theCruiseView, a 13 night Harmony of the Seas infovlog

[DEIx15x8]

This series always takes a bit longer to come together, but that's because it contains so much content and a whole lot of editing to pull off. If you haven't seen any of the previous sailings of theCruiseView, this is my daily info vlog series that tries to pull together all of the various videos, photos, and custom animations that I have to showcase the daily events throughout the sailing. Typically every episode features a look at a few top stories, the current location (extra important on a transatlantic), the weather, a complete compass run through, the daily menu, a venue tour (a couple daily dines), and an interview. This time since their are so many venues onboard and things have for the most part been covered in great detail during either the Quantum of the Seas or Jewel of the Seas sailings in addition to the Grandeur of the Seas I've changed the daily dine and venue tours. They are now neighborhood tours to help get everything in and I'll only have a few daily dines for truly new venues. In doing so I have managed to cover pretty much every inch of the ship though! I also have more interviews than ever before with a total of 11 interviews for this series. Here is a brief run down of the highlights for each episode.

 

Day 1

-Precruise run down and Harmony history

-Venue: Dining (Main Dining Room, Izumi, Wonderland)

 

Day 2

-Palma De Mallorca port day

-Venue: Pool deck

-Interview: Sydney Brown (AquaTheater Acrobat)

 

Day 3

-Venue: Adventure Ocean

-Interview: Laura Sillett (Sandy in Grease)

 

Day 4

-Malaga port day

-Venue: Vitality at Sea Spa & Fitness Center

-Interview: Joseph Giacone (Danny in Grease)

 

Day 5

-Venue: Entertainment Place

-Interview: Klabera Komini & Brandon Mroz (Ice Cast)

 

Day 6

-Central Park

-Interview: Catalin Buta (Food & Beverage Director)

 

Day 7

-Royal Promenade and Shops

-Interview: Giuseppe Campagna (Hotel Manager)

 

Day 8

-Venue: Sports Zone

-Interview: Abe Hughes (Cruise Director)

 

Day 9

-Venue: Reimagined Crown

-Interview: Laszlo Turos (Landscape Specialist)

 

Day 10

-Venue: Boardwalk

-Interview: Jason Carlton (AquaTheater Diver)

 

Day 11

-Venue/Interview: Aquatheater & AquaTheater Manager

 

Day 12

-Venue: Sea Views

-Interview: Gus Andersson (Captain)

 

Day 13

-Cruise Review

-Three Sisters Meeting

 

As each episode is ready I'll keep posting them here along with some behind the scenes info on how the episode was pulled off. I had 13 days, 10 of which were at sea to film everything but it was still a bit crazy to come together. While the Quantum of the Seas was chaotic simply because of the amount of interviews and segments I had to film, this one was chaotic because of how fluid the schedule had to be. With Quantum I had to switch to only having interviews during the second sailing, but once decided they were firm and in place. With Harmony a lot of the schedule was continuously changing as interviews were tweaked and even complete days like the Captain's night moved which messed up my original schedule. Hopefully it's not too noticeable how much I was flying by the seat of my pants on this one, or at least as much as I can be, lol. It's still a great series and many interviews with some incredible individuals.

 

Here is day 1!

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I hope you enjoy and follow along. If you have any questions please let me know!

I've also got my full ship thread with all my onboard videos and photos available here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=51759137

As well as my complete ship tour and walk throughs available here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=51772258

[easyboy]

Following along.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[DEIx15x8]

Today I've got day 2 of theCruiseView from the Harmony of the Seas transatlantic. On this day we visited Palma De Mallorca with the Rhapsody of the Seas and had the best dinner menu of the whole sailing. Our venue tour is the Pool Deck with Solarium Bistro as our Daily Dine. As a bonus I didn't know it when I filmed the episode but later found out that Chef's Table launched during this sailing in Solarium Bistro so I went and had the chef do a Daily Dine piece for that as well. To end we've got our first interview of the series, this one with Sydney Brown from the AquaTheater cast...and all over Royal Caribbean's social media accounts lately.

 

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As I mentioned I'll try to give some background and insight into the behind the scenes of filming of each episode as I post them. This episode was filmed up on the pool deck. It was an absolutely beautiful night with little to no wind and warm temperatures so I had to film outside. I always try to do at least one episode outside just to change things up. I filmed at the bar on the 16th deck and in the background you can see SplashAway Bay in the background still running. This is a rarity, which I didn't realize at the time and wasn't even thinking about, but after editing it I now see it was a nice added touch of motion to the shot.

 

Since this was a transatlantic filming empty venues is about impossible, and this is no truer for any venue than the pool deck. Inside venues you can often catch down time or film in the middle of the night when things are empty. That's harder for outside venues which look different in the dark. I did some filming at about 7am the one morning to get a few shots but couldn't get all before the crowds came. On the final day I got unlucky/lucky though. Our departure was delayed several hours so I took the chance and explored this ship getting a lot of shots of the completely empty pool deck.

 

The Chef's table was complete luck. I never saw it advertised and was under the impression Harmony wasn't having it. I happened to be interviewing the Food & Beverage director a few days after this episode and he mentioned that he was heading off to launch the Chef's Table. As soon as I heard that I knew I had to film a Daily Dine for it since it's brand new and in a unique venue, but it hadn't been scheduled for any particular day so I retroactively added it to today's episode.

[DEIx15x8]

Today I have day 3 of theCruiseView from the Harmony of the Seas transatlantic sailing. This was the preview sea day in between our two ports of call. As a result the traditional day 2 captain events were held on this day along with the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle.

 

If you are sailing with kids this is the episode you are going to want to watch. For today's venue tour I have an interview with Christopher the manager of Adventure Ocean as well as a guided tour by the assistant manager Alex. If you enjoyed the tour of Quantum's Adventure Ocean during that sailing you will enjoy this one as well as it's the same format and has a lot of great Harmony/Oasis specific information.

 

I also have an official episode interview with Laura Sillett who played Sandy in Grease. This is the first episode I've produced that features two interviews! Hope you enjoy!

 

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To go along with the captain's welcome reception in the Royal Promenade I filmed this episode from up on the band stage above the Kate & Spade store with a beautiful backdrop down the Royal Promenade. It took me a bit of testing to find the optimal spot to get clean audio since there is music piped into the venue from speakers all over the roof in that area. I'm surprised how nicely the audio actually ended up.

 

Today's venue tour features a guided tour of Adventure Ocean like Quantum of the Seas. Royal Caribbean had a representative from their PR department onboard to manage the sailing and that was who helped me with all of my interviews and other special arrangements. She setup the adventure ocean tour and then surprised me with a bonus interview as well so I hope everyone likes it.

 

The interview with Laura was actually filmed towards the end of the sailing, day 12 I believe, along with my interview with Joseph who played Danny. This ended up allowing me to make reference to Columbus even before it shows up in this video series. We tried a few different shots of the theater in the background like the AquaTheater cast interviews, but ended up turning around and using the seaview which looks beautiful IMO. All of these cast interviews were a ton of fun and this one was no exception. I hope you enjoy it, I try to ask some questions that bring out more information about them personally rather than just the generic questions about the shows they perform in. There are often many articles that cover the shows, but not many that talk about the individuals responsible for making them happen.

[easyboy]

Enjoying your video.

[Bootman4U]

"Hopefully it's not too noticeable how much I was flying by the seat of my pants on this one, or at least as much as I can be, lol. It's still a great series and many interviews with some incredible individuals."

 

Then do yourself, and us, a favor by NOT emphasizing it with words like these.

[DEIx15x8]

On today's 4th episode the Harmony of the Seas made it's final port of call in Europe with a stop at Malaga, Spain. This was one of, if not the busiest port day of the year for them. They often only get 1 ship at a time, and only see an Oasis class ship while it's re-positioning into or out of the Mediterranean.

 

To end the ports I've got some relaxation with a tour of the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center. I've been in Oasis' Fitness Center and it's comparable. I've never seen the spa though which is a deck lower, that place seemed huge!

 

I've also got another interview form the Royal Theater cast, this time with Joseph Giacone who played Danny Zuko in Grease.

 

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[DEIx15x8]

On today's episode the great sea day stretch begins with the first day of the journey across open waters. To fill all that new time at sea our venue tour is of the entire Entertainment Place. That includes the Royal Theater, Jazz on 4, The Attic, Diamond Club, Studio B, and the Casino Royale. I've also got another interview, this time with a pair of ice skaters from Studio B, Klabera Komini and Brandon Mroz.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Nice video!

[DEIx15x8]

On this sixth episode of theCruiseView we start off with the visit to Madeira that happened the night before. Take a look at the way the weather effected the outside activities, tour everything that Central Park has to offer, and have a daily dine for 150 Central Park. To end the episode I got to sit down with Catalin Buta, the Food & Beverage Director onboard who also happened to be the one on Quantum of the Seas when she set sail 2 years ago and I was lucky enough to interview him then as well.

 

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[DEIx15x8]

On the 7th episode of theCruiseView from the transatlantic we continued our sea day stretch as we finally left all land behind. At this point the next stop isn't until we reach North America! I took a look at the Royal Promenade and everything it has to offer. For today's interview I got to talk to the Manager of Hotel Operations about how the largest division onboard manages to deal with the unusual itinerary.

 

 

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[DEIx15x8]

Today's episode is an Abe fest day on the Harmony of the Seas transatlantic! October 30th featured several of the staple events including a very interesting and at time rough game of The Quest, the Love & Marriage Game Show, and Oktoberfest. Fittingly this episode features a lengthy interview with the man who hosted many of those activities, Abe Hughes! The man came from the Anthem of the Seas to the Harmony for our sailing directly and hit the ground running without missing a beat. In addition to all of that the venue tour for the day is the Sports Zone featuring the Ultimate Abyss and we've got a Daily Dine for Mini Bites. Hope you enjoy!

 

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[Joe12]

Today's episode is an Abe fest day on the Harmony of the Seas transatlantic! October 30th featured several of the staple events including a very interesting and at time rough game of The Quest, the Love & Marriage Game Show, and Oktoberfest. Fittingly this episode features a lengthy interview with the man who hosted many of those activities, Abe Hughes! The man came from the Anthem of the Seas to the Harmony for our sailing directly and hit the ground running without missing a beat. In addition to all of that the venue tour for the day is the Sports Zone featuring the Ultimate Abyss and we've got a Daily Dine for Mini Bites. Hope you enjoy!

 

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Abe was actually doing a week's handover on the last Med sailing (saw him twice), but the Anthem to Harmony is a pretty big transition nonetheless.

Would love to have him as CD, hopefully he is still on Harmony for my July 8th sailing as his predecessor, Bobby was a bit insipid.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the share.

[DEIx15x8]

Abe was actually doing a week's handover on the last Med sailing (saw him twice), but the Anthem to Harmony is a pretty big transition nonetheless.

Would love to have him as CD, hopefully he is still on Harmony for my July 8th sailing as his predecessor, Bobby was a bit insipid.

It sounds like he'll be on her for the foreseeable future, so hopefully the dates will fall right. Abe was great in everything he did and always full of energy and joy while doing it.

[DEIx15x8]

Today's episode of theCruiseView is from the Harmony of the Seas' first Halloween with a full run down of all the events and festivities. Which of course led up to the big Halloween Spooktacular on the Royal Promenade! It also features a look at the new design of the Viking Crown Lounge which features the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen and the Windjammer. You'll also get a clip of the giant Harmony of the Seas ship model onboard. For our interview today I got to talk with Laszlo Turos who is the Landscape Specialist onboard the Harmony of the Seas. He was also previously involved in setting up and caring for Central Park on both of her older sisters. If you've been to one of his Central Park Tours onboard you know how much great and interesting information he has to share. This is one of the longer interviews, but it has a lot of really interesting information.

 

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[Joe12]

It sounds like he'll be on her for the foreseeable future, so hopefully the dates will fall right. Abe was great in everything he did and always full of energy and joy while doing it.

 

Guessing he's better than Ken Rush?

[easyboy]

Good information!

[DEIx15x8]

Guessing he's better than Ken Rush?

Ken Rush has moved to the corporate office and is no longer a CD outside of small fill in roles if needed. I had a few sailings with Ken in the past and never cared for him much, but his organizational skills behind the scenes to get a ship up and running smoothly are second to none. Abe has a huge and friendly presence onboard that really brings a ton of energy and joy to every event. Sailing on Anthem in a few weeks I wouldn't have minded him being sent back to his old ship. :)

[DEIx15x8]

Today's episode of theCruiseView features a busy day of entertainment. The Hideaway Heist was once again canceled, but we did get to enjoy iSkate and Columbus the Musical! On today's episode the featured venue is the Boardwalk with a special Daily Dine for Sabor. To go along with the Boardwalk theme I filmed the episode in the Boardwalk by the carousel and our interview for the day is with Jason Carlton who is a diver in the AquaTheater cast.

 

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[DEIx15x8]

Trying to figure out why this post from the other day didn't get posted. A second post I made a few days later no longer seems to exist either.

 

On this 11th episode of theCruiseView from the Harmony of the Seas transatlantic Captain Gus makes a surprise performance during the Captain's Corner, Hideaway Heist was once again canceled, but we did have the 90's Party as well as the RED Nightclub Experience. I also got to talk with Alex who is the stage and production manager for the AquaTheater and got to learn a bit of the technical aspects of how the venue operates.

 

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[DEIx15x8]

In this penultimate episode of theCruiseView form the Harmony of the Seas transatlantic we have a busy day of entertainment wrapping up throughout the ship with the premiere and close of Hideaway Heist on this sailing, as well as the close of iSkate and Columbus The Musical. We have a venue tour for the day, with the abstract concept of Seaviews which includes the running track and bridge wings. For our final interview of the sailing, ironically the first that I filmed, we are ending with the man in charge of the ship, Captain Gus Andersson to talk about his job onboard the Harmony of the Seas and taking out this massive new ship.

 

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[Joe12]

I enjoyed Captain Gus as Captain on Harmony, he and Captain Johnny make a good team.

Only had one Captain I didn't care for much, but I always prefer the ones who are visible around the ship and attempt to make their announcements humorous and interesting.

[DEIx15x8]

I enjoyed Captain Gus as Captain on Harmony, he and Captain Johnny make a good team.

Only had one Captain I didn't care for much, but I always prefer the ones who are visible around the ship and attempt to make their announcements humorous and interesting.

Captain Gus was great. He's a surprisingly shy person with a huge personality. It's not often you find that. I was really surprised how outgoing he was during the Captain's Corner when he chose to perform.

 

I always prefer the very public captain's as well. I've only had one captain that was completely private. He only really appeared for the welcome reception, not even a captain's corner was held. You always have to look at the full situation though. He gave every one of his noon announcements promptly at noon and while some complained, it was clear that he spoke live while looking at the weather and navigation radars rather than from notes. We had by far the roughest weather and the ship was down an azipod and he still managed to arrive and depart each port at exactly the scheduled time usually to the second. He always wore the standard white shirt and dark pants like the rest of the bridge crew and during crew involved events like the tug-o-war competition he was right in the stands with the crew watching. He was by far the least visible captain I have ever had, but he was also IMO the most obviously competent and well respected captain among the crew I've ever had. He just preferred to be one of the team rather than the star. He's since retired, but I still always remember him just because he was such a different, yet great captain compared to all the others that i think of as great captains.

[Joe12]

Captain Gus was great. He's a surprisingly shy person with a huge personality. It's not often you find that. I was really surprised how outgoing he was during the Captain's Corner when he chose to perform.

 

I always prefer the very public captain's as well. I've only had one captain that was completely private. He only really appeared for the welcome reception, not even a captain's corner was held. You always have to look at the full situation though. He gave every one of his noon announcements promptly at noon and while some complained, it was clear that he spoke live while looking at the weather and navigation radars rather than from notes. We had by far the roughest weather and the ship was down an azipod and he still managed to arrive and depart each port at exactly the scheduled time usually to the second. He always wore the standard white shirt and dark pants like the rest of the bridge crew and during crew involved events like the tug-o-war competition he was right in the stands with the crew watching. He was by far the least visible captain I have ever had, but he was also IMO the most obviously competent and well respected captain among the crew I've ever had. He just preferred to be one of the team rather than the star. He's since retired, but I still always remember him just because he was such a different, yet great captain compared to all the others that i think of as great captains.

 

That would be Captain Remo, sailed with him twice (Indy in Jul 10 and Apr 11), and remember nothing, but that was before I cared about who the Captain was. The first time I went to a Captain's Corner was in Jul 11 on Enchantment with Captain Anders.

Captain Johnny was the one who really set the benchmark though and made me actually think about the impact that a Captain can have on a cruise.