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Detailed Harmony Eastern Caribbean Review

CarmenCastalia
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CarmenCastalia

CarmenCastalia

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My family just returned from a great Harmony cruise that took us to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Kitts. There were 6 of us in our group: me, my husband, our 2 sons (14 & 17) and both of our moms (both in their late 70's). This was our 4th vacation travelling in this group of 6 (we have twice visited Paradisus Palma Real, an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, and did an European vacation that included a trip on the Allure in the Med) My husband and I also sailed again on the Harmony this past September in the Med. Here is the blow by blow of this vacation: (This is a very long and detailed review, but does contain helpful hints!)

 

Pre-cruise: flew into FLL on Friday and stayed at the Residence Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port. Ended up landing at 12:45 am after several airplane maintenance delays and subsequent missed connections. It ended up taking 18 hrs to get from CLE to FLL (thanks United). This hotel offers a free airport shuttle and hot breakfast. We got 3 rooms and they were all very clean. The free shuttle stops running at 1am so we just barely made it. Our back up plan was to use Uber when we realized that our 5 pm arrival into FLL was not going to happen. Thankfully we always travel as a group with a 22" rolling carry-on and a backpack each. Makes last minute change of airplanes possible without the worry of lost luggage! (Yes, we did 17 days in Europe this way as well, and this included my son and husband taking dress shoes and sports coats...look into Eagle Creek Specter Pack-it Compression bags, they're pricey but so worth it for ease of packing and unpacking)

 

Boarding day: The hotel offers an $8 per person shuttle to the cruise port that you need to sign up for the night before. We chose not to use this service when we were planning this vacation because we didn't want to take the chance there would be a big crowd of people from the hotel trying to get to the port at the same time we wanted to go. We chose to book a private shuttle ahead of time with Airport Shuttle, Inc. It cost a total of $80.05, tax, tip and port fees included for the 6 of us and our luggage. They even texted us the night before with the driver's info in case we needed to contact him. He called us that morning to verify everything and for what type of van to look for. We asked to be picked up at 10:45 am and he was right on time.

We got to the port in about 15 minutes and since we were carrying our own luggage, we went straight to the check in line. There were a lot of people there at 11 am, but most of the congestion seemed to be at luggage drop off. We sailed right through check-in. No issues there.

 

Day 1: WOW bands- After boarding the ship on Deck 5 (Royal Promenade) we walked by Boleros (a bar right by the rotating silver head sculpture) and saw that there was a WOW band station. My husband and I had brought our WOW bands from our Harmony cruise in Sept, and we wanted to reactivate those and get 4 more for our group. We thought we would need to go to guest services (a place we try and avoid due to the long lines) but were pleasantly surprised to find this WOW band station. It is only open from 11 am - 6 pm on boarding day. Our WOW bands were reactivated and we bought the other 4 for $4.99 each using our OBC. We liked the WOW bands for the ease getting into our rooms and not having to drag our sea passes around. They can also be used to purchase items from all the ship stores and bars and have your drink pkg on them as well. We did find it easier to bring your sea pass to dinner as the waiters need to take them away to get your drinks. At the bars, you just hold up your wrist and the bartenders have a scanner. You will still need your sea pass to get on and off the ship, so I brought along 6 lanyard card holders. You can buy them on board for around $9 each, but I just saved up lanyards and placards from conventions and school IDs.

Drink Packages: We purchased the boys the soda pkg and the adults got the deluxe beverage pkg with voom wifi. We purchased all of these ahead of time on the cruise planner. The deluxe bev pkg was offered at 20% off along with discounted wifi access. The drink pkg included all mixed drinks, wine and beer up to $13 (you pay any overage + 18% tip when on board if you order drinks that cost more than $13. This mostly applies to wine as generally most mixed drinks are $13 or less), coffee drinks, i.e. cappuccino, espresso, lattes at dinner venues and at Cafe Promenade which also serves tasty coffee drinks with alcohol (does not include Starbucks), fresh squeezed OJ at breakfast, bottled water, Coke products, and fruit smoothies and pressed juices at Vitality Cafe located in the spa.

You need to use your paper set sail pass to buy drinks or use your drink pkg on boarding day until 1 pm.

Lunch: Our cabins were set to be ready at 1 pm, so we just rolled our luggage to Deck 8 and got lunch at Park Cafe. We avoid the Windjammer buffet like the plague. It's way too crowded and everyone seems to flock to it first thing after boarding. No thanks! We enjoyed a roast beef sandwich and some salads, then headed for our rooms.

Cabins: We had 3 Ocean View Balcony cabins on deck 11(176, 182, 184) on the port side of the ship. There was plenty of space to unpack with closets on both sides of the bed, one with drawers and a room safe, the other with an additional fold down clothes bar. There are also drawers next to the mini-fridge. The mini-fridge is empty, but you can order beverages to fill it, but they are not included in any drink pkg. There are also 2 bottles of water sitting in your room, but they cost $9 each, so don't open them unless you are willing to fork over $9!!

There is a filled liquid soap dispenser in the shower and bar soap next to the sink. You will need to bring your own shampoo and conditioner. There is a hair dryer in your room (in the drawer over the mini-fridge) which is also where you will find a box of tissues. There are 2 outlets and 2 USB charging ports under the mirror by the desk, along with an outlet next to the nightstand. When we left the ship, there were a table full of travel irons and large power strips that had been confiscated from luggage when people boarded the ship. So don't bring a huge power strip on board.

Our room attendant was Devon and he was wonderful. We had him open the balcony divider for the rooms that were next to each other. Each balcony has two reclining deck chairs and foot rests and a small round table.

Bring a few magnets to hang your cruise compass and a highlighter to mark the times of any activities you are interested in. We also brought hanging clothes pins to hang up wet bathing suits on the backs of the deck chairs.

Wifi: SInce we got VOOM internet with our drink pkg, the access code was in our room with instructions on how to connect to the internet. While we do not advocate running around staring at your phone all the time, we did want to check the occasional email just in case there was an issue at home. You can share your access code, but only one person can use the access code at a time as it will log off the other person.

Royal IQ phone app: We did download the Royal IQ app on our phones before we left home. It only works on board the ship and allows you access to your pre-planned events that you booked on the cruise planner, and a digital copy of the cruise compass, and your ship account so you can track your purchases and any OBC that you may have. You can also activate the chat & phone option for $7.95 per device (total charge for the trip, not a daily charge). It does not require that you buy VOOM internet access to use this feature. You just need to connect to the free ship wifi and then you can call or text (chat) with anyone else who has downloaded the app and paid the $7.95 fee. It was convenient for keeping in touch with the boys to remind them when dinner was or what our plans were for meeting, etc. Be sure to put your phone in airplane mode and turn your data off to avoid international charges!

Muster Drill: 3:45 pm was the drill. Bring your sea pass card to the drill as they scan it for attendance. No life jackets are required for the drill. All that is required is that you watch the short video on hand washing (careful, that tune will stick with you!) and safety info. The only time the ship felt crowded was right after the drill since everyone was out of their rooms and walking around.

Dinner: We booked all of our dining times ahead of time on Royal's on-line cruise planner. I highly recommend it, especially if you want to eat before 7 pm. Both of our moms prefer not to eat late in the evening. We had My Time Dining and booked Izumi Hibachi, Jamie's Italian, Wonderland and Chef's Table ahead of time. We chose not to do any dining pkg because we did not want to have to mess around with trying to get reservations after we were on board the ship.

Our first meal was in the main dining room at 6 pm (The Grande on Deck 5). There is a reservation line and a non-reservation line. Both seemed long, but the reservation line moved along very quickly. They had our 6 pm rez and seated us at table 403 with Lambert and his assistant Amit Roy. Lambert had a wonderful personality and was great. Roy was a bit pushy with trying to get us to order a bottle of wine. You do get a discount on bottles, but since we had the beverage pkg, we all just ordered glasses. This is when we found out it was easier to bring the sea pass to dinner than to hand off your WOW band. If you don't mark your WOW band, you have no idea whose band is whose and neither does the waiter which makes it confusing to charge drinks to the correct person.

My husband had the Beef Carpaccio appetizer (very good if you enjoy raw beef), I had the onion tart app (similar to quiche) and everyone else got Escargots (very good, but extremely garlicky and buttery). For the main course, the Linguini Pasta with shrimp was fair (not a lot of flavor on the noodles) but the Wild Mushroom Risotto was excellent! My son had a NY Sirloin that he really enjoyed. Based on other reviews, stay away from the BBQ ribs.

Fine Line Aqua Show: We pre-booked the 8:30 show through the cruise planner and got there about 8:10 for good seats. It is an excellent show. I highly recommend it. It sometimes gets cancelled if there are high winds, so book it early in the week in case your show gets moved to later.

Sea sickness: We had some concerns about sea sickness as we had heard that sailing in the Atlantic was rougher than the Mediterranean. My mom and I both wore those sea band wrist bands and took Bonine an hour before getting on board. I also had a roll-on natural oil for behind my ears called Motion Eaze (smelled really good, lavender and peppermint). I even got a rx for those patches that people wear just in case, but ended up not needing any of it. While you did feel the ship movement due to the high winds, it did not make either of us ill. After the first night, you get your "sea legs" and notice the movement less and less.

 

Day 2, Nassau, Bahamas

Room Service: I hung the door placard out the night before to order the complimentary breakfast room service that included coffee, juice and cold pastries, cold cereal, and fruit plate to be delivered between 7:30 -8 am. Any hot items incur a charge of $7.95 per room. All lunch and dinner room service items will also incur the $7.95 per room charge. It is really nice to enjoy coffee on the balcony in the morning, unless you are docked next to a Carnival ship....

Breakfast: We were awoken to very load dance music and I opened the our balcony doors to see a Carnival ship right next to us in port. I guess they party a bit more over there at 7:30 am while they disembark??

We ate breakfast on Deck 3 at American Icon. We found this to be a more pleasant experience than the cattle call up in the Windjammer on Deck 16. There are 2 lines, buffet and a la carte. In either case you are properly seated at a table and you can order your drinks (coffee or cappuccino & fresh squeezed OJ for a fee or comes with your drink pkg), There is a scaled down buffet but you can also supplement the buffet with items from the menu. I recommend the eggs benedict, they are excellent. You can also go in the a la carte line and go to the buffet as well, if you want extra bacon or something.

I always carry around a small hand sanitizer when at any buffet. Even though people sanitize on the way in at the hand sanitizer station, I feel better after touching all the tongs at the buffet using sanitizer again before I eat my food.

Nassau: You will need your seapass AND valid photo ID at the port to return to the ship. This is the only port that asked for a photo ID in addition to the seapass to get back to the ship. We all used our driver's licenses.I had read on cruise critic that Nassau wasn't much of a port stop, so I was not expecting much. We had to be back on board by 1:30, so we just walked into the town for a little while. It was crowded and dirty and hot. We had the option of going to the Atlantis resort, but we were only in port from 7:30 - 1:30 so it was not worth the price to us to go over there.

Pool: After our quick trip into Nassau, we headed to the pool for some sun. There was a great view of the water and Atlantis on the starboard side of the ship. We didn't have any issue finding lounge chairs. You can check out as many towels as you wish but they will scan your WOW band or sea pass and if you don't return those towels by the end of the cruise, you will be charged $25 per towel. This keeps people from stealing towels and leaving them lay around the ship.

We took our refillable Coke glasses and got french fries and nachos and cheese from Mini Bites. There is always a long line for Mini Bites. The Coke Freestyle machine is there as well. There is also a frozen yogurt machine near the pool area that also is constantly busy.

I brought a collapsible beach bag along for carrying around sunscreen and my kindle. I found sunscreen in 3oz size lotion and spray so I could take it in my carry on and not have to buy large sunscreen on the ship or have to stop on the way to the ship at a convenience store.

1st Formal Night: There is much discussion about what to wear to formal night. You will see tuxes and long formals, suits and ties and the occasional guy in shorts and a t-shirt. I made my kids wear dress pants and golf shirts. My husband wore a silk button down shirt, and the ladies all wore traditional "Sunday church clothes."

We had our same table and waiter in the main dining room. This time Roy did not press us on buying a bottle of wine. One side note, you are allowed to bring aboard on boarding day, two regular size (750ml) bottles of wine per stateroom. Larger bottles will be confiscated. Starting June 1, 2017 there is now a $15 corkage fee per bottle if you consume these bottles in a restaurant or bar area. It is not charged if you open it and drink it in your cabin.

Tonight I got the Wild Mushroom Vol-au-vent and the tomato, watermelon & feta salad, both very good. The others at the table got the lobster bisque which was not a traditional creamy soup, it was more of a tomato based bisque and was not very good. My mother-in-law got the Duck a l'orange, and the rest of us got the roasted beef tenderloin. All very good. The Grand Mariner Souffle for dessert was also good. The coconut rice pudding was not good.

 

Day 3, at sea

Wondered around the ship today with no schedule except for dinner tonight! So relaxing.

Lunch: You can get lunch in the main dining room on sea days only (Deck 3, American Icon). There is a chopped salad station where you choose what goes into your salad and they will dress it and chop it for you. It's a great salad. There is also other buffet style lunch items as well as items that can be ordered from the menu. There is a huge dessert display with a chocolate fountain and the biggest cakes you have ever seen!

Izumi Hibachi: We booked this ahead of time on the cruise planner for $39 each which as I recall was about $5 less than the price I saw on the menu we were handed. Some of us paid the $4 upcharge to get the combo meals (shrimp and lobster or steak and lobster instead of just shrimp, chicken or steak). There are only 3 hibachi tables available with 8 seats at each table. They offer 3 seatings each night.

Edamame, salad, and fried rice and dessert are included. The fried rice is outstanding. We asked for yum yum sauce (they call it spicy mayonnaise) as it is not included in the 3 sauces that are presented at the table. Our chef was named Rusty and he was very entertaining. The meal was very good, and we were very full when we left! I suggest you skip dessert as they were not very good at all.

Tonight they showed the NBA finals game on the ship in the On Air bar or in your room. There was no room in the bar to watch the game, so we sadly had to watch our Cavs loose in our room. After the game we went to the Solarium and soaked away our sorrows in the hot tub.

 

Day 4: St. Thomas (Crown Bay port)

We did not have a planned excursion here, so after breakfast we went ashore and caught an open air taxi bus to Magens Bay. There are all sorts of these open air shared Taxis at the port (Crown Bay). The prices are all posted on a sign so there is not guessing how much it will cost (cash only) You just need to choose a place to go and ask which shared taxi goes there. It cost $10 per person to go to Magens, plus $5 per person entry to the beach. There are chairs and loungers to rent as well for $8 + a refundable deposit.

You can check out and return towels from the ship on the dock just off the gangway. You can also buy bottles of water on the way off the ship when you get off the elevator (free if you have the deluxe drink pkg). I had packed an insulated bag and zip lock bags that Devon (our room attendant) filled with ice so that we would have a cooler to take to the beach. We also took sandwich bags to the breakfast buffet and made sandwiches for the beach. You can also get wrapped sandwich wraps, fruit cups, and packaged salads from Park Cafe the day before (prior to 5:30pm when they close) and keep them in your mini fridge until your excursion the next day. Don't forget napkins and silverware. There is a snack shop at Magens Bay that sells burgers and such if you don't want to mess around with a cooler.

There are shade trees and picnic benches, restrooms and outdoor showers with changing areas as well.

When you are ready to return to the ship or to go into town to shop, there are plenty of shared taxis waiting. Just tell them where you want to go, but be prepared to wait until the taxi fills up a bit.

We chose to change out of our wet suits (bring plastic bags for these) and go into town to shop. It cost $6 per person to get back to town. After shopping a bit, we found that we were being begged to step inside each and every jewelry shop with the promise of a cold drink or a free gift. We did go in a few and most were really willing to make a deal. Everything was duty and tax free which was nice, but I was not in the market for fine jewelry.

Finding a taxi back to the ship was no problem. I believe it was $6 each.

Jamie's Italian, Deck 8 (Central Park) Tonight was dinner at Jamie's ($35 pre-booked on cruise planner) after cocktails at Vintages right next door. I have to say that I love Vintages. It's so quiet in there and the wine selection is the best on the ship. Our waiter at Jamie's was Ruben. He was great. We did everything family style. The meat plank was fantastic. He also suggested we get crispy squid, crab and avocado bruschetta, and primavera bruschetta for appetizers. My younger son ordered the Italian Burger which he said was the best burger he ever had. The rest of us shared the following: Prawn Linguine, Penne Carbonara, Risotto Caprese, Lamb Chops, and Truffle Taglitelle. By far the Truffle Taglitelle and the Lamb Chops were the best. I would have skipped the Risotto Caprese. For dessert he brought out a dessert board that was beyond belief: Pavlova, Epic Brownie, Amalfi Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Tiramisu, vanilla ice cream and salted caramel ice cream. I don't know where we found room, but we ate all of that, then asked for another order of the brownie and the cheesecake. I kid you not, that was THE best cheesecake I have ever eaten! Jamie's was a winner. If you only do one specialty dinner, do Jamie's.

Rising Tide Bar: We were scheduled to see the Headliner show which was Savannah Jack ( a musical trio?), but we were so stuffed from dinner, that we just walked around until we ended up at the Rising Tide Bar. Jess was our server there and kept us entertained and properly hydrated. We saw a Jazz Quartet setting up in Central Park, so at 9:30 we went to hear them. It was the Tom Kleyn Quartet (he's the musical director on the ship) and they were EXCELLENT. It was such a nice evening under the stars in Central Park. If you enjoy Jazz, look for this Quartet on your cruise compass and see them. I imagine they also play in Jazz on 4.

 

Day 5: St. Kitts (Port Zante)

We booked a 3.5 hour private power catamaran excursion through Blue Water Safaris on line prior to the cruise. We found them through Trip Advisor. The Gangway opened at 8:30 am and we were ready to go after checking out our towels on the dock. An open bar was included in this excursion ($400 for the 6 of us) so all we needed to bring were some snacks for lunch which we again packed into a cooler with ice in zip lock baggies from Park Cafe and the breakfast buffet in American Icon. Our captain was Grayson and his first mate was "Tuna". They were great. First they took us to ****ten Bay for some snorkeling (they provided all the equipment). Since we had a private excursion, we got to the bay way ahead of the larger cruise excursions so we were able to snorkel around peacefully by ourselves. Our moms did not want to snorkel, so they had the option of staying in the boat under the shade of the canopy or float around on a noodle in the bay. The water was wonderful. We got to try "Ting" on the boat, which is a grapfruit soda that goes with every"ting". It was very good and refreshing.

Next they took us to Sunshine's Bar on a beach in Nevis. They backed the boat up to the sand and we waded into the beach for a Killer Bee. Thankfully I had read that you should only drink one and they were $10 each, so be prepared with your credit card or cash. We sat in a nice wooden table/hut thing with cushions and enjoyed our packed lunch. They also serve food, but we only ordered drinks. The Killer Bee is rum punch that is good, but can really sneak up on you!

After lunch, we headed back to the ship. Great excursion!

After showering on the ship, we went back out to shop around the port. Watch out for the guys with monkeys in diapers. If you hold the monkey or take a photo, they will expect payment. This was another typical Caribbean port shopping area. About the same stuff as St. Thomas. Lots of jewelry.

Chef's Table: My husband and I booked the Chef's table ahead of time while the others went to the main dining room. We had done the Chef's Table on Allure and loved it. When we sailed on Harmony in September, there was no chef's table, so we were excited to see it back as one of the dining options. It is $95 per person, but the meal and experience is exquisite. Each course is paired with wine and the chef comes out and explains in detail how each dish is prepared. Vinko, our waiter presented and explained each wine.

There were only 8 of us in attendance and it was held in a curtained off area in the Solarium Bistro. While this is not an ideal area due to the noise of the restaurant behind the curtain, I hear they are looking for a different area to host this dinner.

We were greeted with champagne and an amuse-bouche to start which was a crab topped with seaweed salad. Next the Indian Chef (I'm sorry I didn't catch his name) presented a Hearts of Palm Salad that was simply out of this world. Next was Sweet Pea Soup with Truffle Poached Egg and Bacon, Butter Poached Lobster, Braised Short Rib Ravioli, a 9 oz Filet Mignon and a dessert sampler and then a plate of raspberry macaroons. No matter how full you are, taste the macaroon! Dessert was served with a chocolate martini. The headliner wine was a Caymus Cab that was served with the Filet. Everything was described in wonderful detail and you could have as much of each wine as you desired. It is an outstanding dining experience!

Columbus the Musical: We could not attend this show because the Chef's Table was from 6:45pm - 11 pm. But our moms and sons went and really enjoyed it. It is reminiscent of Monty Python.

 

Day 6: at sea

Today the boys explored the ship and did the rock climbing wall, water slides, zip line, and the Ultimate Abyss.

Caymus Tasting at Vintages: My husband and I had originally wanted to do this Caymus tasting at 4 pm for $40 + 18% service charge each, you sign up at Vintages while on the cruise. You taste through 4 of Caymus Vineyards wines with a sommelier: Mer Soleil Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Belle Glos Pinot Noir, Emmolo Merlot, and Caymus Special Selection Cabernet. Since we got to taste the Caymus cab at the Chef's table, we decided to spend our remaining on board credit elsewhere.

2nd Formal Night: "Lobster Night" This is the night that you can have lobster tail for no extra fee in the main dining room. There is a Selects Menu available every night for an extra charge: Whole Lobster $29.95, 9oz Chops Filet $16.95 or Surf & Turf (6oz tail + 9oz filet) $34.95, plus 18% tip.

But tonight lobster tail is included!! For appetizers we all got French Onion Soup, which was very good. We all got lobster tail except my younger son who got the Beef Tenderloin. We ordered a second plate of lobster tail when we finished the first one. For dessert, we got Chocolate Souffle.

Harmony Orchestra: The Harmony Orchestra normally plays for Grease and they are excellent. Tonight they played in Jazz on 4 from 10:30-12 am. They played a mix of Jazz and Funk. Very nice.

 

Day 7; at Sea; Lazy day on the ship. Were scheduled to see Grease at 4:30 but everyone was too relaxed in their spot on the ship to get up and go see it. I hear it's great. One of the good spots to relax is on the back of the ship on the walking track watching the ship's wake. There are several chairs there.

Wonderland : Once again, we booked this through cruise planner. It was $49 per person, but there are only 4 of these restaurants and you can only get this experience at sea, so just do it. We started in the Wonderland Bar with their special Helios in the Sand martini (excellent). We were then escorted down the spiral stairs to our table. We had a great waiter from the Island of St. Vincent (I forget his name, but he reminded me of the actor Laurence Fishburne). He asked us all about our food preferences, then presented us with several appetizers all presented with flair. Our favorites were: Crispy Crab Cones, Buffalo Chicken Eggs, Shrimp Kataifi and Liquid Lobster. We ordered several main dishes to share: Branzino, Terrior Beef, Pork Belly and Slow Roasted Chicken. The beef and pork were the best.

Save room for dessert, as it is most spectacular, especially if you are a chocolate lover, it's called the World We also loved the Dream sundae. My kids are not adventurous eaters, neither is my mom, but they all enjoyed their dinner.

After dinner we went to Deck 16 to watch the sunset and take photos. Then we sat and enjoyed the breeze and the night sky. Again, there was no one around, so it was a nice way to end the trip!

 

Disembarkation: We chose to do express departure since we only had carry on bags and backpacks. We did not have to put our luggage out in the hallway by 10pm the night before.

We went to have breakfast at 7:30am in American Icon, but there was not buffet today, so we made the mistake of going to the Windjammer. UGH!!! It was crowded, we couldn't find seats, people were rude and pushy.... thank goodness we avoided this place all week!

Mobile Passport App: We had read on line to download the Mobile Passport App pre-cruise. We had everyone's passport scanned and photos taken in the app ready to go. If you use this app, you do not need to fill out the paper customs form. You can only submit the info 4 hours prior to going through customs. IT DID NOT WORK. Every time we went to submit the info through the app it would say that we were not connected to the internet. We even downloaded the app to my phone and started re-scanned all the passports and retook the photos and submitted the info and it still said we were not connected to the internet. We ended up filling out the paper form and going through the regular line. We have Global Entry, but did not bring the physical global passport cards. There are no global entry kiosks at the port. Oh Well!

Transportation to Airport: We met in the hallway after breakfast at began our journey home at 8:45 am. We pre-booked again with Airport Shuttle, Inc (phone # 954-722-9902) for a private van to the airport at 9:15 am. He was once again on time and called to let us know he was on his way and where to meet him. Again it was $80.05 for the 6 of us.

Of course we had airplane issues again in Newark, so our trip home ended up taking 15 hrs from FLL to CLE. Thank you again United.

 

In summary, we found the ship to be extremely clean, the staff friendly, the people on the cruise were all having fun and the only rude people we encountered were in the Windjammer. Captain Johnnie is fun, if you see him on his scooter or with his parrot, be sure to stop and say Hi. There was plenty to do on the ship; the specialty restaurants had better food than the main dining room and the drinks and wine were good. We struggled with the decision to get the drink pkg, but in the end, we would have struggled with paying the drink prices on the ship, so since we prepaid so long before the cruise it didn't seem to hurt as much!. It was also nice to get bottled water, fresh squeezed OJ and cappuccino whenever we wanted.

 

Hope this helps someone out on a future Harmony trip!

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FishOn55

FishOn55

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Thank you so much for your comprehensive review. I will be on the Harmony in September and I love reading the experiences of other cruisers. I appreciate your taking the time to post your review.:D

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kreepshow

kreepshow

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Thank you for this in-depth review. Me and my wife will be sailing in October, and your review has us super-excited. If we got anything from your experience, it is to stay the F away from the WindJammer! Jazz sounds it will be our hangout spot, along with Vintages.

 

 

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flhokie

flhokie

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Awesome review!

 

We loved St. Kitts--we were glad we'd seen warnings about the monkeys on here.

 

I'm surprised you made it off the ship with fresh foods. On Allure we saw them make passengers toss food & cups of coffee before disembarking because of the strict regulations on anything other than pre-packaged foods.

 

 

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Thetrail

Thetrail

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My family just returned from a great Harmony cruise that took us to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Kitts. There were 6 of us in our group: me, my husband, our 2 sons (14 & 17) and both of our moms (both in their late 70's). This was our 4th vacation travelling in this group of 6 (we have twice visited Paradisus Palma Real, an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, and did an European vacation that included a trip on the Allure in the Med) My husband and I also sailed again on the Harmony this past September in the Med. Here is the blow by blow of this vacation: (This is a very long and detailed review, but does contain helpful hints!)

 

Pre-cruise: flew into FLL on Friday and stayed at the Residence Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port. Ended up landing at 12:45 am after several airplane maintenance delays and subsequent missed connections. It ended up taking 18 hrs to get from CLE to FLL (thanks United). This hotel offers a free airport shuttle and hot breakfast. We got 3 rooms and they were all very clean. The free shuttle stops running at 1am so we just barely made it. Our back up plan was to use Uber when we realized that our 5 pm arrival into FLL was not going to happen. Thankfully we always travel as a group with a 22" rolling carry-on and a backpack each. Makes last minute change of airplanes possible without the worry of lost luggage! (Yes, we did 17 days in Europe this way as well, and this included my son and husband taking dress shoes and sports coats...look into Eagle Creek Specter Pack-it Compression bags, they're pricey but so worth it for ease of packing and unpacking)

 

Boarding day: The hotel offers an $8 per person shuttle to the cruise port that you need to sign up for the night before. We chose not to use this service when we were planning this vacation because we didn't want to take the chance there would be a big crowd of people from the hotel trying to get to the port at the same time we wanted to go. We chose to book a private shuttle ahead of time with Airport Shuttle, Inc. It cost a total of $80.05, tax, tip and port fees included for the 6 of us and our luggage. They even texted us the night before with the driver's info in case we needed to contact him. He called us that morning to verify everything and for what type of van to look for. We asked to be picked up at 10:45 am and he was right on time.

We got to the port in about 15 minutes and since we were carrying our own luggage, we went straight to the check in line. There were a lot of people there at 11 am, but most of the congestion seemed to be at luggage drop off. We sailed right through check-in. No issues there.

 

Day 1: WOW bands- After boarding the ship on Deck 5 (Royal Promenade) we walked by Boleros (a bar right by the rotating silver head sculpture) and saw that there was a WOW band station. My husband and I had brought our WOW bands from our Harmony cruise in Sept, and we wanted to reactivate those and get 4 more for our group. We thought we would need to go to guest services (a place we try and avoid due to the long lines) but were pleasantly surprised to find this WOW band station. It is only open from 11 am - 6 pm on boarding day. Our WOW bands were reactivated and we bought the other 4 for $4.99 each using our OBC. We liked the WOW bands for the ease getting into our rooms and not having to drag our sea passes around. They can also be used to purchase items from all the ship stores and bars and have your drink pkg on them as well. We did find it easier to bring your sea pass to dinner as the waiters need to take them away to get your drinks. At the bars, you just hold up your wrist and the bartenders have a scanner. You will still need your sea pass to get on and off the ship, so I brought along 6 lanyard card holders. You can buy them on board for around $9 each, but I just saved up lanyards and placards from conventions and school IDs.

Drink Packages: We purchased the boys the soda pkg and the adults got the deluxe beverage pkg with voom wifi. We purchased all of these ahead of time on the cruise planner. The deluxe bev pkg was offered at 20% off along with discounted wifi access. The drink pkg included all mixed drinks, wine and beer up to $13 (you pay any overage + 18% tip when on board if you order drinks that cost more than $13. This mostly applies to wine as generally most mixed drinks are $13 or less), coffee drinks, i.e. cappuccino, espresso, lattes at dinner venues and at Cafe Promenade which also serves tasty coffee drinks with alcohol (does not include Starbucks), fresh squeezed OJ at breakfast, bottled water, Coke products, and fruit smoothies and pressed juices at Vitality Cafe located in the spa.

You need to use your paper set sail pass to buy drinks or use your drink pkg on boarding day until 1 pm.

Lunch: Our cabins were set to be ready at 1 pm, so we just rolled our luggage to Deck 8 and got lunch at Park Cafe. We avoid the Windjammer buffet like the plague. It's way too crowded and everyone seems to flock to it first thing after boarding. No thanks! We enjoyed a roast beef sandwich and some salads, then headed for our rooms.

Cabins: We had 3 Ocean View Balcony cabins on deck 11(176, 182, 184) on the port side of the ship. There was plenty of space to unpack with closets on both sides of the bed, one with drawers and a room safe, the other with an additional fold down clothes bar. There are also drawers next to the mini-fridge. The mini-fridge is empty, but you can order beverages to fill it, but they are not included in any drink pkg. There are also 2 bottles of water sitting in your room, but they cost $9 each, so don't open them unless you are willing to fork over $9!!

There is a filled liquid soap dispenser in the shower and bar soap next to the sink. You will need to bring your own shampoo and conditioner. There is a hair dryer in your room (in the drawer over the mini-fridge) which is also where you will find a box of tissues. There are 2 outlets and 2 USB charging ports under the mirror by the desk, along with an outlet next to the nightstand. When we left the ship, there were a table full of travel irons and large power strips that had been confiscated from luggage when people boarded the ship. So don't bring a huge power strip on board.

Our room attendant was Devon and he was wonderful. We had him open the balcony divider for the rooms that were next to each other. Each balcony has two reclining deck chairs and foot rests and a small round table.

Bring a few magnets to hang your cruise compass and a highlighter to mark the times of any activities you are interested in. We also brought hanging clothes pins to hang up wet bathing suits on the backs of the deck chairs.

Wifi: SInce we got VOOM internet with our drink pkg, the access code was in our room with instructions on how to connect to the internet. While we do not advocate running around staring at your phone all the time, we did want to check the occasional email just in case there was an issue at home. You can share your access code, but only one person can use the access code at a time as it will log off the other person.

Royal IQ phone app: We did download the Royal IQ app on our phones before we left home. It only works on board the ship and allows you access to your pre-planned events that you booked on the cruise planner, and a digital copy of the cruise compass, and your ship account so you can track your purchases and any OBC that you may have. You can also activate the chat & phone option for $7.95 per device (total charge for the trip, not a daily charge). It does not require that you buy VOOM internet access to use this feature. You just need to connect to the free ship wifi and then you can call or text (chat) with anyone else who has downloaded the app and paid the $7.95 fee. It was convenient for keeping in touch with the boys to remind them when dinner was or what our plans were for meeting, etc. Be sure to put your phone in airplane mode and turn your data off to avoid international charges!

Muster Drill: 3:45 pm was the drill. Bring your sea pass card to the drill as they scan it for attendance. No life jackets are required for the drill. All that is required is that you watch the short video on hand washing (careful, that tune will stick with you!) and safety info. The only time the ship felt crowded was right after the drill since everyone was out of their rooms and walking around.

Dinner: We booked all of our dining times ahead of time on Royal's on-line cruise planner. I highly recommend it, especially if you want to eat before 7 pm. Both of our moms prefer not to eat late in the evening. We had My Time Dining and booked Izumi Hibachi, Jamie's Italian, Wonderland and Chef's Table ahead of time. We chose not to do any dining pkg because we did not want to have to mess around with trying to get reservations after we were on board the ship.

Our first meal was in the main dining room at 6 pm (The Grande on Deck 5). There is a reservation line and a non-reservation line. Both seemed long, but the reservation line moved along very quickly. They had our 6 pm rez and seated us at table 403 with Lambert and his assistant Amit Roy. Lambert had a wonderful personality and was great. Roy was a bit pushy with trying to get us to order a bottle of wine. You do get a discount on bottles, but since we had the beverage pkg, we all just ordered glasses. This is when we found out it was easier to bring the sea pass to dinner than to hand off your WOW band. If you don't mark your WOW band, you have no idea whose band is whose and neither does the waiter which makes it confusing to charge drinks to the correct person.

My husband had the Beef Carpaccio appetizer (very good if you enjoy raw beef), I had the onion tart app (similar to quiche) and everyone else got Escargots (very good, but extremely garlicky and buttery). For the main course, the Linguini Pasta with shrimp was fair (not a lot of flavor on the noodles) but the Wild Mushroom Risotto was excellent! My son had a NY Sirloin that he really enjoyed. Based on other reviews, stay away from the BBQ ribs.

Fine Line Aqua Show: We pre-booked the 8:30 show through the cruise planner and got there about 8:10 for good seats. It is an excellent show. I highly recommend it. It sometimes gets cancelled if there are high winds, so book it early in the week in case your show gets moved to later.

Sea sickness: We had some concerns about sea sickness as we had heard that sailing in the Atlantic was rougher than the Mediterranean. My mom and I both wore those sea band wrist bands and took Bonine an hour before getting on board. I also had a roll-on natural oil for behind my ears called Motion Eaze (smelled really good, lavender and peppermint). I even got a rx for those patches that people wear just in case, but ended up not needing any of it. While you did feel the ship movement due to the high winds, it did not make either of us ill. After the first night, you get your "sea legs" and notice the movement less and less.

 

Day 2, Nassau, Bahamas

Room Service: I hung the door placard out the night before to order the complimentary breakfast room service that included coffee, juice and cold pastries, cold cereal, and fruit plate to be delivered between 7:30 -8 am. Any hot items incur a charge of $7.95 per room. All lunch and dinner room service items will also incur the $7.95 per room charge. It is really nice to enjoy coffee on the balcony in the morning, unless you are docked next to a Carnival ship....

Breakfast: We were awoken to very load dance music and I opened the our balcony doors to see a Carnival ship right next to us in port. I guess they party a bit more over there at 7:30 am while they disembark??

We ate breakfast on Deck 3 at American Icon. We found this to be a more pleasant experience than the cattle call up in the Windjammer on Deck 16. There are 2 lines, buffet and a la carte. In either case you are properly seated at a table and you can order your drinks (coffee or cappuccino & fresh squeezed OJ for a fee or comes with your drink pkg), There is a scaled down buffet but you can also supplement the buffet with items from the menu. I recommend the eggs benedict, they are excellent. You can also go in the a la carte line and go to the buffet as well, if you want extra bacon or something.

I always carry around a small hand sanitizer when at any buffet. Even though people sanitize on the way in at the hand sanitizer station, I feel better after touching all the tongs at the buffet using sanitizer again before I eat my food.

Nassau: You will need your seapass AND valid photo ID at the port to return to the ship. This is the only port that asked for a photo ID in addition to the seapass to get back to the ship. We all used our driver's licenses.I had read on cruise critic that Nassau wasn't much of a port stop, so I was not expecting much. We had to be back on board by 1:30, so we just walked into the town for a little while. It was crowded and dirty and hot. We had the option of going to the Atlantis resort, but we were only in port from 7:30 - 1:30 so it was not worth the price to us to go over there.

Pool: After our quick trip into Nassau, we headed to the pool for some sun. There was a great view of the water and Atlantis on the starboard side of the ship. We didn't have any issue finding lounge chairs. You can check out as many towels as you wish but they will scan your WOW band or sea pass and if you don't return those towels by the end of the cruise, you will be charged $25 per towel. This keeps people from stealing towels and leaving them lay around the ship.

We took our refillable Coke glasses and got french fries and nachos and cheese from Mini Bites. There is always a long line for Mini Bites. The Coke Freestyle machine is there as well. There is also a frozen yogurt machine near the pool area that also is constantly busy.

I brought a collapsible beach bag along for carrying around sunscreen and my kindle. I found sunscreen in 3oz size lotion and spray so I could take it in my carry on and not have to buy large sunscreen on the ship or have to stop on the way to the ship at a convenience store.

1st Formal Night: There is much discussion about what to wear to formal night. You will see tuxes and long formals, suits and ties and the occasional guy in shorts and a t-shirt. I made my kids wear dress pants and golf shirts. My husband wore a silk button down shirt, and the ladies all wore traditional "Sunday church clothes."

We had our same table and waiter in the main dining room. This time Roy did not press us on buying a bottle of wine. One side note, you are allowed to bring aboard on boarding day, two regular size (750ml) bottles of wine per stateroom. Larger bottles will be confiscated. Starting June 1, 2017 there is now a $15 corkage fee per bottle if you consume these bottles in a restaurant or bar area. It is not charged if you open it and drink it in your cabin.

Tonight I got the Wild Mushroom Vol-au-vent and the tomato, watermelon & feta salad, both very good. The others at the table got the lobster bisque which was not a traditional creamy soup, it was more of a tomato based bisque and was not very good. My mother-in-law got the Duck a l'orange, and the rest of us got the roasted beef tenderloin. All very good. The Grand Mariner Souffle for dessert was also good. The coconut rice pudding was not good.

 

Day 3, at sea

Wondered around the ship today with no schedule except for dinner tonight! So relaxing.

Lunch: You can get lunch in the main dining room on sea days only (Deck 3, American Icon). There is a chopped salad station where you choose what goes into your salad and they will dress it and chop it for you. It's a great salad. There is also other buffet style lunch items as well as items that can be ordered from the menu. There is a huge dessert display with a chocolate fountain and the biggest cakes you have ever seen!

Izumi Hibachi: We booked this ahead of time on the cruise planner for $39 each which as I recall was about $5 less than the price I saw on the menu we were handed. Some of us paid the $4 upcharge to get the combo meals (shrimp and lobster or steak and lobster instead of just shrimp, chicken or steak). There are only 3 hibachi tables available with 8 seats at each table. They offer 3 seatings each night.

Edamame, salad, and fried rice and dessert are included. The fried rice is outstanding. We asked for yum yum sauce (they call it spicy mayonnaise) as it is not included in the 3 sauces that are presented at the table. Our chef was named Rusty and he was very entertaining. The meal was very good, and we were very full when we left! I suggest you skip dessert as they were not very good at all.

Tonight they showed the NBA finals game on the ship in the On Air bar or in your room. There was no room in the bar to watch the game, so we sadly had to watch our Cavs loose in our room. After the game we went to the Solarium and soaked away our sorrows in the hot tub.

 

Day 4: St. Thomas (Crown Bay port)

We did not have a planned excursion here, so after breakfast we went ashore and caught an open air taxi bus to Magens Bay. There are all sorts of these open air shared Taxis at the port (Crown Bay). The prices are all posted on a sign so there is not guessing how much it will cost (cash only) You just need to choose a place to go and ask which shared taxi goes there. It cost $10 per person to go to Magens, plus $5 per person entry to the beach. There are chairs and loungers to rent as well for $8 + a refundable deposit.

You can check out and return towels from the ship on the dock just off the gangway. You can also buy bottles of water on the way off the ship when you get off the elevator (free if you have the deluxe drink pkg). I had packed an insulated bag and zip lock bags that Devon (our room attendant) filled with ice so that we would have a cooler to take to the beach. We also took sandwich bags to the breakfast buffet and made sandwiches for the beach. You can also get wrapped sandwich wraps, fruit cups, and packaged salads from Park Cafe the day before (prior to 5:30pm when they close) and keep them in your mini fridge until your excursion the next day. Don't forget napkins and silverware. There is a snack shop at Magens Bay that sells burgers and such if you don't want to mess around with a cooler.

There are shade trees and picnic benches, restrooms and outdoor showers with changing areas as well.

When you are ready to return to the ship or to go into town to shop, there are plenty of shared taxis waiting. Just tell them where you want to go, but be prepared to wait until the taxi fills up a bit.

We chose to change out of our wet suits (bring plastic bags for these) and go into town to shop. It cost $6 per person to get back to town. After shopping a bit, we found that we were being begged to step inside each and every jewelry shop with the promise of a cold drink or a free gift. We did go in a few and most were really willing to make a deal. Everything was duty and tax free which was nice, but I was not in the market for fine jewelry.

Finding a taxi back to the ship was no problem. I believe it was $6 each.

Jamie's Italian, Deck 8 (Central Park) Tonight was dinner at Jamie's ($35 pre-booked on cruise planner) after cocktails at Vintages right next door. I have to say that I love Vintages. It's so quiet in there and the wine selection is the best on the ship. Our waiter at Jamie's was Ruben. He was great. We did everything family style. The meat plank was fantastic. He also suggested we get crispy squid, crab and avocado bruschetta, and primavera bruschetta for appetizers. My younger son ordered the Italian Burger which he said was the best burger he ever had. The rest of us shared the following: Prawn Linguine, Penne Carbonara, Risotto Caprese, Lamb Chops, and Truffle Taglitelle. By far the Truffle Taglitelle and the Lamb Chops were the best. I would have skipped the Risotto Caprese. For dessert he brought out a dessert board that was beyond belief: Pavlova, Epic Brownie, Amalfi Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Tiramisu, vanilla ice cream and salted caramel ice cream. I don't know where we found room, but we ate all of that, then asked for another order of the brownie and the cheesecake. I kid you not, that was THE best cheesecake I have ever eaten! Jamie's was a winner. If you only do one specialty dinner, do Jamie's.

Rising Tide Bar: We were scheduled to see the Headliner show which was Savannah Jack ( a musical trio?), but we were so stuffed from dinner, that we just walked around until we ended up at the Rising Tide Bar. Jess was our server there and kept us entertained and properly hydrated. We saw a Jazz Quartet setting up in Central Park, so at 9:30 we went to hear them. It was the Tom Kleyn Quartet (he's the musical director on the ship) and they were EXCELLENT. It was such a nice evening under the stars in Central Park. If you enjoy Jazz, look for this Quartet on your cruise compass and see them. I imagine they also play in Jazz on 4.

 

Day 5: St. Kitts (Port Zante)

We booked a 3.5 hour private power catamaran excursion through Blue Water Safaris on line prior to the cruise. We found them through Trip Advisor. The Gangway opened at 8:30 am and we were ready to go after checking out our towels on the dock. An open bar was included in this excursion ($400 for the 6 of us) so all we needed to bring were some snacks for lunch which we again packed into a cooler with ice in zip lock baggies from Park Cafe and the breakfast buffet in American Icon. Our captain was Grayson and his first mate was "Tuna". They were great. First they took us to ****ten Bay for some snorkeling (they provided all the equipment). Since we had a private excursion, we got to the bay way ahead of the larger cruise excursions so we were able to snorkel around peacefully by ourselves. Our moms did not want to snorkel, so they had the option of staying in the boat under the shade of the canopy or float around on a noodle in the bay. The water was wonderful. We got to try "Ting" on the boat, which is a grapfruit soda that goes with every"ting". It was very good and refreshing.

Next they took us to Sunshine's Bar on a beach in Nevis. They backed the boat up to the sand and we waded into the beach for a Killer Bee. Thankfully I had read that you should only drink one and they were $10 each, so be prepared with your credit card or cash. We sat in a nice wooden table/hut thing with cushions and enjoyed our packed lunch. They also serve food, but we only ordered drinks. The Killer Bee is rum punch that is good, but can really sneak up on you!

After lunch, we headed back to the ship. Great excursion!

After showering on the ship, we went back out to shop around the port. Watch out for the guys with monkeys in diapers. If you hold the monkey or take a photo, they will expect payment. This was another typical Caribbean port shopping area. About the same stuff as St. Thomas. Lots of jewelry.

Chef's Table: My husband and I booked the Chef's table ahead of time while the others went to the main dining room. We had done the Chef's Table on Allure and loved it. When we sailed on Harmony in September, there was no chef's table, so we were excited to see it back as one of the dining options. It is $95 per person, but the meal and experience is exquisite. Each course is paired with wine and the chef comes out and explains in detail how each dish is prepared. Vinko, our waiter presented and explained each wine.

There were only 8 of us in attendance and it was held in a curtained off area in the Solarium Bistro. While this is not an ideal area due to the noise of the restaurant behind the curtain, I hear they are looking for a different area to host this dinner.

We were greeted with champagne and an amuse-bouche to start which was a crab topped with seaweed salad. Next the Indian Chef (I'm sorry I didn't catch his name) presented a Hearts of Palm Salad that was simply out of this world. Next was Sweet Pea Soup with Truffle Poached Egg and Bacon, Butter Poached Lobster, Braised Short Rib Ravioli, a 9 oz Filet Mignon and a dessert sampler and then a plate of raspberry macaroons. No matter how full you are, taste the macaroon! Dessert was served with a chocolate martini. The headliner wine was a Caymus Cab that was served with the Filet. Everything was described in wonderful detail and you could have as much of each wine as you desired. It is an outstanding dining experience!

Columbus the Musical: We could not attend this show because the Chef's Table was from 6:45pm - 11 pm. But our moms and sons went and really enjoyed it. It is reminiscent of Monty Python.

 

Day 6: at sea

Today the boys explored the ship and did the rock climbing wall, water slides, zip line, and the Ultimate Abyss.

Caymus Tasting at Vintages: My husband and I had originally wanted to do this Caymus tasting at 4 pm for $40 + 18% service charge each, you sign up at Vintages while on the cruise. You taste through 4 of Caymus Vineyards wines with a sommelier: Mer Soleil Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Belle Glos Pinot Noir, Emmolo Merlot, and Caymus Special Selection Cabernet. Since we got to taste the Caymus cab at the Chef's table, we decided to spend our remaining on board credit elsewhere.

2nd Formal Night: "Lobster Night" This is the night that you can have lobster tail for no extra fee in the main dining room. There is a Selects Menu available every night for an extra charge: Whole Lobster $29.95, 9oz Chops Filet $16.95 or Surf & Turf (6oz tail + 9oz filet) $34.95, plus 18% tip.

But tonight lobster tail is included!! For appetizers we all got French Onion Soup, which was very good. We all got lobster tail except my younger son who got the Beef Tenderloin. We ordered a second plate of lobster tail when we finished the first one. For dessert, we got Chocolate Souffle.

Harmony Orchestra: The Harmony Orchestra normally plays for Grease and they are excellent. Tonight they played in Jazz on 4 from 10:30-12 am. They played a mix of Jazz and Funk. Very nice.

 

Day 7; at Sea; Lazy day on the ship. Were scheduled to see Grease at 4:30 but everyone was too relaxed in their spot on the ship to get up and go see it. I hear it's great. One of the good spots to relax is on the back of the ship on the walking track watching the ship's wake. There are several chairs there.

Wonderland : Once again, we booked this through cruise planner. It was $49 per person, but there are only 4 of these restaurants and you can only get this experience at sea, so just do it. We started in the Wonderland Bar with their special Helios in the Sand martini (excellent). We were then escorted down the spiral stairs to our table. We had a great waiter from the Island of St. Vincent (I forget his name, but he reminded me of the actor Laurence Fishburne). He asked us all about our food preferences, then presented us with several appetizers all presented with flair. Our favorites were: Crispy Crab Cones, Buffalo Chicken Eggs, Shrimp Kataifi and Liquid Lobster. We ordered several main dishes to share: Branzino, Terrior Beef, Pork Belly and Slow Roasted Chicken. The beef and pork were the best.

Save room for dessert, as it is most spectacular, especially if you are a chocolate lover, it's called the World We also loved the Dream sundae. My kids are not adventurous eaters, neither is my mom, but they all enjoyed their dinner.

After dinner we went to Deck 16 to watch the sunset and take photos. Then we sat and enjoyed the breeze and the night sky. Again, there was no one around, so it was a nice way to end the trip!

 

Disembarkation: We chose to do express departure since we only had carry on bags and backpacks. We did not have to put our luggage out in the hallway by 10pm the night before.

We went to have breakfast at 7:30am in American Icon, but there was not buffet today, so we made the mistake of going to the Windjammer. UGH!!! It was crowded, we couldn't find seats, people were rude and pushy.... thank goodness we avoided this place all week!

Mobile Passport App: We had read on line to download the Mobile Passport App pre-cruise. We had everyone's passport scanned and photos taken in the app ready to go. If you use this app, you do not need to fill out the paper customs form. You can only submit the info 4 hours prior to going through customs. IT DID NOT WORK. Every time we went to submit the info through the app it would say that we were not connected to the internet. We even downloaded the app to my phone and started re-scanned all the passports and retook the photos and submitted the info and it still said we were not connected to the internet. We ended up filling out the paper form and going through the regular line. We have Global Entry, but did not bring the physical global passport cards. There are no global entry kiosks at the port. Oh Well!

Transportation to Airport: We met in the hallway after breakfast at began our journey home at 8:45 am. We pre-booked again with Airport Shuttle, Inc (phone # 954-722-9902) for a private van to the airport at 9:15 am. He was once again on time and called to let us know he was on his way and where to meet him. Again it was $80.05 for the 6 of us.

Of course we had airplane issues again in Newark, so our trip home ended up taking 15 hrs from FLL to CLE. Thank you again United.

 

In summary, we found the ship to be extremely clean, the staff friendly, the people on the cruise were all having fun and the only rude people we encountered were in the Windjammer. Captain Johnnie is fun, if you see him on his scooter or with his parrot, be sure to stop and say Hi. There was plenty to do on the ship; the specialty restaurants had better food than the main dining room and the drinks and wine were good. We struggled with the decision to get the drink pkg, but in the end, we would have struggled with paying the drink prices on the ship, so since we prepaid so long before the cruise it didn't seem to hurt as much!. It was also nice to get bottled water, fresh squeezed OJ and cappuccino whenever we wanted.

 

Hope this helps someone out on a future Harmony trip!

Thanks for the review, had to chuckle about having to bring your own shampoo and conditioner, only because I never do this and didn't have to on Harmony as well, the soap they supply is fine and the shampoo was also fine. Have been using RCl shampoo, soap and body wash/shampoo for years and still have a full head of hair!:D Also never experienced any issues or problems in the windjammer on Harmony on our B2B. Embarkation day there were zero issues for us at the WJ, had no trouble finding a table at all. It did get crowded at times during the week depending on the time, this of course was only on sea days, but nothing that was so crowded that we thought it was an issue. Looking forward to our next B2B2B on her in February!
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SilkySal

SilkySal

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Great trip! Do you by chance have the TEEN compass or maybe remember what events they had planned? Sailing with twin 14 year olds and a 13 year old in October. Trying to get an idea for them in advance.

 

Thanks!

 

We're on the Harmony the same week as you! Come join our informal roll call to chat with your fellow cruisers!;p:cool:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53347058&posted=1#post53347058

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SilkySal

SilkySal

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Thank you for this in-depth review. Me and my wife will be sailing in October, and your review has us super-excited. If we got anything from your experience, it is to stay the F away from the WindJammer! Jazz sounds it will be our hangout spot, along with Vintages.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! If you access the thread below, you can find your cruise week and meet your fellow cruisers going on the Harmony the same week as you!!:D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1008

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pinkandgreenmom

pinkandgreenmom

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Thank you for the review - we leave on Harmony this Saturday. My husband has been wrestling with the idea of the drink package - he only drinks beer and misses that package option. After reading this I think he has decided to just go ahead and get the package.

 

Thanks for the comments about the food. We are travelling with my parents, who don't like to do specialty dining, so I appreciate hearing what you liked/didn't like in the MDR. I think we will avoid Windjammer at all costs, which we typically try to do anyway.

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CarmenCastalia

CarmenCastalia

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Sorry, the boys did not save their teen compasses, however going back thru our compasses I found that there a lots of teen related events such as 3D movies, outdoor movies, a Teens Meet & Greet the first evening in the Living Room, Deck 15 which is where you will find the teen hangout room. They schedule teens only dodgeball, table tennis tournament, air hockey tournament, soccer, a teens only FlowRider hour one evening (day 3, 9pm), teens only speed climbing on the rock wall (day 4, 5pm ), disco ice skating, Family Karaoke, teens only zip line (day5, 5pm), teens only basketball, teens only epic tag, HUSH! Teens Silent Party Day 6, 11:45pm). I'm sure there are more teen events, but those were the ones I spotted. My boys expressed interest in doing the Puzzle Break room which we were unable to work into our schedule after we were on the ship. You may want to check into this for your teens and schedule it on cruise planner prior to sailing when all the time slots and days are available. I talked to a family who did it and they said if your kids are into video games, they will enjoy it! Have fun!

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