As the pandemic came to a close and the world reopened, Janet and I reengaged with cruising by booking three cruises last year. We enjoyed every minute of our two Caribbean and one Alaskan cruise. This year we booked a Caribbean and a Mediterranean Cruise. As is our custom, the annual Caribbean is during the February school break. After being on smaller ships last year, we thought it would be good to get back on an Oasis class again. This year’s cruise was on board the Harmony of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale with stops in Nassau Bahamas, Falmouth Jamaica, and Labadee Haiti.

Oasis class ships are the largest passenger vessels in the world. Royal Caribbean has 5 in their fleet. Though Harmony of the Seas is the 3rd largest of five in gross tonnage, it is the longest and widest of any passenger vessel afloat. Like it’s sister ships, it carries around 6,000 passengers and is divided into 7 different neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are great for separating passengers so that the ship doesn’t feel overly crowded. Again, we enjoyed a balcony cabin. Ours was close to the aft of the ship, which meant we had long walks to the elevators. That just provided us with much needed exercise!

One of the main reasons I enjoy the Oasis class ships and their slightly smaller cousins, the Quantum class are the myriad of activities available. These ships boast rock walls, water slides, dry slides, over 13 pools and hot tubs, zip lines, flow riders and more just on their pool deck. Within the first hour I’d already ridden the 10 story dry slide called the Ultimate Abyss from the 16th deck to the 6th. Throughout the cruise we enjoyed the adults only solarium, some of the water slides, and the cantilever hot tubs that hang out over the ocean.

This ship is also loaded with entertainment venues. In the main theater we saw the musical Grease, as well as a parody show about Christopher Columbus. The back of the ship has an aquatic theater that hosted two different shows. And in the bowels of the ship is an ice skating rink that also hosted two separate performances.

Throughout the ship there are also comedy clubs, and other music venues to enjoy live performances. One of our favorite places on this ship is Central Park, an open air arboretum in the middle of the ship. It’s nice to sit and listen to a brass quintet while enjoying a nice glass of wine! This trip we also enjoyed a Queen cover band and the always fun Disco Inferno party!

As I mentioned earlier, we stopped in Nassau, Falmouth, and Labadee for our ports of call. Our day in Nassau was a casual beach day. It also went on record for handling the most cruise passengers ever as six ships docked there including two Oasis class ships and other “largest in fleet” from Carnival, MSC, and Celebrity. I read somewhere that over 45,000 people arrived that morning. We swore we saw half of them as we lined up for our excursion.

Our trip to Falmouth Jamaica included an excursion to swim with dolphins. They are truly magnificent mammals and we enjoyed being in the water with them. The park also included a little bird and iguana zoo. Both were eager to take pictures with us, but we skipped the poses.

In Labadee, I chose to do the 2500 foot over the water zip line. The experience included a smaller practice run for which I was really grateful. I was able to overcome any of my vertigo and fear of heights on the smaller scale before advancing to the larger attraction. By the time I got to the top, I was well acclimated and had a thrilling adventure flying over the water. Janet found us a fantastic beach umbrella under the zip line and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day watching other fliers and soaking in the beautiful caribbean waters.

The smaller ships have three or four specialty restaurants, but the Harmony had at least six. We opted to purchase a 3 night specialty dining package and were very pleased. We started at 150 Central Park. This is the type of upscale venue that we both really enjoy. It was a formal night so we dressed up anyway. The next evening we went more casual with Sabor Mexican cuisine. While it was typical mexican food, it did serve the best margarita on the ship. Our final choice was Chops Grill. Chops is a staple on all the Royal Caribbean ships. Though it’s usually our favorite, on this ship there were larger groups and families that kept it from being that special ambience we enjoyed at 150 Central Park. We’ll certainly dine there again, but I think we have a new favorite!

We didn’t choose Izumi, the Japanese restaurant as a specialty dining venue, however we thought it would be fun to try a sushi making class. We’ve made sushi at home, and wanted some professional input. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the cruise. Not only did we learn we’re doing everything correctly, but we got some great tips for making it easier, and had fine quality sushi for lunch! Yum Yum!

This year’s cruise included an adventure upon landing in Ft. Lauderdale. One of our dear friends from the Agape Players, Janet McCormick, met us at the airport and joined us for dinner. Janet toured with us when we first met. It’s always fun to catch up with these remarkable people and enjoy their company! The next morning, Janet and I enjoyed a beachside breakfast with Bloody Marys. We did this last year in Puerto Rico before our cruise and I think it’s going to become a tradition!

All good things must come to an end. Our floating home away from home silently glided into Port Everglades and all too soon we were shuttled to the airport and away from our tropical paradise. We were again affirmed how much we love this type of vacation. However, New England beckons us to come home and live like the tourists we are.