PrincipalTinker

On 5/8/2018 at 5:10 PM, JLMoran said:

Hmm, I'm not so sure it's entirely Apple's fault. I was on 11.3 during my cruise as well. While I had problems with my phone occasionally losing its connection while in our cabin, my wife's Android phone and our first-gen iPad mini (which is only on iOS 8 due to its age) had the same problem. Definitely did not have a problem with roaming around the ship and staying connected.

I know iOS (and especially watchOS, for those with an Apple Watch) sometimes has trouble with WiFi networks that use a capture page to mandate a login, but I'm guessing that it's a combination of iOS and the older WiFi systems on the ships without O3b.

I noted that on Anthem the Voom technician could not fix my issues and told me my WiFi issues were due to me upgrading to iOS 11.3. The WiFi randomly dropped or had no service at all.

Thank you for this live blog! I love your pictures and I have been researching Adventure. Your posts are always so helpful to future planning.

One final footnote: I think I mentioned that I was traveling with my son and his girlfriend. Since we all work in a school system, the norovirus is part of our work environment. We were not scared and we took every precaution we could. My son’s girlfriend woke up throwing up this morning. It looks like norovirus but it is really stretching that 48 hour window.

49 minutes ago, Ray said:

Way i see it, it's RC who make the rules not the guests, so if RC dont want shorts in MDR on formal or any other night ban them!!! TOTAL BAN 

No one should judge or look down on anyone due to what they are wearing if RC says it's ok. In my opinon a nice pair of shorts with the right shirt or polo shirt can in fact look way better than a pair of trousers, it's not what you wear but how you wear it  

I am not judging one way or another. I love to research before a trip. For my recent cruise one of the things I researched was what RC said the dress code was for the main dining room. Not everyone plans the way I do. Not everyone has the ability to buy new clothes. I will say I loved having the RC list as an excuse to insist my grown son had long pants and a shirt and tie for formal nights. He is not like his mom- he found out 5 days before the cruise that he could not button the pants on his suit.

21 minutes ago, Nonna4 said:

Thank you everyone!  Does anyone have a cruise compass from the Anthem they can post?  Just trying to get idea is goes on in the ship,  does anyone have a reataurant preference, hints, order don’t order ?. What is a must do on the ship? TIA!

There are cruise compasses on the drop down menu on the home page. 

You do need to use your card to turn on the lights on the Anthem. There were about 1/3 if the doors in my deck that had something on their doors.

Just now, WAAAYTOOO said:

Sorry I confused everyone. 

Not at all! I had read about the ones you posted about. I was not expecting the Wow envelopes that were delivered.

I ended up leaving an envelope in our stateroom the last night of our cruise for our attendant. She left us a thank you note. I handed envelopes to the main dining staff. I saw another guest stop by during dinner. His family was not eating in the main dining room that night but he stopped by with envelopes.

26 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

thank you for a wonderful Blog @PrincipalTinker and Happy Belated Birthday!  I see where you live, assume you are a SOX FAN??  Hubby and I BLEED RED SOX NATION! LOL  

Yes! Life long fan! 

I forgot to mention. There were a lot, and I mean- a lot- of complaints about the change to the entertainment schedule during our trip. I don’t understand it? You could not walk in a straight line the ship was rocking with the waves. They explained they made changes because the scenery in the Gift moves, and there are elements that are. It safe in Spectra’s with that movement. All shows were rescheduled for two nights and it was communicated well. Is there something else they should have done?

i have come back to edit to just update what happened at the pool yesterday. It was very cold and the outdoor pool was closed. We could not find chairs but finally we found three chairs by the family pool. Two different couple came to us when we were there about 40 minutes. Each time they asked what we did with their things. We explained there was nothing on the chairs when we sat down. Friends later told us that the crew was going around and bagging up personal items left on pool chairs. There were many angry people.

6 minutes ago, GlennGlenn said:

Shorts in a dining room?? Not I nor my family, but if you want people staring and talking about you, then have at it. The whole point of formal night is contained within the term. Otherwise, go to Windjammer or have room service. Guess I am Old Skool. 

 

@Diane.M I am sure a nice long sleeve shirt with button down collar and long pants will do. I'll take that over shorts anyday. 

I did not say anyone in my party wore shorts. In fact there was a shopping trip the week before to ensure we were formally dressed on formal nights, but there were shorts on many men

This week on the Anthem a few people showed up in shorts. I am sure any long pants are fine.

20 minutes ago, rjac said:

We will be doing the Anthem to Bermuda next June. Where did you park your car at the port in Cape Liberty? And thanks for your blog, I enjoyed it!

There is a parking garage right next to the terminal. It was $140 for the 7 night cruise. We used a porter on the way out (I set aside the tip money before the cruise) and it was so easy. The porter directed us on the way out. When you arrive they direct you to a luggage drop off spot and take your luggage curbside before you drive to the garage.

I travel with my son and his girlfriend because my husband does not fly but I am trying to talk him into that Bermuda cruise!

I am in the car on the way home to Massachusetts. We went to the Windjammer for breakfast and other than the challenge of finding coffee the crowds were manageable. It took us about 30 minutes from leaving the boat to hitting the highway. 

A few final thoughts on the Anthem of the Seas. We really enjoyed spending time talking to the crew. Our assistant waiter in the main dining room is flying home to India today and I will be thinking of him today. He was so happy last night! I had posted when out  CocoCay day was cancelled that I was prepared for that possibility and I was not upset. Later that night we spent some time talking to a bartender at Two 70. She apologized for being so happy but she loves Atlantis and she hates CocoCay. CocoCay is so much work for the crew. They all were going to Atlantis from midnight to 4:00am. I know the pier will be built and soon the Nassau overnight stops will end. I am glad this crew had at least one more chance for a night out.   

We heard a lot of guests complaining: the ship is too big, Florida was cold, CocoCay was cancelled....we had a blast.

We loved the main dining room. There were many guests that only dined in the main dining room on day 6. Last night (7) the room was almost empty . Yesterday we ate all three meals in the main dining room. I must admit I love lunch in the Grande.

We watched the virtual fireworks in Two 70 last night. We loved them but thought there is a potential for so much more!

Thank you for all your help and tips over the last 14 months of planning. This was a first cruise but we are committing  to at least one cruise a year. I will be waiting for summer 2020 cruises for advice on our next RCL cruise. We have the Disney Dream booked for next summer. I am doing that since I am hoping to be a Disney vacation planner in my retirement and I may be able to talk for 6 hours straight about Walt Disney World resorts, parks and food but I need cruise line experience.

Thanks again!

We want to watch the virtual fireworks at 11:00 and we are back at Two 70, front row, waiting for the Karaoke finals to begin.

Today is our last day. We are currently sitting in Two 70 waiting for the virtual symphony to begin. Today we did IFly and there are no photos since we all did it. Tomorrow is my 57th birthday and I loved it! The staff was amazing.

We are all packed and will put the luggage out before dinner.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Something to consider is "Reset Networking" on an iPhone.  It will forget any saved WiFi networks such as the back home but sometimes it solves some wifi weirdness on iPhones. 

Unfortunately they tried that...shortly after, “well the terms of service tells you this could happen...”. It is no big deal for me but if it is an iOS 11.3 issue and people have not installed the latest update I think they should wait. We had an amazing cruise and this did not impact me at all!

I had wished I knew about the iOS issue because I have a work cell that is an android and I would have brought that phone with me. Although I do think the issues this week may be beyond an iPhone problem. This was the last 20 minutes in the Grande.

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The WOW envelopes are not (or at least, did not USED to be) for tips/gratuities. They are to "write up" any crew member that deserves special praise for good service or attitude.  I guess you COULD use them for tips, but that was not their original purpose.

Since these envelopes say they are for gratuities I should hand them out? There are only two of them.

This is the envelope we received

21 minutes ago, accio7 said:

@PrincipalTinker, received word from someone on one of my cruising message boards, currently sailing on Anthem, that a case of norovirus is making its way around the ship :( She said that Royal is diligently cleaning surfaces, handrails and some people have been quarantined. The last update from someone on the next sailing was that Royal had informed customers by email and that an additional cleaning would follow prior to (delayed) boarding.

I hope you and your family are feeling OK!

Yes, there have been some grumblings that the outbreak is pretty bad but yesterday morning, the last time I was in the Windjammer, they were still allowing guests to serve themselves. Our brewery tour was missing almost 1/3 of the tour and there are lots of Facebook posts that are sick and angry (a very bad combo). They are scrubbing walls and our Northstar Time was delayed due to a clean out of the pod.

So far so good for us! 

I did a search of this forum and cannot find a thread. I apologize if my search skills are lacking and I have missed this. We received wow envelopes. Do you leave them in the stateroom or do you hand them  to the staff you would like to give extra to?

23 hours ago, twangster said:

The new menus I've experienced on Serenade and Liberty in February and April did not offer a Caesar Wedge.  They offered a traditional Caesar salad made with romaine.   The wedge I had in Chops was iceberg with blue cheese dressing, much like a wedge in any land restaurant. 

This new menu and Caesar Salad from Serenade this month:

Over 10 nights a Caesar Wedge was never offered.  Must be an Anthem thing although Anthem in January did not have a Caesar Wedge but that before new menus hit the fleet.

This was the same menu on the Antem last night.

On 4/9/2018 at 6:10 PM, toodle68 said:

I loved to find out who came up with the Caesar wedge.  We love Caesar salad but this dish is beyond stupid. Our last waitress said most people complaint about it. She actually chopped it up for us which made it decent. 

I looked this week and I do not think I saw the Caesar wedge once! The Caesar salad was repeated a few times but there have been a couple of other salads as well.

I am on the Anthem right now. It has been announced that a survey would be coming and please give a high score. The dining room manager stopped by our table last night and asked if we were happy and if we would give 10s. He also asked for each of us to fill out the survey. I will say, we are thrilled with the food and service in the main dining room so no one had to ask us.

I have been so impressed with the shows on this ship! We saw Spectra’s and We Will Rock You yesterday. We also went to the Music Hall a number of times this trip including last night and a late night comedy show. 

Yesterday was the North Star, I know there are hundreds of these photos but here are mine.