Picture Imperfect: Live on Harmony

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, vpat48 said:

Damn that is a terrible setup to enter the WindJammer. I like the hand sanitizer station on the Oasis/Allure so much more than this.

 

Agreed but what can ya do?  I'll live.

[Familygoboston]

We are having a ball with the folks we came with, and I ❤️ cruising. But I’d save a few sheckles and sail Oasis and Allure again. (Unless they re did the oasis WJ when they dry docked? 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Familygoboston

[PlanetX]

40 minutes ago, rsharp83 said:

Here’s the WJ line for lunch.  And the 4 hand washing to accommodate all these people. 

 

My my theory is the created this bottleneck to try and force people into using some of the other options.  

Thanks for showing us this!  I would have never known to arrive to WJ a few minutes earlier than normal when we're on Harmony in a couple of weeks without the heads up.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, Familygoboston said:

We are having a ball with the folks we came with, and I ❤️ cruising. But I’d save a few sheckles and sail Oasis and Allure again. (Unless they re days the oasus WJ when they dry docked

 

Since you have to fly down here anyway, I don't blame ya.  As soon as I heard Harmony was replacing Oasis I said I'd rather just keep Oasis.  That said, as long as I can keep finding good last minute prices out of PC, I'm not driving all the way to Ft Lauderdale when PC is an hour door-to-door.

[Familygoboston]

FAST CAT SNORKEL AND BEACH

Excursion with about 25 of our group. The elders bailed before the boat left when they saw how crowded it was. They worried about their safety. 

I would describe this excursion as good execution by the guides, but with approx 100 people it wasn’t fun. People sitting on coolers didn’t really fly with me. Had this excursion been 50-75 people it would have been perfect. 

 

Our excursion tomorrow is a private one Capt Bob just for our 25 and less crowded. 

 

That said we had excellent snorkeling at Buck Island, saw green turtles, sting ray, a huge school of blue tangs and other fish. 

 

 

 

 

[OCSC Mike]

Love Captain Bob!  One of my favorite excursions ever!  (But I already mentioned that much earlier in this thread when that schedule grid was posted).  Looking forward to a current review.

[dst]

Loving the review - we are sailing November, our daughter is getting married on the ship.  We are excited to try the Harmony, loved the Allure.

Can you explain the WOW bands again, do you have to use them or is it an option. If we want to keep our cards can we?  

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, dst said:

Can you explain the WOW bands again, do you have to use them or is it an option. If we want to keep our cards can we?  

 

100% optional.

[dst]

Just now, OCSC Mike said:

 

100% optional.

Thanks - not sure we would go with it - I do love the ones for Disney though......good to know its optional

[Familygoboston]

Sunset in st Thomas at the hot tub 

[rsharp83]

Honeymoon Beach

 

 

[Familygoboston]

Day 4 CRUISE COMPASS

[rsharp83]

Bionic 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

We gotta try that bar Randy!! 

 

So this is the 3rd Oasis class for Randy and I. We’ve decided 3rd time is the charm. Now that I’ve had 3 go rounds on this class, I finally feel like I can relax and not “need” to see and do EVERYTHING. We know our faves and we know where we like to chill, and it’s more relaxed than ever!  

A big part of this is not feeling the need to dine in the MDR every night. This has saved a huge chunk of time we use to chill on the balcony or nap before the shows. (All of which have been superb ! ) 

 

Do you Oasisclasd repeaters agree? Third times a charm!! 

[Familygoboston]

NOT IMPERFECT PUCTURES! 

 

We interrupt this this review of imperfect pictures to share (drum roll please!) some of my hubby Jeff’s much less imperfect photos of our excursion today! (Many from the underwater camera) One shows the crowd on the Fast Cat, the others are of harmony in St Thomas. 

Enjoy! 

 

The crowd on the Fast Cat

 

Sea turtle

 

Harmony in Crown Bay 

 

Stilt walker at the dock 

 

Ray

Edited June 6, 2019 by Familygoboston

[brookmill18]

In our opinion, MDR lunch is the best dining option on RCCL. Definitely try it at least once.  The menu options are more limited, but we have found them to be a huge step up from dinner both in taste and in presentation.  

[OCSC Mike]

6 hours ago, Familygoboston said:

Do you Oasisclasd repeaters agree? Third times a charm!! 

 

Funny you say that.  This will be our 4th but the 1st two were family cruises so DW & I couldn’t really do things how we prefer. I love my generous in laws who took us those 1st 2 times & my 2 young nieces (only had 1 the first time, funny how they multiply), but those cruises were spent with early MDR & way too many trips to the carousel.  We were so ready to do Oasis class “our way” that we jumped back on Oasis 2 summers ago 3 weeks after a family cruise when I found a great price the day after getting home.  Knowing exactly what you want to do & having the freedom to do it makes for a completely different cruise!  Harmony will give us some new things to try like the water slides, different shows, sinks in the WJ, plus Cococay & 2 new ports for us, but we’ll still enjoy our routine.

[rsharp83]

St. Thomas - The other clan

 

You’ve seen Kathy’s thoughts on our Fast Cat excursion, where we crammed 130 people onto a boat that couldn’t truly accommodate 130 people. So I’ll not cover that except to say, “ditto”. 

 

The other crew went to Magen’s Bay. Comments from our experienced beach goers was lukewarm. “They got hit pretty hard by the hurricane” was a common response. 

 

They also had a frustrating time with some rude beach workers. And, as a group of 12, they got a small bus to take them to the beach and back. Problem was, after they loaded up at the port, the driver refused to leave until 2 more people were crammed into the bus to make it hit the capacity of 14. Everyone who looked into getting on the bus took one look at the already crowded seats and said no thanks. They sat there for 15 minutes. Frustrating.  

 

Overall, St Thomas wasn’t the best day I’ve ever had on an island. Which is too bad because it’s a great island. 

 

I would have have never booked the RCCL excursion under normal conditions. I always book independent tour operators. But with the odd noon port time and a large group I just didn’t feel like I could risk it or find a tour willing to give up their usual morning pick up time. 

 

But it in the end, we are still in the Caribbean!  So really I can’t complain too much. 

 

Next up, a return visit with Captain Bob. One of the best excursions ever! 

[Familygoboston]

Docking in St Martin! 

Anither besutiful day! Low 80spreducted and partly cloudy- perfect day for Capt Bob boat adventure around the island. This is a small boat tour that includes a couple of beach stops, lunch and sitting in the bay by the airport to see the afternoon planes flying over Maho. Something I’ve never done despite nearly a dozen visits here, including a couple of week long resort stays. 

For those wondering about the seabsnd/cruise card issue, I was going to write short review on one of the sea days coming up!  

 

Docking inSt Martin, again always starboard side on the dock. Choose starboard side to watch runners and see the “action”, choose port side cabins for the water view (or there’s a potential to be docked next to another’s ships crazy l)

[bobmacliberty]

We did Honeymoon beach on our own for our last St. Thomas visit and enjoyed it.  We caught one of the earlier ferries from the marina next to where the ship docks and had "front row" seats by Dinghy's Beach Bar (far left side of the beach when facing the water).  We watched several boats like yours come and go throughout the day, unloading about a 100 people and then rounding them up after a few hours.  Your experience confirms my thoughts when watching from a distance...no thanks (although the rope swing on the pirate ship looked like fun).  The excursion boats all stayed on the other end of the beach (Heidi's, I think?) and only a few people drifted down to our end.

 

Edit: Honeymoon Beach DIY would definitely not have worked for your large group as the ferry held less than 20 people. 

Edited June 6, 2019 by bobmacliberty

[dude_hdt]

Please tell me more about Honeymoon Beach DIY!!!  We'll be there in late July and had consider the Fast Cat but reading about the crowd...it's off the plans.  How do you get to the ferry?  How often does it go back and forth?  Cost?  We're a group of 4 with 2 late teenage boys. 

 

TIA!

[Ocean Boy]

I am sure being on a boat watching the planes will be fun. However, there is nothing quite like surfing the fence at the end of the runway being hit with the jet blast of a 747 spooling up its engines for takeoff.🙂

[OCSC Mike]

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I am sure being on a boat watching the planes will be fun. However, there is nothing quite like surfing the fence at the end of the runway being hit with the jet blast of a 747 spooling up its engines for takeoff.🙂

 

This might be the first time I've ever made a post like this as my posts are generally informative and/or comical, but with that said...

 

Given that people have died doing that (there was a fatality the day before I took Captain Bob's excursion two summers ago), making that post and adding a smiley on top of it is in pretty poor taste IMO.

 

If you want to risk your life for a thrill, go for it, but don't make a post that could possibly encourage others to do so.  There are signs all over that area warning against such behavior for a reason.

 

I don't want to hijack the thread so if you feel the need to respond I have nothing else to say.

 

Hope this crew is having an awesome time with Captain Bob!

[Ocean Boy]

33 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

This might be the first time I've ever made a post like this as my posts are generally informative and/or comical, but with that said...

 

Given that people have died doing that (there was a fatality the day before I took Captain Bob's excursion two summers ago), making that post and adding a smiley on top of it is in pretty poor taste IMO.

 

If you want to risk your life for a thrill, go for it, but don't make a post that could possibly encourage others to do so.  There are signs all over that area warning against such behavior for a reason.

 

I don't want to hijack the thread so if you feel the need to respond I have nothing else to say.

 

Hope this crew is having an awesome time with Captain Bob!

Sorry I pulled your trigger.

[RN4Nsy]

Loyal KC reader here will be on the Harmony for the Superbowl 2020!