DragonOfTheSeas

This is all good we’re on board. I’ve already had my first adult beverage. The sun is shining.

Our family has always thought. We were a little crazy to cruise a couple times a year, which is all we really do. But sometimes those have been back to back. Our son and his family cruised for the first time last October and they loved it. So I’m sure they’re going to do it again probably not for another year or so because they have young children that are involved in a lot of activities. But DD has gotten into the empty nest stage. So we hope she gets the cruising bug.

There was all sorts of craziness in the roadway, trying to get in. People who were trying to get out we’re walking down the road to try to meet their ride. And others were getting out of rideshare and walking to the terminal for a pretty good distance. Once we got on the ship it was good. DH had wheelchair assistance to get on the ship. Our staff member took us right to our muster station. we got a board at 12:05 PM. Our check-in time was 1130 and we have gotten our Uber and we should’ve been here by 11 o’clock. not complaining just giving you an idea of what timeframe

That’s good to hear. Thank you.

We are stuck in traffic about 1/2 mile from the terminal. Someone has posted on Facebook that the garage is not open yet. But we are seeing a few cars leaving so that’s good. our check in time is 11:30 and we were going to get here plenty early. But we might be right on time.

We have an unusual combination of cabins. DD is in a solo cabin and we are in a large balcony JS. We think the solo has a virtual balcony--but, not sure about that. The two cabins open onto a small hallway that opens onto the main deck. So, that seems kind of private. We hope to open the doors and make it like a small apartment during the day. [8630 and 8632] However, we will see if this works out. I have watched the YouTube videos and it does not look like 8628 opens onto the same hallway. That would mess up our plans. 😉

Yowza! DH and I took a cruise from Baltimore once that came back to snow in March. We were lucky. Our DD dropped us off and picked us up. The port there is just off the interstates and the roads were clear. However, those that parked had to clear the car.

That is great! There is always room for two perspectives.

This is the actual itinerary. 😊 We have been to each of these ports, so we know what to expect. At Port Canaveral we have booked the Ron Jon shuttle. This takes us to Cocoa Beach. I was able to book this on Black Friday for ~$15/pp. Even with 3 people it is not that much more than RT Uber. YMMV This is a picture of Shepard Park. the bus drops off a parking lot just across the street from the park--which is really just a small square with a nice bath house. The small gray tent at the beach entrance is where you rent chairs/umbrellas. There is a restaurant beside the park and a 7-Eleven beside the bus parking. We have found this to be a very convenient location and not much parking. At Cocoa Cay we have day passes to Hideaway Beach. I originally bought the for $75 each on the day the opened. However, the priced dropped twice since then and we got them for ~$29. That seemed like a good price for an adults only area with a heated pool. Woo Hoo! perfect-day-map-marketing-reveal.pdf I will likely just get off and walk around the new port area in Nassau. It is not one of my favorite port. However, I want to see the improvements.

We were going to try to get a reservation for today in port. That us a great view!

Time for breakfast

I noticed this on the Bayonne cruise terminal site. It is clearly copied from the RCL site, and I have seen a similar mistake for other cruises. One thing about royal Caribbean their IT department needs some work. I bet you did not realize just how far this cruise travels. 😀🤣

One of the passengers on the Facebook group just posted this: "6:08am…An announcement has just been made that due to the heavy seas we experienced last night…we will be delayed arriving into Bayonne. Disembarkation is expected to begin at approximately 8:00am." I am not sure if this will have an impact on us. We have not gotten a text or email for RCL.

Well. it is finally cruise day. 😁 I never sleep well the night before a trip. I spend too much time trying to remember what I forgot. [I think only a couple of unimportant things] Today was no exception. Here are a couple of early morning shots of the skyline.

Thank you both. We have been to each of these ports and have planned our activities carefully. But we will be flexible.

DH can walk with a walking stick for reasonable distances. We felt we should bring it along since this is a bigger ship. . . . but I am sorry to hear you did not feel it was very accessible. Fingers crossed!

What a difference a few hours will make. The sky has cleared and we can see the city from our hotel. We are staying in the Doubletree Jersey City. It is a block from the river, and we have a corner suite. [not bragging--it was the only 2-room option to share with DD] The view is pretty impressive.

Yes, for us it only makes sense to take the train. . . . and after today's trip I don't think I would consider driving. 🙄

Thank you. we are glad to be cruising again. We are very excited about the Anthem.

Once we got off the train the adventure really began. The Newark/Jersey City area is getting a huge amount of rain which has led to lots of streets flooding. We tried to go down many that had deep standing water. 😱 The police were closing the ramps to the bridges. Our taxi driver seemed to be going in circles. . . but so were all of the other cars. After a while he just drove through the flooded intersections. Here are a few pictures. It is hard to capture just how deep the water was and how many cars. drove through. These are not great pictures, but you get the idea. When we finally got to the hotel DD said she always wondered why newscasters made such a big deal out of "turn around-don't drown." She couldn't imagine anyone driving through floods. HaHaHa We made it to the hotel. Do you wonder what that adventure cost? The driver turned to DH and said "that will be $100 + a tip."

Join DH, our DD and me on our journey on the beautiful Anthem of the Seas from Bayonne, NJ to Port Canaveral, Coco Cay and Nassau. The Anthem is part of a class of ship we have not sailed. I have seen pictures of the ship, and I can ’t wait to get aboard. . . . but, mostly I want to get away from the cold and rainy weather on the east coast today. 😞 It was a wet start as we boarded Amtrak train 88 at the BWI airport Station this morning headed to Newark Penn Station. It was raining cats, dogs, and anything else that could come from the sky. Our Uber XL driver was a Prince. After playing Tetris with four suitcases, a walker and a bookbag we were off. This will be our third time taking Amtrak to Bayonne. We drove the first time we sailed from here, but we did not love the traffic. With the tolls and $30/day parking at the pier the train pays for itself. JMHO We are Alan [DH], Agnes [Me], and our adult DD [Heather]. DH and I are veteran cruisers; this will be our 40th. However, DD is cruising for the first time. She is a teacher, so we are taking a spring break cruise. We typically avoid school holidays. We were not sure we would ever get to take this cruise. DH fell in our cabin on the first part of our B2B cruise last fall. So, we left the ship in Portland, ME. He has fully recovered. However, he still has some mobility issues and I will share a few of our experiences as they relate to that. On Amtrak you can request assistance getting your luggage on and off the train at manned stations. This was a huge help today. Also, the conductor phoned ahead and had a porter waiting by our rail car to get our luggage from there. They also provide wheelchair assistance--but we did not need that.

I took this picture from the balloon in 2022. I wish I had taken a few more of this side. There is a very clear demarcation between the public and the workers side of the island. Since I have seen a few of the pictures of Hideaway Beach it seems the lagoon you see at the top looks like the lagoon I see in those pictures. JMHO

I have been looking for a cruise with something different. 😜

We sail on Anthem this weekend. I plan to do a live thread.

I think this is the more up to date list.cas-amenities-jan-2024-final for D+.pdf