My View: Family of the Seas takes on Harmony...again (Semi-live)

[Clarea]

2 hours ago, cidymom said:

...  where did Harmony dock in Cozumel?  ...

 

Royal nearly always docks at the International Pier, not downtown.

[mcgore83]

Is it possible for the tour guide to drive the trikes?

[Arzeena]

16 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

I had considered talking to the excursions desk, but decided to leave my comments for the survey.  We did indeed have a fun day, all things considered.  🙂

 

Yes, excursions are run by local operators in Roatan.  If you read the fine print, Royal really does not guarantee the safety during excursions.  They pretty much state that they are not responsible for injury, etc. on excursions.  As far as I can tell, the only benefit is that you will not miss the ship.  

 

In fact, we had two vans loading during our excursion.  One of them had threadbare tires.  Ours was pretty bad too.  Wish I had taken a picture of those tires...

They have left us behind on an excursion once.

Was probably due to Royal's insistence on keeping ship time and the tour operators insistence on keeping local time and the confusion that ensued. It was 2 hr difference in February.

It was in Curacao (where we have been several times) so it was not difficult to find a cab back to the port and the ship was docked till 9 pm or so. I was not worried about safety in Curacao, but I did go on board and inform the desk what had happened. First they said I must have stayed back on purpose (????) and was lying to collect the money I paid for the excursion. Then others who were left behind started showing up.  So they insisted that I should have followed Royal's time not the excursion operators time...duh yes I did, and so did the others who also got left behind, that is probably why they left us!

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Arzeena

[Arzeena]

APD mom,

When and where is your next cruise? I will schedule some time aside for excellent review reading😊. LOL. I so much enjoy reading them!

[cravingthis]

On 11/17/2019 at 2:23 PM, AlohaBoundHK said:

Just wanted to pitch in and help...WJ chocolate buffet was evening of Day 6 (Cozumel).   We got there later and they were starting to run out of items...but it was great!   

 

Hi there!  What time did you get to the chocolate buffet?  We have 5 pm traditional dining, so we might not get to the WJ until 6:30/7pm.

 

19 hours ago, AlohaBoundHK said:

Honestly, I think that Royal can be a bit hit or miss with their desserts and pastries.  They always LOOK good, so you just have to try it.  I recall seeing a lot of chocolate at the buffet, but do not recall seeing anything else you mentioned.  As APDMOM mentioned, it was also Mexican night, which I love...and we did not hit the dessert first!  
 

I can tell you that the following night (7) they had an awesome dessert bar set up in WJ with most/all of the items you mentioned.  This is where I had my favorite!  Raspberry cream cake...delicious!!  It also did not hurt that I put warm cherries jubilee over it AND a small scoop of raspberry sherbet...WOW!!
 

 

 

That is so odd, I will definitely check the night after the chocolate buffe, thanks! The raspberry cream cakes sounds delicious!

 

17 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Absolutely agree! The only consistent is the crepe station.

 

We thought it was gone, but finally found it on day 5.  It was way in the back of the Windjammer right next to the closed off side.  The display across from the crepe station was empty, so it was easy to miss.  

 

So, Tip for those who love crepes:  Walk all the way to the back of the Windjammer to find them, or ask a waiter where the crepes can be found.  They are not available every day, but most evenings. 🙂

We'll look for this, thank you!

[AlohaBoundHK]

9 minutes ago, red-dragon said:

 

Hi there!  What time did you get to the chocolate buffet?  We have 5 pm traditional dining, so we might not get to the WJ until 6:30/7pm.

 

I think you should be okay with that.  We got there around 8 or so (they close at 8:45).  After seeing the pictures posted by APDMOM, I realized how much we actually missed!  Still, there were people lined up at that point.

[zencruisers]

Great pictures and commentary. Thank you for taking the time to share. 🙂

 

[APDMOM]

12 hours ago, cidymom said:

Great review as usual!  Question: where did Harmony dock in Cozumel?  Was it near downtown Cozumel?  I didn't get to explore downtown Cozumel on the last trip so hoping the ship would be docking nearby and I don't have to get a taxi into downtown.  Thanks for your helpful tips.

Confirming what Bob shared... we docked at the international pier.  Vision of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas were docked at Punta Langosta (downtown) this past March.  However, it is rare for Royal to dock there.

[APDMOM]

8 hours ago, mcgore83 said:

Is it possible for the tour guide to drive the trikes?

I doubt it, but you can e-mail them to ask.  They have been very responsive to our questions!  🙂
 

trikes.cozumel@gmail.com

 

 

[APDMOM]

5 hours ago, Arzeena said:

They have left us behind on an excursion once.

Was probably due to Royal's insistence on keeping ship time and the tour operators insistence on keeping local time and the confusion that ensued. It was 2 hr difference in February.

It was in Curacao (where we have been several times) so it was not difficult to find a cab back to the port and the ship was docked till 9 pm or so. I was not worried about safety in Curacao, but I did go on board and inform the desk what had happened. First they said I must have stayed back on purpose (????) and was lying to collect the money I paid for the excursion. Then others who were left behind started showing up.  So they insisted that I should have followed Royal's time not the excursion operators time...duh yes I did, and so did the others who also got left behind, that is probably why they left us!

 

It sounds like the excursion left without you, not the ship.  What I was referring to is that the ship will not leave you behind if you are on their sponsored excursion.  If they do, they will be responsible for getting you to the next port.  
 

Glad you got your refund... I like it better when we change time in ports, especially with automatic digital age GPS time updates 🙂

Edited November 19, 2019 by APDMOM
ps added

[APDMOM]

5 hours ago, Arzeena said:

APD mom,

When and where is your next cruise? I will schedule some time aside for excellent review reading😊. LOL. I so much enjoy reading them!

 

Thank you! I will be on Meraviglia over Christmas... Just look for the “My View” review in the MSC boards... probably starting December 22nd 😁

[APDMOM]

5 hours ago, red-dragon said:

Hi there!  What time did you get to the chocolate buffet?  We have 5 pm traditional dining, so we might not get to the WJ until 6:30/7pm.

We got there at 5:30 p.m.  On the last night, we arrived in the Windjammer at 7:30 p.m. and hardly any of the good cakes remained.  One of our favorite Windjammer servers (Putri) offered to run down to the MDR to get us Créme Bruleé.  We declined, as we found enough desserts that were good enough to us.  😁 She was just so sorry for us that we missed the BIG dessert.  We did bot even know we had missed it until she came over to our table.  My scale is thankful that we missed it 😂

 

So, if you are serious about the chocolate buffet, show up early.

 

However... Tip:  We found the BEST desserts in the MDR on sea days for lunch.  So, you can skip the chocolate buffet and just catch the MDR lunch and the Crepe station for evenings. 😁 

[cravingthis]

6 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

We got there at 5:30 p.m.  On the last night, we arrived in the Windjammer at 7:30 p.m. and hardly any of the good cakes remained.  One of our favorite Windjammer servers (Putri) offered to run down to the MDR to get us Créme Bruleé.  We declined, as we found enough desserts that were good enough to us.  😁 She was just so sorry for us that we missed the BIG dessert.  We did bot even know we had missed it until she came over to our table.  My scale is thankful that we missed it 😂

 

So, if you are serious about the chocolate buffet, show up early.

 

However... Tip:  We found the BEST desserts in the MDR on sea days for lunch.  So, you can skip the chocolate buffet and just catch the MDR lunch and the Crepe station for evenings. 😁 

Thank you for the extra info.  We will be in the MDR so we'll miss it 😥

I do have lunch planned on Sea days in the MDR, so I'll definitely do that instead.  Thanks again for your suggestions, much appreciated!

[Arzeena]

2 hours ago, APDMOM said:

It sounds like the excursion left without you, not the ship.  What I was referring to is that the ship will not leave you behind if you are on their sponsored excursion.  If they do, they will be responsible for getting you to the next port.  
 

Glad you got your refund... I like it better when we change time in ports, especially with automatic digital age GPS time updates 🙂

Oh yes it was the excursion not the ship.😳

[APDMOM]

My View:  Day 7 - At Sea

 

[APDMOM]

A busy day at sea:

 

Our final sea day was filled with many plans and activities.  Unfortunately, we had pretty stormy seas and rain in the morning, and the Hideaway Heist was temporarily cancelled.  It is great that they can update it on the app ‘live’ and post replacement activities. 

 

Our morning started with delicious Waffles in the Windjammer.  The Oreo cookies and white chocolate chip toppings were our favorites.

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Central Park Tour:

 

We loved the CP tour on Oasis, and decided to join this one to refresh our memory and see if we could stuff our hemispheres with some more geeky info.  Unfortunately, a majority of this tour consisted of complaining about how poorly this ship’s CP was designed as it compares to Oasis.  Granted, the complaints sounded legit, but the horticulturist went on and on for 10 minutes about the same problem.

 

We did learn a couple of fun facts:

 

1.  When the seas are rough, they have to lower the levels of the pools, because the salty chlorine water spills over onto the plants and turn them brown overnight.

2.  They have to replace 1,200 to 1,500 plants per month in the living wall because the boxes were made too small and do not allow for adequate soil for the plants to grow and stay green.

 

Central Park Views:

 

 

 

 

 

The Living Wall:

 

I love the nooks and seating throughout CP!

 

[APDMOM]

Found some gnomes:

 

 

Incredible:  

This is the same plant.  The lower, much smaller leaves are in the soil.  The larger leaves get their nutrition from a tree.  Amazing difference!  (And it does not harm the tree)

 

These round tubes are not just there for decoration.  They are smoke stacks that can release smoke, should there ever be a fire on the promenade.

 

This plaque is exactly in the middle of Central Park on deck 8 (I am a skeptic, so I am not sure I believe it 😂😞

 

TIP:  Did you know? There are ‘secret’ large balconies on Harmony of the Seas (and other Oasis class ships).  Look at how this balcony is double the width of the others... and it has a lounger!  Same price as a regular CP balcony.  The cabin itself is normal sized, but the balcony is larger.  So, when you book, look for 10229, 10629, 11229, 11629, 12229, or 12629.

 

Views from deck 15:

 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by APDMOM
Error

[APDMOM]

Captain’s Corner:

After 45 minutes of learning very little new, we skipped out on the rest of the CP tour so that we could attend Captain’s Corner.  

 

As usual, it was filled with fun facts and lots of laughter.  Captain Gus is amazing, and Bing Bong (Marc) is one of our new favorite cruise directors.  We were glad to finally cruise with him!

 

 

[APDMOM]

Tip:  Sit on deck 3 if you want to ask questions.  Although they did send one of the mic’s up to deck 5 for one question, sitting on deck 3 will be more of a guarantee that your question will be answered

 

Fun Facts:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Well, this day got away from me.  I will try to finish up tomorrow with day 7. 🙂

 

Once again, Thanks for following along! It is much more fun to cruise like this with an audience.  

[perfect match]

6 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

Thank you! I will be on Meraviglia over Christmas... Just look for the “My View” review in the MSC boards... probably starting December 22nd 😁

 

I’ll be looking for you on the Meraviglia over Christmas for sure!

 

The Trikes Tour definitely looks like fun! I’ve seen reviews of the Trikes Tour in St Maarten, but I think yours is the first I’ve seen of their Cozumel tour. Looks like fun to me. You mentioned that your guide gave you a pillow because you’re on the shorter side. I’m quite short at 5 ft. Do you think I’d be able to manage, or would I be lost on the trike? I’d be so disappointed if I decided to book the tour only to find out once I got there that I couldn’t do it. 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

9 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Captain’s Corner:

After 45 minutes of learning very little new, we skipped out on the rest of the CP tour so that we could attend Captain’s Corner.  

 

As usual, it was filled with fun facts and lots of laughter.  Captain Gus is amazing, and Bing Bong (Marc) is one of our new favorite cruise directors.  We were glad to finally cruise with him!

 

 

Yes, I agree "Bing Bong" Mark (cruise director) is awesome. As we live in Orlando, we have had the privilege to sail with him in the past on the smaller ships. We always enjoy cruising with him and we will be with him in a couple of weeks for B2B.

[Ren1216]

ADPMom... sorry if you already mentioned this and I have forgotten:  Did you still have "formal" nights or has Harmony converted to the "dress your best" phraseology?  And if you had to guess, what percentage do you think still dressed formally?  This matters to some of the older, more traditional cruisers in my group (they don't want to bring formal wear this time but are concerned about under dressing).

[APDMOM]

2 hours ago, Ren1216 said:

ADPMom... sorry if you already mentioned this and I have forgotten:  Did you still have "formal" nights or has Harmony converted to the "dress your best" phraseology?  And if you had to guess, what percentage do you think still dressed formally?  This matters to some of the older, more traditional cruisers in my group (they don't want to bring formal wear this time but are concerned about under dressing).

 

Hi, Ren!  Unfortunately, I did not even peek into the main dining room on formal nights.  We were planning on just dressing with shirts and ties for the men.  However, we enjoyed Solarium Bistro so much that we did not end up in the MDR at all.  Around the ship, dress was definitely mixed, but I don’t know how many people dressed up for the MDR.  

 

I posted this question on our roll call.  Hopefully, someone will respond.  

 

TIP:  By the way... you can order lobster on formal night in the Solarium Bistro.  Our waiter offered it to my husband, but we are not fond of lobster.  So, if you are after the lobster or good meals from the MDR, just ask the waiter in the bistro 😉 (And we tip accordingly)