Harmony OTS Jan. 14-21, 2024 brief review

[Kellie in Texas]

Just got off Harmony yesterday. This was our 9th cruise (one on Carnival, two on Princess, the rest on Royal -- two of those on Serenade, two on Liberty, one on Adventure, and this one on Harmony), so this was our first Oasis class ship. We probably won't do another Oasis class again; it just seemed really crowded. This was the first time we needed to make reservations for the shows; we saw The Fine Line, Grease, 1887 and Columbus. Do not miss The Fine Line! It was amazing. Grease was super-fun, especially those of us who remember the movie and know all the songs. 1887 was the ice show; we've seen two other ice shows on Liberty and Adventure; this one wasn't my favorite although the costumes were stunning. Columbus was a fun surprise; it's the same cast members as in Grease but it's a shorter musical show about Christopher Columbus' lesser-known cousin Marvin. It was kind of silly but the ship that's the main set for the show is incredible. I'd love to know more about how it was engineered. 

 

Note for The Fine Line: make your reservations for the earliest show time in the week. We saw it on Monday, the first full day of the cruise. The Tuesday shows were canceled due to a leak in the pool which made the water too cloudy for the divers. It was canceled again later in the week due to cold and high winds. The cruise director announced that they were going to try and reschedule but I don't know if that happened. 

 

One other thing about the shows was the volume was LOUD, especially The Fine Line and the ice show. 

 

We were in cabin 11604 which had the larger 80 sq ft balcony. The room was very nice but the bed was hard and we actually like a very firm bed. This one was flat-out hard. 

 

We didn't go to the main dining room and didn't go to any specialty restaurants although we did have the Taste of Royal lunch on the last day. It was a lot of food and it was all very good, but it didn't sway us into paying yet more money for a specialty restaurant. One thing we didn't realize was you get a short tour of the kitchen in 150 Central Park and the chef explains how the kitchens operate. 

 

Fun fact: he said they use 6,000 dozen eggs per week.  No typo. He also said the week before us, there were 2,000 kids on the ship and they used a lot more flour making the pizzas. 😄  

Edited January 22 by Kellie in Texas

[WINKYBEAR]

Did you have Capt Johnny? He is my fav Captain and even though ship is huge he makes everyone feel special 

[ShipsandDipper]

We were on this sailing too. Agree with your thoughts generally, and especially about making reservations early if the aqua show is a must-do. We had reservations for the cancelled/rescheduled Tuesday show, but the rescheduled shows were in turn cancelled due to weather so we never saw The Fine Line this cruise. 

We did eat in several specialty restaurants and really enjoyed them. 
 

it was nice to get away from the cold weather at home but sadly it wasn’t the relaxing getaway we had hoped for.  Most entertainment was way too loud. We left one performance after one number because it was so amplified. And it wasn’t just my perception—my ears were ringing for an hour afterward, just from the one song, and three other couples/groups left during or just after the first number too. 
 

It was Captain James. 

[MRVLV]

Was there a 70's night onboard, or just the 90's?  Any other theme nights?

[Kellie in Texas]

@MRVLV yes, there was a 70's night on day 5. We didn't attend but we saw some groovy outfits that evening! 😄There was a white night on the last night and I think a Caribbean night, maybe on day 2.

[MRVLV]

Thanks!  I can't wait!!

[ShipsandDipper]

It was country/Caribbean night, I believe. Country was combined with one of the other themes. 

[changinlat]

@Kellie in Texas Quick question about your cabin. Could you easily see into the balcony of cabin 11606 next door or 11608 further aft?  Thinking of booking 12610 and I'm wondering if the neighbors will be watching us on our balcony.

 

Thanks.

[wolfcathorse]

On 1/22/2024 at 5:53 PM, WINKYBEAR said:

Did you have Capt Johnny? He is my fav Captain and even though ship is huge he makes everyone feel special 

He's not assigned to Harmony, he's supposed to be going to Icon soon. He's been off ship getting treatments for melanoma

[Cruzingal#9]

Were you able to book the shows before you got on board on the App?  Or, did you have to wait until you got on the ship?

We're on the Harmony in March and I keep waiting for the show times to open up, but nothing yet.  Then, I heard someone on a YouTube video saying to be sure and book your show times as soon as you board the ship.

[ShipsandDipper]

3 minutes ago, Cruzingal#9 said:

Were you able to book the shows before you got on board on the App?  Or, did you have to wait until you got on the ship?

We're on the Harmony in March and I keep waiting for the show times to open up, but nothing yet.  Then, I heard someone on a YouTube video saying to be sure and book your show times as soon as you board the ship.

We were able to book the major shows (Grease, The Fine Line, 1887, and possibly Columbus) ahead. 

[Cruzingal#9]

47 minutes ago, ShipsandDipper said:

We were able to book the major shows (Grease, The Fine Line, 1887, and possibly Columbus) ahead. 

Do you remember how far in advance you were able to book those?  We're about 50 days out and still nothing.  We can start checking in next Thursday; maybe then???

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, Cruzingal#9 said:

We can start checking in next Thursday; maybe then???

Yes, around the first of the month in the month before your sailing.

[ShipsandDipper]

8 hours ago, Cruzingal#9 said:

Do you remember how far in advance you were able to book those?  We're about 50 days out and still nothing.  We can start checking in next Thursday; maybe then???

We made the reservations on December 4 for the January 14 cruise. 
 

(edited since I found the confirmation)

Edited January 26 by ShipsandDipper

[Kellie in Texas]

@changinlat we could have seen into 11606 if we'd really leaned pretty far out over the railing, so I'd say no. But I highly recommend one of the pink (on the deck plans) 2C balconies because they are a lot bigger. 

 

@Cruzingal#9 I booked the Fine Line and 1887 on Dec. 5 for our Jan. 14 cruise. If your cruise is in March, it will be awhile. After we were on the ship, I reserved Grease and Columbus on the app.

[Cruzingal#9]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:00 AM, Biker19 said:

Yes, around the first of the month in the month before your sailing.

Thanks!  Just getting a little anxious I guess!😋

[Cruzingal#9]

On 1/26/2024 at 7:06 AM, ShipsandDipper said:

We made the reservations on December 4 for the January 14 cruise. 
 

(edited since I found the confirmation)

Thanks!  I’ll start checking the beginning of February.

[ShipsandDipper]

On 1/26/2024 at 7:30 AM, Kellie in Texas said:

 

@Cruzingal#9 I booked the Fine Line and 1887 on Dec. 5 for our Jan. 14 cruise. If your cruise is in March, it will be awhile. After we were on the ship, I reserved Grease and Columbus on the app.

Those were the two we made too. We have been on Harmony before and were skipping Grease and Columbus so I didn’t even try for them.