Harmony Review - August 12-19 - Eastern - Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Kitts

[maryjaden]

Random Thoughts and Information

 

Internet, IQ App and Wow Bands – Let me state that I am not very IT savvy. I felt the internet service was very good. We had only one or two interruptions in service. The speed seemed very good to me. We down loaded the Royal IQ App prior to boarding the ship. My kids used this a lot to access the cruise compass through out the day to see what was going on. I used it mostly to double check my reservations for dinner and shows. The one thing I could see to improve on was locations. If you pulled up the compass, it listed the activity, time and location. If you pulled up something through your own reservation, it did not list the location. Unless I missed it, a deck plan section would also have been helpful. We all had WOW bands. My husband and I had them in our cabin because we were in a Suite. We purchased them for our two children. I did not like to use mine as you had to take it off to get a drink. The kids loved having them as they did not have to worry about the sea pass cards on the ship.

 

Guest Services - I only had to utilize guest services a few times, mostly for inquiries, just once about a complaint. They were very pleasant. My youngest DD loves chocolate covered strawberries and she could not find any on the ship. I told her to go down to guest services and ask. They said they could send them to her cabin for $9.95, but it wouldn’t be until the next day. No problem. She signed the slip and waited until the next day. By that evening they had not yet been delivered. I went down the next morning, explained the situation and let them know we did not receive them. I was very pleasant as these are not on the room service menu and are a special request. They said they would look into it, but probably wouldn’t have an answer until the next day. Okay, no hurry. Within 30 minutes they were delivered to her cabin and a plate was delivered to our cabin. In addition, we did not get charged for either plate.

 

Drink Packages –I have always been on the fence when it comes to drink packages. I like to have things paid for in advance. My husband and I purchased the Deluxe Package and VOOM prior to the cruise for $54 on sale. I originally purchased the Refreshment package for our daughters for $26 then prior to cruising it was on sale for $18 so I cancelled the original order and repurchased for the lower price. One note, when you cancel an order it takes 3-5 business days to credit your account, but you will be billed for the new charges right away. By the time you included bottled water, specialty coffee and juices, my final verdict on the drink packages is that we probably break even or a little ahead. I also like the convenience of it. I find myself trying drinks that I wouldn’t try at home. If I don’t like it, I don’t feel bad about not drinking it and ordering something else.

 

I will also make another side note here. As you do not get your sea pass card until you get to your cabin, you use your set sail pass for on board purchases until the cabins are ready. As we boarded early, this was a few hours. It was a Pain In The A$$ to dig out the paper set sail pass every time we wanted something…… I know…… first world problems ….. Lol.

 

Bar Service and Wait staff around the Pools – I generally tip an additional $1-$2 cash when we order drinks. I found the bar service through out the ship and the wait staff on the pool decks to be very good.

 

Temperature and Cleanliness – I found the temperature and the cleanliness of the ship very good. I saw them cleaning and wiping down common areas often. Several times we passed them on the stairs wiping down hand rails. The only time I noticed public bathrooms needing a bit of cleaning was right after shows were finished.

 

Facebook – To accommodate our large group and stay in touch we created a Facebook Event Page and a Group message page. This worked really well as most of us were either in cabins in the same general vicinity or had the internet. It was easy to send information and messages back and forth during the planning of the cruise and connecting with each other on the ship. One thing that ended up working out wonderfully is that everyone (even the kids) uploaded their photos to the facebook page. We ended up with an album of family photos of over 700 really nice photos and videos.

 

Scavenger Hunt – In order to get some of the teens out and about on the ship we created a scavenger hunt with over 50 items on it for them to find. They had all week to do it. The adults and kids ended up participating in it and everyone had a great time. This also contributed to the photos that were taken on the ship.I will include this list in the next thread.

 

Tuxedo Rental –This is something I did not see much of listed in information prior to our cruise. Let me preface by saying my husband’s idea of dressing up is a pair of nice pressed jeans, cowboy boots and a nice shirt or jacket. I have not seen him in a tux since the last time one of our friends were married! My DDs and I always go formal one night and wear cocktail dresses on the second formal night. We like to dress up. So imagine my surprise when DH asked me to inquire about the tuxedo rental. My sister mentioned to him that her DH always rents one on the ship because it is much easier than to bring one along. So I called to rent one. The whole tuxedo, pants, jacket, cummerbund, shoes, two shirts, vest and ties. A nice man came to our cabin to measure my husband and get sizes. That afternoon it was delivered. My husband said it was one of the best fitting tuxedos he ever had and was actually very comfortable. The cost was $90. We tipped the man that came to take measurements at our cabin, delivered and picked up the tuxedo after the second formal night $20. I goaded him into getting a photo by the car because I don’t think I will see him in a tuxedo again soon. It turns out he cleans up pretty good!

 

Final Thoughts –Prior to this cruise I was leaning toward the smaller ships as being my favorite. After being on the Oasis, though it was nice, I didn't think I would enjoy the Harmony as much as the smaller ships. There were 6304 people on the ship, of which 1600 were children. Excepting during dinner and when shows were over, it did not feel overly crowded. Despite reviews to the contrary, the Harmony had a “warmer” feel to it than when we were on the Oasis. Though one of the other posters noted many rude cruisers, we did not run into this. Now keep in mind because we were a larger group we did not interact a lot with other cruisers, usually we do, but this time we just enjoyed family. I will interject here the elevators are the exception to my previous statement…..save yourself aggravation and take the stairs whenever possible.

 

I will definitely sail on the Harmony again. There were many things we did not get to experience that I want to and several things I will do again. I will post all of the Cruise Compasses in a separate Thread for the convenience of people that do not want to read the entire review but just want information. I also have the room service menus, our scavenger hunt list and a few random sheets. I have some more scanning to do so I may not get it up right away.

 

Thank you all for joining me on my review, I hope you enjoyed it!

[Wingman2010]

Bravo!! Very nice review.

[RandR95336]

Great review!

[idalizr30]

Love your review! Looking forward to our trip next Saturday [emoji51]

 

 

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[spender]

Great job

 

 

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[maryjaden]

Thank all of you for your kind words. I am kind of at a loss right now because I don't have a cruise planned yet for this next year. My sister and her husband are sailing the Symphony from Barcelona in June so I will have to live vicariously through her until I do. A few of our current options are a 4-5 day quick girls cruise or the Anthem. We are considering an Alaskan cruise for our next family cruise in 2020.

 

I am starting a separate thread with the compasses and some misc. flyers and information sheets.

[perfect match]

Thank you very much for your review. Looked like you and your family had a great time! :D

[ILuvCruisin']

Thanks, Mary, for a wonderful cruise review. I really enjoyed it and appreciate you taking the time to post the pictures and give such details. I am so glad you reviewed Wonderland. This is one experience I have been wanting to try but never have because I am like your hubby and daughter. If it don't look right I probably won't try it but have wanted to try Wonderland because it looks like fun. Now I know I can try it and if I run across something I don't like they will accommodate me with something else if I want.

 

Sorry for missing the Meet & Mingle. I booked this cruise late and although I had signed up for the M&M my invite never arrived and I didn't realize that until later on in the week. I actually missed a lot of invites and information that I should have received in my cabin. So much so that I received an OBC as an apology from RCCL.

 

So sorry I didn't get to meet you and your family on this cruise. It looks like you all had a ball!

[maryjaden]

Thanks' date=' Mary, for a wonderful cruise review. I really enjoyed it and appreciate you taking the time to post the pictures and give such details. I am so glad you reviewed Wonderland. This is one experience I have been wanting to try but never have because I am like your hubby and daughter. If it don't look right I probably won't try it but have wanted to try Wonderland because it looks like fun. Now I know I can try it and if I run across something I don't like they will accommodate me with something else if I want.

 

Sorry for missing the Meet & Mingle. I booked this cruise late and although I had signed up for the M&M my invite never arrived and I didn't realize that until later on in the week. I actually missed a lot of invites and information that I should have received in my cabin. So much so that I received an OBC as an apology from RCCL.

 

So sorry I didn't get to meet you and your family on this cruise. It looks like you all had a ball![/quote']

 

Thank you for your kind words. We missed a meet and mingle once because we also booked a late cruise and did not get the invitation. Maybe we will meet up again on a future cuise some day!

[Kesali]

Loved your review Mary, thank you!

 

Would you be able to post a link where you purchased the full-face scuba masks please? They look interesting. My husband might be interested in them.

[maryjaden]

Loved your review Mary, thank you!

 

Would you be able to post a link where you purchased the full-face scuba masks please? They look interesting. My husband might be interested in them.

I will look for the link tonight. I purchased them from Amazon and I believe they were $40 each.

[cruiser123!]

Random Thoughts and Information

 

Scavenger Hunt – In order to get some of the teens out and about on the ship we created a scavenger hunt with over 50 items on it for them to find. They had all week to do it. The adults and kids ended up participating in it and everyone had a great time. This also contributed to the photos that were taken on the ship.I will include this list in the next thread.

 

 

I love this idea! I'm planning a group for 10 families with 20+ teenagers. I can't wait to see the list. Thanks!

[maryjaden]

I love this idea! I'm planning a group for 10 families with 20+ teenagers. I can't wait to see the list. Thanks!

It's post #10 on this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2538863