melski94

Here is the $25 birthday cake...choice of chocolate or vanilla and we chose chocolate.  I purchased it 2 nights ago at guest services and there was a note in my reservation.   The picture doesn’t do the cake justice.  It was quite good but of course tonight’s dessert was the chocolate molten cake.  The outside is a hard edible chocolate, the ‘beans’ are white chocolate chips.  The only frosting was the green stuff. Cake was very moist and much better than the Royal Chocolate Cake but not better than the molten cake.
The cake was brought out after dessert. That was fine as I wanted it to be a surprise so couldn’t tell people not to order dessert.  Half of the cake was left so our waiter saved it for tomorrow night. 
Really rocking tonight. Dramamine taken by 3 of us. Captain says storm in North Atlantic affecting our waves here. 
We were late leaving SanJuan due to miscommunication...Capt Johnny was not happy. We’ll be arriving late to Labadee tomorrow...Royal iq showed the change to our zip line time.

I did not see any guided tours but to be honest I wasn’t really looking.  Prior to our cruise I contacted a private guide on TripAdvisor but they told me they couldn’t give any tours inside the forts.  
Inside the fort, there were no obvious tours except a group of school kids on a field trip and that wasn’t guided either. The only guided tour I saw was after we left the fort. The tour stopped out the outskirts of the fort, took pictures and started walking back to town. 

San Juan
Kids slept in and I woke them at 8:15. Breakfast in Mini Bites again. Off the ship and we took a taxi to El Morro. The trolley was supposed to be running but never saw it.  Taxi cost $16 for 7 of us.  The taxi told us it was walkable but I had a feeling my MIL would struggle going uphill to the fort.  Here are a few pics of the fort and the stairs inside the fort. 
 
 Birthday boy wanted hamburgers (same birthday dinner request since he was 3 and only day of the year I’ll eat a burger) so we headed straight to Johnny Rockets.  I also had extra OBC to use since DH cancelled his zip line tomorrow.  Little brother made sure to tell the waiter it was his birthday so they brought him a sundae and sang Happy Birthday to him. 
 
Fine Line started while eating lunch.  My 2 younger ones wanted to see show and they have the best view in the theater plus it was shaded.  

2nd formal night and lobster tonight. 

Sleepy morning and wanted to post a cabin picture before we start our day.  This is the kids room. It sleeps 4 but I think 4 would be very tight. 3 people is comfortable.  S15 is 6’2” and fits on couch.  
One thing about the closets.  I wish both closets had shelves. Does anyone fill up both closets with hanging clothes? 
Time to wake up kids for San Juan

I think there is something to fold out...a trundle maybe if we had4 in the room.  It’s a twin size but would make a double if needed. Just no walking around the room if a double. 

One way for 7 people. 

I think there is something to fold out...a trundle maybe if we had4 in the room.  It’s a twin size but would make a double if needed. Just no walking around the room if a double. 

lol, sorry, couldn't resist sharing this

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

Last night, after muster we finished unpacking.  DH took S14 to teen club to register and get a wrist band.  This is different than Liberty and Brilliance where you didn’t have to register the teens.  Originally we were going to ask to get him in the 15-17 club as his birthday is on the cruise.  However, he found out that he knows a boy from school and he is also in the 14 club so he didn’t ask to move up. 
Dinner was in the MDR. I had visited earlier to see if I could request a table (answer was no) but he told me with our large party to go to another line when we came back at night.  That tip saved us as the line with and without reservations was long at 6.  Dinner was good.  Wait staff ok but the section head stepped in to help take orders as our wait staff had several large tables.  I think dinner only took 70 minutes which is quite good for the MDR.  
After dinner, S14 went to teen club and DH took the 2 younger ones to AO. Computers were down so check in slow.  DD18, MIL and I went to get seats for Grease. DH made it to Grease right before it started but checked out 30 minutes later to ‘check on kids in AO’ or as I later found out he checked on the kids and then went to the pub. He came back just as it ended. So MIL, DD18 and I enjoyed Grease, but DH thought it was horrendous. Vocals were ok, story different than movie but enjoyable if a Grease fan. 
Later, DH and I went to pub.  Music very good. We are music snobs living near Music City and thought Kieran Cox was quite good. Pub was packed and actors from Grease came in for a drink after the show. 
Sorry for a lack of pics.
 

forgot to add lunch which was conch stew.  We asked for local and this place was packed with locals.  
Sorry but now time for a rant.  At 3:30, there was only 1 gangplank open for huge line.  It’s hot, no shade, no water and takes 30 minutes to get onboard.  Seriously, on a ship with over 6000 people only 1 gangplank open? There are some amazing things on Harmony and some amazingly poor ways to do some seemingly simple things. 
 
*edited to take off lunch picture...didn't look so good at the top of the page.

San Juan
Kids slept in and I woke them at 8:15. Breakfast in Mini Bites again. Off the ship and we took a taxi to El Morro. The trolley was supposed to be running but never saw it.  Taxi cost $16 for 7 of us.  The taxi told us it was walkable but I had a feeling my MIL would struggle going uphill to the fort.  Here are a few pics of the fort and the stairs inside the fort. 
 
 Birthday boy wanted hamburgers (same birthday dinner request since he was 3 and only day of the year I’ll eat a burger) so we headed straight to Johnny Rockets.  I also had extra OBC to use since DH cancelled his zip line tomorrow.  Little brother made sure to tell the waiter it was his birthday so they brought him a sundae and sang Happy Birthday to him. 
 
Fine Line started while eating lunch.  My 2 younger ones wanted to see show and they have the best view in the theater plus it was shaded.  

2nd formal night and lobster tonight. 

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

Sleepy morning and wanted to post a cabin picture before we start our day.  This is the kids room. It sleeps 4 but I think 4 would be very tight. 3 people is comfortable.  S15 is 6’2” and fits on couch.  
One thing about the closets.  I wish both closets had shelves. Does anyone fill up both closets with hanging clothes? 
Time to wake up kids for San Juan

forgot to add lunch which was conch stew.  We asked for local and this place was packed with locals.  
Sorry but now time for a rant.  At 3:30, there was only 1 gangplank open for huge line.  It’s hot, no shade, no water and takes 30 minutes to get onboard.  Seriously, on a ship with over 6000 people only 1 gangplank open? There are some amazing things on Harmony and some amazingly poor ways to do some seemingly simple things. 
 
*edited to take off lunch picture...didn't look so good at the top of the page.

Sleepy morning and wanted to post a cabin picture before we start our day.  This is the kids room. It sleeps 4 but I think 4 would be very tight. 3 people is comfortable.  S15 is 6’2” and fits on couch.  
One thing about the closets.  I wish both closets had shelves. Does anyone fill up both closets with hanging clothes? 
Time to wake up kids for San Juan

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

Sleepy morning and wanted to post a cabin picture before we start our day.  This is the kids room. It sleeps 4 but I think 4 would be very tight. 3 people is comfortable.  S15 is 6’2” and fits on couch.  
One thing about the closets.  I wish both closets had shelves. Does anyone fill up both closets with hanging clothes? 
Time to wake up kids for San Juan

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

forgot to add lunch which was conch stew.  We asked for local and this place was packed with locals.  
Sorry but now time for a rant.  At 3:30, there was only 1 gangplank open for huge line.  It’s hot, no shade, no water and takes 30 minutes to get onboard.  Seriously, on a ship with over 6000 people only 1 gangplank open? There are some amazing things on Harmony and some amazingly poor ways to do some seemingly simple things. 
 
*edited to take off lunch picture...didn't look so good at the top of the page.

forgot to add lunch which was conch stew.  We asked for local and this place was packed with locals.  
Sorry but now time for a rant.  At 3:30, there was only 1 gangplank open for huge line.  It’s hot, no shade, no water and takes 30 minutes to get onboard.  Seriously, on a ship with over 6000 people only 1 gangplank open? There are some amazing things on Harmony and some amazingly poor ways to do some seemingly simple things. 
 
*edited to take off lunch picture...didn't look so good at the top of the page.

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

Dinner formal night.  Another first for my MTD experience...Checked in 5 minutes before reservation only to be walked down to deck 3 traditional dining. They are filling up the larger no show tables at the 5:30 seating with MTD.  We arrived to check in at 6:10 and walked out at 7:20.  The biggest wait is to get the waiter to take our order (he was bringing dessert to another table). We decided that tomorrow night we are getting dessert off the kids menu. Chocolate chip cookie, ice cream & brownie sandwich.  

Today everyone slept in.  I was surprised it was 8 when I woke up.  I had to check that we weren’t under the pool as we heard a sound like chairs moving across the deck during the night.  Not sure what that sound was but I think I need a noise app.  
One thing about connecting door.  If you had young kids I’m not sure I’d like it. All the other ships we could leave the connecting door open.  Here it is always closed(if open can’t open room door).  My kids are old enough to be ok but younger I’d need a shoe or something to prop door open so I could hear them at night.  
So I woke up and went to deck 5 track.  Love it!  Gym was crazy crowded. Here is a pic at 9. My D18 went at 11 and DH went at noon.  All said it was very busy and they also ended up on the track.  DH thinks this is the gym is better on Liberty…he hates the layout but the full track saves the day.  
Breakfast at Mini Bites. DH took 4 kids there while I worked out but S14 and I came later.  We all liked it.  
Went down water slides this morning.  It’s cold (only 72) especially when wet!  D6 got stuck every time…even in the bowl slide which when she stopped in the bowl she didn’t know what to do so she tried to walk. She sat down and was fine. We all think the racing slides are faster and confirmed by the slide crew.  
Lunch at park cafe.  The 11 and 6 yo didn’t like it…had to get a hot dog from the boardwalk.  Had my first Royal Kemmelwreck and a salad.  However the favorite was this chocolate eclair...probably my favorite dessert on a ship.