A Daily Vlog on Anthem of the Seas

[conandrob240]

What nights were the "dress your best" nights?

 

And, not that you haven't already done enough- but, any chance you'll be scanning and posting the daily compasses?

Edited September 22, 2015 by conandrob240

[gazruss]

Great Job, we set sail on Anthem's first sailing from New Jersey in November

[nannyny]

What a terrific Vlog -- my mini marathon of the Anthem today and it was awesome!!

Btw, what did you think of the Ifly.

I too love Celebrity:)

 

Happy cruising

Nan

[dst87]

What nights were the "dress your best" nights?

 

And, not that you haven't already done enough- but, any chance you'll be scanning and posting the daily compasses?

 

The Royal Evenings were nights 2, 6, and 13. One thing I wasn't keen on about Anthem was The Grande and the Royal Evenings.

 

We had pre-booked The Grande and dressed up on one of the nights, but most of the rest of the ship wasn't which felt a bit odd. On the Royal Evenings a lot more people dressed up (though perhaps not as many as I'd have liked) and it felt like a waste NOT dining in The Grande.

 

In future I'd try and find out when the Royal Evenings would be and plan reservations in The Grande for those nights. We couldn't get any reservations for The Grande on the final formal night even a couple of days into the cruise.

[dst87]

What a terrific Vlog -- my mini marathon of the Anthem today and it was awesome!!

Btw, what did you think of the Ifly.

I too love Celebrity:)

 

Happy cruising

Nan

 

I quite enjoyed RipCord by iFly, but it was probably my least favourite experience on the ship. I was JUST under the weight limit for this, so I was already nervous going in that I wouldn't fit into a suit or that there would be some other embarrassing problem physically doing it. Thankfully that turned out not to be the case, but the nervousness detracted from the experience.

 

Then the actual outfit you have to wear isn't actually that comfortable. You put on a jumpsuit over your normal clothes, but then you have to wear little foam earplugs, a very tight fitting pair of goggles, and a fairly uncomfortable helmet.

 

From a sensory perspective you can't really hear anything which I found a little disconcerting. I then didn't seem to do that well (as you saw in the video - I kept being blown onto my feet). In actual fact it felt worse than it looked in the video as I did get some reasonable air time. I just feel like I wasn't really in that much control and don't really know what I'd have done differently to be 'better' at it.

 

The overall experience took quite a while, but you only get 1 minute if flying. I've always wanted to skydive (even in a simulator), but I think having one-on-one or small group instruction where you get a lot more practice would suit me more.

 

Sorry to the diatribe on this topic... but those are my rambling thoughts!

[jennywren46]

Thank you so much for your vlog. I've spent a lazy afternoon watching it were sailing October 11 I was excited before but even more since watching your adventures. Thanks again for taking the time to share .

[dst87]

Thank you so much for your vlog. I've spent a lazy afternoon watching it were sailing October 11 I was excited before but even more since watching your adventures. Thanks again for taking the time to share .

 

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful cruise in October - I'm jealous as I'd love to be back on board! I think two weeks at home is quite long enough...

[BourkeBlogs]

Thanks for the great blog Duncan, we have just finished watching them all.

 

We are off on the Anthem TA next month and was really good to see a positive review.

 

One question I have though, is when you did the behind the scenes tour did you have to book this when onboard and if so how do you do this. I have tried to find on the cruise planner but there doesn't seem to be an option to do online in advance.

 

Thanks

[AnnLock]

We set sail 11 October different itinerary to you. But really enjoyed your blogs and videos. Thanks so much Erica

[dst87]

We set sail 11 October different itinerary to you. But really enjoyed your blogs and videos. Thanks so much Erica

 

Thanks Erica, I hope you have a wonderful cruise. It is a very special ship :)

[johnjen]

Alex and I are just home from our wonderful honeymoon on Anthem of the Seas.

 

While we were on board, we filmed and posted a daily vlog and blog which we found great fun! I thought it might be interesting to some folks on here, so if you want to check it out I'd love to hear your feedback!

 

Here is a playlist on YouTube with all of the videos:

 

And here is a link to all of the blog posts in order too. These have the videos embedded on them, so you if you want both you can just go to the blog!

http://duncanwrites.co.uk/category/anthem-2015/?order=asc

 

Enjoy! I know we did! :)

 

VERY WELL DONE so far, DST, and we're just on to the second video but it's a cache issue so we'll catch the rest tomorrow! We're booked on Anthem June 16th out of Cape Liberty!

[dst87]

VERY WELL DONE so far, DST, and we're just on to the second video but it's a cache issue so we'll catch the rest tomorrow! We're booked on Anthem June 16th out of Cape Liberty!

 

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying them :)

[cruisegal11]

Watched the entire vlog. Fabulous job! Congrats to you and Alex. Happy sailing!

[meripour]

So glad you made us feel good about our choice to do Anthem over Thanksgiving from New Jersey. She arrives in the USA on Nov 4th so by then any kinks should be worked out. Our biggest draw to this ship was no MDR and hearing your reviews of the dinner venues we are looking forward to a new experience.

Congrats on your new life together!!!

[cruiserking]

Hi Duncan,

 

Thank You for posting these excellent videos of your Anthem voyage, she looks gorgeous.

 

Jonathan

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Forums mobile app

[fishbonz]

All right read some of the posts now will check out you tube and your blog. We will be on her this coming March 2016

[fishbonz]

Duncan,

OK just watched all video from you tube and they were great. Did you try the bumper cars and how long do you get in I fly for the first time? What was it like to get a seat at the pool on sea days? Is there anything there is a must do or see that you would say.

Thanks,, Tony

[OCEANCATS]

Duncan,

 

Thanks for working so hard on this - it is fabulous. We learned so much and will now be trying the flow rider because of you! I wouldn't have had the guts to try it without seeing how fun it was for you guys first. We'll be on in December and can't wait.

 

Congrats on your marriage - hope you have many smooth and happy sailings in the future.

 

Oceancats

:cool:

[dst87]

Duncan,

OK just watched all video from you tube and they were great. Did you try the bumper cars and how long do you get in I fly for the first time? What was it like to get a seat at the pool on sea days? Is there anything there is a must do or see that you would say.

Thanks,, Tony

 

Hi Tony,

 

Thanks for your feedback!

 

We did try the bumper cars. I can't remember exactly how long you got, but most times we tried the queue time was reasonable for the length of time we got. And the announcer makes it fun to watch too, by naming someone the 'target' or getting people to clap etc.

 

The iFly was a 60 second flight on the first and subsequent attempts. I only did it once, but there were a few at my session who were on their 2nd or 3rd session - it's the same for everyone, but more experienced fliers might be able to attempt something slightly more complex than beginners within their 60 seconds.

 

I didn't spend much time at the pool on sea days as it's not my favourite activity, but from walking around you will be able to get a lounger if you're not picky about where it is. If you want a lounger in a prime spot (for us this was by the window in the solarium, but also includes pool-side elsewhere) then you might have more of an issue.

 

I think they need to enforce their supposed policy of removing articles from an unattended lounger after 30 minutes or so - it would make it much better for everyone!

[dst87]

Duncan,

 

Thanks for working so hard on this - it is fabulous. We learned so much and will now be trying the flow rider because of you! I wouldn't have had the guts to try it without seeing how fun it was for you guys first. We'll be on in December and can't wait.

 

Congrats on your marriage - hope you have many smooth and happy sailings in the future.

 

Oceancats

:cool:

 

I was SO nervous about the FlowRider but it was awesome. Partly I was intimidated because every time I turned up the stand-up surfing was on and I didn't know how the boogie boarding worked. I didn't realise it was a separate session, and I didn't wan't to be the newbie on the boogie board when there were all of these pros on surf boards.

 

What you also have to remember is that a few of the stand-up surfer folk are there for every session, every day of the cruise. They come prepared with wetsuits etc. but still seem to say it's their first time or that they're new to it. Just ignore them and enjoy yourself!

 

We saw loads of different people try the boogie boarding - different ages, body types, and ability levels. Almost everyone got something out of it! Go for it - you won't regret it :)

[fishbonz]

Thank you for the reply,

 

Yes I have to agree they need to do more on watching times on pool chairs seen to many fights over them in the past.

 

One question I forgot you did the all access tour was the bandanna all you received for doing the tour and how much did it cost.

Thank's again,,,,

Tony

[cruisenfever]

Duncan, both my husband and I have really enjoyed your Vlog as we will be doing the entire month of April on Anthem. After doing 18 days on Quantum when she first went into service, it is nice to see that they have finally remedied all the hiccups and ironed out all the bugs.:D

 

Watching your drink being made at the Bionic Bar and actually seeing it being poured into your glass was quite interesting as this was something that didn't happen in the beginning on Quantum.

 

Thank you so much for taking us along on your honeymoon and showing off the beautiful Anthem. Congratulations to you both. Wishing you lots of happiness in the coming years.

[dst87]

Duncan, both my husband and I have really enjoyed your Vlog as we will be doing the entire month of April on Anthem. After doing 18 days on Quantum when she first went into service, it is nice to see that they have finally remedied all the hiccups and ironed out all the bugs.:D

 

Watching your drink being made at the Bionic Bar and actually seeing it being poured into your glass was quite interesting as this was something that didn't happen in the beginning on Quantum.

 

Thank you so much for taking us along on your honeymoon and showing off the beautiful Anthem. Congratulations to you both. Wishing you lots of happiness in the coming years.

 

Thanks for the comments!

 

I have to say that while the Bionic bar was awesome fun, there were times where it did NOT behave as expected and would occasionally break down. Mostly it worked well, but there were a few little software bugs (mostly just UI bugs) that entertained Alex and I as computer guys!