Harmony Review 4/1/17- 4/8/17

[jewel825]

Who we are: My husband (48), me (47), our two daughters (15 and 13) and my parents (70s). We are from the Seattle area and this is our 4th Royal Caribbean cruise together.

 

 

Flight to Florida: We flew from Seattle to Miami on a direct red eye on Thursday night. This was our first time flying American and I have mixed feelings about them. The plane was a new 737 and they had really cool TVs on the backs of every seat. The flight was on time and I have no complaints about the service either. My issue is there is absolutely no leg room! Honestly I don’t know how they crammed all those rows in there! No other airline I’ve been on has been quite as “cozy”.

 

Shuttle from MIA toFort Lauderdale hotel: It was a lot cheaper for us to fly into Miami instead of Fort Lauderdale and the direct flight was enticing so we had to find transportation from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. Thanks to all of the help on Cruise Critic, I booked Larry’s Limos. As soon as we landed around 8:15 AM, our driver called me to tell me he was there and to call him when we had all of our luggage. We booked “whatever is available” for 6 people and they showed up with a white stretch limo. So cool!!! For those wondering pricing, we paid $123 total which included a 20% gratuity that they automatically added.

 

Gallery One Fort Lauderdale: Our hotel room was ready when we arrived so we had a quick, painless check in. We had a 2 bedroom 2 bath suite which is agreat hotel for families that gives quite a bit of room for everyone. The hotel is a bit dated and tired but the location is great and it worked for what we wanted. Being able to check in at 9:30 AM and havethe room available so we could change into warm, sunny attire was exactly what we needed.

 

Fort Lauderdale: We headed out to the back of the hotel to catch the Water Taxi and took that intotown. Our first stop was the International Swimming Hall of Fame (both of my daughters are swimmers) so that was fun to go see. We then headed to the beach and had lunch at a restaurant that had outside seating that was right across the street facing out to the ocean. It was absolute heaven! We then toured around a little bit on the Water Taxi and eventually made it back to our hotel.

 

The Galleria Mall is just down the street so we headed there for a couple of hours. They have really fun stores that we don’t have back at home so we always make a stop there to see what’s new. They also have some great restaurants there and we went to Seasons 32 for dinner. Best meal ever! I’d highly recommend this place. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to sleep. The red eye flight was taking a toll on us and it was time to get some shut eye. I think we were in bed asleep by 9:30. We were up by 7 AM the next morning well rested and ready to meet the Harmony!

 

Shuttle from GalleryOne to Ship: We signed up for the shuttle service the hotel offered which was $8 pp. I’m sure we probably could have gotten a better deal via Uber or Taxi but this way wewere all together and it was a nice Mercedes van/bus type vehicle that picked us up. In the past, we’ve always hadother passengers with us heading to the port but on this day it was only the 6 of us. We were picked up at 10:00 AM so we knew we’d be early to the port. The Harmony has been going out of Port Everglades for several months now so I figured they would have it all down. Um no. They kept sending our poor driver from one place to another and then back again. I felt so bad for him and he kept apologizing but the port people had no idea where to direct us. Don’t they dothis every week? Crazy! Finally we were able to find an acceptable place to be dropped off and we were on our way to check in. The whole security and check in process was so simple. We didn’t really have to wait much in any lines and we were ready to board within 20 minutes of arriving at the pier. At that time, they were just starting the Platinum (which my parents are) so we just followed the masses getting on the ship without having to stop. Easy peasy!

 

First Glance at the Ship: Beautiful. Huge. Amazing. Awesome. Fun. And everything in between!

 

First meal: It was around 10:45-11:00ish and we wentstraight to the Windjammer. There were a lot of people in there already but we had no issues finding a table andstarting our cruise. I swear my favorite part of a cruise is that first meal!

 

The Abyss: After lunch, my daughters and I headed up to the Abyss slide. My poor husband had to be our Sherpa and carry all of our bags since the rooms weren’t open yet. We were the second group of people to ride the slide that day and it was really fun. I ended up doing that slide a couple of time and loved it.

 

 

We also then did a quick zipline run to get that in before all the people were on board. I know the zipline course is very short and it only takes a few seconds but I think it’s SCARY! I’m scared of heights so that doesn’t help. I didn’t waste time thinking about it. As soon as the guy told me to go, I went. There was no time to get worked up about it and chicken out. I immediately stepped off and off I went. I’m glad I did it but I didn’t feel the need to do it again. I did see several people throughout the week chicken out when they got up there and I can see why!

 

Our room: The rooms were open at 1:00 and we had a Boardwalk Balcony cabin. My husband and I had room 9311 which is in the center of the Boardwalk and my daughters had 9313 which was a connecting room to ours and my parents had 9315 on the other side of my kids. We had all 3 balcony dividers opened up and it felt like one giant balcony where we could all access the different rooms. I loved our room! My room and my parents room had the beds by the bathroom and my kids had their beds by the window.

 

The room was really noisy when anything was going on out of the Boardwalk or Aqua Theater. If you closed the door, it did cut down on the noise but it was still pretty loud. However, the noise never bothered us. I think it was always quiet by 11:00PM every night so we were never affected with our sleep. We had a pretty good view of the Fine Line Show one night when we were back early and also saw the Belly Flop contest from our balcony which was nice. I spent a ton of time out on the balcony since it was never windy and there was always something going on below to watch. I loved bringing my book out there and enjoying the atmosphere around me. I know most people prefer the outside balconies but these Boardwalk ones are my absolute favorite.

 

Stateroom Attendant: We all loved her! She was so warm and friendly and always greeted us when we were coming and going. The room was always clean and made up and she made great towel animals. She also provided ice twice a day for us. We got really lucky havingher!

 

Main Dining Room: We had early dining in the MDR on Deck 3 which was the American Icon Grill. Our waiter and assistant waiter were great! They worked so well together as a team and they were so friendly and engaging with us. I never wanted to skip dinner in the MDR because I enjoyed their company so much. On the last night our waiter was telling us about the survey but made no mention of how we should give him all 10s or anything like that. He just made us aware of the survey and to make sure we rated his assistant well if we felt he was deserving of it. It was really sweet and it made me like him even more!

 

Other Eating Venues: We never did any pay venues except for Johnny Rockets and that was only because we got a free meal there because we had a Boardwalk room. Johnny Rockets was good and I loved the chili cheese fries. Iwasn’t too impressed with the burger though and would have been irritated paying extra for it if it wasn’t part of our promotion.

 

We did try Park Café which was good. I just had a made to order salad but everyone else tried through roast beef sandwiches and said they were good. The Promenade Café had different options daily and it would be frustrating to find one you loved and then not have it available again. Sorrentos was exactly what I expected it to be which is “okay” pizza. The Hot Dog place on the Boardwalk was surprisingly yummy. Mini Bites was good but open very limited hours.

 

We also did the continental breakfast for room service onour 3 port mornings. I always just got a bowl of cereal or something simple anyway so the upcharge didn’t affect me. I made my kids only order the freestuff so there were no eggs, bacon, sausage or other traditional breakfast foods. No biggie.

 

Entertainment: The Grease show was amazing! I was impressed with the level of talent they had in that show and how they pulled it all together in the theater. I would highly recommend this show. Then we also so the Fine Line show (the watershow). This show was truly incredible. I can’t believe what some ofthese performers can do! I enjoyed every minute of this show and didn’t want it to end. I never saw any other shows. My husband and kids went to the Columbus one and said it was really dumb.

 

Casino: My mom and I love to go there every night after dinner. We have been doing this one every cruise we’ve been on. It was nice that they have the casino separated into two sections for smoking and nonsmoking. I really didn’t smell much ofthe smoke in the non smoking side so I can’t complain. My only issue is the table limits are double now compared to previous cruises. We like to play Ultimate Poker and 3 card Poker and those are now both $10 tables. Also, they don’t have Let it Ride anymore. Kind of a bummer.

 

Teen Club: This was our biggest disappointment on theship. My kids had been involved in the Adventure Ocean clubs when they were younger and the Teen Club on the last two cruises but this time was very different. They went the first night to the Meet and Greet and it was set up kindof strange. The mixer activity was lameand they really didn’t mingle much like they have in the past. The leaders of this club were more like security guards and made no effort to pull these kids together. My kids went to multiple activities duringthe week and it was the same experience each time. I’m not sure if it was just kind of a dud week and they hit it wrong or what but it was disappointing not having the level of engagement like they have in the past.

 

Vitality Spa: I did the mother-daughter massage package with both of my kids and it was wonderful. Spendy but still worth every penny. I think their massage therapists do a great job and I was very happy with both experiences since I had to do it twice to accommodate both daughters.

 

Smoking: Not to start a debate between the smokers and non smokers but just wanted to give a little tid bit of what I experienced. I am a non smoker andhonestly hate the smell of smoke. I went to the Fitness Center on boarding day and was blown away on how smoky it was inside the fitness center. I asked about it and I was told that the casino had blown out it’s air and it went into the fitness center and would eventually clear out. The next day I was out running on the running track and every time I would run past the fitness center, I would be blown away with all the smoke. It would be hard to breathe as I was struggling anyway when I had a good pace going. Then out on our balcony someone was smoking (not sure which direction it was coming from) but on several different occasions throughout the week, we would get a big whiff of it and one morning when our slider was open, it filled up our room with that smoke smell.

 

Ports: Our first stop was Nassau. We just walked off the ship and walked around the port area and a few streets outside the gates. We were there for such a short period of time that we didn’t have time for much more. I had never been there before so it was fun for me to see something new.

 

Our second stop was St. Thomas. We took an open air taxi to downtown and had a great time shopping. There is a bar we like to visit in the alley (the Side Street Bar) and went there for beer and nachos. We found some really neat shops around there and we spent the most money in that port.

 

Our last stop was St. Maarten. We took the water taxi to the beach and downtown area. We rented a couple of loungers and an umbrella and had a great time at the beach.

 

Leaving the ship: We had number 28 to get off the ship which was around 8:30 AM. It all went smoothly and we were off the ship within a half hour. We had Larry’s Limos pick us up from the port and take us to Miami. They didn’t show up in a limo this time though. Instead it was a Suburban. Total for for leg was $138. We stayed in a hotel near the airport in Miami for the day since our flight didn’t leave until 7:30 PM. We had a relaxing day yesterday laying out by the pool.

 

Flight home: We had the same American Airlines plane takeus home with the very crowded seats. I started getting restless leg syndrome because I needed to stretch my legs! It was a long flight home but it was direct and we landed in Seattle by 11:00 PM. We pulled 5 of our 6 suitcases off the carousel but mine was missing. Crud. Mine is lost somewhere. I have no idea how they can lose a suitcase on a direct flight. Really not impressed with American Airlines. They “think” it got left on a luggage cart with around 20 other suitcases and will hopefully be on the same flight tonight so I should get it Monday afternoon. It’s hard because it has all my cosmetics, all my souvenirs and clothes that I need. I guess the positive in all this is at least they didn’t lose it goingto the cruise and just lost it on the way home. Crossing my fingers it shows up soon!

 

 

Overall: Had a fantastic time and ready to cruise again!

Edited April 9, 2017 by jewel825

[Bootman4U]

I an writing this from the HOTS and my cabin overlooks all those Boardwalk balcony cabins. I was wondering just how noisy they are given the huge amounts of noise from both below AND above. I would have thought that the glass would have been thick enough to keep out most sound. I know that ours up here does but apparently yours did not.

 

Sorry about the luggage which is always the worst. Don't suppose you considered taking the Alaska non-stop or perhaps it wasn't convenient.

 

Thanks for writing your review.

 

Agree about the Fine Line; we are seeing Grease later tonight.

 

For what it is worth, there are HUNDREDS of kids on this week and they appear to be having the times of their lives.

[jewel825]

I an writing this from the HOTS and my cabin overlooks all those Boardwalk balcony cabins. I was wondering just how noisy they are given the huge amounts of noise from both below AND above. I would have thought that the glass would have been thick enough to keep out most sound. I know that ours up here does but apparently yours did not.

 

Sorry about the luggage which is always the worst. Don't suppose you considered taking the Alaska non-stop or perhaps it wasn't convenient.

 

Thanks for writing your review.

 

Agree about the Fine Line; we are seeing Grease later tonight.

 

For what it is worth, there are HUNDREDS of kids on this week and they appear to be having the times of their lives.

 

I'm so jealous you are on the ship right now! It's always a challenge leaving. I'm glad you are having a great time though. I was on the Allure 4 years ago on deck 11 and it was not as loud as our room on the Harmony this time on deck 9. It may have something to do with the deck but I was surprised how loud it could get. I liked all the action though so it was fine. My mom wants to try a Central Park room next time. I said that would be too quiet for me!

 

I would have loved the Alaska direct flight since that is the airline I usually fly on that is where I have my credit card and mileage plan. However, it was double the price of our American flight. Next time it may be worth it to pay extra though.

 

Enjoy Grease tonight. My favorite character in this show as Rizzo. She was fantastic!

[Ourusualbeach]

I'm so jealous you are on the ship right now! It's always a challenge leaving. I'm glad you are having a great time though. I was on the Allure 4 years ago on deck 11 and it was not as loud as our room on the Harmony this time on deck 9. It may have something to do with the deck but I was surprised how loud it could get. I liked all the action though so it was fine. My mom wants to try a Central Park room next time. I said that would be too quiet for me!

 

I would have loved the Alaska direct flight since that is the airline I usually fly on that is where I have my credit card and mileage plan. However, it was double the price of our American flight. Next time it may be worth it to pay extra though.

 

Enjoy Grease tonight. My favorite character in this show as Rizzo. She was fantastic!

 

We were in a BW balcony on deck 12 on Harmony 3 weeks ago and found it loud as well. We had a similar cabin on Allure this past January and it was definitely quieter.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thank you for your review. I always wondered about noise from the Boardwalk coming up to the balconies above them. Thankfully, we'll be facing the sea but it's still good info to know for the future.

 

Sorry you had the cramped economy seats in AA. The only was to fly with them is in FC. Of course, when our kids were your kids' ages, we didn't fly that way with them either - too pricey. :o Sounds like you got to see and do a lot of neat things on the ship. Welcome home!

[Cruise a holic]

I always try to caution my friends and family never to take a bwalk room unless they go to bed after midnight. The cabins are noisy. Better to consider a Central Park view. They are cost effective and quiet

[LuCruise]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a great cruise. Good to hear such a positive experience about MDR and staff. We're also trying Boardwalk room for the first time. You hear different comments and basically expect it to be noisy but want to try it just once.

 

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[A&L_Ont]

The Side Street Bar, been there and loved it.

[FunCruiser56]

We were on the same cruise and had a great time. We had a balcony cabin and also experienced late night smokers when we would sit out on our balcony before bed and check out the stars. Could not find where it came from tho, some folks just don't want to follow the rules...

We also thought Columbus, the Musical was like a high school production. Aqua shows were the best shows on the ship!

I agree, how can they loose your luggage on a direct fight?

Hope you have more cruises in your future!

[mj]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[Grandma Petania]

We were in a BW balcony on deck 12 on Harmony 3 weeks ago and found it loud as well. We had a similar cabin on Allure this past January and it was definitely quieter.

My first cruise on Allure will be this December, but I have sailed in a Central Park balcony, deck 10, on both the Oasis and Harmony. For the CP cabins, the noise comes mostly from the pool deck above. There was a very noticeable difference in how much closing the balcony door muffled the amplified music from above. Oasis was the winner, hands down, and I expect to find the same on Allure.

 

I have seen enough comments here from people who found the neighborhood balconies on Harmony to be much noisier than what they had previously experienced on Allure or Oasis, that I believe Harmony isn't as well insulated as her two earlier sister ships.

 

I haven't tried a Boardwalk Balcony. I prefer the serenity of overlooking Central Park. On deck 10, there's plenty of people-watching to be had, but we're two decks above the walkers, and they can't really see us when we're sitting on the balcony. (Just when we're standing at the railing.) I find all the greenery quite soothing, and the twinkling lights in the trees at night are nice. Most nights there is also live music at a pleasant level from soloists, duos or small groups of classical or jazz musicians.

[jewel825]

We were in a BW balcony on deck 12 on Harmony 3 weeks ago and found it loud as well. We had a similar cabin on Allure this past January and it was definitely quieter.

 

I wonder why there was such a difference with the noise level. There seemed to be more action going on the Boardwalk this cruise though with a band that was really loud and other parade type stuff that created a lot of hype. Or maybe the ships are just constructed differently. I'd choose a Boardwalk room again though since I enjoyed all the hubbub going on below.

[jewel825]

Thank you for your review. I always wondered about noise from the Boardwalk coming up to the balconies above them. Thankfully, we'll be facing the sea but it's still good info to know for the future.

 

Sorry you had the cramped economy seats in AA. The only was to fly with them is in FC. Of course, when our kids were your kids' ages, we didn't fly that way with them either - too pricey. :o Sounds like you got to see and do a lot of neat things on the ship. Welcome home!

 

Yes, the noise certainly does carry. Also, it's true that you can see across the way into other cabins. There were a few times when I was out on my balcony and noticed people moving about in their cabins and it was clear as day. Thankfully I didn't see anything indecent but I can see how easily you could if you paid closer attention!

 

First Class would have been nice on our flight home last night. However, even those seats didn't look all that roomy. I was trying to figure out which seats in the economy section were actually roomier since they did have options for better seats when I was choosing mine that supposedly had more leg room (for a price). I'm guessing those seats were like regular ones on any other airline. Still no word about my luggage being found. :mad:

 

Cruise was great and I'm fighting those post cruise blues.

[jewel825]

I always try to caution my friends and family never to take a bwalk room unless they go to bed after midnight. The cabins are noisy. Better to consider a Central Park view. They are cost effective and quiet

 

Those Central Park ones do look peaceful and plenty to look at below. That's what is on my mom's list next time so we'll see where we end up.

[jewel825]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a great cruise. Good to hear such a positive experience about MDR and staff. We're also trying Boardwalk room for the first time. You hear different comments and basically expect it to be noisy but want to try it just once.

 

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You will love your Boardwalk room! It is my all time favorite room even though it can be really noisy. If you aren't going to bed early, it won't affect your sleeping at all. Once it quiets down, it is really silent out there. It's just so nice to see so much going on from your own room without fighting the crowds. Breakfast out on our balcony while at sea is great too because all your stuff doesn't blow away. I saw my kids get off the Abyss slide and even watched part of a movie from out there. I was never bored or felt like I was missing out on anything while I sat out there. It was my favorite spot to be on the entire ship. Enjoy your cruise!

[jewel825]

The Side Street Bar, been there and loved it.

 

That bar is awesome! The manager/owner or somebody important there came out to chat with us and we asked him to take our picture. He went inside really quick and grabbed a Side Street Bar t-shirt and had us pose with it to show where we were and let us keep it.

[LilMommyBug]

Hi, just wondering who you asked to open the balcony dividers and was it a big deal? We are going on Harmony for our first cruise in February and we couldn't get connecting rooms, but did get 2 Boardwalk rooms right next to each other & were hoping to have the divider opened!

 

 

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[jewel825]

We were on the same cruise and had a great time. We had a balcony cabin and also experienced late night smokers when we would sit out on our balcony before bed and check out the stars. Could not find where it came from tho, some folks just don't want to follow the rules...

We also thought Columbus, the Musical was like a high school production. Aqua shows were the best shows on the ship!

I agree, how can they loose your luggage on a direct fight?

Hope you have more cruises in your future!

 

Yeah, it's hard to tell where the smoke is coming from. It just shows up and there's no warning! I thought it was pretty gutsy of them considering there are rooms directly across and someone would be able to see them. Then I figured they were probably smoking behind a curtain or something because sometimes it would just come directly into our room and not on the balcony. It was so sporadic though and impossible to tell who it was. Very stealth smokers!

 

My kids were giving me the rundown on the Columbus show and could not stop laughing explaining it because it was so dumb. My dad was also at that show but walked out after 30 minutes and said it wasn't for him. Thankfully Grease and the Aqua show made up for this bad one.

[jewel825]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

 

You're welcome! It's always fun to relive what you experienced while writing a review.

[jewel825]

My first cruise on Allure will be this December, but I have sailed in a Central Park balcony, deck 10, on both the Oasis and Harmony. For the CP cabins, the noise comes mostly from the pool deck above. There was a very noticeable difference in how much closing the balcony door muffled the amplified music from above. Oasis was the winner, hands down, and I expect to find the same on Allure.

 

I have seen enough comments here from people who found the neighborhood balconies on Harmony to be much noisier than what they had previously experienced on Allure or Oasis, that I believe Harmony isn't as well insulated as her two earlier sister ships.

 

I haven't tried a Boardwalk Balcony. I prefer the serenity of overlooking Central Park. On deck 10, there's plenty of people-watching to be had, but we're two decks above the walkers, and they can't really see us when we're sitting on the balcony. (Just when we're standing at the railing.) I find all the greenery quite soothing, and the twinkling lights in the trees at night are nice. Most nights there is also live music at a pleasant level from soloists, duos or small groups of classical or jazz musicians.

 

Thanks for sharing your view of the CP cabins. Central Park is such a completely different atmosphere than the Boardwalk and it would be fun to experience something different. I can imagine you would hear all the pool deck activity announcements from your balcony. Those intercom speakers are loud!

[jewel825]

Hi, just wondering who you asked to open the balcony dividers and was it a big deal? We are going on Harmony for our first cruise in February and we couldn't get connecting rooms, but did get 2 Boardwalk rooms right next to each other & were hoping to have the divider opened!

 

 

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Our attendant opened them up for us. They already had the connecting rooms divider open for us but on that first day they also opened up the one between my kids and my parents. It was all really easy.

 

It was fun watching across the way all the open dividers between the rooms. I saw a ton of kids wandering about on the balcony going in between several rooms. One of them had around 5 rooms in a row all opened up. It looked like one big extended family (or it may have been friends) that were all together and they just roamed in between all the rooms and balconies.

 

It's handy to have open because the doors don't lock from the outside (the balcony side) so a few times when I forgot my key (I kept leaving it in the holder by the door that turns all the lights on) and had to go into my parents room and through their balcony to get to mine so I could get in my room. Crazy, but it worked.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your review, we will sailing on the Harmony next month.

[Cruise a holic]

Those Central Park ones do look peaceful and plenty to look at below. That's what is on my mom's list next time so we'll see where we end up.

ss

just one caution do not book deck 14 regardless of your cabin, my rule is cabins above and below. However deck 9 central park above shops and restaurants was quite and those window view cabins have nice window seats and are slightly larger then the CPV balcony cabins.

[LuCruise]

You will love your Boardwalk room! It is my all time favorite room even though it can be really noisy. If you aren't going to bed early, it won't affect your sleeping at all. Once it quiets down, it is really silent out there. It's just so nice to see so much going on from your own room without fighting the crowds. Breakfast out on our balcony while at sea is great too because all your stuff doesn't blow away. I saw my kids get off the Abyss slide and even watched part of a movie from out there. I was never bored or felt like I was missing out on anything while I sat out there. It was my favorite spot to be on the entire ship. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Exactly why we chose it. It just seems like so much fun, and think our kids will really like it. Neat you could even see your kids get off the Abyss. We're mid way so not even sure we'll see the ocean but it's more for the action. I'm a bit concerned of the noise at night; however, DH and our kids are deep sleepers so pretty sure it won't bother them (plus they'll be exhausted by bed time). I'm a light sleeper but willing to take the risk. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You hear a lot of negative comments so great to hear good side of it too.

[dwayneb236]

 

Our room:

The room was really noisy when anything was going on out of the Boardwalk or Aqua Theater. If you closed the door, it did cut down on the noise but it was still pretty loud. However, the noise never bothered us. I think it was always quiet by 11:00PM every night so we were never affected with our sleep.

 

Man, we must have been extremely fortunate on our Harmony cruise in Feb. We both got to bed pretty early most nights, usually between 9 and 10 and had absolutely no noise complaints. I honestly can't remember hearing anything in our cabin, 8311, after the door was closed and the curtain shut. Either that or we are starting to get hard of hearing.