The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, And Me!

[Grenouille21]

14 minutes ago, er345 said:

I agree this is an amazing review.  I’ve really enjoyed reading it! 

I even followed your signature link and read your review of the Alaska cruise.

 

Wow, that is impressive and flattering!  Thank you for reading along, in both reports!  🙂

[Judyrem]

I can never free dive, I have extra adipose tissue which enables me to float forever but not dive, unless I wear weights.

 

Your post is one of the best I have read!  Great job!

 

I love when you dealt with lady saying the clothes look seeeexxxxy on your daughter.  LOL, who would buy that? 

 

 

[SAmome]

Great review, thanks for doing it.

 

Two oddball questions.

 

Did you see anyone using Key to get FOTL access?  I don't mind the special Key hours but the slow moving nature of the lines for flowrider and hours and staffing of rock climbing would annoy me if RCCL sold any product that gave the opportiunity to move to front of the line.  (I'd be angry with RCCL, not Key purchasers.)

 

Is the Helipad area off limits to regular guests?  Or maybe roped off for a certain time for an event?  I've walked out there on other cruises so just curious.

[03063Dad]

This is great, really enjoying it as we will be on the Symphony next February. That last comment about kids answering phones is spot on, my oldest answers the phone in hotels and cruise ships only. LOL I think he's trying to be helpful, he thinks it must be important.

[Illini_Fan]

We will be on the Symphony in June with our then 15yo DS - so I very much appreciate the extremely detailed and very well written and funny review.  thanks very much for doing this.

[exercisemama]

I have two boys will be with us on the ship in July, one will be 17 and one will be 18.

I was hoping the two of them could hang out together in the teen lounge, especially if they want to play video games.  Is it true that the 18-year-old won’t be allowed in with his brother?

[Grenouille21]

3 hours ago, Judyrem said:

I can never free dive, I have extra adipose tissue which enables me to float forever but not dive, unless I wear weights.

 

Your post is one of the best I have read!  Great job!

 

I love when you dealt with lady saying the clothes look seeeexxxxy on your daughter.  LOL, who would buy that? 

 

 

 

I don't think I'd be great at free diving either.  Some other people were doing it, and it was making me so nervous, even though I am sure they knew what they were doing.

 

3 hours ago, SAmome said:

Great review, thanks for doing it.

 

Two oddball questions.

 

Did you see anyone using Key to get FOTL access?  I don't mind the special Key hours but the slow moving nature of the lines for flowrider and hours and staffing of rock climbing would annoy me if RCCL sold any product that gave the opportiunity to move to front of the line.  (I'd be angry with RCCL, not Key purchasers.)

 

Is the Helipad area off limits to regular guests?  Or maybe roped off for a certain time for an event?  I've walked out there on other cruises so just curious.

 

I had thought my kids would go on the rock wall, but that never happened, so I have no idea what the line situation was up there.  I kept meaning to find out, then forgetting.  I never saw anyone jump the line at the Flowrider, but we only did the Boogie board side, and only around 5pm when the line was 8-10 people long (that sounds worse than it is).  I agree that having people jump the line would slow things down a lot.  

 

Sometimes they had a divider down the middle of the Flowrider so 2 people could go at a time.  They could designate one side for Key/Suite/special people and one side for other people.  Then if no one is in the Key etc. line, they can pull from the regular line one at a time.  I feel like that would be a much better system than letting people cut.

 

I think the helipad is off limits on Oasis ships, but I am sure someone else here knows better than I do.  One night I saw one guy out there, on one of the benches.  But otherwise the only time I saw anyone out there was that one evening.  We went out on the bow of the ship in Alaska, but only when we were in Glacier Bay.  

 

1 hour ago, 03063Dad said:

This is great, really enjoying it as we will be on the Symphony next February. That last comment about kids answering phones is spot on, my oldest answers the phone in hotels and cruise ships only. LOL I think he's trying to be helpful, he thinks it must be important.

 

Do yours also have no idea what to say on the phone?  I remember having a basic script I was supposed to follow when answering the phone when I was a kid and the call was not for me.  "Hello?... No she's not here right now, can I take a message?" or "Hello?  Yes, she's here hold on..." But DD just went for it and answered all the questions as though I weren't standing right there waiting for her to hand me the phone.  Sigh.

 

34 minutes ago, Illini_Fan said:

We will be on the Symphony in June with our then 15yo DS - so I very much appreciate the extremely detailed and very well written and funny review.  thanks very much for doing this.

 

My pleasure!  I am glad this has been helpful.  I have read some amazing reviews in the past that are responsible for me even considering cruising in general, as well as cruising on specific cruise lines.  It seems those are fewer and farther between now.  I get that it is a lot of work, but it is so helpful!

 

2 minutes ago, exercisemama said:

I have two boys will be with us on the ship in July, one will be 17 and one will be 18.

I was hoping the two of them could hang out together in the teen lounge, especially if they want to play video games.  Is it true that the 18-year-old won’t be allowed in with his brother?

 

I am pretty sure that won't be allowed, but I think it will depend on the crew members on your sailing.  I would have a plan B handy.  There is so much to do; I keep saying DS was at the club, but a lot of that time he was doing other things with friends, like mini golf, or getting food, watching people on the Flowrider, or playing ping pong.  

[nbp]

Loving your review!! We will be in Symphony on the 13th with the Key!! Can't wait!! 

[Grenouille21]

5 hours ago, nbp said:

Loving your review!! We will be in Symphony on the 13th with the Key!! Can't wait!! 

 

I will be curious to hear if your experience is similar or different to ours, especially with the priority hours/jump the line situation for activities.  

 

You'll have an awesome time, no matter what!!!

[Grenouille21]

Day 5 continued

 

After reconvening in the room, I tried to open the bottle of wine.  They had thoughtfully provided one of those corkscrews that you twist into the cork and then pull it straight out.  Well I could not get the cork to budge.  I let DS try and he couldn't do it, either.  I looked it up online and found all kinds of tricks that involve walking the bottle and a shoe against a wall, but I didn't want to do that to our neighbors.  We tried so hard but the darn thing wouldn't budge.  I ended up having the room attendant open it.  He put the bottle on the ground and squeezed it with his feet then pulled up on the corkscrew with both hands.  POP!  It came right out.  I had probably loosened it for him.  

 

One thing I have heard often when discussing cruises is "I can't have a balcony stateroom with my children, I would be terrified that they would go overboard!"  Well I wouldn't really worry about that.  First of all, you have to turn the balcony handle up and pull at the same time, and the door is really heavy.  Second, you can lock it way up high so no one can open it.  It is safer than having a balcony in a hotel room, where they don't always have all of these safety precautions.  I never hear people refusing to stay in a hotel with a balcony due to fears of their child falling.  

 

Anyway, I am sharing the photo because I remember a heated discussion once where someone insisted that this lock did not exist on cruises, they had never seen it, and that meant it wasn't there.  Well, it is there, at least on Symphony.  

 

 

We went to dinner, and I stopped to take a stealth photo of this art on the way in to the dining room.  I like those chairs a lot.  It would be cool to have a huge dining room, and one of those long tables that goes on forever, and have those chairs at either end.  

 

 

Our beverage server, I Putu, decided it was time for the kids to mix things up with their drinks.  They had been drinking non-alcoholic mojitos, and daiquiris, and he thought they needed to expand their options, so he brought us the bar menu.  I wasn't going to post it, because it would take up so much space, but I think this should work.

 

 

 

 

This looks like maybe it is the prime rib.  I wish I had taken photos of the menus, but I somehow thought they had already been shared somewhere.  Unfortunately I cannot seem to find them anywhere to double check what we ate each night.

 

 

Dessert was pavlova.  The pavlova and fruit were good, but the whipped cream is that whipped cream that is thick, and obviously not actual whipped cream.  But I still ate all of it, so obviously it wasn't that big of a deal.

 

 

DD got the crème brulée.  She got this a few times, and DS got it at least once.

 

 

I have no idea what we did after dinner as there is no photographic evidence of anything.  DD and I probably went to Schooners and DS went to the teen club.

 

And that's the end of Day 5!  Day 6 would be our last day at sea, as we would be in Nassau on Day 7.  The plan was to enjoy the sunshine, sit in a chair, and read.  DS planned to hang out with friends, or whatever he was doing all week.

[Grenouille21]

@siempredescalzo I checked my under water camera and it is a Nikon Coolpix.  I use a Nikon as my DSLR camera (which I have not even looked at the photos from yet, oops) so I thought it would be good.  It could totally be user error, though.  I thought it would be pretty easy, point-and-shoot, but maybe there is more to it.  

[Grenouille21]

Day 6!  Day at Sea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't believe how quickly the week was flying by.  Again, I hate having a port day on the last day, because it makes it feel so much shorter.  But I don't get to make up the itineraries, so what are you going to do!

 

We slept in (big surprise, I know) and then by the time we all were awake and functioning breakfast was over, so we went down to the Promenade and got pizza for breakfast/lunch at Sorrento's.  DS headed off to the club, and DD and I were going to go up to the pool deck and get some sun and read.  However, they were setting up for a parade in the promenade, so we decided to stay.  Our usually spot was taken so we didn't get a very good view.  It was cute, though!  I know a lot of people are upset that Royal ended their contract with Dreamworks, and people are wondering what they are going to do.  I don't see a need to do anything!  Sure, my kids are too old for characters, but there was so much going on at all times, I don't really think characters make the experience that much better for kids.  With 1700 kids under 12 on board even without Dreamworks, I don't think Dreamworks is a make or break component of a cruise.  

 

Who needs Dreamworks when you have pirates!

 

She came down on Rising Tide, which is an excellent way to make an entrance.  If I ever have to make an entrance on the Promenade it will definitely be like this.  

 

 

There was some story, but I don't know what it was.  Pirates, Vikings, etc.  It was fun, but we couldn't really see it so we watched for a short time and left. I really just wanted to enjoy the sunshine.  I am making it sound awful, and it definitely wasn't.  It was rather fun, and very festive.  When you can't see it, though, there is no point in sticking around.

 

 

 

 

 

So up to the pool deck we went.  It had been very windy up on deck all week, and today it was very rocky.  There were some really big swells out on the water that had us rocking back and forth.  DS ended up putting his bracelet on, and I did too, eventually.  But we stayed out for a long time, relaxing.

 

 

Ha, it looks completely calm there, but I was on Deck 16 so you can't really see anything.  It also got a bit worse later.  Not horrible, it was kind of funny, actually.  

 

DS had promised he would go on The Abyss today.  He was done with the Flow Rider because he had fallen when running around and scraped up both of his knees, and he said he couldn't do the knee boarding thing any more.  So he had promised he would do The Abyss, and I held him to it because I knew he would regret it if he didn't.  Both kids tend to wait until the last day of vacation to try anything, and then they are like "Oh that ws fun, can we do it again?" and I'm like "No, we leave tomorrow, and you could have been doing this for 7 days if you had tried it when I first told you to try it."  

 

Anyway, he tried it.  They let me go up and take photos, which I already shared, of the glass ledge overlooking the Aqua Theater and the water.  But I'll share it again, with DS's feet again, because yikes.  Also, feet pictures with shoes are OK, though still usually unnecessary, it is the bare feet pictures that I have issues with.  In this case I feel like the feet help you understand that you are looking down.  I am overexplaining it.  

 

 

And the outside of The Abyss, again, just because

 

 

Here's DS getting his last minute instructions.  As I have said, listen and do what they tell you.  There are some sharp turns and you can get banged up if you don't sit the way you are supposed to.  

 

 

HE said it was fun, but he didn't do it again.  He told me I should try it.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no.  

 

I went to the Solarium for sunset again.  I could swear this was the night the ship was rocking and rolling, but then I see we had the skating show and I thought they would cancel that for motion.  They did postpone the second aqua show, Aqua Nation, due to ship motion.  Anyway, I think it was this evening in the Solarium when I was in the pool with one other person.  You can see out of the windows of the Solarium from there, and see the horizon, and we were definitely going uuuuuup and doooooown.  The water in the pool was sloshing one way........ then the other way........ then back again............ and so on.  We were laughing when we had a big swell and it went up like 12 inches.  They had closed one of the pools earlier due to the same thing.  I heard kids screaming (with joy, always with joy) and I figured it was due to the water going back and forth so much.  

 

 

I'm going to pause here.  School and work start tomorrow, and I have to get some sleep.  Sorry!!!  I had really wanted to get this done before school and work started up again, but grad school and parenting got in the way.  

Edited April 1, 2019 by Grenouille21

[perfect match]

2 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

@siempredescalzo I checked my under water camera and it is a Nikon Coolpix.  I use a Nikon as my DSLR camera (which I have not even looked at the photos from yet, oops) so I thought it would be good.  It could totally be user error, though.  I thought it would be pretty easy, point-and-shoot, but maybe there is more to it.  

 

When I was looking at your underwater pictures, I was wondering if you had forgotten to do the same thing I’ve been known to do on occasion - forget to put the camera on it’s proper underwater setting! Actually, I’m more likely to forget to take mine OFF the underwater setting so the pictures I take on land end up looking bad. The underwater setting has filters that reduce the color distortion and make the colors in your pictures look more accurate.

 

The camera that I have and use for snorkeling and shallow diving is Olympus Tough TG 2. It is an older model, and has truly lived up to the advertised feature of toughness! I’ve put it through a lot, and with the exception of some operator error, it has taken some great pictures! I am currently considering buying the latest model, Olympus Tough TG 5 since even the toughest of cameras can only take so much abuse! Besides, the TG 5 has some features like wireless photo transfer that my TG 2 doesn’t have. I will have to research that before I buy because I’m not sure what features the TG 5 actually has.

 

I noticed that you and your kids have the full face snorkel masks. My husband has one, too, and he really likes it. I do want to pass on a word of caution about those full face masks because I would not want to see any of you have a problem that can easily be prevented. When you exhale, be sure you do so with enough force so that the air you are exhaling actually goes up through the snorkel and out. You want to be breathing in fresh, oxygenated air, not the carbon dioxide you just exhaled. In other words, you don’t want to keep breathing in the same air that is trapped inside the mask over and over again. If you aren’t sure that the exhaled air is clearing the mask, stop every so often and pull the mask away from your face, let it clear for a few seconds, then put it back on and continue snorkeling. Besides, it is a good idea to stop and get your bearings once in a while to be sure you haven’t drifted too far away from that snorkel boat you jumped off of, or too far from the shore if that’s how you entered the water. I’m truly not trying to scare you. I just want to offer a few tips to help keep you safe while snorkeling.

 

BTW, I think your mini narwhals were actually Ballyhoo, the little striped fish were Sargent Majors, and the blue one looked like a Parrotfish.

 

Now let’s get back to your wonderful review! I am thoroughly enjoying the journey!

Edited April 1, 2019 by perfect match

[mayleeman]

@perfect match I bought the Olympus TG-5 two weeks ago and will try it out on 4 snorkel excursions during our Reflection cruise starting April 12. I chose it because of the latest underwater camera reviews on DPReviews, which said the picture quality and availability of higher rate on 4K set it apart from comparably priced models. I will hopefully post some pics starting @ 4/15 or so if those might help. Allow for total inexperience with the camera!

 

@Grenouille21 What a great journal! You might be able to color correct some of those photos in Photoshop. What do you use for your phone under water?

[ShillyShally]

On 3/31/2019 at 2:00 AM, Grenouille21 said:

 

We have our own snorkel masks.  I really do not like the snorkel thing that goes in my mouth.  Not only for sanitary reasons, but just because.  It always gets misaligned with the mask, there is so much adjusting, etc.  And I just don't like having it in my mouth.  

 

So we use these:

 

 

 

I do not work for the company or anything like that.  It has just changed snorkeling for us.  Nothing in your mouth, full view of the water, etc.  I really like these masks!

Ohhhhh these look neat - are they called anything specific and where did you find them?  I would love to try something like this!

[Lionesss]

1 hour ago, ShillyShally said:

Ohhhhh these look neat - are they called anything specific and where did you find them?  I would love to try something like this!

 

We just ordered them on Amazon.

 

TTYY Full Face Snorkel Mask Sports Camera Compatable Anti Fog Non Toxic Diving mask for Adults

(Thats a mouth full!!!)

 

We should have in 3 days.

 

Safe travels.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

This is such a great review!  Thank you for all of the photos and your humorous commentary!

 

A group of family and friends went on the Harmony last June and we thoroughly enjoyed the ship.  It's just so big that it's really hard to do everything.  I'm amazed at the traffic flow and what a good job Royal has done with the design of these mega ships.  Even though our cruise, like yours, was packed to the gills, full up, it didn't feel overcrowded.  In fact, the Solarium was mostly empty.  I think that's because there's not much shade up there and only hot tubs on the Harmony, so it was just too danged hot most of the time.

 

I have a question for you about snorkeling on your excursion, did they require life vests for all the guests or just the children?  Also, I'm thinking about getting one of those full face masks for hubby.  He loves snorkeling and we do cruise at least once a year so it'd get used.  I'm so blind that snorkeling is not really an option for me, sadly.  Did you say that you got your mask on Amazon?

 

Lastly, I'd suggest trying to make friends with one of your daughter's besties' moms.  That way both families could go on a cruise together and your daughter would have a pal and you'd have an adult to hang out with (not all the time because I get that need to be alone to recharge, too).  From our experience (my daughter was almost 17 the first time we cruised and her 3 friends were already 17) the girls loathed the teen club.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but high school girls are just so self-conscious and it seems even with a group of them that they couldn't enjoy themselves.  And honestly?  I'm not sure my son who was 17 on the Harmony bothered with the teen club, either.  It's just a hard age, not quite an adult so they can't go to the disco and yet they feel like they're "too old" for the teen club.

 

Thank you again for such a wonderful review!

[phabric]

On 3/31/2019 at 2:00 AM, Grenouille21 said:

 

 

So we use these:

 

 

 

I do not work for the company or anything like that.  It has just changed snorkeling for us.  Nothing in your mouth, full view of the water, etc.  I really like these masks!

———————————————————————————————————

 

I have looked at Amazon for the mask.  There are many, many brands for them.  

I would like to get one that someone has actually used and liked.

 

Do you remember what the name or the site you purchased them at?

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by phabric

[mayleeman]

@ShillyShally @2Long2NxtCrz

Just be careful with the full-face masks. I bought a cheap one (@ $30) and didn't know that there are two kinds--the better kind has a more effective valve for getting the CO2 out of the mask when you exhale. My cheaper one left me beathless after about two or 3 turns while doing laps. I had to keep pulling it up to take a few breaths. These cheal masks just require exchanging through the tube so CO2 builds up.  There are reports of people losing consciousness. 

 

That was my experience at least. Some people say it is not true for them. The dive shop here will not sell the cheap ones, and all theirs are @ $100 (which would make them the 60 to 80 ones on Amazon, probably. Check out the threads in the Snorkel and Scuba forum for extensive discussions before you buy. 

 

They are great for visibility, though. 

[ShillyShally]

3 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

@ShillyShally @2Long2NxtCrz

Just be careful with the full-face masks. I bought a cheap one (@ $30) and didn't know that there are two kinds--the better kind has a more effective valve for getting the CO2 out of the mask when you exhale. My cheaper one left me beathless after about two or 3 turns while doing laps. I had to keep pulling it up to take a few breaths. These cheal masks just require exchanging through the tube so CO2 builds up.  There are reports of people losing consciousness. 

 

That was my experience at least. Some people say it is not true for them. The dive shop here will not sell the cheap ones, and all theirs are @ $100 (which would make them the 60 to 80 ones on Amazon, probably. Check out the threads in the Snorkel and Scuba forum for extensive discussions before you buy. 

 

They are great for visibility, though. 

Great information, thank you!  Yeah I can't dive too deep, my ears won't allow it, and I've had master divers try and help me and realize I am one of the few who can't equalize, sigh, lol!  But I'll definitely check out these and not skimp if I find one that may work!  I'll also check the snorkel and scuba forum - I envy those that can make great drives, but I'm also very thankful for their pictures!

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, Lionesss said:

 

We just ordered them on Amazon.

 

TTYY Full Face Snorkel Mask Sports Camera Compatable Anti Fog Non Toxic Diving mask for Adults

(Thats a mouth full!!!)

 

We should have in 3 days.

 

Safe travels.

Thank you, hope they work well for you!!  Report back if you think of it 🙂

[2Long2NxtCrz]

15 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

@ShillyShally @2Long2NxtCrz

Just be careful with the full-face masks. I bought a cheap one (@ $30) and didn't know that there are two kinds--the better kind has a more effective valve for getting the CO2 out of the mask when you exhale. My cheaper one left me beathless after about two or 3 turns while doing laps. I had to keep pulling it up to take a few breaths. These cheal masks just require exchanging through the tube so CO2 builds up.  There are reports of people losing consciousness. 

 

That was my experience at least. Some people say it is not true for them. The dive shop here will not sell the cheap ones, and all theirs are @ $100 (which would make them the 60 to 80 ones on Amazon, probably. Check out the threads in the Snorkel and Scuba forum for extensive discussions before you buy. 

 

They are great for visibility, though. 

I am so clueless, I had no idea about the CO2 exchange (I should have figured it out though).  I will definitely make sure to buy hubby a good one.  Since he will be able to use it over and over again, there's no sense skimping, especially not if that can cause safety issues.  People losing consciousness?  Yikes!

 

Thanks again for the valuable information!  I love how helpful most folks are on here.  I've learned so much and met some great folks.

[blueridgemama]

23 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

I am so clueless, I had no idea about the CO2 exchange (I should have figured it out though).  I will definitely make sure to buy hubby a good one.  Since he will be able to use it over and over again, there's no sense skimping, especially not if that can cause safety issues.  People losing consciousness?  Yikes!

 

Thanks again for the valuable information!  I love how helpful most folks are on here.  I've learned so much and met some great folks.

 

Do a Google search for which full face mask is the best and most importantly safest. Do not get a cheap one! They are not meant for diving under the water just for surface snorkeling. I also read that they are not meant for vigorous swimming like doing laps. I bought a Tribord brand on Amazon after doing a lot of research. it was more expensive but It has been great. I am very claustrophobic and have had no issues with using the mask. Do your homework before purchasing.

[Grenouille21]

11 hours ago, perfect match said:

 

When I was looking at your underwater pictures, I was wondering if you had forgotten to do the same thing I’ve been known to do on occasion - forget to put the camera on it’s proper underwater setting! Actually, I’m more likely to forget to take mine OFF the underwater setting so the pictures I take on land end up looking bad. The underwater setting has filters that reduce the color distortion and make the colors in your pictures look more accurate.

 

The camera that I have and use for snorkeling and shallow diving is Olympus Tough TG 2. It is an older model, and has truly lived up to the advertised feature of toughness! I’ve put it through a lot, and with the exception of some operator error, it has taken some great pictures! I am currently considering buying the latest model, Olympus Tough TG 5 since even the toughest of cameras can only take so much abuse! Besides, the TG 5 has some features like wireless photo transfer that my TG 2 doesn’t have. I will have to research that before I buy because I’m not sure what features the TG 5 actually has.

 

I noticed that you and your kids have the full face snorkel masks. My husband has one, too, and he really likes it. I do want to pass on a word of caution about those full face masks because I would not want to see any of you have a problem that can easily be prevented. When you exhale, be sure you do so with enough force so that the air you are exhaling actually goes up through the snorkel and out. You want to be breathing in fresh, oxygenated air, not the carbon dioxide you just exhaled. In other words, you don’t want to keep breathing in the same air that is trapped inside the mask over and over again. If you aren’t sure that the exhaled air is clearing the mask, stop every so often and pull the mask away from your face, let it clear for a few seconds, then put it back on and continue snorkeling. Besides, it is a good idea to stop and get your bearings once in a while to be sure you haven’t drifted too far away from that snorkel boat you jumped off of, or too far from the shore if that’s how you entered the water. I’m truly not trying to scare you. I just want to offer a few tips to help keep you safe while snorkeling.

 

BTW, I think your mini narwhals were actually Ballyhoo, the little striped fish were Sargent Majors, and the blue one looked like a Parrotfish.

 

Now let’s get back to your wonderful review! I am thoroughly enjoying the journey!

 

I thought I had it set for under water photos, but I think every time I turn it off it resets, so I have to do it each time.  It is also possible that I only thought it was set to under water.  But the non-under water photos look weird, so I was thinking I had it set properly for water?  Who knows!  

 

I will check on our masks and see if they are the good kind.  They were fairly new when we bought them, and do far so good.  We do take them off now and then to talk, since we can't hear each other talk with them on. 

 

Thanks for the fish help!  Always good to learn something new!!

 

5 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@perfect match I bought the Olympus TG-5 two weeks ago and will try it out on 4 snorkel excursions during our Reflection cruise starting April 12. I chose it because of the latest underwater camera reviews on DPReviews, which said the picture quality and availability of higher rate on 4K set it apart from comparably priced models. I will hopefully post some pics starting @ 4/15 or so if those might help. Allow for total inexperience with the camera!

 

@Grenouille21 What a great journal! You might be able to color correct some of those photos in Photoshop. What do you use for your phone under water?

 

I don't take my phone under water.  I leave it on the catamaran in my bag.  I am going to look up the Olympus camera and see if it might work better.

 

4 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Ohhhhh these look neat - are they called anything specific and where did you find them?  I would love to try something like this!

 

Looks like you have some good recommendations.  Ours are from Wild hard Outfitters?  Not sure the specific type. 

 

3 hours ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

This is such a great review!  Thank you for all of the photos and your humorous commentary!

 

A group of family and friends went on the Harmony last June and we thoroughly enjoyed the ship.  It's just so big that it's really hard to do everything.  I'm amazed at the traffic flow and what a good job Royal has done with the design of these mega ships.  Even though our cruise, like yours, was packed to the gills, full up, it didn't feel overcrowded.  In fact, the Solarium was mostly empty.  I think that's because there's not much shade up there and only hot tubs on the Harmony, so it was just too danged hot most of the time.

 

I have a question for you about snorkeling on your excursion, did they require life vests for all the guests or just the children?  Also, I'm thinking about getting one of those full face masks for hubby.  He loves snorkeling and we do cruise at least once a year so it'd get used.  I'm so blind that snorkeling is not really an option for me, sadly.  Did you say that you got your mask on Amazon?

 

Lastly, I'd suggest trying to make friends with one of your daughter's besties' moms.  That way both families could go on a cruise together and your daughter would have a pal and you'd have an adult to hang out with (not all the time because I get that need to be alone to recharge, too).  From our experience (my daughter was almost 17 the first time we cruised and her 3 friends were already 17) the girls loathed the teen club.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but high school girls are just so self-conscious and it seems even with a group of them that they couldn't enjoy themselves.  And honestly?  I'm not sure my son who was 17 on the Harmony bothered with the teen club, either.  It's just a hard age, not quite an adult so they can't go to the disco and yet they feel like they're "too old" for the teen club.

 

Thank you again for such a wonderful review!

 

Every one wore life vests while snorkeling, I think it is a requirement.  They said you could choose how much to inflate it, so if you wanted to free dive you could deflate it all the way, I guess.  But everyone was wearing them.  

 

I would have a hard time vacationing with DD's friends' families, but I have thought about seeing if she can just bring a friend with us.  I would have to really like the friend, though.  

 

[mayleeman]

@2Long2NxtCrz I just reread your post and realized I missed something. Don't refrain from snorkeling because of your vision!!! Go to a good dive shop. If you cannot wear contacts, they have masks that they can replace the glass with prescription glass.  And not nearly as expensive as you might think!