My View: Harmony of the Seas - 8 days of semi-live tips & too many pics!

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

We hope to stop in Roatan in November.  We will be on the November 10th sailing.  Maybe they will have a price drop so you to join us 🙂 This will be our cheapest Oasis class cruise yet, but we booked well in advance...  $2393 for 3 of us in an ocean balcony. 

 

Since my wife is a kindergarten teacher, sadly we only cruise in the summer.  Aside from the added heat and hurricane/rain potential, it makes finding a good deal that much harder.  What I consider a good deal in June/July is nothing special in the fall.  It works out in Alaska at least.  🙂

[jagsfan]

I’m so glad this review is live now so I can read through the whole thing. 

Now only will I get some tips, it makes waiting till March to cruise a little more bearable. 

[kathy884]

Thank you for all the information about the Harmony Apdmom and the photos.  I learned quite a bit and have some more ideas about things to do.  Your pictures helped so much too, to get a little bit of a sense of what the ship will be like.  We'll be doing our first RCCL cruise next February with an extended family group and my godparents too (ages 23-82) and are really looking forward to it.  

Edited July 29, 2019 by kathy884

[APDMOM]

23 hours ago, travelplus said:

I already promised myself to purchase one of those Condos or homes along this channel and sail from Port Everglades or Port of Miami). If there is a Hurricane impending I will just fly out West to California(using a rainy day fund) or be on a Cruise during a hurricane and use the delays to my advantage.

 

I would set up an Audio/Video Webcam for the ships coming in and out of the Port and perhaps get a job working for the Pilot Boat or at the Port checking people in with the agreement that I can cruise as often as I want!  

 

If I play my cards right it could work out!  I could even rent out the Condo on AirBnB while I live onbaord the ship and have ti setup so that when I want to be home I will have the Condo for myself. It would be fun hosting Cruise Critic members for a Sailaway Party the night before and allow them to see their ship come in early in the morning! 

 

Would be the best dream in the world!

I like how you think!  🙂

[TripleQ]

Love the review and especially all the tips.  We will put them to good use next week!  How did you manage to get so many pictures without any people in them in that last batch of updates?  For a ship with a few thousand people on it seems empty!

[APDMOM]

33 minutes ago, TripleQ said:

Love the review and especially all the tips.  We will put them to good use next week!  How did you manage to get so many pictures without any people in them in that last batch of updates?  For a ship with a few thousand people on it seems empty!

 

😁 I am usually up before 6 in the morning.  That is when I get many of those 'empty ship' pictures.

 

Enjoy your cruise!  

[APDMOM]

On 7/28/2019 at 7:32 PM, jagsfan said:

I’m so glad this review is live now so I can read through the whole thing. 

Now only will I get some tips, it makes waiting till March to cruise a little more bearable. 

 

Happy to help a fellow JAX cruiser!  We will be on again in November.  I hope to do another semi-live review, although I will have to be creative to come up with new material. 😉

[DiamondDiva]

We really enjoyed dinner in Solarium Bistro on Oasis.  When we are on HOS next year, we would like to do a family dinner there one evening for a celebration.  But there are 4 children aged 7-15 in our group then.  Does anyone know if they have a children’s menu for the younger ones? 

[APDMOM]

13 minutes ago, DiamondDiva said:

We really enjoyed dinner in Solarium Bistro on Oasis.  When we are on HOS next year, we would like to do a family dinner there one evening for a celebration.  But there are 4 children aged 7-15 in our group then.  Does anyone know if they have a children’s menu for the younger ones? 

I have not seen a children’s menu in the bistro, but I can check for you in November. 🙂

[OCSC Mike]

8 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

😁 I am usually up before 6 in the morning.  That is when I get many of those 'empty ship' pictures.

 

As are my wife and I.  I kinda like it when the ship is empty and eerily quiet.

[cravingthis]

It's been so long since we cruised in 2011.  I find it overwhelming this time around.  What program/website did you use to track the prices?  Did you book straight with RCI?  I'm in Canada, so their prices are in USD.

 

Thanks!

[jagsfan]

21 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

Happy to help a fellow JAX cruiser!  We will be on again in November.  I hope to do another semi-live review, although I will have to be creative to come up with new material. 😉

My DD and family and friends will cruise Nov 10. 

I can’t depend on them to pay attention to any details. 

[APDMOM]

3 hours ago, red-dragon said:

It's been so long since we cruised in 2011.  I find it overwhelming this time around.  What program/website did you use to track the prices?  Did you book straight with RCI?  I'm in Canada, so their prices are in USD.

 

Thanks!

 

I just do a mock booking on the RC website.  It has been a bit more of a hassle lately, as you have to type in your info to get the refundable rate.  I have used the cruise fish website to let me know about price drops, but they don’t track prices for 3 passengers.  So, I always have to do the mock booking anyway.  🙂

[APDMOM]

45 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

My DD and family and friends will cruise Nov 10. 

I can’t depend on them to pay attention to any details. 

 

🙂Hope they joined our roll call! We are doing a cabin crawl. So, that will be at least something new to share in my review.

[cravingthis]

8 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

 

I just do a mock booking on the RC website.  It has been a bit more of a hassle lately, as you have to type in your info to get the refundable rate.  I have used the cruise fish website to let me know about price drops, but they don’t track prices for 3 passengers.  So, I always have to do the mock booking anyway.  🙂

Yes, that is a hassle to enter everything in each time 

I remember using cruise fish before now that you mentioned it.  I forgot what it was called ...lol

[ohcruiserguy]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 11:11 PM, APDMOM said:

Bed by the closet/bathroom:

I don’t know if it really matters whether the bed is by the closet or balcony with this layout.  We like the bed by the bathroom.

 

 

 

Tip:  We always pack magnetic hooks to hang our hats, beach bag, and jackets:

 

There is a full length mirror by the door:

 

The vanity area has plenty of space and outlets.  I will take a closer picture of those tomorrow:

 

The “fridge”/cooler is good for cooling down wine and water bottles:

 

A view of our balcony:

 

The TV can turn toward the couch for a better angle to view:

 

Tip:  For Oasis class ships I pack the over the door shoe organizer to keep our lotions, etc.  There is not much storage in the bathroom.  In a small cabin, this keeps things more organized:

 

The shower has a shaving bar - a nice touch on newer RCL ships:

 

Tip:  Put a rag in the soap dish to keep your shampoo, conditioner, razor, etc. from falling down.  The soap dishes on the ships are not very practical.  Also, I recommend you pack your own shampoo and conditioner.  The shampoo that Royal provides is very poor quality.

 

 

I hate the soap trays cause I'm short, and they are just the right height for me to hit my head on.

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Thank you for this review!  We are on the Harmony in 5 days (our only other cruise was 9 years ago, so we're basically new cruisers).  I'm sooooo excited!

 

If i'm understanding it correctly, the Solarium Bistro is open to everyone for breakfast and lunch??  No reservations and no surcharge?

 

thanks!!

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your review and photos.

[cravingthis]

OMG!  The layout has changed for Harmony.  I was thinking it was the same as Oasis!  On Oasis, they had the sliding doors for the closet, so if your closet was by the bed, you had to hope on the bed to open the closet, or edge yourself in between bed and closet.  That's why we had bed by the balcony.  

 

This is a non-issue with Harmony!  Thanks for sharing the pictures!  OMG!  

 

What room were you in?

 

Many thanks!!!!

[cravingthis]

17 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

I just do a mock booking on the RC website.  It has been a bit more of a hassle lately, as you have to type in your info to get the refundable rate.  I have used the cruise fish website to let me know about price drops, but they don’t track prices for 3 passengers.  So, I always have to do the mock booking anyway.  🙂

 

I was just thinking, if you are already booked and then you do a mock booking on the RC website, how do you see your increases if your cabin number is already taken?  Not sure if I'm missing something?  My eyes are so fuzzy from all this research!  I'm not sure how I did it all last time around ...lol

[cravingthis]

 

The bathroom door looks a lot thinner than most regular doors. Your over the door organizer is hanging perfectly flat, I’m not sure if mine will.  It’s a regular hook like a hanger, and double sided, which makes no sense to me, so perhaps I need to buy a new one – see picture attached.

Excellent tip on putting a face towel or rag in the soap dish! 

I’m allergic to fragrance so we always bring our own toiletries, thank you for your helpful tips!!!

[cravingthis]

16 hours ago, Momto2PrncChrmgs said:

Thank you for this review!  We are on the Harmony in 5 days (our only other cruise was 9 years ago, so we're basically new cruisers).  I'm sooooo excited!

 

If i'm understanding it correctly, the Solarium Bistro is open to everyone for breakfast and lunch??  No reservations and no surcharge?

 

thanks!!

 

OMG, how exciting for you!!  That's so funny because our first cruise was 9 years ago too, in 2011 (or it will be by the time we book our next one in 2020)!  

[APDMOM]

17 hours ago, Momto2PrncChrmgs said:

Thank you for this review!  We are on the Harmony in 5 days (our only other cruise was 9 years ago, so we're basically new cruisers).  I'm sooooo excited!

 

If i'm understanding it correctly, the Solarium Bistro is open to everyone for breakfast and lunch??  No reservations and no surcharge?

 

thanks!!

 

You are welcome!  I hope this cruise experience is more than worth your 9-year wait!  🙂

 

Solarium Bistro is open and free for breakfast and lunch, without reservations.  Selection is pretty limited for breakfast and lunch, but still a good option.  I will have to check, but I think they are only open for lunch on sea days... it will be on your cruise compass.

 

It is also FREE for dinner, you just need reservations.  We did not book the Solarium Bistro online on our previous cruise.  We just made the reservations when we got on the ship. 

 

EDIT to confirm:  Solarium Bistro is not open for lunch on port days:

Edited July 31, 2019 by APDMOM
Add confirmation

[APDMOM]

1 hour ago, red-dragon said:

 

I was just thinking, if you are already booked and then you do a mock booking on the RC website, how do you see your increases if your cabin number is already taken?  Not sure if I'm missing something?  My eyes are so fuzzy from all this research!  I'm not sure how I did it all last time around ...lol

 

It depends on the type of cabin you book.  If it is unique and only a few exist on the ship, you can not do a price check when they sell out.  We typically book a boardwalk balcony or an oceanview balcony.  They all have category codes.  So, you can just mock book a room in the same category.  So, look on the deckplans to see what category you have, and compare a room with the same category/color code. See a sample deckplan below:

 

 

Also, I agree that it may be time for a new “over the door” organizer.  The hanger will not work for the bathroom, unless you hook it over the towel hook. 🙂

[OCSC Mike]

FWIW, we didn't enjoy the Solarium Bistro for breakfast/lunch as much as we did on Oasis.  It was much more similar to WJ, just more limited of course.  Also, one item I used to stop there for a lunchtime snack, hummus and pita bread, was not there but it WAS in the WJ.

 

The one item we did enjoy in the SB at breakfast was their smoothies.  They served them in tiny disposable plastic cups so we took either a larger plastic cup or a travel mug (I forget) and filled that with a little ice and several of the tiny smoothies for a more full-sized one.  The smoothie flavor also changed each day.

Edited July 31, 2019 by OCSC Mike