Leaderboard

In am returning right now from Harmony of the Seas. It was our first cruise ever! My hubby and I took our14 year old son, and I just wanted to share his first time with the teen club, which was VERY important to us on our vacation. The first night, there was a meet and greet in the club, and he said that it was PACKED! The kids seemed to exchange Instagram addresses, phone numbers etc. the first night and then arrange to meet up throughout the week in groups of 5-30 kids. He had a blast! The kids met for lunches, dinners, Flowrider sessions, and the late night dance parties were amazing he said. The Hush silent dance party with the headphones was the best party of his life he said. They had games like Battle of the Sexes, which was a boys vs girls very competitive game, karaoke, and many other events. They had an ice skating party, which required long pants, so pack those too! My son is pretty outgoing and had no problem making lots of friends and tearfully told us this morning that he had the best week of his life........ my hubby and I felt like we had a “date” with it being just the two of us for the majority of the week, so keep that in mind parents! To sum it up, have no fears about your teen making friends and finding lots of kids to do fun things with all week! Have a great trip!

Just off my very first cruise on Harmony of the Seas! I was on the 10th floor, room 10709, a boardwalk balcony. I was right above Johnnny Rockets. I could see the Fine Line show on my left and the carousel was on my right. It was very noisy, which surprised me, even when the balcony door was locked fully. That darn bell ringer at the carousel! Late at night sometimes groups of people on the Boardwalk would yell and scream, just having a good time, but I prefer quiet to sleep. If you want a quieter inside balcony, please choose a Central Park inside balcony, it was very peaceful, very green, MUCH quieter. My parents had the oceanvie balcony across the hall directly, room 10708. It was absolutely perfect! It was very quiet, great unobstructed view. In each port, they had the ultimate view , each port had the view on THEIR side of the ship, starboard side. We all gathered on their balcony as we went into each port, watching them tie off the ship and the guests going on and off the gangway. I did not realize how COOL it was to have a view of pulling into ports and having this side of the ship to see it from. Hope this advice helps you when choosing a room! ?

Holy cow! This was my one and only cruise disembarkation this morning, but WOW how easy! My party of five did self carry at 6:45am. No wait for the elevators at ALL! Walked off, showing our passports to one guy. From the time I walked out of my stateroom until I was calling for Uber was maybe five minutes! When we come back to the airport from another country at the Philadelphia airport, it has taken us up to two HOURS to do that process due to long lines, etc. I was FLOORED! We walked through without having our bags looked at, not even a scanner for them, not even a metal detector, just poof, walk off in minutes start to finish! It took longer getting off and on the ship in the ports that we visited! Needless to say, I got to the airport four hours early so I am on this board to kill time now!! Oh, we all did the mobile passport app on our phones too, so maybe that helped, but we never even showed it to ANYONE! You can only fill it in within four hours of departure time for it to be valid, so don,t bother filling it out the night before.

.....have a safe and happy Father's Day!!

Yesterday, around noon outside the MDR, I was washing my hands in the ladies bathroom. Someone had left a pretty gold ring with a few diamonds and colored stones on the sink. I turned it in to guest services. Hey, maybe the person who lost it reads this! I guess just call the cruise line to claim it?

Just back from a week on the Harmony. I am a marathon runner, so I was excited to try out the running track. It is completely out of the sun, and has some stellar views of the water, one water fountain, and some “secret” lounges hidden along the track for prime ocean viewing too. We even found the small area for dogs to do their business, but that is a different story.....anyways, running was HARD! After three laps, I called it quits, not sure if it was the humidity, the heat, or what but i could not get my laps in. I ran into other marathon runners all week, and they all said the same thing, so it is not just me. Some parents let their kids run the opposite direction on the track, which is just rude, dumb, and dangerous. The gym opens at 6:00 am and will be half full within half an hour. By 8:00, good luck finding equipment! There are no gym showers, but decent music plays throughout the gym, great modern equipment, and it is about 80 degrees there, so a bit warm to me. Kids under 12 are not allowed in the gym. Kids 13-15 need a parent to sign a waiver allowing them to use it all week, and then they get a wristband to wear all week. Hope this helps any gym rats!

OK, I recently asked you all about Next Cruise. Well, this past week was my first ever cruise, on the Harmony! My Mom and I went to Next Cruise to get some prices on Day 2. You all were right, prices are all set, no haggling is done. My price that was quoted is the exact one quoted on their website and same as my travel agent, BUT the OBC is where it changes. My travel agent AND the website offer $25 OBC for an inside room. next Cruise gave me $150 OBC! That might not be a big deal to some of you, but I was very excited and I booked it! Just wanted to let you all know. Oh, and Next Cruise was VERY busy all week every time I passed through the Royal Promenade!

Just wanted to share the BEST option for Cozumel that we experienced this past week. We were on the Harmony of the Seas and exited the pier and walked two MINUTES to the left to El Cid Resort. No reservations are needed and it costs $21 per person. It includes a $12 food and beverage credit to buy any food, alcohol, or drinks for lunch. We had a party of five and had a $60 food/drink voucher, and we covered an entire table with food, so your money goes a very very long way! We got chips, salsa, guacomole, jalapeño poppers, chicken fajitas, cheese quesadillas, shredded beef tacos, and Oreo cheesecake! You will each also get a code for free WiFi! You can use their loungers, chairs, and pools too. The beach is VERY small, it drops off with some stairs straight into the blue blue water, but that is the best part - the SNORKELLING! The snorkelling is amazing! Very very easy with lots of fish! There is a large submerged airplane to see as well. We talked to some Americans staying at the resort and they had paid for special excursions to snorkel around Cozumel, and found that it was far better just at their resort!!! The ships literally dock right in front of the resort, so if you want to stay close to the ship, skip any taxis, and snorkel choose this resort! Tip: if you use Google Earth, you can search for the resort and you can see just how close it is to the port and how BLUE the water is in front of it!!!!

I always get a good workout on any cruise ship with my unlimited drink package! Seriously, The Allure gym is way to small for the number of passengers, but the outdoor track is really great!

@Th3CruiseGuru, do be aware that buying two of the Deluxe + VOOM packages may not be as cost effective as buying two Deluxe packages and then a single two-device VOOM plan. Since you can share the code for the 2-device plan with anyone you wish, if each of you is using only one device then this might be a better option. I've repeatedly priced out the combo package vs. whatever current sale price is offered for Deluxe and 2-device separately, and I've yet to see the combo sold for a better combined rate than buying the two separately. In fact, on most of the "deeper discount" sales for the drink package, getting the combo would have been more expensive even if I just bought for myself vs. getting the deluxe package and single-device VOOM! As with most things on the Cruise Planner, gotta be prepared to track the prices and do some math here and there. ?

Alternate restaurant, off the touristy path -- Tropical Taste. Was just there this past April and loved the place. Tucked away in the back of a gift shop, a few minutes walk from the pigeon park that's close to the pier area. Apologies that I can't give an exact address, we stumbled across it while being guided through Old San Juan by a friend of my daughters and searching for a non-touristy spot to have lunch. Great conch if you want to try something different, and fantastic mojitos.

Oct. 13? That GS for $750 per person on the C&A diamond balcony rate looks like a bargain. JUST KIDDING!!!!

I'm seeing more Canadian surfacing on this forum here lately, is that because the snow is melting away and they are waking up from their hibernation? ?

Hi All! Like @Disneynorth we have a NE and E. Canada cruise coming up--over Labor Day weekend for us--with stops in Portland and Bar Harbor, ME, St John's, NB, and Halifax, NS. At this point we are not overly-intrigued by the RC excursions offered through cruise planner so far, but might consider taking one. Currently offered RC excursions are: Best of Portland & Kennebunkport, Arcadia National Park and Lobster Bake, and Best of Halifax. We will peruse Trip Advisor for tips on some port activities, but wanted to hear from others on any experiences with this itinerary that stood out for them, not necessarily for an RC excursion, but that would be good info as well. We are also looking forward to sailing on Adventure of the Seas on this cruise out of Bayonne with sail-away around NYC and near Statue of Liberty...and sampling some great beer in the port stops! Thanks for any feedback on what you liked best on cruising in the northeast!

@Lovetocruise2002 that is the same exact price as the cruise planner. Thanks for sharing! and thanks to everyone for your thoughts. I’ve decided to just wait and see how it goes.

Yes you can still get a price adjustment if you're before final payment and paid in full. The issue you run into is you have to get RC to issue a refund for the difference. It's far simpler/faster if you have an outstanding balance. To that point, if paying off your cruise in advance, leave like $2-500 off unpaid (if you can) to leave wiggle room for easy price adjustments later.

Then, I would suggest CasaBlanca Hotel, Hotel El Convento or La Terraza de San Juan. Always had great experiences in all three.

i agree ? lifting pints of beer all day does wonders for the biceps ? but not so much the stomach lol

This simple Xmas ball was found right in the security building at the dockyard just before walking onto the pier. That may vary depending what section of the pier your end up at. It was pretty cheap but it also isn't super fancy. There were different colors. There are quite a few shops in the "mall". Some of them are pricey but the value of art is very personal.

I have been summoned! Consider looking for an AirBnB rather than classic hotel - there are a lot of options that are considerably more affordable than a hotel, however many of them do have a two night minimum. For another Old San Juan hotel option, look at Hotel CasaBlanca - my MIL and FIL stayed there and they said it was nice! Restaurants - Barrachina is definitely worth a stop, as others have noted! Their pina colada is the original, and also delicious. For a cheap happy hour and good food go to Greengo's on Calle Fortaleza - Mexican food, but good! Another Puerto Rican food stop that's good for large groups in Old San Juan is Vaca Brava!

@Blondie511 My daughter and I are sensitive to motion on ships. I have found Oasis class ships to be the best. My experiences on them are exactly as you describe, little to no motion, even with waves. When we sailed the smaller ships, motion was more noticeable but not to a point where I felt ill. My last cruise on Anthem, out of Bayonne, was the one and only time I actually felt ill some days. I am still not sure if that was due to the make of that ship, being taller and more narrow, or that we encountered some pretty high waves sailing south into Florida and then back north again to NJ. Adventure is a bit smaller than Anthem so it makes me wonder. Not sure if this will be helpful to you but we are sailing Mariner (sister ship to Adventure) August 13th. We picked a room that is forward and up on Deck 11. Not sailing the same waters as your path on Adventure, but I'll be live blogging and will be making notes on the motion.

I was just on Freedom a few months ago. She's very slightly larger than Adventure, so I'd say comparable. The only time we felt any motion was on the first two days, when the ship was going full-tilt at 17 or 18 knots and we also had some really strong headwinds. Then we'd feel the ship rocking ever so slightly, mostly at night when we went to bed as we were in a center-of-forward cabin on deck 8. It was a little disconcerting at first, but we got used to it quickly. Once the ship slowed down for port days, the rocking went away entirely. Only my younger daughter got any seasickness, and that was after going to the Windjammer for lunch on our second sea day and sitting all the way aft, where the motion was the most pronounced. That required some Bonine to clear it out, but otherwise she was fine and the rest of us never even got to that point. Since you're sailing in the summer months, the seas in the NJ area should be OK. No guarantees, of course, but definitely calmer than what you could find in the fall or winter months when Anthem is still making the rounds.

Blog post by @Matt on Barracchina... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/04/14/things-do-old-san-juan

There is a more expensive option that is all you can eat and drink, alcohol included, but we do not drink alcohol (I am still fun, don’t judge??). And the food credit was more than enough for all of us. If you book with resortforaday they only offer the more expensive all inclusive option. We walked right up to the desk to Buy day passes. They gave us orange wristbands. Love your pictures!

When Royal first created the Oasis class ships they built terminal 18 in Port Everglades specifically for her knowing they would have to manage large crowds. It's something Royal has done really well and they have since taken that experience to other ports and to other ships.

Anybody got any updates? A few ships with unsolved info. Particularly Symphony with regards to the handover date. I can't wait to be on in 2 weeks but really hope it is Michele for another few months (I'm sure @CraftyCat05 would agree). Also hoping AM Margot and the Cruise Staff team are good.

You don't have to purchase Voom to use the chat/text feature of RoyalIQ, they are mutually exclusive and are purchased independently. A Voom plan allows internet connectivity. The chat feature of RoyalIQ is simply that, a chat add-on feature that doesn't use the internet. If your friends had purchased Voom you wouldn't have had to purchase the chat add on within RoyalIQ, you could have used WhatsApp or any other wifi based chat app. Having said that, RoyalIQ is eventually being replaced by the new 'Royal' app.

Restaurant: Barracchina...was there two years ago and loved it.

Pinging @KLAconQueso.

I'm not a Dr. Pepper drinker but I recall someone saying Liberty had it.

I blame @Matt, it's his blog ?

When you handed the bananas over, did you tell the guard you were just holding them for a friend?

So.. story time. I went on my first ever cruise with my then-boyfriend-now-husband's family. The second stop of the cruise was Cozumel. In our first stop (Belize), I came back to the ship starving because the only lunch options available were basically burgers or hot dogs and I'm a vegetarian, so I wanted to bring a snack off of the ship with me for our second stop so that if I encountered this situation again, I'd have something to eat. So, we're walking off the ship in Cozumel as a group and passing the dogs, and suddenly one of the dogs who had been sniffing my bag sits down and his officer turns to look at me. DH's entire family turns to stare at me pretty alarmed, and I'm sitting there mentally screaming 'I SWEAR I DON'T HAVE DRUGS'. Then the guard just says nicely and plainly, "do you have any produce in your bag?" and I quickly hand him my bananas. We still laugh about it today, and if I decide to bring a snack it's pre-packaged. ?

A cruise ship passenger demanded a full refund for his trip because his neighbors snored too loudly, even after Royal offered to move him. Seriously????? Royal Caribbean handled it great!! See the article below. Sometimes I can't believe what extent individuals would go. I wonder if someone passed gas on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, would someone file a lawsuit claiming they were "gassed out" !! ? http://www.businessinsider.com/royal-caribbean-cruise-passenger-demands-refund-snoring-neighbor-2018-6

I'm hoping they do merge IT. Maybe bring some fresh blood into Royal - only one way to go... up! ?

Such an awesome picture of Brilliance going under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I can not take photo credit for this, found it on Google Images.

I would love to know where you can get an 3-5 course meal (depending how many apps you order) for $15. I would be a regular at that place. I find the entrees to be valued between $20-25 not counting apps and desserts. So I think $35 is about fair, maybe a little generous.

I don't know if there's any kind of tourist information as we cruised from San Juan, but Frommer's has a map that might be useful:

We rented a car in Halifax and drive out to Peggy's Cove, had lobster, and visited the cemetery where those recovered from the Titanic were buried. We also did Acadia, but book a private company who uses trolley style buses.

If you go to Kennebunkport, be sure to have a lobster roll at the Clam Shack!!! Best by far in the area!!!

On the Harmony of the Seas right now. Two days ago, we were in Cozumel. I had brought a muffin, few cookies, and a bagel in a Ziplock baggie into port for my beach day. I had read not to bring any fruits or veggies into ports! My family has a hobby that when we visit a beach in a different country, we hunt for beach glass, which we display in vases or make into jewelry back home. When we were going through port security to return to the ship, all of our sea glass was confiscated , and we were told that “it was forbidden”. They also took the bagel, cookies, and muffin because that was forbidden too. We had spent all day collecting beach glass, so we asked for a supervisor to confirm that taking beach glass was not allowed, and the supervisors said it was forbidden as well. Since we have collected beach glass from a dozen countries, this was new to us. Just wanted to share my story.