bossdog421 Posted January 16, 2020 Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 Semi live blog, we’ll see how that works out! 10 days to go!!! Crown Loft Suite - Deck 17 Day 1 - Port Canaveral Day 2 - Sea Day – Ship stuff – formal night, main dining anniversary celebration planned by TA Day 3 - Sea Day Day 4 - St. Maarten (Anniversary Day!) – Island tour, vow renewal in our suite, Izumi Hibachi, After Party Day 5 - San Juan – Beach Day Day 6 – Sea Day Day 7 - Coco Cay – Overwater Cabana Booked!!! Day 8 - ☹ This will be our second cruise and we will be celebrating out 10th Anniversary on this cruise. Myself, my wife and our 8 year old daughter are in a Crown Loft Suite, My sister in law and mother in law, and 2 other families that we are friends. 11 People total with 3 kids all 8 years old. Since we have the grandma on board so looks like we might have some good child care options for the kids! (not sure if grandma knows that yet though lol) We are flying out of Newark, NJ the day before into Orlando and staying at a hotel near the port. We used to live in Florida so we are very familiar with the areas. I only care about 1 thing at the port, I needs me a Cuban Sandwich. You just can’t get good Cuban food in Jersey. We put in a bid to Royal Up to a 2 bedroom aqua theater suite, that would catapult us into Star Class but I’m not going to get my hopes up too much on that! (but a guy can wish right?) Things I am most excited for to: · The 10 year celebration! We are planning to do a vow renewal. I wish some of my family was able to attend but it just wasn’t in the cards. My sister in law is going to host the service and it looks like we will be having it in our suite. · The overwater cabana! We booked an overwater cabana for our Perfect Day at Coco Cay. It looks like we will be one of the first to get to experience this. Expect lots of pictures! (They are supposed to be opening these up on Jan 31st and we are there Feb second… hope it’s ready in time!!) · Sailing with friends and family! This is going to be great. We should get lots of “adult time” with other people. Our last cruise was just the 3 of us on a Disney Cruise. It was our best family vacation ever but it’s going to be great to experience a cruise with friends on board. · The “suite life”! We were ruined years ago when we upgraded to a concierge experience on one of our vacations, now we can only travel like this. We take full advantage of the perks and it really does add to our enjoyment. I am an extreme over planner. Vacations are my jam. I have a bunch of activities already planned out. To make sure we see as much as possible I have been working on a scavenger hunt that will send us out in teams to take pictures of stuff and activities around the ship. I am very excited about this. So what are some must see things for Harmony? Let’s hear them! Now I just need to finish my vows… Here's the invite my wife made to send to everyone traveling with us. Traveler, RWDW1204, CFL and 11 others 8 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRebecca Posted January 16, 2020 Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 I can't wait to read all about it! Thanks for taking us along. bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rags1 Posted January 16, 2020 Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 Quote Congratulations! Hope you all have an awesome time. If you haven’t already, let your concierge know of your plans, they may be able to help make it special! Have a great cruise bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 Here is my current draft of the scavenger hunt. If anyone has any ideas I'm up for adding more! Harmony of the Seas Scavenger Hunt Get out there and explore the ship to win the grand prize! Rules · To participate each group is to buy an item around $20 from the ship. Winner gets all the items. 2nd place gets the item the winner bought. If there is a tie all items are split to the winners. Points will be tallied when we are back on the ship day 7. · Your group is everyone in your stateroom · Pictures only! Be respectful, people watching pics should be done with them in the background or after asking permission to take a picture! · 1 point per item unless noted Things around the ship: o 3 different food menus o Each letter of your last name from the signs around the ship ( no repeat pics for the same letter) o A picture of our ship and another docked from the shore o A parade o Life Preserver o Find the grass area for service animals o Bartender mixing a drink o Someone playing a piano o A performer in a full costume with a mask on o A Statue o A picture of the room numbers for all these rooms – 8729 -3180 -10500 -14330 o A Gnome o Ice Cream Cone o Another Cruise Ship o The fortune teller o A Chef o Bird on the ship (not flying) o Park Bench o A Long Line o A dog on the ship o Casino chip o A Green Chair o A model of the cruise ship o Palm Tree o A Sea Shell o A Decorated Stateroom Door o A plastic fish o The Wake of the Ship o Towel Animal o A Sunrise or sunset o Ship Flag o Animal shape made from ice or food o Purple flower o Something with the name of the ship on it People Watching o Someone on your team sleeping in the middle of the day o Someone Ice Skating – +2 points if it’s someone on your team o The Captain - +3 points if someone on your team is in the picture o Cruise Director - +3 points if someone on your team is in the picture o Someone wiping out on the Flowrider - +3 points if the person is on your team o One of your teammates exiting the Abyss o Someone on the Zipline – +3 points if it’s someone on your team o Someone on your team climbing the rock wall o A dolphin o A Conga Line o Two people with matching shirts o Someone else taking a photo o Each member of your team with a different drink (group or solo pics. No same drinks in any picture) o Someone eating a cookie o A member of your team in a pool - o Someone on your team playing minigolf o One of your team using exercise equipment o Someone not in your group making out o A team member on the carousel o A team member winning on a slot machine o Someone from your team in the ocean o Someone in extremely casual clothes in the middle of formal dressed people on a formal night o Big mustache o Someone with big hair o A stranger carrying more than one drink with their hands (+2 points for each drink past 2) – No crew members! o A guy wearing a banana hammock o Anyone in a t-back bathing suit o A plumbers crack o An overly “busty” women (no team members ) o A super hairy guy with no shirt on o Someone sunbathing with their top untied or off o Someone with a bad sunburn o Someone on your team noticeably drunk (+2 point for video) o Someone dancing inappropriately (+2point for video) o One of the 2 single people cruising with us flirting with a man JLMoran, RWDW1204 and CFL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 8 hours ago, Rags1 said: Congratulations! Hope you all have an awesome time. If you haven’t already, let your concierge know of your plans, they may be able to help make it special! Have a great cruise Yeah I'm going to let them know once i get the email from them, heard it comes pretty last minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhilding10 Posted January 16, 2020 Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 Congratulations on the Vow Renewal, my family will be on this cruise as well, hope to see you guys around and celebrate! bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 I swear i wasn't drunk when i wrote that the first time. I wife proofed it and made fun of me. I still didn't fix all the errors but at least a few lines arent gibberish anymore lol. Don't expect perfect grammar or coherent thoughts. I usually take a good picture though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2020 I'll be posting a room review afterwards but for those that are interested i'm in Crown Loft Suite 1702. It's a partially obstructed view but it was about much less than the normal ocean view suite and the same price as the interior facing Crown lofts. I researched it and it doesn't seem the obstruction is anything to worry about. It's directly next to Coastal Kitchen, so breakfast should be nice and close! As stated in the opening post I entered a Royal Up bid on a 2 Bedroom Aquatheater Suite (Star Class ). For those that want to follow the bid process... $730 pp ($1460 total) was on the top end of a weak bid. Those rooms are very limited so I'm not getting my hopes up. The cost of the upgrade would almost be budget neutral when you take out the drink packages and prepaid gratuities. I probably should have bid more but I don't want to push my budget too much more than i already have. Oh man a genie would really just make some additional magic though! . Guessing i won't get my rejection message until the day before sailing. I just want some closure!!! Lovetocruise2002 and Floski 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2020 Insomnia sucks! Since I cant go to sleep here are pics of my dogs. Getting worried about them more and more when we leave. Our oldest skye is 15. They dont have an issue with sleep Jackiem80, Luv2Travel, SpeedNoodles and 11 others 2 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Es26 Posted January 17, 2020 Report Share Posted January 17, 2020 Love your scavenger hunt idea! Congrats on your anniversary...good luck with the Royal up bid you are sailing with the best Cruise Director, Marc Walker. He’ll enjoy posing for pictures with you for the scavenger hunt. Have a great cruise. bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2020 Time has completely stopped. Now this.... Is it vacation time yet?!?!? JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 6 more days!!! Things just got real! The concierge email just came! I sent them a response already.. I introduced myself and my family, made them aware of our anniversary and vow plans, asked a few questions about reservations for dining and asked if they could provide any updates on the overwater cabanas. This week is already dragging on. I tried to do some shopping but all the stores here just have winter stuff out for guys, i already mapped out a local cuban place near our hotel in coco beach just in case the inlaws don't come through with the sandwich from my old local place in Tampa, and i've read every event on the app a 100 times. Anyone got any tips on passing time in the last week of waiting? Anyone request anything special from concierge? JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 20, 2020 Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 3 hours ago, bossdog421 said: Anyone got any tips on passing time in the last week of waiting? When you get this information, please pass it on ! I would love to know what can make this time pass more quickly ! If you have the Unlimited Dining Package, be sure to have the Concierge make your dining reservations for embarkation lunch and dinner on the first night. bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 On 1/20/2020 at 12:00 PM, bossdog421 said: 6 more days!!! Things just got real! The concierge email just came! I sent them a response already.. I introduced myself and my family, made them aware of our anniversary and vow plans, asked a few questions about reservations for dining and asked if they could provide any updates on the overwater cabanas. This week is already dragging on. I tried to do some shopping but all the stores here just have winter stuff out for guys, i already mapped out a local cuban place near our hotel in coco beach just in case the inlaws don't come through with the sandwich from my old local place in Tampa, and i've read every event on the app a 100 times. Anyone got any tips on passing time in the last week of waiting? Anyone request anything special from concierge? Congratulations, pal! I'm super excited for you and your lovely. Y'all (youse? Youns?) are gonna have a great time! And if you need another family member, I can get there in 6 hours, cuz. Have fun! bossdog421, SpeedNoodles, PRebecca and 2 others 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 3 days from now i will be on board! Vacation mode is fully activated! I can't get anything done at work... Luckily i took tomorrow off to help get everything else ready for the flight out on Saturday! I got a message back from concierge. They assured me that the over water cabanas will be ready by Feb 1st. I also sent an email to the shore excursion team, they also assured me they would be ready! Everything is coming together! Table for 11 at main dining already secured table 184 in the American Icon. Reservations for the anniversary dinner at Izumi Hibachi are set! My vows are "mostly" done. SteveinSC, Skigoofy, SpeedNoodles and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 23, 2020 Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 So exciting !!! Can't wait to hear from you once you are onboard !! bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Looks like a great cruise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Leaving Jersey. Cant wait to get outta here! Foggy, rainy and cold ellcee, JLMoran, Ogilthorpe and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Woo florida bound!!!!! Big Tule, SpeedNoodles, Luv2Travel and 10 others 11 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Following along. Congrats on your 10 year and Vow renewal! Sounds like a wonderful cruise with everyone coming and how fun with the scavenger hunt! Have a wonderful cruise! Excited to follow along. bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srp431 Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 On 1/16/2020 at 8:17 AM, PRebecca said: I can't wait to read all about it! Thanks for taking us along. Following bossdog421 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Made it Country Inn and Suites Port Canveral. Room is pretty nice. In laws in route with some cuban sandwhiches too. I'm more excited by these sandwhiches than the cruise food! Doesnt look like this hotel has a bar though, going to need to take a trip out for beers and icecream! Ken23, Ogilthorpe, ellcee and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Stopped at Grills Tiki Bar to grab a bite. Saw Fantasy on her way out. Ogilthorpe, JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 My royal up was declined. No star class for us! I'm very happy with our room though! Had to get an icecream while we were cruising coco beach. JLMoran, Ogilthorpe, Skigoofy and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Congrats! Have a great time! Following for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Hey @bossdog421, IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!! Hope you and the family all have a fantastic cruise and come back with lots of great memories. Congratulations on the 10-year mark! bossdog421, Jackiem80, SpeedNoodles and 1 other 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 At the port, little early. Took like 2 mins to get to suite area. Pretty nice in here! Ogilthorpe, Lovetocruise2002, Grabthars Hammer and 11 others 9 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 So far this is a full on live blog. In the Suite lounge! CFL, Ogilthorpe, LewieE and 11 others 12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emiliya Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Love your blog. I will be following you the whole week! Congratullations on your anniversary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Happy for you guys!!! 13 more weeks for us... SpeedNoodles, Jackiem80, Big Tule and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Yeah I'm going to be here in the lounge a lot. This coffee machine is great. Skigoofy, Ogilthorpe, ellcee and 6 others 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emiliya Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Great posts! I will be following you all week. Congratullations on your 10th! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Love the suite lounge on Harmony! Who are the concierges this week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Concierge is Jeremias and Mohamed . Haven't met them yet though. Here are some pics of 1702. The obstruction is there but I dont think it's an issue at all. Skigoofy, Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and 5 others 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 SpeedNoodles, Lovetocruise2002, CFL and 7 others 7 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregD Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Have a great cruise and congratulations on your anniversary and vow renewal. I’m looking forward to following along. I can’t wait to see those floating cabanas. I’m going to coco cay in November and may try to get a group to go in on one. They are quite pricy on that cruise. bossdog421 and SpeedNoodles 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 I haven't felt this stress free in a long time and we haven't even left yet! RWDW1204, Skigoofy, Big Tule and 12 others 7 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Jeremias is very sweet and Mohammed is amazing!!! That is a good team there. Love the room. #teamDeck17 bossdog421 and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 I forgot to take a pic before I ate... so here are my mdr scraps. I got the ny strip, wife got the prime rib, and I got the chicken marsala to share. Ogilthorpe, Lovetocruise2002 and CFL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdog421 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Busy day. Didnt take a ton of pics but i think I'm Going to bed early. Lots to do and plenty of time... for now. The muster was very informal compared to the disney cruise. I felt like I was watching a bad bond knock off at the aquatheater Ogilthorpe, Lovetocruise2002, SpeedNoodles and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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