twangster

Let's talk Jamie's.  Hope everyone has finished dinner.  
Jamie's is located towards the aft on deck 5 in 'The VIA'.  It's is right beside Vintages.  There is indoor seating both along The VIA (like patio seating at a city café) as well as indoor seating deeper inside the restaurant.  There is also outdoor seating on the port side of the promenade deck that is covered by glass and truly outdoor.






Dinner tonight at Jamie's started with some Garlic Bread.

I tried the Vegetable Plank this time along with the Peperonata Bruschetta (again).  It was so good last time I had to anchor this meal with some things the same.



I had the meat plank on my last visit so in the interest of trying something different I tried the vegetable plank.  I've always strayed towards the meat plank but the vegetable plank has much better flavors. I'll be doing both again.
 
For a side dish I had the Crispy Polento Chips.

For my main course I tied the Simple Baked Lasagna.  I was going to try something else but the waiter suggested this and he was right.  It was very good.  Very hot and very filling.  After finishing three quarters of it I raised my white napkin in surrender. 


I didn't include the dessert menu in the Jamie's post a few nights ago so here it is:

I was going to try the Raspberry Rippled Pavlova but my waiter warned me it's very sweet so I took his advice and went with the Epic Chocolate Brownie.  

Section O, Row M, seat G.  If anyone has ever seen Monty Pythons Life of Brian when the waiter offers 'a wafer thin mint', that is how I feel right now.  Don't google it, trust me.  I'm not sure I'll eat for the rest of the cruise.

Spas are run by Steiner Transocean LTD.  Those aren't true RCI or RCCL employees on board.  Likely a restriction placed in effect by Steiner.  Some spa services are likely safer for them to provide to someone who is the age of majority, or no longer a minor, however you want to express it, regardless if parents are nearby and authorize it.  
I'm thinking this is one of those policies likely in place due to some incident in the past.  Something happened, parents got lawyer involved, Steiner creates new policy.

The best camera is the one you have with you.  Seriously.  
It's like buying a boat.  Someone always has a bigger, faster, shinier boat compared to yours but that doesn't mean you can't have fun in whatever boat you have.  

I'm sure the prop is already there waiting for them.  Wonder what a new propeller costs?
I'm hoping Nick Weir does another video like they did for Allure's last visit to the Freeport dry dock.
If you haven't seen it, search youtube for 'Allure Project Atlantis':
 

Let's talk Jamie's.  Hope everyone has finished dinner.  
Jamie's is located towards the aft on deck 5 in 'The VIA'.  It's is right beside Vintages.  There is indoor seating both along The VIA (like patio seating at a city café) as well as indoor seating deeper inside the restaurant.  There is also outdoor seating on the port side of the promenade deck that is covered by glass and truly outdoor.






Dinner tonight at Jamie's started with some Garlic Bread.

I tried the Vegetable Plank this time along with the Peperonata Bruschetta (again).  It was so good last time I had to anchor this meal with some things the same.



I had the meat plank on my last visit so in the interest of trying something different I tried the vegetable plank.  I've always strayed towards the meat plank but the vegetable plank has much better flavors. I'll be doing both again.
 
For a side dish I had the Crispy Polento Chips.

For my main course I tied the Simple Baked Lasagna.  I was going to try something else but the waiter suggested this and he was right.  It was very good.  Very hot and very filling.  After finishing three quarters of it I raised my white napkin in surrender. 


I didn't include the dessert menu in the Jamie's post a few nights ago so here it is:

I was going to try the Raspberry Rippled Pavlova but my waiter warned me it's very sweet so I took his advice and went with the Epic Chocolate Brownie.  

Section O, Row M, seat G.  If anyone has ever seen Monty Pythons Life of Brian when the waiter offers 'a wafer thin mint', that is how I feel right now.  Don't google it, trust me.  I'm not sure I'll eat for the rest of the cruise.

Adventure leaving out of San Juan correct? 
San Juan is in the Atlantic time zone.  So is Barbados.   Neither do the Daylight Savings Time thing (no springing forward).
Should be on ship time while in Barbados.

Let's talk Jamie's.  Hope everyone has finished dinner.  
Jamie's is located towards the aft on deck 5 in 'The VIA'.  It's is right beside Vintages.  There is indoor seating both along The VIA (like patio seating at a city café) as well as indoor seating deeper inside the restaurant.  There is also outdoor seating on the port side of the promenade deck that is covered by glass and truly outdoor.






Dinner tonight at Jamie's started with some Garlic Bread.

I tried the Vegetable Plank this time along with the Peperonata Bruschetta (again).  It was so good last time I had to anchor this meal with some things the same.



I had the meat plank on my last visit so in the interest of trying something different I tried the vegetable plank.  I've always strayed towards the meat plank but the vegetable plank has much better flavors. I'll be doing both again.
 
For a side dish I had the Crispy Polento Chips.

For my main course I tied the Simple Baked Lasagna.  I was going to try something else but the waiter suggested this and he was right.  It was very good.  Very hot and very filling.  After finishing three quarters of it I raised my white napkin in surrender. 


I didn't include the dessert menu in the Jamie's post a few nights ago so here it is:

I was going to try the Raspberry Rippled Pavlova but my waiter warned me it's very sweet so I took his advice and went with the Epic Chocolate Brownie.  

Section O, Row M, seat G.  If anyone has ever seen Monty Pythons Life of Brian when the waiter offers 'a wafer thin mint', that is how I feel right now.  Don't google it, trust me.  I'm not sure I'll eat for the rest of the cruise.

Quick look at Sorrentos during a quiet lunch while many guests off the ship in Port Canaveral.




Pepperoni wasn't bad.  A lot better than some other cruise lines where the oil runs off the pizza.

Day 4 - Port Canaveral
We've arrived in Port Canaveral pulling into port as I slept.  I could feel the ship maneuvering but closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep. 
After a quick breakfast I walked the track on deck 15.  It finally feels like a Bahama cruise.  In fact it feels like it could be become a hot day out there.
Last night I ate in the My Time MDR.  I've posted most of the MDR menus in my December Live Blog on Anthem so I'm not going to repeat them here.  That live blog can be found here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/
Service was fast, food was good.  No complaints.
I'm staying on the ship for most of the day.  I've got a massage booked this afternoon.  After that I may venture off just to check out the terminal.  Last time here we were on the other side of the harbor.

When you justify a cruise based on money saved by turning down the heat at home while your cruising, as well money saved on groceries   - a cruise almost pays for itself!

I saw that too.  I wondered if they copied and modified some of our entries ?

This reminds me of a joke I heard recently:
I didn't realize, when I booked my next cruise, that it was the week of my wedding !  I am looking for someone who would be willing to trade with me.
Her name is Ashley, she's 5'5", a great cook and a lot of fun....
 

Similar itinerary is offered in 7, 8 and 9 night variations.  Some don't have Miami.  Keep in mind winter storms do happen along the NE coast of the US.  Spring to Fall not as much.  I'm okay with storms, it doesn't bother me, but they do their best to avoid the worst of it.  An NCL ship out of NYC sailed into one last week, as did Anthem a few years ago.  Since then Royal hired a full time Chief Meteorologist.  His one year anniversary is this week.  Royal is the first cruise line to have a dedicated Meteorologist  on staff. 

From time to time I see people asking about what drinks are included in the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispensers. 
@Matt has written blogs on the Freestyle machines.  Here is one from 2015:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean
While I am on Anthem I have some free time so I grabbed some pictures of all the Freestyle drink menus.  
Let's start with the main menu:
 
From here you can see the types of drinks available in each category.  First are two pages for the "All Drinks" category:
 
 
Here are the types of drinks available within each option:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And of course plain water:
 
The same drinks are sorted by "Low/No Calories" options:
 
The same drinks sorted by "Caffeine Free" options:
 
Finally the same drinks are sorted by flavor:
 
Here are the Cherry drinks:
 
 
Orange drinks:
 
 
Raspberry drinks:
 
 
Grape drinks:
 
Lemon drinks:
 
 
Peach drinks:
 
 
Strawberry drinks:
 
 
Lime drinks:
 
 
Fruit Punch drinks:
 
Vanilla drinks:
 
Cherry Vanilla drinks:
 
Mixed Berry drinks:
 
For those that are asking what is a Freestyle drink dispenser?  
Certain Royal Caribbean ships have these Freestyle drink dispensers.  See the blog above for a list of ships that have them.
 
Freestyle dispensers work only with special cups provided with beverage packages.  The souvenir cups have a chip embedded in the base that is read by the machine when you place the cup into the machine.  There are various designs that are provided.
 
When a cup is first used it is registered in the system and an expiry date is assigned.  The expiry date is usually a few days longer than your cruise.
 
The machines also function as ice dispensers.
Lastly, these menus were captured in January 2018.   It's possible that menus will vary over time and by ship.   
 

Cabin tour!
Standard balcony room, deck 6 forward.  Cabin 6122.



Most deck 6 balconies have an obstructed view due to the position of the life boats.  The exception are the forward cabins that are ahead of the life boats.

At we started our sail away we moved out of our slip and into New Your harbor.  You know its cold when the bouys have ice on one side of them.  

On my previous Anthem cruises we had delayed embarkation which pushed us behind schedule just a bit.  On this cruise we were right on schedule and the Captain informed us we would have a New York city harbor tour to start our cruise.  This amounts to turning North and heading towards the city rather than simply heading South and straight towards the Verrazano-Narrows bridge .

We sailed right past the Statue of Liberty.









We continued North towards the city.



Next we sailed past Ellis Island.

There were many boats in the harbor with tourists enjoying the views but our vessel was the largest.

We then turned 180° and started South.

NorthStar was operating.

We had amazing view of both sides of the Hudson river but most eyes were on lower Manhattan.

With NYC behind us we sailed past Lady Liberty on our way towards the ocean.


This was a pretty great way to start a cruise.  It was 37° F outside and with the sun going down it was getting colder.  Time to warm up.

From time to time I see people asking about what drinks are included in the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispensers. 
@Matt has written blogs on the Freestyle machines.  Here is one from 2015:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean
While I am on Anthem I have some free time so I grabbed some pictures of all the Freestyle drink menus.  
Let's start with the main menu:
 
From here you can see the types of drinks available in each category.  First are two pages for the "All Drinks" category:
 
 
Here are the types of drinks available within each option:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And of course plain water:
 
The same drinks are sorted by "Low/No Calories" options:
 
The same drinks sorted by "Caffeine Free" options:
 
Finally the same drinks are sorted by flavor:
 
Here are the Cherry drinks:
 
 
Orange drinks:
 
 
Raspberry drinks:
 
 
Grape drinks:
 
Lemon drinks:
 
 
Peach drinks:
 
 
Strawberry drinks:
 
 
Lime drinks:
 
 
Fruit Punch drinks:
 
Vanilla drinks:
 
Cherry Vanilla drinks:
 
Mixed Berry drinks:
 
For those that are asking what is a Freestyle drink dispenser?  
Certain Royal Caribbean ships have these Freestyle drink dispensers.  See the blog above for a list of ships that have them.
 
Freestyle dispensers work only with special cups provided with beverage packages.  The souvenir cups have a chip embedded in the base that is read by the machine when you place the cup into the machine.  There are various designs that are provided.
 
When a cup is first used it is registered in the system and an expiry date is assigned.  The expiry date is usually a few days longer than your cruise.
 
The machines also function as ice dispensers.
Lastly, these menus were captured in January 2018.   It's possible that menus will vary over time and by ship.   
 

From time to time I see people asking about what drinks are included in the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispensers. 
@Matt has written blogs on the Freestyle machines.  Here is one from 2015:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean
While I am on Anthem I have some free time so I grabbed some pictures of all the Freestyle drink menus.  
Let's start with the main menu:
 
From here you can see the types of drinks available in each category.  First are two pages for the "All Drinks" category:
 
 
Here are the types of drinks available within each option:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And of course plain water:
 
The same drinks are sorted by "Low/No Calories" options:
 
The same drinks sorted by "Caffeine Free" options:
 
Finally the same drinks are sorted by flavor:
 
Here are the Cherry drinks:
 
 
Orange drinks:
 
 
Raspberry drinks:
 
 
Grape drinks:
 
Lemon drinks:
 
 
Peach drinks:
 
 
Strawberry drinks:
 
 
Lime drinks:
 
 
Fruit Punch drinks:
 
Vanilla drinks:
 
Cherry Vanilla drinks:
 
Mixed Berry drinks:
 
For those that are asking what is a Freestyle drink dispenser?  
Certain Royal Caribbean ships have these Freestyle drink dispensers.  See the blog above for a list of ships that have them.
 
Freestyle dispensers work only with special cups provided with beverage packages.  The souvenir cups have a chip embedded in the base that is read by the machine when you place the cup into the machine.  There are various designs that are provided.
 
When a cup is first used it is registered in the system and an expiry date is assigned.  The expiry date is usually a few days longer than your cruise.
 
The machines also function as ice dispensers.
Lastly, these menus were captured in January 2018.   It's possible that menus will vary over time and by ship.   
 

I asked C&A about this a few weeks ago and they recommend canceling on board and repurchasing using D+ discount.   Suggest you email them and have it in email form from them in case of issues. In my case it's in reference to sharing a cabin with a gold member.  
My thread here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5336-diamond-plus-drink-package-sharing-cabin-with-a-gold/
 

Walking along the Esplanade there was a temporary Voom kiosk setup for guest assistance.  I stopped and asked.  He looked me up on his laptop and reported my usage.  
I'll try to ask shore excursions tomorrow.  

I asked Shore Excursions.  Your bungalow ticket works for up to four guests as your tender ticket.  Use the forward gangway.  

Walking along the Esplanade there was a temporary Voom kiosk setup for guest assistance.  I stopped and asked.  He looked me up on his laptop and reported my usage.  
I'll try to ask shore excursions tomorrow.  

From time to time I see people asking about what drinks are included in the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispensers. 
@Matt has written blogs on the Freestyle machines.  Here is one from 2015:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean
While I am on Anthem I have some free time so I grabbed some pictures of all the Freestyle drink menus.  
Let's start with the main menu:
 
From here you can see the types of drinks available in each category.  First are two pages for the "All Drinks" category:
 
 
Here are the types of drinks available within each option:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And of course plain water:
 
The same drinks are sorted by "Low/No Calories" options:
 
The same drinks sorted by "Caffeine Free" options:
 
Finally the same drinks are sorted by flavor:
 
Here are the Cherry drinks:
 
 
Orange drinks:
 
 
Raspberry drinks:
 
 
Grape drinks:
 
Lemon drinks:
 
 
Peach drinks:
 
 
Strawberry drinks:
 
 
Lime drinks:
 
 
Fruit Punch drinks:
 
Vanilla drinks:
 
Cherry Vanilla drinks:
 
Mixed Berry drinks:
 
For those that are asking what is a Freestyle drink dispenser?  
Certain Royal Caribbean ships have these Freestyle drink dispensers.  See the blog above for a list of ships that have them.
 
Freestyle dispensers work only with special cups provided with beverage packages.  The souvenir cups have a chip embedded in the base that is read by the machine when you place the cup into the machine.  There are various designs that are provided.
 
When a cup is first used it is registered in the system and an expiry date is assigned.  The expiry date is usually a few days longer than your cruise.
 
The machines also function as ice dispensers.
Lastly, these menus were captured in January 2018.   It's possible that menus will vary over time and by ship.   
 

Now I have to find a 9 day with Miami.

From time to time I see people asking about what drinks are included in the Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispensers. 
@Matt has written blogs on the Freestyle machines.  Here is one from 2015:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean
While I am on Anthem I have some free time so I grabbed some pictures of all the Freestyle drink menus.  
Let's start with the main menu:
 
From here you can see the types of drinks available in each category.  First are two pages for the "All Drinks" category:
 
 
Here are the types of drinks available within each option:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And of course plain water:
 
The same drinks are sorted by "Low/No Calories" options:
 
The same drinks sorted by "Caffeine Free" options:
 
Finally the same drinks are sorted by flavor:
 
Here are the Cherry drinks:
 
 
Orange drinks:
 
 
Raspberry drinks:
 
 
Grape drinks:
 
Lemon drinks:
 
 
Peach drinks:
 
 
Strawberry drinks:
 
 
Lime drinks:
 
 
Fruit Punch drinks:
 
Vanilla drinks:
 
Cherry Vanilla drinks:
 
Mixed Berry drinks:
 
For those that are asking what is a Freestyle drink dispenser?  
Certain Royal Caribbean ships have these Freestyle drink dispensers.  See the blog above for a list of ships that have them.
 
Freestyle dispensers work only with special cups provided with beverage packages.  The souvenir cups have a chip embedded in the base that is read by the machine when you place the cup into the machine.  There are various designs that are provided.
 
When a cup is first used it is registered in the system and an expiry date is assigned.  The expiry date is usually a few days longer than your cruise.
 
The machines also function as ice dispensers.
Lastly, these menus were captured in January 2018.   It's possible that menus will vary over time and by ship.   
 

I was able to get a balcony for 2200 for two with obc of 175. That's not two bad. Same price on Harmony for school break. Husband loves the way I budget.