Harmony Of The Seas - Maiden Voyage - Live Blog

[BourkeBlogs]

The UK press have picked up on the story of how much work is still on-going

 

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3612880/How-Harmony-Seas-trip-PR-disaster.html

 

 

 

Hope it's finished for Sunday :eek:

 

 

 

A lot of things are opening day by day so I am sure it will be in a much better position by Sunday.

[Radiohead]

I'd hardly call the Mail Online "press". :D

 

Honestly, if anyone is joining on Sunday I wouldn't panic. A few days ago that may have been more true, but I'm in my cabin on the Harmony right now after having a fantastic day on board the ship. Food has been great, plenty of it, and I haven't had to wait for anything.

 

This is my 4th cruise with Royal Caribbean, including the inaugural sailing of the Anthem last year (which I'll admit was virtually flawless). But my enjoyment of this one hasn't been dampened one bit so far!

[WyKnott]

CruisenovicesUK or anyone else on Harmony right now. Do you know the hours of Ultimate Abyss? I saw a post about hearing screaming from the slide. We booked a boardwalk balcony cabin and was wondering if that would be going on at all hours.

[steamboats]

Too big to be built in Germany (Meyer, Papenburg). But Meyer has bought the STX Finland shipyard which built Oasis and Allure.

 

Oasis & Allure were both built at STX Europe in Turku, Finland. Harmony was built by STX France at Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. Why they decided to go to STX France instead of the one in Finland is something that RCI has their reasons for.

 

That´s what I´ve said earlier... STX Finland has been sold to Meyer (Papenburg, Germany) and is now part of Meyer.

 

Why does RCI built ships at STX France... easy... The French government is subidizing the wharf business. Without the massive subsidize the French shipyards would have been gone years ago... So it´s simply cheaper to build the ships in France than in Finland.

 

BTW the overall quality is much better in Finland (or Germany) than in France.

 

steamboats

[Clarea]

... Why does RCI built ships at STX France... easy... The French government is subidizing the wharf business. Without the massive subsidize the French shipyards would have been gone years ago... So it´s simply cheaper to build the ships in France than in Finland. ...

I remember when Royal was shopping Oasis 3/4 around, and they tried to come to an agreement with the government of Finland for some sort of financial arrangement. If I recall correctly, Finland declined, so Royal went to St. Nazaire.

[cymru cruiser]

CruisenovicesUK or anyone else on Harmony right now. Do you know the hours of Ultimate Abyss? I saw a post about hearing screaming from the slide. We booked a boardwalk balcony cabin and was wondering if that would be going on at all hours.

 

If you click on the link to cruisenovicesuk blog; burkes blog. They've loaded the dailies. I've just looked at one of them and it says Abyss open from 9am to 9pm.

[Single Cruiser]

If you click on the link to cruisenovicesuk blog; burkes blog. They've loaded the dailies. I've just looked at one of them and it says Abyss open from 9am to 9pm.

 

 

Yep it's been 9-9 on most days.

[MrsR1987]

Can you tell me anything about the Diamond Club Restaurant?

[Clarea]

Can you tell me anything about the Diamond Club Restaurant?

I missed this, is there a restaurant in the Diamond Club?

[LisaT91403]

We've been in many JS's and most of them the curtain was only decoration....looks like the HOTS JS's don't even have that as it would be by the head of the bed between the couch.

 

We had JS's on both Oasis and Allure, and the curtain was not just a decoration. It went the entire length of the cabin, and gave us privacy when our son was sleeping on the sofa bed. If they have eliminated this from Harmony, it will be disappointing.

[WyKnott]

If you click on the link to cruisenovicesuk blog; burkes blog. They've loaded the dailies. I've just looked at one of them and it says Abyss open from 9am to 9pm.

 

Thanks!

[benzygirl]

Here are a few pics of the 1 bed aquatheatre suite in case any one is wondering what it's like.

 

Large walk in wardrobe, sorry about the clothes in there!

 

Telescope on the balcony is a nice touch too

 

What deck is your aquatheater on? I have this on deck 11 next year.

What kind of furniture is on the balcony? Any chaise loungers?

Thanks!

[BourkeBlogs]

This afternoon we went on deck and watched the sail away. As with Rotterdam there were loads of people and boats out for the event.

 

 

Whilst on deck I had an ice cream from the self serve ice cream machine, 2 of which are located on each side of deck 16.

 

 

We then headed down to sit in the Solarium which was pleasantly warm for a drink. We did end up leaving shortly though as due to the fog, the ships fog horn was and still is being sounded every 2 minutes. The solarium must be pretty near the horn as it is very, very loud.

 

 

 

 

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[BourkeBlogs]

For dinner tonight we were booked into Sabor which is located in the Boardwalk. The downside being its outside with no wall / window in the front so not ideal in cold weather but we took jackets with us.

 

The food and service in Sabor was fantastic although the restaurant was very quiet. I assume do to the location.

 

Another poster had mentioned about no Avocados although the waiter advised these were loaded in Rotterdam so e were able to get the table side Guacamole which was made fresh to the spice level requested. I have never tasted guacamole so good.

 

 

We had a couple of starters which was calamari and chicken with jalapeños.

 

 

 

Both of the starters were very good.

 

 

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[BourkeBlogs]

For mains we went for the spicy shrimp and short rib. We also shared some spicy chicken tacos as we wanted to give them a try. The tortillas for these were made fresh and tasted fantastic

 

 

 

 

We also went for a side of the yucca fries

 

 

For desert we shared churros, although left the majority of these. We had expected them to be fresh but they were hard and dry and I assume bought in and warmed up rather than fresh. Slightly disappointing after such an amazing meal.

 

 

Overall it was another great meal with fantastic personal service.

 

It's definitely one to check out as they also open for lunch.

 

Remember you can check out details on the following pages:

Menus: http://www.bourkeblogs.com/hotsmenus

Cruise Compass: http://www.bourkeblogs.com/hotscruisecompass

 

 

 

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[BourkeBlogs]

We just went back to the cabin to drop our coats off and we have an invite for a preview of the new ice show iSkate in the morning, as we are consecutive cruisers which we thought was a nice thing

[BourkeBlogs]

Day 3, full blog is now published:

 

http://www.bourkeblogs.com/day-3-royal-caribbean-harmony-of-the-seas-inaugural-sailing/

 

Apologies they are a couple of days behind, it takes quite a while to write, upload images etc

[heatherb1958]

Hi Jamie, we went to Sabor on Navigator,absolutely loved it but set up is better as it is indoors and for a fixed fee $25 in the evening . We were 3 ladies on a girl's night out and ordered lots of stuff to try and ate it all.:D Our dessert came in a box and we had everything on your menu plus some.

We were hoping to repeat the experience on Harmony but it is not looking promising if all seating is outdoors more or less.It will be Late October!!

[BourkeBlogs]

Hi Jamie, we went to Sabor on Navigator,absolutely loved it but set up is better as it is indoors and for a fixed fee $25 in the evening . We were 3 ladies on a girl's night out and ordered lots of stuff to try and ate it all.:D Our dessert came in a box and we had everything on your menu plus some.

 

We were hoping to repeat the experience on Harmony but it is not looking promising if all seating is outdoors more or less.It will be Late October!!

 

 

 

Although I say outdoors, there is outside seating, the main restaurant is covered but the front is all open and no heaters inside so it does get pretty cold. Although if you say at the back it would probably be warmer, but definitely need a coat. All the staff had fleeces on.

[The sea calls my name]

First I want to thank CruisenovicesUK for this thread and his blog. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

 

We booked the Harmony for the upcoming transatlantic back in April or May of 2015. After doing the Allure Med cruise last year we were positive the Harmony was a great choice for our first transatlantic. Now I am not so sure. There was no mention of the Abyss when we booked our Boardwalk Balcony. Also RCI webpage and still says there is a Solarium pool. We were planning to spend much of our time in this area during the crossing.

 

We have all our travel booked for this coming October. And these things will not ruin our cruise but I've learned to never book a ship before it sets sail. One mistake we will not be repeating. Lots of things can change between what is announced and what is delivered.

 

Timm

 

I think there are a lot of disenchanted people. I know many are beyond excited about the Abyss , but now that pictures are out and reports of the noise is making its way thru the threads, I think there are an = number of those very concerned. I am with you regarding th Solarium and its lack of any type of pool, large or small. This is a Caribbean ship not a cooler weather vessel. This makes no sense to anyone. I too had planned on spending lots of time there on my Thanksgiving cruise this Nov ( and probably still will), but I sure wanted a pool to dip and cool in. I am still looking forward to being on the HOS, but have a feeling this will be my one and only time. Back to the Oasis for me., and hopefully they will leave her Boardwalk alone for us non-Abyssers. I pray you still have a wonderful crossing and many happy memories.

[Radiohead]

We had our My Time dinner reservation in Silk on Deck 5 this evening. Slightly concerned it was going to be similar to the Asian Fusion restaurant Silk on the Anthem last year which wasn't really set up to cater for my daughter, but it really was an extension to The Grande main dining room just with different decor. The service and food was equal to anything we've had on a Royal Caribbean ship before, and they really looked after my little one.

 

Plus which, we happened across a technical rehearsal for The Fine Line at the Aqua Theatre about 9pm. Apart from the occasional pause and the performers were all wearing wetsuits, it was a great sneak peek!

 

Maybe we just keep getting lucky, but we're having a great time. :)

[Dickuk]

What deck is your aquatheater on? I have this on deck 11 next year.

What kind of furniture is on the balcony? Any chaise loungers?

Thanks!

 

It is on deck 14. On deck 11 you get an even bigger balcony I think. We have 2 loungers and a table and 4 chairs. And a couple of pots with artificial grass!

[Coralc]

Wow! :D CruisenovicesUK...where did you learn to make a perfect ice cream cone? Very impressive! :D (mine never look like that)

 

Thanks for posting about your cruise.

[mizzalien]

Wow! :D CruisenovicesUK...where did you learn to make a perfect ice cream cone? Very impressive! :D (mine never look like that)

 

 

 

Thanks for posting about your cruise.

 

 

LOL I thought exactly the same thing when I saw that photo! Impressive ice-cream skills!

[happicruzer]

Wow! :D CruisenovicesUK...where did you learn to make a perfect ice cream cone? Very impressive! :D (mine never look like that)

 

Thanks for posting about your cruise.

 

Mine definitely don't look like that either; however, I've learned to more or less drop the cone, push it up, drop it, push it up and can get quite a bit of 'solid' ice cream that doesn't immediately tip over ready to fall out. Does take a bit longer much to the dismay of those in line behind me:)