LadiDicruiser

Just off Adventure last week...we had 2nd.. seating dinner which was 8PM....the show times varied by night..there were 2 shows + ice show at both 7PM an 9PM....two shows were at 8 or 10PM....one show 7:15 and 10:15PM, and 1 show 8:15 and 10:15PM....

Sailed on Adventure 6/14 thru 6/22....first time on this ship....have over 15 cruises on RCCL....Although an older vessel, the lady was well maintained....we never had a problem getting a table in the Windjammer, nor the MDR for breakfast/lunch)....every staff member we encountered was helpful, agreeable and had an overall nice demeanor.....Trivia in the Schooner bar was crowded, but when they ran 3 or more trivia games back to back, people had been there for a few hours sitting at all the tables....the weather was perfect, fair winds and calm seas.....our Cabin attendant went out of his way to accomondate us, and our waiter/assistant every night for the 2nd. dinner seating were great....had salads out for 3 of our tablemates every night before we arrived....even on sail days there were plenty of loungers around the pool/sun decks....the staff to guest ratio is 1:3, much better than on the larger ships.

Just had 13290.....as it is below the Windjammer, there is somewhat a noise factor....we only heard a little late at night when they were cleaning up....some parts of Windjammer are carpeted, so guess it depends on the location of your cabin....in terms of distance, it is a long walk to the elevators though....

I sailed 3/9....these were the exact daily menu other than the Holiday one...

The expiration on you passport refers to entering other countries...some of the Caribbean islands follow the 6 month rule, meaning you need 6 months remaining on your passport at time of travel....

Hello, no matter what ship, I always book the top deck....if you look at the deck plans, there are fewer cabins the higher you go...

SO, for the 2nd. time in 6 months, my Anthem trip is causing anxiety....the September sailing went off without a hitch and we made it to Bermuda and back with the smoothest sail ever....now, hopefully she will arrive on time Friday AM and we can all board and make it out on schedule....

Only issue I see is the next storm coming up from the South which may affect our sailing out.....Yikes!

You still have time to renew your passport for your travel plans....I would not chance going without a current one....if for some reason something happens and they bump down more stringent regulations, you may be affected...personally - in today's culture, I would never travel out of the US without a passport regardless of what you can travel with....

My passport expires in July, and am cruising this week....I thought long and hard before I realized that I don't want to become a statistic. Even with almost 4 months left on before expiration - I renewed....took all of 9 days....

Hello, never sailed on Gem, but did Breakaway in 2015....I loved the ship, as it was a change up from the RCCL line I normally travel on.....as for size.....the Breakaway and Anthem are both BIG....probably the same size....

Greetings members,

 

Below is bit of a long post so I apologize in advance if it is too much of a read. Cruise critic seems to be one of (if not the) most active of cruise forums. So, I joined and wanted to introduce myself.

 

My wife and I have booked a 5 night cruise on Anthem of the Seas to Bermuda in September 2018. I am so glad I have found this forum to get tips and info. I have discovered a lot about the current cruising experience by lurking on boards like cruise critic.

 

I used to live in Florida so I have been on a number of cruises when I was younger. But I have not set foot on a large cruise ship (although, I have been on a few dinner yachts) in over 15 years. I know by my recent research that the ships are obviously much larger and more advanced than when they were 15 years ago. Anthem will be the largest ship that I will have travelled on. My wife, on the other hand, has no experience on any cruise at all. This will be her first cruise and, yes, she is excited.

 

The reason we choose the Bermuda trip is because we live just a 2 hour drive away from the Port, so we will not have to worry about booking a flight. Also, I like the idea of porting in one location for more than one day. This gives us one full day for touring the island and one day for beach bumming/ water activities. We are still debating on which shore excursions to take but we still have plenty of time to decide on that.

 

Now since it has been a long time since I have cruised you can imagine how many times my eyebrow raised at the price change at each process of booking. We knew we wanted an ocean view so we ignored the $599 price of the interior cabin and focused on cabins with views. We saw a deal where we could get a balcony cabin for the same price as an ocean view cabin, which was $749. After selecting the balcony cabin, I discover that the options at that price are only for “obstructed view” balconies. I immediately searched Google and YouTube to see what obstructed view meant and found out it is at the bottom of the ship where the life boats are hung. The “unobstructed” view balcony cabins were going for $825. So, I figured, “What the heck” and jumped on it. But after selecting the cabin I noticed we were on floors that were closer to the bottom of the ship. And if I wanted to get a balcony view cabin on a higher floor, the price would increase $12 - $14 per passenger. By this time, I knew it was looking less like a “deal”. But it didn’t matter. My wife and I want to enjoy a cruise and we are willing to pay for the extras.

 

We have been to many vacation resorts in the Caribbean and have enjoyed the luxuries of all-inclusive eating and drinking. Like I said earlier, it has been a while since my last cruise and I vaguely remember eating for free in certain areas. I really can’t remember ever drinking for free on a cruise. This is because I am not a heavy drinker. I kind of expected that there might be a charge for alcoholic drinks but what took me aback was there are no complimentary drinks outside of tap water and coffee. Not even soda. I don’t want to get into a debate on whether the deluxe drink package is worth it (there seems to be many ongoing threads about it already) but we ended up agreeing that while we do not need to drink a ton of alcohol, we would like to have a nice selection of nonalcoholic beverages and deal with alcohol as we desire to.

 

Below is a summary of our plan and itinerary. Let us know what you think.

• 5 night Bermuda cruise booked through RCI. Balcony cabin. 10th floor.
  
• We have picked MTD as we like to have the option of eating as early or as late as we want. Also, there may be a night or two where we may enjoy room service and dine on the balcony (weather permitting).
  
• I will get the Voom package that my wife and I will share to keep in touch with the family, friends, and … oh yeah, the kids. ;p
  
• We choose to skip the Deluxe beverage package and my wife and I will each get a refreshment package instead.
  
  • We are not heavy drinkers at all but do enjoy drinking so during the cruise, we will purchase drinks as we go and plan on using our cabin credit towards drink purchases.
    
  • We plan on bringing 2 bottles of our favorite wine (1 red and 1 white) for dinner on cruise nights
    
    • I would like to have our Red wine when dining at Chop’s and have the white wine at another restaurant that has yet to be decided.
      

    [*]We plan on keeping an eye out for the 10-drink card. This will allow us to try some of the specialty drinks.

  [*]Day 1 at port we plan on touring the island and dining at local restaurants

  • We are still deciding on excursions so any suggestions would be appreciated
    

  [*]Day 2 at port we plan on being on the beach(es)

  • I would like to also do some snorkeling.
    

This is pretty much it for now. Like I said the cruise is booked and we are excited to go. Cruise critic has a ton of threads to keep me both entertained and informed. We just hope there won’t be any more policy changes from RCI that will affect us before our sail. Look forward to posting with everyone.

Hello - and happy cruising....if I may add some tips for you.....first, the ship docks overnight in Bermuda, so the 1st. day would be good to hit the beach as there is no rush to get back to the ship.....the second day I believe it is all on board by 3 -4 PM....

The bus system is very good, or the ferries for that matter....most people head to Horseshoe Bay Beach....gets a little crowded, but it is very beautiful...

What I sometimes do, is book a room at one of the hotels that has a beach for the 1st. night...get off the ship early and head right to the hotel....then, check out the following day and head back to the ship....I know that negates the price you pay for the cruise, but makes for an enjoyable trip to Bermuda.....

@Dcjerseygrl, I have to know -- did you get on the Bermuda cruise you had booked?

 

 

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Yes, I am interested also....just got off Anthem this morning...BEST September cruise to Bermuda I have ever experienced, weather wise and sea wise.....it was awesome....

I just read the latest here, but is anyone scheduled for the Anthem leaving tomorrow? RCL is saying they are still monitoring it, but it plans to go to Bermuda. I realize legally I have no choice but to get on or lose 100%, but is asking for a credit to reschedule unreasonable given the circumstances? I would think customer relations wise if would be a good thing, rather than having a few thousand disgruntled people who will be bashing RCL all over social media.

NOON UPDATE we are sailing to Bermuda....there are no warnings, advisories in Bermuda at all....supposed to be beautiful weather on the way down and in Bermuda. IF the storm changes abruptly, we MAY travel home earlier....which would mean maybe a shortened stay in Bermuda....

Jose is going to make it difficult for Anthem to get back from Bermuda. Anthem is doing a 5 day to Bermuda, PP does not want to go to Canada, which is where Anthem will go if they don't head to Bermuda.

As of the noon update, we are sailing to Bermuda.....supposed to be beautiful weather down and in Bermuda....if conditions change we MAY be back in Bayonne early.....

Noon update....september 8th.....as of now we are going to bermuda.....hopefully everything shakes out in our favor.....

The only things I have seen that don't appear right are - there is a news article saying Jose will batter the same islands as Irma....and if you look at the NOAA tracking, doesn't look like Jose is going anywhere near.

Biting my nails, I am packed for tropical weather, and will be running around my suitcase if we head north....I am going no matter where we go....this will be my 7th cruise in September and 1st. time a problem....

You are missing a lot. You are very out of touch with reality. It's not simply "lets just sail right after the storm has passed." Who knows what damage will be done to the port and surrounding area. It takes A LOT of people to operate these ports and cruise ship terminals. There is a chance these people will not even be able to get to the port right after Irma passes depending on the damage it causes (downed trees, power lines, loss of power/utilities, flooding of the streets, etc). Never mind the fact that these people are worried about their own lives, their families, their homes. They need a moment to pick up the pieces as well. Emergency crews will all be very busy and over stretched and shouldn't be worried about a bunch of tourist immediately in the aftermath.

 

This is a very serious storm and has already caused devastating damage to some of the Caribbean Islands and is on a path toward Florida. Hopefully it weakens, or better yet, takes path back out to the Atlantic. But it is a very unpredictable situation. As some one mentioned, I would make alternative arrangements...and free up a hotel room for some evacuees or emergency responders.

I think your ship has already been notified that they aren't coming in on time...(?)....yes, you could hole up in a hotel, but wouldn't be too sure that that is the best option....still not sure where this thing Irma is headed....

been thru alot of tropical storms, and it is not pretty....and if I am not wrong, the ships come in drop off people then head out to safety and don't stay in the port....

guess you will know sooner than later what your options are.....you may not be the decision maker in this case...sorry -

You get 50% now and 50% on a future cruise. Your expensive Cozumel cruise is basically free. You just really like to complain irrationally, don't you?

I know this is ALL very stressful....my experience with any cruise line is, "buyer beware"...they can change itinerary, shorten the sail, cancel, etc....and in my over 14 years sailing, that is the bottom line....

I am ready for the 9/9 out of Bayonne to Bermuda....no flights involved, and no insurance....I am going if they sail....waiting patiently until tomorrow.

BTW, I truly feel for you and yours...It is hard enough to deal with this situation, not to mention a shortened cruise schedule etc....take care

husky01, please post there answer. My wife and I are scheduled on the Enchantment on 9/11 also. I doubt

I will to go into an area where a hurricane just passed.......we're from south Louisiana, so we have seen a hurricane or two!

Think that ship Enchantment was on the "cancel" list earlier today...

Thanks TIPS....pretty useless post for the 100's of people who's one week cruise vacation is on the brink of being ruined...:rolleyes:

I have sailed 7 times in the last 12 years in SEPTEMBER and have never had bad weather.....at all, ever....as a matter of fact, last years Anthem sailing was the smoothest the Captain said they had all season....

and being from the East Coast, I know the "hurricane" season inside and out...just a very active period this year....and I feel for ya....I am due to go out on 9/9 myself.....

Hello, all you September 9th Anthem people....we are now on a "watch" status for sailing....not due to Irma, but Jose who is close behind....believe there will be an update at 6PM tonight.....

Excuse me..... Don't be rude. My concern is not whether the ship goes out or not at this point due to a Hurricane. I am concerned about not being given accurate info so I don't go to the airport expecting to fly out and lose money etc. People fly in from all over the world to cruise and need ample time to make other arrangements etc. Is it too much to ask to be properly informed about whether or not its going to be cancelled? If I am suppose to sail on 9/9 waiting until that date or 9/8 to inform me doesn't help my flight situation when im flying out 2 days prior and can't change flights,cancel etc. I am well aware of the Hurricane so don't treat me as if I am not aware or don't care or lack concern!!

WELL, if I may interject....I believe you will know tomorrow what is happening...also, airlines are VERY flexible on cancellations due to weather related issues....happens sometimes in the winter with flights from Florida headed North....MANY times I have called and asked to re-schedule due to the conditions and have never been denied or charged for changes....

AND, you may not have to make the decision on your own...the airlines may start cancelling flights themselves....

My experience is that if you wait to book, the days and times are not very convenient....

Also on this sailing....hopefully, looks like this storm will be further south as we travel....I was thinking that we would head East then down.....have taken 5 cruises from this port in September to Bermuda....normally travel the last week in the month, but took a chance with this date....had picture perfect weather sailing each time....this time, who knows?

On Anthem September 9th from Cape Liberty....watching closely....hopefully we can skirt around this storm.