jake1004

I love this thread because I recently read about someone complaining that the water park was sold out on her sailing and they should sell unlimited tickets yet here it says about it being so crowded it isn't worth the money. 

My friends were there last week and said that construction continues around the South Beach area but the floating bar WAS still open!  We go in a week, we're excited!  (Not only about the floating bar, but that will be fun...)

We were just at Coco Cay yesterday and I would concur that the water park did not appear to be worth the money.  If you have children who would really enjoy the smaller water slides then maybe....but I will tell you that those smaller water slides yesterday were PACKED. The line was solid all the way from the ground to the landing.  I could not really see how crowded the tall water slides were but the shorter one was really, really crowded. Due to winds the helium ballon was grounded  and my opinion is that this balloon will be grounded more often than it will be operational.  Great idea but completely impractical, I think.  I don’t look for it to be duplicated at other sites.
I agree that the free pool is the place to be unless you want the beach.  We ate lunch at the Chill Grill and the food was very good.  They had a portobello mushroom flat bread sandwich that was delicious !  There are so many loungers, umbrellas and places to sit.  Very nice. We didn’t spend a dime and enjoyed the day very much.
I felt bad for the Norwegian ship pax that were on their island. They had to tender in and I could just hear the sounds of little voices saying, “ mommy, I want to go over THERE” pointing towards Coco Cay.  

We usually stay onboard, but going for a special occasion and thought we might jump off and see what's new. Maybe a quick trip then back onboard ? Thanks all!

We love Coco Cay.  For us it is just a relax day on the beach.  I would get at least the clam shell lounger.  Yes. they have unlimited umbrellas, but the clam shell gives even more shade.  
We did the par sailing the last time there and it was awesome.  They take you out in groups of 8 and you basically circle the island.
Otherwise I would not spend a dime.  We did book a cabana for this cruise, but it is because 1 of the people in our group is insanely fair, and we got it for 449.  There are 6 of us, so it was 75 pp.  
 

@J Haage Thank you so much!!!! I was so torn about the waterpark, I feel confident now regarding my decision to skip it. This Blog family is the BEST!

We usually stay onboard, but going for a special occasion and thought we might jump off and see what's new. Maybe a quick trip then back onboard ? Thanks all!

I really like the JW Marriott Marquis. We’re staying there again in November. The Intercontinental and the kimpton Epic are also very good. 

My top choice is the Intercontinental Miami.  I love them for their Club Lounge and their bay views.  Not many hotels in that area can compete with the view that the Intercontinental can provide.  My second would my Hyatt Centric Miami Brickell.  Newer hotel.  Very clean and modern.

+1 for JW Marriott Marquis (used reward points, but it can be expensive).  Farfalle - Fine Italian Restaurant is within walking distance.  BEST TIRAMISU I have ever had.  

Sitting in Bayonne, waiting to get off Anthem tomorrow (due to weather). Had a few thoughts on this cruise that I wanted to share. I have been on Anthem several years in a row. I have never had an experience like this one. Sure, there was a medical emergency that forced us to turn back to Bayonne, bad weather that made us come home early, odd port stops, but none of that was a bother to me- some of it was life and death!
 
What I'm referencing is overall disorganization of the ship. For instance, at dinner. MTD with reservations was significantly slower than without reservations. Once a seater took your ticket, they took you to your table... well they thought they did. They left you in the middle of the dining room while they went back to figure out where you were actually supposed to be sitting. They had all types of water sitting on tables; if you asked for bread they would pull it off the table next to you- overall just lost and cutting shortcuts left and right. 
 
When it came to communication- nothing! We received all our messages from the whole trip on the last day on our phone. We received our communication about our all access tour AFTER the tour. We were told that they were rescheduling show performances AFTER they were supposed to start and then reschedule something else in 4 minutes from the announcement. It was a mess!
 
It was interesting that some of the crew expressed the same sentiments. When I asked someone how they like the ship, their friend laughed. I asked what does that mean? She said, its just so disorganized compared to other ships! 
 
I haven't experienced anything like it on Anthem or other ships before. Even Johnny Rockets took 35 minutes to get your food (1st person in line) a-la carte! Anyone else had a similar experience lately? The hotel director is interesting... I would have approached if I didn't think he would ridicule me in some way!

Well, for their credit I thought they did a good job with Immigration in Boston.  It was way more organized then my experience on Adventure last August in Bar Harbor.  That was a disaster.
Some of your points re: disorganization are valid:
I had MTD but had the same table every night.  Often I had to show the crew member bringing us to the table where it actually was. Announcing that formal night changed at 5:22pm was certainly interesting.   I assume the kitchen knew this ahead of time, since they had to start thawing the lobsters earlier that day, would have been nice to tell the passengers. They should really have a backup plan for when they have to cancel your North Star reservation.  That whole standby line thing is a huge mess.  
Many of the changes were due to weather issues, so I think we should give them a little slack on some of the last minute changes.
 
Overall I really enjoyed the cruise.
 

Since you had prior Anthem cruises without incident it seems this one was an exception to the norm. Sorry for your bummer of a ride. We loved the Anthem and plan to love her again.

Well that sucks! I didn't go to the main dining room on Anthem but I experienced none of that. I'm hoping for your sake and all of ours who plan to cruise on Anthem again that this was a one off.

Wow!  So sorry you went through this. Hopefully, the next one will make up for it.

Sorry to hear about that. Obviously not a great trip for you. I'll be interested in hearing other people opinions.

Sitting in Bayonne, waiting to get off Anthem tomorrow (due to weather). Had a few thoughts on this cruise that I wanted to share. I have been on Anthem several years in a row. I have never had an experience like this one. Sure, there was a medical emergency that forced us to turn back to Bayonne, bad weather that made us come home early, odd port stops, but none of that was a bother to me- some of it was life and death!
 
What I'm referencing is overall disorganization of the ship. For instance, at dinner. MTD with reservations was significantly slower than without reservations. Once a seater took your ticket, they took you to your table... well they thought they did. They left you in the middle of the dining room while they went back to figure out where you were actually supposed to be sitting. They had all types of water sitting on tables; if you asked for bread they would pull it off the table next to you- overall just lost and cutting shortcuts left and right. 
 
When it came to communication- nothing! We received all our messages from the whole trip on the last day on our phone. We received our communication about our all access tour AFTER the tour. We were told that they were rescheduling show performances AFTER they were supposed to start and then reschedule something else in 4 minutes from the announcement. It was a mess!
 
It was interesting that some of the crew expressed the same sentiments. When I asked someone how they like the ship, their friend laughed. I asked what does that mean? She said, its just so disorganized compared to other ships! 
 
I haven't experienced anything like it on Anthem or other ships before. Even Johnny Rockets took 35 minutes to get your food (1st person in line) a-la carte! Anyone else had a similar experience lately? The hotel director is interesting... I would have approached if I didn't think he would ridicule me in some way!

Sitting in Bayonne, waiting to get off Anthem tomorrow (due to weather). Had a few thoughts on this cruise that I wanted to share. I have been on Anthem several years in a row. I have never had an experience like this one. Sure, there was a medical emergency that forced us to turn back to Bayonne, bad weather that made us come home early, odd port stops, but none of that was a bother to me- some of it was life and death!
 
What I'm referencing is overall disorganization of the ship. For instance, at dinner. MTD with reservations was significantly slower than without reservations. Once a seater took your ticket, they took you to your table... well they thought they did. They left you in the middle of the dining room while they went back to figure out where you were actually supposed to be sitting. They had all types of water sitting on tables; if you asked for bread they would pull it off the table next to you- overall just lost and cutting shortcuts left and right. 
 
When it came to communication- nothing! We received all our messages from the whole trip on the last day on our phone. We received our communication about our all access tour AFTER the tour. We were told that they were rescheduling show performances AFTER they were supposed to start and then reschedule something else in 4 minutes from the announcement. It was a mess!
 
It was interesting that some of the crew expressed the same sentiments. When I asked someone how they like the ship, their friend laughed. I asked what does that mean? She said, its just so disorganized compared to other ships! 
 
I haven't experienced anything like it on Anthem or other ships before. Even Johnny Rockets took 35 minutes to get your food (1st person in line) a-la carte! Anyone else had a similar experience lately? The hotel director is interesting... I would have approached if I didn't think he would ridicule me in some way!