brianastree

Formal nights always take longer than casual nights in the main dining room. I've also found that smaller tables have a quicker turn around time than larger tables

My MTD on HOTS experience was that dinner took 1 hour and 7 of us were at a table.  It is possible but not guaranteed.  You'll need to tell your wait staff and possibly skip dessert as they will start opening the comedy show to standby 10 minutes prior to the show.  Is it possible to change your reservation to 7:15 just for that night?

I sailed solo on Mariner with My Time Dining and was always out in 45-60 minutes. I found MTD to be less relaxed than I remember traditional dining (10 years ago).

If you need to be out faster you can push the pace a bit by letting the waiters know you are in a rush, skipping desert , etc.
Its a little bit limited since they are trying to serve multiple tables and keep them all on "pace" together so that they arent trying to get your entree out while still serving the appetizers at the next table over, etc. but they will do what they can if you let them know.
Our general experience is about 90 minutes but we have done much faster at times, lots of variables in the mix.

Dinner can take anywhere from an hour to the full two hours.  
Day 2 is often a formal night but unsure of your ship or itinerary.  

Thanks for letting me know!

My wife and daughter did the sushi class on Harmony on a sea day. They both loved it and it’s normally fairly early in the day. They did theirs at 10:30am. They were very accommodating when we mentioned that raw fish wasn’t in the plans for our 8 year old. They brought out other pieces of fish and she still talks about it all the time. 

18 Days out! It is really hard to wait! I have to admit I’m here physically but, for the last couple of weeks I have mentally been onboard! I created a “cruise” playlist that is full of Bob Marley, Jimmy Buffett, Zack Brown Band that I have been listening to at work along with binge listening to the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast.  Yesterday I printed all our documents and luggage tags. I may or may not have pulled out all our suitcases and started packing a couple days ago! I really need to get out of this cold dreary weather here in central Indiana. The whole family had the stomach bug last week and I’m currently fighting a cold so some sunshine and ocean breeze are defiantly needed! I’m really looking forward to checking out the Royal app on board. I was happy to see they added the chat feature in time for us to use it. On our last cruise a few time we let our oldest go do things with plans to meet or have her check in periodically but, we did not have a means of communicating and it made us a little nervous. This should allow her to have her freedom and us some peace of mind. What I love about my family and our vacations is the little things that brings joy and our experience  with Royal Caribbean has supplied just that. I was looking trough pictures of our last cruise on the Allure of the Seas and I noticed a trend with my youngest. There were several pictures of her enjoying interesting chairs I thought I would share them! We have also found that by the end of our cruise our wait staff on the main dinning room are like family. It's probably one of my top 5 favorite things about cruising RCCL.

Some people have a strongly preferred bottled water brand, or just want to have bottled water. 
Bottled water on board is for purchase, unless you've pre-purchased one of the drink packages that include it. This includes the Refreshment and Deluxe packages - the main difference being alcohol (Deluxe) and non-alcohol (Refreshment) package selections. 
However, the tap water on board is totally fine and glasses of non-bottled water are also available. If you do choose to bring your own water bottle to fill and carry with you, keep in mind if you take water from one of the public buffet areas you will have to take a clean glass and then dump that glass into your drinking vessel and repeat to fill the bottle. This is due to health codes on board, so that your drinking vessel doesn't touch the water tap and contaminate it.  
Beverages available without any drink package needed are standard coffees and teas, water, milk, lemonade, and some selections of juices. 

Honestly, I'd remove those last few entries since they're more quick meals/small bite type of service and stick to a combination of Main Dining Room and Windjammer, both of which serve somewhat different purposes. 
Want a sit down meal where you might dress a little bit more nicely? Plan on the Main Dining Room. 
Want a really casual buffet style meal where you maybe don't feel like looking nice after say for example, a long day in port? The Windjammer would suit that day. 
Really between those two complimentary options, you'll be pretty happy. The menu changes each night in both. Solarium Bistro is my favorite spot for breakfast and lunch, and Park Cafe is known for it's Kummelweck sandwiches on boarding day. Sorrento's is basically just pizza that tastes pretty awesome when you're super hungry and looking for a snack after a long day in port, or when you're up really late and trying to soak up the effects of the drink package. 

It has been Free for Dinner for awhile now too. There is one item on the dinner menu that costs money and that is the Lamb Chops they cost $10 but everything else is free for dinner. 

I think @AGSLC5 is right that Park Cafe is barely open for dinner, unless you are okay with eating dinner at 5pm.
Also, Sorrentos is hardly a full meal. More of a snack (pizza).
I'd just tack on those 2 nights for the Windjammer. Dinner options in the Windjammer change nightly, so it's not like it's the same each evening.

I don't think Park Cafe is open for dinner but I could be wrong.. Also Sorrento's is not really a dinner place its just a quick place to grab a couple slices of pizza. I guess you could technically eat there for dinner but if it was me I would either eat in Main Dining Room again or Windjammer. 

This is how we dressed up for the first formal night on Harmony last May. The second formal night we ditched and at at Jamies Italian 

A quick recap of our cruise along with some more pictures
 
Where do I even begin . . . rating these on a scale of 10
 
Cruise 10/10
Id give the cruise itself a 10 out of 10. Was everything I knew it would be, well actually better than I thought it would be. Can't wait until we can book another cruise and have already begun talking about it.  More than likely will be in 2020 and the revamped Coco Cay is on our list of stops we would like to hit up. 
 
Room 9.5/10
Besides being on the smaller side, which being on a ship, I totally understand, our room was great. Loved the location overlooking the boardwalk and being able to see the water and The Fine Line was a wonderful thing. I am deducting half a point because of the rock hard beds. Other than that we were totally happy. Also being able to watch the movies on the big screens at the aqua theater from our balcony was super cool. 
 
Crew 10/10
Everyone we interacted with was wonderful. Our room attendant Sydney was the man and took care of us and  anything we needed. The few times at customer service went smoothly with no issues. No complaints here from us. 
 
Food 8/10
There were a few things we came across that was so so, like super burnt and crispy toast and french toast in Windjammer but then there was some amazing food as well, like our meal in Sabor. 
 
Shows 10/10
The shows blew our minds, didn't expect them to be that good, even the ice skating shows. I preferred Iskate over 1887 and Columbus over Grease but all were spectacular. The Fine Line was an action packed spectacle and a must see. We did miss the headliner act and comedian. The character meet and greets and breakfast was a lot of fun as well as the parade in the promenade.  
 
 
 
 
Labadee 10/10
Was really more than we were expecting. Could have spend a few more hours here. Zipline and coaster were highlights for me and my kids loved the beach and aqua park. 
 
Falmouth 7/10
For me this port was just ok. Probably the one port I would have been ok skipping, would have like to see more of the country side though 
 
Cozumel  8/10
The rain really did put a hamper on the day but made the best of with some shopping and lunch, the shopping did make up for a lot for us. Along with Jamacia, would have loved to see more of the real country 
 
 
Things we would have done differently 
Packed less, we severely over packed. Being our first family cruise we didn't know how much to bring and really could have brought less. 
Sign up for my time dining. I selected the 5:30 dining time and only made it to one meal at that time. Next time will def do the my time dining. 
Bring/save more money to spend in Cozumel, lol.  
Book back to back cruises. This is a pipe dream but would have been really great
 
Odds and End
Embarking and disembarking the ship couldn't have gone smoother for us. I was pleasantly surprised how smooth and really didn't have to wait in any long lines either day. Even finding our luggage was a breeze
Ship could use a few more Coke Freestyle machines IMO ?
Elevators could be a pain sometimes but with that many people its understandable 
Ship could use a few more of those frozen yogurt stands also ?
Getting to and from our home in Palm Beach Gardens to Port Everglades was pretty easy as was dropping off our bags and parking

Yes @brianastree! All Central Park balconies come with an included specialty lunch on a sea day as well as a complimentary bottle of red wine! You can have that lunch at either Jamie's Italian or at Sabor, I believe. It is a really nice perk!

5 things to try on Harmony of the Seas
Top 10 Harmony of the Seas secrets
5 best Harmony of the Seas tips
Episode 220: Top 5 Harmony of the Seas redux

Yes, those are the shows on Harmony.
Check out this blog post by @Matt :
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/harmony-of-the-seas
At the end are links for more Harmony articles to review.
Hint - Matt runs this site and Harmony is his favorite ship.
 
 

Unlike a stop in most Caribbean ports you can't leave Labadee and go into Haiti.  Locals can't enter either, unless employed there.  Royal employees 500 full time positions in Labadee, the majority being locals. 
The village nearby is an old fishing village which has prospered because of Labadee while the rest of Haiti is pretty unfortunate.  Consequently it tends to be a different dynamic in Labadee.
Civil unrest and similar warnings have occurred many times over the years.  Labadee is typically not impacted by them.  Royal is not in the business of getting their guests hurt or thrust into the limelight so they would absolutely avoid it if they thought it was a danger.  

Please double check my list of complementary vs. "costs extra" dining locations on Allure.  I know that alcoholic beverages, premium coffee, soda, fresh juices, and smoothies cost extra no matter where you go unless you have some type of drink package - it's the pricing structure for food I'm getting confused about in a few locations.  Do I have anything mixed up on my list below?  Anything missing?
Complementary food:
MDR Café Promenade Sorrento's Boardwalk Dog House & Donut Shop Johnny Rockets (for breakfast) Vitality Spa Café Park Café Solarium Bistro Wipeout Café DIY Frozen Yogurt / Ice Cream stations Windjammer Coastal Kitchen (suite guests only) Room Service (continental orders), plus tip for the attendant who brings it Costs Extra food:
Izumi / Izumi Hibachi Sabor Chops Grille Giovanni's Table 150 Central Park Chef's Table Samba Grille Starbucks Johnny Rockets (lunch & dinner) Vintages tapas bar Cups and Scoops Rood Service (anything beyond continental) Also, what about other bars & clubs besides Vintages - do they serve food either complimentary or for a fee?
thank you!!!!

That is Royal's policy, yes. The policy is actually that if you are on an excursion booked through Royal, the ship doesn't leave until you get back. As opposed to the excursion gets back before the ship leaves.

This is my first breakfast on Harmony.

We’ll be on Allure in July and I’ll be hitting all the same places! Sooooo very excited!

The short answer is there is no real way to tell, just keep checking back.
It seems recently RC has lessened the amount of time before a cruise when entertainment becomes available for booking. Not sure why, but seems to be a trend lately.
Eventually it will be there and you aren't doing anything wrong. Just check back later.

I think this is something I'm looking forward to on allure (first Oasis class cruise).  I keep hearing that the windjammer is smaller for the ship because of all these other options.  Can't wait to eat in the solarium bistro and I'm looking forward to a bigger park Cafe (which I loved on vision).  Also wipe out Cafe, and the dog shop, and the donuts, and 150 Central Park.... And...and...
Jane