Observations from Harmony Cruise....

[womack214]

These are just some observations from our week on Harmony.

 

We received our sea pass cards at our room. One outside the door in an envelope and the other inside the room on the bed. Pictures taken at the port counter.

 

The lights in the rooms will not stay on unless you put a card in the slot by the door inside, you can use any type of hard plastic credit card size and leave it in there the whole trip and then use the light switch to turn on and off.

 

Wow bands were purchased at Boleros as soon as we embarked for $4.95 each. You are given one according to your muster station. If you buy a wow band then you will only need your sea pass card when leaving the ship in a port. Otherwise the band functions as your sea pass card.

 

The lines at customer service are much more efficient because they have someone standing at the end of the line with an Ipad to help you with quick questions eliminating the need to wait in line.

 

Everyone can download the Royal IQ App. This app will allow you access the compass, your onboard account, and many other things regarding the cruise. This is all free! Also, you can download this app and it will allow you to communicate with your family around the ship if you have an iPhone and use Imessage!!! Free wifi communication. You read that correctly. No more walkie talkies and sticky notes on doors!!! Free communication via wifi when you download the Royal IQ App and have Imessage.

 

The Abyss---You must have on a T-shirt or long sleeve to ride. Flip flops are ok as well as shorts. Glasses can be on your shirt as well. THe slide has lights in it and is not scary.

 

 

The blue water slide---no lights, made me dizzy, slow.

 

 

The Aqua shows at the beginning of the week are different than Wed- Friday shows.

 

 

There is a guy who plays the piano throughout the ship and sings. He is amazing. Even takes his piano in the elevator singing while you ride.

 

 

We were able to take a case of water on board no problem. We sent it to our room with our luggage.

 

 

Rooms were not available until 1pm.

 

 

You can no longer punch a hole in your sea pass card to attach to your lanyard. IF this is how you carried it before you will have to buy a new lanyard with a plastic carry pouch or buy the wow band so you don't have to carry the card while on the ship.

 

 

Formal nights were Sunday and Wednesday.

 

 

People wore pretty much what they wanted in the MDR on any night.

 

 

Excursion desk is now a bunch of ipads where you can browse and buy yourself. They usually have one employee there to aid you if needed. You can print your own tickets for the excursions or they can print them and deliver to your room.

 

 

Special Voom desk was setup on deck 5 for internet questions/issues most of the day.

 

 

Lifeguards on duty all day.

 

 

That is all I can think of right now. I just wanted to let people know of some differences on Harmony vs. Allure and Oasis and Liberty.

[Clarea]

... Everyone can download the Royal IQ App. This app will allow you access the compass, your onboard account, and many other things regarding the cruise. This is all free! Also, you can download this app and it will allow you to communicate with your family around the ship if you have an iPhone and use Imessage!!! Free wifi communication. You read that correctly. No more walkie talkies and sticky notes on doors!!! Free communication via wifi when you download the Royal IQ App and have Imessage. ...

I just want to understand this part.

 

 

Did you purchase a VOOM package?

 

Did you purchase the texting capability for Royal IQ for $7.95?

[womack214]

I just want to understand this part.

 

 

Did you purchase a VOOM package?

 

Did you purchase the texting capability for Royal IQ for $7.95?

 

 

 

NOPE. I know that is why I put it in bold. We boarded on Saturday. I noticed that it showed I was connected to their wifi. I double checked that my cellular data was off, my phone was in airplane mode as well. I had a wifi connection. I would get notifications on my phone and thought what in the world? I downloaded the Royal IQ app which is free for all to download over the ships wifi. I was able to access everything on the app. So I thought well lets see if we can Imessage since that is not usually sent over data connection and yup we could imessage. We do not usually use our phones while onboard except for picture taking and we never purchase internet until it is time to print boarding passes upstairs and that is only purchased for a 60 minute duration so I can print them. You could not surf the internet or do facebook or anything like that but you can imessage.

[Rob0519]

These are just some observations from our week on Harmony.

 

 

Formal nights were Sunday and Wednesday.

 

 

People wore pretty much what they wanted in the MDR on any night.

 

 

That is all I can think of right now. I just wanted to let people know of some differences on Harmony vs. Allure and Oasis and Liberty.

 

On the Harmony this coming Saturday. So they are not enforcing the Jacket/Tie, Cocktail Dress policy in the MDR even on formal nights?

[Pellaz]

These are just some observations from our week on Harmony.

 

We received our sea pass cards at our room. One outside the door in an envelope and the other inside the room on the bed. Pictures taken at the port counter.

 

How did you enter the room to get the SeaPasses on the bed? Was the door open?

 

If you used your passport as your ID, did they still take your photo? (Two weeks ago in Miami, they did not.)

 

The lights in the rooms will not stay on unless you put a card in the slot by the door inside, you can use any type of hard plastic credit card size and leave it in there the whole trip and then use the light switch to turn on and off.

Seems like new-build ships are going to this. It's supposed to be an energy-saving feature and I first saw it in the UK a few years ago. Not sure how effective it is as a power-saver since any card-like object can be left in the slot indefinitely.

 

Wow bands were purchased at Boleros as soon as we embarked for $4.95 each. You are given one according to your muster station. If you buy a wow band then you will only need your sea pass card when leaving the ship in a port. Otherwise the band functions as your sea pass card.

.....

You can no longer punch a hole in your sea pass card to attach to your lanyard. IF this is how you carried it before you will have to buy a new lanyard with a plastic carry pouch or buy the wow band so you don't have to carry the card while on the ship.

Uh-oh, is this a fleetwide change or just on Harmony? I'll be on the Indy in February and I have a lot of the hole-type lanyards, but few of the other..

 

I'm wondering if this change and the Wow bands are related?

[Biker19]

You can no longer punch a hole in your sea pass card to attach to your lanyard. .

You can, but need to know exactly where it can be done otherwise you brick your card.

[Biker19]

Free communication via wifi when you download the Royal IQ App and have Imessage.

Unless and until RCI confirms this as a feature, we have to chalk it up to chance and right circumstances. Others have reported that on ships with Royal IQ, some internet traffic (like iMessage) comes through, but I'm not sure everyone can expect that. Also, I have a feeling this would have worked even if the Royal IQ app was never installed.

[CruisinCons]

NOPE. I know that is why I put it in bold. We boarded on Saturday. I noticed that it showed I was connected to their wifi. I double checked that my cellular data was off, my phone was in airplane mode as well. I had a wifi connection. I would get notifications on my phone and thought what in the world? I downloaded the Royal IQ app which is free for all to download over the ships wifi. I was able to access everything on the app. So I thought well lets see if we can Imessage since that is not usually sent over data connection and yup we could imessage. We do not usually use our phones while onboard except for picture taking and we never purchase internet until it is time to print boarding passes upstairs and that is only purchased for a 60 minute duration so I can print them. You could not surf the internet or do facebook or anything like that but you can imessage.

 

We were on Harmony in September, and went up to the Card Room (where Royal Online is on that ship) and we accessed the internet at no charge. You can go to the airline websites and print out boarding passes for free. We even changed our flight to an earlier one via the Southwest website. o charge. We did not try to go to any other websites so I don't know what other access there is, but others in our group mentioned they were able to access their airline websites from there as well, at no charge.

[womack214]

On the Harmony this coming Saturday. So they are not enforcing the Jacket/Tie, Cocktail Dress policy in the MDR even on formal nights?

 

 

 

No I saw a guy in shorts on the first formal night.

[womack214]

How did you enter the room to get the SeaPasses on the bed? Was the door open?

 

 

They put one seapass in an envelope outside the door.

 

If you used your passport as your ID, did they still take your photo? (Two weeks ago in Miami, they did not.)

 

Yes photo is taken at port when checking in for seapass account.

 

Seems like new-build ships are going to this. It's supposed to be an energy-saving feature and I first saw it in the UK a few years ago. Not sure how effective it is as a power-saver since any card-like object can be left in the slot indefinitely.

 

 

Agree but most people will leave it in there but still use the switch to turn out the light when leaving the room.

 

Uh-oh, is this a fleetwide change or just on Harmony? I'll be on the Indy in February and I have a lot of the hole-type lanyards, but few of the other..

 

I'm wondering if this change and the Wow bands are related?

 

The cards are now RFD cards and will deactivate if you punch a hole in them.

[womack214]

Unless and until RCI confirms this as a feature, we have to chalk it up to chance and right circumstances. Others have reported that on ships with Royal IQ, some internet traffic (like iMessage) comes through, but I'm not sure everyone can expect that. Also, I have a feeling this would have worked even if the Royal IQ app was never installed.

 

 

Yes I would agree that it would work without the app installed. The app is nice though because you have the compass at your fingertips.

[womack214]

We were on Harmony in September, and went up to the Card Room (where Royal Online is on that ship) and we accessed the internet at no charge. You can go to the airline websites and print out boarding passes for free. We even changed our flight to an earlier one via the Southwest website. o charge. We did not try to go to any other websites so I don't know what other access there is, but others in our group mentioned they were able to access their airline websites from there as well, at no charge.

 

 

 

Maybe the person who was on it before you did not log out. You have to log in to access the internet. Or at least we had to. I found that if I did not log out during that time frame then I could open the browser over and over and over again.

[Biker19]

The cards are now RFD cards and will deactivate if you punch a hole in them.

Not if you know where to put the hole.

[Ourusualbeach]

On the Harmony this coming Saturday. So they are not enforcing the Jacket/Tie, Cocktail Dress policy in the MDR even on formal nights?

Dress suggestions have not been enforced on any night in quite a while.

[womack214]

Not if you know where to put the hole.

 

 

 

Well I didn’t have a hole punch and the lady said no at customer service.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Clarea]

NOPE. I know that is why I put it in bold. We boarded on Saturday. I noticed that it showed I was connected to their wifi. I double checked that my cellular data was off, my phone was in airplane mode as well. I had a wifi connection. I would get notifications on my phone and thought what in the world? I downloaded the Royal IQ app which is free for all to download over the ships wifi. I was able to access everything on the app. So I thought well lets see if we can Imessage since that is not usually sent over data connection and yup we could imessage. We do not usually use our phones while onboard except for picture taking and we never purchase internet until it is time to print boarding passes upstairs and that is only purchased for a 60 minute duration so I can print them. You could not surf the internet or do facebook or anything like that but you can imessage.

Thanks for the update. So it seems that iMessage was working independent of using the Royal IQ app. Interesting.

[Biker19]

Well I didn’t have a hole punch and the lady said no at customer service.

That is the usual answer at GS since they don't want to take a chance at bricking the card, but it can be done. I agree though that a clear card pouch is the way to go on the new RFID Seapass cards if one wants to carry it on a lanyard.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.