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Anthem of the Seas: A not-so-live Review: Feb 6, 2016

Newbcruiser1

By Newbcruiser1,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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First off, I'd like to give some background to this post! I am a 30-ish year old who was sailing solo on the Anthem this week. This was my 10th cruise, with previous cruises ranging from 6-10 nights long, on ships including the Radiance, Explorer (x2), Navigator, Liberty, Allure, Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Millennium, and Norwegian Epic. The majority of my cruises have been with friends or family, but I have done a few solo. While NCL has, thus far, provided me with the best solo experience, their current pricing combined with the poor Canadian dollar made NCL a no-go this time around.

 

I booked the Anthem as I have been determined to see one of the Quantum-class ships since their release. As I was traveling solo this time, there were no good deals to be found on any cruise I was looking at. Eventually, the Anthem shined as a good balance of airline cost and flight cost, and an exciting new ship - so I went ahead and booked it in December. I also planned everything to a tee, from my pre-cruise stay to my onboard dining and activities, to my day at Disney that I planned to do in Port Canaveral.

 

While I initially booked dynamic classic dining for late-seating, I read from several other CC members that they had a better solo experience on choice dining by making reservations for one and showing up and asking for a shared table. So after much research, I switched to Choice dining and made all of my dinner reservations online through the pre-cruise planner. I also booked the North Star online for the morning of CocoCay, but was unable to book iFly online. Overall I found the online pre-cruise planner to be very time-consuming, but it worked fine overall and did make things somewhat easier once onboard.

 

I have done a few photo reviews in the past, but hadn't planned on doing one this time. However, due to the "turn of events", I started keeping a bit of a journal on my phone and have now figured - why not post it?

 

So first - some disclaimers... I typed days 3 and 4 after the fact so there may be a few inaccuracies in terms of timing and such. Also, this review is intended as a review/journal of my thoughts and experiences. Speculation on "the storm", who was to blame, and so on, are not welcome here. So having said all that...

 

Here we go!!!

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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Pre-cruise Travel to the Port:

 

I flew into EWR on the day prior to embarkation. I have flown in on the day of cruises on occasion, but flying from one snowy city to another on the day of cruise in the winter was a bad idea! So I made my plans for an overnight stay in beautiful Newark (haha). My flight was scheduled for 2:00, but due to the weather in Newark, it was delayed leaving for approximately 2 hours. As such, I didn't arrive until around 5pm.

 

I had booked the Country Inn in Elizabeth, NJ. I have stayed there pre and post-cruise before with family and had a good experience. It's also located very close to several restaurants, and just across the street from the Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall, so I knew I would have stuff to keep me occupied for a few hours.

 

Upon arrival, I took the airport's Air Train to P4 to wait for the shuttle (which unfortunately took 45 minutes to come). It was then a quick 5 minute ride to the hotel in my own personal shuttle... Yup, it was empty!

 

I checked in and booked the cruise shuttle for the morning - I had a choice between 10, 11, or noon. While my "arrival appointment" was not until 11:30, I opted for the 10am shuttle as I had heard that they typically begin embarkation around 10:30am on the Anthem. The cost was $17.50 one-way plus tax. They tried to sell me a round-trip ticket for $35 plus tax, stating that it could drop me at the airport, but I declined as I knew there were usually an abundance of shared vans to the airport at Cape Liberty.

 

I had a nice renovated room on the 5th floor with 2 queen beds. I could either have an older room with 1 King, or a refurbished room with 2 queens, so I opted for the refurbished room. Amenities include free wifi and breakfast. The hotel also has a pool area, some computers (with printers) in the lobby, etc. They're slowly refurbishing the hotel, apparently beginning with the rooms. The public areas are still the old style.

 

I initially planned on going to Jersey Gardens (using the hotel's free shuttle to avoid having to walk alone at night), but due to my flight delay, I didn't really have time. So I headed over to Ruby Tuesday's next door to the hotel for dinner around 7pm, and then watched TV in my room for a while before going to bed.

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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Is the Airtrain similar to the GOtrain in Toronto?

 

 

No, the AirTrain is a monorail that runs between terminals and parking lots at the airport. It is free to use if staying in the airport. If connecting to NJ Transit trains (which is like the Go Train - I have taken it into Penn Station on a previous trip), a ticket must be purchased.

 

Just working on getting my pictures uploaded with my spotty internet connection! Stay tuned for more! :)

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pickles&peppers

pickles&peppers

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/watch_terrifying_time-lapse_captures_royal_caribbean_ships_rough_voyage.html#incart_river_home

 

The above link is from NJ.com containing a "terrifying" time lapse video of the Feb 6 sail. Fair warning there is an ad. Just about 50 seconds into the video, the person in that cabin steps onto the balcony with a cigarette. That person must have been "terrified". :confused:

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Clarea

Clarea

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/watch_terrifying_time-lapse_captures_royal_caribbean_ships_rough_voyage.html#incart_river_home

 

The above link is from NJ.com containing a "terrifying" time lapse video of the Feb 6 sail. Fair warning there is an ad. Just about 50 seconds into the video, the person in that cabin steps onto the balcony with a cigarette. That person must have been "terrified". :confused:

Didn't think about it, but smokers must have had a tough time being confined to the stateroom for that much time.

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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So sorry for the delay - waiting for a service technician for the Internet! Not only did I have one heck of a trip - apparently my internet provider doesn't want me sharing my experiences or submitting insurance claims either! [emoji14]

 

I'll start posting the pictures and the remainder as soon as I can!!

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