Jeffrey

We all got additional OBC for missing St. Thomas yesterday so I booked some additional wine tastings in vintages.  Yesterday was the Italian tasting.  Today is Mystery wines where you have to guess the grape!   Also I found the adult only pool yesterday and really enjoyed the "waves" on the side of the pools.
 

On day #4, I woke up early so I walked up on deck to watch us sail into St. Maarten.  Yesterday was a really beautiful day and it was one of our favorite days of the cruise so far.  I grabbed some breakfast in windjammer knowing that I needed to get on a call for work this morning before going out to the island.  
 
Just before 11 ship time, we headed out to port.  I had purchased a Caribbean  Brewery tour through Viator for $25 pp.  I had pulled up the directions ahead on Google maps and knew it was about a 7 minute walk from the cruise port.  We  went out of the main road, turned right on the main road, and then took the first left.  The brewery was in a building past a warehouse.  
 
When we arrived, there were 2 other couples who would be doing the tour with us seated at the bar.   One of the couples was one the Allure parked right next to Harmony! We met Sunil who is  owner of the brewery and he poured us the first beer.  All of the beers we tried were full size beers and then we even got to pour one freshly from one of the tanks.  The experience was wonderful.  Sunil is a wonderful storyteller and he told us his personal story and the history of the brewery including some of the challenges he has faced during the hurricane and the pandemic with a new business and one of the only craft breweries on the island.  We also got to try their beer cocktail.  I really liked it a lot!  In fact, I had 2. 😀
After the tour, Sunil drove us to his bar in front street, The Blonde Beach bar.  We enjoyed more beers here and the beautiful views and Wi-FI.  Suhil also gave us a tour of this building including a couple of the escape rooms he has put in.  Both rooms we viewed had cool themes with much creativity.  The couple from the allure had 3 teenagers with them that joined us at the beach bar and ended up doing one of the Escape rooms. At the end of the evening, Suhil drove us back to the cruise port.  We ended up being the last 2 passengers to board the ship, but it was a great end to a perfect day!  I would definitely go back to the Blonde beach bar on my next trip to st Maarten!! It is really close to one of the ferry stops!
 
Dinner tonight was in the main dining room.  With Covid protocols, my time dining does not begin until 6:30, so we went to the Diamond lounge first and had some snacks and a lemon drop martini. Dinner was coconut shrimp, prime rib, and cheesecake for dessert.  We had already had plenty of drinks yesterday so we just got a glass of Italian wine at dinner using our diamond drink coupons.  I got number 490, my favorite Tuscan wine that we had on night 1.  After dinner, we went to the pub, but after so much fun we were in bed early last night! 
 
I will add some photos later!  It is easier to add them from my laptop! 
 
We found out this morning that we would not be able to go to st Thomas on day 5 because more than 1% of the crew  is in quarantine.  While there have been a few changes like this in shows and the itinerary, I am feeling very comfortable  on boards, and feel really lucky to be cruising right now!!!  

We will enjoy another wonderful day at sea!!
 

hi Jeffery,  yes.  I can confirm that both us and the Allure had to skip St. Thomas today because we both had more the 1% of the crew positive and in quarantine.  We did port in St. Maarten yesterday and had a wonderful day.  Also st Maarten did not have strict protocols.  We are having a really wonderful cruise! Will post an update app .  re: the late boarding, we got notice a few days before embarkation by email. 
 
You will have a great time!  
 
cyndi 

Good morning everyone!  We made it to florida and today is cruise day!!  Direct flight from Cincy to Orlando was pretty easy (although completely full!!  We took uber from the airport to our hotel for the night at Cape Crossing Resort and Marina.  Last night we ordered doordash from one of the local restaurants.
Here are my thoughts about the resort here:
-Great setting and location, right on water and at marina,  about 15 minutes from cruise port, about 20 minutes from Cape canaveral.  It took us around 40 minutes to get here from the airport
-This is more of a condo type resort vs a hotel. We are in the main building in one of the rooms they call suites, but there are free standing condo's in here too that may be nice for people looking for multiple rooms, full amenities with washer/dryer, etc.
- Ordering Doordash was convenient  last night and I appreciated having the kitchen with regular plates, silverware, dishwasher, etc.  I underestimated some of the local places being closed on the holiday yesterday so our choices were mostly chains.
- Our room is modern, nice balcony with plush balcony furniture.  Bathroom is nice and bed was very comfortable.  The only negative was that we went to get ice out of the tray in the freezer, the ice tray looked really gross.  I went to the main office, and the guy at the check in counter gave me ice out of the ice machine from the main fridge in the lobby.   We had packed our own bourbon, extra water, and bottle of Cava sparkling wine for the room in our checked luggage.  This worked out well.  The tv is a smart tv.  We connected our amazon prime wirelessly and watched a movie last night so it was a relaxing night in.
- Our check for Harmony was supposed to be at 11:30, but all of the checkins got pushed back 2 hours due to mandated CDC cleaning. We asked for a late check in when we checked in yesterday and will be departing at 1pm.  They charged $10 extra for the late check out, but it seemed worth it to relax at the resort.  the pool looked really nice and welcoming last night and was open until 10.  I will probably go for a swim this morning.
-  Tonight is dinner at CHOPs at 5:30.  We will make the rest of the reservations for our 3 night dining package and our included specialty restaurant as soon as we board!
 
 
 
 

Harmony Day #1
Well we made it on board.  It is now day 2 at 11:20 as I sit here typing this blog.  Before boarding yesterday, we enjoyed our brunch at Mother Pucker Cafe on Merrit Island.  It is a cute local place.  I had the mac and cheese panini and my husband had the breakfast sandwich and we split them!  I recommend this place.  It has great character and I would come back again!   We went back to the room and packed up the rest of our stuff and called  lyft to take us to terminal 1.   Boarding was fairly easy.  The only real wait was going through security which took 5-10 minutes.  This is the main benefit of guests I saw in suites and the key who got to fast track this line, but overall embarkation was extremely smooth. Our muster station is the bionic bar so we got on and completed that right away on the promenade and then went to make the rest of our dining package reservations. As soon as we finished making the 4 reservations, the cabins opened up and we went to our cabin to drop off our backpacks.  We found our luggage soon after right outside the door and got everything quickly unpacked.  I always bring magnets and hooks for the room, but I got some additional small ones for this trip to hang masks on in the cabin. They are very convenient and get everything out of the way and fee up the desk and dresser space. Thanks to my sister for sending the bottle of champagne for my birthday!  That was a nice surprise, esp. since we don't have a drink package this trip!  I ordered the 24 pack of water for 50% off on black friday and that was also in our room so we stocked the fridge.   I also carried on the 2 bottles of wine we are each allowed to bring on board and will save those to take to dinner later in the week. 
First Drink of the cruise= Lemon drop martini at the schooner bar.  We went back for more diamond drinks later after dinner and I really liked Eric, the piano guy!!!  
Dinner- Tonight we had 5:45 reservations at CHOPS.  I had my typical shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque and got the 6 inch filet.  We got tater tots as a side.  The steak was outstanding.  I did not like the lobster bisque as much as I usually like it at chops.  For dessert, I got the Key lime pie and my husband got the warm chocolate cake.   I am a big fan of the 40% off bottles of wine that comes with the specialty dining packages.  We got a bottle of one of our favorite Tuscan wines RCL carries for around $29 with the discount and gratuity.  This was great so that we did not have to use our 4 diamond drink coupons at dinner. 
Room- This is our first time having a neighborhood balcony.  Our cabin is on the 10th floor and overlooks central park.  We enjoyed sitting out there last night when we came back from the room.  My husband thought the view would be better if were were higher, but I like being only 2 floors from central park, park cafe and all the restaurants.  Our bed is by the balcony.  We have not had this configuration in a while, and I like that it feels like you have more space to move around in the cabin.  For example, my husband and i both unpacked our luggage at the same time which is usually a challenge.   I also like that you can hear the music from our balcony.
We re now on day #2 at sea.  Our start to the day included a trip to diamond lounge to get specialty coffee to go and then we got breakfast at park cafe which is my favorite. I got the burritos which are really great on harmony.  DH got a bagel and salmon flavored cream cheese.   Park cafe was pretty empty at 9am. The guy at Izumi told us the ship has between 3100 and 3200 passengers this week which is the lowest number they have seen in a few weeks.  Last week was apparently pretty packed for new years eve with > 5000 guests.  The covid protocols don't feel really bad or restricting and everyone is complying with masks on indoors unless actively eating or drinking. 
After breakfast we explored the ship a little more.  Johnny Rockets is still serving free breakfast, we will try that one day this week.  We made reservations for the cocktail class this afternoon in Wonderland. 
Highlight:  Our highlight this morning was the Ultimate Abyss.  This was my first time doing it!  I will definately do it again this week!  
A Look Ahead!  Tonight is formal night.  We have 5:30 reservations at 150 central park.  
I have made most of my show reservations for the week. The only thing not available for reservations is the Aqua theatre show.  I had heard Grease was not available last week, but I was able to make reservations for it this week.
I also unfortunately already got a note in my cabin that says we won't be able to do the Helium baloon ride in cococay because of maintenance needed, but was refunded the cost. 
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