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

[Sobro]

39 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

Hi, Greg and Rahn!  

So glad to see you here!  We had that same picture made into our Aruba fridge magnet. 😁

 

 

LOL, great minds think alike!

 

Our current plan is to visit friends we met on my first cruise (Freedom, 2008) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico fall of 2019. They have a condo there. We'll sail Harmony some time in 2020, perhaps around Thanksgiving.

 

Greg and Rahn

[APDMOM]

I just thought of another thing that may have contributed to the quick check in and boarding... We did not receive our seapass cards at check in.  They were at our staterooms.  You can use your boarding pass to purchase things prior to receiving your seapass.

[KiwiGal117]

Nice to see you reporting in again!  I always enjoy your trip reports - thanks for taking the time to do them.  The tips are very helpful as well!

[1stimecruiser]

Enjoying following along.  We board December 9th.

[APDMOM]

Safety Drill:

We usually wait until close to the alarm/assigned time of the “muster” drill, but on Oasis class ships, it is all about getting a comfy spot. 🙂  We left our room about 30 minutes prior to the drill, and found some soft seats in the shade in the Aqua Theater, our assigned muster station.  Surprisingly, everything had already shut down at 3 p.m. for the 3:45 safety drill.  We were going to get a cup of water just after 3, but everything had closed down.

 

Tip:  For Oasis class ships, if your muster station is in a location with limited comfortable seating, show up early.  They start scanning seapass cards early.  We got ours scanned around 3:15.  

[APDMOM]

Sail Away!

 

Some people ask when the cruise really starts for you.  To me, it starts in stages: 

1. Our “print the luggage tags date” 

2. “The packing is done”

3. “We have arrived”

4. Got through security!

5. “Ding!  We are on the ship”

6. Rooms are ready

7. Unpacked!

8. Finally, we are ready to completely relax when the safety briefing dismisses!

 

Here we go...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

If anyone has input about how to resize pictures, I would appreciate it... Not sure why some are so small.

 

Time for the ice show...  I will be back later tonight.

[KiwiGal117]

On my laptop, the pictures are showing up just fine - big.

Edited November 11, 2018 by KiwiGal117

[FionaMG]

The pics look fine to me too. Displaying just great both on 8" tablet and on smartphone. Thanks for sharing. Have a great cruise.  

[molsonschooner]

the pictures are fine on my desk top

[sisocialworker]

pics fine on my laptop

[APDMOM]

Thank you for the feedback on the pictures!  I guess it is an iPad issue.  We had a GREAT evening, but I will finish up day 1 before we get to today.  😁  

 

Thanks for cruising along!

[APDMOM]

Tip: Download Royal IQ for your phone and iPad at home.  We downloaded it on two devices at home.  When we got to the ship, we tried to put it on DH’s phone, but it failed due to needing a wifi connection for the large app.  It may have something to do with settings for our Verizon Cellular... 

 

Royal IQ:

 

If you have questions about how it works, feel free to ask, but here are some screenshots that are somewhat self-explanatory.  You create an account using your name, room number and birth year:

 

 

When you tap on the compass, you can see the Cruise Compass activities for the day.  We found one time to be inaccurate, so double check your paper copy if you are really interested in the activity.  When you tap on the arrow by the activity, it gives you the option to add it to your calendar:

 

 

Any reservations you made at home show up in this calendar, and it includes members of your party that plan to attend the activity.  For example, the colored squares by Grease show that DH and I attended, while the squares by the ice show indicate that all three of us would be attending:

 

 

You can message with the app at the following rate:

 

 

 

 

Tip:  If you and your friends have iPhones, the messenger glitch still applies.  DH and I can message each other through the iPhone messenger, using the free Royal Caribbean wifi. 

[LuCruise]

Nice views from the ship.  Is Royal IQ for Harmony and specific ships?  There are 2 Royal apps and confused about which is which (and I have the other one).  

[APDMOM]

Dinner: Day 1

 

We had dinner in the main dining room (American Icon) on deck 3.  We enjoy assigned dining at 5:30, but we do love the flexibility and variety of options on Oasis Class ships.

 

Tip:  Dinner menus can be found on your stateroom TV.   In fact, they have the menus for all 8 nights this week.

 

First night:

 

We are not “foodies”.  In fact, I like any and all foods (save brussel sprouts) way too much for someone who tries to stay under 130 for life.  I may have to adjust that here in “middle age” land 😱

 

With that said, we enjoyed our dishes, but I especially LOVED the Polenta:

 

DS enjoyed the calamari for a starter:

 

The warm chocolate cake was the winner among desserts:

 

 

[APDMOM]

14 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Nice views from the ship.  Is Royal IQ for Harmony and specific ships?  There are 2 Royal apps and confused about which is which (and I have the other one).  

 

Thank you, LuCruise!

 

Yes, Royal IQ is specific to Harmony and a few others (I believe Symphony and some Quantum class).  I like it!  I love that I can keep track of my schedule and the onboard spendings.

Edited November 12, 2018 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

Grease! Is the word... Is the word... Is the word...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kruzn63]

Following.  Thanks for posting we are booked on her in September.  Your pictures are great.

[APDMOM]

My View of Grease:

When I was in high school, we were “Grease Crazy”.  We watched the movie over and over.  In our ignorance, we did not catch the inuendos... we just loved the story and music.  

 

Reading reviews here on CC made me wonder if we would enjoy the show.  I was expecting continuous cussing based upon reviews.  Thankfully, the inappropriate gestures and language were not frequent, and we were able to enjoy the show tremendously.  Personally, I can do without the language and gestures, but I understand that is the world we live in.  

 

We did not bring our 14 year old, and I know he would not have enjoyed the show as much as we did, simply because it is not from “his era”.  

 

If you know the movie and story, I think you will enjoy the show.  Don’t let negative reviews deter you.  The quality of music was absolutely excellent, the voice talent was incredible, the set was very well done, and the overall experience was worth our time! 

 

With that, here are some more pictures of the show:

 

Greased Lightning:

 

 

 

The Drive-in:

 

Beauty School Dropout:

 

 

 

 

The Dance:

 

 

 

You Better Shape Up!

 

 

 

 

We go together:

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2018 by APDMOM
typos

[PhoenixCruiser]

Enjoying your review!  Your pictures are the perfect size for me as well.

 

Thanks

[APDMOM]

My View: End of day 1

 

Celebrity Infinity in the Glow of the Sunset:

 

[John&LaLa]

Do you think you will make it through the week without getting stuck on the wrong side of the aft elevators? 😉 🤔

[APDMOM]

It looks like I will be a day behind reporting... Hopefully, I can catch up tomorrow on our second sea day.

 

Stay tuned for our report about our awesome sea day, including Johnny Rockets breakfast, the incredible veterans day tribute, ice show, and Solarium Bistro... 🙂

 

Thank you for joining our adventure!

Edited November 12, 2018 by APDMOM
Typo

[APDMOM]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Do you think you will make it through the week without getting stuck on the wrong side of the aft elevators? 😉 🤔

 

😂 I am determined to live up to my reputation of having an excellent sense of direction... at least where port and starboard are concerned.

 

Otherwise, I may take up pole vaulting.  🙈

[FLKrewzer]

Enjoying your trip!  Thanks for sharing with us. Have you tried the Diamond Lounge or the 3 drinks loaded on your card?  I will be on Harmony in January and first time sailing as a Diamond member.  Where is the DL and what have you experienced so far?  Thanks for any tips you can share.