Harmony Review - March 1st - 8th

[tvlworm]

Happy Friday! After a mind-spinning week, I am really looking forward to the weekend.  
 

Day 5 - Roatan 

It’s never fun setting the alarm clock on a vacation day but that’s exactly what we did for our early morning, 7am arrival (6a local time) to Roatan.  After our unplanned, extra sea day the day prior, it seemed like everyone onboard was eager for a land day!  
 

This was our second visit to Roatan, this being our first time at Coxen Hole as the dock. Mahogany Bay is great if you are staying put, but for ease of going on an excursion, this was a much better port, in my opinion.  Looks like lots of work is being done and enhancements are coming.  
 

Our first visit brought us to Little French Key which was amazing but I wanted something different, still with awesome snorkeling available so our plan was for West Bay.  I reached out to Infinity Bay Resort in advance and reserved day passes with transportation, which was $40 per person.  I debated about instead going through the ship for the neighboring Tabyana Beach excursion but the resort option looked much more appealing and it was a great decision!  Infinity Bay provided clear instructions for meeting our driver who was ready and waiting when we got off the ship. We had a short walk to the actual vehicle and off we went.
 

With morning traffic it took us about 25-30 minutes to arrive. It was just before 7am when we arrived to Infinity Bay, the activity coordinator who manages the day pass reservations hadn’t even arrived first. This was no big deal, the front desk contacted a different staff member who brought us to the beach area and a brief tour of the resort, letting us know about food, drink options (all ala-carte), restrooms etc. We quickly settled in our lounge chairs and I was immediately itching to get in the water and explore! Because of our ultra early arrival, the dive shop too wasn’t yet open so I couldn’t rent any snorkeling gear. While waiting, I used the time to walk around the resort and beach, checking out the ship used  tabyana beach, which was right next door. Only a handful of people were there but from the layout, I was so glad to have the extra space at Infinity Bay. 

 

 

 

While waking the beach in front of the resort, a local vendor approached for a 1hr boat snorkeling excursion offer for $20. It was only me who would be going so I was a bit apprehensive about this. I decided to give it some thought and went to check if the dive shop was open, which it was. Full gear rental at the resort was $10, great deal! Decided at that point I was going out on the boat. Luckily, as I was walking back, 3 other people were talking to him and too decided they were going. Whew, I wasn’t going alone! Turned out to be the BEST thing I did! 
 

I LOVE snorkeling and live vicariously through the amazing pictures people post here in their reviews. The guide/boat driver  brought us to an area about 10-15 minutes east of the resort.  It was absolutely AMAZING!  In my opinion, even better than the snorkeling excursion through Little French Key.  I could have stayed all day long looking at the beautiful coral and colorful fish.  
 

Snorkeling is only an option once or twice a year so I’m not the greatest with the underwater pictures as I have a very inexpensive underwater camera and this year added a “faux-pro” which I used to take video of. This proved to be not so easy to convert to pictures but I tried and am still working on figuring out.  I too don’t know the names of most of these fish, except the lion fish (my favorite as it was my first time seeing one that wasn’t in a tank), barracuda and the anemone—thanks Nemo! I was really hoping a clownfish would pop out! 🙂 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by tvlworm

[mchin]

Enjoy your review and pictures.   We are booked on Harmony in June crusing the same itinerary.  Thanks for taking the time to share.

[tvlworm]

3 hours ago, mchin said:

Enjoy your review and pictures.   We are booked on Harmony in June crusing the same itinerary.  Thanks for taking the time to share.

Thank you! Hope you have a great cruise! 

[tvlworm]

Day 5 - Roatan Continued 

Needless to say, the random vendor boat excursion was a success, I had a great time and I‘m really glad I went.  After returning to the resort, I walked down to the cliff at the end of the beach. The entire beach area was quite busy and there were the occasional vendors walking trying to sell bracelets and massages. There was also quite a bit of security and police officers walking up and down the beach as well.  
 

One vendor near the cliff area was selling fish food which was bringing in a lot of fish and the little kids nearby were loving it. 

 

The beaches were beautiful and it was a gorgeous day! 
 

Made my way back to the resort, taking a break to relax and just enjoy it all.  Decided to head again to the water to try snorkeling from shore, which wasn’t bad at all, just not as great as what I had seen earlier in the day.   Even though I was starting to look like a prune, I could have swam all day. Unfortunately for us, it was time to start getting our things together, change and head back to the ship.  Even though I didn’t use the pool, Infinity Bay was a great resort with a great west bay location and would highly recommend the day passes. I’d actually love returning to stay. Food and beverages were decent priced and service was great as well.  
 

We were back to the port around 130pm so plenty of time to look around. It was crowded and really hot, so we didn’t spend as much time as I thought we would.  The NCL ship that was in port was using a tender, so that really added to the congestion with a long line for those waiting.  Back to the ship we went. We people watched from our balcony for quite some time before getting ready to go play trivia in On-Air. It was 90s night so I was hoping to do ok, and ended up winning and the proud owner of a new keychain 😂. Not quite the same as a ship on a stick but something is better than nothing.  
 

It was chocolate night in the Windjammer which completely satisfied my sweet tooth and was fun looking at the different creations!  

Even though it wasn’t even 10pm, I was wiped out!  It would be another early but not quite as early morning arrival scheduled for Cozumel the next day that we were looking forward to. 

[CDNCRUIZR]

Great pictures and review. Hope you guys are having a great time.

[tvlworm]

1 hour ago, CDNCRUIZR said:

Great pictures and review. Hope you guys are having a great time.

Thank you, we did! 

[tvlworm]

Day 6 - Cozumel 

Cozumel is one of our favorite and most visited ports. There are so many great beach clubs and options on how to spend the day. It was going to be a BUSY day, I believe the captain shared that 8 other ships were scheduled and about 28,000 passengers would be arriving.  We arrived around 730am and started getting ready to head out for our day’s destination, our favorite of the beach clubs, Paradise Beach.  The forecast was iffy with thunderstorms forecasted, we all had our fingers crossed that the day wouldn’t be a washout.  This was our first time at the pier RCL uses and outside of different restaurants, very similar with lots of shopping available. I think Puerta Maya has a bit better layout and better area for the taxi stand.  
 

Off we went! Since it was relatively early there was hardly anyone at Paradise Beach. We opted for the all-inclusive option and added the water package which included snorkeling gear, paddleboards/kayaks and the inflatable park, all which was reserved in advance.  Our waiter for the day was Luis who was awesome and very attentive! He brought us to the beach area where w pretty much had our pick of where we wanted to be.   Paradise Beach is gorgeous—beautiful landscaping, huge pool, large beach, great food/drinks and typically lots to do in the water.  I say typically, because this time was quite different ☹️. The rough and wavy waters equalled A LOT of seaweed washed on the beach and the water was not the normal turquoise and instead was very murky with no visibility. They were working all day trying their hardest to rake, remove and clear but it didn’t seem to make any difference.  Due to the water, they were not providing snorkeling gear and it was too rough for kayak or paddleboards.  Honestly, I think they should have advised this at arrival and refunded the water package price.  Instead of enjoying the beach, most of our time was spent around the pool. The forecast so far wasn’t as predicted and was bright and sunny!  It worked out ok for us making the most out of the all-inclusive package as we had more time to eat and drink since we weren’t actively playing in the water.  
 

We got a little antsy for something fun to do and decided to go parasailing. This was a first for all of us! It was SO much fun and being away from the beach, the view of the waters was the colors we hoped to be enjoying. As we sailed above, I was a bit envious of the beach clubs further down as it didn’t look like they were experiencing the same seaweed problems.  
 

As the afternoon went on we made our way back to port earlier than what we would have, had the beach conditions cooperated. This turned out to be a great idea because not long after we returned to the ship, the clouds that rolled in opened up. Cozumel is a great place to people watch everyone returning to the ships, all were delayed in leaving due to rough waters for the excursions that went via ferry to mainland Mexico. Our ship alone had hundreds of late arrivals back. 
 

As we made our way out to sea, the captain shared it was not going to be smooth sailing. It was very windy and rocky!  Our evening was spent enjoying dinner, trivia and other indoor events around the ship.  

 

 

[Judyrem]

I am really enjoying your reviews and wonderful pics! 😁 Those snorkeling pics were great!  I am a avid snorkeler too!

[tvlworm]

2 hours ago, Judyrem said:

I am really enjoying your reviews and wonderful pics! 😁 Those snorkeling pics were great!  I am a avid snorkeler too!

Thank you! Snorkeling is the best, I wish I had the opportunity to go more often! 

[Judyrem]

12 minutes ago, tvlworm said:

Thank you! Snorkeling is the best, I wish I had the opportunity to go more often! 

Me too!

[blueridgemama]

Thanks for your review and beautiful pictures. Your posts are such a welcome diversion from all the gloom and doom posts about Covid19 and all the cancellations and concerns about refunds etc.  I certainly empathize with everyone who has been affected in the cruise community and the country as a whole.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and certainly hope that we can all get through this next few months and get back to life as we knew it.

Looking forward to the rest of your review☺

[tvlworm]

1 hour ago, blueridgemama said:

Thanks for your review and beautiful pictures. Your posts are such a welcome diversion from all the gloom and doom posts about Covid19 and all the cancellations and concerns about refunds etc.  I certainly empathize with everyone who has been affected in the cruise community and the country as a whole.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and certainly hope that we can all get through this next few months and get back to life as we knew it.

Looking forward to the rest of your review☺

Thank you! I feel horrible for the state of the travel industry and everyone impacted. It’s been a challenging week and it’s been a good distraction to write this review.  

[tvlworm]

Day 7 - Sea Day! 
The captains day 6 evening announcements about a less than smooth ride back to FL was no joke. I’m fine with a gentle rock to sleep but this was a first in waking up due to the movement! By the time we finally got up and out to get breakfast, new accessory bags were available all over the ship.  The ship changed the clocks ahead at 2am Saturday, which also really seemed to throw a lot of people off.
 

We attempted to have breakfast at the Windjammer but the lines getting in were massive—the worst I saw all week so that plan was scratched and attempted the near by Mini Bites.  Not the best plan as the wind caused the food to go cold before you could enjoy it.  Speaking of Mini Bites, was the concept changed? We never saw during the week any mini bite options, only breakfast and then burgers, hot dogs and nachos.  

With our room location, we primarily used the aft elevators. Returning down to 6 from deck 15, could see quite the lines below on 5. Apparently the internet service was down ship wide. Not the best of timing with I’m sure so many users trying to do their online check in for flights home.  Deck 6 was busy as well with really long lines for checking out pictures and placing final orders. 
 

The extreme wind and rocky seas forced the closure of deck 16 and the waterslides, eliminating poolside fun for us.  Debated about starting the never fun chore of packing but decided to postpone that plan in favor of indoor fun at trivia. After, we headed up for a late lunch at the Windjammer, it was seafood day and DS was in heaven with crawfish, shrimp, mussels and whatever else they had. We sat out facing the basketball court which worked out great to watch the basketball knockout challenge. It was all ages and the younger kids were trying so hard, it was really fun to watch, especially as one started hitting the baskets and won!  I noticed that there were still people playing mini golf and all the back of the ship options were still up and running.  It was a surprise that it was FAR less windy back here, so enjoyed a lot of the afternoon watching the flowrider surfers, sitting in the sun and finally convincing my mom to try both the Ultimate Abyss and the zipline. I really wish I could have strapped the faux-pro on to see her face down the slide 😂! Heights when suspended are not my thing...I’ve struggled big time on ropes courses before and almost backed out last second of the zipline. It’s short but still unnerving until finally pushing off. Perfect length for someone like me! 

Early evening was uneventful in finally tackling packing and getting ready for departure the next day.  Took a break for dinner and to catch the Celebration Parade, was a fun way to cap off a great vacation.  

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, tvlworm said:

Day 7 - Sea Day! 

 

Seriously, no line for Flowrider?

[tvlworm]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Seriously, no line for Flowrider?

More people were watching than waiting! I don’t think many figured out that this area of the ship was not as windy as the other outside deck area on 15. There were no lines for any activities back there. 

[tvlworm]

Day 8 - Heading home 

It’s usually bittersweet and a bit sad the morning leaving the ship. In this case, catching up on bits and pieces of the news, I was really looking forward to being back home.   We had an earlier departure from Orlando at 11am, and chose to do the self assist departure. From the balcony could see that people were leaving at least 30 minutes before the official announcement was made at 7am. We made our way off the ship, through customs and were in the pick up area within 15 minutes!  Our Cortrans shuttle was there and waiting with several people already on. We only had to wait a few more minutes for the other two to join us and we were on the road at 745am for Orlando. Traffic was a non issue and the rest of the process in getting through the airport was easier than we thought it would be considering so many people were changing plans and Orlando Airport on Sundays in my experience, being a busy place! A few hours later back to the comfort of home. 
 

Conclusion—my opinions on hits and misses. We most often sail Carnival so my list is based in comparison to those experiences. 
 

Onboarding and departure—major RCL kudos! Never, ever have had an easier experience even with FTTF. I feel now like FTTF is a waste of $ knowing much easier processes are out there especially on ships with double the capacity! Get with it Carnival 🙂 
 

Ship Amenities/Entertainment- RCL comes out on top. The entertainment is amazing and there is so much to do, almost too much. Might have felt more so due to being 1st timers on an Oasis class ship. 
 

Private Island - Coco Cay is the best private island I’ve experienced! I would hands down do an RCL cruise that has multiple stops here! 

Overall ship experience - this is closer to a tie than I thought it would be! There is absolutely nothing else like an Oasis class ship, it is mind blowing. I loved the different neighborhoods and until weather changes happened, it’s almost hard to imagine that you are on a ship. We often referred to Royal Promenade as the mall 😂.   I liked that the split pool areas spread people out but did miss having one central pool area where all the fun was.  Also missed the dive-in movies. Just wasn’t the same sitting in the not so comfortable aqua theater versus a lounge chair on the pool deck.  
 

Cabins - this one goes to CCL and only because the 4th bed pulls from the ceiling creating more usable space.  The actual room sizes are almost identical but 4 passenger rooms on Harmony all place the bed at the front of the room. That plus the loss of space with the trundle out made it feel SO much smaller! I liked the bathroom on Harmony better, especially the shower door versus curtain.  I too liked that Harmony had several places for charging devices. So maybe it’s more of a tie after all. Most likely I think 2 rooms will be a much better option for us going forward. 
 

Food - CCL.  The food on RCL was fine, and overall have no complaints. Only things that I think are better on CCL is Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina and the deli. We enjoyed Park Cafe but the hours were limited compared to deli on Carnival.  

In all, I am so grateful and thankful that we had this opportunity. So much in the world has changed in the last 11 days and had we been scheduled the week after it wouldn’t have most likely happened.  Testing the RCL waters was great and so was our experience! They will now always be a contender for our future annual cruise options.  

 

Safe and happy sailings to you all! 🛳 🚢 
 

 

[Jimbo]

Nice review!

[tvlworm]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Nice review!

Thank you! 

[rs45thompson]

I really enjoyed your review.  Thank you for spending the time to do it.