Harmony of the Seas

[Eragon666]

12 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

 

So appreciate all the information you are providing!

 

I am also especially interested in excursions. If you should hear anything specific about the Amalfi/Pompeii excursion in Naples (have that one booked but would cancel it if reviews are unfavorable) or in La Spezia (nothing booked there as nothing seems worth the price but you never know) I would appreciate it.

 

Also, I was wondering how difficult it is to make dining/show reservations. I will board in Rome so can't use the app and will be off timewise (i.e. when I board guests who got on in Barcelona already had four days to make reservations for the first two or three days of my cruise). I am also a little concerned because on the app it looks like everything is set up for guests getting on in Barcelona (e.g. tour of spa, Bingo with suite as price etc.). Any information on that would be appreciated.

We boarded sept 16 from Rome. Indeed everything is scheduled around Barcelona departure, but that didnt bother us too much. 

Reservations are easy, just walk to the royal promenade on boarding day and you can book all shows at once. If you want to book another day, call the phone number or walk to the venue/customer service. 

For the (speciality) restaurants, we went 4 nights, all nights at most 50% of the tables are filled. So we just went to the restaurant a few hours before we wanted to dine, and reserved for that evening. 

With 1100 guests, almost nothing is fully reserved 🙂 

[umanemo]

I am sorry if this is repetitive but I have not found a thread to review on the COVID testing protocol for the Oct. 31 T/A.

 

How will it be handled in Barcelona? At the cruise terminal or do we look to test somewhere in Spain?

 

We would really like to hear from one of the recent passengers of their testing experience in Barcelona. 

 

Thanks so much!

Edited September 30, 2021 by umanemo

[gumshoe958]

10 minutes ago, umanemo said:

I am sorry if this is repetitive but I have not found a thread to review on the COVID testing protocol for the Oct. 31 T/A.

 

How will it be handled in Barcelona? At the cruise terminal or do we look to test somewhere in Spain?

The only test you’ll require is the free one provided by Royal at the port when you check in.

 

But - if you’re flying to Spain to join the cruise I would strongly advise getting tested before you leave home.
 

You don’t have to, but it’s for your own peace of mind as you really don’t want to fly all the way to Barcelona only to test positive, be denied boarding by Royal, be forced to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days and have to book a last minute flight home.

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by gumshoe958

[umanemo]

7 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

The only test you’ll require is the free one provided by Royal at the port when you check in.

 

But - if you’re flying to Spain to join the cruise I would strongly advise getting tested before you leave home.
 

You don’t have to, but it’s for your own peace of mind as you really don’t want to fly all the way to Barcelona only to test positive, be denied boarding by Royal, be forced to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days and have to book a last minute flight home.

 

Thanks for the heads up. We are Americans full time touring in an RV over here in Europe so that helps to know where to expect to take the test.

 

I then am assuming another test on board before disembarkation at Canaveral also.

 

We are concerned though that we were only offered a 1 P.M. "Wellness Check" reservation at the terminal. Now I am thinking that's the time they will test us. How long for the results to clear us to board? We were hoping to have lunch in Chops (UDP) as we usually do but if the test takes an hour...

 

Anyone had luck with rolling back that reservation time for the test?

 

Thanks again everyone for your interest and answers to this post. Sea you soon!

[gumshoe958]

1 minute ago, umanemo said:

Thanks for the heads up. We are Americans full time touring in an RV over here in Europe so that helps to know where to expect to take the test.

 

I then am assuming another test on board before disembarkation at Canaveral also.

 

We are concerned though that we were only offered a 1 P.M. "Wellness Check" reservation at the terminal. Now I am thinking that's the time they will test us. How long for the results to clear us to board? We were hoping to have lunch in Chops (UDP) as we usually do but if the test takes an hour...

 

Anyone had luck with rolling back that reservation time for the test?

 

Thanks again everyone for your interest and answers to this post. Sea you soon!

The rapid antigen tests normally take 15-30 minutes to come back.

 

And yes, presumably you will also get tested on board before arrival in the US.

 

Someone who’s already sailed on Harmony will know for sure but my hunch would be if you turned up at noon or 12.30 you’d be fine - 10.30 might be pushing it though.

[Twolittleboys]

43 minutes ago, Eragon666 said:

We boarded sept 16 from Rome. Indeed everything is scheduled around Barcelona departure, but that didnt bother us too much. 

Reservations are easy, just walk to the royal promenade on boarding day and you can book all shows at once. If you want to book another day, call the phone number or walk to the venue/customer service. 

For the (speciality) restaurants, we went 4 nights, all nights at most 50% of the tables are filled. So we just went to the restaurant a few hours before we wanted to dine, and reserved for that evening. 

With 1100 guests, almost nothing is fully reserved 🙂 

 

Thanks so much - I have been a bit concerned about this. I have booked UDP and was a bit worried that it might be difficult to get reservations at least for the first couple of days. But it sounds like that won't be a problem (hope our week isn't significantly busier).

 

Did you do any of the excursions?

[jjsparkles]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

We are enjoying our cruise. 🙂

We are not doing any excursions as they are outrageously expensive.

Definitely book in advance in the cruise planner; they are even more expensive on board. If you tell me which ones you're interested in I will get you the onboard prices.

Thanks so much. A taste of Rome is the main one for us and price depending Naples/Amalfi coast/Pompei. We will be totally happy to stay on board if they turn out too pricey. Thank you again for taking time out from your holiday to answer questions, it’s very generous of you 🙂

[FionaMG]

19 minutes ago, jjsparkles said:

Thanks so much. A taste of Rome is the main one for us and price depending Naples/Amalfi coast/Pompei. We will be totally happy to stay on board if they turn out too pricey. Thank you again for taking time out from your holiday to answer questions, it’s very generous of you 🙂

My pleasure, glad to help out as others did for me. 🙂

Taste of Rome onboard price is $129.99 and Amalfi Coast with Pompeii is $219.99.

[umanemo]

Maybe someone can verify this. Fellow cruisers from Spain, avid Royal fans (Pinnacle) who were on board the Harmony's reboot cruise this summer, have just explained to me that the CDC has announced no restrictions for European passenger's disembarking after Nov. 1, 2021 at US ports. "It was in all the international press some time ago.", they said.

 

I have found this from Sept. 24 2021:

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/international-travel-restrictions-will-be-rescinded-early-november

 

That reads to me that we have a GO! 'ALL ABOARD' for the Harmony of the Seas 2021 Spanish Transatlantic!!!

 

Why do I see recent threads here containing ambiguity over this approval?

[FionaMG]

@umanemo, I will try and confirm with the officers at Captain's corner on Friday.

[FionaMG]

@turboless, I checked with Guest Services and it is not possible to leave teens under the age of 18 on board by themselves as someone of legal age is required to be available to take responsibility/sign consent forms in the event of a medical emergency.

The reason it is permitted for younger kids is because, unlike the teens, they have to be signed in and out and when you do that you give that authority to the youth staff to act on your behalf.

However, if you were travelling with other adults who were not getting off, you could sign authority over to them.

Hope this helps.

[gumshoe958]

4 minutes ago, umanemo said:

Maybe someone can verify this. Fellow cruisers from Spain, avid Royal fans (Pinnacle) who were on board the Harmony's reboot cruise this summer, have just explained to me that the CDC has announced no restrictions for European passenger's disembarking after Nov. 1, 2021 at US ports. "It was in all the international press some time ago.", they said.

 

I have found this from Sept. 24 2021:

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/international-travel-restrictions-will-be-rescinded-early-november

 

That reads to me that we have a GO! 'ALL ABOARD' for the Harmony of the Seas 2021 Spanish Transatlantic!!!

 

Why do I see recent threads here containing ambiguity over this approval?

Because the exact date hasn’t been confirmed. That article simply says “early November”.

 

If it’s the 1st, fantastic - we’re good to go. If it’s the 14th, there’s a problem. But we just don’t know.

 

Presumably Royal are waiting for confirmation from the CDC before they decide how to proceed but right now, as things stand, most non-Americans can’t sail on that TA. And time’s running out …

[FionaMG]

@umanemo, the time you book for check in is the time you do the pre-boarding test. Once that's done you go through to check in to deal with the formalities while waiting for the results. Ours came through very quickly; we had barely had time to complete the check in process and we were already cleared to board.

[umanemo]

11 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Because the exact date hasn’t been confirmed. That article simply says “early November”.

 

If it’s the 1st, fantastic - we’re good to go. If it’s the 14th, there’s a problem. But we just don’t know.

 

Presumably Royal are waiting for confirmation from the CDC before they decide how to proceed but right now, as things stand, most non-Americans can’t sail on that TA. And time’s running out …

Though unconfirmed, many of our Florida friends have Emailed us of the 'news' that the CDC has already set the Nov. 1 date to end the moratorium on Europeans disembarkation. Something to put in the hope chest!

Edited September 30, 2021 by umanemo

[gumshoe958]

3 minutes ago, umanemo said:

Though unconfirmed, many of our Florida friends have Emailed us of the 'news' that the CDC has already set the Nov. 1 date to end the moratorium on Europeans disembarkation. Something to put in the hope chest!

Excellent!

 

But until it’s confirmed, nothing changes and at some point Royal will have to make the call. 

[Twolittleboys]

Could someone maybe also say how much the beverage package is if bought on the ship?

[Guest BigRoger]

7 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Excellent!

 

But until it’s confirmed, nothing changes and at some point Royal will have to make the call. 

If it runs true to form (as it has done with the B2B back up cruises we’ve booked for the 2 weeks before the transatlantic)…. Tomorrow or Saturday is the first of the ‘go or no go’ decision days for RC…. Reason is if they follow what’s happened for the 17th and 24th sailings… the cruise documents were sent out 30 days before sailing….

[Eragon666]

Any ideas about the upcoming few iternaties and the expected occupancy? 

 

As for Europa the fall-holiday season for schools will soon start, I might expect a higher occupancy? 

Personally I expect the 3 and 10 october sailings to be at the current occupancy levels, but the 17 and 24 sailings might be a bit fuller. Anyone got some inside knowledge? 🙂 

[Eragon666]

4 hours ago, Twolittleboys said:

 

Thanks so much - I have been a bit concerned about this. I have booked UDP and was a bit worried that it might be difficult to get reservations at least for the first couple of days. But it sounds like that won't be a problem (hope our week isn't significantly busier).

 

Did you do any of the excursions?

Nope, no excursions. Wasnt worth the price for me, we did Rome after the cruise. Napels/La Spezia are cheaper for us to just fly to from Netherlands and stay a few days than doing a single day excursion. And especially with all restrictions now, it didnt seems to be worth the price. Instead we bought the dining package and did a lot of flowriding 😄 

[Twolittleboys]

3 minutes ago, Eragon666 said:

Nope, no excursions. Wasnt worth the price for me, we did Rome after the cruise. Napels/La Spezia are cheaper for us to just fly to from Netherlands and stay a few days than doing a single day excursion. And especially with all restrictions now, it didnt seems to be worth the price. Instead we bought the dining package and did a lot of flowriding 😄 

 

Makes sense. Actually, I am thinking of doing the same thing for La Spezia (well, other than the flowriding - not brave enough). I did book the Amalfi/Pompeii excursion in Naples - have been to Pompeii before but it was a while ago without any sort of tour/explanation and it sounds like Amalfi is difficult to do without some sort of excursion. The price was quite dear but I am okay with that as long as the excursion is worth it - we will see.

[umanemo]

Quick question. The masking requirements, FFP2(N95) or the blue corrugated paper ones?

[Eragon666]

14 minutes ago, umanemo said:

Quick question. The masking requirements, FFP2(N95) or the blue corrugated paper ones?

Almost everyone just had the blue paper ones, you also get one 'royal-caribbean branded paper mask' in your stateroom. 

 

Crew is wearing a mask with an added filter in it, and has to wear it everywhere, even the sports crew standing in the flowrider 😮 

[FionaMG]

37 minutes ago, umanemo said:

Quick question. The masking requirements, FFP2(N95) or the blue corrugated paper ones?

Either on board and on land in Spain. We aren't getting off in Italy so I don't know about on land there.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Eragon666 said:

Any ideas about the upcoming few iternaties and the expected occupancy? 

 

As for Europa the fall-holiday season for schools will soon start, I might expect a higher occupancy? 

Personally I expect the 3 and 10 october sailings to be at the current occupancy levels, but the 17 and 24 sailings might be a bit fuller. Anyone got some inside knowledge? 🙂 

The youth staff I spoke to are definitely expecting higher occupancy levels in the second half of October with schools in various European countries having their half term break.

[jjsparkles]

5 hours ago, FionaMG said:

My pleasure, glad to help out as others did for me. 🙂

Taste of Rome onboard price is $129.99 and Amalfi Coast with Pompeii is $219.99.

That's great, thanks again for your help 🙂