CruisingInFebruary

Alright, on to cabin wins! I loved our balcony cabins. I had been on two past cruises, but never with a balcony. I'm never going back. I had read a tip here on the boards that adjoining cabin balconies could have their balcony dividers opened. We requested this on the first day from our room attendant and it worked great for our group. The balcony sliding doors don't lock, so we could go back and forth to our kids rooms without having to go into the hallway. The kids rooms had a passthrough door which they mostly kept open. I thought the beds were decently comfortable and there was plenty of storage room. As someone here pointed out, even large suitcases can be stored under the beds. Our cabin attendant, Ajoy, was great. I tipped him $20 on the first day and made requests for our group (kid room beds separated, ice every day, balcony dividers opened, towel animals for the girls room). He came through on all of them. We had morning room cleaning which worked great for us. We'd leave for breakfast/brunch or our excursion and the rooms were done when we returned. The biggest win of the week, for me, was sitting on the balcony. I had coffee and/or breakfast room service many days and enjoyed it from the balcony. We saw dolphins several times. On our last sea day, we were reading and had our door opened. My husband suddenly jumped up and said "did you hear that?". There were WHALES outside our balcony. He had heard the sound of their blowhole!!!! As for cabin misses and lessons learned, there weren't many. The only thing I can think of is that the toilet was a little finicky and a tiny bit smelly sometimes. It would only flush if the seat was down and sometimes I had to walk away and try again a few minutes later. (sorry for the potty talk 🙃). And I guess the lesson learned is keep your balcony door open when you can. You just might hear a whale!

Ok, let's start with embarkation wins. Thanks to tips from helpful folks here, I got online right at midnight for our check in and snagged the 10am boarding time. We decided to drive up from Northern VA that morning, leaving at 5am, and made it to the port just before 10am. Easy drive, perfect timing. Check in was super easy, almost no line, showed our passports, had our pictures take, and boarded the ship! Once onboard the ship, we turned left and headed straight to Two70. Picking Two70 as our landing spot until our rooms were ready was a huge win thanks to recommendations from these forums. We had a great view through the Two70 windows, easy access to food and drinks at the Two70 cafe, and even a bar. Everything you could want. As luck would have it, our muster station was even right there at Two70! And the roast beef sandwich (Kummel Weck) from the Two70 cafe was a good as everyone said. The big miss of our day was not anyone's fault. Our ship came in late that morning (apparently a combination of rough waters and an emergency stop) so getting into the port was a disaster. Folks from the ship were leaving at the same time all the 10AM check-ins were arriving. The parking garage wasn't open for new arrivals at 10AM so my brother-in-law was forced to circle the port entry twice. We were stuck in traffic at the luggage drop off for at least 45 mins. Again, no ones fault. I have two embarkation lessons learned. One, you can't actually add a room to your SeaPass card. We wanted to be able to access our kid's room and I had heard you do this by going to guest services and asking to have that room added to your SeaPass card. They can't actually do that, and instead give you extra card(s) for the other rooms. It was not a huge deal, but just an FYI. Second lesson learned is that booking activities on the app that need a reservation is much more confusing than I thought. My recommendation is that if certain activities are very important to you, find a Royal Caribbean rep to ask about it once you've boarded the ship. I think some activities could be reserved for the whole week (like laser tag, roller skating, and the escape room????) while others only opened the night before at a certain time (iFly, NorthStar). But don't quote me on that. If anyone can chime in with the correct information, please do! Ok, that's embarkation. 🙂 I'll be back next time with wins, misses, and lessons learned on our cabins.

Oh, and as an added bonus for those of you who notice the reference, attached is the "Cruise Rules" sign I made for the teen rooms. This prints as a 4X6 which I slide into a picture magnet that I ordered on Amazon. I put one in each room right above the light switch.

Well, I came down with a cold the day after getting off the ship and haven't had a chance to get back to this. Sorry about that! I did decide that since I don't have pictures to share, I'll let you in on my full crazy, over planning, type A madness. I made a PowerPoint for our trip, and it's 36 slides. Yep, not 3, or 6, THIRTY SIX. (Feel free to insert eye role, my family has given me plenty) 🙃 If you aren't really a planner and prefer to wing it in life, you may want to stop reading now. The slides include agendas for our two cruise meetings (yes there were cruise meetings), to do lists for before the cruise and embarkation day, as well as information on our rooms, dining, ship activities, and ports. In my defense, the idea for a PowerPoint is kind of my DS's fault. The last vacation we went on, just the four of us, I mentioned that we needed to have a quick meeting after dinner that week so I could get their input on vacation stuff (because I'm a considerate mom) - thing we needed to book ahead of time like kayaking trips. Well my sassy 13yr old responded with, "A meeting? Are you going to have a PowerPoint or something?" Challenge accepted and excellent idea. So the vacation PowerPoint was born and it brings me much joy in the months leading up to a trip. I visit it most mornings, make tweaks, update it based on great tips found here, and love the entire process. So, with that glimpse into my planning madness, I'm going to share the slides (and a packing list) here and then share our experiences on the ship. *I didn't plan to share the slides so the pictures and specifics are not attributed to their sources. The pictures are pretty much all from Royal Caribbean sites and if anyone here recognizes their recommendations, let us know so I can give you credit! Cruise 2024 General.pptx Cruise 2024 Packing List General.doc

Just returned from a wonderful family trip on the Anthem out of Bayonne, NJ. I spent a lot of time on these forums before our cruise and found so much helpful information, so I wanted to pay it forward. This will be a quick Wins, Misses, and Lessons Learned report. Likely with no pictures since I was focused on enjoying every moment as opposed to documenting everything. 🙂 As a quick introduction, my family includes myself (middle aged, hyper planner mom), my DH, DD (16), and DS (13). We traveled with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and their two teens (14 and 17). It was the first cruise for my kids, and the rest of us had been on just one or two cruises. Let's start off with some overall wins! We loved the ship, loved our balcony rooms, and loved our 7:30pm set dining time. Overall the food was good, the Indian dishes were excellent, and the service was solid. My favorite cruise specific pre-purchase were wrist bands for our sea pass cards. Someone here suggested them and they were perfect for the week. I purchased these stretchable wristbands and then attached these sealable card holders. I'll be back with posts on specific wins, misses, and lessons learned around things like packing lists, dining, and ports. Let me know if you have any specific questions!

Thanks everyone! I let my husband and son down easy with promises of unlimited french fries and chicken tenders. 🙂

We leave Sunday for our first cruise in a long time. Yesterday my husband commented on how much he was looking forward to snacking on onion rings whenever he wanted. FIFTEEN YEARS ago, we went on a Royal Caribbean cruise and he loved getting a plate of onion rings to snack on after returning from an excursion. I guess he forgot how long ago it was and that yes, things can change. Anyone know if his dreams are going to come true (and they have onion rings at Windjammer on Anthem)?

Thank you! I saw that company when searching but wasn't sure if it was recommended. Good to know it's a reputable company.

Any recommendations for a park and cruise hotel near Cape Liberty? It looks like there are a number of hotels around Newark airport that offer a special that includes one night stay and 7-8 days of parking. We live about 6 hours away and want to come in on Saturday and stay for the night before our cruise departure on Sunday. Some of the hotels where I've found deals include: SpringHill Suites by Marriott Newark Liberty International Courtyard by Marriott Newark Liberty International Airport Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Newark Liberty International Airport Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

It is really confusing. I would never expect that when I'm looking at the app menus specifically for my cruise. Maybe they could at least add a heads up... 🤷‍♀️

Thanks so much everyone. I didn't realize the menus showed the current sailing. That makes much more sense. Maybe I'll bring my Walmart lobster just in case. 😉

I'm currently booked on Anthem for the March 24-31 7 Night Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise. I noticed today on the app that the menus for the MDR had changed - including night 6 changing to "Taste of the UK" and no longer having lobster as an unpaid option. Has anyone done the same itinerary so far in January, or have it booked for February, and can confirm if their menus changed as well? Crossing my fingers they haven't taken away lobster night!

Thanks to everyone for the additional ideas. I've updated the packing list for anyone who may find it helpful. 🙂 Cruise 2024 Packing List General.doc

Hi. Happy to share the one I've started for our March cruise. We have two teens so it includes a kids section. I've been adding items that other have suggested on this forum. Would love to hear what others have on their lists. 🙂 Cruise 2024 Packing List General.doc

Thanks for the reviews. Scheduled to be on Anthem in March! Can anyone who has sailed recently share the show schedule? We have late dining which, based on last year's entertainment schedule, may conflict with some of the main shows. I wanted to book specialty dining one night at an early time to coincide with the headline show. Thanks!