TheHobbys

Have to agree with this - it's vacation, enjoy yourself because be you know it it'll be 365 days before your next cruise ? and you'll be counting down all over again.  Also, be nice to the staff - cause, yeah, they might be slightly moody but remember there have probably been other not so nice to them.  

For shirts you want to bring and keep them without wrinkles  - A week before the travel  , I give some shirts to the dry cleaning , ask them to iron it , fold it and pack it in nylon bag with the tick paper inside. Yes it cost money but it saves allot of time later on.
Shampoo - bring with you small bottle of your favorite Shampoo/conditioner the one they have on most of the rooms are OK to use but not everyone like them (its one dispenser which being used for all three functions)  
But the best tip I can give is to remember . you are on vacation , do not rush  (well maybe only when its close to all aboard and you are still on the peer) , do not get mad on other people behavior and just let yourself enjoy the  cruise.

@rjac, we are 46 days from our cruise on Anthem.  Here's what I'm seeing in our cruise planner for entertainment/activities:
* Day 3 is same as Day 2
* Spectra's Cabert is the only one for Day 6
* Day 8 is same as Day 7
 

 

 
 

@Lovetocruise2002, we did the coffee maker in the Coastal Kitchen and it was pretty good.  I don't remember if there was soy milk available - but will definitely be checking on that soon.

Anthem never had a standalone Starbucks venue just as most ships did not until Oasis class came around.  Perhaps in some future dry dock they will place one on her like they have on other ships as they were AMPED.  In that sense it isn't "gone" from Anthem, Starbucks never existed on her.
The Windjammer has the standard self-serve coffee but the coffee bar within the Windjammer is a solid place to get your morning fix with baristas on hand to satisfy your caffeine addiction on a more customized basis.  This is in addition to La Patisserie on deck 4.  

We have done coffee from room service. It's just regular coffee. It's convenient since it's delivered to you, nothing special. I'm one of those people that loves to get up early, before most people and wander around with a cup of coffee. So heading to WJ or even Park Café early works for me.

You can upload a photo when you log into the site and are able to 'Check-In', about 90 days prior to your cruise.  At the bottom of the screen of info required for each person is the 'Security Photo' section.  Here you can add your photo.  Oh, and if you are using a passport as your travel document, make sure they are close to expiring  ?  they barked at mine which expires right at 6 months after my upcoming cruise

Our struggle with the west coast is the limited ports, everything is just a slightly different port in Mexico. However if we could get all the way down the Galapagos that would be another story. I’d be all about that. 

Our first SC experience was in 2017 on the Oasis.  I'm working up a small blog about our experience, so more to come on that.  Our genie 'Allen' was amazing!  Now, in 2019 we are going for our second SC experience on Anthem.  This question comes more as to what we can bring as a thank-you gift.  We did leave a really nice tip, but want to take it a bit further and bring something unique or cool.   I feel bad that we didn't really have anything to give Allen in 2017, especially since on the last day he had gotten all of us a little nice gift.  For me, a really nice new wallet - which I'm still using today. 
What, if anything, have other cruisers in the SC brought as a thank-you gift for their genies? What about thoughts on a price range of the gift?  

Welcome John and Carrie !!!

@AGSLC5, I would love to do another B2B (we did a B2B in 2011 for our honeymoon on Allure).  If it was just my wife and I, we could probably swing that ?  Gotta get the kids outa the house and into college so we can - lol

I'm some what in the same boat, I'm waiting on summer of 2021 to book a cruise from my 2nd Grandson, every time a Grandchild hits double digit's (IE., 10 or 11years), we take them on a cruise with us, we started with the oldest in 2018 and will have to work through them all, 5 of them now, soon to be 6.
With that said, we have to wait until they are out of school, also my wife works at a school, so we are also June, July, half of August.
I did get her to take off this year in January for a Star Class room on Allure, but that can't happen very often.

Ok, so I will just have to keep watching later this year to see what releases for summer 2021.  I figured they only released dates around the 16-18 month out range.  We have kids in 7th and 9th grades, so are limited on our May travel dates (I saw the re-positioning cruise that hit Hawaii, but can't due to kids in school), which is why I aim for the first of June.  I'm also trying to cruise on all the newest ships to try out the different activities.  I'm watching the Ovation for a possible Alaska route, but that is only 7-nights ?  Now-adays that just doesn't seem long enough.  Especially when I have to wait a year between cruises.  

We did our first SC on Oasis in 2017 and were completely spoiled.  So much so, that our kids started to complain when we talked about not doing our next cruise as a SC with the genie.  Well, here we go in 2019 in an Owner's Loft (8720) on Anthem in June - 48 days to go ... and getting our document of 'notes' together to send to our genie.  We have requested Derick, as he has come highly recommended. 
I saw earlier that@SweetPea stated her parents could book multiple cruises for what the SC costs - I'm right there with you.  I get harassed from my parents about it - but then, i'm not supposed to say anything about them staying in a JS for 3-4 B2B cruises?  haha. oh, and they booked like a 4 week cruise for next year - yeah, I only get to cruise once a year (for now).

+1 add me to the list of the “parents getting mad if they found out how much we paid”.  They are veteran cruisers and inside cabin people all the way. 
So what is the solution?  Take them on a SC cruise to show them what they are missing!  Next year, December 2020 ? 
 

I totally hear you. We are quite lazy cruisers who spend lots of time in the room. My parents who are cruising Anthem for their 3rd time in June are disgusted. "We can book 3 cruises with what you paid for that!" Says the retired couple with unlimited vacation time....
See you onboard!