twangster

Dinner formal night.  Another first for my MTD experience...Checked in 5 minutes before reservation only to be walked down to deck 3 traditional dining. They are filling up the larger no show tables at the 5:30 seating with MTD.  We arrived to check in at 6:10 and walked out at 7:20.  The biggest wait is to get the waiter to take our order (he was bringing dessert to another table). We decided that tomorrow night we are getting dessert off the kids menu. Chocolate chip cookie, ice cream & brownie sandwich.  

Today everyone slept in.  I was surprised it was 8 when I woke up.  I had to check that we weren’t under the pool as we heard a sound like chairs moving across the deck during the night.  Not sure what that sound was but I think I need a noise app.  
One thing about connecting door.  If you had young kids I’m not sure I’d like it. All the other ships we could leave the connecting door open.  Here it is always closed(if open can’t open room door).  My kids are old enough to be ok but younger I’d need a shoe or something to prop door open so I could hear them at night.  
So I woke up and went to deck 5 track.  Love it!  Gym was crazy crowded. Here is a pic at 9. My D18 went at 11 and DH went at noon.  All said it was very busy and they also ended up on the track.  DH thinks this is the gym is better on Liberty…he hates the layout but the full track saves the day.  
Breakfast at Mini Bites. DH took 4 kids there while I worked out but S14 and I came later.  We all liked it.  
Went down water slides this morning.  It’s cold (only 72) especially when wet!  D6 got stuck every time…even in the bowl slide which when she stopped in the bowl she didn’t know what to do so she tried to walk. She sat down and was fine. We all think the racing slides are faster and confirmed by the slide crew.  
Lunch at park cafe.  The 11 and 6 yo didn’t like it…had to get a hot dog from the boardwalk.  Had my first Royal Kemmelwreck and a salad.  However the favorite was this chocolate eclair...probably my favorite dessert on a ship. 
 

Spacious ocean balconyone thing I like is the connecting door is towards front of stateroom.  On Liberty they were in the middle of the room.  
Someone asked about youth C&A coupons.  This is gold. 
 

Women don't need to talk or text.  They communicate with each other at a level us guys will never understand.  Even a bot can't decode it.

@Boston Babe - Hot off the press:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/03/23/rhapsody-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-6-costa-maya
 

The time is sometimes set once on the ship I think.  I asked in the Vintages on board and they told me it had changed days.  I included it in my Anthem Live Blog here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5387-anthem-11919-9-night-bahamas/&do=findComment&comment=55343
 

On Indy there was a special Holiday Ice Skating show in addition to the regular ice shows but on Harmony Studio B is used for more non-skating activities so that might not be possible.

Proverbial "It depends". 
Wind speed isn't the only factor and wind speed doesn't always dictate all aspects of wave conditions.  The Captain has to consider the weather over the whole day.  Off-loading several thousand guests and then having conditions worsen during the day so that several thousand people are now stranded on the island is a worst case scenario. 
Wave pitch plays a significant factor - the distance between the peaks.  Slow rollers tend to cause more motion in large ships even with low wave height compared to waves that are very close to each other.  Wave pitch can be influenced from water current and direction relative to wind speed and wind direction. 
They do this week after week and they know what is safe and what probably won't be as they review conditions and forecast nearing arrival.  If they make the call to abort it really is for all the right reasons but sometimes they don't know until they are approaching the island.  Predicting weather on land has become more reliable but isn't perfect in itself.  Predicting weather in the islands or on the ocean is much less exact and it usually is a game day decision for the Captain.

The results for me are very ship dependent.
On OA class, Izumi Hibachi is near the top. 
On Harmony I wasn't impressed with Jamie's but on Anthem Jamie's was very good.  My Harmony experience was bad enough on Harmony I almost bypassed Jamie's on Anthem and that would have been very unfortunate because Jamie's was great on Anthem, so much I went back a 2nd time.
Chops is too hit or miss for me.  I've had terrible luck with Chops on Freedom class where I had great service but the cuts of meat were lacking.  Twice on Anthem Chops service was lacking but steak was decent.  OA class it's okay not not superb.  I've been fortunate to eat at some really good steak restaurants on land over the years and Chops to me is a small step above Outback but no where near a true steakhouse.
I'm not a sushi eater so regular Izumi for sushi is a non starter.
I've only done Giovanni's on Freedom class where service was great but food average.  If I didn't use a $30 BOGO for both attempts I'd probably be more upset about the money spent.
Wonderland - something to try at least once.  It was good but different.  No regrets going but I don't feel the need to go again.  I might on Symphony only because I have 5 nights of dining to book.
Solarium Bistro on Anthem was enjoyable and complimentary only requiring reservations although I managed to drop in on a slow night and get a seat as a walk up.  If I had to pay I would be more critical. 
Coastal Kitchen when in a suite is by far my favorite. 

The time is sometimes set once on the ship I think.  I asked in the Vintages on board and they told me it had changed days.  I included it in my Anthem Live Blog here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5387-anthem-11919-9-night-bahamas/&do=findComment&comment=55343
 

Here, let me fix that for you...
"21 days to go until I will be able to enjoy the ship (and send A LOT of pictures)"
We can't wait.  Seriously, we can't.

Women don't need to talk or text.  They communicate with each other at a level us guys will never understand.  Even a bot can't decode it.

I knew she was a bot. 
USB-Hub?  Ethernet-Hub? 
Regardless, I knew you were a bot.  Takes one to know one...

Can't wait for Easter Sunday. My favorite Youtuber will post a complete tour of Symphony then.  The one on Harmony was around 70 minutes long. I'll post the link as soon as it's up if anyone is interested - just be aware that commentary will be in German.

Here, let me fix that for you...
"21 days to go until I will be able to enjoy the ship (and send A LOT of pictures)"
We can't wait.  Seriously, we can't.

Here, let me fix that for you...
"21 days to go until I will be able to enjoy the ship (and send A LOT of pictures)"
We can't wait.  Seriously, we can't.

I knew she was a bot. 
USB-Hub?  Ethernet-Hub? 
Regardless, I knew you were a bot.  Takes one to know one...

Here, let me fix that for you...
"21 days to go until I will be able to enjoy the ship (and send A LOT of pictures)"
We can't wait.  Seriously, we can't.

21 days to go until I will be able to enjoy the ship (and send some pictures) 
Can't wait.

I'm the person in the kayak in @bellemiche's 1st picture.

Let the celebration begin...
And with that Harmony is now the 2nd largest cruise ship in the world...
 
 
 

Even iPhones are water resistant now!

Steaming is simply blowing hot steam through a garment as illustrated in this photo.  Note t-shirt being steamed.  Clothing is placed onto blue apparatus and hot steam then blows from inside the blue thing and through the garment.  It takes about 15 seconds.
In the far right you can see a crew member's head as he operates a pressing machine.  Clothes are laid on it, press is closed to complete the job.  For pants and shirts a crease is created that you won't get when steaming.

I sailed Grandeur last summer.  1 down, 5 to go!

I read last night the warning have been lifted and ferries to the main land are beginning to operate again with new security procedures in place.