SpecialNeedsFam

Just checked the Royal website and summer 2021 cruises from Bayonne are up!  We always cruise in late August and it looks like our choices will be 4 night cruises to Canada on Freedom of the Seas, 5 night cruises to Bermuda on Freedom of the Seas, or 7 night cruises to the Bahamas on Oasis of the Seas.  

Just got back from our second cruise to Bermuda on Anthem. I was very curious about what changes we might experience compared to the previous year. 

Positive changes:

• Absolutely no begging for scores of  “10” this year, which last year had been constant
• extremely attentive head waiter and more efficient dining room overall (last year’s waiter seemed stretched thin and meals dragged on forever.)
• better quality of food in Windjammer.  Maybe we just were smarter about what to choose but we enjoyed our food a lot more this time around.
• better pizza in Sorrento’s. Only had it once was it was tastier than I expected.
• extremely friendly and thorough room attendant and two towel animals- a bunny and a bat (last year we only got one towel animal- an elephant)
• the royal app worked great and was very helpful

Happy to report there were no negative changes! Great cruise overall. I am looking forward to trying Oasis next summer when Anthem heads to Europe but I would gladly sail on Anthem again in the future. 

WiFi and WhatsApp is great for texting aboard the ship!

We definitely saw her while we were still docked! Facing the rear of the ship, she was on the left side (sorry, I never remember the technical names.)

Category 1K on deck 11- ultra spacious oceanview- might be a good match.

Just saved $45 by cancelling my three device surf n stream and rebooking it. Then I booked the refreshment package for $17/day, which is a dollar less per day than I paid last year. So excited!

I also don’t like the loud announcements, pleas and jokes via intercom- very annoying.

Disposable shower caps from the dollar store work great as plate covers- I did this several times to bring cheese and crackers back to the room. If you are bringing back anything other than finger foods, don’t forget to grab silverware too or bring a few plastic forks and spoons to keep in your cabin.

We are android users and found texting via Facebook messenger or WhatsApp very easy and reliable while on Anthem.

Soda packages don’t seem to even go on sale. They used to be $8.50/day- for my August 2019 cruise, they are $9.99. Voom prices vary quite a bit- often in the $14/day per device range but lower with sales. Good luck!

My beverage packages aren’t on sale yet but I just got Voom for 40% off- hooray!

I ordered several fruit flavored virgin drinks and they always used a mix.

I don’t love crowds but was able to mostly avoid them on Anthem. I just stayed away from the on-board shops during special promotions, the outdoor pool in the afternoons on sunny days (indoor pool was great all day!) and tried not to eat in windjammer at peak times. I absolutely hate the smell of smoke and was pleasantly surprised to find it fairly mild in the casino, especially the non-smoking slots area closest to the main dining room.

Wow, that's a long time in the MDR for a party of 3.

Our waiter and assistant waiter seemed perpetually overwhelmed- seems like they had more tables that they could reasonably handle. Water glasses went unrefilled for 20 minute stretches, requested drinks never arrived, never offered more bread... Our waiter seemed not to be able to handle what felt like simple requests (I asked for a plate of just asparagus and spinach because they were offered as sides with proteins I don’t eat. She brought spinach and potatoes. I asked for strawberries and she brought mixed fruit, no strawberries...) Everyone was very nice and seemed to genuinely want to please us but the execution wasn’t fully there.

How large was your MDR table?

 

Thanks for the report by the way.

There were just 3 of us.

Just returned from my first cruise. I followed a ton of advice I read on these boards, most of which was accurate and helpful. Here’s a list of what I learned that proved true and a few areas of (respectful) disagreement:

Helpful advice-

-bring magnetic hooks- we used them to dry out damp bathing suits

-bring post-it’s- helpful for writing notes to room attendant

-invest in zoom and download WhatsApp for easy free texting- worked great

-don’t overpack clothes- we lived in swimsuits, coverups, T-shirts

-pack extra sunscreen- Caribbean sun is indeed strong

-pack ziplock baggies and plastic shower caps- super helpful for bringing snacks from windjammer back to the room (cookies, nuts, granola, fruit) or covering a plate of food to take to-go.

-bring watch or portable alarm clock- cellphone and iPad didn’t usually sync with ship time

Didn’t prove true for us-

-bring (non-surge protected) power strip: our cabin had plenty of electronical outlets without one

-I was expecting the poolside ice cream machine and freestyle soda machines to always be broken based on reports on these boards but they were always in working order on our trip

-pizza- Sorrentos gets a bad rap. It’s not great but it hits the spot when you need a quick snack on an off hour.

Just got home from a 5 night cruise to Bermuda on Anthem of the Seas. This was our very first cruise. I read this board for a few months before we sailed, which proved incredibly helpful. Here is my review:

We arrived at the port around 11:30 and found the check-in process very smooth. We had about an hour to eat lunch and explore the ship before our cabin was ready.

CABIN: We had a “superior ocean view” (1M) cabin- 8510- and it was fabulous- very roomy with tons of storage space and a magnificent oversized window.

FOOD: Most days we ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer and dinner in the main dining room. Main dining room food seemed to be better quality but service was painfully slow- never less than 90 minutes and often a full 2 hours for three courses. Although not everything we ate in the Windjammer was to our liking, there are so many choices that it was no big deal to go back and get something else if need be. The only time food options were limited on the ship was between 3:00-5:00pm and after 9:00pm and even then we could always find something to snack on.

ACTIVITIES: We absolutely loved I-Fly, Northstar, Flowrider and the indoor pool. The outdoor pool was great in the early mornings and in the early afternoon on port days- other times it got incredibly crowded and loud. Even though we don’t love noisy environments, the live poolside band was fantastic. Poolside ice cream machine was always in service and we never waited more than a minute or two. Bar service was also very speedy.

PORT OF CALL (Bermuda): Bermuda was beautiful. We enjoyed the short walk to Snorkel Bay Beach, where we rented loungers, umbrellas, snorkels and a giant inflatable tube. The beach is a little rocky but still great for swimming and watching the abundant fish all around us was awesome. Rental prices were very reasonable and service was fast. Food options are limited- snack bar doesn’t open until 11am- on the day we were there still still hadn’t opened by 11:10am so we snacked on popsicles instead and waited until we got back to the ship to eat lunch. The second day we took a mini-bus to Horsheshoe Bay Beach. The ride was a little scary due to the narrow, twisty roads but it was worth it because the beach was beautiful with an amazing cave to explore right in the beach. Chair and umbrella rentals were more pricey than at Snorkel Bay and the rental line was long and slow. The snack bar was open the entire time we were there (9-12) and had many options to choose from.

The sun wore us out so we didn’t explore the shopping area walking distance from the dock or other parts of the island- we hope to do so on our next visit.

SHOWS: We didn’t make it to any of the shows- most were cancelled on our last day at sea due to very high winds. Rocking from choppy waters was not pleasant but we were ok with one dose of Dramamine.

Overall, we had a terrific trip and would definitely sail Anthem and Royal Caribbean again.

is the room service pizza terrible too?

I set a goal today to lose 15 pounds before I set sail on my first cruise 16 weeks from now. I am also going to try for 750,000 steps.

Thanks so much, everyone! I will call the travel agent and see how it works. Since we are traveling with Autism in the Seas, the travel agency does keep a small portion of the total charge to pay for the extra support services we will receive so maybe that’s why the deposit was under their name. Although this is our first cruise, I’ve heard such rave reviews from other families like mine that I have a strong suspicion we will become hooked and it will become an annual tradition for us. Happy New Year!

We are going on our first cruise in August. I signed up for the Royal Caribbean Visa card because it seemed like a great way to earn rewards just for paying for our cruise. But then I realized we might not earn the bonus points since we used a travel agency- I am pretty sure my deposit showed up on my credit card statement under the name of the travel agency, not Royal Caribbean. Is there a way around this?