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You can walk up to the base of the tower, and you only have to pay to go inside. The views were incredible.

Just got back on the ship. We walked off and caught a taxi to the Tower of Hercules. 6 euro one way and that takes care of almost all of the uphill. Taxi dropped us off at the base of a small uphill path to the tower. We didn't go up the tower, but if you plan to go up and want to take a taxi, tell them to drop you off at the ticket office since you pass it on the way to the drop-off spot.

Today is a or la Coruna Spain. View from the balcony:

Lots of people were dressed up this time. I haven't seen that many tuxedoes in years.

Formal night tonight. We did Jamie's since we don't like to dress up, and we try to be respectful of those who do. We have been doing specialties on formal night since the days they actually enforced dress codes in MDR. This was the busiest I have ever seen Jamie's, so others must have had the same idea. We actually had to wait for our reservations at 7:00pm along with a couple other parties. Quantum class is where we feel Jamie's beats the other classes of ship, unlike Izumi. Short rib was great, and DW liked her chicken parm without the parm. After dinner she dragged me to watch the end of We Will Rock You since she went to the matinee today and loved it. Otherwise a boring night for us as I am back to working and she is taking a break from the casino and watching TV on the Firestick.

OGFW has a dairy and egg allergy, so most of the desserts are off limits. Vegan desserts are the only thing she can eat, and those are usually only in the MDR. Since we do not go to MDR much, she figures out what vegan dessert is available each day and finds a way to finagle some. These showed up in the stateroom today (with a post it note confirming they are vegan).

I just put a post on page 3 of my "Live from Anthem" thread this morning about how to do a Firestick on the stateroom TV if you are subscribed to a streaming service which carries the game. Make sure you also get a VPN and/or GPS spoofer (YouTubeTV). Sounds like you might have the game on the stateroom TV anyway if Sport24 is carrying it.

My cruising work setup. On Quantum class the desk is on wheels so I can move it so the TV can be a monitor (another reason for the $10 remote). An Android pad completes the 3 monitor setup.

Sea Day today. Decided to sleep in after three days of running around London and the south of England. Was awoken by the sound of a helicopter leaving the ship. They had to medivac a crew member off the ship. Hope everything is OK. Went up for the AM Flowrider session , and then walked around the ship a bit before going to the Jammer for lunch. Pool decks looked like Piccadilly and Leicester Square without the sweets shops. Every chair was filled all the way back to the climbing wall. Good for us we are not lay-out-by-the-pool people, so the interior of the ship was pretty calm. Sea days are work days for me. I'm fortunate enough that I have a job where I can work anywhere with an internet connection, so I have become a bit of a digital nomad. During Covid we moved to Arizona for 2 years before returning to Denver last year. We never say no when Casino Royale offers the OGFW free cruises, so we're doing our best to see the world on a ship (preferably one with a Flowrider). Feedback from the OGFW is the machines are tight so far on this cruise 😢. The machines are also outdated and the Casino Host said they are getting replaced before they get to Asia. After being on Spectrum, I understand why. That market may not need a pub, but the casino is a money-printing machine for RCCL. She also said the casino is non-smoking since we are going out of the UK. I might just have to stop by. Last time I spent any time in the casino was right after restart when all the casinos were smoke-free. The Jazz Club non-smoking mini casino doesn't do it for me either. Hard for me to believe the UK would be ahead of the US on the smoke free casino front. I still remember being 14 and going to the youth club at the pub in my grandmother's village and I was the only kid there who didn't smoke.

Some good news today for our Lanzarote excursion. They finally responded and said they plan to do the tour as planned. Now they are just trying to get a vehicle for us. They also created a WhatsApp chat for everyone on our tour to keep us updated.

I have a Samsung Z-Flip3. Not the newest, but it's off contract and unlocked so I can use an eSim when I travel. And best of all I can hotspot!

Geeky Tech Stuff warning! I was able to get a Firestick to work with the stateroom tv this cruise. I don't think the OGFW going to the casino every time I go to the Flowrider is going to end well, so it was imperative that I get this to work. How I did it: Before we left, I bought a Samsung remote on Amazon for $10. I have newer model Samsung remotes at home, but they don't have a Source button. Then I plugged the Firestick into the TV. The port is not blocked, but it is a bit difficult to find. I used the selfie camera on my phone to locate it. Now i use the remote I brought to switch the source to HDMI 2. The stateroom remotes don't have the source button, and Anthem TVs don't have buttons on the TV to do it manually. Now for the tricky part. I never was able to get wifi to the Firestick previously. I have heard of using the browser app on the Firestick, but I could never get that to work. This time I turned on the hotspot on my Android phone, and I was able to piggy-back the wifi to the Firestick! The hotspot will not start in airplane mode, so I just exit airplane mode to turn on the hotspot then go right back into airplane mode and the hotspot stays active. I don't think iPhones can do this, so you have to have a newer Android phone. With vpn we can access everything except YouTube TV, but I have a GPS spoofer for that. Streaming works great. Did a Speed test and this is the fastest I've seen in my stateroom on any cruise.

Thanks everyone for the Lisbon advice. My biggest disappointment is that our tour included Sintra/Pena palace, and I don't see many good options for that. You can take a train, but you still have to get up the hill to the palace. I'm hoping there is something available at the dock for that, then when we get back we can go off on our own in Lisbon. The good news is this is the longest one-day port stop we have ever had on a cruise, so we have flexibility.

Checked out the music on-board. Pub singer Ana Alveredo is really good. She can sing just about everything. Speaking of the pub, was happy to see the pub again after our Spectrum of the Seas cruise in December with the tea shop where the pub is. The band in the Music Hall is Rhythmocracy. I had high hopes for them because I saw a video of them online playing Enter Sandman by Metallica, but the set they played was all 1970's easy-listening love songs so we headed back to the pub to listen to Ana. Jury is still out on them. I really miss the tribute bands in the Music Hall. Might as well change the name to Trivia Hall. The piano player in the Schooner Bar (Giles Edmunds) was just OK, but the place was packed so what do I know...

We usually do unlimited dining on our cruises, but for these cruises we felt there just wasn't enough variation in restaurants to keep repeating for 19 days. Plus there is no Playmakers, which is our go-to for UDP lunch. So for the first cruise we did a 3 night package and we planned to do our BOGOs the first 2 nights. Tonights dinner was Izumi. OGFW hates fish, so she does this as a favor to me. I had the chef's sushi selection and the cutback roll, aka the rainbow roll. Used to get 8 pieces which filled the whole plate, now its 4 pieces. Besides the cutback portions, Izumi on Quantum class is awful. You basically are dining in a hallway where people walk through the restaurant while you are eating. The non-sushi menu is also more limited than other ships. I also love the sesame rolls for dessert, but these are not available on Quantum class. OGFW wouldn't eat her non-sushi entrees, so I am now sitting in the Windjammer as I type this. I think we're done with Izumi on Quantum class for good now.

Finished unpacking then headed up to the Flowrider. At first it was mixed wave then advanced from 5-6. There are about 5 blue bands so far. The short board is the quad channel Outlaw. Hated it at first but getting used to it. Didn't get any sail-away pictures, but here is Portsmouth from the balcony.

Rooms were open at 1pm prompt, and the bags were already at the door. Since the Flowrider was boogie board 12-2, I actually helped the OG Flow Widow unpack. I think it is the most organized our stateroom has ever been.

I used the plastic compression bags, so this will come in handy. Got the full size, not travel size.

White noise machine. Best cruising investment we ever made. Paid $12 for it on Amazon. Drowns out the creaky noises in the stateroom, as well as my snoring after I have had a few beers.

19.40 pounds. I booked in advance and it's much cheaper. The walk up fare to Hampton Court yesterday was almost as much.

Ok, this is cool. Steak pies and Yorkshire puddings in the Windjammer. You can tell we're sailing from the UK!

Greetings from the Anthem of the Seas in beautiful Southampton England! Train arrived on-time at 11:00 and we were on board by 11:40, and that included walking to the port and getting lost once. Getting through the terminal was a breeze. Love the view of IKEA.😄 Got my soda cup and Flowrider waivers are signed.

At least we have great weather today!

Currently on the train to Southampton. Train left at 9:35 from Waterloo and it is packed. I can tell there are lots of cruisers onboard by the luggage tags.

Thanks Dani. I checked their tours and they are all sold out.😫 Looks like Norwegian Getaway is already in Lisbon on the 11th, and based on the port schedule they usually only have one ship in per day.