PhilandSteff

Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. Thanks for sharing that, that I didn't even think about! And I call myself a computer geek. I saw what I needed to see. thank you.

Mainly a timing issue of when able to go, plus, honestly, I need to get the heck out of the office for a little while I also put in for Harmony in September, so I know that one is good.

Going on Mariner in a couple of weeks, with my Prime membership interior cabin freebie. When I look at the ship amenities and deck plan, it seems the casino is minimized both in size and not mentioned at all with the various "things to do" descriptions. It feels a bit ironic that my casino royale room choice would fall on a ship with a minimal casino, which is why I'm asking if anyone else can shed a bit of light on what their casino is like. Thanks in advance!

Been on voyager, freedom, radiance, oasis class ships so far. My far away favorite has been the Oasis class (Allure and Harmony) but admittedly I'm a bit biased since we always had an owner or loft suites on each, so lots of cool amenities that go with that. Going on Mariner in a couple of weeks in the smallest room (interior 2v with my freebie Casino Royale choice) so we'll see how it goes. We always go out of Galveston (easy drive), so we've limited ourselves to what is available there.

A couple of years ago on Allure we had a balcony booked and we won a Crown Loft Suite a few weeks before sailing using the minimum bid. Your first room choice does affect what level of room they will let you bid for.

We've won 3 out of 4 Royal Ups with like $10 over the minimum bids. I've got another one going now for an April sailing. Will we get it? Don't know but I try. It's for my free (minus fees) interior room (Casino Royale points) and I bid $100 or so for a balcony. We shall see.

Been on Harmony in a grand suite, owners suite, and loft suite. Yes, the grand suite step out of the tub seems a long way down, and you do need to be careful. No, there are no non-slip surfaces anywhere. We always used one of the extra full-size towels as a mat outside the tub, gives the best area for getting out. The owner's suite is about the same (and has a bidet if you're into that sort of thing), but there is a small-to-medium walk-in shower also there, so that's what we used. The loft suite has the same mountaineering tub upstairs, and a small walk-in shower downstairs, so there is an option there. There are grab handles on them all, so use them. Any and all of them are better than the toothpaste tube showers of the small rooms. When we were on Radiance, the tiny balcony shower had a curtain, that dragged on your body at times. Frustrating. Harmony is a great ship, that we've obviously been on multiple times. When you get to the Suite Lounge and the Concierge desk, be sure to tell Ooma that Phil and Steff said, "Hi!" She will take great care of whatever you might need. Sit in the gold chairs by the windows, the purple ones are not as good. Get there early for Happy Hour, it fills up really fast. In the Coastal Kitchen, ask for Wilsen, he'll take great care of you. Tell him also we said Hi.

We've done these ports multiple times. In Roatan we did the Turquoise Bay all-inclusive a couple of times. Very sedate and relaxing lagoon setting after a wild 30-minute van ride, drinks are good, though we felt the food was lacking even if presentation was very good. Just don't park in front of the DJ/musician if you want to have a conversation. My friend told our bartender "Keep 'em coming" and boy did he ever. Good thing it was "all-inclusive." Gotta watch yourself there. Costa Maya, we did the Chacchoben(sp?) Mayan ruins/pyramid once (90 minutes bus ride) so if you've never seen a large(r) Mayan ruin, it's neat and a good informative tour as well. We also did a "jeep (car)" excursion to a private resort once (the roads there are difficult to say the least) and that was ok. You get to see something of the town area. Nowadays we just stay in port. There's a big, thatched roof bar/restaurant there in the middle we always stop and sit with drinks and nachos to people watch. Bunch of stuff to do there if you're interested. In Cozumel, some friends took us (by cab) to a restaurant down at the Carnival terminal (I know, right?!) called Panchos Backyard. We like it a lot, and there's a sizable trinket shop attached to it. We've done the Mexican Cooking/Playa Mia break (good time) and the Jeeps to the Mayan ruin and virgin beach (food was excellent there, just don't over order!) and several other ATV type excursions also. Bunch of good things to do there. Did the Lucha Libre! with tacos/margaritas - We had as much fun laughing at the crowd as we did the wrestlers jumping about. It's a good one-and-done. We've pretty much done all those we're interested in, so now we just wander the port (extensive but the barkers really work to entice you in), or step outside and wander into town a bit. Notice all we do are RCCL excursions. There are other great operators here and there, but we are Not going to be the "runners" zipping down that super long pier at Costa Maya and missing the ship! Hope this helps a bit.

If memory serves, on Deck 8 right above and inboard from you is 150 Central Park so yes, it's right there, but directly over your head is another suite. I think you will be fine so long as they don't have six-year-olds that love tumbling at 11 PM and "sprinters" dinging every doorbell at 2 AM like we had last June. We also had an owner's suite earlier this year that was directly below the sliding door/deck to the pool deck above, and we got a lot more noise from scraping loungers and such than I thought we would have, but that was only certain times of the day, and not late at night either.

Yes, again watching closely. Just saw that infographic above. We supposedly board in Galveston Saturday afternoon. Maybe Harmony will flow southwest first to avoid it then on into Cozumel well after the storm has passed? Then on to the Bahamas in (hopefully) quiet(er) seas? It's a big ship, but it does move around

Is there a site out there, that shows RCCL cruises and itineraries, and last-minute changes, especially due to weather or other conditions? I think it would be fascinating to see such a thing and would give a great picture overall to cruisers and what is happening. If not, maybe I should create one, and stamp my mark on the cruise industry

We're watching closely, boarding 11/9 in Galveston for Cozumel/Nassau/Coco Cay. At this point no telling but it's getting interesting.

Good to know. Thanks!

There's an awesome thread on this site I think called "All Things Galveston." Treasure trove. We personally like Fishermans' Wharf, Gaidos, Shearns, and The Steakhouse inside San Luis Resort (where we are staying this trip.) Tons of great places to eat and stay. We'll be doing San Luis Friday night, and then Fishermans Wharf Saturday at 11 right before we go board. It's right down the street from the port.

Hadn't been on Harmony in a bit, anything new that's paying out handsomely? We usually play Dancing Drums and similar games as they seem to be the most fun for the buck, and I often play craps with my friends when we travel together, but my wingman isn't with us this time. We'll be on 11/9. Just curious if anyone has had some great experiences this year on Harmony? Thanks all!

We'll be there in two weeks, and then can see for sure.

We are SO ready to go...

My two cents here but stay on the Galveston Island if you can. Hotel Galvez is cool, Moody Gardens if you have kids (Shearn's upstairs is good and requires reservations) and our current favorite is the San Luis resort (10th floor in particular), and they have a couple of good restaurants onsite if you don't want to do Gaidos, Willie Gs, Fishermans Wharf, Rudy and Pacos, etc. etc. and the RCCL port is easily reachable the morning of the cruise, and many hotels offer shuttle service. Staying on the Seawall means walking on the beach by crossing the street. We're on our 12th cruise out of there in November, so have stayed in a lot of places there, hotels, B&Bs, etc. Tons of great options. Stay at The Tremont if you want to walk The Strand. None of what I listed about are $150 hotels, but we don't go on vacation to skimp on good times.

We were just on Harmony a few weeks ago. Did notice multiple areas (especially that have doors to the outside decks like 16) were quite warm, and that heat did travel up the stairwell to 17. The lounge did seem a bit warm at certain times of the day, but I think had a lot to do with Mother Sun pouring in during those hours. They definitely do have AC up there. I'm trying to remember if Allure was "better" and cannot. The week we went the humidity of the Carribean was unbelievable! We normally cruise off-season like February or November, so were unready for June. Cozumel got a good soaking rain early on our arrival there, and that certainly didn't help at all. With the younger outside crowds that week, we didn't spend a lot of time on 15 or 16 outside. We got off the ship at Costa Maya, walked about halfway down that long pier, decided caution was the better part of valor, and returned to the ship, and relaxed in the lounge and in our room. AC definitely working in those places. Would have to ask Ooma, our wonderful concierge. We've had her twice now on Harmony, and she is awesome! And yes, CrznTxn, the elevator traffic was unreal, especially at the aft elevators! Another interesting tidbit, we normally see lots of flying fish zipping away from the ship's sides on our way down and up from Galveston but didn't this time. Not sure if the season had anything to do with it.

As a final-final reply to close out this thread, once we upgraded with the lady on the phone, within a few hours of receiving our new docs we had a Royal Up offer that now went all the way from a Crown (and Star) Loft to the Aqua Theater to Royal Villa Star suites. So, it looks to depend on your current room booking as to how far "up the ladder" they will offer. Anyway, will be at the port in several hours to board, and then begin a week of being pampered. Love RCCL!

We upped to the Owner's suite anyway through the Casino 1-800 line. It'll be our last cruise for a good while, so going all out. Gosh we're spoiled.

9th on Harmony. Casino Comp cruise, but upped it to an Owner's Suite, since this is likely our last cruise for a good while. (Just the way life works out) Phil and Steff

Harmony out of Galveston on June 9th. Only 14 days to go, so might try once more.

Took your advice and gave them a call. Was online with a rep in 3 minutes. The ONLY upgrade room they had available was an Owner's Suite. I said, "Cool, how much?" She came back with a price just over $8000. I told her I really appreciated it but would stick with the current room. Had to try though. They literally had nothing else so the ship must be really sold out.

Ok, I got the Royal Up invite this morning. We're so used to suites now (Grand, Owners and Loft so far), and with our comped interior room the highest Royal Up is an ocean view balcony. With the suites available at Royal Up, you know they're always in pretty good locations on the ship, but with a balcony, they could be anywhere along the rail. Gosh, we're spoiled to the RCCL Suite experience. Having a hard time deciding whether to go for it. Our current interior room (2S) overlooks Central Park, which seems pretty nice for what it is, and the location isn't too bad. Phil and Steff