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

[APDMOM]

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.

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by APDMOM
Typo

[APDMOM]

My day started early with a walk around the ship, sunrise, and a cappuccino from the diamond lounge.  I will post more ship pictures later this week.  Unfortunately, there was no good spot to capture the sunrise, as the few solarium windows were all occupied.

 

Diamond lounge cappuccino machine (one of my favorite diamond perks)

 

I snuck a donut too, so my Johnny Rockets breakfast consisted of wheat toast, to the shagrin and entertainment of our waitress 😂:

 

The Diamond Lounge was pretty empty so early 🙂 (around 6:30 a.m.):

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

Today was the Crown & Anchor party.  On Harmony, they allow anyone to attend, and it was a fun event in the aqua theater.  They served bubbly, mimosas, bloody marys and punch for free.  

 

Tip:  Show up about 20 minutes early if you want a spot in the shade.  

 

Captain Johnny:

 

We were treated with a few scenes from Hideaway Heist:

 

 

 

Captain Johnny and some of the Staff:

 

 

Michele (Mickele), our cruise director:

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

I was hoping to finish today’s posts, but I will have to stop here for tonight.  I will catch up tomorrow.  🙂 

 

Thank you for cruising along!!

 

As Michele would say, “Ciao, Ciao for now,” as we Segway out with Captain Johnny...

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by APDMOM

[BaronArroz]

Wonderful review! We board on Sunday so it's really helpful to read. 

[luv2sailAgain]

This is great! Sailing on Harmony in July. Thank you for all the tips!  AND you are helping me warm up.  The wind is howling and temps are dropping to freezing in the next day or so - in HOUSTON, TEXAS - in November! We sometimes wear shorts on Christmas day.

 

We have booked an ocean view balcony on deck 12.  Will we be able to hear the ocean on our balcony?  I have always been on a lower deck.

Edited November 13, 2018 by luv2sailAgain

[APDMOM]

6 hours ago, luv2sailAgain said:

This is great! Sailing on Harmony in July. Thank you for all the tips!  AND you are helping me warm up.  The wind is howling and temps are dropping to freezing in the next day or so - in HOUSTON, TEXAS - in November! We sometimes wear shorts on Christmas day.

 

We have booked an ocean view balcony on deck 12.  Will we be able to hear the ocean on our balcony?  I have always been on a lower deck.

Thank you for reading along!

 

I am not sure how much you will hear... I will spend some time on deck 15 this week and see.  So far, it has been very windy uo there due to the open decks, so I can not hear the ocean up there.  

 

We were on deck 12 twice, but it was a Boardwalk balcony, aft.  We could not hear the ocean, but I think that is due to the ambient noise on the Boardwalk.

 

🙂 Maybe someone with experience on deck 12 will report back.  

[BLAMBKY]

I am really enjoying your review! We have enjoyed Oasis & I am looking forward to cruising HOS in May. It will be my nephews first cruise! We had 3 boys born in 5 months of each other. The other nephew went along a couple years ago. It pays to be patient. My other nephew went on Celebrity Summit to Bermuda.....I almost feel bad because I know how much nicer this ship is!

[SuiteLady]

15 hours ago, APDMOM said:

A little more Ice Spectacular:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Cruise Director:

 

 

This show was ok, but I actually liked the 2nd ice show that they have, better!  Not sure of the name of it....iskate??

[SuiteLady]

11 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Dinner: Day 2 - Solarium Bistro

 

We found our favorite place to dine!  Solarium Bistro is much more quiet than the main dining room.  It has a great atmosphere and the meals are just the right size for us.  The appetizers are served on a buffet, but ready-to-go as individual servings.  You can return as many times as you wnat to for additional servings:

 

 

 

 

I loved having breakfast and lunch in the Solarium!  Much quieter and less traffic!  Still did dinner in the main dining room.  Not sure, but I thought Solarium also did dinner but there might have been a cost for it???

[APDMOM]

1 hour ago, SuiteLady said:

I loved having breakfast and lunch in the Solarium!  Much quieter and less traffic!  Still did dinner in the main dining room.  Not sure, but I thought Solarium also did dinner but there might have been a cost for it???

 

Many years ago, they started off charging $10 if my memory is correct.  Now, it is free and you can pay for some a la carte items, like lamb chops for $9.99. 🙂 I am very glad it is free.  We already have 3 more nights reserved!

[APDMOM]

1 hour ago, SuiteLady said:

This show was ok, but I actually liked the 2nd ice show that they have, better!  Not sure of the name of it....iskate??

I agree.  I LOVED the visual effects on the ice in this show, but we enjoyed iSkate more.  I will report on that shortly.  🙂

[APDMOM]

Day 3 Lunch:

 

We enjoyed lunch in the main dining room again.  I forgot to take a picture of the menu, but I loved the shrimp risotto appetizer.  It was really enough for a full portion, and I could not quite finish the BLT club sandwich.  That was a bit of a disappointment, as it is advertised as containing avocado, but I would hardly taste the avocado.  DS really liked the lasagne bolognese.  

 

Shrimp risotto:

 

 

Those desserts!!! 😋

 

 

[APDMOM]

All that good food called for an afternoon nap and lots of balcony time to recharge for the evening activities.  

 

Dinner: Solarium Bistro (again)

 

 

Salmon:

 

Grilled shrimp:

 

All the salad and dessert selections repeat every night.  I intend on trying the chicken kebabs (free) and the lamb chops (extra charge) sometime this week.

[accio_7]

Hi @APDMOM, really loving your semi-live review! I wasn't aware that the C&A party on Harmony is open to all guests, normally it is a Top Tier event for Platinum and up, no? I hope Royal will continue with this practice for my upcoming cruise aboard Harmony next year 🙂 

I see that you are visiting St. Thomas today, have a great time! 

[screenname2004]

11 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Today was the Crown & Anchor party.  On Harmony, they allow anyone to attend, and it was a fun event in the aqua theater.  They served bubbly, mimosas, bloody marys and punch for free.  

 

 

When we were on the Harmony a couple weeks ago, we got 2 invites in our cabin. Can't tell the difference between them because the wording is about the same. I assume one is for gold and above and the 2nd one is for platinum and above. We only went to one and the one we went had recognization of passengers with highest number of C&A credit.

[APDMOM]

5 hours ago, accio_7 said:

Hi @APDMOM, really loving your semi-live review! I wasn't aware that the C&A party on Harmony is open to all guests, normally it is a Top Tier event for Platinum and up, no? I hope Royal will continue with this practice for my upcoming cruise aboard Harmony next year 🙂 

I see that you are visiting St. Thomas today, have a great time! 

 

4 hours ago, screenname2004 said:

When we were on the Harmony a couple weeks ago, we got 2 invites in our cabin. Can't tell the difference between them because the wording is about the same. I assume one is for gold and above and the 2nd one is for platinum and above. We only went to one and the one we went had recognization of passengers with highest number of C&A credit.

 

This was called the C& A loyalty event on our invitations, but it showed up in the Cruise Compass with the following wording: “Crown and Anchor” Society Event and Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party, All Guests Invited, Aqua Theater”.

 

I made a point of asking the C & A Ambassador, and she confirmed that, on Harmony, the event is open to all guests.  My friend is cruising Royal for the first time in 2 months, so I was glad to hear she can attend too!  I think it is a very good idea on this class ship.  They seem to always have space, and it is an excellent sales pitch for loyalty. 🙂

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

iSkate:

 

After dinner, we went to the other Ice Show.  This is one that does not require reservations.  

Tip: There is a pamphlet with all the shows of the week.  It was delivered to our room, but you could also pick one up at guest services.  This way, you can mark the ones you have reservations for, and plan which of the others you want to attend.

 

iSkate was a lot of fun.  They had some comedy, upbeat music, and excellent skating!  At one point so many skaters were doing different jumps and spins at the same time, I was nervous they might crash.  Of course, they are professionals, and I am a clumsy girl who is still gaining bruises from walking into things. 😂

 

I took my older Nikon (S9900), which I regret, as I forgot it does not have a view finder.  I had to take pictures “blindly”, as I did not want the display screen to distract the audience members behind me.  Needless to say, only a few pictures hit the mark.

 

Out of focus, but it shows some of the visual effects:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michele... Ciao, Ciao for now!  We have a lot of fun cruising with him.  🙂

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by APDMOM

[screenname2004]

Maybe they do things differently on an 8-day cruise. For our Eastern Caribbean cruise from 10/20-27, There was a top-tier event on day 2 morning which we didn't go because we left the ship for Nassau.  The Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party was in the evening (7:45 PM) of Day 2 held at the Royal Promenade. The top-tier event we did go was in the morning of day 3 at the Aqua theater. For the day 3 event, our seapass cards were scanned.

[APDMOM]

Harmony High 50’s and 60’s Dance Party:

 

The dance party was in the promenade and was quite a bit of fun.  It was great to see so many people remember or learn the hand jive!  🙂 

 

 

[APDMOM]

5 minutes ago, screenname2004 said:

Maybe they do things differently on an 8-day cruise. For our Eastern Caribbean cruise from 10/20-27, There was a top-tier event on day 2 morning which we didn't go because we left the ship for Nassau.  The Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party was in the evening (7:45 PM) of Day 2 held at the Royal Promenade. The top-tier event we did go was in the morning of day 3 at the Aqua theater. For the day 3 event, our seapass cards were scanned.

Yes, it could also be that you had a higher number of C&A Members?  I will report back after we see when our top tier event is.  We also had the regular Captain’s Welcome Aboard on the first formal night.  No seapass cards were scanned on the Aqua Theater event.  🙂

[APDMOM]

As I close the day 3 report, here is the reason John&Lala asked if I would get through the week without getting stuck on the wrong side of deck 7. There is no walkthrough by the Boardwalk:

 

And, here are the outlets in the cabin:

 

The end of Day 3 🙂 A ride on the carousel, A stroll on the Boardwalk, and a final reminder that it is already Monday:

 

 

 

Thank you for all the “likes,” and for cruising along. ❤️

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by APDMOM

[travelrevealed]

loving your posts of menus, food pics, and daily activity sheets! THANKS

[Familygoboston]

So excited to see your review! We sail in June, and I can’t wait! Thanks for all the good intel...you just get me, ya know? 😂 I’ll be subscribing!

[APDMOM]

It seems like I will be a day behind, despite my best intentions to catch up.  I guess my vacation fun is interfering with my trip report, which is not a bad thing at all 😂

 

We had a busy day in St Thomas, even though a majority of it was spent on the ship.  Look for that report tomorrow.  Right now, I need to recharge for St Kitts.

 

See you in the morning!