Mother-Son Cruise: Oasis of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas or Harmony of the Seas?

[Sigyn]

I'm trying to decide on a cruise for myself and my 15-year-old son. It's a last minute kind of thing for us to do over spring break in April. My husband can't go with us due to his job. I've never cruised on Royal Caribbean before. I've read reviews and looked at itineraries and I like these three ships and schedules the best. Now it's narrowing down to one. I haven't decided on balcony, interior or oceanview. I hate to spend too much since it's a bonus vacation that wasn't planned, but I do love a good balcony and I've never stayed in anything but a balcony, so maybe I'm kidding myself to think I could. Not sure.

 

Which cruise would you pick and why?

 

Royal Caribbean - Harmony of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day 

Features: 2 flow riders, ultimate abyss water slide, 2 rock walls, zip line, three multi-story waterslide, basketball, jogging track 

Day 1 Miami

Day 2 Sea Day

Day 3 Sea Day

Day 4 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm

Day 5 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - 7 am - 3 pm

Day 6 Sea Day

Day 7 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 9 am - 5 pm

Day 8 Orlando

Balcony Guarantee - $3,145  

Interior Guarantee - $2,259 

 

 

Royal Caribbean - Wonder of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day 

Features: 2 flow riders , jogging track, basketball, zip line, 2 rock climbing walls, laser tag, ice rink

Day 1 Orlando

Day 2 Sea Day

Day 3 Sea Day

Day 4 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm

Day 5 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - 7 am - 3 pm

Day 6 Sea Day

Day 7 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 9 am - 5 pm

Day 8 Orlando

Interior Guarantee - $2,935

Balcony Guarantee - $3,885

Balcony I pick the room - ocean view balcony - $5,443; boardwalk balcony - $4,723; central park balcony - $4,863

 

Royal Caribbean - Oasis of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean and Perfect Day 

Features: 2 flow riders, 2 rock walls, zip line, ice rink, basketball, jogging track 

Day 1 Miami

Day 2 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 7 am - 4 pm

Day 3 Sea Day

Day 4 San Juan, PR - 10 am - 7 pm

Day 5 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm

Day 6 Sea Day

Day 7 Sea Day

Day 8 Orlando

 

Balcony - Central Park view - $3,647

Interior Guarantee - $2,653

Oceanview - panoramic view - $3,625

Edited February 21, 2023 by njsmom

[topnole]

Harmony or Oasis will be a much better value and a blast for your son.  I would go with one of those two if budget is any consideration.  

[Sigyn]

1 minute ago, topnole said:

Harmony or Oasis will be a much better value and a blast for your son.  I would go with one of those two if budget is any consideration.  

Budget is definitely a consideration. Our "real" vacation is in July. 🙂 Harmony is the best deal since I can still get a balcony guarantee there. Thanks!

Edited February 21, 2023 by njsmom

[topnole]

While wonder is new and have a few different features, all three of those ships are over the top cool for any teenager.  Save some money and go oasis or Harmony.  

[Cayman1]

If price is one of the key elements here, go with Harmony. Harmony has an amazing staff and has a huge following. I too enjoy balconies, but if you are trying not to spend too much, go with an interior and save the money.

 

I also feel the Harmony and Wonder schedules are better than Oasis, but that's a personal opinion.

 

Take the interior guarantee and go enjoy yourself! 

 

 

[George C]

I would go with balcony guarantee on harmony, I refuse to spend extra for basically the same ship .

[Scoobydobe7]

I would go with Harmony for the price (over Wonder) and the newer style rooms (over the Oasis)...

Have fun!!!

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

17 minutes ago, njsmom said:

 I haven't decided on balcony, interior or oceanview. I hate to spend too much since it's a bonus vacation that wasn't planned, but I do love a good balcony and I've never stayed in anything but a balcony, so maybe I'm kidding myself to think I could. Not sure.

 

For what it's worth ... one of my earliest cruises was a company cruise where nobody paid but nobody had any say over their cabin. I had an inside cabin, and I learned that without a balcony, it just isn't worth it for me. 

 

As for your choices here: I prefer the Oasis to the Harmony, but in this case I think I might vote Harmony. 

[taglovestocruise]

16 minutes ago, njsmom said:

Budget is definitely a consideration. Our "real" vacation is in July. 🙂 Harmony is the best deal since I can still get a balcony guarantee there. Thanks!

XB  is a ocean view balcony, XN is a neighborhood balcony. When they only offer a balcony guarantee there is a 99% chance it will be a neighborhood balcony. PS. We also have never sailed in anything but a ocean view balcony, and never will. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by taglovestocruise

[Sigyn]

2 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

XB  is a ocean view balcony, XN is a neighborhood balcony. When they only offer a balcony guarantee there is a 99% chance it will be a neighborhood balcony. PS. We also have never sailed in anything but a ocean view balcony, and never will. 

I would feel the same way if I was traveling with my husband, but I think my son would enjoy the neighborhood balcony and get to watch everyone down below, and it would give me the extra space and fresh air of a balcony, so I'd be good. 

[Sigyn]

14 minutes ago, Cayman1 said:

If price is one of the key elements here, go with Harmony. Harmony has an amazing staff and has a huge following. I too enjoy balconies, but if you are trying not to spend too much, go with an interior and save the money.

 

I also feel the Harmony and Wonder schedules are better than Oasis, but that's a personal opinion.

 

Take the interior guarantee and go enjoy yourself! 

 

 

So you like St. Thomas better than San Juan? That's the only real difference in the schedules. I haven't seen either of those ports and they both interest me.

[topnole]

2 minutes ago, njsmom said:

I would feel the same way if I was traveling with my husband, but I think my son would enjoy the neighborhood balcony and get to watch everyone down below, and it would give me the extra space and fresh air of a balcony, so I'd be good. 

Your son might enjoy the view of the boardwalk balcony much better.  If toward the back you can even see the shows (with obstructed views).  Central Park is quite serene.  The boardwalk has a lot more action going on.  Some don’t like the additional noise, but I prefer the boardwalk because you have some ocean view and have the entertainment in the aqua theater.  If you go to bed early or are sensitive to noise, it may not be for you.  But otherwise the boardwalk walk balconies do have some cool aspects relative to Central Park. 

[rockmom]

Balcony guarantee on Harmony--know that it will likely be an 'interior' balcony facing either central park or the boardwalk.  

[JeffT237]

4 minutes ago, njsmom said:

So you like St. Thomas better than San Juan? That's the only real difference in the schedules. I haven't seen either of those ports and they both interest me.

What are you and your son's interests? To me St. Thomas offers more beach day activities and San Juan more sightseeing and historical sites to view.  They are both enjoyable, and you will certainly get plenty of beach related activities at the other stops like St. Maarten and CoCo Cay.  Old San Juan is cool with it's architecture and exploring the forts, but I think the 15 y/o version of me would pick St Thomas and want to go to Megans Bay or explore St. Johns.  

 

We've been on both the Oasis and Harmony and enjoyed both those ships, we like the Oasis class and will be boarding the Wonder in a couple of weeks.  Plenty to keep both of you entertained and happy.  Check out the entertainment offerings as well if that's important to the two of you, they all offer an aqua show which we really enjoy.  Best of luck planning, sounds like a great trip!

[wrldtrvllr]

FYI, I believe Wonder only has one flow rider. I also would pick Harmony for the price difference and would not rule out interior cabin…harmony has “grease”, oasis “cats” though 15 yo might not be interested in either…the lack of adult only pool on harmony is irrelevant for your son but you still can escape to the solarium hot tubs/loungers. Most everything else is the same. Those are big price differences imho. 

[Cutigerlady]

Do you have to fly?  If so, you may want to consider which airport is cheaper to fly into and that it is much farther to the port from the airport in Orlando.  My boys (16,12) would pick the Harmony and they did so last Spring Break.  We are going on the Oasis in November because I wasn't paying the premium for the Wonder.  

[Sigyn]

52 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

What are you and your son's interests? To me St. Thomas offers more beach day activities and San Juan more sightseeing and historical sites to view.  They are both enjoyable, and you will certainly get plenty of beach related activities at the other stops like St. Maarten and CoCo Cay.  Old San Juan is cool with it's architecture and exploring the forts, but I think the 15 y/o version of me would pick St Thomas and want to go to Megans Bay or explore St. Johns.  

 

We've been on both the Oasis and Harmony and enjoyed both those ships, we like the Oasis class and will be boarding the Wonder in a couple of weeks.  Plenty to keep both of you entertained and happy.  Check out the entertainment offerings as well if that's important to the two of you, they all offer an aqua show which we really enjoy.  Best of luck planning, sounds like a great trip!

I like historical sites, he likes the beach and beach activities, like most teenagers. Good call on that one. He loved the shows on NCL's Prima on our cruise this past Christmas, so he'll enjoy the Royal Caribbean versions which are much bigger.

 

47 minutes ago, wrldtrvllr said:

FYI, I believe Wonder only has one flow rider. I also would pick Harmony for the price difference and would not rule out interior cabin…harmony has “grease”, oasis “cats” though 15 yo might not be interested in either…the lack of adult only pool on harmony is irrelevant for your son but you still can escape to the solarium hot tubs/loungers. Most everything else is the same. Those are big price differences imho. 

Sounds good. My son loves to dance and music is huge to him, and he really has enjoyed the Broadway shows we've taken him to since he was little. I probably won't hang out at all in the Solarium without my husband since my son will want to be able to find me. Maybe I'm wrong tho and he won't care. I like that he still wants to hang with mom, tho. On occasion. When his friends aren't around. 

 

24 minutes ago, Cutigerlady said:

Do you have to fly?  If so, you may want to consider which airport is cheaper to fly into and that it is much farther to the port from the airport in Orlando.  My boys (16,12) would pick the Harmony and they did so last Spring Break.  We are going on the Oasis in November because I wasn't paying the premium for the Wonder.  

Good point. We flew into Melbourne and cruised out of Port Canaveral in December, so I'm quite familiar with those costs. Galveston is the cheapest airport, but the cost of getting to the port is pricey. I opted against the cruises out of that one, tho. Orlando is the second cheapest, by a couple hundred bucks per ticket. Then Miami. I have 90,000 frequent flyer miles so that will get me one free ticket. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

Royal Caribbean - Oasis of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean and Perfect Day 

Features: 2 flow riders, 2 rock walls, zip line, ice rink, basketball, jogging track 

Day 1 Miami

Day 2 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 7 am - 4 pm

Day 3 Sea Day

Day 4 San Juan, PR - 10 am - 7 pm

Day 5 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm

Day 6 Sea Day

Day 7 Sea Day

Day 8 Orlando

we are going to be on this one with our 12 yo, because it was the cheapest RCI cruise during our spring break. And that's what my 12 yo picked.

 

If I were you, I'd pick Harmony. It's newer and also has an ice rink. We loved it.

[zanydoc]

I’ve been on all 3 of these ships with my teenage son and I’d pick Harmony. Great Ice show, Aquatheater show, and Grease. Nice variety of restaurants. Many things to do! It’s fine if you plant yourself in the Solarium-he can still come find you and touch base and you can eat lunch together in the Solarium Bistro. As mentioned by another cruiser-Wonder only has 1 Flowrider, just FYI, with very long lines. It is a nice and new ship, but not worth the extra cost, IMO. Have fun! 

[zanydoc]

Oasis has the ice rink, too 😃

[taglovestocruise]

15 year old with binoculars = fun time on the balcony..

[Sigyn]

1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

15 year old with binoculars = fun time on the balcony..

Not taking binoculars! Thanks for the warning. 🙂

He nearly passed out several times on our December cruise. He'd just turned 15 the month before, and teenaged girls and young women would get on the elevator and he'd go silent. Then they'd step off the elevator, and he'd say, "MOM! Did you see those baddies?!" (Baddies is the new slang for "hot" for those not in the know!) I would say something like, "Well, I saw that there were girls on the elevator, but I didn't really notice their appearance. As a 55-year-old mom, it doesn't hit me quite the same way as it does you, son." 😂

Edited February 22, 2023 by njsmom

[Cayman1]

15 hours ago, njsmom said:

So you like St. Thomas better than San Juan? That's the only real difference in the schedules. I haven't seen either of those ports and they both interest me.

 

I like them both... we will be in San Juan in a few weeks, but I like the St. Thomas slightly over San Juan. Some might think I am crazy, or prefer San Juan, but there again, it is all personal preference. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

16 hours ago, njsmom said:

I would feel the same way if I was traveling with my husband, but I think my son would enjoy the neighborhood balcony and get to watch everyone down below, and it would give me the extra space and fresh air of a balcony, so I'd be good. 

I wouldn't want a neighborhood balcony. You are always watching the people across from you, and they are watching you. No peace.

[Donsyb]

Sounds like shows are a thing for him, so I would go for harmony and grease over cats on oasis. The amenities are very similar.

 

I agree I wouldn’t pay the extra for wonder on this occasion, when the itineraries and ships are so similar.