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Harmony of the Seas June 9th Quick Review


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I have really enjoyed reading the Reviews here so I am returning the favor. We are a family of 4, husband and myself in our 40's and kids Boy 9 and Daughter 13. We have sailed on Disney and Norwegian Haven with the kids, also RCCL by ourselves. We arrived around 11, dropped bags at curbside, parked car and was on ship by noon. Time on ticket was later, did not matter. The boarding passes printed in advance were what we used to order drinks before we had room keys. Room was ready by 1:00, cards were in the room and cups for all beverages packages were there as well.

 

We went to the Park Cafe for lunch. Sandwiches, soup, salads and food ready to go as well. I had taken advantage of a BOGO for specialty dining, quickly went and changed some selections, no problem. Went to kids club at 3:00 to register my son. Daughter had no pre registration, we just went by to get arm band to confirm she was 12-17. I will break down areas of interest.

 

Dining - 150 Central Park, Jamie's and Chops were fantastic. Not too busy, almost looked like you could have walked right in. We had paid for adults in advance, kids were charged half at dinner and that's it. Tips were included. We did go to Johnny Rockets for kids, good burgers, yes it was $10/pp but kids wanted to go. Solarium Bistro was the best idea anyone here provided. Windjammer was always packed, hard to find seating and food was buffet food. Solarium was great option. MDR's ok, wait staff very nice. We did anytime dining and could always walk right in. Specialty dining was the way to go...or if you're 9 and 13 Sorrentos every afternoon, lol.

 

Shows - Fan of original Grease, this show had more adult language, just not good (and again I love Grease) Columbus show was very entertaining, songs from many genres, kids liked it too. The fine line was great, Cirque meets diving show, music cool, trapeze/acrobatics etc. One observation, really need to prebook shows including comedy club. Always booked, but we got there one night about 30 min early got in.

 

Kids clubs - very subjective, my boy did not like at all, he said kids were rowdy so employees were always yelling. My daughter didn't want to go at 1st, no kidding she made friends 2nd night and she went every night after, stayed late and couldn't get enough. Teens group offer special times for ice skating, flowrider and other activities which was good, lots of lines everywhere.

 

Labadee/Cozumel/Jamaica - Coaster at Labadee fun, too many people getting bit by jellyfish so we left, not impressed with this stop at all. I know to each his own, just seemed dirty, water cloudy, the aqua park is assigned by time on ticket so be sure to go around that time or you will just have to wait, we decided not to. Cozumel was such a rainy day, we just shopped and went back to ship. We've been before and found it fun, just too rainy for us. Blue hole in Jamaica was so much fun, after that stop, Dunn's River Falls seemed boring and crowded.

 

Generally we enjoyed the ship, liked the different areas like Boardwalk, Central Park, Promenade. Tried to make this quick, but may add more later. Just some highlights that might help someone with their trip. I drink vodka, wine and martinis (Red Velvet at Rising Tide was so good), usually $9 plus so drink package was worth it. Tips all included but added or gave cash when service was above and beyond. Sorry I do not have the compasses but it is fresh in my mind and could probably answer some questions. Hope this helps.

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The only "shows" we went to were Grease, Fine Line and Columbus then the adult stand up. We also saw the Pub acoustic guitarist Kieron Cox, very good. My 9 and 13 yr old wouldn't really like any of the other shows. Grease was the only one we would skip next time. We did watch a couple movies in the theater and played in a celebrity trivia game in one of the clubs. Does that answer your question?

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The only "shows" we went to were Grease, Fine Line and Columbus then the adult stand up. We also saw the Pub acoustic guitarist Kieron Cox, very good. My 9 and 13 yr old wouldn't really like any of the other shows. Grease was the only one we would skip next time. We did watch a couple movies in the theater and played in a celebrity trivia game in one of the clubs. Does that answer your question?

Yes thanks.

And how does celebrity trivia work, just questions on stars (covered pictures, facts?) and you play in groups? I rarely take part in this kind of group activities.

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Yes thanks.

And how does celebrity trivia work, just questions on stars (covered pictures, facts?) and you play in groups? I rarely take part in this kind of group activities.

Many of the little trivia games and family quizzes are in the "On Air" Bar but just get to the events on time so you can get the paper where you can fill in answers. It's very relaxed, nothing real formal but we sat and had a drink and the kids new answers. The moderator talked and joked. Don't plan your day around it, just some family things pop up and you might start looking for something different to do.

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What beach were you at in Labadee? We were there on June 7th and I don’t think we saw or heard anyone get stung.

 

Columbus Cove, we were there on the 11th and 3 different people got stung. Could have been totally random, just felt uncomfortable after the 1st couple people. Didn't hear anything from the water park itself, only the beach side. Had we realized as a family we weren't going to love the place, we would have gotten off ship closer to the time of our water park ticket, done the coaster, went right there and left. We had over an hour to kill so thought we should take advantage of a quieter ship.

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Do you know with the BOGO Dining that you buy for the first 2 nights of the cruise, Can you change it to Wonderland if you don't get that as one of your places? Thanks!

Yes, when we got on the ship we chose to go to Silk and speak to the attendant there. We changed both of our nights and added a 3rd (had a free dining through travel agent). Added the kids as well. No problem. We paid $10 per child when our bill came.

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I can't speak on how celebrity trivia works, however in general this how they do them. In general groups are formed. Some are family members and show up as groups, others form groups as they arrive and start finding seats. However there is no requirement to form a group. I have seen couples do them by themselves. I see now reason why wouldn't be able to participate by yourself.

 

In general, show up 10 or 15 minutes early to get the sheet and pencil to write down your answers. After the questions (usually 20) are asked you exchange your answer sheet with another group. The MC then ask how many groups got x number questions correct. He/She then increments the number until they find the group that answered the most questions correctly.

 

They run different themed ones like Music (play a short snippet where you have to identify the song title and artist), General knowledge, Michael Jackson, etc.

 

I don't normally participate, but do like attend to test my own knowledge. I would normally be reading a magazine somewhere on ship, so just read there while having a glass of wine and making note of what my answer would be. However I have been know help out a group that seem nice on a Disney themed trivial session.

 

Besides On-Air, they also hold them in the Schooner Bar.

 

Yes thanks.

And how does celebrity trivia work, just questions on stars (covered pictures, facts?) and you play in groups? I rarely take part in this kind of group activities.

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Thanks for the info. Did you do the Wifi package or any suggestions on communicating with the kids? I have heard that imessage still seems to work without the paid wifi but interested in what what worked to communicate for your family.

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I can't speak on how celebrity trivia works, however in general this how they do them. In general groups are formed. Some are family members and show up as groups, others form groups as they arrive and start finding seats. However there is no requirement to form a group. ...

 

Besides On-Air, they also hold them in the Schooner Bar.

Thanks lujack, gatour

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I have really enjoyed reading the Reviews here so I am returning the favor. We are a family of 4, husband and myself in our 40's and kids Boy 9 and Daughter 13. We have sailed on Disney and Norwegian Haven with the kids, also RCCL by ourselves. We arrived around 11, dropped bags at curbside, parked car and was on ship by noon. Time on ticket was later, did not matter. The boarding passes printed in advance were what we used to order drinks before we had room keys. Room was ready by 1:00, cards were in the room and cups for all beverages packages were there as well.

 

We went to the Park Cafe for lunch. Sandwiches, soup, salads and food ready to go as well. I had taken advantage of a BOGO for specialty dining, quickly went and changed some selections, no problem. Went to kids club at 3:00 to register my son. Daughter had no pre registration, we just went by to get arm band to confirm she was 12-17. I will break down areas of interest.

 

Dining - 150 Central Park, Jamie's and Chops were fantastic. Not too busy, almost looked like you could have walked right in. We had paid for adults in advance, kids were charged half at dinner and that's it. Tips were included. We did go to Johnny Rockets for kids, good burgers, yes it was $10/pp but kids wanted to go. Solarium Bistro was the best idea anyone here provided. Windjammer was always packed, hard to find seating and food was buffet food. Solarium was great option. MDR's ok, wait staff very nice. We did anytime dining and could always walk right in. Specialty dining was the way to go...or if you're 9 and 13 Sorrentos every afternoon, lol.

 

Shows - Fan of original Grease, this show had more adult language, just not good (and again I love Grease) Columbus show was very entertaining, songs from many genres, kids liked it too. The fine line was great, Cirque meets diving show, music cool, trapeze/acrobatics etc. One observation, really need to prebook shows including comedy club. Always booked, but we got there one night about 30 min early got in.

 

Kids clubs - very subjective, my boy did not like at all, he said kids were rowdy so employees were always yelling. My daughter didn't want to go at 1st, no kidding she made friends 2nd night and she went every night after, stayed late and couldn't get enough. Teens group offer special times for ice skating, flowrider and other activities which was good, lots of lines everywhere.

 

Labadee/Cozumel/Jamaica - Coaster at Labadee fun, too many people getting bit by jellyfish so we left, not impressed with this stop at all. I know to each his own, just seemed dirty, water cloudy, the aqua park is assigned by time on ticket so be sure to go around that time or you will just have to wait, we decided not to. Cozumel was such a rainy day, we just shopped and went back to ship. We've been before and found it fun, just too rainy for us. Blue hole in Jamaica was so much fun, after that stop, Dunn's River Falls seemed boring and crowded.

 

Generally we enjoyed the ship, liked the different areas like Boardwalk, Central Park, Promenade. Tried to make this quick, but may add more later. Just some highlights that might help someone with their trip. I drink vodka, wine and martinis (Red Velvet at Rising Tide was so good), usually $9 plus so drink package was worth it. Tips all included but added or gave cash when service was above and beyond. Sorry I do not have the compasses but it is fresh in my mind and could probably answer some questions. Hope this helps.

 

 

Thanks for the quick review. Well Noted...

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Thanks for your review! We board her this Saturday- how do you find out which restaurants you are assigned/night/time? We bought the 4 night package. We plan on getting to port around 11 and want to take care of this first thing (if we are assigned a restaurant we don't care for). Thanks!

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