NaplesGoBlue

Day 2:

Day number 2 began with the Harmony chugging along on a direct course for the beaches of Haiti. We intended to go the the MDR for breakfast, as visions of two-inch high french toast (*available only off the menu*) had been dancing in my head since our last year's cruise. Our boys in the adjoining room, however, had other ideas. Trying to persuade two college kids to get up, get showered, and get dressed for an 8:30 breakfast is the biblical equivalent of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Vegas bookmakers actually have the odds of pulling this feat off set at 750:1. For comparison, it's only a 600:1 bet that a Pinnacle member -- wearing a suit constructed entirely of U.S. $50.00 bills -- could go completely unnoticed while strolling through the Nassau, Bahamas straw market.

So, I missed my first opportunity at the two-inch high french toast, and we headed to the Park Cafe for breakfast sandwiches. These are basically Egg McMuffin clones with regular bacon substituted for Canadian bacon. They're pretty decent, and you're in and out of there in a hurry. Speed was important today, because we had signed up for the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle at Dazzles which was scheduled to begin at 9:30 am. We had never attended one of these things, but I read about them and it seemed like it might be a chance to meet other friendly cruisers, share stories, make frien-----Okay, okay. Forget all that. I'll come clean -- I was there for the prizes. I've read all kinds of reviews where people won fabulous prizes, and I wanted in on that action. So we headed up to Dazzles with our positive attitudes -- four leaf clovers & rabbits feet in hand.

Activities Director Jerry did a great job hosting the event, and was later joined by multiple officers of the ship, including the Captain. All that was great and everything, but let's skip the appetizers, and dive right into the entree -- prizes. Jerry commented that 40+ people had registered for the Meet & Mingle, but my rapid scan of the room quickly revealed that only 20 or so showed up. An enticingly large pile of shiny, sparkling gifts lay on a table at the head of the room. With lightning speed my mind quickly began running the numbers: 40PeopleAboutADozenPrizesFourMembersInMyFamilyWithOneTicket

EachMultiplyByXCarryTheOneApplyThePythagoreanTheoremAndFinallyRoundToTheNearestInteger. Okay.....Okay. I think I had it figured out. Our odds were basically the same as every other person in the room. The first few prizes were bottles of wine, champagne and a complimentary in-room movie. We didn't want any of these, because we don't drink wine or champagne, and the idea of watching a movie in our sarcophagus wasn't high on my list of "must-do's". Other prizes continued to be called off, and one group was absolutely destroying it. I think everyone in their family won something. The gleaming cache of prizes began to dwindle....right along with my once high hopes of snagging some high-seas treasure. Then it happened. Jerry called an 8. I had an 8. Next he announced a "1".....I had that too. This pattern continued for 4 more digits, as we finally reached that most important and final number. Time froze for just a moment. Jerry's head was fixed and motionless -- his eyes surveying the room, moving slowly, deliberately from left to right. Tiny beads of perspiration glistened on his upper lip. The room fell silent. "7". I looked down at my trembling hand, trying my best to focus on the red paper ticket clenched between my index finger and the vice-like pinch of my thumb. "7"???. My final number was......7. It was now assured -- No matter what happened on this cruise for the remainder of this week, this one thing was certain, and could never be changed. That glorious number "7". I rose up and claimed my prize. A cellophane gift bag containing a backpack full of RCCL stuff -- most of which I will never need or use. But on this one triumphant day -- as the majestic Harmony of the Seas danced across the sparkling blue waters of the Atlantic -- that cellophane bag of RCCL stuff I may never use was mine. As I sit here at my computer writing this, I take a moment to proudly hoist my factory-new aluminum RCCL water bottle in the air for all to see.

I wanted to take a moment here to thank the Cruise Critic member that organized the Meet & Mingle. I'm sorry -- I don't recall her name, but she did an excellent job putting it all together. Also, sincere thanks to Jerry, and the entire group of officers that took time out of their very busy day to meet with us. It was my first M&M, but I will make it a point to attend on all my future cruises. RCCL's commitment to client service and individual attention really shines at this event, and I encourage anyone who has not gone to a M&M to give one a try.

The next item on our morning agenda was the Crown & Anchor event at the Aqua Theater. Another thing I would recommend attending. They offer complimentary drinks -- punch and Mimosas (I think) -- both with and without alcohol. The event features a short diving show as well, along with an introduction of the ship's officers.

We cut out of the C&A event early, as what would be the first of three table tennis tournaments for the week was starting on the sports deck. My younger son ended up winning the thing, but the most memorable part was actually the antics of this one particular guy. I'll refer to him going forward as "guy in the white shirt". This 60 year old or so gentleman was in the enclosed table tennis area wielding his own fancy personal racquet while playing a pick-up game. The tournament organizer (a very cool guy from England) arrived just before the 11:00 scheduled start time, and made the announcement for player sign-ups. The guy in the white shirt was engrossed in a back and forth match-up with some other dude. More microphone-aided announcements followed, as players trickled in to register. The guy in the white shirt and his opponent played on. The "last call for sign ups" declaration bellowed over the PA system, as white shirt guy continued his heated contest. Finally, the the rosters were full, registrations officially closed, and the first round match-ups were announced. Players now paired off and began play.

Right about this time, white shirt guy saunters up to see which competing participant has the fortuitous privilege of playing his majesty. This is also apparently the moment when he discovers that to play in the tournament, one actually has to register for said tournament. He proceeds to express his obvious displeasure regarding this seemingly sudden turn of events. The unfortunate sports staff member takes the full brunt of all of this, while white shirt guy cursed all things remotely related to rules, organization, and just plain common sense. He eventually tires, and leaves the area. The tournament somehow manages to continue without him -- (though he would return for tournament number 2 later in the week -- more to come on that).

All of the ping-pong related drama made us hungry, so we headed down to lunch in the MDR. Lunch was great -- mainly because of the giant cake station. Tables are set up directly between the buffet area and the entrance to the MDR. On these tables are four giant cakes, each approximately 30 inches wide and 10 inches high. Double Chocolate (take this one), Blueberry, a Strawberry Shortcake style thing (take this one too), and Black Forest. You can order from the menu, and/or opt to go straight to the buffet, which also features the Tutti Salad bar. Or simply skip all of that trivial nonsense and proceed directly to the cake.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring more of the ship and attempting to reduce the overall weight of the vessel by strategically eliminating cargo in the form of cookies and banana bread. This activity was sandwiched between losing a few bucks at the casino, and also losing our 748th consecutive RCCL Regalia jewelry raffle.

We made our way back to our cabins, as the first formal night was upon us......

Thank you for your review!! will be on HOTS in 29 days for a B2B and will accept any info possible about the ship.

LoyalToRoyalCCL : If there's anything specific you would like to ask, please let me know. I'll be glad to help any way I can.... Have a great cruise.

I just sailed on Harmony a couple of weeks ago.....Grease is fantastic, and is a definite "must-see". As others have said, there are some adult themes and a few cuss words used, (none of which begin with the letter "F"). Probably the worst language is integrated into the song "Greased Lightning". (Do a Google search on those lyrics for the Grease Broadway show, and you'll see.....) When the words are being sung though, it's a little harder to pick them out. If you really want to confuse your kids -- and yourself -- make sure you attend "Columbus The Musical" -- the middle of that thing will literally have you scratching your head. Have a great cruise!

Oasis is a spectacular ship.....You are going to have a fantastic time. Like other have said, watch the website, and book your shows early. Also, it's a good idea to book the aqua/diving show on one of the first nights it is available -- if it gets cancelled due to weather (which happens), you'll still be able to catch it on a later date. And hang in there -- the time before your trip will go faster than you think. Have fun -- every single day on Oasis is a blast.

Day 1 Continued.....

We finished lunch at the Windjammer just in time, as the masses began descending on the defenseless food stations like a proverbial swarm of locusts. Alas, the Windjammer once again officially looked like the Windjammer. I debated getting one more "Chocolate Bar" dessert, but we wanted to get back down to the first day action on the Promenade, and check out the rest of the ship. We took the elevator down to deck 3 to verify our table arrangement. Everything was perfect -- table for four as we requested through our travel agent, and a bonus -- right next to a window. Score. We walked around the sports deck, played some table tennis, and then checked out the Boardwalk.

Our rooms were ready at 1:00 pm as promised, and our luggage was already waiting there. Score, again. We had two connecting inside cabins on deck 10. Our entire family loves inside cabins because it's so easy to sleep in that tiny, windowless sarcophagus. (Insides are basically akin to those extended "hibernation chambers" you see in outer space sci-fi films, like the recent movie "Passengers". But. instead of waking up 90 years early and seeing Jennifer Lawrence in the control room, you wake up 90 minutes late for morning trivia and see a 74 year old senior citizen sporting his metallic gold Speedo in the hallway).

After unpacking, we went back down to the promenade and I picked up the first of what would be many Coconut Ranger cookies I would dispatch over the next 7 days. I have an absolute addiction to all of (*the NON-sugar-free*) cookies on these ships, and I almost never pass a place that has them without stopping. The Cafe Promenade is unfortunately located directly in the middle of the -- you guessed it -- Promenade, so we pass it a lot. And they always have cookies.

There was one thing that was a minor disappointment on this ship -- the Cafe Promenade offered the exact same desserts every day throughout the entire week (though the cookie flavors did change regularly). The only other ship we ever saw this on was Independence. Other ships have always introduced new or different desserts in the Cafe Promenade at least every other day or so. The silver lining to this was that the banana bread was available every day, and it was outstanding. I'll mention Sorrento's here as well. I know as a Cruise Critic regular that this is a volatile subject, so I'll tread very lightly and try not spark a pizza-induced cage match. I'm not sure what it was, but we all agreed that the pizza seemed better on Harmony. I'm not sure if it was the crust or the cheese, or maybe both, but we all concurred that it was better than usual. Keep in mind that we've actually enjoyed Sorrento's pizza on every ship, but that's coming from me, and two sons who will eagerly consume a $1.19 Totino's frozen pizza, which is essentially constructed of a slice of flattened Wonder bread painted with ketchup and topped with a less-than-generous amount of white shavings they boldly describe as "cheese". I'm pretty familiar with cheese, but I can't confirm that those shavings are remotely related to any actual dairy product. Anyway, the Sorrento's pizza on Harmony was pretty good.

We attended our muster drill in the Royal Theater. As others have already stated, the drill is basically a low budget Lifetime Network film that lasts about 15 minutes or so and provides you with absolutely no applicable survival skills or ability to handle any actual crisis whatsoever. It's sort of like this -- Think of someone showing you one episode of General Hospital, then -- if the situation arises -- expecting you to adequately perform emergency open heart surgery. The best part is, you get a double-feature. The epic animated film "Wash Your Hands" is included as part of your fully paid cruise fare. Spoiler Alert: They sing the song "Wash Your Hands". A lot.

After muster, we returned to the sarcophagus to change for dinner in the MDR. In actuality, the cabins are MUCH nicer than any other Oasis class ship -- the rooms each have two closets, a noticeably larger shower, a clean modern look, and are just laid out much better. We ended up booking a cruise for next summer while onboard, and chose the Harmony again, based largely on the much-improved cabins.

Dinner was great, and our waiter Frances was superb - the most efficient, hardest working waiter we have ever had, period. I won't get too much into the food, because opinions vary so widely on the subject, but the new menus were great, and nearly every single item we ordered was excellent. As long as I can get shrimp cocktail as an appetizer and real cheesecake for dessert every night, I could not be happier.

We had reservations for Grease on night 1, so we quickly changed out of our dinner clothes, and headed to the Royal Theater. We encountered our first -- but certainly not our last -- "seat savers" right out of the gate. After years of close observation on past cruises, I have determined that effective seat saving is not just a skill - but an intricate and captivating art form. The master seat saver can weave a tapestry of illusion and deception that mesmerizes even the most observant individual. And this electricity-filled opening night of Grease was no exception. I watched in wonder and amazement as only 3 people carried out a strategy to save a total of 14 contiguous seats. The three individuals spaced themselves out at about four seat intervals, then proceeded to conspicuously place various personal articles -- hats, purses, jackets, shoes, socks, freshly worn underwear, honey-stung chicken, and Diamonds International coupons on every empty seat in between. The ingenious use of available resources was surpassed only by their obliviousness towards the constant barrage of "seat saving is not allowed" announcements continuously blaring over the theater's public address system. The "discussions" they had with other weary seat-seeking passengers during the 15 minutes it took for their other 11 people to arrive provided some pretty engaging pre-show entertainment at any rate.

Grease was outstanding. I've never seen the actual play, but I can attest that it held true to the movie. It did however take a little getting used to hearing Sandy speak without that classic Olivia Newton-John Australian accent. The actors, sets, and performances were all top notch. The actress that played Rizzo was simply fantastic. It was announced that the cast actually changed mid-cruise, as the final show on Friday featured entirely new performers. Prior to this cruise, I thought Mama Mia was by far the best show I had seen on a cruise ship, but Grease was certainly just as good, if not better. A+ by every measure.

We finished the evening late, watching karaoke at On-Air, then passing by the Cafe Promenade (so another cookie) and off to bed. Day two was right around the corner....

My wife, my two sons (both college age), and I just got off the Harmony last Saturday, so I thought I would contribute a review on Cruise Critic to assist others, as the site has always been a good source of information and entertainment for me. (I've been a CC member for years, but I really wasn't able to post anything as my e-mail address wasn't compatible with CC's system -- some type of technical glitch. My post history completely disappeared at one point a few years ago). Anyway, I received assistance from a very cooperative CC tech person, and was able to get back on as an active poster under my new e-mail address). -- Sorry for going off on a tangent, but I figured I might end up on the business end of the standard "Welcome to Cruise Critic" response, as my posting history makes me look like the quintessential newb.

We've sailed on RCCL regularly, taking an annual family cruise every summer over the last 10 years or so. This was our fifth time aboard an Oasis class ship. We've sailed on Oasis (twice), Allure (twice), and Independence, Mariner, and Explorer one time each. It's been a while, but we've also sailed on NCL and Princess as well. My sons are 100% loyal to Royal now, and don't want anything to do with any ship that doesn't have a promenade.

Okay, let's get this thing kicked off. Before we get started however, I'll disclose right up front that I don't have any Cruise Compasses, we didn't dine at any premium restaurants, and we did not go anywhere near any kids clubs. (With the exception of doing the Rubicon Escape Room which is actually located adjacent to Adventure Ocean -- I'll cover that later).

Driving to Port Everglades and Embarkation:

We always bring a case of water with us, but this time I nearly forgot about it. At about 9:45 pm on Friday night while getting our luggage lined up in the entryway, I realized I was missing our usual case of bottled waters. I immediately headed out with my son to the nearest CVS in search of H2O, as the store closes at 10:00 pm. We arrive at the store on two wheels Starsky and Hutch style, pull in the first parking spot directly in front of the glass door, as I check the time on my iPhone -- 9:57 PM. Made it. That's when two employees casually walk up to the door, look me right in the eye, and turn the lock. Colorful language filled the interior of the vehicle. I immediately headed way farther down the road to the 24 hour CVS store, all the way, commenting on the overall state of customer service in America. We secured the case of water and finally headed back home.

We drove across Alligator Alley from Naples to Ft. Lauderdale early Saturday morning. It takes about one hour and forty-five minutes to get from from my driveway to the shuttle parking lot at Park-N-Go, and this trip was even a little quicker than that. We pulled in to Park-N-Go, our luggage was loaded on the waiting shuttle, and we were off to the cruise terminal almost immediately. If you are driving to Port Everglades, definitely consider Park-N-Go. It was $61.30 including tax for 7 days (pre-paid online) and the shuttle service both coming and going is top-notch. Never a wait, and you get dropped off literally on top of the porters.

We and another family exit the shuttle. Luggage gets off in great shape, and the shuttle driver grabs the precious water I successfully hunted and gathered the previous evening. Not really sure what happened next, as everything morphed into something like the slow motion scene from the Matrix movie when Keanu Reeves bends over backward to dodge the bullet. All I remember is the shuttle driver grabbing the case of water while attempting to pull off some type of fancy one-handed-under armed-swing-ninja style move -- and my 24 bottles of water went in 25 different directions. There were bottles bouncing down the shuttle stairs, flying under porter carts, ricocheting off once happy pre-cruisers, while others simply vanished in some alternate type of space-time continuum. I stood there silently for a moment -- scenes of the two CVS guys locking the door in my face, the subsequent cussing, the relentless driving around at 10:30 the night before -- all flashing in my head as I stared at bottle # 24 spinning like a top on the pavement at my feet. My wife quietly picked up four random bottles (one for each of us for the terminal waiting area) and placed them in her bag. No one spoke. I firmly bit my lower lip, and we headed quietly to the check-in area.

We arrived at the check-in windows at 10:30 am, were seated very briefly in the Platinum section on the second floor, and were walking down the Harmony's promenade at 10:45 am. We always arrive at the port early, but this is the earliest we've ever been allowed to actually board. Normally we head to the Park Cafe for lunch, but I figured that the Windjammer couldn't possibly be crowded at this time, so we rolled the dice and grabbed an elevator for deck 16. Yet another first for us -- we were literally the ONLY guests in the Windjammer. In case you never get to experience it, I can tell you that the food stations -- especially the perfectly staged desserts -- look like something out of a magazine...right before they are assaulted by 6,000 people. We were already seated at our table eating lunch before the first of the other passengers began arriving. **Free Harmony tip** -- If you see a cake-looking dessert called "Chocolate Bar" at the Windjammer, take it. A fantastic start to what would be a fantastic cruise....

More to come..... (And based on how much I've already written, I'm thinking this may be a long one -- sorry).

This is the world's largest cruise ship, with an overall length of 1188', 16 passenger accessible decks, and 7 neighborhoods.....and we're concerned that a solitary 20' fish head located near the back of one of those single neighborhoods is too big. Okay.