WAAAYTOOO

Welcome to the blog !!

shhhh <whisper> I love Lindsay's hat shhhhh

I completely agree with Sabrina on this one. The Concierge Lounge is a really awful space on Anthem - one of the few true deficiencies of Anthem, IMO. Frankly, I'm surprised you even gave it 3 stars. When you try the Oasis class ship you will see a tremendous difference in convenience, proximity (if you stay on deck 17) and availability. I think you will also like the CK better on the O class even though the menu is exactly the same. It is just a much "happier" space on the O class - big, bright and the views are much better. It is also much more popular and can sometimes be crowded...so there's that. But the Star Class guests have "reserved" tables (at least we did, on Oasis at the first of the month) so there is never any real wait.

I'm sure it's just me but I have a hard time finding anything that appeals to me at Jamie's. I do like their mushroom pasta (can't think of the name of it).

So happy to have you with us on the Blog. It is a great group and we enable each others' cruise addictions. The more, the merrier. Welcome

These are EXCELLENT suggestions ! Particularly #1. I see soooo many people pounding the drinks on the first day/night, knowing that they are going to be sorry the next day.

We did this excursion a few years ago. The turtle farm was surprisingly interesting. It was much bigger and more sophisticated than I thought it would be. It’s a full day but worth the time, IMO

I don’t think it’s even possible for 3 ships to dock at Coco Cay at the same time. I think you’re getting some bogus gouge.

My guess is that in order to get the “old” grats rate you would have to prepay them by 12-31-19 but that’s just a guess.

This is such a great suggestion b/c I have read waaaytooo many accounts of people getting conflicting information on the SAME cruise ! The best ammunition you have is written confirmation. It’s hard for the crew on the ship to argue with written confirmation.

Of course, nobody on this blog can answer this question for sure BUT my guess....the Oasis class ships have big “vents” that open in the helipad area. I think they are associated with the bow thrusters but I don’t really know what function they serve. They open quite suddenly (at least, to us it seems sudden) and I imagine that they are considered a safety risk. They are quite large and present an unguarded edge and a pinch point. This, along with other factors, I’m sure, is likely to be the primary reason passengers are normally not allowed in that area. The truth ? Who knows ?

Welcome to the Blog, James ! Yes, the Top Tier Event includes sparkling wine and if you choose to use your coupon to drink it elsewhere, that is included. Warning though....it’s not the “good stuff”.

Welcome to the blog, MILIND !

Yes, if you get the UDP the embarkation lunch is included. Whether it’s worth it or not is a subjective question. We always get the UDP b/c we no longer enjoy the MDR but I will be the first to admit that with just 3 specialty restaurants, it can get repetitive. We love the full service Sabor so we really enjoy the UDP on Liberty.

No worries. All questions are welcome. Unfortunately, the only meal of the day that is complimentary in Chops as a result of being in a full suite, is breakfast. If you want to eat at Chops on embarkation day, and you do not have The Key, you can ask your Concierge to make reservations for you and pay full price, which would be (assuming it is the same price as it’s showing for my Sept 2020 cruise on LoS) $21.99 + 18% gratuity per person. It’s a nice way to enjoy lunch onboard on embarkation day.

Right back atcha !

Good plan. Not only will using a hotel shuttle cost you more and be a big hassle, likely the shuttle will not leave early enough, either. The shuttles usually plan on arriving at the port no earlier than noon b/c they like to avoid the outbound traffic as much as possible. Likely you will want to arrive by 10:30.

I usually caution people against bidding for a RoyalUp if it is from one balcony category to another balcony category. I have read of too many people who ended up with a cabin in an undesirable location with little or no upgrade to their cabin or balcony configuration. IMO there just isn’t enough difference from one balcony to another to justify additional $$. The single exception to this would be if you are already in a bad location and don’t mind paying more $$ with hopes to get a better location but wouldn’t mind ending up in just as bad of a location as you already are. If you were to bid on an upgrade to a whole new category, that’s a different story. But not from one balcony type to another balcony type.

??

These are Royal Caribbean employees ?

I think a lot will depend on whether Royal is planning on having a full time residence at Labadee, as they did with CC. I don’t see them investing a great deal of money in permanent facilities (i.e., “restaurants”) unless there are Royal personnel in residence to maintain (and guard) them.

1. Yes, there will be live tables where you can play a Texas Hold ‘Em. While I have not yet sailed on Symphony, my guess is that there will be 2 such poker tables. They usually run a $2/$5 cash game which has a horrendous 10% rake (max of $15 per hand). There will also be poker tournaments throughout the cruise. 2. Royal Caribbean casinos are cash only so ultimately all gambling will be in cash. Tracking (for rating and points purposes) at the live tables is a voodoo dance that nobody quite understands. Tracking on slots is much more straight forward and quantifiable. 3. Until you have achieved at least Prime level in the Royal Caribbean casino players club (called Club Royale), it will cost you 5% to get cash from your area Pass card at the casino. So you will have to decide whether it is to your advantage to carry cash with you or pay the 5% overhead.

Yes. No worries. You can make all of your specialty dining reservations at one time with one stop at any of the specialty restaurants.

Sorry you have to leave. I know this feeling well. Have a fun stay in NYC and a safe trip home. Thank you for sharing this wonderful trip with us.

Yes. The only thing you cannot do is make specialty restaurant reservations from the MDR or any of the other complimentary restaurants.