WesKinetic

If you go to the top of this page and click "Cruise Compass," you may be able to find some past Cruise Compasses from previous Anthem cruises that are comparable to yours. That way you'll have a little better idea of all the options that might be available.

I was in St. Thomas in November and was sadly disappointed. There used to be a few local shops in the downtown area where you could to tastings and from which I would pick up local rum to bring home. Since the hurricane, it seems that most of those are now gone and replaced by (yet another) jewelry store. There were some duty-free shops that had a handful local offerings, but mostly the mass market stuff. I'm sure there are some other off-the-beaten path places that have stuff, so hopefully someone can point you in the right direction. All that said, there were some nice local restaurants and bars with good local offerings if you just want a drink while in town.

I've searched for this, but can't find anything so thought I'd ask here: is Thrill Waterpark on Coco Cay open the whole time when ships are in port? I'm assuming the answer is yes, but was just looking to confirm. I'm going on Majesty in a couple of months and some members of our group were planning to go to the water park. Our ship gets in at 7:00 and Anthem arrives at 9:00. So the question came up will the water park be open that early if our group wants to get off the ship ASAP and have a couple hours before the next ship's passengers get there?

7.7 magnitude earthquake between Cuba and Jamaica. Safe travels and smooth seas to all the ships in the area. https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/powerful-earthquake-reported-between-cuba-and-jamaica-usgs/2182881/

I can't claim credit for this. @Grenadyr created a very useful calculator to estimate how much you might spend without the drink package, so you can decide if it is a good deal or not. https://connect.calcapp.net/?app=9tts3#/ My only advice would be to do an apples-to-apples comparison. Most people only think about the price of the package vs. getting nothing. But to really get an accurate comparison, you need to think about what would you get if you DON'T get the drink package? The soda package? The refreshment package? Or nothing? Figure out the difference based on what you would get otherwise, and then decide if the drink package is right for you.

300 days 'til Liberty 11/22/20.

No, your Seapass card will show that you have the soda package. Anywhere you want to order a soda, you'll just give them your card and they'll bring a soda to you. The only thing you NEED your cup for is the Freestyle machines.

No, unfortunately it doesn't. The last I knew, the chat feature was only available on Allure and Harmony. (Someone can correct me if others have since been updated.)

I've never had good luck with getting excursions on the ship, but hopefully your results will be different if you go that route. One other thing to remember is to keep checking back with the cruse planner periodically, particularly when you start getting close to the deadline to cancel without penalty. People will occasionally change their minds at the last minute and cancel reservations.

Every kid is different, so your mileage may vary. But for my kids, it really wouldn't be worth it. They don't drink coffee and might have just one or two virgin drinks throughout the cruise. I just got them the soda package and they were happy campers. Unless your five-year old is drinking lots of specialty coffees (not judging! ?), my hunch is that it probably wouldn't be worth it. But @Grenadyr has created a great drink plan calculator that might help provide some guidance on if it would work for you. https://connect.calcapp.net/?app=9tts3#/

I personally prefer My Time, but I was on a cruise once with some friends who wanted to sit together at traditional dining. I went to the MDR to inquire about getting a traditional dining time. They said they would check on it and, later that night, I had a note in my room with my new assigned dining time. So you may have luck going that route if you still want to try for a traditional dining time.

I've had ones change names before, but usually it was just a minor tweak in the wording. Yours makes it sound like something completely different. I'd definitely check on it.

Kind of depends on what you plan to use it for. If you're just looking for snapshots and a few family photos here and there to share on social media, you're probably better off asking a fellow passenger to take a photo of you. But if you're hoping to use these as more "professional" photos for framing and such, it might be worth your while. I got the photo package on my last cruise because we had extended family with us, it was probably the last time we will all be together and some wanted to use them as family keepsake photos and/or Christmas cards. So in that case, it made sense for us to go ahead and pay for the package.

Will see you on board! ?

I'm personally not a fan of the matching shirts. My wife loves them. So we compromised and wore matching shirts. ? Seriously, though, you'll see plenty of people who do them, so you certainly won't be out of place. So enjoy celebrating with your grandpa.

The water in the sink is filtered and drinkable, so it should be fine to wash with.

Barring some kind of weather or mechanical delay, the arrival times are fairly accurate. That said, @Atlantix2000 is correct--the actual time they start letting people off is in the hands of the port inspectors and customs officials. Usually its only an hour or so, but there's no guarantee in that.

I've seen a lot of people use colored silicone wristbands on their cups. Seems to work well if you can remember who has which color.

Odd question, but does anyone know if the Black Friday sales are posted on board? I'm assuming maybe at the Next Cruise desk? I will be on Adventure of the Seas the week of Thanksgiving and hadn't planned on getting an internet package.

Last cruise, my daughter had the spaghetti bolognese on our second night and loved it. She started asking for it every night. But the end of our cruise, she didn't even have to order--our waitstaff would just have it ready for her. Now, granted, that is a relatively simple dish, so your mileage may vary if you're asking for something more complex. But I know it is fairly common to order off menu things and it's usually not a problem.

I wish I had done more research on the variety of offerings and everything to do. The first time I went, I truly didn't want to go--I thought I'd be bored staring at the water for a week. I have never been more wrong about anything in my life. ? I was blown away with how much there was to do and, because I hadn't done any research, it was almost overwhelming. Now whenever anyone asks, I tell them a cruise is the perfect vacation. If you want to party 24/7 you can. If you want to do nothing but lay in a deck chair for week, you can. It is a choose your own adventure vacation.

I got lucky and had already gotten a cheap deal on the South Beach bungalows. So for me it's definitely not worth the upgrade price. But you're right--if I was just now looking at it and I had the money, there are worse ways to splurge.

Just looked at cruise for next Spring Break. Looks great, but I think I'll pass on this one. ????

We did that excursion a year ago. Was nice in that we got a little scenic tour of the island but, if you're just looking to head straight to the beach, you'd probably be better off just getting a taxi to head straight there. The "return at your own expense" is in reference to where it stops on your way back. A lot of people want to go shopping so the bus will stop and let people off in Charlotte Amalie if they want. If you choose to get off there, you would have to arrange your own transportation back to the ship.

We did this a couple of years go and, yes, at that time you could buy an observer pass. I want to say it was $30 or so, but don't quote me on that. If it's not available through RCCL, you should be able to book it directly through the company. However, you'd want to double-check on if the observer pass would still let you have access to the beach day amenities.