BrianB

I use Verizon Travel Pass as needed. It’s activated on my account but I don’t use it as much anymore…only if necessary. I’ve visited many Caribbean islands and it’s worked well every time I used it. I covers the same cell and data as my home plan…unlimited. As mentioned above, it’s not a once a day activation, but $10 once every 24 hours…so activating it at 2pm on one island will cover all the way through 2pm on another. However it does not cover cell service onboard. Only for land based cell towers. Using your cell on a ship is very expensive so it’s important to remember to put your phone back on airplane mode when you leave the island. If I don’t want to use it on an island, I’ll keep my phone on airplane mode. On the ship I just text or use the WiFi calling…Messenger, FaceTime or WhatsApp.

Arrival time enforcement may depend on the port. Recently at Port Liberty in Bayonne, they have been waving people in without checking their times. It seems like it’s pretty much back to the old ways…go in, check in, and then sit in the rows of chairs waiting for boarding to begin. But it is Bayonne in winter. It could be because it’s not very comfortable waiting outside…especially when there is no real seating or shelter area.

Gonna be a wee bit brisk on the outer decks at sailaway. I wonder if they’ll be snowboarding on the FlowRider…..

I just saw a video showing a ship on another cruise line holding the muster drill…they went back to the old way. According to the person doing the video…it was the usual cluster. Standing around (all the seats taken) packed like sardines and waiting over half an hour while latecomers finally deign to show up. All the while being shushed by crew members. No cell phones usage allowed! No talking!…not even quietly. Like being back in grade school. I don’t know why they prohibit talking prior to the start of the drill….that’s a bit harsh. Oh, well. That company made their choice. I’ll make mine.

I do every survey. I get the emailed survey almost immediately after disembarkation. Even when on a back to back, I get the email usually on turnaround day. I never indicate that someone asked me to complete the survey. Primarily because I don’t want to trigger more questions! LOL! My reviews are honest. Virtually all are positive. Very rarely do I find the need to give a less than excellent mark. I recognize when something is less than perfect that circumstances can result in a one-off, and I certainly will not assign blame or fault because of it. I definitely will never single out any crew member for blame. I’d never want the guilt of the repercussions to that person. But, that’s just me. If I do have an issue or even a suggestion about improving a service…I’ll add it in general terms to my notes. I spend quite a bit of time writing about crew members who do a great job. The only problem with that, for me, is there are just so many deserving of recognition. During my cruise, I write their names and positions in my smartphone…or even take a photo of their name tags. As you can see in my comments on these forums…I’m pretty long winded when I write. Sorry, but that’s me! Maybe that’s why I keep getting the survey……….

When I had the Key, I found that there were differences depending on the ship and the port. Although many of the perks were identical, such as WiFi and delivery of my carry-on…it seemed other things varied. Like port embarkation and ship disembarkation priorities…entertainment admittance and seating areas…boarding lunch and final day breakfast. Of course there were differences due to each ship’s entertainment and activity offerings. On the Anthem…NorthStar, iFly, bumper cars, and FlowRider had dedicated Key times. Although mostly during port or slow times. But to be fair, it was pretty cool being one of the few. I did get the Key many times, and felt it was a good purchase knowing I was getting the internet anyway. Especially when the price dropped. Of course the argument could be made that usually when the price dropped, so did the price for internet. But I still feel it was worth it.

The courtesy reservation is sort of a placeholder for those who purchase the dining package. You need to go right to any restaurant host desk and make your reservations for the cruise. That’s the one thing I don’t like about the package…you can’t make reservations in advance, only once you board. If I know we really want a specific restaurant and date, say for a special occasion…especially if I have a few guests…we make that one reservation early. I’ll pay the price for that one just to make sure I get it booked.

I have used the Key many times on the Anthem and my bag was always placed inside my room, sometimes inside a closet. I also have a lock on the bag…even though I keep my passport and cash with me. I liked the Chops lunch on boarding day. I also liked the priority tender boarding when there is a tender port. Being brought through a side door right to the front of the line is very convenient. There is usually reserved Key seating on the Anthem in the theater, but in the past it was rows 3 and 4 center…now it seems like it’s in more in the back of the theater. I’ll find my own seat, thanks. Same with 270. They say Key guests can get in to the entertainment venues early…but they also say Suite guests, Diamond Plus, Pinnacles and some casino guests can also get early admission, but I have very rarely seen this happen. It’s always been doors open…c’mon in! I never did the Key reserved times on the FlowRider or iFly, but I did when it was offered for the NorthStar. I don’t know if they still offer it on NorthStar, though. I also liked the priority disembarkation. I do early walk off with all my luggage and don’t have to join the line of early risers. It’s nice being one of the first off the ship as soon as we are cleared, through customs, in my car, and usually home before 8am. Bottom line, for me it was worth the purchase. I was getting internet anyway so when it was reasonable for me considering the price of internet…it made sense.

I always got the email from the Oasis concierges and I responded with my list of dinner reservations. Specialty and Coastal Kitchen. They always responded with a confirmation email usually a few days before sailing. Most of the time the entertainment schedule was not finalized until just before sailing so I made them with the concierge once onboard. It was never a problem. Even when on a back to back they didn’t get the entertainment list until the day before the next cruise. But that could have been due to the uncertainty regarding which performance might be impacted or changed due to someone being sick, quarantined or isolated.

If you see that the price comes down to where you feel comfortable tying up the amount for awhile…make the purchase. It will secure your spots and you can always cancel without a penalty if you subsequently decide it’s not worth it. You then monitor the price, and if it does drop during a sale or sometimes it drops because it’s not really selling…you can re-purchase it at the lower price. But….big but…..you should always try to book it at the lower price before you cancel. There’s always the possibility of losing your spot if you cancel your current reservation first. By the time you go through the process to buy it again, it can say Sold Out. So you not only lose out on the lower price, but also your reserved spot. I know sometimes others have had difficulty doing that. I read where people tried to double purchase but the system told them they couldn’t until they canceled the first…but I have never had that happen to me. And I re-book often. Might be because I’m usually solo on my reservation and my family or friends have their own reservations. Good luck!

Ditto! Each time I booked through NextCruise, I had already checked the price online while in my cabin and the NextCruise price was exactly the same. So there is no hidden discount. Only the reduced deposit and the OBC. Another benefit for me is that they can look at both back to back sailings simultaneously so that I can secure the same cabin without having to go back and forth to each one. I once tried to have a cabin number changed on a booking that I had made at home, but they explained how they can only generate new bookings and not service existing reservations. The only type of servicing issue I can receive from NextCruise is…when I book my cruises, the OBC is always less because I’m sailing solo. Apparently it’s a computer thing. So when they hand me my confirmation receipt, the OBC is wrong. They later contact stateside and have it adjusted to the full amount. Usually by the next day, I will receive an emailed receipt with the proper OBC updated. And they will also have a copy delivered to my cabin. But the best advice is…if you know you want a specific cruise and cabin, book it! Don’t wait. Especially if you’re considering a suite. Prices usually go up as the cruise gets closer. Even if they do drop, you (or your TA if they control the reservation) can always call and re-price…repeatedly…prior to final payment.

During the restart different rules were tweaked to give people more confidence to book. One of those was the ability to cancel for any reason up to 48hrs prior to the sailing. Then a FCC would issue. But alas, those days are over and we’re back to the old ways. I’m in the US. Changing ship or sail date results in the $100 change fee…if done more than 48hrs from the original booking. Cancelling a non-refundable deposit results in the loss of deposit pre-final payment date…and then the additional scheduled percentage loss after that date. However, as a note…there is no change fee if I change cabin categories on the same ship and sail date. If I go from a reserved suite category down to a balcony…then there is no fee and the deposit just switches over to the new cabin.

eMuster works! I know this because on every cruise I have been on since the restart (more than a few) there are always those announcements prior to the ship leaving the pier calling out the number of passengers who have yet to complete the drill. The admonishment is very clear…no muster, no sailing with us. And yet, to my knowledge, no one has been removed for failing to comply. Nor have we been delayed due to passengers not doing the drill…although technically it can still be done up to 24hr after we sail. Each sailing the captain has come on announcing our departure and thanking everyone for completing the drill. Maybe someone on board now can find out…if not, I’ll ask when I go next week…what is the process for getting someone to comply. I’m thinking maybe they do deactivate the room key and when they show up at guest services they do the muster. But even if there are those who need to be tracked down…is that number similar to those who needed to be tracked down for failing to show up to the old cattle call drill…forcing those of us who do comply to wait, and wait. Also, back then there were many people who went to their muster stations, scanned their cards, and managed to slip away prior to the start of the drill. Doesn’t make sense to go back to the old, crowded, packed together like sardines drill if eMuster works. Because it does. Especially in light of preventing the spread of sickness…not just Covid but Noro, flu, RSV, colds and other transmissible cooties. JMO.

On all my cruises, I have very rarely smelled it anywhere onboard. The vast majority of my trips were out of Bayonne, NJ. I can only recall once smelling it while on my balcony…and it was faint, like not nearby. Nor have I ever entered my room on embarkation day and smelled any cigarette or weed residue. I would think the main issue is the smoking (anything) on the balcony. The primary safety concern onboard a ship is fire. Smoking anything…or having any open flame in a cabin or on a balcony should be a top enforcement priority for the crew. There should be a rapid and consistent security response to any such incident, and the cruise line should do more to publicize the penalties for violating this rule. They should not wait until a careless user causes a major problem, and then publicize how ‘safety of our guests and crew are our top priority’ and how they will take more substantial actions to ‘prevent this from happening again’. Just my opinion.

Oasis suite sun deck is large…wraps around the whole deck…nice loungers…has little private cabanas overlooking the Solarium…has bathrooms…and a great full bar with seating. I like the little sun beds underneath the slides. There is no hot tub but there is a misting shower to cool off. And I agree; Dana is great! The suite sundeck on the Anthem is…..meh. Not very large. Just has nice loungers, some chairs, and a nice view overlooking the pool. No bar but bar service…although pretty intermittent. Gets crowded on sea days.

Love the CLS on the Oasis…guessing it’s similar to Harmony. The deck is also huge! Two plush loungers with room for more. Just ask one of your room attendants. The two levels are great for spreading out. Plus, steps from the CK and Suite Lounge.

@Ampurp85I’m on the Anthem…with StarLink…and I have an old Samsung Galaxy S8 Android. My experience…emails/texts and web surfing are fine with only occasional drop offs followed by automatic reconnects. Especially during stormy times. I use Messenger for WiFi calling (audio and video) and it works pretty good, even in my cabin on deck 9 forward. I also stream videos on my iPad at night and they (usually) work fine. But I think it’s primarily because the Anthem was built with connectivity in mind. So the WiFi hardware throughout the ship is pretty robust compared to the older ships. The ship can have great StarLink service, but if the routers inside the ship can’t handle the amount of WiFi traffic…it’s not going to work well. By the way…I heard a man trying to explain to his kids what a VCR was. As far as they were concerned, it was ancient technology. 12:00…12:00…12:00…12:00…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another cruise line has no-reservation MDR dining. Just walk up whenever you want. Sometimes there's a slight wait...mostly just walk right in. Seems to work well.

If you’re planning to visit guest services near the end of the cruise….I would recommend not waiting until the last moment. Guest services can get very crowded with very long lines on the last night.

I also remember MTD being much more flexible. Now it shows that the earliest MDT time is 6:45. So I switched to early dining. Much more convenient to just walk in as soon as they open, go right to my table, and have the same servers every night. They open up around 5:15. On the first night, they open early at 5. On the Anthem now…when I finish and leave at about 6:40…there’s always long lines waiting to get in. There are two marked lines…one is for those with reservations and the other for those without. This is the last cruise on the Anthem with the old menus. Next cruise, Jan 24th, they will begin offering the new menus. I’ll see how that works as far as timing my meal. Apparently, that seems to be the primary reason why they are changing to the new menus…to decrease time spent dining.

I don’t iron my shirts before I pack them. On the first day on the Anthem, they offer a pressing service. All I can fit into the bag for $17.99…minus a discount for my C&A level. They come back the next day. Also, I buy many ‘wrinkle free’ clothing items…polo shirts and casual pants. Take them out of the dryer and they never need ironing. Very convenient for travel. Another tip is….I use the shower for steaming by hanging my shirt inside the shower tube itself, and by laying the handheld shower head on the floor of the shower. Steams much quicker than having the whole bathroom fogged up.

@PL8SWPRYes. I priced the cruises at home and also onboard right before I went to NextCruise. The prices were the same. I don't know about comparing 'I pick/they pick'...I only do I pick.

On my current cruise…I booked seven future cruises at NextCruise. All are non-refundable solo sailings in balconies. Two of them are eleven night cruises in January 2024. Six were b2bs. I paid $700 total deposit for all of them. If I booked by myself, the deposit would have been $1,750. Plus, I received $250 OBC for the two eleven night cruises and $100 OBC on each of the others…except one five night cruise where I received $50. Total of $950 OBC (if my arithmetic is correct!). I had the option of taking the OBC or having those amounts deducted from the cruise fare on each…but I like the OBC. Doing my bookings at NextCruise makes sense to me because I already know the cruise fare by checking the price before I go…so no surprises. Plus, they can pull up available cabins on both of the b2b cruises so it’s easier to pick the same cabin. And, of course the reduced deposit is big for me. Less I have to shell out. Then, I monitor the bookings over time and take advantage of any price drops prior to final payment. Also…if I so decide…I can transfer the bookings to a Travel Agent. **note: Usually I can only book three reservations at NextCruise while on the same sailing…but b2bs count as one. So, actually I booked four reservations. They just had to get permission from shoreside for the last one.

As I understand it…in the event someone ‘misses the ship’ at a port…could be out on their own and can’t get back in time, or an accident or medical issue…then ship’s security will enter your safe looking for your passport, and if they find it, they bring it to the pier and turn it over to the Port Agent. The Port Agent will wait for you…or go to where you are…and assist with travel arrangements to either get you home, or to the nearest port of call. So for me, I take just my key card…Driver’s License…a credit card…and some cash when I get off the ship while visiting a port. Some port security people may actually examine and compare the DL and SeaPass when I return from visiting their port…while many others just wave me through. I even held my DL upside down when I saw people in front of me being waved through. Depends on the port.

Many times while going through facial recognition, I would not be recognized and it would tell me to see an officer. I would just step back and try again. On the second, or third try…it would turn green. Sometimes it’s finicky. Even the port workers know and say try again. If it doesn’t work at first, try again!