Just off Harmony Of The Seas - Will try to answer any questions

[zenworks911]

Had a decent cruise on Harmony of the Seas.  Anyone have any questions?

 

A few random notes:

• iPhones could text each other for free using the wifi while in Airplane mode.  Android could not.
• RoyalIQ option has been discontinued and cannot be used for texting or calling on Harmony.
• The new app was terrible and mostly unusable and often inaccurate.  Sometimes the cruise compass was inaccurate too.
  • Example: One day the app had Yoga at 9am, cruise compass had it at 8:45 and the Spa had it at 8:00am.  It was at 8:00am.
  • Example: The rising tides bar schedule was not correct at least one of the days as it was closed for private event.
• Bionic bar was cool but was frequently "Down" and not working properly.  I hope they can get it fixed.
• Food was worse than average for RCI but we were always able to find something enjoyable on the menu.  Don't be afraid to punt and order something else if your favorite dish shows up overcooked or obscenely bland (there was definitely a "bland" theme on this cruise).
• Really appreciated how they seem to have gotten rid of the "souvenir" cup thing.  That drove us crazy!  Thank you RCI!
• Service was generally very good.

[myk249]

9 minutes ago, zenworks911 said:

Had a decent cruise on Harmony of the Seas.  Anyone have any questions?

 

A few random notes:

• iPhones could text each other for free using the wifi while in Airplane mode.  Android could not.
• RoyalIQ option has been discontinued and cannot be used for texting or calling on Harmony.
• The new app was terrible and mostly unusable and often inaccurate.  Sometimes the cruise compass was inaccurate too.
  • Example: One day the app had Yoga at 9am, cruise compass had it at 8:45 and the Spa had it at 8:00am.  It was at 8:00am.
  • Example: The rising tides bar schedule was not correct at least one of the days as it was closed for private event.
• Bionic bar was cool but was frequently "Down" and not working properly.  I hope they can get it fixed.
• Food was worse than average for RCI but we were always able to find something enjoyable on the menu.  Don't be afraid to punt and order something else if your favorite dish shows up overcooked or obscenely bland (there was definitely a "bland" theme on this cruise).
• Really appreciated how they seem to have gotten rid of the "souvenir" cup thing.  That drove us crazy!  Thank you RCI!
• Service was generally very good.

Thanks for the info and the post. You answered several of my questions without my asking. 

[katiel53]

What time did boarding start?  What time were people doing self assist with their luggage get to leave the ship?  

 

Thanks for your help and info.

[Sea Dog]

Curious if you had a favorite bar that you liked? We loved the Champagne Bar but I understand Harmony does not have it.

[renza]

What do u mean got rid of  souvenir cup?  The cup u get soda in with the magnet in bottom. It’s gone?

[bandjwayne]

What time was your boarding assignment & what time did you arrive?  Our boarding time is 11:00 and somewhere on the website it says to arrive no later than 2 hours before our boarding time.  Does that mean we really have to be to the cruise terminal by 9 am...seems very early to me!  Thanks! 

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, bandjwayne said:

What time was your boarding assignment & what time did you arrive?  Our boarding time is 11:00 and somewhere on the website it says to arrive no later than 2 hours before our boarding time.  Does that mean we really have to be to the cruise terminal by 9 am...seems very early to me!  Thanks! 

The two hours before refers to the all aboard time.

 

show up at 10:30 and you will be one of the first on the ship.

[chiguypaul]

7 hours ago, zenworks911 said:

Had a decent cruise on Harmony of the Seas.  Anyone have any questions?

 

A few random notes:

• iPhones could text each other for free using the wifi while in Airplane mode.  Android could not.
• RoyalIQ option has been discontinued and cannot be used for texting or calling on Harmony.
• The new app was terrible and mostly unusable and often inaccurate.  Sometimes the cruise compass was inaccurate too.
  • Example: One day the app had Yoga at 9am, cruise compass had it at 8:45 and the Spa had it at 8:00am.  It was at 8:00am.
  • Example: The rising tides bar schedule was not correct at least one of the days as it was closed for private event.
• Bionic bar was cool but was frequently "Down" and not working properly.  I hope they can get it fixed.
• Food was worse than average for RCI but we were always able to find something enjoyable on the menu.  Don't be afraid to punt and order something else if your favorite dish shows up overcooked or obscenely bland (there was definitely a "bland" theme on this cruise).
• Really appreciated how they seem to have gotten rid of the "souvenir" cup thing.  That drove us crazy!  Thank you RCI!
• Service was generally very good.

 

We were just on the NYE cruise. Just wanted to comment on some things you mentioned. I thought the Bionic bar was a joke. It spilled 1/3 of any drink it tried to poor in a cup. This was my first cruise seeing the bionic bar and wasn't impressed. Would much rather see something else in that space. I also agree the food was worse than average. Glad to hear someone say the same thing. Usually, we're pretty happy with the MDR and there's at LEAST one thing we really enjoy, but the Harmony menu didn't have as many options compared to other ships and what was served we thought was pretty average. In general, RCI food is pretty average, but this trip was below average. Agree on the service. 

[chiguypaul]

7 hours ago, katiel53 said:

What time did boarding start? 

 

We boarded the Harmony at 10:45 last week. That's about as early as we've ever been on an Oasis class ship. We've found, on average, we're on about 11 for most RCI ships.

[katiel53]

9 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

 

We boarded the Harmony at 10:45 last week. That's about as early as we've ever been on an Oasis class ship. We've found, on average, we're on about 11 for most RCI ships.

Thanks so much.  That's about when we were onboard Allure on our cruises on her.  I had read on some other threads/sites that boarding started earlier and that many were onboard prior to 10:30 which seemed early to me.

[bonniew88]

The Royal Caribbean app on my galaxy says we can use it for free  wifi...is it for certain that it only works with an i-phone?

Thanks!

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, bonniew88 said:

The Royal Caribbean app on my galaxy says we can use it for free  wifi...is it for certain that it only works with an i-phone?

Thanks!

 

The free iMessage capability on Harmony only works on IOS devices.  Also, this could be blocked at any time.

[Ashland]

Cabin you were in ?

[Biker19]

47 minutes ago, bonniew88 said:

 wifi...is it for certain that it only works with an i-phone?

Some traffic does get through on Android devices as well just not the one that would enable native texting- other apps like Google Voice can be used for texting and do work. 

[FionaLouise]

Hi, 

 

We are sailing on our first cruise ever on Harmony of the seas. Excited, anything you suggest is a must on the ship?

 

i see you said they have done away with the souvenir cup what does this mean?

 

Also what ports did you stop at?

[jenmatt12]

On 1/8/2019 at 3:00 PM, zenworks911 said:

Had a decent cruise on Harmony of the Seas.  Anyone have any questions?

 

A few random notes:

• iPhones could text each other for free using the wifi while in Airplane mode.  Android could not.
• RoyalIQ option has been discontinued and cannot be used for texting or calling on Harmony.
• The new app was terrible and mostly unusable and often inaccurate.  Sometimes the cruise compass was inaccurate too.
  • Example: One day the app had Yoga at 9am, cruise compass had it at 8:45 and the Spa had it at 8:00am.  It was at 8:00am.
  • Example: The rising tides bar schedule was not correct at least one of the days as it was closed for private event.
• Bionic bar was cool but was frequently "Down" and not working properly.  I hope they can get it fixed.
• Food was worse than average for RCI but we were always able to find something enjoyable on the menu.  Don't be afraid to punt and order something else if your favorite dish shows up overcooked or obscenely bland (there was definitely a "bland" theme on this cruise).
• Really appreciated how they seem to have gotten rid of the "souvenir" cup thing.  That drove us crazy!  Thank you RCI!
• Service was generally very good.

 

[jenmatt12]

I am trying to decide on an excursion in St. Maartin.  Any suggestions about which beach is best?

[ULCajunCruiser]

12 minutes ago, jenmatt12 said:

I am trying to decide on an excursion in St. Maartin.  Any suggestions about which beach is best?

You'd be better off asking this question on the St Martin board, or maybe even your roll call

[JayhawkFans]

So the $8 fee for the Royal App isn’t a working option?  We were looking forward to that as a way to keep in touch with the other 4 couples we are going with next eeek

[Clarea]

6 hours ago, JayhawkFans said:

So the $8 fee for the Royal App isn’t a working option?  We were looking forward to that as a way to keep in touch with the other 4 couples we are going with next eeek

 

Not anymore.

[Andy C]

We have been on Harmony 3 times now and we always stay in suites and have all of our meals in Coastal Kitchen.  Except for the Philippine, Indian and Jamaican food that Chef Henry had prepared for us most nights the rest of the food was bland and the ingredients used were inferior and low quality (i.e., cheap quality beef and seafood).  

 

We enjoy Harmony and her crew very much and always have a ball but we know we are going to mostly eat mediocre food all week.  

[zenworks911]

On 1/8/2019 at 2:33 PM, katiel53 said:

What time did boarding start?  What time were people doing self assist with their luggage get to leave the ship?  

 

Thanks for your help and info.

I believe boarding started pretty early.  I don't know 100% but we were there about 10:30am and it appeared that people were boarding the ship.  We boarded around 11:30am as we were waiting for some fellow travellers.  Embarking was quick and easy.

 

We did the luggage valet and it went pretty good.  We got off the ship around 7:30am and traffic was still pretty light.  Breezed right through customs (5 minutes max)  I think people started for sure by 7:15am.  Possibly earlier.

[zenworks911]

On 1/8/2019 at 2:52 PM, Swank Pad G said:

Curious if you had a favorite bar that you liked? We loved the Champagne Bar but I understand Harmony does not have it.

Not really,  honesty, I found the chairs in Boleros very uncomfortable, and kind of the same for the Bionic Bar.  We didn't even make it to the rest of the bars.

[zenworks911]

On 1/8/2019 at 3:30 PM, renza said:

What do u mean got rid of  souvenir cup?  The cup u get soda in with the magnet in bottom. It’s gone?

They still have the cups if you get a drink package.  However, for the most part the bar staff that used to walk around the ship with stupid plastic cups and drinks that drink package people didn't qualify for are gone.  I think I only saw one or two at events, but I don't recall what events.

[zenworks911]

On 1/8/2019 at 8:19 PM, bandjwayne said:

What time was your boarding assignment & what time did you arrive?  Our boarding time is 11:00 and somewhere on the website it says to arrive no later than 2 hours before our boarding time.  Does that mean we really have to be to the cruise terminal by 9 am...seems very early to me!  Thanks! 

You should be fine at 10 or 10:30am.  I think the 2 hours thing is before all aboard.  I would not push it in case something goes wrong.  I would get there earlier in the day.