sdrocks

We did this last Christmas for a family cruise we took in June on the Harmony.  The adults were aware as needed to be able to 

get off work, but the 5 grandchildren had no clue.  We kept it secret for over a year.  We bought each couple & all the grandchildren new luggage, lanyards, luggage tags, RCI tags for their stateroom #'s, onboard room decorations & brownie

delivery day of boarding.

In the kids luggage there was a picture of the ship and a countdown calendar.

The whole present reveal started as a treasure hunt for the kids.  We had great fun & none of them guessed it was a cruise.

It was a fun Christmas & an awesome cruise.  For boarding day we had matching tshirts with everyones name on them.

IMHO, don't think I would fall for this gimmick. Mostly makes me laugh.  But time will tell I guess. 

Congratulations !

Have been on all 3 several times & love this class of ship.  Hope to book the Symphony next.

Totally love the Anthem and all Oasis class ships.  Not a big fan of the smaller ships.  We never feel crowded

either except after shows, but get that on all ships it seems.  Like the greater variety of activities and if

I don't want to go where it's crowded go to a quiet place.  

We were on this cruise, never saw any evidence of NORO outbreak, coincierge denied there was an outbreak. We were everywhere on the ship but always washed our hands. Not even a hint of illness for us. Seemed to be plenty of people roaming around wherever we went .

on Explorer right now. Had seen the bags, but thought for seas. Didn't realize anyone

quarantined. Will be even more vigilant with hand washing.

Thanks all. Guess we'll just play it by ear. May get off for a short time & stroll around. But will see when the time comes.

Not being familiar with Astoria, Oregon, does anyone have any recommendations as to excursions ? We would not

do hiking, etc as my husband does not have that endurance, but not seeing anything Royal offering as being very

"exciting". Has anyone ever gotten off the ship and done something on their own ? Such as exploring Astoria itself

by a private tour or whatever ? It doesn't seem as if it would be a widely known ship stop ? But maybe others have

been there as tourists in other venues ?

Also is the solarium pool covered ? Not sure whether to pack a swimming suit or not ?

Thanks

We are following you on Sept 28th. Following your posts.

Thanks.

We're going on Explorer Sept 28th. Booked in a Grand Suite. If we go to WJ for lunch does this mean we can take out

food into Chops & eat rather than looking for a place in the WJ ? (especially interested to know on embarkation day.)

Thanks.

We love Harmony, have cruised her 3 times. All good.

I'm 68 & went on it several times with no problem. Keep your arms tucked so you don't scrape the sides. It goes fast &

I was a bit dizzy when stopping, but it went away quickly. It was fun, especially doing it with my grandkids.:)

We just used UBER in June when leaving Harmony to go to airport. Very easy, No surge pricing either.

I also have no problem with this. Anything to promote security is a positive IMO.

Curious to know if there are any GS perks on the Explorer ? Other than our diamond plus perks ? I know it won't be like Oasis/Quantum

class, but will there be any extras at all ? Going in September Pacific NW. Thanks.

Totally love spinners, hardside also. Glide right through the airports. My husband has mobility issues & these are a lifesaver.

We have Delsey & they have been good so far.

WE did a B2B on Harmony in January, 2017. Did not leave the ship. All B2B cruisers went to the MDR & the customs people came

to us. Were issued our new cards & were done. Even had a special lunch in the MDR for B2B cruisers. Painless.

No issues on Harmony. We were a the bistro for breakfast with our grandkids (ages 8- 14), walked down the steps & over to the

King of the World. NP.

We had MTD at 6 pm & service was still 2 hrs.

We were on Harmony June 16- 23.. Our group of 11 also experienced extremely slow dinners, min 2 hours. We didn't want MTD, but anything over 11 is what they do. Rest of the ship we loved. We ate many times in WJ, Chops at noon, Solarium 1 night, Did not care

for that at all. Johnny Rockets 1 night . We had 5 kids 8 - 14 & 2 hour dinners are way too long. WJ had good food.

Just on the Harmony in June in JS. Got free WOW bands. Took our previous WOW bands to Boleros and had them changed out for

our family on board with us free of charge. (Don't know if it makes a difference we are diamond plus ?)

We did a B2B in January 2017 in a GS on Harmony & both sailings were invited to the helicopter pad for sailaway. It was fun. Had drinks&

may of the ships officers there also.

We cruised Harmony in June with family of 11. The 5 grandkids loved it & so did the adults. We did a B2B on it last year. We had great service. We are doing a Symphony B2B in Feb. Can't wait. I do know prefer off season cruising vs peak as the pools were insanely crowded except on port days. That's the days I went to the pool. For a couple hours while in St Kitts I was the only one in the pool. Had my

own personal lifeguard. Lol !!