Stars Aligned In Perfect Harmony - Star Class- Harmony of the Seas - 10/01/2023

[JVPIII]

Alright everyone, I am going to try this blogging thing but I make no promises that it will be any good. I am currently sitting here at work and I can not stop anticipating how great it will be to get back onto a Star Class sailing!! I feel the food coma already!! 

The next 47 days can not go fast enough. Why is it that it is always so slow getting here but zooms by so fast once you get on the ship?

Who's Going? 

Me- John (Everyone calls me JT), Boyfriend - Rick, Mom- Donna, and Dad - John 

Make sure to stay tuned for Pictures. We tend to be a camera shy bunch but we usually make an exception on vacations. 

Pre-Cruise Travel / Stay

We live on Florida's west coast and usually drive to the port the morning of as it is an easy 2 hour drive to Miami. This time however we will be getting to the port a day early and staying at the Hilton Miami/Downtown. I found and booked two King Bed Bayview rooms with a Park and Sail rate for one so we can leave our truck at the hotel. while we are on the cruise. We have never stayed at the hotel but I liked the pictures I saw online and I like the idea of being able to wake up and see the ships out our window. Anyone who has stayed her before have any thoughts?

     

It will also be nice to be able to not have to get up so early and rush through breakfast to drive across the state. We plan to take a Lyft or Uber the morning of the cruise depending on prevailing rates. We will need a large truck or suv as the four of us (read my Mom and I) do not pack light and we will need room for the luggage. They both can be booked 30 days in advance so once I am able to price I can finalize those plans.

Itinerary

This will be a 7 night sailing roundtrip from Port Miami visiting Philipsburg St. Maarten, Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at Coco Cay Bahamas. I liked this itinerary because it starts out with two sea days that will allow us to soak up the star class amenities on the ship at the beginning of our vacation. 

Day 1 Departs Miami

Day 2 Sea Day

Day 3 Sea Day

Day 4 Philipsburg, St. Maarten 8am - 5pm

Day 5 Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas 7am - 3pm

Day 6 Sea Day

Day 7 Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Bahamas 9am - 5 pm

Day 8 - Back to Miami (Cue the Crying)

Cabin

A1 - Spacious 2 Bedroom Aqua Theater Suite Cabin #8330 

We liked this room on our first Star Class sailing so we decided to try it again on a different ship (we were on Oasis of the Seas the first time). The only thing that would have made us switch was the Royal Loft Suite, due to the upgraded bathrooms and hot tub on the balcony, however I could not justify the jump of $7000 for the week for just those differences.

Thoughts so Far

While myself, Mom and Dad have all sailed on an Oasis class ship before this will be Rick's first time and I can not wait to see the look on his face when we walk on the ship the first time escorted by our Genie no less. Then again to see the excitement in his eyes when he walks into our cabin and gets a glimpse of the view off the back of the ship that we will have the whole week. 

I am usually the trip planner of the family, as I own and operate my own travel agency (Barefoot Vacation Travel). It is nice sometimes, although painful , to let go of the reigns a little and let the genie plan out shows and meals. Just for my own curiosity I did play around on the cruise planner and priced out what the Deluxe Beverage Package, Ultimate Dining Package, The Key and the internet Package for the four of us and just those amenities would have been an additional $5300 for the week so while not inexpensive I feel Star Class definitely is worth it for us.

We plan on eating at all the specialty restaurants as well as doing the chefs table. We are excited to try out Wonderland, even if it turns out to be a one and done as we all like to try new things. Chefs table will be at Rick's request as he has never done it. 

We got the generic pre cruise survey just a few days ago and filled that out and sent it back. While like most we felt that this was not used on our first cruise it is fun to get together as a family and fill it out. For those wondering the three people I would invite to a dinner party is Lucille Ball, Betty White, and Stephen King ( make of that what you will).

Please feel free to follow along and ask any questions. If there is anything that you would like me to check or take pictures of please let me know and I will be happy to oblige. Here is to hoping  that the next month goes by fast and that our cruise does not.

 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Looking forward to following along on your adventures.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Harmony 8330 was our very first SC suite !  I have very fond memories.  Enjoy !!!!!

[JohnK6404]

Have a great time! Can't wait to follow along! 

[Sweety]

I will be following.

[asquared17]

yesssssssssss st. maarten and PDCC at the back of the itinerary!!!

we were just on harmony in may; she is in GREAT shape and i would definitely sail her again. cannot wait to hear more about your travels and the cabin!!

and of course... THE FOOD! eat some truffles for me! (only if you like them, of course haha)

[SweetPea]

Following of course. But I'm also .  Your trip is after ours (9/24) and i figured i'd start my blog maybe 9/22 or 9/23!  

[LandstromCruise]

6 hours ago, SweetPea said:

Following of course. But I'm also .  Your trip is after ours (9/24) and i figured i'd start my blog maybe 9/22 or 9/23!  

I was thinking this may be the earliest start to a blog I have seen.  Even beats @Lovetocruise2002 

[Lovetocruise2002]

17 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

I was thinking this may be the earliest start to a blog I have seen.  Even beats @Lovetocruise2002 

I keep telling @Matt that I am not the winner of the earliest start for blogs lol

[WAAAYTOOO]

58 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I keep telling @Matt that I am not the winner of the earliest start for blogs lol

Maybe not, but you have the reputation that just won’t die !

[Ampurp85]

On 8/16/2023 at 10:32 AM, SweetPea said:

Following of course. But I'm also .  Your trip is after ours (9/24) and i figured i'd start my blog maybe 9/22 or 9/23!  

Ha. 

I keep telling myself not to start mine too early, its 10/15. I am aiming for Sept something........it's a good way to aid in the anticipation. 

[JVPIII]

On 8/15/2023 at 9:33 PM, asquared17 said:

yesssssssssss st. maarten and PDCC at the back of the itinerary!!!

we were just on harmony in may; she is in GREAT shape and i would definitely sail her again. cannot wait to hear more about your travels and the cabin!!

and of course... THE FOOD! eat some truffles for me! (only if you like them, of course haha)

This is the first time that I have had PDCC at the end of the itinerary and I am not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand it is a great way to close out the cruise and on the other there is no sea day to reflect on the vacation and get used to the idea that that trip is over. I let you know how it goes. As far as the food arguably the best part of any cruise. Truffles will not be eaten unless we are talking about the chocolate kind . Unpopular opinion I know but I can not stand mushrooms or truffles. 

[asquared17]

so i hear you on the PDCC at the end thing, and i know i’m not in the majority but it really IS relaxing and much better than a sea day where you’re fighting for chair space on deck and the wind is blowing you all over creation. just my opinion however you’ll have suite access, so perhaps not as much of an issue for you haha

please keep me posted!!! i want more to enjoy it at the end — we’re going in the beginning when we’re back on oasis in february and i’m bummed #firstworldproblems

2 minutes ago, JVPIII said:

Truffles will not be eaten unless we are talking about the chocolate kind . Unpopular opinion I know but I can not stand mushrooms or truffles. 

okay FAIR. 

i hate mushrooms but LOVE truffles. so i will not judge here.

[JVPIII]

On 8/16/2023 at 11:32 AM, SweetPea said:

Following of course. But I'm also .  Your trip is after ours (9/24) and i figured i'd start my blog maybe 9/22 or 9/23!  

Glad to have you along for the adventure. 

On 8/16/2023 at 6:21 PM, LandstromCruise said:

I was thinking this may be the earliest start to a blog I have seen.  Even beats @Lovetocruise2002 

I am sure I am not the earliest but I will take on the burden if it releases @Lovetocruise2002 from having to deal with the stigma.

On 8/17/2023 at 12:17 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I keep telling @Matt that I am not the winner of the earliest start for blogs lol

Honestly I am sure that I speak for a lot of us here when I say that you can start you blog as early as you want. In fact I would be happy to read just a daily adventures of you and your family. I always look forward to hearing your perspective on things. 

On 8/17/2023 at 1:16 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Maybe not, but you have the reputation that just won’t die !

That reputation does seem to linger for her doesn't it. I think that @Matt has everything to do with this . 

On 8/17/2023 at 3:41 PM, Ampurp85 said:

Ha. 

I keep telling myself not to start mine too early, its 10/15. I am aiming for Sept something........it's a good way to aid in the anticipation. 

You should start whenever you want. If gives us all more to read and I can tell you it helps with the vacation anticipation. 

[JVPIII]

31 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

so i hear you on the PDCC at the end thing, and i know i’m not in the majority but it really IS relaxing and much better than a sea day where you’re fighting for chair space on deck and the wind is blowing you all over creation. just my opinion however you’ll have suite access, so perhaps not as much of an issue for you haha

please keep me posted!!! I want more to enjoy it at the end — we’re going in the beginning when we’re back on oasis in February and I'm bummed #firstworldproblems

I love a day at the beach and will be glad for my PDCC day because we will be in the beach club so Beach, Pool, Drinks, and good food will be had by all. I dont know how I will stand it. Talk about first world problems. 

* Actual footage of me prancing on the beach

 

[JVPIII]

Check-in opened for our cruise today at midnight and I quickly took care of that for our group. At least I chose a boarding time for us, the rest of the check-in process can be done at at later time but I wanted to secure a boarding time. I chose 11:30 a.m., which was the earliest available. I wanted to make sure that I chose the earliest time because I have seen that some genies have said that they could only accommodate boarding times that were within a 1 hour window of selected boarding time and I want to get on as soon as possible. That is part of the reason we are staying in Miami, even though we only live 2 hours from the port.

What has everyone's recent experience with this? If from the Harmony it would be even better as I know different ships do not always have the same rules.

[Lovetocruise2002]

29 minutes ago, JVPIII said:

What has everyone's recent experience with this? If from the Harmony it would be even better as I know different ships do not always have the same rules.

No issues with any genies since pandemic start up checking in whenever we showed up at the terminal. 

[LandstromCruise]

1 hour ago, JVPIII said:

Check-in opened for our cruise today at midnight and I quickly took care of that for our group. At least I chose a boarding time for us, the rest of the check-in process can be done at at later time but I wanted to secure a boarding time. I chose 11:30 a.m., which was the earliest available. 

Did you check in right at midnight?  I’m surprised 11:30 was the earliest check in time. I already have my alarm set for my Oct 11th check in for cruise in November to try and get a 10:30 slot. My last cruise in January had an 11am check in time but got there early and was let right in. But I’m with you, always wanting to get on the ship as soon as possible 

[JVPIII]

2 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Did you check in right at midnight?  I’m surprised 11:30 was the earliest check in time. I already have my alarm set for my Oct 11th check in for cruise in November to try and get a 10:30 slot. My last cruise in January had an 11am check in time but got there early and was let right in. But I’m with you, always wanting to get on the ship as soon as possible 

I did the same thing. Set an alarm and checked in right at midnight. I was surprised that 11:30 was the earliest time available as well. No matter we will most likely be there in the suite area by 10. I already told the family breakfast then ride to the ship. If not ready I will see them when the ship comes back. 

* For legal purposes this is only a joke

[WAAAYTOOO]

@JVPIII I don't think you have to worry about a check-in time for the SC pax.  I have never known of SC being restricted on when they can board or adhering to any chosen arrival time.  SC are among the very first to board (if they choose to do so). You should be able to board as soon as the B2B'ers are squared away.

[Lovetocruise2002]

42 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

@JVPIII I don't think you have to worry about a check-in time for the SC pax.  I have never known of SC being restricted on when they can board or adhering to any chosen arrival time.  SC are among the very first to board (if they choose to do so). You should be able to board as soon as the B2B'ers are squared away.

^^this

[Lovetocruise2002]

11 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Did you check in right at midnight?

That happened for our Liberty cruise too that we are going on in a few days. I stayed up until midnight and 11:30am was the earliest I was able to grab. Other people in the FB roll call group said they got 10:30am but I have no clue how that happened. Either way, I was not concerned as I knew that suites would have flex boarding of 1 hour prior anyway. But then the weirdest thing happened last week. Someone in our FB roll call group said that Royal changed their boarding time (they saw on the app) and that prompted me and others to check. Well, surprisingly, ours was moved to 10:30 am along with some others who had a later boarding. And some that had the 10:30am boarding were moved to a later time. Royal IT at its finest.

[LandstromCruise]

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

That happened for our Liberty cruise too that we are going on in a few days. I stayed up until midnight and 11:30am was the earliest I was able to grab. Other people in the FB roll call group said they got 10:30am but I have no clue how that happened. Either way, I was not concerned as I knew that suites would have flex boarding of 1 hour prior anyway. But then the weirdest thing happened last week. Someone in our FB roll call group said that Royal changed their boarding time (they saw on the app) and that prompted me and others to check. Well, surprisingly, ours was moved to 10:30 am along with some others who had a later boarding. And some that had the 10:30am boarding were moved to a later time. Royal IT at its finest.

Yeah nothing surprises me with their IT. I still go with the old school method anyways. Im showing up at 10:00am no matter what my boarding time says

[JVPIII]

4 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

 I'm showing up at 10:00am no matter what my boarding time says

This was my plan as well. I will of course tell our Genie that we will be there early.

[LandstromCruise]

1 hour ago, JVPIII said:

This was my plan as well. I will of course tell our Genie that we will be there early.

I unfortunately am not lucky enough to have one of those . Future goals!! 

[SweetPea]

Hi, i did the midnight check in thing too. (Oasis 9/24). By the time i figured the app was not cooperating and moved over to the URL at 12:06a, 10:30a was long gone as well. I mean, i wasn't looking for 10:30 since we're not morning people, but i found it interesting that 11:30 was first available on Oasis at 12:06am. 

We're Star Class as well and told our Genie to expect us about 12:15-12:30. We figure this gives her a break while she accommodates all her early birds.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

45 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

Hi, i did the midnight check in thing too. (Oasis 9/24). By the time i figured the app was not cooperating and moved over to the URL at 12:06a, 10:30a was long gone as well. I mean, i wasn't looking for 10:30 since we're not morning people, but i found it interesting that 11:30 was first available on Oasis at 12:06

The same thing happened to me twice.  I had been trying to check in on the app using the link at the bottom of the check-in page. Apparently the best way to check in is to click on the “person” at the top of the page and check in from there.  In both cases, 11:30 was the earliest time available despite it only being a few minutes past midnight.

[Yesiamthere]

We are staying in that exact room in January!  Reading your blog is going to be downright exciting!  

[AlmondFarmer]

I have this room November 5th when Harmony comes to Texas. Excited for any pictures you post of 8330 to see how it differs from other A1 Oasis class rooms I have stayed in. 

[ckruetze]

On 8/19/2023 at 2:28 AM, JVPIII said:

Truffles will not be eaten unless we are talking about the chocolate kind . Unpopular opinion I know but I can not stand mushrooms or truffles. 

I'm with you on the truffles. Mushrooms are ok but truffles no thanks. When eating at the speciality restaurants make sure you read the menu well. On our recent sailing several restaurants had truffle fries with the main course.

[JVPIII]

On 8/23/2023 at 2:21 PM, Yesiamthere said:

We are staying in that exact room in January!  Reading your blog is going to be downright exciting!  

 

On 8/23/2023 at 3:03 PM, AlmondFarmer said:

I have this room November 5th when Harmony comes to Texas. Excited for any pictures you post of 8330 to see how it differs from other A1 Oasis class rooms I have stayed in. 

Welcome to the show. I will be documenting the room with lots of pictures so stay tuned for that. I was in an A1 on Oasis so I am also curious how it will differ on Harmony.

[JVPIII]

13 hours ago, ckruetze said:

I'm with you on the truffles. Mushrooms are ok but truffles no thanks. When eating at the speciality restaurants make sure you read the menu well. On our recent sailing several restaurants had truffle fries with the main course.

Finally someone who agrees with me. Everyone here seems to adore mushrooms and can not stop talking about the much loved bowl of mud, I mean mushroom soup.

[SweetPea]

1 hour ago, JVPIII said:

Finally someone who agrees with me. Everyone here seems to adore mushrooms and can not stop talking about the much loved bowl of mud, I mean mushroom soup.

I know I'm not exactly on the same page, but mushrooms are 100% disgusting, but i do love truffles (good ones). Someone once asked me to explain this. I say Mushrooms are to Korbel as Truffles are to Dom Perignon. Of course, a truffle is not always a truffle. Quality matters. Just like sometimes you get stuck with some mealy lobster... that's different from being a Mainer who is used to the fresh stuff. 

[JVPIII]

19 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

I know I'm not exactly on the same page, but mushrooms are 100% disgusting, but i do love truffles (good ones). Someone once asked me to explain this. I say Mushrooms are to Korbel as Truffles are to Dom Perignon. Of course, a truffle is not always a truffle. Quality matters. Just like sometimes you get stuck with some mealy lobster... that's different from being a Mainer who is used to the fresh stuff. 

I can definitely see that. I have definitely had some sub par lobster.

[asquared17]

11 hours ago, JVPIII said:

I have definitely had some sub par lobster.

and then typically in that case, that sub par lobster also ends up having YOU

i am aligned with @SweetPea on truffles vs mushrooms, but i understand they are not to everyone’s tastes

[JVPIII]

Ok We are officially in the 30 day countdown and I was able to finalize some details today.

For travel from our hotel to the cruise terminal I have pre scheduled a Lyft for a 9:30 am pick up. With morning cruise traffic this should put us at the terminal at 10 am or just before and that is exactly what I am shooting for. Uber lets you plan 90 days ahead but Lyft only 30 days which is why I had to wait until today. I am glad I did as an XL was half the price on Lyft. We have 4 not so small people and all our luggage so an XL is a must.

Excursions:

St. Maarten - Private Tour through Red Rose Island Tours booked through Viator

St. Thomas - Private half Jeep Tour by Jammin Jeep Tours LLC booked through Viator

Perfect Day at Coco Cay - Beach Club Day pass for everyone

I was able to book the two excursions on Viator today after finally wrangling everyone and finalizing what we wanted to do for those days in port. The private tours will allow us to get away from crowds and go at our own pace.

Our PDCC beach club day passes have been booked for almost a year. I originally had a Beach Cabana booked as I knew I wanted to spend the day in the beach club and the cabana includes beach club access for up to 4 people . When I originally priced excursions Beach club access was over $200 per person, so it would have been almost $900 for the four of us and the cabana was only $950. Then fast forward to Black Friday sale last year and Beach Club Day passes went down to $88 per person, so I canceled the Cabana and got the passes. Saved myself a significant amount. 

In other news the cruise excitement is becoming all consuming. I am driving my family crazy because I can think about little else. My brain has officially checked out. LOL

My Family 

Me 

[MLH]

Thanks for doing this!  We have the same exact room.  Love the AQ rooms for sure, although last time we had maintenance banging on the big screen on sea days starting at 7am.

[JVPIII]

8 hours ago, MLH said:

Thanks for doing this!  We have the same exact room.  Love the AQ rooms for sure, although last time we had maintenance banging on the big screen on sea days starting at 7am.

Absolutely. Glad to have you along. When do you sail? We have only sailed once in an AQ room but it was fantastic hopefully no early morning banging sound this time for either of us!

[MLH]

14 hours ago, JVPIII said:

Absolutely. Glad to have you along. When do you sail? We have only sailed once in an AQ room but it was fantastic hopefully no early morning banging sound this time for either of us!

December 3rd. 

[JVPIII]

8 hours ago, MLH said:

December 3rd. 

It will be here before you know it. If there is anything specific you want me to scope out for you let me know.