Hoopster on HARMONY, Jan 7-14 2017 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[rbschultz]

more more!!!

[TonyaJune]

Enjoying your review, sailing on Saturday. We are so excited!

[ValerieJo]

Enjoying your review. We are headed to Harmony in March and can't wait.

 

I do have a question regarding the dining package. We also have the 4 night package. Planned on going to Izumi, Jamie's, Central Park 150 and Wonderland. My question is regarding Izumi. You mention that Hibachi is NOT Included in the package. What does the package cover? Is it a set amount? Only certain Sushi items? I'm a bit confused on this one since the items at Izumi are typically ala carte.

 

Thank you and I look forward to additional postings.

[Missymo]

love the review and pictures so far. 11 days and counting.

[Hoopster95]

Thx for the kind words everyone, I will continue reviewing later today...

 

I do have a question regarding the dining package. We also have the 4 night package. Planned on going to Izumi, Jamie's, Central Park 150 and Wonderland. My question is regarding Izumi. You mention that Hibachi is NOT Included in the package. What does the package cover? Is it a set amount? Only certain Sushi items? I'm a bit confused on this one since the items at Izumi are typically ala carte.

 

Hi ValerieJo. The package covers the "regular" side of Izumi (sushi & sashimi, etc) up to $30 worth per person. Unless something has changed, your package should cover anything on the regular Izumi menu.

 

I have pics of Izumi (regular side) as well as the Hibachi area coming up later today in this review. They are two separate areas and are reserved separately. Consider them two different restaurants basically.

[racerxspeedy]

I have seen a post on CC that others have booked Izumi Habachi at no added cost. Did someone provide a cost upcharge for the Hibachi when you were making reservations? Thanks

[Hoopster95]

I have seen a post on CC that others have booked Izumi Habachi at no added cost. Did someone provide a cost upcharge for the Hibachi when you were making reservations? Thanks

 

Yes, I have seen several posts as well... but those were the European sailings.

Everything changed on the TA I believe. I also called C&A about a month prior to the sailing and they said definitely it's not available to any packages even though I had told them previous sailings (Europe) were reporting that it was. What bugged me is that I assumed incorrectly my D+ bogo would be ok, but it was not allowed as well.

 

I figure like any ship, each Hotel Director on board has the autonomy to offer specialty restaurant discounts deals based on booking/staffing/revenue/etc, so if Hibachi is selling out right away on Harmony they'll have no reason to allow a discount via the package or D+ bogo.

[racerxspeedy]

Thanks for the heads up! I tried to get this clarified with a cruise "planner" - He had no details on the dining packages - basically a waste of time.

The problem I have is that the dining packages all state "no restrictions " which implies you can book any of the available restaurants. I have attached a screen shot here. I may show this picture to the person that I discuss reservations with on the ship and possibly ask for a manager. We want to do this on night 1 which may not be as busy.

[Laurie7]

When I go on my cruise planner and select the details tab for my three night dining package, there is a line at the bottom that says 'Additional Terms and Conditions Apply'. That states that it does not include holidays or premium dining experiences including Chef's table, wine pairing dinners, Izumi Hibachi experience or Mystery Dinner Theatre. So I guess we are out of luck with the dining packages:(

[Laurie7]

Thanks Hoopster95 for your detailed, interesting review and the great photos. Would you be able to tell us which nights are formal nights and whether the main dining room has any not to miss menu items those nights.

[Hoopster95]

The problem I have is that the dining packages all state "no restrictions " which implies you can book any of the available restaurants.

 

 

Hey Racer. Laurie below is correct... I had the "terms and conditions" on my cruise planner as well. Check out the various web pages of the various dining and you'll find it, the important text I've bolded in red.

 

 

When I go on my cruise planner and select the details tab for my three night dining package, there is a line at the bottom that says 'Additional Terms and Conditions Apply'. That states that it does not include holidays or premium dining experiences including Chef's table, wine pairing dinners, Izumi Hibachi experience or Mystery Dinner Theatre. So I guess we are out of luck with the dining packages:(

 

 

FYI, here's an excerpt of the email sent to me from C&A on Oct 20 when I emailed them directly. Then I called in to ask to see whether I'd get a different answer and unfortunately the answer was the same.

 

 

 

"Dear Mr. Sartore:

 

Thank you for your email.

 

As a Diamond Plus member of the Crown & Anchor Society, we especially value your patronage of Royal Caribbean International and appreciate this opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

 

We are unable to advise any differently regarding the Izumi Hibachi Experience than what is detailed in the dining package terms and conditions in your Cruise Planner. We encourage you to inquire once onboard the ship should you have additional questions or concerns.

 

150 Central Park is a participating specialty restaurant at which guests may dine as part of a dining package purchase.

 

As of this time, Solarium Bistro is complimentary for dinner onboard the Harmony of the Seas. However, specialty dining pricing may be subject to change without notice.

 

Specific nightly reservations are not made through the Cruise Planner. When a package is purchased prior to sailing, guests select their preferred dining time and party size. We then make a courtesy reservation for a pre-selected restaurant on their behalf and we provide a reservation confirmation in their stateroom on the first day of sailing. Guests should contact or visit Guest Services or any specialty restaurant to amend or complete additional reservations on the first day of the cruise to guarantee preferred dining time and restaurants. One of the reservations must be for the first or second night of the cruise to qualify for the promotion. Guests who purchase a dining package onboard will be able to make all reservations at the time of purchase based on availability.

 

Mr. Sartore, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International. We look forward to welcoming you aboard the Harmony of the Seas in January."

[racerxspeedy]

Thanks - I'm sure we will enjoy the other options - 150 and Wonderland.

My family was pushing for the Hibachi, not critical for me.

[Geynnyth47]

Hey Racer. Thx for following along. I have never stayed in a boardwalk balcony, and I have read mixed reviews prior to this sailing of Boardwalk noise so I didn't know what to expect... I say the following with the most respect and sincerity but I feel those previous cruisers that did not hear any noise at all possibly have a hearing impairment that they may not know they have. I wear ear plugs nightly (even at home) and easily heard the rumbling of a show and also "Star Trek" movie at 11:30pm one night. GF has quite a bit of hearing loss in one ear and was easily awake with some of the noise as well. After 11:30pm-12am you're safe.... but not without ear plugs in my humble opinion. I would have to say the farther forward you go towards Dazzles (away from the Aqua Theatre), the less noise you will likely get. I fully recommend with the bottom of my heart that anyone with sleeping issues should never ever book a boardwalk cabin close to the Aqua Theatre, would make for a disappointing and loooong cruise I think.

 

 

 

 

The reliable OTSC is along for the ride! :p

Thx for following along again... I always enjoy your posts :)

 

Thank you for posting this. It's my first boardwalk cabin and now I'm worried about the noise. I'm a dialysis patient and I have to be up at 5 AM and I'm worried the noise won't let me sleep. Perhaps I should try to change it.

[AmyJA]

Joining in for the sail with you Hoopster95.

 

Nice seeing some other views of the ship.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Claudio.....thanks for another wonderful review. We board Harmony on Saturday.

 

We were recently on Allure and Izumi Hibachi was definitely not a part of any dining package or BOGO. It's very popular and has limited seating so I can see why they would not include it in packages or BOGO. We enjoyed our dining experience there at regular price.

 

In my Cruise Planner for Harmony it states what you quoted under Terms and Conditions.

 

*Specialty Dining Packages must be booked at least two days prior to boarding and may not be available for every sail date. One reservation must be used on the first or second night of the sailing. Packages include service charge and food portion only for dinner and, when available, lunch service. Beverages not included. For venues with a la carte pricing, package includes a $30 food credit. Participating venues and cover charge prices vary by ship; additional charges may apply for food selections. Not available on holiday sailings. Not valid for premium experiences including Chef's Table, wine pairings dinners, Izumi Hibachi experience and Mystery Dinner Theater.

[SilkySal]

Thank you for posting this. It's my first boardwalk cabin and now I'm worried about the noise. I'm a dialysis patient and I have to be up at 5 AM and I'm worried the noise won't let me sleep. Perhaps I should try to change it.

 

I thought you had a CP balcony? You should be fine!;) I hear the CP balconies are very peaceful and quiet. DH and I are in the farthest aft BW balcony on Deck 12; we have had that same balcony on the Allure and slept as well as we do anywhere when not in our own comfy beds!:rolleyes: If you're concerned about it, take ear plugs just in case. And no, I do not have any hearing loss (yet).:o

[Crewzer33]

Enjoying your review! Can you tell me if the Boardwalk amenities are still being given? (soda package for two, Johnny Rockets and climbing lesson)

[Hoopster95]

Enjoying your review! Can you tell me if the Boardwalk amenities are still being given? (soda package for two, Johnny Rockets and climbing lesson)

 

Yes, I didn't have to ask. Soda package sticker was on my Seapass Card and Coke cups for the freestyle machines and letter in my cabin regarding the the free Johnny Rockets and Rock Climbing reservation also. :D

[Hoopster95]

Claudio.....thanks for another wonderful review. We board Harmony on Saturday.

 

Hey Suzy! Glad your along for the ride. Have a great cruise! :D

And thanks for cutting and pasting the terms and conditions for me on your post

[Hoopster95]

Once done with lunch, we made a beeline up to our cabin to get our first look. There was our seapass card hanging outside our door.....

 

 

 

And in a couple of seconds we were in! The second seapass card was on the bed, and on the table on the left you can see my D+ stuff. The plate had 4 cookies in it rather than the usual small bag of shortbread and almonds I've received for a couple of years now, and then you can see my wine, water, and the 2 Coke cups just behind the water. The letter explaining the "Eat, Drink, Play" promotion was also there.

 

 

 

I loved my Quantum cabin experience, the layout, storage, design/colours... everything. Everything on Harmony was pretty much exactly the same as Quantum from what I remember. It's a great layout for a cabin and the storage just cannot be beat. We had 2 weeks of clothes and easily had extra had I not divided out certain clothes into separate drawers for example. I took the left closet (slightly smaller hanging space) and gf took the slightly larger closer on the right and drawers the Coke cups were on the other side. Luggage easily fitted under the bed.

 

 

 

 

The bathroom here is great... just an fyi my excellent stateroom attendant (Dennis Garcia) provided me the RCL toiletries I believe I finally noticed them the next morning, I did not have to ask for them.

 

Also note the water pressure.... when you turn on the water to "full" it clicks to a stop. You can press the button on the fixture and you will get even more water pressure. It was fantastic! Same with the hot/cold setting.

 

I have read a few reports about people complaining about the lack of a draw string for hanging garments to dry. Immediately under the faucet (look closely, where the bendable shower head goes down from the faucet) are two hooks for exactly that purpose, to hang whatever you want. But note the size of the shower door... it goes all the way to the ceiling and thus zero air flow. we put stuff in there and it barely made a difference the next morning, not getting dry at all. We put anything wet outside and low on the loungers on the balcony so that it does not look trashy to cruisers enjoying the Boardwalk from below

 

[Hoopster95]

I'll mention here that the bed for this cabin is by the balcony. I also know that this cabin is only for two occupants. On the other side is cabin 10729 and the bed there was farther back by the bathroom. That cabin is more than two occupancy and I did see two small kids there with parents. I'm wondering if that determines the bed locations (ie. pullmans or pullout).

 

And finally it was time to check out the much anticipated view aft as well as the Abyss from our vantage point of the balcony. Here's our first look when I opened the sliding balcony door and shot this pic directly out. Note unless you walk right out onto the balcony you cannot see the Aqua Theatre due to the white partition on the right. Also note later in the cruise the plexiglass got very dirty (and we had some bad weather and rough seas, rain, etc) so it was almost translucent by day 7... you;d have to actually stand at the railing to see anything. But for now on Day 1... clean as a whistle!

 

 

 

I stood as far back as possible (against cabin 10327) away from the Aqua Theatre to really see the effect of the Abyss "view blockage" and I didnt mind it all. Keep in mind a couple of my first pictures in this review that if you stand as far aft on the balcony... simply 5 feet difference... you get a full unobstructed view of the Aqua Theatre and that gorgeous aft view.

 

 

 

 

 

Re-entering the cabin you can get a better feel for the dimensions and spacing. The bed was very firm... I was good with it, gf not so much. The light switches were conveniently located and there was a outlet plug conveniently located right by the bed. Note that the bathroom has a very faint automatic night light so if you wake up in the darkness needing to find the bathroom quickly, you'll be easily able to make your way without getting lost!

 

[Hoopster95]

Our luggage hadn't arrived, and after freshening up a bit once exploring the cabin, we were off to check out more of the ship. As we got down the hallway, we noticed our luggage there so we rolled in back ourselves so we can get our clothes hanging asap and fully settled in. So between unpacking, muster, Captain Johnny's announcement that we were leaving late at 7pm to allow for late passengers to make the ship, etc... I don't have a whole lot of pictures until. I'll go through now what we did explore....

 

I mentioned there's great artwork everywhere on the ship, and especially in the stairwells. Here's one of them between decks 9 and 10 I walked by every day

 

 

 

Did you guess what this is? Each piece of art has this circle inscription beside it explaining what you're looking it if you're interested.

 

 

 

We decided on our short timing before 6pm dinner, and not being able to enjoy sailaway at 7pm, we would not go outside but instead check around the inner parts of the ship we hadn;t seen yet. In fact, it was here that I decided I'd like to go directly to Izumi's to ask them directly about Hibachi and the dining package. So down we went...

 

 

 

You can see the maitre-D here on the left... the phone was ringing off the hook while I was there, and when he made time for me after 5 minutes it still kept ringing.

 

 

 

Right in front of the Maitre'D's desk, when you look left you see the regular Izumi's restaurant and dining area...

 

 

 

On the right you see the Hibachi experience area.

 

 

 

Note there are only 3 tables of 8 here.... you can see why on a ship of 5200 passengers that it's possible for this place to sell out without discounts or the D+ bogo. Izumi is located in a strange place tucked away on deck 4 on the starboard side right by the The Grande Dining Room. I'm blessed to live in a city rich in cuisine, especially Asian influence. So after seeing this space and where it was located, I wasn't sad at all that I would not be eating here through the cruise. In fact, this area is so out of the way, I never stepped into the Izumi area again for the entire cruise after these pictures.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

It's been a long couple of days, and we were a bit tired... maybe in need of a little perk up? So since we were on deck 4 I figure we'd make our way across mid-ship to view the rest that we hadn't seen and try to get into the Diamond lounge for a specialty coffee.

 

So turning back away from the MDR, we headed through the Casino. The above Izumi pics and from here forward I find many of my pics a bit blurry and off, I blame it on the camera issues as explained before. My camera pretty much died right after going through these areas and just before dinner so I don't have some of the great photos I normally have of the casino like I normally do.

 

Note that this ship does have the electronic dealer for cash and tournament poker. Personally, I like a live dealer but the couple of times I've played on these tables it's really interesting seeing how other players try to disguise (or not) their tells as now they don't handle the physical cards.

 

This area did smell of smoke and we did avoid walking through deck 4 at all times, always opting to simply walk up to deck 5 and go through the beautiful Promenade. The various Black Jack, Slot and Poker tournaments were all offered as usual... I didn't play... waaaaay too many other things to do and see on this ship!

 

 

 

 

To get out of the Casino and towards the bow of the ship (Diamond Club, The Attic, Jazz on 4, and the Royal Theatre) you are forced to walk through the Art Studio. The have the typical Kincaids, Kraznyanskys, etc the Park West always seem to have

 

 

 

Reaching the other end brings you to the main Studio B lobby. Studio B was closed (prepping for the ice show this evening) but everything else was open.

 

The attic looked to be a really cool place... but this is the only time I ever saw it!!! I booked the comedy show for 9pm on day 4. There was never any mention that it was or wasn't a "family" comedy show and I was looking forward to my first time in the Attic from some raunchy laughs. When we got down there for the show, they pointed us toward Studio B as it was a "family" show for everyone, and that the late 10:30pm show is the one we should've booked if we wanted the Attic "adult" show. Grrrrr. Anyhow the attic did look like it could be a very neat experience and this was one regret for this cruise... the interior stage was very cool and the art/signage was interesting too (I like the sign on the left the best)

 

 

 

 

So we popped into the Diamond Lounge for our coffee... yep, the specialty coffee machine was on! The Concierge wasn't there so I didn't know who we had aboard yet... I'll mention Checker later. Anyhow, super nice Lounge but no windows at all, would not want to spend much time there at all but we did visit there most evening for 15-30minutes pre-dinner where I got to meet up with cruise pals from my Med Serenade sailing in 2014, didn't know they were on this ship. That's the awesome thing about the lounge... you just never know who you'll see and know from previous sailings

 

[Hoopster95]

After chilling in the lounge with our coffee, it was time to head back to our cabin and prepare for dinner. We walked out of the Lounge and I took a few pics I'll share with you as we made our way up the stairs and back the other way through the Promenade aft.

 

Just outside the Diamond Club

 

 

 

Elevator Centrum

 

 

 

Looking up through to Central Park and the slides

 

 

 

On Air - I didn't like this area on Oasis and it's the same here. I only entered this space twice the entire cruise as I'm not a karaoke fan nor did I want to sit and watch sports... I can do that at home with a cocktail in hand and save thousands of dollars. I will say that Karaoke was in fact very popular and I did witness standing room only during those times.

 

 

 

A close-up of the Rising Tide Bar

 

 

 

Like The Attic this is another regret - The Bionic Bar. It was fun on Quantum, and we had planned to sit there one night for at least one drink. But by the time we did plan for it on the last couple of nights, the drink card was offered. The Drink card is not allowed to be used at the Bionic Bar so we never sat here for a drink.

 

It's a very cool scene for those of you who have not been on Quantum or Anthem. Just one drink order is all you need to have some fun, and each hour they run their pre-set show. You can YouTube the Bionic Bar doing their set "performance" to music

 

[Hoopster95]

Having dined in three of Jamie's restaurants in the UK, gf was pretty stoked to get into Jamie's on Harmony so we made sure we booked that for night one.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately this dinner was a let-down.

 

Don't get me wrong, it was not bad at all, quite good actually. But truthfully I left with the same impression as from Quantum... Giovanni's is and has always been much better imo. I guess another way I can describe it is that if this meal was served in the MDR, I probably wouldn't know the difference... in other words not worth the extra charge. Nevertheless it was a great atmosphere and we had a nice table for two by the window to watch the rain and wind in Central Park forming (weather was turning for the worse... ie. The Fine LIne Aqua show cancelled, etc).

 

 

 

Gf is lactose intolerant (no cheese or cream). We had the infamous meat plank, but asked the chef to remove all the cheeses normally served and instead combine the meat plank with the vegetable plank which includes various grilled veggies

 

 

 

We both had the lamb... meh. I've had better lamb in the MDR, and I still remember the lamb shank I had dining with Merion_mom on Quantum at the Grande... very best ever! The side pastas in the middle were the Bolognese and a special order olive oil/garlic Tagliadelle made by the chef. Not to be an Italian food snob, but I'm Italian and my foodie gf thinks I should open a restaurant! In comparison to this meal she feels my pastas, veal Marsala and stuffed peppers I make at home should be a $60 up-charge on this ship if they can get $30 for Jamie's!!! lol

 

 

 

So again I wish to mention this was not a bad meal, not at all. Quite good, just not spectacular. Will I remember this meal in a year? A month? A week?? Not a chance! I couldn't even remember now for this review until I reviewed the pictures. In comparison, do I remember my Wonderland experience and Chop's meals? Yes, each dish.

 

My personal opinion and Summary, Jamie's is alright but not much better than the MDR. For the record gf would place Jamie's equal to the MDR as her UK experiences were so much better than on Harmony so she had a valid experience to be able to tell the difference. We were going to try to book another night there, but we cut that idea loose after this meal.