Jonesy

There is nothing wrong with the ship.  In theory.  I wasn't a fan of them making an absolute mess of the promenade every night which makes it nearly impossible to get to the bars and shops.  RC needs to be mindful of the bottlenecks in the promenade and quit staging events there.  It ruins the experience for everyone else on behalf of one event and a group of people.   Not a fan of the reduced menu in the MDR.  If you don't like what is being served, you are pretty much limited to the low quality food served in the Windjammer.  My opinion on the quality.  To me it is nothing more than Golden Corral quality.  And I don't go out of my way to go there either because of it.  They canceled my only excursion in Nassau and they canceled Perfect Day completely.  The entertainment onboard was okay.  It isn't the same level you get on the Oasis class ships on a 7 night.  Again it was okay.  Not terrible but not really memorable either.  I was disappointed in the lack of onboard comedy.  That is always fun.  Showing movies out on the pool deck at night is a nice try, but it really isn't a good place to watch something.  Too many obstacles or uncomfortable seats.  The main theater is a better spot for that and I think there were a couple films shown there. 
I'd treat that 3 night as a great escape from the house.  If you happen to have fun then that is a plus.  The whole travel experience seems like too much work for me for a 3 or 4 night.  If I lived in Florida near a port, it might change my view.  But to fly in, stay the night somewhere, and do a 3-4 night -- I'd probably pass in the future.  I'm not a fan of the city size ships like the Oasis class ships, but they do provide something that ships like FOS cannot.  They come with much better entertainment packages.
I do want to say that Playmakers is a must visit if you love chicken wings like I do.  You cannot beat 50 for $29.99 anywhere.  Outside of Italian night in the MDR, Playmakers was my favorite dining experience.  I looooove wings 🙂  The hotter the better.

I am wrapping up my cruise on Harmony of the Seas and I have to ask....what happened to RC's service?  The food quality has been mediocre at best.  This is a sample of the issues 
Costa Maya and Roatan are junk ports.  Outside of the immediate port, there are slums.  You cannot escape the port trap without a cab.  Maybe Mahogany Bay is a Carnival resort, but their port was far superior.
The Chef's Table was held in the Solarium Bistro.  It was pretty bad and they couldn't finish service in two hours.  We had to leave in the middle of the 5th course at the two hour mark to catch a show.  Combine that with a screaming kid in the dining area behind the curtain and you have a recipe for a bad experience.   Yesterday the experience got held in Chops.  I suspect they got too many complaints.
I had early dining booked and they switched me to my time without permission.
They moved the cupcake class I was booked for to a time slot that overlapped something else.  They would not accommodate us in another course.  They issued no advanced notification.  I discovered it when checking the location for my other activity.  They delivered notification of the schedule change to my room a few hours after the class took place.  Nice job Royal.
I had dinner in the Solarium Bistro the first night.  More bad service.  They started taking down their buffet during service.  They did this even as they were seating guests and telling them to get their non existent appetizers at the buffet.
The food in the Coastal Kitchen was bad. I had a risotto appetizer that was poorly cooked and had a very sticky texture like a paste/glue.  That was followed by the worst lasagna I ever had.  It was a few layers of noodles filled with a beef mush.  Really bad.
We had the galley tour today that was originally scheduled for 10:30 but got changed in the app to 11:30.  We showed up at our newly scheduled time to discover they already did the tour. We were not alone.  They ended up giving us some scaled down version of the tour.  The food was also a bit weak.  I had the tour and brunch on the Allure before and it was far superior to this.  I have a feeling Royal booted people from the Cupcake class to accommodate a group and I think they pulled the same stunt with the galley tour.
Not sure I need to bring up what has become of lobster night.  The tails were pathetic as I know others have experienced.
Here is a really dumb policy on the part of RC.  We went to Jamie's and it was fantastic. Absolutely loved their cheesecake.  Loved it so much that I visited the restaurant another night to purchase a slice.  The ship lacks quality dessert options so I wanted to buy something good.  They could not sell it to me.  But if I had the dining package they could give it to me for free.  Maybe one of the dumbest things I have seen.
For the money I spent on this suite, there has been little value in what I have experience outside of Jamie's and the shows.  The rest was extremely forgettable. I think it is time for me to find travel options that do more than provide the illusion of value.
Btw, stay far away from the spa.  That place is nothing but a ripoff. But that is a post for another day.

I am wrapping up my cruise on Harmony of the Seas and I have to ask....what happened to RC's service?  The food quality has been mediocre at best.  This is a sample of the issues 
Costa Maya and Roatan are junk ports.  Outside of the immediate port, there are slums.  You cannot escape the port trap without a cab.  Maybe Mahogany Bay is a Carnival resort, but their port was far superior.
The Chef's Table was held in the Solarium Bistro.  It was pretty bad and they couldn't finish service in two hours.  We had to leave in the middle of the 5th course at the two hour mark to catch a show.  Combine that with a screaming kid in the dining area behind the curtain and you have a recipe for a bad experience.   Yesterday the experience got held in Chops.  I suspect they got too many complaints.
I had early dining booked and they switched me to my time without permission.
They moved the cupcake class I was booked for to a time slot that overlapped something else.  They would not accommodate us in another course.  They issued no advanced notification.  I discovered it when checking the location for my other activity.  They delivered notification of the schedule change to my room a few hours after the class took place.  Nice job Royal.
I had dinner in the Solarium Bistro the first night.  More bad service.  They started taking down their buffet during service.  They did this even as they were seating guests and telling them to get their non existent appetizers at the buffet.
The food in the Coastal Kitchen was bad. I had a risotto appetizer that was poorly cooked and had a very sticky texture like a paste/glue.  That was followed by the worst lasagna I ever had.  It was a few layers of noodles filled with a beef mush.  Really bad.
We had the galley tour today that was originally scheduled for 10:30 but got changed in the app to 11:30.  We showed up at our newly scheduled time to discover they already did the tour. We were not alone.  They ended up giving us some scaled down version of the tour.  The food was also a bit weak.  I had the tour and brunch on the Allure before and it was far superior to this.  I have a feeling Royal booted people from the Cupcake class to accommodate a group and I think they pulled the same stunt with the galley tour.
Not sure I need to bring up what has become of lobster night.  The tails were pathetic as I know others have experienced.
Here is a really dumb policy on the part of RC.  We went to Jamie's and it was fantastic. Absolutely loved their cheesecake.  Loved it so much that I visited the restaurant another night to purchase a slice.  The ship lacks quality dessert options so I wanted to buy something good.  They could not sell it to me.  But if I had the dining package they could give it to me for free.  Maybe one of the dumbest things I have seen.
For the money I spent on this suite, there has been little value in what I have experience outside of Jamie's and the shows.  The rest was extremely forgettable. I think it is time for me to find travel options that do more than provide the illusion of value.
Btw, stay far away from the spa.  That place is nothing but a ripoff. But that is a post for another day.

I found no interesting excursions.  The port was really dull to me.  Often I prefer to check out the local shops.  Did not feel safe doing that in Roatan.  Costa Maya's port was just one big circular tourist trap.  At least with Cozumel you can walk outside of the port trap and see something else safely.

Does anyone know when the 2025 Alaska cruise season opens for booking? I have a few people interested in booking something for that season.

Is lobster night always day 6 on a 7 day cruise?  It looks like it is on the current sailing. Don't know about ours.

I went in and picked the Harmony ship and the cruise that is happening right now.  I was able to see the menu for the cruise actively happening.

Unfortunately, I don't have the space right now to have a Packing Central 🙂

Unfortunately, I don't have the space right now to have a Packing Central 🙂

Cam someone make the next 2 weeks go faster please?  I have nothing left to buy for the trip.  Every bit of my planning is done. The only thing left to do is pack and go.

I took the White Pass railway excursion from Skagway and upon arrival at the end of the train ride in Canadian territory,Canadian customs boarded and checked our passports. So there are excursions that do require them but we were free to roam in Victoria without having to show our passport. 

This isn't my first cruise.  But it may be my last.  There are other things I want to do that don't involve a ship.  And my new house is going to limit future travel a bit.  
I am wanting to try the Rocky Mountaineer, visit Europe, visit Australia, and maybe go back to Hawaii.

This is probably my final trip schedule.  I don't think I'll be adding, removing, or changing anything at this point.  I'm so booked up that changing anything is a challenge 🙂
 
Day 1:
2:30 - 5:00pm the Spa for various things
9:30 - 10:30pm Solarium Bistro
Day 2
10:00 - 11:00am On a Roll Sushi class.
1:00 - 3:00pm Jamie's Italian
3:00 - 3:45pm Sprinkle Time Cupcake class.
6:30 - 8:30pm Chef's Table dinner
9:00 - 9:45pm 1887: A Journey in Time
Day 3 (Costa Maya)
5:30 - 7:30pm Izumi Hibachi Experience
10:15 - 11:45pm Grease
Day 4 (Roatan)
8:30 - 11am Mayan Eden Eco Park shore excursion
8:00 - 10:00pm Sabor Taqueria & Tequila Bar
10:15 - 11:05pm The Fine Line
Day 5 (Cozumel)
10-ish - 4pm Beach Club
7:30 - 9:30pm 150 Central Park
11:30 to 12:20am Adult Stand Up Comedy
Day 6
11:30 - 1:30pm Sip. Tour. Brunch.
6:00 - 8:00pm Chops Grille
8:00 - 8:50pm Columbus, The Musical
Day 7 (Cococay)
8:00 - 5:00(?)pm Cabana
 
Ugh.  Maybe I went a little overboard?

I like your schedule.  Please take a lot of pics......of the bacon.

My schedule is packed this trip so I am pretty locked in with what I have.  Unfortunately, I will have to miss these meets.  Also, I don't use FB.

I like your schedule.  Please take a lot of pics......of the bacon.

I like your schedule.  Please take a lot of pics......of the bacon.

Yep, you're pretty busy! And hey, we're doing the Mayan Eden Eco Park too!

Oh man, three weeks left! For me, it's 20 days since my vacation starts on the 4th!

I got all my travel documents printed out.  This weekend I am giving my luggage a serious cleaning.  Got Goo Gone to clean every bit of grime off the bags including airline related stickers.  

Luggage tags are available.  🙂

I was referring to the word "Patience" lol

Given the issue, I would say to travel with a drivers license and birth certificate this time.  No time to get the passport fixed.

Don't try explaining.  Far too high risk.  Spend the $25-50 and get an expedited official copy of her birth certificate ordered and rush delivered.

Given the issue, I would say to travel with a drivers license and birth certificate this time.  No time to get the passport fixed.