Having Second Thoughts

[Soozie-Q]

Thanks everyone. I just needed assurance that the Harmony & RCI would be as amazing as I thought it would be. Sometimes your mind gets clouded when you read such negative things.

[cruisinfanatic]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

To what? You see better reviews elsewhere?

Never believe every negative review you read. Some people are impossible to make happy.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. We have cruised before, just not with RC. In fact we just got off Carnival's Horizon a couple weeks ago. I know some people just like to complain & I do take things with a grain of salt, but just seeing so many bad ones really had me thinking!

 

If it helps, compare your experience on Horizon with the bad reviews you can find about her. That will give some perspective on bad reviews.

[dd likes to cruise]

We have been on 4 Royal Caribbean ships, including 2 of the large ones. We have nothing to complain about on any of them. All within the last 2 years. Have no idea where you are reading any more bad reviews then any other cruise line.

[Soozie-Q]

I know they all have negative reviews. I see them every time we go on any vacation. This just happens to be the one we are going on next! Just wanted to ease my mind.

[BillOh]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

 

 

You will probably find similar reviews about NCL on their forum. This is one of the newer nicer ships and definitely worth trying out. I've done 2 other ships in the same class and about to try thew newest. I wouldn't hesitate to book Harmony.

[CreativeCruiser119]

As others have said, those reviews are far from what you will likely experience. I have cruised with Royal several times, including on Harmony last April, and love it every time.

 

To address the first point, customer service is top-notch from the stateroom attendants to the dining room staff to the friendliness of the crew as a whole. Plus, Harmony’s two rotating captains, Captain Johnny Faevelen (who I have had the pleasure of sailing with on both Harmony and Allure) and Gus Andersson, are renowned as two of the best not only in terms of their navigational abilities, but also in the warmth and customer service value they train into their crew members.

 

That pretty much carries on to your second point as well, staff are anything but lousy, they work nonstop and still always carry a smile!

 

Dirty ships? Never experienced it. The ones I’ve been on have been extremely clean, and as a matter of fact, Royal clearly prides itself on sanitation and the health and safety value onboard their ships.

 

To conclude, no, you should not switch cruises, Harmony is one of the best ships out there today and I think you will have the time of your life, and regret making the decision to cancel a cruise on this magnificent ship. Take it from someone who is Loyal to Royal for many reasons including the aforementioned. You WILL NOT be disappointed! So let all your worries fade, get yourself pumped up, start counting down, and when the time comes, have a wonderful cruise on the fabulous Harmony of the Seas!!

 

 

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[setsail]

Thanks everyone. I just needed assurance that the Harmony & RCI would be as amazing as I thought it would be. Sometimes your mind gets clouded when you read such negative things.

So if you don't believe what you have read why would you believe anything posted here? You will have to take the cruse and make up your own mind.

[Soozie-Q]

Setsail ???? I was just looking for some reassurance. Cruise Critic is a great place for that. The negative reviews were not on here. I realize I will have to make up my own mind.

[jordanaire]

Ironically I've never cruised Carnival because of everything negative I've heard about them. We haven't been on RC in 4 years and we're sailing in 11 days.

 

Generally people speak louder when they're not happy then when they are happy.

 

You'll have a great time on your RC cruise!!

We've cruised on Carnival 23 times and NEVER experienced any negative issues. And we're in our mid-60s and not party animals that some make Carnival out to be. Like the old saying goes "Try it. You might like it".

 

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[starfish216]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

Been on over a dozen RC cruises, never had any issues that I need to deal with customer service. Only used them to exchange US $ in Europe and get an extra room key for my dad's cabin since he travels solo. They were always polite.

 

How was the ship dirty? Any ship I've been on they are constantly cleaning. I may find an unoccupied table in the WJ may still have plates on it but the person servicing that area is cleaning off another table not standing around talking.

[vacationlover_mn]

My advice- go in with a positive attitude :). My DH and I are very judgey, and always find stuff to love/hate, but we always look fondly back on our cruises (except the one on NCL Dream where we both got norovirus, that one sucked ;) ). We loved harmony! It was a great cruise! If you like fun food, try Wonderland- loved it so much we’ll do it again on Symphony :)

 

 

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[mugtech]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. We have cruised before, just not with RC. In fact we just got off Carnival's Horizon a couple weeks ago. I know some people just like to complain & I do take things with a grain of salt, but just seeing so many bad ones really had me thinking!

Carnival Horizon had inferior entertainment and a terrible theatre in May, if you survived that you will enjoy any RCI more.

[StolidCruiser]

I found Cruise Critic about a month before our first cruise, which was on the Celebrity Summit. I was ready to cancel when I read about how old, dingy, and rusty she was. My jaw dropped in amazement when I boarded her. She was beautiful! Yes, there were a few—very few—tiny rust spots here and there, but she’s a ship, a ship that sails in salt water. Rust happens. We liked the cruise so much that I booked a family cruise when I got home.

 

Thursday we leave on our seventh RCI cruise. I’ve never been on Harmony, but we’ve enjoyed all of ours. And I’m a PITA and don’t overlook much. There’s been an occasional supercilious employee, but they are the exception. Most are very willing to do whatever it takes to give you a great vacation. And I cannot imagine the cleanliness standards of anyone who would describe any of the ships as “dirty.”

 

You may find after your cruise that you prefer Carnival or another cruise line to RCI. I’ve liked some cruises better than others, but I cannot say I’ve ever regretted any cruise I’ve taken.

 

Thank you for such a wonderfully phrased post. It was truly a pleasure to read.

[birdofsong]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

 

I've been on six Royal cruises and am about to go on the 7th. I've taken two Carnival. My parents have traveled just about every cruise line there is. We always go back to Royal. The ships have been lovely, the staff has been extremely friendly and helpful, and the food was really good, and we didn't even go to any of the specialty restaurants. As far as negative reviews, you are going to find some people that won't be happy no matter what, and there are going to be occasional issues on any cruise line. If you booked the Harmony, you're on a lovely, big ship with a lot to do. I, personally, think you'll have a great time.

[lenquixote66]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

 

We have cruised on HAL,NCL,Celebrity,Cunard ,Carnival and Royal Caribbean . Seven on RCI .We love RCI .They have great customer service both in their corporate office as well as on the ships .Staff is always wonderful .We have yet to see a dirty RCI ship.

[garrymorere]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

 

 

 

Much like others have said, there are always instances ANYWHERE you book. In RCCL’s case I had one incredibly rude bartender on my first sailing with them last January when my ex-partner just wanted a bottle of water and, unaware they closed 2min prior wandered up and got screamed at. Of course you’ll remember those things but everyone else on that sailing and on my subsequent solo cruise was great and I look forward to Oasis in 11 weeks.

 

It is inexcusable but if it happens, move on and don’t let it ruin your whole trip.

 

 

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[juliesVacation]

I've never had a bad experience with CS on Royal. I very much think that customer service is often dependent on the customer side of the equation - the customer's attitude I mean.

 

It's an incredibly frustrating job, CS.

[Soozie-Q]

Thanks everyone. I know we will have a great time.

[Desert Cruizers]

Friends told us for our first cruise, to board with an open mind.I have cruised with Princess and Royal and have never experienced a bad cruise. As in life nothing will be 100 % perfect. I have found the crew friendly and helpful. Each ship has different crew so one might have a totally different experience on one ship over another, so have never faulted an entire cruise line because of a problem on one ship. Have yet to cruise on the Harmony, so have a wonderful cruise.

[lovescats5]

Each cruise can be good or bad, it all depends on what you make of it. You said you just got off Carnival and we will never cruise them again because of the rude kids that were on the boat when we were, and we travel with a now 11 year old girl. Princess has no baconys so there will not be a consideration. We were on Oasis for 2 cruises and enjoyed the boat, room, and activities but we decided to enjoy everything instead of complaining. Our thoughts are that a cruise is better than staying home regardless. Hope you enjoy your Royal cruise.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Princess has no baconys so there will not be a consideration.

what does that even mean?

[dcgrumpy]

Each cruise can be good or bad, it all depends on what you make of it. You said you just got off Carnival and we will never cruise them again because of the rude kids that were on the boat when we were, and we travel with a now 11 year old girl. Princess has no baconys so there will not be a consideration. We were on Oasis for 2 cruises and enjoyed the boat, room, and activities but we decided to enjoy everything instead of complaining. Our thoughts are that a cruise is better than staying home regardless. Hope you enjoy your Royal cruise.

That's the second post today where you have said Princess doesn't have balconies. What do you mean by that? There are balcony rooms on almost every (maybe even every) Princess ship.

[lovescats5]

You are correct they do have balconies but none the size we like. Since we spend half our time on them we like something in the 100+ feet.

[pingpong1]

Lovescats5 - Are you saying you want/need a stateroom balcony that is 100+ feet long? Or an individual stateroom balcony that is 100+ square feet in area (something that's 10' wide X 10' long - or maybe 8' wide by 12' long)? Please clarify your requirements. And if you have found such a balcony that meets those/your requirements in the past, which ship was it on and what type of stateroom was attached to it? Thanks