KJones

We recently used Lyft from Orlando Airport area hotel to Port because we wanted to arrive earlier than the local shuttles were scheduled. For the 2 of us it was about $50 plus tip. I imagine the rate would be similar from the airport to Cocoa Beach.

We used Cortrans Shuttle to go from the port to the airport, since we weren't in a hurry. At $20/person it was slightly cheaper than Lyft. They also do drop-offs at airport area hotels.

I had to go to the Loyalty Desk while on Harmony to see what onboard offers/benefits I had. For Gold status, most of them didn't interest me so I don't remember them very well:

• Buy one get one free - Johnny Rockets Milkshake
• Buy one get one free - glass of wine / beer/ coffee (not valid at stand-alone Starbucks) (had to be ordered at the same time)
• 8x10 photo discount of some sort
• Discount on bottles of wine
• Maybe a discount on laundry bag service?

Sorry for the vagueness. Like I said, I just scanned the paper for ones I might use (only ended up using the milkshake one )

Personally, I would go ahead and make the standing reservations. You can always cancel/ reschedule onboard as necessary. Plus, if you do end up being only a group of 5 or so, they could seat you at a smaller table. Or perhaps put a separate 2-person party at the end of the 10 person table.

Also take a look at old cruise compasses, there might be one similar to your sailing where you can get an idea of what shows are on which nights/ what times.

other helpful words/phrases for italy:

entrance:  ingresso
exit:  uscita (pronounced "oo-she-ta")
excuse me (while trying to get through a crowd):  permesso
excuse me (apologizing or to get someone's attention):  mi scusi
the bill/ check (i.e. at a restaurant):  il conto

The only time I we waited in line at the windjammer on Harmony, was at 9am on a port day where we didn't dock until 10am. Everyone seemed to want breakfast at the same time so the hand washing line was long at both entrances. Once you got through that, the food stations themselves weren't especially crowded and staff turned over tables quickly for new diners.

For our Roatan excursion, we chose the Gumbalimba Park and Canopy Zip Line excursion through the cruise planner. The park tour includes time to hold/ play with the macaws and monkeys. There were sloths on the property, but the only one we saw was up in a tree, not readily available for a photo op . We really enjoyed this excursion. The zipline crew was great and the walking tour guide was well informed. Plenty of time for photos with the animals. Plus, there is a private beach you can use free of charge after your tour completes.

thanks @AshleyDillo

Out of curiosity, are cruise passengers allowed to leave the ship while it's unloading supplies? Does it become an additional port day? Or something in between a sea day (since not technically at sea) and a port day (at a port, but can't explore it)?

I am on the same Sept. 8th Harmony sailing. I haven't heard/ read anything that suggests departure would be delayed out of Port Canaveral. The only "issue" I can think of may be the condition of Cococay - Royal says they hope to re-open it on the 7th, depending on further analysis of the damage. Since we're scheduled to visit the island on the 9th, there may be a slight itinerary change for our sailing if it has been severely damaged.

for our upcoming cruise on Harmony, we bought insurance with Allianz through AAA. The policy was $190 for the two of us (based on travel costs of $3200) and has significantly better medical/evac coverage, and slightly better luggage/ other travel protections, than what was offered by Royal.

Assuming there is room/ship capacity to accommodate another person, this might also trigger a price readjustment.

Yes, you can update/ revise traveler information anytime until a couple days before departure.

I may be wrong, but I believe you can still get off the ship without a passport. Most ports will let you through into the secured area with your seapass card. Of course, should that person be stranded at a port, only having a license and birth certificate won't help much

So your cruise will be leaving from Civitavecchia, and you'll spend a few days in Rome, travel out for a day, then come back to Rome? If that's the case, then I would stay in Rome for that extra day. Though the freccia trains are fast, you're still spending a good chuck of time in transit. Yes, the scenery will be beautiful out the train windows, but it's still about 1-1.5hrs to Florence each way, and of course, even longer to Venice.

But if you insist on spending a day elsewhere, I would probably choose Florence. Venice might be cheaper overall (depending on train prices) because I don't think there are as many museums/ entry fees for sites. But I would value the shorter travel time, and the fact that Florence is one of my favorite cities

Alternatively, you could just download shows or movies onto a phone/tablet. Obviously it would be a smaller screen, but would serve as a good backup in case the ports and remote are unavailable.

If you don't need to check in every day, but also don't want to hang out at an internet cafe all day in port,  I suggest seeing what your phone carrier's international plan is. With Verizon (I think other carriers have similar plans) I pay $10/day while in port, and turn off my phone while at sea to avoid roaming charges. So for a 7 day cruise that's usually $30-40, versus 7 days x $12-15/day.

thanks for the info  @AshleyDillo and @melski94

3 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Make sure you check out the obstacle pool at the waterpark as well!  That looked like a lot of fun.

Is the obstacle pool geared for kids, or is it something adults could do as well?

We didn't have any plans when we got to Aruba, so we walked off the ship and found someone selling small group tours of the island. At the end, he dropped us off at Palm Beach for a few hours before taking us back to port. There were several restaurants along the beach (maybe also a swim-up/floating bar, but I could be confusing that with another island). Lounge chairs were readily available all along the beach -  though some may have been reserved for guests of the various hotels. There were also places offering water sports/ boat rentals.

FYI, you may get split into two tables. Our group of 15 had to divide ourselves into 2 tables. They were next to each other and we just filled in as we arrived each night, despite seapass cards formally listing which table we were supposed to sit at.

I believe for North American bookings, as long as you don't change ship/sail date, there isn't a fee for a price adjustment. It would go back to original payment method. Not sure if the same rules apply for UK bookings.

Day trip to Pisa and/or Lucca. Not sure if RC offers any tours/transportation to those cities, but it should be fairly easy to navigate getting to either one on your own via train.

50 minutes ago, MarvinS said:

Yes, I've saved all of the cruise compasses!  I'm still on my vacation travels this month, but when I get back home (first of July), I'll get them scanned and off to @Matt for posting.

Great, thanks!

@MarvinS that will be our exact itinerary for our September cruise. Any chance you saved/ took pictures of a cruise compass?

Cruise compasses are printed daily and delivered to your stateroom.

Drink packages and specialty dining are 100% optional. If you know you're not going to break even on the drink package, there's no sense in getting one. If you do opt for a package, not everyone in the family needs to purchase one. (Except for the Deluxe/ Alcohol - in which case both adults would need to purchase a package.)   There are plenty of other dining venues that are included with the cruise fare, so if the budget is tight you can skip the specialty restaurants. Or if you do want to try one of the restaurants, some of them will have lower priced lunches (though a more limited menu).