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Harmony of the Seas, Somewhat Live 5/19 -5/26


Hockeyman55

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1 hour ago, JLMoran said:

God almighty, those are some seriously cut / ripped individuals! Please tell me they were performers and not just a random sampling of guests doing a Zumba class! If the latter, I'm going to be even more reluctant to board an Oasis-class ship; my self-esteem couldn't handle being surrounded by so much physical fit-ness! ??

You're too funny!  Likely the Aqua Show cast.....

 

@Hockeyman55 is that the "spinning guy" I see in the middle??  Is he still there??

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2 hours ago, Matt said:

That's one thing I have yet to do. It's always too darn early for any of us to wake up for ?

I'm really hoping they do it on Mariner - I finally talked my mom and step dad in to a cruise, so we are doing a 3 day on Mariner right after New Year's in lieu of Christmas gifts. My 5 year old niece is also coming along, and she would absolutely love that. 

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1 minute ago, KLAconQueso said:

I finally talked my mom and step dad in to a cruise, so we are doing a 3 day on Mariner right after New Year's in lieu of Christmas gifts. My 5 year old niece is also coming along, and she would absolutely love that

Now, THAT'S a great idea for Christmas gifts! I'm sure it will be a lot of fun......especially if you get your mom ans step dad to participate in the Quest challenge! :27_sunglasses:

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1 minute ago, rjac said:

Now, THAT'S a great idea for Christmas gifts! I'm sure it will be a lot of fun......especially if you get your mom ans step dad to participate in the Quest challenge! :27_sunglasses:

HA! I can guarantee they will not participate in the Quest. I'm actually not a huge fan of it myself. 

The holidays this past year were pretty difficult with the passing of my brother, so planning a trip and putting emphasis on spending time together rather than gifts is a welcome idea. 

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Ill start by saying Labadee was outstanding and the only downside was that I wished we spent more time there. We disembarked around 8:45am and headed towards Columbus Cove and ended up speeding most of our time in that area.

Our zipline was at 10:30 which snuck up on us rather quickly. Words can't describe how great of a ride the zipline was, as many of you I am sure you are aware of.

Our next adventure was the aqua park at 1pm with the kids. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and that part didn't disappoint, myself and my kids loved playing on this and I know my wife loved seeing me make a fool of myself and fall off multiple times. ? 

So by the time we got done with the aqua park it was about 2 pm with the coast and market still to try and get done. We headed to the coaster and waited about a half hour or so and by the time we got off it was about 3:10pm, needless to say my wife wasn't thrilled it cut into her shopping time. My first time on one of these mountain coasters and loved it, thrilling ride with a spectacular view. We did manage to get in a little time for shopping before we got back on the ship so I avoided an upset wife lol. 

Back on the boat we decided on eating at  Johnny Rockets and was a hit all around and with the best part being able to eat outside so our kids could  blow off some more steam in that little net play area next to it. 

So that concludes my little summary of today. Enjoy some more photos I took today. 

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What an awesome shot of your kids on the water trampoline! Your one girl is catching some major air!

Also really like the shots of Columbus Cove, that was an area we didn’t visit on our day there. I definitely have to make a point of exploring more the next time we’re there; you’re showing just how much there is to see if you’re willing to take the time and look around.

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On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 PM, JLMoran said:

God almighty, those are some seriously cut / ripped individuals! Please tell me they were performers and not just a random sampling of guests doing a Zumba class! If the latter, I'm going to be even more reluctant to board an Oasis-class ship; my self-esteem couldn't handle being surrounded by so much physical fit-ness! ??

 

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 PM, JLMoran said:
  On 5/21/2018 at 4:20 AM, Hockeyman55 said:

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by the looks of it one person didnt quite understand the " lean forward and touch the other person routine" ? 

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For those curious I am shooting with a Sony A7iii, the iSkate and Columbus pictures I was using my Sony 70-300G lens. Just got this camera in April and love how much I can crank up the ISO for the lower light pictures and still get some pretty sharp photos. Also with me I brought my Rokinon 12mm fisheye lens and Sony 24-70 lens. Photography is a pretty big and expensive hobby for me, I do quite a bit of theme park photography also. 

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11 minutes ago, Hockeyman55 said:

For those curious I am shooting with a Sony A7ii

Thank you, thank you, thank you, I have been looking at this camera, or I should say this series of camera, started looking at the A5, but just never pulled the plug on the purchase, could never find anyone that had previous experience with the camera.

I was a big 35mm film photo taker back in the day and have gotten out of the practice of using bigger cameras, I thought this size body would meet my demands of size as well as quaility.

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1 hour ago, tiny260 said:

Thank you, thank you, thank you, I have been looking at this camera, or I should say this series of camera, started looking at the A5, but just never pulled the plug on the purchase, could never find anyone that had previous experience with the camera.

I was a big 35mm film photo taker back in the day and have gotten out of the practice of using bigger cameras, I thought this size body would meet my demands of size as well as quaility.

Very welcome. I was previously shooting with the Sony A99 and have been kicking around switching to the smaller mirrorless camera for a little while. I really wanted the A7RIII but couldn't justify an extra $1,000. Am very happy with the a7iii and lenses I have. So nice having a lighter camera as well

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45 minutes ago, Hockeyman55 said:

For those curious I am shooting with a Sony A7iii, the iSkate and Columbus pictures I was using my Sony 70-300G lens. Just got this camera in April and love how much I can crank up the ISO for the lower light pictures and still get some pretty sharp photos. Also with me I brought my Rokinon 12mm fisheye lens and Sony 24-70 lens. Photography is a pretty big and expensive hobby for me, I do quite a bit of theme park photography also. 

Indeed.  I'm pretty heavily vested into my Nikon full frame.  The camera body is easy, it's the lenses!

I have the Rokinon 12mm and 14mm which for the price are great lens and f2.8 to boot.

Sony is really doing a great job taking on Canon/Nikon and leading mirrorless advances.  If it weren't for the lenses, I'd be pretty tempted to jump ship (pun unintended).

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1 hour ago, Hockeyman55 said:

For those curious I am shooting with a Sony A7iii, the iSkate and Columbus pictures I was using my Sony 70-300G lens.

$2k for camera + $800-1k for the lens.  

Your pictures are great! I can't personally justify spending that much for a camera set up, but you cannot argue with the results. Maybe someday I'll upgrade to that level of stuff...in the name of research!

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55 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

You know you have a cruising problem when you see numbers like that and think, "Wow, an ocean view balcony cabin just for the body! And a promenade balcony per lens!"

::raising hand:: Hi, my name is Joe...

This occurs daily.  New transmission?  That's a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean!  That sweet lens Art Sigma just released, that's an Alaska cruise!     New hardwood floors?  That's a Hawaiian cruise!

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Thank you everyone. Will go back and reply to everyone tomorrow once I get home. I've fallen behind and wanted to catch up. 

Day 4 Jamaica

We initially had the dolphin encounter palnned for this day but with the weather forecast showing some potentially bad weather we cancelled that excursion and decided to spend the day in port shopping and having lunch.

We spent most of our time at Margaritaville which worked out great for us. The food was great and the drinks even better. I got the clock cup with the electric lemonade and it was outstanding and super strong. Everyone enjoyed thier food and drinks minus the ketchup, lol, my kids were just not having it. 

After we ate we spent some time at the pool there, was a fun party atmosphere and a swim up pool bar, score! My only complaint was the hot tub wasn't so hot. Other than that we all came away happy. 

After lunch we did some shopping, nothing too crazy, mostly just small Jamaica trinkets and dresses. 

After some shopping we headed back to the ship, might have been around 2-3pm at this point. Kids wanted to play in the pools and hot tub so off we went. After swimming I believe this was a late night dinner in the main dinning room for us. I had lasagna this time and was outstanding. Way better than the meal I had on formal night. This was pretty much the end of the day and off to bed we went.

Day 5 up next

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Day 4 note, today was finally able to checkout the waterslides after our day in Jamaica. I was highly excited to try these but left somewhat disappointed. The Perfect Storm slides both myself, brother and daughter both stalled out halfway down. The toilet bowl was the saving grace, I shot out of that one like a cannon and ended up coming out head first?

 

Day 5 

Today was our second sea day. Today was also the day we wanted to do all thing things on the ship we have yet to experience. 

Breakfast today was down at Johnny Rockets. Was nice to not be at Windjammer and have somewhat of a relaxing breakfast, let's be honest, that place can be an adventure to navigate.

After breakfast we headed straight to mini golf. The course was really fun and ended up getting a hole in one on the last hole. 

The Abyss, oh boy that was so much fun. Was a little nervous standing on that top deck looking down waiting to slide but was a breeze once we went down. 

Day also included the usual pools, hot tubs and ice cream. 

We decided to skip formal dinner and went to Jamie's Italian. I had the chicken cacciatore while my wife had the ribeye and we loved both. Dessert they brought out the dessert plank and we'll just say that was a hit with everyone ? 

After dinner we had a reservation for Columbus and that has been hands down our favorite show by far this trip, this show was hilarious.

Well that pretty much sums up day 5. On to day 6

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Day 6 was the day we were most looking forward to and one of the reasons we went on the Western Caribbean cruise, our day in Cozumel. 

 

About 3 days prior we knew it was going to be a rainy day so we cancelled our reservations for Mr Sanchos and decided to spent the day in port shopping and eating. Was initially disappointed but it turned into a good day regardless. Our hual included some jewelry, chocolate, tequila, cologne and trinkets for the kids. 

Once back on board we spent some time in the hot tubs and then dinner at Windjammer again. After that we played mini golf again and ping pong, by that time it was 10pm and I was spent. Off to bed for day 7

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So here we are on day 7 which means tomorrow we are back home  . . .booooooooo.

Currently sitting in Sabor for dinner and I'll go out on a stretch and say the shredded short rib tacos have been the best meal I've had the whole trip. 

We skipped breakfast and ended up sleeping in until 9:30 which is super late for us.

Rushed down to promanade to check out the glassware and t-shirt sale and of course walked away with some goodies. Also went to the other gift shops to do some last minute shopping. 

After shopping we had some time for ice skating. Myself and our 2 oldest went and had a blast.

At 2:30 we had our showing of Grease. Was a fun show but not my favorite thing. My wife and kids loved it however.

So her we are finally caught up. Will try to post more later but anticipate a busy evening and morning. Have tons of pictures to share so stay tuned

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A day late but here is day 8 

Today was the day nobody looks forward to, the last day of the cruise. With our bags put outside the night prior, there wasnt much left to pack up to carry off. We had decided to wake up early so we could enjoy one last breakfast at Windjammer. After that we grabbed our carry off bags and headed down to Silk to wait for our number to be called. Number called, left the shipped, found our bags and loaded up into our SUV and was back home in less than an hour. That last sentence was such a depressing sentence to type  ?

Overall thoughts and pictures to follow

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A quick recap of our cruise along with some more pictures

 

Where do I even begin . . . rating these on a scale of 10

 

Cruise 10/10

Id give the cruise itself a 10 out of 10. Was everything I knew it would be, well actually better than I thought it would be. Can't wait until we can book another cruise and have already begun talking about it.  More than likely will be in 2020 and the revamped Coco Cay is on our list of stops we would like to hit up. 

 

Room 9.5/10

Besides being on the smaller side, which being on a ship, I totally understand, our room was great. Loved the location overlooking the boardwalk and being able to see the water and The Fine Line was a wonderful thing. I am deducting half a point because of the rock hard beds. Other than that we were totally happy. Also being able to watch the movies on the big screens at the aqua theater from our balcony was super cool. 

 

Crew 10/10

Everyone we interacted with was wonderful. Our room attendant Sydney was the man and took care of us and  anything we needed. The few times at customer service went smoothly with no issues. No complaints here from us. 

 

Food 8/10

There were a few things we came across that was so so, like super burnt and crispy toast and french toast in Windjammer but then there was some amazing food as well, like our meal in Sabor. 

 

Shows 10/10

The shows blew our minds, didn't expect them to be that good, even the ice skating shows. I preferred Iskate over 1887 and Columbus over Grease but all were spectacular. The Fine Line was an action packed spectacle and a must see. We did miss the headliner act and comedian. The character meet and greets and breakfast was a lot of fun as well as the parade in the promenade.  

 

 

 

 

Labadee 10/10

Was really more than we were expecting. Could have spend a few more hours here. Zipline and coaster were highlights for me and my kids loved the beach and aqua park. 

 

Falmouth 7/10

For me this port was just ok. Probably the one port I would have been ok skipping, would have like to see more of the country side though 

 

Cozumel  8/10

The rain really did put a hamper on the day but made the best of with some shopping and lunch, the shopping did make up for a lot for us. Along with Jamacia, would have loved to see more of the real country 

 

 

Things we would have done differently 

Packed less, we severely over packed. Being our first family cruise we didn't know how much to bring and really could have brought less. 

Sign up for my time dining. I selected the 5:30 dining time and only made it to one meal at that time. Next time will def do the my time dining. 

Bring/save more money to spend in Cozumel, lol.  

Book back to back cruises. This is a pipe dream but would have been really great

 

Odds and End

Embarking and disembarking the ship couldn't have gone smoother for us. I was pleasantly surprised how smooth and really didn't have to wait in any long lines either day. Even finding our luggage was a breeze

Ship could use a few more Coke Freestyle machines IMO ?

Elevators could be a pain sometimes but with that many people its understandable 

Ship could use a few more of those frozen yogurt stands also ?

Getting to and from our home in Palm Beach Gardens to Port Everglades was pretty easy as was dropping off our bags and parking

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