VickiD59

Your cabin will be in a very convenient location! My parents had 8248 on our sailing and it was super close to the elevators but they never complained of any noise issues.

Biggest perk... the balcony is huge! All 6 of us could hang out on it comfortably with room to spare! We also hung a hammock for my Dad! :D Enjoy!

We have this cabin!! We sail on 7/15, and these photos are great. We actually have 3 balconies in a row, 8248, 8246, 8244 - we chose first and picked 8248 :)

Can't wait to hear more - we leave for this same cruise on 7/15. Our youngest son and gf just got home yesterday from the 9nt Caribbean itinerary. We did the 7nt on Breakaway and loved the two night docking in Bermuda; we only get the one overnight this time. We've never been on a cruise that's only 5 nights - we just have to squeeze in all the fun faster I guess.

We leave for this same itinerary in 4 weeks - my son and his gf return home tomorrow from the 9nt sailing, so I look forward to hearing all about the ship from them. This is the shortest cruise we'll have done. We did a 7nt to Bermuda on NCL Breakaway and loved the two overnights we had. Our plans are hitting one of their lovely beaches on day one, and staying local to the port day two.

Looking forward to your review.... happy sails :tropical-drink:

My son and his girlfriend are on this cruise. They said check-in was very quick as well, and they did not upload photos before hand either. When they were able to have access to their cabin at 1:30, their luggage was already outside the door.

Just watched you arrive into Bermuda on the webcam. Weather looks nice. :cool:

Have a great time! :tropical-drink:

NCL Breakaway has a firework show on the Fri night we left Bermuda

Thanks for reading!! We learned a lot about the Panama Canal this cruise. It helped that they had an expert give a "play by play" description of what was going on as we proceeded through the locks. They broadcast it over the loudspeakers and on the cabin televisions.

In 1942-1944 my dad worked for the American Construction Company; he only had one eardrum due to a childhood infection, and couldn't pass the military physical needed for the war. Other Americans with similar situations went to Panama to work on the second lock of the canal. As a kid I never understood the "locks", I pictured them to be these big, giant, enormous locks, with an equally huge key I guess. I thought they "locked up" the ability to move ships through, which I guess is kinda true, but in my young childhood mind I pictured it as an actual lock. For that little bit of history I would love to someday cruise through, knowing my dad was in some small way part of it all.

To everyone on that chopper evac - thank you for your service

Make sure you're up top as you sail down the Hudson - Seeing as you're sailing on 9/11 I'm sure there will be some sort of pause as you sail by Ground Zero. I know each time we've sailed past it, we remember those friends we've lost. And the Statue of Liberty is always majestic goosebumpy moment.

Enjoy, you'll love the ship.

Thoroughly enjoying your review - we went to Bermuda on the Breakaway two years ago (loved it!) and have been wanting to go back ever since. We really liked the Breakaway, but I prefer trying new ships so long as the itinerary is something we like, with the biggest added bonus of course.. sailing from home. Only wish Anthem was a two-day overnight like the Breakaway, but I suppose we'll make do ;)

We always travel with a big family group ranging ages 25-50 something year olds. One of the things we really enjoyed a lot on Breakaway was the nightly themed dance parties on the aft upper deck. Does Anthem have a similar 'outdoor' nightlife?

Completely off topic of OPs question - but Cosytoes, I noticed you are from Yorkshire Hull. My brother and I have been researching our ancestry, and we discovered our maternal grandmother and great-grandparents were from YH prior to their sailing to the U.S. in the very early 1900s.

Is St Kitts not a beach-day kinda port?

I've only cruised three times; two of them were the exact same cruise on Carnival Miracle. We loved it so much the first time - which was understandable as it was our first cruise, that we booked the same ship/itinerary the second time, and I was bored to tears.

Our last cruise was NCL Breakaway, and it was like apples and oranges. There were many times when I preferred Carnival over Norwegian (food especially) but at the end of the day, I really think it was the newest, biggest ship that I loved. Next cruise will more than likely be RCCL Anthem out of NY.

Maybe one day we'll fly somewhere to embark, but if we can sail from our home port of NY on a new ship... that will always be a bonus.

When reminiscing about the old days of family vacations, my husband and I will always agree that when our kids were little (they're 26 and 30 now), they traveled really well (and it's the truth)..but.. we only ever did land based vacations (primarily Disney).

With that being said I cannot imagine being stuck on a ship with a toddler where the scenery really doesn't change much, and other than a splash pool (assuming they're diaper trained) there is nothing to do. It will be all about who's turn it is to watch the little darling while the other parent runs (quickly) off and drinks heavily ;)

I'm sure there's that perfect kid that sleeps no matter where they are... they doesn't fuss in MDR, and loves everyone that looks at them. More times than not, that isn't the case, and it's too much to expect from a little one. Not to mention the expense of a cruise where the grown-ups are not really getting to do what they want to do because of the restraints junior is putting on the trip. Maybe I'm selfish, but I don't want to go to back to my cabin at 7:30 at night, and I also don't want to wheel my crooked necked toddler around hoping he stays asleep during dinner.

Me personally, I would opt for less expensive land based trip... just my opinion :)

Thank you for all the hard work you put into your reviews! That being said..... I am waiting patiently for more! LOL

Ditto! :D

Nudge nudge ;);)

We've only ever sailed out of NY, which is always a spectacular sight, but I have to say I'm liking the beautiful view of the Miami sail-away very much; gotta love a palm tree :)

So glad to see I'm not the only riser on a Saturday morning - what a great way to start the day with more updates on your review. I spent the past two weekends reading all your previous ones. I could barely wait for you to return from this last cruise so I could read all about it. :D

The last time I sailed the Miracle was in 2012, the same year they added the aft Serenity area. I'm unaware of anything that may have been done since then.

I suppose the big benefit would be that with two cabins you'd have the two bathrooms - more elbow room to get ready in. Connecting insides would really be a bonus; there seems to be a few connecting 4G insides toward the front of the ship on deck 9.

I discovered all of your reviews quite by accident; I was reading another posters review (can't even remember which ship/ports at this point) and I read one of your posts... saw all your links for reviews, and literally spent my weekend reading all of them. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that is eagerly awaiting your next one :)

I feel like I spent a weekend binge watching a full season or two of a favorite show knowing the new season premier was about to start :D

Welcome home and I can't wait!

It took me two days to find out why they kept taking the chocolate ice cream away!

That was the best laugh I've had in a long time :D

We had 3 afts on deck 11 on the BA last July - our room steward told us "he" was not allowed to open them. Once docked in Bermuda "we" opened them (leatherman tool) when we were out there, which other than first thing in the morning before starting our day, was seldom. The sun was just too damn hot out there. The dividers are triangular and only open slightly. We were picturing a big, vast, 3 cabin balcony... not. It honestly wasn't worth the effort. All it ended up being was the convenience of being able to walk around divider to enter another cabin instead of going out into the hall and using the door - you won't "see" one another if you're sitting out there, not unless you put your chair directly in the small space that actually opens.

Now don't get me wrong... I LOVED our afts; we were just a few decks up or down from anything we needed. I'd book those cabins again in a heartbeat, but we really didn't use them as much as we had thought we would.

Is it wrong that I'm reading your review with my version of an Aussie accent (hint of NY'er) in my head - my favorite is "Melbourne", which in my real voice sounds like Mel'Bawrn, but in my "Aussie" voice it's Mel'bin ;)

I'm always amazed.. and more importantly, impressed, when I read reviews of people traveling to faraway lands just to get to their vacation (holiday) destination. I couldn't imagine having to organize planes, trains.. hotels.. cruise, and then more than likely do it all again in reverse. :eek:

Enjoying your review, and you're not even on the cruise part yet. :)

We were on the BA last July and it never felt crowded to us. We had 12 cabins and 26 people in our friends/family group; my part of the group had 3 aft facing cabins in a row, 2 balcony cabins and 1 inside (all on deck 11). Everyone else had mini-suites mid ship (started as balconies but got upgraded from price-drops) deck 9.

I found I never needed to go anywhere but up or down the aft stairs or elevator...everything we ever needed was centrally located back there. I honestly don't recall ever seeing the pool :rolleyes:. Everyone was 18+ so we stayed in the H2o section of the ship where lounge chairs were plentiful, and kids were not allowed (enforced!).

We ate in Taste and Savor all but 3 nights, and made reservations the day of, once we knew what our plans would be. We had our group dinner in Moderno (ehh.. it was ok) and we ate in the MDR the first night (slow service) and one other night, which happened to be the night Burn the Floor performed, and our table was right next to the dance floor, so that was a bonus.

I think the only time we ventured beyond mid-ship was when we walked the waterfront. I loved the aft facing cabins and will always try and book one in the future whenever possible.

We ate lunch at the buffet in Moderno, and sat outside on the Waterfront tables to eat. We happened to stumble upon it - it was nice to sit and relax after a long morning of getting to the pier.

Sailingnut..your countdown clock in your signature block is all messed up. FYI.

Yes...yes it is