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It’s one of the world’s largest cruise ships, and it’s filled with family-friendly adventures to match.
What do you get when you combine one of the biggest ships in the world with some of the boldest thrills at sea? A gravity defying, status-quo denying, electrifying expedition onboard Harmony of the Seas® that will set a new standard for family holidays. From first-at-sea feats to the favourites that you know and love, you’ll find so many ways to make memories onboard – like the tallest slide at sea, Ultimate Abyss℠, deck-defying stunts at the AquaTheater and the robot-helmed Bionic Bar. Not to mention dazzling Broadway performances and globe-trotting gastronomic experiences that go from Asia to the Mediterranean, and beyond.
This was our first cruise as a couple. I’ve been on a couple and this was his first. The ship will always keep you entertained. I spent most days by the pool while he got some naps in and exercised. The food was excellent. Better than the Symphony or Serenede of the Seas. We ate at 150, Jamie’s, Sabor and Wonderland. 150 had the best food but all were good to great. The fresh pasta in Jamie’s, the bread at 150 and the tenderloin at Wonderland were highlights. All the employees really made the trip feel special. For a very reasonable cost (compared to other vacations) they made us feel like we were sailing on Viking. Our stateroom attendant Doni was kind and very attentive. He helped us with a few items on the first day and always greeted us with a smile and short conversation. Mengying In the solarium bistro was always smiling and just so warm. Such a kind woman. Maricris At 150 was just the best. It was a Valentine’s Day meal and we couldn’t have asked for a better server. We have to say the big band they had on ship “Orchestra & High C’s Horns” was the BEST show on the ship and honestly would’ve been something we paid hundreds to see in MN. They were so darn good we returned every time they played on the ship. RCL if you’re reading this, those guys need to be given lifetime contracts. Absolutely amazing! Now a couple of nits to pick. The ship is showing her age. There were a number of things (including the largest hot tub) that were either out of service or being worked on. It really needs to be updated. The aqua show was so weak and boring compared to the Symphony, which was so good. We stupidly (my fault) flew into Bush Int’l airport, which is 1.5 hours from the port. This port is a bit of a haul from that airport and I just stupidly assumed it was similar to FL, which has the airports fairly close to the cruise ports. Overall a great experience and we’re already booked on another Royal ship and a Celebrity ship. We didn’t expect five stars but what we got was great and will keep us returning to RCL.
Harmony of the Seas is a great ship for entertainment and lots of activities. Unfortunately the food quality in MDR and Windjammer have declined. The specialty restaurants are still very good. The breads in windjammer were stale and fried foods were not crisp. I was on Allure 2yrs ago and Quantum 1 yr ago noticed a significant decline in food quality. The ship is still in great shape, shows: Grease, Fine Line, Columbus, and 1887 are excellent., I know RCI is doing really well financially, they need to put some of the profits back into food services. Had a balcony stateroom it was very nice. Ship was very smooth sailing. Staff was great. Jason in Schooner bar is not to be missed. He is a riot very few entertaining. Never had issues get chairs on deck which was nice. Lots of kids on ship which was surprising since it was mid Feb.
The ship was wonderful, and the food was terrific. What an amazing experience. I wish we had gone on a cruise before now. There is no other vacation like it. The only thing I would do differently is to stay as far away from the Spa as possible. I got an acupuncture treatment package because I have suffered from upper back pain that has never responded to any other treatment for much of my adult life. The doctor performing the procedure had such a thick accent that I could not understand most of what he was saying, and I had to ask him to repeat many things but still could not understand. I simply accepted that he knew what he was doing. The treatment was relatively expensive (about $1,700) but I have spent much more seeking pain relief over the years. While I was on the table, he told me that he was going to shine a red light on my back and that it should help relieve the pain. He may have asked me if it was okay for him to do that, but he never mentioned that it would cost me $470.40! That's a lot of money to have a light shining on your back for 15 minutes over 7 appointments. The lights themselves cost about $200 if you buy one and it doesn't take a medical degree to turn it on. At any rate I complained to Royal Caribbean and to the Spay company which is either a separate company or a subsidiary and I have gotten no response. Will we go on another cruise? Absolutely! Will we go on a Royal Caribbean cruise? Probably. Will we ever use the Spa again? ABSOLUTLEY NOT!
Harmony of the Seas Review - February 2, 2025 We are experienced cruisers in our late 60’s. This was our 50th cruise voyage, 17th with Royal where we are Diamond members, and 5th cruise on an Oasis class ship. This is my 29th review for Cruise Critic We booked an inside guarantee stateroom and got a RoyalUp upgrade four weeks before sailing. We’ve gotten those before, but I seem to recall that the upgrade was closer to sailing date. Whatever, we ended up with a large Central Park view cabin. We found it to be quite spacious. My first comments must be about the Royal app. I was using it more than a month before sailing and at the 30-day mark I was able to reserve all our entertainment to complement the restaurant reservations that we had already made! This is a huge improvement to an app that was already the best in the business. Years ago, we would eagerly await the posting of that evening’s menu to help us decide where we would dine that evening. Was there anything inspired on the menu tonight or would we go the Specialty Dining route tonight? The Royal app provides the dinner menu for every night of the cruise! What a fantastic feature. If you have one or two Specialty Dinners, you might pick the day that is Caribbean night in the dining room because you don’t care for that. Most importantly, previously if you bought a specialty dining package on line, in advance, you were not allowed to make reservations until you got on board which was very disappointing. No longer true. 4 weeks before departure, I had all my reservations for dining and entertainment. Thank you Royal Caribbean. This is a very welcome improvement. You will see many reviews and YouTube videos that say that when you buy a dining package, you can’t make reservations in advance. This is no longer true. Previously, we found it to be unnecessarily stressful to have to rush to make reservations immediately after boarding. If you have a later boarding, you won’t get the dining times you hoped for. A real bummer for someone like us that books specialty dining every night. Thanks Royal! Admittedly these apps can change at any time, so I could be wrong about other lines’ apps, but the last I’ve seen of other apps, they were way behind the Royal app. Even basic things like having dining and entertainment together on the same calendar was not possible while it already was with Royal. Royal’s app has always been best and it continues to get better without being just a tool to sell you stuff. Even messaging between users is free. I stop short of saying that the Royal app is enough of a reason to sail on RCCL over any other line, but it’s getting close. On vacation the last thing you want is planning, stress and confusion and missing things due to double-booking. I used the Royal App all week and there was never a sales pitch through the app. Sunday Embarkation We flew into Galveston a day early. The morning came quickly and we arrived at the pier at 11:30 despite our noon boarding time. To say that boarding was swift is not adequate. It was so fast that, honestly, I’m not sure when it happened. Completely amazing. We purchased The Key again this time. This may have helped. We walked through a vacant rope queue. The agent scanned our passports and our boarding passes that I had saved on my phone’s Apple Wallet. This took around 60 seconds. Check in was done! I had to ask, “We’re checking in??” (keys are on your Stateroom door) There was a waiting area for Key holders but no one was sitting there. It was already time to board. We approached the gatekeeper who called us by our first names. I asked him how he knew our names. He spied our luggage tag attached to my wife’s carryon from a distance and did a reverse lookup. Very slick and professional. I was loving this! First order of business is the life boat drill. These days, it is just a matter of checking in at the muster station. It used to be such an annoyance, now it’s out of the way before you realize it. I’ve made a pact with myself. I’m going to try to avoid the food hall on the top deck all week. There are so many other places to eat that we really don’t need to go there with all those crowds of people. Key holders get a private lunch from the Chops Grille menu to start the week off. It was good. But mostly it was quiet. We also purchased the Unlimited Dining Package which gives us Specialty Dining every evening plus lunch every sea day. We started the week off with 150 Central Park which did not disappoint. We didn’t book a show tonight but we explored the ship. It’s beautiful. Monday Breakfast at Johnny Rockets actually didn’t look that good. We both had one of their scramble bowls. But, I gotta tell you, it was delicious. It’s the seasoning in the eggs. We had a reservation at Chops Grille for lunch which didn’t sound right because we had a Chops-type lunch yesterday so we tried to get a reservation at Jamie’s Italian but they were booked. We tried to get in anyway and were successful. This place has always been fantastic and this visit was no exception. Tonight is Sabor for Mexican and then the Broadway musical Grease! I enjoyed my fish tacos at Sabor. I asked them to serve them to me in hard taco shells. Not very Mexican, I know, but I like them that way. These were no exception. One thing that I have not noticed before that I really like. When the waiter approached us, he already knew that we were Diamond members and that, therefore, our margaritas were complementary. Nice touch. RCL has trimmed back on the amenities for C&A members, so it’s nice to see that they still treat us special. There seemed to be something missing with the place though. Mexican flair maybe? We have lunch reservations at Sabor later in the week. I’m not sure if we will keep them, however. Grease was very good. We will try to catch another performance later in the week. This was our reservation showing. The Key affords us a special seating section. That too, was excellent. Tuesday The Diamond lounge is perfect for a light breakfast and then it’s finally pool time. Lunch at Jamie Oliver’s was interesting. My dish, the prawn linguini, was over-seasoned. I mentioned this to my server. He didn’t waste a moment to past this along to his supervisor who promptly made me another dish, this time properly seasoned. Some critics here would mention this as a negative, citing “all the food is over seasoned”. I mentioned this as a positive. There was something a little off and they jumped to fix it. Still, Jamie’s has been a 5-star experience for us in the past. We didn’t feel this on this cruise. We had 3 visits planned but eventually skipped the last reservation. The dive show was canceled tonight, so we sandwiched casino success around sushi at Izumi. As you can tell, we are strictly Specialty Dining people. We always eat plenty, but RCL could cut back on the portions by, say, 10%-15%. We left food on every plate, and often skipped dessert. We are definitely foodies, but we prefer not to overeat, nor waste food. Wednesday In Roatan, Honduras today, but one of us wasn’t feeling so well, so we laid low. We did finally succumb and had breakfast in the Windjammer Marketplace because we showed up too late to eat elsewhere. This breakfast confirmed that we make the right decision to go elsewhere for our meals. (how’s that for diplomatic?) While seated, we were approached by someone that I can only describe as a polished salesman. He was very polite and not the least bit annoying or intrusive. He tried to sell us Specialty Dining, Spa or Excursions. He did a very good job, but we were all set. Instead, I lamented about how RCCL has been removing benefits for Diamond members. We used to get free laundry, specialty dining, a great free gift (one time we got dinner at Coastal Kitchen nightly, another time a free soft drink package). This is the first voyage where we don’t get a behind-the-scenes tour. He acknowledged that RC has been cutting back on C&A benefits. Then he offered a special “Invitation Only” galley tour for $35. We took it. He was entertaining to talk to and he did his job. We would later learn that Diamond members (us) were not allowed in the Diamond Club from 5PM to 8PM nightly. This is a very big mistake on the part of Crown & Anchor and Royal Caribbean! We do not sail on any ship that doesn’t have a Diamond Club and here we are on a ship that does have a Diamond Club and we are not allowed in it! This is completely unacceptable. The Diamond Concierge explained that when and if there are more than 800 Diamond (and above) members on a cruise, they cut access to the Diamond Club for Diamond members. I understand the problem, but they have chosen the wrong solution. We have been on the Quantum where passengers asked to leave the second floor of the Rock Hall because it was being cleared to handle overflow from the adjacent Diamond Club. Passengers were asked to move to another bar, but Diamond members were not shut out. For dinner, we did a return visit to 150 Central Park. This ship could probably use another specialty restaurant or two. I would prefer not to repeat the same restaurant twice. That said, I had the Duck Duo this time and it was fantastic. All things considered, our best meals were at this restaurant which actually surprised us. In the final analysis, it was the right choice to visit this restaurant twice. It is clearly the best restaurant on board and there are enough excellent menu options that even after two visits you may be left pining for some of the selections that you didn’t make. Our experience with 150 Central Park goes back to the Allure of the Seas when this restaurant had a fixed menu. We enjoyed it then and we still enjoy it as the menu continues to evolve… Thursday …Unlike Wonderland. We have loved this place since it was first introduced on the Quantum where it blew us away with its inspired menu and its avant guard presentations. However, it’s been years and for us who have been to this venue perhaps ten times, it’s good but not great. The food is fine, the presentations, excellent, but there were no surprises. If you haven’t been, it’s a don’t miss. If you can’t decide between Wonderland and 150, go with the latter. As for the venue itself, it was far better when it was smaller and more intimate. In such a large format, it loses its charm. The decor is spread too thin like not enough smear on your bagel. After dinner, we took in the Aqua show called the Fine Line. I really enjoy these shows for their uniqueness. You have to go to Vegas to see anything like this on land. We followed this up with the ice skating show called 1887 and the Comedy Show in the Attic. For all three of these shows, we did not have a reservation at this time, but later in the week. Still, we were seated by going on standby along with virtually everyone else on standby. Furthermore, as Key Holders we’re allowed to sit in a special section with Suite guests. This also allows us to go ahead of the standby line. The Key isn’t particularly cheap, but we think that the best benefit is being able to show up for a show 5-10 minutes before it starts and still get the best seats in the house. Previously (and on other cruise lines) we have to show up at the venue 30-40 minutes before show time to get a good seat. Royal Caribbean made a HUGE improvement when they changed their reservation policy to allow making dinner reservations a month before sailing when you buy a dining package. Even better, because we had an early boarding time (meaning we were one of the first to check-in), I was able to secure 6pm reservations for every night except Saturday which was at 5:30. This made days stress-free. We never had to stop and wonder what time our dinner reservations were. But on Thursday, I realized that Chops was not on my calendar and my 5:30pm at the Hibachi restaurant - which we love - wasn’t until 9:30pm! I investigated and RCCL claims that this is not a mistake that THEY made. They are mistaken. I know this because I had transferred my entire itinerary of reservations and activities to my personal calendar on my phone. Somehow they lost my reservation for Chops and Izumi Hibachi, whether they know/admit it or not. They did some finagling and restored both of reservations. I did not ask for explanation. In any business, its not whether or not you have problems, its what you do when you get them. Royal handled it. On Friday, a sea kjday, we went to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. We didn’t have a good experience for a few reasons. Firstly, this should not be a “Specialty Restaurant”. There is nothing special here. Every cruise line has free hamburgers and they are all better than anything that you’d pay for here. Breakfast is free though and we have usually enjoyed it. I tried to up the ante a bit, figuring if the free breakfast was good, the upcharged breakfast must be incredible. They charged me two dollars and change for a tiny bowl of deep-fried potato chunks with cheese sauce and bacon bits on it. It wasn’t so good. Weird item to up-charge for. Still hungry, I ordered the breakfast scramble that I had a few days earlier. It wasn’t so good. Lousy service too. As bizarre coincidence would have it, we ended up at the same place for lunch. I felt like a (great) burger, figuring that this is what they must be good at, and my wife felt like a hot dog. She picked it up at the Doghouse and brought it to Johnny Rockets for lunch. I’m not sure how this works, but no matter how you slice it, I don’t recommend going here. You pay a cover charge, but you have to pay more for ice cream drinks. The cover charge is $17.— for 1 or 2 people, I’m not sure which. Either way, it is a complete ripoff. We had fries, onion rings and a cheeseburger. My wife didn’t order anything because she had the hotdog. If they charged for two erroneously, then the cover per person is something like $8.75, plus drinks. I chose to use Diamond drink vouchers for the two ice cream drinks but that was a ripoff too. The same vouchers could have got me two $14 margaritas. If the cover charge is $17.— PP, then it’s really outrageous! I just don’t get Johnny Rockets. I’m sure there are some of these restaurants on land but I’ve never seen one. I suppose they have a following, but so does McDonald’s and Burger King. If RC wants a paid burger joint, why not a brand that has mystique surrounding it, like In&Out Burger, Whataburger or Fuddruckers? Our last dinner on the Harmony was at Izumi Hibachi. This place was superb. We generally love it. We loved it even more this time. We had a waiter/chef team of Red and Rocky. They love their jobs and it shows. Go here. Don’t miss it, but it’s not easy to get reservations. There’s less than 30 seats in the restaurant and with 6000 people on board, this place fills up very fast and getting in on standby is tougher here than anywhere else. We did miss the Columbus show. Evidently, we missed a good show We did not leave this ship disappointed. Galveston is a great terminal, which has nothing to do with the cruise, per se, but I bother to say this because I have met some people that will not sail from here because of the terminal. But it is now brand new and state-of-the-art. If this had been our first trip on the Oasis class, we would have loved this cruise a lot more. If we hadn’t eaten at all these Specialty Restaurants so often, we would have loved this cruise more. If these restaurants would change their menus every 8-10 months - perhaps rotate a group of menu items between ships - we would enjoy the experience more. Frankly, we do occasionally cruise with NCL, Celebrity and to a lesser degree, Carnival in order that we may experience different restaurants and attractions. Now that rooms only get serviced once per day, the unique lodging on cruise ships no longer exists and the all-in-one shampoo and body wash is the poorest excuse for shampoo ever. This is not related to the Harmony itself: I am disappointed about the Crown & Anchor Society cutbacks. This is not a wise decision at a time when Virgin Voyages and MSC are matching our Diamond status. Admittedly, these attempts, so far, have been somewhat feeble, but they will only get more aggressive, therefore RC must seize the moment and try to give more, not continually cut back, lest we try out the other lines and love them. I truly wonder what will happen the next time I am on a Royal Caribbean ship, only to find out another treasured benefit has been withdrawn. I’m sure that they “reserve the right to withdraw…without notice..” and that makes it worse. I expected a complementary behind-the-scenes tour, as always, and to have a before dinner cocktail in the Diamond Club, because it was advertised. We were denied these on a whim at the last minute. We need another 24 points to become Diamond Plus which will give us, in total, fewer benefits then when we first became Diamond! I think that we will aggressively pursue Diamond Plus and then sail Celebrity after that, just to try their ships for a while. The Celebrity Edge was the best ship we’ve sailed and they match status with Royal. But remember that we are food snobs and we have sailed on the Oasis class as recently as May 2024. Every restaurant was at least better than “good”. Izumi Hibachi and 150 Central Park were outstanding. So was Grease and all the other shows. Anything negative is related to our Diamond status and if you’re not there, you’re gonna have an amazing time at a great price aboard a great ship.
Ship is unreal. Seems spacious yet so many passengers. The perks have shrunk a bit but the service was up to par. Nice having the specialty restaurants. Recommend not to miss. A totally different vibe from Celebrity. Not as POSH, less choices on the menu but a different class and experience. Family friendly and lots of kids but enormous kids play area and no lack of things for them to do. Balcony cabins are addictive. Breakfast on the balcony, slow and relaxing. Always take lunch at the buffet and little to displease aside from all the kids running around. Steakhouse shouldn’t be missed. Worth the extra bucks. Although we like to explore the ports on our own, the array of excursions in each port is so numerous that it can be hard to not find something particularly interesting or fun for that matter. Most people spoke highly of them. The last night is hard. You won’t want to get off.
ROOM & NEVER BORED
Loaded with adrenaline-amping thrills and maxed-out ways to make new memories, Harmony of the Seas® is your ticket to the boldest family holiday ever. Whether you’re travelling with kids or bringing the whole extended adventure squad along, you’ll find spacious, well-appointed cruise rooms designed to suit all your holiday needs.
YOUR COMFORT NEEDS
24-hour room service for fuelling up between thrills. A daily stateroom attendant dedicated to making sure that your stay is spectacular. Daily cleaning service so you can rest easy before the next day’s adventures. Whether you’re travelling with kids, a group of fellow explorers or require any kind of specialised service, we’ve thought of all the creature comforts you’d expect during your holiday – plus a few more.
BABY ONBOARD - Holidaying with a baby? Let us know and we’ll provide a cot and supplies to make your little one comfy.
BRINGING THE CREW - Keep the whole squad together on your next getaway. Select staterooms can connect to accommodate more guests.
COUPLES RETREAT - Our staterooms offer spa-like comfort so you can disconnect from reality and reconnect with your partner-in-adventure.
SPECIAL NEEDS - All of our cruise ships are equipped to accommodate any special needs – just let us know and we’ll make you feel at home.
Pile your plate high with flavors as exciting as all the action onboard. We’re talking exotic Asian-inspired eats and sushi at Izumi. Tuscan favorites served family-style at Jamie’s Italian by Jamie Oliver. And dishes so far out of the box they’ll have you questioning reality at Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine.
Enrichment programs, or ‘Explorer Academy’ classes cover a wide range of topics, from wine tasting to casino tuition.
It’s always a wow-worthy night onboard Harmony of the Seas®. Crank your bar hop way up with robots that take your order and serve one perfectly-crafted cocktail after another. And catch spellbinding entertainers perform everything from jaw-dropping stunts in the AquaTheater to dazzling performances of stellar Broadway musicals.
Get ready for a ship that’s loaded with bucket list breaking thrills. Like a ten-story plunge down the tallest slide at sea, Ultimate Abyss℠. A white-knuckle race on three high-speed waterslides in The Perfect Storm℠. And a high-flying Zip Line ride nine decks above the Boardwalk®. From dawn until dusk, the thrills just keep multiplying.
Royal Caribbean International's cruise ships offer a wide range of options for the whole family, as well as a great range of just-for-kids options.
