I took a friend on her very first Royal Caribbean cruise, and while she has cruised before, this was her first mega-ship experience.
Your first Royal Caribbean cruise is one you will (most likely) never forget.
My first Royal Caribbean cruise was back in 2006 on Enchantment of the Seas. I was very young, but the memories I made on this cruise and the others I went on growing up will stay with me forever.
Recently, one of my good friends, Kate, was able to join me on her first Royal Caribbean cruise. We chose a cruise on Harmony of the Seas, an Oasis Class ship built in 2016, for a seven-night Western Caribbean voyage out of Galveston, Texas.
You learn a lot when embarking on a new cruise line. Kate has cruised in the past, including sailings on Norwegian Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, but she was intrigued to see how her experience on Royal Caribbean would compare to these other cruise lines.
Here are Kate’s honest thoughts and opinions about her first Royal Caribbean cruise.
Prior expectations and cruise preparation
As soon as we booked our cruise, Kate dived into researching everything about Harmony of the Seas.
“Watching Royal Caribbean Blog’s ship tour video was very helpful before the trip. They had the most thorough video I could find on YouTube, and I watched it several times,” Kate said. “It heightened my excitement about the trip since I knew exactly what to look forward to. Plus, it made it less overwhelming when I boarded the ship since I knew what to expect onboard.”
Although Kate was excited to experience all of the amenities of a large cruise ship, she was worried that having so many passengers onboard would create big crowds or long lines, which could detract from the experience.
“To my pleasant surprise, I rarely encountered large crowds on the ship! The most crowded places were for the shows or popular events, but if you arrived early, you could still get a good seat.”
As for packing, Kate decided to start packing a week in advance. “I didn’t end up wearing everything I brought, so in hindsight, I could’ve packed fewer clothes,” she said. “It was most helpful to pack various clothes to fit all the activities on the ship, from activewear for rock climbing to formal wear for dinner. I recommend thinking about how to layer, mix, and match your clothes when onboard.”
Check-in was easy
A great surprise to Kate was how easy the check-in process was at the Galveston cruise terminal.
For context, our check-in time was at 11:30 a.m.
“Once we dropped off our large luggage, we went to the check-in area where we didn’t have to wait in any line to be checked in. I was so shocked by the quick and easy process that it almost felt like we were missing a step,” Kate explained. “It was so lovely to get through the check-in so quickly that we could get right on the ship and enjoy our vacation.”
Read more: Harmony of the Seas review: What this cruise ship is like in 2024
An interior cabin was better than anticipated
Since we wanted to book the cheapest cabin for our cruise, we decided on an interior guarantee cabin. This type of cabin offers no natural sunlight because there are no windows. Shortly after booking, we were assigned a cabin on deck 10 towards the back of the ship.
“This cruise was my first time experiencing an interior cabin, so I wasn’t sure what it would be like," Kate said. "Although my first impression of the cabin was that it was small, I found throughout the week that we didn’t spend much time in it, so the space worked well for what we used it for, which was just getting ready and sleeping at night."
“The biggest perk of our interior cabin was that it was very easy to sleep in since it stayed dark until you decided to turn on the light. Thankfully, I didn’t hear much outside noise while in the cabin, which I worried about because of the many passengers and kids onboard. Also, since our cabin was toward the aft of the ship, I didn’t feel much of a sway, which was nice.”
Kate’s least favorite part of the cabin was the small bathroom. “The only thing I struggled with in the cabin was how small the bathroom was. I would frequently bump my elbows on the walls while getting ready. There also wasn’t a lot of bathroom counter space, which made it challenging to get ready.”
Another interesting comment Kate made was how she felt it was a lot of work to find spots onboard to see the ocean.
“Especially staying in an interior cabin, I felt like I had to continuously try to find places to watch the waves go by. At times, it was easy to forget that we were at sea since there were primarily interior spaces within the large ship.” Kate's favorite place to watch the ocean was in the Solarium.
Overall, Kate would consider an interior cabin again since her experience was better than she anticipated.
The food is great, even for vegetarians
One aspect of the cruise Kate was looking forward to was the food.
“I love trying new restaurants, but my options can be limited as a vegetarian. I was both looking forward to the cuisine onboard and nervous about whether they would have enough options for me,” Kate said.
“I was very impressed with the quality and variety of the complimentary food. I was also impressed with the Main Dining Room for many reasons! They had a vegan option for each course every night, so I knew there would always be something I could eat. I found the quality of the food to be exceptional. Each dish was tasty and came out hot. With a party of two people, our three-course dinner usually took around an hour which was nice so we had time to experience more evening entertainment.”
Kate liked the new themed menu every night. “Having variety and trying different foods was nice,” she said. “Plus, it’s a great way to try new foods because if I didn’t like something I ordered, the staff would be happy to bring something else out for me. The staff would bring me additional servings if I asked for them, which was a fun treat to have so much flexibility without the fear of running up a bill.”
During our seven-night cruise, we ate at two specialty restaurants: Jamie’s Italian and Johnny Rockets. Kate said she was quite satisfied with the vegetarian options at these venues, especially the Aubergine Parmigiana and Truffle Tagliatelle at Jamie's Italian.
Read more: Vegetarian and Vegan Guide to Royal Caribbean
“Jamies’s Italian was definitely my favorite meal of the week. Every dish was superb. However, you could find plenty of quality food throughout the week without the specialty dining. I loved the salad bar at the buffet because I was able to get exactly what I wanted.”
Kate’s only feedback would be to have labels on the signs at the buffet to easily identify which dishes are meat-free.
Impressive entertainment
Another aspect of the cruise Kate loved was the entertainment offered on Harmony of the Seas. She greatly enjoyed the live music that was performed throughout the night, like the piano music in the Schooner Bar and the jazz bands in Dazzles.
In addition to the traditional theater entertainment, Kate was impressed by the unique entertainment options such as the ice skating and aqua shows.
“I had never seen performances like these on land, so it was even more impressive that they could perform on the sea. I was truly in awe when I left those shows because of how unique and talented the performances were,” Kate said.
Attentive service
With so many passengers on the ship, Kate was initially worried that the service from staff would not be as attentive and personal as she would like it to be.
“The staff definitely exceeded my expectations with how personal they made the experience,” Kate said. “I was highly impressed that not only did we get to meet our stateroom attendant on embarkation day, but he also greeted us by name every time we passed him in the hallway.”
Kate was also wowed by how knowledgeable every bartender was onboard. “They always knew precisely what drink I requested and made it quickly without hesitation. I even had one of the best Amaretto Sours on the ship - my favorite!”
Some aspects of the cruise could’ve been better
Not everything on a cruise is perfect, and Kate did have a few things she pointed out that could’ve been better.
First, Kate was surprised that the Solarium isn’t really adults-only like it claims to be.
“Although I understand it was a family-friendly cruise, it was frustrating that the adults-only rule wasn’t enforced,” Kate commented. “It took away from the relaxing retreat that the space is designed to be. It also would have been nice to have a pool in the Solarium to relax in since the regular pools were so packed with kids that you were constantly being kicked and splashed on. I was also surprised that the hot tubs often were allowed to be over-capacity.”
Harmony of the Seas is actually the only Royal Caribbean ship without a pool inside the Solarium. Instead, there is a mister that guests can use to cool down.
Next, Kate wished there were more water stations around the ship.
“I understand they don’t want you to fill water bottles at the stations for sanitary reasons. I don’t want to have to carry a water bottle everywhere. However, I found it hard to find water stations where I’d often have to travel several decks to find water. Sometimes, I would have to wait in line at a bar just to get a glass of water, which was inconvenient. Plus, I felt bad for slowing down the bartenders.”
Next, Kate and I encountered a few issues with the Royal Caribbean app while on our cruise.
“I admired how much information you could find on the Royal Caribbean app. However, I found that it would take a lot of time to load every time I opened the app. This can be frustrating, especially with how often I wanted to reference it. I also found it inconsistent in which activities were being offered each day. I usually needed to exit and reload the app to ensure I saw all the activities. I would definitely appreciate some updates for the app.”
Lastly, we had an unexpected event occur while on our cruise. Our seven-day cruise had planned stops in Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Cozumel, Mexico. Unfortunately, we were not able to dock in Costa Maya due to poor weather, so we only had two port stops and the rest were sea days. Kate had planned excursions in every port.
“The tour company canceled the excursion I was booked to go on in Honduras a week before the trip, which was a bummer. But, I appreciated that Royal Caribbean gave me a discount to book another excursion, which is what I ended up doing. The other excursion I had booked in Costa Maya was automatically refunded on the day we couldn’t make it into port.”
Read more: I went on Harmony of the Seas and these are the 7 mistakes I saw people make
Visiting new countries was a highlight
Kate’s favorite part of the cruise was getting to visit and experience different countries and cultures.
“I went horseback riding in Honduras and explored ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico. I booked both excursions through the cruise line, which I highly recommend doing,” Kate said. “Both excursions were well organized and ran smoothly. It put me at ease to know we would be picked up and dropped off by the ship, and Royal Caribbean had vetted the excursions. The tour guides who led my excursions were very friendly and knowledgeable. Plus, I felt safe in the countries since I was with the tour group.”
Another aspect Kate loves about cruising is that it’s very flexible when traveling with a group and it’s easy to plan.
“Due to the various activities and excursions, you can find something interesting for everyone! It’s easy to go off alone to experience what interests you but then come back together with your group for dinner or whatever else. The other aspect I love so much is that all the logistics are taken care of for you, so you can enjoy it! I love planning, but knowing that everything will be taken care of for you is a nice break for me.”
Would Kate cruise with Royal Caribbean again?
So, did Kate like her cruise on Harmony of the Seas and would she consider another cruise on Royal Caribbean?
“I would definitely cruise on Royal Caribbean again! Overall, I had a fantastic experience and a great vacation. There were a wide variety of excursions to see the world, and they were well done. I greatly enjoyed the quality food and unique entertainment onboard. I had a great customer experience with all of the staff. I trust that Royal Caribbean would provide another solid experience if I booked another trip with them.”
“Personally, I would prefer a more inclusive price model, like Virgin Voyages or Regent Seven Seas. This would allow me to access all the food and experiences without considering additional costs on vacation. I would especially prefer that all the food be included so you don’t have to consider prices and payment while on vacation.”
Kate’s last quote is one that I also agree with. “If you’re looking for a trustworthy cruise line with a large variety of experiences, I would definitely recommend Royal Caribbean!”
