Geoff P

I was actually surprised with how long the paper straws held up for...then again, I didn’t tend to let a drink sit around for too long either ?

I would caution that many here find the amount of food that comes with the ultimate dining package to be almost overwhelming. Since it's your first cruise and you haven't yet had a chance to try out the main dining room, you might consider stepping down from the UDP to maybe a 3 or 4 night dining package, leaving yourself a few nights to experience the main dining room and decide how you like the food and experience vs the specialty venues.
Many of us here are quite satisfied with the MDR, and are happy to have all but one or two dinners there. Only way to find out if you and your wife are in that group or the "all specialty, all the time" crowd is to try out both. ? 

We got an email from Royal as we were pulling into the cruise port this morning, it was kind of a little unorganized at the port with employees not really knowing a whole lot of details, but they’ve got us in a hotel for the night, we’ll be boarding tomorrow with a little bit of OBC for some drinks :)...it’s not ideal but what can you do?

We got an email from Royal as we were pulling into the cruise port this morning, it was kind of a little unorganized at the port with employees not really knowing a whole lot of details, but they’ve got us in a hotel for the night, we’ll be boarding tomorrow with a little bit of OBC for some drinks :)...it’s not ideal but what can you do?

We got an email from Royal as we were pulling into the cruise port this morning, it was kind of a little unorganized at the port with employees not really knowing a whole lot of details, but they’ve got us in a hotel for the night, we’ll be boarding tomorrow with a little bit of OBC for some drinks :)...it’s not ideal but what can you do?

With the most recent change, Port Canaveral and Coco Cay are set at the originally planned times, Nassau has been cancelled 

That's a fabulous attitude to have!  I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

We got an email from Royal as we were pulling into the cruise port this morning, it was kind of a little unorganized at the port with employees not really knowing a whole lot of details, but they’ve got us in a hotel for the night, we’ll be boarding tomorrow with a little bit of OBC for some drinks :)...it’s not ideal but what can you do?

We got an email from Royal as we were pulling into the cruise port this morning, it was kind of a little unorganized at the port with employees not really knowing a whole lot of details, but they’ve got us in a hotel for the night, we’ll be boarding tomorrow with a little bit of OBC for some drinks :)...it’s not ideal but what can you do?

I'm on this same cruise (getting excited)...I don't remember where i saw it, but I'm pretty sure the formal nights are day 2 and 7...with Broiled Lobster Tails on the menu for day 7.

Past cruise compasses here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass
They will list open times for all venues.

Yes, it is.  We ate there a few times on our B2B there last Feb.  It was not open on embarkation day and it was closed the last sea day b/c they were holding the sushi making class there.  But other sea days it is open.  It is not open on port days as far as I can remember....but then neither are any of the other specialty restaurants.  Jamie's and Chops were both open on embarkation day but they also host the Key people so it can be crowded at both/either.

Would LA or West Coast in general make sense being that the ship is LNG powered with California's regulations?  If they are truly re-doing the port over there to make a couple spots for cruise ships, RC could make a little splash with a new ship...although, being from the northeast US I would also (selfishly) like to see it be in NJ ?

I completely understand why you’re upset...that said, I don’t think RCCL is targeting a specific group or discriminating against anyone with this pricing strategy.  They’re simply doing what is best for their bottom line, which as a publicly traded company, they’re supposed to do.  Do I like that choosing my own room is more expensive than letting Royal choose it for me?  Nope.  But I completely understand why it benefits RCCL to make the GTY reservations less expensive and allows them the flexibility to fill cabins as they see the need.  As some people have noted on this site, it has worked out very well for them with upgrades.  Again, I understand your  frustration, but I don’t see an intentional discrimination here.

We are super impressed with the very fast refund on a cancelled excursion today. 
 
We are in Labadee and our 1pm snorkeling excursion was cancelled due to rough water conditions. 
 
We walked back to the ship and by the time we got there, the refund was showing in our folio. 
 
I figured a good story would offset the few complaints we see here as well as reassure people who are concerned about their excursions being cancelled. 

Sorry you feel your 50th birthday and honeymoon is "ruined." I can understand the disappointment of reality missing the mark of expectations. That being said, try to keep a positive attitude?! Just saying "we are going to make the best of a disappointing situation" can go a long way in turning things around....that and a few drinks at the bar. Hope it gets better for you. Control what you can control.... 

Overall very good.  Speed above is typical for Anthem.  Couple of outages in heavy rain down in the Caribbean.  Fortunately the rain moved out 10 minutes later and Voom came back. 
Anthem uses the newer O3b technology so it feels faster compared to an older ship.  Anytime you see ping times <300ms it's O3b.  When ping time is >600ms it's using legacy satellites.  
I have had some issues with WiFi in cabins on Anthem.  This is my 4th time on her.  This happens on all ships though so it all depends where the access point is in the hallway relative to your cabin.  

We were on Enchantment in 2018 for our honeymoon, didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either.  She is definitely showing her age and lacks the restaurant choices some of the other ships have as there is only Chops Grille for specialty (I believe Vision has Chops and Giovannis) and then the MDR and WJ.  All of these ships are smaller than Explorer, with Vision and Enchantment being roughly the same size and are in the same class, Empress is the smallest in the fleet.  We enjoyed the entertainment on Enchantment but we also didn’t go into the trip hoping for great broadway shows either.  We enjoyed the pool deck and solarium.  The staff we interacted with were great.  I guess it really depends on what is important to you with the trip, we were only on a short 4 night cruise on Enchantment and I don’t know that I would want to do a longer 7+ night trip on her, but that’s just me.

I’ve never been on Vision, but it is on the smaller side, I’d wait until some of the more seasoned cruisers weigh in with their insights.  Even on the smaller ships there is a lot to do, maybe just not as much as Explorer.

We did MTD for our cruise coming up in February 2020 and we were able to select whether we pre-paid the gratuities or not (I hope I'm understanding what you're asking correctly)...we chose to pre-pay just to get it paid up-front, but at least we had the option.  Not sure if this is new for 2021?

Depends on your hours. We were just there NYE. Our port hours were 7-7. Ship transportation got us there at 9:15(with bad NYE traffic) and we had to be back at the bus for 4:15. We did Disney Springs and resorts, which was a terrific day. Plenty of people did the parks and I didn’t hear any complaints. It’s up to you if a few rides or just walking around is worth it. 

My guess would be that they are trying to limit the amount of people who purchase the water park (and maybe other excursions) to a certain number and with Oasis class holding 6,000 (?) guests if the price were low maybe too many people would buy, and with Mariner and Navigator being smaller they don’t have that same concern?  Or something along those lines.  Not sure obviously but just a guess

My guess would be that they are trying to limit the amount of people who purchase the water park (and maybe other excursions) to a certain number and with Oasis class holding 6,000 (?) guests if the price were low maybe too many people would buy, and with Mariner and Navigator being smaller they don’t have that same concern?  Or something along those lines.  Not sure obviously but just a guess

Our experience was being seated as soon as we got there at our reserved time, we didn't have to wait at all. Happy sailing!

I would second the Epic, we stayed there last year and enjoyed it alot.  We haven't stayed at the Intercontinental though and that hotel seems to be a favorite on this board.