JEH106

On 10/23/2022 at 7:37 AM, FionaMG said:

While we were finishing up our lunch, they announced that the cabins were open so we headed off there. Our luggage had already arrived (earliest ever!), which was great as it meant we were able to unpack straight away.

There was a copy of the Day 1 Compass on the bed, which pleased us greatly as there had been none at Guest Services. Instead, where they would usually be, there were QR codes to scan for a digital copy. After our cabin steward came to introduce himself I made sure to ask him to get us a paper copy every day.

Our cabin was an obstructed balcony, 6560, which had I had seen recommended by various previous cruisers due to having very little obstruction. As you can see from the pics, they were correct. Really the only obstruction is the davit to the right that blocks your view aft.

Views of and from our obstructed balcony cabin:

 

These two were taken on arrival in Vigo and you can see how little obstruction there is:

And these two show that there's plenty of water visible!

With everything unpacked, we headed out to explore the ship a bit more before sailaway. Luckily the weather was cooperating and although it was cloudy it wasn't raining.

A few brave souls using the pool (too cold for us):

The North Star bar was consistently packed solid for the entire cruise:

The brand new Norwegian Prima was also in Southampton but we left first! Bye bye Southampton and Prima! 

 

Hi, Fiona,

We have booked Premier City Center for our two night stay. For dining I am looking the Duke of Wellington and Upton's of Bassett in Southampton for dinners. Lunch, who knows. We may try to get to Winchester for a day trip.

Jim

On 10/18/2022 at 7:39 AM, not easy being green said:

We have cruised a lot, and sometimes we do tours and other times we just stay on board.  Last year I marked off a major item on my visual board of life, we did a  transatlantic cruise 14 days and only 4 ports the rest of the time was open seas!  I think we found our new way to cruise (only if vacations/cash could keep up).  Our plan is to cruise transatlantic or transpacific when vacation and money allow, and cruise less on island hopping.  Hopefully this works until we retire (if that ever happens).

Rest assured, retirement will come. Mine came at age 70. I, too, like transatlantic cruising, east to west so I gain an hour every day while Crossing. Three to five ports before the Crossing are my preference. Since we have to fly to Europe, and who knows if or when we might return, I always look forward to spending 10 days to three weeks traveling before the cruise. This will be number three as a couple. I also did a roundtrip in June 1959 and August 1959 before my freshman year at college. Total trip was 55 days with 16 of them on the 1938 edition of Nieuw Amsterdam and SS Constitution. That is when I decided I liked to cruise (at age 17+) but budget restrictions applied and still do.

Jim

23 hours ago, Censored said:

Im curious as to how experienced cruisers go about their week which includes a stop every single day?  Can you overdo it?  Too many excursions?  Too much walking?  Too much shopping of the same old?  Not enough beach time?   "Should have stayed on the ship"?         Ive got a back to back out of Puerto Rico in a few weeks    Stops in St thomas, St Croix. St Maarten, st lucia,Barbados,st Kitts  and Antigua.       I like beaches, so I might just check out the beaches the first week, and do some sight seeing the next.   

Hi, Censored,

We like things that deal with history and culture in ports. Sometimes we do ship excursions, sometimes I book private tours (using travel websites such as TripAdvisor) and other times we just do a self-guided walking tour of the main part of the port city. We are definitely NOT beach people. We went to St. Thomas (private bus tour), St. Maarten (self-guided walking), St. Lucia (HAL excursion), St. Kitts (port walking) and Barbados (private tour) in Dec. 2021. We also went to Dominica and stayed on the ship as there were sites/sights that interested us. Private islands/ports do not interest us either. We are both around 80 years old. Our next cruise will be our 4th Transatlantic (second with Royal) in October 2023. All four had some European travel elements before the cruise.

Jim

I think you may need to change the year!

Jim

We always dine with MTD. I always hand it to each individual, sometimes at the start of a cruise if I know I am sitting at the same table, sometimes in the middle if I realize that I AM sitting at the same table with the same servers. Rarely do I tip at the end. Always cash.

Jim

Thank you all for your responses. I have found that the Caribbean Islands are RICH in history, especially if you like to read 18th-19th century naval fiction. I do. Or if you are interested in religious history. I am Jewish and found the Caribbean to be loaded with Jewish history. Or history plain and simple. Did you know that Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis? Or that George Washington also spent time in the Caribbean?

I have snorkeled in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Hawaii for years when I was younger (now 80+). Now I want to learn history and culture. I try to book cruises that do not include private ports. To me, they are sea days, meant to explore the ship.

Jim 

On 8/7/2022 at 5:00 AM, Gocruise77 said:

Hi! I’m Glenda my husband Keith and I are booked on this cruise as well. It will be our 1st transatlantic and our 1st cruise after we retire. We’re deciding what we’ll do before the cruise, there are so many great places to see. We are looking forward to meeting everyone!
 

Hi, Glenda and Keith,

Welcome to retirement (soon). It is wonderful. I have been retired for 11 years, my wife Madie for 20. Going back to my high school graduation year (1959), this will be my fifth transatlantic and second longest. 12 nights on Navigator OTS in 2008. 17 nights on Oosterdam (2016), 8 nights each on Nieuw Amsterdam (1959, ship built in 1938) and S.S. Constitution (1959). Loved them all; all were east to west crossings except for Nieuw Amsterdam.

My wife and I are NOT beach people. We prefer to visit and/or see sites and sights that are either historic and/or cultural. Can somebody explain to me why the excitement over Coco Cay and Labadee?

On 7/21/2022 at 11:19 AM, leesam82 said:

This is a non-food advice

1) Bring a small battery pack for your phone. Its nice to have so you don't run out of power for your cell phone

2) Bring magnetic hooks. They are nice cause you can hang your hats/lanyards/and other items. I have also used them to hang up a shoe rack organizer and use it to put common items eg sunglasses, sunscreen etc. 

3) bring a USB splitter such as this it allows for charging of multiple devices rather than having a plug for every single device. 

4) if you do buy a photo package via the cruise planner just know that once you choose a digital print you cannot un-choose it to get a different photo. So wait till the last night before picking your pictures

5) Ask a lot questions on this blog. There are many experienced Royal passengers on this forum that are willing to share their experience. 

6) Final advice is have print outs and don't just rely on your phone for digital copies. I don't know where the Mariner is sailing out of but when you sail out of Cape Port liberty in Bayonne NJ and have T-mobile as your cell phone provider, the second you step into the terminal you have no signal. So it is really hard to pull up your set sail pass on the app or communicate with other members of your party. So rather than leaving that to chance if you have a print out of all your documents you will have no issues. 

Heartily agree with numbers 3, 5, 6.

18 hours ago, GregD said:

In my experience as a party of 5 in the MDR, we were always at our own table, even before COVID, and never had to share.

Yes you can, YMMV on the request.

The Traditional Dining rooms are typically the same for the early and late seating, and the MTD is on a different deck.

I have not sailed on Royal since 2008 (November, transatlantic). At that time (Navigator) we had My Time Dining with a requested time of 7 PM. However, we were able to change that time as needed. (75% capacity) We are returning to Royal in Oct. 2023 on Anthem. I again requested My Time Dining but got Traditional which I will change as soon as my travel agent returns from his vacation. As I understand it, there are 4 MDRs on Anthem. Two are traditional (set times) and two are My Time. All four have different decors but offer the same menu.

Jim

Great question because I have the same idea.

Jim

Thanks to Jenna, I am adding mock Miami Vice to my list of "to do's" on Anthem.

Jim

On 6/2/2022 at 8:15 AM, BlueTroop said:

We have the early traditional dining for our upcoming cruise on HOTS. If we can't make our time due to being in port or doing something else on board are we able to go to the MDR later in the evening?

Hi, BlueTroop,

You will not go hungry. If you miss your assigned time because of an activity, you may still go to the MDR to the NON-RESERVATION LINE. 

Jim

On 5/13/2022 at 7:50 PM, Pattycruise said:

Hubby and I will be sailing on this, God willing.  Our first transatlantic.  Haven’t yet started our planning on when we’ll fly to England snd what we’ll do pre cruise.  

Hi, Pattycruise,

We start our trip in NYC for a week to visit our brothers and others. Then we will go to Amsterdam for a week. Madie has never been there. I was there in July 1959! From Amsterdam, we go to London for two nights. Does not seem like enough days there but we spent 3 weeks in London and southern England in 2009. Our next stop is Southampton for the last two nights before the cruise. Neither of us has been there. We may go to Winchester for part of a day. Do you want any suggestions for sightseeing?

Jim

My wife and I love the ingredients in pina coladas (rum, pineapple and cream of coconut) but we get it without the rum.

Jim

We usually do Any Time Dining at whatever venue we choose. We like to dine around 7 PM sea day or not. We have not been on RCL since 2008 preferring HAL. We are on Anthem OTS in October 2023. Breakfast is usually at the buffet around 9 AM after I do my morning exercises (so I CAN EAT). Lunch is usually between 1 PM and 2 PM at a burger or sandwich place. Love Johnny Rockets. First discovered the chain in Salt Lake City about 35 years ago.

Jim

Windjammer - think of the breakfast condiment you spread on toast.

On 5/10/2022 at 2:57 PM, Anthem Transatlantic said:

We are excited about our transatlantic cruise Oct. 15th, 2023.

Hi, Anthem Transatlantic,

Have we met yet? We are Madie and Jim from Sammamish WA. We, too, are excited about this cruise. It is to our 4th transatlantic and 2nd on RCL. This by far the largest ship we have ever been on. Next largest was Navigator OTS sailing at 75% capacity in 2008.

Madie and Jim

I recently booked this cruise from Southampton for October of 2023. Is anybody else on this cruise? My wife Madie and I (Jim) are in cabin 8500. Would love to hear from you. Thanks.