Live: Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean Aug 25

[ceilidh1]

I am SO excited for sloths and iguanas!!!!!

[ceilidh1]

If you guessed Grandeur, you would be correct!

[ceilidh1]

I think it’s a different port! I’m used to Mahogany Bay!

[ceilidh1]

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I think it’s a different port! I’m used to Mahogany Bay!

True, coxen hole is downtown. Some bars with free wifi. 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

At sail away, the pier workers did a little show on the pier as we pulled off.  Not a huge thing, but if you have a moment, you might want to check it out. 

[Ken the cruiser]

41 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Here's what the port looked like back on Aug 10, 2021, after cruising started back up. It appears to have changed a bit! 😂

 

[Priszm]

21 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I have so many questions. Firstly, finding a bartender is easy. Getting them to actually serve me, not so much. Secondly, medical centre. Why? Are there shenanigans down there?

 

One of the questions for Majority Rules gameshow today was “what is your favourite place on the ship?” One team put “Deck 7 bathroom”. I feel like I need to be part of their crew…

 

Fun and interesting images on the back of each elevator bay (wall?) on the 2nd floor. I may have slightly remembered wrong, I think they can only be seen when the elevator is not there. But they were fun to see (sadly, my partner was suffering from a Kidney stone, so we were at the medical center which is how I found these).

 

[purpleally]

23 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

This afternoon I experienced my first real frustration. I mentioned a few times about being ignored when trying to get drinks (aside from Boot and Bonnet this ship is hands down the hardest one to actually acquire a drink). This afternoon I went up to the Solarium bar and stood at the bar to order. It certainly wasn’t packed, and with 3 bartenders there should have been a system whereby they know who is next. I literally stood there for 10 minutes without being acknowledged while each bartender served others just walking up after me. I didn’t stress, it was only 10 minutes and I figured they would get to me. After another 10 minutes and my making eye contact and waving my card, still nothing. An older gentleman sitting at the bar next to me actually called over the bartender and told him I had been waiting a long time and should be helped next (thank you, sir). The bartender acknowledged it, finished up the drink he was making and then went on to serve someone else that had been way after me. I walked away in disgust. As I mentioned, I tip cash every drink - not because I want better service or stronger drinks, but because I feel these people deserve it. On this ship, I’m not feeling that at all. The pub is another story- the service there is fantastic and I will continue to tip there. The other places…nope. Sorry. 
 

I finally got my beer (probably the fastest drink to grab) at the pool bar!

I’d stop tipping   Service obviously stinks

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, Priszm said:

 

Fun and interesting images on the back of each elevator bay (wall?) on the 2nd floor. I may have slightly remembered wrong, I think they can only be seen when the elevator is not there. But they were fun to see (sadly, my partner was suffering from a Kidney stone, so we were at the medical center which is how I found these).

 

OMG I 💯 need to see these!

[ceilidh1]

Before I tell you all about our day in Roatan (which might just rank as a be of the best days EVER) I have to tell you about something witnessed at the pool bar that makes me feel a little better about myself…

 

I’ve spoken about the feeling of being ignored and just having no acknowledgement or service at almost all bars. I was taking it personally- I’m new to RC and felt like maybe that was the reason. Today, I was sat near (not at) the pool bar and watched THREE people have the exact same experience. Two walked away in disgust after standing there at least 15 minutes. One went full psycho crazy (I don’t do this. Life is way too short to sweat the small stuff, but I did feel for him). I literally watched as he stood there, card in hand, and both bartenders completely ignored him.

[poocher]

2 hours ago, Priszm said:

 

Fun and interesting images on the back of each elevator bay (wall?) on the 2nd floor. I may have slightly remembered wrong, I think they can only be seen when the elevator is not there. But they were fun to see (sadly, my partner was suffering from a Kidney stone, so we were at the medical center which is how I found these).

 

Ouch, I’ve had 10-12 starting when I was 15!!  Childbirth hurts less.😳

[ceilidh1]

There are so many components that go together to make today a perfect day! I told DS that when David Lee Roth sang “This must be just like livin’ in paradise,” he was singing about today.

 

I’ ll begin with the only bad part of the day - room service breakfast. I rarely order room service but since we had an early start, I figured it would be nice to have coffee and bagels for getting ready. (As an aside, the lady sitting next to us at Hibachi the other day told us about her disastrous room service- first they forgot the food, then when they finally got it to her the bagels were completely burnt). 
 

I had put the card out on the door and requested 6:30-7:00 delivery. I had set an alarm for 6:30 but it evidently didn’t go off (or maybe one too many drinks meant I didn’t set it correctly) because at 6:40am I heard a knock at the door. Room service. 
 

Everything I ordered was there, but the bagels were beyond burnt. Not only burnt but cold and rock hard, I’m not sure what they did to them but we certainly couldn’t eat them! 
 

Luckily, this was the only downside to our day.

[ceilidh1]

Roatan:

 

I really wanted to see sloths and iguanas today, so checked out the tours offered through the ship. They were running at double the price of non ship tours, so I started researching. I believe it was @MeganGC1983 that did the tour through Tucan Adventures and had a positive experience. The sloths and iguanas , with a private car and driver was $45 per person, which was half the cost of the big group tour through the ship.

 

We disembarked around 8:20am and made our way through the port area to the exit - super simple to follow the signs for Downtown. There were lots of tour companies and taxis there if you are looking for something last minute. One of the tour operators asked which company we were booked with and directed us to the area they were waiting. Cynthia (the leader) introduced us to our driver, Cecilia, and we were on our way! We had a nice, clean, air conditioned car all to ourselves.

 

Cecilia was fantastic, mixing Roatan facts and history with her life story on the drive to Daniel Johnstons Sloth park. It only took about 20 minutes to arrive and she got us checked in. First stop was sloths, where we got to hold and cuddle with them. It was hard to give that bundle of cuteness back! Next up was the monkeys - those critters are so cute and fast. They sat on our heads and shoulders and tried to steal anything within reach. We also got the chance to go into the cage with the macaws, but both kids opted out as last time they held the macaws they got quite badly scratched. 
 

After Daniel Johnston, we went 5 minutes up the road to the iguana park. I had thought they wove in cages, so was utterly delighted to. Ind they were just wandering around. So. Many. Iguanas. We got a guide who took us around and told us so much about iguanas, encouraged us to touch them and feed them, and took pictures for us. He then took us down to the water to show us huge tarpons and gave us fish to feed them with.

 

After we were done, Cecilia offered to take us anywhere else we might want to go. However, it was so hot by this point and we had such a perfect morning that I didn’t want to risk things going south if we got too hot and tired. The kids agreed and we came back to the ship around 12pm.

 

I would 100% recommend this tour company for Roatan! They have a few different port and the price beats the ship - plus you get a private vehicle and driver and can customize it!

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

We had lunch at Park Cafe and I got another of those delicious Kummelweck sandwiches. They are the bomb!

[ceilidh1]

DS and I got changed into swimsuits and spent the whole afternoon in the pool (this was when I witnessed the three people at the pool bar that each had issues getting service). This wasn’t a problem for me this afternoon as a waiter took my order while I was in the pool - yes, RC allows drinks in the pool! This waiter was fabulous as he timed his rounds perfectly. No sooner would I take my last sip than he would be there with another beer! I was in heaven! I made lots of friends just chilling in the pool and we had a great afternoon- DS cut me off after beer 6 and told me I should eat something, so we stopped by the dog house and also got shakes at Johnny Rockets. And rode the carousel.

[ceilidh1]

It was right around now that I realized we had both gotten quite burned, despite having factor 50 sunscreen…

[JoeTec]

I love how your son watches out for you & cuts you off & makes sure that you eat something 

[ceilidh1]

After our carousel ride we came back to the room to shower and change - tonight is Caribbean night. DS wanted to go to Star Wars trivia, so we headed to The Attic. They had double scheduled an art seminar in there, so trivia folks were sent up to On Air. I felt bad for the guy doing the seminar as his audience (or what he thought was his audience) emptied out! I know zero about Star Wars- never watched it and no interest. DS was on his own for this one. There were some serious fans who got perfect scores, but I was pretty proud that my 13 year old only missed 2 questions!

 

Next, we found out favourite spot at the pub and played some more card games until DD texted to find out what we were doing or dinner. We weren’t that hungry, so decided to go to Windjammer. Once again, there was a good selection of good (too much that I wanted to try). I opted for Indian again , DS had the burger of the day (do you notice a theme here?) and DD had a mish mash of foods that didn’t really go together. It was all tasty!

[poocher]

7 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Oh we did a snorkeling excursion as part of our sloth tour from there!  I remember the 2 story thingy!

[ceilidh1]

We had reservations for the ice skating show at 8pm - 1887! We headed over and got seats around 7:40pm. It was pretty full, but DD said her friends got in from the walk in line without issue. Once again, I didn’t totally follow the storyline but WOW the skaters were phenomenal! I was gasping out loud at some of the twirls and jumps. The guy in the hamster wheel thing really blew me away - even DS was mesmerized! I wish I had taken pictures of the actual show but was so transfixed that I forgot until the end!

[poocher]

1 hour ago, JoeTec said:

I love how your son watches out for you & cuts you off & makes sure that you eat something 

Well somebody’s got to!!!!

[ceilidh1]

Remember how I said I loved the singing and dancing in Grease and wished they had a show where they just did musical numbers? Well, it seemed that they got my memo - tonight was a cabaret with the cast of Grease. It was in Dazzles and started right after the ice show, so by the time we made it over there it was a packed house with nowhere to sit. Standing room only. As we were debating whether to go or stay, a big group of 20 somethings invited to sit in their booth with them. DS was grinning from ear to ear and said “OMG we are groupies”. I was totally confused until he explained that these lovely people were, in fact, the Grease cast and this evening’s entertainment! Wow! They were just the sweetest and obviously so close as a cast and as friends. Each one chose a song from a musical to sing and introduced themselves while telling us why the song was meaningful to them. All of the songs were from lesser known musicals and these guys knocked it out of the park. Pure talent. Such an enjoyable evening and the perfect way to end the perfect day!