sromano516

Good evening. We had a beautiful day in CocoCay. Got over on one of the first tenders with my 17 yr old and headed straight for the Cabana area. My husband and 14 yr old had their first open water dives today. The tender only takes a few minutes, if that, once it actually leaves Anthem's side. The island is beautiful, I'm still in love with the idea of blue ocean water since I'm from New York. The cabana was amazing and I definitely would do that again! We were in Cabana #2 which is the first Cabana on the waterfront. I would recommend Cabana #3 if you could request it ahead of time, just because it's perfectly situated in my opinion. Because our Cabana was close to the ropes that separate our private area from the public area, people constantly were stepping over the ropes, ignoring the "private area" sign so they could take pictures and sort of invade our space. It wasn't often enough to ruin my day or bother me much. There was a few incidents that people completely wonder over to the cabanas as if they don't see ANY of the signs saying "private" and try to come into the Cabana or use the lounge chairs. But, the Concierge and staff handled it promptly. Yes, the Concierge from the ship was there with us all day. Another thing about the Cabana area, they have private restroom and bar; the deluxe private buffet was absolutely amazing!! My kids thought it was better than the food on the ship lol. I actually might agree. I also want to mention that the island is smaller than it looks on the map we found online. I thought it would be a long walk from the tender to the Cabana area and to then walk to the swimming area etc... but it's not a long walk at all. Very short distance away. I have joint problems and it gets painful for me to walk too much. I did just fine for most of the day. The Cabana is facing the ship, so you have views of the ship and water hitting up against the rocks. The swimming area with the public beach is off to the side and like I said, it's really not far at all. I will try to upload a video if I can. In case you can't tell, I think today was one of my favorite days and wouldn't think twice about renting a Cabana again.

Unfortunately, my 14 year old struggled with some things and couldn't move on with his Scuba certification. Had problems "equalizing" in the water depths. The instructor worked hard with him but they couldn't make it happen. So, I will be taking both my boys with me on the Seaworld Explorer excursion tomorrow in Nassau while my husband completes the dives necessary to earn his certification.

I have to break up this post since I can only include 6 pictures per post. Stay tuned for the dinner menu.

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Is the concierge lounge for suites and pinnacles only? Thanks!

Concierge lounge is for for Grand Suites and above, we well as Diamond members and higher. (Junior suites do not have access to the lounge. )

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Day 5 Compass (ugh, can't believe Day 5 is almost over, goes to fast!)

While in the Concierge lounge, I was able to get a picture of Adventure Ocean Compass too:

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Any more kids compass'?

I don't have little children so I've been snapping pictures as a courtesy when we are in the concierge lounge. We didn't go tonight since we got back late from our day at port. They have those different compasses in the lounge for access. I'm not sure if we will go tomorrow night but, if we do, I will take some more pictures for you. And if not tomorrow, then definitely the next day.

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Good evening. We were up at 5:30 this morning for a day at Universal. The ship did not announce that the gangway was open, we happened to be down there early, waiting, and just went off when they opened it. We had car service scheduled to pick us up at 7am but they were running late due to detours, which is due to wild fires that they have been having here. We ended up taking a taxi and it took us 2 hours to get to Universal Studios. I did hear that other people, that left later than us, never made it to Orlando and ended up doing something else. We pre-purchased a VIP private tour at Universal and was able to do both parks in one day, back on the ship before 7:30pm. It's a bit expensive but was a great experience, especially when short on time. I believe you can check it out on Universal's website if anyone is interested.

Upon arriving back on the ship, we purposely went to Windjammer to have ice cream. Yes, their amazing ice cream, before our dinner lol. We cannot comprehend why the ice cream served in Windjammer is so much better quality than the dining room. Why wouldn't they use the same ice cream, especially in the dining room? We have eaten both multiple times and can say that they are definitely different.

Anyway, we ate in our main dining room tonight. I ordered the Braised beef short rib and loved it, very tender and delicious. My husband ordered the lasagna but found it to be overcooked and dry, he only ate half of it (it was a small piece). The waitress also recommended the Osso bucco to my husband and brought that out for us to share. I'm so glad she did, that was also very good! For dessert, I ordered the Cherry Jubilee and my husband ordered the donuts. We both enjoyed our desserts.

Afterwards, we went outside as the ship pulled out of Port Canaveral. While walking the outside deck, I discovered that Jamie's Italian specialty restaurant had an additional dining area outside on the deck. I only knew about the dining room inside the ship and was not aware of this additional dining space outside. I don't know if it's used often, I saw most people inside. I thought it was interesting and snapped some pictures.

After that, we headed to the Music Hall for a 50's and 60's music party, by Synergy. I loved it. A lot of people were dancing and the Music was great. I hope they do it again because I would have liked to dance but was too tired from our long day.

Tomorrow we will be at CocoCay. My husband and 14 yr old son have to be up early and at the indoor pool at 7am for more scuba certification stuff. They will be doing their first open water dives tomorrow at CocoCay. My 17 yr old and I will be getting off and hopefully relaxing most of the day, we rented a Cabana for the day. We also have the Jet Ski Tour excursion booked for around 2pm and then have to be back on the ship and ready for iFly at 4:40. That's the plan, we will see how it all works out!!

Have a good night everyone.

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Today's Compass - day 4

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Can you please advise what the current dress code is in the MDR. There is a thread on this board that says shorts are now permitted in the MDR but the Royal Caribbean website does not indicate so. My husband likes to wear dress shorts to dinner. We just want to make sure we have the right clothes. Thanks in advance.

My husband has been wearing shorts to the dining room and nobody has said any thing. My kids wore their basketball shorts without any issue.

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Two weeks ago, I had the braised beef duo in the Anthem MDR and it was wonderful.

That did look good! I was kind of disappointed that we didn't go to MDR.

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For the person that asked for a picture of Coastal Kitchen... sorry, it's not a great picture but I snapped one quickly when there for lunch.

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Good evening. I am completely exhausted even though I don't feel like we have done very much. Our day did start at 6:30 so that could be why. We have a big day planned for tomorrow at Universal Studios so we are going to bed early. The kids on the other hand, will probably have a tough time waking up tomorrow lol.

We did the Northstar today. I was a bit scared, my kids were too lol. It was a bit rocky/shaky during the ride. After being lifted to the top, the fear started to subside as you are distracted by the views. It's less than 10 minutes and worth the time and experience. The kids participated in teen dodgeball which seemed fun and slightly violent. My husband tried to get in on the adult volleyball but they must have started a few minutes early because they were playing when he arrived. We then tried to get an ice cream cone by the pool but the line was so long and as I got closer, a staff member stopped the line to refill all the machines which took so long that I couldn't stand there anymore. We went to Johnny Rockets and paid $4.50 for a milk shake which I would compare to getting a milk shake at Burger King. We discovered they use the same liquid dessert that comes in a carton, that they use to fill the soft serve cone machine. So we are basically paying $4.50 for the same thing that you can get for free in a cone. I guess it's up to you and what you like. I wouldn't do that again on this ship. I also prefer the sit down style of Johnny Rockets which we had on Independence of the Seas. Again, the way they have it on this ship is like Burger King/McDonald's in the way that you order your food at a counter and then take it to a seat yourself. I liked the sit down and be served style better, especially when they are making you pay for it. The prices for the burgers aren't bad so I'm not against that at all, I just personally don't like the way it's setup and wouldn't recommend the over priced milk shake.

Later on we met up with fellow cruise critic members at Two70 which was very relaxing with a nice atmosphere, comfortable seats and a beautiful view. It has been a pleasure making new friends and hearing people's experiences.

As usual, we went to the concierge lounge around 5-5:30 for appetizers and drinks. We have found that even though the concierge has been helpful, the service of the waiters in the concierge lounge is quite poor. We sit around for a while each night before being approached for our drink order. The lounge is very nice and cozy, I just wish the wait staff showed us a bit more personality and personal service. We had a great experience with the concierge staff on Independence so we do have something to compare it to. Typically the staff on the ship is friendly and enthusiastic so I find it odd that they would have anyone working in the Concierge lounge that doesn't present those characteristics.

As I already posted earlier, we ate our lunch at Coastal Kitchen. I had planned on dinner in the main dining room but my husband was not in love with the menu. I snapped some pictures for you of our preview.

We decided to give Coastal Kitchen a try for dinner. Again, I just didn't find it to be our personal taste. It was quieter but overall, I have not had a problem with the main dining room noise or food, it's always been great appetizers and entrees. So... Coastal Kitchen... my husband ordered the shrimp cocktail which was delicious. I ordered the scallops appetizer but I apparently didn't know what I ordered because it was thinly sliced and served cold in some bitter sauce. I couldn't eat it. We both ordered the Grilled NY Strip, cooked medium. Neither of our steaks were medium, maybe medium-well at best; no pink in mine. Overall, I did like the steak and potato that it came with. It wasn't nearly the best I've had but it was decent. It was a big portion of meat, neither of us finished it. Moving on to dessert. We both ordered the Ivory Mousse and enjoyed it. It was a beautiful presentation and delicious.

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We ate at Coastal Kitchen for lunch. I loved their breakfast but the lunch isn't exactly my husband's type of food. I did enjoy the items we ordered though. We shared a Flatbread, I got a shrimp and spinach salad, my husband ordered a herb crusted chicken.

As for the elevator situation, we have had some long waits at times but nothing comparable to the first night. For the most part, it's been a reasonable wait.

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Thanks for the great review. Sounds like your family is having a blast. Glad to see the wiping down of handrails. Hoping they do the same with elevator buttons. I am very concern as we are boarding April 29 and recently had a bout of pneumonia. So my immune system is not what it should be. I will load up on probiotics and wash wash wash my hands like crazy. We too are celebrating a special anniversary.Happy anniversary to you and your hubby.

Thank you! The time goes so quickly, Day 3 already. I never see fingerprints on the elevator buttons so I assume they must be wiping them down. Hope you feel better; try increasing Vitamin C and take some echinacea to boost your immune system. Enjoy your anniversary!

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Day 3 Compass

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I'm enjoying your review. You're making me re-think my cabin choice...a suite might be sweet!

Thank you! I enjoy the suite for the perks and the bigger room. Don't go bankrupt for it though lol. You do need to weigh the pros and what you get out of it, which could offset some things you were going to pay for anyway. Like the free drinks we get in Concierge, the free Voom Internet with our room, VIP embark and disembark, and some other things that might matter to us but be totally stupid to someone else.

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We asked our steward and she took care of getting approval. We asked her at the time of embarking and by Day 2, she opened the balcony (when she made up the room in the morning).

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thanks for the pics of the lounge. i hadnt seen those before. anyone know if JR suites get that too? guessing not.

Grand suite and above has access to the concierge lounge. We enjoy the perks very much and have found it financially reasonable to pay more for the GS in return for some of the perks. The Concierge has helped us a lot on this cruise, making reservations that would have been almost impossible on our own. Moving reservations around as well. We also have received numerous free cocktails in the lounge as well as other times, just for having the suite. As my husband stated yesterday I think, it makes the drink package worthless to us. We aren't big drinkers and the few drinks he had, were free. He paid for maybe one or two drinks since sailing. If we drank a lot or more through the day, it would be a different story.

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Oh, I almost forgot... I was pleased to see that they have staff cleaning all the handrails on the ship. That's something I questioned, thinking they would sanitize tables and clean rooms and such but forget about other things that people touch. I have a weak immune system so it made me happy lol

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Good morning. We are up early since my husband and 14 yr old are doing the PADI scuba certification and have their training from 7-10am today in the indoor pool. I didn't believe all the rumors about "pool hogs" but before 7am, people already have towels and belongings thrown on pool chairs at both the indoor and outdoor pool area. Are they even here? Nope! They apparently have someone put stuff on a chair and leave, saving chairs for later. I'm actually here at 7am and felt pressured to pick a chair for myself before it gets taken. So be aware! I wish the crew would put a stop to that. If you want to hold chairs, you should be in the pool area.

Okay, enough ranting. The sun is rising and the temperature should be warmer today so the long pants are finally coming off of me. Bathing suit and cover up are on.

We saw The Gift last night and both my husband and I have the same exact opinion. We live in NY and see a couple Broadway shows a year. With that said, we were impressed with the amazing visual affects, theatrics, dancing etc... the plot itself is not really good. Or better said, my husband called it "a hot mess". The actors/dancers did great with what they had to do and like I said, the affects were great. I would recommend it specifically for that. If you look past the confusing and strange story presentation, you can enjoy what they are doing and the work they put into it.

Something else I wanted to point out that we discovered last night... eating dessert after 9pm is not easy lol. After the dining room, the buffet closes at 9. We found the outside ice cream machine closed by 9:30 too(or no cones left to get ice cream) and Johnny Rockets (for shakes) also had a closing time of 9:30. I couldn't believe how early they close! I think they were open until 11pm on our cruise last year (Independence of the Seas). Just something to note to those people who like a late night snack and dessert. You can have pizza at Sorrento's and cookies/mini cupcake in Cafe Promenade but, that's sort of it. I didn't want pizza right before bed so I actually ate a little tuna sandwich from Cafe Promenade.

Something I'd like to mention that made me really happy... multiple times in the late hours (9-midnight) we found my 14 yr old sitting around with a bunch of other kids. On our way to The Gift we saw Jayson sitting with 4 other kids, talking and having fun. After the show, when we went to Cafe Promenade and Sorrento's to sit down, he was there with even more friends... laughing and having a great time. Huge smile on his face. He didn't see us, so I got to enjoy it from afar. It's just nice to watch them make friends and have fun on a strange ship with new faces. Both my boys haven't been really following the club activities (they find it boring) but they have been meeting up with kids at random places and having a good time, keeping busy.

As for today's plans, I am hoping for a nap lol. Other than this scuba thing until 10am, we have Northstar reserved for 2pm. That's all that is planned right now. We did enjoy a get together with fellow cruise critic members at one of the bars yesterday (even though I don't drink). People have recognized us mainly from Facebook posts, which is a little weird at first that people know our names lol, but it's really cool to feel like we have friends on board. It's making us be more social than we usually are. Meeting some nice and interesting people [emoji3].

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If you don't like the desserts that night, there are other things you can ask for. I've had ice cream with chocolate chip cookies, ice cream with fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup, jello, any of the desserts you can get with ice cream or whipped cream. The Royal Chocolate cake is good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There are also some good desserts on the kids menu that you can get.

Hi. We actually did mix and match desserts. For me, I did order the Royal Chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream but didn't find the cake or ice cream to be anything great. Again, it's my opinion. It wasn't bad but I did find some better quality items in the Windjammer that we liked. I know the menu items will change daily and will continue trying other items.

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Good evening. We enjoyed a nice formal night dinner at our MDR. I posted the picture of the menu earlier, but they must have had a change from the time they left the preview menu in our room. Instead of veal tenderloins, they had duck. They actually bring a nice array of appetizers before you even order your actual appetizers and entrees, consisting of a bread basket, fruit plate and a cheese plate with pecans and dried apricot:

Both my sons and I ordered the seafood with linguine which was tasty:

My husband ordered the beef tenderloin:

I forgot to do it last night but tonight I remembered to snap a picture of the dessert menu. Quite honestly, the appetizers and entrees are good but the dessert hasn't impressed us. We actually enjoyed Windjammer dessert/ice cream better. (Don't get upset, that's our personal opinions thus far).

We have an 8:15 dinner time but went down at 7:15 to get pictures taken. It's a good thing we went early because the lines were long. We did manage to get multiple different background pictures and a picture with the Captain before going to dinner! So if pictures are important to you, get a head start!

Upon arriving back in our room, we had a cute animal waiting for us, with my husband's glasses on. We also received an anniversary card.

Okay, we changed back into something comfortable (dress and suit is not our norm) and we are heading out to see The Gift.

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For anyone with little ones... here is the Adventure Ocean Compass for Day 1 and 2

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Some pictures of the Concierge Lounge

Picture from out on the "wing" at Solarium

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A picture of my husband and I with the Captain during the suite cocktail gathering. Picture was taken by a 17 yr old so it's sort of dark lol

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Our grand suite (10642) is next to our kids balcony room (10644), they opened part of the balcony so we can be connected.

The kids balcony is actually pretty deep and big for a balcony room!

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Thanks for taking us along. Would love love love any pics of your GS, Coastal Kitchen and the suite lounge. Have a great cruise.

Hi. Here are some pictures of the grand suite. It has some Anniversary decorations (which is not free).

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