Dave85

We saw Sonic Odyssey on the Quantum in April and it was wonderful. It was the most innovative show that we have ever seen. Do they also have it on the Anthem?

Nope, Anthem has a very strange show called The Gift. Talent was top notch but the show itself was kind of odd.

What venues are open for lunch upon boarding. I was hoping to avoid the always crowded buffet.

 

Thanks

Cafe 270 was very quiet for lunch after we embarked, and it was fun to sit and eat it in 270 (which we were seeing for the first time). Basically everything was open except a main dining room for lunch on the first day. Lunch was served in American Icon on subsequent days.

Formal dress nights have now been eliminated from Celebrity so this half hearted effort at the Grande should be scrapped altogether as its a joke really. Wear what you want and we will give you a jacket to carry to your chair. Pointless.

 

 

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We got back from the first Caribbean 12-night today and I have to agree with you and generally think The Grande needs some serious work. The food and service in The Grande were dreadful and by far the worst on the ship. In contrast, we found the food and service in the other 4 included restaurants (including Devinly) to be quite good. I think they need to just scrap The Grande and come up with something else.

Should have mentioned we also all got RCCL backpacks. Nothing super fancy but nicer than the ones that are just a pouch with strings. These are actually going to be useful for beach trips, etc. Several pockets with zippers.

We were very surprised and impressed too -- I love the Anthem inaugural season backpack. It was funny in the ports, everyone from the Anthem was wearing them around LOL. Looks like RCI is learning from past mistakes.

We will be on the 11/30 sailing. What kind of dancing? Big band...salsa or what?

I was referring to DJ dancing. Latin is in Boleros. Other groups (ship band, horns, excellent calypso band Hot Spices) will also perform at various times.

Wow, great to hear Dave. I wonder if the Escape will top the Anthem for you!

I expect to have an absolute blast on the Escape in May, but it's going to be very, very hard for Escape to top the Anthem. The ship is just incredible, and 270 is a world class entertainment venue. Also, my fears about the lack of a dedicated dance club were wholly unfounded. Both 270 and the Music Hall were outstanding dance clubs! The crowd on our sailing was very old which depressed the night life scene a little bit, but I can imagine it bring outstanding on other sailings.

Ken, it was great finally meeting you and Paulette on Anthem! Just read through your review and even spotted us in a couple pictures haha. Looking forward to reading your conclusions about the cruise. We had an amazing time and I decided that the Anthem is my new favorite ship.

Our and prayers are with the families of the passengers who passed away. Very sad seeing those ambulances last night. All of us experienced cruisers knew that something was very wrong when the ship started vibrating and then all of a sudden we were doing 24.5 knots on night 11... :(

Just got off today, enjoy it! Amazing ship, and my new favorite!

Captain Claus told those on ship that he rotates off Anthem tomorrow. I bet he's ready. They had to speed and got back to Bayonne tonight. They had multiple medical emergencies.

 

 

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Just off Anthem, Captain Claus was terrific the entire cruise -- very clear, very informative. He also did a great job managing and explaining the sad medical situation with four guests that resulted in our early return to Bayonne.

Back to the topic at hand, he said that Captain Andersson (presumably Gus) was already on board and would be taking over today.

Ok $5 is not an issue to me - but having to go to guest services to get it would be - lines can be very long. Why not provide them and then if used add the charge - if not used then no charge.

 

 

 

But please do not make me go to guest services. I agree that not having them will not affect my cruise and will not make the ship less WoW - but it does seem odd since I lot of press on this class of ship focused on the WoW band and High Speed Internet.

 

 

 

Wonder what the real reason for backing away from them. I assume they cost money and take human labor to provide and setup. So I get charging $5 So $5 x 4000 guests is $20,000 bucks a cruise if everyone used them. I am guess with guest services involved the number will be lower unless they have stations set up just for the WoW band.

Going to guest services isn't exactly how they did it. There was a table set up across from guest services in the corridor that was selling them... So assuming they stick with that plan, you won't have to actually wait on the guest services line.

OP returning as an absolutely fabulous 12-night cruise on Anthem comes to a close. I did not end up purchasing a WOW band, mostly out of principle, and I'm glad I did not as they seemed absolutely pointless. Seeing everyone have to take them off their wrists and hand them over to bartenders, just like I did my card, sealed the deal for me. I would have given it a shot if it were free, but absent any further investment by RCI to better utilize the technology I highly recommend that nobody purchase a WOW band on Anthem.

Now, off to sleep. Sadly disembarking in the morning!

Dave, is Dynamic Dining still available?

Yes it is, no other changes that I can see from what was previously reported here on CC.

Just an FYI, we boarded Anthem today for her first Caribbean cruise from Bayonne and did not receive WOW bands in our cabin upon embarkation. After our cabin steward informed that he was not given any to hand out this week we inquired at Guest Services and were told that the free WOW bands were discontinued and they are now only for sale for $4.something. Just an FYI! One person so far from the CC roll call still got one in her cabin, but others did not. Odd.

Stunning ship, ready for a great cruise! Haven't decided yet whether to buy a WOW band.

There seems to be a developing trend of designating a night for people to dress up if they want to (take photos, etc.), but not making it mandatory. I saw this personally for the first time on NCL last year and enjoyed it. It's a reasonable compromise.

P.S. Just noticed Dave, I'm going to be on that November Harmony with you.

Very cool. Looks like a great CC group for that one.

Great review, thanks so much ! However..... is this delay normal or just because of the nature of the TA ? I have never cruised out of Miami, but have the 8 day August cruise with a flight out of FLL at 12:45. Couldn't make that one today I don't believe. Thanks Gerry.

Every recent review of TA cruises, regardless of ship or line, has detailed extensively delays at disembarkation. It's a customs issue. Not to worry, shouldn't be a concern when she starts her regular Caribbean runs.

I'm on the 11/10 sailing and we have a poster on our roll call who is going out on the final 2-nighter today. Anthem's sailed at 5:30 for the previous two previews, FYI.

This forum is like a great store in an inconvenient strip mall. Just a bad spot if you want a lot of traffic.

LOL, great analogy.

I believe I read somewhere that the Oasis does not have the ability to lower the telescoping stacks anymore. If that is the case, then she won't fit under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which has a navigational clearance of 215'. The Oasis comes in at 236' with the stacks in the raised position.

Yes, that is my understanding, as well.

Do you guys happen to know if it's just Oasis that no longer has that capability, or is it the entire Oasis class (including Allure)?

Thanks for your review, and I look forward to reading your conclusions.

I imagine the whole "lack of a nightclub" thing will be much less of an issue in the Caribbean where they will likely use Spice H20 as a nightclub with the better weather... but I guess we'll see. It is actually a big deal to me, and if they eliminated it all together (which I highly, highly doubt) I will consider switching my May cruise to a different ship.

Short answer: no.

I've seen two physical fights break out in over 30 cruises, and both were on a different cruise line.

Thanks turtles, we shall go forth and be formal!

I'll be wearing a suit in the Grande next week (!!!). Might ditch the tie depending on my mood, but definitely at least a suit.

I was wondering the same thing. We are in 6166 on Anthem for the Nov 10 sailing. I thought I had read (for another ship) that they lost the couch due to the connecting door.

Yeah, you lose the couch on the Voyager Class ships (and I assume Freedom Class too but haven't personally confirmed). The couch was replaced by a single chair, which was a huge bummer. Seems RCI has fixed this issue on subsequent classes (Oasis / Quantum) by moving the connecting door to a better location.

Excellent start to your review -- thanks for taking the time to do it.

I would love to see it based in Miami and do the southern route that Navigator does part of the year going to the ABC's.

I think that would be great. We would probably do that cruise.