Trip Report - Anthem - 22nd May - Sunshine in the Canaries

[Nirrakel]

This is likely to be a long one - so the summary is: brilliant trip, love the ship, good entertainment, great food, amazing kids club - happy parents, happy 7 and 5 year old boys!

 

Ok...now the long version for those that enjoy trip reports, cause I love them!

 

Background:

I was probably the most anti-Royal Caribbean passenger going in to this, I'd had very negative experiences with the UK customer service department prior to sailing, and I was gutted my children weren't going to get to see the DreamWorks experience. My expectations were very very low for this cruise. We've cruised twice with Celebrity before kids, and with Thomson and P&O with the kids.

[Nirrakel]

We had a boarding time of 11.45 and got to the Port about 10.30 - we booked with ABParking, who are just opposite the cruise terminal. As soon as we parked up we were swarmed by efficient porters who emptied our luggage into their van within seconds! We were sat in sections according to boarding time, I went over to purchase a coffee and literally as soon as I'd bought it we were called onboard - I think it was about 11am!

 

We didn't have the grand arrival I was anticipating, halfway up the gangway my 5 year old - William - insisted he needed the toilet and started doing the dreaded dance. So my first impressions of Anthem is a brightly lit ornate space which I sprinted through gabbling 'where's the toilet? where's the toilet?'

 

I (and other passengers I spoke to) found the self-flushing toilets very odd, you can't flush them yourself and I'm not entirely sure what triggers them flushing, sometimes sitting on them seemed to make them flush and sometimes I'd come out and close the door and they didn't seem to flush - maybe I'm a bit stuck in my ways but I do kinda like to flush my own toilet!

 

We set off exploring and found ourselves in the Seaplex and started off with a rousing game of basketball! Then we headed upstairs and played some table tennis - I'd make the most of this the first day cause we never managed to find a free table tennis table again!! I was a bit shocked to find the padding was already coming off all the table tennis bats considering they are only a month old! The Seaplex is a nice space, it has a young, fun vibe to it. They opened up the bumper cars whilst we were playing table tennis so William and Daddy had a go together, they had a lot of fun and the commentator was really funny and had everyone laughing.

 

It was time for our booked Ifly experience, I found out I wouldn't be able to take photos and join in the experience as well so I opted to take photos as I really wanted some photos of the boys doing it! I am very protective of my boys and the instructors clearly explained everything they were doing and were obviously both very experienced and very safety-conscious. I had no hesitation about trusting my boys with them. Unfortunately both children chickened out at the last moment and opted to just watch Daddy! Daddy thought it was a very cool experience but too short. You really only get to have a quick taster in that one minute and he'd have liked a bit longer to get to grips with the technique and give it a good go.

 

Muster drill is pretty much standard for muster drills, although you don't have lifejackets to practice with, on one hand it's good not to have to mess about with the bulky item, on the other hand might be a good idea to practice putting one on?

 

We got to explore the room after Muster, it was huge in comparison with other staterooms we've had, we never felt cramped. I loved the virtual balcony, really tricks your mind into thinking it's an actual balcony and I loved seeing the different views outside! Also, I hate being too hot and our A/C worked like a dream and I could set it myself to whatever temperature I fancied!

 

 

Quick note - They bumped my 5 year old up to the Explorers room (normally 6-8 year olds) as he had his 7 year old brother in there and he was only 3 months short of his 6th birthday.

 

We then went and had our first experience of the Windjammer - Wow - just wow. I don't know how to describe this place without sounding like I'm exaggerating. I'm a foodie and this was food heaven for me. There are about 8 different stations all serving different foods, all tasted freshly cooked, and there was always a station where they cooked fresh pasta or Mongolian stir fry or something like that. My two boys absolutely loved the freedom of going to get their own food and choosing exactly what they liked. My eldest, Josh, tried a lot of foods he wouldn't normally try as he was able to select it himself just to taste. The Windjammer was often busy but I was always able to find a table for four on the first circuit of the room! I love the back area of the windjammer which is outside and at the back of the boat, I could sit there for hours with a book and a coffee (if only the weather had co-operated!!)

 

We weren't on a drinks package and we tended to get free drinks at the windjammer, there was strawberry water, orange juice, apple juice, ice tea, lemonade, milk, water, tea, hot chocolate and coffee. I'm a Costa addict and prior to cruising has assumed I'd need to make a sizeable donation to Starbucks but actually I found the Windjammer coffee really good and was quite happy to drink that!

 

Afterwards we hit the pool, we pretty much had the pools to ourselves. There is a wave pool outside, a baby area, a lazy river and a small (but sufficient for the number of people who wanted to use it for this cruise) pool outside, along with 2 Jacuzzis. My 5 year old could only stand up in the Wave Pool, and in retrospect he'd have been happier if I'd brought some floats with us (I didn't find any to buy onboard but maybe I missed them). Inside was a similar sized pool and two more Jacuzzis. On the first day the pools were freezing!!! (The Jacuzzis were nice and warm though) However my boys don't seem to feel the cold and had a lovely time playing in the pools!

 

We'd packed a lot into the day and headed back to the room to sleep, kids on a double sofa bed. I found the beds really comfortable but other passengers were complaining about hard beds, so maybe it just depends on what you like! The rooms were really well-soundproofed and although there were young children in nearby rooms we never heard them, I'm a really light-sleeper and no outside noise ever woke me - we were in room 9271 if that helps. the very gentle rocking of the boat soothed us off to sleep....

Edited June 1, 2015 by Nirrakel

[Nirrakel]

urrgh...any advice for getting images to post from flickr?

[kevinyork]

The one you included in your first posts views fine for me. Looking forward to the rest of your review as we are doing the same cruise in September.

[little britain]

This is likely to be a long one - so the summary is: brilliant trip, love the ship, good entertainment, great food, amazing kids club - happy parents, happy 7 and 5 year old boys!

 

Ok...now the long version for those that enjoy trip reports, cause I love them!

 

Background:

I was probably the most anti-Royal Caribbean passenger going in to this, I'd had very negative experiences with the UK customer service department prior to sailing, and I was gutted my children weren't going to get to see the DreamWorks experience. My expectations were very very low for this cruise. We've cruised twice with Celebrity before kids, and with Thomson and P&O with the kids.

 

Appreciate you coming back with your review and thankfully the shipboard experience far exceeded your shoreside experience :D

Glad you were Wowed and looking forward to the rest of your review (with or without furry animals!) .

[cruiserone]

We are sailing next June with our daughter and her family a 2 year old, 4 and 7. So I am happy to read reviews realting to activies for them.

 

Are you on the Dynamic Dining Classic? Curious as to how it works. Do you go to a different dining room each night with the same staff?

 

Thank you and have a wonderful cruise

[Suzieanna]

Thanks for posting. I am wondering, you mentioned basketball. Where do you get the ball from? I have often wondered when seeing people playing these games too, do you have to book the court? And if so, where? Loving your positive report!

[Nirrakel]

Thanks for the comments, going to try to stay motivated to finish this quick before I get carried away planning the next cruise ;)

 

We weren't on dynamic dining classic which was good as our meal times were all over the place! As I understand it, you rotate around the dining rooms at a set time with your wait staff, but I didn't do it so I'm not sure how it works in practise!

 

Basketballs and footballs were available at all times next to the court in a little stand like you normally get with bowling balls, all enclosed so they don't go bouncing off in choppy seas!! One side is basketball, the other side football. No need to book, everyone just turns up and plays, the courts turn into a rink when roller skating or bumper cars are on.

[Nirrakel]

We woke up about 8am, it was lovely looking over and seeing the sea out of our 'balcony'. Josh (7 year old) woke up in a complete flap because he absolutely did not want to walk into kids club after it had already started!! Cue fastest washing and dressing ever, super fast trip to Windjammer and a family sprint (no running in the halls!) to the kids club! Kids were dropped off in a flurry of excitement by 9am!

 

Hubby and I looked at each other - child-free time!!! This never happens! We decided to go to Two70 and enjoy watching the waves, chill out and have a coffee. However as we walked past one of the wall-boards it was advertising 'Puzzle Break' - I'd completely forgotten this was on board but it was something I was really keen to do. My best friend is a real fan of these locked room puzzles and I'd been to one in the past and really enjoyed it. There was one starting at 10.30 so we headed across to the Seaplex to see if we could join in. It takes place in a room just before you enter the Seaplex and the lady was putting out a sign as we were going past so we were able to ask her about it. You usually sign up at the Sports Desk at the Seaplex but she was able to book us in there and then.

 

There ended up being 9 of us booked in, including the lovely Sevenseas (hello teammate if you're reading!!) you watch a short orientation video and then the organiser took us into the puzzle room. She stays with you at all time - I know a couple of people I spoke to were fearful of being stuck in a locked room but if there were any problems she'd take you straight out, and she was helpfully on hand if you needed a pointer or little hint!! It was very well set out and had a large variety of puzzles. You had to find keys and hidden objects around the room, break codes, do a crossword, suduko and solve a wide variety of puzzles that were really well thought out - They were all challenging but everything you needed was in the room. We had a very smart team and worked really well together, everyone kind of split off and worked on different things but then communicated and helped one another, and at the end we worked together as a big group to solve the last couple of puzzles. They said that only 20% of people solve the game but it turned out were in that 20% - Yay! Honestly, I felt such a sense of achievement!! And you get a snazzy purple wristband! whoohoo! I thoroughly thoroughly recommend this - we had such a buzz and it's something we'll be thinking about/talking about for a long while I think! I only wish they'd had a few versions of it on board as it's the sort of thing you can only do once!

 

We picked the kids up for lunch - they were also buzzing - they'd had *the best* time in kids club and treated us to a complicated narrative of various games they'd played, they couldn't wait to go back! We went to Silk - serving American Icon food - for lunch, warm cheese bread was to die for - also really enjoyed the kids appetisers which were from the Silk menu (confused yet?) They had veggies spring rolls and vegetable samosas - yum. Kids were uncomfortable and squirmy in the formal setting and much preferred the windjammer. Can't remember what we ate but it was ok, nothing memorable apart from the amazing bread!!

 

Time to hit the pools again, still freezing! The main pools were big enough for the kids to play in happily and were never too crowded - but may have been due to how cold it was!! There were very few adults in the main pools (maybe they were all hiding in the solarium pool - lucky them!!) but the kids had a whale of a time in there and always seemed to be well-behaved. I had to get out after about an hour and hardy Northern Daddy played in the wave pool with them for ages whilst I wrapped myself in towels and enjoyed my kindle and a virgin colada!

 

We had a booking for Izumi for 5.45 so got dried and dressed and headed there only to find that it was a pay-for restaurant, for some reason I'd thought it was one of the complimentary ones. We didn't fancy the menu enough to pay for it so we decided to head to the Windjammer again! On the way past we went to the Bionic bar to show the kids whilst it was quiet. I'm not very technologically minded but it seemed *very very very* complicated to order a drink! In the end the lady looking after the robots had to help William order his drink - an orange juice with lots of ice and shake it about etc - It cost me $8 for this orange juice! Similar price for Josh's drink which was a mix of different juices that he ended up declaring undrinkable - ugggh! Kids really enjoyed the robotic bartender and kept asking to have another go any time we passed it but honestly I don't see the point, was slow and expensive and a definite gimmick!

 

Windjammer dinner was really really tasty, they do the best minute steak there, definitely didn't taste like buffet food, better than the steaks I cook at home! I think as long as you're selective at the Windjammer you'll have a great meal. Kids were eager to get to kids club as soon as it opened in the evening, we had a reservation for Spectra's Cabaret and were advised to get there about an hour early.

 

This turned out to be great advice as we lucked into choosing great seats! When the cabaret started Spectra appeared pretty much straight in front of my husband! Spoke to a lady later in the week who advised not to sit too near the front as her family didn't get the full effect of the screens, we were in the second level and it was perfect. I loved this show so much, it was amazing. I think it might be a bit like marmite, people seemed to either love it or not get it at all. Hubby and I have seen Cirque de Soleil quite a few times in Vegas and we love their shows, this reminded me of that, but better!! I loved the music, the synchronised dancing was just out of this world brilliant. It was so fast and intricate and so perfectly in time, I mean one little mistake would have thrown the routines out but there were no mistakes. The technological side of things was really well done, with the robotic screens utilised perfectly, really adding to the whole performance, the whole show was just jaw-droppingly awesome.

 

Picked up kids who confirmed that kids club was also awesome. headed back to our room to find a towel animal! Yay!! Fifth cruise and *finally* we get a towel animal!! Our room attendant Selwin was fabulous by the way, really friendly and even got my shy 5 year old chatting!

[Nirrakel]

You know the drill, wake up to sunshine over the sea via the virtual balcony, quick breakfast in the Windjammer and quickly to kids club! Today's morning was memorable only in that I finally discovered the strawberry smoothies! I used to love these for breakfast on Celebrity and I finally discovered they had them in little cups in the Windjammer! Hubby and I had some chill-out time and then picked the kids up, William wanted to play football at the Seaplex - they had an organised game of football for 3-5 year olds scheduled, went to the Seaplex to find they were still running the bumper cars and it normally takes them an hour to change over the court! Had a chat with the guys there and there'd been a scheduling 'error' (I.e - whoever wrote the compass hadn't told them they were going to be running it!) They did the fastest court turn-around and it started only about 15 mins late.

 

It was very chaotic, as you'd expect a game with 3 year olds to be (I think really we should have put William in the older group for this as well!) There was about 6 balls in play and a pack of kids chasing each ball. William plays football every week and was trying to play his normal position but of course it was absolute chaos - he still loved it though - football is always going to be great in William's book! afterwards he played football with Daddy, this seems to be very much a male domain, and I don't honestly understand the dynamics but they seemed to play with other people randomly and have a wonderful time so it's all good!

 

Josh wanted to check out the Xbox area - he loves video games more than anything. It was a lovely area, 4 state of the art xbox ones set up with several games on each, each with two controllers with sofas in front of each one and also lovely pod chairs. It was absolutely pristine and new and shiny. Unfortunately by the end of the week there were scratches on the pod chairs from teenagers using them as bumper cars and a lot of the cables were broken to charge the controllers and at least one of the xbox ones was no longer working. Absolutely disgraceful, I hope they filmed that area and bill the parents of the kids that were mistreating the area.

 

This area caused me a lot of parenting dilemmas, Josh and William had some lovely time here playing with kids around their own age on games like Fifa and Lego movie video game. Sometimes the pool deck was just too cold, they were tired and wanted some chill out time with their friends. The children took turns nicely, they were polite, they helped each other. However the Xboxes also ran games like Call of duty and Halo which I would normally never let my children see being played, also, the teenagers behaviour in this area was frankly horrible, disrespectful of property, every other word the f word and 13 year olds asking other 13 year olds to perform sexual acts. It would have been nice if there could have maybe been two different areas for different ages - having seen the clientele on that cruise I'm not so keen to take my kids on there when they're teenagers cause I'd lynch them if they were behaving like that!

 

Anyhow, there were no teenagers about at that point so they played with their friends, we lamented the lack of free table tennis tables, all taken with people waiting (as was to be the case all cruise!)

 

We then went and joined in the 'Selfie Photo Hunt'. You're given a sheet of paper with different photo names on, like 'Shower Party' and 'Human Pyramid' and sent off to take selfies for them. Grant who was running it said to just have fun with it and gave us the prizes before we even started - Royal Caribbean hair toggles!! My favourite photo was our attempt at 'YMCA'!

 

 

The show was really really good - the singing was exceptional. It was as good as a West End musical, unbelievable to think we were seeing this on a cruise ship. As it finished about half ten, our boys had their first experience of the late night party at kids club (runs 10pm till 2am and $7 an hour per child, you don't need to book it) They *loved* late night party to the point my hubby and I were questioning what on earth they were doing there to make them love it so much?? When we picked them up they were playing a 4 player game of minecraft and Josh was completely smitten with the girl who was playing with them!

 

Quickly ordered room service breakfast (all complimentary) on our TV ready for our first port tomorrow!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Nirrakel

[Nirrakel]

I made a mistake in the last post - Our first port wasn't until 1.30pm, so tomorrow was the room service breakfast. Today was yet another Windjammer breakfast, we always had the same thing, we are creatures of habit.

Hubby - Salmon, pineapple and peaches

William - 3 mini croissants and a glass of milk

Me - Sausage, scrambled egg and French toast (get the pieces from the bottom cause the ones on top are dried out and hard), strawberry smoothies and coffee!

Josh - Cucumber, banana smoothie and either French bread or dry cornflakes

 

A pool morning - yup still freezing - no shortage of empty loungers on this cruise!! Josh enjoyed the lazy river and spent at least an hour swirling around in there, sometimes with friends, sometimes doing forward and backward somersaults in there, I stayed in with him as long as I could before turning into an icicle and then watched from the side, William clung to me like a limpet in there as he was too small to stand up.

 

Quick lunch and off the ship! We'd decided to do Funchal on our own and had a plan of what to do, we walked to the Cable Car, it's a straightforward walk, basically follow the herd, you go around the port until you're basically opposite where you started and the cable car building is pretty obvious. I'd read it was a 20 minute walk but it took us an hour. It cost us 20 euros for a single way trip for all 4 of us, they refused payment for Josh even though we should have paid for him. The people behind us in the queue had been overcharged by 15 euros, so just keep an eye on what they're charging you!

 

The wait for the cable car nearly gave me a nervous breakdown, you're waiting on a high balcony with concrete below you and the barricade is basically 3 metal ropes, my 5 year old for some unknown reason loved swinging his foot under the bottom rope and there was easily enough space to fall through. No other parents seemed unduly concerned so I am probably neurotic. Enjoyed the cable car, nice views and enough of a novelty to entertain my children.

 

There was a pleasant café at the top where we had coffee and ice cream and enjoyed their free Wi-Fi. We made our way down to the Toboggan ride - again quite straightforward to find. the queue was massive! So long we nearly changed our mind about riding but in the end we gritted our teeth and waited. I'm really glad we did as it's a once in a lifetime experience, you sit in a wicker sledge, with two guiders and then whizz down this steep hill for about 15 mins. I suspect the guiders make it go as fast or as slow as they think is suitable for you as I never felt it was unsafe or scary for my five year old but it was fast enough to be exhilarating and the views are wonderful. It cost us $30 per sled and we had to have 2 as it is 3 persons maximum. At the bottom there are taxis waiting to take you back to the ship, it was 25 euros for the taxi for the four of us which was a little overpriced but it was convenient!

 

Once on board my two were desparate to get to kids club so we hit Sorrentos to feed the children as it was quick and convenient. My two weren't too keen on the pizza here to be honest but I imagine that's just down to personal taste. Got them to kids club just as it was opening for the evening and Steve and I had reservations for American Icon.

 

Unfortunately this was not a good experience, it was everything bad I'd heard about dynamic dining. It didn't start very well as we were placed at a table for two literally 2 inches away from the next table of two, we may as well have been seated at a table for four. I'm very shy and it felt very socially awkward, do we start chatting or politely pretend we can't hear every word they're saying at their romantic dinner for two. Luckily they were lovely and we had a nice chat! Service however was abysmal.

 

Steve felt very sorry for the waiter as he was run off his feet, I was just p'd off at how long we had to sit about waiting for every stage of the ordering and meal, he whizzed by, gave his spiel about specials so quickly I didn't understand a word and then was gone again and then we were left waiting for ages till he took our order, no one asked us if we'd like drinks, meal took ages to come and I was a bit confused, I ordered surf and turf, and got steak, a few shrimp and a small amount of veg - I'd kinda expected it to have chips or potatoes or something?? Our new friends were wise and had ordered extra veg to compensate on their table!

 

Again a massive wait to clear the table and get dessert menus and then he disappeared again, never got asked if we wanted coffee. It was far worse service than you'd receive in the like of Pizza Hut let alone a Cruise restaurant! Also, the food wasn't very good, the steak in the Windjammer was better. We cancelled our American Icon reservations for the rest of the cruise - thankfully this restaurant experience was the exception and the others were much much better.

 

The boys had begged to be allowed to stay to late night party, so we'd compromised on letting them stay for 30 minutes so Steve and I checked out the casino. Typical casino, didn't see smoky, people looked to be enjoying the slot machines, not many people playing the table games but that's typical for the early evening and having young children meant I didn't see what it was like in peak times. Didn't take me long to lose $50 at craps and roulette. The roulette minimums seemed high to me, $5 to bet on a single number, figured you'd had to gamble a lot of money to play properly and we're not rich enough to risk that much!

 

Got back to the room to meet this fella

 

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/354/18411078472_5f8b6a5768_z.jpg' alt='18411078472_5f8b6a5768_z.jpg'>Untitled by Joanna Searle, on Flickr[/img]

 

And then tonight we really did order room service breakfast for tomorrow!

[Seven Cs]

Loving your report!

It was great to meet up with you for puzzle break.....I think we made and excellent team. It really was a good experience and I would recommend it to all. I loved the way everyone had to work together rather than as individual teams/couples competing against each other. Like you, I wished they had more than one "experience" so we could have had another go.

It wasn't until We will Rock you, and we chatted that I realised who you were from the boards, it was lovely to meet you and I am so pleased that all the negativity regarding Dreamworks didn't spoil your cruise in the end. And I would second the advice to run to Michaels for drinks rather than the theatre bar, even though it meant clapping and cheering while holding a pint of cider:D

Can't wait to hear the rest of your TR. Even though we were on the same cruise, it's so good to hear about it from a different perspective, and in retrospect there are things I'd wished we'd done. The selfie challenge looked good fun. Maddy would have loved it.

[alexkrn46]

Love your review thank you for posting!

[Nirrakel]

Room service breakfast woke us up at 8.30am - breakfast in bed, what a civilised way to be awoken! Unfortunately none of us really liked the offerings, we missed our Windjammer!!

 

Thankfully sunshine and warmth awaited us as we disembarked the ship! We caught a taxi from the port to Las Teresitas beach, it was 20 euros each way and the nice lady taxi driver gave us her mobile number so we could call her when we were ready to leave.

 

 

Then William was desperate to dig a sand castle, I hadn't packed a bucket and spade cause I'd kinda assumed I could buy one at the beach! Cue mummy going on an epic quest all along Las Teresitas beach, the hot sand under my feet felt like burning coals and I swear I walked miles, however no buckets and spades were to be found, only plenty of bars selling beer and cocktails!! Poor William ended up digging his castle with a stick! Ah well, necessity is the mother of invention (Mums pack your own buckets and spades!!)

 

We were peckish by this point and kinda felt we should get in some shade for a bit so we tried out one of the beach cafes - had an absolutely amazing calamari sandwich!! Boys had chips and an icecream - adventurous Brits abroad!!

 

After lunch we had a go on these absolutely fantastic pedalo boats, they have a plastic slide on the top, so you can pedal out into the sea and then the kids can whoosh down the slide into the sea - how fantastic is that?!! How lucky are kids these days?? I don't think it was too expensive for the boats, I think it was about 12 euros for an hour.

 

 

The service here was fabulous, as different from American Icon as night and day. I found the bread here a little strange until I realised it was pretzel bread and then found it very different, it was nice to try but I wouldn't rush to have it again! Warm goats cheese to start - heaven, a whole little warm wheel of goats cheese, yummm, doesn't get much better than this! Amazing steak with béarnaise sauce to follow and I ordered fries as well this time (Don't judge me!! ;) ) I think I had an amazing chocolatey pudding thing for afters.

 

We were on such a high after our delicious meal that we went and booked another cruise!! (Great discounts for booking onboard!) and we nearly impulse bought a £1600 piece of art, but decided it may be wise to sleep on the idea, and then overnight we remembered we didn't have a spare £1600 to spend on art!!

 

Picked up the kids and went to sleep ready for another beach day tomorrow!

[Bobal]

Really enjoying your review. That's a lovely beach. We went there on our TA trip on Liberty last year. Just a little tip for anyone visiting Tenerife - you can catch a local bus to the beach from just outside the port for just a couple of Euros. The beach is the last stop so no worries about where to get off and you can keep an eye open for the buses coming back - they run around every 20 minutes.

[Nirrakel]

Just as an aside - Whilst we were discussing which ship to choose for next year, the guy selling the cruises helpfully suggested we book Allure or Oasis because they have the DreamWorks experience on board! Thankfully for him I was full of dead cow and chocolate!

[Gingerbint]

Just as an aside - Whilst we were discussing which ship to choose for next year, the guy selling the cruises helpfully suggested we book Allure or Oasis because they have the DreamWorks experience on board! Thankfully for him I was full of dead cow and chocolate!

 

Love your comment! Thanks for making me smile this morning :D

 

We are on the Anthem 4 weeks tomorrow and I cannot wait.

We really enjoyed the Quantum and they did not have the puzzle room so we are wanting to try that. Do you think it's best to book it or just turn up?

 

Really glad your all having fun on your cruise after the early no 'DW' issues and I'm enjoying reading your review

[ententecordiale]

Really enjoying reading your review as it is taking me back to the trip. I think our paths crossed a few times!

 

If I may just wanted to add that there was local port transport at both Madeira and Tenerife. The only one we paid was Lanzarote. In Tenerife there is a local bus right out of the port bus drop off that takes you to the beach. I think it was A bit over 2 euros per adult return (although had to buy two singles).

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[ententecordiale]

Re puzzle room definitely book. I made the mistake to assume it would be highlighted in the compass but it wasn't so we kept missing it. By the time we realised we had to book it was full. Was really disappointed but something to look forward to do on our next trip!

[SausPud]

Re puzzle room definitely book. I made the mistake to assume it would be highlighted in the compass but it wasn't so we kept missing it. By the time we realised we had to book it was full. Was really disappointed but something to look forward to do on our next trip!

 

Do you need to book at the puzzle room itself or can you book via the app or tv?

[Seven Cs]

Do you need to book at the puzzle room itself or can you book via the app or tv?

 

We booked using the app. It was finding the actual location that was more difficult for us, because the app didn't specify where it would take place and we hadn't actually walked to Seaplex using the corridor the room is located in by the time our slot came around. The good folk in Seaplex let us know though :)

[ententecordiale]

I've just realised that I provided incorrect information in my last post, my apology (I can memory already fail me so badly!). Indeed, no port bus service available in Funchal, although the walk didn't take us much more than 20 minutes, hence the confusion. It is definitely in Tenerife and I think in Gran Canaria that port buses were operational at no cost.

 

Re. Puzzle room, I would definitely book on the app as I think they get full quite quickly. On the right hand side entrance to the Seaplex from the elevators.

[beechfor]

Looking forward to reading more of your review as we do this cruise in September.

[Peeker28]

Is the app you are talking about the Royal IQ? How does it work and do you have to buy the internet package for it to work?

[ententecordiale]

Yes it is. No, you don't need the wifi package to access it. You can also use it on the many ipad available throughout the ship (they really are everywhere!) or even on the TV in your stateroom.