Harmony Trip Report April 8-15, 2017: A Cruise to Remember!

[swim13]

Kevin - Harmony looks absolutely incredible! I've been on both Allure and Anthem and loved both, so I can only imagine what it is like to be on a ship with the best of both worlds! I also love the Freedom class and think you will very much enjoy Freedom of the Seas herself.

 

Glad I am not the only "young" cruise reviewer with a big passion for RCI here! Keep up the good work! :cool:

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 2 - Sunday, April 9th

An Afternoon on Deck

 

First of all, my apologies in advance for no photos in this post!

 

After lunch I headed back the cabin, changed into my swim trunks and went out to the balcony to reapply the sunscreen. I made a beeline for the forward stairs and once I reached Deck 15, I dropped my sandals, towel and goggles off in a lounge chair near the entrance to the Solarium. I brought my goggles just in case I wanted to do some underwater swimming, but didn't need them at this point so I left them. There was a lot of this in the Solarium on Liberty with it being nearly 7 feet deep at the deep end (around 5 at the shallow end, for anyone who was wondering)- I remember even using them to recover someone's wedding ring! During my Harmony cruise, I brought towels from my cabin to the pool deck since I was almost charged for one last year on Liberty for forgetting to return one on the first night! (I know, stupid me). Luckily I managed to a stray towel before the end of the week and turned it in so the charge was cleared from my SeaPass account. Wasn't about to make that mistake again this year!

 

As always, I hopped in the cantilevered whirlpool, as I love to pool- and jacuzzi-hop on these ships. Got crowded, so I went to the Solarium, then headed out to the main Lido deck to spend some time in the pools. At 2:15 the World's Sexiest Man competition was held at the Main Pool. Unfortunately no photos were taken; I watched the competition from the jacuzzi to the aft of the pool. It was hilarious! After the competition was over I met up with my father and Matt and we did the Supercell, which is the champagne bowl in the Perfect Storm trio of waterslides. It was extremely fast but my father and Matt didn't even make it one revolution around the bowl! I made about two, not sure why!

 

When I went on the Liberty last year, the slides were complete but the Boomerango slide was closed all week due to safety upgrades. I was a little nervous about that too but like the Abyss, wanted to do it! So I was disappointed when they said it would be closed all week but still enjoyed the dual racers!

 

On Liberty, the launch area for the waterslides is an a room on top of a "tower," which had great views of the wake of the ship. On Harmony, it was open-air and had phenomenal views not only of the ocean on either side, but over the pool deck as well. Very windy too! One of the waterparks we go to in the Dells (the same one that has the FlowRider, and the same one we're going to this summer but almost had to pass up because of Delta) has two slides similar to this. The one inside is a body slide that takes you down a chute, then into a bowl and dropping you into about 4 feet into a 9-1/2-foot-deep pool. Outside there is one very similar, except you are in a tube and instead of dropping into a pool, you come out in a chute like a regular slide. The one on Harmony was basically a combination of those two in that it was a body slide, but landed you in a chute like the others. So it is easy to run into the wall in the middle of the bowl, but I think it's just a slight bump so it's not painful at all.

 

After being flushed down the toilet, we separated ways again and I went back to the hot tubs and arranged to meet back up with my father at the Sports Pool at 5:00 for pool volleyball, as advertised in the Cruise Compass. We had enjoyed doing this on Oasis and Allure and missed it on Liberty so we were excited to do it again. To our disappointment, the net was never set up but the pool was empty so I went back to the Solarium to get my goggles, and came back to do some laps as I enjoy swimming. My father sat in a poolside chair and watched me, where he had a casual conversation with the lifeguard, who was surprised to hear that I was his son- he thought I looked old enough to be his brother! Maybe it was because I was shirtless and wet?

 

It was really nice being able to do laps. Since there is no Solarium pool, this pool is adults-only so there are no kids. I'm not sure whether or not they've implemented this for the Sports Pools on Oasis and Allure as well but I remember having a hard time doing laps on the Oasis because a mother had her toddler son in the pool and I didn't want to splash him! I don't remember ever getting around to doing laps on the Allure, as I spent so much time in the Solarium pool during that cruise! The only laps I did on Liberty were the first night, when the Sports Pool was empty as it too was full with guests of all ages during the day.

 

You're going to hate us for this, but my family doesn't usually pack formal wear on cruises since we have the buffet, and since it was a sea day and we didn't want to be on a schedule for dinner anyway, we just ate at the Windjammer that night. It was nice to check out their dinner selection on these nights. The other 5 nights we ate in the MDR, where I loved the quality of the dishes. So after swimming a few laps, I went back to the Sports Pool hot tub and around 5:30, went back to the room to shower and change into dry clothes for dinner in the Windjammer.

 

Next up: another peaceful evening, 1887 & late-night hot-tubbing!

 

 

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I will also add, about the lifeguard who thought I was older- my dad told him I'm only 18 and he said he would have guessed 30, and that my dad was in his 30s too! Not the first time- on Allure 2 years ago, I had a fellow guest in the Solarium ask if I worked there! I was 16... the youngest age allowed in there! Maybe it's because I have a lot of Italian background and look older with my shirt off [emoji16] my fellow Italians will get that joke, no offense intended with that! (Not quite sure why he thought a crew member would be shirtless on the job).

 

It's not an insult being called old until you're actually getting up there in the numbers, so I took them both as compliments that I look mature! I'll take it!

 

 

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Edited May 9, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[CreativeCruiser119]

Kevin - Harmony looks absolutely incredible! I've been on both Allure and Anthem and loved both, so I can only imagine what it is like to be on a ship with the best of both worlds! I also love the Freedom class and think you will very much enjoy Freedom of the Seas herself.

 

 

 

Glad I am not the only "young" cruise reviewer with a big passion for RCI here! Keep up the good work! :cool:

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the compliment! I'm only 18 and have developed a passion for Royal Caribbean cruises since starting high school. I loved Liberty as well, I've wanted to try Quantum class but my family refuses because it's too cold in New York during our spring break time, with Anthem being homeported (Quantum and Ovation are overseas), and the ports would be too hot in this summer!

 

Great to see another young reviewer on here. I see you like swimming as well- what can I say, great minds think alike! Thanks for following!

 

 

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[vrock]

Great job so far. We have to wait until December to board harmony. I am enjoying your review and tips. Thank you. :)

 

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying it! December will be here before you know it, and you're lucky you get to do a B2B! I've always wanted to do that! Stay tuned for more, and don't hesitate to ask any questions along the way!

 

I love your signature too by the way! ��

 

Thank you . We love our security system too. I was so happy to hear you had positive news on your kitty.

This will be our first b2b we are pretty excited. We have to fly from the west coast so we want to make it worth the long fligbt. I did have one question. We like to use the pool and hot tubs later in the evening and I was wondering how crowded they were.

 

Great photos and information I am following. :)

[CreativeCruiser119]

Thank you . We love our security system too. I was so happy to hear you had positive news on your kitty.

This will be our first b2b we are pretty excited. We have to fly from the west coast so we want to make it worth the long fligbt. I did have one question. We like to use the pool and hot tubs later in the evening and I was wondering how crowded they were.

 

Great photos and information I am following. :)

 

That sounds like quite the long flight so what a way to make it worth it! I completely agree with you there!

 

I too like to use the pools in the evening, after the shows. What time are you referring to? Usually they're not busy at all after dinner but some pools and hot tubs may be closed, although there is always at least one open at any given time. Hope this helped! Thanks for following!

[NolaFireLI]

Andrea,

She is doing well! She had an x-ray today and they do not think the cancer has spread, which means we will most likely still get a few years with her! Which, as I mentioned, was expected anyway since she's 12 and a half and cats normally live to about 15 or 16! I was so happy at the news. The x-rays will go to a radiologist tomorrow for confirmation, so keeping our fingers crossed! If the cancer had spread there would likely be no treatment option, so we would have no choice but to just let her live the rest of her life (not knowing how long that would be), and watch her health and unfortunately, put her to sleep when necessary. But now we think it'll be treatable, so that's wonderful news. I'll keep you all posted.

 

Thank you so much for checking up on my kitty, it really means a lot to have such caring people like you on here! Thanks for following along!

 

 

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Kevin,

 

HOORAY!!!! :hearteyes: So happy to hear the positive news about Patches!!! Purr-fect!!!!

 

.....and just another thank you for helping me pass my work days away while daydreaming of my Harmony cruise in 10 days!!!! :cool:

Continue the awesome work!!!

 

Steph

[vrock]

Sorry I was not clear in my question we like to use the pool and hot tub around 9 or 10 in the evening. I hope they are open. Thank you.

[CreativeCruiser119]

Kevin,

 

HOORAY!!!! :hearteyes: So happy to hear the positive news about Patches!!! Purr-fect!!!!

 

.....and just another thank you for helping me pass my work days away while daydreaming of my Harmony cruise in 10 days!!!! :cool:

Continue the awesome work!!!

 

Steph

 

Thank you so much! The support from everyone on here really warms my heart.

 

Pretty soon you can do the single-digit dance! How I'd love to be in your shoes! Thanks so much for the compliment and again for the support with Patches, it is much appreciated and later today I'll be back with Day 3!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Sorry I was not clear in my question we like to use the pool and hot tub around 9 or 10 in the evening. I hope they are open. Thank you.

 

No worries! As mentioned there will always be at least one pool open, and a few hot tubs. Usually they will have one side of the cantilevered whirlpools open, and there will definitely be somewhere for you to swim as well- where that is depends on the night I guess. Usually the Beach Pool was open at night, but they need to change the saltwater frequently so I'm sure it's closed at one point or another, as with the Main Pool as I believe the one on Harmony was saltwater as well, which surprised me. Splashaway Bay will be closed, I never checked to see if the Sports Pool was open or not. I believe the Main Pool was usually closed but like I said, the Beach Pool was usually open as well as the poolside jacuzzis. The Solarium always had at least one open at night as well.

 

The pools are not crowded at all during this time. Sometimes the jacuzzis can get a few people, but not at all anything compared to the day crowds. A lot of nights there may be no more than one other person with you in the jacuzzi. It's a very relaxing time to take a dip indeed!

 

I hope this helped, and sorry again for all the details! Always happy to answer questions at any point!

[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 3 - Monday, April 10th

Our First Morning Ashore & Jet-Skiing in Labadee

Around 8:00 we docked in Labadee, Haiti. We ate breakfast in the Dining Room and went back to the cabins to pack our belongings and put on the sunscreen. We had an exciting day planned!

 

Our first excursion was the Jet Ski Tour (I forget exactly what it was called). I had been on jet skis before but this was my first time driving one. My mother was originally supposed to be on the back of mine, but due to her back issues, her doctor advised her not to and said climbing Dunn's River Falls in Falmouth would be her one exception. Whether we actually ended up doing that or not is to be found out later on when I cover Day 4! (Ooh, cliffhanger!) So she cancelled her spot on the jet ski tour pre-cruise, got her money back and stood by the launch area and took pictures. Before we disembarked to go on the island, Captain Johnny made an announcement welcoming everyone to Labadee and also speaking a few lines in his native language, Norwegian, which we thought was cool. He also mentioned that the crew would be conducting a Charlie drill, which means security threat. (He didn't say that part but I know that's what it means). How exactly they prepare for that on such a big ship is beyond me, but I'm sure they have a highly detailed plan as they do for all emergency situations. Mom said she heard a few of the announcements from shore, as the drill was conducted while the 3 of us were out on the water. I had always wanted to see one of their drills in person, and last year on the Liberty they did an Oscar (man overboard) drill before we went ashore in Roatan, which we watched from my parents' balcony as they had dropped the dummy right under it! It was so cool.

 

The tour started with a quick orientation consisting of verbal and video instructions. After learning the operation and safety rules, we got on our skis and started off slow before heading out to the water. With Mom opting out of the tour, I had a jet ski all to myself, and Matt rode on the back of Dad's ski. Since this was my first time on the water, I was quite nervous so I often went slower than the others. The guides were very helpful and assured me that operating a jet ski is completely different from operating a motor vehicle because while you have more control going slow when driving, it's the other way around on the water so speed helps you control your ski better. Good to know! It took a little bit to get the hang of going against my instinct when driving, but by the end of the tour I was gliding through the at high speeds and enjoying myself, wishing I could do the whole thing over again. Something to keep in mind the next time I'm in Labadee! I'd highly recommend it.

 

While we were on the water we had locals in kayaks attempting to sell to us, which is extremely common in Labadee as I remember experiencing it when we went there on the Allure as well. I don't like to be rude so I just kindly said no thank you and kept going! Bless their hearts, Royal Caribbean has done a lot of great things to help the locals on that island such as having a school built for them. We took our jet skis far up the coast which provided for great sights to admire, as well as being able to see the ship from a distance as we had gone far around it.

 

After we returned our skis we went to lunch before relaxing on the beach.

 

 

 

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Edited May 9, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[CreativeCruiser119]

Here are some of my mother's photos from the man overboard drill on Liberty last year. I wasn't kidding when I said the dummy was literally right there! These were taken from the balcony of cabin 7296 on the starboard side.

 

Now back to my Harmony review- just thought I'd throw that in there since I mentioned it! Next up: lunch, a relaxing nap on the beach & Arawak Aqua Park!

 

 

 

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[pharaoh]

I have been thinking about doing the jet ski tour for MONTHS but I am a huge chicken so I don't know if I would actually do it. :( :( :(

 

Kevin, do you happen to remember if they sell the tickets for the jet ski excursion on Labadee (meaning, can you purchase them on the island instead of having to purchase them in advance)? I probably wouldn't buy the tickets in advance but I think I might want to take a look at the excursion from the dock and then maybe I would buy the excursion after that.

 

Great photos! Labadee sure is beautiful. :)

[CreativeCruiser119]

I have been thinking about doing the jet ski tour for MONTHS but I am a huge chicken so I don't know if I would actually do it. :( :( :(

 

Kevin, do you happen to remember if they sell the tickets for the jet ski excursion on Labadee (meaning, can you purchase them on the island instead of having to purchase them in advance)? I probably wouldn't buy the tickets in advance but I think I might want to take a look at the excursion from the dock and then maybe I would buy the excursion after that.

 

Great photos! Labadee sure is beautiful. :)

 

 

 

Pharaoh,

I wish I could answer your question! What I do know is, if there are any available openings, you can book while onboard the ship. Just visit Shore Excursions on the Royal Promenade and if there's any space, they'll get you booked. I just don't know if you'd get a convenient time with that, and also be risking it being sold out at that point. I could assume you could purchase them on the island the same way, but I don't know for sure and wouldn't want to tell you and be wrong!

 

I'm a chicken too and was extremely nervous during my first few minutes out on the water, but the staff is extremely helpful and they will teach you and they won't judge! By the end of the tour I was enjoying myself to the point where I wasn't worried about a single thing in the world :) when do you sail? Are you on Harmony?

 

I hope I was able to answer your question, if you're unsure about anything else just ask and I'd be glad to help! I highly recommend this excursion!

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 3 - Monday, April 10th

A Delicious Lunch, Relaxing on the Beach & Arawak Aqua Park

 

Okay, I must say that my mouth is about to water as I write this! After the jet ski tour, we ate lunch at one of the BBQ grills on the island. Just as I remembered from 2 years ago, there was a fabulous buffet selection here. For my main meal, I got 2 plates: one for a variety and one designated for just ribs. Remember earlier in the review when I mentioned my addiction to barbecue ribs? I just couldn't resist! My apologies to my fellow guests who were in line behind me! After that I got a dessert plate and we finished up before going back to our spot on the beach. Earlier that day my mother witnessed a beachgoer fish out a board full of nails from the water, examine it, and throw it back in. I wasn't about to go in that water! I've stepped on a nail before and it was not fun, didn't feel like going through that again much less on vacation.

 

So I laid down in a lounge chair under a tree and slept for a couple hours. Brings back memories of last year, when I fell asleep on the beach in Belize and when I woke up, my parents and Matt were telling me about how someone, probably under the influence, walked by the beach while I was asleep yelling about how he wanted all Americans dead!

 

The sleep I endured in Labadee was very well-earned, as I was still catching up from the amount of sleep I had lost the night before the cruise. I will also add, the vegetation on the islands is absolutely beautiful! I was able to lay down and look up at a tree with beautiful leaves. Reminded me of the beach we went to in Roatan last year.

 

After my nap we headed over to the other side of the island, where Matt and I had reservations for the Arawak Aqua Park. I took a little while to get into the water, and while I was sitting on the dock a young girl came out of the water, crying, with a profusely bleeding foot. The medical staff believed she may have stepped on a barnacle on the dock. It just breaks my heart to see that happen- the morning of day 2 my mother said she saw another young girl with her forehead bleeding badly after her brother accidentally struck her with a mini golf club. I hope they both ended up okay!

 

While I'm on the topic, I have a similar story from Liberty- on day 2 I was going back to the room for lunch when an Alpha emergency call came over the PA, which means medical emergency. Matt, practically living at the FlowRider on every cruise, said he heard a rumor that a child had a heart attack. Fast-forward to the Captain's Corner on day 7, Captain James awarded a Deck Patrol crew member with the Royal Caribbean "Hero Award," which is apparently a very special honor. The reason: he saved a child who had gotten hurt on the FlowRider who, according to the Captain, may not have made it if it wasn't for the quick actions of this crew member! It was scary to hear about but in the end, it warmed my heart to hear that there are people like that in the world and that Royal takes the time to recognize them for their actions. Captain James went on to add that the child was doing well.

 

I apologize for always going off topic, I guess I just get reminded of these things and some things I just can't help but share! Not to mention it's also fun to reminisce on previous cruise experiences while reviewing, which is why I often refer back to experiences from my other cruises. I hope you enjoy the attached photos from Labadee!

 

[CreativeCruiser119]

I'm sure you don't care to see pictures of me sleeping but I enjoyed being able to relax on the beach so here you go!

 

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

After a few minutes I made it into the water and joined my brother at the Aqua Park, while meeting another young man about my age and having a conversation before our time was up and we headed back to the ship.

 

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

The sun was in my eyes and the rocks were hurting my feet, but I touched it out for the picture even though I clearly don't look good squinting! (Where were my sunglasses? Flip flops?)

 

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 3 - Monday, April 10th

 

I was already in my swim trunks so after returning to the ship, I immediately went up to Deck 15 for some hot tub time. I spent a little time in the cantilevered ones until Dad came up, and we went into the Solarium and spent some time in the hot tubs there. I ordered a virgin mango cocktail from the Solarium Bar and my dad got out of the hot tub to watch the sailaway from Labadee from the edge of the Solarium. It was now when I decided to spend some time in the rain shower, which is Harmony's replacement for the pool in the Solarium on Oasis and Allure.

 

On Allure, I spent a TON of time in the Solarium pool. I just loved the cool jets and the middle part with the fountains and bubbles. The Solarium pool on Allure was good for relaxing, whereas the one on Liberty was good for regular leisure swimming (that's the best way I can describe it), as will the one on Freedom when I go next year. I missed having the pool on Harmony, but loved the rain shower nonetheless. One thing I did notice was that the shower heads were angled such that there was water going out of the shower area and onto the deck, and there were constantly crew members having to mop it up and leave wet floor signs in the area. Perhaps they should adjust the heads a few degrees to keep the water in!

 

The photos attached are screenshots from a quick video I took on day 1, so not the best quality but I never took any photos of the shower in particular although it can be seen in my picture of the Solarium from when I covered day 1.

 

I spent a few minutes enjoying the refreshing water falling on me, and after that Dad and I headed back to the Perfect Storm, this time to try out the dual racers. Dad had the yellow one, I had the blue. I noticed that it was a little faster than the ones on Liberty, where you had to lay a certain way to go fast. I still enjoyed the ones on that ship nonetheless, but it took me a few days to figure out how to get speed! It looks like they fixed that on Harmony. I had made it my plan to do the yellow one later in the week, but I never got around to it! The lines were often extremely long, which is why we always made a point to do the Ultimate Abyss in the morning. We stuck to dry activities in the morning (on sea days), and then the afternoon is when I would put on the swim trunks.

 

After our run down the slides, we spent a few minutes in the cantilevered hot tub before hearing back to the room to get ready for dinner. Next up: dinner, Grease & the Grease afterparty!

 

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 3 - Monday, April 10th

Dinner, Grease & the Afterparty

 

For our second dinner in the Dining Room, I ordered 2 starters: the chilled shrimp again as I did the first night, and also the French onion soup since I tried my father's soup that first night and decided to order one of my own this time. I don't remember what my main course or dessert were but after dinner we got ready for our show for the night: Grease!

 

Our showing was at 8:00 so around 7:15 we began making our way to the Royal Theater. We got seats right in the middle with a great view of the stage. I had seen the live version of the movie a couple of years ago so was somewhat familiar with it, but still had my parents fill me in prior to the show so I'd have more of an idea of what was going on. I had heard it was a great film and play so I was very eager to see this show, as were all of us. We were not disappointed! The acting was fantastic and kept the viewer interested between scenes. I absolutely loved it, you're missing out if you go on Harmony and don't see Grease!

 

I will say, the quality of shows on Royal Caribbean is absolutely top-notch. We saw Saturday Night Fever last year on Liberty, and Chicago the year before on Allure. We were supposed to see Hairspray on Oasis but decided to forgo it because our reservation was in the middle of a sea day and we wanted to spend the day out on deck instead. The shows have been great on all of our cruises, but please note that Oasis is now playing Cats and Allure is now playing Mamma Mia, as they changed after we sailed. We're a little disappointed we won't have a Broadway show on the Freedom next year, but it's not at all a big deal and we'll still have an ice show and other shows in the theater so that's definitely a plus!

 

At the conclusion of Grease Abe came out onstage and announced that since this was the last showing of Grease for the sailing, there would be an afterparty on the Royal Promenade immediately after the show, so we parted ways and Mom and I decided to go to that while Matt and Dad went back to the room. We loved the 70s street parties on Liberty and Allure (didn't go to the one on Oasis) and while we missed having that this year, were eager to attend this party, which we didn't even know about until after Grease, and the 90s party, which we did know about. Now being born in 1999 I don't know much about music from the 70s of 90s, much less the 60s as the Grease afterparty started off with, but I'm all in it for the experience and the music really does get you in the groove!

 

I'll take this opportunity to issue a fair warning about crowds after shows, particularly in the theater. The crowding after Grease was insane! So if you're weary of crowds this is something to be aware of, as these are the few times during the week where you really feel the amount of people on the ship. I don't know exactly how many people were onboard this week but I'd imagine it was a lot, as I'm sure there are other schools like us with a late spring break that happened to be out for the week at that time. Surely there were a lot of kids onboard given the amount of announcements we heard paging people to Guest Services! Our guess? Lost kids!

 

After escaping the crowd leaving the Royal Theater, Mom and I made our way up to the Royal Promenade for the Grease afterparty. I had my drink cup with me so I filled up at the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine at Sorrento's, and got a couple slices of pizza as well. It was during dinner when I started to notice a tickle in my throat, thinking I had just swallowed the wrong way. But it was during the afterparty when I really started to feel the burn and decided it was more than just that! Matt had had a minor sickness around day 2, but it didn't last very long and wasn't debilitating at all.

 

Mom and I still enjoyed the party nonetheless (sorry no photos from that- keep in mind the majority of my photos from during the week are ones that my parents took, but the ones from day 1 are mine), and after some 60s music they did a little bit of 70s music before wrapping it up. One group even created a train going around the stage where the dancers were, and a girl went onstage and took a picture with one of the performers so you can really see how people get into it! I didn't join the train but watched from outside of Sorrento's. After the party wrapped up we headed back to our cabins to go to bed I'm preparation for what we had planned to be a fun day in Jamaica. Did what started off as a sore throat progress into something worse? You'll have to wait and find out tomorrow!

 

Next up: Day 4! Have a great night, see you tomorrow!

 

 

 

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Edited May 10, 2017 by CreativeCruiser119

[Mr&MrsTop-Ret.]

Gah!!! A cliffhanger!!!!!

 

(Not-so) patiently waiting the continuation!!!

 

 

~Andrea

[CreativeCruiser119]

Gah!!! A cliffhanger!!!!!

 

(Not-so) patiently waiting the continuation!!!

 

 

~Andrea

 

 

 

I know the feeling! My apologies as I am at school for 6 and a half hours and then I come home and nap but I promise I'll definitely get to day 4 shortly! Thanks so much again for following along and for your continued support for Patches! :)

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Day 4 - Tuesday, April 11th

An Impromptu Day on the Ship!

Today was our day in Falmouth, Jamaica. Our plan was to go into Ocho Rios to climb Dunn's River Falls and swim with dolphins, as we did when we did this same itinerary on the Allure 2 years ago. I woke up in the night with a sore throat and a stuffy nose, knowing it was what had started off as a simple sore throat the night before, as most sicknesses do. We got up around 8 and ate breakfast in the Main Dining Room. I was so lethargic, I could barely walk, much less climb a waterfall! I wanted to do the excursion, but after a lot of thinking, didn't think I would be able to with the condition I was in- it was more than just a cold! The fact that it was far, in addition to the strenuousness of the activity, was part of my decision- it was a 40-minute bus ride, as opposed to something like in Labadee where I could just go back to the ship if I didn't feel good.

 

I was bummed about missing out but decided it wasn't that big of a deal since I'd done it before. Mom and I stayed back while the other two went on and did the excursion. Mom went down to the Shore Excursions desk to refund our tickets, and came back to check on me. We went over to her cabin and my temperature came up as a fever. Just great! I wasn't about to let it ruin my vacation. After napping for a couple hours in her cabin, we decided to use the day to our advantage to spend some quality time together without Matt there to demand her attention! (He and I have a love-hate relationship).

 

Around lunch time we left the room to check out Park Cafe, which I had never had before. Her and Dad had tried it on the Allure one day after returning the ship from an excursion, when I went to the Solarium while they went for a snack. I decided to try the famous Royal Kummelweck, which is the roast beef. It was delicious! We sat inside the cafe. As mentioned earlier, my cabin was directly above Park Cafe and if you looked straight down, could see people eating at the tables in the cafe's alfresco seating area.

 

After lunch I went back to nap for a little bit, and if I remember correctly, when Matt and Dad returned Dad and I may have gone to the hot tub. After that we went to the Dining Room for dinner. Since I missed the excursion this day, I have attached a family photo from when we did this same extrusion during our 2015 Allure cruise, as well as a couple photos that Dad took this year of a friendly cat at Dunn's that we remembered from the last time we were there! Two heads later and he's still just chilling there! You know by now we love cats [emoji38]

 

Next up: a few additional photos from earlier on!

 

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Here are several additional photos my mother took throughout the week- sorry for the spam, and for a lot of these photos not being mine! Like I said I was completely unplugged for the week but did go around the first day and take some, although my mother's are clearly better quality than mine because not only is she used to taking pictures everywhere she goes, but I was having a hard time containing my excitement! She usually makes scrapbooks for big trips like these, right now she's busy with planning my graduation party but as soon as that's done it's go time for the Harmony of the Seas 2017 scrapbook!

 

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

 

 

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[CreativeCruiser119]

Dad and I would often go on night walks around the track on Deck 5, as we often do around our neighborhood when it's warm out. (Just did one tonight as a matter of fact). We often would hang out at the back of the ship and enjoy the wake, and if he can find any pictures from this trip I'll throw them in here. We also went up and explored the Vitality at Sea Fitness Center, which my friend had wanted to see the first day but I had trouble finding it as it must be attached to the Spa or something and it completely slipped my mind in the midst of all the excitement to take the shortcut from the track! I believe he took pictures, if he can find them I'll put those in here as well if I remember. I hope you're enjoying the photos!

 

 

 

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