Jenny0609

We just did Blue Hole and River tubing. Check and see how long you are in port that day. Blue Hole was beautiful, but it felt like we were there for only 30 minutes. We jumped one waterfall and did one rope swing and then we were back on the bus. It is about 1 hour 45 min bus ride each way so that took a good portion of our time. I enjoyed the River tubing, but probably would have preferred to spend the whole day at blue hole. Make sure you bring water shoes. We did blue hole first. We left everything we didn’t want to get wet on the bus. If you want your phone make sure it’s in a waterproof case. As soon as we were done with blue hole we got back on the bus and sat on our towels until we got to the River tubing. Probably a 15-20 minute drive. Again leaving everything on the bus you didn’t want wet. We ate lunch at Plantation restaurant. It was a set menu with the choices being jerk chicken, beans/rice, slaw and a vegetarian option. I would imagine bringing food in your pack wouldn’t be an issue. The bus stays with you the whole time. You do get pushed to tip each of the hosts, I was expecting this, but if you were not it would be uncomfortable. We had a guide for blue hole that we tipped, a guide for the River tubing, the bus driver, and our guide for the day/host that talked during the drive that was in charge for the day. We were in Jamaica from 8:30-4:00 and it was tight with this excursion. They had said if we ran into traffic we were going to pick up our lunch instead of eating at the restaurant. Yours could be different with it being blue hole and the falls, but we enjoyed just wished we had more time. 

I have only done Dunns River Falls and it was amazing! Absolutely one of the major highlights of my Jamaica trip. My biggest advice would be to bring good water shoes. Those rocks are slippery!! You will have a blast.
As mentioned in the next post, the waterproof cell case is a must. One tip, put your phone in upside down and backwards. That way it will be in the perfect position when you flip it up to take a pic.

Nope. You can't redeem rewards via the app onboard; you can only use it to pay. You can always ask and see if they'll do it, though! 🙂

If Harmony has a free standing Starbucks, I know they take payment only via the app, gift cards, or I assume regular credit card (haven't been on that type of ship yet, but I know charges do not go to your onboard account). It certainly won't hurt to try!!!

The reward system does work to an extent, not sure if you could redeem anything though.

We usually have first breakfast of coffee and danish delivered to the cabin at about 0700.  We enjoy it on the balcony then scrub up and change for second breakfast in the MDR.
about an hour later, will find us in the Windjammer for a small snack and coffee.
We did this on Freedom in September, so yes the MDR is open for breakfast.  Very good it is too.
 

The MDR will be open for breakfast regardless of if it is a 3-dy cruise. 

So, I just went to my cruise planner and "mock" booked this excursion.  It makes me choose a time which will be the ONE HOUR I get to use this.  So...that would be my answer.

Hi Everyone, 
I have celiac disease. Celiac disease is a hereditary autoimmune disease. When people with celiac disease consume gluten it triggers an immune response in their body that damages their small intestine's lining which is painful, leads to malabsorption of nutrients, and if untreated can cause long term complications like cancer.  Celiac disease is fairly common but severely undiagnosed. It effects about 1% of the world worldwide, but 90% of people with the disease are undiagnosed. The ONLY treatment for celiac disease is a 100% strict gluten free diet. 
I just got off my first cruise and it was aboard Harmony of the Seas! When I was researching my cruise I looked for detailed gluten free dinning reviews but didn't really find any so I figured I would write one once my cruise was over! 
Make sure to email the special needs email account for Royal Caribbean before your cruise. All the specialty restaurants knew about my allergy before I even said anything because I took this step. 
The Main Dinning Room
The main dinning room was the best and easiest place to eat gluten free. I opted for a traditional dinning time so that I could have the same waitstaff each night and they could become familiar with my dietary restriction. There is a separate allergy kitchen in the main dinning room and all my meals were prepared there to prevent cross contamination. My waiter told me that I could basically order anything off the menu and he would ask the chef if it could be made gluten free. There are obviously some limitations to this. For example a pastry would not be able to be made gluten free. Additionally sometimes I got something slightly different things then what I ordered. For example I asked if the chef could make me a brownie one night and instead I got a flourless chocolate cake. I didn't mind this substitution at all and as someone with a dietary restriction I'm always just happy to be accommodated at all. I didn't find my waiter had a good understanding of gluten free food but he was always happy to ask the chef any questions I had.
Overall the quality of the gluten free substitutions was quite good, but not always. For example the chef made me gluten free fish and chips and breaded it with some kind of tempura type batter and it was exceptional. Whereas on a different night the chef made me gluten free chicken cordon blue and breaded it with some kind of cornmeal which was dry and not very good. Regardless I always appreciated the chef's attempt. The gluten free substitutions are not tried and tested recipes so there will obviously be misses, but there will also be lots of hits! Just order multiple dishes and you are bound to like something!
The other thing you should know about the main dinning room is that for the most part you need to order your allergy dishes the day before. The first night you will have to stumble through but after that the waiter will bring you tomorrow's menus and you can order what you want for the next day. I pre-ordered breakfast and dinner every day. 
The last thing I'll say about the main dinner room food is that I sometimes found the food had clearly been pre-cooked for me and then sat around waiting for me for too long. On the flip side sometimes my food would be running behind and take longer then expected. I actually liked these times though because then my food would come out extremely hot, fresh, and was tastier! 
Here are photos of my main dinning room food:  
Appetizers: 

Arugula & Radicchio Salad 
 
French Onion Soup. This was incredible! I had it like 4 times!

Cheese Plate. There was also gluten free bread available each night that was just ok. I forgot to photograph it. 

Iceberg Wedge 

Braised Beef Short Rib. Super good!

Fish and Chips. This was fantastic!
 
Roasted Chicken Breast. This was super tasty, although a bit dry.
 
Wild Mushroom Risotto. Fabulous. 

Greek Vegetarian Mousaka. This was very tasty but a bit too salty. 

Pesto Vegetarian Pasta. I found this sauce very bland. 

Lemon Butter Baked Cod. This was super tasty but the fish was definitely overcooked. 

Chicken Cordon Blue. I appreciated the chef's effort on this one but the cornmeal was too dense for a breading and the chicken was super dry. 
 
Stuffed Portobello Mushroom. Exceptional. One of my favourite dishes. 

Broiled Lobster Tail. 

Pan Seared Barramundi. This was my least favourite dish. The fish tasted really fishy like it was off, the sauce was bland, an the potatoes were not cooked. 
Desserts: 
The kitchen was much less able to provide gluten free desserts which makes sense. I mostly got puddings, custard, and ice cream. 

Creme Brulee. This was the best gluten free dessert available and it's on the menu every night!

Flourless Chocolate Cake. This was made special for me and was super good! 

Chocolate mousse. Excellent! 

Bananas Forrester. Excellent!
Breakfast in the Main Dinning Room
I had breakfast in the main dinning room everyday and really enjoyed it!
 
French Toast and Sausage. I generally didn't enjoy the gluten free bread on the ship but drenched in egg and sugar it was delicious. The breakfast sausage was to die for!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes. These were just ok. 

Gluten Free Eggs Benedict. Amazing and it was so nice to be able to have a safe Eggs Benedict. 
The Windjammer
I didn't love dinning in the Windjammer. None of the food was labeled for allergies so I would have to get a chef to walk me through the buffet to show me what was gluten free. The chefs where super friendly and helpful but you go to a buffet for convenience.
  
The curries seemed to always be gluten free in the windjammer but make sure to double check. There was always some type of gluten free bread available. 
There was also a gluten free dessert section in the windjammer that was behind glass. I was super excited about this but I found all the desserts not sweet enough. I think Royal Caribbean is trying to capture the "healthy eating" crowd with their gluten free desserts and most of these tasted bland and not decadent enough to be a good dessert. 
Sorrentos

I was OBESSED with the gluten free pizza at Sorrento's. You could only get gluten free pizza by the whole pizza not the slice (which was fine with me!) and it took about 10 minutes to make. They cook the pizza in the same oven as the regular pizza BUT the cook it on a separate tray and use dedicated gluten free utensils to handle and cut it. I found that the pizza was sometimes slightly undercook because it wasn't directly touching the oven so just ask them to cook it for a few extra minutes and it will be delicious! 
Jamie's Italian 
 I didn't pre-order here but they knew about my allergy when I arrived. They had gluten free pasta and bread. I forgot to ask if they cook gluten free pasta in clean separate water but I felt fine after this meal so I assume they must. 

Meat Plank

Truffle Pasta. It was incredible. 

Raspberry Gelato. 
Sabor 
 Sabor was my favourite meal on the ship! I also didn't pre-order here. The chef was able to make me everything I asked for but he had to make it fresh and heat up clean deep fry oil so it took awhile. This didn't bother me at all as I had a few margaritas while I waited! It may be a good idea to try and pre-order here though!

Queso with Chorizo. So so good. 

Beef Barbacoa Tacos. The best thing I ate on the ship! 

Chicken Flautas

I didn't order this but this coconut flan magically arrived at the end of my meal and was delicious! 
Coco Cay 
I was pleasantly surprised with the gluten free options at the buffet at cococay. They said the could make me a fresh burger or sandwich in the back free of cross contamination. There was also a mexican station where everything was gluten free except the flour tortias. I wasn't sure if the corn tortias were cooked on the same grill as the flour ones so I just made myself a bowl. 

Pulled Pork, Chicken. Mexican Rice, Beans, Salsa, Sour Cream, Guac, and Cheese
Final Tip
The Promanade Cafe has gluten free cookies stashed behind the counter. Just ask for some!

That ends my gluten free review of Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed eating all this delicious food!

For our holiday cruise my 15 minute test showed Negative no problem, the wife's, no problem, the fully vaccinated 9YO ... wasn't changing.
 
It was a nail biting 10 minutes. The in the final few minutes of the timer the single pink line for a negative result showed clear.  

We had a great Christmas and some how Santa dropped of the boys presents on the balcony out in the middle of the Gulf!

Is there a better feeling than passing your pre cruise covid test?  It's a combination of relief and the now certain knowledge that I will be sailing in 2 days!
 

When my girls were little & would ask what was for dinner, our joke response was "snails on toast" 😆. The first cruise we took them on, escargot weren't available (this was several years ago, there was some kind of snail shortage). However, last time we took them, they were available, & even though they were adults, DH & I insisted they had to try the "snails on toast"!

when my son was 9 or 10 he literally ordered steak and fries every night  😆
you can also order more than one item if you can't make up your mind...the only rule is leave with a full belly 

The only thing my 9 year old ordered from the kid's menu last week was the fruit cup appetizer - he had two every night before eating duck, lobster, salmon, or steak. He was really open to trying new things; although, no matter how many times I offered, I couldn't get hom to try the escargot. 😆🐌

And you can order from the kids' menu. Sometimes you just want chicken tenders and french fries!

He can absolutely order from the adult menu. Or mix and match, if he wants.

You can book onboard with Next Cruise to get the OBC, and then transfer the cruise to your own TA when you get back (within 30 days of booking) if you want your TA to manage the reservation for you.  Other than the getting the OBC ($100 for mine), reduced deposit, and some free Royal Caribbean SWAG, I haven't found any "great" benefits to booking onboard with Next Cruise.

I just booked a new cruise on board and got a greatly reduced deposit $200 vs $900, $250 obc and some swag. The lower deposit made it worth the risk to go non refundable,  which saved about $400. However  the bottom line price was the same as booking from home.  Therefore, it worked out as a good deal for me, but not incredibly better.
I think the original question was about repricing an existing booking while on board. Unless you want to cancel and rebook, I don't think there's any real advantage to doing it on board 

You already have a cruise booked for July? You can check your pricing and if the price has dropped readjust your price at any time. Contact your travel agent or if booked directly through Royal  contact royal.  I check my booked cruise prices by doing a mock booking for the booked cruise.  Be sure to understand if your original price included gratuities or not when doing your comparison. 

Taking advantage of any onboard perks will only apply to a newly booked cruise. So, if I am understanding your post correctly, you cannot adjust your currently booked July cruise onboard. Like @Pattycruisesaid you can check or have your TA check now for price fluctuations. 

The only "deal" is reduced deposits and some OBC as a booking incentive.  You still get the same fare rate as if you had booked yourself at the current prevailing rates.

You can just click the follow button rather than replying.  It's near the top of the page in the same block as the thread title and above the "Start new topic" and "Reply to this topic" buttons.

This might work or something like it (from Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Locking-Tether-Medium-VZ00724/dp/B00P45FXGW/ref=sr_1_28?crid=12UEXPJF7U4WN&keywords=small%2Blockable%2Bpouch&qid=1642513813&sprefix=small%2Blocka%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-28&th=1
 

There are some really good waterproof phone case lanyards out there. I used one on our recent cruise and was even able to take underwater video while in the ocean. Hubby likes to be less encumbered, so he would just cover his phone up with towels.

Just make sure to get your laps in before Belly Flop contest.