LIVE from Harmony, NYE Cruise, Dec 31, 2023

[GetToLivin]

 

 

Hello again from DFW where it's 30 degrees in the morning and 65 by the afternoon: not only does our weather not know what to do but here we are stuck in the weirdest 5 days of the year, so let's take a cruise! 

 

 

 

Last year we took this same NYE itinerary on Allure. We love Allure and have sailed on her many times, but I'm excited for Harmony since I think our 16 and 19-year-olds will have a bit more fun with the water slides, etc. Costa Maya will land us at the Mayan Kingdom Adventure Park, Roatan will be the Jungle ATV Adventure and Beach Break, and in Cozumel, you will find us at one of our favorites, Mr. Sanchos. 

 

We are booked at the Hilton Galveston Island Resort tonight. I have the teens in a double room and we're in a King that overlooks the gulf. Supposedly all the rooms are updated so we shall see, last year the hotel was looking quite "tired" so I'm excited for the updates:

 

 

Dinner reservations are at Landry's tonight which is in very convenient walking distance from the hotel. We're planning to leave around 11am in the hopes of getting to Galveston by 4pm, with just enough time to see the gulf before the cloak of night takes over. Of course, we have two Bucees we'll be stopping at along the way because...well, it's what you do when there's a Bucees:

 

 

As for now, the house is quiet as I have a final load of laundry going but of course, last night my 16-year-old let me know he only has 2 pairs of shorts that fit, so guess what? Time to disturb the peace and head to Walmart for a quick shorts-shopping spree. At least it's Texas so they WILL have shorts somewhere...

 

I will leave you with my goodbye pic with Jack...he is at a friend's house this week and from what I last heard was marching around their kitchen island growling while their Goldendoodle follows him, I suspect trying to figure out if Jack is a toy or an animal... 😉

 

[TeeRick]

Jack is adorable and probably hard to leave behind.  What breed?

[GetToLivin]

21 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Jack is adorable and probably hard to leave behind.  What breed?

Thank you! He's our baby for sure, and he's a Havanese 🥰

[Wheels Up]

Looking forward to reading along. I’ll be on Harmony with Wife and Kid, starting the day you get off the ship.

 

Happy sailing!

[glamourpup]

I’m excited to read this! We’ll also be in a Crown Loft Suite, leaving on January 7. We haven’t cruised since before the pandemic so we’re very excited!

[GetToLivin]

To my delight, we left DFW by 11:20am which, if you knew how it usually goes with my family, is no small feat! Our first stop?

 

 

It's just what you do when you're in Texas, it's an unofficial law to stop at a Bucees. Kids got some BBQ brisket sandwiches and a pic with none other than...

 

 

Jacob (left) and Paul (right)

 

Traffic to Galveston was pretty congested but somehow ::pretending not to know how fast DH was driving:: we made it here by 4pm. Now, if you're from Texas you'll know this next part to be true. We are all about the southern hospitality and niceties....until we're behind the wheel. Hand to God, I've lived in 20+ states and one country (military) and driving in this state is an unofficial survival sport. Everyone knows that the left lane is for crime (err, passing, I mean) so WHY do we have so many people that drive in THAT lane instead of the other 2 (or 3, or 4) lanes where they can mosey-on at their preferred speed, I'll never know. Okay, rant over, but chances are we passed ya'll 😉

 

The Hilton Galveston Island is our preferred hotel every time we sail out of Galveston for a few reasons: there is a great pool, bar, and restaurant, it's within walking distance to more restaurants, next to a drug-store for those last-minute items, and across the street is the lovely beach and gulf. Here is a view from our balcony:

 

 

Happily, they did a beautiful remodel of the rooms and hallways, and it looks like they're still working on other parts of the hotel as well. As I mentioned, we were here last year and the hotel was really starting to show her age, they've done a nice job making the rooms look and feel fresh!  

 

 

 

Bathroom is tight but nice and new...

 

 

Pool area...

 

 

 

I spy...a couple of hams 😉

 

 

[JamesEM]

Following along.

[perfect match]

Hotel looks nice! Your cruise plans sound like fun! I will enjoy following along.

[TeeRick]

19 hours ago, glamourpup said:

I’m excited to read this! We’ll also be in a Crown Loft Suite, leaving on January 7. We haven’t cruised since before the pandemic so we’re very excited!

We were in a CL suite Deck 17 Harmony.  It was really nice and very convenient to everything (CK and SL).  We totally enjoyed Harmony.  In Feb we will be in a CL suite deck 17 on Symphony.  Looking forward to it.  Have a great cruise!

[Kellie in Texas]

We were on Adventure last NYE from Galveston. This year, we're on Harmony in January. Following along with your week. 

[GetToLivin]

After a solid night of sleep we woke up to beautiful weather this morning with sunny skies and 60 degrees of warmth!

 

 

We checked out around 11am and we were on our way. Even though the port is less than 5 miles from the hotel it took a good 20 minutes to reach the North Lot with traffic. We prefer the North Lot due to its proximity to the terminal and since we always self disembark, we like the quick walk back to the car so we can start the drive back to DFW without delay. 

 

We are in a CLS so our time from check in to the ship was less than 10 minutes. Suite check in area...

 

 

We went straight to CK for lunch and by the time we were done at 1pm rooms were ready. We were originally booked in an OS but I happened to stumble across the website one day and there were 6 CLS available for less than the OS, so I jumped on it. This room is absolutely stunning!

 

 

 

Full bathroom, 1st floor. SO HAPPY we did this for the second bathroom, now the boys have their own space and can stay out of mine 😉

 

 

 

Decorative area underneath stairs

 

 

Loft Master Bedroom, Vanity and Bath

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, the lovely balcony...quite a lot of space and can't wait to wake up to those ocean views!

 

 

Right now the boys are breaking in the water slides and I'm breaking in my diamond vouchers on the suite deck!

 

 

Nearly 400 guests still haven't checked in at their muster stations yet so the "last call" threats over the PA are alive and well. No worries from me though, I'll just have another drink 😉

 

[GetToLivin]

We have officially set sail with Voyager right behind us 🙂

[Lorey2007]

We'll be on Harmony in April also staying 2 nights pre cruise at the Hilton Galveston Island Resort. Thanks for the pics it looks really nice.  I'm excited for this review I'll be following along.

Jack has the sweetest face!

Have a great cruise. 

 

[George C]

6 hours ago, GetToLivin said:

After a solid night of sleep we woke up to beautiful weather this morning with sunny skies and 60 degrees of warmth!

 

 

We checked out around 11am and we were on our way. Even though the port is less than 5 miles from the hotel it took a good 20 minutes to reach the North Lot with traffic. We prefer the North Lot due to its proximity to the terminal and since we always self disembark, we like the quick walk back to the car so we can start the drive back to DFW without delay. 

 

We are in a CLS so our time from check in to the ship was less than 10 minutes. Suite check in area...

 

 

We went straight to CK for lunch and by the time we were done at 1pm rooms were ready. We were originally booked in an OS but I happened to stumble across the website one day and there were 6 CLS available for less than the OS, so I jumped on it. This room is absolutely stunning!

 

 

 

Full bathroom, 1st floor. SO HAPPY we did this for the second bathroom, now the boys have their own space and can stay out of mine 😉

 

 

 

Decorative area underneath stairs

 

 

Loft Master Bedroom, Vanity and Bath

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, the lovely balcony...quite a lot of space and can't wait to wake up to those ocean views!

 

 

Right now the boys are breaking in the water slides and I'm breaking in my diamond vouchers on the suite deck!

 

 

Nearly 400 guests still haven't checked in at their muster stations yet so the "last call" threats over the PA are alive and well. No worries from me though, I'll just have another drink 😉

 

Love having two bathrooms but my knees hate stairs , owner’s suite has a much larger balcony.

[A&L_Ont]

On 12/30/2023 at 7:27 PM, GetToLivin said:

We are all about the southern hospitality and niceties.... Everyone knows that the left lane is for crime (err, passing, I mean)

 

These lines in the review had me smiling. 

[GetToLivin]

 

I think I need to start celebrating the New York ball drop since I can at least make it to 11pm with my dignity in tact 😉

 

We went down around 11:45pm and decided to hang around Schooners for the countdown. The promenade was packed full and sure enough all the tables that were available to "reserve" were occupied. Happy New Year!

 

 

Sea days are my favorite because I am able to fully relax with no agenda, so after the gym I spent the afternoon on the suite sun deck. It's a very nice space, quiet and serene, with plenty of seating and a dedicated bar 🍸 

 

 

 

 

I found a lounger in a corner and this was my view for the day 😊

 

 

I did not see the boys for the entire day...which apparently consisted of food, pool deck, more food, water slides, even more food, and the ultimate abyss...eventually we met up with them for some dinner at Sabor 🌮

 

 

We ate so much, food was on point and the place was packed out for the Michigan / Alabama game. Everyone loved their meal, food was hot and flavourful! Some samplings...

 

 

 

 

This is my favorite neighborhood on Oasis Class 🎠 Especially at night, it's just magical!

 

 

 

 

 

In other news, Jack and Fitz have become fast friends and have seemingly calmed waaaaay down and gotten a bit more used to eachother!

 

[glamourpup]

19 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

We ate so much, food was on point and the place was packed out for the Michigan / Alabama game. Everyone loved their meal, food was hot and flavourful! Some samplings...

This is great to know, If TX manages to get into the national championship we’ll want to watch it next week, and we already have a Sabor reservation for that night! 

[A&L_Ont]

@GetToLivin I’ve been watching for you on Harmony, in the morning, from south of Cancun. Not sure if you went to Honduras first though. 
 

 

[Lorey2007]

Are Jr Suite guests allowed on the Suite Sun Deck? What deck is it on?

[A&L_Ont]

28 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

Are Jr Suite guests allowed on the Suite Sun Deck? What deck is it on?

Unfortunately they have not in the past.
 

Not sure if this has changed for the newest class of JR suites that have some additional perks. 

[George C]

45 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Unfortunately they have not in the past.
 

Not sure if this has changed for the newest class of JR suites that have some additional perks. 

I never use suite sun deck , far away from pools and you need to climb stairs to get there , need to have something like suite deck on Celebrity edge class complete with pol also MSc yacht club and no stairs.

[Lorey2007]

@GetToLivin Do you need to use your seapass to get in to the suite sun deck on Harmony?

[GetToLivin]

1 hour ago, A&L_Ont said:

@GetToLivin I’ve been watching for you on Harmony, in the morning, from south of Cancun. Not sure if you went to Honduras first though. 
 

 

Ahoy! We are headed to Costa Maya first, followed by Roatan, then Cozumel 🌞 

[GetToLivin]

1 hour ago, Lorey2007 said:

Are Jr Suite guests allowed on the Suite Sun Deck? What deck is it on?

It's on deck 17 mid-ship. From AFT you'll walk to the center of deck 16 and see a set of stairs by the water slides which leads to the suite deck. 

[GetToLivin]

13 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

@GetToLivin Do you need to use your seapass to get in to the suite sun deck on Harmony?

I have scanned it but it doesn't seem like the gate is actually locked... I'll try to open it today without and report back! 

 

And yes there are stairs but if it's not an issue for your mobility it's actually perfect for those who want a more serene and dedicated experience. The Suite sun deck is one of my favorite perks, and after the gym that's just where I'll be 😃