maeffron

You will need to download the app to each phone. When the kids sign in you will put in your reservation confirmation number and all the information will populate to the app (room number, schedule, etc...). At least that has worked for us on our android phones.

Thanks for the heads up! I hope they make some friends but I never would have considered that happening as well 🙂 I think you made the right call! You never know these days.

ThyriC - I think we may go that route! Black leggings with a nice top sounds like the easiest and most comfortable for her. We'll see how sparkly she will allow 😉 if only Nike or under Armour made affordable formal wear lol!

Wow! I really appreciate everyone's advice (and support) so far 🙂 Keep it coming!! We've been on several cruises, however, this is the first one when the kids are going to want more freedom so I'm just a bit nervous about that. They are old enough to be safe but they haven't had "freedom" at home long enough to be seasoned at keeping track of time while in the midst of an intense battle on the court or the like 😉 Also, I've been a middle school teacher for over 20 years so I have a pretty good sense for all the many ways everyone chooses to rear kids. Positives and negatives to them all! monctonguy - I get what you're saying and it would be brilliant if it was that simple these days! But I want to have a happy trip, not one filled with my kids being pissed off and resenting me. Fancy clothes aren't a battle I'm willing to fight right now. I'll save that for late nights, being kind, drugs, drinking, school work etc... My daughter is really the tough one. My son plays golf so he has plenty of polos and pants/shorts to wear. My daughter, on the other hand, is a pure athlete. She wears athletic gear as much as possible. Her idea of dressing up is a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt without a logo 🙂 Even tried an athletic skirt or t-shirt dress. We try on dresses and skirts and she thinks they don't "suit her" or fit her personality. When your kid tells you that, it's kinda hard to say tough sh*t - Do it anyway! lol.

Traveling on the Harmony. Does the app provide push notifications now? If so, were you using Royal IQ or the new Royal Caribbean International app? Did you have to pay? How reliable was it?

We are cruising on the Harmony on August 4th. Myself, husband and 12 & 13 year old. I have several questions I'm having a hard time finding answers to.... please help if you can 🙂 1. Communication? We can't afford the VOOM package for all four of us but we have to communicate with the kids. Most are saying the texting doesn't work well on the new app. We have android so can't try the "free" iphone hack. If the app doesn't give you a notification of a message how is that even helpful? Isn't the best part of cruising NOT checking your phone every five minutes 😉 2. Photo Package? We've had good and bad experiences with ship photographers. I don't want to buy the package for digital prints before we go in case we don' t have many good ones. However, the price is totally worth it compared to hiring a photographer here at home. Can we purchase at the end of the cruise and if so, is it less expensive? 3. "Teen" activities? I'm hearing many people mention the teen activities end up being all together and not separated between 12-14 and 15-17. My newly 12 year old is not ready for, nor has any interest in hanging out around 17 year olds. Anyone have experience with that? This is our first trip without the kids in the "Kids" club. 4. App schedule? Your experience with the app... So far our dinner and show reservations are accurate on the app. Many have mentioned the on board activities in the cruise compass do not align with the app. What was your experience? And, once on board and we "add them to our calendar" will they show up on our personal calendar similar to our dining reservation? 5. Clothes? Any tips on getting very active teens to dress nicely? They only wear t-shirts and athletic shorts without argument. I can get my son to wear "golf" shirts but still with athletic shorts 😞 6. Themes? Are there theme nights we really need to prepare for? Any other tips greatly appreciated. We aren't new to this but new to teens and a giant boat!!!