codyh21

This is still the case.  My wife is the same way, we always hit up Publix or somewhere similar on the way so she can get her own stuff.  With long hair there is no way I could get her to use that stuff.

Hi @Phs79, welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog forums!
Since this isn't your very first cruise, I would recommend going to the Getting Started section of the main blog and just looking at the articles "The differences between Royal Caribbean's ships", "All about Royal Caribbean Food", and "Royal Caribbean Gratuities" to just learn about some of the specifics with Royal. After that, you can check out @Matt's YouTube Channel and look for videos that are relevant to your sailing -- be they about cruising on Royal in general, Harmony specifically, Labadee / Coco Cay, or other items you think would be good to know. His podcast is also a great resource, and you'll probably find some links to Harmony-specific episodes when you do the site search, or by searching "Harmony of the Seas podcast". If you have a podcast player installed on your phone or tablet, you can also subscribe to the podcast and get the latest episode delivered every Wednesday.
This definitely won't answer all of your questions, but it'll give you a great start. After that, please come on back here and let us know any specifics you didn't find explained elsewhere. There's a ton of knowledge and information on this site and these forums, and lots of very helpful people here who all want to do their best to make sure you have a great experience. ?

@CruisingKat(Kathy) makes the best! 

Good morning everyone!  As the title says, we will be doing a side by side sailing coming up a week from Monday out of Miami.  As long as data/wi-fi/VOOM cooperates I will try to post as live as I can.  I'll put some of the background and details below, and will also be commenting on our before/after plans as well so feel free to skip past all that if it's not your thing.  Forewarning this first post will be a long one.  I was back and forth on doing a blog, but I know I really appreciate reading them to get me by until my next sailing.  As we go throughout the trip, feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer as I can.  
 
Who: 
Myself (Cody) and my wife (Ainslie).  I'm active duty AF currently stationed in Colorado Springs.  Just got back to the area in April after living 30 minutes south of Port Canaveral for almost five years, so this will be our first cruise in years where we have to fly to the port which was a big driver in the longer trip.  No kids, so aside from getting the vacation time we have the flexibility to cruise any time of the year.  We love this time of year as the weather is perfect, it's typically cheaper, and longer sailings (Explorer) often have a much more laid-back feel to them which we like.  We are Emerald C&A members coming just short of Diamond after these sailings and won't be in suites so I won't be much help in regards to those aspects/questions.
Why these sailings?: 
We did 14 nights b2b on Navigator a couple years ago over the exact same timeframe and loved it.  We got off that sailing and immediately knew we had to get back to the ABCs, which this time is on Explorer.  We considered doing the 5 night over Thanksgiving and making it a true b2b again, but this one went to Labadee & Jamaica and we're already doing Labadee the second sailing.  We really enjoyed Navigator and were excited to see the amplified ship so got a great rate a year ago on the 4 night Thanksgiving sailing and we get to go to Coco Cay.  I went in September but my wife has never been as we missed it the previous two attempts before the pier was installed.  We'll get to sail on one new ship to us and one revamped ship coupled with getting back to our favorite ports in the ABCs so it was a no-brainer!  Escaping the Colorado cold doesn't hurt either.
Staterooms:
Navigator we'll be in a deck 7 Promenade Room.  Originally had the exact same room # on Explorer, but after final payment date the rates on Oceanview Balconies dropped to the point where we upgraded for less than $100, so we'll have a deck 7 Oceanview Balcony on the Starboard side which we prefer.
Onboard Extras:
We purchased the Deluxe beverage package + VOOM for myself and the Refreshment for my wife on both sailings.  I waffled a bit on this but in the end got a rate we were happy with and I love not having to worry about a bill at the end for drinks.  Coupled with the fact that due to work we may not get to cruise next year and it was a fairly easy decision.  On Navigator I booked the UDP for us as there are some new venues I wanted to try and the price was $99pp so not bad.  VOOM came with my DX package but we would've purchased anyways.  No specialty dining on Explorer as we have some longish port days so a couple nights MDR but a lot of casual WJ meals for us.
Travel:
More in the itinerary to come but we're flying on the red-eye from Denver next Saturday morning at 12:45!  Flying into Orlando to spend time with friends.  We're flying Frontier (I know), but the ticket price was a few hundred cheaper than other airlines which allowed us to spend some time both before and after the cruise in Florida.  After disembarking on the 8th we'll head back up to Orlando to get a couple days at WDW before flying out late on the 9th back to Denver.  Got some great pricing on one way rentals both Orlando to Miami and in reverse with Avis.  Dropping of the rental the night before the cruise so will use Uber/Lyft to get to the ship.
Itinerary:
23 Nov- Fly to Orlando, spend day/night in Melbourne with friends
24 Nov- Drive to Miami, one night at the Gabriel downtown
25 Nov- Board Navigator
26 Nov- Nassau (8:00am-6:00pm)
27 Nov- Coco Cay (7:00am-5:00pm)
28 Nov- Sea Day (Thanksgiving)
29 Nov- Turnaround day, board Explorer
30 Nov- Sea Day
1 Dec- Labadee (8:00am-5:00pm)
2 Dec- Sea Day
3 Dec- Willemstad, Curacao (9:00am-8:00pm)
4 Dec- Kralendijk, Bonaire (8:00am-8:00pm)
5 Dec- Oranjestad, Aruba (8:00am-7:00pm)
6-7 Dec- Sea Days
8 Dec- Disembark, head to Orlando/Disney
9 Dec- Fly home late
Excursions:
Nassau- My wife is doing some sort of dolphin thing (I believe) and I'm going to just walk around, get a bite to eat, and spend some time at Pirate Republic Brewing (I'm a big beer guy)
Coco Cay- I've got the all-day waterpark pass, but aside from that a leisurely day
Labadee- Nothing planned, just relax
Curacao- Rented a car through Advance and plan to drive up to some of the more remote beaches.  Afternoon/evening will be spent walking downtown and getting a bite to eat at our favorite place
Bonaire- Snorkeling again with Woodwind and then relaxing in town
Aruba- Local bus to our favorite dutch pancake restaurant, then plan to spend the rest of the day at Reflexions Beach Bar while my wife shops in town
 
Again, apologies for the long post and congrats to those who stuck with it!  I will start with the live portion next Saturday once we start traveling.  I will not be uploading the compasses daily but if you have specific questions on those I will try to answer.  Have a great weekend and thanks for following along!

We’ve had guaranteed rooms assigned a couple months out and others a couple days prior.  There’s no guaranteed answer.

In San Juan we typically walk to the forts and/or around Old San Juan and get some food as it's very walkable.  In St Maarten, we usually grab a taxi and head to the other side of the island for some quality beach time.  I've never done the tours you're referencing, but did have a friend do the ziplining while on the Symphony Presidents Cruise last week.  He really enjoyed it.  We typically book excursions on our own separate from Royal and ensure we're back in plenty of time to the ship, but one advantage is that they get you to/from places and the ship won't be leaving without you.  From the photos I saw last week, I think your kids would love the zip line tour.

Exactly what @twangster said... We've had inside cabins with better service than balcony cabins.  It's all about proximity to the access points.  That and the VOOM on some of the ships is just downright awful but that's another discussion.

Good morning everyone!  As the title says, we will be doing a side by side sailing coming up a week from Monday out of Miami.  As long as data/wi-fi/VOOM cooperates I will try to post as live as I can.  I'll put some of the background and details below, and will also be commenting on our before/after plans as well so feel free to skip past all that if it's not your thing.  Forewarning this first post will be a long one.  I was back and forth on doing a blog, but I know I really appreciate reading them to get me by until my next sailing.  As we go throughout the trip, feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer as I can.  
 
Who: 
Myself (Cody) and my wife (Ainslie).  I'm active duty AF currently stationed in Colorado Springs.  Just got back to the area in April after living 30 minutes south of Port Canaveral for almost five years, so this will be our first cruise in years where we have to fly to the port which was a big driver in the longer trip.  No kids, so aside from getting the vacation time we have the flexibility to cruise any time of the year.  We love this time of year as the weather is perfect, it's typically cheaper, and longer sailings (Explorer) often have a much more laid-back feel to them which we like.  We are Emerald C&A members coming just short of Diamond after these sailings and won't be in suites so I won't be much help in regards to those aspects/questions.
Why these sailings?: 
We did 14 nights b2b on Navigator a couple years ago over the exact same timeframe and loved it.  We got off that sailing and immediately knew we had to get back to the ABCs, which this time is on Explorer.  We considered doing the 5 night over Thanksgiving and making it a true b2b again, but this one went to Labadee & Jamaica and we're already doing Labadee the second sailing.  We really enjoyed Navigator and were excited to see the amplified ship so got a great rate a year ago on the 4 night Thanksgiving sailing and we get to go to Coco Cay.  I went in September but my wife has never been as we missed it the previous two attempts before the pier was installed.  We'll get to sail on one new ship to us and one revamped ship coupled with getting back to our favorite ports in the ABCs so it was a no-brainer!  Escaping the Colorado cold doesn't hurt either.
Staterooms:
Navigator we'll be in a deck 7 Promenade Room.  Originally had the exact same room # on Explorer, but after final payment date the rates on Oceanview Balconies dropped to the point where we upgraded for less than $100, so we'll have a deck 7 Oceanview Balcony on the Starboard side which we prefer.
Onboard Extras:
We purchased the Deluxe beverage package + VOOM for myself and the Refreshment for my wife on both sailings.  I waffled a bit on this but in the end got a rate we were happy with and I love not having to worry about a bill at the end for drinks.  Coupled with the fact that due to work we may not get to cruise next year and it was a fairly easy decision.  On Navigator I booked the UDP for us as there are some new venues I wanted to try and the price was $99pp so not bad.  VOOM came with my DX package but we would've purchased anyways.  No specialty dining on Explorer as we have some longish port days so a couple nights MDR but a lot of casual WJ meals for us.
Travel:
More in the itinerary to come but we're flying on the red-eye from Denver next Saturday morning at 12:45!  Flying into Orlando to spend time with friends.  We're flying Frontier (I know), but the ticket price was a few hundred cheaper than other airlines which allowed us to spend some time both before and after the cruise in Florida.  After disembarking on the 8th we'll head back up to Orlando to get a couple days at WDW before flying out late on the 9th back to Denver.  Got some great pricing on one way rentals both Orlando to Miami and in reverse with Avis.  Dropping of the rental the night before the cruise so will use Uber/Lyft to get to the ship.
Itinerary:
23 Nov- Fly to Orlando, spend day/night in Melbourne with friends
24 Nov- Drive to Miami, one night at the Gabriel downtown
25 Nov- Board Navigator
26 Nov- Nassau (8:00am-6:00pm)
27 Nov- Coco Cay (7:00am-5:00pm)
28 Nov- Sea Day (Thanksgiving)
29 Nov- Turnaround day, board Explorer
30 Nov- Sea Day
1 Dec- Labadee (8:00am-5:00pm)
2 Dec- Sea Day
3 Dec- Willemstad, Curacao (9:00am-8:00pm)
4 Dec- Kralendijk, Bonaire (8:00am-8:00pm)
5 Dec- Oranjestad, Aruba (8:00am-7:00pm)
6-7 Dec- Sea Days
8 Dec- Disembark, head to Orlando/Disney
9 Dec- Fly home late
Excursions:
Nassau- My wife is doing some sort of dolphin thing (I believe) and I'm going to just walk around, get a bite to eat, and spend some time at Pirate Republic Brewing (I'm a big beer guy)
Coco Cay- I've got the all-day waterpark pass, but aside from that a leisurely day
Labadee- Nothing planned, just relax
Curacao- Rented a car through Advance and plan to drive up to some of the more remote beaches.  Afternoon/evening will be spent walking downtown and getting a bite to eat at our favorite place
Bonaire- Snorkeling again with Woodwind and then relaxing in town
Aruba- Local bus to our favorite dutch pancake restaurant, then plan to spend the rest of the day at Reflexions Beach Bar while my wife shops in town
 
Again, apologies for the long post and congrats to those who stuck with it!  I will start with the live portion next Saturday once we start traveling.  I will not be uploading the compasses daily but if you have specific questions on those I will try to answer.  Have a great weekend and thanks for following along!

We did that 9-night ABC itinerary this time last year when Navigator was doing it, just before she got amped. It's a great itinerary. We were in a promenade view cabin on deck 7 too - 7279, across from the pub.



 

I checked in for our upcoming sailings (25 November) about 2-3 weeks ago mostly because I got busy and forgot.  No real advantage.  Only big things to do ahead of time are cruise planner purchases as those close off three days prior and show scheduling on Oasis class if that's a big thing to you.

Buy the package now if you’re happy with the price.  If it drops, you can always cancel and rebook up until three days before your sailing.

Good morning everyone!  As the title says, we will be doing a side by side sailing coming up a week from Monday out of Miami.  As long as data/wi-fi/VOOM cooperates I will try to post as live as I can.  I'll put some of the background and details below, and will also be commenting on our before/after plans as well so feel free to skip past all that if it's not your thing.  Forewarning this first post will be a long one.  I was back and forth on doing a blog, but I know I really appreciate reading them to get me by until my next sailing.  As we go throughout the trip, feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer as I can.  
 
Who: 
Myself (Cody) and my wife (Ainslie).  I'm active duty AF currently stationed in Colorado Springs.  Just got back to the area in April after living 30 minutes south of Port Canaveral for almost five years, so this will be our first cruise in years where we have to fly to the port which was a big driver in the longer trip.  No kids, so aside from getting the vacation time we have the flexibility to cruise any time of the year.  We love this time of year as the weather is perfect, it's typically cheaper, and longer sailings (Explorer) often have a much more laid-back feel to them which we like.  We are Emerald C&A members coming just short of Diamond after these sailings and won't be in suites so I won't be much help in regards to those aspects/questions.
Why these sailings?: 
We did 14 nights b2b on Navigator a couple years ago over the exact same timeframe and loved it.  We got off that sailing and immediately knew we had to get back to the ABCs, which this time is on Explorer.  We considered doing the 5 night over Thanksgiving and making it a true b2b again, but this one went to Labadee & Jamaica and we're already doing Labadee the second sailing.  We really enjoyed Navigator and were excited to see the amplified ship so got a great rate a year ago on the 4 night Thanksgiving sailing and we get to go to Coco Cay.  I went in September but my wife has never been as we missed it the previous two attempts before the pier was installed.  We'll get to sail on one new ship to us and one revamped ship coupled with getting back to our favorite ports in the ABCs so it was a no-brainer!  Escaping the Colorado cold doesn't hurt either.
Staterooms:
Navigator we'll be in a deck 7 Promenade Room.  Originally had the exact same room # on Explorer, but after final payment date the rates on Oceanview Balconies dropped to the point where we upgraded for less than $100, so we'll have a deck 7 Oceanview Balcony on the Starboard side which we prefer.
Onboard Extras:
We purchased the Deluxe beverage package + VOOM for myself and the Refreshment for my wife on both sailings.  I waffled a bit on this but in the end got a rate we were happy with and I love not having to worry about a bill at the end for drinks.  Coupled with the fact that due to work we may not get to cruise next year and it was a fairly easy decision.  On Navigator I booked the UDP for us as there are some new venues I wanted to try and the price was $99pp so not bad.  VOOM came with my DX package but we would've purchased anyways.  No specialty dining on Explorer as we have some longish port days so a couple nights MDR but a lot of casual WJ meals for us.
Travel:
More in the itinerary to come but we're flying on the red-eye from Denver next Saturday morning at 12:45!  Flying into Orlando to spend time with friends.  We're flying Frontier (I know), but the ticket price was a few hundred cheaper than other airlines which allowed us to spend some time both before and after the cruise in Florida.  After disembarking on the 8th we'll head back up to Orlando to get a couple days at WDW before flying out late on the 9th back to Denver.  Got some great pricing on one way rentals both Orlando to Miami and in reverse with Avis.  Dropping of the rental the night before the cruise so will use Uber/Lyft to get to the ship.
Itinerary:
23 Nov- Fly to Orlando, spend day/night in Melbourne with friends
24 Nov- Drive to Miami, one night at the Gabriel downtown
25 Nov- Board Navigator
26 Nov- Nassau (8:00am-6:00pm)
27 Nov- Coco Cay (7:00am-5:00pm)
28 Nov- Sea Day (Thanksgiving)
29 Nov- Turnaround day, board Explorer
30 Nov- Sea Day
1 Dec- Labadee (8:00am-5:00pm)
2 Dec- Sea Day
3 Dec- Willemstad, Curacao (9:00am-8:00pm)
4 Dec- Kralendijk, Bonaire (8:00am-8:00pm)
5 Dec- Oranjestad, Aruba (8:00am-7:00pm)
6-7 Dec- Sea Days
8 Dec- Disembark, head to Orlando/Disney
9 Dec- Fly home late
Excursions:
Nassau- My wife is doing some sort of dolphin thing (I believe) and I'm going to just walk around, get a bite to eat, and spend some time at Pirate Republic Brewing (I'm a big beer guy)
Coco Cay- I've got the all-day waterpark pass, but aside from that a leisurely day
Labadee- Nothing planned, just relax
Curacao- Rented a car through Advance and plan to drive up to some of the more remote beaches.  Afternoon/evening will be spent walking downtown and getting a bite to eat at our favorite place
Bonaire- Snorkeling again with Woodwind and then relaxing in town
Aruba- Local bus to our favorite dutch pancake restaurant, then plan to spend the rest of the day at Reflexions Beach Bar while my wife shops in town
 
Again, apologies for the long post and congrats to those who stuck with it!  I will start with the live portion next Saturday once we start traveling.  I will not be uploading the compasses daily but if you have specific questions on those I will try to answer.  Have a great weekend and thanks for following along!

I’m starting this blog for my sailing on the Empress.  Seeing so much content on the Empress already on this forum, my blog will not be an exhaustive one, especially because I know that a much better blogger is also on this sailing (*cough* @twangster*cough*)
For those who would like some recon mission on this ship, I’d gladly do what I can.

Now available on December cruise planner..... lunch only... Taste of Royal AU 81.39 dollars +US19.99 wine pairing and 18 percent gratuity also to be added (each) for a four course lunch experience in the middle of a Queensland summer day.....  I just may give this one a miss and stick to lighter fare....states it is not available on package deals....If I was a real foodie I may be tempted as Wonderland.150 and Giovanni's  Italian kitchen are not available on Voyager....I will have to stick with Chops and the usual Giovanni's for dinner and bask in the sunshine during the day...It is also a good excuse to book another cruise where these restaurants are part of a package....at this exalted price for lunch in good old Aussie slang

Buy the package now if you’re happy with the price.  If it drops, you can always cancel and rebook up until three days before your sailing.

Definitely go straight to a specialty dining venue as soon as you board (doesn't matter which one).  If you have preferred venues/times for each night that will help speed things along.  Would also recommend taking a copy of the terms & conditions for the UDP with you on your sailing.  There have been a handful of reports from folks who have attempted to visit multiple venues (for apps, entrees, dessert) in a night or order multiple entrees and been refused.  Seems like the experience varies from ship to ship but doesn't hurt to have.  We're doing UDP on Navigator in a couple weeks and like you are excited about the wide variety of options.

Despite the water park and all the other additions, we loved our visit there in September.  There are plenty of places to just grab a chair and stare out at the ocean with no noise if that's what you really want.  The food options are also much improved.  I think you'll find it's an amazing time with as much or as little as you want to do!