Live - Harmony of the Seas - Nov 5, 2023

[Rewind]

There was an Alpha call a couple hours ago.  Just as the 9pm ice show was about to start, the Captain announced that we are heading back to Galveston to get the passenger the help they need.  Captain said we should be back at 2am but it won't affect our port stops - we will just be sailing faster.

 

Ice show was good but a bit serious.  I know we have seen more light hearted shows on other ships.  Even so, I wouldn't miss it.

 

[Rewind]

10pm - back in the cabin.  Can hear some noise from the boardwalk.  Hoping it quiets down in a bit.

 

Goodnight for now.

[PhillyFan33579]

I love Oasis class ships but I have never understood why they didn’t put a pool in the Solarium on Harmony. That is a big negative in my book, but it hasn’t kept me from cruising on Harmony multiple times. 

[Rewind]

Good morning from the gulf!  Not too much happening yet, Windjammer breakfast was fairly decent - slightly better donuts than other ships.  🙂

 

The noise on the boardwalk did stop right about 10:30pm last night and it was nice and quiet to sleep.  I did hear a bit of music at 4:30am but that was only because my body still thinks that is 6:30am and I was already waking up.

 

But for now, we are here:

 

[clochette]

23 hours ago, Rewind said:

 

For those Diamond members, we have been kicked out of the Crown Lounge between 5pm-8pm, reserved for Diamond+ and Pinnacle.  The lounge is available all other times though 

 

We are on Harmony in January so I will assume that we will be kicked out of the crown lounge also, did they give you an extra non alcoholic coffee drink every day, they have done that on past cruises with high numbers of Diamond, Diamond plus

[PlanetX]

Following! We will be on Harmony starting Sunday, hope all goes well for your sailing after the Alpha call last night.  We got 2 on Symphony last year on the first night and had to head back to Miami, but we were back on schedule the next day, no worries.

 

Do you happen to know who the comedians are on your sailing?  Guessing they'll be there next week too.

[firefly333]

31 minutes ago, clochette said:

We are on Harmony in January so I will assume that we will be kicked out of the crown lounge also, did they give you an extra non alcoholic coffee drink every day, they have done that on past cruises with high numbers of Diamond, Diamond plus

I wouldnt assume that because this first 7 day sailing of harmony has a lot of high level loyalty pax they will still be onboard in jan. I know a lot who cruise out of Galveston around now to xmas but get off during the holidays to be with family. I've been cruising during dec since covid myself so have run into a lot of them. Prices were higher when I booked dec 10, but less other weeks so more demand that week I'd assume. Being the first 7 day on harmony I'm sure was a draw. 

[Rewind]

They just did their warmup in the Aqua Theater:

 

Two shows tonight, two tomorrow, and two on day 5.

 

View from our cabin - meh.  Even the next cabin back will have partially obstructed views but better than what we have.  I think deck 8 starboard or deck 10 on either side would be good.  Deck 11 and 14 are fine too but I think you are getting a bit high up.

[AZ Squirrel]

3 hours ago, PlanetX said:

Following! We will be on Harmony starting Sunday, hope all goes well for your sailing after the Alpha call last night.  We got 2 on Symphony last year on the first night and had to head back to Miami, but we were back on schedule the next day, no worries.

 

Do you happen to know who the comedians are on your sailing?  Guessing they'll be there next week too.

We will be on that sailing too, Nov 11th! Can't wait!

[wolfcathorse]

would you please find out who the captain is? If there's no Behind the Name Tag sheets on the wall by Guest Services, your Genie or Concierge could tell you. Even better would be to find out when he started or when he's going on vacation.

[Rewind]

We have Captain's Corner on our schedule for later this week.  🙂

 

Formal night tonight.  We are sitting in the Pub on the Promenade using our Diamond vouchers.  The band is out on the Promenade and are doing a very nice set of rock/jazz.

[Lorey2007]

Excited to see you doing a "live" on Harmony out of Galveston.  We will be sailing on her in April so I'll be following along.  Thanks enjoy your cruise. 

[PlanetX]

1 hour ago, wolfcathorse said:

would you please find out who the captain is? 

Captain Marshall Bartlett sailed Harmony into Galveston last week. 

[Rewind]

Just about to start the first Aqua Theater show for tonight.  We have reservations for the second show.

 

[Rewind]

After watching from our balcony, I will say this aqua show seems elegant.  The aqua show we saw in 2021 on Oasis was 80s themed and more upbeat, but this Harmony aqua show was "refined".  Both shows are amazing, just have a different vibe.

[Rewind]

Aqua Theater seating - 

4th row center is reserved for Star Class suites.

Rows 5 through 9 center are being held for those who purchased the Key.

 

They did start seating those with reservations 45 minutes before showtime.

 

 

Also, first three rows are in the splash zone and pool towels have been preset for those attending.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Rewind

[Rewind]

Aqua Show is a must see.  While I do still think the show is refined, you can still see the fun the cast is having.

 

Let me talk stateroom for a second.  Harmony has the newer cabin design compared to Oasis and Allure (at least as of our sailings on them in 2021 and 2015 respectively).  There is no one large closet but two smaller cabinets (still plenty of hanging space) on each side of the couch.  It really makes the room more open and easier for two people to get ready.  In general the cabin feels modern and fresh.

 

That's it for tonight - more tomorrow.

 

[Lorey2007]

10 hours ago, Rewind said:

Aqua Theater seating - 

4th row center is reserved for Star Class suites.

Rows 5 through 9 center are being held for those who purchased the Key.

 

They did start seating those with reservations 45 minutes before showtime.

 

 

Also, first three rows are in the splash zone and pool towels have been preset for those attending.

Are the key seats in rows 5-9 the individual seats with arms or bench seats?

[firefly333]

19 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

Are the key seats in rows 5-9 the individual seats with arms or bench seats?

Every other row is the benches or the chairs.

[Rewind]

Morning!

 

Couple random thoughts that I will throw together:

Aqua Show - there is a bit of a preshow that starts 10 minutes before showtime. Don't be like a bunch of the other inconsiderate people and be looking for seats at the last minute.  😁

 

Stateroom lighting - they are using LEDs in everything as the lights turn on instantly instead of flickering.  There is the main cabin lights, a light on either side of the bed, and the bathroom (with nightlight).  

Cons - I wish the light over the couch was controlled separately as if someone is trying to nap and another wants to read, there is no good way to make that work.

Pros - the switch for the bathroom lighting has a small blue light on it - just enough that you can find your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

 

Windjammer - it seems smaller than I remember.  We think that might be due to having so many dining venues on the ship that it doesn't need to be as large.  It just seems like there aren't as many options at the buffet as we have had on Voyager / Freedom class ships.

 

We did check out the Crown Lounge this morning. Forgot to check signage (will do that later) but it's fairly standard offerings.  I did find it funny as you can still see the outline on the wall where the stage used to be.

 

Top tier event in an hour.

[Rewind]

Re: Lighting -

 

Not 10 minutes after I posted that, I looked across the way and saw a lighted mirror.  I then discovered the switch on the "desk" that is below the glass shelf that turns on that light.

 

So now that I know there are some dim lighting options, I retract my previous Con statement of not enough lighting options in the cabin.

[firefly333]

26 minutes ago, Rewind said:

Top tier event in an hour.

Could you please post a picture at top tier when they show how many pinnacles, diamonds etc onboard.

 

I've seen posts for nov 26 and dec 3 we also have the same restrictions for diamonds pinnacles etc bumping down to not get in all lounges etc. Wondering how many. We had 173 or something like that of pinnacles when allure came to Galveston.  I'd like to compare.

[firefly333]

You should try breakfast in the solarium tomorrow morning while it's a sea day. Hours change on port days. I really enjoyed eating breakfast in there. That's my go to breakfast spot. 

 

I assume dinner is that Greek stuff. .. worth sneaking thru to grab some baklava. 

[Rewind]

54 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Could you please post a picture at top tier when they show how many pinnacles, diamonds etc onboard.

 

[Lorey2007]

2 hours ago, Rewind said:

Morning!

 

Couple random thoughts that I will throw together:

Aqua Show - there is a bit of a preshow that starts 10 minutes before showtime. Don't be like a bunch of the other inconsiderate people and be looking for seats at the last minute.  😁

 

Stateroom lighting - they are using LEDs in everything as the lights turn on instantly instead of flickering.  There is the main cabin lights, a light on either side of the bed, and the bathroom (with nightlight).  

Cons - I wish the light over the couch was controlled separately as if someone is trying to nap and another wants to read, there is no good way to make that work.

Pros - the switch for the bathroom lighting has a small blue light on it - just enough that you can find your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

 

Windjammer - it seems smaller than I remember.  We think that might be due to having so many dining venues on the ship that it doesn't need to be as large.  It just seems like there aren't as many options at the buffet as we have had on Voyager / Freedom class ships.

 

We did check out the Crown Lounge this morning. Forgot to check signage (will do that later) but it's fairly standard offerings.  I did find it funny as you can still see the outline on the wall where the stage used to be.

 

Top tier event in an hour.

All Oasis class ships the Windjammer is smaller than on Freedom & Voyager ships that's one of the reasons I avoid it.