LIVE From the Harmony OTS with Trainman-2, Judith, Ally, & Lyric

We both have been taking it easy today, especially Judith whose back is really bothering her.

We were recently on the Freedom and had almost exactly the same experience as yours at Chops. We were not impressed but the larger filets were good. It makes me sad that some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are becoming a little less wonderful. Giovanni's had always been our favorite and our previous cruise on Freedom we ate there 4x because it was so good...this time we ate there once and it was not good. I hope this changes before we try Harmony in April 2018. We have booked our first Crown Loft on her and I actually moved from our original boardwalk view to a port side for much the same reasons as you noted. I do like more privacy and I love watching the ocean! Thank you for all your information and I hope you continue to have calm seas and blue skies!

We were recently on the Freedom and had almost exactly the same experience as yours at Chops. We were not impressed but the larger filets were good. It makes me sad that some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are becoming a little less wonderful. Giovanni's had always been our favorite and our previous cruise on Freedom we ate there 4x because it was so good...this time we ate there once and it was not good. I hope this changes before we try Harmony in April 2018. We have booked our first Crown Loft on her and I actually moved from our original boardwalk view to a port side for much the same reasons as you noted. I do like more privacy and I love watching the ocean! Thank you for all your information and I hope you continue to have calm seas and blue skies!

Hope you enjoy your crown loft as much as we did. One of the nicest cabins we have had.

Just a thought...

I know a lot of schools have off this week in the Northeast, and I wonder if Adventure Ocean is a little under-staffed, and didn't plan well enough for the amount of kids this week??

I'm happy to hear that they ended up doing the right thing for Ally and Lyric!! :)

Please enjoy the rest of your cruise and a HUGE thank you for sharing it with all of us!!

..and I'm not looking forward to those chairs in the smoking section...and did I read correctly, the casino is now non-smoking all together?

Just a thought...

I know a lot of schools have off this week in the Northeast, and I wonder if Adventure Ocean is a little under-staffed, and didn't plan well enough for the amount of kids this week?? ?

We were on a ship years ago and spoke with staff who were brought onboard that cruise specifically to staff the children's programming because of the numbers of kids during vacation week. I think it was on Explorer the week they had over 1000 kids on board. They know the numbers far enough in advance and know it's a vacation week with large numbers of families aboard to plan/staff accordingly. They did it in the past. If they are not doing it now, it's a lawsuit waiting to happen as eventually there will be some kind of serious incident. Until then, they will continue to loose loyalty. It's one thing to stop the chocolates on the pillow or the midnight buffet that are long gone but is is not ok to risk children's safety to meet budgets.

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Agree about the chocolates of no importance but young children can easily be victimized by lack of staffing. Ally's reports of youngsters crying without anyone to respond to them; boys in physical altercations and general lack of staff to attend to the needs of children is appalling..

RCC had a great reputation for their children's programs. Parents trusted their kids to the staff.

What is wrong with this cruise line?

Are profits so important the safety of children could be compromised?

The issue is there are no standards for child care on cruise ships.

I am not a parent but as a nurse, I have questions for RCC that they need to demonstrate their Adventure Ocean program is safe, fun, safely staffed and meet the needs of variations of childen.Children do not show up by surprise.

Cruise lines know how many are boarding, ages, genders and any physical limitations.

Never thought this program had such issues!

We had a wonderful dinner in the Windjammer with Ally and Lyric tonight!

Sorry no photos but we had a chance to talk and catch up over almost two hours.

Not very many people know this but I have always been really good with little kids and small animals!

I made a new little friend tonight! His name is Navy. He is two and lives with his Mom & Dad in the Hague near Amsterdam.

The Dad runs a "brick & mortar" shoe store and his Mom is starting up an internet sales operation for world wide sales of their shoes.

One day you ladies might be buying shoes from her internet site.

Day 7 - Friday, February 24, 2017 - At Sea - Homeward Bound

Tomorrow afternoon we will be home with our Kitties, Puppies, and Chickens! We have missed them all!

Hi Trainman

Hope Judith is feeling a bit better today

Good for the manager of the kiddie section to address the problems as a mum of a now grown up aspie I would be concerned at the lack of staff and the lack of guidance for the kiddies

We have pretty much decided that the "Big Ships" are not for us any more.

Too much noise and commotion and too much walking!

The exception will be if Ally & Lyric decide to cruise on one again. If so, we will be there.

The Harmony is a beautiful ship but it is for kids and families. We don't like having to jump out of the way of a swarm of kids running and yelling.

Our next cruise, and several more after that, will be the 10 and 11 night Southern Caribbean itineraries on the Radiance Class ships.

We have pretty much decided that the "Big Ships" are not for us any more.

 

Too much noise and commotion and too much walking!

 

The exception will be if Ally & Lyric decide to cruise on one again. If so, we will be there.

 

The Harmony is a beautiful ship but it is for kids and families. We don't like having to jump out of the way of a swarm of kids running and yelling.

 

Our next cruise, and several more after that, will be the 10 and 11 night Southern Caribbean itineraries on the Radiance Class ships.

I absolutely loved the Oasis and Allure a few years ago and was really looking forward to the Harmony in December 2016. I also left the ship knowing that I prefer small ships. The noise and constant activity, the number of kids, and somehow it just seemed to be too much this time. I am 64 years old now and looking forward to retirement in just 27 working days, so possibly my outlook on what I really enjoy is just changing.

Don't understand why anyone would get an inside balcony to have this view. Trainman, have you seen any of the fancy margarita glasses they sell. We were on the Anthem last November & I didn't see any.

Tried a cpv cabin twice, once with a balcony and once without it. The price was great and we liked it. It is quiet at night and has an interesting view. If you are on your first cruise or afraid of seasickness, a good choice. Of course as seasoned cruisers, we prefer a suite with an ocean view. Boardwalk staterooms are very noisy day and night. I would caution most to not book, unless they go to bed after midnight and wake up early. Do not choose any cabin under the pool either on any ship. cabins above and below are the best.

As far as privacy, we are always dressed on balcony and do not hang clothes on it.

Not very many people know this but I have always been really good with little kids and small animals!

 

I made a new little friend tonight! His name is Navy. He is two and lives with his Mom & Dad in the Hague near Amsterdam.

 

 

The Dad runs a "brick & mortar" shoe store and his Mom is starting up an internet sales operation for world wide sales of their shoes.

 

One day you ladies might be buying shoes from her internet site.

Thanks so much for sharing your vacation. It is great.

This little man is sooo sweet.

I hope Judith's back gets better.

If you don't mind can you ask Ally to report on bar service in the casino, when I was on one of her first trips out of Florida it was non-existent. I'm curious if that has changed since.

Judith was up for a bit earlier and said her back was better. I hope it continues to improve today.

I absolutely loved the Oasis and Allure a few years ago and was really looking forward to the Harmony in December 2016. I also left the ship knowing that I prefer small ships. The noise and constant activity, the number of kids, and somehow it just seemed to be too much this time. I am 64 years old now and looking forward to retirement in just 27 working days, so possibly my outlook on what I really enjoy is just changing.

Look into the Southern Caribbean 10 & 11 night cruises. The Radiance class ships are great and there are very few kids on these cruises. And the itineraries seem to change a bit every year so that some of the islands are new.

Now that my daughter is grown I never cruise during school holidays and as a result there are far fewer kids on board. The longer routes also seem to have less kids. Living in NY we have been cruising steadily out of Bayonne in Mid January to early February and love not being overrun by kids -and prices are less. And I'm still doing it even after being aboard Anthem during the storm last year. Of course there are plenty of scooters and rollators on board. With the rollator (got the idea from you) the size of Anthem is manageable.

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Thanks so much for sharing your vacation with us. It has helped me get my "cruise Fix" as I don't have any sailings booked in the near future.

I wanted to tell you that the thread that you did while on the Freedom was so compelling. That is when I first started following you. You have a very nice writing style and I like the way you view life.

After sailing 2 of the big ships, my husband and I have decided too that they are not for us. The radiance class is a perfect size for us and such beautiful ships.

Safe travels home tomorrow!

Lyric is always so bright and cheerful and she always has a stuffed animal or small toy with her to show off!

We had a nice breakfast at Johnny Rocket's (free) this morning with Ally & Lyric. The food was excellent although the pan cakes were not warm enough to melt the ice cold butter patties.

Judith

Me

After breakfast Ally & Lyric went up to the top of the Abyss and I shot some photos of them when they came out the bottom.

Thanks for sharing your trip! What kind of camera do you use? These pictures are fantastic!

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The water slides on the Pool deck are very popular. There is almost always a waiting line up the stairs.

Judith and I had a nice light lunch in the Windjammer.

Judith

Me

The Turkey, Tomatoes, and Pickles were excellent! The bread was a bit stale from sitting out and way too crusty. I was able to make an excellent sandwich but the bread sort of fell apart every time I took a bite of the crust.