got there 35 minutes early, no seats left. None. Long story, but we were able to see the show the next night. If you plan on seeing this show, get there very early!! The show was VERY good. My husband, who doesn't usually do shows, really liked it too. So much going on all around and above you. It's amazing.

 

Enrichment lectures. We wandered into one of these lectures by accident. We were walking around the ship like we normally do after breakfast, and caught the second half of a lecture and really enjoyed it, so we kept going. David Kirkpatrick is a retired executive with Paramount Pictures. They were interesting and funny. I believe lectures like this are usually only scheduled for transatlantics crossings.

 

We didn't see the Columbus show, but wish we had. All the people we met on board who had, preferred it over all the others. So if you're going to be sailing on Harmony, don't miss it! :D We also didn't see Grease.

Edited November 27, 2016 by jules815

[jules815]

Great report!

 

Loved The Cotton House!

 

Thanks. Agree about CH. It was exactly what I imagined for our first time in Spain. Would love to go back!

 

(I'll be back in Miami in March and reading your blog.) :)

[jules815]

Pools. It was cool/rainy for the first 3-4 days of the cruise. Definitely not what we're used to on a Caribbean cruise, but exactly what we expected. Once the weather began to warm up, the pools and slides were in full swing. Never had a problem getting a seat, and even though we didn't use them, there was never a line for the water slides. This will probably change now that Harmony's moved to the Caribbean, but for the transatlantic, no issues.

 

They have a really nice children's pool area with smaller slides, plenty of areas for splashing around, and a giant, elevated bucket that fills with water and tips over. There's nothing like this on any of the other ships we've been on, and I'm sure it will be a hit in the Caribbean.

 

Sports deck, Flowriders, Abyss. At the back of the ship, two flowriders, with a bar inbetween, and the entrance to the Ultimate Abyss slide. Mini golf, a basketball court. I believe this is also where you zip line.

 

There's a jogging/walking track on an outer deck (deck 5), but the view is mostly blocked by lifeboats. We missed the outside deck that they have on Freedom and Voyager class ships.

 

Enjoyed the Suite Sun Deck Zone. (deck 17 forward. Take forward elevators to 16, and the stairs to the deck are outside.) You tap your card to open the gate. Suites and Pinnacles only. Nice area, padded loungers and chairs, towels provided, a hot tub, full bar with great service, plus bathrooms. Why go anywhere else?! If you didn't know it was there you might miss it. This is where suite guests were invited for the "Meeting of the Three Sisters" party on our last sea day. Very nice.

 

Solarium. Lots of seats available any time we passed through, but that's how this cruise was. Two large hot tubs, no pool. There are two shower height misters that look like large leaves in the middle. I think they messed up by not putting a pool here. (Maybe they can add one later?) The Solarium Bistro and bar are also located in the general area.

[jules815]

The Promenade is massive, 2-levels, and the heart of the ship. There was usually some type of live music in the evenings, any festivities involving the captain were held here, just like any of the other ships. Of course, they have the "sales" that were, as always, a madhouse. On days where the weather was bad, the Promenade was crowded.

 

The Schooner Bar, Boleros, the English Pub (I don't remember it's name), Promenade Cafe and Sorrento's are all located in the Promenade. The Promenade Cafe is another place I didn't care for. Different layout than what we're used to, always a long line, and rarely any seats available. This was a very popular spot on this cruise!

 

We missed the Champagne Bar (or R Bar). The Robotic Bar is a cute gimmick, but nothing like a real bar.

Edited November 27, 2016 by jules815

[cincicruisers]

Enjoying your review.

[jules815]

 

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[CruisinMama2003]

Very informative review so far, thank you!

[exgman]

Ok, I give. I've figured out what DL, CL, MDR, and most of the other abbreviations are on the Royal board. I can't for the life of me figure out TA. Help.

[Cel_cruise]

Ok, I give. I've figured out what DL, CL, MDR, and most of the other abbreviations are on the Royal board. I can't for the life of me figure out TA. Help.

 

 

TA in this thread is likely Trans-Atlantic...but you will also see it used to refer to Travel Agent!

 

 

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[exgman]

Thanks Cel Cruise. TA didn't apply to travel agent in most of the threads it was in and it was driving me crazy. I can sleep now.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report. With regard to the lack of an omelet station in WJ, it's the same deal on Oasis and Allure.

[jules815]

Thanks for the report. With regard to the lack of an omelet station in WJ, it's the same deal on Oasis and Allure.

 

I knew they served breakfast at the other locations on Oasis and Allure, but didn't know about the omelet station. It wasn't just the omelet station that was a problem in the WJ. The morning we were there, they were running out of certain hot items and not replacing them like they do on Freedom. It was early too, around 8:30.

 

I'm glad to see my pictures posted! I did them from my phone last night and wasn't sure. I have many more, but unfortunately work has gotten in the way again!