spellman

Still no suites available to book on any summer sailing..anyone have an updated news?

Just seen this thread..I'm an mobility consultant so have dabbled in this quite a lot.

• WiFi calling can be used to make/receive texts and calls over Voom internet but note this feature is both phone model, AND network service provider dependent. Check with your network and test on your home WiFi before leaving. 
• Apple iMessage can  also use a WiFi connection to send/receive texts and calls but only to other iPhone users. This is NOT dependent on your network service provider supporting WiFi calling.
• You can use the RCI SmartPhone app to send text messages to other passengers who also have the RCI SmartPHone app via the on-board WiFi without purchasing the full Voom package. As others have stated, it's $2 per person per day. The only downside I found to this is that it doesn't use the notification feature of the phone, you need to have the app open to see if you have new messages, so not as convenient as native messaging using WhatsApp etc.
• Other smartphone messaging apps work well for messaging and voice calls but need the Voom package of course (I've used WhatsApp, Telegram, Google messaging)
• It's relatively trivial to purchase one Voom package and share it across a family sharing a cabin. Windows laptops and Android phone have features where you can setup your own hotspot for your family to us, and piggyback of one single Voom plan

Hope this helps

Cheers

Neil

I put in the bid for a JS on our last Anthem sailing and got it for the minimum bid price so chances are higher than usual with reduced capacity sailings.

Looking at the European 2022 sailing for Wonder and there are zero suites available on ANY date in 2022.

I'm wondering if they are completely blocked for bookings that will be moved across from the previous ship?

16 hours ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Maybe switching the ship from U.S to metric system?

2 meters is more than 6 feet for social distancing.

Also casino changes for the Euro?

All RCI ships operate in $US even when operating in European markets.

10 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

If only they could make the WOW bands totally replace the SeaPass Card...

Browsing through the ANTHEM launch book onboard our last cruise there was several pages about how the WOW bracelet would be replacing the SeaPass card on this ship. I guess it never happened?

We used the messaging feature on the RCI app on Anthem (without Voom package) and it worked really well when there was no cell service. The only downsides were the messages don't generate notifications on your phone, so it was easy to miss new messages as you have to have the app open to see if anyone has messaged you!

I've found the waiters and chefs to be really accommodating..if there's something not on the menu you want to try and that they're able to cook with the ingredients on board then they'll go out of their way to provide it for you. Just ask! 

The restrictions on our Anthem cruise (out of Southampton) were even stricter..nobody was allowed to disembark (regardless of vaccination status) unless you were on an RCI-organised tour. RCI really don't want their carefully screened and tested passengers mixing with the "great unwashed"  whilst in port, thus increasing the chances of bringing infections back onboard.

I had planned an excursion on our recent Anthem cruise in Belfast, until RCI changed the rules to only allow RCI-organised excursions, thus vastly increasing the cost, so we stayed on board in both Belfast and Liverpool. I was disappointed but glad RCI were taking Covid seriously and trying to keep infections onboard to a minimum by keeping passengers in their vaccinated "bubbles" whilst on shore.

16 hours ago, JeffB said:

My take is that the number of people this is happening too is very small. We'd hear about it via a prying media trying to get a scoop if there were a lot of them.

I think the number of people getting turned away at the terminal will be very small, as it would only be mostly children being tested as positive on check-in day.

If you didn't have a negative test to present on departure day you wouldn't even bother turning up at the terminal - you'd contact RCI and presumably get a future cruise certificate whilst you self-isolate at home. I think you'd be surprised at the number of people who are testing positive, holding the false belief that now they are fully vaccinated they can't catch Covid!

Departure day testing is being scaled back (in the UK at least) with ALL passengers now required to take a PCR test in advance. Only those who don't get their results will be tested at the terminal.

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd be curious of that, too. How many cancel a cruise due to a positive test vs testing positive on board.

I don't have numbers, but when we dropped our car at the park and ride for our cruise last week, the bus driver did say a "few people" had returned back to get their cars the same day after testing positive at the terminal. 

49 minutes ago, JimnKathy said:

We've been fully vaxed since April. Based on science, the additional pre-cruise testing requirement is complete overkill.

While I understand the cruise lines are attempting to mitigate risk as much as possible (and they seem to be doing a great job thus far), this additional step is silly IMHO.

Not sure which "science" you are quoting, but just because you've been fully vaccinated doesn't prevent you from a) catching then b) spreading or c) getting sick from Covid.

I fully support the cruise companies insisting on negative tests from all pax before boarding to minimise the risks for all on board. Contributing to the collective health of everyone on board is not overkill or silly IMHO.

2 hours ago, BrianB said:

Was Anthem 100% or just those eligible to receive vaccines? Norwegian is doing true 100% vaccinated which means no children. At least for now.

It's 100% of those eligible (i.e. everyone over 18). In the UK, they have only just announced vaccination of 16+ and no children younger than that have yet been vaccinated. All passengers (including unvaccinated children) have to present a negative PCR test to board.

The Anthem is a 100% vaccinated ship (for over 18s anyway) and masks are still mandatory indoors unless eating or drinking.  Wearing them wasn't a problem at all for us, happy to contribute to the overall good health of the passengers and crew.  What was more impactful was the social distancing and not being able to socialise easily with fellow passengers in any of the venues (plus side to this - half empty ship meant no crowds or queues!)

Regards

Neil

On 8/7/2021 at 3:36 PM, JeffB said:

If you don't need one, don't get a PCR. Instead get the antigen test. Not all facilities offer both tests. I found that looking on the web does not always provide details on which tests are available at a specific (usually retail) testing site. If you can, call and confirm that the test you want is available and they aren't out of them. They do run out. It's not always easy to call - waiting on hold, bots and the like often don't cooperate.

The PCR tests were arranged and paid for by RCI using their preferred testing provider (Eurofins), and all booked online.

Somehow our samples never reached the lab or they lost the results, so we ended up taking the Antigen tests on departure day. Eurofins were reachable on the phone, but couldn't really explain what had happened. It was very stressful though, not having a negative result to present on departure day despite having taken the time out to get tested several days beforehand!

Thought I'd drop some thoughts about this sailing for others looking to research UK cruises (as there doesn't seem to be many UK trip reports on here)

Pre-cruise experience

Messaging from RCI was inconsistent and the Covid rules changed twice (the second time only three days before departure, causing mass panic and confusion when RCI said that children had to be PCR-tested, but of course there was no time left to get tested!). I was disappointed that RCI changed the rules on shore excursions to only allow disembarkation if you had purchased your excursion via RCI, although I can understand the reasoning of trying to keep passengers in their vaccinated "bubbles" whilst on-shore.

On-line check-in only partially worked on the app, and only one of our SailPasses was available on the app, we had to get the other two printed at the terminal. Nobody really understood why as they had been available in the app earlier in the week.

Our PCR test results had still not come back from Eurofins by departure day, so we had to get re-tested at the terminal (Antigen tests) which were handled quickly and professionally. The organisation at Southampton was superb with loads of staff on-hand and a very personal service offered.

Onboard-staff

The service was a bit more hit-and-miss than our previous cruise on-board Independence two years ago. Perhaps it was new staff and lack of training, or 18 months of being off work, but the attentiveness of the bar staff was not as good as previous cruises, and a general lack of attention to detail seem to be prevalent (like having to ask for shower gel from our room attendant three days in a row, or guest services having to be chased several times for answers to some questions).

Anthem of the Seas

The ship was well maintained, and spotlessly clean as you'd expect. We enjoyed all the available activities like Ripcord, North Star and Dodgems.

The physical distancing measures in place meant greatly reduced capacity onboard, so the ship felt very quiet. Bookings for shows still quickly filled up due to the greatly reduced seating capacity in 270 and the theatre, so I'm glad I booked everything the first few hours of being onboard via the app. 

Because of the physical distancing measures, I did miss the "social" side of cruising..meeting new people and making new friends etc. There was no guest dancing or singing allowed in any of the music venues, and tables in bars and restaurants were all distanced appropriately making it almost impossible to talk to your neighbours and make new friends. There were a few queues to get into the pool, as numbers were very restricted and enforced by the lifeguards. 

The ship felt more "intimate" than Independance with the main boulevard deck divided into two floors and no "interior balconies" and I missed being able to visit the very front (reserved for paid-for photo experiences on Anthem)

Food and drink

Windjammer was only open for breakfast and lunch for the first couple of days, then they added dinner service for the final four days. Food variety was normal, but seating capacity much less because of so many tables blocked to maintain social distancing.

We had MyTime dining, so most meals were in Silk main dining on deck 4 and food variety and quality was good, with menus accessed via the app (paper menus were available for those without smartphones)

After an issue with dinner in Silk one evening we we comped a meal in Chops Grill which was fantastic and definitely made up for the poor main dining room glitch. Catering management were keen to address any issues and put things right so received great customer service there.

With the an ultimate drinks package, we didn't waste any time sampling the various cocktails on offer, although found may of them too sweet and syrupy, or very weak with too much ice. The best cocktails tended to be from the robotic bar where you could specify the exact amount of spirit and mixer!

Shows and activities

Any activity that "encouraged" or allowed mixing of parties were scrubbed to keep physical distancing, so no ice breaker activities and a greatly reduced teen program. 

The headliner shows were all high quality and thoroughly enjoyed by all (particularly We Will Rock you and Spectra's Caberet, despite the audience being only 1/3 of the usual capacity.) I can imagine it must be hard for the performers performing to mostly empty venues as there are more empty seats than occupied seats in the theatre and 270.

Our teenage daughter spent most of her time with us, given there was no real opportunity for her to meet similar aged friends, whereas on our previous cruise she spent almost all of her time in the kids club and exploring with new friends. This meant far less "couple time" for us than normal, if you know what I mean

Room

We originally booked a balcony room but I snagged a bargain upgrade to a junior suite via RoyalUp (figured with a half empty ship upgrades would be easy to get at minimum bid prices and this seemed to be the case). Room was spacious and clean, and loved having a bath tub! Downside, the other half is now going to want at least this sized room on all our future cruises, so my wallet is going to feel that pain!

Shore excursions

Can't comment on these as we didn't do any! We had planned to do our own thing in Belfast and visit the Giants Causeway, however after RCI changed their shore leave policy I didn't fancy paying the RCI prices so we opted to stay on board in both Belfast and Liverpool.

Overall

We had a great time on board, and despite a few minor glitches with food and service, would definitely go back on the Anthem again, although perhaps we'll wait until some of the social distancing restrictions have been lifted to allow more socialising.

Hope you find this useful! Happy to answer questions etc.

Warm regards

Neila

We had our PCR tests taken three days before departure day, however the results still hadn't come back by the time we were due to leave, so we had to take Antigen tests at the terminal (Southampton) along with our daughter, and we all got our negative results back in 15 minutes. Process was very smooth and well organised. My PCR test is still showing as "awaiting results" nearly two weeks later 

Bids on my Anthem cruise opened on June 17th for a Aug 1st sailing.

Given the ship is operating at 50% capacity I figured I'd have a decent chance of snagging a JS and was indeed successful with the minimum bid amount (£125 per person)

Regards

Neil

My experience of Voom (on European sailings) is that Voom surf is barely sufficient for surfing (unless you are *really* patient) and Voom Stream is totally inadequate for streaming. When I complained that one wasn't getting what you had paid for, the Voom rep on board just blamed too many users and refused to issue a refund. Now I just buy the cheapest and expect only basic app functionality (email, twitter etc). YMMV of course.