cruiseseason

Great, thanks for all your answers. Indeed, by now the RCCL page shows the updated Harmony itineraries until Dec 2! So my guess was right they replaced St. Maarten with St. Thomas…

Thanks to Matt for the update from Royal Caribbean concerning the itineraries. The Eastern Caribbean Harmony itinerary on Dec 2 was scheduled to call on St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee. Based on the new information, St. Maarten will not yet be called on. What do you think could be a replacement for this port? The sailing is almost identical to the other Eastern Caribbean sailings on Harmony, i.e. just that St. Thomas replaces St. Maarten. Would it be fair to conclude that the new itinerary for the Dec 2 sailing would call on St. Thomas, San Juan and Labadee, so they would just need to replace St. Maarten (will be called on later in December) by St. Thomas (already called on end of November). Of course depending on port slots, etc. But the times in the port are almost identical... What do you think? Thanks in advance

Thank you for all your help! Will take it in consideration deciding what to do...

Hi, For our upcoming cruise on Harmony: Apparently it is easy to swap cabins with family members once onboard by visiting guest services. Situation: my wife and I are in cabin A (with onboard credit and beverage packages) my in-laws in cabin B (without any of these ;) ) We want to stay in cabin B and my in-laws in cabin A. We want to keep our OBC and beverage package. We plan to get WOW bands. How will that all work in detail? Will we simply be given extra cards to open the other room? Will the wow band (issued after the change is made) open the correct door AND use the correct credit card/account? Will the TV in each room use the correct onboard spending account, i.e. the account of the NEW occupant of the room or will it still show the old occupant's info incl. all their reservations? As I read on cruise critic, there should be no problem with swapping. We will not lose OBC and beverage package. However I couldn't find information about the WOW bands as well as the television... How will that work? Will guest services be able to replace the info on the TV and on the WOW bands, yet keep the beverage packages and OBC? I guess that should be possible on Harmony. Also: we plan on using only our WOW bands (except for getting off the ship). Thanks in advance for your much anticipated answers, Best regards

You're very welcome. Of course, you can find the price of the different specialty dining restaurants on this blog (there are reviews of all the specialty dining restaurants) or also on cruise critic: search on google for the name of the ship followed by cruise critic (for example: Harmony of the Seas Cruise Critic) and you will find the cruise critic review of your ship. On that page there is a section called 'Dining' which lists all the restaurants on your ship as well as their price. Enjoy the anticipation for your upcoming cruise! There's always something to plan and think about, even years in advance! PS: I edited the initial answer, be sure to check out the sentences about the complimentary snacks you might not have the appetite for with too many specialty restaurants...roastbeef sandwich at Park Café for example! Most would pay for that one!

Dear Jennybean, You can see the current price of the different specialty restaurants on the cruise planner (start dummy bookings for each restaurant). Below the link to a detailed blog post about the Ultimate Dining Package, including calculations how much money you can save: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/07/11/royal-caribbean-ultimate-dining-package-costs-and-review As stated by Royal Caribbean you can save up to 60% on the restaurant price. This depends of course on which restaurants you choose (you will get more value out of more expensive ones, but of course you probably want some variety...). A good idea would be to make a list of all the restaurants you'd definitely like to visit and then check if it's cheaper to go all-in with the Ultimate Dining Package or if you're really just interested in a few restaurants and might be better off with a 3, 4 or 5 night dining package (that also have considerable savings)...don't neglect also the factor of 'food fatigue': eating only in restaurants you payed for might take away your appetite for all the great complimentary snack options on the ship (Park Café for example). You would also never be able to taste the Brasserie menu for lunch on sea days (as you'd be out in the specialty restaurant). It could well all be too much for a first cruise, and definitely not necessary. The Main Dining Room can also be a nice specialty restaurant! There is no need to eat every night at a specialty restaurant. This depends of course on your preferences...but especially as a new cruiser it is great to opt for lots of Main Dining Room dinners. Maybe you decide to splurge sometimes but it is definitely not a must to reserve specialty dining, especially not every night of your cruise! If you never eat at the Main Dining Room you will never be able to gauge the value you get from specialty restaurants, also for future cruises. Taking all these factors into consideration will help you take the right decision for YOU!

Thanks for all your answers and the welcome!

Hi, Have a quick question: does anyone know if it is possible to transfer the neigborhood benefits on Harmony of the Seas. Depending on the different neigborhood: for example, if people in a stateroom already have the drink package, can they pass on their soda package to somebody else (linked booking)? Could the free lunch be given to somebody else? Or the lunch for 4 at Johnny Rocket's: can you invite people from another stateroom, to make up the group of 4. I guess the question is: are the neigborhood benefits being given in the form of vouchers, or are they preloaded to the Sea Pass card... Thanks in advance for your help! Best regards

Ok thanks, I understand. I thought that Solarium Bistro is just complimentary on Quantum class (as it replaced the ultimately complimentary Devinly Decadence), new for me that is also complimentary on Harmony! Thanks for all your help!

Also I just noticed something strange in the Harmony Cruise Compasses from May: all the specialty restaurants for dinner are marked: ($), however for Solarium Bistro it just says: (reservations required) without the dollar sign...what does that mean? Complimentary but with reservation?! How was it at your cruise last week? Does anyone have any info on that? Thanks in advance!

Hi Matt, Thank you so much for your reply! I understand it is more convenient to do it at the suggested place...but can you theoretically go to, say Sabor, and make all the dining reservations for your cruise from there? Or what about the Food & Beverage Hospitality Desk? Thanks!

Hi, didn't want to start a new thread, have a related question: Matt mentioned that on last week's Harmony cruise they announced on Day 1 a specific time in the MDR to make reservations for the Ultimate Dining Package. Is that new? I had the impression that you can go to any specialty restaurant on Day 1 and make all your reservations there? Is that still possible? And if yes, what is the best place to reserve dining? Thanks in advance!!

Great, thanks, Matt! So there is still a Solarium Café, good to know! Waiting for the Harmony cruise in a few months for the roastbeef :D Thanks

Hi, Can't find any detailed info on Jewel dining. Specialty dining: Giovanni's Izumi Chop's Chef's table Vintages Complimentary: MDR Windjammer Pizzeria (mentioned on RCCL website, where would that be? can't find it on the deck plans) Café Latté-tudes Unfortunately didn't get the Park Café addition last year... Do they sometimes serve the Kummelweck somewhere else (on ships without Park Café)? I really miss the taste of it :D So the only complimentary ones are MDR, Windjammer and the snacks from Latté-tudes? Looks quite meager on the dining side, compared to the Radiance where we've been on... Do they maybe offer some Park Café snacks at Latté-tudes? And is there no more Solarium Café in the Solarium? No food anymore available there? On the other Radiance class ships they have the Park Café in the Solarium...how do they use the same space on the Jewel? Can somebody maybe help me with my questions? A Jewel insider? ;) Thanks in advance!