My Harmony OTS Report - March 10-17 sailing....We got a bigger boat, and it was fun !

Background

Mygang is made up of the parents of past and current University of Delawarefootball players. We call this trip“The 7-day tailgate party”. It has become an annual event. Great time with great friends and this yearwas no exception.

Lastyear, we did a very port intensive cruise on Adventure of the Seas. This year, we decided it would be all aboutthe boat, thus a trip on the world’s largest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.

Pre-Cruise

We all came into Ft. Lauderdale at varied times the day before sailing, staying at either the Renaissance or the Embassy Suites. Both hotels got very good reviews from my gang. Wife and I stayed at the Renaissance, as we have in the past. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Drinks in the bar we quite pricy. Sadly, my deluxe drink package didn’t start until the next day. Four of us had dinner at The Boatyard Friday night. It’s an upscale kind of restaurant, and tends to be a tad pricy, but it is totally worth it. Everything was amazing. I even ate green stuff…blistered greenbeans…which is amazing on its own. I couldn’t get enough. We highly recommend this restaurant for an elegant pre cruise dinner.

At this point I was going to do a day by day report, but I’m lazy and changed my mind. I’ll go over key elements of the week. Ship, food, entertainment, etc. It will make for a quicker read, I hope, and will consolidate thoughts.

Up next.......The Ship

Following! Looking forward to your review

The ship – Harmony is A W E S O M E !!!

She sure is a big ship, but it is laid out quite logically, and actually very easy to get around on. And there are so many things to do and go, that, for us at least, it never felt crowded. The ship was full with 6,500 passengers.

I love the perspective of this shot.

Our cabins (7160) were on Deck 7, very near the forward elevators. We really liked the location. They were well laid out, with our bed nearer the bathroom. The room felt roomier than balcony rooms on previous ships. Having the couch near the sliding door made for a nice place to sit and read. The bathroom felt a bit more compact but at the same time the shower felt much roomier. Our cabin steward, Gede, was very responsive and friendly all week. We didn’t demand a lot from him but we did notice our bed was made up nicely every time we came back to the room, no matter what part of the day. The nearby elevators made for a quick ride tot he Solarium and Solarium bar, at which we were regulars. Two flights of stairs down to the Promenade, and one flight up to get to Central Park. We found Central Park quite peaceful. There was a classical guitarist there most days and the bar there was rarely crowded. It was a great place to sit and have a drink.

The classical guitarist....

Pre-cruise we heard lot of stories about how hard it was to get an elevator. Now, certainly as shows let out, they were crowded, but in general, the wait and fullness of the elevators was no different than any other ship we’ve been on.

We really enjoyed the Solarium. Granted, we cruised in March, and we are not big pool goers. The Solarium Bar bartenders were awesome and always responsive when we gave them a “surprise me” order. There were even a few times when I just took my book to the bar and read there. The multiple levels in the Solarium and the shaded areas behind the bar made for all kinds of room. We never had an issue getting a couple of lounge chairs.

Waiter....7 Blue Hawaiians please.

Shopping was fine on board and typical. Most stuff was overpriced but we did find a couple of deals on sale day. I actually bought a watch on board for the first time. It was an inexpensive Casio G-Shock, but it was something I had been looking for and it was priced below what I could get it for on line….which surprised me. We took our sales receipts to the jewelry store and put them in the last day drawing bag. Much to my surprise on the last night, they pulled my watch receipt out. The wife got a nice bracelet as the prize along with a bottle of champagne. I wish someone got a picture of the shock on our faces when he called my name.

The winners and the booty....

Food- A lot of it and most very good.

We ate all dinners, except the last night, in the Main Dining Room. I was able to work with Marlene at RCL Dining to make sure we had a nice, well located table for 10. We got table 330. Off to the right as you enter the American Icon Room and halfway back in the room. It was situated against the mural of license plates in the shape of the US. An outstanding location and our server Arvind, and bartender Ace were excellent all week.

The table and the gang....

Meals were mostly good. A few entrees here and there did not meet up to expectations. The highs included the poblano pepper & corn soup, the strip steak, the lasagna, and the rack of lamb. The lows included the lobster tails on lobster night, the crab cakes (and having 4 in our group from Maryland made for discriminating tastes), and the gnocchi. My wife suggests that if your server recommends or tells you to avoid a particular entrée, believe him. She tried a few things against his recommendation and regretted it.

Arvind and Harmony passed my orange sherbet test with flying colors. I always ask for orange sherbet even though it is never on the menu. I asked on night 1 and every night, beginning with night 2, I had orange sherbet for dessert. In fact, each night they brought our lemon, raspberry and orange sherbet for the entire table. 10-15 bowls of it each night!!! Luckily for us, we had a larger table near us with a lot of kids. It became a dessert tradition each night, that the kids would line up and ask us for the extra bowls on our table. It made for alot of fun. On the last night, when we were at a specialty restaurant, the waiters brought all the sherbet directly to the kids table. It was much fun.

We had our one specialty meal at Jamie’s Italian, on the last night at sea. OH MY GOD. The food was SOOOOO good. One buddy in our group had them bring out the lamb chops as an appetizer. They brought 20 out for the table and theywere the best bite of food I had all cruise. Everything else there was spot on. I had the steak, which was cooked perfectly. Several in our group had the differentpasta, and I watched their eyes roll into the back of their heads as they ate. Spectacular service, delicious food, and agreat atmosphere. Jamie’s will be our#1 stop next time on Harmony.

Weate at many other places on the ship. Most breakfasts were in the Solarium Bistro. Good food, less crowded and easy to get to from our cabins. Windjammer was OK, but I think too small and not laid out well. Sorrento’s pizza was really tasty. The hot dogs and sausages at Boardwalk Dogs were yummy as well.

Enjoying your review so far!

Entertainment– Lots of variety. All pretty good. One OUTSTANDING

We did all the reservation shows except for Columbus, The Musical. All of the shows were better than the variety type show on smaller ships, but only one was truly outstanding. A Fine Line, the aqua show, was the best shipboard show we’ve ever seen. The talent, the dancing, the transition from element to element was awesome. The Whirling Dervish in the beginning went a tad long, but even he was entertaining. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The afternoon water show, the diving and comedy one, was good too, but A Fine line stood out.

Grease was good, but not great. The girl that played Rizzo was very good, and Sandy’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You” solo was also excellent. Overall though, the changes made to make it a 1 act show left it a bit choppy, and some of the staging wasn’t up to expectations. Don’tget me wrong, we enjoyed it, but it wasn’t super-duper.

The ice shows were wonderful as they always are. We saw two of them. 1887 was very good, but the story was a tad difficult to follow. The skating was very good. The second, called “I Skate”, was offered later in the cruise. Our cruise director said it was the first show for a new cast. I Skate was more upbeat, with lots of rock music. I even think the skaters enjoyed itmore. Lots of fun.

The Comedy show was mostly funny. Two comedians, forget their names. A good laugh and a drink after dinner late. Best line ofthe cruise…..”Carnival is the Walmart of Cruise Lines”. Good for a belly laugh from RCL regulars.

The headliner show was an a Capella group called MO5AIC. Yes its spelled with a “5”. The show was very good, but having the cruise director say they are the best a Capella group in the world was a bit much, especially for anyone that has ever seen Pentatonix.

I’ll lump the casino into entertainment too. I like the room. Having a smoking and non-smoking side made a difference. It doesn’t make the place 100% smoke free, but it is significantly less smoky on the non-smoking side. The games were good, and the slots seemed looser than past cruises. I even hit one for $130 on a 45-cent bet. Played mostly craps and three card poker. Did ok but donated to the cruise line by the end of the cruise. I don’t think I played a lot, but I did geta $100 off your next cruise certificate in my room one day as a thank you from the casino. I also like the bar there. A nice place to get a mid afternoon drink on a sea day.

Ports of call – A mixed bag.

This cruise was “all about the ship” so there were only three port stops…St. Thomas, San Juan, and Labadee.

St. Thomas - This was our first stop of the trip, after two days at sea. We had no excursion planned. We sent our expert negotiator out to arrange for a cab for 10 to give us a tour of the island. Soon we were out and about getting a tour of the island. The hurricanes hit hard there, and you could see the damage everywhere. Our driver was also a traffic cop in St. Thomas so she gave us some unique perspectives of the damage and recovery. We went all the way to the top of the mountain, stopped at some other scenic views, and got some interesting commentary on living on the island . Afterward, we were dropped off in town for some shopping and eats. We did our jewelry shopping at The House of Rajah. We were quite pleased with their offerings and prices. George and Harry treated us well. The men each got a nice watch, and the ladies some nice jewelry. If we’re ever in St Thomas again we will surely be shopping there. Before heading back to the ship, we had lunch at The Side Street Café. Very good eats and drinks there. Finally, on the cab ride back to the ship, we passed a police officer giving a traffic ticket to a car. Turns out it was our cab driver, Toya !! We gave her a hoot and holler. Even the guy getting the ticket laughed and waved.

A view of Harmony from high a top St. Thomas

Meghan's Bay

San Juan - San Juan was a short duration stop. Off the boat at 8, back on by 2. We had spent a few days in Old San Juan last year, before our cruise on Adventure OTS, so we didn’t need to do a tour at all. First we stopped at the memorial for the merchant ship El Faro. One of our group was college classmates at the Merchant Marine Academy with the first mate on El Faro. I t was a sad but cathartic moment. We then went the fort and did a little walking tour of it. Finally, we stopped at La Mallorquina restaurant, a place we frequented last year. Good mojitos and a light lunch.

My favorite OSJ pic. Simple......

A shot from the Fort with Harmony in the background

Labadee – This stop started with hard rain as we pulled into port. We had a morning sea kayak adventure planned, but with the rain RCL offered refunds on all morning excursions. We took advantage of that and went and joined the rest of our crew at the two Columbus Cove bungalows we had rented for the day. The rain left us soon enough in the morning, and left the skies partly cloudy, so while it was warm, the sun didn’t beat on you all day. The bungalows were a wonderful get. There are only eight there. Columbus Cove it the point furthest away from the ship. The bungalows are is roped off, so its quiet. We had our own beach chairs, floating mats, and bar service. The lunch area was right behind the bungalows and easy to get to. It was truly a relaxing day. We did a lot of nothing except for sleeping or floating on the water. Labadee was everything we hoped it would be.

Panoramic of Labadee from Columbus Cove

The men and the primary activity on Labadee....

All in all I WILL RECOMMEND HARMONY OF THE SEAS to anyone considering it. It was a wonderful cruise.

I'll be happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability.

BING BONG

Outstanding review Zdad59!!! :D

Did you book the bungalows prior to the cruise?

Did you book the bungalows prior to the cruise?

Yes. In fact they sold out very early. They were all gone long before sailing. And at half the price of a cabana, a very good value.

Great review. A quick commemt about ice cream (my version of sherbet). Last April we did the TA on Freedom of the Seas. We also had a set table for 10 each night. The first night someone asked for coffee ice cream. Didn't have it the first night but 10 bowls were brought to the table on nights 2 to 14. Fast forward to Feb 25, 2018. On Freedom again but this time with just one friend. We had my time dining and just by coincidence we had the same waiter. On the first night he brought 2 bowls of coffee ice cream along with the desert menus. I don't remember what my friend ordered but I ate both bowls of ice cream. I wish I had a memory like that.

Yes. In fact they sold out very early. They were all gone long before sailing. And at half the price of a cabana, a very good value.

Great review of your cruise experience. The rain on Labadee morning was indeed insane. Your bungalow looked much like our cabana, relaxing destination where a few people kicking back.

Great review.

Fine Line was my favourite show as well. Pretty sure the CD was just doing the standard hyperbole for the feature performer.

Jamie’s... I keep saying to my wife that we should try the Jamie’s here in Toronto, but we never end up going.

Love the review!

What time does Harmony let you begin boarding?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Excellent review, thanks!

Thank you so much for the great review. What time did you get to port and how long did it take to get on the ship

Great review. A quick commemt about ice cream (my version of sherbet). Last April we did the TA on Freedom of the Seas. We also had a set table for 10 each night. The first night someone asked for coffee ice cream. Didn't have it the first night but 10 bowls were brought to the table on nights 2 to 14. Fast forward to Feb 25, 2018. On Freedom again but this time with just one friend. We had my time dining and just by coincidence we had the same waiter. On the first night he brought 2 bowls of coffee ice cream along with the desert menus. I don't remember what my friend ordered but I ate both bowls of ice cream. I wish I had a memory like that.

That's awesome !

Love the review!

 

What time does Harmony let you begin boarding?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Embarkation Day – Getting to the Ship

We left the hotel around 10:30am. We ordered an Executive Uber for the four of us at the Renaissance. He showed up right on time. $25 total to take us to the ship. 4 people...8 bags. The trip this time was super easy. Maybe 20 minutes total, including the timew aiting at the security check point for the vehicles. Recommend Uber over any other way to get to the ship. An early sign of the good things to come was that as we pulled up to the ship, we got a text from 4 more in our group that they just arrived too. Turns out that they were piling out of the car right in front of us!!

It took a few minutes to get through the personal security check point. They had only two scanners going at that point in the day. After that, it was easy peazy. A couple of minutes to sign the health documents, and then an end around the photographers, and voila....WE WERE ON BOARD. Total time once we got to the ship was around 20 minutes.

Great review. Can't wait for our turn on her in late November..

Very much enjoying your report/review.

Keith

Great review, thanks for sharing!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

My kind of review! Thanks!! Can you verify that Formal Nights are on days 2 and 5?

Great review. Some excellent pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the info...we leave in 12 days!!!

great review !!! we are on her in september . how far was the bungalows from the water

My kind of review! Thanks!! Can you verify that Formal Nights are on days 2 and 5?

Day 2 for sure and the other was either day 5 or 6. All the days started to run together at that point.

great review !!! we are on her in september . how far was the bungalows from the water

Maybe 5-10 paces. Very close. And again not crowded there. The only lounge chairs were those for the bungalow guests.