SUSIEK

On 2/13/2019 at 10:36 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

 OK, I will throw this out there. Maybe cruise directors aren’t  trying to win over millennials.  I don’t go around thinking about why cruise directors aren’t catering to my generation either  (Gen X) .   Never crossed my mind.    I do appreciate a fun, engaging cruise director though.  I think that is universal for all ages. 

 

Dan

Agree 100%    

Yes Please!!!!!  Sailing on her March 15th 🙂

46 days till Navigator of the Seas!!!!

Hi,

We sailed on Anthem last June.  Our son (then 12yrs old) slept on the sofa bed.  It is similar to a trundle.  The  bottom of the sofa pulls out, pops up, and that along with the sofa part make the bed. 

It was larger than just the sofa making into a bed, which was nice,  but it was hard as a rock. 

Our son was 12 when we sailed on Anthem last summer.  He absolutely loved it.   We have sailed many times on Carnival and Royal.  We loved them all and all the activities.  BUT...our son says his favorite ship is now Anthem.   I think it is because of the indoor recreation area.  He participated in all the sports.... basketball, soccer, dodgeball, etc. that his age group did in the Seaplex. He loved that it was indoors. Bumper cars and roller skating fun too.  He did play some video games... but that was not the highlight. You've got the Flowrider too!    He did miss the great waterslides from Carnival, but still had a great time.  

Have fun!!!

Can anyone tell me where you go after embarkation to sign up for ifly and northstar? It was closed when I tried to do this on line for the last 3 months! Thanks

Hi, we went to Two70 as soon as we boarded and had no problem booking Northstar and iFly.

We tried doing the app. onboard but it never worked.

We just sailed on Anthem June 9, 5nights to Bermuda. We also found reviews all over the place prior to sailing. Either "great" or "awful". Not much in between. We chose this ship for the itinerary.

Our cabin steward was fantastic. Always stopped for light conversation. He did a great job too! Balcony cabins nicely appointed with plenty of storage.

Dining room waiters excellent and friendly.

Chops was delicious. Although my son and husband didn't like the steak being almost char-broiled on the outside. The inside was perfect.

Solarium Bistro was fine.... loved the sides and dessert buffet offered. Service there was great.

The staff in the C&A Diamond Lounge was wonderful.

Bionic Bar ..... a lot of money for a drink...LOL!!! It was too sweet for my taste, but fun.

The SportsPlex was awesome....especially when you have a 12yr old boy.

Never had a problem getting loungers poolside at the covered pool. Nice large pool there with two large spa's.

Although we did enjoy many aspects of the sailing, we did find some of the staff attitudes to be so-so to rude. in our opinion. The not-so friendly staff we encountered was in the Logo Gift Shop. Someone must have been having a bad day.... she was terribly rude when I asked a question about the C&A discount. I've never experienced this on all my cruises.

Service in the Pub was incredibly slow. I mean.... 1 hour wait for a hamburger. Again, I have never experienced this before on any of our cruises. We are incredibly easy going people so we just went with it and had another drink while waiting.

I could absolutely see someone with not much patience totally losing it.

Vintages bartender had the attitude of "whatever". We felt we were inconveniencing him somehow by ordering. Very strange. My husband and I both felt this. We did not have the drink package. Again.... never felt this on any other Royal ship.

We went to the Art Auction. Apparently the format has changed. I liked going around and tagging what you are interested in bidding on... but then we sat there for over 2 hours and still hadn't see our art work we wanted to bid on. A lot of "talking" in between that really wasn't necessary. We had to leave as we had other activities planned. They missed out on our $$.

We did book another cruise while on Anthem. Navigator, 9 nights, next year. Looking forward to that as we were married aboard 15 years ago. :-)

Happy Sailing !!!!

Just returned from 5 nights aboard Anthem. Our cabin was obstructed balcony 6160. I've attached some pics as I was searching all over prior to our booking. Hope this helps some cruisers. The cabin was great.....virtually no obstruction. Bed is next to bathroom. Couch by balcony door.

I agree. When I’m on vacation I like to be served my dinner. Maybe I’m old fashioned. To me, Buffet is just a fancy name for Cafeteria.

 

 

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Agree 100%, It's a cafeteria. If you want to eat dinner there then great... enjoy. We have eaten in the buffet a few times for dinner when someone wasn't feeling well. I always felt slightly cheated.... LOL.

We don't eat dinner there as we prefer table service, dressing a bit more and the general atmosphere. It's a "date night" for us.

We've been cruising since the mid 80's and dinner has been a favorite part of our experience. We are not "foodies" in the least. We are there for the experience. The longer the better. We enjoy each others conversation along with a bottle of wine followed by coffee. And,,, it's nice being waited on. :-)

Luckily there are so many options for meals while cruising. Room service breakfast on the balcony is our favorite too!

Yes, to you and your family... maybe others have other ideas on what makes a complete vacation.

 

I for one, while SO is getting showered, hair dried, makeup on, dressed, which generally takes a lot more time than myself, like a little TV news. Also to wind down a bit before Sleep after a wonderful day on a cruise. I for one, felt the selections were limited. Adding new channels was something MB promised us. Nobody forces you to watch anything other than possibly the washy washy Hands video playing when you first enter your cabin. We each enjoy our vacations in different ways.

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Fantastic!!! You will be very happy. Your post on the Fox subject was quite popular :-) BTW ... we usually turn off the washy washy video.... been on enough cruises to know you need to wash....LOL !!! Happy Sailing!

Why’s that?

 

 

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To ME and our family.... a vacation is a time to relax and escape. If I wanted to watch TV I would stay home and save a lot of money.

I can do without news/TV for a week or two. We also unplug...no internet. It's always the best week of the year for us.

We usually have music on in our cabin.

To each their own.

As for me, the only channels I need on a cruise are the ship location channel, a few music channels and a way to see my charges. Why watch television on a cruise? I cruised to escape the news, etc.

Agree 100% !!! I was just reading a post that was 14 pages long on how many people wanted to be sure FOX News was on their cruise. Seriously????? I think they need a vacation more than most people...LOL!!

We cruised on Disney when my son was about 3yrs old. This was about 7 years ago. It was nice, however; we really didn't find anything so amazing to pay the higher price. We have had as good food and service and kids activities on Carnival, Royal, NCL, Princess, Celebrity and MSC. We especially like Princess and their kids club.

Disney had too many kids.....LOL!!! Couldn't even get near the kids pool....shoulder to shoulder. I've never seen anything like it. Strollers on every elevator and in all the hallways.

We opted to eat in the alternative restaurant one night because the main dining room was sooo loud with babies, toddlers and kids yelling and just being kids.

We did it, and are done with it. We live close to Orlando and visit Disney World often as pass holders. Funny that we love going to the parks, but wouldn't do the cruise again.

That being said, I do have friends that love it and won't cruise any other line. To each his own.

You can only go up from carnival. Been there done that and it was pitiful.

Curious.... what ship were you on?

Actually the Caribbean last week.

 

 

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We were on the Divina last week. Just off on Saturday 5/14. We had the Aurea experience and absolutely loved everything about the ship. We did have the "anytime" dining.

We chose to eat in the Italian specialty restaurant on the last night. This by no means was a way out of our tips that are automatically added to your statement daily. We did tip additionally during the week at the time of the service that we felt was above.

It's a fragrance that was developed for MSC by perfume manufacturer Firmenich(http://www.firmenich.com/en_INT/perfumery.html) and Brand Sense. It is infused at low levels into the air-conditioning and detergents on the ship. MED by MSC bath and toiletry products are provided for Yacht Club passengers but MSC expanded the line to include diffusers,,body spray,,candles,,etc. which were supposed to be sold on all MSC ships.:confused:

 

They were selling in the logo shop. We just got off on Saturday...same cruise.

Hello all,

 

I will be travelling on the Divina in August with a toddler (just under 3) and baby (8 months). I have several questions which can hopefully be answered! :)

 

1) Cabin - We have a balcony cabin on Deck 8 near the rear of the ship. Does anyone know what is located below in Deck 7? I looked on the deck plans and it looks to be blank? Just worried about noise...

 

2) Bottle Warmers - I read that the ship provides bottle warmers and they are available throughout the ship. Has anyone used them and if so, where are they located, do they fit all bottle types and would we be able to get one in our cabin?

 

3) Bath - I plan on bringing an inflatable bathtub for the baby and putting it in the shower as I've done on other cruises - would they fit and if not, how would you bath your baby on the ship?

 

4) Pools - my toddler is potty trained - what kind of pool areas can he play in as I've read there are no toddler splash pools... I plan on using the inflatable bath tub for my infant to splash in on the pool deck - has anyone done this?

 

5) Strollers - I read that we can rent a stroller - how do we go about getting one and what kind of strollers are available?

 

Any other tips and suggestions?

 

Thanks very much!!!

We just returned on Saturday.... loved it!!! Although our son is 10 here are some observations. We did see a lot of babies and toddlers.

Most just left the stroller in the hallway outside of the cabin. I did also see the portable cribs like the pack n plays.

When we cruised when our son was a baby we just sat him in the shower and bathed him with a washcloth while I sat next to him. The shower head was adjustable so it didn't spray right on him.

Deck 7 rear is the Black and White Lounge.

We saw a few toddlers in the very shallow water area around the main pools. It is blocked from the pool by wavy walls so you don't have to worry about them falling in. If you do a search on YouTube to look at the main pool you will see what I mean.

We are just off Divina. Our 10 year old was not crazy about the club. I think it is geared towards the younger ages. His group was 7-11. They did a lot of parades around the ship, going to the shows as a group, going to the movies by the pool. Outdoor organized activities were for about 30 minutes. Not much video game time. My son found it babyish. He went maybe 3 times in our 7 day cruise.

We are big cruisers on Carnival. He compared it to them and really preferred Carnival where he was involved daily and late night in the kids club.

That is our only complaint about our cruise. Everything else fabulous.

They do have 3 pools and a nice waterslide.

If you give me your email I will send you the kids daily activity sheet.

I just upgraded my B1 cabin on Seaside to an Aurea B3. The main reason was to be able to eat when we want; Main is too early and Late too late. I did a search regarding this and couldn't find a whole lot of information. One reviewer said the were "assigned" 7pm the first night and then 8 the following nights. Can anyone who has done the My Time Dining tell me if they could just go to the MDR during the set hours?

 

Because that's the reason I paid more. If it doesn't actually work like NCL or Celebrity's Select Dining then I'm better off to go back to B1 and just buy the beverage packages. Any help will be appreciated.

 

 

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Hello, we are just off Divina. We had the Aurea Experience. There was a section in the Black Crab dining room for "anytime" diners. We went at different times each night. We never had to wait. Got seated right away.

We really enjoyed the Aurea experience. Definitely worth the xtra.

We are leaving on Saturday aboard Divina. We have booked the Aurea Suite Experience. Cabin 10007. This looks like a fantastic 2 room cabin with balcony.

We opted for the Aurea as the options as the Yacht club just didn't appeal to us. I know I wouldn't use a butler or the concierge. Just not our thing. We had one on RCL when we got married...they loved us because we never called them.

The Aurea has everything we were looking for. We are also traveling with our 10 year old son. I would prefer him at the "community pool" ...LOL as he likes to splash about. We don't really use the spa so the free massage is probably all we would do. Aside from maybe a pedicure.

I love the unlimited drinks anywhere. I don't see the sense in buying drink coupon book when you are already spending so much. They should really include it in Yacht Club.

My husband and I would use the private sundeck while kiddo is in the kids club or on the slide.

We also were able to transfer our Elite Status on Celebrity to Black on MSC. That also gives some nice perks.

Here are the benefits of Aurea:

Balcony Staterooms and Suites

Plus FREE ($600 value)- includes FANTASTICA Experience plus:

Free UNLIMITED drinks*

Free "My Choice Dining"

Free spa package with a spa welcome cocktail, one massage of your choice from the spa menu, tanning shower, private wellness consultation and free access to the Thermal Area throughout the cruise (available only for adults)

Complimentary set of well-being products

Private sundeck access

Priority boarding

* The drink package refers to Allegrissimo or More For Less Classic depending on cruise destination. (Starting Summer 2017 the Allegrissimo package will be re-named the All-Inclusive Restaurant & Bar Drink Package & the More-For-Less Classic will be renamed the All-Inclusive Classic Drink Package).

Celebrity has digital photos that you can view on your TV. When you had your picture taken they swiped your card.

Yes, I knew we had it on one of our cruises. I think you could order room service too from the TV. I liked viewing our onboard charges.

The tri-fold with perforated mini-daily schedule is wonderful. I like to take it with me throughout the day. Sometimes the coffee & cake stand's brochure rack is empty!

 

If they seriously want to save unnecessary printing, paper waste or cut costs, start by getting rid of all those photos they print....all that photo paper....and the waste of chemicals. Ugh. Ick!!

 

Let people choose which photos they want printed and only print those. Huge cost savings potential.

 

I cannot fathom why they haven't moved to a digital, facial recognition system already.

How about investing in some Smart TV's? Access everything in your cabin.... photo's, account statement, dailies, order room service, etc.

I asked this of my hubby who is an I.T. Exec. He said there is no way Carnival would put out that expense when they can just make us use our own devices. Understood.

I agree about the photos. It is a huge waste. I hope there will be access somewhere to view your pics other than on your device. I would imagine there would be. Otherwise, I guess I won't be buying any pics. (hubby would be happy ;-0)

For me personally, I like the digital format. I will have my phone with me the entire cruise, in airplane mode, because I use it for my primary camera and video camera. Being able to access the Fun Times, deck plans, my S&S account, and hours of the places to eat on the ship is an added bonus and it is free. To me, a welcomed change!!

Is it really free? I would imagine you pay a monthly fee for your phone service. Carnival is just using what you already pay for to their advantage. It's free for them. Or at least a huge money saver for them which I doubt will be passed down.

Accessing printed material and photos on your personal device that they no longer have to print. Believe me, they are all about cost savings. That is why they are a profitable company.

Updating the 1988 bathrooms on the Victory doesn't save them money... So it won't be done...LOL.

Well yes I do I get the paper daily Why cause its nice some times to read. also it keeps people employed that work for the paper and the delivery guy.

 

I have been on a few cruises and back in the day we all survived with out cell phones and internet . Work is work it will be there when you get back...

 

Oh and for the what if something happens at home... It was simple you gave your family the name of the ship and the cruise line # they were able to contact the cruise line and than the ship ...

 

We have seen what the cell phone era is doing to us.

Radio killed the music store

Cell phones I pads ect killed social skills.

 

Was on a cruise last year 3 people sat on their phones all night at dinner. even when the waiter was trying to take orders they did not even pay attention ( i know it was because they were sitting with me)

 

I do a lot of social media too much actually but thats my job. But on vacation its time to relax.

 

Has anyone seen the numbers on Apple picking on cruise ships.. Im sure it happens daily.

 

I rather hold the piece of paper with whats going on that worry about where i am going to put my cell phone if i want to go in the pool or just leave my bag on a deck chair as i get a drink or food.

 

Sorry guess im just Old school

Cheers from one Old School to another!!! Saw the same thing on our last cruise. So sad that people can't be without "The Phone"...LOL! It's an addiction. Nothing against progress but some people are out of control.

Just wondering, do you still take the morning or evening Newspaper? It is after all the 21st century. Computers and Smart phones have been invented and not only solely intended for phone calls.

LOL.... I take the paper. Actually two, the local paper and USA Today. I'm 49 and I like to read the paper. I still have cable TV too :-0 I also have a smart phone, i-pad, laptop and desktop. It's really all the same information just difference ways of receiving it.

When I go on vacation... I unplug. Phone goes in the safe. It's the best week of the year.

Just because you like to do this doesn't mean you are not in the 21st century.

Maybe it's because we have been cruising since the 80's. There were no smart phones then. It was really getting away. Slowly, "getting away" is losing it's meaning. If it's not already gone.