Live! Anthem of the Seas March 24-31, 2023 with Dragon of the Seas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

 

Join DH, our DD and me on our journey on the beautiful Anthem of the Seas from Bayonne, NJ to Port Canaveral, Coco Cay and Nassau.  The Anthem is part of a class of ship we have not sailed.  I have seen pictures of the ship, and I can ’t wait to get aboard.  . . . but, mostly I want to get away from the cold and rainy weather on the east coast today.  😞

 

 

 

It was a wet start as we boarded Amtrak train 88 at the BWI airport Station this morning headed to Newark Penn Station. It was raining cats, dogs, and anything else that could come from the sky. Our Uber XL driver was a Prince.  After playing Tetris with four suitcases, a walker and a bookbag we were off.  This will be our third time taking Amtrak to Bayonne. We drove the first time we sailed from here, but we did not love the traffic. With the tolls and $30/day parking at the pier the train pays for itself. JMHO

 

We are Alan [DH], Agnes [Me], and our adult DD [Heather]. DH and I are veteran cruisers; this will be our 40^th. However, DD is cruising for the first time. She is a teacher, so we are taking a spring break cruise.  We typically avoid school holidays.

 

We were not sure we would ever get to take this cruise. DH fell in our cabin on the first part of our B2B cruise last fall. So, we left the ship in Portland, ME. He has fully recovered. However, he still has some mobility issues and I will share a few of our experiences as they relate to that. On Amtrak you can request assistance getting your luggage on and off the train at manned stations. This was a huge help today.   Also, the conductor phoned ahead and had a porter waiting by our rail car to get our luggage from there.  They also provide wheelchair assistance--but we did not need that.

[DaniDanielle]

We have been on Anthem a million times!  You will love her.  

[nelblu]

Living in New Jersey I’ve sailed  Anthem many times.  Will follow you on Easter sail with family members.

 

Advantage  is that I’m 25 minutes drive to the Bayonne terminal. 

Edited March 23 by nelblu

[K teacher heather]

Hello , Dragon of the seas DD Heather here. I’m super excited to be going on my first cruise ever. Happy to have two veteran cruisers showing me the way. I may add to my DM ‘s posts with a first time cruisers perspective. 

[DaniDanielle]

@nelblu I know that advantage.  We can roll out of bed and be at the port🤪

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Once we got off the train the adventure really began.  The Newark/Jersey City area is getting a huge amount of rain which has led to lots of streets flooding.  We tried to go down many that had deep standing water. 😱 The police were closing the ramps to the bridges.  Our taxi driver seemed to be going in circles. . . but so were all of the other cars.  

 

After a while he just drove through the flooded intersections. 

 

Here are a few pictures.  It is hard to capture just how deep the water was and how many cars. drove through. 

 

 

 

These are not great pictures, but you get the idea.

 

When we finally got to the hotel DD said she always wondered why newscasters made such a big deal out of "turn around-don't drown." She couldn't imagine anyone driving through floods.  HaHaHa We made it to the hotel. Do you wonder what that adventure cost? The driver turned to DH and said "that will be $100 + a tip."  

Edited March 23 by DragonOfTheSeas

[crzndeb]

I have been on the Ovation many times and will finally get to sail the Anthem in Apr/2025. I love Quantum class ships. Looking forward to your review, and glad to see Alan back up and cruising again. Please be careful!

Edited March 23 by crzndeb

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 minute ago, crzndeb said:

I have been on the Ovation many times and will finally get to sail the Anthem in Apr/2025. I love Quantum class ships. Looking forward to your review, and glad to see Alan back up and cruising again. Please be careful!

Thank you. we are glad to be cruising again.  We are very excited about the Anthem.  

[mets123]

Will the Anthem be delayed in any way because she was diverted to P C yesterday morning due to a medical emergency. We sailed the Anthem at least 20 times as well. Live about a half hour from the port too.

[Destaw71835]

Anthem is a great ship. Enjoy your cruise!

[nelblu]

33 minutes ago, mets123 said:

Will the Anthem be delayed in any way because she was diverted to P C yesterday morning due to a medical emergency. We sailed the Anthem at least 20 times as well. Live about a half hour from the port too.

I've been on Anthem and experienced quite a few incidents and always made it on time back to Bayonne.  One time coming up North she deviated to Bermuda due to an illness/accident.  Another time coming back from Halifax, (last stop) near Connecticut we had to wait for a Coast Guard helicopter to drop needed blood to an ailing passenger.

[Another_Critic]

I'm an Anthem rookie ... only sailed her 8 times (Westbound TA, Bermuda, CA/NE, Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Eastbound TA, Eastbound TA, Westbound TA).  ETA:  Also sailed Quantum on the maiden voyage (TA from Southampton to Cape Liberty).

 

For my Liberty sailing last September, I took Amtrak from Wilmington, DE to Newark Penn Station.  ~$90 for RT train and RT Lyft to/from port versus ~$50 tolls, $270 parking, and $$ gas.  Would not hesitate to do it again.

 

Edited March 23 by Another_Critic

[DragonOfTheSeas]

19 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

For my Liberty sailing last September, I took Amtrak from Wilmington, DE to Newark Penn Station.  ~$90 for RT train and RT Lyft to/from port versus ~$50 tolls, $270 parking, and $$ gas.  Would not hesitate to do it again.

 

Yes, for us it only makes sense to take the train.  . . . and after today's trip I don't think I would consider driving. 🙄 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

What a difference a few hours will make. The sky has cleared and we can see the city from our hotel.  

 

We are staying in the Doubletree Jersey City.  It is a block from the river, and we have a corner suite.  [not bragging--it was the only 2-room option to share with DD] The view is pretty impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Following … Love Anthem.   Have a spectacular cruise!

Cheers 🍻

[elizabethbp]

I was on the  Anthem for the last Thanksgiving cruise and I  use a walker.  I suggest you make sure Guest  Services knows about any disability if you did not already let them know.

 

 I did not find the ship particularly handicap friendly.  

 

  There is a special tram for handicapped on CocoCay- thought you may know about it already from all your cruises.   

 

     I really liked the   Anthem.   I am sure you will too.

 

    

 

   

[DragonOfTheSeas]

10 minutes ago, elizabethbp said:

I was on the  Anthem for the last Thanksgiving cruise and I  use a walker.  I suggest you make sure Guest  Services knows about any disability if you did not already let them know.

 

 I did not find the ship particularly handicap friendly.  

 

  There is a special tram for handicapped on CocoCay- thought you may know about it already from all your cruises.   

 

     I really liked the   Anthem.   I am sure you will too.

 

    Thank you, 

 

   

DH can walk with a walking stick for reasonable distances.  We felt we should bring it along since this is a bigger ship.  . . . but I am sorry to hear you did not feel it was very accessible.  Fingers crossed!

[gambler]

Following. Have a great cruise!

[mets123]

40 minutes ago, elizabethbp said:

I was on the  Anthem for the last Thanksgiving cruise and I  use a walker.  I suggest you make sure Guest  Services knows about any disability if you did not already let them know.

 

 I did not find the ship particularly handicap friendly.  

 

  There is a special tram for handicapped on CocoCay- thought you may know about it already from all your cruises.   

 

     I really liked the   Anthem.   I am sure you will too.

 

    

 

   

We found it quite the opposite. My wife is a stroke survivor. I get her into our room in her wheelchair, and there is a scooter that we rented waiting for her. The whole staff is very accommodating. There's accessible seating for all the shows and designated tables in the WJ. And we always have a table right by the doors in the main dining room. What were your issues?

[elizabethbp]

There were issues getting off for the ports using the walker.  It was very  disorganized, and  I know people in wheel chairs and some  with strollers were having  issues as well.   Most of the staff actually were very nice but the system to get off was not.   Getting back on using a walker also took time. I had been on the Oasis in August and after having issues, and discussing with Guest Services,  the staff then was wonderful when getting off and on the ship.  Not so on the Anthem.  

 

   I also found some other cruisers pretty rude because of my using a walker,  but that is not the fault of RCCL.   I  do. not use the  walker all the time but it has amazed me how horribly people who are handicapped can be treated.

[perfect match]

@DragonOfTheSeas, I’m glad to hear that your husband is well enough after his fall to be ready and willing to go on your cruise. That walker you mentioned may come in handy with all the walking that you will be doing on the ship so I think it’s a good idea that you brought it along. 
 

I hope that you, your husband and your daughter have a wonderful time on Anthem.

[mets123]

2 hours ago, elizabethbp said:

There were issues getting off for the ports using the walker.  It was very  disorganized, and  I know people in wheel chairs and some  with strollers were having  issues as well.   Most of the staff actually were very nice but the system to get off was not.   Getting back on using a walker also took time. I had been on the Oasis in August and after having issues, and discussing with Guest Services,  the staff then was wonderful when getting off and on the ship.  Not so on the Anthem.  

 

   I also found some other cruisers pretty rude because of my using a walker,  but that is not the fault of RCCL.   I  do. not use the  walker all the time but it has amazed me how horribly people who are handicapped can be treated.

Don't try to get off the ship as soon as it docks, but wait a hour and there's less crowds. The same holds true on return. Sorry to say but you need a NJ/NY attitude to deal with rude people. Don't put up with them.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

5 hours ago, perfect match said:

@DragonOfTheSeas, I’m glad to hear that your husband is well enough after his fall to be ready and willing to go on your cruise. 

I hope that you, your husband and your daughter have a wonderful time on Anthem.

 

 

3 hours ago, mets123 said:

Don't try to get off the ship as soon as it docks, but wait a hour and there's less crowds. The same holds true on return. Sorry to say but you need a NJ/NY attitude to deal with rude people. Don't put up with them.

Thank you both.  We have been to each of these ports and have planned our activities carefully.  But we will be flexible.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Well. it is finally cruise day. 😁

 

I never sleep well the night before a trip.  I spend too much time trying to remember what I forgot.  [I think only a couple of unimportant things] Today was no exception.  Here are a couple of early morning shots of the skyline.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

One of the passengers on the Facebook group just posted this:

 

"6:08am…An announcement has just been made that due to the heavy seas we experienced last night…we will be delayed arriving into Bayonne. Disembarkation is expected to begin at approximately 8:00am."

 

I am not sure if this will have an impact on us.  We have not gotten a text or email for RCL.