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Thanks for clarifying............

Yeah!! Quantum from San Pedro or SD.............I'm soooooo there!!

OH, HALLELUJAH!!! I'm taping a printout of this to my suitcases for my FLL trips next year. Thank you very much.

The time for a quieter swim in the main pool is early in the morning, and around 4-6pm when everyone is going to dinner.

I was trying to not regurgitate all that I found while looking a flights from the OP's local area, but I did, indeed find the fare that I mentioned. I have flown Alaska EWR to/from the West Coast several times, and find it's pretty much the only East-West (and vice-versa) nonstop, and reasonably priced flight I could find. Matter of fact, I flew that route just two days ago to LAX. Also, you must have missed the part about the Alaska credit card for free check-in baggage in your to post.

Just to give some perspective: the poo-ing on the pool deck is something I have NEVER seen in 50 years. But, I had my son do that at age 2 at a soccer game................the other parents thought it was hysterical. I did NOT walk away from it. The one thing about life I expect is that things will change. So, I find my own ways to adapt, and see if I can still enjoy what has changed. I've started tracking the Unlimited Dining Package for all my cruises. I may not continue, because I'm finding the quality of food in the MDR is improving after the monumental screw-up from the menu changes last January. Windjammer is improving slightly, too. I have found the UDiningP to be as low as $17 average per meal, accounting for all available lunch and dinner reservations. $166 extra for my Sisters' Cruise next September is acceptable to me, and keeps my picky sister happy. I was talking to someone yesterday taking the little golf cart tram back to the ship in Nassau: she and I agreed we LIKE only getting cabin service once a day and in the evening. This way we have the ENTIRE day to do what we want on our own schedule.

I agree, once removed. I'm on the Anthem now with a travel companion who also gets balcony cabins. She has an obstructed balcony now and says it's just fine. She is mid-ship in x660, which coincidentally will be my cabin next March. I found her cabin to be quite roomy, and the obstruction was not a problem. She's very happy with it. Plus, it's mid-ship, so close to the elevator. I tease her, because I have a "virtual balcony" 3 decks above her. My view is better that hers! Yesterday, I had a lovely view of the Colonial Beach / Lighthouse area in Nassau. Today it's the sky with fluffy clouds and REALLY calm water. This VB of mine is at least 4-5 ft wide, and floor to ceiling high. BIG view. The only negative I've experienced in this b2b is I walked out of the bathroom yesterday morning to get dressed and was FREAKED for a few seconds by the heads of two crew staring at me!!!! They were cleaning the camera lens.......😁

I found, after much hunting and pecking on Alaska's web site, that they have nonstop flights to the West Coast for a very low price, from Newark, NJ. My nonstops to/from SFO have been as low as $139. So, if you can find a low cost flight up to EWR, it might work. Right now from EWR in mid-July, flying on a Friday, the fare is $249 one way. Get a "MAIN" seat, which includes seat selection and refund options. Also, get yourself an Alaska credit card, even it you only spend $5 with it. If you have it with you when you check bags, they are free.

You have to click on "Reserve" and when the page refreshes it gives you the days and times.

Yes, you are correct! My bad: I was pricing PV rooms just before posting here. I love my Virtual Balcony room here on the Anthem!

Truly unfortunate situation. The OP was obviously (after I read this entire thread) using an "elephant gun" approach. I've been in few very unfortunate situations with RCCL. Once at the end of a cruise where most passengers were stranded in Barcelona with no way home on a Spanish holiday weekend. RCCL chartered planes to get us home. The other incident was when my husband passed away. No questions from them: 100% refund or FCC for all my bookings. So, it was too slow coming, but their eventual compensation and added perks in this situation were reasonable, IMO. I am a make lemonade type of person: I would have realized the cruise was not happening, I would be reimbursed, and said to myself, "Self, you have a NEW vacation in Australia instead of a cruise." IF the cruise was a closed loop, I would book something until my flight left. Or, if it was a one way cruise, I would have booked a flight out far enough that I wasn't paying huge amounts for it. (And, this is an example of why we should all have trip interruption/cancellation insurance)

I am on the Anthem now for a b2b (2 weeks). I love me my Anthem!! I agree the entertainment is not inspiring, especially the huge amount of talent available in the New York area. But, this is just personal preferences on my part. I like ensemble productions more than stand-up or single performers. The most amazing show I have seen in years was on the Liberty before Thanksgiving: In the Air. Fantastic show. I am very happy with the once daily room cleaning, and I prefer evening. I don't have to be out of my cabin at any certain time, and can come and go anytime I want without being concerned my cabin steward might be in there cleaning. No waiting around during the day to get in my cabin. I leave for dinner and come back to a clean cabin. I think the Anthem is a gorgeous ship. So sleek and well appointed. My current "home" is an inside Promenade View cabin that is very large, beautifully furnished, with the gigantic live feed view outside the ship. I very much like the Promenade and Via areas, and have never considered the number of shops. With thousands of passengers, I'm sure somebody is going in and out. I cannot fathom why the word "cheap" would be used to describe this ship, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes. The Windjammer, IMO, is one of the BEST in the fleet, but I have only been on two of the super-sized ships: the Anthem and the Odyssey. MUCH, MUCH better laid out than the Oasis class. The Anthem's WJ has lots of separate stations, which keeps the traffic flowing. The food there is excellent, which is pretty much the opposite of what I've experienced in the last year on several other ships. I walked in yesterday for late breakfast, walked up to a counter, the lady was preparing EXACTLY what I wanted: avocado toast with smoked salmon. I thanked her for it, too! Added fresh cut fruit, a fresh kiwi for me to cut, and I was at a table within 5 minutes from walking in the door. Yes, it was very crowded. Back for some scrambled eggs and bacon, eating those within a few minutes, too. This Windjammer keeps the people moving with it's design. I appreciate that. Also, a 15 person line for Asian food is pretty normal for all ships, and actually pretty small considering the number of people to be fed breakfast on the Anthem. I'm not too sure about tables and chairs in walkways. I haven't experienced that any time I've been on the Anthem. However, I know that passengers in general on all ships tend to leave chairs sticking out from the table when they get up. It really does impede others' ability to walk through. It's like walking through a maze in the eating areas. If the reference to the pool staff is the lifeguards, I appreciate them. There were multiple child drownings before the attendants were added. Glad to see them.

Try logging out and logging back into the Cruise Planner. Also, you might want to re-purchase the bev pkg and zipline separately. Cruise Planner purchases are tedious IMO, as I don't know why they can't just refund the difference from the original purchase.

I ask for extra face cloths on Day 1. I have plenty of towels, because the set up in the cabin is always for 2 people, so it's like double towels for me, a solo. Also, if the cabin steward forgets, I leave a note to remind them.

I agree it sounds like someone might have hijacked your service when you were using your phone. OR, the local provider charges about $10 - $15 per minute for international calls. I suggest you contact your cellular provider, explain the situation, and see if they can apply an international plan to that billing period. Going forward, turn on that international plan. I am with Xfinity, and when I go out of their coverage area, and I am not in airplane mode, I get a text they are activating the plan, which is $10 per day. Nothing is charged unless I use my phone on shore to text or call. On the ship it's all through the ship's wifi, and I am in airplane mode. I am so sorry this happened. Cellular service has always been an issue when traveling, and I've tried separate phones, separate SIM cards, etc. Good luck!

See post #53 above.

You must have missed the statement I made that the savings will be given as cash tips to the crew. I always do this: if I have extra money on a cruise, I pass that savings along as a cash tip. If I win in the casino with my "free" cash from RCCL, I give half to a crew member. I will get a refund for missing a port on and upcoming cruise, and I'll cash out that refund on my credit card in the casino, and use it for extra cash tips on the cruise. Between the gratuities savings and the port refund, that's an extra $374, plus sharing casino winnings, for the crew. They are good to me; I am good to them.

Most of us here agree we are unhappy with the gratuities increase. However, I think our disagreement is with RCCL, the company, and NOT the crew. If anyone withholds their gratuities as a form of protesting the increase, then we are penalizing the crew for a decision that is completely out of their control. To those who truly are against this business model for gratuities, then they can take their business to cruise lines that include them in the pricing. But, one WOULD BE PAYING THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY.

When they are available, go to the Cruise Planner online, and click on "more details". I was hunting around for luggage tags today for a cruise I am fully checked in for, and that's how I found mine.

I would never do this. This is how some of the crew get paid, and I would not want to jeopardize them or their families' financial security.

Just ask when you call, saying you want to be guaranteed to pay the pre-Nov 11 price. I prepaid all my booked cruises, which extend out to Jan 2025, BUT I have already paid them all in full early (to get points and statement credits on my credit card). I had to pay the tips immediately. I saved $196

My sister and I had lunch in Chops on embarkation day last March on the Vision. Just as we sat down, the waiter came over very, very nervous. The Coast Guard had just come on board and were doing an inspection, and no food could be served until the ENTIRE ship was cleared. We had free wine for about 45 minutes though.............................

I was on a ship last January when the new menus started. Quite a shock, and I b2b with another ship: even worse. So, over this past 10 months I have learned the "good nights" vs "bad nights". Good nights are when they have salmon, bad nights are when they have proteins I don't care for. I now order the dessert fruit and cheese plate as an appetizer with every dinner. I also will make an entire meal of salad and appetizers, telling the waiter to bring them in any order he chooses. I also order an appetizer size portion of pasta to go with my entree, and that doesn't seem to cause any problems. There is one night's menu where I end up with all shrimp: 2 appetizers and 1 entree. Annnnd, there's one night I go to the Windjammer and eat unlimited appetizers, because there is NOTHING on the MDR menu I want. Having said all of this, I have to add that when it comes to food, I will eat anything except lamb, wax or lima beans. I'm actually easy to please when it comes to food and movies................

I actually ate one of those monsters in May 2023. It was FABULOUS, and put me off desserts for the rest of the cruise.

However, if you track the prices it can be worthwhile to purchase the UDP. I did with my sister on the Vision last year, and we averaged $15 per meal for both lunches and dinners combined. Right now I'm tracking for all my booked cruises, and it's running between $24 - $35 per meal. This is lunches and dinners.