Live: Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean Aug 25

[gambler]

Sorry about the trolley. I have never actually used it, just saw it running up and down the seawall.

[ceilidh1]

DD went to get her hair done today. Her hair is blonder than blonde and curlier than curly. This was the result:

[ceilidh1]

Since it’s Tuesday and almost vacation, I had to go to Tapped Out Tuesdays after work. This is an all night “happy hour” with beers on tap for $4! You’re lucky to get a beer under $10 in this city, so I take advantage when I can!

 

Cheers!

[MeganGC1983]

50 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Since it’s Tuesday and almost vacation, I had to go to Tapped Out Tuesdays after work. This is an all night “happy hour” with beers on tap for $4! You’re lucky to get a beer under $10 in this city, so I take advantage when I can!

 

Cheers!

Cheers

[AmyJA]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

DD went to get her hair done today. Her hair is blonder than blonde and curlier than curly. This was the result:

OMG. beautiful! 

[AKR2011]

I love following your shenanigans, so I'm definitely excited for this review. Wishing you and your kids safe travels this week ❤️⚓️

[Cscomedygrl]

Here for this live!! And your daughter's hair= absolutely gorgeous!!

[john bowtie]

During you day in Galveston, you might want to consider visiting the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig Museum. It is a decommissioned oil rig you can tour. It is located directly next to your hotel. 

 

Also, if your cruise has smooth sailing and the aqua shows go as scheduled, watch the daily planner as they may add the 2nd aqua show on the last day.  

Edited August 21 by john bowtie
missing word

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review.  I would love to go on a sloth tour.  Your daughter's hair is beautiful!

[Sadebud]

Jumped over to follow from The Tribe.  Safe travels and Bon Voyage!  Looking forward to the shenanigans!

[princess76021]

loving it so far!! 

again i thank you for taking us along!

hugs from texas!!

 

[ceilidh1]

Well, last night’s Tapped Out Tuesday was a blast. I told myself I was only going to have two drinks, since I still have a half day at work today. I dutifully paid my bill and got up to leave at 7:30pm…but then Bingo started! Now, Tapped Bingo is no ordinary game of Bingo. Firstly, it’s free. I mean, who can pass up free Bingo? Secondly, you don’t play for money. You play for Tequila shots. What could go wrong? Needless to say, I did not leave. I did play Bingo. I won a few games. At one point, the Tequila shots turned into pours from the bottle (back in my college days we called these Laybacks as you lay on your back in the bar and the alcohol gets poured into your mouth). There was much laughter, shenanigans a-plenty, and lots of fun! I finally stumbled out of there just before midnight and getting up for work this morning was…fun. I woke to pictures on my phone that I can never unsee. I had to immediately call my friend to find out who/what/why…

 

In the meantime, I bring you bar snacks. Beer battered fries with garlic Parmesan and guacamole!

[ceilidh1]

Ten minutes ago, I got a call from a Galveston number. Ordinarily, I don't answer unknown numbers, but I figured that it likely had something to do with our trip, so I picked up. It was the hotel front desk calling to confirm the reservation and to ask if we were bringing a vehicle/needed parking. Nice touch. I told her no vehicle and she asked if we were cruising. Then she asked if we would like to book the shuttle to the ship - I think I mentioned that my original plan was to walk to the ship. but since then I found out that the new RC terminal is quite a bit further out. For the three of us on a shuttle it cost $20 - I'm sure an Uber would be around that price, and then you also have the hassle of competing with demand and price surging, so I just booked us on the 10:15am shuttle. Done. I appreciated the call, for sure!

[ceilidh1]

The Packing:

 

I despise packing. It is my least favourite thing to do. Ordinarily, I am the most organized person, but when it comes to packing I suck! I put little bits into the case at a time and then forget what I've packed. I know things I need to pack, but I'm still using them so it feels like that is constantly hanging over me. I just really dislike packing. It's not going well so far.

 

I had decided I needed a new checked bag/suitcase as ours was really on it's last legs (or wheels). I looked online at various places and was shocked at the price of these things nowadays. It's been a while since I was in the market for new luggage, but I don't recall them being upwards of $300...no way was I going to pay that for a bag that Air Canada would likely end up wrecking! I gave up and resigned myself to the fact that we would be using our old case. Then, one day, we were at London Drugs for something completely unrelated (think a CVS type of store) and what should I see on clearance but the perfect size SwissGear suitcase. It was marked down from $369.99 to $79.99...well, yes please, I don't mind if I do. Suitcase acquired!

 

 

 

Our sailing has a few theme nights - initially I really wanted the three of us to be matching, but that was quickly beaten down by DD rolling her eyes and refusing to wear "old people" clothes. The theme nights are Western, Caribbean, and White. I think there may be some kind of 70s night, too, but I'm not doing anything for that one. I'm looking forward to Western night as I have my silver cowboy boots and I went to the Dollarstore with @YVRteacher last weekend and found a silver cowboy hat! Yahoo. For Caribbean night I have a flowery dress, and for White night I have a white dress. Easy peasy. DD hasn't told me what she plans on wearing. DS has a nice white polo shirt, a Caribbean/Hawaiian shirt, and a plaid shirt...so he is all set!

 

I've not put a whole lot of thought into anything else in terms of clothing - shorts, tshirts, and swimsuits are about as far as I got. We are taking two carry on sized cases (we will check them on the way there, since we got free checked baggage with the seat we booked) and one checked bag sized case. We will each have a backpack. I was debating taking my laptop in case I need to do some work, but I have no idea how good wifi is on RC and, quite honestly, I don't feel like doing any work! DD will take her ipad and DS will likely take his Switch to use on the plane. 

 

We are a big card/board game family, and do spend time playing on vacation. For this trip, we are planning on taking the Uno No Mercy game (if you haven't played this, I highly recommend it - your family will end up at each other's throats), Fluxx (one of our all time faves), and Monopoly Deal (quick and easy).

, 

[ReneeFLL]

26 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

The Packing:

 

I despise packing. It is my least favourite thing to do. Ordinarily, I am the most organized person,...

I'm right there with you when it comes to packing. Absolutely hate it along with the unpacking. Now when it comes to being organized, I'm totally the opposite. 😁  Have fun on your cruise.

[cruise_co]

Following.  We just did this cruise in December. We also used Erica (FABULOUS!) and stayed at the Harbor House.  We loved it and Erica made it completely seamless. Is she picking you up from the hotel to the port too?  It was so nice having her sitting outside the hotel for the quick ride to the port.

[ceilidh1]

30 minutes ago, cruise_co said:

Following.  We just did this cruise in December. We also used Erica (FABULOUS!) and stayed at the Harbor House.  We loved it and Erica made it completely seamless. Is she picking you up from the hotel to the port too?  It was so nice having her sitting outside the hotel for the quick ride to the port.

We just have her booked for the roundtrip airport portion. We booked the hotel shuttle for the hotel to port. We used her last time, too, and she was fantastic - in fact, as soon as I mentioned Galveston, both kids asked if we could go with her again!

[bobmacliberty]

Looking forward to this.  We really enjoyed Harmony.  It's great that you got a 10:30 check-in time but Royal doesn't really enforce those times.  Also as a warning, the adult comedy show is truly adult oriented.  I don't know if that reservation includes your kids but if so...beware.  @john bowtie touched on the Aquatheater show scheduling.  The show is outdoors and involves high diving.  If the seas are a little rough or the weather is bad, the show will get cancelled.  It's best to book Aquatheater shows early in the cruise in case yours gets cancelled.  That gives you a chance to catch a show later in the cruise.  If you have one of the last shows booked and it gets cancelled, you could be out of luck.  Have a great cruise!

[ceilidh1]

23 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Looking forward to this.  We really enjoyed Harmony.  It's great that you got a 10:30 check-in time but Royal doesn't really enforce those times.  Also as a warning, the adult comedy show is truly adult oriented.  I don't know if that reservation includes your kids but if so...beware.  @john bowtie touched on the Aquatheater show scheduling.  The show is outdoors and involves high diving.  If the seas are a little rough or the weather is bad, the show will get cancelled.  It's best to book Aquatheater shows early in the cruise in case yours gets cancelled.  That gives you a chance to catch a show later in the cruise.  If you have one of the last shows booked and it gets cancelled, you could be out of luck.  Have a great cruise!

The comedy reservation is just myself - I actually didn't even book the comedy originally, since it was adult-only and I wasn't sure if the kids would want to do something with me. I'm not sure I will go, but reserved in case. I hope we get to see an aquatheatre show - though, the thing I am most looking forward to is Grease!

[ceilidh1]

This pulled up outside my house last week…got me a little excited!

[VictorWI]

35 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

This pulled up outside my house last week…got me a little excited!

 

Hey! I'll be on her a year from tomorrow!!! My first RC cruise!

 

[ceilidh1]

Last (half) day of work completed!

 

USD cash acquired- for once the bank actually had a new batch of singles so I have $50 in shiny fresh dollar bills for tips, and around $400 for anything I don’t want to use a credit card for.

 

Stopped at the dollar store and picked up a few last minute bits - trying out self laminating luggage tags because who carries a stapler on vacation to staple luggage tags? 
 

Next today is laundry and house cleaning, then haircut. Tomorrow will be the last of the packing and more cleaning and then we head out at stupid-o’clock on Friday!

 

Woot!

[ceilidh1]

Galveston weather Friday through Sunday. I’m not loving the rain cloud, and those temperatures are a little…high. 🤣

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

The comedy reservation is just myself - I actually didn't even book the comedy originally, since it was adult-only and I wasn't sure if the kids would want to do something with me. I'm not sure I will go, but reserved in case. I hope we get to see an aquatheatre show - though, the thing I am most looking forward to is Grease!

 

Hopefully the cast for Grease is better than it was the last three times I sailed on Harmony. I enjoyed the shows but none of them compare to the half dozen or so times I have seen Grease on Independence. 

[WhiteOptima]

23 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Since it’s Tuesday and almost vacation, I had to go to Tapped Out Tuesdays after work. This is an all night “happy hour” with beers on tap for $4! You’re lucky to get a beer under $10 in this city, so I take advantage when I can!

 

Cheers!

We are a year away from our cruise out of Vancouver but always take notes of when you eat or should I say drink!  We also have a February cruise and staying at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro so thank you for doing reviews!