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| Harmony docked in CocoCay |
We’re back from our 7 day Western Caribbean sailing on Harmony of the Seas. This is our 3rd sailing on Harmony in the last 6 months. We really love this ship and her crew. Leaving from Port Canaveral is also very convenient. Tampa is closer but doesn’t get the newer, bigger ships.
With all the hysteria going on surrounding the Corona Virus, we were not sure what to expect on this cruise. The extra screenings were in place (except the mandatory temperature check, which was announced after our cruise) and check-in was actually pretty smooth. You could tell Royal was taking the situation very seriously. We found out later that, not only was the crew disinfecting everything constantly during the cruise, but also in between cruises. During turn around day, the entire ship was disinfected by a team of crew members in full protective gear using a spray/fogger system to get every inch they can. Passengers were also taking it seriously as we have not been on a cruise before this one where we saw people so determined to stay clean. That’s a good thing.
Our cabin was a standard inside cabin which is fine for the 2 of us. As I’ve mentioned before, the inside cabins on the newer ships like Harmony are quite nice and spacious. Also, you can’t beat the price if you want to cruise on a budget.
Our stops on this cruise were the usual Western Caribbean destinations, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan. We also made a stop at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island, which was one of the highlights of the cruise. It was a bit cool and windy during our stop in CocoCay but I was determined to get off the ship. Not to hang out at the beach or swim in the lagoon, no, I was on a mission to find the often talked about Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Bistro Burger at one of the “Snack Shacks” on the island. There are Windjammer type buffets on CocoCay but the Snack Shack is kind of a hidden gem. The Snack Shacks serve a small menu of burgers, fries, sandwiches and salads, all complimentary. I have head of the them, but never visited in our 3 prior trips to the island. This time I was determined. My determination was rewarded when I finally located one of the Snack Shacks and I just had to sample the Bistro Burger, Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and an order or fries. All I have to say is WOW. First, the Bistro Burger is better than any burger you can get on the ship at the Windjammer. It may even stack up with the ones at Johnny Rockets. It is thick, juicy, and very flavorful as opposed to the gray, dry, bland ones you get at the buffet. It came with full toppings, lettuce, tomato, cheese….etc. The Crispy Chicken sandwich was also very good. Nicely fried, thin, and tender chicken on a brioche bun. I believe it’s supposed to come with some sort of “secret sauce” on it but mine did not have it. Either way, it was delicious and there are condiments available to add to your liking. It was one of the best lunches I’ve had in a while on a cruise. Not sure why they can’t offer them on the ship….but I guess it will keep people coming back to CocoCay.
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| Boardwalk |
That turned out to be the only time I got off the ship. We were unable to dock at Costa Maya due to weather (2nd cruise in a row we missed that stop). Roatan is still under construction and was quite busy. It’s a pretty small port but there were 5 ships there that day. Speaking of busy, Cozumel was crazy! There were 8 ships in Cozumel when we were there…..we stayed on board.
Leaving Port Canaveral was unusually chilly, we had on pants and long sleeve shirts. It was also cool and blustery in CocoCay but by the time we got to the Western Caribbean, it was in the low to mid 80s. We had pretty good weather for the most part but there was some “motion in the ocean”. Later in the cruise the seasickness bags made an appearance around the ship.
Dining wise we mostly stuck to the Windjammer and other free options, avoiding the dining room once again. There were the usual “live” stations nightly in the Windjammer serving up stir fry, pasta, etc. Also the fresh doughnuts made several appearances. We did have some onboard credits to spend and we found ourselves at Izumi for some delicious Sushi. Izumi never disappoints.
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| Elevator "Piano Guy" |
Entertainment wise we spent our evenings moving around to different venues checking out the live music. Unfortunately, our favorite band that played in Dazzles, “Temperature”, has moved to another ship (Symphony I believe). In their place in Dazzles is a band we have seen before and enjoyed, “Southside”. We did also get into one of the showings of “The Fine Line” in the Aquatheater, which was awesome, as usual.
We'll be back soon as we have another cruise scheduled for the end of April (hopefully) on Adventure and we also booked Harmony once again for June as soon as we returned home from this one.
Hits:
- Best ship and best crew in the fleet
- Entertainment
- CocoCay/Snack Shack
Misses:
- 90's dance party in promenade was a bit lame
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