Harmony of the Seas - Review of Cabin 9312 (D7 Superior Ocean View with Balcony)

This particular cabin is located by leaving the rear stair/elevator lobby on deck 9 and heading towards the aft on the port side and involves about a 60 yard walk to get to the cabin door itself. It's further away than we would have like but being as there wasn't too much in the way of selection left when we booked this was as near as we could get to the stair lobby.

Upon entering the cabin for the first time our initial impressions were very positive and it looked to be much larger than we had anticipated. Lots of blues and greys and it has a real contemporary look and feel to it. Clever use of space and we particularly liked the idea of the wardrobes either side of the bed.

There are some nice new features in the cabin and we were taken by the USB sockets over the desk. All the usual features were present and include safe, hair drier, fridge come mini bar and there were for this sailing plenty of hangers too.

The cabin has a nice large interactive flat screen TV with plenty of channels but nothing we found worth watching (not that we looked too hard or had time anyway) and for this sailing there was only a map but no webcam from the front of the ship.

There were plenty of sockets around the cabin and more than we had in previous cabins, one of which was above the bedside table.

To enable the lights to work one of the seapass cards needed to be sat in a little slot near the cabin door, I can't tell you if this affected the sockets too but wouldn't it seem odd if it only did the lights?

There were several areas where a distinctive pattern had been used throughout the cabin, the most obvious was in the carpet, it was then used again in the lamp shades by the bed and lastly it was on all of the door and drawer handles.

We found the cabin to have plenty of drawer space which was spread nicely around with locations being at either end of the cabin, there was also a light in the mirror which we only discovered on the last morning. Nice touch.

Another nice touch was the full height mirror next the TV which because it was on an angle,  gave the impression the cabin was slightly bigger.

The bed was very comfortable but I think we would have preferred it to be nearer the balcony than the bathroom. I for one was very conscious of making any noise in the bathroom due to the beds close proximity.

To alert your Steward or other passengers of the cabins inhabitants activities there is a magnetic sign which can be stuck on the outside of the door to ask for either the room to be made up or for some  privacy with a do not disturb sign.

The bathroom set up was a little different in as much as the door was at a slight angle and opened out. The room is much smaller than we have had previously and is basically set up for use by one person at a time. There is a good shower which has a hinged door and it had a really positive clunk as you shut it. The toilet roll position was in an awkward position under the vanity unit but being as the room is set out for a little space saving there there isn't really anywhere is it could go. Its a very compact but functional bathroom which we liked. There is a nice big mirror and plenty of shelves for storing all those little bottles and things.

The balcony was nice and deep with two chairs complete with footstools and a small table, the balcony was also set in which meant the upstairs balcony was immediately over the top.

There was an adjoining door to the next cabin and although we didn't hear any noise coming from our neighbours our friends told us that they could hear all sorts of noises coming through theirs.

Overall though we liked this cabin a lot and found it to be roomy, nicely decorated and very functional. I was just a shame we only had 4 nights in it.

Harmony of the Seas Postcard #5 - Southampton and Disembarking

After our 4th night on Harmony of the Seas it was finally time to get off. The ship docked at Southampton just after 6:00 this morning and everything outside seemed eerily quiet.  The monster had returned!!

We had elected to carry our own luggage off which meant we had to be off between 6:30 & 7:30 but I can't imagine anyone saying you have to stay on if you were any later than that. Previous experience is they a glad to get rid of you so just want you off whatever it takes.

Regardless of that our plan was to get up and go grab a coffee and a quick bite from the Park Cafe and do what we did yesterday which was consume it in Dazzles. The Cruise Compass said that Park Cafe in Central Park on deck 8 would be open at 6:00 but when we arrived at 6:20 we found people waiting outside who had been told that it didn't actually open until 6:30. So with 10 minutes to spare we went for a stroll down to deck 5 and walked through the Royal Promenade stopping for a last few photos along the way.







When we got back it was open so we grabbed the bits we wanted and took them as planned to Dazzles where we enjoyed them in the peace and quiet with a great view over the Boardwalk.





With breakfast taken we went back to cabin picked up the luggage and made our way to the elevators to go down to Deck 3 to disembark. We were off and in the car very quickly and arrived home before 10:00am.



It was great to have the opportunity to try out this class of ship but it did confirm our reservations which were that it would be too big. The ship is a masterpiece of engineering but because of its size, for us it lacks soul and it all feels very impersonal. I have read this morning that RCI have ordered a 5th ship in this class which concerns me a bit. The current approach is to build these brutes and I hope at some point this trend will burn itself out. Cruise lines at the moment seem to be building either big or small and nobody we like to cruise with seems to be building the size of ship we enjoy any more. We do love a new ship but wonder if we will ever get the chance to try one out again.

We enjoyed Harmony and were fortunate to have the chance to try her out but its not something we will be in a hurry to repeat.

Finally, I have added today's photos along with others not previously uploaded to the Flickr Album which you will find >>>Here<<<

Harmony of the Seas Postcard #4 - A Sea Day

We think the sail out from Rotterdam is one of the most fascinating there is, passing all sorts of things along the route that in most walks of life you don't see. By this I am taking about the industrial side of things and as a sea fairing nation, the Dutch make very good use of their closeness to the water. It certainly makes for an amazing spectical when sailing out.



Dinner last night was at 9:00 and in Jamie's Italian restaurant and on the whole very nice indeed. Food was fresh and tasty and the staff brilliant. One thing that did occur to me though, it really didn't feel like we were on a ship, and by that I mean we could have been anywhere in the UK in one of his other restaurants. The experience was very enjoyable but it just didn't seem right.





We didn't leave until gone 11:15 and once again found the time had passed really quickly. So feeling really tired through all the walking we all retired for the evening but not before hearing a couple a few cabins down having some sort of drunken brawl in their cabin. In 10 years and twenty plus cruises that is a first for us. Does it have any coincidence with it being our first sailing from the UK?????



This morning was a very relaxed one and we made the decision last night not to go to breakfast, instead opting to go for lunch in American Icon when it first opened at 12:00. There is only so much you can eat in 4 days so breakfast was skipped today in favour of a bit of a lie in.  However after getting down to the Park Cafe in Central Park to get coffee I spotted a nice English Muffin with egg, cheese and ham which looked as if it would go nicely with coffee so who was I to refuse?
We took these back to Dazzles which is a lounge/bar overlooking the Boardwalk as and to date we haven't seen many using it. It's on two levels and this morning there were plenty of seats for us to sit and enjoy our mini breakfast.
Feeling the clothes getting a little tight we then walked four laps of the running track before going for lunch.   Can you see a pattern emerging???? Guilt free cruising!!
We were very disappointed to find the lunch menu was identical to the one we had two days ago, what's that all about???? Come on Royal Caribbean pull your finger out.







After lunch the sun came out to play so we sat out until it was time to go to Studio B to watch the ice show (1887:  A Journey in Time) which was a 50 minute show featuring about a dozen or more skaters and some impressive lighting effects. Well worth the effort and just a shame we booked it on the best day for weather. As soon as it had finished we hastily made our way up to deck 16 to catch the last of the days sunshine. We are baffled by the amount of people still wanting to stay inside.





There are still some things not open and this includes all the water slides which was a tad disappointing as I had geared myself up to go on those but it looks like that will never happen now. I did spot a sign that amused me and perhaps it will amuse you too. I just have this vision of a guide dog going down one of the water chutes.





One thing that did open today was the zip line which quickly generated a queue but for something that lasts less than 8 seconds I am baffled again by the desire to do it.









Tonight we have dinner in Silk Restaurant again and after its packing time, as we are walking off with our own luggage we don't need to have them out by 10:00. It does however mean we have to be off by 7:30 so should be easily home before midday.



And lastly I have added today's photos to the Flickr Album which you will find >>>Here<<<