Harmony Trip Report April 8-15, 2017: A Cruise to Remember!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Following along :D

 

Thanks for following! I noticed that you are sailing Liberty at the end of this month- how lucky are you! I went on her last year so if you have any questions about Liberty or Harmony, or any other ship I've been on, I'd be happy to answer!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Look forward to your review. I am thinking of booking an extended family cruise in June 2019 on Harmony doing this same itinerary so very excited to read your thoughts.

 

I would highly recommend it! If I leave anything out and you have any questions, feel free to ask. I promise you will not regret this decision if you do decide to make it! This is the perfect family vacation, with something for everyone onboard and the ports of call are amazing, in my opinion!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 1 - Saturday, April 8th

The Cabins

 

Before I continue, my apologies for the white space around my photos, as with my resizing app and the size restrictions for attachments on here, it's either that or cropping most of the picture out!

 

As always, we were in 2 cabins, directly across the hall from one another. My parents always get an oceanview balcony, and my brother and I always get an interior facing room. This allows us all to enjoy the best of both! My brother and I had a Deck 8 Boardwalk Balcony on Allure and loved it, and wanted to try Central Park this time.

 

During this trip, we were on Deck 10, port side, midship. My brother and I were in 10207, a category C2 Central Park Balcony cabin just 6 cabins forward of the living wall. Our parents were directly across the hall in 10206, a category D6 Superior Oceanview Balcony cabin with a slightly angled balcony due to being the aft-most cabin on the forward port side hump. This cabin cost the same as all other cabins in the category that don't have an angled balcony.

 

Here are some photos of mine and my brother's cabin and its view:

Edited May 6, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[CreativeCruiser119]

And here's the view from my parents' balcony. You can clearly see the Independence of the Seas and the front of a Holland America ship. We absolutely LOVED these cabins. Since we are now Platinum, we are hoping we may be able to pay a little less for this same cabin category arrangement when we go on the Symphony.

 

While I loved the action of my Boardwalk Balcony on the Allure and would definitely do it again, it was hard to beat sitting out on my balcony this trip at night and enjoying the nature, lights and live peaceful music! And of course I also loved going over to their balcony every now and then and watching the ocean, just looking down at the suds produced by the waves and motion of the ship and letting the tranquil sight relax me. Sorry for the spam, I'll pick back up tomorrow with some more embarkation day information and photos. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

Edited May 6, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[Yorkvillain]

Loving the review so far Kevin. Great job.

[NolaFireLI]

You're doing great Kevin with this trip report...

I'm following... as a Cat mom and a cruiser going on Harmony in 2 short weeks who can't contain her excitement!!! (and I've been on the Oasis and Allure and still CAN'T WAIT!!!!)

 

Question - how was the noise level on Deck10??( happens to be the same deck we're staying...) Oceanview Balcony.

(side note, I have my fingers crossed for you about the kitty x-ray on monday!!!) :hearteyes:

[CreativeCruiser119]

You're doing great Kevin with this trip report...

I'm following... as a Cat mom and a cruiser going on Harmony in 2 short weeks who can't contain her excitement!!! (and I've been on the Oasis and Allure and still CAN'T WAIT!!!!)

 

Question - how was the noise level on Deck10??( happens to be the same deck we're staying...) Oceanview Balcony.

(side note, I have my fingers crossed for you about the kitty x-ray on monday!!!) :hearteyes:

 

First of all, thank you so much for the kind words and wishes for my little girl! It's been very tough for all of us, especially me since she's been my best friend all these years. As far as noise goes, I did not have a problem at all on deck 10. During the day I would hear noise from the pool deck in my cabin, but that is to be expected with all Central Park balconies and the most time spent in the cabin is at night anyway, so I did not mind this one bit. Being in an oceanview balcony, you will be just fine. I loved being on this deck as it is right in the middle of everything. As with any cabin, you never know what kind of neighbors you're going to get around or above you :D but as far as the deck of itself, I have a feeling you will be very satisfied with it. I am always a heavy sleeper on cruises, but still noticed no issues with noise whatsoever. I hope this helped, and if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask! Enjoy your cruise, and thanks for following as again for the wishes, it really means a lot!

[NaeMarie]

Following!

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 1 - Saturday, April 8th

Exploring the Ship

 

After arriving in the cabin, I plugged in to my portable battery pack and carried it with me as I explored the ship. As always, I took some photos around the ship to share. All of these are mine. I am only able to upload 5 photos to a post, so there will be a few of these. I hope you enjoy!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 1 - Saturday, April 8th

 

I explored everywhere and took photos, as you can see. I wanted to take photos of Studio B too, but knew from the number on all of our SetSail passes that it would be our muster station, so I just planned to show up before the drill started and get that footage then. I'll share that later.

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 1 - Saturday, April 8th

 

In addition to taking photos, something new that I did this year in the wake of new social media features was live stream on Instagram and tell my viewers to comment what they wanted to see, and I'd go to that location on the ship and show it.

Edited May 6, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 1 - Saturday, April 8th

 

I was out live streaming when I heard the announcement that there would be a mandatory guest assembly drill in 30 minutes, so at 3:15 I went back to the room ready to gather up my family. Sorry if the photo is blurry, I had to zoom out on my image resizing app to show the whole thing and that's what caused it. It shows the locations for all of the assembly stations onboard. If you have trouble reading it and know your station number and are curious where yours is, just ask and I'd be happy to tell you. Next up: muster drill, then sailaway!

Edited May 6, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[CreativeCruiser119]

Loving the review so far Kevin. Great job.

 

Thank you so much for the kind words! Plenty more to come.

[Trixie21]

Brings back memories! We were on harmony last summer when she was in the med and had a blast. We have symphony booked for September next year. Harmony was a wonderful experience.

 

 

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[prekteacher]

What a great review Kevin!!! We love Ft. Lauderdale as well and I was on the beach waving you away from the Tortuga Music Festival that day! It is an awesome 3 day country music extravaganza right on the beach. I hope one day to visit the swimming hall of fame as my kids swim competitively. You seem to be featuring all the things I absolutely love about cruising on oasis class. One question: How was the water temperature in the pools?

 

Barbara

[CreativeCruiser119]

What a great review Kevin!!! We love Ft. Lauderdale as well and I was on the beach waving you away from the Tortuga Music Festival that day! It is an awesome 3 day country music extravaganza right on the beach. I hope one day to visit the swimming hall of fame as my kids swim competitively. You seem to be featuring all the things I absolutely love about cruising on oasis class. One question: How was the water temperature in the pools?

 

Barbara

 

Thank you so much! We were on the port side of the ship for sailaway waving! My brother too swims competitively, but chose to stay back at the hotel. I had originally wanted to join the high school team as well, but decided against it because of my anxiety and the schedules! But I do swim laps in my free time, at the gym in the winter and in my backyard in the summer in addition to year-round weightlifting!

 

I'm so glad you like my review. What I noticed was that the Beach Pool (saltwater) was warmer on Harmony than I remember it being on Oasis and Allure, as a matter of fact I think it was the warmest pool on this ship. The Main Pool was a little colder but refreshing, and I noticed right away that unlike the Main Pool on Oasis and Allure, the one on Harmony appeared to be saltwater during this sailing. The Sports Pool, as always, was freshwater and extra cool for water sports, but you get used to it! I did some laps in here as well when I had it all to myself, which I'll get to later in the review. I never went in Splashaway Bay but am assuming it's freshwater as well, and set to a refreshing temperature but I doubt it's freezing cold as it's meant for children. It's probably around the same temperature as the waterslides, which were also freshwater. I remember on Allure the Solarium Pool was freshwater and extra cool, but again refreshing! I'm assuming it's the same on Oasis also, but I never used that one as I was one year too young to use it at the time! (16+). I loved the rain shower in the Solarium on Harmony, but still did miss the pool. I'm pretty sure the rain shower wasn't freshwater or saltwater, just pure water that was set at a cool temperature to refresh you- I referred to it as a "splash pad for adults." As with all the other ships, the hot tubs were freshwater and warm, but definitely not HOT like the ones at my local gym (feels great after a workout). But I very much enjoyed my jacuzzi time nonetheless, and always spend a ton of time in them when I go on cruises! It's just harder to get out because you're cold getting out, especially so at night.

 

If you are curious about the depth of the pools, the Main Pool ranges in depth from 4'1" to 4'9" and the Beach Pool goes from 4'5" to 4'9". The Sports Pool is 4'7" at each end and 4'9" in the middle. I'd estimate the hot tubs at being anywhere between 2 and a half and 3 feet deep. And while I'm on the topic, I'll also add that all the pools on Freedom class are freshwater, and also a little deeper than the ones on Oasis class- for instance the deep end of the Solarium pool is 6'11"!! The ones on Oasis and Allure are 3'11" throughout so quite the difference. Even the H2O Zone pool on Freedom and Independence, from what I've heard and seen in pictures, is 5'7" at the deep end (still with a separate shallow Current Pool for kids), whereas the ones on Oasis and Allure do not exceed 3'5". They fixed that during Liberty's drydock, making the Splashaway Bay pool 2 feet deep. There is no pool in Splashaway Bay on Harmony.

 

I do apologize for always going on tangents, just felt like the information was relevant! I hope I was able to answer your questions, and thanks for following! Always happy to answer any questions!

Edited May 6, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[CreativeCruiser119]

Brings back memories! We were on harmony last summer when she was in the med and had a blast. We have symphony booked for September next year. Harmony was a wonderful experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

I'm glad you're enjoying it! Where will you be sailing to on the Symphony?

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 1 - Saturday, April 8th

Muster Drill

 

The Guest Assembly Drill, or Muster Drill, was scheduled for 3:45 PM. Around 3:30 they made another announcement asking everyone to go to their stations early, which is what we were going to do anyway to get a seat. So around 3:35 we started making our way to our station, which was D4 in Studio B. The sign on the back of our stateroom doors indicated our escape route as taking a crew stairwell, which we knew many did. Se we headed aft and tried to take that route only to be told it was for "crew only," which we knew, even though the video during the drill clearly says "some escape routes use stairwells normally designated for crew." I'm assuming that must mean only in a real emergency, although I expected some people to be using it during the drill since it makes sense to be able to practice the quickest and safest way to get there since you're basically doing what you'd do if a cruiser's worst nightmare came true and the real thing did happen! We didn't care, we just went back and did what we normally do which is take the regular stairs.

 

Though our cabins were close to being right in the middle of 2 elevator banks yet slightly closer to the forward elevators, we were further aft now so just decided to take the stairs in the port side aft lobby. The only problem was that Studio B could only be accessed from the front on Deck 4, and it completely slipped our minds to just cut through Casino Royale to get there. So we went down to Deck 5 and opted to go across the Promenade, only to be faced with a crowd of people who were mustering there without any seating. So after navigating our way through that crowd, we made it to the front and down to Deck 4 and were directed to the hallway behind Studio B leading to the casino, as there is on either side, and entered the ice rink through a side door we didn't even know existed. Whether it's ever used at any other point is beyond me, and I believe there was one on the other side as well being used at this time for those in the D3 group. Studio B is home to assembly stations D1-4, and D1 and D2 entered through the main entrance to the rink.

 

 

My brother and I had our WOWbands by then, which I'll get to later, so we scanned them, our parents scanned their Seapasses and we entered Studio B through the "secret door" and easily found seats. There are plenty of seats for everyone in Studio B but I have heard of latecomers having to stand in the back. I got some footage of the rink, then came the announcements and alarm and soon after that the video began playing on the screens after another brief message from Captain Johnny. Notice in the attached photo how mesmerizing the colors are in the rink. I thought it was absolutely beautiful!

 

My mother had a hard time staying awake because of the lack of sleep the night before (I'm sure the tranquil lighting didn't help), so I told her I'd fill her in on what to do if anything happened :') it was a very quick and convenient process. We had previously mustered in the Main Dining Room on Allure and in the Opal Theater on Oasis and love the way they do it on Oasis class. I've heard it's the same on Quantum class also. It's very simple, yet tells you all you need to know to stay safe (and healthy) so it's a win-win. Don't forget to wash your hands 5 to 50 times a day!

 

After about 20-25 minutes of sitting in Studio B Captain Johnny came on to dismiss everyone and wish us all welcome aboard. I had heard that a trick to get out faster was to cut through the casino, so that's what we did and I went back to the room to send my last texts and posts before joining my family on deck for for sailaway. On my way up Abe Hughes, the Cruise Director, made an announcement telling everyone to "stop what we were doing and go absolutely crazy because we were officially on vacation!" I remember Jerome doing that on the Allure too, I love it.

 

Next up: a slightly delayed, yet fun nonetheless, sailaway from Port Everglades! Stay tuned!

Edited May 6, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[Mr&MrsTop-Ret.]

Following along, Kevin!

 

You're doing a great job - keep up the good work! I have to watch 3 more sail-aways, then everyone will be watching me (June 3). I love reading the reviews of others to get little insider tips for when we board!

 

Will keep you and your family in my prayers for your sweet kitty <3

[neptune18]

Great review so far. I'll be in 10206. Any chance you can post more pics of cabin and balcony? Thanks.

[Karita]

Great review, I'm on the Harmony in July and your review is making me more excited if that's even possible.

[pharaoh]

Hi Kevin, you're doing a great job with your review. I'll be following along for more. :)

 

One tip about your photos. If you are posting from your phone or tablet, you can use the Tapatalk app or the Forums app, and they both will let you upload photos straight from your camera roll, without having to edit. It makes it easier for people to see the photos (don't have to click into a separate window), and it lets you post full size so the photos aren't so small. Makes posting a LOT easier. :)

 

I'll be on Harmony later this year and I'm very excited. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Great review so far. I'll be in 10206. Any chance you can post more pics of cabin and balcony? Thanks.

 

Thank you very much! You will love the cabin. I was able to get these pictures from my mother, who blurred out all the faces.

[CreativeCruiser119]

Great review so far. I'll be in 10206. Any chance you can post more pics of cabin and balcony? Thanks.

 

And here are a few of me enjoying their balcony. No need to blur these out! (You'll see more of my family throughout the review). As always, we all spent a fair amount of time in each other's cabin and enjoyed both balconies. I know I spent a ton of time on mine, but would quite often go across the hall and enjoy the ocean view. Notice the slight angle. This is due to being at the beginning of a "hump," which are the 2 areas on each side where the ship sticks out a bit. Cabins in the middle of the hump, which are D1 category, have an extra deep balcony and cost extra. We also noticed while on their balcony how some of the ship is already rusted. Must be the material they used. But it is not at all an eye sore and does not take away, in the least, from the fact that this a beautiful ship everywhere you go. I also liked the quotes on the walls in the cabin corridors, if my parents can find a picture I'll probably throw that in here as well. I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions about the cabins or the ship in general! Happy cruising!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Great review so far. I'll be in 10206. Any chance you can post more pics of cabin and balcony? Thanks.

 

Sorry for the spam, forgot to add the photos of me in the last post :D can you tell I'm new at this? Like I said, you'll love the cabin. As I mentioned earlier, it's a bit far from either elevator/ stair lobby, but it wasn't that much of a burden to us as it wasn't as long as we expected, and justified our eating! Thanks for following!