chiguypaul

I know...I know... it's not open yet. But has anyone heard any new rumors about what the full day pass will offer or provide above and beyond what's on the RCL site? Any rumors on how many passes they'll make available in a day?

In 14 RCL cruises I've only had the package twice and I can say that each time I found it to be an amazing value. You really have to "go after it" in my opinion in terms of taking advantage of every photo opportunity at each port, at each activity, in any location you see a photographer. That's where the value really comes in.

This is typical of the entire hotel industry (as an example). Just what it is. Money rules.

Just following up on this post NYE cruise. Most people were from NY, NJ and PA. Great people.

Just following up post cruise. Day 2 overall was pretty nice. high 60s to low 70s. Very comfortable out on the back Windjammer deck. Day 7 (out of eight) - not so good....

Noreen, check this out for the New Year's Eve Activities.

There was a place to put shoes near all the slide areas. You could easily put your glasses there. Doubt anyone would take them. You could put them in a small pouch to protect them.

On 1/2/2020 at 6:58 PM, Noreen411 said:

That’s what worries me a bit - the crowds.  We don’t like crowds.

I did the NYE in Times Square thing once years ago; never again, way too crowded.

I want to see the festivities on the ship on New Year’s Eve but not be crushed by tons of people.

 

Noreen

Noreen, on the Anthem there were more than enough options of very chill experiences. The most chill was being in the main theater where they showed the NY ball drop on a big screen. Very calm. The area near the champaign bar was very chill and had the ship orchestra paying.

On 1/1/2020 at 3:34 PM, Noreen411 said:

Hi

 

We started talking today about next New Year’s Eve and my husband said “What about a cruise for New Year’s next year?”

 

We have never cruised during a holiday period.   

 

What special events happen for New Year’s Eve on a ship?

Are there special rules around booking?

Is it worth cruising New Year’s?  I don’t mean financially, I know it will cost more than other times of year; but is it that much more fun than a cruise during a non holiday time?

I’m assuming it will also be a lot more crowded

 

We would probably look at Anthem as it leaves from Bayonne NJ and is easy for us to get to.

 

I’ll look for reviews that cover New Year’s to do some research but figured I’d put the question out there

 

Thank you in advance

Noreen

 

Just back from Anthem NYE cruise.

TONS of NYE options. Multiple options for every different type of taste is music and atmosphere.

No special rules.

We LOVE taking the NYE cruises. It has been a tradition in our family for 5 years now.

I don't find NYE more crowded than any other busy time (e.g. xmas, Spring Break, etc...).

This is a good question my family goes back and forth on each year. For us, it depends on the ship if we get the Refreshment package or not. With most 30% of RCL sales you're getting the package for $20. That's really a lot of non-alcoholic drinks for one person. My family thinks the factors include: 1) The weather on your cruise. The warmer the weather, the more you are likely to really enjoy having those sugar based drinks. 2) If there's a fresh fruit smoothie bar. On the Harmony and Allure we had amazing chocolate banana smoothies with protein as part of the package. Those would be $7 to $9 back home. They were amazing. On the other hand, the Anthem didn't have this and we felt the package value was not the same without the smoothies. 3) Ability to get coffee. On the Freedom and Oasis classes we never had a problem getting speciality coffee drinks, but on the Anthem the lines were terrible and it took forever (some I'm sure will disagree). It's great not worrying about how much you're drinking, but at the same time, you may not like the feeling of chasing down drinks to make sure you made the minimum daily cost of the package. 

12 hours ago, nluv said:

Can't seem to find out when they switch, i thought it was 2 years but now not sure.

Music Director I my last cruise last week said the shows run for at least 5 years.

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

twangster and I are on the Anthem right now.  Bands are blank.  🙂 

That's interesting. We had the Wow Band guy go through all of the trays of bands trying to find one without a muster station - no luck on our sailing.

23 hours ago, bgoff60 said:

OK...So for those that have been to Coco Cay, I need some specific information on where the free areas are on the island.  Here are the particulars:

• We do not have kids (that are with us)
• We are on Symphony OTS - sailing January 25
• Just looking for lounging around and grabbing a drink or two (or 3 or 4) and jumping into the sea for some swims...

 

Question:  Exactly where are the free areaS that I am told exist?  (RCI promotes all they have to sell for a fee and, rightly so) but if we just want to chill, splash in the ocean and grabs some drinks, were  are the locations that we can do that??

 

Just back from CocoCay. Tons of great free areas with great ocean views. Lots of options. 

8 hours ago, twangster said:

They are included with suites and for this sailing they no longer have the muster station printed on them so they can be reused on other Wow enabled ships or on another Anthem cruise.

 

 

Was just on. Not true for us. The bands all had muster stations printed on them.

8 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

Hi,

I have not sailed Anthem since 11/2015 so I have a few questions about my upcoming 2/23/2020 cruise since I can't remember a few details and some things have changed.

 

-Can I arrive at the port early like 10:30 and get on the ship straight away or will they assign me an embarkation time?

-Do they still have WOW bands available for purchase?

-Is the food in the MDR any "nicer/better" on formal nights vs other nights or is the selection similar on all nights?  Trying to decide about specialty reservations and which dates.

-We dined at Wonderland last cruise and they essentially fed us what seemed like 90% of the menu.  This time we'd prefer to pick and choose dishes ourselves rather than have our server drive the dining selections/amount of food. Is this possible or do they only want to do it their way bringing so much stuff at their discretion?

-Is is correct that My Time dining is only in the Silk and American Icon restaurants?  Do I get to choose or they choose?  

-Did anyone do the unlimited dining package and have success getting desired reservations? It's a very good deal (we like to do a lot of specialty dining) but it stresses me out not being able to pre-book dinners and worry our choices will not be optimal or just plain terrible.  Any advice on this one is greatly appreciated.  

 

TIA, and sorry if these questions read as annoying or repetitive.  I haven't been on the Royal boards much since my last cruise was Princess and I just booked Anthem yesterday!

 

Just off from the 12/28/19 sailing. 

- Ignore the embarkation time. The earlier you come the earlier you'll get on based on your place in line for your tier when boarding starts.

- WOW bands - yes.

- Except for Lobster night I didn't find the food "better" or of higher quality on formal nights.I no longer see value in specialty restaurants. We have already paid for food in the MDR.

- Contrary to my last answer, I've been to Wonderland. Most people have no clue what they want so the staff drive the selection. Feel free to be specific about what you want, but be prepared for the server to be a little thrown off by that.

- Correct on MTD. You can be specific about where you want to eat. 

You're not high at all 6 to 12 feet up. Wind speed is set to about 90mpg to 100mpg. Based on weight. You won't "fly away" even if they let you go. They hold on to you most of the time unless they see your form is really good and then they will let you go and you'll just float. If they see you start veering off to the side they'll grab you. Follow the instructions. Don't do anything stupid. You'll have a great time. It's less than a minute.

Just following up from my recent cruise last week. Upon boarding, I took my bands to Guest Services. They refused to reprogram our one year old bands because of "health reasons". They said new bands were required for health purposes, but could not explain what that meant. So then we went to the band station and tried to have that guy reprogram the bands. He said new bands were required. They were out of black and we had to get white or blue - wanted black. We went back two hours later when another guy was at the station. We told him we purchased the new bands, but really wanted to use our older black bands. He reprogrammed the old bands without any issue. Silly that we had to spend $20 again, but at least we were able to use the black bands we wanted to use.

Just returned. The iFly staff insisted on the one time rule. No opportunities to go more than once and I tried.

12 hours ago, lovetotraveltx said:

Just took our first Royal Caribbean Cruise on Liberty, going on Enchantment in 5 weeks. Please compare for me. What should I expect on this smaller ship? Anything not to miss doing or eating on Enchantment? Thank you!

 

 

Have been on both. Few things come to mind.... lack of ice skating shows, lack of broadway style shows, no flowrider, not as much stuff for kids.

I want to give Royal credit for the iPhone app. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. I just got off an eight night Anthem cruise and I used the app frequently. The ability to view dining room menus, build out my own custom schedule and view my expenses was great. I'm not comparing it to any other cruise line and there's a lot more it could potentially do and allow for, but for where it is today, I think it's good.

Could I get some help with confirming what I heard from C&A. I am traveling with my son - we are both Diamond. My mother is also traveling with us under a separate reservation. She will have pier assist in her reservation. She is not Diamond and will use a walker on the cruise. RCL will provide a wheelchair to the ship. Specific to WHEN we can BOARD, C&A told me we would be eligible for boarding before any of the status tiers. Does that sound right? Thanks.

Good to know. We've usually been on the other side. 

I would be interested in hearing about Coco from others.

We usually take water shoes when we're at Labadee because the sea floor is so rocky. Is that true for Coco beaches? Trying to decide if I need to bring water shoes (would rather not).

If you do go to the MDR, be ready for average at best service if you order off the menu. That's been my consistent experience with few exceptions.

I love all things technology, but for Set Sail, and even for airlines, I print out paper copies. Easier (for me).