crusingcouple

We recently did the UDP on Harmony and we really enjoyed experiencing the atmosphere in each of the restaurants.  Each brought something unique and had something we really loved.  It was fun at the end of the week to decide what our "ideal meal" would be after eating at all the different places!

Wonderland is not for everyone but if you are open to trying things you never thought you would, it is quite an experience -- we actually went 2 different nights and my 11 year old had a blast!  Hands down best short rib I have ever eaten!

That said, I would not do UDP again because it just got to be too many evenings of big meals with really rich food.  We felt like we needed to eat at a specialty restaurant each evening to "get our money's worth."  We ended up cancelling our reservation at Chops and grabbing a quick dinner at Windjammer because the thought of eating a big steak was not appealing to any of us.  I think a 3-night package will be the sweet spot for us moving forward.  

We've never had issue with the food in the dining room - it's fine.  We just dislike not having the flexibility of choosing a time for that evening that will work around kids club activities, shows, ect.  

It's a bit of a drive, maybe 45 minutes?  We used Uber and it was under $100 for 3 of us each way with tip.  In our mind it was worth spending a little more vs getting a rental car.  We stayed on Cocoa Beach and everything was very walkable.  Restaurants, grocery store, tourist stuff.  Not even a 10 minute Uber ride to the port the next morning, no trouble getting an Uber at 11am.

When we were there in Feb, the driver was telling us they are actually putting in a light-rail train system to go from the airport to Port Canaveral.  Someday when it's done, it will probably be a very cost effective way to get back and forth!

We loved the specialty dining on Harmony!  We found the food to be top notch and really enjoyed the ambiance at each unique restaurant.  We got to 150 Central Park, Wonderland (twice!), Izumi, Sabor, and Jamie's Italian.  I would highly recommend trying it once.  In the future, I think we would probably do the 3-night package as it was a lot of rich meals every night.

My kiddo is 11 and there was plenty to do there without paying for the waterpark.  It was very windy and a bit cool the day but the water park seemed quiet when we walked by.

12 minutes ago, smakl said:

The e-mail I have from last year is from Our Cruise Photos <no-reply@ourcruisephotos.com>  with a topic of Your Cruise Photos From Independence Of The Seas

Thanks!  I'm waiting impatiently 🙂

We purchased the unlimited photo package with digital copies.  Does anyone know what the header is on the email?  Does it come directly from Royal Caribbean?  I'm worried it is going to go to my junk mail and am trying to keep an eye out for it!

It will likely be no charge or a $10 surcharge.  Things are very "family-style" at this restaurant.

10 minutes ago, DCL2RCI said:

I guess I've been misinterpreting the fine print - I read it as a $10 charge for kids to eat there from the kid's menu (ages 6-12), full adult charge if they wanted to order from the real menu. Our kids would want to order from the real menu (my son in particular hasn't ordered from a kid's menu in at least two years).

I actually discarded the idea of the UDP on that basis as it seemed too expensive.

Here's part of the many self-contradicting paragraphs of fine print: 

 

 

It's pretty confusing!  I would not pay $10 for them to eat a burger they can get anywhere else on the ship for free!  We would have happily bought him a UDP but were told by several before going that we did not need to.  They also told us that there would be similar options on the kids menu, just smaller portions.

The person at Guest Services explained that with any of the venues, it's as many apps/entrees/desserts you want so they charge the $10 and assume parents will just order the extras when they order.  Why make my kid order chicken strips he's not going to eat?!  

Wonderland, Jamie's, and Sabor didn't even charge us.  They just brought everything out family style and it was really a non-issue.

150 Central Park made us pay full price (we purchased a 3-night dining package thinking it would be an issue all week).  But then, they put the package under my husband (he and I had UDP) and still charged us the $10 kids surcharge which is when we started asking questions.  Ironically, they brought us 2 extra entrees to try, which we took only a couple bites of.

They ended up reversing the dining package and just charged the surcharge in the end, but it was a bit annoying to get it sorted out, resulting in several trips to guest services.  We did not eat at Chops but were planning to just have him order off the kids menu and getting things to share there as well, figuring it would be the other dining option where we might run into issues.

I would not write off the UDP/specialty restaurants, but I would probably avoid 150 Central Park or plan to order extra entrees your kiddos would enjoy!

150 Central Park was phenomenal!  Very fresh, clean menu.  

14 hours ago, rsuther223 said:

Does anyone know what is on the children's menu? Thanks.

We are just off Harmony.  The kids menus at most restaurants are burgers/chicken strips/ect.  Occasionally there is an item or two that is more "themed" (they had a simple pasta with red sauce at Jamie's).  

We have a 10 year old who is a foodie.  We were told by several people that it would be a $10 surcharge if our kiddo wanted something off the actual menu.  All restaurants except 150 CP did this.  Unfortunately we dined at 150 CP the first night and it was a bit of a disaster getting everything sorted out!  Most restaurants didn't even charge us the extra $10 for him so we just added it onto what we were already leaving for an extra tip 🙂

3 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

How did you go about using Uber after the cruise? With thousands getting off the ship how did you find your vehicle / how did they find you and did you have to wait long to get one? (Will be sailing out of Galveston soon).

We just pulled up the app when we got out of the terminal and we waited 5 min or so and our driver was there.  There are lots of numbered areas outside the terminal and we just picked one and added a comment of which number we were at.  He said a lot of drivers will plan to come and go from the airport to the port at Galveston, getting round-trip fares.

We used Uber both ways.  It was easy and relatively cost effective for our family of 3.

Can't wait to follow along!  We will be embarking as you disembark 🙂

I would say those sites are also not terribly accurate.  I was just checking on the ports for our upcoming cruise in 2 weeks and our itinerary is not correct as it got rescheduled after the initial itinerary was released.  It's likely that has happened with other ships as well!  

Expect it will be busy and then you will be pleasantly surprised if it is not!

Has anyone done snorkeling at CocoCay recently?  I've read in the past there have been some issues with jellyfish.

They have an option for pre-booking.  Do you know if you can just grab equipment while you are there?  Is the price significantly different?  Currently it's listed at $35 for adults and $20 for kids.

I was looking at the Ultra Spacious and was not super pleased with the available locations for them on HOS.  The space would be nice but we love our big balcony on the bump!

Good to know!

Hi All!  We are planning to eat at several specialty dining restaurants on our upcoming HOS cruise.  Do the automatic gratuities cover servers in these restaurants or are we expected to tip additional as well?  We usually will add a small additional gratuity for excellent service but it's helpful to know if they are getting a portion of our "regular" tips as well?  

Hello!

I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with the 3-night dining package.  We will be on Harmony at the end of Feb and our son (10 years old) is a bit of a foodie so wants to try some of the specialty restaurants.  I'm assuming we would need to get him a package as well?  It only has adult pricing.  Also, it mentions a reservation being made for the first night on the ship - is that something we can choose? 

Thanks!!

How is the availability of Uber between Hobby-Galveston? I just worry About getting to the ship/airport

We used Uber a few weeks ago and it was super quick and easy! Waited <10 minutes both ways. The driver said a lot of them look for early pick-ups at HOU heading to Galveston, then wait in Galveston for someone looking to get back to HOU.

They have a section of the Windjammer that has a rotating international cuisine-type menu. I didn't specifically have any of the Indian offerings but the things I did try were really good.

I have been trolling the boards and there is a lot of not so great feedback regarding Galveston as a port. I love the Liberty itinerary that includes Honduras and Belize, but with an hour transportation minimum to and from the airport, it is seeming cumbersome and costly. Adding a rental car, and extra hotels on both ends can get quite costly.

 

I LOVE the Oasis class ships, but wanted to try something different. Thoughts?

We just got back from our Liberty cruise out of Galveston and it no more of a hassle than we have had leaving out of FL, and we had a kid in tow! We flew in the day before (to the Hobby airport) and took an UBER. It was about $50 and the drive was easy. Stayed at a cheaper hotel in Galveston that was away from the water but near Moody Gardens (Inn at the Waterpark). It was nothing fancy but it worked for a night. They had a shuttle to the port the next morning for $10/person. We were going to UBER but the lady at the desk said traffic can get heavy and UBER is difficult to get. Got to the port around 12:15 and it was only about 30 minutes to get onto the ship.

We did UBER over to the Seawall area the night before disembarkation, $4-5 each way. Had a nice dinner, fabulous people, beautiful views, nothing to complain about.

Yes, there was fog sailing out. Yes, there was a slight delay getting back into the port when we returned due to fog. We docked about 11:00 and were off the ship about 12:30. I would probably recommend a slightly later flight if you decide to sail from Galveston.

The only thing that irritated us was the liquor tax coming back. Our "cheap" Tortuga rum ended up costing an extra $30!

Took an UBER back to the airport, was a little more expensive due to higher demand, about $65. Still cheaper than the shuttle at $35ish/person.

I agree with TEXASMUNK. I am coming in 2 days before my cruise in April. Staying at Moody Gardens Spa and Hotel. Can't wait to see moody gardens, strand and pleasure pier. Hope we have time to do more. I have a question, Is the trolley on seawall working? I heard it was being repaired.

Annmarie

We saw the trolly several times while we were there last week. Not sure if it is the same one but there's some sort of trolly running!!

Thanks much!! Our flight out isn't until 5ish so we have plenty of time.

Has anyone ever gotten an UBER at disembarkation at the cruise terminal? Trying to determine if this is feasible and how long we might have to wait for a car, or if we should just book a shuttle service back to the airport.

I think part of the concern is not knowing what time we will be off the ship (our flight is late and we really have no where to be). We're hoping to maybe go see the space center after dropping our luggage at the airport, depending on how much time we have.