LisaT91403

I haven't read through the entire thread, and maybe this is answered somewhere...but does anyone have a guess as to when bookings for Oasis IV will begin?

We just did a Harmony sailing a couple of weeks ago...booked on April 1, 2015 for a December 17, 2016 sailing. It was a long wait!

I don't have a photo, but I will say three words to you: Royal Chocolate Cake. Each time we tried a different dessert, we ended up asking for Royal Chocolate Cake. It's even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream -- that was something one of the waiters suggested one night, and lucky for us, it was on Night 2 of the cruise.

There should be a list in your cabin.

You might have to ask for the list. On our recent voyage, nothing was left for us.

If you Google it, you will see pictures and descriptions. It is really well done, but as I said before, I think it would be difficult to change. The video portion could be changed, but the props, puzzles, and room itself seem pretty permanent. If they were to change it, I would think it wouldn't be for many years.

Just guessing, but in places like that here locally they change it seasonally, or about 3-4 times a year.

I think it would be pretty difficult to change the one on Harmony. Everything is kind of built into the room, so to speak.

Do you know if in-room sitting is $19/hour PER child?

When I used it, you were allowed up to 3 kids for the hourly rate. But it has been several years since I used it, so you should double check on this.

Did you both get a block? If so you were lucky. They are only suppose to give out one per couple.

Yes, we each got one because we were booked in different cabins. We booked 2 cabins, and while DS(8) and Grandma are always roommates...we always book DS in a cabin with a parent and then switch once we are onboard.

Grandma is D+, but has never gotten a block (or luggage tags or pins), and she should have 2 by now. We never got D luggage tags or pins (assuming they exist). Honestly, I wouldn't know about any of these things if not for CC. But it's not a big deal for us...nothing we would go back and ask for.

The ship's WiFi will log you out after two hours with no activity so if you are expecting an in-coming call you might not be connected.

 

You can also get kicked out if sharing devices on the one device plan. If your second device attempts to log in and the first is already logged on, it will disconnect the first device and connect the second.

 

There is a warning to the second device before it does it. But if you are at two different locations and don't know the other person is kicking you off so they can connect you might again miss an incoming call if it's important.

 

Also, on several cruises we have found that voice messages left on you cel phone system won't get kicked over to your phone. So you either wait until you get back to your home carrier, when they just magically appear, or manually call in to your voicemail.

We did not experience this on our recent Harmony cruise. The Voom did not disconnect -- it was still connected when we woke up in the morning after not using devices all night.

Also, it would not let the second device connect if the first was already connected. You had to actually log off the first device in order to connect a different one -- there was no "kicking off" of any devices.

DH and I just got our blocks on Harmony. I went to ask the Loyaly Ambassador about them, but since the desk was closed, someone from Guest Services was there instead of a LA. She had no idea what I was talking about...had never heard of a glass or crystal block. So don't ask Guest Services.

It turned out that I didn't need to ask, as the blocks were delivered the next evening. They are heavy! If you are expecting them, be sure to pack light, or save room in your carry-on.

I have booked it for 4 of our group (HOTS in March)....how many are usually in each group at a scheduled time.

I think we had 11 in our group, but I'm not sure what the minimum and maximums are. I don't think 4 people would be enough to complete the tasks, so you will probably be working with some other cruisers.

DH and I did it on our Harmony cruise a couple of weeks ago. We had a blast! We didn't know anyone else in the group, but still had a great time. We solved it with a little over 3 minutes to spare :-)

Would I have preferred it be included in the price of the cruise? Of course. However, I wasn't going to let $18 stop me from having fun on my vacation. It was totally worth it for us.

I bought Voom internet today,I get 2 days of free internet,will they discount the package when I get on board?

If you are asking if you can combine the discounts (30% off now, then get 2 free days refunded once onboard)...the answer is no. You cannot combine discounts.

You can still use your 2 free days on a different device if you'd like.

We planned to use Mobile Passport when we disembarked from Harmony last weekend. The app was really pushed onboard -- if you watch the disembarkation channel in your cabin, the cruise director talks all about Mobile Passport and why you want to use it. He even suggested that you wait until you dock in Florida to download it, as your regular cellular data plan will be working then.

When we got to customs, there was ONE person working the mobile line. Just one. Needless to say, that was not the best line to be in. We opted to go into a regular line, and had to fill out the paperwork there...but it was still much faster than going mobile.

Edit: We walked down to customs with the concierge, so I'm not sure if the line we were escorted to was any different than the "regular" line. I wasn't paying much attention to that...so I suppose it's possible that the line we were in was shorter than others. I do know, however, that the mobile line only had 1 customs rep.

Ship - Harmony of the Seas

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8642 & 8644

Stateroom Category – JS

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) –

Quiet other than kids running down the hallways and moving/removing magnets from the doors at night. See below regarding wind.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, but they are not. If you look on the deck plans, you will see that they are listed as connecting. We booked them because we wanted connecting. Alas, they are NOT connecting.

Balcony View - Great view. On the hump, so balconies were large with really nice loungers.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - I believe a bit oversized.

Was wind a problem? - Wind was a problem in 8644. At first, the balcony door was impossible to open. Once they fixed it, then there was whistling wind all night long.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - As mentioned above, the cabins were not connecting, and 8644 had loud wind coming from the balcony.

Any other comments? - Great location.

Anyone on Harmony know if the Jr Suites have a coffee or tea maker?

 

 

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Yes, there is a coffee maker in the JS.

If there was a child or adult in the lounge behaving in a manner which "upset" me...I would leave and use my vouchers and possibly come back later. As for the debate whether kids are allowed....I can only relate to my situation...I have an 8 year old with 40 cruises under her belt, 40 cruises of which her existence contributed to the bottom line of RCCL, 40 cruises where she used her own earned money to purchase onboard items, 40 cruises where she influenced her parents to spend dollars they normally would not have if they sailed by themselves. As a diamond plus, she deserves the perk as much as anyone. Since adventure ocean is closed on the first night, she typically spends time in the DL or CL pre-dinner during this night. She likes the Shirley temple with extra cherries......after all......she earned it, just as much as anyone else in the room..........

FWIW...we were on Harmony last week, and AO was open on the first night. I recall it always being closed the first night...not sure when this changed.

LOTS LA ambassador was not the best. I had to enquire.

 

Ken, Abigail got a drawstring tote bag with large zip pocket. She quite liked it due to the large secure but easy access pocket. However we did have to take and exchange as it was ripped when it was delivered:rolleyes:

We were on Harmony last week, and DS got one of those bags as well.

We loved Grease. I think it followed the original movie. After all it is the story of a goody two shoes teenager who becomes "looser" in the end. I don't think it is appropriate for children but was it meant to be?

There was a notation on the Compass saying that it might not be appropriate for kids. I don't remember the exact wording, but we opted not to take our 8 year old (and were happy with our decision once we saw the show). There were a lot of very young kids there, and I'm guessing most of the adult themes went over their heads. I think my son is just old enough that he would have asked too many questions...and picked up on language and gestures (e.g. middle finger) that I don't need him seeing/hearing. But every family is different, and I think I tend to be conservative in regards to what I let him see.

Its looking like our next cruise, we might have to be accompanied by our 1 yr old and 2 yr old because none of our family is willing to watch them for 8 days. So I'm wondering, those of you who have cruised with little ones, how does it work out? We were hoping this would be our much needed break from our kids (our older 3 have plans, its just the 2 "babies" we can't work anything out for) but now I'm trying to determine if we should cancel or if we can still have fun and do everything we wanted to do.

We cruised when my son was 12 months old. There were no nurseries when we did this, so your experience might be different.

Will it be your "much needed break" from your kids? Nope. You can get a break for a couple of hours here and there, but I don't think it will feel like a break overall because you will still be with them and caring for them most of the time.

Will you get to do everything you want to do? I guess that depends on what you want to do. I can't remember a cruise (either with kids or without) where I got to do everything I wanted to do :-)

The way it worked for us is that we kept our son with us during the day. We visited the pool area, took him for walks in the stroller, found open spaces to let him crawl around in (they have dedicated spaces for this nowadays), etc. Grandparents were with us, so we traded off sometimes. I didn't feel like daytime was really a break at all, but again, there was no nursery available.

In the evening is when we got our real break. We fed the baby early-ish, then put him down for bed. We had adjoining cabins, and the babysitter was in the connecting cabin in case the baby woke up (which only happened on 1 night out of 7). We had a nice kid-free dinner, then went to shows and/or the casino.

We had a very nice time, but again, the real "vacation" for us was at night...while it was still family time during the day.

We were never notified via email, but the change was in our cruise planner.

When we rode last week, they had us hook our glasses over our shirt collars. No need to go back upstairs.

We went to Paradise Beach this week, so I thought I'd report back.

Let me start by saying we had a great day, and were really happy that we chose Paradise Beach. It was $15 for a taxi for our party of 4 people. Once we arrived, it was $3/person, and we were asked to spend $10/person on food/drinks. My husband and son got the activity wristbands, which were $18 each. I charged all of this on my Visa, and there was no service charge. However, when we got our food/beverage bill at the end of the day, the 20% charge was included. We were aware of this ahead of time, as it was noted on the menu. Honestly, I did not mind the service charge because I would have tipped the servers anyway.

DS(8) loved the water park. He and DH played in it for a REALLY long time...they were exhausted afterwards! We had a very nice lunch at the restaurant. We placed our orders when we were at our beach chairs, and then asked for the food to be delivered to the restaurant as we didn't want to eat on the loungers. Service was friendly and efficient, and the food was good. I wouldn't say it was "inexpensive"...it was reasonable. After lunch, DS wanted to go to the pool. We couldn't get him out of that pool...he had a great time swimming around.

It was crowded, but we were there early enough that we got chairs in a nice spot on the beach. I'd say one down side is that you can't really switch locations -- your chairs are either by the beach or the pool. So when DS wanted to swim, there was nowhere for me to sit and watch him. There also didn't seem be much shade by the pool.

It was very easy to get a cab back to the pier.

If we are ever back in Cozumel, I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Paradise Beach.

I think the number using the lounge depends on the sailing.

 

There was a continental breakfast and drinks/snacks each evening. I was on the TA and they had 3 venues. Yet, DH and I were only able to use the overflow lounge twice in the evening. It was too crowded. We used our drink coupons at a bar.

Definitely depends on the sailing. I heard that the TA had an incredibly high number of D and higher.

The concierge told me that this week (the 12/17 sailing) was like a vacation for him with only 475 on board. He said previous weeks have been MUCH higher.

Thank you for the review. Very helpful. Is there an age limit for Rubicon that you are aware of? We have a 16 year old and a 12 year old and it is all the 12 year old can talk about. I was wondering from your comments if 12 year olds aren't allowed to do it.

I believe the minimum age is 14. We just did it this week -- really fun! DH and I didn't know anyone in our group of 11 people. There was one kid in the group, probably around 14 or 15 years old. While I realize that all kids are different, the one in our group was not helpful or engaged (because he couldn't help).

I am just off Harmony (literally...I'm on my flight home!)

The lounge had continental breakfast, but I never went so I don't know the details. The lounge was open from 5:00 (not 5:30, as posted above) until 8:30. The appetizers changed each night...several different hot snacks, as well as cheese, fruit, and desserts. It was never crowded when we visited, always had tables and chairs available. Service was very efficient. There was no overflow space because it was not needed. I believe the concierge said there were 475 Diamond and above on the ship.

Enjoy!