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Return to Cruising and 1st STAR Class Experience

Tallinn

We chose this cruise to get as far south as we could as we like snorkeling and beaches. We chose Harmony for the shows and entertainment. Our group consisted of my spouse and two adult daughter <30 years of age. We like to travel but have limited cruise experience. 

Executive Summary: I had a great time and loved the ship. We did a 3 night dining package and thought it was very good. The ship is in very good condition and our cabins were clean and functional (we had a balcony and daughters an interior, both on Deck 8). Food was hit and miss, with some good meals at MDR. Shows were very good. Port call were average, with Roatan being the highlight and Cozumel and Costa Maya tied for average and sketchy (note: took 2 third party tours and suggest booking tours with RCL as quality and safety were better). Crew and staff were very good and worked very hard. Overall critique by family: I loved the cruise, my spouse less enthusiastic. My daughters perhaps felt out of place demographic-wise as there were many families and older adults but not many in their situation, but enjoyed the cruise and the dining as well as the tours.

Weather: a strong cold front was passing through the Gulf of Mexico and impacted our first 3 days. It was very windy and at times rainy. After that the weather for the rest of the cruise was partly sunny to cloudy with only the last sea day being sunny and excellent for pools and other outside activities. Luckily we could go ice skating and spa visits during the first 2 days.

Details:

Embarkation - easy. RCL terminal is large and easy to navigate. Staff were friendly and helpful. Tip: try to get the earliest boarding time and arrive at least 45min prior as, in our case, we were let in early. This helps for getting dining reservations onboard and making any other changes before all 5,000+ are on board. We headed up to the Solarium and had lunch and hot tubbed all afternoon. 

Staterooms: our cabins were on Deck 8, a very good location as the Central Park was nearby with Park Cafe for breakfast and Trellis Bar only short walk away. Our stateroom attendant was good but only got to our room by early evening. We should have tried to check in with him immediately on the first day to discuss a better time.

Food - always important. The MDR was good for the most part. We are minor league foodies and do like interesting and spicy food. Some entrees were interesting, but never spicy. Even the south Asian selections. Bring some condiments. We really enjoyed having a 3 course sit down meal every night and my daughters loved the special treatment. Our 3 night dining package was for Jamie’s, 150 Central Park, and Wonderland. Jamie;s was good but way too much and took so long we missed getting seats for Grease. Be advised to time your dining and entertainment with at least an hour in between. We thought 150 was excellent, Wonderland fun but the food a bit of a miss (order the fish vs the short ribs, for some reason shorts ribs are always on the menus but taste the same). Windjammer was good for breakfast. Solarium Bistro average to boring but location is prime. Park Cafe signature sandwich was very good, the rest was bland. Park was easy to access so that’s a key bonus for staterooms nearby. 

Activities - We were weathered out on the first 2 sea days so didn’t use the pools of other outside activities. We were able to ice skate and hot tub (the two port and starboard hot tubs are great). We did dance classes, spa visits, and explored the ship, so no time wasted. Nightlife was great. We enjoyed all the shows, even 1880 ice skating show which was strange but suspend your disbelief. The aqua show was off the charts! We enjoyed dancing at Bolaros (we took dance lessons prior and being able to salsa dance on the ship elevated the experience. We highly recommend it. We even got compliments from other cruisers for our very basic and sometimes awkward dancing LOL. We are not casino people so no reviews for that. The pools and outdoor activities were good. We tried the flow rider and zip line. Can be a wait for the flow rider though. 

Drink package: Got it, loved it. No regrets. Smoothies at the spa are included as well as sparkling water. We had some fun and imaginative cocktails. Get the Smoke Rings at Wonderland!

Staff - Great, Bartenders work hard and fast but were friendly. MDR waitstaff were very professional and thoughtful. We were late one night and they were good about that. Cabin attendant worked hard but got to our stateroom late.  

Port Call and tours - Honduras was beautiful and interesting. Costa Maya was sketchy, and Cozumel (port only) was gritty. We booked 2 third party tours for Roatan and Costa Maya and kind of regret them. At Roatan, we used Victor Bodden’s Sloth tour with snorkeling. The sloth tour was very fun, the snorkeling excellent. But for safety, not so sure. We literally had a grade schooler pilot our boat to the reef. They took us to a lunch place (Happy Harry’s Hideaway) which as fun. Costa Maya we used ShoreExcursioneers with Toucan Tours for the Chacchoben tour with beach option.  They tried hard but were unorganized. The “all-inclusive” beach with lunch was sub-par. I’ve been all over while in the Navy and seen run down and sketchy places and this one (Maramao) was one of them. At Cozumel, we booked a snorkeling tour through RCL (3 reef tour) and had high quality and safe experience. Costs more but worth it (sea turtle). Reasoning: we are active and healthy adults but if you had any mobility issues or other needs would you want to be on a boat with 12 year olds in charge? We saw several older folks trip and get into minor scrapes at Chacchoben. Choose wisely.

Great cruise, beautiful ship, pleasant & hard working staff. Port calls average

We sailed previously on the Allure out of Galveston in February 2023, and we wanted to experience the Harmony, since it had been upgraded, and the Allure had not been. 

We had checked in early and had an 11 AM boarding time so we headed there early in the day especially because Royal had sent multiple reminders of the Mardi Gras parades impact to traffic. However, traffic was light and we ended up at the terminal at 10 AM. There were still people from the previous cruise exiting, but it was easy to drop our bags. We chose to park at the north lot which was close and convenient. 

Once in the terminal, there were no lines and we completed the check-in process in the terminal and were directed to a waiting area. A few minutes later they opened the ship for boarding and we were on board by 10:45. 

The first thing that we did was complete our dinner reservations. We had a three day package and on this cruise you still could not make reservations until on board. We were the 3rd in line and the first 2 were doing ultimate dining packages which took quite a bit of time. When Royal allows this to be done online, it’ll sure make that process simpler. Being very early we got what we wanted, although we had to adjust the time slightly based on the restaurant availability.  We did Jamie Italian, Wonderland, and 150 Park Central. Wonderland was a unique experience and certainly worth going to once. Jamie Italian was very casual and the food was good whereas 150 Park had a more upscale feel to it and equally elegant food options.

We headed to the Solarium to relax and wait for our rooms to become available. We had it virtually to ourselves and were able to get beautiful views of the harbor. 

Since the Solarium does buffet lunch, we decided to grab it there.  There were quite a few people there, but the line moved well. Apparently the word had gotten out about how this was a great place to grab your first lunch. We also did the solarium for breakfast. There were typically a line, since there was only one service area and enough places to sit. However, compared to the windjammer, the selection was smaller.

Right at 1 o’clock they announced that the rooms were ready for us. We headed down to our balcony cabin on deck seven. This was one of the most noticeable differences from the Allure. There was storage on both sides of the bed for our clothes. And then the desk also had additional storage space so we had ample places to put things. There was a single outlet alongside the bed. there were additional outlets and USB charge ports at the desk. The angled bathroom took up less space in the room, but did not feel significantly smaller than on the Allure. The curved shower door gave plenty of room in the shower. 

When we tried to open the balcony, it did not seem to want to open. We weren’t sure if it was locked or not and eventually were able to get it to open. It seemed that other doors around us had the same problem. I like to sneak out on the balcony when my wife is sleeping, but it was impossible to do that with the door the way it was.

We have sailed several previous cruises and were used to having the cabin steward introduce themselves early on. However, we did not run into our cabin stewart until much later. Since this was our first since they switched to once a day cleaning, this may be due to the 30+ cabins that each one is responsible for now or just bad luck. 

One of our suitcases did not arrive, and we eventually contacted guest services to see what happened and report it lost. We were a bit panicked as you might expect. When we did finally meet our cabin steward, she informed us that our missing luggage was in the security area due to a prohibited item. Surprising they had made no other attempt to inform us of this. A message on our phone would’ve been a nice option. Or that when we reported it lost that they would’ve told us right then where it was  When we went to claim it, it turned out that they simply had misinterpreted a charging cord as an extension cord, which it wasn’t.

We had chosen the early dinner seating in the MDR, and ended up at a table of 11 people. You take a chance joining a group for dinner, but most of the time it works out. This group was no exception, and we had several enjoyable meals together. The Harmony follows the standard royal menu, which has a good variety. The one exception was that instead of Mexican night, we had Asian night, which was better. Mexican night was not one of our favorites on the Allure and not for others as well it seems.

During our departure from Galveston, the captain had warned us to expect winds from behind and waves. That is one of the risks in sailing from Galveston during the winter is that the cold weather can push down this far. The first sea day was definitely rough, but the ship handled it well, and it was mostly just rocking to deal with. The wind and the cold meant that most outdoor activities were canceled or relocated. The second sea day, while less windy, was still cold and was another day of canceled outdoor activities. The good news was the next day when we reached Costa Maya, the weather had improved and the wind and waves it is notorious for were very behaved. The remainder of the cruise the weather cooperated and even the final sea day, when returning to Galveston, which can be cold and windy, was very pleasant and everyone had a great time.

Royal Caribbean is known for its entertainment on oasis class ships and the harmony is no exception. We attended Grease, and it was good. We also attended Columbus, the musical, and a bit odd, but entertaining. For the main ice show, I thought that the theatrical portions upstaged the skating, but it was still enjoyable. I liked the iSkate program better because it was more focused on the skaters. The comedy show venue seemed a little bit bigger on the Harmony although still small. Comedians were good and entertaining (for what we paid). When we went to the aqua show, we found out they were not going to be able to do it due to an earlier problem with the hydraulics so they gave us a modified version. It was a good gesture to give some kind of show, but expecting the aqua show and getting anything else just didn’t work. 

In addition to the bigger productions, there are  many other smaller programs worth going to, especially the Crazy Quest.

Just due to the number of people on the Harmony, you need to make reservations for the specialty restaurants and the shows. However, when the shows get canceled or rescheduled, that is most likely going to conflict with any dinner reservations you have.

The Harmony upgrades included waterslides, a children’s water play area, and the ultimate abyss dry slide. These are significant upgrades for any families sailing out of Galveston. While the.Allure has more hot tubs, the Harmony had sufficient, and the infinity pools by the solarium were our favorite.

When we sailed on the Allure it was just after Central Park had been killed off by a freeze. Seeing it as it was expected was beautiful and very pleasant to sit and listen to the entertainment in the evenings. 

For the ports of call, we elected to do private excursions at all three. For Costa Maya, we went to Maya Chan, which was a fantastic experience. They focus on service, and everything was excellent. The roads to and from were not so great. For Roatan, we picked a private excursion and did zip lining, the chocolate factory and the West Bay beach. The traffic heading back to the cruise port was really bad even though we had planned to arrive back early. It took nearly an hour to cover the last mile. This was apparently due to construction in the downtown area, and it was virtually gridlock. However everybody was able to get back on board. Just had to be patient. For Cozumel, we took a taxi and went to Paradise Beach for an all inclusive day. The weather was just right not too hot not too cold. It was our first time there, and, very enjoyable. Getting back to the port here was a breeze. there was also no lines at security check in compared to last year when it wrapped clearer around the shopping center. Perhaps later in the day they still had to deal with that.

There are 2 QR codes to be aware of. The first an be found on channel 2 on the TV and is a link to the complete daily compass. You can also request a printed one daily as well. They want you to use the app, but I find it hard to get a quick summary of times for different venues or pools from the app. So rather than print it, at least being able to bring it up on my phone was very helpful. It would be nice if they had it posted somewhere easier to find. The other QR code will be on the card that your steward gives you.It is a link to submit requests for services, such as needing extra towels or ice. 

The smoking in the casino is very noticeable just about anywhere around on deck 4. Having a smoking and non-smoking side doesn’t help much. The small non-smoking casino just wasn’t very enticing. 

For arrival back in Galveston, they provide very clear instructions on how to prepare your luggage. One item that was discussed on social media was a rule when taking your own bag (self assist) that you could only take one piece of luggage to have one hand available for the escalators in the terminal. You can have more than one bag as long as you have one hand free. They are discouraging people from taking two roller bags. It was easier for us to let them take you luggage. We were group 23 and were called at 8:45 and were off the ship and collected our luggage and on our car at the North lot by 9:10. 

One thing the same on both ships were elevators. Many times it is hard to get them. When they do show up they are often full. People try to squeeze in too many because of that. There are only the 2 sets, forward and aft.  These get especially busy at dinner time or when shows let out. Sometimes people took elevators up to go down, and vice versa. Another place where patience is important.  We booked near the front set which made it easier to reach the Solarium and the theaters but a longer walk to MDR and boardwalk area. 

Overall, we had an enjoyable time on the Harmony of the Seas, and would certainly sail again. The size is both a blessing when it comes to activities and space but a bit of a curse because there are just so many people.

We really liked the upgrades to the Harmony

This was the 9th cruise that I have taken with Royal Caribbean, and it was by far the worst. Customer service was poor since day 1. I am a Diamond member and I was not allowed to be in the “Diamond” lounge during happy hour; interesting doing this to customers that have spent tens of thousands of dollars with them. The worst part was the shore excursions booked through Royal Caribbean. All the pictures in each excursion were fake with misleading descriptions. The shore excursion staff did nothing to help. They said all we could do was leave our comments with them. The entire time on the ship, it felt like Royal Caribbean was trying to upcharge you in some way. Also, the food on the ship was below average unless you wanted to spend about $75 per person per meal on specialty dining. This cruise was by far the worst cruise of my life.

DO NOT BOOK ROYAL CARIBBEAN

This was a company paid cruise and my first one to go on. We had a great time and now would like to go on another! The crew were amazing! The ship was clean and full of activities for everyone in our group of all ages. The food was fantastic. The service in the main dining room was perfect. The rooms were spacious with lots of storage and the stewardess that we had was so kind and beyond helpful. I loved coming on ship and leaving the real world behind. Embarkment and disembarkment were both extremely easy and the same as on excursions days. Extremely organized and seamless! I was extremely worried I would be shuffled around and confused but this was far from the case on port days! Anyone looking to cruise would enjoy this cruise line! I highly recommend it to anyone from singles to families! I hope you enjoy!

1st time cruise 

This was my 9th cruise.  All my cruises have been on either RCCL or Carnival except one cruise on Disney.  We started out cruising on RCCL on Grandeur's inaugural sailing year.  We've always put RCCL above Carnival overall and deemed those cruises better than the Carnival ones.  Prior to covid the last cruise we took was on Carnival as it was chosen for us because we were travelling with a group.  I can't remember which ship it was but the decor was on the gaudy side and we got whiffs of unpleasant odor from time to time.  January 0f 2023 just my family sailed out of Long Beach on Carnival Radiance.  It was set up exactly like the prior Carnival ship we sailed on so it was one of the sister ships to it.  This NYE we decided to go back to RCCL and its better decor and a much newer ship.  We spent quite a bit for this sailing and we got 3 rooms for our family of 6. (all 4 kids range in age from 19 to 14)  We were travelling with 5 other families.  25 people total.

This ship was beautiful.  The rooms were nicely decorated.  We had one balcony and 2 interiors across the hall.  The closet space was phenomenal and overall I was happy with the room and the space.  The promenade deck with the pizza place and bars was nice.  Central Park was nice as well.  Especially at night.  Everybody had a good time.  I don't have any complaints necessarily except when I compare it to Carnival.  Honestly I can't remember much about Carnival's MDR from last year so I'm going to guess it wasn't remarkable.  There is a good chance RCCL's MDR is better than Carnival's and I'm sure there are plenty of people that will say that.  I LOVED Carnival's sea day bruch.  It had great choices and was delicious.  RCCL doesn't have that.  Just regular breakfast fare in the MDR. Nothing special. We also really took advantage of Guy's Burger, the Mexican option and Shaq's on our last Carnival Cruise and this is where Royal REALLY lacks.  Their stand alone food options in comparison are a hot dog stand and Little Bites that was Mexican themed but not great.  Their salsa was like Pace. It just doesn't compare.  (Pizza is always an option on both and Harmony's Park Cafe and the other one by the pizza place  with its little wraps too...)  We just REALLY enjoyed being able to get burgers from Guys at any time and get a breakfast burrito or juevos from the Mexican place.  RCCL"s pizza place was probably better though.

And the ice cream.  Every since going on their first cruise my kids (and husband) love to get ice cream whenever they want.  I couldn't tell you how much ice cream they got on our last Carnival Cruise.  Harmony mans the 2 ice cream stations and its only open from 11am to 8pm.  

Now we feel like we're going to have to make our next cruise on one of the newer, bigger Carnival ships to see if the decor and "feel" of it is better than what we are used to with Carnival so maybe we can get the better "feel" and also the better food options.

But back to Harmony and its pros and cons.  This was the first ship we've been on with the interior "neighborhoods".  and while they are cool...they kind of take away from the "cruise-feel".  Most if not all bars you sit in (and restaurants) don't feel like you are on a cruise b/c you can't see outside to the water.  The fun stuff that usually happens in the atrium still happens but you can't really stand at the balconies above it and watch so its not quite as inclusive.  None of the bars felt 'tucked' away anywhere to find your own spot.  The main mall area of the ship feels more like a Vegas casino/hotel.  Shops and bars and restaurants with no view to the outside.  There were maybe 2 nights of movies in the aqua theater.  I liked it on Carnival how they played movies every night up on deck where you could lay on a lounger with a blanket and watch if you want.  And it gave the younger crowd another option of stuff to do.  

The shows were weird. Obviously Grease is Grease.  You know exactly what you are getting there and it was a good production.  The aqua show was kind of an abstract "stomp" production.  It was entertaining but a little eccentric.  The ice skating show....while it had good performers...it was just weird.  Some sort of Romeo and Juliette where they time travel and end up in the center of the Earth?  And some guy dressed up as a girl at the beginning that annoyingly yelled from time-to-time.  I dunno.  We didn't go to Columbus. Oh...and the adult comedy show.  I'm sure it just depends on who you get and each week could be different..but Carnival's was hilarious and raunchy.  The one on RCCL was barely funny.  The "opener" wasn't adult-ish AT ALL and wasn't funny.  The main guy was funny but was barely 'adult'.  He cussed a time or 2.  And if the adult comedy show always gets sold out and people have a hard time getting seats...have it in a different venue.  

Wonderland...we went just for drinks.  It doesn't hold a candle to Alchemy on Carnival.  1 of the "specialty" drinks was putting cotton candy in a glass and pouring a premade mixture over it.  It wasn't 'crafted' at all.  Nor was it good.  Same with the margarita...just a premade mixture.  The place was whimsical though.  

Johnny Rockets shakes that we paid for weren't good.  Apple Cobbler in the MDR was our favorite dessert.   I had at least 4 of those. 

I realize everybody is looking for something different on cruises and they are what you make of them.  We had a great time and I'm not saying I'll never do RCCL again.  I'm just now thinking Carnival might be our top choice.  Time will tell when we go on one of their newer ships.  

Embarkation and Debarkation were a breeze.  Its so much better than it used to be!

Oh and we were on the 6th floor forward by the elevators (by the spa) and I loved the location.  Easy to get to the promenade and dining and even the casino.  I was afraid the ship would feel SO huge to walk around but it was laid out very well.

Maybe Carnival is the way to go after all.

Overall the cruise was fun. The crew was great and did a good job. Cabin attendant did a great job. Our balcony cabin on deck 11 was awesome. Good view. Shows were awesome! Especially the skating and aqua shows. Drinks seemed watered down. The only thing that was disappointing was the food. Windjammer was the worst we have experienced in 6 cruises. Stopped going there after day 2. Johnny Rockets has always been a favorite but this time the burgers were not good. Quality has gone way down. The hotdog stand was not good also. Dry buns and low quality hotdogs. Has been better on previous cruises. The best food experience was the Izumi Hibachi. Can't wait to go again in the future. Main dining room was average but acceptable. Excursions were fun. Elevators were typically crowded due to a full ship.

We will be cruising on RCCL again but they really need to improve the food quality in the Windjammer.

Holiday Cruise!

We love to cruise (mostly present w/ Royal Caribbean & Celebrity cruise).   Our family of 6 have been sailed on Harmony OTS in 2018 and most recent on 12/24/2023 from Galveston, Tx.

We had so much issues while on board and the bad service from our stateroom as well.  The rubber seal on the balcony sliding door came lose and the ocean wind howling all night long and we couldn’t sleep well.  Call for service and they send the carpenter guy with little English and he use wood glue but came right off because of the wet and cold ocean weather and the wood glue do not stay on the metal sliding door.  The bathroom air vent clog with pound of dirty dirt lint that has been collect thru out the years and finally dropped on our head while showering.  Stateroom mate does not do a good job like they used to.

The dining room & windjammer foods are no longer looking for to crave so we also went to Jamie’s italian and also disappointed.  All of us also rank and rate of each cruise experiences and not sure that we will come back to Royal Caribbean.

Many of friends that we met on the Harmony also said the same things and we for sure know that royal Caribbean must have cut back and goes cheap on cruisers.

My dining waiters every night asked us to rank and rate them to the maximum high even before service us.  It turn out the worst service experiences we never on all our cruise.

NOT the same Harmony OTS we sailed 2018

Embarkation:  Very easy and smooth.  The line moved quickly and we were on with a few minutes of being dropped off at the pier.  The new pier is beautiful and well designed.  The facial recognition piece is really nice.

Rooms: Available right at 1:00 pm as promised and one piece of our luggage came quickly.  We had an issue with the loudness of the family/children next door to us and they ended up moving us to a different room on a different floor.  While it was inconvenient, since we hadn’t received our 2nd bag yet, we had not unpacked so it was easy to move.  The next room was the same class/category and was fine.

Cruise staff:  The cruise staff was incredible as always and everyone provided exceptional service and deserve extra credit for making our cruise extra special.

We realize many of the crew have worked together for many years and they look like they really enjoy their jobs and have fun working together.  Your crew really looks like they enjoy making customers happy.  We did not see anyone that didn’t smile and ask you how you were doing, what they could do for you, etc. and we really appreciate that kind of service.  I know how hard they work and we always give them extra tips so they know they are appreciated.

General Comments:  Overall, the ship is beautiful – It was very clean and easy to get around.   This was our first time on the Harmony and we were glad she is in Galveston and are happy to have been able to sail her.

We are Diamond level and still purchased the Premium Beverage package pre-cruise since the Diamond level only gets you 4 drinks a day.  The price of the package has really increased but buying it pre-cruise was slightly cheaper. 

We were disappointed in what the Diamond level offered us.  There was a piece of paper in our cabin that told us about 2 events we were invited to however, because of the cabin move, we didn’t see the note until after the 1st event had already happened but we were able to attend the 2nd event.  There was also a note that said that because there were so many Diamond and higher levels on board that the Diamond lounge was only open in the morning for everyone for a continental breakfast but in the evenings from 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM for Diamond level members.  It was open from 5:00PM – 8:00 PM for Diamond + and Pinnacle members.  That seemed pretty limiting to us and not convenient so we never went there. 

Specialty Restaurants:  We feel that the prices for the special restaurants has increased significantly.  We pre-paid for the Hibachi for lunch one day but it was still pricey and way too much food for us. We probably won’t do that again.

Dining and Food:  We tried to arrange for Anytime dining prior to boarding but couldn’t get the same time every night.  Once on board, we worked with the Maître D’ and we were able to change our time on subsequent nights to be at the same table and the same time which worked out excellently.  The tables next to us were the same people every night and we really enjoyed their company.  The food in the MDR was good – we tend to eat a salad or soup and an appetizer which was all we needed but the main courses looked good.  We went to the Windjammer once and did not care for the craziness of the crowds and the inability to find a table so we did not return.  We ended up eating breakfast every day in the Solarium which was quiet and easy to maneuver.  We did attend the Park Café for lunch and it was good although I think the salad options were somewhat limited from what I have seen in the past. 

Entertainment:  The entertainment options were okay.  The Aqua Theater show had to do an abbreviated show because of rough seas and we were disappointed.  The Ice show was good.  We missed Grease and Columbus because our dinner ran late and we couldn’t get in.  The music at Bolero’s was very good but I felt they needed more music in the general Promenade area.  We are accustomed to being on ships that have  live music almost all the time in the central area of the ship.  We were sorry to miss some of the other shows and wished they had taped them so they could replay them on the main channel in the staterooms as we have seen on other ships.  We really enjoyed the piano player at Schooner’s several nights.  He did a great job engaging the crowd and played a lot of great music.  The highlight of this sailing for us was the “piano player” with the roaming piano.  The first time we saw him was out on the Boardwalk but we found him in one of the elevators and we stayed in the elevator for 45 minutes listening and singing to his music.  What an amazing idea!  He was so entertaining and really fun.  It really made our cruise.

Other Comments: Out of 25 cruises, we have sailed on RCCL 13 times but after sailing some of the other lines (e.g. Princess and now NCL) we find the other cruise lines to be a better value.  Princess and NCL are now offering rates that include the drink package, tips, Internet and specialty dining.  The additional costs to get those benefits on RCCL has increased the price tremendously.  That is something we consider when we cruise.

Internet and Royal App:  The Internet worked pretty well.  The past few cruises we have been on have had terrible Internet (one was Alaska though so they say that is common) so I was very pleased with the Internet speed and availability on board.  I needed to check in with my office most days and found the speed to be reasonable.

Debarkation:  Not sure what the issue is here but it was not easy or fast.  Even though they did use the facial recognition at the end, we weaved through a very long line on the ship even though we were carrying our bags off ourselves.  We are not sure why they made us go through the “luggage” area even though we had our own bags.  It seems like other cruise ships have a separate line that bypasses the luggage area at the end.  This is our 3rd cruise in 3 months and the debarkation process has been terrible on all sailings so this is something that Galveston really needs to work out if they want to continue to be a great port to sail from.

Beautiful ship - amazing crew

We were in stateroom, let me tell you how AMAZING it was. The first day they helped us out with everything that we needed, all the crew members were so incredibly amazing. The food was so delicious. When you do the my time dinning, ask to get Miguel. He was amazing! He helped us out with ordering our food and he also gave us his recommended some food. I tryed the food that he, said and it was sooo amazing. Then our stateroom attendant that was for out room was so amazing. He got us what we need any time we asked for it and then we left the room and come back each day. He made little Towle animals animals ereyda, at our stops we had they were so beautiful. It did rain a little buy the all of they. I day everything was AMAZING!!! TRY THIS CRUISE!!

Honeymoon and 1st  cruise

Before we even boarded we had a horrible experience with our cruise booking thru RC.  I had started my booking for a 1 BR Grand Suite.  When I went to pick the suite # the website offer me a guarantee to get the 1BR Grand or higher; however, when we actually received our suite # it was a Jr. Suite.  I complained to Royal Caribbean through email, C&A, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and a couple of other locations but only got a single, rude response from a RC individual named Candy who said so sorry, that's what you get for a guarantee.  I would NEVER had paid as much as I did for a Jr. Suite, and for the first time ever felt royally screwed over by Royal Caribbean.

NEGATIVES from the cruise:

* Suite was too hot and we requested maintenance to fix it twice.  Never become cooler, and the last adjustment only made it warmer.

* For being a holiday cruise, the decorations were definitely lacking.  All white lights in the promenade were showing but not holiday festive.

* There was a small band that played in the promenade, I believe mostly at night that appeared to have an Asian singer.  Please save everyone's ears and replace her as she always sang flat and loud.  We couldn't enjoy sitting in the promenade when they played and she sang as a result.  The saying if you can't sing/play, sing/play loud should NEVER be the case on a cruise ship.

* Using the elevators was always a nightmare.  Never less than a 5-10 minute wait and many, many times elevators would go flying past our floor with only a few people on it.

* A number of people have certain diet requirements, including eating small "healthy" meals later in the evening.  Windjammer closes early at 8:30p, and nothing else is open later than 8:30p with healthier food choices.

* The Solarium always had kids in the pools/hot tubs and running around.  There was no where for adults to relax; at no time could I get in either without kids around. 

* As a Diamond level I didn't receive all the discounts that I should have on drinks, and especially in a couple of the gift shops.

* Whoever in RC Corporate made the decision to switch to the Lavazza coffee makers have really missed the mark.  If you want folks to have the specialty coffee options that is fine but you have truly alienated the individuals who just want a regular cup of coffee or hot tea in their suite.

POSITIVES from the cruise:

* First and foremost your recognition event for our past and present military, and first responders was absolutely incredible, including the playing of TAPS and the singer for the Star Spangled Banner.   A++++

* The selection of programs on the Prime One television channel was much improved, but you need a couple more channels of just regular TV shows.  We get a Suite to enjoy quiet times through out the day, and that includes lounging in our Suite watching the sea go by while enjoying TV.

* The ship was clean and nice.

SUPER POSITIVES!!!

* All of the staff were great and super attentive.

* The food and especially the wait staff were amazing in 100 Central Park, Chops, and Coastal Kitchen. 

* A special shout out to the Assistant Waiter, Mabena, in the Main Dining Room the one night we ate there.  He was the best!

Wasn't the best experience, but staff were wonderful!

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