Leaderboard

Welcome to Dallas! One step closer. By my standards in was an excellent flight - we had an equal number of take offs and landings. I watched a “free” movie that AA had, Angel has Fallen. Action flick with probably 3000 rounds fired, bodies everywhere and lots of blood. Having served nearly 8 years in the White House I can confirm it portrays a typical day in the life of a Secret Service agent. ?? Had a gentleman fall ill about 30 minutes out of Dallas so we were met by paramedics at the gate. He appeared to be not too serious and left under his own power. As luck would have it he was seated next to Katie so he had his own private nurse until we landed. Had lunch at Friday’s and are now waiting to board the flight to Miami. More from Miami in a couple of hours!

On the way!

As promised here are some archive photos from past Anthem cruises. Indoor Family Pool at Night Solarium at Various Times on Different Cruises Some Outside Pictures Inaugural Miami Visit

I got these two guys for Taylor when they were really tiny. They would go to sleep in her lap. Now she has grown and moved away. And they have grown into big old ugly goats that I feed everyday. That’s the story @WAAAYTOOO. Say hello to Sammy and Oreo. You can guess which is which.

Well it is almost time to get this party started for real! In 15 hours we will hopefully depart Palm Springs, Ca aboard the always wonderful American Airlines. I decided to take the day off today to wrap up last minute “stuff.” Did some cleaning so our house sitter won’t know how we live. ? Went to get hay for our two Tennessee Fainting goats. Yeah, really, two goats. Then I sat down to check in all five us for our flights tomorrow. Nothing tougher than getting M&M’s on the Oasis except maybe doing that 5 person check in! I think it took longer than tomorrow’s flight to Dallas will.Then just to make sure that i am super impressed with the food on Oasis, I had a frozen Stouffer’s meat loaf for lunch! I’m all packed and ready for an 0430 departure from the house in the morning. Stacy and Kaitlyn are out getting their nails done. Taylor is still at work for another couple hours. We will meet the twin at the airport in the morning. I’m going to relax now with a Jack/7 and let the 3 dogs, 3 cats and the two fainting boys know that were leaving them behind for a bit. But they’ll be in good hands. I will email Allan once more tonight for any final updates. I’m glad some of you are going to follow along on the trip, it’ll make it more fun to be able to share it. Tomorrow I’ll begin posting much more often and with pictures. I know you’re all on the edge of your seats waiting for someone to post a picture of another airport.? It’s almost time to ‘Slip on Down.....”

I’m so sorry for going AWOL! We had a little bit of internet slowness on the ship, then we were having a ton of fun, and then I had to fly immediately from vacation to a work trip... so just getting home now. Will go through photos and update!

Some people live their lives in constant denial....

One more flight note: American Airlines knows exactly squat about Star Class. ?. Off to Miami now.

Waiting for @Rags1 (insert Jeopardy do do do, do do do here) to post... Details! We want details! Well, you can leave out the bathroom routine details...but all other details are welcome!

Here’s my list, and I’ve sailed on Anthem twice: Drinks: Mango and Melon ‘Rita (only available at Boleros), Baileys on the rocks with a shot of espresso added (for an after-dinner cocktail), the Royal Delight spiked coffee (Windjammer coffee bar and Cafe Two70), Dark & Stormy (only the Two70 Lounge bar has the correct ingredients), She’s a Geisha (Izumi) Food: Second (third?) vote for filet at CK on night 1, Truffle Tagliatelle entree and the arancini appetizer at Jamie’s Italian, another vote for The World dessert at Wonderland. And don’t shortchange the main dining room! Im stunned no one has mentioned their escargots. I also really like their wild mushroom soup offered one of the nights (similar to what Chops has daily), and also their seafoood risotto. Don’t forget to try the Royal Chocolate Cake! I actually liked that better than the Valrhona Chocolate Bar even though it’s a “standard” dessert option.

Here are my favourites: Drinks: Cucumber Martini (now known as the Garden martini from 150 CP), Lavender Tonic (Chops, Trellis Bar, or Schooner Bar), She's a Geisah (Izumi), Lemon Drop Martini, and any Margarita involving Patron. Food: CK: Night 1: Must try the Filet Mignon! Best on on the ship IMO (better than specialty), Pork Belly (can be better than 150 CP and way better than Giovanni's). Night 2: Valrhona Chocolate Bar. Night 3: Grilled Tofu and Braised Beef Gnocchi (this dish is perfect!). Night 5 or 6: Braised Short Rib, Chocolate Crunch Bar, Baked Alaska, Coconut Tapioca. Night 7: Cauliflower Fried Rice (under rated but amazing!) 150 CP: Lobster Thermidor, Fried Cheesecake Chops: Seafood Tower, Mushroom Soup, Broiled Main Lobster, Red Velvet Cake Izumi: Spicy Crispy Shrimp Roll, Udon and Ramen Noodles Jamie's: Truffle Tagliatelle (this is the mushroom fettuccine that you heard about), Arancini, Lemon Meringue Cheesecake Wonderland: The World dessert Disclaimer...Not sure which ship you are sailing but I have yet to try Portside BBQ, Playmakers, and Hooked. Now that I've thought about all of this, I am really hungry. I will have to forward this list to my Genie in a few weeks! lol

Side topic... I wish they would ban the aerosol sunscreens on the ship. Not only does a good portion of the product fly on to other people, it makes for a slippery surface on the decks. Many catamaran excursions have ban the use of the aerosol products to avoid slips and falls.

Some have asked where the new Terminal 3 will be located at the Port of Galveston. First is a big picture view, followed by a more detailed view.

Been to Labadee once, and we had no issues with the vendors closer to the ship, once we went exploring and discovered that there were more vendors further away and "up the hill." We found that they were much different and more harassing that the other vendors. I can tell you that I would not hesitate to go back to Labadee, however it was not my favorite stop, and I can assure you that we won't go anywhere near the other vendors on our possible return trip (depending on the itinerary). As far as the dog goes, if it happened in front of me then it would definitely have been better for security to get him vs me getting my hands on him. If someone is daft enough to abuse an innocent animal what will they do to another person? Absolutely NO excuse for that kind of behavior!

We will all be waiting with bated breath! Very excited to see your pics and dialog. No pressure that we will all be living vicariously through you...? Safe travels!

Crap - that means you have 8 (EIGHT!) pending!

twangster is one bot who can get clear shots of pictures all the time. thats why he is the one and only bot who in my book is a "celebrity" and geez i end up YOLO booking not 1 not 2 in some cases more because we are home basically wishing we were there cruising instead of dreaming that was us as we see all those pictures. reality cant be in dry dock too long........we cant be grateful enough for all twangster does taking the time with photography of such beautiful pictures. have to say sunset picture did make a beautiful canvas for our office at work so i can day dream every now and then instead of working but who would think i wasnt really working......he is a bot with many talents for sure.........cant wait for next live blog

Hey, @Lovetocruise2002 started it!

Well I am back from my Oasis of the Seas sailing. After 32 Disney cruises on all 4 of their ships I was not sure what to expect. Sure there would be food and activities but would I miss that Disney feeling that I get onboard while sailing with Disney? We did a 7 night on the Disney Fantasy in September and it wasn't the best, I was on a knee scooter with a cast and between having to wait on elevators (even to go up one deck). I am used to being independent and running up the stairs. Maybe I was a little moody since I was in a cast and with a scooter. You know how fun those scooters look, well if you have to be on one they are not fun, plus my coordination level is not good as I would run my good foot over and tip over. Cast of Characters: myself, Dan- avid lover of all things Disney, over planner and control freak Scott- Husband of 23 years (bless his heart), lets me over think everything and just goes along for the ride. Oh he complains if it goes wrong. Itinerary Western Caribbean...departing from Miami with stops at Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel. Room Booked a Balcony GTY and received 6322- 8D according to deck plans. Was not excited about this room assignment at all, it was beside Playmakers and so far away from everything else it seemed. Travel We traveled to Miami on Friday January 10th on uneventful flights from Columbus with a connection in Atlanta. There are no airlines in Columbus (or Cleveland/Akron) that offer non stop service to Miami except a flight on United from Cleveland but the flight times were not ideal coming back so we (ok me, again Scott just nods when discussed) opted for the lay over. Arrived in Miami around 10:30a and took the MIA mover to the metro rail to the Metromover to our hotel. I booked the Hilton on Biscayne Blvd with a Junior Suite with a bay view. We were at the hotel by 11:30 so we stopped by the front desk to drop our luggage to explore the city. Well our room was ready which was shocking! So off to our room we go. Get to the room and the curtains are all closed to keep the heat out so first thing we do is open those up, we paid for a view and we are gonna enjoy it. The room is a corner room so floor to ceiling windows on the 2 walls and off in the distance we can see ships (we also saw them on the trip on the MetroMover). Ships in port were Carnival Victory, Norwegian Sky, Explorer OTS, Navigator OTS and Victory Sky. So we are situated in our room and we haven't eaten since 5:30a at the Starbucks in Columbus airport, I wasn't necessarily hungry but if on vacation Scott is always hungry and gets really hangry! The hilton is across the street from a Publix and he LOVES their subs so off to Publix we go for lunch. We come to love having this Publix so close for bottled water, snacks and such for the weekend. Scott got his Chicken Tender sub (OH my they put so much chicken on that beast) and I am harder to please as I am a post weight loss surgery person so I focus on proteins and less breads, so I ended up with a Chipotle Chicken Bacon Wrap. We also grabbed some water, pretzels and potato salad and headed to the room. After lunch it was time for a nap (Scott needs lots of naps during vacation as well or he gets grumpy), I couldn't sleep so I got out of bed and just watched the ships. After nap we watched the ships sail away and then we went to the Wynwood Walls and walk around. So I got us a Lyft and away we went. I apologize for not having pictures in my report but I am attaching one here. I am not a professional photographer by any means but I absolutely loved this mural. Wynwood was amazing and so glad we ventured out. Being in a big city like Miami is intimidating for us country boys! After walking around I recall people talking about Salty Donut and I knew that was something Scott would enjoy, so we heading there next. Salty Donut is just a small donut shop with cult like following. We stood in line about 15 mins and then got our 4 donuts and we took Lyft back to the Hilton. For dinner I had the other half of my wrap of Publix and Scott had Checkers (it is across the street as well). I did have a small burger there as well. Not that it was late or anything but we had an early night after starting our day at 3:30a. Stay tuned for day 2

Stopped at Grills Tiki Bar to grab a bite. Saw Fantasy on her way out.

Made it Country Inn and Suites Port Canveral. Room is pretty nice. In laws in route with some cuban sandwhiches too. I'm more excited by these sandwhiches than the cruise food! Doesnt look like this hotel has a bar though, going to need to take a trip out for beers and icecream!

I have no problem in that area. They are struggling to provide for their families. Yes they will invite you to visit their booth. No one has ever touched me so it's just a matter of looking around to see if anything interests and if not moving on. Yes sometimes there are two or three inviting you to visit their booth at the same time. It's just words. "Come look what I have for you", "I have something for you", etc. It's hardly offensive or scary. When I took my adult son there he walked into several booths and bought a handful of small items. Later I told him he could have negotiated the price down. He acknowledged that but recognized they are dirt poor so he didn't try to beat them down. We don't appreciate how well we have it, the people of Haiti have very little and jobs are non existent. It's not unsafe, just a different culture.

Woo florida bound!!!!!

Leaving Jersey. Cant wait to get outta here! Foggy, rainy and cold

@CGTLH, That is something good to know, no mention of any suite guest lunch anywhere while researching & I really appreciate the menu image. If similar to DCL suite lunch the menu would probably be the same. @Lovetocruise2002 & @WAAAYTOOO, after reading your response last night I went on cruise planner and booked 1200hrs embarkation lunch offering at Chops. The menu was something we would enjoy and we prefer to start any sailing with a celebratory relaxing and somewhat quiet lunch. It was 21.99 each as being only a 4 night on the Mariner with limited options I wasn't feeling the UDP. I am so appreciate of the menu presented above as I know I made the correct choice, it falls a bit flat compared to the Chops lunch offerings. Thanks for all of your help friends! ? Cheers

Absolutely! Either for yourself or to share with your tablemates. I had one night where I ordered two appetizers, two entrees, two glasses of wine, and two desserts. No decision making skills required! ? Of course, I was in a bit of a food coma after all that, and I was giving penguins lessons in proper waddling technique...

Faintin' goats ? There's a story there somewhere.....

Agreed, we did not enjoy the approach of the vendors up the hill, felt very uncomfortable with their approach. This was something we did not expect from a Royal Caribbean private island. Would visit there again as it was beautiful, but would avoid that area entirely.

Sorry, female here who HATES dressing up (and all shopping in general). Somehow I didn't get that gene. I will wear a sundress or nice capris and a nice top. That's as dressed as I care to get. My husband will have a collared shirt and probably nice cargo shorts. If there is something on the MDR menu that night we want to enjoy, we will go. We will chew with our mouths closed, put napkins in our laps and keep our elbows off the table. We will speak at a reasonable volume and not intrude on your meal. Not sure why anything else should be required.

So, this is a really silly question; do any of you wear the Crown & Anchor lapel pin? I read a couple of places that it is a good idea to wear it and on my last cruise, my servers suggested to wear my pin. I get someone who is at the Pinnacle level, that would be like a badge of blessings, but not sure about the others. I am pretty excited to sail this year for the first time as a Diamond, so if there is a pretty, sparkly diamond on the pin, then we are talking!! ?

I do not think that I could properly describe the awe and beauty of that cruise! I have sailed the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, Belize, Bermuda. The most beautiful and exhilarating by far was the New England & Canada cruise. It was around September 8th, I think, of 2018 and was for 9 nights. The leaves had not begun changing, but I live in NJ and we get beautifully changing trees, too, so I survived. ? As I had never been to any of the ports, I did an excursion at each one to learn about the area, history and try new things. I did a walking history tour in Boston, and the others were via coach and involved walking as well. To see the Bay of Fundy and get to walk inside sea caves was breathtaking...and to see the tide fill it all up just moments after being there. The reversing rapids was something to behold, Peggy’s Cove and St. Martins village was out of a picture book. I cannot stand any seafood, but to my surprise, one of the tours included a lobster lunch. When the tour guide said that, I panicked, but looked forwarded to trying something new. There were folks on hand to help special people like me who had no clue how to deshell a lobster and they served a big, grand lunch. Acadia was beyond beautiful. Maine is one of the naturally prettiest places I have ever seen. The ride to Acadia and in there were amazing and to climb Cadillac Mountain gave me such joy. Mind you, it is no great feat, not like a real mountain climb, but being there, standing atop of it and seeing the majesty around me filled me with such gratitude and appreciation for being given that moment and life in general. Had that feeling in the sea caves, too. It was just one of those cruises that had me take stock and feel life and my blessings. There is beauty everywhere on that cruise. You can be quite active in that one since there are so many outdoor/nature activities, or you can still take the same excursions, but not walk or climb as much. Kennebunk port was so quaint, too!! Def consider it! I also would loooove to do an Alaska cruise for the same reason!

That last cruise I went on was on Adventure. At the time, she was part of the largest class of cruise ships in the world. My next cruise this summer is on Oasis. ??

Haha. I have a few more to get through before that one.

What is everyone's opinion on the local vendors at Labadee? I felt extremely harassed by them, they even take it to the point to play on our sympathy's by repeatedly asking to help their family. It was so bad we made sure we found another route not to even go thru that area. Then to make things worse, one of the local vendors picked up a dog by his hind leg and begun to swing him around, while the dog was crying for help. All the cruise ship people were screaming at him and a few tried to rush him to make him stop but security stepped in and the man ran off. I feel this type of behavior is completely unacceptable on a Royal Caribbean private island. This whole experience really ruined the beauty of the Island and makes us not want to return there.

Liberty of the Seas 29 Aug 2021 to 5 Sept 2021 5 Sept 2021 to 12 Sept 2021 582 days from today. ??

Yes, made with top-shelf Añejo tequila. Very tasty, way better than a garden variety margarita (even one made with Patron Silver or 1800 Reposado).

This is my experience with the Red Velvet Cakes...awful on the ship except for the one in Chops. I have pics in my blog from last March.

We're in 1854 on Adventure this coming July. I am just going to suck it up and go to the WJ...??

You will have plenty of choice, I have never had a problem getting the location and time I wanted. Just make sure you make your reservations as soon as you get on the ship.

Back in October on Mariner they did offer a Suite guest lunch in the main dining room on embarkation. Now I will add it was nothing special and not sure if changes between voyages. Think the lunch was mentioned in the letter/email from the Concierge.

I heard she has a lot of pull on the ship. That pretty much anything you ask for gets done!

Up there, it is only other vendors. I only visit once, I knew what I was looking for so I enter only one hut. Bought it and on my way to exit, the man asked to help his family. He wasn't rude or insistent, I bought one more thing from him and left. All other vendors were looking at us leaving, they ask to visit their huts. I just felt sad and want to give more to this helpless population. In no way we felt unsecured or harass. We speak french so a little chitchat probably help.

Oh my...you have goats?! Now this is really getting interesting. ? Safe travels tomorrow.

I can appreciate that Royal Caribbean is trying to help out the local people living in the villages on the island, but there has to be a way to control them better, When your guest feel uncomfortable walking thru a part of your private island then something needs to change.

Yes its the ones on the hill that are the worst, but you can tell they have boundary lines that they are not permitted to cross. When you have 20 to 30 of them all yelling at you at once, it becomes a bit overwhelming.

Yeah, I'd lose my sh*t if I saw someone treating a dog like that, and that doesn't come close to what the spouse would do. I've never been to Labadee but I've heard the local vendors are much more aggressive than on Coco Cay (I didn't find that most of them even attempted to engage me unless I was in their stall looking at something.

I forgot to add the photos I took from the helipad of the stars.

Oh I just realized I never posted about the sailing we booked when on board Grandeur. Can you please add November 21, 2021 on Oasis to the master list? So excited to be trying out the 2 bed room grand suite for the steal we got it at! Yaaaaay Sky Class! (I have already resigned myself to never being able to afford Star so I'm very excited about this).

I’m almost packed... !

If you did not book prior to sailing on the cruise planner and would like to book spontaneously during sailing i recommend what i did below: you can save some money by hunting down those specialty dining salesmen that walks around the windjammer asking people if they're interested in buying. Most of the time they find you when you don't want them to but in your case you'll have to look for them. I saved more money going through those "salesmen" that actually going directly to the restaurant itself because they kind of 'negotiate' pricing and are able to lower the price or even increase the incentive of booking through them.