Clio1610

Where are the home ports for the Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas???

Quantum is based in New York until 2nd May then she leaves for her new base in China...

Anthem is based in Southampton, UK until 27th Oct then she leaves for her new base in NY...

Well I entered Raffaele on Connie for wishful thinking...

 

 

 

We need someone recently returned from Infinity to give us some up to date changes.

 

Thank you to all who have given me enough data to update the spreadsheet. :)

Arno ! This is a Fantastic Spreadsheet !!!

Thank you for updating :D

I just read on our Roll Call that Eclipse is going into Dry Dock this month.

Does anyone have any info about any changes or additions for her - or is it just for regular maintenance ?

We did the ship's tour in Santorini as a private Tender collects you directly from the ship and takes you around to a different part of the island to embark for the coaches.

We didn't want to do battle with the donkeys and everything they leave behind on the 558 steps up or the long queues at the cable cars - from off the normal Tenders :eek:

If you get the chance, visit the Santos Winery in Santorini as the views from their Terrace are simply breathtaking - and the Wine Tasting & canapes are pretty awesome too ;)

If you visit the Market in Kusadasi, be prepared for VERY AGGRESSIVE sellers :mad: We only stopped outside a stall to have a look & didn't touch anything, the guy sprinted from the back and grabbed my arm to "come inside and look". When we kept saying No Thank You and started to walk off - he shouted at us "Not come back to my shop, I not sell to you again" :eek: Rude, rude man.....

Have just been watching Anthem arrive in Hamburg on the live webcam on wetter.com =))

Looking good !

thank you so much for your help... as im new to all this cruise booking, im finding it very frustrating and a bit stressful to be honest !

Don't worry, everyone finds it a bit overwhelming before their first cruise - I know I did !

I asked lots and lots of (what I thought to be) stupid questions during the months before our first cruise - and I was told that 'there are no stupid questions when you are preparing for your first cruise' !!!

So ask away !!!

Hi Everyone

 

im a first time cruiser, so would appreciate any handy tips and hints on quantum class.

 

Id like to know if im able to bring orange squash on board? My toddlers only drink squash or they get funny tummys. I asked RC who were very confused when I tried to explain what orange squash was and they still didn't understand. I know I cant buy it onboard and I know they don't provide it.

 

Also ive just read online that they confisgate cough medicines etc, I need to bring calpol for the kids so I hope they don't take that !

 

 

ALSO - ive just read that the shows are online and available to book as of a couple of days ago, ive been online lots of times and the entertainment doesn't show as being able to view let alone book... has anyone else seen what shows are going to be onboard and are the seats open to book?

 

ive been told that anthem will be exctly the same as quantum so wondered if anyone had any advice for our first time cruising. We have 2 toddlers with us so any family advice on cruising would be great too.

 

thank you !

Hi wirral36 & welcome to the wonderful world of cruising :D

RCI is not keen on guests bringing drinks (of any sort) onboard with them - except the 2 x bottles of wine allowed per stateroom on embarkation day.

However, if you were to do a letter and ask your Doctor to sign it, stating that your 2 x toddlers can only drink Squash (this is an alien drink to RCI as they just don't sell it in the US) and that they also need to take Calpol if they are poorly - then I can't imagine you would have any issues with taking them onboard. If it were me, I would carry both in my carry-on baby bag...

With regard to Shows, the main production show is the musical We Will Rock You (Royal Theatre) which is 90 mins long and the other show to be booked is Spectra's Cabaret (Two70) and the show times for both plus the Comedy Show and the Headliner Showtime are now available for the first 3 x sailings only, although as yet, not available to actually book :eek:

I am checking availability to book on a Daily Basis :rolleyes:

Shout if you have any more questions - although my 'toddler' is now a 6ft 2" 18yr old :eek:

We bought an iPad Mini on Reflection last Summer to use up some obc and we paid the same in $$ as we would have done in ££ in UK - so definitely saved £££ :D

Didn't buy a case/cover at the time though as they were very, very expensive onboard !!!

Is there a transcript available

http://live.cruisecritic.com/Event/Cruise_Critic_Live_Meet_RCI_President_Michael_Bayley?Page=0

Hoping this works above, this is the transcript of the Q&A - although there were lots of questions that were not recorded or posted - I posted questions that did not appear, time constraints I suppose...

As you will see, not all of the questions were answered...

Thank you for taking our questions Mr Bayley...

My questions are about pre-booking Entertainment Shows & Activities for Anthem:-

1. How far in advance of sail date are we able to book Entertainment online ?

2. How important is it to pre-book specific times & dates for ALL Entertainment & Activities ?

Thank you...

Thank you Trainman-2, and your lovely family & friends, for posting another one of your fantastic 'Live from' threads - I do so enjoy reading all of your posts and seeing your fab photos too !

Thank you for taking the time to post your updates, I am very interested to hear your thoughts and experiences !

At least you got the Select Package !

We booked 2 x Anthem cruises on 24th Oct - exactly 1 week before they released the AI deal - and obviously, RCI won't give us anything !!!

Our TA has tried, but RCI has said "we are not making any exceptions on this offer, the only way the guests can benefit from this offer is to cancel and rebook..."

Clearly we would lose our deposit...

Makes booking with a US TA even more inviting for future cruises..... :eek:

In regards to "buying or building hotels", Carnival tried that many years ago and sold the complex off. Disney has been the only one that has branched out and they have somewhat limited success.

 

Disney Cruise Line: Success

Disney Vacation Club: Success when near the resorts. Limited success off property, vis a vi Vero Beach and Hilton Head. Initial plans was also was to have on in NYC but that was fairly quickly scraped. Jury is still out on the new Hawaiian resort.

With regard to Disney Vacation Club - we were members for 18 years, however we sold 2 years ago as imho DVC has become a victim of its own success with too many members trying to use too little inventory resulting in members not being able to enjoy their vacations when they want to. We tried numerous times to book a Disney Cruise with our points and told every time that we had to book 2 years in advance - just not possible for us.....

I wonder why RCI does not have a 'timeshare' product - money up front for a points (nights onboard) based system.....

Could this work I wonder ???

We wait with baited breath that our ship will be waiting for us the morning of November 2nd - we're all a little concerned about the two day delivery day that Liz mentioned earlier, but as Lloyd, the ever optimist on our Roll Call said, if there is a two day delay, then likely the two-day press sailing will be canceled, and we will be the first passengers on board, which would be really awesome.

 

I'm also waiting for the Royal iQ App to become available. Rumor is that it'll be available next week.

 

Also, here in NYC, Royal's starting to pick up the media/advertising campaigns. There is a QoS commercial playing in taxis - coworkers are starting to ask me, "Is that the ship you're going on?" "Wait, didn't you book over a year ago??" Yes, yes… :)

 

Royal's partnering with the MTA to provide free wi-fi in subway stations the day we arrive in NJ (11/10). Here's a link to the Press Release.

 

Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm for this thread! We can't wait to share all the fun with you! :)

Really looking forward to reading everything you post as we are booked on Anthem next year !!!

Thank you for sharing your experience, I am sailing the oasis as well first time in a couple of weeks, being it my first cruise as well, I nervous but sool excited!

 

Sorry to hear your luggage was damaged, now that you mention this issue I got myself worried. My partner and I are traveling with quite expensive luggage pieces... Not that I want to brag but I want to be on the safe side. If those get damaged, I for sure won't take any replacement they offer me since I don't think it would equal the value of our luggage, and if they offer us money, I either dont think it will be enough, you can tell me to bring non-expensive luggage, which I would if I could, we dont have pieces that big, and believe me we pack a lot. This given in the worst case -hopefully not- that they get damaged

 

Would it be ok to to tell them when I hand it in to take care of it? Will they Even care? I will try to find proof of purchase of those just in case... That should be the last thing i should worry about right? But Then again I don't have any other as big pieces to take :/

We also take 3 big Carlton hard-sided Cases with us and at least one of them has been damaged beyond repair on each of our last 3 cruises - so we have come to expect it :eek:

Would we take expensive luggage with us on a cruise ? No - Absolutely Not...:rolleyes:

Blubbing.......Blubbing......Blubbing....

What a beautiful moment....Thank you for sharing your planning and proposal with us fellow cruisers & Congratulations to you both !!

137 Days till our first 14 nighter !!!

5 Days to wait till my next 'Adventure of the Seas' :D

264 Days to wait till my next 'Independence of the Seas' :D

;) ;) ;)

Deck - 11

Cabin # - 196

Class – D1 "Hump"

Front Starboard, Front Port, Back Starboard, Back Port, Central Park, or Boardwalk - Front Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Bath

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Extremely Quiet - No Problems at all ! Not Connecting also had Sofa Bed NOT a Pullman

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions or privacy was an issue– Fabulous 180 degrees views to both Front & Aft of Ship because of being out on "Hump" !!!

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Oversized - We had 3 chairs, 1 Table, 1 Lounger and the coffee table out on the balcony all the time - with no problems !

Was wind a problem? - Not on the balcony - but it was a problem in Central Park & the Boardwalk - both like wind tunnels for our cruise !

Any specific problems with this cabin? Only that we found it to be noticably very small compared with the D1 we had on Freedom of the Seas in Apr 09 - and this was very disappointing considering how much it cost !!!!!!

Any other comments? Liked the location...

Just wanted to say a Big Thank You to Kelcie for producing and updating all the cabin info spreadsheets !!!

What a Great Job !!!

A Big Thank You to both Ken & Judy for all your great "Oasis" Tips !!! :D

Is it time to pack yet ??? :rolleyes:

Hello from the UK Everyone !!

Please can I join your Club ??

My DS has Wii Fit, but I haven't tried it yet :confused:

So how does this work then, not the Wii Fit, This Club !!!!!

Appreciate any tips & advice !!!