OCSC Mike

8 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

What are some sneaky cool ones that you can think of? Maybe some under the radar?

It's discussed more often there days, but you get 4 more drinks on the morning of disembarkation day. You can use these for mimosas or whatever if the WJ bar is serving alcohol (mixed results). You can also use them for fresh squeezed OJ, coffee drinks at Cafe Promenade (you have the DL coffee machine of course but there are some items like a fancy iced coffee you can get at Cafe Promenade), bottled water, etc.

Some people who stay up late have also reported using them after they reset at midnight the night before for extra late night drinks at whatever bars are open that late. I'm asleep by then, lol.

Congrats on Diamond!

9 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

The only place I see it referenced anymore is in the FAQ, and it's in a section for Accepted Tests for Guests Sailing from Europe & Israel.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-tests-are-accepted-where-to-submit-the-results

I have used a NAAT test from Walgreens and it was accepted.

As have I and a bazillion others, especially when they were automatically free.

30 minutes ago, CruiseRoyalDad said:

suite lounge being open for beer and wife

Damn, they weren't offering wives when I was in my GS on 5/29! Is that a new perk?

Sorry, couldn't help it.

You'll see men dressed even more casually than khakis and a polo. Wear whatever you are comfortable with.

16 minutes ago, Pooch said:

The living area is just too cramped

That explains the difference in opinion, for me at least. I'm fine in an interior, lol, so that living area is huge to me.

To each his own, as with most cruise-related opinions. No right or wrong answer.

8 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

That's why it take all kinds, we love the privacy wall, wife goes to sleep early, I tend to sleep later.  We don't disturb each other

I liked it for similar reasons.

The cheapo version is the interior cabin curtain which we also have also utilized.

15 minutes ago, JustMeJoe said:

My thoughts are $3000 extra is more than "usual" for JS to GS1.  You may want to change to a different Harmony sailing than you are on.  I noticed that the difference is more like $1300 on the May 13th 2023 sailing.

That's per person. Perhaps he was calculating the total cost.

Stayed in my first ever GS on Harmony a few months ago (courtesy of generous in-laws for a family cruise). Is it "worth it" is a a question only you can answer as it depends on finances, preferences, value you place on the perks, the bigger room, the tub shower, etc. That said, my thoughts...

The room was very nice, tub shower, big living room, more storage than my wife and I could ever fill, etc. I couldn't care less about my cabin size, personally, but it was nice. I enjoyed the perks way more than the cabin itself. So onto the perks...

• Free internet was nice but you can put an exact dollar amount on that.
• Open bar happy hour every night in the SL for 3 hours plus free beer, wine, hard seltzer, soda, bottled water from 11-11 everyday is a pretty big perk and I enjoyed it even though I'm not a huge drinker and can make do with my 4 free Diamond drinks per day.
• Coastal Kitchen was enjoyable for breakfast but I'm just as happy having a breakfast sandwich from Park Cafe and the standard WJ items. It's the venue not the food for me. Only had lunch there once or twice. The ribs were amazing but again, I'm perfectly content having lunch at Park Cafe and/or WJ. We had 3-4 dinners there. They ranged from an excellent night one filet to only being slightly better than the MDR. It was nice having dinner in the same venue as the SL and I much preferred the ambiance there to the MDR. I'm actually not a big fan of the MDR in general.
• Suite sun deck... our family enjoyed grabbing a free cabana early in the morning and hanging out there for a while if we weren't getting off the ship. Only complaint is it gets pretty hot up there.
• Disembarkation via the suite concierges... Meeting our concierge in the Bionic Bar and being escorted past the line was nice but not a giant perk to me.

Hope this helps. Just one man's opinions of course which is why I started by saying only you can answer your main question. Happy deciding!

This was announced a while ago.

It has been 45 days since the restart.

For future reference, try cruisedeckplans.com or just search YouTube of course.

Haven't seen sushi in a WJ in a long time.

Back in the day I remember getting sushi there every night (even if we were eating elsewhere). IIRC, some ships had an Asian looking side to the WJ (possibly Voyager class in the 2000's?) and that's where the sushi could be found.

1 hour ago, Batman71 said:

Thanks to all for the tips....very helpful!

I checked out the bar code trick and it did show our stateroom number. FWIW, they have me in a stateroom on deck 13 and this room does NOT have an obstructed view. OTOH, our travel partners are on deck 6 with an obstructed view (lifeboat front-center). We booked our rooms (both GTY) within two days of each other.

When you booked them has zero impact on what cabins you were assigned. While no one knows the exact algorithms used, it's essentially luck of the draw on our end as passengers.

Hopefully your travel partners can request to change cabins once officially assigned if that's what they would prefer.

5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I'm in the same minority. I'd rather have the chicken sandwich.

The food wasn't bad at the Beach Club in my opinion, it's just really heavy and not what I feel like eating at a beach. Although I do like the appetizers a lot, but those are much lighter, fresher options than the steak and lobster entrees.  

I will qualify that I've never actually eaten AT the Beach Club restaurant. All of my experiences with the Beach Club food have been from a cabana.

Might not be a minority if too many more of us agree, lol. I enjoyed the beach club food (also in a cabana) but count me in.

I did really like the coconut crusted lobster sandwich though and that fits in with the non-beach club food, IMO.

31 minutes ago, Traveling Mike said:

This seems to help figure out what room you are in before they release it.  Someone on my September cruise pointed it out to us and it worked for everyone on the thread.  In the RCL App take your boarding pass and save it in the iPhone wallet.  Then look down in the barcode and you will see a long number with a dash then a 4- or 5-digit number.  That number is your room cabin.  

That's the bar code trick described above.

9 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

I finally gave this a shot (not a guarantee cabin) so I can see what you describe.  Awesome!  
I have a GTY suite next year. Can’t wait to use this hack

Just be aware that you can occasionally get the dreaded "GTY" instead of your cabin number although that has never happened to me (yet).

13 minutes ago, twangster said:

There is a barcode trick that can reveal your cabin number from the set sail pass barcode.  Varies iPhone vs. Android.

If you use an iPhone, simply add the set sail pass to your Apple wallet. Numbers will appear below the bar code. The numbers to the right of the dash represent your cabin.

If Android, simply scan the bar code with a QR scanner. (This works for iPhone too, the Apple wallet is just easier.)

NOTE: You have to wait to get your official assignment to ask to switch as twangster mentioned above, don't bother trying after using the bar code trick.

I like the chicken sandwich how it comes but one hack is to order it plain with mozzarella sticks on the side... then put the mozz sticks and marinara on top for a chicken parm sandwich.

Desserts...

1. As much funnel cake as you can eat.

2. Another hack... Get 2 cookies from one of the buffets and take them to the ice cream machine to make an ice cream sandwich.

13 minutes ago, Matt said:

it is not unheard of for the temperature to drop into 70s at times

Sending native Floridians to put on jeans and coats, lol.

Cococay in the 70's sounds beautiful to me... hell, going there in the summer is a nice break from the mid-90's here, especially with the ocean breeze.

Depends what you care about... view, motion, being closer to areas you frequent, etc.

This is personal preference. We stopped getting balconies b/c we hardly ever use them and our location preference is to be closest to the areas we utilize the most.

51 minutes ago, dmattinson said:

Have you tried Daniel's on E Plant St in Winter Garden?

Heard that from everyone for many years and yet somehow never made it there... that's obviously on me, especially since I live very close to Winter Garden.

On 8/17/2022 at 8:58 PM, RCIfan1912 said:

We want to come back in like January or February. It was a little too hot for my wife. She burns very, very beyond easily and bad. We sunscreened up and she is still burnt up a crisp. Sunscreen twice.

I don't tan, I burn. Can't stand being super hot either. UPF protective rash guard, lots of sunscreen, always under an umbrella... and the underwater pool benches that are in the shade b/c of the trees in the middle island make it very enjoyable for me as someone who avoids the sun.

I lived in MontCo, Abington/Jenkintown area. Wife grew up in Bucks, Richboro area, not far from Newtown. Went to Sesame Place in Langhorne as a kid of course. All our parents grew up in the Northeast.

The bar for cheesesteaks here is understandably low, lol, but not Cococay low. Can find passable ones but nothing any of us would consider "good." I've found places that actually import Amoroso rolls... then their meat is awful. Found a deli owned by a family from Pittsburgh whose kids when to PSU, great meats... roll was as soft as a hot dog bun though.

I get hoagies from Wawa. When Wawa first came to FL, we went to one grand opening and it was wall to wall Eagles/Sixers/Phillies shirts/jerseys, lol. Orlando is full of transplants of course.

7 hours ago, Crazycruiser50 said:

 I will definitely try out CK for breakfast and maybe a few light lunches.

If you see ribs for lunch, highly recommended. They had so much meat on them I thought of the brontosaurus ribs from the opening to The Flintstones.

Can (should?) easily be eaten with a knife and fork.

8 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Last time I was at PDCC I had cute baby chicks pecking at my toes as I read a book on my kindle. For a solo traveler that was everything I wanted and more from PDCC......well and a funnel cake with ice cream. My Nov Odyssey cruise hits up PDCC, the fifth time this year, and Labadee. You would think you would get tired of it but each time you do something different, eat something amazing and see something crazy. 

Our animal encounter last trip was when we were sitting in the Oasis pool on the underwater benches by the trees (love the combo of shade and the pool when it's so hot out)... a large iguana decided to wander out from the trees/bushes and hang out by the edge of the pool for hours, lol.