Family of 6 -- Harmony of the Seas -- Dec 17-24 photo review with GoPro time lapse experimentation

[dwHokie]

Please come along with our family of 6 (kids of 16, 14, 9 and 7) in what is becoming our traditional holiday cruise.  Will try and keep it interesting with my first foray into GoPro underwater and time lapse video.  Our stops included Roatan (Infinity Bay, West Bay Beach), Costa Maya (Maya Chan resort) and Cozumel (Paradise Beach) along with 3 sea days.

 

 

In summary, we had an amazing time and still love Harmony, but did notice some changes in RC's service in a few areas.  It did not impact our experience (we're on vacation!), but I will try and highlight the differences we noticed, what we enjoyed and what we thought could have been better.  This was our 3rd cruise with Royal, our second on Harmony, second from Galveston and my sixth cruise overall with previous sailings on Princess and Carnival.  We are booked on next year's NYE cruise with extended family on Oasis from Ft. Lauderdale (8 night Southern).  I booked this cruise 18 months in advance while on board Harmony the first time and got a great rate (especially considering the prices these days) for the six of us split across an ocean view balcony (11538) and inside stateroom (11539) across the hall.

 

I checked in 45 days in advance at midnight to secure an 11am arrival, booked all the shore excursions well in advance (Maya Chan goes fast) and booked our shows when they were first available (October 31st...thanks to the folks in our roll call for sharing!).  Yes, I am the planning nerd, but I enjoy it.

 

In any case, plenty of pictures, review and GoPro video to follow...

[dwHokie]

Pre-cruise planning:

 

We booked on a June 2022 Eastern sailing while onboard Harmony at Next Cruise.  Watched the drink package and other things we were interested in across 2 Black Fridays and other events.  I don't think the drink package ever went below $70.  We did get pretty good prices on lunch at Chops and Izumi.  Other than that, just got the soda package for one kid, a coffee card for DW.

 

I did book the "Premier Pass Package" if you remember that fun a while back and received $100 OBC when it was cancelled.

 

We booked Maya Chan more than a year in advance to secure a good spot for the 6 of us (pictures later on that), waited on Paradise Beach a little bit since there were only 2 other ships in port in Cozumel this year (we had 8 including us last December!!) and booked Infinity Bay and transportation with Let's Go Roatan somewhere in between.

 

Only issue pre-cruise was my son Drew's name was appended to "Ew" on his set sail pass upon checking in.  Can't make it up.  Spent 20 minutes with RC on the phone fixing that the day after checking in, but no further issue from that.

 

We stayed in the Harbor House at the Port of Galveston last year the night before, but opted to stay 20 minutes away at the Home2Suites in Texas City given how cheap 2 rooms was there for our family of 6.

 

We packed up the car and hit the road Saturday afternoon from Round Rock for the 3.5 hour drive to Texas City.

 

 

 

No major issues, the hotel was newer with a good breakfast the next morning.  We would stay there again for convenience (right on the way) and price (3x less than Harbor House), although we did enjoy being right on the Pier at Harbor House.  It was 25 minutes from the hotel to terminal 10 the next morning.

[dwHokie]

As is tradition for our family (yes Christy, I'm talking to you), had to log onto the cruise cam to watch Harmony come in that morning.

 

 

We hit the road from the hotel around 10:15am to arrive a little early for our 11am scheduled time.  We arrived at the terminal at 10:45, hit a little bit of traffic dropping off luggage, but had luggage dropped off, the car parked at the South lot and were walking into the terminal just a few minutes after 11.

 

 

 

 

Checking in and security was a breeze...and we were walking on board by 11:20.  Again very impressed with the new RC terminal at Galveston.  Both cruises there have been extremely efficient at both embarkation and debarkation.

 

 

 

 

With a 9 and 7 year old, any guesses what the first stop on board was?  This is not a trick question.  😂

[dwHokie]

[dwHokie]

We hung out near the mini golf in the back of the ship waiting for the rooms to be ready as this is a good spot near stuff to do, food, ice cream and has lots of chairs in both sun and shade.  It was a little cool that morning, so we definitely rotated from sun to shade and back.  We did some Mini Bites, Sorrentos and I think one of the teens even braved Windjammer (I refused).  Kids registered for the Flowrider as well (no line at this point of the day).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dwHokie]

Rooms were ready exactly at 1pm, we had no issues getting to ours (no long wait for elevators??), we checked out the rooms/balcony, headed to muster stations to check in and then changed into bathing suits to hit the pool / hot tub.

 

 

Was originally expecting the kids to hit only the hot tub, but was pleasantly surprised to find warm water in the pool.  This was definitely not our experience on Allure last year from Galveston...but kids enjoyed both the pool and hot tub without many other folks there while Dad enjoyed....a Kraken Colada.

 

 

 

 

 

Was pleasantly surprised all week with the ship not feeling crowded, although 6000 were on board.  We did have some iffy weather on a couple sea days and we hit a little rough seas leaving Costa Maya and Cozumel (seasick bags were out on staircases although we didn't think it was that bad and were not affected, but heard of others that were), but we never had issues with getting chairs at the pool.  The solarium was nowhere near full anytime I was there.  I really don't know where everybody was all week, but I was not complaining.  Now we had early dining, I don't think ever went to the Windjammer except for one kids lunch one sea day, but I was happy with how the ship felt all week in terms of the crowds.  Could also be that we've figured out the best spots (ie, Solarium Bistro, Johnny Rockets for breakfast) to avoid the crowds and others didn't know these spots.

[dwHokie]

We headed back to the rooms / balcony for sail away and to set up the GoPro for my first attempt.  Ropes started dropping at 4:20pm or so and we were off!

 

 

 

 

[dwHokie]

I'll leave it tonight with the first GoPro timelapse I ever attempted...hopefully it loads for you.  This is 10x timewarp from our balcony of the rope drop and our departure from Galveston.  If you look to the other side of the pier from where we were moored, you'll see lots of swirls in the water and my daughter pointing...these were all dolphin playing there in the harbor right next to the ship as we left.

 

 

[ChristyLNDRN]

Thoroughly enjoying this…more please!!  

[gfargo53]

nice job with your photo's keep them coming 

[GimmeOcean]

10 hours ago, dwHokie said:

We headed back to the rooms / balcony for sail away and to set up the GoPro for my first attempt.  Ropes started dropping at 4:20pm or so and we were off!

 

 

What tripod are you using? I tried doing a GoPro sailaway video on Anthem but used a magnetic mount. Surprisingly few magnetic surfaces on the balcony so I resorted to sticking it on the wall of the ship. I want to mount to the railing next time.

[silentbob007]

Thanks for sharing.  Looking forward to boarding Harmony in a couple of weeks.

[glamourpup]

Hey neighbor (we’re also in the Austin area), great pictures! We board Harmony this Sunday for our first Oasis class sailing and couldn’t be more excited.

[dwHokie]

6 hours ago, ChristyLNDRN said:

Thoroughly enjoying this…more please!!  

 

Hi sis!  No comment on the 5:30am cruise cam, eh?  😄

 

Can't wait 'till next NYE.

[ChristyLNDRN]

2 minutes ago, dwHokie said:

 

Hi sis!  No comment on the 5:30am cruise cam, eh?  😄

 

Can't wait 'till next NYE.

Got a good laugh out of that one!  Glad we are both a little nuts!   360 more days!

[dwHokie]

3 hours ago, GimmeOcean said:

 

What tripod are you using? I tried doing a GoPro sailaway video on Anthem but used a magnetic mount. Surprisingly few magnetic surfaces on the balcony so I resorted to sticking it on the wall of the ship. I want to mount to the railing next time.

 

Just a relatively cheap one ($15) from Amazon, see below.  I was hoping the adjustable legs would account for any railing situation and they worked both on our balcony and up on deck very well / secure.  I did use these security wires through the GoPro mounting pin to the chair on the balcony just in case as I would leave it there for 2 hours at a time running the time lapses.  Tried to show that in the last picture below.

 

 

 

[dwHokie]

44 minutes ago, glamourpup said:

Hey neighbor (we’re also in the Austin area), great pictures! We board Harmony this Sunday for our first Oasis class sailing and couldn’t be more excited.

 

Hi neighbor!  Hope you have a great time...we were really excited when Allure came to Galveston last year and even more so for Harmony this year.  We've thoroughly enjoyed the Oasis class with the kids...can do as much or a little as you want.

[Kellie in Texas]

@dwHokieand @glamourpup we're between both of y'all, in Pflugerville. 😁 We're on Harmony in a couple of weeks.

[GimmeOcean]

6 hours ago, dwHokie said:

 

Just a relatively cheap one ($15) from Amazon, see below.  I was hoping the adjustable legs would account for any railing situation and they worked both on our balcony and up on deck very well / secure.  I did use these security wires through the GoPro mounting pin to the chair on the balcony just in case as I would leave it there for 2 hours at a time running the time lapses.  Tried to show that in the last picture below.

Thanks, just ordered both. $15 is half the price of the Gorillapod so hopefully this will work well for occasional use.

[dwHokie]

7 hours ago, Kellie in Texas said:

@dwHokieand @glamourpup we're between both of y'all, in Pflugerville. 😁 We're on Harmony in a couple of weeks.

 

Hi again Kellie!  I remember you from last year when I posted on our last cruise...I think the comment was something about being between a Rock and a Weird place or something.  😄

 

Hope you have a great trip on Harmony as well.

[dwHokie]

So 5pm early seating comes pretty early...especially on sail away and port days.  But we made it work each night in the MDR this cruise, only opting for a couple specialty restaurants for lunch.  This was the walk to the dining room with the Christmas tree not yet lit...there was a tree lighting event later that first evening.

 

 

That takes us to our first dinner and service in the MDR.  Have to admit, I was a little worried after the first night.  Head waiter was very good...assistant waiter was nowhere to be seen that first night.  She took our initial drink order and I think we only saw her once the rest of the meal.  Poor head waiter was doing everything, including refilling water glasses, bringing more bread, etc.  And my older boys were downing bread and drinks like there was no tomorrow.

 

Fortunately, this got much better as the week progressed.  Not sure if the assistant was new or just off that first night, but by the 2nd night, wife's soda and son's Shirley Temple did not have to be ordered, they were just brought out.  By the 3rd night, there were 3 Shirley Temple's on the initial tray (7 and 9 year old wanted as well) and by the 4th night, there were 4 Shirley Temple's (extra for the 14 year old since he was downing them) and an extra water for the 16 year old.  And that continued the rest of the week, with refills not needing to be ordered, just brought out (we had to cut her off for the little ones as we only wanted one Shirley Temple per night for them).  She also knew the red wine for my wife and the old fashioned I would want.  So again, pleasantly surprised after what happened the first night.

 

 

7 year old ordered from the kids menu each night and was happy.  9 year old bounced back an forth between the kids menu and the adult menu, depending on what he found.  Especially when it came to desserts.  They had no problem mixing and matching for him which was great.

 

Welcome aboard menu night was not our favorite.  Shrimp cocktail and the crab cake were the apps of choice (no complaints) for the table while the mains chosen were the fish filet, strip steak and the fried chicken.  I would not normally order fried chicken on a cruise but did that night...again, not a ton of choices that called to me that first night.  The honey sauce that came with it was really good, but overall it was okay.  I heard the fish was good.

 

In general, the new menus (this was our first time with them) were okay.  Most nights we felt like we could find something we wanted.  But there were not many nights when there were multiple things I had to pick between.  For whatever reason, just didn't feel like there was as much of the variety that we liked.  We're not picky eaters...and the food was always hot / cooked correctly per order and pretty good.  I don't think we had a bad meal...just wished for a little more variety.

 

We ordered multiple appetizers and desserts on several occasions and it was never a problem, always brought out at the same time.  I think one time the 16 year old ordered 2 mains and they did make him finish the first before bringing the second.  We definitely noticed a slight difference in service where there was never anything extra brought out by the head waiter.  On other cruises there would normally be extra of a given favorite app brought out for the table or something different to try.  This time only if you ordered it.  Not an issue for us, but was just different from previous experiences.  Point is to ask for it if you want more...don't expect them to bring extras.

 

Dessert was mainly key lime pie at our table, which everyone loved.  The 16 year old also ordered Boston cream pie and really liked it.  Was impressed by the older boys branching out a little this cruise and trying different things.

 

We were out by 6:30pm that night and most nights were a little less than an hour and a half.

[dwHokie]

No shows scheduled that first night, but the older boys wanted to play ping pong and mini-golf with me and the younger ones wanted to go to the kid club.

 

We had done our part and registered the younger kids earlier in the day.  We got up to Adventure Ocean and there is a line about 20 deep in front of both the 6-8 and the 9-11 club.  New policy -- one family at a time allowed inside the door.  This really bugged me...drop off and pickup had always been a breeze on previous cruises...and we've sailed at peak kid times in summer and last Christmas.  It literally took 25 minutes to drop both kids off...as many had not pre-registered.  So instead of having 2-3 tablets in each room going as they normally did, they had only 1 at a time in each room going...hence the bottle neck.

 

Adventure Ocean was probably the biggest disappointment in service for us this cruise.  Kids absolutely loved going and asked to go on previous cruises.  Not this time.  More on that later.

 

There was some serious ping pong and goofy mini-golf (14 year old using the smallest club he could find) and of course more ice cream before the teens headed off to do their own thing.

 

 

 

 

Went back to check on the little ones after they had been in the club about 90 minutes, just to make sure they were having fun.  7 year old saw me walk in the door and immediately gave me the signal to get her the heck out of there.  They had about 50 kids in the 6-8 room and maybe 3 staff with them.  Kids were not having fun...just too many in there.

 

Went over to the 9-11 room and it was worse.  Upon walking in the door, witnessed a staff member in a heated argument with a kid who was trying to check herself out and leave.  Have never witnessed this in any of my previous times in the club...staff were always UNBELIEVEABLY patient and genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing.  They seemed outmatched on this night.

 

As we walked away, 9 year old looked at me and said, "Dad, the kids were just so unsophisticated in there."  I about peed myself.  In any case, the consensus was in both rooms, nobody was listening / following directions.  And my rule followers didn't enjoy it.  😂  From what I saw, seems like there were not enough staff, too many kids and maybe inexperienced staff contributing.

 

Did not ruin our cruise in any case (more kid and Daddy time) but wanted to share what I perceived as a difference in service.  And the one family at a time policy and the bottle-neck it caused really drove me crazy.

 

Kids asked for their 11th ice cream of the day at that point, but thankfully the soft serve closes at 8 or 9pm each night.  So we hit Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade together to end our first day.  Bottomless pits they are!

 

 

 

[dwHokie]

Got up early for sunrise that first sea day with the GoPro to try and do a time lapse...but not early enough.  I failed to calculate the amount we had already traveled East overnight and missed it by a few minutes.  Figures this would be the only morning with a decent sunrise with heavy clouds the rest of the week.  Oh well.

 

 

 

 

Older boys had promised to meet me at 7:30am at Johnny Rockets for breakfast.  I told them "we'll see" and walked around the ship for some pictures and coffee in Windjammer before heading down to see if they would show.

 

 

 

 

 

[dwHokie]

Somehow the boys left their room at the same time, traveled different paths to Johnny Rockets and arrived 5 minutes apart.  But they made it, so I was happy.

 

 

Johnny Rockets was not too busy, but still would recommend getting there close to 7:30am as it does fill up and has pretty limited seating.  Complimentary for breakfast and is a good alternative to  Windjammer/Solarium Bistro and MDR if you want something in between.  We generally only do it on sea days.  BELT sandwich is my go-to every time there and older son always gets the pancakes and bacon.  Got a BELT to go for the wife and headed back to see if the little ones were awake yet.  They did a great job wrapping in a to-go bag for her with silverware/napkin...have had just a plate with a plate on top in the past when doing this, so this was appreciated.

 

Found the little ones awake and hungry back at the room, so up to Solarium Bistro we went.  Kids are allowed to eat there and I highly recommend it for breakfast vs. Windjammer especially if your room is up and forward like ours.  Really convenient and never crowded.  Doesn't have quite the selection of Windjammer, but it's got plenty in my opinion.

 

 

14 year old wanted to work out in the gym at this point, so we dropped the little ones off in the club, telling them it would just be an hour or so.  They had combined the 6-8 and 9-11 rooms into one and fortunately it wasn't as packed as the night before at 9am.  But once again, there was a 20 minute line to drop off.  They enjoyed it more this time as they were together, but were still ready to go after an hour.

 

Gym was a little crowded but nice.  14 year old and I worked out for 45 minutes or so and then ran 5 laps around the ship.  Well he ran and I jogged.  I only got lapped on that last lap though at least.  We did the same the following sea day, but did not find time again the rest of the cruise.

 

After a shower, a quick hang on the balcony and a run for food for the little ones, it was time for wife and I to have lunch at Chops.

 

 

 

Got the Chops lunch for $15 each during one of the sales which I thought was a good deal.  Left the older boys in charge while we enjoyed Chops.

 

We both had the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer while I had the wild mushroom soup as well.  Have had this before and really enjoy it.  Both had the filet for our main which was cooked perfectly and very good...much better than our last experience at Chops on Allure.  Sides were also very good.

 

At this point we're stuffed, so we asked for the dessert to go and shared it with the kids on the balcony.  😄  There were no complaints.

 

 

Rest of the day before dinner consisted of pool, hot tub, water slides, Flowrider, ice cream, Kraken coladas and most of that repeated multiple times.  Again, did not feel crowded on the pool deck (it was a little cool) and drink service was good around the pool.  All week you never had to wait long if you were around the pool for a drink and I found ordering from all the various bars very prompt with good drinks.  No complaints.

 

 

 

 

[dwHokie]

Dinner that night was our first formal night and the Taste of France night.  We got ready, enjoyed the beginning of sunset together on the balcony before heading to dinner, stopping in central park for pictures on the way.

 

 

 

 

Service was fine in MDR and the food was quite good.  French Onion soup and escargot was quite good...sampled some of the calamari from others and thought it was just okay.  Highly recommend the beef tenderloin...was one of the best meals all week in the MDR.  Wife got the seafood linguine and liked it.  Warm apple cobbler was very good for dessert and the 16 year old tried creme brulee for the first time and couldn't believe how good it was (last picture).

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more pictures in central park before getting changed for The Thin Line at 8:30pm.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 4 by dwHokie