barb in ga

If you have the opportunity to bid on the Panoramic suite, you go from 328 sq ft to 406 sf, but you get 1 1/2 bathrooms and all of the suite benefits . The panoramic has the king bed, a double sofa bed, and a small curtained off bunk room. A junior suite is smaller than what you currently have. Good luck with your bid, we upgraded on our last 2 cruises and enjoyed the extra space. You didn't mention if you are traveling with small children or all adults. Barb

The ultra spacious ov is bigger than the balcony cabins on most ships and very hard to book as they are great for a family group. We booked the ultra spacious ov on our Baltic cruise on Voyager(same class), but we cancelled because of the Russian war. Not every ship class has this category. Look on the website at your ship's deck plans, then look at the cabin category and description. Barb

I have good luck running the shower to create steam then leaving my item hanging. Barb

Another thing to know is that the emails for Cruise Planner sales always have an asterisk attached: the "discount" is not off of the cruise planner price, it is off the full price if you buy daily on ship. For instance, the UDP is not reduced from cruise planner price, but a quote of what you would save if you paid for a specialty meal on everyday of your cruise. The sale on voom is based on the daily rate if you wait and buy it on the ship once you board. Package prices do vary from time to time, but to know if you are getting a sale you need to know what the standard daily or weekly price is. The best sale I've seen on most of my cruises is Black Friday/ Cyber Monday. The reality is that you can book the cruise planner items as soon as you book the cruise, then watch to see if they are reduced later. If you find a better price later, you can rebook at the new price and cancel the first purchase. The original purchase will be credited back to the original credit card charged. Barb

We were on Harmony on the 5/29 sailing. The Windjammer has a refrigerated dessert case with GF puddings and macarons. The pasta station at the back makes GF pasta to order, as does Jamie's. DH pre-ordered GF seafood linguini in the MDR for the next night and said it was wonderful. He was very disappointed in the bread offering, tiny little rounds like you use for crostini. They did not have a dedicated hot food section with entrees, potatoes and gravy and other sides. He had gotten used to that offering on many of our previous Royal cruises. Don't be afraid to ask if there's something special you would like. Barb

While it might be interesting to see what others bid and whether their bid was accepted, that data can't tell you if the same bid would be successful on another cruise. The best advice that I've read is to do a mock booking to see what an outright upgrade would cost from your existing booking. Figure out how much the upgrade is worth to YOU and bid. If you win, be happy and don't second guess yourself wondering if you might have paid less. Barb

We're on Harmony on Sunday and even though I have sailed on her 2 times previously I really am looking forward to this trip. We are bringing DS, his wife and their 6 YO daughter; it's their first time cruising. We always enjoy the shows, but may skip Grease as we've seen it twice. My favorite is always the ice skating. We always book entertainment asap, I miss being able to book online 30-45 days out. We'll plan to log onto the Royal app while waiting and also do the muster app. We'll enjoy a mix of dining while on ship; DH and I are D+, so we'll use our BOGO to take DS and DIL for a specialty meal, most nights we'll do MDR, lunches are usually Windjammer. I like breakfast in Johnny Rockets or Solarium Bistro. We'll be doing the 5PM dinner to accommodate my granddaughter's early to bed schedule, so I'm sure we'll check out Windjammer, Sorrento's Pizza, Promenade Cafe or Sabor for a snack. Afternoon snacks are usually from Central Park Cafe; great fruit cup and cookies. Their mushroom soup is almost as good as Chops, and the panini grilled sandwiches are awesome! I wish they stayed open past 6 for a light meal or snack. I can't forget about the ice cream and toppings bar in Windjammer...yum! Tomorrow is packing day and haircuts, Friday is testing day at Walgreens, Saturday we drive to Florida, Sunday we board, hurray! Hope to meet some of you onboard. Barb in Georgia

My favorite ship is any one of the Oasis class, we've sailed Oasis, Allure, Harmony, and Symphony multiple times. We are on Harmony for the third time on Sunday. These ships are our favorites for several reasons: variety of food venues and choices excellent entertainment options Central Park Jazz on 4 Everyone's experience may vary, but we are eager to sail Wonder soon. Barb

Biker 19--thanks for the idea, but not practical for us. The single person is my son and the adjoining cabin is his wife and daughter. DH and I were in an adjacent balcony, but scored Royal Up today for a JS which is still nearby. My son and his family are cruising for the first time, so aren't yet C&A members. DH and I are both D+, but 400+ points from hitting Pinnacle. Matj2000--one of my other granddaughters was scheduled to come, but can't be with us. Her parents, my other son and DIL, also had an adjacent balcony which we were able to cancel 30 days out when they found that the 3 of them couldn't travel at this time. Barb

It's been my tradition for many years to bring a bouquet of flowers on a cruise. In Florida, we usually stop at Publix on our way to the port, even in a taxi. Ft. Lauderdale is easy. For Port Canaveral we drive, and for Miami it varies--even the CVS and Walgreens have fresh flowers, but nothing like Seattle! Also we buy a couple of bottles of wine. We bought the flowers at Pike Place on our Alaska cruise and the bouquet was so big, I used the cabin waste basket. Now I have a cute travel vase that folds flat for packing, then when filled with water holds the flowers. Look on Amazon for "collapsible vase". Barb

I meant to say that we sail Sunday from Port Canaveral.

I know it varies with the ship and may change depending on itinerary.

I also am curious--will we be charged gratuity for 2 or just for the 1 ?

We have 2 connecting balcony cabins paid for 2 people in each. Now one of the people can't go. We sail very soon and know we won't get a refund for the guest who isn't going, but I'm wondering about the port taxes. I expect to just wait until check-in to let the ship know we have a no-show. Is there anything else we need to do? Thanks

We like the spacious panoramic OV since DH will not use the balcony at all, and I don't use it much. (he has a problem with acrophobia). We really like the large windows instead of a balcony for us; love the daylight, so much better than a traditional OV. Sounds like you scored with this cabin, enjoy! Barb

Awesome! Thanks, Molly Barb

I tried clicking on "Select a different sailing" but it just shows the other reservation linked with mine.

We are so used to planning all this in advance; I miss the chance to balance out our entertainment before boarding. Recognizing that schedules may change, does anyone have a copy of the shows, venues and times on Harmony? We will be traveling with 2 couples and a 6 YO, so it would help. Thanks, Barb