Pooch

A long time ago, I was told part of the price difference is because there is no gambling on Disney cruises.  Maybe?

Deck 8 on Harmony last month was a great JS location.  Close to Park Cafe for a morning pre breakfast & we had a hump balcony so it was several feet bigger.  Still get twice a day housekeeping service.  I did miss being walked off the ship at disembark.  Of course the previous Harmony cruise was in an Owners Suite so that was an adjustment .  If I could ask for anything, maybe a little bigger bathroom.  I mean I didn’t need the bidet but still the JR bathroom was kinda small.

I have come to the realization that JS is the minimum requirement for me.  I have stayed in/seen spacious balcony cabins and they are just too small.  I know I won’t be happy in one.  So if the price of a JS is too high, I will look for a different cruise.  

9 hours ago, MaryCS62 said:

Oh, good - I loved that, and of the meals I had on Anthem in March, I was actually most disappointed with the desserts - nothing to write home about.  With that said - I avoided the overly rich and sweet dessert options by choice - type 2 diabetic, and I also couldn't really eat a heavy dessert right after dinner.  I would take the artisan cheese plate to go for a late snack 

We found the no sugar added desserts to be some of the best.

Does not have to be the original but must be a certified copy.  My husband’s original is getting very fragile and I never use it for anything.  I have a certified copy.

Not many great options on Harmony.  We tried aft & saw some and then snuck out on the fly bridges in front of the solarium (don’t rat me out) and they was pretty good but still not dark enough

We had good to great meals on Harmony last month.  Only night I had issues was Mexican night.  Sent 2 different entrees back.  But everything else all week was fine.  Service was terrific (thanks Nitesh & Akhmad!).   Maybe I have pedestrian taste but we had delicious, well prepared food every night.

Since check in opens long before entertainment, I’ve always been checked in already.  But I’m not sure it’s a requirement to book.  I made my reservations through the daily planner tab on the app (not the entertainment link).

Also, the longer you wait to check in, the later arrival time you’ll get.  If you haven’t done so, I’d check in now.

People staying grand suites and above have a suites concierge to handle your dining reservations via email.  Those with the UDP who are not staying in grand suites or above have to wait til they board.  You will have a jump on those people via the suites concierge.

You don’t need to be connected by a reservation.  My son was able to “chat” with girls he met on board.  
Also, be aware the chat feature is hit or miss.  We found it sometimes took a couple hours for messages to show up.  Sometimes they never came through at all.  Despite having notifications enabled, never got notified when a message came through.  It would be generous to say it was actually useful maybe 50% of the time.  Definitely not a good substitute for texting.

Harmony the beginning of May.  We had no issues (temp, portion, taste) with the offerings in the MDR with the exception of Mexican night.  I tried 3 different dishes & could not eat any of them.  Rest of the week was delicious.

For the tech challenged, like me, I went to the Voom desk & they did it for me!

We had good to great meals every night except one on our recent harmony cruise.

Was fine every night but Mexican night.  Cannot tolerate spice so I went with the chicken instead.  Rubber banquet chicken!  Sent it back.  Tried a bite of DD’s spaghetti bolognese.  Canned Franco American tastes better.  Hubby’s enchilada was a lot of wrap with very little filling and nowhere near enough sauce.  The salmon smelled & tasted fishy.  Just an all around terrible night.  
Highlights were the crab cakes, tomato soup, butternut squash soup, beef bourguignon, sautéed filet of sole, shrimp dishes, daughter had several Indian dishes she loved & my brother loved the lamb shank.  Really except for that one night, we had great food on Harmony a few weeks ago.  Also, MTD with the same table/waitstaff each night and no wait!

I’m thinking the issue with Rising Tide (hubby’s favorite) is its small size.  If it is filled with kids, there’s little room for adults actually using the bar.  

8 hours ago, bobroo said:

Every degenerate RC cruiser on these boards needs to have the easy, care-free experience of flying to a Gold Star port; not renting a car, having lots to see and explore within walking distance, bountiful bar and restaurants all close by, some type of shopping for last minute items, a reasonable breakfast place so you don't have to eat the free DIY waffles, classier hotel accommodations the you normally get yourself (for the same reason you upgraded your stateroom), just one cab/Uber/Lift\, and <drumroll> walking yourself and your luggage to the port terminal in the morning! <cymbal crash>

Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Honolulu, Venice, and the ultimate fly to port,  the amazing Double Gold Star port of **New Orleans**

 

Hey, opinions are like …….  Everybody’s got one.  I find MCO to PC very easy.  YMMV

Look at hotels in the Samoran Blvd area near the airport.  All kinds at all price levels.  Walking distance to various eateries.  Most, if not all, provide a complementary airport shuttle and many have complementary breakfast.  Then call Cortrans or Cruise Control Transportation and arrange a shuttle to the port in the am.  We’ve done this twice and it is very easy & convenient.

Nope, no one has ever sailed to Norway.  You will be the first so please report back .  Just kidding, couldn’t resist.

We purchased it from a port shop in Costa Maya for $70 for 700 ML. It was $65 if you bought 2.  My large bottle of Baileys was $32.  At home it would have been at least $45.  As I said, we packed 2 bottles in each of our checked bags, wrapped in 2 plastic bags each and nestled in the dirty laundry. All of it, along with half a dozen breakable items, made it home safely.

I was able to get a good deal on Baileys and son got Hennessy White for a friend back home.  Then he added 2 bottles of tequila & 2 liter bottles of Ciroc vodka on board.  DD took home 6 bottles of champagne left in our rooms (driving).  I was very surprised we got that much booze through customs and did not go over weight on luggage flying home.

Me and Super Mario!  He has a roped off office on the pool deck

Once on board, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly.  I treated brother nephew & son to Izumi sushi & they loved it.  Hubby ate his weight in crab cakes in the MDR.  We found all the food in the MDR delicious.  We had no problem mixing & matching items on the menu although hubby tried to get soup from an earlier night & failed.  I told him they couldn’t do it but hey, why listen to me!

I was very happy that the Aqua show was scheduled this time as it was cancelled all week last year.  Great show although spinning guy got a little weird after the first 4/5 minutes.  I mean it was amazing but after a while.  Then an already drunk woman poured her drink down my back.  Really?  We’ve been on the ship for less than 12 hours for goodness sake!

I think the problem is I buy clothes that are too big.  My daughter kept asking who was I putting in there with me.  I may try smaller sizes if they have them.  

Oh and all the new clothes I bought?  All going back to the store including the jumpsuit.  Hated everything.

Hi, I’ve been trying to put some distance between me & the cruise before I posted to give myself some perspective but I don’t think you all want to wait that long

I won’t rehash the travel woes Tom & Greg encountered.  Suffice it to say we all enjoyed drinks & appetizers around the pool by 6pm Friday night.  Get everyone up and in the lobby for our 9:30 SAS Transportation pick up and we wait….

and wait…..

and wait.  
Now I will own my part in this snafu as I mistakenly booked for May 5 instead of 6 BUT!!  I had sent at least 6 follow up emails, including one just to confirm everything earlier in the week.  No response to any of them.  I left 3 increasingly frantic voice mails that morning again with no response.  Their drivers call when they’re on their way & I got no call on May 5th.  And HEY you are running a shuttle service to POM, you’re trying to tell me you don’t know what day Harmony sails on????  Sent an email to which he replied “your fault”.  Not using SAS Transportation ever again. At 10:30, Joe & his transport van shows up & asks if we need a ride.  Dropped us off across from the terminal and was waiting for us when we got off.  My new shuttle guy, Joe!

Ok now we are at the terminal with a 10:30 check in and some 12 year old port worker points to the end of a mile long line.  THATS the 10:30 line??!  Yup.  So we walk all the way to the end, hang out for about 10 minutes to be told, oh no, you can go right in. . So by now my street cred with Tom is totally shot and I am this close to a full blown breakdown.

You all know the definition of insanity right?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  Why do I keep expecting family vacations to be a Disney commercial???

More later, thank you for letting me vent and sorry this isn’t a happier report