brdjnr

very interesting discussion. cococay is fantastic, it is a product differentiator imo. I have been there 4 times, and it was amazing every time. Coco Beach club earlier this month was great, but I could prolly forego it for the $150pp I think we paid for it. The surf/turf was out of sight, even tho eating something that heavy and good in that environment was a little odd. as others have said, there is something for everyone. I guess we have checked out most of the included stuff except the balloon which never seems to be going due to wind. The water park is great, chill beach, south beach etc etc. I think I had 47 coco locos a few weeks ago, and im not a sweet drink type person. Its also interesting hearing everyones opinion on which day they like to go. We like it last day much more than first. I think because it is a highlight of our trip and we like it to be last . YMMV sounds like!

aaaaaaand of course I neglected to do this. I reached out to their social media team who have been pretty helpful in the past. Thanks a ton for the headsup! We got on Harmony the day you were getting off. Hope yours was as amazing as ours was!

I meant to book the cruise at NextCruise while we were on Harmony earlier this month but the week got away from me. And I'm not very smart. The last several cruises balconies have been enough of a premium (and we have been paying for multiple cabins per) that we booked interior/promenade interior on Mariner/Independence. On Harmony earlier this month we had an ocean view balcony and suffice it to say my wife enjoyed it enough that this one was always going to be a balcony. At any rate, I (think I) fully understand the JS is basically a big balcony cabin. However when I was booking, the price difference in a balcony cabin and JS was $2 CHEAPER total before gratuities. Am I missing something?

We were on Harmony last week. We had the insulated cups.

we will be dining in specialty most of the nights, and from my somewhat limited experience those tend to be long (which we enjoy!) but it will have to be accounted for.

We are boarding Harmony Sunday. We have the UDP. One of the first things we should do is make reservations once we board. If we don't know nights/times on shows we want to see how do we make dinner reservations first? We tend to want to eat late but we are flexible. Will the show dates/times be updated on the app once we board? is there a time for dinner that would always (6:00 or whatever) that would 'always' work with show schedules? I hope this makes sense, this is our first Oasis class cruise and we are really looking forward to the various shows. Thanks!

not an answer to the OP question, but you will love Mariner. Its a great ship.

Different experiences but both can be amazing provided you understand what you are getting on each line. Our 25th on Celebrity (Solstice) to Alaska was the best vacation we ever took. Congrats on the 35!

here ya go https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073WMYP6M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have some of these around our pool and have thought about taking them. They take up less room than a t shirt.

We are sailing on Harmony in a couple weeks. I have seen wait times alluded to on here more than a couple times. I guess this is something we should be prepared for? Sorry OP I know that isnt a reference to your question

I think we paid 76 on Independence last month. 72 on harmony next month.

To be such a simple drink, finding a great one in a bar (not just on a cruise ship) can be tricky.

on a slightly (un)related topic, I have never been able to get a decent old fashioned on a RC cruise. Last couple cruises they all either had soda, muddled fruit, were shaken or some other similar crime against humanity. Last month I was in the viking lounge and no one else was there. The waiter seemed to want to chat (and I didn't see a bartender) so I asked him if he could put some buffalo trace, angostura bitters, and simple syrup in a rocks glass and stir it. He looked puzzled and said sure. He came back with a nice cocktail. I slipped him some cash and told him I had more guys on the way who would want same. My son and son in law came and we drank several of them. Idk how much we tipped him but he didn't get 10 feet away from us the rest of the afternoon.

We were on Independence last month. We drank a L O T of Buffalo Trace, I dont think we ran into any supply issues on it. It is my go to, since it was readily available I didnt pay much attention to what else they had. I know they had Makers. I didnt see any Eagle Rare. I also really like Four Roses small batch and single barrel. The Viking Lounge had single barrel pre pandemic but I didnt see any Four Roses at all last month.

we have sailed on Mariner (multiple times) and Independence. Harmony is next month and I am looking forward to first experience with this class.

looks like we are going to need something to do here. Long story but we are now going to St. Kitts instead of St. Maarten. We are still going to St. Thomas, we will probably head to Magens Bay there. That beach looks like something the wife would like to chill on. I would like to do something more sightsee'y on St. Kitts. The search continues.

Oof, ya I dont think my wife would enjoy that (I would but who cares).

Has anyone done this? I searched the forum (and even google) trying to find more information. is it truly strenuous? My wife isn't into 'working' on a vacation, and will not be happy with me if it is. I know what is strenuous to one isn't to another so this is a subjective question. When we were in Alaska we did what would appear to be a similar 'hike' that was walking on sometimes uneven trails that were wet in places. She enjoyed that, but if this is much elevation change I will be in trouble.

We live in NW Florida so we drive in. This is super stressful to me. I feel like I will be blowing something by doing this (tho I can’t put my finger on what it is lol). I am not an expert at this mode of travel.

Work related issue that may be unavoidable. We are booked on Harmony August 28th. There are similar staterooms (2D) on the August 7th sailing. My boss has offered to pay whatever it costs me to move. If I cancel and move to another date, $100 pp fee cancel beverage/dining/internet package and rebook at current price only current excursion we have is coco beach club, cancel/rebook difference in fare cancel/rebook room in Orlando night before departure am I missing anything I should consider? (goodness this is painful)

I have seen/heard more than once the filet at Giovannis was better than Chops. We were at Giovannis first night and it was the best meal we had on that trip. Several of us had the filet and it was indeed tremendous.

At the risk of sounding ignorant, we had the version where you all sit around the square cooking area and the chef cooks in front of you. First two times were on Mariner. The first visit was the best hibachi experience I have ever had. The chef was great. Next trip on Mariner (6 months later), my wife saw the chef on the Promenade and said 'thats our guy!'. I asked him if we could get him again for that visit and he arranged it. Another great experience. This most recent one was a little odd. There were 8 of us in our group. The rainbow roll was the best I have ever eaten. Next next level. The hibachi was just ok. The chef started out having a good time and cutting up. Then after maybe 45 minutes (not sure at all), he acted like a golfer the Marshall has told to pick it up. He stopped talking and kinda rushed through the rest of the meal. And the food (meat in particular) just didn't taste as good as previous visits. Listen, my dining experiences as a whole on RC have been wonderful. The last visits to chops and Izumi may have been the victim of absurdly high expectations based on the 2 previous experiences. I want to stress again, it wasn't 'bad', it just wasn't mind-blowing. We are going on Harmony in August, and we will be eating at chops and Izumi.

I have eaten there 3 times. The first 2 times it was amazing. Seriously worthy of mention with fine big city steak houses. Steaks, sides, service, all outstanding. The last time on a recent cruise it was merely good. A few of us steaks were not the quality I'd expected and/or not cooked as well. The service was good not extraordinary. FWIW, Izumi was exact same. Out of this world first 2 times, ok last visit.

I was only able to eat in the MDR for breakfast one day on Independence a couple weeks ago. It was amazing, by far my best breakfast of the trip. Windjammer was thunderdome. IIRC it didnt open until 8am which was at least 2 hrs after I would like to eat breakfast. I got there about 20 minutes before it opened (never dreaming it would be that late). There were maybe 6 or 8 of us waiting. By the time I left after visiting with a lovely couple from Georgia, there was a line out the door. The view was amazing, great service and food. Next one in August I plan to eat there far more than once.

A Dark and Stormy with Kraken is a fantastic drink. also great writeup!