Anthem ~ 9 Night ~ July 14, 2016 ~ Review

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

Last post for the night (I'll try to do more tomorrow)

 

Day 3 – 7/16, Saturday @ Bermuda

 

 

Another wakeup call for a morning run before exploring Bermuda. I’m a morning person, but trying to keep up with DH for late night partying is going to catch up to be quick. LOL! Although, I did sleep MUCH better thanks to Hartopo’s extra blanket under the sheets!

 

 

Got up to the jogging track at 7am and saw that we were slowly pulling into dock, so I decided to run the track. It was actually drizzling (which felt great), and I could see and hear the lightning and thunder in the direction of Horseshoe Bay (sadly that was our plan for the morning). We docked starboard, so we had a lovely view of Hamilton in the distance from our cabin. After another simple continental breakfast, and bad coffee, in our stateroom, we got off the ship just before 9.

 

 

Three years ago we took a 5 night from Bayonne to Bermuda, and it was overnight in Bermuda. We did a full day taxi tour then, as well as an offshore snorkeling excursion, back then so we didn’t feel pressured to do much today. Although we had seen Horseshoe Bay during our last visit, we were really looking forward to relaxing on the beach this trip. The weather had a different idea. We started the day walking around the Dockyard shops in the drizzle. It’s good to note that most shops don’t open until 9 or 9:30. Since it was a bit early for shopping, we decided to hop the ferry to Hamilton (paid $5pp cash onboard). It was about a 15 min trip and then it was really raining. So we did some shopping. I ended up in a local bookstore to pick up a children’s book for my oldest daughter (that was her request for a souvenir) and then we found a little café to wait out the rain. I tried to call home, but my phone would not connect to Bermuda’s cell towers. This was a big disappointment as we had told the kids we’d call them. But, my frown from not being to call home turned upside down when the sun came out and we scored one of the few taxis operating to take us to Horseshoe Bay. It turns out, our taxi driver didn’t even know a strike had started the day before! There were a handful of taxis operating, but they were hard to come by. It cost the 4 of us $22 to get from Hamilton to Horseshoe.

 

 

Horseshoe didn’t disappoint. It’s just beautiful there! Pictures never do it justice. We didn’t bother renting chairs (lying on the ship towels were just fine for us) and we walked to the far left where it was much, much less crowded. We enjoyed our beach time and took a walk exploring all of the hidden coves among the rocks. Then, we decided to make an early departure to allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. As we were walking back to catch a taxi, we noticed warning signs for Portuguese Man of War. YIKES! Although we never saw any, thank goodness, apparently several of our fellow cruisers unfortunately experienced them. Even sending one to the hospital. Those signs were definitely not up when we arrived, or I would never have enjoyed floating in the water!

 

 

So we get to the taxi line at 1:45 and it is a LONG line. All Aboard was 3:30. Thankfully, some Bermudian officials were organizing us and reassuring us that we would all make it to the ship. Without them, it would have been a scary sight of nervous cruisers trying to snag one of the few taxis and mini buses operating. It took us about 30 min to get in a mini bus and we were back to the dockyard by 2:45. Just enough time to hit up the Frog & Onion Pub for a Dark n Stormy before walking back to the ship!

 

 

Tonight’s dinner was a specialty restaurant, Jaime Oliver’s Italian. We had 6:30 reservations. What a meal! Everything was fantastic and we really enjoyed ourselves! Definitely get the meat plank and the lemon cheesecake really is a must (the best dessert we came across all week). Jaime’s was much more relaxed and a calmer atmosphere than we’d experienced so far. It was very welcoming. The menu was also much larger than the standard dining rooms. And the espresso! FINALLY a nice cup of coffee! Jaime’s was definitely worth the upcharge.

 

 

At 9, we headed for the theatre to get good seats for the 9:30 rescheduled showing of The Gift. It’s true what you hear, the sight lines are pretty bad in this theatre. So, get there about 30 min early for a good seat. Soon after we sat down, 2 ladies sat in front of us and began saving two seats for their kids. Yep, they were the pool chair hogs. I knew I really couldn’t enjoy the show watching the back of their heads, so we moved seats. We thought the show was great! It was visually exciting! And I enjoyed the story line and found it easy to follow, and it actually moved me to tears.

 

 

Afterwards we hit up the Music Hall for the DJ. Really hoping to find the nightclub atmosphere my husband has desperately been looking for every night. But, it was pretty dead in there. So, at 11, we went back to the theatre to catch the Late Night Comedian, Al Ducheme. He was pretty good and was very talented in sound effects! Then, it was off to two70 to check out that DJ. A bit more of a dance party, but still not what we’re used to from previous sailings. At least we gained an hour by moving the clocks back!

[ForeverAfter]

Following along, we'll be on Anthem in October! Couple of questions.

 

1. We're considering upgrading our room if a better one becomes available after final payment is due (which is coming up on 8/6) but our most unhelpful travel agent said that we'll be penalized if we change rooms after final payment. Can you elaborate on your experience?

 

2. I know your children weren't with you (lucky you!) but I'd love to hear your thoughts on what activities you think your kids might have enjoyed or any other tips. This will be the first cruise for our 8 & 5 year old.

 

Thank you!

[candicecaribbean]

I am loving your review-thanks for telling us your story.

 

Did you ever get your wireless headsets to work? I like to run in the morning too and will bring the wired ones if wireless wont work.

[Cruisin Around]

Looking forward to reading your whole review. I've really enjoyed it so far! You had mentioned the Puzzle Room. We are interested in that as well. Did you hear that you could actually book it online at some point under activities or entertainment? I guess I can check that page daily then!

 

Happy Anniversary too! We will be celebrating our 14th this October on Anthem!

[nyer]

Following along, we'll be on Anthem in October! Couple of questions.

 

1. We're considering upgrading our room if a better one becomes available after final payment is due (which is coming up on 8/6) but our most unhelpful travel agent said that we'll be penalized if we change rooms after final payment. Can you elaborate on your experience?

 

2. I know your children weren't with you (lucky you!) but I'd love to hear your thoughts on what activities you think your kids might have enjoyed or any other tips. This will be the first cruise for our 8 & 5 year old.

 

Thank you!

 

Not to hijack this thread, but we were also on this sailing with our 8 and 4 year old granddaughters. They loved the H2O Zone, bumper cars (for the 8 yr old, the 4 yr old was too young. Your 5 yr old can ride as a passenger.) Also, foosball, roller skating, air hockey (all in the Seaplex)

[hansolosmom]

Following along, we'll be on Anthem in October! Couple of questions.

 

1. We're considering upgrading our room if a better one becomes available after final payment is due (which is coming up on 8/6) but our most unhelpful travel agent said that we'll be penalized if we change rooms after final payment. Can you elaborate on your experience?

 

2. I know your children weren't with you (lucky you!) but I'd love to hear your thoughts on what activities you think your kids might have enjoyed or any other tips. This will be the first cruise for our 8 & 5 year old.

 

Thank you!

It's probably a rule from your TA on the penalty. If you booked worth Royal it may not be an issue. The TA I used this time will do upgrades if the price drops, but the one I used last time wouldn't because they said it would be canceling the reservation

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[clochette]

what a great review, we will be on Anthem in January and love reading all about it.

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

I am loving your review-thanks for telling us your story.

 

Did you ever get your wireless headsets to work? I like to run in the morning too and will bring the wired ones if wireless wont work.

 

Thanks so much! Sadly, I never did get them to connect to the treadmill. At home, I listen to Pandora. But, since we didn't get VOOM on the ship, I couldn't connect to Pandora. And I didn't think about making a playlist on my phone to use. So, I ran without music. :-(

 

Looking forward to reading your whole review. I've really enjoyed it so far! You had mentioned the Puzzle Room. We are interested in that as well. Did you hear that you could actually book it online at some point under activities or entertainment? I guess I can check that page daily then!

 

Happy Anniversary too! We will be celebrating our 14th this October on Anthem!

 

Happy Early Anniversary!!! When I booked North Star, iFly, shows, etc, the Puzzle Room was never an option. Then, one day I happen to pull up the activities and saw it there as "check onboard." I heard from someone else that they did open reseravations for it online, but it was only available for a day or two. So, I'd keep checking daily if it's something you really want to do. The onboard wait list ended up working in our favor (more on that soon), but I wouldn't want to count on it.

[FM]

Great to hear the positive reviews re: the dining so far.

 

Re: the beds ... darn it, I can see requesting at least one or two extra "blanket" cushioning if the mattresses are that firm ... :(

 

RE: the "yahoo" who knocked over your drink - as Jar Jar would say ... How Wude!!

 

Re: the "chair hog" ladies ... I'm trying to keep my inner voice from speaking out about their behavior ... and what I would have done ... "Serenity Now!"

 

Keep on with the report ...

Edited July 28, 2016 by FM

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

Following along, we'll be on Anthem in October! Couple of questions.

 

1. We're considering upgrading our room if a better one becomes available after final payment is due (which is coming up on 8/6) but our most unhelpful travel agent said that we'll be penalized if we change rooms after final payment. Can you elaborate on your experience?

 

2. I know your children weren't with you (lucky you!) but I'd love to hear your thoughts on what activities you think your kids might have enjoyed or any other tips. This will be the first cruise for our 8 & 5 year old.

 

Thank you!

 

The only reason we got the upgrade after final payment was because there was no difference in cost. For whatever reason, RCI had the balcony priced exactly the same as the interior at that time. Had there been a price difference, we would not have been able to do it after final payment. So, if you think you really want that upgrade, I'd look into it before final payment.

 

This was the first cruise that made us think we'd want to bring our kids cruising! We pictured our almost 8 and 5 year old daughters enjoying the Rock Wall, Bumper Cars, various activities at Adventure Ocean Kids Club, the kid's pool area, and the various table games in SeaPlex. We also knew they'd love the movie nights on the deck and dancing to some of the live music in Boleros or Music Hall. Your kids will have plenty to do! One tip, definitely check daily at Guest Services for a Kid's Compass. Only the regular one is left in your stateroom nightly. But Guest Services have them available for teens and kids.

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

Great to hear the positive reviews re: the dining so far.

 

Re: the beds ... darn it, I can see requesting at least one or two extra "blanket" cushioning if the mattresses are that firm ... :(

 

RE: the "yahoo" who knocked over your drink - as Jar Jar would say ... How Wude!!

 

Re: the "chair hog" ladies ... I'm trying to keep my inner voice from speaking out about their behavior ... and what I would have done ... "Serenity Now!"

 

Keep on with the report ...

 

Hahaha...thank you! Yes, he was very Wude! And the other passengers around us during that pool chair fiasco later confessed that it took everything in their will power to not jump up and defend us. LOL!

 

As for the dining...I'm about to post a not so good experience. :-/

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

Day 4 – 7/17, Sunday @ Sea

 

 

Treated myself to not setting an alarm today and actually enjoyed a lazy morning! We went down to two70 for breakfast around 9. They have a few breakfast sandwiches, burritos and croissants that they can warm up for you in a panini press. There’s also a bagel station, Danish station, some fresh fruit and yogurt / granola options. It’s simple, but more than enough for us. And it avoids the craziness of the Windjammer (we never did go there for breakfast this trip). We walked back to the windows for our favorite oversized comfy chairs and just enjoyed the wake view while eating our meal. I don’t understand why more people don’t prefer eating close to the enormous windows. It seems everyone tends to grab the tables as soon as you walk out of the café. Today is also really the first day I’ve felt the ship rocking. Not that it was rocking a lot by any means, but I was actually missing needing to use my sea legs and getting rocked to sleep up to this point. It was nice to actually feel like we were on a moving ship!

 

 

After breakfast, we headed upstairs for our 10am North Star reservation (booked online pre-cruise). It just went up, twisted side to side and then back down. It was a little shakier than I thought it would be, but I never felt unsure about being in it. At the time they said they’d go over the ship’s side on our last sea day, but we never did see it swing out. I think they’ve pretty much decided to stick to the up/down as it’s a shorter ride, and therefore more passengers would get the opportunity to experience it.

 

 

Being in the North Star helped us discover vacant pool chairs. So, we headed to Deck 15 aft on the port side and found plenty of chairs available. You can’t hear the live music very well, and it was a bit of a walk to the pools and bars, but it was relaxing back there. And the overhangs from the Sea Plex provided some great shade options when the sun became a bit much. This became our “go to” area for chairs the rest of the trip.

 

 

A few notes about the pools. We found the outdoor pool and adjacent kiddie play area to be really, really crowded all of the time. It was so crowded that when I wanted to cool off, I’d walk a bit more forward and jump in the indoor pool. We really thought we’d hang in the Solarium a lot this trip (after all, we had no kids in tow). It is really beautiful in there, but it is also really muggy. I don’t know why they never opened some of the roof windows to get more air circulation. Also, for the first time in all of my cruising, I noticed “Pool Safety” monitoring the outdoor pool and kiddie play areas. They weren’t Lifeguards, but their job was solely to keep an eye out on the swimmers. There were also lots of advertisements throughout the ship reminding parents to watch their children swimming, and offering the children’s life vests.

 

 

And here was my biggest disappointment about the pool area. The lack of Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt. There was only one station, with two machines. On most ships, I recall two separate stations (one on each side of the ship). At this one station, was a hand washing sink, which really slowed up the line. That combined with one of the two machines always being out of commission, made for a ridiculously long line to get FroYo. The line also had no choice but to form at the bottom of the stairs from Deck 15. It was all really bad planning on RCI’s part.

 

 

 

So, instead of waiting in the long line for something sweet, we decided to try the DogHouse in the SeaPlex. I’m not a big hot dog fan, but this was surprisingly really good. We enjoyed the various options and it was never crowded! The chicken apple dog was my favorite!

 

 

Tonight, at 6:30 we had reservations for Spectra’s Cabaret in two70. We decided to get there around 6 and got great seats in the 1st row center balcony. About 5 minutes later, we were kindly asked to find other seats as that entire section was being reserved for Sky Suite Class and Pinnacle members. I get it. If I paid that much for a suite, or that many cruises, I’d want the extra perks too. So, we moved to the side section and still had nice seats. They told us if there were seats available about 10 min before show time, we could move back. So, now its 11 min until show time and not a single body is in the entire center section. You’d think the same person that kicked us out of our seats would extend the courtesy to resume our original seats. But, sadly no. They just opened the section up and it was a crazy, mad rush, free for all. Ugh! But, the show was still really great! Love those robots!!!!! And the CottonCanditinis were also delicious!

 

 

 

After the show, we headed to Chic for our 8:15 reservations. This would become our absolute worst experience of the week on the ship. The host (I never did get his name) rudely and abruptly told me we had no reservations, despite it clearly being reserved on our calendar through the RoyalIQ App. And he said that our friends were showing reserved for a table of 2. OH, and then he said I needed to come back the next day to straighten everything out because we didn’t have reservations for the rest of the trip! This did not go over well with me. I had done my due diligence pre-cruise and spent a lot of time making ALL of our reservations. I had even gone so far as emailing dining asking them to verify that we were reserved as a table for 4 every night (I got confirmation back). And when they changed the show times on us 2 weeks before sailing, I spent 1 ½ hrs on the phone trying to get things resolved. I had spent more than enough time trying to prevent exactly this type of situation from occurring. In hindsight, every restaurant we had checked in up to that point did seem slightly confused about our reservations, but they never said a word to us. And within a few minutes, we were always seated at a table for 4. I just couldn’t understand why this staff member was being so rude to us and blaming us for a lack of reservation. Long story short, they seated us at a table that only had 2 chairs when we first arrived (they ended up bringing 2 more) and the location was right next to the waiter station (so super noisy and chaotic). It was not a welcoming experience. The bar server came up and asked for our drink order without introducing himself or giving us a drink menu. Our waiter, while nice, seemed incredibly stressed out. Actually, everyone working there looked like defeated chickens running around with their heads cut off. I felt bad for the staff. But, I shouldn’t have felt bad for them. It’s a like a ballet dancer onstage…no matter how hard the moves, it’s supposed to look effortless. As passengers, we’re not supposed to see how hard the job is. Since we were all in bad moods from our unwelcoming entrance, and seated at a very loud and chaotic table, I honestly don’t remember the food. We just wanted to get out of there.

 

 

After dinner, we tried looking for that dance party scene, but never found it. So we ended up in the Theatre for yet another Late Night comedy routine. This is the point we were getting bored with the evening options on the ship. But, to be honest, I have to blame it on the Cruise Director and Activities Manager. We found them to be the worst we've ever had. And I don't think we were the only ones. When they would show up at various things in the evening, people (including us) would get up and leave. We even avoided some standard activities because we knew they'd be there. We usually enjoy watching the Morning Show, etc...but not this trip. We found them dull and annoying. It's my understanding that they were a somewhat last minute stand in for the scheduled Cruise Director, who had to undergo unexpected surgery.

[Camino]

Following. Thank you for your great review.

We are thinking about to go on Anthem in January but we are not sure yet.

[Royalcruiser11]

They let you bring a case of water on board? Even in NJ? Did you pack it or just walk in with a large case?

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

They let you bring a case of water on board? Even in NJ? Did you pack it or just walk in with a large case?

 

Yes, they did! We taped a luggage tag to the top and dropped it off curbside with the porter, and the rest of our luggage. It was waiting for us at the stateroom with the rest of our luggage.

 

I knew we could get bottles of water onboard, but it was nice to have them already available in the cabin.

[Cruisin'Newlyweds]

Day 5 – 7/18 Monday, St. Marteen

 

 

This ended up feeling like two days in one. It was ½ a Sea Day coupled with an 8 hour Port Day. Woke up this morning and hit the treadmill in the gym for run #3 of the trip. At this point, I thought I might actually make my 5-6 run goal! I can’t remember what we did for breakfast. Actually, now that I think about it, I think we skipped breakfast and opted for an early lunch before getting off the ship.

 

 

We docked starboard side once again. So, being port side, we had a not so lovely view of St. Marteen’s industrial area. From my pre-cruise planning, I knew we’d be the only ship in town, which was a HUGE bonus for this port. During peak winter season, there are often 6 ships docked. I honestly can’t imagine the taxi traffic with that many cruisers trying to get around.

 

 

 

We walked off the ship around 12:30 and headed straight for the taxi stand (located down the dock towards the right). It’s well organized and each destination has its own line. This was my 3rd time in St. Marteen. The first time I did a butterfly excursion with my Mom and got to see the French side a bit. The 2nd time, our sailboat excursion was cancelled due to bad weather so DH and I just walked around town. This time, we were headed to Maho Bay (aka the Airport Beach) on our own. We shared a mini bus taxi with a few other people. The cost was $8pp and it took us about 30 min to get there. We were dropped off at the Sunset Grille, which recently transferred ownership and is going through a huge expansion project, and then walked toward the beach. The 4 of us asked a guy for two chairs and an umbrella ($20) and he escorted us to some already set up. We figured we’d share the chairs as we weren’t going to do much sitting, but at least we had a place for our stuff. It’s a beach, but it’s more of a large rock beach. We were definitely there for the airplanes, not so much the sand. Immediately, I was wishing we had brought our snorkel gear as this ended up being the best location of the trip for it. We enjoyed a couple “Buy 5 Get 1 Free” $20 buckets of Coronas while we watched lots and lots of planes land. There were lots of props from local islands, but a few big ones from NYC, Philly, Charlotte, and Atlanta (I pulled up the airport’s arrivals / departures board on my cell phone to know what we were watching). It really was all very exciting to watch! But the best arrival was the Airbus A340 direct from Paris, France! It landed at 2pm. Definitely do your research ahead and check out the times that the big boys land and take off. We may not have rushed off the ship had we not been anticipating the Air France flight at 2. After a slew of arrivals, including a surprise show off arrival from a giant military helicopter, the planes began their departures. DH fenced surfed for one of the bigger flights to the US, but I had no interest in being pelted by sand and tiny rocks. We left the beach just before the Air France flight was due to take off at 4pm (by this point, we had enough of the airplanes).

 

 

We asked the taxi driver to drop us off in town for some shopping. I’m glad we left the beach when we did as most of the shops were closing up around 5 / 5:30, despite the ship being docked until 8. I bought a Del Sol souvenir t-shirt for our 4 yr old, and of course we stocked up on Guavaberry Liquor (good stuff and the hand painted bottles make for great gifts!). DH also surprised me with an anniversary Tanzanite ring. We decided to walk back to the ship. It’s a bit of a walk, but we had plenty of time. And had we not walked, we would’ve missed hearing / seeing the unexpected mountain goats!

 

 

 

Back on the ship, we headed to the pool deck to watch the sunset before getting ready for a late dinner. Tonight’s dinner was in the complimentary Solarium Bistro. Despite last night’s fiasco, I never confirmed our reservation as I’ve developed a “no amount of planning will prevent issues” attitude, so it will be what it will be. We got the quizzical look when we arrived, but they quickly seated us at a table for 4. The Solarium is much quieter. It’s a cross between the dining room and Windjammer, as it is buffet style for appetizers and desserts, but you order from a menu for entrees. We found the food to be good and we enjoyed our meal here.

 

 

After dinner, we went to the Music Hall for the live Pop Rock band with fingers crossed for a full dance floor. But, alas, it was pretty dead in there. We did stay to enjoy the music a bit before going off to have fun with the Bionic Bar. I really thought I’d get one drink from the robots and be done with it for the sailing. But we actually really enjoyed watching them work and ended up ordering several rounds before heading to bed! Or, I should say before heading to Sorrento’s for late night pizza and sandwiches, and then to bed. The pizza and sandwiches are good (DH loves the King’s roast beef), but this is the ONLY late night option and it’s getting a bit boring night after night. I really wish they’d open a station in the Windjammer for late night, like they do in the dining halls on college campuses!

[LuckyL]

very nice review, thanks for sharing!

[Valmoisy]

Thanks for the review, I'm really enjoying it!

[Amagamma]

Thanks for bringing us along. Sailing on the Anthem in November, and love reading everyone's opinion of this ship. First time for us on a Mega Ship in over 50 cruises. Gathering quite a few tips.

[heatherandfred]

We were on the same ship with you guys. We found that 270's music totally sucked! A lot of the music sucked. I actually passed the Dj a note and asked him to play 70s and 80s songs. It took him a while to actually get it together, but he finally did and we got ONE dancing night out of the 9. I was quite disappointed, but whatever, I could dance with my iPhone. It was an enjoyable cruise and we had fun!

[dmlee1990]

Enjoying your review! We will be on the Anthem in September for a 9 day Canada/NE cruise. Thank you for your opinions/tips.

[nyer]

The only reason we got the upgrade after final payment was because there was no difference in cost. For whatever reason' date=' RCI had the balcony priced exactly the same as the interior at that time. Had there been a price difference, we would not have been able to do it after final payment. So, if you think you really want that upgrade, I'd look into it before final payment.

 

This was the first cruise that made us think we'd want to bring our kids cruising! We pictured our almost 8 and 5 year old daughters enjoying the Rock Wall, Bumper Cars, various activities at Adventure Ocean Kids Club, the kid's pool area, and the various table games in SeaPlex. We also knew they'd love the movie nights on the deck and dancing to some of the live music in Boleros or Music Hall. Your kids will have plenty to do! One tip, definitely check daily at Guest Services for a Kid's Compass. Only the regular one is left in your stateroom nightly. But Guest Services have them available for teens and kids.

 

The kids compasses will be left in your room if you are traveling with your children. I never received one in my cabin, but my daughter (who was traveling with her girls) received one every night.

[FM]

Day 5 – 7/18 Monday' date=' St. Marteen

 

...

 

We enjoyed a couple “Buy 5 Get 1 Free” $20 buckets of Coronas while we watched lots and lots of planes land. [/quote']

 

...

 

I must be tired as I had to re-read the aforementioned line several times .. as I was thinking boy, six buckets of beer ... that's an awful lot of Coronas - rotfl ... :D

[FM]

Enjoying your review! We will be on the Anthem in September for a 9 day Canada/NE cruise. Thank you for your opinions/tips.

 

Going on the same itinerary next year ... hope you'll be posting a trip report when you return :)

[BNBR]

Sure! The Anthem is a "green" ship. So' date=' just inside each cabin is a card holder. The idea is to place your Sea Pass card here while in the room to operate the AC and lights. Then, when you leave the room and take your card with you, you don't accidentally leave lights on, etc.

 

We kept an old casino loyalty card in there the whole time so the room would be cool when we came back to the cabin. We'd always be mindful of turning off lights and turning up the air temp a bit before we left for long periods, in keeping with the green goal.[/quote']

 

I noticed hotels are doing that overseas now. Came across the switch in Norway. Had to call down because there was no sign or anything telling you what to do and never seen it before. Just stuck a business card in there that was on the table and left it the entire stay. I could care less about their green goals. It's really just about savings money for them, increasing profits, selling it as "green" and not passing the savings on to you, that's for sure.