Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean and Perfect Day

Ship Overview

Harmony of the Seas is the third ship in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class. Still the largest class of ships to date, Harmony of the Seas offers plenty of unique onboard attractions and amenities still making her a great vacation option for the whole family.

Harmony of the Seas debuted in 2016 at 226,963 GT with the ability to carry 5479 guests at double occupancy. The ship features 18 decks, 7 distinct neighborhoods including the popular Central Park and Boardwalk, signature entertainment spaces, and a variety of dining options.

When it comes to dining, guests can enjoy multi-course meals in the main dining room with menus that have been recently revamped. There’s also plenty of causal Royal Caribbean staples like the Windjammer buffet, Sorrento’s pizza, the Boardwalk Doghouse, Park Café, and more. There’s no shortage of upscale specialty dining either. Guests can indulge at Chops Grille, Jamie’s Italian, 150 Central Park, Izumi, Wonderland, or Sabor Taqueria.

Royal Caribbean’s entertainment offerings are among the best at sea with one-of-a-kind venues. There’s the Broadway show Grease in the main theater, along with the signature production Columbus The Musical. The Aqua Theater, which is one of our favorite entertainment spaces on any cruise ship, features The Fine Line. This high-diving spectacular should not be missed. Not to mention, guests can also take in an ice show in Studio B and comedy shows in The Attic.

While our itinerary did feature 4 ports of call, Harmony of the Seas is a destination herself. There are no shortage of things to do on sea days.

From the 10-story Ultimate Abyss dry slide to the Perfect Storm Trio of waterslides and the Flowrider surf simulator to pools to fit every mood, a zip line, mini golf, and even a carousel, you will never be bored. Let’s not forget, there are also a plethora of bars, a casino, shopping, a spa, a fitness center, and the Adventure Ocean kids club. Of course, the cruise director staff hosts several activities, game shows, trivia, and parties throughout the cruise as well.

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Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 1

Welcome Aboard Harmony of the Seas

We have sailed on every Royal Caribbean Oasis Class ship, but it had been a while since we last cruised on Harmony of the Seas. For this Harmony of the Seas review, we were cruising with Don’s family.

Departing from Miami and headed to the Western Caribbean, we were looking forward to a week of fun and sun. In fact, this was our first official cruise of the year. While we have attended a few media events, we had not cruised a full week since our Christmas cruise with my family in 2022.

This was going to be our first time cruising at Diamond Plus as well. Achieving this new level in Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program, we would now get 5 free drinks a day!

As always, we flew into Florida a day early, securing a hotel accommodation at the Marriott Biscayne Bay.

Completing our check-in in the app ahead of time, we received a 12:30 PM assigned boarding time. On embarkation morning, we grabbed an Uber from the hotel around 12 PM. In about 20 minutes, we arrived at Terminal A in PortMiami.

While the terminal was busy, we dropped our luggage with a porter and seamlessly breezed through the security and check-in process. With our digital SeaPass card in hand, we were officially walking up the gangway less than 30 minutes later.

We had pre-reserved most of our entertainment reservations prior to boarding; however, the comedy shows were not available. Thus, securing a time slot to laugh it up in the Attic was our first priority. Logging into the ship’s WiFi, we were quickly able to snag a spot for Day 5 of the cruise.

The next order of business was getting our muster drill out of the way. With the new e-muster, completing this mandatory safety briefing is a breeze. Actually, we had already watched the videos in the app while still at our hotel earlier this morning, so we just needed to check in at our assigned station. A quick scan in at D3 in front of Studio B and we were officially on vacation.

We’re on Vacation

While we would still be doing some work this trip, this was actually a “vacation” for us. We were joined by Don’s brother and his wife to celebrate a very belated birthday.

With the pressing items crossed off our list, it was time to get reacquainted with the ship for this Harmony of the Seas review. As usual, we headed up to the pool deck to begin our unofficial ship tour, stopping in at the bridge wings off the Solarium for a photo-op.

Given we boarded the ship a bit later than usual, the cabins were ready shortly thereafter. Thus, we decided to switch gears and drop off our rather heavy carry-ons. Securing some photos and videos of our cabin, it was then off to continue exploring the ship and grab some lunch.

Just after 2 PM, we stopped off at Mini Bites to grab some Tex-Mex. While not officially re-named, this poolside quick service venue is essentially El Loco Fresh. Since it was Cinco de Mayo weekend, we soon continued the Mexican trend with some margaritas at Sabor on the Boardwalk.

Harmony of the Seas does still feature the specialty restaurant Sabor, where Playmakers is now on newer ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. While the restaurant is an up-charge, there is a bar here that serves up tasty margaritas that are included in the Deluxe Beverage Package.

Come Sail Away

With sail away scheduled for 4:30 PM, we eventually made our way to the aft of deck 16 near the Wipeout Bar and Ultimate Abyss. Here, we secured some Adirondack chairs and some drinks to watch our sail away from Miami. Surprisingly, the port of Miami was pretty quiet for a Saturday.

Having enough of the sun for one day, we headed back to our cabin after 5 PM to unpack and get ready for dinner. For this trip, we had My Time Dining but had scheduled most of our dinners for 7 PM.

Arriving back to our stateroom, cabin 7622, we met our attendant Darius. Darius was very friendly and complimentary asking how we could be Diamond Plus at such a young age. Aww, thanks! While we already knew this, Darius did make it a point to inform us that cabin service was only once a day now. Thus, we made sure to request extra towels with which he obliged.

Our balcony cabin for this Harmony of the Seas review was what we have come to expect from Royal Caribbean. The size and layout were on par with other ships in the fleet. While the room did show slight signs of wear, it had the newer gray and blue color palette which was a plus.

With a closet flanking each side of the bed and our trusty magnets and over-the-door shoe organizer, we were able to unpack and get settled in for the week prior to dinner.

Let’s Test Out the New Dining Room Menus

As many loyal to Royal cruisers probably already know, the cruise line did recently change its MDR menus. Having heard mixed reviews, and knowing that the default Classics dishes were removed from the menu, I was a bit skeptical. Would there be a chicken dish on the menu for me each night?

Arriving to the deck 3, American Icon, dining room slightly before 7 PM, we were greeted with a long line. Luckily, this line was for those without pre-made reservations. We waited in the much shorter ‘reservation line’ and were quickly escorted to table 262. Here, we met our waitstaff for the evening Rohman and Tude. This team was some of the best that we have had in a while now.

Scanning the menu, Don went with the staple Night 1 prime rib along with a new Indian dish, the chicken saag. The menu had the southern fried chicken entrée with a notation that grilled chicken was available upon request. So, I opted for the grilled chicken. While I was expecting the same dish with grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, it was actually completely different. It was essentially the former classic chicken entrée. Oh well.

With dinner lasting just about 90 minutes, we headed straight to Studio B for tonight’s performance of 1887. On the way out, we stopped at the hostess stand to request a table in the same section on subsequent nights.

A Full Night of Entertainment

To our surprise, Studio B was actually quite empty, and we were able to secure center seats for the 9 PM performance. While we have seen this show before, we do enjoy the ice shows on Royal Caribbean ships. 1887 is a time traveling love story featuring a cast of talented skaters and stunning technology.

Following this approximately 50 minute show, we made our way to the Schooner Bar for some piano music and cocktails. The musician, Justin, mixed classic piano hits with some humor and even a little beatboxing.

We don’t know where the time went, but before we knew it, it was approaching 11:30 PM. Thus, we made our way down to the Promenade for the Big Welcome Party which culminated with the Midnight Balloon Drop. While a bit anti-climatic, this was our Royal Caribbean sailing since the restart that these events actually occurred. So, it was good to see cruising fully back to normal.

In fact, this was certainly the busiest cruise we had been on since the restart as well.

The balloon drop was our cue to call it a night. We had six more days ahead of us on Harmony of the Seas.

Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 2

Our First Sea Day

Day 2 of this Harmony of the Seas review was a sea day. Waking up around 7 AM, hubby set off on his typical morning routine to take photos and videos. He returned with our morning coffee about an hour later.

Once we were showered and ready for the day, we decided to grab a light breakfast at Park Café. While this is normally a go-to spot for us on Oasis Class ships, we were a bit disappointed in the breakfast selections this time. Since when did the Egg McMuffin sandwich no longer have an egg in it?

By the time we finished breakfast, the pool deck was already quite busy. Hoping to secure seats near the beach pool, we were unsuccessful. With the Sexiest Man Competition occurring later in the day at the Main Pool, we ended up grabbing chairs on deck 16 overlooking this area. They were also conveniently located near the Mast Bar for our family to make good use of their drink packages.

Since this was officially a “vacation”, we lounged in the sun for a few hours. When the heat started to get to us, we took a little break and headed indoors to continue collecting photos, videos, menus, and such. We did make sure to return in time for the Sexiest Man Competition at 1:15 PM which is always a good time.

Having enough sun for the day, we headed back to Park Café to see if it could redeem itself for lunch. Thankfully, it did. I did the custom salad station, and hubby ordered the famous Royal kummelweck sandwich.

A Formal Affair

After lunch, we grabbed our afternoon caffeine fix from Café Promenade using our Café Select coffee card. Café Promenade now brews Starbucks drinks which are included in this card or beverage package. However, drinks from the actual Starbucks venue on the Boardwalk are not included.

Back to our room, we did a little work and relaxed before getting ready for formal night.

Tonight was the first formal night of the cruise, and we had dinner reservations at Wonderland for 7 PM. We made plans to meet up with the fam at 6 PM to take some photos. Since we each get a free photo as a Crown & Anchor perk, why not take advantage of it.

Donned in our formal attire, we opted for three photo stations before heading up to Wonderland a bit early.

A Journey Down the Rabbit Hole

While we have dined at Wonderland on a few occasions, this was our family’s first visit. And, our waitress Maui sure made it was a memorable one. This two hour dinner was certainly a feast for all senses. The dishes were just as tasty as they were pretty.

Starting with some whimsical cocktails, like the Cheshire Cat Cosmo and the Smoke Rings, we watched our menu appear before our eyes. This specialty restaurant is more of a tasting menu where your waitstaff guide you on a culinary journey. Noting that I do not eat seafood, Maui took care of the rest.

Soon, we had a table full of small plates including the Bird’s Nest, Mad Hatter’s Purple Potted Shrimp, Crispy Crab Cones, Citrus Seas Shhh, Liquid Lobster, and Baby Vegetables in the Garden. Some of these were customized for me, while others were swapped out instead. For instance, I got the Liquid Truffle Mushroom Risotto in place of the Liquid Lobster.

Next came the entrees. Since there were four of us, our waitress brought out all five entrees. Yup, our table got to sample the chicken, pork belly, short rib, halibut, and branzino! While tasty, we were quite stuffed by this point.

Though, you have to save room for The World dessert while at Wonderland. Okay, so the waitress may have brought our table all three desserts as well.

Some Music and Drinks to End the Evening

With no show scheduled for this evening, we enjoyed some drinks and live music around the ship. First, we hitched a ride on the Rising Tide Bar down from Central Park to the Promenade while sipping some cocktails.

We planned to attend the 10:15 PM Perfect Couple game show in Dazzles; however, the venue was standing room only on both levels when we arrived. So, Plan B was the Pub. The Boot and Bonnet Pub is a popular spot on Royal Caribbean ships, but we were able to score some of the last seats in the house for the guitarist’s set.

We ended up really enjoying the range of songs during Luca’s set and would definitely return to listen to more later in the cruise.

With our first port of call tomorrow, we decided to call it a night around 11 PM when the guitarist took a break.

Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 3

Time to Explore Some Ancient Ruins

Day 3 of this Harmony of the Seas review was our first port of call in Costa Maya, Mexico. Our ship arrived in port at 8 AM, but our tour was not scheduled until 10 AM. This meant we slept in until about 7 AM.

Fueled with morning coffee and a few continental breakfast items from Café Promenade, we headed off the ship by 9:30 AM. Tour tickets in hand, we made our way down the pier to the tour meeting spot. It was just about 10 AM when we were guided to our small van to begin our tour, the Chacchoben Ruins Exclusive Drive.

Our tour guide Luis did an excellent job providing narration to our small group during the approximately one hour drive to the site. Upon arrival, he gave us a guided tour of the grounds with plenty of time to take photos and wander a bit on our own to explore these ancient ruins.

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to enter any of these structures. Though, Luis did his best to visually recreate what these buildings were like in Mayan times. It was definitely a great day admiring these giant pieces of history.

With another hour drive back to the pier, we browsed the port area for a bit and headed back onboard Harmony of the Seas around 2:30 PM. Now, it was time for lunch.

A Relaxing Afternoon Onboard the Ship

While we are not typically fans of the Windjammer, our family decided this would be our lunch spot of the day. For a ship of this size, we actually think the buffet is rather small. And, when compared to buffets on other cruise lines, it does lack in terms of variety.

I grabbed some chicken tenders and fries which were pretty typical. Hubby went with a burger, which he ended up thinking was overcooked and had no flavor. So, there’s no better way to make up for it than some soft serve ice cream.

Next, it was down to Café Promenade for our afternoon caffeine fix before heading back to the cabin for a couple hours of work.

We had made plans with the fam to meet for 90’s music trivia at 6 PM prior to dinner this evening. So, that is what we did.

Oops We Did It Again

Showered up and ready for the evening, we made our way to On Air just in time for trivia. Growing up in the 90’s, we dominated this session getting all 15 questions correct! In all fairness, the questions were pretty easy…and we were one of three teams to get a perfect score. Still, we reveled in our victory and our prize of Royal Caribbean pens.

Taking some drinks for the road, it was just about time for dinner. Back to the main dining room tonight, we were thankfully assigned the same table with our fabulous waitstaff from Night 1. Tonight’s theme was Taste of Italy.

While there weren’t many completely new menu items, the dishes were reorganized from the previous iteration of the MDR menus. I went with arancini and chicken parm, which were better than I remember them from past experiences. Hubby ordered the polenta fries and mushroom risotto, as well as the chocolate hazelnut cake which was essentially a lava cake.

Given that the quality of MDR food has gone downhill across all cruise lines since the restart, and the fact that Royal’s new menus were reduced, we did not have high hopes for the MDR going into this cruise. However, so far, it was exceeding our expectations. Was it that the food was really better or was it because the menus were fresh and new? Maybe a little bit of both.

We do like that the themed menu nights are back. Hubby also likes that there is an Indian dish on the menu nightly. Given that the number of menu items on any given night are reduced by about 1/3, it seemed like the quality and preparation of the dishes were better as well.

Another Fun Night

Out of dinner in just about 90 minutes again, it was time to continuing checking bars off our “drink around the ship” list. Afterall, our family had metrics to hit. Since we didn’t have the drink package, it was tough to keep up with them.

This time, it was Boleros. There was nothing going on in the venue when we arrived, so we just chatted and enjoyed our cocktails until it was time for the 90’s party in the Promenade. With more 90’s hits, we couldn’t help but sing along.

Unfortunately, we did have to cut out of the party after about 20 minutes to get to the theater in time for our scheduled show. Tonight’s performance was the musical Grease. The entertainment is certainly one area where Royal Caribbean shines. With such a diversity in performances and several Broadway collaborations, it’s leaps and bounds better than the competition.

When class was dismissed from Rydell High around 11:30 PM, we decided to call it a night. Tomorrow was another port of call with an early meeting time for our shore excursion.

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Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 4

Welcome to Roatan

Day 4 of this Harmony of the Seas review was our second port of call in Roatan, Honduras. Today, our shore excursion was the Tabyana Beach break with lunch. This tour had a meeting time of 8 AM in the theater.

Up around 6 AM, Don completed his typical morning routine returning with some coffee and continental breakfast. With beach attire donned, we made our way to the theater where we waited approximately a half hour before our tour was called.

Around 8:30 AM, we disembarked the ship and proceeded directly to the shore excursions area where we received our color-coded wristbands. Our tour came with both lunch and snorkeling.

We arrived at the Beach Club around 9 AM and had the next several hours to enjoy at our leisure. We were escorted to lounge chairs and instructed where to pick up the snorkeling gear. While the last bus back to the ship left at 2:30 PM, one departed about every half hour for those wanting to return to the ship early.

Let’s See Some Fish

Settling into our spot– mine partially shaded by a tree, thankfully– we relaxed for over an hour before the gang decided it was time to snorkel. Of course, I stayed parked on dry ground.

We know Roatan is a great place to snorkel, but we didn’t realize just how close the coral reef was to land. They did not have to swim far from shore to see the amazing reefs teeming with marine life. While other snorkelers claimed to see some see turtles, Don only saw schools of fish– which was still amazing.

Reviewing the photos and videos he took with the GoPro, I couldn’t believe how close he actually got to the coral and fish. He admitted that this was probably his best snorkeling experience ever.

Back on land, they dried off for a bit before grabbing some lunch around noon time. The meal consisted of buffet style chicken, hamburgers, rice, fruit, and a few other selections.

Having enough of the sun by 1 PM, we decided to head back to the ship early. Between waiting for a shuttle and the drive back, we arrived around 2 PM. Then, it was more of our afternoon routine, coffee and some work in the cabin before dinner. We were also able to watch sail away from our balcony.

Back to the MDR

Getting ready for dinner, we planned to meet in the Schooner Bar for some pre-dinner cocktails. Here, there were piano melodies with Grease conductor Kevin that played in the background.

Off to the MDR for dinner again tonight, our My Time Dining arrangement became table 262 for the duration of the cruise. Tonight was Caribbean Night. The menu included some of Don’s favorite appetizers, the pork bao tacos and coconut shrimp. For entrees, he tried two new options, the jerk seasoned pork chop and chicken korma, all of which he enjoyed.

This pork chop was definitely different, and better, than the former similar menu item.

With everyone impressed with dinner again tonight, we grabbed a quick drink at the Bionic Bar before showtime in the Aqua Theater. Of note, the drink package works at the Bionic Bar but the Crown & Anchor drink vouchers do not.

A High Flying End to the Evening

Knowing that the Aqua Theater shows fill up quickly, we arrived to the venue earlier than most other shows. At 9:30 PM, there was already a line forming for the 10:15 PM show. Waiting about 15 minutes, and securing some drinks from the nearby Sabor bar, we scored prime center seats for The Fine Line.

The Fine Line features high flying feats from highly skilled divers and acrobats, along with dancing, synchronized swimming, and upbeat music. These Aqua Theater shows are among our favorite signature productions on any cruise ship. So, we highly recommend that you do not miss this show.

Ending right around 11 PM, we decided to pop into the theater for the Love and Marriage show that was already taking place. While always a good time, the cruise director Jeff did seem to just be going through the motions. What he lacked in personality though, the activities staff more than made up for it.

With the show ending around 11:45 PM, we decided to call it a night. Tomorrow was the next port of call in Cozumel.

Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 5

Our Own Sea Day

Day 5 of this Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise review was a call in Cozumel. We always try to pick one port day to stay on the ship, so today was the day that our family agreed upon.

Our plan was to get the remaining photos and videos we needed and enjoy all the onboard activities with fewer crowds.

Up around 7 AM, Don set off for a bit before meeting the fam for breakfast at Johnny Rockets. While Johnny Rockets is an up-charge for lunch and dinner, it is complimentary for breakfast. You can enjoy pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, eggs your way, and more for no added cost.

The venue was a little busy, so it did take about an hour for breakfast. Following breakfast, we spent about an hour walking the ship before settling in on chairs near the Beach Pool. While much of the original “beach theme” is no longer present at the pool, it’s still our favorite pool area.

How Much Can We Get Done?

With the crowds off the ship, it was time to take advantage of the attractions. Don and his brother rode the waterslides multiple times as there were virtually no lines. Harmony of the Seas features the Perfect Storm trio of waterslides. There are two dual racer slides and a bowl-type slide. They enjoyed the bowl slide the best.

After drying off from the slides, we headed aft to the sports area for more competition. First up was mini golf. We were actually the only ones on the course, perfect. Unfortunately, the green was in some need of repair, and that is what I blame on my loss.

Given it was a port day, the zipline and the Ultimate Abyss were not open yet. We planned to make it back here for these remaining attractions later in the cruise, but we never did.

Instead, it was now after 1 PM and time for lunch. Since Mini Bites had quite the line, we ventured back to the Windjammer. The selections were a bit better today as there were some Asian noodles that we both enjoyed.

Having enough of the sun, we stayed indoors while our family headed back outside. Some content collection, afternoon coffees, and work in the cabin comprised the rest of our afternoon.

An Italian Feast

Tonight, we were dining at another specialty restaurant, Jamie’s Italian. While they are phasing out this version for Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen, we still like this venue.

Meeting up for some pre-dinner cocktails in Vintages, we sipped a few glasses of wine before dinner. Actually, Vintages is also being phased out on newer Royal Caribbean ships in the fleet. Even though neither one of us are big on wine, we did enjoy the selections here.

With a dinner reservation at 7:15 PM, we settled in for a two hour feast. Our waiter Juan took great care of us, keeping our wine glasses and plates full.

For starters, we ordered multiple dishes to split among the table. These included the meat plank, burrata, crispy squid, garlic prawns, and black truffle arancini. All of which were great. We then decided on a half portion of pasta along with an entrée. I went with the penne carbonara, and hubby did the tagliatelle bolognese.

For entrees, I ordered the the Calabrian Chicken, which was much better than the former chicken dish on the menu. Don ordered a new dish for him, the lamb chops scottadito. Our tablemates also ordered the salmon and short rib entrees. There were no complaints with any of these dishes.

Even though we were stuffed at this point, we couldn’t pass up at least a few bites of dessert. So, we ordered the Amalfi lemon meringue cheesecake and the epic brownie for the table to split, along with some limoncello. This was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

An Evening of Music and Laughs

After dinner, we ventured into Dazzles, one venue we hadn’t spent much time in yet. With a round of drinks, we listened to the A-Groove band’s set for a bit. We thought this duo was just okay, so we decided to make our way to the pub next. Another round of drinks and some acoustic music with Luca filled the remaining time before our comedy show.

The Attic hosts nightly comedy shows featuring two comedians throughout the cruise. This cruise, the comedians were Steve White and Nery Saenz. With two or three shows each night, we reserved the 11:30 PM show this evening as it coordinated best with our other entertainment reservations.

Arriving a bit after 11 PM, it was already fairly crowded so we ended up with partially obstructed seats off to one side of the venue. Grabbing another round of drinks, we settled in for the approximately 45 minute set.

While we have seen Nery on other Royal Caribbean ships before, we don’t believe we had ever seen Steve before. Both comedians were decently funny, though we did like Steve’s set better. It seemed like Nery was fishing for material from the audience a little too much.

After the comedy show, our original plan was to catch a few minutes of the Red Party in the adjacent Studio B before calling it a night. Although, we were greeted with a still closed venue. We thought this was a bit odd given the Red Party should have already started. We waited a few minutes, then decided to call it a night. On the other hand, our family members hit the club and the casino until the wee hours of the morning. They are younger than us!

Tomorrow was already Day 6 of the cruise and our final sea day.

Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 6

Our Final Sea Day

Day 6 of this Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise review was a sea day. Today would be filled with tying up loose ends for our content and relaxing.

Still feeling rather full from dinner last night, we skipped on breakfast this morning. Around 9 AM, we set off to check the final items off our list, make a few laps around the walking track on deck 5, and finally meeting up with the fam who had settled in near the main pool.

Slightly after noontime, we decided to grab some lunch. Today would be a hodge-podge of selections. Don’s brother grabbed some Mexican offerings from Mini Bites, I grabbed some pizza from Sorrento’s, and we then converged on the Boardwalk where the others grabbed a dog from the Doghouse.

It was then back up to the pool deck for the Belly Flop Contest occurring in the sports pool at 1:15 PM. This event is always a good time. While others were throwing up “5’s” for everyone, I reserved my “5” for the rightful winner with the perfect belly flop splash.

May the Force Be With You

Making one of our cruise mistakes, we were already a little sunburned from this trip. Even though we applied SPF 30, we spent more time in the sun than we usually do this week. So, we opted to head back to our cabin for a bit, while the fam enjoyed more sun. The plan was to meet in the Schooner Bar for the 3 PM Star Wars trivia. Yes, Don and his brother are big Star Wars nerds.

Cooling off and grabbing our afternoon coffees, we were greeted with a packed bar when we arrived about 15 minutes before the trivia session. Either there were a lot of Star Wars fans or everyone just needed to get out of the sun.

In any case, we decided to stay for the standing room only event, even though the wives were going to be no help with this event. A valiant attempt was given, but the boys could not pull out a win. No more Royal Caribbean swag for us this trip.

Next on the agenda was the 4:30 PM Aqua Theater show, Big Daddy’s Hideaway Heist. This is a non-reservation event, so we decided to just head outside early after the Star Wars trivia. It was hot, and we baked in the sun for the next 90+ minutes. While we assumed this show would be a bit shorter, it actually lasted about 45 minutes.

While not as intricate as The Fine Line, the comedic plot still included several impressive feats.

Formal Night Take Two

With the show ending around 5:15 PM, we headed back to the room to cool off and get ready for the second formal night of the cruise. Since none of our first formal night photos came out all that good, we decided to try again.

Given the lines were a bit longer tonight, and some family members were already quite a few drinks in, we only ended up taking pictures at one additional studio tonight. Subsequently, these photos did not come out good either!

To dinner for 7 PM, tonight’s menu was the new Royal Night menu. Of course, this meant lobster night. Another change that Royal Caribbean has made is that guests can only get one lobster tail for free. Additional lobster tails are available for $16.99 each.

Starting with the staple Vidalia onion tart, I was happy to see chicken marsala back on the menu. Instead of making it a surf n’ turf, hubby went with the lobster tail and the new shrimp jalfrezi. While we are not big on Indian dishes back on land, he did enjoy all the new offerings on the menu over the course of the week.

Our table also sampled the red velvet cake (which appeared to be a smaller version of the one served at Chops), the baked Alaska, and the warm chocolate cake. All of which were good.

A Night of Adventure

Following dinner, we had some time to kill before our 10:15 PM showing of Columbus, The Musical! in the Royal Theater. So, we made our way to Dazzles for a round of drinks and some music with the house band. After about a half hour, we headed to the theater to secure seats for the show.

This Royal Caribbean original production is a comical tale of Christopher’s distant cousin Marvin. With elaborate stage pieces and modern music, we enjoyed the show even if it is a bit cheesy at times.

With the show over, it was still a busy night ahead. Since the Crazy Quest and Red Party were rescheduled from last night, we were now free to attend. While we don’t always attend the Quest, we went along with our family members. It was standing room only when we arrived, so we ended up standing, still in our formal attire, for the hour or more watching the crazy antics.

We bowed out of the Red Party to grab drinks from the Schooner Bar instead, and the family ended up joining us as well. Spending the next hour or so here, it was well beyond the bar’s closing time so we called it a night.

Tomorrow was our final day of the cruise and a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Harmony of the Seas Review: Western Caribbean Cruise – Day 7

It’s Gonna Be a Perfect Day

It was already Day 7 of this Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise review. Where does the time go? Today, we would be visiting one of our favorite private islands. Perfect Day at CocoCay is Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. There is so much to do on this island that it’s always a perfect day!

Our plan was to enjoy some room service breakfast and head ashore between 9 and 9:30 AM. Don grabbed our morning lattes prior to breakfast arriving. We had selected delivery between 8 and 8:30 AM, and it ended up being delivered closer to the 8:30 AM time.

Continental breakfast items are complimentary but American breakfast incurs a $7.95 (plus 18%) fee. This fee is per cabin, so you can order as much as you want. Honestly, we haven’t paid for this up-charge breakfast in a while, so it was a nice change of pace.

Showered and ready, we made our way onto the island around 9:30 AM. Since we generally gravitate towards the Oasis Lagoon pool, we decided to check out the beach today. Securing some chairs near the daybeds on Breezy Bay, we walked around for a bit while our family went in the water.

With some sun and coco locos, we relaxed here until lunchtime. Don did dip his toes in the water, but thought it was pretty chilly. Conveniently positioned near a Snack Shack, it was a delicious chicken sandwich and mozzarella sticks for lunch.

Around 2 PM, we reached our limit of Bahamian sun and walked back to the ship to cool off. Our family stayed out a couple hours more, moving over to the Oasis Lagoon pool when we left.

The Worst Part of the Cruise

Back onboard and afternoon coffees in hand, we were approaching the worst part of the cruise. It was time to pack. We would be completing self assist walk off tomorrow morning, so we didn’t need to leave our bags outside, but we still needed to get everything packed up for our early morning departure.

After packing and resting up a bit, we were ready early and decided to grab pre-dinner cocktails at the Schooner Bar. Our family didn’t make it in time, but they had already had their fair share of drinks on the island.

For our final night in the MDR, we sampled the new Bon Voyage menu. With a few new offerings on the menu, I was glad to see the turkey dinner was still present. Don enjoyed the braised lamb as well.

Saying goodbye to our waitstaff with a much deserved gratuity, we set off to enjoy our final night onboard Harmony of the Seas. First up, there was an iSkate show at 9:30 PM in Studio B. This ice skating performance is less story-like and showcases the talents of the performers set to their favorite playlists. Actually, we almost enjoyed this show more than 1887.

Following the ice show, we had to decide…was it the adult comedy show in the main theater at 10:15 PM or the HUSH Silent Party in the Attic at 10:30 PM? Well, we compromised. We watched the first comedian’s set, which was not as funny as the one we saw in the Attic a few days prior. Then, we headed over to the Silent Party.

Some music, drinks, and farewells, we retired for the evening when the party ended at midnight.

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Harmony of the Seas Review – Disembarkation

Time to Say Goodbye

Sadly, this Harmony of the Seas review had come to an end. It was disembarkation morning. We originally had an 11:30 AM flight from Fort Lauderdale, which was perfect. However, the airline changed the flight to 40 minutes earlier, which would be tight if there were delays for any reason.

Up at 5:30 AM, we wanted to give ourselves enough time to shower, get ready, and pack remaining items before self assist checkout began. With the ship cleared around 7 AM, we made our way downstairs with luggage in tow shortly after.

For a ship of this size, the disembarkation process was very smooth. In fact, Royal Caribbean typically is among the smoothest disembarkations of any cruise line. We walked off the ship, through border patrol, and secured an Uber very quickly. Taking the drive from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, we were at the airport by 8 AM.

Our flight back to Boston was uneventful, and just like that we were back home. Although, we were home for less than a week before heading out on our next trip. We have two nearly back to back cruises in Alaska on Majestic Princess and Norwegian Encore coming soon. So, stay tuned!

Comments

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