twangster

Back from my massage.  I feel like melted butter.  I may need to make this a cruise habit from now on.
I've booked Jamie's again for dinner and I'm looking forward to exploring more of the menu.
For the rest of the afternoon I'm enjoying an empty ship.

After Epic Chocolate Brownie I need to wait a few days before loading up on more sugar.  I'm still convulsing...

I stayed on the ship today and that decision would pay dividends for me.  In my last live blog I talked about a venue that is unique to Quantum class ships - Two70°. 
Here is the Two70° venue on Anthem of the Seas during its first ever visit to the Port of Miami with Miami as a backdrop:

With Royal Caribbean's Headquarters right here they took an opportunity to introduce this Quantum class ship to many HQ employees and local travel agents who may not have had an opportunity to set foot on board one before since the other two in this class, Quantum and Ovation, are not based in North America.   Walking around the ship I saw numerous employees taking it all in.  Just before noon our cruise director announced that none other than Nick Weir would be doing a presentation in Two70° and guests were welcome to attend.  
For those that don't know Nick Weir, he is the Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean.  If you've seen a show on a Royal ship lately, you've likely experienced the work of Nick Weir and his team.  I follow him on twitter @NickWeirShowbiz where he occasionally leaks tidbits about the new entertainment coming to Symphony of the Seas.  For those that saw Project Atlantis, the RCTV production about the last time Allure went to the Freeport dry dock - that was Nick Weir hosting it.
Walking into Two70° today the room was rotating through some background scenes.  The room was filling up, my daily KümmelWeck from Café270 would have to wait. 



Have you noticed how the color of the house lights change based on the content that is being displayed?  Also note this was at noon during full daylight outside.  Consider my first photo above and how this room has transformed since, in the middle of the day.  Cool stuff here.
Nick took the stage and began his presentation.



Today Nick would be showcasing the incredible Two70° venue to an audience that consisted mostly of Miami employees and local agents - there were only a handful of ship guests other than myself in attendance.  The room cost an estimated $27M per ship plus the cost of content.  He discussed not only the evolution of these Quantum class rooms but the need to create content for them.  With eighteen individual projectors synchronized to produce the 'Vista Display' as it's called, it amounts to a 12k screen with a 5:1 aspect ratio (if you thought 4k was impressive, ha!).  The problem is no one has content for this screen size or resolution so Royal Caribbean Entertainment had to create it from scratch.        

During Top Tier events I've seen the virtual fleet presented before.  Nick explained this was created for a Royal Caribbean Board of Directors meeting that took place on Ovation a few years ago.  Since it was such a hit, they have kept using it and made it part of the Crown and Anchor Society Top Tier event.

During the presentation more and more of the fleet, old and new are brought to life on the screen sailing virtually behind us. 

Nick stepped us through various pieces that were produced for this venue some of which simply don't photograph well since they combine both the Vista Display and six robotic screens that move and are choreographed with content on the Vista Display and each other.
One piece that stands out is called 'Dance In A Box'.

They literally made two boxes the size of two robot screens and recorded dancers in a studio constrained to dance within those dimensions.  The robot screens move and rotate, separate and come together in three dimensions all choreographed to music.  This had never been done before.  It's one thing to make a robot that can build a car on an assembly line but Nick explained frankly it's quite boring watching a robot repeat the same move over and over all day long.  They needed to make the robotic screens performers themselves and that is what they have done. 

I've seen many of these productions before on previous Anthem cruises but hearing their origins and how Nick and his team produced them brought new respect for each show.
I'm really not doing the entire presentation justice in this blog.  It's something you have to experience which is the magic of this room.  It's not just a video played on a big screen, it's the manner in which the technology of the room is used to immerse the audience into the production.  In the interest of brevity I'm skipping several pieces of great entertainment but Nick brought it to a close with a virtual fireworks show his team created for New Years Eve one year that was so popular they play it on all Quantum class cruises now.  Watch your cruise compass for it when you sail on one.

 
Our Miami visitors had a lunch to get to in the dining room so the few guests like myself that attended then saw the virtual symphony orchestra on the Vista Display.

I had an opportunity to meet Nick after the event and talk briefly with him.  Nick if you ever read this, I decided to spare you from displaying how you showcased the rotating stage using yourself as a prop in the process.  Well done sir!

After dinner I ventured up to deck 15 to see where we were with the medical diversion.  I caught the end of a helicopter lift.


At this point we were just off Coney Island and Brighton Beach.

After the helicopter departed the Coast Guard stood by just off the starboard side then an NYPD police boat came along side.


Apparently an 80 year old experienced a cardiac condition.  Details on the local news:
http://abc7ny.com/nypd-rescues-80-year-old-passenger-from-cruise-ship/2970901/
I'm guessing the police boat may have taken some family off the ship but that's purely speculation on my part.  While on deck 15 I observed the crew putting fire hoses away.  Some crew were in full firefighting equipment complete with self contained breathing apparatus.  Helicopters generate a lot of static electricity and these kinds of aerial evacuations are complex.  The crew on board were likely prepared for anything that might occur including sparks from a static discharge during the helicopter hoist. 
Very professionally executed.
After this we resumed our departure. 

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.

Look for a show on day 1 called "Two70 Tonight".  It's usually day 1 around 9:45pm although that could change over the course of a year. 
With all that's going on day 1 it's easy to miss this event that showcases Two70°.

Since this was Anthem's first visit to Miami I went overboard taking pictures.  Go figure, me taking pictures.  Here are some of them:
























And with that it was time to leave...

I stayed on the ship today and that decision would pay dividends for me.  In my last live blog I talked about a venue that is unique to Quantum class ships - Two70°. 
Here is the Two70° venue on Anthem of the Seas during its first ever visit to the Port of Miami with Miami as a backdrop:

With Royal Caribbean's Headquarters right here they took an opportunity to introduce this Quantum class ship to many HQ employees and local travel agents who may not have had an opportunity to set foot on board one before since the other two in this class, Quantum and Ovation, are not based in North America.   Walking around the ship I saw numerous employees taking it all in.  Just before noon our cruise director announced that none other than Nick Weir would be doing a presentation in Two70° and guests were welcome to attend.  
For those that don't know Nick Weir, he is the Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean.  If you've seen a show on a Royal ship lately, you've likely experienced the work of Nick Weir and his team.  I follow him on twitter @NickWeirShowbiz where he occasionally leaks tidbits about the new entertainment coming to Symphony of the Seas.  For those that saw Project Atlantis, the RCTV production about the last time Allure went to the Freeport dry dock - that was Nick Weir hosting it.
Walking into Two70° today the room was rotating through some background scenes.  The room was filling up, my daily KümmelWeck from Café270 would have to wait. 



Have you noticed how the color of the house lights change based on the content that is being displayed?  Also note this was at noon during full daylight outside.  Consider my first photo above and how this room has transformed since, in the middle of the day.  Cool stuff here.
Nick took the stage and began his presentation.



Today Nick would be showcasing the incredible Two70° venue to an audience that consisted mostly of Miami employees and local agents - there were only a handful of ship guests other than myself in attendance.  The room cost an estimated $27M per ship plus the cost of content.  He discussed not only the evolution of these Quantum class rooms but the need to create content for them.  With eighteen individual projectors synchronized to produce the 'Vista Display' as it's called, it amounts to a 12k screen with a 5:1 aspect ratio (if you thought 4k was impressive, ha!).  The problem is no one has content for this screen size or resolution so Royal Caribbean Entertainment had to create it from scratch.        

During Top Tier events I've seen the virtual fleet presented before.  Nick explained this was created for a Royal Caribbean Board of Directors meeting that took place on Ovation a few years ago.  Since it was such a hit, they have kept using it and made it part of the Crown and Anchor Society Top Tier event.

During the presentation more and more of the fleet, old and new are brought to life on the screen sailing virtually behind us. 

Nick stepped us through various pieces that were produced for this venue some of which simply don't photograph well since they combine both the Vista Display and six robotic screens that move and are choreographed with content on the Vista Display and each other.
One piece that stands out is called 'Dance In A Box'.

They literally made two boxes the size of two robot screens and recorded dancers in a studio constrained to dance within those dimensions.  The robot screens move and rotate, separate and come together in three dimensions all choreographed to music.  This had never been done before.  It's one thing to make a robot that can build a car on an assembly line but Nick explained frankly it's quite boring watching a robot repeat the same move over and over all day long.  They needed to make the robotic screens performers themselves and that is what they have done. 

I've seen many of these productions before on previous Anthem cruises but hearing their origins and how Nick and his team produced them brought new respect for each show.
I'm really not doing the entire presentation justice in this blog.  It's something you have to experience which is the magic of this room.  It's not just a video played on a big screen, it's the manner in which the technology of the room is used to immerse the audience into the production.  In the interest of brevity I'm skipping several pieces of great entertainment but Nick brought it to a close with a virtual fireworks show his team created for New Years Eve one year that was so popular they play it on all Quantum class cruises now.  Watch your cruise compass for it when you sail on one.

 
Our Miami visitors had a lunch to get to in the dining room so the few guests like myself that attended then saw the virtual symphony orchestra on the Vista Display.

I had an opportunity to meet Nick after the event and talk briefly with him.  Nick if you ever read this, I decided to spare you from displaying how you showcased the rotating stage using yourself as a prop in the process.  Well done sir!

After school activities include the RCLblog?

Day 5 - Miami
This will mark the first time Anthem of the Seas will have ever been to Miami and an inaugural visit of a ship is a big deal.  Somewhere on the ship, often in the bridge or elsewhere you will find plaques presented to the bridge crew whenever a ship makes a port for the very first time.  I suspect a new plaque was presented to the Captain today.
The day started out early for me and I made my way to a bridge wing way to catch the early signs or a sunrise.  


We were still beyond the 12 mile territorial limit at this point as we slowly made our way to intercept the navigational path into the Port of Miami.

They raised North Star to it's highest position which I later learned holds a Guinness Book of World Records as the highest viewing deck of any ship. 

It was empty and would remain here for the rest of our arrival into Miami.

The weather wasn't the best but it began to clear as we moved closer to the channel and picked up our pilot.
What isn't obvious in these photos is the distinct channel that leads to the mouth of the Port.  It isn't very wide and the Captain did a perfect job keeping us in the center all the way.

We passed the new Royal Caribbean Miami terminal that is under construction.  This will be eventually become the home for Symphony of the Seas. 


Several crew came out to the fore deck to take in this special occasion. 

Miami is home to Royal Caribbean's headquarters and it isn't far from the terminals.


Towards the end of this channel is a turning basin which barely looks big enough for a ship this size.

Our Captain made it look easy and with our turn complete we were pointing 180° back in the direction we came from.

Our terminal for today is located directly adjacent to the Royal Caribbean HQ building.

Our bridge crew slowly nudged us to the pier and with that the first visit of Anthem of the Seas to Miami was officially in the books.


Apparently along the way a water cannon salute was accomplished according to our Activities Director however I missed it.
A news helicopter did a fly past and we made the local CBS news:
http://miami.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-wfortv/3797274-cruise-capital-of-the-world-gets-glimpse-of-anthem-of-the-seas/

I strongly encourage anyone to live blog their cruise right here on RoyalCaribbeanblog.com.  After all...
(stolen from my previous Anthem live blog)

Seriously I enjoy reading other live blogs because they cover things I don't cover or think about.  I cruise differently which is what is great about cruising and it's nice to see things from another perspective.  

I stayed on the ship today and that decision would pay dividends for me.  In my last live blog I talked about a venue that is unique to Quantum class ships - Two70°. 
Here is the Two70° venue on Anthem of the Seas during its first ever visit to the Port of Miami with Miami as a backdrop:

With Royal Caribbean's Headquarters right here they took an opportunity to introduce this Quantum class ship to many HQ employees and local travel agents who may not have had an opportunity to set foot on board one before since the other two in this class, Quantum and Ovation, are not based in North America.   Walking around the ship I saw numerous employees taking it all in.  Just before noon our cruise director announced that none other than Nick Weir would be doing a presentation in Two70° and guests were welcome to attend.  
For those that don't know Nick Weir, he is the Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean.  If you've seen a show on a Royal ship lately, you've likely experienced the work of Nick Weir and his team.  I follow him on twitter @NickWeirShowbiz where he occasionally leaks tidbits about the new entertainment coming to Symphony of the Seas.  For those that saw Project Atlantis, the RCTV production about the last time Allure went to the Freeport dry dock - that was Nick Weir hosting it.
Walking into Two70° today the room was rotating through some background scenes.  The room was filling up, my daily KümmelWeck from Café270 would have to wait. 



Have you noticed how the color of the house lights change based on the content that is being displayed?  Also note this was at noon during full daylight outside.  Consider my first photo above and how this room has transformed since, in the middle of the day.  Cool stuff here.
Nick took the stage and began his presentation.



Today Nick would be showcasing the incredible Two70° venue to an audience that consisted mostly of Miami employees and local agents - there were only a handful of ship guests other than myself in attendance.  The room cost an estimated $27M per ship plus the cost of content.  He discussed not only the evolution of these Quantum class rooms but the need to create content for them.  With eighteen individual projectors synchronized to produce the 'Vista Display' as it's called, it amounts to a 12k screen with a 5:1 aspect ratio (if you thought 4k was impressive, ha!).  The problem is no one has content for this screen size or resolution so Royal Caribbean Entertainment had to create it from scratch.        

During Top Tier events I've seen the virtual fleet presented before.  Nick explained this was created for a Royal Caribbean Board of Directors meeting that took place on Ovation a few years ago.  Since it was such a hit, they have kept using it and made it part of the Crown and Anchor Society Top Tier event.

During the presentation more and more of the fleet, old and new are brought to life on the screen sailing virtually behind us. 

Nick stepped us through various pieces that were produced for this venue some of which simply don't photograph well since they combine both the Vista Display and six robotic screens that move and are choreographed with content on the Vista Display and each other.
One piece that stands out is called 'Dance In A Box'.

They literally made two boxes the size of two robot screens and recorded dancers in a studio constrained to dance within those dimensions.  The robot screens move and rotate, separate and come together in three dimensions all choreographed to music.  This had never been done before.  It's one thing to make a robot that can build a car on an assembly line but Nick explained frankly it's quite boring watching a robot repeat the same move over and over all day long.  They needed to make the robotic screens performers themselves and that is what they have done. 

I've seen many of these productions before on previous Anthem cruises but hearing their origins and how Nick and his team produced them brought new respect for each show.
I'm really not doing the entire presentation justice in this blog.  It's something you have to experience which is the magic of this room.  It's not just a video played on a big screen, it's the manner in which the technology of the room is used to immerse the audience into the production.  In the interest of brevity I'm skipping several pieces of great entertainment but Nick brought it to a close with a virtual fireworks show his team created for New Years Eve one year that was so popular they play it on all Quantum class cruises now.  Watch your cruise compass for it when you sail on one.

 
Our Miami visitors had a lunch to get to in the dining room so the few guests like myself that attended then saw the virtual symphony orchestra on the Vista Display.

I had an opportunity to meet Nick after the event and talk briefly with him.  Nick if you ever read this, I decided to spare you from displaying how you showcased the rotating stage using yourself as a prop in the process.  Well done sir!

After Epic Chocolate Brownie I need to wait a few days before loading up on more sugar.  I'm still convulsing...

I stayed on the ship today and that decision would pay dividends for me.  In my last live blog I talked about a venue that is unique to Quantum class ships - Two70°. 
Here is the Two70° venue on Anthem of the Seas during its first ever visit to the Port of Miami with Miami as a backdrop:

With Royal Caribbean's Headquarters right here they took an opportunity to introduce this Quantum class ship to many HQ employees and local travel agents who may not have had an opportunity to set foot on board one before since the other two in this class, Quantum and Ovation, are not based in North America.   Walking around the ship I saw numerous employees taking it all in.  Just before noon our cruise director announced that none other than Nick Weir would be doing a presentation in Two70° and guests were welcome to attend.  
For those that don't know Nick Weir, he is the Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean.  If you've seen a show on a Royal ship lately, you've likely experienced the work of Nick Weir and his team.  I follow him on twitter @NickWeirShowbiz where he occasionally leaks tidbits about the new entertainment coming to Symphony of the Seas.  For those that saw Project Atlantis, the RCTV production about the last time Allure went to the Freeport dry dock - that was Nick Weir hosting it.
Walking into Two70° today the room was rotating through some background scenes.  The room was filling up, my daily KümmelWeck from Café270 would have to wait. 



Have you noticed how the color of the house lights change based on the content that is being displayed?  Also note this was at noon during full daylight outside.  Consider my first photo above and how this room has transformed since, in the middle of the day.  Cool stuff here.
Nick took the stage and began his presentation.



Today Nick would be showcasing the incredible Two70° venue to an audience that consisted mostly of Miami employees and local agents - there were only a handful of ship guests other than myself in attendance.  The room cost an estimated $27M per ship plus the cost of content.  He discussed not only the evolution of these Quantum class rooms but the need to create content for them.  With eighteen individual projectors synchronized to produce the 'Vista Display' as it's called, it amounts to a 12k screen with a 5:1 aspect ratio (if you thought 4k was impressive, ha!).  The problem is no one has content for this screen size or resolution so Royal Caribbean Entertainment had to create it from scratch.        

During Top Tier events I've seen the virtual fleet presented before.  Nick explained this was created for a Royal Caribbean Board of Directors meeting that took place on Ovation a few years ago.  Since it was such a hit, they have kept using it and made it part of the Crown and Anchor Society Top Tier event.

During the presentation more and more of the fleet, old and new are brought to life on the screen sailing virtually behind us. 

Nick stepped us through various pieces that were produced for this venue some of which simply don't photograph well since they combine both the Vista Display and six robotic screens that move and are choreographed with content on the Vista Display and each other.
One piece that stands out is called 'Dance In A Box'.

They literally made two boxes the size of two robot screens and recorded dancers in a studio constrained to dance within those dimensions.  The robot screens move and rotate, separate and come together in three dimensions all choreographed to music.  This had never been done before.  It's one thing to make a robot that can build a car on an assembly line but Nick explained frankly it's quite boring watching a robot repeat the same move over and over all day long.  They needed to make the robotic screens performers themselves and that is what they have done. 

I've seen many of these productions before on previous Anthem cruises but hearing their origins and how Nick and his team produced them brought new respect for each show.
I'm really not doing the entire presentation justice in this blog.  It's something you have to experience which is the magic of this room.  It's not just a video played on a big screen, it's the manner in which the technology of the room is used to immerse the audience into the production.  In the interest of brevity I'm skipping several pieces of great entertainment but Nick brought it to a close with a virtual fireworks show his team created for New Years Eve one year that was so popular they play it on all Quantum class cruises now.  Watch your cruise compass for it when you sail on one.

 
Our Miami visitors had a lunch to get to in the dining room so the few guests like myself that attended then saw the virtual symphony orchestra on the Vista Display.

I had an opportunity to meet Nick after the event and talk briefly with him.  Nick if you ever read this, I decided to spare you from displaying how you showcased the rotating stage using yourself as a prop in the process.  Well done sir!

I stayed on the ship today and that decision would pay dividends for me.  In my last live blog I talked about a venue that is unique to Quantum class ships - Two70°. 
Here is the Two70° venue on Anthem of the Seas during its first ever visit to the Port of Miami with Miami as a backdrop:

With Royal Caribbean's Headquarters right here they took an opportunity to introduce this Quantum class ship to many HQ employees and local travel agents who may not have had an opportunity to set foot on board one before since the other two in this class, Quantum and Ovation, are not based in North America.   Walking around the ship I saw numerous employees taking it all in.  Just before noon our cruise director announced that none other than Nick Weir would be doing a presentation in Two70° and guests were welcome to attend.  
For those that don't know Nick Weir, he is the Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean.  If you've seen a show on a Royal ship lately, you've likely experienced the work of Nick Weir and his team.  I follow him on twitter @NickWeirShowbiz where he occasionally leaks tidbits about the new entertainment coming to Symphony of the Seas.  For those that saw Project Atlantis, the RCTV production about the last time Allure went to the Freeport dry dock - that was Nick Weir hosting it.
Walking into Two70° today the room was rotating through some background scenes.  The room was filling up, my daily KümmelWeck from Café270 would have to wait. 



Have you noticed how the color of the house lights change based on the content that is being displayed?  Also note this was at noon during full daylight outside.  Consider my first photo above and how this room has transformed since, in the middle of the day.  Cool stuff here.
Nick took the stage and began his presentation.



Today Nick would be showcasing the incredible Two70° venue to an audience that consisted mostly of Miami employees and local agents - there were only a handful of ship guests other than myself in attendance.  The room cost an estimated $27M per ship plus the cost of content.  He discussed not only the evolution of these Quantum class rooms but the need to create content for them.  With eighteen individual projectors synchronized to produce the 'Vista Display' as it's called, it amounts to a 12k screen with a 5:1 aspect ratio (if you thought 4k was impressive, ha!).  The problem is no one has content for this screen size or resolution so Royal Caribbean Entertainment had to create it from scratch.        

During Top Tier events I've seen the virtual fleet presented before.  Nick explained this was created for a Royal Caribbean Board of Directors meeting that took place on Ovation a few years ago.  Since it was such a hit, they have kept using it and made it part of the Crown and Anchor Society Top Tier event.

During the presentation more and more of the fleet, old and new are brought to life on the screen sailing virtually behind us. 

Nick stepped us through various pieces that were produced for this venue some of which simply don't photograph well since they combine both the Vista Display and six robotic screens that move and are choreographed with content on the Vista Display and each other.
One piece that stands out is called 'Dance In A Box'.

They literally made two boxes the size of two robot screens and recorded dancers in a studio constrained to dance within those dimensions.  The robot screens move and rotate, separate and come together in three dimensions all choreographed to music.  This had never been done before.  It's one thing to make a robot that can build a car on an assembly line but Nick explained frankly it's quite boring watching a robot repeat the same move over and over all day long.  They needed to make the robotic screens performers themselves and that is what they have done. 

I've seen many of these productions before on previous Anthem cruises but hearing their origins and how Nick and his team produced them brought new respect for each show.
I'm really not doing the entire presentation justice in this blog.  It's something you have to experience which is the magic of this room.  It's not just a video played on a big screen, it's the manner in which the technology of the room is used to immerse the audience into the production.  In the interest of brevity I'm skipping several pieces of great entertainment but Nick brought it to a close with a virtual fireworks show his team created for New Years Eve one year that was so popular they play it on all Quantum class cruises now.  Watch your cruise compass for it when you sail on one.

 
Our Miami visitors had a lunch to get to in the dining room so the few guests like myself that attended then saw the virtual symphony orchestra on the Vista Display.

I had an opportunity to meet Nick after the event and talk briefly with him.  Nick if you ever read this, I decided to spare you from displaying how you showcased the rotating stage using yourself as a prop in the process.  Well done sir!

I'm coming your way next January.  Would kind of like lifeboats on Ovation to NZ.  

After school activities include the RCLblog?

It was quiet for a while, then a couple with GoPro's came out.  Then as we were in the channel a small crowd appeared.  Didn't hear any Radios though.

Day 5 - Miami
This will mark the first time Anthem of the Seas will have ever been to Miami and an inaugural visit of a ship is a big deal.  Somewhere on the ship, often in the bridge or elsewhere you will find plaques presented to the bridge crew whenever a ship makes a port for the very first time.  I suspect a new plaque was presented to the Captain today.
The day started out early for me and I made my way to a bridge wing way to catch the early signs or a sunrise.  


We were still beyond the 12 mile territorial limit at this point as we slowly made our way to intercept the navigational path into the Port of Miami.

They raised North Star to it's highest position which I later learned holds a Guinness Book of World Records as the highest viewing deck of any ship. 

It was empty and would remain here for the rest of our arrival into Miami.

The weather wasn't the best but it began to clear as we moved closer to the channel and picked up our pilot.
What isn't obvious in these photos is the distinct channel that leads to the mouth of the Port.  It isn't very wide and the Captain did a perfect job keeping us in the center all the way.

We passed the new Royal Caribbean Miami terminal that is under construction.  This will be eventually become the home for Symphony of the Seas. 


Several crew came out to the fore deck to take in this special occasion. 

Miami is home to Royal Caribbean's headquarters and it isn't far from the terminals.


Towards the end of this channel is a turning basin which barely looks big enough for a ship this size.

Our Captain made it look easy and with our turn complete we were pointing 180° back in the direction we came from.

Our terminal for today is located directly adjacent to the Royal Caribbean HQ building.

Our bridge crew slowly nudged us to the pier and with that the first visit of Anthem of the Seas to Miami was officially in the books.


Apparently along the way a water cannon salute was accomplished according to our Activities Director however I missed it.
A news helicopter did a fly past and we made the local CBS news:
http://miami.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-wfortv/3797274-cruise-capital-of-the-world-gets-glimpse-of-anthem-of-the-seas/

I strongly encourage anyone to live blog their cruise right here on RoyalCaribbeanblog.com.  After all...
(stolen from my previous Anthem live blog)

Seriously I enjoy reading other live blogs because they cover things I don't cover or think about.  I cruise differently which is what is great about cruising and it's nice to see things from another perspective.  

That's cruel enough for Americans.  Down right uncalled for beyond our borders. 

No lifeboats

They are tough on the kiwis aren't they?  No C&A discount access on the website and no love with hide and seek.  What next?

I strongly encourage anyone to live blog their cruise right here on RoyalCaribbeanblog.com.  After all...
(stolen from my previous Anthem live blog)

Seriously I enjoy reading other live blogs because they cover things I don't cover or think about.  I cruise differently which is what is great about cruising and it's nice to see things from another perspective.  

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.