mets07

Can you tell me how you sign up for the puzzle room? And thanks for a very informative review.

You can sign up at the SeaPlex.

Enjoy!

We can add another voice of reassurance, we were on the Quantum out of Port Liberty earlier this year and have never experienced a quicker RCCL checkin- loved the process, and someone approached us, the first few were engaged but we took a few more steps and there were plenty of waiting staff with iPads eager to assist. Our paperwork was in order and we were through incredibly quick- awesome! Loved the ship as well! Less crazy about Port Liberty and airport but would do it again just to sail on another Quantum class :0)

Agree. It was our fastest check-in ever. :)

One nice spot are the "wings" - small outside areas - on either side of the Solarium.

Enjoy!

Just watching the TV news. They said someone died on the Anthem cruise which returned today and said something to the effect that "other people were sick as well." Was very brief and did not make much sense.

We were on the November 10 Anthem sailing and more than one person reportedly died on that cruise, so this is not uncommon.

Please don't be nervous. We were on November 10 sailing. We found it painless. We probably got there around 10am or a bit later. No lines. Dropped luggage off. Parked straight ahead in new garage. In our case, checked in with person right inside terminal doors. Got on board a few minutes later.

Our check-in time was 10:30am. I am sure you could arrive a bit earlier than your assigned time.

Have fun!!

Hi - that was certainly my impression. We originally had an interior reserved but by time of final payment for November cruise on Anthem the balcony was close to the same price so switched to a balcony.

I was just wondering how long a walk it is to get to this beach. I see the directions that are given to get there, but not sure how long a walk it is. We love to walk!!

Hi, it takes about 35 minutes. Nice views along the way. There is another beach (Shell Beach) that is much closer to the ferry dock, but we did not go to that one.

How did the restaurants handle non-reservation vs reservation people? Is there a separate line for each?

That was one thing that made no sense to me. Some had two lines (one for each) and some had one line only.

Does anyone know if you are able to go up to the helicopter pad/bow of the ship? I've always loved going up there on ships but I'm unsure if it's allowed on anthem

Agree it would be nice, but no.

The only thing that could ruin my anthem cruise is the issue with the movement and sea sickness-- anything else is go with the flow (hold me to it!! I'm DETERMINED to have fun)

We were on the Nov 10 Anthem cruise and only felt the movement the first night. We do take Bonine daily, so perhaps that helped, but we really did not experience what others are talking about.

Have a great cruise, denatravels!

Thorough review - thanks. We were on the cruise before and had an excellent time overall and would also happily sail Anthem again.

Had to laugh when I saw "The hot tubs were not hot enough." My husband had the same comment so now I know he is not crazy. :)

I always thought that it was the case that some slots were saved for on-ship booking, however on our recent Anthem cruise, I did experience otherwise, at least for one particular excursion (St. Kitts to Nevis sail).

We were able to sign one of us up for this excursion online before the cruise. It would not let us sign up the other person - me - it had reached its limit. I called about it as well and they could not add me. We got on the ship (very early) and they immediately tried to add me and could not. I was first on the waiting list but no spots were ever added-- they had no cancellations and they did not add any more of the same excursion. We eventually cancelled the one slot we did have.

For another excursion, we could not book online, and also got on the waiting list on the ship (as soon as boarding). For that excursion, they added an afternoon time for the same excursion and we got that new time slot.

So, if you have your heart set on something, reserve it in advance.

Hi, I was on the November 10 Anthem cruise. Did not experience the breakfast and had no children with us, however I can comment that it did seem that almost every day there were DreamWorks character appearances and they were listed in the Compass / Daily Planner.

Really? Drying your hair at the vanity makes so much more sense. I think that is was a good decision not to put a regular outlet in the bathroom.

 

1. They have to have special grounded outlets in a bathroom. Better not to worry about that. (why do you think that the razor outlet is way up high?)

 

2. Get out of the bathroom and let others use it. ;) :D

 

3. Get out of the moisture of the bathroom to dry your hair!

 

4. The vanity has a HUGE mirror, its own lighting.......perfect place for hair drying.

 

:)

It took me until the 5th day of our recent Anthem cruise to realize the mirror had that light!! The switch was below the mirror on the desk/table.

:):):)

Hi - we did the 3 night package as well ... on Anthem. We did not book it until on ship. I think you will get times close to what you want if you reserve the other two early in the cruise.

All of this is so subjective. We did Jamie's, Chops, and Wonderland. We are pretty picky eaters, so if we did it over would probably do Jamie's or Chops twice instead of Wonderland. But at least we experienced it.

Enjoy! :)

Yes, have been on Anthem. No extra charge for these.

Anthem currently has draw the line which is a tribute band to Aerosmith

Just got off Anthem and we did not have this. Perhaps a change with sailing from US.

That is true, on Breakaway you cannot avoid the casino to go various places. However the smoke didn't bother us all that much. It was nice on Anthem to never see the casino though! The layout was fine to me, had no trouble getting around and thought it was similar to Anthem in that there are two main spaces instead of one big one. Nothing can compare to the North Star, but again, nothing can compare to the Waterfront either, it's quite nice to see and enjoy the ocean so much on a cruise while eating, drinking, and listening to music (rather than a boring old promenade deck). Anthem keeps you locked inside until the pool deck except for Jamie's which has a very small outdoor dining area. Both are awesome, at the end of the day!

I have been on both Breakaway and Anthem and loved both. There are many special things about Anthem, but I totally agree with your comments about Waterfront on Breakaway. We really enjoyed the bar there and outdoor restaurant areas. Missed the ability to walk totally around the ship outside other than on the jogging track on Anthem.

NEWS FLASH!

 

 

The Anthem of the Seas is backing up to our dock and will tie up next to us!

 

 

A Good looking Ship! Photos later...

I have been making my way through your postings and saw this .... was on that Anthem cruise and could have waved over. :) Enjoying your pics and comments.

Thanks - it is a good option' date=' less crowds to deal with inside terminal waiting. Any idea how many levels are in the parking lot? I understand the elevators are pretty large. I have heard about some people getting there at 9am and getting checked in early. We have a 10:30 check-in time, but want to get there earlier if possible. Just wondering if at that early time, the off-loading passengers are still coming out of the parking lot, which could cause backups.[/quote']

 

There are at least 3 levels with many spots. We also had a 10:30AM check-in time. We arrived about 10AM and checked in immediately by walking up to one of these check-in people in the terminal (no lines). We then walked right to the ship.

This is the first I am hearing about the possibility of doing cruise checking-in at the parking garage. I may be more interested in doing that. I take it then that after doing that' date=' there is a way to get to the ship directly from the garage?[/quote']

 

Basically some persons with tablets (same as inside) were available on Level 1 of the parking area (basically where you had to exit the parking area to walk to the terminal). You still have to walk outside and through the same area to get to the ship. However, the outside walk is quite brief. I don't think it makes much difference if you do one or the other.

Glad to hear you had a great time. We are less than 4 weeks away from our holiday cruise.

 

Question about boarding...this is the first time when doing my on line check in that I was asked to select a boarding time. Did you have to do that and what was your experience? We have iFly booked for the boys at 1 PM boarding day, but our boarding time is 11:30-12:00. I've never boarded that late and was wondering if you kept to your selected boarding time or if you went and boarded earlier.

 

I'd like to make sure we're on and have a bite of lunch before I take the kids to iFly.

 

Also, if you drove and parked, how was your experience parking in the new deck and making your way to the terminal? My mom has a handicap placard so we'll be using that as well. I'd like to drop her, the boys and the luggage off at the terminal, then park and walk back over.

Hello Janet, I can answer the parking question. We were on the same cruise. We dropped our luggage off and went straight ahead to the new parking facility, parked easily on Level 2 (you pay as you enter), and walked back to check-in. (You actually could check-in right in the parking area if you wanted to, although in your case you will be going back to join your family.) We just walked back the brief distance and checked in inside. It was quick and painless. Enjoy!

That is quite interesting about the Grande. We absolutely hated it! They couldn't find our table in the dining room so we wandered about with the hostess for a few minutes. Sat us down and were clearly annoyed we wanted to order cocktails, which were delivered after appetizers were half eaten. I got the lobster which was harder than chicken (so was the lady's next to me). The waiter proceeded to shell it on my plate in front of me and deposit the shells on my bread plate, leaving them there for the entire meal. I've never had such a bad experience anywhere! But it didn't ruin our cruise, we laughed about it afterwards and never went back.

We were on the same cruise and had a most excellent time overall. However, we also did not have the best experience at the Grande, finding the place a bit of a zoo. The waiters seemed crazed, harried, and slow to deliver food.

Gustavia, St. Barts / St. Barts / St. Barthelemy

 

10:00am - 7:00pm. All ports except St. Barts had piers. We anchored in Gustavia Bay and took tenders to Port de Pleasance in Gustavia (which is located directly across from Sunset Hotel on Rue De La Republique on the left side of the harbor. The tender procedure was slow, primarily due to regulations in St. Barts limiting the tender speeds to 3 MPH in the harbor. We were on a 10am tender and got to shore about 10:30am.

 

Upon arrival we set out on a 35 minute walk across the island to visit the airport and Saint Jean Beach (Baie de St. Jean). To get there, walk to your right (facing the island) until you get to the first cross street (Rue De La Suede) and turn left. Turn left again on the next street (Rue August Nyman). Keep right at each fork. The second intersection is a roundabout with an awesome bronze Indian statue of “Savaku” the Arawak spirit. Turn right here as well. This area is the highpoint of your walk and offers breathtaking views of the airport and west side of Saint Jean Beach. Commuter aircraft (puddle jumpers) begin their landing just 50 feet above your head and must land on a very short looking runway that ends in the ocean. It's lots of fun to watch planes land. They also come in off the ocean but those flights are more fun to watch from St. Jean Beach.

 

Continue down the road parallelling the airport. Just across from the airport terminal (which has free, clean, modern restrooms on the northern end of the terminal) are a couple of strip malls. The second strip mall has a grocery store where we purchased litres of cold water for 1.35 Euros (about $1.50 US) and a 16-inch sandwich made on an awesome local baguette for 4.75 Euros (about $5.50 US). These prices are 25% to 50% of what you would pay in town. You'll find the sandwiches near the small deli counter in the rear of the store. The sandwiches are very popular and may sell out at lunchtime. The store will take US currency and give you change in Euros.

 

At the end of the airstrip (about a block past the shops) is an entrance alley to St. Jean Beach. St. Jean Beach is actually 2 beaches separated by Eden Rock, upon which sits a hotel with restaurant and attached "Sand Bar". St Jean is a very pretty beach, with several shops, bars and restaurants, where you can watch planes flying over surfers while landing or taking off at an airport whose runway spills out into the ocean. Don't bother renting chairs and umbrellas here as these command $50 to $100 for a set!

 

Head back to the ship the same way you came, making a left at the Indian Statue and keeping left at the next intersection. (You'll still get to the port if you make a right at the second intersection --- it'll jut take you a little longer. This same intersection (which has a dialysis/medical center on the corner) is the entrance to the lighthouse and the smaller of two forts guarding the harbor. A very short uphill walk to the fort/lighthouse will reward you with picture-worthy views of the ship, harbor and surrounding area.

 

Continue down the road, make a right at Rue De La Suede, and you'll find yourself back in Gustavia. From here we meandered through the shops and worked our way to Shell Beach (aka Anse de Grand Galet), the closest beach to the ship and a very easy 10 minute walk --- longer if you linger in the stores. Shell Beach is so named because the beach is covered in small and medium-sized shells. It's a good idea to wear water shoes. The further from the entrance you get, the less crowded you'll find the beach and the more large rocks you'll find where you can leave your towels and "claim your territory". Other than the bar and grill, there is very little shade here.

 

Notes: 1. The walk to the airport is along a fairly narrow road and can be uneven at times. There are sidewalks from the airport to Saint Jean Beach. Although we never felt in danger you should definitely stay alert to traffic and road conditions. 2. Taxi service from the port to Saint Jean Beach runs $30 to $50 each way. 3. Some passengers rented a car and enjoyed a beautiful day exploring the island and her 14 beaches. 4. Most of the shops, bars and restaurants in town are outrageously expensive and close from 1pm to 3pm. 5. While we enjoyed our visit to this beautiful island, I heard from Celebrity personnel that they may not return due to the logistics and passenger complaints about tendering and absurdly high prices for almost everything from beer to t-shirts.

 

For pictures of all of the ports please see:

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/constellation2.html

Thank you for the thorough directions! We followed them to get to and from St. Jean's Beach, including a stop at the super market.

:):):)

We just did this excursion on Anthem of the Seas. I was a little concerned the excursion would be too short, but they did give us a full four hours on St. Bart's (in our case it was from 10am to 2pm). Be sure to be on time for the meet-up and to have your passport (we had two people miss the excursion as they did not bring their passports from the ship and there was not sufficient time for them to get the passports and rejoin the group before the departure).

The high speed ferry ride to St. Bart's was a bit rough, but no one in our group got ill. However, I recommend taking Bonine or the like which we do regularly on the cruise anyway. The return ride was much more comfortable and smooth.

We followed the excellent walking directions provided in a separate thread and walked to St. Jean's Beach. This is at least a 30 minute walk. We were able to stay at the beach two hours and had purchased lunch at a supermarket on the way. Our only disappointment was when we returned to town some of the stores were closed for lunch ... but this was not a huge deal for us.

St. Bart's is beautiful! We had already been to St. Maarten several times, so were very glad we did this excursion.