MattG

Day 7 (Sea Day) and Day 8 (Disembarkation) will come tomorrow, apologies for the delay. I also plan to post all the docs we received, including the full collection of Cruise Compasses, as well as a debrief (what worked, what didn’t)

DAY SIX - SEA DAY (two days late) Adventure Ocean was fully booked this morning, so this was one day we HAD to have the kids. Ugh. Breakfast at Windjammer again, then we decided to check out the pools first thing. We traded our towels for new ones, and made our way outside. It was windy! And a little chilly! Our youngest was having fun running around terrorizing anyone he could find, our middle child wasn’t interested in the pool, and the oldest couldn’t stop vibrating because she wanted to get in so bad. I joined her in the “tornado” pool for a bit, doing laps and chasing her around. We then all migrated inside to the indoor pool which was a bit warmer and calmer. Everyone made their way to the wading pool, and had a good time splashing around. We did get a talking-to by staff that our youngest wasn’t allowed in any of indoor pools due to his swim diaper. When we asked “Well, what pool CAN he use?”, we were directed to the “swim diaper pool” outside in the H20 Zone, next to the “wave pool”. Guys. It’s a 10-foot diameter circle with a single water feature. This is great for crawlers or someone learning to walk, but for it to be the ONLY pool a 2-year old can use is kinda lame. I completely understand the need to “contain the poo”, but it’s 70 degrees outside, windy, and the water’s a bit tepid. Plus, the “wave pool” is closed, so to play here means splitting up the family because this isn’t big enough for all of us. I don’t understand the wading pool in the indoor area if it can’t be used by the kind of kids that wading pools are designed for? A fellow live blogger sent over photos of the swim diaper area on Oasis, and it’s much larger, has a water slide, etc. This was one thing that got my wife real worked up and will be a mention in the survey. After rotating through the pools a few times, we decided to do Main Dining for lunch, as we had Chef’s Table for dinner. We were directed to Silk (Deck 4 Port), and felt like we had the place to ourselves! Lunch was good, not great. Service was incredible, as always. After lunch, there was a line dancing class in the SeaPlex, so we all went up to try it out. The kids had ZERO interest in participating, but luckily the nets were down and Pickleball was set up on the other half. The wife did a few line dances while the kids roamed around SeaPlex playing with Pickleball, Fooseball, and some other activities. We hung around here long after the dance class ended, and basketball started. At 4:15pm, we headed back to the rooms to get ready for Chef’s Table. Trying to wrangle three kids under 6 is a chore for anyone, so room service it is! We LOVE that it’s a single flat fee, as we can order a mountain and guaranteed to have something everyone would love. We placed the order on the TV (a first for me), and about 5 minutes later we received a call to confirm the order. We left the nanny and the kids with activities, Daniel Tiger, and a “Good luck!” Chef’s Table is a private room at the end of Chops, and the entrance to Chops is right next to the Schooner Bar. Dinner is at 5:30pm, and the “meetup time” was 5:15pm. We rolled up a hair past 5:20pm, and not seeing anyone in Schooner Bar, went straight into Chops. We were ID’d as Chef’s Table participants, handed champagne, and escorted to the Chef’s Table room where all but one of the 14 seats were filled. We took our seats, and (like every Chef’s Table), sat in sober silence until someone started talking. The folks across from us were very chatty, and we had a great time socializing with them while the rest of the room started to loosen up. We started off with (what I think is) the pull-apart garlic bread from Jamie’s, with a side of herb butter. Amazing! I did my best to save a piece for each course, because I’m a sucker for cleaning my plate with bread First course was a scallop carpaccio: Second course was a smoked tomato soup, which was heavenly! the smoke was perfect, and the soup was rich and creamy. The dish was served with just the bowl and “dry” ingredients, with the soup poured tableside. The bread really helped here: Third course was a lobster salad with a mango-type vinaigrette: Fourth course was a branzino, that I forgot to take a photo of. Sorry! Fifth course was the largest, most perfectly cooked fillet mignon I had ever eaten. Guys, this thing was like a softball! Sixth course was “The World”, which I think comes from Wonderland. I grabbed a video of the reveal: IMG_0049.MOV This is the second time we’ve done Chef’s Table (last was 2015 on Grandeur), and every time, it’s been an incredible experience. The food is unique and tasty, the wine pairings are on point, but the social aspect is the absolute best part. It’s always a diverse crowd that chooses to do Chef’s Table, and the conversations only get better after each course (and glass of wine!). Our total experience from first seating to walking out was 2.5 hours. One of our table mates had a 1BR Grand Suite on the same deck, so we walked over to check it out, and are quite jealous of the bathrooms you all get in the suite level After that, it was off to bed. Tomorrow is our last sea day!

We saw Spectra and WWRY this past week - Spectra was REALLY good, and we had seats right in front of the bar, up next to the stage. I think this show requires immersion - you need to be down front, or real close. Distance (back of the lower deck, or the balcony) work against you. WWRY was NOT our cup of tea. My wife and I were giggling at the ridiculousness of the entire plot. The tech was good, the band was good, but we just couldn’t get past “Scaramoosh, we have to get back to the Hard Rock Cafe!” Much cringe was had by all.

Can confirm 2789 for 5 Dec departure on Anthem.

Passenger count is 2789

DAY 5 - COCO CAY I had high expectations for this day, and they were 100% exceeded! Everyone slept in a bit later than normal, so we missed being the first ones off the gangway. After breakfast in the Windjammer, we made it off the ship around 8:30am. We headed straight to Chill Island, finding empty chairs next to the bandstand across from Chill Grill. The kids made it down to the water, and it was chilly! It was the kind of water you get used to after a few minutes. Each kid had a good time playing in the water while we settled in - the youngest piling sand on his legs (and learning you can’t rub your eyes when they’re sandy), the oldest going straight into the deeper parts of the water, and the middle one just wading into her ankles and walking the full length of the beach. Our nanny took advantage of the $48 Black Friday deal for Thrill Waterpark, and left to check out the slides. Around 10am, we wandered over to Chill Grill and grabbed a banana, then over to Splashaway Bay. The oldest fell IN LOVE with the slides! She kept going up and doing the big, twisty slide. The water was still kind of chilly, which turned off the younger two. Our middle child didn’t like the slides at all (a combination of fear on the slide, and the cold water) and wanted nothing to do with Splashaway Bay. After a few rounds on the slide, we all went back to the beach and ended up getting a floating mat ($9). The oldest and I swam out to one of the nearby floating platforms to check out the snorklers. We hung out for a bit, then came back to find everyone else just enjoying the beach. It really is a fantastic place! As Chill Grill opened at 11:30am, we grabbed some food and everyone found something they liked. We took it back to our chairs and ate. After lunch, the wife stayed with our youngest to attempt a nap, and I took the two oldest to Captain Jill’s Galleon (the pirate ship). They LOVED IT, especially the middle child (redemption for not liking Splashaway Bay). We spent an hour here, going up and down the slides, the steps, playing with the water guns. They quickly made friends with other kids and playing with the water cannons After an hour or so, we did another pivot over to Splashaway Bay to give the oldest a few more runs on the water slides and to see if the middle would like it (she did not). After 5 or 6 runs on the slide, we went back to check with the wife. We swung by Chill Grill again to grab some watermelon and a brownie for each girl, and the youngest was asleep on the wife, who was reading a book (sleeping baby, and a book, on a beach? Happy wife!) After the snack, we split up, with the oldest going with the nanny to Splashaway Bay, and I took the middle back to Captain Jill’s pirate ship. Another hour of laughter and playtime! I wanted to check out Oasis Lagoon, so we broke away from the pirate ship and wandered past Captain Jacks up to Oasis. Wow, what an amazing pool! We came in on the zero entry side, with the “party” side seemingly so far away. The middle child found the life jackets (the ones that have floaties on the arms, just like at home!) and immediately ran into the pool and made friends. There really is something for everyone on this island! We spent another 45 minutes at the pool, before realizing we were 45 minutes away from “All-aboard” at 4:30pm. We made our way lazily back to Chill Island by leaving out the south size of Oasis Lagoon (near the pier with the jet skis) and walked back to the beach chairs. We wrangled all of our towels, sunblock, etc and trudged reluctantly back to the ship. For a family of six with three young kids, this island is perfection. We didn’t have to worry about food, drinks, chairs, umbrellas, taxis, etc. All we had to bring was ourselves and our towels. There was ALWAYS something to do, and there were definitely things we didn’t explore. The water was a little cool, but the air temperature was perfect for us. It never felt unbearably hot, and nobody was losing their mind over heat exhaustion. “Perfect Day” is no joke! We didn’t have any plans for the evening, so we lazily made our way to MDR for dinner, and then back to the room for a little TV and bed. Tomorrow is a sea day!

There’s nothing stopping you! The littlest kids seem to have the most fun. Unfortunately, I think either needs TLC from maintenance, or some things have been toned down since the original release: The spray from the water cannons is kinda weak: the ones on the ground can’t reach up into the ship, and the ones on the ship barely limp over the railing. It’s a lot different than what’s on the RC Press Center website from the original opening, where the water spray was MUCH stronger! There used to be a yellow slide from the far top lookout down to the main deck, that’s gone as well.

Thank you! That’s super helpful for our planning for Oasis next year. For comparison, here’s the swim diaper area from Anthem we’ve had to work with this week (highlighted in purple arrows, hopefully these stay upright)

We’re a camera shy family, but here are some shots throughout the week (EDIT: no idea why some of the photos are rotated, they’re all normal in my camera roll):

Yeah, ours had a curriculum (gonna try and attach here) - the kids were definitely interacting with each other, doing crafts, etc - all masked.

Hi everyone! Apologies for the delayed posts, we’ve been busy! I hope to get Day 5 and Day 6 written up this morning. if anyone has any photo requests, let me know and I’ll knock them out today!

Hello! I haven’t had a chance to follow along (we’re on Anthem right now), but I was wondering if you could snap a photo or two of the “swim diaper-only area” of Splashaway Bay? On Anthem, kids in swim diapers aren’t allowed in any pool except one (insultingly) small splash area. Wondering if the amplified Oasis has something a bit nicer…

We’re on Anthem right now with three kids (5. 3.5, and 2) and they all can’t get enough of AO! For the older two, each AO session has a theme with crafts, toys etc. Our kids can’t wait to go back the next day!

DAY 4 (NASSAU) - PART 2 After nap time, we got dressed for dinner at MDR. We got into 90’s Music trivia just before dinner time, and actually ended up nailing every single song! There were about 120 people playing, and there was a six-way tie for first place. There was a “song-off” that only one person ended up getting a fraction of the song name, so they won…pens! Main Dining tonight was on point. It’s not consistent, but we’ve always found something that someone likes. After dinner was Spectra’s Cabaret. The lower level is the “Everyone” level, with the balcony for fully vaccinated guests. I’m a bit disappointed at the layout of the “reserved for social distancing” signs - I feel they could have been more strategic in what they roped off to open up more seats and still maintain distance. For instance, there’s four rows in the “front and center” section, but the only Row 3 was open. We ended up finding seats on the far right (bar side), right up next to the stage. Our littlest (2 years old) was more interested in playing hide-and-seek during the show, so about 15 minutes in the wife pulled him and went on a different adventure. Our oldest two (5 and 3.5) were really into it. The seats we picked were really immersive, especially sitting right next to the main speaker stack (it was loud, but not painful). As the dancers/performers came by they all waved/interacted with the girls. I actually enjoyed Spectra’s Cabaret. It’s certainly a cabaret-style variety show, and the venue’s technology is used really well. Between the venue’s in-the-round seating, projection mapping, screens, and numerous lighting positions, the designers really have every opportunity to knock it out of the park. The greatest weakness for me was the vocal talent and their audio mix. Spectra was a great host, and but his vocals and the Harmony Sisters were tonally off. I’m sure the performers are very talented, so I have to chalk it up to their vocal parts and the mix. I think the vocals needed a bit more reverb/chorus to take some of the edge off the harshness of the parts. All that being said, everyone walked away really enjoying the show! We snuck into David Klinkenberg’s set a few minutes late, and that was enjoyable too - not fantastic, but definitely kept the girls entertained. Tomorrow is Coco Cay!

On Anthem now, we have white rubber (removable) bracelets.

Thank you! I have to say, your live blog was what inspired me to start this one!

We’re a party of six, three adults and three kids (2, 3.5 and 5) The wife is curious about cruising on Carnival (hush) or Celebrity and what experience we would have with our party, but different lines. I priced out our Anthem cabin for a similar timeframe, and found Celebrity to be 3x the price for a 9-day instead of 7-day, and Carnival to be a tad less (5%) for a 5-day instead of a 7-day, all out of NJ/NY (it doesn’t make sense for us to fly to Florida with three kids at this point). What’s everyone experiences on other lines? What are the kids clubs and activities like? Splash pads? Play areas?

MID-CRUSE RANDOM THOUGHTS: Adventure Ocean is the real star of this 3-kid cruise. They truly give the adults time to relax, the kids go in eager to play, and come out exhausted but excited by the activities they’ve done. Any parent knows that if your kid is exhausted by lunch time, they had a good morning. Because we still have one (occasionally two) that nap, we haven’t done the afternoon sessions, and the evening sessions are too late for our kids (usually in bed at home by 7:30, or with us on the cruise seeing a show). One of my concerns about Anthem was the lack of young kid (6 and under) activities, and it’s ringing true. North Star has a height restriction, as does FlowRider and bumper cars. Climbing has an age limit. The inside pool has a wading pool, and the outside pool has the “tornado” and a small zero entry pool, but that’s it. We’re really itching for a Splashaway Bay, here. The housekeeping and MDR staff are absolutely fantastic. Very personable, very attentive, but not in-your-face or overbearing. Two reasons we wanted a cruise vacations as 1) we don’t have to worry about our room, and 2) we don’t have to worry about food. In both of those cases, the staff has stepped up and taken the burden off of us parents for a week, and it’s appreciated (and tip appropriately!) A mid-ship cabin makes it real easy to get anywhere on the ship (and back) in minutes. The only place that really feels out of the way is Two70 - cabin to elevator to floor 5, then through the Via, then past Vintages, past the cafe, THEN you’re in Two70. The Main Dining menu has been more hits than misses. The kids have no complaints, the adults have had some great meals, and some so-so meals. Nothing has ever been so bad as to send back, though the wife got the NY strip on night 1 that was over-done, but it seemed like a fluke. Magnetic walls in the stateroom are a godsend! Combined with a shoe organizer, it’s keeping everything off the floor. The wife got a 6-pack of different color drawstring bags, and everyone puts their own items in it. Super smart, very helpful! Special on laundry service today, $24.99 per bag (normally $34.99). We passed. Two connecting cabins opens up the space so much. Highly recommended! Also means you don’t force everyone to get a drink package

DAY 4 (NASSAU) - PART ONE We’re getting into a good rhythm now - breakfast in Windjammer, drop off at AO. The wife did a little bit of work this morning, posting up between the Via and Two70 (next to Vintages) before a massage this morning. I got her connected to the internet, then went off to the gym, and finally got on the rock wall and did two climbs before coming back to write yesterday’s live blog. Then it was off to AO for pickup. When we left New Jersey, it was 29 degrees. What a shock to walk outside to the hot, humid, Caribbean air! Our whole family is fair-skinned, and the sun just feels closer to us when we’re in Florida/Caribbean. Lunch at Windjammer again, and then we took everyone back to the cabin to reset and figure out the afternoon. The nanny wanted to take a quick stroll around the port, and our oldest wanted to go back to the pools. I took up nap duty (AO really wipes out our youngest and middle). I took another crack at iFly and North Star signups (no bueno), and decided to sign up the kids for their disembarkation COVID tests. Guys, there has to be an easier way to do this. The signups are through TrustOne, and you have to register and create an account for *each child*. Username AND password. Then once you have the account, you pick a test time. The only ones open were Day 7 (last day), from 8am to 10:30am. We picked 8:30am, squeezing it right between breakfast and AO. I completely respect the need to test unvaccinated kids, but the signup process has GOT to be easier. Why can’t I call a number, give them my stateroom number and number of kids, and lock it in? It took me probably 5-10 minutes per kid. Also factor in the WiFi was really slow, so that contributed a lot of the time. It was just so many steps. During nap time were the crew emergency drills. They’re interesting to listen to, except the emergency tones. Luckily (or unluckily?) our kids slept through both the emergency and embarkation tones. I’m glad our kids are heavy sleepers, but I think I’m the only one in our group that would wake up at the tones! After nap time, we’re off for trivia and a pre-dinner cocktail before MDR, then Spectra’s Cabaret in Two70. Tomorrow is Coco Cay!

Looking in the app, the “pay” times for iFly and North Star are plentiful. I doubt you will have issues booking either one throughout your cruise.

Oh yeah, definitely. Day 2 and Day 3 have been GREAT, and the staff has 100% got the rhythm down.

It has been solid so far! There isn’t much I feel we’re “leaving on the table” - that is, we’re doing every activity that’s available to us that includes the kids, but I feel like there could be a little more. It could be COVID limiting those options, it could be this ship itself being geared for ages 10+ (my unofficial rating), etc. I remember seeing MANY more kid-friendly options in a 2019 Anthem Cruise Compass. We brought a “Mary Poppins” bag of activities that we haven’t opened yet, and that may come out on the sea days after CocoCay. I’m VERY excited for our possible Oasis trip in October 2022 - Splashaway Bay, three pools, Perfect Storm, Ultimate Abyss, AquaTheater, Studio B, the amplified Adventure Ocean, the Boardwalk, Central Park - All things I can see our kids participating in. There’s a lot here on Anthem, but our kids can’t do.

DAY 3 (PORT CANAVERAL, FL) I’ve been sleeping much better the past few nights, I think Day 1 was a combination of “testing out the drink package” and getting my sea legs First thing this morning was a coffee for the wife from the Patisserie (the only place I know of that does Starbucks onboard). She said it “tastes like home”, so that’s good! Breakfast at the Windjammer - everybody’s finding something new every day - the menu for breakfast doesn’t rotate, but there’s enough variety! Each day we end by going out the back of Windjammer and up the steps to the Flowrider, and each day the weather gets a LITTLE warmer, it was in the low 70s today. Tomorrow we might to breakfast out here if it’s not too busy. A walk around the track to burn some time before Adventure Ocean opens, and man, the wind really does WHIP around those corners! Some of us were leaning into the wind! Another seamless drop-off at Adventure Ocean. All three kids can’t wait to go back every day. For the Aquanauts (3-5), each session has a theme: Day 2 Morning was food/cooking, Day 3 Morning is camping. The staff has a chart that shows the themes for each session if you want to coordinate with your child’s interests - I’ll upload one in another post. After drop-off, I made a solid attempt at some of the more intense activities: FlowRider: the morning sessions are all “stand-up surfing”, where the same three people rotate through. There boogie boarding sessions are all late morning and afternoon, when we have the kids. I wish they would rotate and have some of the boogie boarding sessions first thing. Climbing Wall: closed due to wind. IFly: I am having the hardest time booking the complimentary times. Every time I go in, they’re sold out. I check multiple times per day, as they seem to be staggering the release of the times, but oh well. My wish here is some sort of guaranteed lottery in the Pre-Cruise Planner: I don’t care what time I get to fly, but put me in a lotto and tell me when to come back. Trying to remember to go into the app only to be repeatedly disappointed isn’t fun. I know they’re trying to get you to pay for the “extended experience”, but this is annoying. North Star: Another hard time booking complimentary times, same as iFly. Something we also didn’t realize is there’s a height restriction, so our youngest two can’t join even if we were able to book a time. It isn’t “all ages” This is something I may just pay the $30 for and knock out myself, because it’s something I really can’t do anywhere else in the world. We haven’t been getting paper copies of the Cruise Compass, and I haven’t seen anything about departure surveys or COVID tests, so I went to check with Guest Services. They pointed me to a QR code on the (wait for it) Cruise Compass for both items. When I said “We haven’t been receiving the Cruise Compass”, they said “Oh, yeah, we don’t supply them to all rooms, only when asked”. I paused and waited for the crew member to see the dilemma, but after a few seconds I scanned and bookmarked both QR codes for future use. Next was a brief stop at the hot tubs before Adventure Ocean pickup. Another raving review - This is a definite winner! We were told 12 hours max (so 4x 3-hour sessions for us), with the possibility of opening up more on Day 4. We’ll ask on Day 4 pickup if that’s the case this cruise. We decided to try lunch at the two70 Cafe because there was Bingo in two70 at 12pm, and my oldest was itching to play. By the time we made it there, we realized it was only one cash prize game, and they stopped selling tickets. Another disappointment. We ended up getting food from two70 and eating at Vintages, while our littlest roamed around the Via snacking on potato chips and Kummelweick rolls. The wife took the two youngest back to the cabin for an attempted nap while the oldest, myself, and the nanny went to the “Fit and Fun Dance Class” in SeaPlex. We got there and lined up, and while the class WAS really fun, her shyness kicked in REAL fast and she wanted NOTHING to do with the dancing! We stayed another 15 minutes or so, before leaving and wandering until the 2pm Scavenger Hunt. We made our way to the Music Hall for the Scavenger Hunt, and were given a sheet of paper with a line for each letter of the alphabet. We had twenty minutes to find an object that started with each letter. The oldest LOVED this! We didn’t go too far, mainly decks 4 and 5, the Esplanade, and the Via, before getting 21/26 and heading back. A few teams beat us to 26/26, but it was a lot of fun. Back to the cabin for a quick change into bathing suits, and we went up to the pool deck. We rotated around from the H20 Zone, Outdoor Pool, the “tornado” pool (it’s like the world’s smallest lazy river), and the indoor pool. It was at this time we were arriving at Port Canaveral, and the space nerd in me wanted to try and find LC-39, the VAB, and the SpaceX fleet docked in Port Canaveral. Unfortunately we only got a little ways into the port, but I did briefly spot GO Navigator, as well as the Falcon 9 booster that arrived earlier this morning. After pool time, we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. The Main Dining staff have really gotten into their groove, and are ON POINT working with kids! Within a minute of sitting down, each kid has a fruit cup and some strawberries while we get a chance to look at the menu. Tonight’s food was pretty good (not as good as last night), but still excellent. We’re holding off on specialty dining because 1) expense, and 2) we don’t to get too spoiled Dinner was cut a little short due to a reservation for bumper cars! I took the oldest up to SeaPlex and we did two rounds of bumper cars while the wife and nanny took the other kids to get seats for the “Frankie and the Dreamers” show in the Main Theatre. After bumper cars, we joined them and all six of us had a really entertaining time. Back to the room for bed for all of us, we’re starting to get wiped out! Tomorrow is Nassau, but we’re staying on the ship (unvax’d kids).

Day 2, Part 2 As nap time wrapped up, the wife and nanny had hair appointments for formal night. I took the three kids to explore Two70, as we hadn’t been there yet. There are parts of this ship that are drop-dead gorgeous. One of the main ones is the Via. When you come around the elevator bank on Deck 5 Aft and hit that cherry blossom corridor facing the Via, it’s breathtaking every single time. We walked down the Via, past Hublot, Jamie’s and Vintages, and into Cafe Two70. We picked up a few melon cups and cookies and I let the kids roam around Two70. This venue is another area that strikes me as well played. We haven’t seen Spectra’s Cabaret yet (tomorrow night), but when the venue is just a normal seating area, the views are gorgeous, this seating is plentiful, and the ambiance is great. After some Two70 acclimation, our oldest was getting itchy about wanting to “do something”. This has been my biggest fear going into this cruise - a lack of directly-engaging activities. We went to the SeaPlex, where it was set up half pickle ball/half basketball, and the kids weaved in and out of the basketball players (almost getting hit a few times) before we ducked out and headed upstairs to the alcoves. All the video game stations were shut off, and the only real active area was the ping-pong tables. This area is in desperate need of a re-purposing - I really like how other Quantum-class ships have Playmakers up here, and this should be a near-term retrofit for Anthem. Next was dinner prep, then off to Chic/MDR. Wow, Night 2 was total redemption for MDR! Staff was MUCH more attentive, food came out at a much quicker cadence, and all the kids stayed engaged. Our middle child was starting to burn out (she’s broken out of her naps, but still can’t do a day with a LOT packed into it). All the MDR food was on-point tonight, and was the service. Our server (Jodie) remembered all the kids and their orders from last night, and really made an effort to engage. As parents, the effort makes a difference! After dinner, we stuck it out until 8pm to see the juggling show in the main theatre, Pete Matthews. Solid, well-rehearsed, kid-friendly act with a twist - he built up several adult-level jokes to a punchline, but stopped short and let the momentum take it to where the adults got the joke, but the kids had no idea. Halfway through our middle child lost what little sanity she had left (due to exhaustion) and we exited and left the rest of the family to finish up the show. When everyone got back, they said the rest of the show was really good, and highly recommended. After everyone went to bed, I wandered a bit - through the Esplanade, through the casino, just to continue to get my bearings. I wandered back to Two70 and caught the last part of Spectra’s Cabaret. I’ve heard reviews that it’s a bit haphazard, the plot isn’t firmed up, and I can see where that idea comes from. Granted, I only caught the last 15 minutes (starting where the drummer enters on the lift), but the show could use some massaging. We’re scheduled to see it Day 4 after dinner, and today’s scouting definitely helped ID some good seats for tomorrow! After Spectra, I headed up to Deck 15 (above the pool deck) and man, is it windy! Monday Night Football was on the big screen, and I watched a few minutes of it before retiring. Off to Day 3!

It’s night and day. A true Maryland crab cake isn’t a patty, it’s a baseball-sized entree with jumbo lump crab meat, very little filler, and broiled (not fried) with a mayo binder. It’s rich, but light at the same time. Asking “who has the best crab cake?” In Maryland is like asking “who has the best pizza in New York”. 12 people will give 12 different answers. if you’re ever in the Baltimore/Annapolis area, it’s worth going out of your way to get a proper crab cake.