Day 5: Royal Caribbean | Harmony of the Seas
Another morning that started with breakfast on the balcony. I’m really enjoying having a Central Park balcony. I chose it because I could see my son climbing on a table for a closer look of the ocean, and felt this was a better option for him. A nice surprise is that the Central Park balconies have a proper table and chairs which makes a perfect setting for breakfast. By contrast, the oceanview balconies have a smaller coffee table.
First order of business was the pool and splash pad. We have been working on potty training for years and I was worried he wouldn’t be able to use the pool at all since it’s only for potty trained kids. The last couple weeks he really turned a corner with it all so I felt confident in his abilities to stay “dry” while using the pool. We went to the splash pad first and my son noticed that the giant bucket wasn’t filling and dumping water. He asked the lifeguard why it was off and she responded that when winds are high, they turn it off otherwise the water rains down into Central Park. He accepted the explanation and went to use the slides because they were open. The small slides have a height requirement of 42”, but don’t have an area to measure at the bottom. He climbed the structure and the lifeguard measured him and he was too short. He climbed back down and I said that’s okay we can go to the other splash pad with even smaller slides. We went to enter this one and were told he couldn’t enter because he was potty trained. I felt so bad because I prepared him so he could use the splash pad and now he was too big for the small splash pad and too small for the larger one. It was disappointing for sure. My son handled this news very well, but I knew it would grow to a problem if we lingered too long. I took him back to the cabin so we could enjoy other activities instead.
One of my son’s favorite things onboard Harmony of the Seas is the arcade on the Boardwalk. He had already played quite a bit utilizing an arcade card given to him for Christmas by grandma. The arcade card was loaded to his SeaPass and was very easy to use. The only problem was that there wasn’t a way to check the balance and at $2 to $5 per game it is easy for a four-year old to rack up a hefty bill. (Once the arcade card is done, it transitions to a charge to the room. Dangerous!) I went to guest services to inquire about his balance. It wasn’t as easy to find as you’d think. The lady told us the machine should give you a balance when you scan it. I didn’t see it but thought maybe I missed it. When we returned, I made sure to check again and it did not tell us a balance. Anyway, the little guy had $5 left. The situation had us looking at our accounts and we realized that my dad wasn’t showing the onboard credit promo that I booked for him. I went back to guest services while my mom took my son to the arcade. I spoke with the same woman and as she looked up the account she immediately said, “Do you know your son has spent $10 over his arcade card?” I guess Abuelita let him play to his heart’s desire! Anyway, it turns out the onboard credit was on my son’s account which is why no one else could see it. She transferred it and all was good.
What looks like giant Pringle potato chips are mounted on the side of the Boardwalk just past Johnny Rocket’s and before the Aquatheatre. A giant net hangs over the “potato chips” and children climb around them. My son spent the next three hours in here! At one point, he came down complaining that a big kid broke the net. I went over to look at the structure and all seemed well and good. So I told my son all is well, go back and play. A few minutes later I overheard another child telling his dad that something was broken so I started to examine things closer to find what they were talking about. My son came down again excited to tell me about his new “house” in the broken area. I told him to show me so he climbed back up. As he entered the house, another boy was examining the net and I asked him if what he was holding was broken, he said yes. I then went over to the crew member manning the slide to notify them of the issue. She said she would notify maintenance and within five minutes two members of the maintenance crew arrived. I helped them see what exactly was broken and the two men carefully examined the structure from the ground. It was rush hour in the playground so they didn’t take action right away. My son was the last man standing and when he jumped out, they immediately jumped in to tend to the structure. They fixed the area I pointed out and also added more clamps in areas that were missing them. I was impressed about how quickly they fixed the issue. As we walked to dinner, I noticed my son had a cut on his leg. I asked him if it was from the frayed cable and he said yes. I’m glad I spoke up to prevent other children from getting cuts and scrapes!
Dinner tonight was at the main dining hall. I started with a Caesar salad which was delicious and then had the lamb for my entree. The lamb was okay, but not my favorite. I’ve eaten lamb before, but I think this was my first time having a leg like this one. Cruises are the best for trying new things. If you don’t like it, you can just order something else! Although, I didn’t order something else. My son had the turkey which was far better in my opinion and I gobbled his leftovers. I had the apple pie for dessert which was the best dessert I’ve had so far on this ship.
Tonight’s show was a comedian, but based on the prior nights, I didn’t even try to attend. My son and I went back to the cabin to sleep while my parents continued onto the show.
#TravelingWithAutism #AutismMom #Boardwalk #HarmonyoftheSeas #traveladvisor #PlaygroundsatSea #RoyalCaribbean #travelblogger #Playgrounds
About the Author
Amaris is the owner of the Ohio-based travel agency, Adventures by Amaris. Her love for travel began at a young age when she traveled to her parents' home countries of England and Mexico. She continued traveling in High School by participating in a People to People program to Italy, France and Monaco. In college, she spent six weeks in Europe studying abroad and traveling. She visited Spain, Portugal, England, Wales, Ireland, Vatican City, and Italy in a whirlwind summer. Through her adult life she continues to make traveling a priority with her family. Her young son is autistic so navigating the world of traveling with an autistic child brings on new adventures. Her travel resume includes Mexico, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Colombia, and Cayman Islands. She is an expert in planning family vacations across the world from Disney World to Europe to worldwide cruises.
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