Review of B2B Harmony, Oct 7th and 14th

[Sascol]

Cruise background:

• We're early 50s
  
• 22nd cruise in 22 years
  
• 5 RCCL the rest split between Princess & Celebrity
  

First let me say that overall we had a nice time. Below I will point out a few things that were great and some that were not so great. If you'd like more specifics, please ask and I will do my best to address as I have time.

 

POSITIVES

1- Things to do. There is plenty to do on this ship. You want action, you have action. You want quiet, you have quiet (mostly, except for the one minus related to this below).

 

2- Specialty restaurants (food quality). Every one we did the food was great and worth the extra $$. Service was equally good.

 

3- B2B turnover. Very well organized and easy to do (our 1st time B2B). There were 72 people that did this total on our sailing, less than I thought there'd be.

 

4- Service. Great, fast service at all bars and restaurants with the exception of the Café Promenade. This place has a lack of organization. Not the staff's fault - it is more of a design flaw in the way the lines are set up. Overall positive staff attitude throughout the ship.

 

5- Fine Line water show. I am not a fan of shows on ships but this one was awesome. Well worth doing.

 

6- Plenty of open loungers at almost all times in the Solarium.

 

NEGATIVES

1- Kids, kids, kids oh my god kids. Over 1000 on the 1st leg, just under 1000 on the 2nd. We always cruise in the fall to avoid large numbers of children but for an October cruise there were waaaaaaay more than we thought there would be. The ship is a lot more 'family oriented' than all the others than we have sailed so we did expect a few hundred kids but 1000? Not anticipated at all. Maybe our fault for not researching enough but we dug pretty darn deep before booking and did not expect so many this late in the season.

 

2- NO enforcement of the 16+ rule in the Solarium. The ship has an over 16 policy in the Solarium but it was not enforced. I know kids are allowed in when it is raining and the pools are not usable but there was not much rain on either cruise and on sunny days there was no enforcement of the policy. Went to guest services to point this out - they agreed and cleared the kids out immediately but an hour later a new batch returned. Again, I get it, family oriented ship but when we pay for a trip and know part of what we are paying for is an adult area, we want an adult area.

 

3- Rude passengers. Let's face it, not the cruise line's fault but we saw a lot of rude/nasty behavior. Passengers yelling across the ship to get the attention of other people 100 feet away, finger licking in the buffet, folks in the cabin next to us smoking pot (yes I said pot) on the balcony. No issue with smoking pot...but on a ship, really people? Get your buzz on at home.

 

In summary, while we did have a nice time and came home with an overall positive experience, we would probably not sail this class of ship again. Glad we did it but there were just a few too many negatives as detailed above. Not enough to make us negatively view the vacation, but enough to make us not consider this class of ship again.

 

What was bad for us may not be bad for you so keep in mind that these are only our opinions and they are specific to the two dates noted above.

[Clarea]

... 2- NO enforcement of the 16+ rule in the Solarium.

 

...

Sorry to hear this, I hope this lack of enforcement does not spread to other ships.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback

 

 

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[BNBR]

The service was fantastic. Oasis last year left a lot to be desired and Harmony this year was a home run. I didn't notice that many children in the solarium other than a couple times. I spent a ton of time there so I'm not sure I can relate to your complaints about so many children in the solarium as I was on the cruise. Even for breakfast, I think just 1 or 2 tables had a kid in the bistro (where they are allowed supposedly). During the day I don't think I really ever saw kids there except for the family who thought the misting trees were a splash pad.

 

And yes, the pot... constantly smell it on our balcony! What the heck.

[Sascol]

The service was fantastic. Oasis last year left a lot to be desired and Harmony this year was a home run. I didn't notice that many children in the solarium other than a couple times. I spent a ton of time there so I'm not sure I can relate to your complaints about so many children in the solarium as I was on the cruise. Even for breakfast, I think just 1 or 2 tables had a kid in the bistro (where they are allowed supposedly). During the day I don't think I really ever saw kids there except for the family who thought the misting trees were a splash pad./quote]

 

We spent probably 25% of our free time in the Solarium. Specifically, in the seats at the top near the bar up on deck 16. Thought our time there we could hear kids from the two decks down below. This was not kids in the Bistro. We'd peek over and could see them on many occasions in loungers below.

 

On the last day of the cruise a family of six came to the bar to get drinks and one of the women next to us went nuts (correctly so) when one of the kids started to climb the support pole next to the bar. She yelled at them and the bar staff reacted to get them out even though it is not really their job to monitor this. This was the extreme example but we saw the little ones in there most days on both legs of the cruise.

[BNBR]

The service was fantastic. Oasis last year left a lot to be desired and Harmony this year was a home run. I didn't notice that many children in the solarium other than a couple times. I spent a ton of time there so I'm not sure I can relate to your complaints about so many children in the solarium as I was on the cruise. Even for breakfast, I think just 1 or 2 tables had a kid in the bistro (where they are allowed supposedly). During the day I don't think I really ever saw kids there except for the family who thought the misting trees were a splash pad./quote]

 

We spent probably 25% of our free time in the Solarium. Specifically, in the seats at the top near the bar up on deck 16. Thought our time there we could hear kids from the two decks down below. This was not kids in the Bistro. We'd peek over and could see them on many occasions in loungers below.

 

On the last day of the cruise a family of six came to the bar to get drinks and one of the women next to us went nuts (correctly so) when one of the kids started to climb the support pole next to the bar. She yelled at them and the bar staff reacted to get them out even though it is not really their job to monitor this. This was the extreme example but we saw the little ones in there most days on both legs of the cruise.

 

I spent quite a bit of time near you. The solarium bar was one of my regular spots :)

[Sascol]

 

I spent quite a bit of time near you. The solarium bar was one of my regular spots :)

 

Was nice there because when the door to the elevators opened you'd get a nice, cool breeze!

[vrock]

Thank you for posting your experience. We are on harmony in december for our first b2b. One quick questiondid you get to keep your sea pass card from the first cruise? I am wondering because we have a collection of all our cards. Thank you.

[Sascol]

Thank you for posting your experience. We are on harmony in december for our first b2b. One quick questiondid you get to keep your sea pass card from the first cruise? I am wondering because we have a collection of all our cards. Thank you.

 

My wife had the same concern! We did. They collected them at the turnaround meeting and then gave them back to us in the cabin later in the week.

[generalchadwick]

If you liked the overall ship I would recommend doing Oasis next. We went last year at the end of November and has the exact opposite of what you did. The average age of passengers had to be around 65.

 

The fact that it's one of the newest and greatest ships is why you had the high kid count.

 

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[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thank you for taking the time to compose and post your review. The non-enforcement of shipboard rules is a big bone of contention for me. While I haven't sailed on RCCL in a number of years, I've personally seen uneven or no enforcement of rules (kids; chair hogs, buffet table hogs, etc) on many of my past Princess Voyages. We'll see what happens next year when we hopefully sail on the Ovation.....

 

Bob

[sisocialworker]

Thank you for posting your experience. We are on harmony in december for our first b2b. One quick questiondid you get to keep your sea pass card from the first cruise? I am wondering because we have a collection of all our cards. Thank you.

 

have you come over to our 12/16 meet and mingle thread? if you have sorry, I didn't recognize you name...if not come on over and register

[JaneChapman]

Could you please let me know if there are 2 diving shows? I've read comments that there are, but can only see The Fine Line posted on the RCL website. Thank you!

[BNBR]

Could you please let me know if there are 2 diving shows? I've read comments that there are, but can only see The Fine Line posted on the RCL website. Thank you!

 

2 diving shows on harmony. The fine line is the main one but the other is a full production as well. Doesn't show up on cruise planner and no reservations but plenty of seats. Both are outstanding. Check the compass for it or quick call to guest services for the time.

 

Caught me by surprise as we had no idea a second show existed. And it's also really good. More "fun" and a full production. Hideaway something or other is the name.

[BNBR]

OP;

 

Thank you for taking the time to compose and post your review. The non-enforcement of shipboard rules is a big bone of contention for me. While I haven't sailed on RCCL in a number of years, I've personally seen uneven or no enforcement of rules (kids; chair hogs, buffet table hogs, etc) on many of my past Princess Voyages. We'll see what happens next year when we hopefully sail on the Ovation.....

 

Bob

 

Don't expect any serious enforcement. Chair hogs are as bad as any. But overall I think you'll find nothing is bad enough to ruin your cruise.

[JaneChapman]

2 diving shows on harmony. The fine line is the main one but the other is a full production as well. Doesn't show up on cruise planner and no reservations but plenty of seats. Both are outstanding. Check the compass for it or quick call to guest services for the time.

 

Caught me by surprise as we had no idea a second show existed. And it's also really good. More "fun" and a full production. Hideaway something or other is the name.

 

Thanks so much! We're there any other shows that are not on the Cruise planner that you would recommend?

[BNBR]

Thanks so much! We're there any other shows that are not on the Cruise planner that you would recommend?

 

That's the only show I am aware of that wasn't advertised ahead of time. And I can tell you, the quality of these shows is truly special. The sound, music, effects, and pure talent of the cast is incredible. Don't miss any of them.

[pharaoh]

The entertainment on Harmony was some of the best I’ve seen on any cruise. It was a step above Allure, which is my other fav ship. I am not a Grease fan but I even enjoyed that production on Harmony. Even the headliner was great.

 

The Fine Line is probably my favorite show I’ve seen at sea. It was SO GOOD and the soundtrack was amazing.

 

 

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[BNBR]

The entertainment on Harmony was some of the best I’ve seen on any cruise. It was a step above Allure, which is my other fav ship. I am not a Grease fan but I even enjoyed that production on Harmony. Even the headliner was great.

 

The Fine Line is probably my favorite show I’ve seen at sea. It was SO GOOD and the soundtrack was amazing.

 

 

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Fine Line was AMAZING. Though grease was good, I guess, I got up about 15 min in and went to the bar... My wife enjoyed it. I thought it was boring, though well done. So anyone who really likes grease will love it, my wife says it was really good.

 

I thought Columbus was good, surprisingly, but she didn't like that one, lol. The set was super cool and a lot of recognizable songs.

 

Oasis has Come Fly With Me which was a great production that was totally missing on harmony. A more Cirque type show in the main theater.

 

But yeah, I'm not a huge show person and the quality of shows on Oasis class is truly spectacular.

[pharaoh]

I thought Columbus was a bit hokey, especially at the end, but I did think it was really funny. I lost my mind at the part with the sharks. I just laughed and laughed. Hahah

 

 

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