Aron_Ross

Had I known there was no Playmaker's on Harmony (sailing Nov 12th), I would have given it a try on my Freedom sailing back in early May.

@KristiZ good to know glad you enjoyed, and thank you!

@FireFishII yes please let me know I'm curious. Judging by Riley's text above, I wonder if the smaller ships that don't have some of the restaurants (150 Central Park and Wonderland) are not cooking the food properly? At least on Allure I think you have both of those.

We hope to sail on Navigator one day, but for now we have done one too many Mexico cruises on this side. I really hope they don't reinstate masks here. As for your cruise, I would assume you are doing the short Ensenada sailing? If you happen to go to the La Bufadora excursion in Ensenada and if you like seafood, at the end of the flea market area there are people selling what they call smoked clams. It's basically clams that are grilled in their shell, topped with shrimp, shredded cheese and pico de gallo. Both the shrimp and clams were so fresh. It was one of the most amazing out of this world bites of food I've EVER had!! That was seven years ago when we did a weekend Carnival sailing, and I still dream about those clams!

I searched for this topic and find it interesting that nothing came up. Anyway, has anyone tried Taste of Royal Lunch? I'm considering it but my significant other is on the slightly picky side. She is telling me to go and enjoy without her, but I don't want to do that.

Wow this video has me depressed and giving me the post cruise blues. Ha ha! Great preview and well put together. Looks like you all had a blast! I just had a flashback of my overwhelming experience on Daredevil's Peak. Will definitely check out your channel. 160 days to go until my first Oasis Class experience on Harmony.

Glad you enjoyed it! We are back and forth about Wonderland for our next sailing. It does look like something to experience at least once. Problem is my other half is a bit on the picky side when it comes to food.

@Traveling Mike When we sailed on Carnival Panorama in Nov 2021 there was a bacon shortage which probably explains why the Lido buffet bacon was so disgusting. I also found some of the crew on Freedom to be unfriendly and that could be from them being overworked. Our ship was sailing at full capaticy and we felt it on the one sea day where the pool was super crowded. I just hope things get more ironed out before our Harmony sailing. @GatorCruiser Yes I agree! And now they are talking about bringing back masks here in Los Angeles, which I am NOT happy about! Rumor is some cruise lines will be doing the same.

We are not strangers to cruising. We have sailed twice with Princess, one of which was a quick 3 day to Santa Barbara and Ensenada Mexico, a 7 day Mexican Riviera, and 3 times with Carnival, a 3 day Ensenada, 7 day Western Caribbean (which was life changing and 1st time in the Caribbean), and a 7 day Mexican Riviera on the Panorama. So, it was time for something different. I was curious about why my mom has raved about Royal and why many are so loyal. My girlfriend and I wanted to start out light on a 4 day Freedom of the Seas May 2nd 2022 to Coco Cay, then Nassau with a 3 day stay for our first time in Miami. We decided to go bigger and longer for my birthday in November on Harmony for an 8 day Nov 12th to the Southern Caribbean. Overall I can see why Royal is well liked. I met quite a few passengers who sail only with Royal. It was on this sailing where a passenger told me about her Diamond status and 4 free drinks a day. That alone intrigued me! Anyhow, the little taste we got definitely makes us want more. Of course there were some pros and cons but we enjoyed ourselves, after all no ship I've encountered is perfect. And speaking of perfect, Coco Cay was the main draw and it was amazing! It was an almost perfect day at Coco Cay, since the weather could have been better. The Daredevil's Peak waterslide was unexpectedly very intense and I almost couldn't catch my breath. If it weren't for the climb I would have done it again. Nassau was cool especially hanging with friendly locals at The Fish Fry. A worker at Coco Cay educated me on how there are over 700 keys and Islands in that area. Jeez!! Our spacious balcony was roomy and the bed was very comfortable. Only specialty dining we did was Giovanni's Italian Kitchen which was so delicious! We love buffets and Windjammer was good for the most part. Our last cruise on Carnival Panorama the Lido Marketplace was mostly not good. For example, I've never had bacon that was absolutely inedible! It actually tasted a little fishy too. I like fish, but not for my bacon to taste like it. Main Dining Room on Freedom was also quite good and loved the filet for $16 from Chops. We will be dining at chops when we sail on Harmony. If I had one or two complaints, we feel Royal tends to charge for every little extra but at least those extras are not necessary. We also didn't care for the loud Reggaetón music playing in the Windjammer. In my survey I noted that it was a bit too loud. I guess those 4 day sailings are more of a party atmosphere from what I've heard. Anyhow, we are really looking forward to our next sailing in November. It cannot come soon enough! I'm glad I discovered Matt's channel on YouTube and this Blog. It helped us out a lot!

Hi All, My girlfriend and I are considering a 10 day Hawaii to Vancouver on Quantum end of April 2023, or a 9 day on Ovation 1st week of May 2023. I read some reviews on how Quantum caters more to the Chinese market, especially with dining and entertainment. I also read the adults only solarium now only caters to suite passengers and free activities like North Star now carry a fee. Overall it seems as though Ovation gets better reviews. Can anyone confirm this and have any suggestions? Thanks!

We will be sailing Nov 12th until the 20th so that is right before Thanksgiving. We may just wing it with Izumi and see if there is a sale like you suggested. We have heard great things about Izumi, but it just doesn't grab us. So if there is no deal or if it sells out, we won't be too disappointed. The Izumi lunch on the other hand looks more interesting. I noticed there is no ala carte pricing for Izumi on Harmony, but could have sworn there was on Freedom during our cruise last month.

Sailing on Harmony of the Seas 8 nights Nov 2022 and just reserved a 3 night dining package. My girlfriend and I plan on dining at Chops, Jaime's Italian and 150 Central Park. We are also interested in Izumi and are thinking of adding that as an extra. We considered the unlimited dining package, but there is no way we would eat at more than four restaurants, especially since we enjoy the main dining room and Windjammer. So I don't believe we would get our money's worth. I did the math and it would cost us an extra $232 if we added the unlimited, which means that is at least two more dining venues we would have to hit. Just wondering if there is a smarter more cost effective way of doing 4 specialty restaurants?

I can't either. I am new to Royal Caribbean and enjoyed my first cruise about a month ago, but I am not thrilled how they tend to nickel and dime you for everything. The water situation is an example. Charging more just because I added my girlfriend's name for the same amount of water is not cool. Yes I do know I can bring water on board thanks for that link! I also plan on bringing soda, but it looks like I can only bring a total of 12 for us both and that won't be enough water.

Anyone ever hear about people having issues with the tap water on cruise ships? Recently I had gotten an upset stomach on Carnival Panorama in Nov 2021 and Royal on Freedom of the Seas early May 2022. I'm trying to figure out if it's the water. Chances are it's something else. And since I think I might have an issue with ship water, I purchased a water package to be delivered to my room. It states on the royal site that water cannot be shared and if I buy 12 cans for myself and my girlfriend, it's more expensive than if I buy 24 just for me. So how do they know if you are sharing? It's a difference of about $7 I believe.

Can you elaborate on this? Sounds interesting.

Are those donuts on all Oasis class ships and are they better than the ones in Windjammer? Didn't care for the Windjammer ones on Freedom.

Does MEI only book cruises with Royal Caribbean?

Well I am happy to report the weather cooperated for the most part. Coco Cay was cloudy with drizzle in the morning then the sun came out and was partly cloudy for the remainder. So it was an almost perfect day at Coco Cay. The worst weather was on sea day before we arrived at Nassau, most of that morning there were thunderstorms with lightning right outside my balcony. That was fun! Nassau had some rain for about 20 minutes when we got off the ship and cleared up for most of the day.

I sail on Harmony of the seas November 12 and about a month and a half ago the three night dining package was around $92. Then it all of a sudden went up to $101 and the price didn’t budge for weeks. I figured I might as well jump on that price before it goes up even further. it seems it would make more sense to utilize a three night dining package on dinner rather than lunch in order to make it worth it. And as someone posted in this thread, paying out of pocket for places like Izumi sushi and Playmakers would be the better way to go. I just got back from a sailing on freedom of the seas and had Giovanni’s Italian kitchen for lunch. I thought it was really good! For my next sailing on Harmony, only Jamie’s is available. Anyone have a preference between those two restaurants?

Well, I just got back from my first sailing with Royal on Freedom of the Seas. I may start another thread about my first impressions. As for my best bite in the Windjammer…the Butter Chicken!! Some other really good bites.. the waffles which were made fresh minutes before, and the Lamb Shanks on the last night. Overall, the Windjammer was definitely better than what I had on my last cruise at the Lido Market place on Carnival Panorama. And a big shout out to Richard from Jamaica who I think was a culinary supervisor. He saw me take a lamb shank and recommended I apply gravy, which he said was made with the shank juices. I’ve never experienced that on a cruise ship and demonstrates the care and pride that goes into their food.

I found some site that I never heard of before and it posted the weather for Cocoa Cay. It noted that Tuesday May 3rd will be completely overcast with rain. What you just posted for me put my mind at ease and I know weather underground is a lot more reliable… Thanks!

Unfortunately I think the weather may not be great when I’m in Coco Cay Tues May 3rd. How can I confirm that for sure? It’s not like I can look up the weather at Coco on weather.com or accuweather. If it’s too windy do they shut down the water slides? One has 48 hours prior to sailing to cancel excursions and dining/drink packages correct?

Anyone have a recommendation for a best place for seafood at the fish fry?

I understand one can reprice excursions and dining packages. I notice our Thrill Waterpark excursion and 3 Night Dining Pkg shows it has been reserved. Should the price decrease, will that show up on the "plan my cruise" page? Or does it just display the price you booked it at? Is there another page I need to click on to see the price change?

Wow some interesting responses. Thank you all for sharing. Once my sailing is complete, I will give you my thoughts on my best bite. 9 days to go before I board Freedom of the Seas!