My Sort of Boring Harmony Eastern Review (12/10-12/17/16)

[AmyJA]

Not boring at all. Gleaned a few items to place on my HOTS cruise info page.

 

And good to know about the sounds as our cabin is just three away from where you stayed.

[funNsun4me]

We were also on the same cruise. Unfortunately my friend who was travelling with me blew out her knee a few weeks before the cruise so she needed to be in a scooter for this one and would have and has had her knee replacement surgery yesterday. We prefer to sail out of NJ and usually do and I can honestly say that I have never seen such rudeness from passengers as I experienced on this cruise to the point that it did effect our mood. Elevator edict was non-existent. People constantly jumping in front of you to get in, never making room for the handicap passengers, and pushing to get in before people could get out and even worse, making like they didn't understand English when you said excuse me, they would just not move or if you told them that they couldn't fit they would try to squeeze in anyway. I had to stay by elevators to get my friend loaded on and then I would take the stairs, sometimes I even felt the need to point out that since I had 2 legs that worked I would be taking the stairs and was only there to make sure she could get in the elevator :mad:

 

I do agree the ship is beautiful but found the Allure more to my liking. Can't quite put my finger on it but Allure just felt friendlier. I felt that the crew, while polite, were just going through the motions. There was not that over the top cheeriness that I am use to seeing. I think they are very over worked. I do love that they modeled the rooms after the Quantum class.

 

We did find the food in the MDR was good and we liked the newer menus. We had early dining and were at a table for 6 but there was only 4 of us and we enjoyed the company of our tablemates, which is always a plus and our servers were great. We loved Sabor on Navigator but our experience at Sabor on Harmony was a disappointing one. We also stayed away from the WJ, as I could not even imagine navigating it with a scooter so we had most of our breakfast and lunches in the MDR. I highly recommend the Butternut Squash Risotto from the lunch menu and the Tutti Salad. Also found the pizza at Sorrento's better than on Anthem.

 

Our cabin guy was just starting his rotation and seemed frazzled at first but when I saw how many rooms he had to do I wasn't surprised. He was always friendly and did a great job.

 

We also preferred the Sports/Adult only pool as it was quiet most of the time. The Beach pool I found was very loud.

 

Loved all the shows. Liked Columbus the best. Grease was good as was ice and diving shows but liked the diving show on Allure better as it was more upbeat. Fine Line was ala Cirque de Solei. Enjoyed both ice shows but did not care for the comedian, not very funny.

 

We did go to Dazzles, Red the night club experience, and the Sock Hop but it's not as much fun when you have to dance alone :( Caught the 90's dance party from Schooner bar which was fun and loved caroling on the promenade. Spent some time in the On-Air club Karaoke which was fun.

 

One Pet Peeve, and ladies will know what I am talking about, what is up with metal kitchen garbage cans in the ladies stalls. They are such a hindrance.

 

Overall it was wonderful to be on vacation but like the original poster, I do prefer the Voyager class ships, just wish they had all the wonderful shows that the bigger ships have to offer.

[flyingandcruising]

We were on the HOTS last week, also. Our family of 5 paid the upcharge for texting/chatting and it worked beautifully all week. Well, worth the $7.95 charge for us.

 

Thanks for this info.

[A&L_Ont]

Elevator edict was non-existent. People constantly jumping in front of you to get in, never making room for the handicap passengers, and pushing to get in before people could get out and even worse, making like they didn't understand English when you said excuse me, they would just not move or if you told them that they couldn't fit they would try to squeeze in anyway. I had to stay by elevators to get my friend loaded on and then I would take the stairs, sometimes I even felt the need to point out that since I had 2 legs that worked I would be taking the stairs and was only there to make sure she could get in the elevator :mad:

 

 

One Pet Peeve, and ladies will know what I am talking about, what is up with metal kitchen garbage cans in the ladies stalls. They are such a hindrance.

 

Sounds like you both had the same amount, very little, of elevator etiquette give to you by your fellow cruisers. As for the garbage cans the "ladies" in our November group cruise also complained about them, to the point I posted a pic in my live review. The girls figure that it was an after thought and it had been forgotten during construction.

Edited December 20, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[funNsun4me]

Sounds like you both had the same amount, very little, of elevator etiquette give to you by your fellow cruisers. As for the garbage cans the "ladies" in our November group cruise also complained about them, to the point I posted a pic in my live review. The girls figure that it was an after thought and it had been forgotten during construction.

 

Rumor has it that it has to be a decision made by a man :eek: :D

[apocalyps3]

Elevators!

 

1. There are so many I don't understand how they are sometimes so slow.

2. Why do (physically capable) people ride an elevator one floor?

3. Its not the elevators fault that you board an elevator going up, but you want to go down (no, the elevator isn't broken).

4. Wait for people to get off before you try to get on.

5. If you walk up to an elevator lobby where there are people already waiting for the elevator, wait your turn to get on when it arrives. Despite the name of the cruise line you are not actually royalty.

 

My wife did mention something about the women's bathrooms, but luckily the men's restrooms were fine.

[funNsun4me]

Elevators!

 

1. There are so many I don't understand how they are sometimes so slow.

2. Why do (physically capable) people ride an elevator one floor?

3. Its not the elevators fault that you board an elevator going up, but you want to go down (no, the elevator isn't broken).

4. Wait for people to get off before you try to get on.

5. If you walk up to an elevator lobby where there are people already waiting for the elevator, wait your turn to get on when it arrives. Despite the name of the cruise line you are not actually royalty.

 

My wife did mention something about the women's bathrooms, but luckily the men's restrooms were fine.

 

Glad you brought up #2. I found that quite baffling as well. Also I got in the elevator on 16 to go down to 6 with coffee or I would have taken the stairs and a mother got in with a stroller, which was fine but her husband and 2 other kids squeezed in to to go down one floor :eek:

[birdlord]

Glad you brought up #2. I found that quite baffling as well. Also I got in the elevator on 16 to go down to 6 with coffee or I would have taken the stairs and a mother got in with a stroller, which was fine but her husband and 2 other kids squeezed in to to go down one floor :eek:

 

We always choose the stairs when it's say 5 floors or less (up or down)... so much easier! I don't understand it myself. The ladies' bathroom metal can was quite awkward and WHY???? Obviously an after-thought, but how it is POSSIBLE it's an after thought? So bizarre. Can't they hang the wall kind after the fact? I kept slamming the door into it. Oh well. I realize nothing is perfect. I'm not disappointed, but not as thrilled as we were with Oasis last year. The rudeness factor was unusually high. I also came home to very sad news that my most favorite dog of my life has to be put down and I just put down my horse 5 weeks ago. So I wasn't really going in and out of it with a happy heart. Plus, the 9 hours in the airport coming home really sucked, too. These are not RCI's fault; but just was not my year for a cruise.

[A&L_Ont]

Elevators!

 

1. There are so many I don't understand how they are sometimes so slow.

2. Why do (physically capable) people ride an elevator one floor?

3. Its not the elevators fault that you board an elevator going up, but you want to go down (no, the elevator isn't broken).

4. Wait for people to get off before you try to get on.

5. If you walk up to an elevator lobby where there are people already waiting for the elevator, wait your turn to get on when it arrives. Despite the name of the cruise line you are not actually royalty.

 

My wife did mention something about the women's bathrooms, but luckily the men's restrooms were fine.

 

All valid points with one caveat from me. Just because someone looks healthy enough to use the stairs it doesn't mean that they are capable/able to take the stairs. We too have noticed and reflected on all your other elevator points.

Edited December 21, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[molsonschooner]

We always choose the stairs when it's say 5 floors or less (up or down)... so much easier! I don't understand it myself. The ladies' bathroom metal can was quite awkward and WHY???? Obviously an after-thought, but how it is POSSIBLE it's an after thought? So bizarre. Can't they hang the wall kind after the fact? I kept slamming the door into it. Oh well. I realize nothing is perfect. I'm not disappointed, but not as thrilled as we were with Oasis last year. The rudeness factor was unusually high. I also came home to very sad news that my most favorite dog of my life has to be put down and I just put down my horse 5 weeks ago. So I wasn't really going in and out of it with a happy heart. Plus, the 9 hours in the airport coming home really sucked, too. These are not RCI's fault; but just was not my year for a cruise.

 

how do you know these people are healthy enough to take the stairs. There are many people, young and old that look healthy but have issues that are not always visible, such as heart problems

[setsail]

Overall, on our hots cruise, we found the elevator use just like any other ship we have been on, big and small. I am not sure who exactly determines that 24 cruise ship passengers can fit.:p

[Bootman4U]

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to write this review and to share your perspective and experiences.

 

I simply wanted to reassure you (not that you, or anyone else who has so far commented on the thread really needs it) that not all of us who are 65+ (what is it about that number, BTW? are people who are only 64 really THAT different?) do not "cough all over people" and we are not routinely rude and we do not cut into lines or complain.

 

I wish I could tell how old somebody is by looking at them but I am sure you get my drift. I agree there isn't much worse than somebody who has decided "it is all about me" on a cruise ship or anywhere else, including on message boards).

 

Cheers and thanks again.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Bootman4U

[Ery]

how do you know these people are healthy enough to take the stairs. There are many people, young and old that look healthy but have issues that are not always visible, such as heart problems

 

 

I am healthy and active and as a rule take the stairs. On our last cruise I couldn't do the steps because I had injured my knee and while I could walk my dr wouldn't let me do stairs because of the strain it put on it during healing. I had one lady on our last cruise actually make a comment about me going two decks on the elevator, I turned around pulled up the maxi shirt to show the brace and told her to mind her own business.

 

 

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[funNsun4me]

We always choose the stairs when it's say 5 floors or less (up or down)... so much easier! I don't understand it myself. The ladies' bathroom metal can was quite awkward and WHY???? Obviously an after-thought, but how it is POSSIBLE it's an after thought? So bizarre. Can't they hang the wall kind after the fact? I kept slamming the door into it. Oh well. I realize nothing is perfect. I'm not disappointed, but not as thrilled as we were with Oasis last year. The rudeness factor was unusually high. I also came home to very sad news that my most favorite dog of my life has to be put down and I just put down my horse 5 weeks ago. So I wasn't really going in and out of it with a happy heart. Plus, the 9 hours in the airport coming home really sucked, too. These are not RCI's fault; but just was not my year for a cruise.

 

So sorry for your losses.

 

We also spent 13 hours in the airport. We flew Jet Blue and while we were not happy we understand it wasn't their fault but we did get an email saying that they were compensating us for the trouble, which I thought went above and beyond since it really was not their fault.

[dccooper]

It was the waves hitting the ship. We were in the front of the ship on deck 7 and it was really loud there. It kept my wife up all night Monday. Did you see the sick bags at the bottom of the stairs on each floor. That was a first for us on that size of ship, we had several cruise staff say the something.

[vacationlover_mn]

Thanks for the great, non-boring review!

 

 

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[ptf2009]

On the Harmony, deck 14 is a cabin deck. Deck 15 is the pool, as is Deck 16. So it went deck 12 (my cabin), deck 14 (cabins) then the pool deck. I just double checked the deck plans to make sure I wasn't misspeaking!

 

Ugh...we are going to be in a D5, deck 12 cabin so now I'm worried about the 4:00 wake up call thumping!

[molsonschooner]

I am healthy and active and as a rule take the stairs. On our last cruise I couldn't do the steps because I had injured my knee and while I could walk my dr wouldn't let me do stairs because of the strain it put on it during healing. I had one lady on our last cruise actually make a comment about me going two decks on the elevator, I turned around pulled up the maxi shirt to show the brace and told her to mind her own business.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

yes, this is exactly my point. Good for you for putting the person in their place

[A&L_Ont]

Ugh...we are going to be in a D5, deck 12 cabin so now I'm worried about the 4:00 wake up call thumping!

 

Oh I want to make a joke about that type of wake up, but I can't.:D A night of poor sleep is not a thing to joke about.

[chrcruiser]

Enjoyed the review - thanks

[beachnative]

Thanks for posting your review. We were on the same sailing as well as the previous one. We enjoyed all aspects of the ship except the rude, whining, or negative older guests…most of whom were transplants from NJ/NY to Florida. Because of these people we were actually glad to get off the fantastic ship and get into our quiet car where we were away from them.

 

With that said, we did met some wonderful people in the Suites Lounge, Diamond Lounge, and other areas of the ship.

Edited December 21, 2016 by beachnative

[birdlord]

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to write this review and to share your perspective and experiences.

 

I simply wanted to reassure you (not that you, or anyone else who has so far commented on the thread really needs it) that not all of us who are 65+ (what is it about that number, BTW? are people who are only 64 really THAT different?) do not "cough all over people" and we are not routinely rude and we do not cut into lines or complain.

 

I wish I could tell how old somebody is by looking at them but I am sure you get my drift. I agree there isn't much worse than somebody who has decided "it is all about me" on a cruise ship or anywhere else, including on message boards).

 

Cheers and thanks again.

I agree. I wasn't the poster who used that "age frame" and I was quick to point out I experienced rudeness from all age groups. The folks who were so rude during Grease just happened to be an older couple, but frankly much older than 65. However, age/race/nationality doesn't excuse anyone from rude behavior. That I think we all can agree on. The unfortunate part of vacationing with thousands of people, whether on a ship or a resort on land, is there is no guarantee what the "vibe" of that crowd may be. I mentioned before that I had a disappointing experience on a prior cruise due to the crowd .... And we waited 10 years to give it a go again. We had good experiences last few years. I agree with you that painting certain age groups in one broad stroke is wrong. The one outstanding couple we met who were a true pleasure happened to fall into that age group. I heard many people complaining about a certain nationality...As I said above, I don't agree with that either. In my personal opinion, I think there were so many passengers aboard whose attitudes were "I paid for this vacation and therefore I own the ship"...that my general impression was the crowd as a whole was difficult. I stress again, this was not a ship or RCI problem, just luck (or bad luck) of the draw.

 

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[ptf2009]

Oh I want to make a joke about that type of wake up, but I can't.:D A night of poor sleep is not a thing to joke about.

 

You did make me chuckle:D...but really did the OP ever find out what the 4:00a.m. noise was all about. After all, I really do love to sleep especially on a cruise ship when I'm gently rocked all night:)

[birdlord]

Ugh...we are going to be in a D5, deck 12 cabin so now I'm worried about the 4:00 wake up call thumping!

 

Please don't worry - it could have been the way I was sleeping (not great) and just being oversensitive to what others might consider a normal noise.

[birdlord]

You did make me chuckle:D...but really did the OP ever find out what the 4:00a.m. noise was all about. After all, I really do love to sleep especially on a cruise ship when I'm gently rocked all night:)

 

NO! I didn't find out, but I too love a gentle motion of a ship while I'm sleeping.