LHARTWICK

17 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Guests op out, grats go up... pretty simple..

This was my guess as well.  I hear many people say that they have their tips removed from their account.  I also wish they would just include it as part of the fare, assuming that would make the tips impossible to be removed??  We always pay the standard tips and then tip those who go over and above, which is almost always our MDR staff and Cabin Stewards. Would also appreciate being able to pre-pay the tips via my cruise manager on the web site vs. calling RCCL.  Just looked at my booking and I don't see that as an option.

Thanks for the review and glad you had a wonderful time!  We sail on Harmony in December for the first time.  Did you book show reservations before embarkation day, and if so, how far in advance did the reservations open?  Our check-in begins today, but so far the reservations aren't open.  Looking foward to Grease especially.  Sailed Allure last year and loved it, so we are definitely looking forward to Harmony!

We've been to MB a few times since the restart.  One of those times we walked all the way down to the end of the beach area and walked out onto that pier you are referring to.  We didn't stay long because there was a HORRIBLE sewage smell on that end.  It had rained in MB really hard the night before, and the area behind and at the end of the beach was like a swamp and smelled terrible.  That was just a freak thing I guess.  Anyway, everything seems to be the same at MB as it was before the shutdown as I recall.  Hopefully others can confirm.  Happy cruising to you!

Are the fares the same for the International Pier?

What is the cab fare to Nohoch Kay and Jaime's Blue Reef?

On 10/7/2023 at 8:57 AM, Steelers36 said:

Excellent post, @SCX22.

Agreed!  I'm printing for reference.  😀

14 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

The only crew by doors are the ones directing you to Lido.  The ones on Muster duty aren't there to police who can go the the rooms and those are only on muster decks

I'm referring to the P/D party - not embarkation. 

5 hours ago, chadci said:

And the DP party is nice, hopefully they just check cards better in the future and turn the others away. 

 

Yup - and it wouldn't require extra staff to do so.  A lot of staff members are already at the door.  

4 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Acceptable collateral damage. There are ways for Carnival to take care of it if they cared.

You got that right!

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

They are slowly removing references to being able to drop off bags so I would not be surprised if that is gone in the near future.

Agreed.  I think passengers who are not Diamond/Platinum are learning about it and also dropping off their bags. Same people who crash the D/P reunion party!  The bad apples will ruin it for everyone else.  It's the world we live in...... "rules don't apply to me"...............

On 9/6/2023 at 8:31 PM, stobe1 said:

Yep. Unzip it and look on the inside. It says "Very Important Fanny Pack".

 

LOL!  We received our fanny packs earlier this year - never even noticed that's what it says on the inside. 🤪

On the Dream a few weeks ago they were out of fanny packs, so they gave us luggage tags.  These are different than the many others we have.  They have dolphins on them that jump when you move the tag around - I actually like them and can use them.  Not the greatest gift, but I definitely appreciate them nonetheless. 

15 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Yes, you can book shows before boarding .

But is this for ALL RCCL ships?  For Allure, we had to wait until we were on board. We'll be sailing Harmony in December.

Do you have to ask for the CCL gift cards at Cherry On Top?  I looked for them on the Dream a few weeks ago since we had a lot of OBC to use.  I didn't see them.  I don't recall seeing them on any of our cruises, but maybe I didn't look hard enough. We did manage to use our OBC:  Did a couple of excursions which included bucket list items; my huband bought a watch; used some for our gratuities.  

Drop off luggage then Blue Iguana!! 🦎

16 hours ago, highSeas22 said:

I did an ocean view in Alaska. It was fine.  Unless you spend all you spare time on the balcony, no need.  Bonus.  You don’t hear doors slamming during the day

Excellent point!!! Any time we've had a balcony, our neighbors have just let the balcony door slam, instead of attempting to close it quietly.  The whole cabin shakes! So annoying!!!  On the Dream a couple of weeks ago, we had an aft balcony, and our neighbor on one side let the door slam constantly.  So I started doing the same, hoping they would realize how loud it is.  Didn't work, but I felt better - LOL!  Even with a nice aft balcony, we rarely used it.  It was way too hot during the day, since it wasn't covered, and the chairs were sticky from the sea spray.  The soot from the funnel also tended to fall on it and turned the floor black and yucky.

As others have said, we don't spend as much time on our balcony as we think we will.  Pricing determines which cabin we book, which means most of the time we are in an inside cabin. As for the deck, lower decks are a huge bonus on port days.  When you return, an elevator isn't required to get to the lower decks if you can handle a flight or two of stairs.  We actually prefer the lower decks for this reason AND they tend to be quieter.

For our Allure sailing, we weren't able to make any show reservations until we were on board.  I think I've read on these boards that some ships allow for check-in ahead of time and others do not?  If the Harmony Comdey Club is similar in size to the Allure's, it's a VERY small venue.  We weren't able to see any of the comedy shows on Allure.

So which drinks are single punch and which drinks are two punches?  (Sounds funny I know!  LOL)

Our favorite positive change is no longer having to attend a muster drill along with the masses in the scorching heat - just watch the video on your phone or stateroom TV and then check-in at your muster station. Easy peezy! 🦺😁  As others have mentioned, you'll notice a number of cutbacks, just like the other cruise lines, but cruising will never be the same as it was pre-pandemic.  But you'll still have fun!!

How long is the cab ride from the RCCL terminal? Cost?

On 9/23/2023 at 11:35 AM, Tapi said:

Seeing this makes me wonder if the loyalty program will get “revamped” to make it harder to obtain certain perks and thin out “the herd”. When too many people qualify for perks, they stop being perks.

My thoughts exactly - well said.  We were on the Dream out of Galveston week before last.  Embarkation looked just like OP's photo.  And when the ship was cleared for boarding, as in usual CCL fashion, it was every man for himself. Didn't matter what order you arrived in. Debarkation was just as crowded.  I sometimes wonder if people who aren't P/D hear about priority debarkation and just join in - noone checks cards for status. But for once, debarkation was very organized - CCL crew made sure that "first in line, first to debark" was followed.  It was SO MUCH better! No idea why this process isn't followed on all CCL ships.

Thanks!  That's the way it should be, but I was curious.  Can you tell we don't drink alcohol and aren't used to anything other than a coffee card???  LOL!!

It's very stressful when they all of a sudden disappear......I panic thinking I forgot to pay my final balance!!!  😲

1 minute ago, Thoenix said:

Do you mean that only one of you gets the package but both of you drink off of it?  

Correct.

Mine isn't showing either and can't add it.  Looks like the website is having issues.  My cruise is showing in the app.