Sea Dog's Harmony "As If Live" Review Pre & Post with Food, Whiskey & Key,, Oh My!

[cravingthis]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I should have read the manual but I did not and it was fairly easy to touch a icon and see what it is. It's great for editing pictures too. Example right after I took a picture I noticed my thumb was in the part of the frame. I went straight to edit and cropped out my thumb. Also you can edit, brightness, contrast and shadows to tweak the pic. The only problem I had was in night mode. When there is low light, a little box comes onto the screen with a iris slider on the right to move up or down to open or close the iris. I found this a little difficult to do with my stubby little fingers. It wasn't sliding up or down as smooth as I would like it.

Well you did a good job Greg!  I think it should be fairly for me.  I'm actually going to the Apple store to take a look!  I have a problem with typos, and sometimes need to use a stylus!

[etoilefj]

Just found your review, looking forward to the whole thing! We're on the Nov 17 sailing with a number of the other commenters! Should be a great time. We've also booked the Radisson at the Port and are doing the KSC + airport transfer on departure. WE have an overnight flight from the west coast Friday-Saturday so are getting in early Saturday morning, renting a car for the day to check out Disney Springs and whatever else strikes our fancy. Grills is looking like a good choice for dinner that night if we get to Cocoa Beach before that time.

[cruisegirl1]

Greg-  I am enjoying your review.   Is it possible that the meet and mingle invitation was on your television messages?  We had a couple of invitations that were only sent to us via the TV. I didn’t sign up for the meet and mingle so I don’t know how it was delivered and didn’t go looking for it. The function is usually held on the first Sea day morning. 
 

Honestly there’s so many garbage messages that are sent, it’s hard to scroll through and catch the important ones  

 

m

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 Is it possible that the meet and mingle invitation was on your television messages?

The only invite we got was for the Top Tier event which I think is different but I will address this later on.

[cruisegirl1]

Just now, Sea Dog said:

The only invite we got was for the Top Tier event which I think is different but I will address this later on.

Yes, the top-tier event is different from  the meet and mingle.  

 

m

Edited October 23, 2019 by cruisegirl1

[janineallison]

Following along as we are also sailing on the November 17th cruise!

[Midwestgal]

I’m a huge fan of Think sunscreen...I use the Think Baby  or Think sport

Edited October 23, 2019 by Midwestgal

[Snit13]

7 hours ago, lake show cruiser said:

Great review Sea dog!   We will be on the Harmony on the 17th.  We are also staying at the Radisson at the port. We were on the Harmony last year for thanksgiving and love it. Going one week earlier this year. We were planning at having dinner at Kelsey’s but might venture to Gills now. 

 

We are on Harmony on the 17th too.

[Snit13]

2 hours ago, TYMAN said:

Us too! lol! 

Do you think Sea Dog might be able to answer some of your/our roll-call questions?

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Snit13 said:

Do you think Sea Dog might be able to answer some of your/our roll-call questions?

Fire away I may not know the answer but I will try.

[Beav1279]

I'm looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for sharing!

[Sea Dog]

Embarkation - is the process of loading a passenger ship or an airplane with passengers or military personnel, related to and overlapping with individual boarding on aircraft and ships.

 

Today is the day. in a few hours we will be aboard Harmony, but first order of business is to attach these.

 

Most of you know about these but but for those who don't, these luggage tags are a must have for every cruiser. It was funny seeing people in the hotel with luggage trying frantically to cut, stable and attach their tags to their luggage. I found out about these tags through Cruise Critic and bought them. They are sturdy and won't break off, plus they are reusable. Find them here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E4SQNLS?aaxitk=fJhyBaHhPRh5Qq0ShqbRjQ&pd_rd_i=B01E4SQNLS&pf_rd_p=44fc3e0f-4b9e-4ed8-b33b-363a7257163d&hsa_cr_id=2189677230201&sb-ci-n=asinImage&sb-ci-v=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F81P-TpmCW4L.jpg&sb-ci-a=B01E4SQNLS

 

And we are off from our hotel. Shuttle cost $6 per person to the terminal and after about 5 minutes we see a beautiful sight.

 

 

I was a little nervous as Royal had sent me a email that our boarding might be delayed for a mandatory Coast Guard inspection. My luck we would not board till after 1pm.

The shuttle bus arrived at 9am at the terminal. I tipped shuttle driver a few bucks. I gave the porters a buck per bag which they appreciated and told them I appreciate all their hard work. I always believe a little kindness will get you a long way. We then started waiting in line for the doors to open. 

 

Surprisingly at 9:30 the doors opened and checkin was a breeze. passports shown with set sail through security scanner. Upstairs to checkin showed passports and staff scanned our set sail passes and took our security pic with an iPad. We then sat in key waiting area at 9:50am

 

Fortunately as we were waiting a gentleman was finishing setting up a table for dinner reservations. I ended being the first there to make all the specialty restaurant reservations including a bogo dining package on nights 2 and 4

Another comp dinner at chops on night 5 and a specialty lunch on day 3. Very easy.

 

Now we are really happy campers. But we still don't know when will we board there is a Coast Guard inspection going on.

 

Then the announcement came, boarding can commence. The crew had performed the necessary drills to perfection and passed.

On board by 11am!!!!!

Fast forward I later saw the the coast guard inspectors at Jamie’s for lunch. Must be because Harmony passed. I wonder where they would be told to eat if Harmony failed? Windjammer?? 😉

 

Let's do this!

 

 

 

 

And finally I see the wonder!

 

 

Now time to drop off the carry ons to the Key and eat lunch.

Edited October 24, 2019 by Sea Dog

[Sea Dog]

THE KEY- The Key to what?

 

Embarkation and the Key. First of all there are people who love the key and people who hate it. It worked out well for us. I think it’s best for people who are just gold members and want to get the internet package. Whether or not it’s worth it is completely up to you but as I will describe in the following days we found it to be worth it. With that being said, there were some bumps in the road.The key lunch at chops was at the MDR.

The key was a little unorganized in that we knew we had to go to deck 4 MDR but did not know after you checked in with the key you needed to also check in for lunch with another person. Once we figured that out, there was hardly no wait as the maitre d'  called out our cabin number and we were seated by 11:30. Considering that’s when the key opened up for lunch it was awesome that we were eating early and on time considering the inspections.

Nice not having a crowded lunch

 

The menu today

 

Caesar Salad

 

Petite Filet 6oz perfectly cooked and a side of Mac-n-Cheese

 

And dessert Warm Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberry Compote. I love this dessert!!!!

 

I'm full time to see if our room is ready.

[Sea Dog]

“THER'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME” - Dorthy from The Wizard of Oz

 

 

 

 

Our cabin Deck 8, 8144. Isn't she beautiful?

 

 

Balcony with reclining chair and foot stool

 

 

View for now. I know this will change soon.

 

 

No need you know what it is.

 

 

 A gift from our wonderful travel agent Dolores.

 

Time to explore.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

SAIL AWAY -"Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be".- Christopher Cross

 

But wait before we can sail away

 

 

Quick and easy! Let's get up top

 

 

Look back at the terminal

 

 

As we passed the jetty I could not help of thinking @John&LaLa taking those great shots of Harmony leaving on his balcony. I couldn't tell what building you were in but figured it was somewhere here.

 

And finally open sea!

 

 

 

Lets drink a few more Lava Flows with Kraken Rum and get ready for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John and Lara live somewhere here

[Mendels1029]

It's funny seeing your pictures, I was just out of frame waiting in the terminal and about 10 ft away from you on sail away.  😎

[Wolfhunt]

Following along. We will be on Harmony in December. We have the drink package which I plan on using to do a week long whiskey tasting. My preference is usually bourbon but I will try almost anything. Can’t wait to see what whiskey you found.
 

Nice to see the Kennedy Space Center. Currently are scheduled to check that out post cruise.

[John&LaLa]

4 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

As we passed the jetty I could not help of thinking @John&LaLa taking those great shots of Harmony leaving on his balcony. I couldn't tell what building you were in but figured it was somewhere here.

 

 

We're  actually a little further south. Probably 5 miles from the Jetty. I have a really long lens 😉

 

Most of my recent pics are Mariner.  

This is Oasis 

[Sea Dog]

DINNER AT THE MAIN DINING ROOM

First of all it pays to do your research and know what is available. I contacted Royal Caribbean dining about 30 days out to request a table that was in a quiet area of the dining room and preferably near a window. They contacted me back and said they would pass my request to the appropriate people on board. EJ the second assistant to the dining room saw my request and led me to a table by a window that was away from the the nosier parts of the main dining room. Perfect!! Now lets met our waiter and order.

 

Manhattan to start off right

 

Some wonderful bread rolls

 

Appetizer-Shrimp Cocktail and Escargot (it was so good i ate it all and forgot to take the picture)

 

And the main course Prime Rib

 I forgot that someone here on cruise critic gave the tip to always order the Prime Rib one level lower than you want it. I forgot that and paid the price. I ordered medium and it came to me medium well. I could have sent it back but I was tired after a long day and it actually tasted ok but was not very flavorful.

 

 

And a delicious dessert of warm chocolate cake and a Espresso to give me a jolt.

[Sea Dog]

Grease - Not the kind to put on your axel

Seats in Royal theater and having the key let’s you sit in a reserved section in the balcony. The problem is the railing really obstructs your view so if you are in the front row of the balcony the view is horrendous. Even at the back row of the balcony stage right is almost 1/4 of the stage is obscured. The problem is the railing is too high. Show was great and cast even better. Nice to hear a show with good performers who can sing well and stay on key!

 

Afterwards a final, final as we say with a Baton Rouge from the Schooner Bar. Love this mix of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum with Hennessy Cognac and Rose Syrup with Bitters and a fresh lime. Now I'm ready for bed. Time for a stroll back to cabin through Central Park.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sea Dog]

A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT TO STROLL

 

A Gnome

 

 

 

And on to our balcony to this

 

Time for bed . I think tomorrow will be a Perfect Day!

[Sea Dog]

28 minutes ago, Wolfhunt said:

Can’t wait to see what whiskey you found.

I'm going to get there. I started doing my tour on the 3rd day which was a sea day. Thanks for following and stay tuned.

[Sea Dog]

25 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

We're  actually a little further south. Probably 5 miles from the Jetty. I have a really long lens 😉

I remember in one of your earlier threads you posted a picture of your white condo building. I could see some white buildings off in the distance but was not sure if that was where you guys were at. I must say "what a long lens you have there my friend." 😁

[MalteseMama2]

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

 

 

Afterwards a final, final as we say with a Baton Rouge from the Schooner Bar. Love this mix of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum with Hennessy Cognac and Rose Syrup with Bitters and a fresh lime. Now I'm ready for bed. Time for a stroll back to cabin through Central Park.

 

 

I might need to make a list of drinks to try when we are on Harmony in Dec. That looks good!

 

 

[TYMAN]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Fire away I may not know the answer but I will try.

Your itinerary is different than ours, you were at CocoCay before your first sea day. I believe @MrsKC08 has our schedule down pat....:-)