Mason9

On 9/21/2019 at 8:36 PM, letscutitout said:

Suggestions for eating healthy on Harmony???? (Besides using common sense)

I do want to enjoy myself but

my diet has gone so well the past 4 months. Woo Hoo!

I'm nervous. Suggestions?

My son said " just don't eat!"

Although there is plenty of temptations on the ship, there are many healthy options Portion control is the key. That and common sense.

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Me too.  We're on your cruise.  My wife still likes to dress up, so I'm taking a sport coat and tie.  I've finally cut out the Tux.  But I'd be more than happy to cut the sport coat and tie.  It's hot and it's the Caribbean.  Oh well.. see y'all on board!  😎

I quit packing a tie years ago. Still take a sport coat and a button down shirt.

5 hours ago, ariesknowbest said:

Hello All:

 

Traveling with my nephew who is 15.  Will he be allowed in the Diamond Club with my hubby and I?

Thanks. 

If he is staying in the same cabin with you is should not be a problem.

On 7/23/2019 at 6:44 PM, johnjen said:

A drink package on our recent 12 day med racked up to $786.

I don't drink that much in a year.

8 minutes ago, flamingos said:

Following - we sail October 6.

I'll be getting off on Oct 6. I'll leave the lights on for you.

3 hours ago, red-dragon said:

Hello fellow cruisers!
 

 

1. Is the chocolate breakfast still offered?
2. Do they still have Austrian Strietzel bread (like challah bread with dried cranberries and golden raisins) – see picture below
3. Do they still have Honey Stung Chicken in the Windjammer?
4. What type of coffee is served (on Oasis, it was Seattle's Best)
5. What type of tea is offered (on Oasis, it was Lipton)
6. Is club soda (soda water) available anywhere, or is this considered pop/soft drink?

7. I plan to buy some snacks pre-cruise (gluten free granola bars, etc). Do they allow food to be brought off the ship for excursions?

 

Many thanks!

Packaged snacks are ok. But fruit is not usualy allowed.

3 hours ago, red-dragon said:

Thank you, good to know!!  Is this due to traffic or busy on-boarding?

Both.

16 hours ago, red-dragon said:

Hello everyone,
 

We haven't been on vacation since our first cruise in 2011 - Oasis of the Seas.

This will be a big one for us - 25th anniversary!
 

1.  Symphony being new, is very pricey, are their huge differences between her and Harmony?

2.  We prefer the cooler months.  Our last (which was also our first) was in the month of February and I found it quite warm (Eastern), so wondering if October, November or December 2020 would be slightly cooler (Eastern or Western), but then it's hurricane season?

3.  Is sailing out of Port Canaveral better than Miami?  We will fly in 2 days prior

 

Thanks for your help!

Port Canaveral is so much better than Miami.

9 minutes ago, sydney dog said:

does anyone know if the residence inn offers transportation to the port

Yes.

3 hours ago, george35 said:

I know our door keys will be in our cabin when we arrive but my question is do you need your room key to light the cabin?? What I mean is do you need it in the slot to turn the lights on?? I remember (forget what ship ) that we had to do that & I used my credit card to turn off & turn on the lights, can I do that on the Harmony??

 

george35

 

george35

I usualy cut a couple of peaces of stiff cardboard about the size of a credit card. Last time I used cardboard that was inside a shirt. It will work fine and if you forget it in the slot and the room attendant throws it away (they are supposed to) it does not matter.

1 hour ago, Bem15963 said:

We went down 95 all the way and to be honest had very little traffic except around Fredericksburg VA where it always seems to back up.   I was pleasantly surprised as we have had horrific drives down to Florida and this one was very uneventful.

1 hour ago, Snit13 said:

From Western PA we would take 79 to 19 to 77.

1 hour ago, Snit13 said:

From Western PA we would take 79 to 19 to 77.

From where I am in Ohio I will probibly take 77 most of the way. Anybody driven that  lately?

22 hours ago, Bem15963 said:

First off a little bit of background of who we are:   I am recently widowed 55 year old school teacher who took with her a 20 year old introvert son,  and extremely extroverted 18 year  old daughter, and a quiet but willing to try anything 12 year old grandson.    We planned this trip as a way to try to start a new chapter in our lives.  Our last cruise was canceled (thankfully we had trip insurance) due to health diagnosis for husband last summer.

 

We live in Pennsylvania and decided to drive rather than fly four of us down to cut expenses.  Luckily I was able to reserve Courtyard Marriots (to earn points) using cerfificates and a corporate code for our travel day and for our stop at Cocoa Beach the night before.  I highly recommend the Courtyard at Cocoa Beach.  We were early and got to see one of the DISNEY cruises sailing away.  Close to the beach for you to walk to and lots of amenities.    We did some shopping at the Walmart which was a ten minute drive and then settled in for the night.  Kids ordered Dominoes to have delivered while I enjoyed happy hour specials.

 

Next morning we packed up and took the short drive to the port - our check in time said 12:30 but I never follow that.  We arrived at 9:35 and Harmony was waiting there -  My husband would have looked at her and said " we're going on that?"   so my kids did it this time instead.  We drove in the parking garage and found a spot on the first floor.  We watched people coming out with their luggage looking sad and tired as they packed up their cars.  We waited until 9:50 and unloaded and walked out luggage to the elevator.  We were met by an attendant who took our luggage -  always the scary part wondering if you will ever see it again.

 

We walked across to the terminal and they were already letting people in.  We walked in and went through security which took a mere two minutes and headed up the escalator.  Since we had purchased the KEY program we were met by a man who had an IPAD.  He looked at our sea passes and took out pictures one by one and then directed us to the roped off section for KEY people to wait.  We were sitting and waiting at 10:12 am.    The area were were in was small but by 10:30 all the chairs were full.  The rest of the terminal was pretty empty.  At 10:30 they announced they were ready to board.   We were one of the first 50 people on board after the Diamond and Pinnacle guests.   Over all this part of the trip was super easy -  not sure if not having the KEY would have been as easy but it was nice to feel a little special and board before others.

 

As this was my grandson's first cruise I was excited to see his reaction and it did not disappoint.  We entered on Deck 5 the Promenade.  I went immediately to Boleros to see about WOW bands but no one knew anything about them.  So we decided to venture up to the pool deck.  Again there was no one on the boat so we pretty much had it to ourselves.  After a few minutes the daughter and I took out bags we walked on with and went down to the GRANDE dining room.  Here the KEY program allowed us to drop off our walk on bags and they would be delivered to our rooms.  We were also given our internet codes and information for special times for the various activities.  Lunch for us was from Chops Grill and it would be served in the GRANDE dinning room.   after we all got back together we went in.  Kids all had hamburgers and fries which they all ate and said were very good.  I had the Shrimp Cocktail which were huge and the filet mignon.  It was delicious - tender and full of flavor.  While we were eating it was announced that rooms were ready.  We ventured up to find ours on deck 14.  

More on the room and the luggage later......

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I live in Eastern Ohio and am planing to drive to Port Canaveral for the Sept. 29 sailing. How was the drive going down there?  Was there much construction along the way?

4 hours ago, fwman said:

What is the drawback of the Miami terminal other than the super bowl on 2/2? I’ve only cruised out of Ft Lauderdale.

 

Thanks

The biggest drawback is the traffic. If you are driving it is terrible. If you are flying in and using transfers  just be patent and let someone else deal with the traffic. Once at the terminal the process is not that bad.

5 minutes ago, letscutitout said:

Does RC still allow you to bring water bottles aboard?

Thank you.

This is from their website. Non-alcoholic beverages brought onboard may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom. Hope this helps.

8 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Was that the exped.. or hotel... or book... or group..?  (since they are technically on-line TAs, I didn't want to spell out)  We've been having troubles with exp and group all summer.  Reservations not coming through to the hotel.  Fortunately, I now have access to the vendor sites and can look up a reservation and see what happened.  If I can find it, it takes me a couple of minutes to create the reservation.  If someone doesn't have access to the vendor site, then, yes it will take a lot of time between the guest, the 3rd party site and the hotel.  

AARP uses Expedia never had a problem with them. The recent experience was with book. 

56 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

the AAA and AARP rates are usually both 10% off BAR rate.  (just so you know).  Some places offer one or the other, so you're not missing out. 

Since I am an AARP member that is usualy where I check first. I do check other sites and have used them on occasion if their rate is better. I have never had a problem with an AARP booking. I have had problems with some of the other sites. I just had problems last month in Niagara Falls. The hotel could not find my reservations. It took about an hour and several phone calls to get it straightened out.

35 minutes ago, BamaLady#13 said:

Thanks for the tip.  It’s sure worth a few dollars to stay cool.

2 hours ago, BamaLady#13 said:

I booked a guaranteed ocean view balcony, 8D, on decks 6,7,8 or 9 on Harmony for next February.    Is there a chance this will be an obstructed view?   My last cruise with RC was on the Oasis over 10 years ago and I said never again because our cabin was unbearably hot even though it was during the winter.  How is the air conditioning on the Harmony?  Our cruise will be during Valentine week, so I’d like to decorate our door.  Is that allowed?  Are the doors magnetic?  I know, that’s lots of questions, but after several cruises on Carnival and Norwegian, I’ve decided to give Royal another chance.

The last time I was on the Harmony the air worked very good.If you leave the balcony door open the air in your room will shut off.

17 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

the popular 4 nearest the port

 

Country Inn and Suites: significantly upgraded after storm damage after last storm, offers parking package

 

Residence Inn by Marriott

 

Radisson Resort at the port: very popular pool area but some find the rooms a bit dated, parking package

 

Homewood Suites by Hilton: only a year or two old

 

these are all just outside the port but ANY hotel in Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach is only a few minutes away.

Thanks after checking reviews we just booked  the Country Inn and Suites: Got a good rate $124 a night with AARP.

We are going on the Harmony out of Port  Canaveral Sept 29 this year. We are looking for a good hotel to stay the night before the cruise. Any recommendations would be appreciated. 

16 hours ago, jillpra said:

We are driving down! Already have hotel at Port Canaveral reserved in case it works out! 

My wife and I are going on the Harmony Sept 29. Just started looking for a hotel for the night before the cruise. What hotel did you book? Have you used it before? Any hotel suggestions would be appreciated. 

1 hour ago, Flow Bro Ty said:

I Would Pick Chops 

I agree Chops was my favorite.

2 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

Just a tip if you have YTD (Anytime Dining on Royal) the lines for dinner around 6:00-7:30 are incredibly long, so I recommend you dine around those times if possible! If you have traditional dining times, then disregard. 

The last time we were on the Harmony ( Nov 12 — Nov 19, 2016) . The wife and I called YTD, NTD (no time dinning). The lines were so bad we ate in the Windjammer each night. Not that that was bad thing the food was good.

18 minutes ago, poohnpals said:

We will be sailing with you on 9/15 Harmony.  We are very excited as this is our first Harmony sailing.  We have done Oasis twice and loved it.  We are also doing Symphony in November but I hate that drive to Miami!

 

The drive to Miami is the worst. Did that one time. It would take a realy good deal on a cruise to get me to do that again.

I have cruised the Harmony before. Had show reservations but a couple of the shows we wanted to see again. We went to the theater and we got in both times.

53 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

On Harmony November 17.  PLEASE post when show reservations open for your cruise.  You too John.  I have already paid for 2 of our cabins and will be paying for a third this week.  The final two will be paid before August 19.  Waiting impatiently to book shows.

 

Thanks, 

Grace

Grace Reserved my shows three days ago. 6/19