LIVE - Anthem 10/18/18 - We're leafpeepin' ya'll

[JaniceB]

Enjoying your live review

[aring75]

3 hours ago, mahqueen310 said:

Are those yummy looking chocolate chip cookies in cafe270 regular or sugar free? 😀

 

Those particular choco chip cookies were regular, but they have had some sugar free options. Mark had lemon “sugar” cookies today that were sugar free. He said that for a sugar free option, they weren’t bad. 

[aring75]

Waved goodbye to Boston just before dinner. 

 

 

Day 3 Dinner Menu

 

 

I started with the Poblano Pepper Soup (and I was so happy to find that it was actually a little spicy. Not hot spicy, just flavorful.)

 

 

Next I had the beef short rib. It was delicious. So delicious, in fact, I totally forgot to take a picture before I started eating. Oops. 

 

THIS IS WHERE THE PICTURE OF THE YUMMY BEEF SHORT RIB IS SUPPOSED TO GO. SORRY ABOUT THAT. 

 

Dessert was the chocolate cake. And I started to do it again. But I caught myself before I completely lost control. I’ll do better. Promise. 

 

 

Tommorow is a food tour in Portland with Maine Foodie Tours. This should be lots of fun as long as we can stay warm. I’ve got our gloves, knit hats, and two-in-one jackets at the ready. And I’m really hoping after the second drink or so, it really won’t feel so cold anyway. 

[riri13]

14 hours ago, aring75 said:

 

I took some pictures of the menu for you. The glare was really bad (sorry!). I didn’t see a veg option, but when we ordered I didn’t ask either. Hopefully this helps you decide. 

 

 

 

Woah, did these prices jump up a lot? I thought it was like $2.50 for a burger the last time I was on Anthem in the spring. I could be wrong but I'm cheap and I went twice which I really don't think I would have done at these prices.

[aring75]

2 hours ago, riri13 said:

Woah, did these prices jump up a lot? I thought it was like $2.50 for a burger the last time I was on Anthem in the spring. I could be wrong but I'm cheap and I went twice which I really don't think I would have done at these prices.

 

Nope! You are absolutely remembering correctly. These prices are quite a bit higher than anything I saw in the pictures I found while doing my research. I was surprised too! We will only eat here this once. But we don’t really eat burgers much back home and it’s kind of a cruise tradition. Our bill (before a small tip) came to thirteen dollars and change. ($13.40 I think?) But our drinks were included in the beverage package. We both got an Original and split the order of 1/2 onion rings and fries. Hope this helps with your planning!

[aring75]

These are pictures from the Main Dining Room wine list. It’s in pieces to (hopefully) make it easier to read. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tina1967]

14 hours ago, aring75 said:

Afternoon snack at Cafe @ 270. Cookies are complementary, coffee is an extra charge or included in the drink package. 

 

 

Complementary Dessert Case

 

 

Coffee Menu - Every Item is included with the deluxe package 

 

 

Edited to add - they will make your coffee drinks with almond milk. I haven’t checked for other non-dairy alternatives, but they do a good job with the almond milk. Just FYI. 

 

Do you know if they serve Hot Chocolate there as one of us doesn’t drink coffee will only drink hot chocolate as a hot drink and we have the drinks package included on our cruise next year? Thanks 🙂

[aring75]

6 minutes ago, Tina1967 said:

 

Do you know if they serve Hot Chocolate there as one of us doesn’t drink coffee will only drink hot chocolate as a hot drink and we have the drinks package included on our cruise next year? Thanks 🙂

 

Im not sure, but I will try to remember to ask next time we’re there. I’ll let you know!

[LXA350]

maybe at Le Patiserie but otherwise the only hot chocolate on board is that fake chocolate powder fron Nestle

[Tina1967]

24 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

maybe at Le Patiserie but otherwise the only hot chocolate on board is that fake chocolate powder fron Nestle

Thanks

the Nestle one isn’t too bad but you would think that if they did a mocha they would do a hot chocolate as we have Seattle coffee in cafe in Asda UK (owned by Walmart) and they have hot chocolate. Anyway no hot chocolate isn’t going to spoil our cruise lol! 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Tina1967

[TwoMisfits]

19 hours ago, aring75 said:

 

I took some pictures of the menu for you. The glare was really bad (sorry!). I didn’t see a veg option, but when we ordered I didn’t ask either. Hopefully this helps you decide. 

 

 

 

Do you know if you can get a shake to go on the drinks packages (without paying for food ala carte?)

[little britain]

Great review so far👏

Do they still have the Escape Room on board and do they charge for it now ?

 

 

[Angelsea57]

I love those photos from Boston, specially the market and  the skyline

when you were leaving in the evening.  So gorgeous!

I  have never been to Boston before,

so I'm  looking forward to visiting on our upcoming cruise.

What was the highlight of your visit to Boston?

Any not to miss spots?

Thank!

 

[dream2cruise]

Thank you very much for the wine, coffee, and menu postings.  If you get a chance, would you mind getting pix of the other drink menus?

 

Thank you and enjoy your cruise.

Sharon

[aring75]

6 hours ago, Tina1967 said:

 

Do you know if they serve Hot Chocolate there as one of us doesn’t drink coffee will only drink hot chocolate as a hot drink and we have the drinks package included on our cruise next year? Thanks 🙂

 

I asked this morning and they said you can definitely get hot chocolate on the drink package there. They will just use the chocolate syrup and add it to the steamed/frothed milk. Whichever way they do it, he told me it would be no problem!

Edited October 21, 2018 by aring75
Edited for spelling

[gerig]

On 10/20/2018 at 2:38 PM, aring75 said:

 

I took some pictures of the menu for you. The glare was really bad (sorry!). I didn’t see a veg option, but when we ordered I didn’t ask either. Hopefully this helps you decide. 

 

 

 

Yes they do a vegetarian burger

[aring75]

We’re in Portland today!! It’s windy and cold but we are bundled up and determined. 

 

 

Let’s go on a food tour. 

 

 

We booked this tour through TripAdvisor and in our confirmation we were told to meet at the wine shop at 223 Confirmation Street. This was a short walk in to town from the cruise terminal. 

 

 

Started out the tour at Vervacious. They sell various salts, rubs, and seasonings.

 

 

They served us slices of pineapple and apples to dip in flavored balsamics and seasoned salts. We also got a freshly baked scoop of lobster Mac and cheese to taste with various seasoning salts. They served everyone a glass of locally brewed honey mead wine. 

 

 

Next stop...Gritty’s, Maine’s Original BrewPub

 

 

Here, we had the County Wet Hop IPA and the Halloween Ale Extra Special Bitter. 

 

 

 

 

Then they brought everyone a mini lobster roll with fresh hand-cut fries. 

 

 

(cont’d)

[aring75]

After our lobster rolls, we walked over to Bull Feeney’s. This has a definite Irish pub feel. 

 

 

 

Here you were offered a choice from several different beers they had on tap. For those who preferred wine, they had a choice of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet, and Merlot. They brought a delicious bowl of rich clam chowder. 

 

 

They have live music playing for a very lively atmosphere. 

 

[Tina1967]

55 minutes ago, aring75 said:

 

I asked this morning and they said you can definitely get hot chocolate on the drink package there. They will just use the chocolate syrup and add it to the steamed/frothed milk. Whichever way they do it, he told me it would be no problem!

 

Many thanks for finding out for us!

Your cruise sounds great enjoying reading about it,  can’t wait for ours next year.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation! 

 

[aring75]

So Holey Donuts has a huge following and a renowned reputation for their potato donuts. The line was out the door and down the sidewalk, but we didn’t have to wait because we were on the tour. Our guide slipped right in and out with donuts for everyone. The only down side was we didn’t pick our flavors. We got sea salt chocolate. But they were SO good. 

 

 

 

Walked over to Stonewall Kitchen for a short presentation of their scones and blueberry jam. Then walked around the shop for a bit. Forgot to mention, all the shops on the tour offered us 10-15% off of our purchases as part of the tour. 

 

 

 

In between the food / drink stops, our guide walked us around downtown Portland and gave us history and information. 

 

We finished up our tour with dessert at Dean’s Chocolatier. 

 

 

They gave everyone two artisan truffles and had samples of the other different flavors they offer for sale. 

 

[aring75]

6 hours ago, TwoMisfits said:

Do you know if you can get a shake to go on the drinks packages (without paying for food ala carte?)

 

Yes. You absolutely can! Just walk up to the counter and order the shake to go. 

[aring75]

21 hours ago, Nolie21 said:

I’m glad you are enjoying New England!  Tomorrow while in Portland if you go to Gritty’s Brew Pub my son highly recommends their IPA if you like that kind of beer.  Have a great time and stay warm it is going to be cold tomorrow.

 

Gritty’s was on our food tour! I was so excited to see it. My husband liked the IPA a lot, but I have to say, I thought the Halloween ale was fantastic. 🎃 😊

[aring75]

5 hours ago, little britain said:

Great review so far👏

Do they still have the Escape Room on board and do they charge for it now ?

 

 

 

I’m not sure. Let me see if I can find out. I haven’t even heard anything about it. 

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for all the information on the Portland foodies tour, might have to take a day trip one of these days.

 

Escape room should be listed under all activities in your Royal IQ app.  Was free last time we sailed.  It is held up in Fuel, just outside the Seaplex.  Only 14 people at a time, so it fills up quickly.

[aring75]

5 hours ago, Angelsea57 said:

I love those photos from Boston, specially the market and  the skyline

when you were leaving in the evening.  So gorgeous!

I  have never been to Boston before,

so I'm  looking forward to visiting on our upcoming cruise.

What was the highlight of your visit to Boston?

Any not to miss spots?

Thank!

 

 

Loved Boston! For such a large city, it is so clean. Everything downtown is close together so it’s easily walkable. Since we had never been there before, the hop on hop off trolley seemed like the most practical idea. It gave us the opportunity to see everything around the city, plus we got discounts off several sightseeing locations with our trolley tickets. You can go to their website to see if you think it would work for you. It’s really not necessary to book through the cruise line. (They run all day long and they really are the exact same thing. Just watch the time and get yourself back before all aboard.)

 

I’m not sure if I can post the link or the website, but go to the site for Old Town Trolley it’s at trolley tours.com with no spaces. Go to the one for Boston and you can see all of the trolley stops. Hopefully this helps you!