Picture Imperfect: Live on Harmony

[Familygoboston]

 

Magic, kismet, even “Harmony” That’s the way to describe my relationship with my travel husband, Randy. We cruised together by chance in April 2013 and we will cruise again by design on Harmony  June 2nd,  when we celebrate Randy’s 30th wedding anniversary with his real wife (and love of his life, Amy)

 

But this story is about a travel marriage, a melding of two souls who love cruising and (this is important) the planning of cruises. A bond that could not be broken by thousands of miles and was solidified by hundreds of Friday night texts. (Travel planning night in both our households) My own dear husband of more than 30 years would hear a “ping” on a Friday night and say “oh, there’s your travel husband!” Neither Amy or Jeff has much patience for travel logistics, (although, and this is important, they both love the actual cruising🤣)  but Randy and I are obsessed with it!  And well, you have to get your needs met where you can, and that’s how Randy and I became “travel spouses”, sharing messages such as “should I pull the trigger on this Freedom cruise?” and “the drink package is 30% off, is it time to buy? “ and “what’s the name of that guide in Roatan?”

 

We could spend hours online dissecting the minutia of the MDR menu, sharing frustrations over the Royal Caribbean website 🙄 or editing each others content for news letters or web reviews. How did it come to this!? Well, if you’d like to hear, I’ll tell the tale, and then you’ll have a good idea of what to expect when we share this review of our Harmony of the Seas 30 for 30 Anniversary cruise LIVE!

 

(During  making of this review, no actual marriages were harmed! Couples Randy and Amy <whom I also adore 😍> and Jeff and I are all still very happily married to our original spouses and plan to be, God willing, for many years to come!) 

 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

The student becomes the master! 

 

We met online, right here on Cruise Critic back in 2012, while preparing for an April 2013 Allure of the Seas cruise. It was for me, Diamond member of Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor program, and avid traveler, another of many cruises I’d taken.  I’d recently been on Oasis and had a handle on the logistics of planning an Oasis class cruise.  (See my review here, Good Karma Cruise) Spoiler alert: It involves me helping Randy plan, and Randy saving my wayward luggage from being left behind on the dock!

 

This was Randy’s first cruise, and he was way out over his skis, having had to convince a reluctant Amy to cruise and he had also invited a half dozen in-laws and friends, just to increase the degree of difficulty. Randy, being a very smart husband, knew he’d need to smooth the way for the family, ensuring he had all the plans put together perfectly. (see Randy’s review, Ten Years in the Making here)

 Spoiler alert: Amy loves cruising!

 

Over the course of several months many of us on our Cruise Critic Roll call (as you, dear reader, know well, CC roll call people like to plan, and we were planning our little hearts out) As a group, we were all waiting impatiently for shows to become “available” to reserve and researching excursions. Eventually, Randy decided to join a St Thomas sailing charter I was planning with my family. (Truly, if you want to hear more details about the “good karma”, the massive squall on our excursion, and maybe even a hint about what happened at Quest, you really should read our earlier reviews! If you want to worry about anyone’s marriages, you should look at what happened with Jeff and Randy at Quest to see how it could all go sideways!😲)  

 

It was during the squall that we really bonded as families, our stomachs hurt from laughing aboard High Pockets. As we sailed along the coasts of St Thomas and St Johns and later chilled in the hot tub after the excursion, it really felt like the two families had made life long friendships! But you never know once you leave the ship if you’ll ever hear from these people again! 

 

We returned Boston and R&A and family returned to MO and we wrote our cruise critic reviews in parallel and that should have been that! Except, we just couldn’t quit (planning with) each other! K & J took lots of cruises and trips over the ensuing 6 years, including launching our travel education and content website, GoSeeItTravel and I’ll let Randy tell you about his ever growing cruise groups and how this reunion of our families finally happened 6 years later!  

 

All I can say is that somewhere along the line, Randy went from student to Master Planner!  He would run things by me, but I'd just say "you got this!" As much as I love planning, I don't think I could manage the logistics of his diverse group (usually 50% newbies to cruising) of people.  I'll let Randy take over the narrative about how this all came to be, and how we will handle things "live" on board in less than 2 weeks, but let's just say I'm so proud of him I could pop! 

[RoperDK]

Following.  Can't wait to hear more.

[Ocean Boy]

Wow, I haven't run into you here for so long! Hi, and I'll be reading along.

[Familygoboston]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Wow, I haven't run into you here for so long! Hi, and I'll be reading along.

Well, well, well, look who is back! Right? 🤣 I’ve written a few reviews on Azamara cruises, but we’ve been sailing expedition ships and river cruises of late, and most of my content has been directed to my own site and other work I’ve been doing. I miss the interaction on a good old fashioned Cruise Critic review though! A big, busy boat (ship 🤣) like Harmony, a reunion with cruising friends, voom internet that actually works, well, it was time to for another big CC review! 

 

Hope you and your family are well, Ocean Boy! Where have you guys been lately?

We did an UnCruise to Alaska with our girls last August, and of all things, a Zumba Cruise Charter in March! (It’s as fun as it sounds! See the photo below!) I tried to get Amy to go, because she is a Zumba instructor, but she was geared up for this one! 

 

We’ve got a AMA river cruise to Vietnam/Cambodia planned for the fall, and another UnCruise in 2020 (this one in Baja Bay for whale watching) We just had a 2020 Freedom cruise to the ABCs cancelled due to a delay in Freedoms refurb, so we rebooked it as a back to back in early 2021! Our first B2B, can’t wait to try that! 

 

Thanks for following along! It’s been too long! 😎 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Familygoboston

[rsharp83]

Hello All -- I am the other half of this travel writing duo. That's me and my wife Amy in our Chiefs shirts aboard Liberty of the Seas last fall. Yes, we've become addicted to the cruising thing since that first Allure sailing in 2013. I am really excited to be doing a co-review with familygoboston! Despite the fact that my wife will have to wear a Patriots Super Bowl T-shirt on our upcoming cruise. The result of a little bet Kathy and Amy had surrounding the AFC Championship game. 

 

We have some plans for this review. We will see how it unfolds. I am not going to spoil anything right now, just stay tuned for some info over the next week or so and then we will be sailing. 

 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

The shirt is packed, Randy! New with tags on...because ya know, I didn’t HAVE to wear that one right away, I had the other 5 🤣🤣🤣😎

Plus, we will be following the Bruins Stanley Cup run on board...it’s just exhausting to be an obnoxious Boston Sports Fan! 😓

 

[powelweb]

Looking forward to reading, and Go B's!!!

[LuCruise]

Such a fun review.  I love how your common interest, and style of planning, has brought your friendship together.  Looking forward to hearing more.

[Ocean Boy]

10 hours ago, Familygoboston said:

Well, well, well, look who is back! Right? 🤣 I’ve written a few reviews on Azamara cruises, but we’ve been sailing expedition ships and river cruises of late, and most of my content has been directed to my own site and other work I’ve been doing. I miss the interaction on a good old fashioned Cruise Critic review though! A big, busy boat (ship 🤣) like Harmony, a reunion with cruising friends, voom internet that actually works, well, it was time to for another big CC review! 

 

Hope you and your family are well, Ocean Boy! Where have you guys been lately?

We did an UnCruise to Alaska with our girls last August, and of all things, a Zumba Cruise Charter in March! (It’s as fun as it sounds! See the photo below!) I tried to get Amy to go, because she is a Zumba instructor, but she was geared up for this one! 

 

We’ve got a AMA river cruise to Vietnam/Cambodia planned for the fall, and another UnCruise in 2020 (this one in Baja Bay for whale watching) We just had a 2020 Freedom cruise to the ABCs cancelled due to a delay in Freedoms refurb, so we rebooked it as a back to back in early 2021! Our first B2B, can’t wait to try that! 

 

Thanks for following along! It’s been too long! 😎 

Lets see, how do I sum up what I have been up to lately? Oh yeah..... working. Why does your post sound so much more intriguing than mine?🤔 

[Familygoboston]

Lol! We are on the “off ramp” to retirement! Yeah! 🤗 Working new projects, downsizing our home this summer so we have fewer responsibilities and more time to travel! 🌍 But as long as people are sick, they’ll keep you busy Ocean Boy! 

[Ocean Boy]

29 minutes ago, Familygoboston said:

Lol! We are on the “off ramp” to retirement! Yeah! 🤗 Working new projects, downsizing our home this summer so we have fewer responsibilities and more time to travel! 🌍 But as long as people are sick, they’ll keep you busy Ocean Boy! 

Retirement is not in my site's yet, mostly because I still love going to work. Fortunately, there always seems to be people around on these boards who I know who allow  me to hitch a ride on a cruise every few weeks vicariously through them..😊

[RickinStl]

13 hours ago, Familygoboston said:

The shirt is packed, Randy! New with tags on...because ya know, I didn’t HAVE to wear that one right away, I had the other 5 🤣🤣🤣😎

Plus, we will be following the Bruins Stanley Cup run on board...it’s just exhausting to be an obnoxious Boston Sports Fan! 😓

 

 

 

LETS GO BLUES!!! Lol.. good luck with your quest for the cup.. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by RickinStl
Punctuation

[Familygoboston]

13 minutes ago, RickinStl said:

 

 

LETS GO BLUES!!! Lol.. good luck with your quest for the cup.. 

I've been assured that the crew of 50 + from MO I'm sailing with are  A) not Hockey Fans and B) Pull for KC, not ST Louis/ But it really stinks that I can't shave this playoff beard before the cruise!  🤣

 

Anyway... the NFL playoffs were AWKWARD!  Randy COULD not find a safe space, even when his team was up.  Reportedly, he just kept rocking in a corner chanting "...but Brady, but Brady..." during the game according to the texts from Amy! 🤣🤣

 

I'm sure we will see you in the sports bar, Rick...and I'm sure you'll be hoping for a better outcome than the last meeting (DAMN, there it is again, that obnoxious trash talking Boston thing, I swear, I can't control it! I"m going to need to practice!) 

 

May the best team win and may Marchand behave himself! (There! Is that nicer??)🏒🏆🐻🎵

Edited May 22, 2019 by Familygoboston

[Dayman9966]

15 hours ago, rsharp83 said:

Hello All -- I am the other half of this travel writing duo. That's me and my wife Amy in our Chiefs shirts aboard Liberty of the Seas last fall. Yes, we've become addicted to the cruising thing since that first Allure sailing in 2013. I am really excited to be doing a co-review with familygoboston! Despite the fact that my wife will have to wear a Patriots Super Bowl T-shirt on our upcoming cruise. The result of a little bet Kathy and Amy had surrounding the AFC Championship game. 

 

We have some plans for this review. We will see how it unfolds. I am not going to spoil anything right now, just stay tuned for some info over the next week or so and then we will be sailing. 

 

 

 

Andy Reid got us as far as your team, so don't expect much more from Big Red.....Go Birds!  #PhillyPhilly

[tcmagnum]

Following...Have a great trip!!

 

[Familygoboston]

Ok folks let me know what you think...today Randy “mcgyvered” his suitcase, much to the mortification of Amy. He’s says it’s good to go, she says it’s a no go...will this marriage survive to 30 years? 🤣

While I appreciate frugality and good old Yankee ingenuity, I dont honesty think this thing will survive the airline and then cruise line baggage handlers! Time for a new one or No? 

[Biker19]

That's just an outside pocket, you can make do without it, but I would remove the pins.

[perfect match]

This is going to be one interesting read! 😀 

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thanks for bringing us along. 

[er345]

Definitely time for a new suitcase.

 

Looking forward to reading this entertaining review. As an obsessed cruise planner with a DH who really doesn’t care that the beverage package dropped in price etc. I can relate to this.

[rsharp83]

9 hours ago, Dayman9966 said:

Andy Reid got us as far as your team, so don't expect much more from Big Red.....Go Birds!  #PhillyPhilly

 

Two Words:  PATRICK MAHOMES 

😀

[rsharp83]

A quick background that is not nearly as funny as Kathy’s earlier description 

As you already know I got started cruising in 2013 on Allure. It took 10 long years to convince my wife to go on a cruise. She just didn’t want to get on a ship for whatever vague reasons. When I finally did get her on a ship, she loved it. The rest of the group that originally sailed with us loved it too. We were a little band of 8 people back then. I meticulously planned and researched our first cruise. Little did I know what would happen from that point on…

 

One thing I did know is that Kathy aka: familygoboston was super helpful to me as I planned that first cruise. And then we became genuine friends. And our spouses became friends. But they live on the East Coast (Patriot fans) and we live in the Midwest (Chiefs fans). Getting together is a bit difficult. But despite not seeing them for 6 years we are still very good friends. And even though we haven’t traveled together since that first Allure sailing, we constantly talk about our trips and what we are planning and where we are going and how the stars are going to one day align for us to travel together again. And then it happened, a cruise together at last.

 

Hey, can we go with you next time?

Our Allure cruise was a huge success on many levels. My wife and my in-laws had been converted. They now loved cruising. My dueling CC review with Kathy got tons of views and responses. My wife’s social media posts had generated a lot of interest in cruising among our friends. Then people started asking when we were going again, and could they maybe go with us. That’s when we decided to try a get a larger group to go cruising.

 

We did Oasis in 2015 with 20 people. That was a blast. And then we did a Jewel Southern cruise in conjunction with a work convention in 2016 that wound up being 12 people. We did another group in 2018 on Adventure in the Southern Caribbean that was also 20 people. Finally, in 2018 Amy and I did the unthinkable and went on a cruise by ourselves! Which was fun but not quite like the groups.

 

After the Adventure cruise in 2017 we told everyone that the next big group cruise would be June of 2019, our 30^th wedding anniversary. We decided to shoot for an increase and try to get 30 people to go with us. We started booking Harmony of the Seas in November of 2017. I had no idea what this would turn into.

[mchin]

Following.  Love the review so far!  😁 We are booked on Harmony for the first time next June.

[sellwingri]

3 minutes ago, mchin said:

Following.  Love the review so far!  😁 We are booked on Harmony for the first time next June.

Forgive me for saying this but where is the review?