micmse2003

Hi everyone! Myself and my husband will be on the Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean sailing from Dec. 17th to the 24th. I thought I'd attempt to do a live review since it'll be our first time on a Royal ship.

 

A little background:

 

We have booked an D6 Superior Oceanview Balcony room on Deck 11. Both myself and my husband are 30 years old and have no kids. We live in the Washington DC area. My husband likes to relax and enjoy our balcony on cruises whereas I like having activities to do. This will be our third cruise. Our first cruise was on the Celebrity Reflection (Eastern Carribean sailing) in 2014 and we loved the food but I felt there weren't as many activities as I would have liked. In 2015, we decided to go on the Norwegian Getaway (Western Carribean sailing). We thought there were a lot of activities but the food wasn't great for us. We hope HOTS will be the balance we're looking for!

 

Dining:

We have three specialty restaurants booked: Chops, Wonderland and Jamie's. Other nights, we have MTD booked in the Main Dining room for 6:30pm.

 

Ports:

As for ports, we currently do not have any excursions booked for Labadee. We're not sure yet if we want to do anything there so we'll just play it by ear. We may go jet skiing or parasailing if those excursions are not full by the time we book it. In Conzumel, since we've already been there we thought we'd just do something small and we'll be doing the Reef Explorer Semi-Sub excursion booked through RCCL. For Jamaica, no excursions. We plan on staying on the ship.

 

Packages:

We did purchase the VOOM Surf + Stream package. We also did purchase the non-alcoholic drink (Replenish) package before it was changed to the Refreshment package and went up in price! The husband doesn't drink alcohol but I do once in a blue moon. I don't plan on drinking alcohol on the cruise though.

 

 

We fly to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday via JetBlue and will be staying at the Hilton that is close to the cruise terminal. I will try to give a day by day review and answer as many questions as I can.

 

If you're on the sailing with us, come say hi! We love meeting new people on our cruises. :)

Hope you signed up for meet and mingle. Third Royal...loved Allure but hated Freedom. Also cruised Disney 3 times and Oceania. ...which was the best ever to Australia.

We have a boardwalk balcony on 11. Had a central park balcony on Allure.

We will have to meet up sometime.

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Tried calling O but because we went thru TA they can't give that info. Need to wait till the morning

I was told there eas a concierge lounge at the port. We will be arriving at 6 am...after over 14 hours just on a plane. It would be great to know We could rest before boarding at noon. Thanks for any help.

Cheryl

I was told there is acruise loung for concierge level at the port.??? We will be arriving at 6 am after being on a plane for over 14 hours. I would like to rest abit befor boarding at 12 noon. Csn anyone anyone answer this??? Thanks for any remarks.

Chrryl

Is there a way to get cash once you are in the ship. If we plan on doing excursions on our own we might need cash. To buy souvenirs ..we need cash. Hate to charge and pay the credit card company AN EXTRA FEE. Hate to travel with lots of cash. Does anyone know how this works??? Called Oceania and got lots of different answers.:confused::confused::confused:

So happy to here the goodnews.

I was told by Oceania if I did not use the shipboard credit from Oceania or my travel agent...I would lose it. I can understand losing the Oceania credit but not my travel agent. Did someone recently experience this???

Thank you...we will keep our fingers crossed to book on board. We are on concierge so might let them book for us.

Anyone else used concierge for booking excursions?

We have lots of shipboard credit and want to book 8 excurions for my husban and my self. We just want nice quieter excursions but would loke to make sure we use our shipboard credit from Oceania and trvel agent.

Glad I started this thread....you gave such wonderful answers and I guess I was not totally alone what causal country club truly meant. Thanks for all the answers...they were all great.

My husband will be the one not wearing a jacket. More room for more clothes.

Thanks for all the info....we need caffeine free diet so we will request from O...thanks for all your hrlp..

This site is awesome.

Does anyone know if it is caffeine free Coke Zero???

I am sure some you know what kind of sodas are available on the Marina...Coke or Pesi...diet...caffeine free????

I have been looking for an hour and Google does not have the answer!!!! Due to restrictions on sugar and caffeine I would love to know my choices

That is a great idea..do you put it in checked luggage

I want to thank everyone for the wealth of information given. It was most helpful. My husband has chosen no suits or jackets or formal wear. He is quite ecstatic about just being casual. For the last cruises I had him wearing tuxedos and formals. Now I can pack more clothes so will not be washing.

Also thanks on information about speciality menus. I will make sure when we board that we talk to someone about his dietary needs. NO FAT. You are all so helpful and friendly. I really appreciate all your past expierences. We will be on the South Pacific Marina on February 4th. Not to early to start planning. Thanks again.

I was told to dress country club casual. I have usually been on formal nights with long gowns and tuxedo for hubby. Is it acceptable not to bring a sports coat for dinner??? We will be in the South Pacific on the Marina in February 2016. I was hoping just shirts with collars and Capri pants with nice tops for ladies. Due to lugguage...I hate to bring a sports jacket if not needed. I hate wearing dresses and prefer Capri pants. Please advise us. We have only cruised Disney and Royal before. Cheryl

Wally we are booked on February 4...is that the same date??? Whoops on the Marina. ...Cheryl

Booked it for Feb. know it will be hot and humid, but being from Florida we are used to it. We'll just pack our Mickey ponchos and go with it.:):D

Thanks again....getting excited for February to come

Meant February not November

Thanks for all your input on the night life. We booked the 18 night from Tahiti to Sydney for November. I am sure we will have a have a great night no matter what. I guess it is what you make it.:D

That is great...just have to pack it good because of airline rules about liquids on carryon....Disney no problem ...RRCL. .

.our water went into luggage jail on deck one. They did let us keep the water. Lol...they thought it was liquor. ..

No problem getting it through check in?

Has anyone brought bottles of liquor on the ship. Love the flavored rums