MKMAJ1

2 hours ago, Allen2 said:

When a ship skips a port, there usually is a credit for return of port changes/taxes.  If not given: ask!

I'm on 11/12 and was told that there will be no refund of port fees.

15 hours ago, Stelkp said:

Hi all. I bought the coco beach transfer at the Orlando stop on oasis. Watched some YouTube videos of a beach and some restaurants and beach rental chairs. Anyone have anything to share? Like “don’t go” lol. 

We've been there once during a land vacation, once during a port stop. It's a good, not amazing, beach and I'd do it again on a summer cruise. (Our cruise stop was in March and it was too cold to be enjoyable). Chairs/umbrellas are easy to rent and affordable and Ron Jon's is almost a stop in itself.

6 minutes ago, MattG said:

No, I don't believe it is. I haven't seen Vintages or the English pub included on any UDP paperwork - outside of the specialty restaurants, i've only seen Playmakers, Portside BBQ (Oasis), and Johnny Rockets.

Ok, thank you! 

Quick question for all of you experienced UDP-ers... On Anthem, is food at the pub and vintages included in the package? With limited specialty restaurants I'm trying to decide if it's worth unlimited. 

Go to Breezes in Nassau. It was like the Motel 6 of all inclusive.

We use our OBC to stock up our home bar

1 hour ago, monctonguy said:

You can usually cancel those up to a certain time and get your money back I believe......

 

It wouldn't be the weather to be concerned about......it would be Covid at this point as to whether or not you make it Nassau on a cruise in Feb!

Sorry, I should have specified February 2022. We moved it back a year because of Covid.

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Curious when you experienced a suites only perk on CocoCay.  I've not experienced that on CocoCay, only at Labadee.   The lack of a suite perk was disappointing for many so I'm trying to determine if this is a recent development at CocoCay or something from a while ago.

Thanks.

I am wondering about this and the VIP pool seating this poster is talking about. We chose the JS suite because CK dinner and priority embarkation (plus double points) were really the biggest draws... but if the Coco Cay and pool (aside frome the suite sundeck) are part of the deal I'd upgrade.

Does RC typically sell Blue Lagoon excursions onboard and do they sell out frequently? We would like to play it by ear with Nassau (have been there several times). 

We will have a pretty significant amount of OBC to burn so I'd prefer to do that as opposed to a day pass but don't want to pull the trigger on an excursion until last minute. (looking at you, February weather) 

I don't have a problem wearing a mask. I wear one everywhere else- why would it stop me from going on vacation? As Lovetocruise and others have mentioned, the biggest issue remains port closures and quarantines. 

No difference in Cyber Monday specials for my cruise. Snagged a $43 beverage package but Coco Beach Club was more expensive so I'll wait for that one. Moved the cruise to 2022 so no rush.

Unfortunately, it's where we are. If that's what it takes to start cruising then I am OK with it. 

The short answer is that you're probably going to be okay with temperature checks. A hot flash doesn't really raise your temperature, it's hormones messing with your body thermostat. 

2 hours ago, Andrew72681 said:

That is some hardcore willpower. 

I can say that now because I got my package . In actuality, it really is probably our break even point. By the last couple of days alcohol fatigue sets in. 

Mine started out at $74 for a February cruise. The recent planner sale brought it to $46 (yay, sold!). My initial calculations were $1000 or less for the beverage package and 1 voom so if the prices didn't come down the plan was to set myself an on board spend limit of $1000. If we went over then water and tea for us . 

@JLMoran That is very helpful, thank you! It doesn't sound like it's worth it for me personally. It would be nice to sweat off some alcohol in a sauna but not for $200 with such a small space.

32 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

@Maggienc17, welcome to the forums!

I wouldn't bother with the pre-booking option in the Cruise Planner. Sounds like it's exactly the same as others described it a year ago when it randomly showed up for them, and for them it was never possible to finish the booking.

As long as you go straight to the spa when you board, you should have no trouble signing up for one of the passes then and having the charge put on your SeaPass card. There may or may not be limits now on who can go in, and for how long at a time, but that probably won't be known until you board. Since the spa is run independently of the ship by a third party, Royal really doesn't have info they can publish on their site unless the company who manages the spa decides to share it with them.

How is the thermal spa on Anthem? I haven't been able to find any videos or pictures.

PS - I have been reading old live reviews to pass time and belated thank you for your great Anthem reviews!

27 minutes ago, ehw51 said:

We drove from south of Pittsburgh to Port Liberty the day of once,  (5 1/2 hrs) never again. LOL We know people that fly in day of and get taxi, it has always worked  great for them. We go over the night before, easier on us. We have friends that we see and we generally stay an extra day when we get back.

Is there a park and cruise hotel that you can recommend?

We are booked 2/21 and plan to go as of now but will reevaluate by final payment time. By that time NYC will probably be the best equipped for containing this and hopefully there will be some POC testing or movement on antibody research by then.

17 minutes ago, Andrew72681 said:

After doing Getaway 2x and Escape we made the move over to RC back in 2018 and aren’t heading back anytime soon. Even older ships like Navigator we like better than the breakaway class. The only place I’ll give NCL the edge is the MDR food. We’re so reticent to go back I’ve got 2 cruise next vouchers expiring December 2021 that I’ll probably just have to sell off. 

Thank you. Is there anything specific that you like better or just the general vibe?

I hope you are not referring to me as dismissing out of hand. In my experiences thus far I've enjoyed NCL more than Carnival, which is why I won't choose to sail Carnival anymore. Now I'm adding another line to compare.

Not to say that I didn't have a good time on the Carnival cruises or that there was nothing I liked about them. Just that in planning to do a couple of cruises a year I'd like to start building loyalty and they aren't my top pick.

1 minute ago, Pima1988 said:

@MKMAJ1

We love sailing out of Liberty.  Have you looked into Celebrity?  That is RCL's sister company.  Points you earn are transferable.

 

 

Yes! One of the reasons we're looking at RCI for loyalty. Planning to do a winter Bahamas and summer Bermuda on Summit if we stick with it!

14 minutes ago, Pima1988 said:

We are loyal to Royal.  Our TA put it the best.  Carnival is a 2 star hotel, NCL is 3 star and RCL is a 4 star.  Anthem is unique in soooo many ways.  JMPO, but here are the Pro's and Cons.

PRO:

1. 1. The terminal runs like clockwork.  15 -20 mins from checking in to having your 1st cocktail in hand.
2. The ship only clears the bottom of the Verrazano bridge by @30 feet.  You literally will be able to tell each brand/make of the car as you pass under it. 
3.  The Solarium is OMG amazing.  Probably my favorite, especially since it has the bistro connected to it.  Great photo op is sitting on the swing.  
4.  Loved the fact that they have 3 distinct pool areas.  Solarium, indoor and outdoor.  
5.  Love the little secret floor if heights don't bother you.  There is a cut away that looks down about 8 or so decks (can't recall how many decks).
6.  If sailing in a group and have a balcony, the dividers come down.  This means you can actually have a larger balcony per se for the entire group and use the balcony doors as a way to knock on the others door instead of going in the hallway with your sea pass or WoW
7.  The 270 is where they hold the acrobatic show, the Quest and where you get the Kummelwreck.  It is a great option for lunch.  If you go late, close to end of lunch you can watch them practice the show.
8.  The WJ is amazing bc it actually has outdoor seating.  Not many of the RCL ships have outdoor seating in the WJ.
9.  Did late traditional seating and had no time confliction with any show.  Love and Marriage, Comedy, 70's party, The Quest, etc.
10.  We Will Rock You is one of the best shows on Royal

CON:

1.  This is a ship where you really need to pick your cabin impo.  We sailed as a group and booked last minute (6 weeks).  To get 5 balconies connected left us with limited options.  Okay 1 option.  We were deck 12 and 1 cabin away from the bridge.  Cool bc they would wave to us, but traversing the ship was long.  Our sailing was suppose to go to Bermuda, but due to a hurricane they sent us to NE/Canada.  Did not feel any true motion.
2.  Not a fan of the Esplanade.  Sea days it just felt cramped.  We had perfect weather, pools open. 80-85 degree days.  I could not fathom what it would be like if it was raining.  Add in the days where they do the sidewalk sale and I felt like I was doing the bump.
3.  Not a fan of the location of Schooners.  My husband and I are a huge fans of that bar.  However, the location does not offer a sea view  and it is located next to the photo shop.  It was always packed.
4.  Not a fan of The Gift show.  

Lastly, my SIL cruised with us LY on Adventure. (Anthem cruise was my family, Adventure was hub's side) She is top tier for NCL.  I heard for 9 months about NCL this, NCL that.  She walked on the ship ready to prove NCL would have been a better choice since both sail out the NY/NJ area.  By Day 2 she was sold on RCL.  She even said, okay, you win RCL is better. Our cruise was 8 nights to the Caribbean out of Liberty.  

1.  Never on any NCL cruise did she see as many cleaning staff as she did on RCL.  Her exact remark was every time I enter a bathroom the staff is exiting.  Every time I go out a door to a deck, somebody is wiping the doors (this was last July b4 CoVid19)  Our cabin attendant cleaned/straightened our cabins 3 times a day.  Morning, sometime in the afternoon and then fold down service.
2.  Day 3 she received champagne and chocolate strawberries compliments of the casino.  She only does slots.  I think she won 500 by that time.  Her response is I sail basically free with NCL due to gambling and they never gifted me anything.  
3.  Tied to cleanliness, her pet peeve was we spent the day in the Solarium.  We all had the bev pkg.  She would get up and go into the hot tub with maybe 20% of her drink in the glass left.  Came back and the drink was gone, they re-clamped the towels, placed her book at the foot of the lounger.  She was …seriously, I wasn't done with my drink.  However, they have soo many attendants roaming that no sooner had she sat back on the lounger somebody 
4.  We only ate in the MDR 3 nights out of the 8. (Day 1,2, and 7) She was shocked that on day 2 our waiters asked her if she wanted to have XYZ wine again tonight with dinner.  Remembered all of our drinks.  Dinner was done, and the waiter turned and said would you like the same drinks as last night for dessert.  (Specialty coffee and different alcohol sides...i.e cappuccino and amaretto for me, cap and baileys for hubby, espresso and sambucca for BIL, etc.).  She had done an NCL 1 yr prior on a 12 night Med sailing with NCL.  The wait staff never recalled what she drank.
5.  The spa.  We girls did a mani/pedi on one of the sea days.  It was pre-purchased prior to the cruise.  She turned to me on day 2 and said, I am going to see if I can ask them to a gel mani fill, but if they are like NCL the answer will be no.  Women will understand that this is a long process.  She went to the spa and they were turning people away wanting to book apptmts.  She said to the receptionist after seeing you say no to people in front of me, I am sure I know the answer, but....They turned to her and said no problem.
6.  Finally, RCL is known for rock hard beds.  SIL never had this problem on NCL.  I told her the day we embarked tell your attendant to give you a mattress topper and extra pillows.  They not only re-do her bed day 1 while we were at dinner, but bc she didn't tell them what type of pillow she wanted they brought her 3 different types.

Hope this helps.  

 

 

This is so helpful. Thank you for taking the time to go into such detail - it is much appreciated!

What is this secret floor that you mentioned?

We are on deck 10 midship..  is this a good location?

1 hour ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I wouldn’t personally dismiss Carnival if you have never done the 8 day Southern Caribbean route on a newer class ship. I would say this experience is equal to or better then any experience we have had on both NCL and Royal. 

Thank you for the insight. We are mostly limited to NY, NJ, and Baltimore departures and there are no CCL new ships for our usual dates. I would consider trying one if there was. 

Thanks for the insight! 

Perfect cruise for me is laid back and relaxing. I'm looking forward to spending time in the solarium on cold days, pool deck on warm days with a frosty beverage. Specialty dining is not a must (and we should have dinner access to CK). We are not party animals but enjoy cocktails and a comedy show or live music in the evenings. I'd like to try some of the unique activities on the Anthem as well.