Harmony LIVE, March 11th - 18th. Come Sail Away!!!

[Yorkiegirl3]

Congrats to Owen and his team. And thanks to you for the incredible review and Periscopes.

[Mal]

Way to go, Owen! Glad you have chosen to savor the moment! Reviews can wait...even your really, really, good one!

Mal

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Congratulations to Owen and his team and wonderful parents!!! Hard work pays off!!!

 

 

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[#55worktoplay]

Wow, congratulations Owen and team #1 out of 28 teams is quite a feat!

 

Yaye!

 

Owen, don't you think another cruise would be a great celebration?😀

[cruisequeen3311]

Family members photo opp. They all took a turn.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Yorkvillain]

Hey!! You got me in the background. B1 cabana. Hope you had a great time. We sure did !

 

 

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There are cabanas in that photo?

[Clarea]

There are cabanas in that photo?

I don't see them either.:confused:

[Yorkvillain]

I don't see them either.:confused:

 

 

Oh good, it's not just me. [emoji3]

[Thelongos]

Congrats to Owen and his team for working hard all season and becoming the reigning champions!

 

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[constable145]

A few other things we noticed about the cabin. The electronic curtains are now on button switches and not the old dial control which is on Allure and Oasis. Much easier to use now.

 

Currently the larges curtains work well at keeping the light out, but the curtain near the dining table doesn't go from window frame edge to edge. Some light does get it, but it wasn't enough to keep us awake.

 

The curtain upstairs beside the bed has the same issue and the light does shine on your face. I had a magnet with me so I checked the window frame to see it it would stick but it didn't. I was hoping to use the magnet to hold the curtain tight, but alas no luck. My solution was a bit ghetto but it did stop the excess light from shinny on Lisa's face.

 

 

There was no balcony noise when the doors were shut. During the ATS you did hear some cheering at the loudest parts but that was no different than on the sister ships.

 

There is no longer the Bose sound system hooked up to the TV, like on Allure. In reality the Bose didn't really improve the sound IMHO and the Samsung speakers did a decent job. This cruise we barely had the TV on.

 

Speaking of television I did check and the HDMI input and it is no longer easy to access from the back side edge of the TV. At least that was the case in our cabin. From following the cable with my hand if feels as though it feeds into the back panel of the TV, which would be the exact same as our Samsung TVs here at home.

 

Lisa did mention that the upstairs closet had no shelves and only upper bar to hang things on. It is a better set up on Allure and Oasis. She found this to be disappointing as it could have been set up way better.

 

There were many power outlets throughout the cabin. They also had two of these charging devices. One above the fridge on the main level, and another beside the bed in the loft.

 

 

It was a great cabin to rest our heads for the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for the tour of my room! I don't suppose you have been in 10730 on the Anthem have ya?

 

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[seadog67]

I just caught up on your trip, and what an awesome time I had following along even though I am late to the party! Thank you so much for all the effort I know it takes to do a report let alone one as comprehensive as this one. Really outstanding job, and now totally have me way more excited for our upcoming cruise on Anthem next week!

 

Thank you again and congrats to Owen for his championship season!

[Buffett fan]

 

 

Margaritaville, establishing pier runners in Caribbean ports of call for decades. Now open in Cozumel.

 

 

 

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This gave me a satisfying chuckle.... :') Love your review...thanks so much!

[A&L_Ont]

Time for our post cruise shakedown. I am going to break it down into segments such as food, entertainment, cabin and attendants, the ship and end with our Star Class experience.

Restaurants.

Sabor: I was sad to see the table side guac no longer being made. I did hear that the guac made in the kitchen was just as good, but lets be honest the show was a big part of the appeal. Lisa and Owen both found their food to be very nice I did find my short rib mole to be somewhat fattier than previous. I still ate it all. We did plan on eating there two times but did not make it back.

Jamie’s: The food was great and so was our waiter Emil. We went mainly with his recommendations and picked a few items of our own. We should have stuck with his alone. The only dish I didn’t like was the risotto. We really liked how he kept us informed to where our meals were in the line. Instead of wondering how long we had to wait we knew exactly where we were in the order. I very easily could have eaten there again. It was a 100% different than our negative November experience.

Chops: Our experience here was a positive one as well. Food was fairly fast, hot and tasty. The desserts still are not as tasty as they were in the past. This too was 100% different than our negaitive November experience.

Hibachi: This was our first experience here and it was maybe the best meal of the cruise. The food was really good but the cooking experience and atmosphere was what really made it amazing. It does get hot from the grill, and if we go again I will wear shorts just to stay cool.

Costal Kitchen for breakfast: Very quick and delicious, especially for disembarkation morning.

Costal Kitchen for dinner: Very quick and delicious with attentive service. We should go here more often.

Johnny Rockets for breakfast: Greasy and fast. Our go to morning spot.

Johnny Rockets dinner: Greasy and fast. We ate here two times mainly for Owen and we survived. Enough said.

Park Cafe: Always a hit with our family. The strange thing is they only had plain Lays all week. No other favours.

The Dog House: A great spot for a quick bite.

Starbucks: Friendly staff and wonderful beverages. My first stop of the day.

 

 

Sorrento’s: Need I say more. RC, please do us all a favour and steal some pizza recipes from Princess and follow them word for word.

Windjammer: Once was enough, and it was only for me. Even after walking around the stations for 5 minutes I found it hard to choose something. It was prior to my cold starting so perhaps my taste buds weren't helping in the decision making either.

[A&L_Ont]

Entertainment.

I have only highlighted the shows and events that we got to.

Grease: We went on the first night of the cruise and we made it through almost all of the show. Owen giggled at some of the words on point, but I’m not sure if he took his cues from the audience. He didn’t leave the show talking like a long shore-man or a old school trucker.

Fine Line: The newest Aqua Theatre Show was amazing. Be forewarned though it is more show and less aqua than on the sister ships of Allure and Oasis. We have now seen the show two times and still and sure what the plot line is, but it is still enjoyable.

ISkate: There are two skating shows on the ship and this is the one that you can not reserve in advance. This was the first time to see this show and we enjoyed it much more for its fun and playful nature. I highly recommend it. The other ice show is much more “artistic” and even though the skating is great it didn’t appeal to us as much.

Comedy Club: Simeon stole the show for us. The comedian was great but we saw the same comedian on the ship in November and the act was almost word for word. It was still funny but been there done that.

Aqua Theatre Sail Away Party: We thought we’d change it up and not walk up 12 flights of stairs after the muster drill to take in this show. It is the exact same act as on Allure, but we did get to see it and then headed down to the jogging track to as we sailed out of port. If you have young kids they’d like it. If you want to miss the stairs Id recommend heading to a bar and get a drink. By the time you get your drink the elevator line will be gone and you should still be able to catch the end of sail away.

 

 

RP Dance Parties and Parades: We came across a few of these and they seemed to be well attended and very interactive with the guests. We watched the 90s dance party on TV and the music was better than I remember from that decade. I would still love an 80s party though.

Flow Show: It didn’t happen as they are short on riding crew for the last few sailings. Hopefully it will return in the next few weeks.

[A&L_Ont]

Our Cabin and our attendants.

Both were spectacular. Our attendants Seepaul and Nelson left us asking for nothing. They figured out our routines and were in and out of our cabin seamlessly. We are very much creatures of habbit so it would not have taken long to figure us out. We have also sailed with Seepaul on three other occasions so it was nice to see an old friend and make a new one in Nelson.

Ship’s Crew.

 

Everyone we meet along the way seemed to be in great spirits, friendly and helpful.

 

The bar staff are still run off their feet due to the “new style” of management. Lisa defintly noticed how few drink runners were around the pool and that inturn makes a longer line at the bars. Speaking of bars there is at least one less on Harmony than her sisters. On deck 16 starboard Mast Bar is no longer there putting a bit more pressure on the bartenders at near bar.

The Ship in General.

 

Having been on the ship two times since November I can sate that it still looks as good last week as it did last fall. I looked around for the inferior French welds that a few had mentioned and I did not find any. ;)

 

I did venture into the Solarium and looked at the wind diverters that Germanflyer has mentioned and I think I now understand what he is expressing. I sure hope that they put a pool in the next Oasis Class ship, even though we never go there.

 

The other thing Germanflyer has mentioned was the excessive amount of water on the pool deck that the wind carries from the kids splash pad area. On this cruise what they did on the windier days was shut down some of the larger water features. On one less windy sea day they put towels on top of smaller features to stop the wind’s effect. It looked like this.

 

 

The wind/water issue was previlant on sea days. That being said the crew were still having to squeegee water but no where to the same amount as in November.

[bobmacliberty]

 

 

 

Congrats on Owen's win. Nothing more enjoyable than watching your child be part of something like that...something he will probably always remember. The hockey bag picture instantly brought back a stink memory. I played in college (intramural) and then for a few years after college and I used to think that there was no stink worse than a hockey bag stink. Then my daughter started doing competitive dance. Dance bag stink >> hockey bag stink.

[A&L_Ont]

Star Class Experience.

Our Star Class experience started and ended well. However, there was a period at the beginning where it was actually exasperating. As you know through a few comments in the review I expressed my displeasure and the actions that we took to rectify our concerns. I also said that I would share our experience after the cruise was over. All that being said I think you know how relaxed and easy going we are. We are Canadian after all.

 

Approximately three weeks prior to our cruise we received a generic pre-cruise email from RC since we were sailing Star Class. Really it was a bunch of generic questions and some of them were quite silly. A week prior to our Cruise we received an email directly from our Genie who was Alexandra.

 

It described the Loop system of communicaion and how to use it onboard the ship. We discussed our few specific requests that we had which were three - a cabana for Labadee, arranging a flow rider rental for one night and a couple of meat platters from Jamie’s for our meet and mingle cabin crawl which was the first full sea day (the second day of the cruise). We already booked and prepaid for all of our shows and dinners as we are travelling with a 9 year old and prefer to keep our schedule.

 

We have sailed Star Class last August on Allure so we knew what to expect and how smoothly it should work and so far things were mirroring each other. That being said I have attached a few different email screen shots with some specific areas highlighted. If you have ever read any of Stuart McLean’s, The Vinyl Cafe stories with Dave, you might have an idea of how this could turn out.

 

 

 

 

 

Could not be much easier. Call in advance, use Loop if there are issues and drop the luggage off at either the flag or bring into the Suite enterance. Let the pier employees know that you are valued Star Class guests.

 

Easy peasy...

Edited March 24, 2017 by A&L_Ont

[cruisequeen3311]

Oh good, it's not just me. [emoji3]

 

 

There are cabanas in that picture. Mine was all the way to the right and I am in the water.

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

Time for our post cruise shakedown. I am going to break it down into segments such as food, entertainment, cabin and attendants, the ship and end with our Star Class experience.

Restaurants.

Sabor: I was sad to see the table side guac no longer being made. I did hear that the guac made in the kitchen was just as good, but lets be honest the show was a big part of the appeal. Lisa and Owen both found their food to be very nice I did find my short rib mole to be somewhat fattier than previous. I still ate it all. We did plan on eating there two times but did not make it back.

Jamie’s: The food was great and so was our waiter Emil. We went mainly with his recommendations and picked a few items of our own. We should have stuck with his alone. The only dish I didn’t like was the risotto. We really liked how he kept us informed to where our meals were in the line. Instead of wondering how long we had to wait we knew exactly where we were in the order. I very easily could have eaten there again. It was a 100% different than our negative November experience.

Chops: Our experience here was a positive one as well. Food was fairly fast, hot and tasty. The desserts still are not as tasty as they were in the past. This too was 100% different than our negaitive November experience.

Hibachi: This was our first experience here and it was maybe the best meal of the cruise. The food was really good but the cooking experience and atmosphere was what really made it amazing. It does get hot from the grill, and if we go again I will wear shorts just to stay cool.

Costal Kitchen for breakfast: Very quick and delicious, especially for disembarkation morning.

Costal Kitchen for dinner: Very quick and delicious with attentive service. We should go here more often.

Johnny Rockets for breakfast: Greasy and fast. Our go to morning spot.

Johnny Rockets dinner: Greasy and fast. We ate here two times mainly for Owen and we survived. Enough said.

Park Cafe: Always a hit with our family. The strange thing is they only had plain Lays all week. No other favours.

The Dog House: A great spot for a quick bite.

Starbucks: Friendly staff and wonderful beverages. My first stop of the day.

 

 

Sorrento’s: Need I say more. RC, please do us all a favour and steal some pizza recipes from Princess and follow them word for word.

Windjammer: Once was enough, and it was only for me. Even after walking around the stations for 5 minutes I found it hard to choose something. It was prior to my cold starting so perhaps my taste buds weren't helping in the decision making either.

I'm surprised there were even regular Lays after seeing your hoard of the tasty treats

 

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[A&L_Ont]

A few days prior to the cruise we used the Loop to send a test communication with our Genie Alexandra to see if we were linked, and after a few hours we heard back. Perfect.

 

So on embarkation day we ordered our Uber and then proceeded to call the Genie at the number we were instructed to. Without it even ringing at our end the phone immediately goes a voice message stating the following "This number is not available".

 

Wait, what?? So I hit redial. Same message. I check the email to see if I am dialling the right number and yes I am. OK then, Uber is still coming and we are still headed to port.

 

I know, I said to Lisa, we can send a Loop message. So we did, stating that we are on our way and if Alexandra needed us she could call my cell. Perfect, easy peasy. As we are pulling into terminal 18 I try calling the cell number one last time and wait for it... the number is still unavailable.

 

Our Uber driver pulls up to the Terminal 18 and we get out along with our luggage. We say our farewells and that's when things start going downhill in a bad way.

 

Unfortunately that's where I'm going to have to leave if for tonight, but I will be back tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[jpolm]

He had breakfast. Now early lunch. We know we will be fed on the flight. Good lord, he's only 9. I think they made Costco for families with teenaged boys.

 

Edit: Get ready RC, stock up more food. The boy is coming.

 

 

 

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Lol, yep know this very well with my 9 yr old sun. Watch out royal. Where do they put it all!

[swwake]

You are the king of cliffhangers, Andrew! ;)

[jpolm]

So I guess you know I'm flow riding today. Owen is currently shooting some hoops while I watch. Lisa is sunning at the pool.

 

 

 

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I think Owen and my 9 year old would be bffs on this cruise- baseball, basketball, food, chicken quesadillas lol..

[kali101102]

A few days prior to the cruise we used the Loop to send a test communication with our Genie Alexandra to see if we were linked, and after a few hours we heard back. Perfect.

 

So on embarkation day we ordered our Uber and then proceeded to call the Genie at the number we were instructed to. Without it even ringing at our end the phone immediately goes a voice message stating the following "This number is not available".

 

Wait, what?? So I hit redial. Same message. I check the email to see if I am dialling the right number and yes I am. OK then, Uber is still coming and we are still headed to port.

 

I know, I said to Lisa, we can send a Loop message. So we did, stating that we are on our way and if Alexandra needed us she could call my cell. Perfect, easy peasy. As we are pulling into terminal 18 I try calling the cell number one last time and wait for it... the number is still unavailable.

 

Our Uber driver pulls up to the Terminal 18 and we get out along with our luggage. We say our farewells and that's when things start going downhill in a bad way.

 

Unfortunately that's where I'm going to have to leave if for tonight, but I will be back tomorrow.

 

 

What a cliffhanger! [emoji6]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[tobyt]

Thank you for all of the effort on this review! Waiting for these final "teaser" ending...kind of like how all my TV shows seem to end this year then I must wait! Very enjoyable read!