Having cruised many times over the years with different cruise operators, I feel compelled to write about Harmony as I really do feel RCI have taken the concept of ‘Large Ship’ too far.
I accept that I prefer the smaller luxury ships and have enjoyed Silversea, Seabourn, Seadream and Sea Goddess in the past, but I have also travelled on many family ships with my children which I have equally enjoyed.
In fact, I had a fabulous cruise with RCI on Independence in 2014.
Many aspects of the design of Harmony are amazing! The way in which the two tiers of decks flow through the central boardwalk is so clever.
The speciality dining rooms are superb.
My favourite place was the wine bar, where there was no hint of the thousands on-board and there was an abundance of lovely wines.
My main issue with the ship are the areas where congestion occurs and for me the Windjammer informal dining area is so badly designed, you would think that it had been created by a different designer to their other ships.
Completely the opposite to Independence; it is not large enough for the passenger count and I felt like I was being pushed around like a herd of cattle.
It took forever to find an available table and then you had to wait for it to be cleaned before you could use it! Tables are barely a foot apart, so it really was community dining.
Such a shame as it stopped me from appreciating the other quality features.
The pool zones are the other area of congestion, thank goodness I was in a suite and could use the suite deck.
This was really cool and, if anything, under used, so a peaceful heaven by contrast.
I would recommend the suites for this feature alone.
To conclude and I need to be clear and fair.
Harmony is largely a brilliantly designed ship and is a great choice for the right person.
If you like a busy environment with lots of people and plenty to do, then fine.
If not, then there are plenty of other options.
That brings me to my final point.
RCI are really naughty at killing you cost-wise on board.
Wi-Fi, drinks packages, tips, port transfers etc.
etc., the list goes on.
On my last Silversea cruise my final bill was just $60 as there was nothing to spend money on.
My RCI bill this time ran into $1000’s, so not the ‘All inclusive’ price that I booked.
