Harmony of the Seas

[LanceRomance]

6 hours ago, Sianli said:

Thank you so much for continuing to post. We are set to sail from Barcelona Sept 19th. Not at all the cruise we booked, but with the price we spent for our airfare we are reluctant to cancel. Our air credit would have to be used by Feb 8th, and we are not sure we could use it as we have all of our time/trips between now and then booked. We do still have jobs!. Part of me thinks if this is just going to be a cruise to nowhere, we should get on a different ship. (We are from Colorado, USA)

 

Maybe just to add a little glass half full perspective. I am of the belief you make of life by how you choose to view it. If you choose to see the glass half full this is what you will see, and you have that choice. Maybe it isn’t what you envisioned, but for me I see this vacation as a massive ray of sunshine in a dark year. I love that in 10-20 years from now when people will inevitably bring up “wow 2021 was a horrible year”… I can say I don’t know what you are talking about! 2021 was the year I escaped to Italy and Spain aboard a luxury ship with reduced capacity where the service was beyond anything I previously experienced. When one day someone tells me about how much they loved Italy and Spain “but man the crowds and masses of people was just so unbearable I barely had room to move”…. I will be able to tell them about the time I got to experience these amazing cities without the flock of tourists. Where I could breath in the sites and sounds in a less crowded setting. Think about a time 5 years from now when everything is back at full capacity… how many people would pay a premium for “small private sailings” or “small group private tours”. Those are premium services that you now getting at a discount. It is an opportunity you will likely never get again. So yes, you can focus on everything that it isn’t, but you also have the choice to see everything that it is… and when you do you are going to see an extremely unique experience that  you are likely never going to have an opportunity to experience again. So, perspective… keep it in focus, and know what you perceive this trip to be is ultimately what it is going to be. If you think it’s going to suck guess what … it will because that’s where you have chosen to place your focus, and attention. But, if you choose to see the positives, and make the best of these unique situations you are going to have a blast. If you choose to see everything it isn’t you will fail to see everything it is…

[Jimbo]

20 minutes ago, LanceRomance said:

 

Maybe just to add a little glass half full perspective. I am of the belief you make of life by how you choose to view it. If you choose to see the glass half full this is what you will see, and you have that choice. Maybe it isn’t what you envisioned, but for me I see this vacation as a massive ray of sunshine in a dark year. I love that in 10-20 years from now when people will inevitably bring up “wow 2021 was a horrible year”… I can say I don’t know what you are talking about! 2021 was the year I escaped to Italy and Spain aboard a luxury ship with reduced capacity where the service was beyond anything I previously experienced. When one day someone tells me about how much they loved Italy and Spain “but man the crowds and masses of people was just so unbearable I barely had room to move”…. I will be able to tell them about the time I got to experience these amazing cities without the flock of tourists. Where I could breath in the sites and sounds in a less crowded setting. Think about a time 5 years from now when everything is back at full capacity… how many people would pay a premium for “small private sailings” or “small group private tours”. Those are premium services that you now getting at a discount. It is an opportunity you will likely never get again. So yes, you can focus on everything that it isn’t, but you also have the choice to see everything that it is… and when you do you are going to see an extremely unique experience that  you are likely never going to have an opportunity to experience again. So, perspective… keep it in focus, and know what you perceive this trip to be is ultimately what it is going to be. If you think it’s going to suck guess what … it will because that’s where you have chosen to place your focus, and attention. But, if you choose to see the positives, and make the best of these unique situations you are going to have a blast. If you choose to see everything it isn’t you will fail to see everything it is…

More power to you if you don't mind being very severely limited what you can do at each port and if it doesn't bother you that you can't roam freely  at each port and come and go where and when you want to.

Just does not justify the kind of money I would be spending coming from the USA and not getting the full experience of a cruise in Europe.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Jimbo

[LanceRomance]

3 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

More power to you if you don't mind being very severely limited what you can do at each port and if it doesn't bother you that you can't roam freely  at each port and come and go where and when you want to.

 

Yup I get it, not exactly what was envisioned. But I’ll be dammned if I am not going to make it the best damn group tour experience I can. I am going to meet some lovely people on these tours, who are experincing what I am also experincing. We will laugh at the situation we are in, and how it wasn’t what we thought it would be, but hey look at us… we are here in Italy, and not behind a computer working. Then we are going to meet up with these people who were strangers, for dinner later tonight. We made a not so promising situation into a positive J

 

I chose to change the narrative of my year, and get out there and live the hand that is dealt to me, and not wait for tomorrow, when nobody trully knows what tomorrow will bring. I am happy to be the person who embraces the “madness” and accepts it’s beauty, rather than the person who waits for “normal” to return. No right or wrong approach just how we as individuals choose to accept the reality. I am just trying to give the glass half full argument, when looking at the glass half full is the easier thing to do for most

[xxHadleyxx]

18 minutes ago, LanceRomance said:

 

Yup I get it, not exactly what was envisioned. But I’ll be dammned if I am not going to make it the best damn group tour experience I can. I am going to meet some lovely people on these tours, who are experincing what I am also experincing. We will laugh at the situation we are in, and how it wasn’t what we thought it would be, but hey look at us… we are here in Italy, and not behind a computer working. Then we are going to meet up with these people who were strangers, for dinner later tonight. We made a not so promising situation into a positive J

 

I chose to change the narrative of my year, and get out there and live the hand that is dealt to me, and not wait for tomorrow, when nobody trully knows what tomorrow will bring. I am happy to be the person who embraces the “madness” and accepts it’s beauty, rather than the person who waits for “normal” to return. No right or wrong approach just how we as individuals choose to accept the reality. I am just trying to give the glass half full argument, when looking at the glass half full is the easier thing to do for most

I am very much right there with you.  Perfect attitude.

 

One of the best vacations of my life so far was the driving trip around Norway we took last summer when very few places were options.....it wasn't the cruises we had planned, or our oldest's wedding...all cancelled due to covid last year, but we made it into a wonderful time, no people, gorgeous scenery, etc.

 

Like you, I figure it will be amazing to see Cinque Terra and Capri with very few tourists, even if we have to stay in a group.  And we will get to enjoy a ship with a lot fewer passengers and meet other peopel to create fun stories with.  I fully understand choosing to wait, but for us, we will go in with an aittude to look for the good and enjoy.

[Pandamonia]

They are giving away cruises on Harmony for Sept. It must be totally empty because ive never seen a week for £4xx 

 

Looks like nightmare plague ship restrictions are great for sales lol. 

 

Unless some common sense returns to the world Cruise lines are going bust at this rate. 

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

1 hour ago, LanceRomance said:

 No right or wrong approach just how we as individuals choose to accept the reality. I am just trying to give the glass half full argument, when looking at the glass half full is the easier thing to do for most

 

 

Add to that wonderful attitude to say that, while I would have never chosen this experience of a worldwide pandemic in my lifetime, I find it truly fascinating that is a shared global experience and very few people relatively are currently in a place where they can contemplate any kind of travel.  I feel very, very fortunate to be counted among the privileged few that have been traveling in 2020 and 2021.  

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, xxHadleyxx said:

Like you, I figure it will be amazing to see Cinque Terra and Capri with very few tourists, even if we have to stay in a group.

 

Cinque Terre is amazing. We have done it twice, catching the train from La Spezia and getting off and back on at all the different villages. Last time we had lunch at a beach restaurant in Monterosso. We won't do it again this year though; no point in paying a fortune to visit somewhere we've already been at a fraction of the cost.

 

I do quite fancy the idea of going to Capri. I probably would have to do an excursion to go there anyway. I'm one of those nervous cruisers who is always scared of not making it back to the ship in time and with Capri requiring a crossing by boat to get to it I'm not sure I have it in me! 

[Sianli]

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

Cinque Terre is amazing. We have done it twice, catching the train from La Spezia and getting off and back on at all the different villages. Last time we had lunch at a beach restaurant in Monterosso. We won't do it again this year though; no point in paying a fortune to visit somewhere we've already been at a fraction of the cost.

 

I do quite fancy the idea of going to Capri. I probably would have to do an excursion to go there anyway. I'm one of those nervous cruisers who is always scared of not making it back to the ship in time and with Capri requiring a crossing by boat to get to it I'm not sure I have it in me! 

We also had hoped to be able to visit Cinque Terre on our own via train. To book the RCCL tour will cost $195-$295 per person, and cannot go to all of the villages. With the new notice I am not sure how we get the additional covid test 48 hours before the port. I guess they will have them on board but for how much? We have been to Italy off season on road trip and love it. But we could switch to Anthem the same time and have more freedom and visit some areas we haven't been to. 

[andreasfcb]

Do we know something about the occupancy of the ship for the rest of the European season? We are booked on an October cruise and still tempted to go…

[FionaMG]

6 hours ago, Sianli said:

We also had hoped to be able to visit Cinque Terre on our own via train. To book the RCCL tour will cost $195-$295 per person, and cannot go to all of the villages. With the new notice I am not sure how we get the additional covid test 48 hours before the port. I guess they will have them on board but for how much? We have been to Italy off season on road trip and love it. But we could switch to Anthem the same time and have more freedom and visit some areas we haven't been to. 

It says in the email I received yesterday that it will be provided on board at no charge.

[xxHadleyxx]

6 hours ago, Sianli said:

We also had hoped to be able to visit Cinque Terre on our own via train. To book the RCCL tour will cost $195-$295 per person, and cannot go to all of the villages. With the new notice I am not sure how we get the additional covid test 48 hours before the port. I guess they will have them on board but for how much? We have been to Italy off season on road trip and love it. But we could switch to Anthem the same time and have more freedom and visit some areas we haven't been to. 

Totally understandable.  We took this as the time to pay the $$ to book a tour which goes in by boat only (no bus nor train) so we can have those lovely views from the water and get the photos from that angle...as  arranging that on our own would cost us less than a ship tour, but still be pricey and kind of a pain to arrange.

 

[FionaMG]

7 minutes ago, xxHadleyxx said:

Totally understandable.  We took this as the time to pay the $$ to book a tour which goes in by boat only (no bus nor train) so we can have those lovely views from the water and get the photos from that angle...as  arranging that on our own would cost us less than a ship tour, but still be pricey and kind of a pain to arrange.

 

Yes, it's really important to take that sort of approach because if you read the excursion descriptions carefully many of them seem to have more time spent on the bus than at the actual sites. For example, there's a 5-hour trip to Sorrento at what looks like a reasonable price but when you read the description 3 hours of that time is spent getting to Sorrento and back!

[xxHadleyxx]

4 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Yes, it's really important to take that sort of approach because if you read the excursion descriptions carefully many of them seem to have more time spent on the bus than at the actual sites. For example, there's a 5-hour trip to Sorrento at what looks like a reasonable price but when you read the description 3 hours of that time is spent getting to Sorrento and back!

absolutely!!!  Especially on Med cruises a lot of options are more bus than anything.  No thank you!  A nice day on the ship is a much better option than a day on a bus.

[steamboats]

6 hours ago, xxHadleyxx said:

Totally understandable.  We took this as the time to pay the $$ to book a tour which goes in by boat only (no bus nor train) so we can have those lovely views from the water and get the photos from that angle...as  arranging that on our own would cost us less than a ship tour, but still be pricey and kind of a pain to arrange.

 

 

I definitely can recommend the boat tour. We did that a couple of years ago (on our own). And it´s the much better view than going with the train.

 

steamboats

[dorts]

Hi all, due to board Harmony Sunday and have been living it up since Wednesday here in sunny beautiful Sitges! Everyone is sticking to the rules and honestly with the weather so nice we are outside mostly so masks etc haven't been a real issue. Lots of tourists here also from around the world from what I hear and everyone just loving the sunny beach vibes. I am super excited for Sunday and will accept the changes that come with travel at this time. This will be my fourth attempt at getting on a cruise and although less passengers I am looking forward to being spoilt by the crew and just getting back to cruising...

[FionaMG]

4 minutes ago, dorts said:

Hi all, due to board Harmony Sunday

Have a fabulous time! Three more weeks for us. Look after her! 

[Bracarense]

33 minutes ago, dorts said:

Hi all, due to board Harmony Sunday ...

48h to go... tic-tac...

[CaroleC]

27 minutes ago, dorts said:

Hi all, due to board Harmony Sunday and have been living it up since Wednesday here in sunny beautiful Sitges! Everyone is sticking to the rules and honestly with the weather so nice we are outside mostly so masks etc haven't been a real issue. Lots of tourists here also from around the world from what I hear and everyone just loving the sunny beach vibes. I am super excited for Sunday and will accept the changes that come with travel at this time. This will be my fourth attempt at getting on a cruise and although less passengers I am looking forward to being spoilt by the crew and just getting back to cruising...

We get on as you get off (unless you’re doing a B2B of course lol). I see you’re from Belfast, we’re from England and just wanted to check that arrivals from our part of the world do not need an additional Covid test prior to check in, just the mandatory one at the terminal. I’m still a bit concerned about the wording of the email we all received yesterday morning 🤦‍♀️

[FionaMG]

2 minutes ago, Bracarense said:

48h to go... tic-tac...

 

Boa viagem! 

[dorts]

22 minutes ago, CaroleC said:

We get on as you get off (unless you’re doing a B2B of course lol). I see you’re from Belfast, we’re from England and just wanted to check that arrivals from our part of the world do not need an additional Covid test prior to check in, just the mandatory one at the terminal. I’m still a bit concerned about the wording of the email we all received yesterday morning 🤦‍♀️

Think it's just the one at embarkation which we registered for. The email was worded weird I agree but was told check-in is after the testing so I think the email basically means you have your test and cert for check-in. I very much doubt they will need a test if they are doing one already at embarkation. Enjoy and yes just the one leg for us.....been a very long time coming!

[CaroleC]

19 minutes ago, dorts said:

Think it's just the one at embarkation which we registered for. The email was worded weird I agree but was told check-in is after the testing so I think the email basically means you have your test and cert for check-in. I very much doubt they will need a test if they are doing one already at embarkation. Enjoy and yes just the one leg for us.....been a very long time coming!

Thanks for that. Another poster had said the same so I’m far less worried now. Have a great time, if you get chance to post whilst you’re on the ship it would be much appreciated. Happy cruising ⚓️

[Sianli]

1 hour ago, dorts said:

Hi all, due to board Harmony Sunday and have been living it up since Wednesday here in sunny beautiful Sitges! Everyone is sticking to the rules and honestly with the weather so nice we are outside mostly so masks etc haven't been a real issue. Lots of tourists here also from around the world from what I hear and everyone just loving the sunny beach vibes. I am super excited for Sunday and will accept the changes that come with travel at this time. This will be my fourth attempt at getting on a cruise and although less passengers I am looking forward to being spoilt by the crew and just getting back to cruising...

Bon Voyage! We are out two weeks from Sunday! 

[Sianli]

4 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

I definitely can recommend the boat tour. We did that a couple of years ago (on our own). And it´s the much better view than going with the train.

 

steamboats

I think we will do that too. We have done the train before and I have wanted to see them from the boat. Not sure which of the tours to book as two say by boat and the descriptions of the tours are similar. I also read that some excursions are half price if booked on board so hoping if we pre book we can get OBC if the price drops on board.

[Sianli]

23 hours ago, LanceRomance said:

 

Maybe just to add a little glass half full perspective. I am of the belief you make of life by how you choose to view it. If you choose to see the glass half full this is what you will see, and you have that choice. Maybe it isn’t what you envisioned, but for me I see this vacation as a massive ray of sunshine in a dark year. I love that in 10-20 years from now when people will inevitably bring up “wow 2021 was a horrible year”… I can say I don’t know what you are talking about! 2021 was the year I escaped to Italy and Spain aboard a luxury ship with reduced capacity where the service was beyond anything I previously experienced. When one day someone tells me about how much they loved Italy and Spain “but man the crowds and masses of people was just so unbearable I barely had room to move”…. I will be able to tell them about the time I got to experience these amazing cities without the flock of tourists. Where I could breath in the sites and sounds in a less crowded setting. Think about a time 5 years from now when everything is back at full capacity… how many people would pay a premium for “small private sailings” or “small group private tours”. Those are premium services that you now getting at a discount. It is an opportunity you will likely never get again. So yes, you can focus on everything that it isn’t, but you also have the choice to see everything that it is… and when you do you are going to see an extremely unique experience that  you are likely never going to have an opportunity to experience again. So, perspective… keep it in focus, and know what you perceive this trip to be is ultimately what it is going to be. If you think it’s going to suck guess what … it will because that’s where you have chosen to place your focus, and attention. But, if you choose to see the positives, and make the best of these unique situations you are going to have a blast. If you choose to see everything it isn’t you will fail to see everything it is…

Thank you for your kind perspective. Decided to get excited about this trip again! You are right and it is nice to be on a low capacity ship. We were on Allure two weeks ago and it was so good. Just going to bite the bullet and buy the excursions that most meet our wishes. 

[Sianli]

On 9/1/2021 at 7:57 AM, LanceRomance said:

I have seen that they have hired crew for a Grease Musical. As a lot of their crew only got out of quaratntine a week before passengers boarded. They might just not be ready for a production for the first couple weeks. I have fingers crossed that we will start seeing them next sailing. It would be odd that they would hire the crew, and not have the productions until November.

Thank you for the Grease update! Fingers crossed that they can perform for your next sailing!