Harmony of the Seas

[Skimble1973]

On 8/19/2021 at 5:23 PM, Preziosa said:

. No musical and No acrobatic shows. 

 

No Musicals??😔

Any clue when they plan to relaunch them?

[dh1968]

Is there a way to see what tours are offered for this cruise in the different port of calls, without having booked the cruise yet?

[dh1968]

6 minutes ago, dh1968 said:

Is there a way to see what tours are offered for this cruise in the different port of calls, without having booked the cruise yet?

I did see the specific tour brochure for this cruise online , but am wondering if all tours are still available to select, under this new "mandatory tour" rule.

If so, it may not be too bad. If the offer of tours is heavily restricted, it may be a show stopper for us.

[steamboats]

On 8/19/2021 at 6:18 PM, Tadek12 said:

I just don't get it. When booking this cruise I didn't see any informations on mandatory excursions in Italy. It simply doesn't make sense. You're able to exit Palma on your own, you are able to have free time in Italy during your mandatory excursions but you're unable to go out on your own without leaving your cc details. Also there are far more COVID cases in Spain than in Italy. Seems to me like a way to make additional money. I know we are in weird and tough times but I think RCI should be much clearer and more transparent on their terms. I will wait for their September guidelines but if the current policy still exists I will move this cruise to later date.

 

All passengers received an email app. 10 days prior to the first departure of the Harmony of the Seas on Aug 15th. This stated that unfortunately they have to skip Marseilles and replace it with a sea day and that you need ship tours in Italy. Actually it is an requirement by the country. So Spain allows independent tours for vaccinated guests, Italy doesn´t (and never has since cruising restarted there last year). It´s nothing RCI can do about it. It´s a requirement by the Italian authorities.

 

BTW this email was sent out to all guests for all Med cruises of the Harmony of the Seas til the end of October. So unless Italy will change anything regarding their rules (which I doubt they will due to the rising numbers all over Europe and the US) RCI can not change the policies for your September cruise.

 

Good to see Michele is back as cruise director! We first met him on the Oasis TA 2014 when he still was assisstant cruise director. Later he was cruise director on all Oasis class ships in the Med giving him the opportunity to visit his family in Napoli.

 

steamboats

[FionaMG]

49 minutes ago, dh1968 said:

Is there a way to see what tours are offered for this cruise in the different port of calls, without having booked the cruise yet?

You can look them up in the app, although there's never any guarantee that it's 100% correct and it doesn't show you the prices unless you actually go through the booking process. 

There is a much smaller selection than was previously on the cruise planner so the brochure will very possibly not be accurate. A few new "city sights" tours have been added that can be booked individually or as a package. And full day tours which previously were sold without a meal now have an included lunch presumably meaning you're chaperoned. 

The prices in the cruise planner have shot up since this restriction was announced and in some cases have more than doubled. In my opinion this is to allow Royal to "generously" offer the 50% discount mentioned by the OP. 

[danilija]

What kind of prices are we talking about? There is 3 ports in Italy so wonder how

much it will take if you want to do something in every port..

[Surfguyxxx]

I sail in October on the TA and following along with you to get a great perspective.  Thanks for posting.

[dorts]

Supposed to go 5/9 and pre-booked two excursions in Italy with RCCL before any official announcements as we expected prices increases. We were shocked to see the tour we booked two months ago in La Spezia went from £79 to over £150 per adult!!! It is now £125 in their sale. The other tour didn't increase too much but think this increase is crazy...just hope we don't get cancelled but just two weeks to go....or not 

[FionaMG]

3 hours ago, danilija said:

What kind of prices are we talking about? There is 3 ports in Italy so wonder how

much it will take if you want to do something in every port..

The price increases I've seen for my sailing on 26 September are similar to the ones @dorts mentioned. I think it's a pretty poor show of Royal to do this and quite disrespectful of the passengers who've supported them by keeping their bookings rather than cancelling. I'm  sure they really can't expect anyone to book at these prices; it's just a ploy so they can offer  50% discount on board. 

 

One new option that has been added is a 3-excursion package for the Italian ports at $199 and including a bit of sightseeing, walking, shopping and a snack in each.

Edited August 21, 2021 by FionaMG

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, danilija said:

What kind of prices are we talking about? There is 3 ports in Italy so wonder how

much it will take if you want to do something in every port..

The price increases I've seen for my sailing on 26 September are similar to the ones @dorts mentioned. I think it's a pretty poor show of Royal to do this and quite disrespectful of the passengers who've supported them by keeping their bookings rather than cancelling. I'm  sure they really can't really  expect anyone to book at these prices; it's just a ploy so they can offer  50% discount on board. 

 

One new option that has been added is a 3-excursion package for the Italian ports at $199 and including a bit of sightseeing, walking, shopping and a snack in each.

[xmas64]

On 19/8/2021 at 18:18, Tadek12 said:

Semplicemente non lo capisco. Al momento della prenotazione di questa crociera non ho visto alcuna informazione sulle escursioni obbligatorie in Italia. Semplicemente non ha senso. Puoi uscire da Palma da solo, puoi avere tempo libero in Italia durante le tue escursioni obbligatorie ma non puoi uscire da solo senza lasciare i tuoi dati cc. Inoltre ci sono molti più casi di COVID in Spagna che in Italia. Mi sembra un modo per fare soldi extra. So che siamo in tempi strani e difficili, ma penso che RCI dovrebbe essere molto più chiara e trasparente nei loro termini. Aspetterò le linee guida di settembre, ma se l'attuale politica esiste ancora, sposterò questa crociera a una data successiva.

These are the provisions given by the Italian authorities, it does not depend on Royal. the Spanish authorize the disembarkation independently, since last week Croatia and Greece have authorized the disembarkation autonomously for those with the Green Pass (vaccination cycle completed by at least 14 days or cured of covid in the last 6 months). .

[geishagirl2]

Is the ship’s gift shop selling Med cruise t-shirts/merchandise?  We have previously sailed when the items didn’t match the sailing.  For example, Baltic items on a Med cruise.  Never understood why.  

[MortenAnd82]

Thank so much for the updates. We are a bit surprised that masks are not required outside. The policy on their official covid page clearly states its required.

 

How about inside? Can you remove it while watching shows? Or when playing in the casino?

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, MortenAnd82 said:

We are a bit surprised that masks are not required outside.

Welcome to CC.

[Mbc023]

On 8/19/2021 at 10:48 AM, dh1968 said:

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us ! Me and my wife are still considering to take this cruise mid September, but the situation around the mandatory RCL tours for the 3 stops in Italy is holding us back now. I would be really interested if these tours are indeed mandatory and if you are restricted to stay with the group or not. In other words, if we book the tour package, can we go ashore and go our own way instead of actually taking the tour?

My cruise is (or I should say was) planned for September 5th on Harmony and I’ve decided to cancel it.  A friend at RCCL corporate even recommended canceling because of the excursion policy and to replan for next year. The things I’d like to do in the Italian ports are pretty much not an option, so why waste the money? BF and I are flying to Barcelona for a few days, and Mallorca for a few days instead. Guess him and I will be waving “goodbye” to the ship as it sails off from Barcelona without us. 😄

[FionaMG]

@Preziosa, I hope you had a safe and pleasant journey home.  

 

Can I ask you one last question (which will require a very subjective answer!)? How was the food on board? 

 

Thanks again for the information you've provided on this thread as it's very helpful for those of us who will be sailing in the forthcoming weeks. 

 

[aidanlana]

11 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

@Preziosa, I hope you had a safe and pleasant journey home.  

 

Can I ask you one last question (which will require a very subjective answer!)? How was the food on board? 

 

Thanks again for the information you've provided on this thread as it's very helpful for those of us who will be sailing in the forthcoming weeks. 

 

And on foot of this, what sort of onboard offers for specialty dining?

[dh1968]

2 hours ago, Mbc023 said:

My cruise is (or I should say was) planned for September 5th on Harmony and I’ve decided to cancel it.  A friend at RCCL corporate even recommended canceling because of the excursion policy and to replan for next year. The things I’d like to do in the Italian ports are pretty much not an option, so why waste the money? BF and I are flying to Barcelona for a few days, and Mallorca for a few days instead. Guess him and I will be waving “goodbye” to the ship as it sails off from Barcelona without us. 😄

Based on the information in this topic, we decided not to book the cruise and just go for a roadtrip in Italy ourselves. We'll also make stops in La Spezia and Napels ourselves and skip Rome as we have been there before.

Cruising for us will be moved to 2022 or later again. 😉

[mrpie90]

Hi.

Any updated info as to whether people from the U.K 

Will be allowed to sail in September?

[Preziosa]

So I am back home in Denmark after a wonderful cruise. The crew were outstanding. 

The food onboard Harmony was fantastic. The Best ever on our many cruises.

They were offered 50 % discount on the special restsurants. Our waiter told us that one evening in the restaurant. 

When the shows and Musical in the teather Will be back noone know. 

I did not hear anything about late departure.

In the cruise Compas was written No mask outsider on the ship. 

We should wear mask the hole time in the theater but as I remember not When you were plaing in the Casino because many buy drinks and then you Don t need mask when you sit down having a drink. 

On tours we were walking as a group and you Can t lave the group. We were in cafes Who had an appointmen with the touroperater and we also were in shops with an appointment. Better than nothing. In Italy we did not wear mask outside.

[Travelbugs2.2]

9 minutes ago, Preziosa said:

So I am back home in Denmark after a wonderful cruise. The crew were outstanding. 

The food onboard Harmony was fantastic. The Best ever on our many cruises.

They were offered 50 % discount on the special restsurants. Our waiter told us that one evening in the restaurant. 

When the shows and Musical in the teather Will be back noone know. 

I did not hear anything about late departure.

In the cruise Compas was written No mask outsider on the ship. 

We should wear mask the hole time in the theater but as I remember not When you were plaing in the Casino because many buy drinks and then you Don t need mask when you sit down having a drink. 

On tours we were walking as a group and you Can t lave the group. We were in cafes Who had an appointmen with the touroperater and we also were in shops with an appointment. Better than nothing. In Italy we did not wear mask outside.

Welcome back Prezios & glad you hear you had a great time!

Where were masks mandatory on the ship.   Was it just on the promenade & cabin corridors?   We’re there bars that were mask free for vaccinated guests?

[Preziosa]

Mask All over indoor but not when you were sitting in restaurants and bars. We were so few People so when we were alone in elevators and corridors we took of the mask. There were No zones for vaccinated. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

20 minutes ago, Preziosa said:

So I am back home in Denmark after a wonderful cruise.

I am so happy you have enjoyed your cruise, and thank you for answering our questions and telling us about it!

[Travelbugs2.2]

1 hour ago, Preziosa said:

Mask All over indoor but not when you were sitting in restaurants and bars. We were so few People so when we were alone in elevators and corridors we took of the mask. There were No zones for vaccinated. 

Thank you Preziosa!

sounds like you had a fab time.   Looking forward to it , as we will be on this cruise in Oct so hopefully things will be as good

[Travelbugs2.2]

Just one other question …. Did you get tested at any point during the cruise?   My understanding is, we will only be checked pre boarding, but not during the cruise at any point (for EU vaccinated passengers anyway).   Just wondering if that matched your experience?