So I just booked the Harmony of the Seas over 4th of July week and it will be my first cruise taking kids and I'm a little lost and have lots of questions! The kids have sailed on Disney before so they aren't strangers to cruising, but it will be my first time taking kids on a cruise. It will be me, my Fiance, and his two daughters (ages 14 and 9) Here are some of my questions and thank you in advance for your help and guidance
I went on sister ship Oasis last week and hope this helps:
- How do we stay in touch with the kids on the boat? The younger one will go to the kids club, but the older one probably won't and I want to make sure she's able to reach us whenever. On Disney they have an app where you can text one another without the internet, does Royal do something similar? My suggestion is for your older child and you to download a free app on their phone, like "Whatsapp" and get wifi for both phones. You can text, although there can be a lag, but at least something to keep in touch on the ship. Wifi on Oasis worked exceptionally well.
- For the kids club, can we sign the kids up ahead of time or do we do it once we board the ship? You can signup at 3pm on the first day or anytime after for waivers and legal. After that, you can drop off child/ren whenever you want.
- We were assigned My Time Dining and when I booked the guy on the phone said we would never wait more than 15 minutes. The last time I sailed on Royal (over five years ago) I had this and if we didn't make reservations we could end up waiting hours for a table. Is there a way to book times we'd like to eat now, or when we get on the ship? Or will we really not have to wait when we show up? That's something we didn't do. sorry. we had 5:30 seating.
- I've never been on the huge ships Royal has, my last ship was Liberty of the Seas, which I thought was pretty huge at the time and I know Harmony is bigger. What's a good way not to get overwhelmed by the size? Get to know the ship as early as you can. My way to figure things out was to ask our stateroom attendant. He knew where everything was. By the 2nd or 3rd day, you'll figure out whether to go forward or aft, port side or starboard side.
- We have two balcony rooms booked overlooking the Boardwalk, will these be noisy because they are so close? Should I change these to a different location on the ship? I booked the nonrefundable deposit, but he said I can cancel within 24 hours so I'm okay moving the rooms if this location isn't that great. It can get noisy during normal hours but I would say that I could see into those rooms from the Windjammer buffet at night, so be careful!
- We've prebooked all the shows. When we get on the ship will there be something that has these all listed out or tickets for everything? Just want to make sure if there isn't I print out the itinerary.They scan the back of your seapass card with a reader at the front of the theater. They won't let you in unless it's within 15 minutes of show if you don't have reservations. Definitely reserve the shows and then don't show up if you change your plans.
- Any other tips on things I might not have thought about? Don't miss the aqua show or the ice skating show.
Sorry for all the questions!