The global shutdown of Royal Caribbean's cruise ships means all of its vessels have been idle since March, and the crew is just as anxious as the public to get back to cruising.

Harmony of the Seas Captain Johnny Faevelen took to Twitter to share a quick message while scooting around Central Park to tell folks he and the crew are ready to welcome guests back, once the current global health crisis subsides.

Captain Johnny shared a video of him driving around the signature Oasis Class neighborhood on his scooter.

⁦We onboard our beautiful #Harmonyoftheseas at @RoyalCaribbean⁩ are ready to welcome guests back to #CentralPark as soon as the #Corona is over and life return back to normal. #backinbusiness ⁦@RCGCareers⁩ ⁦⁦⁦@theRCLblog⁩ pic.twitter.com/MfP2nrBcen

— Johnny Faevelen (@HarleyCaptain) August 22, 2020

While Captain Johnny's message contains no new information on when or how Royal Caribbean might start cruising again, the sentiment has resonated with cruise fans who are equally eager to get back onboard.

Harmony of the Seas is currently in the Southern Caribbean near Barbados, where she has been primarily since the shutdown began. Barbados has left its borders open to cruise ships for resupply, as well as crew repatriation efforts.

Do you have a cruise booked on Harmony of the Seas and want to know all the nuances and tricks to the ship before you get onboard? If so, we have the perfect video for you.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is not only one of the cruise line's newest and most impressive ships, she is packed with tons to do.  To ensure you have the best cruise ever on her, I have shared the important things to know about Harmony before you get onboard.

And if you love this video, there’s plenty more for you to enjoy over on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!

So check out the video and then let us know: What important tips or suggestions would you share with someone going on Harmony of the Seas for the first time?

Royal Caribbean has rerouted Harmony of the Seas to avoid the path of Tropical Storm Karen.

Sheri from Cruise Tips TV shared an update from Harmony of the Seas to indicate an announcement was made onboard that the ship will change from an Eastern to a Western Caribbean itinerary.

Itinerary update from #Harmonyoftheseas - rerouted to Coz & Costa Maya. Thank you @HarleyCaptain for the timely and professional communication and @JamesVanFleet for keeping us ahead of this thing ??? pic.twitter.com/5ssBwVSBfy

— Sheri Griffiths (@CruiseTipsTV) September 23, 2019

Instead of visiting St. Thomas San Juan, the ship will head to Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico.

September 13 Update: 

We have received further clarification on this change.  

• All short itineraries (5-nights or less) offer a “Wear Your Best” evening onboard (in lieu of a formal night).  Royal Caribbean describes it as: Nighttime’s the right time to wear your best look.  That means a step up from your tropical dinner wear, and includes collared shirts, dresses, skirts, blouses and pantsuits.  Jackets, tuxedos/formal wear sports coats and blazers are also appropriate. 
• Sailings that are 6-nights or longer still have formal nights.  This includes Harmony of the Seas and all sister ships sailing 6+ night itineraries.    

Guests sailing on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas will no longer see "formal night" listed as a dress code, as it is now referred to as "Wear Your Best".

Mike Chase shared a copy of the Cruise Compass from Harmony of the Seas on Facebook, where the new dinner dress suggestion is listed in lieu of what was formerly known as formal night.

The Cruise Compass on Harmony of the Seas lists a dinner dress suggestion of "Wear Your Best", which is described as "Say goodbye to Formal Night, and hello to Wear Your Best.  Get glamorous. Be Chic. It's time to shine - your way."

The transition from "formal night" to "wear your best" is not new to Royal Caribbean, as we first spotted the change on Mariner of the Seas last year.  That change did coincide with the ship's recent amplification. Similarly, Navigator of the Seas also switched to "Wear Your Best" as part of her amplification. We also spotted the switch on Anthem of the Seas & Enchantment of the Seas.

Tropical Storm Dorian formed in the Caribbean in the last few days and has caused two Royal Caribbean ships to change itineraries to avoid the projected path of the storm.

Harmony of the Seas has changed from an Eastern Caribbean itinerary to a Western Caribbean itinerary.

The new @RoyalCaribbean #HarmonyoftheSeas Itinerary is as follows: Perfect Day CocoCay, Cozumel, Roatan (phenomenal snorkeling and diving), Costa Maya, back home safely...no storm!! pic.twitter.com/Uf7utH7EAw

— James Van Fleet (@JamesVanFleet) August 25, 2019

Symphony of the Seas has changed her itinerary and is skipping a scheduled stop at St. Maarten, while adding a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay at the end of the sailing.

The new @RoyalCaribbean #SymphonyoftheSeas Itinerary is as follows: San Juan, Labadee, Perfect Day at CocoCay, back home safely...no storm!! pic.twitter.com/3aiqbKR8bu

— James Van Fleet (@JamesVanFleet) August 25, 2019

Allure of the Seas has changed from an Eastern Caribbean itinerary to a Western Caribbean itinerary.

Photo by Joe Kuehner Jr

We will share any further itinerary updates if/when they occur.

As of Sunday afternoon, Dorian’s tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles from its center. Forecasters said that Dorian is expected to move generally west-northwestward for the next several days and start impacting some Caribbean islands.

We recommend following Royal Caribbean's Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet for weather updates.

A second Royal Caribbean ship has skipped a scheduled visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico earlier today due to political demonstrations in the capital.

Yesterday, Empress of the Seas also skipped a visit to San Juan because of the ongoing protests. 

Protests began over the weekend after the Center for Investigative Journalism published nearly 900 pages from Rosselló's private group chat via Telegram. The messages uncovered a vengeful approach to government, attacks on journalists, threats to turn over political opponents to the police as well as homophobic and misogynistic remarks.

The next scheduled visit to San Juan is Allure of the Seas on Thursday.

We are sharing our favorite hidden secrets about Harmony of the Seas in this RoyalCaribbeanBlog video!

Harmony of the Seas is incredible, and we scoured the ship to find (and now share) little known secrets… from spots to underwater speakers to unique entertainment, and SO much more. 

And if you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single episode!

If you have cruised on Harmony of the Seas, what is your favorite secret about the ship? Share your ideas in our comments!

Guests aboard Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas have reported that the highly-anticipated chat feature of Royal Caribbean's new smart phone app have been activated.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Marshall Stewart sent us a screenshot of Royal Caribbean's app while onboard Harmony of the Seas and noted that the app has enabled the chat feature, as well as the X-Ray vision app.

The features were activated during their sailing while the ship was visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The chat feature allows guest-to-guest chat on Harmony of the Seas.  Guests may link to other staterooms and chat with friends and family for free.

Previously, Royal Caribbean had been testing the chat feature exclusively on Allure of the Seas.

The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

Royal Caribbean is testing a new feature on Harmony of the Seas that allows guests a self-service option to take cash advances that are charged against their SeaPass account.

Traditionally, cash advances required guests to go to the casino cashier to have money charged against their account. 

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Rich Freudenberg spotted this new "room charge" option, where guests can log into their account on any casino machine and charge up to $300 per day right from the SeaPass account (cash or credit) into the machine, thus eliminating the need to see the cashier.

The Owner's Suite on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is a popular choice for guests who want to indulge in a suite experience. It offers a lot of living space, and the Sky Class benefits of the Royal Suite Class.

This photo tour comes to us from Royal Caribbean Blog readers Elizabeth & Brian Robinson, who recently sailed on Harmony of the Seas.

These photos are from stateroom 11644. The Owner's Suite offers 556 square feet of living space, along with a balcony that comes in at 243 square feet.

Owner's Suite staterooms on Harmony of the Seas include Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King a private balcony living area with table and sofabed private bathroom with tub and two sinks marble entry large closets an interactive flat-screen TV mini-safe radio telephone and a hairdryer. 

Being a suite, this type of stateroom qualifies for the Royal Suite Class Sky Class amenities, which includes: Concierge Services (Priority reservations priority theater seats access to Suite Sun Deck access to Exclusive Suite Beach on private islands priority boarding and departure and more); luxury pillowtop mattress luxury Hermes Ferragamo or L''Occitane bath amenities all-day access to Coastal Kitchen special in-suite dining Suite Lounge specialty bottled water complimentary: VOOM internet Spa Thermal Room access (1-day pass) exclusive access to Signature Activities in-suite welcome amenity and more.

All photos by Brian Robinson