rodenboy

Find a pair of connecting cabins. The one on the right has the bed by balcony, on the left has the bed by the closet. This is as you are viewing them from the hall. This pairing pattern keeps repeating itself as you go down the hall.

Is this the same for all class of ship?

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On Harmony, the pizza they served in Windjammer was better than the pizza they served in Sorrentos. Sorry not sorry.

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I'd just like more stops for Oasis class ships. St Lucia, Grenada and Barbados I would love to do out of Ft Lauderdale on an Oasis class.

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It is a BRILLIANT way to spend an hour on board. I can't recommend it enough. It's by far the most advanced "Escape Room" I have conquered (and I have been in Escape Rooms on both sides of the Atlantic!)

The man on Harmony who was our "guide" said that RCCL plans to add an "underwater" themed one on a future ship. I'm not sure what the theme is on the Anthem game, but that one sounds fun too - I guess that'll be on Symphony!

It was probably the best 8.99 I spent on the cruise to be honest!

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I've never felt pressured to leave a ten on an email survey but there are staff who have mentioned it to us. I do feel guilty when I don't leave a ten in a survey though, even if it's a justified score.

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I swear I saw the same thing a few weeks back for our Eastern Cruise. Where St Kitts which had originally brought up the rear was reversed to first ahead of Nassau. I just chalked it off as not having noticed correctly at time of booking and told my wife "hey did you know we hit St. Kitts first?" She immediately responded "No we don't." I checked again and sure enough it was back to Nassau, St Thomas, St. Kitts. I SWEAR I SAW IT REVERSED!!!! But maybe I'm just seeing things. Whatever...good to go now.

Interesting you say that because my upcoming Freedom cruise has an itinerary that is backwards to the way it has been running this current season. St Kitts first and Labadee last. It will be interesting to see if it gets changed in the future.

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As far as I was aware, the route was always Labadee first and Cozumel last?

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No problem.

 

 

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You're a star!!

Thanks for sharing your experience onboard, your pictures look amazing :)

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But what happens when you join a reasonably active roll call, introduce yourself, ask a couple of simple questions and three pages later you are still waiting for a hello?

 

Do you assume that you were missed by accident and try again or do you throw in the towel immediately? I would like answers to my questions or even a 'sorry can't help but have you thought.....'

 

Obviously I can find the answers to my questions but I really was hoping for personal observations.

That would say more about those people than it does about you. If I didn't get a reply three pages in, they aren't the sort of people I would want to mingle with on my cruise vacation anyway. Either way, it's win-win.

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I'm doing this 8 night itinerary (although it's backwards) next March! I'm really excited. It will be my first time on a Freedom class ship, I hope it doesn't seem old in comparison to her Oasis class sisters [emoji85]

Also, mother has asked whether you can take a photo of the ice cream choices in B&J's! Don't worry if you don't go back there! Thanks in advance :)

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100% agree.

 

On all of my previous cruises, the roll calls have been very active. I join and jump in, often late because I book last minute. I have never been anything but warmly welcomed. There have always been cabin crawls, trivia teams, private excursions, etc. that have been organized with overwhelming success. The sharing of ideas and suggestions have been invaluable. To me, this is the whole point of Cruise Critic. :)

Thank you for your response :)

I agree with earlier posters though, it can be somewhat intimidating to be faced with 30 pages of people who have become friends during the time the roll call has been in place but that doesn't mean that new additions would be greeted with less of a warm welcome.

You have a wonderful outlook on it :)

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It's difficult though, because people can book a cruise almost two years in advance, and this could mean that the Roll Call is started there and then.

If a cruiser then doesn't join the roll call until six months down the line for example, they have missed out on a good chunk of time where people have been getting to know each other and planning things and learning about each other.

It's certainly a disadvantage for cruisers who book a late deal, but surely if a person joins a roll call, the onus would be upon that person to get themselves involved - whether you book two years or two months in advance.

I wouldn't join a roll call just to be a wallflower - I would actively try and get involved with those who are already part of it. If I didn't want to get involved, I wouldn't join it.

It's a shame the popularity of these events are diminishing because I have met some amazing cruisers across all age ranges.

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They give you a free lunch at Giovanni's if you're doing a B2B? Do you know if that's the policy on Harmony?

Not sure about Harmony, this was on Allure in 2014 so quite a while ago now. Policy may have changed....

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I always say "I'll stay up late and enjoy the parties into the small hours."

In reality, I'm out for the count by midnight. In fairness, midnight on "ship time" on cruises out of Port Everglades is 5am UK time so that's an achievement in itself!! (British cruiser!)

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Relatively easy process, you scan off the ship and can get back on the second they have confirmation the ship has cleared of all guests. We had to wait about 20 minutes as there was a cruiser who refused to leave. Embarkation for the second half of the B2B was delayed for everyone on that sailing. We got back on immediately, enjoyed our complimentary B2B lunch at Giovanni's and spent a few hours in the pool as the ship got busier and busier.

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The one I attended on Allure was poorly attended, the activities director Katie was the WORST AD I have ever encountered. She drew like 3 names and bunched all of the prizes together saying "It's all just crap anyhow that no one wants." Well, no it's like great stuff but people bring their kids to the M&M too and kids love to win things- even if it is "crap." She rushed through everything she did at every event.

You say it was poorly attended; it may explain bunching the prizes together?

On Allure, they schedule the "Welcome Back party" in the Aqua Theater for thirty minutes after the M&M so they always rush M&M as most staff on the activities team have to attend that.

Katie isn't the only one to refer to the prizes as "Royal Caribbean Crap." Most of the activities staff do in their respective quizzes/contests/events - especially the British ones!

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I sailed close to the elevators on Deck 9 Harmony and never heard them once.

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I think that Harmony skips out a few of those extra touches that make Allure and Oasis better , in order to have some more "wow" features like the Abyss and the water slides. Features such as the Solarium, which have been mentioned.

Then there is also the fact that European cruisers are, by nature, much more critical.

Having sailed both, if I was given the option to sail one or the other again, I would choose Allure. For me, the service, food and overall experience were much better on Allure, but Harmony did have some outstanding aspects. We would not turn our noses up to the opportunity of sailing Harmony again though.

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Had two cruises stop in Labadee and both times the beaches have had lots of rocks and coral on them making them difficult to step over safely into the sea. Even in the sea we were playing "dodge the rocks!"

Both times we were on the left hand side as you walk away from the ship.

Is there a section of beach which is softer underfoot?

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I've just booked this 8 nighter for 2018 and the cruise compasses will really come in handy! Thanks so much for sharing; I hope you had a great cruise!

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UK NHS advice is you don't usually need unless staying overnight.

I'm a UK cruiser and my doctor recommended us take Chloroquine even though the risk is very low.

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I booked Freedom in the end - lack of a Broadway show doesn't bother me. I just hope it was the right decision as I love the Oasis class ships!

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I have sailed Allure and Harmony. Everything on Allure was better except for the entertainment overall (although Ice Games in Studio B on Allure is amazing!!)

 

 

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I am so excited this will be my first oasis type cruise. We will be sailing on the allure. I wanted to book the Harmony but now i am glad i booked the allure. I hope the entertainment will be good on the allure too. I heard that ma ma mia will be the show. And that they have good comedians. Can't wait thank you for the information

 

 

No worries, the show was Chicago when I sailed, and the 2012 Chicago showing was better than the 2014 one so it was probably a good idea they changed it to Mamma Mia! You will really enjoy it!

 

 

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Totally agree with the no pool in the solarium that is why we cancelled 3 cruises on the Harmony and we hope the Symphony has one.

Do Solarium pools make that much of a difference to you?

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Thanks for the feedback.

 

Curious if you used the Royal IQ app for texting at all, and the results if you did?

I have an iPhone 7 and it allowed me to send iMessages to anyone else with an iPhone - they went through without charge. Though my bill for that month was higher, I bought some data allowance while in FL (I'm from UK)

Hope this helps :)

I would be wary though and just send important messages - which is what I did (work related - I know, I know!!!)

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