Random tips and tricks from Anthem/Bahamas itin.

[br111]

I've absorbed so much information while lurking on these boards for so many years, I finally thought it was time to give back. Was on the Anthem Thanksgiving Bahamas sailing and offer these (admittedly very random) tips and tricks in the hope they're of help for future cruisers. A lot of these were questions I had before sailing but couldn't find searching previous posts. Happy to answer any questions.

 

BAYONNE ARRIVAL TIME - As has been posted previously, 10:30a was perfect. 20 minutes curb to ship.

 

SCHEDULING "SOLD OUT" ACTIVITIES USING THE ROYAL IQ APP - I was a bit concerned because even though we booked several months out, there were no online reservations available for IFly or North Star. But not to worry! As soon as we got on (around 11a - see above) I immediately hopped on the WiFi, fired up the app and found tons of times available.

 

MTD DINING RESERVATIONS - Likewise, a lot of the dining times available online were only 8:30p or 9p. The app on board showed the same availability, but we went right to the dining room (which shockingly had basically no line) and were able to get slightly better times. They also just suggested showing up when we wanted even if we had super-late reservations. Having heard past MTD horror stories, I was doubtful - but amazingly it all worked out. We went as near as our reservation as possible but even when we were hours early we were accommodated. (Being a smaller party of 3 was apparently a big help according to the hosts).

 

SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES AS EARLY IN THE ITINERARY AS POSSIBLE - I was glad we decided to do iFly and North Star during our first two sea days. Weather on one the last two days (sailing from the Bahamas back to Bayonne) closed the upper deck and cancelled iFly and North Star all day. Not sure how they would have been able to reschedule everyone who had reserved for that day since it was the second-to-last day

 

TENDERING AT COCO CAY - Despite previous reports, there were no tender tickets used (because we arrive so early on this particular itinerary, according to ShoreEx). We just showed up around 9a (tenders had been running for at least 90 minutes at that point) and shockingly only waited 10 minutes to board a tender. The actual transit time was 10 minutes - super easy. As others have noted, the pier there is FAR from complete. At least several months I would guess.

 

WAVERUNNERS AND TIDES AT COCO CAY - We were a bit surprised to arrive at the waverunner shack on Coco Cay and be told that our pre-booked 10:30a waverunner tour had been rescheduled all the way to 3:30pm because low tides meant they couldn't get over a sand bar. Might be worth checking on board in the future. (The tour was great, though). Also, all the tours had sold out previous to our arrival on Coco Cay.

 

DISNEY / UNIVERSAL SHORE EXCURSION TIMING - Even though it's listed as an 8 hour tour, the tour operator used every hour available in port, leaving the ship around 7:45a, arriving at the park by 9a, departing the park at 4:30pm and arriving at the ship by 5:30p/5:45p.

 

CELL SERVICE - Since I didn't pay for WiFi and my company plan includes international roaming, I was glad to see great cell and data service available on CoCo Cay. There was also about a 30-minute window when we passed just close enough to North Carolina that I was able to download a day's worth of email on just my regular Verizon plan. 

 

"INTRO TO 270" SHOW - This show, early-on during the cruise, wasn't really promoted but was spectacular - really showed you all that the 270 lounge can do. Highly recommended!

 

STARBOARD SIDE IS PIER SIDE - For anyone who cares when booking their cabin, we always docked starboard side, and tenders departed from that side as well.

 

WEATHER - We hit a bit of weather on our trip back home. We were in 50 kt (Gale Force) winds and "medium to rough" seas according to the Captain - but while individual impressions may vary, I didn't find much motion compared to what I've experienced on dozens of other cruises.(Although a couple of shows were rescheduled).

 

WEATHER FORECAST  - If you're a weather nerd, or just want to see how rough it will be, check out this great National Weather Service site that provides coastal forecasts that cover the entire trip to and from the Bahamas: ocean.weather.gov

 

That's it. See - told you they were random!!

 

 

 

 

[cb at sea]

Got some nice tips there! 

 

I don't believe the 7pm MTD is available for pre-booking ANYTIME, on ANY cruise...they tend to hold the "popular" times for onboard booking.

[carnival03]

Thanks for the tips. We're on Anthem in May and cannot wait!

[kurtmp3]

Thanks for these, will help come January for me

[zooma]

Appreciate these tips! Anything else particularly re specialty dining availability or extra activities (eg, trivia, comedy)?  

[PortSideCruzan]

5 hours ago, br111 said:

 

"INTRO TO 270" SHOW - This show, early-on during the cruise, wasn't really promoted but was spectacular - really showed you all that the 270 lounge can do. Highly recommended!

 

 

Hi br111 ☺️

 

The Two70° is a terrific venue! What an wonderful space. It's the ships living room.  

 

The show where they let you see what the Two70° venue is capable of, including the robo screens, is called 'The Two70° Experience'. 

 

See 9:45pm in the Cruise Compass below. 😊

 

 

 

 

 

☺️

Edited December 3, 2018 by PortSideCruzan

[br111]

13 hours ago, zooma said:

Appreciate these tips! Anything else particularly re specialty dining availability or extra activities (eg, trivia, comedy)?  

 

We didn't do any of the specialty dining (although Wonderland looked very cool) so not sure what availability looked like. All the other activities didn't require advance sign-up. There were a bunch of trivia options and the usual comedy shows (a couple as the headliner "showtime" and then a couple late-night adults-only versions too).

[powelweb]

We were on the same Thanksgiving sailing as previous poster and also had a great time.

 

Additional tips include stopping by the Box Office  right as you board which was in the Music Hall on deck 3 to book the Escape Room at no charge if your group has any interest at all- our group really enjoyed it.  The room itself is located on deck 15 right near the Seaplex.

 

We also did Jamie's one night, and the planks were as amazing as reported on other threads- really hard to find room for dessert after all the other good food they kept bringing out.

 

Our cabin as one of the front facing cabins at the very bow of the ship on Deck 10, so during the weather on the return to Bayonne, we would get the splash in our window which was impressive, and you could feel the movement in our cabin more so than at mid-ship where the rest of our party had booked, but as experienced cruisers this didn't bother us- just reporting for others who may be interested in those cabins.