Todd Posted May 29, 2016 Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 It seems that Harmony of the Seas has had more than it share of problems on its first cruise. Now to be fair to Royal it was a pre cruise that was added to the ship before the first official trip. And on these cruises it is normal for some work and final touches to be done. But it appears the Harmony work goes far past final check list items But if you Google Harmony of the Seas, the news you see is now all about problems and not the largest cruise ship in the World. Some terms Royal never wants to see in a lead news story about its newest Flag Ship: 'dangerous', 'chaotic', building site, 'should've stayed in dock', complaints, angry passengers,Mutiny. Here are a few of the links, and not from second or third rate news outlets from leading news providers: Harmony of the Seas: World's biggest cruise ship's first voyage was 'dangerous' and vessel 'should've stayed in dock' Harmony of the Seas maiden voyage to go ahead despite complaints over 'chaotic' test trip Mutiny on the Harmony: The biggest cruise ship in the world is still a building site, angry passengers say during its maiden voyage Is this part of a new negative pattern with Royal, rushing to build more mores add routes and grow the company? But all the time failing to take care of the current business they have and provide great passengers service. Maybe it would have been better not to bring two mega ships online within a couple of months? I am a fan of Royal cruises but is this rapid growth ready in the best interest of the company or passengers? Here is a short video shot on the first cruise http://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2016/05/27/3263781061834457455/960x540_3263781061834457455.mp4http://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2016/05/27/3263781061834457455/960x540_3263781061834457455.mp4 wsig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royal Blue Posted May 29, 2016 Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 A Drudge link and UK newspapers , especially Daily Mail, I thought it would be one of those ginned up headlines with fake outrage. Daily Mail can turn a one paragraph story into five , recycling the same quotes. But not this time. Unless RC had a pretty good discount already in place I'd be ticked too. Or the very least said upfront this is a pre-finish test cruise, you'd have to accept the conditions. That floor cuttout with the planks to walk over, thats a lawyers wet dream. Grandpa rolling with his air tank and walking cane over that? Don't buy a first year car model applies as well to a new ship maiden voyage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted June 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Royal has reached out to the passengers on the first two sailings and offered them a 25% future cruise credit. Passenger on the ship got this email/letter from Royal: “Thank you for being a part of the Southampton pre-inaugural sailing on Harmony of the Seas. We hope you gained a sense for why we were excited about our newest member of the fleet with her many incredible features introduced for the first time at sea On a ship of such scale and complexity, we were hopeful all work would be complete in time for your cruise and recognize there were simply too many projects still being completed during the voyage. Please accept our sincere apologies. We’d like to have the opportunity to welcome you again, and to offer you our hospitality at the highest standard. We are offering each guest who sailed with us on (these two sailings) a Future Cruise Certificate for 25% of the cruise fare that they paid for that sailing. This certificate may be used for a future cruise on any Royal Caribbean ship within the next 18 months. Withing the next two weeks, Future Cruise Certificates will be e-mailed or mailed to your address on file, or travel agent if you booked through them. We are eager to have the opportunity to welcome you back onboard in the future, when we can deliver the experience at the high standards Royal Caribbean has become known for and that we expect of ourselves. Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean.†Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalLaker Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 I guess its how you look at the glass, Half empty or half full? I think this Seatrade article gives a more accurate picture. http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/harmony-an-oasis-quantum-hybrid-with-some-new-splashes.html DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Keeble Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 I was on the May 22nd voyage and have to say that there was a lot of work being carried out but it did not ruin my cruise one little bit. I can see how people could get annoyed who have children as there were many areas shut off. that being said I was disappointed at no water slides or aqua show. so the 50% off another cruise is amazing! EDIT : I emailed Michael Bayley and got a response from his office, they rung me back in the UK very swiftly and talked over all the problems. I was very impressed by this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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