Harmony 12/19-26

[vandy]

Just off the Harmony yesterday and happy to try and answer any questions. 
 

We had a great time overall and the covid protocols didn’t adversely affect our time. The problem, if anything, were the passengers who do not follow ship protocol.  Crowded elevators with unmasked passengers led to us taking stairs at times, along with the usual handful of really obnoxious and unthoughtful people that you get on every cruise. 
 

There IS a problem with the seating in the MDR and in the downstairs of the Royal theater .  No spacing whatsoever. It’s pretty strange since there is spacing  in the other restaurants and performance venues. Bars are also crowded. 
 

Around mid-week, I noticed that many of the usual wait staff in the Coastal Kitchen were  not there.  No one mentioned it to us but by Day 6, several were in quarantine and waiters were brought in from specialty restaurants.  What bothered me is that no one ever told us (without me asking) that our waiter was now in quarantine.  The staff was very nice and I’m sure they are stressed, but senior staff should have informed us what was up. 
 

We didn’t miss any ports and had great weather.  It was a really nice break from reality - even when reality showed up.  I kept wondering how so many of the crew (on this ship and others) have been exposed since they don’t leave the ship and are all vaccinated with little interaction with passengers.  Something seems weird about that. 
 

Happy to answer questions. 
 

 

[Crazy planning mom]

4 minutes ago, vandy said:

Just off the Harmony yesterday and happy to try and answer any questions. 
 

We had a great time overall and the covid protocols didn’t adversely affect our time. The problem, if anything, were the passengers who do not follow ship protocol.  Crowded elevators with unmasked passengers led to us taking stairs at times, along with the usual handful of really obnoxious and unthoughtful people that you get on every cruise. 
 

There IS a problem with the seating in the MDR and in the downstairs of the Royal theater .  No spacing whatsoever. It’s pretty strange since there is spacing  in the other restaurants and performance venues. Bars are also crowded. 
 

Around mid-week, I noticed that many of the usual wait staff in the Coastal Kitchen were  not there.  No one mentioned it to us but by Day 6, several were in quarantine and waiters were brought in from specialty restaurants.  What bothered me is that no one ever told us (without me asking) that our waiter was now in quarantine.  The staff was very nice and I’m sure they are stressed, but senior staff should have informed us what was up. 
 

We didn’t miss any ports and had great weather.  It was a really nice break from reality - even when reality showed up.  I kept wondering how so many of the crew (on this ship and others) have been exposed since they don’t leave the ship and are all vaccinated with little interaction with passengers.  Something seems weird about that. 
 

Happy to answer questions. 
 

 

I think I read somewhere on here that the crew were vaccinated with J&J and hadn't received their boosters.  I think that is the issue.

[BSMITH24]

I also was on the Harmony 12/19 .  I agree a lot of people who did not follow the rules about mask wearing and social distancing.  It was good to be back cruising.  The kids on board were a little wild and not supervised by parents.  We will never get out of this pandemic if people continue to ignore the safety precautions.

[HicksRA]

I’m wondering how congested crew quarters, mess hall, etc are which may be causing massive spread amongst them 

Edited December 28, 2021 by HicksRA

[mrg0433]

17 minutes ago, vandy said:

Just off the Harmony yesterday and happy to try and answer any questions. 
 

We had a great time overall and the covid protocols didn’t adversely affect our time. The problem, if anything, were the passengers who do not follow ship protocol.  Crowded elevators with unmasked passengers led to us taking stairs at times, along with the usual handful of really obnoxious and unthoughtful people that you get on every cruise. 
 

There IS a problem with the seating in the MDR and in the downstairs of the Royal theater .  No spacing whatsoever. It’s pretty strange since there is spacing  in the other restaurants and performance venues. Bars are also crowded. 
 

Around mid-week, I noticed that many of the usual wait staff in the Coastal Kitchen were  not there.  No one mentioned it to us but by Day 6, several were in quarantine and waiters were brought in from specialty restaurants.  What bothered me is that no one ever told us (without me asking) that our waiter was now in quarantine.  The staff was very nice and I’m sure they are stressed, but senior staff should have informed us what was up. 
 

We didn’t miss any ports and had great weather.  It was a really nice break from reality - even when reality showed up.  I kept wondering how so many of the crew (on this ship and others) have been exposed since they don’t leave the ship and are all vaccinated with little interaction with passengers.  Something seems weird about that. 
 

Happy to answer questions. 
 

 

We decided to dine for lunch in the MDR instead of dinner to avoid crowds on our Fall cruise.  It worked out well so we will do it again on r winter cruise.  We will enjoy room service on r balcony and consider other options for dinner.  This dining plan leaves more room for dessert.  

[Ptroxx]

11 minutes ago, mrg0433 said:

We decided to dine for lunch in the MDR instead of dinner to avoid crowds on our Fall cruise.  It worked out well so we will do it again on r winter cruise.  We will enjoy room service on r balcony and consider other options for dinner.  This dining plan leaves more room for dessert.  

This is exactly what I plan on doing.  Just going with the flow. And enjoying my balcony and the ocean breeze.     

[vandy]

12 minutes ago, mrg0433 said:

W

13 minutes ago, mrg0433 said:

We decided to dine for lunch in the MDR instead of dinner to avoid crowds on our Fall cruise.  It worked out well so we will do it again on r winter cruise.  We will enjoy room service on r balcony and consider other options for dinner.  This dining plan leaves more room for dessert. 

That’s a great idea , but sadly things have changed since fall with the increased capacity.  We had lunch in the MDR and they packed everyone into one section.  The table next to us was literally a foot away.  It was really strange and unnerving. 
 

We had lunch at several specialty restaurants and it was much better spacing wise. 

[irishgal432]

We just had to cancel for next week, daughter was exposed and didnt want to have her contagious and get covid on the ship.  Hard decision, I had not heard of any covid on Harmony so thank you for your report.  Was all of the entertainment run as scheduled.

 

[vandy]

Just now, irishgal432 said:

We just had to cancel for next week, daughter was exposed and didnt want to have her contagious and get covid on the ship.  Hard decision, I had not heard of any covid on Harmony so thank you for your report.  Was all of the entertainment run as scheduled.

 

Yes, all of the entertainment went as scheduled and was really good!

[smmountaingal]

Thank you for your review.  We are scheduled for January 23rd and I am monitoring closely.  We want to enjoy the entertainment and I have read that many other Royal ships canceled entertaininment.

 

[MechE31]

I was on the cruise as well and agree that the elevator rules weren't being followed. My mom is mobility limited so had to take the elevator and it was often packed full. I didn't see anyone not masked in the elevator. 

 

We had unvaccinated kids in our group and the seating at the shows was spaced well in the "everyone" section. It was every other row and 2 empty seats between parties. The only show that was close to full was the aqua theater. 

[G8R On Board]

I was wondering about some of the other activities on the ship like deck activities (line dancing, ice carvings, pool competitions), demos/lectures (bartender making cocktails, cooking demos), trivia, music in venues like Dazzles, Boleros, piano bar, and then the general shows (ice show, aqua, shows marriage and game show, etc.)  Also, how are they handling the gym?  Are masks required like other indoor spaces, reservations required?  Thanks.  

[vandy]

3 minutes ago, G8R On Board said:

I was wondering about some of the other activities on the ship like deck activities (line dancing, ice carvings, pool competitions), demos/lectures (bartender making cocktails, cooking demos), trivia, music in venues like Dazzles, Boleros, piano bar, and then the general shows (ice show, aqua, shows marriage and game show, etc.)  Also, how are they handling the gym?  Are masks required like other indoor spaces, reservations required?  Thanks.  

I don’t know about the gym or pool competitions, but everything else was offered. There was a lot of live music around the ship.  We went to Grease, the ice show, Aqua show, and saw 2 headliners. They had love & marriage and trivia.  
 

The seating in the unvaxxed section of the theater was more comfortable  than the crowded vaxxed section.  Upstairs there was a row between everyone and nice spacing.  We sat upstairs twice  though we are vaccinated. There were plenty of open seats. 

[vandy]

46 minutes ago, smmountaingal said:

Thank you for your review.  We are scheduled for January 23rd and I am monitoring closely.  We want to enjoy the entertainment and I have read that many other Royal ships canceled entertaininment.

 

Ships that cancelled entertainment had cases in the cast. Ours did not during this sailing, thankfully. 

[G8R On Board]

Thanks for the info, especially about the seating.  

 

[MechE31]

13 minutes ago, G8R On Board said:

I was wondering about some of the other activities on the ship like deck activities (line dancing, ice carvings, pool competitions), demos/lectures (bartender making cocktails, cooking demos), trivia, music in venues like Dazzles, Boleros, piano bar, and then the general shows (ice show, aqua, shows marriage and game show, etc.)  Also, how are they handling the gym?  Are masks required like other indoor spaces, reservations required?  Thanks.  

 

I did not see many, if any, of the deck activities or demos. Trivia and music was going on. Masks were not required in the gym. Reservations are required for the normal shows but not other activities like trivia. Most of the "everyone" events had a limited capacity listed on the event. This was not the case for vaccinated events/venues. 

[Laurie997]

May I ask who the headliners and comedian was please we sail 1-23-21 glad you had a fantastic time ❤️

[MechE31]

7 hours ago, Laurie997 said:

May I ask who the headliners and comedian was please we sail 1-23-21 glad you had a fantastic time ❤️

 

4ever https://powerscribe.com/blackburn/our_artists/groups_and_bands/4ever.html

 

Very talented but didn't connect with them. 

 

Scotty Cavanaugh https://www.juggleshow.com/

 

Our kids loved him, I was entertained but not blown away. 

 

[Patd27]

Do you know whether or not the Diamond Club was open for evening cocktails?

[chawkjewel]

31 minutes ago, Patd27 said:

Do you know whether or not the Diamond Club was open for evening cocktails?

 

It was open on our sailing on the 12th but the drinks come from your 4/5/6 allowed.  The room is very small and gets crowded.  We opted for other venues for our pre-dinner cocktails.

[vandy]

17 hours ago, mrg0433 said:

2 hours ago, MechE31 said:

 

4ever https://powerscribe.com/blackburn/our_artists/groups_and_bands/4ever.html

 

Very talented but didn't connect with them. 

 

Scotty Cavanaugh https://www.juggleshow.com/

 

Our kids loved him, I was entertained but not blown away. 

 

We really enjoyed Fourever, and the larger audience seemed to as well as they received a SO.    The lead singer did an amazing set in the Pub (night 5 or 6) that we listened to from the promenade. They also popped up in other venues singing Christmas songs.
 

Grease was cute and the cast also did a Christmas singalong, the ice show was really enjoyable and the Aqua show was campy and fun.   We were glad to see live performances after so long without them.  
 

The guitarist in Central Park the first night and in the pub later was really really good.   There was music everywhere   

 

[yancycruiser]

Thank you Vandy for the great post and willingness to answer question.   We plan to follow some of your advice.  We are on the Jan 16th sailing and with many cruisers cancelling, we hope for a half full ship.  Best to you and your family.

 

[yancycruiser]

One question Vandy.   How easy was it to access RCCL 24 hours before boarding to complete the questionnaire?

 

[vandy]

53 minutes ago, yancycruiser said:

One question Vandy.   How easy was it to access RCCL 24 hours before boarding to complete the questionnaire?

 

The health questionnaire? It was very easy! 

[ericopia]

We were on this same sailing, and agree with the comments about the elevators and the theater seating. Grease was PACKED full on the mid level; 4ever much less so. The too-fast "staggered" release of audience after each show just caused even more congestion at the exit, and people caught on and started to leave during the final number of later shows to avoid it.

 

The most uncomfortable moment for me (outside of check in and debarkation – both closer-quarters crowded situations) was Formal Night/Christmas Eve in the Promenade. Long, LONG lines for all the photo stations, staff trying to guide people to appropriate physical distancing but there just wasn't room. That, and we encountered a number of ladies who weren't putting their masks back on between photo stops (just a presumption on my part but perhaps it was to avoid messing up makeup and/or hair).