MattG

Hi everyone, We’re about to embark on Anthem in 2 weeks, bringing along 3 kids (2, 3.5, and 5 years old). The wife and I were looking over the Cruise Compass from @CravingaCruise’s amazing live blog, and the wife goes, “Where are all the family activities?” Not sure what she was referring to, we looked back to an Anthem Cruise Compass from 2 years ago and, sure enough, there are a TON of kids/family activities that aren’t on the current Cruise Compass: Roller skating (SeaPlex) Family Storytime with an Elf Family Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt (there IS a scavenger hunt on the current Cruise Compass, this may be the same) Family Karaoke Family Muffalo Potato Roller Disco Family Crew Scavenger Hunt Family Science Kids & Families Crazy Tag Family Holiday Ornaments Family Talent Show Now, we know we do still have lots of options (pools, H2O zone, bumper cars for the oldest, Adventure Ocean), but when we look at the above list of things that aren’t happening any longer, it’s disappointing. Any ideas if these are still happening, just not listed on the Cruise Compass? Any idea if they’re just gone completely, or if they’ll come back when 100% of guests are vaccinated? We’re considering a cruise on Oasis (more family friendly, imho) in October 2022 with another group, and the lack of family-oriented programming might give us pause.

Yep, this is the one I saw as well - there's no Walgreens within a 1 hour drive of us that also offers ID-NOW (or any) rapid test, it's all PCR.

Just checked Walgreens - there are none that do rapid tests in a 1 hour (!) radius of us.

16 DAYS OUT! Looking into testing options. Even though we get 72 hours on the testing, PCR turnaround is making me anxious, so we're looking at rapid tests. Taking @Matt's advice and looking at CVS, the closest one to us that does rapid tests is 45 minutes away from home. Not great. Our pediatrician also offers rapids, but will not test without symptoms. There are two pediatric urgent care centers that offer rapid testing for both kids and their parent/guardian, one being 5 minutes away. This may be our best option. Unfortunately, you can only book appointments 2 days out. As we embark on a Sunday, the plan that's shaping up now is to book everyone (adults and kids) for rapid tests on Friday after school, hopefully having results before dinner. Starting tomorrow, i'm also going to book a few backup appointments at CVS on Saturday afternoon in the event one of the rapid tests comes back invalid. "Why not use the Binax rapid tests?" well, for two reasons: 1) We have to take the kids to get tested in-person anyway, so why not have the adults tested a the same time and have insurance pick up the cost, and 2) cost - three tests for three adults is $100, and the reliability hasn't been bulletproof, so I need another backup test (two for $70). If insurance will cover all of our testing and we can get it all done at the same time, i'd much rather put that $170 towards something else.

We're taking our 2 year old on Anthem on 5 December (live-blogging here) and plan to use Royal Babies/Royal Tots. I'll try to add in as many details as I can!

WHO: Myself (mid-30s M) Wife (mid-30s F) Nanny (early 20s F) Kids (5F, 3.5F, 2M) WHAT: Cruising on Anthem! Two (2) connecting interior staterooms (2U and 4U) One (1) Deluxe Beverage Package Chef’s Table for two (2) (me and Wife) No cabanas, no excursions Other than Chef’s Table, no specialty dining (MDR and Windjammer all the way!) WHERE: Day 1: Port Bayonne, NJ Day 2: Sea Day Day 3: Port Canaveral (not sure of gantry is 12pm or 2pm) Day 4: Nassau, Bahamas Day 5: Coco Cay Day 6: Sea Day Day 7: Sea Day WHEN: 5 December (Sunday) through 12 December (Sunday) HOW: Driving from Maryland the morning of embarkation (11:30am check-in) WHY: I will try (and fail) to keep this brief. I’m a Disney Parks nut. I love planning, logistics, fast passes, dining, touring plans, and everything that goes into a Disney Parks trip. My first cruise was 2015 on Grandeur out of Baltimore, 7-night to Bermuda. I had never considered a cruise beforehand, but it was an invite from the Wife’s extended family. About 2 months out, I started researching cruising the same way I researched a Disney trip, and I was hooked on cruising. I started looking at cruise compasses to get an idea of activities, dining, etc. Fast forward to the cruise, and it completely changed my life. Looking back, I’m really glad my first experience was on Grandeur, because I’ll likely never sail on something that small/old again! Not long after that cruise, we found out about another life-changing event: a baby! The next several years zoomed by: a blur of babies, jobs, houses, etc. When the Wife and I hit our 5-year anniversary (2020), we decided to do an adult Disney trip - just the two of us. Unfortunately, COVID hit and 2 months before our flights was when quarantine struck, parks shut down, and we’re dead in the water. This past summer (2021), we (Me, Wife, 3 kids) took a trip to Florida with the Wife’s extended family. It was hard. 3 kids, one condo, no car, limited things to do in walking distance. We had the beach and a pool, but during COVID times, there’s not much else. We cooked, we kept the kid entertained, but It’s not something we’d do again. When we got back, we needed a REAL vacation - what about our adults-only Disney trip? Perfect! I worked on a plan for flights, hotel, food…only to find out everything was at a premium price. None of my tricks were working. For everyone following Disney, you know they took advantage of COVID to restructure FastPasses (Genie+), Annual Passes, pretty much everything. Our 2-person 72-hour trip was becoming WAY more expensive than we wanted. Thus begins disillusionment with Disney, but now I need a new hobby… Back to the drawing board: What’s something the whole family can do, that includes activities, but we don’t need a car, don’t have to cook, or don't have to worry about groceries? The Wife says, “What about a cruise?”. After some quick pricing, it turns out 6 people for 7 days on Anthem isn’t much more than 2 people for 3 days in Disney. We locked in a date (same date as our failed Disney trip), and I’ve been following everyone’s adventures here ever since! This has been an incredible community to be a part of, and I can’t wait to give back! We’re already (loosely) planning another cruise in October 2022 - same route, but on Oasis, and having another family join us!

Thank you for this!

You're such a great writer! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Looking forward to every day!

Thank you for sharing. We're cruising on Anthem in 3 weeks with 3 kids (2, 3.5, and 5) and i'm a bit anxious about kids activities. Part of me wishes we had booked on Oasis earlier in the season because of the more kid-friendly activities (Splashaway Bay, Aquatheater, Studio B, Central Park, etc) but hey, we'll make the best with what we're given! I'm also curious of the kids experiences in Adventure Ocean...

Aaaaaand I just bought them. thank you! This will be our backup in the event they don't have rails.

We're in connecting staterooms, one has a couch, the other doesn't. The couch is for two other kids

As someone cruising on Anthem in 3 weeks, THANK YOU for the Cruise Compass posts! This is SUPER helpful as we figure out what shows are running and when, and we can have some expectation of what to to keep little kids (2, 3.5 and 5) entertained outside of AO.

Hi everyone, We were staying at Disney once and during check-in, the front desk person noticed our kids ages and asked if we needed bed rails. We didn’t expect it, but we loved having them! Does RC offer bed rails, or something similar, for kids sleeping in the main beds? We have a 2 year old that refuses a pack-and-play and sleeps in a big bed at home, and will probably sleep in the main bed in the stateroom (split in half, the other side having an adult). If not, it’s totally cool, we can set up pillows and make sure there’s a barrier.

Well, crap. We’re cruising Anthem on 5 December. Hope this clears up!

Here's hoping Black Friday brings another cut (10 days before embarkation)!

Don't have exact numbers in front of me, but we booked Anthem in August 2020 for a Bayonne cruise in December 2020. 3 adults, 3 kids 2 interior staterooms (2U and 4U) So far we've gone from $4,200 to $3,300 (including tax/port, excluding grats).

We're on Anthem in the beginning of December (right after you) and I noticed the same flip on Nassau/CocoCay. I jumped into the website to see if Port Canaveral had been pushed back from 12pm to 2pm, and sure enough, it had. I don't mind the Nassau/CocoCay flip, but I do mind the Port Canaveral change. I'm a huge space nerd and haven't been to KSC in 20 years. I knew five hours was going to be quick, but I was going to cram as much in as possible, but now less than 3 hours (2pm-5pm) at KSC seems like a no-go. Bummed!

Let’s price out the inclusions: - business class airfare to Miami: $1,000 - hotel the night before: $250 -Deluxe Beverage package ($50/day+gratuity): $16,166 - Wash and Fold Laundry (3 bags/week at $25/bag): $2935 - Gratuities ($14.50/day): $3973 - VOOM Surf and Stream ($16/day): $4384 Inclusions total is $28,708 interior stateroom is $65,000 after taxes and port fees. Less the inclusions, you’re at $36,292. Per day, that’s $132. Not bad, and not a terrible premium considering YOU’RE GOING AROUND THE WORLD.

luckily the gratuities are included in the base fare for this cruise!

This is a great logistical question. If I had to guess, Royal Caribbean will probably create 7-8 shows, either based on existing licensed IP or original content, that has minimal or easy-to-load-in sets. They'll rehearse these in Miami, then ship to the next major port, and load-in when the ship arrives. On-board, they'll probably spend one week loading in the show and rehearsing on-stage, then run the show for 3 weeks, then load-out while the next show loads in. This is typically how major road houses in the USA work with Broadway touring shows. Alternately, they may have 5-6 shows in reparatory and rotate throughout the entire sailing, but that requires more storage space and more talent. It would be much easier to cycle the shows every few weeks. This is all in addition to the heavy use of "headliner" acts that they would source locally.

Wonderful! So i'm not going TOO crazy...

Hi everyone, I posted some comments in the "Michael Bayley hyping 'news of a lifetime" thread earlier this week about the Ultimate World Cruise, but now I can't find that thread, or anything related to the UWC. Any ideas what happened?

Important to note the "wash and fold laundry" is up to 3 bags, per person, per week (I think RC prices each bag at $35 on normal cruises). I hate folding laundry, so I love that someone else would do it for me

I doubt it, at least for the full cruise. Any remaining availability after the full cruise booking deadline will be converted to sales for the individual legs.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/ultimate-world-cruise/itinerary Scroll down until you see the Month/Year listed, and under it, click "PRINT FULL ITINERARY"