bcsurvivor05

The last time I was on anthem, last October, they still have the dynamic dining. My question is now that it is gone and you're in just one dining room, on a five night cruise, when does the formal night happen and do they make the men wear jackets that night as they did in the past when it was dynamic dining in the dressier dining room?

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If you go to the bumper cars when you first board there is practice ally no wait...we rode it several times back to back that day....after that there could be a longer wait (maybe even up to a half hour plus)

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Thank you everyone. We are in the us so it seems easy enough

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Mine expires a few weeks before I sail on Anthem in October. How do I go about renewing?

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We just booked yesterday on the Disney dream for 5/8. Now what? I am so used to royal and carnival.

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I have an 11

Yr old daughter with special needs and we cruised with autism on the seas in June. It was THE MOST relaxing vacations we have ever been on. We got to the port at 10:00 and were on the ship by 10:30. They have special times put aside just for our group in the specialty areas of the ships (we had our own time on the flowridee, bumper cars, rock wall etc) they also do group swim time when you are at sea and they go in and play with the kids. If it is a port day, you can go with them to a beach where they will play for 2 hours with the kids. Every night after dinner they have 2 hours of respite where the parents can go do whatever. Amazing does not do them justice to describe!!!

Ok I fell asleep before I was able to post last night.

Day 3: Bermuda

Weather was absolutely perfect. Oh huge mental note...if you get breakfast in bed...don't do it morning of a time change. We had it set for 6:30-7 and they call first. So at 6:45 (which to my body was 5:45) the phone rings right next to my head and scared us all. My daughter was "off" the rest of the day.

Moving on...

Autism in the seas had us go to stingray beach which was walking distance from the pier. We had an amazing 2 hours with their staff playing and helping our families. I have never been so relaxed in my life. We came back on the boat by around 12 and ate lunch. Then we hung out by the outdoor pool. It was pretty empty which is what we love about being on the ship during port days. The ice cream machine had vanilla today (Yey) so we helped ourselves to that and got ready for our flow rider session. We had a private session through autism on the seas which was awesome. They had so much patience with our kids and they each got to go twice (some 3 times). The parents were able to go as well. All of the kids (and parents) did great. We tried to get on north star but we were wet and apparently all of the controls are in the floor so it any water gets into it there is a huge problem. Not an issue because we have a private session with autism on the seas on Thursday. We just wanted views from Bermuda instead of the Atlantic Ocean.

After that we changed for dinner. Tonight was in the chops grille. A bit disappointing again...it was like wedding food.

As I said I passed out pretty early so I didn't to to much else.

I can say that many people were having problems with their soda cups today . You need this specific soda cup in order to use the soda machines...believe it or not there is a chip in the cup they the machine reads and knows that it is a valid cup. Modern technology at its best !! Anyone who had or had a problem just had to go to guest services for either a new cup or a sticker with a chip to be placed on the cup.

So far our only complaint about the ship is that the bathrooms are so far from each other. But overall the ship is amazing!

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Day 2...at sea

It was a rough start to the day. My husband was sea sick during the night which kept both of us up. Thankfully my daughter slept though it all but she got up at 4:25 am and we were roaming the ship by 6am. FYI the only place to find food at that time of the morning is in cafe promenade. And that is just coffee, tea and some muffins etc. nothing else opens until at least 7.

I am not going to lie...the windjammer let me down this morning. They have an amazing buffet with tons to choose from but the taste of the food left a lot to e desired. I ended up with a bowl of fruit loops. Lunch is pretty amazing there though I do have to admit.

Anyway. In my opinion the beds are horrible. Royal spared no expense except on the beds...so hard!!! We asked our room steward to put extra padding on it which she did so we'll see if that makes a difference tonight.

So a wonderful and calm day at sea. It was cloudy and misty this morning but turned out to be a really nice day. We had some staff assisted pool time with autism on the seas. It is so nice to know that you can actually enjoy your vacation while having help with your special needs child. It has been such a great experience.

We were supposed to do the rock wall today but it was closed due to the wind. Hopefully we will be able to try again another day.

We were given some respite time today (which is basically babysitting) so we were able to just be a couple and reconnect which is so rare these days. We spent the entire time in the solarium. It is so nice in there. The boat does not seem overly crowded this week. We are always able to find chairs no matter where or what time we go.

Bad thing we have found is that the bathrooms are pretty far apart and not well placed. For example... if you are in the granite the only bathroom appears to be in the casino. If you're not a person who likes the smell of smoke this becomes an issue especially if you have a child that needs to go through the smoke to get to the bathroom. Speaking of smoking they do have some designated smoking areas outside. One is on the main outdoor pool deck. It honestly is not too much of an issue except when you forget which side of the boat you were on and wind up walking through it with very little notice. Overall I have not smelled smoke any place other than in the normal places for example that casino.

Tonight and eat dinner in silk. I do not recommend that at all. Food was a bit spicy and very fishy. I definitely would not recommend this to anyone and I have heard bad reviews about that particular restaurant from other people.

Tonight we went to see spectra cabaret. It was one of the most amazing shows I think I've ever seen on a cruise ship. There is so much going on you do not know where to look. The technology is nothing short of amazing. Only bad thing is that in two 70 there are way too many seats that have obstacles in front of you. This is definitely an issue for the show.

Overall we absolutely love the ship and would recommend her to anyone. Tomorrow we are finally in Bermuda. I have never been there so I am very excited about it.

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Day 1 recap....

Got on the ship by 11:00 and had lunch in the windjammer. Food was great. Much better then carnival and a larger selection. I even thought the pizza was good (and I'm from ny).

We wondered the ship and got somewhat acquainted. Made our way to the sea plex and went on the bumper cars. There was no line so they let us stay on longer. It was great!

Autism on the seas has a private mister drill so we got through that pretty painlessly.

We like to watch sail away from our own balcony and it was fabulous. Going under The verrizano bridge was pretty cool I have to say. It almost felt like we could touch it (we are on the 13th floor).

We walked around the lower decks to try to find our way around and did the robotic bar. We don't drink but we're able to get some non-alcoholic drinks which was nice and my daughter loved it. She thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Dinner was at the grande tonight. If you don't want to dress up but want to try the grande do it on day 1. There is no dress code so it is the best of both worlds! The food was fabulous! I had the shrimp cocktail, French onion soup and surf and turf. One note on that...the surf was 2 pieces of shrimp...also on the menu was lobster tails...add that to the meal for a real surf and turf experience. All was cooked perfectly. For dessert for me was Creme brûlée. Kids menu was nice too. My daughter had Mac and cheese ( which was pretty good I must say...of course I had to try it to make sure it wasn't poisoned [emoji12])

We didn't make it to the show tonight as my daughter was ready for bed and when your child with special needs says they want to go to bed...you run ...don't walk...to the cabin. So my husband is putting her down and I am in the beautiful Solarium waiting for his text to tell me she is sleeping and I will go back and he will hit the casino)

Overall we are loving the ship and our experience with autism on the seas.

It's a bit rocky tonight but not to bad!

My only complaint (and it is not a "real" one but just mine) is leaving out of nj in the cold just seems wrong. Usually I leave from the warmer climates and then you are on the boat listening to calipso music and getting into the cruise mode...here it was to cold to be out by the pool. Again this is no fault of anyone or anything but just was a weird start to my cruise...don't worry...I got over that real

Fast when I had my first daquari [emoji483]

Now this special needs mom is going to get some serious R&R right now!

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Check in was amazingly easy! we arrived at the port about 10:30 am and met a rep from autism on the seas right outside and pretty much walked right in. We were on the boat by 11 and eating in the windjammer by 11:30. We have our own section in the back so it is pretty quiet for our kids. For those of you who do not know autism on the seas is a group that travels on different cruises and offers assistance to families with special needs children. I highly recommend traveling with them if you have a child with special needs.

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Hey everyone. Just boarded Anthem for a 5 day to Bermuda. If anyone wants pictures or has questions let me know. I'll post daily!

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Thank you so much for your amazing review. I am sailing on her in 5 days and I am beyond excited to say the least. Thank you for the little "secrets". We are only doing a 5 day (this is my 6th cruise and my first 5 nighter). I hope I can get in everything in that short period of time.

Posting for a friend:

New Yorkers or anyone with knowledge :we want a car to drive from Laguardia to Elizabeth NJ on a Friday about 2 pm we will have 2 adults 1 child and 3 suitcases 1 big 2 carry on size, any driver companies you recommend? We'd prefer not a limo but are thinking pricing for luggage and possible car seat might push the price near the range of LIMO. Looking for recommendations that people have personal EXPERIENCE USING. Thanks

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Posting for a friend:

New Yorkers or anyone with knowledge :we want a car to drive from Laguardia to Elizabeth NJ on a Friday about 2 pm we will have 2 adults 1 child and 3 suitcases 1 big 2 carry on size, any driver companies you recommend? We'd prefer not a limo but are thinking pricing for luggage and possible car seat might push the price near the range of LIMO. Looking for recommendations that people have personal EXPERIENCE USING. Thanks

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We are leaving on Saturday (omg) and I am trying to get my ducks in a row!

The beaches in Bermuda....they are soft sandy beaches right? Not rocky that we need to bring our beach/water shoes? Correct?

My husband is a huge sports fan and was wondering if he would be able to watch the giant game on Monday night.

On the 5 night cruises do they have the journey cover and and we will rock you? I wasn't sure if they offered everything on the 5 night cruises.

Does the balcony door stay open or do I need a bungee cord to hold it open like on the carnival ships?

Is the casino open the 2 nights we are in port?

With the soda package what is the cup like that we have to use for refills?

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Hey there...I will be driving to port Liberty for our upcoming cruise. I have heard that the terminal parking fills up quickly....what time do you recommend us getting there.? We do have a handicap parking permit for my daughter so I am not sure if that would make a difference.

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This was actually a good friend of mine. Sadly he died two weeks ago :( he left behind his new wife (they were on their honeymoon) and his special needs daughter and 2 step children (from a previous marriage where his wife died of cancer 2 yrs prior) so sad. We don't believe his death was a direct result of this accident but he had many complications from the accident and ultimately went into cardiac arrest.

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I will be in room 13140 which is on the left side of the ship (port side I believe) it looks like that is the side facing the water is that right? I am really hoping for that when we sail her in 25 days.

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Can you tell me what "free" drinks there are if you do not purchase a soda package (i.e. Lemonade, iced tea, coffee etc)

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Was

Watching the webcam and saw you get into port. Looks like a beautiful day. Hopefully you can enjoy the rest of the trip.

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Great review so far. We sail on her in 4 weeks. A couple of questions...what time did you set sail?

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Are there any formal nights on the Anthem 5 day cruise to Bermuda?

What is the WOW band? We are sailing on 10/1. It sounds interesting

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We have those machines in a bunch of fast food restaurants on Long Island and I love them. Does anyone know if they are available on anthem?

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We cruised with carnival this past November with my special needs daughter who is "intellectually disabled" . She is high functioning but does have some speech problems which does make it hard for some to understand her. The 2 times we cruised with her we

We're with family. This next time 48 days (but who is counting) we are going with autism on the seas. I can't wait to see how this goes. I have heard such amazing things about them.

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