Just off first US sailing of Anthem - any questions, fire away! :)

[Rysyonok]

9 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Thanks for your take on this cruise. We were the only two out of our party that got to do the Northstar because we were in the Northstar bar and hubby was basically sitting on the operator.  He told us they'd open up new slots at set times, so you had to know those times in order to book.

 

I'm not convinced that doing it at sea would be better.  We got to see the entire NYC skyline from a unique vantage point.  And at sunset no less!

 

If anyone is curious, we had a table for twelve in American Icon and had the same time every night and the same staff so it was a fabulous experience.  Even had a proposal in the group on the last formal night!  I wasn't impressed with the food so much as the experience.  The food wasn't bad at all, I just wasn't in the mood for a heavy meal by the end of the day so that was on me.  Still, our service was speedy and cheerful and we had the best waiter and assistant.  Our waiter even serenaded them during the proposal!

 

Doing NS at sunset is the most amazing experience ever. I wish I had timed my slot better - I should have done what you did 😉

[LuCruise]

19 minutes ago, Rysyonok said:

Bumper Cars are free, each session is 4 minutes. They have to be reserved but *hint* if you come in on deck 15 outside aiming for the Seaplex Doghouse car front then enter the ship through the door then you can get in line more times - you're bypassing the check-in girl, she can't possibly see you from that angle. So you can do as many bumper cars as you want!

 

Great info!  Trying to understand the comment above about the bumper cars as I know our kids will want to do this multiple times (I have physical issues that I need to avoid it...otherwise, I'd be on there too).  This will be our first time on Anthem so i pulled up the deck plans to try and understand what you mean.  Do you mean there is another entrance on the Dog House side?  Don't you still have to reserve a spot (since covid)?

[Rysyonok]

Just now, LuCruise said:

Great info!  Trying to understand the comment above about the bumper cars as I know our kids will want to do this multiple times (I have physical issues that I need to avoid it...otherwise, I'd be on there too).  This will be our first time on Anthem so i pulled up the deck plans to try and understand what you mean.  Do you mean there is another entrance on the Dog House side?  Don't you still have to reserve a spot (since covid)?

 

Correct. So, imagine a square. You enter SeaPlex in the lower right corner to check in. Then you move clockwise along the lower square line, then the left line, then the top line, then midway through the right line. Except there is a small door to the outside right by the dog house, in the top right corner of the imaginary square. The door is always open except for inclement weather. The check-in person physically cannot see you from their cubby, especially if lines are starting to form.

[LuCruise]

15 minutes ago, Rysyonok said:

 

Correct. So, imagine a square. You enter SeaPlex in the lower right corner to check in. Then you move clockwise along the lower square line, then the left line, then the top line, then midway through the right line. Except there is a small door to the outside right by the dog house, in the top right corner of the imaginary square. The door is always open except for inclement weather. The check-in person physically cannot see you from their cubby, especially if lines are starting to form.

Thank you for the quick reply. Will definitely bring your description and can see better when I'm there.  But for this way, we're not bypassing reservations right?  Don't want to take a spot from someone who has reserved.

[Rysyonok]

2 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thank you for the quick reply. Will definitely bring your description and can see better when I'm there.  But for this way, we're not bypassing reservations right?  Don't want to take a spot from someone who has reserved.

 

It was never too full. And they can't even start unless all 15 cars have a driver.

[Another_Critic]

52 minutes ago, Rysyonok said:

 

Doing NS at sunset is the most amazing experience ever. I wish I had timed my slot better - I should have done what you did 😉

The start of sunset in Bar Harbor.

 

[Rysyonok]

34 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

The start of sunset in Bar Harbor.

 

 

Simply WOW.

[goldengirl]

What did Royal Caribbean do since they didn’t put on two shows do they have an alternate thing alternative or entertainment for you? You know what kills me you pay full price for your fair and then they decide to change things and cancel shows that you’ve made it been shows that you were looking forward to it might’ve been the main reason you were taking the cruise. A funny story happened which wasn’t so funny when I was on the horizon many years ago we were in a port and as we looked back at the shift they were taking the horizon sign down and we got on the ship and we found out it had been sold and this was the last selling if I had known it was the last selling never would have went they were out of everything and told me we’re getting ready to sell the ship and my response was I didn’t pay a discounted price on my ticket because you’re ready to sell the ship but meanwhile you’re out of lotta supplies and a lot of things people want it these cruise lines have one purpose to make as much money as they can and cut back as much as they can also

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, goldengirl said:

You know what kills me, is that you pay full fare price, but then they decide to change things and cancel shows that you were looking forward to which might’ve been the main reason you were taking the cruise.

That's been the norm for quite some time - don't book a sailing for a certain port, show or venue since all of that can change and not necessarily due to COVID.

[Rysyonok]

4 hours ago, goldengirl said:

What did Royal Caribbean do since they didn’t put on two shows do they have an alternate thing alternative or entertainment for you?

 

So, they did scramble. One show was repeated (Beatles tribute), one was created out of thin air (Assistant Cruise Director did an Elton John tribute), additional trivia shows were added, North Star suddenly featured many more slots, etc. We did not get any material compensation, but there was that weird $100 credit per cabin for being an hour late in Port Canaveral... it's as if they knew (the credit was awarded several hours before shows being cancelled).

[Rysyonok]

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That's been the norm for quite some time - don't book a sailing for a certain port, show or venue since all of that can change and not necessarily due to COVID.

 

I agree, although with sadness. My Anthem sailing was initially a maiden Grandeur voyage out of Barbados - can I get a yee-haw for a 7-night sailing with 6 ports? - but once Barbados started to mess with mandatory quarantines in July, I just had to play it safe and jump back stateside. 

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, Rysyonok said:

 

It was never too full. And they can't even start unless all 15 cars have a driver.

I did NOT know that!

[Rysyonok]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

I did NOT know that!

 

An empty car becomes a roadblock 🙂 Now, hypothetically, they can change the number of cars for each session, but it is a little bit difficult.