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Couples First Time Royal Cruisers


Dakster

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My husband and I will be taking our first cruise with Royal on Harmony on November 3rd this year and I'm worried about what there will be for us to do together. What kinds of tips can my fellow cruisers provide so we get the most out of our time together those 7 days we are on board? If it helps, we will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary and this is our first vacation without our 14 year old son.

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My Wife and i went on our 1st cruise last year, getting my wife onto the ship was my main concern due to her dislike of water, however once onboard time passed so quickly. You will never be lost for something to do. 

Be it seeing the shows, sitting in a bar listening to music, watching a movie on the big screen or just people watching you will not get bored, and there is so much to do you will not manage to do everything you want 

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Welcome to the boards.

I think you will find plenty of things to do together. Oasis class ships have so much to offer. Look at the cruise planner to see all the activities offered and you will quickly find things to do. You can check out the cruise planner part on this site to see ones that were uploaded by other cruisers to get an idea what is out there.

Don’t stress about it and enjoy your cruise, and Happy Anniversary when it comes!

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Not sure what kinda room your in but if its not a suite you need to start getting reservations for the shows.  The comedy show is R rated so if your feelings get hurt easily it might no be for you.   The aqua theatre show is a good one but like the others you will probably need reservations  If you haven't already you need to get on the Cruise Planner ASAP and start planning your shows.  If your in a grand suite or higher you will have an area reserved for suite guests only at the shows,  except for the comedy show.

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It's just the two of you. It's an anniversary. Nobody on board knows you (probably). There is no better time or place for romantic role play, public flirting or whatever "floats your boat" (Pun). Take advantage because it might be a long time till you get another opportunity.

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Hard to list all the things you can do on an Oasis class ship:

  • Nightly shows in the main theater
  • Water shows in the aqua theater
  • Skating show
  • Participation events such as Trivia, Love & Marriage, Quest, Karaoke and many more
  • More food that you can possibly eat
  • Multiple gathering venues with different themes
  • Just relaxing by the pools.
  • ...And much more

And that's just on the ship.  Each port of call will have numerous opportunities to explore, be adventurous, shop, or just relax.

It's very difficult to be bored.  Review your cruise planner and as already been mentioned, reserve show ahead of time.  Read the Compass every night and pick out a few things you'd like to do.  You can just wander the ship and you're bound to come across some activity that looks interesting.

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Here's a link to the Cruise Compass that has been referenced.  You can browse through these and get an idea of what exactly there will be to do on the ship to occupy your time.

If you want to splurge the Chef's Table is a very nice meal with lots of wine that you can purchase ahead of time in the Cruise Planner.  Would be a nice anniversary celebration.

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1 hour ago, Dakster said:

My husband and I will be taking our first cruise with Royal on Harmony on November 3rd this year and I'm worried about what there will be for us to do together. What kinds of tips can my fellow cruisers provide so we get the most out of our time together those 7 days we are on board? If it helps, we will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary and this is our first vacation without our 14 year old son.

One of the ways to maximize your time is to plan ahead by reserving shows, but that can't be done effectively without some thought to your dining preferences.  I would suggest using the Main Dining Room for most dinners although my wife and I found Central Park 150 perfect for a special dinner together.   You really need to know what the MDR offers in order to judge otherr venues.  If you expect to eat in the MDR, you'll need to choose between a main seating or My Time Dining, both of which are discussed elsewhere.   You should have determined that arrangement as part of your booking.   When you know more about the specialty restaurants, you can try a dining package in a subsequent cruise.

As you peruse the Compass previously suggested, keep in mind you need to arrive to many events early in order to get a decent seat.  Think 30 minutes early for shows and some other events.    Don't try to do everything, but explore.  You should check deck plans in advance and see where your stateroom fits in relation to everything else.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/harmony-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1858/03

This is the link to the deck plans.  My favorite spots are Central Park (when it is cool) and the Promenade.

Some people like cruising because of the ship, others because of the itinerary.  I lean towards the latter, so I put a little effort into researching the ports and checking out excursions.  You can actually download the entire brochure for your cruise instead of spending hours on Cruise Planner.  There is usually an advantage to booking in advance, and other threads discuss how to order and re-book as needed.

Think about what you want to do on the cruise, and that will drive many choices.  We found it difficult to practice ballroom dancing, (Waltz/Foxtrot/swing)  but Boleros almost always has music for Salsa, Chacha, and other Latin dances.

What I have learned with my wife is that we are on different sleep schedules; I rise earlier than she does.   That allows me to exercise or have a cappuccino and watch the sunrise.  It is OK for the two of you to have private time and private spaces...

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3 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

One of the ways to maximize your time is to plan ahead by reserving shows, but that can't be done effectively without some thought to your dining preferences.  I would suggest using the Main Dining Room for most dinners although my wife and I found Central Park 150 perfect for a special dinner together.   You really need to know what the MDR offers in order to judge otherr venues.  If you expect to eat in the MDR, you'll need to choose between a main seating or My Time Dining, both of which are discussed elsewhere.   You should have determined that arrangement as part of your booking.   When you know more about the specialty restaurants, you can try a dining package in a subsequent cruise.

As you peruse the Compass previously suggested, keep in mind you need to arrive to many events early in order to get a decent seat.  Think 30 minutes early for shows and some other events.    Don't try to do everything, but explore.  You should check deck plans in advance and see where your stateroom fits in relation to everything else.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/harmony-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1858/03

This is the link to the deck plans.  My favorite spots are Central Park (when it is cool) and the Promenade.

Some people like cruising because of the ship, others because of the itinerary.  I lean towards the latter, so I put a little effort into researching the ports and checking out excursions.  You can actually download the entire brochure for your cruise instead of spending hours on Cruise Planner.  There is usually an advantage to booking in advance, and other threads discuss how to order and re-book as needed.

Think about what you want to do on the cruise, and that will drive many choices.  We found it difficult to practice ballroom dancing, (Waltz/Foxtrot/swing)  but Boleros almost always has music for Salsa, Chacha, and other Latin dances.

What I have learned with my wife is that we are on different sleep schedules; I rise earlier than she does.   That allows me to exercise or have a cappuccino and watch the sunrise.  It is OK for the two of you to have private time and private spaces...

The above is basically what i planned to do, study cruise compass each day to see what my plans where for that that....however i looked at it on 1st day realised that there was so much to do with conflicting timings so i just winged it for the week, if i walked past bar with good music i went in, if i happened to be in an area where a show was taking place i would see if i wanted to go in etc 

Even doing this my wife and myself were never bored, probably never saw as much as we could have but still had a fantastic time 

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2 hours ago, Dakster said:

My husband and I will be taking our first cruise with Royal on Harmony on November 3rd this year and I'm worried about what there will be for us to do together. What kinds of tips can my fellow cruisers provide so we get the most out of our time together those 7 days we are on board? If it helps, we will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary and this is our first vacation without our 14 year old son.

Congratulations on both your first cruise and your 15th anniversary! 

We celebrated our belated 15th anniversary on Oasis and found there was so much to do!  We thought we could see it all and ended up totally exhausted. Really! At the end of our cruise, we needed another vacation!!  I would like to suggest you don't do what we did.  Pick the best shows you think will interest you (don't try and see all of them, unless you want to), and try to find time to relax.  It was a pricey cruise for us, and our first time, so we were go, go, go!  Next year will be our 25th anniversary, and I have to remember to slow down and really enjoy the ship.  

As many others mentioned, a recent cruise compass is handy.  You can print one off and highlight what interests you.

Will you be doing any excursions?

1 hour ago, MikeK said:

Not sure what kinda room your in but if its not a suite you need to start getting reservations for the shows.  The comedy show is R rated so if your feelings get hurt easily it might no be for you.   The aqua theatre show is a good one but like the others you will probably need reservations  If you haven't already you need to get on the Cruise Planner ASAP and start planning your shows.  If your in a grand suite or higher you will have an area reserved for suite guests only at the shows,  except for the comedy show.

I agree about the comedy show.  We sat right in the front to get a good view and were picked on by the comedian.  It was funny, but like @MikeK said, not everyone may appreciate the humor!  There were definitely some R-rated jokes ...lol

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3 minutes ago, raahc said:

Congratulations on both your first cruise and your 15th anniversary! 

Will you be doing any excursions?

Thanks. We will be doing a helmet trek in Cozumel. My husband wants to do the zip line in Labadee, but I'm worried about how long he will be away from me and how we will meet up when he's done. I have anxiety disorder and being by myself on foreign territory scares me. 

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54 minutes ago, Dakster said:

Thanks. We will be doing a helmet trek in Cozumel. My husband wants to do the zip line in Labadee, but I'm worried about how long he will be away from me and how we will meet up when he's done. I have anxiety disorder and being by myself on foreign territory scares me. 

The excursions sounds like a lot of fun!  For the zip line, is there a way you can ask the tour operator if you can be on the landing area for when your husband finishes the zip line?  That way you can see him approach, even take a good picture and he'll be in your sight line?  Hope that helps ☺️

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