whenismynextcruise

Wherever you do decide to stay, and having just sailed from Bayonne on November 20th Anthem I can offer this tip. Go early! We learned this from our trip on Anthem in December 2015. We drove down to the port and arrived for parking ($140 for the week) at 9:45. The long shore-man are there and ready to take your luggage curbside and then you proceed directly to the parking garage very conveniently located next to the terminal. We were able to park on level 2 (more on this below) when you get into the terminal find any RC rep with an iPad. They are everywhere. You must check in with them before proceeding thru security. then keep your sail pass in hand because you will be asked to show it 4 or 5 more times as you proceed. We breezed through the terminal and were on the ship by 10:15. On board we were watching the port activity from deck 14 and around 11 the traffic line to get into the port got really long. If you haven't been to Bayonne before there is a rather long approach to the terminal through the Navy Yard. The traffic backed up far out of sight of the ship There is no express line for shuttles, buses, cabs, limos etc .It must have kept the terminal pretty busy because the ship felt abandoned of guests until 1:30 or so. Also, I don't know if we just got lucky this time but when the locked doors to the cabin ares opened at 1:00 PM our luggage was already at our door. A final tip on Bayonne is disembarkation day. If you do park in the garage you need to PAY FIRST! There is NO PLACE to pay when you exit the garage and they will send you back. When you leave the port and go to the garage walk towards the right and not the the elevators. There are 5 pay stations there. I think 3 were for credit and 2 were for cash. If you have the cash use it because there was no line to any of the pay stations for them. As I mentioned above we parked on level 2. The crush at the two elevators is a lot more than you will expect. Lots of people with lots of luggage all there at once. After paying for our parking we walked up the ramp to level 2 to our car. We were in our car and on the road in minutes. We did do early departure carry off with our luggage so there were considerably less people than what I imagine there would be with the normal disembarkation time so consider that as well.

I have been on Anthem twice and have done North Start 3 times. I find that port days are the best. More to see from up there. I am sure you will love it anytime you choose though. Have fun!

We will probably have to wait for Anthem to return on Sunday. I was on the previous cruise 20-27 and I tried to find out some information but had little luck.

Hi - I just returned today from Anthem 7 nights from Bayonne to Bahamas. Dru Pavlov is now the cruise director. Chris is still activities manager. They seemed to work well together. I will post all of the cruise compasses as well.

I had put the BOGO package in my cart for chops on Anthem. At $42 a person normally getting it for $21 per person was great. I went to pay for the BOGO and a few excursions during the weekend of the 30% off sale and that discount applied. Worked out very well. We are each eating at Chops on Day 1 and 2 for $15 per person.

Anthem sailing on 11/20. Really looking forward to the new holiday tradition!

I love this blog so much! I was just online shopping for new luggage and this exact question came to mind! Thanks to all for yet another informative thread.

Steve made an excellent point that "embarkation day is "Day 1" of your cruise". I have never thought of it that way! I was wondering if anyone had any tips for what to do after early boarding on Anthem. We have been on the ship before (this will be the second time in a year for us) Lunch is usually a top priority after traveling 4 hours to New Jersey and we would just normally migrate to Windjammer and then kind of wait around for luggage at that point. Is Windjammer the only choice? What else is open?

Good for you Matt for finding that deal! You are really thoughtful for giving your parents the suite. What a nice way to treat them & thank them. I really do hope folks understand that I was joking about being in steerage. I read on another post here today from a gentlemen who said how much a cruise decompresses him and allows him time to think just how fortunate he is to be enough to be able to take vacations like these. I will happily enjoy the view of the Statue of Liberty from my balcony in my steerage accommodations on the Anthem of the Seas coming up in November.

I feel like I am in steerage of the old days reading these posts....I haven't been ale to able to graduate from a "regular" balcony cabin to suite yet....one day...... :D

Thank you Michelle for that information. I just looked and right now all I can see is a BOGO package for the first 2 nights. I chose Chops and it shows in my shopping cart at the regular price. I will call the cruise planner hotline. Thanks so much for providing that number.

thanksgiving cruise from Bayonne on 11/20. The last week of DD from what I am reading here in the blogs. I looked under dining and I can see all of the restaurants but I cannot seem to find the dining packages. I thought maybe it was too soon??

I am booked on Anthem coming up and on the cruise planner I cant find any of the dining packages. We tend to prefer the specialty restaurants (less kids usually) and wanted to take advantage of the pre cruise savings. Am I just not looking in the right places?

I would love it if you would post some thoughts on the cruise and ports after your trip. I am booked on Anthem on 11/20 for a 7 day Bahama Cruise (second time - LOVE the ship) I had wanted to go on the 12 day Caribbean trip but time wouldn't allow. I was thinking of booking for January.

I agree with David. I also have been to Key West numerous times and bikes or scooters are the way to go. It is also very easy walking around and yes the people are so friendly. There are also numerous pedi-cabs so if you do get tired of walking flag one down and they will give you a nice ride to wherever you are headed next.

Thanks Rick. I think I missed the drop off circle. When we arrived we followed the signs right to the garage. I will have to pay better attention when we go next time. To WAAAYTOOO point though what is it that the longshoreman do at the cruise ports? I thought that RC (or their hired vendor) handle luggage for passengers? Like you I have never had this issue anywhere else.

Sailed on Anthem last December and loved the cruise. Doing it again in November. We drove down from NH to NJ (not a bad ride 4.5 hours) but found the port a little confusing. We parked in the garage and found a cart just sitting ther so we used it to transfer our luggage from the garage. Boy was that a big mistake. We got our luggage into the terminal for check in and a woman (found out during the conversation that she was a long shore-man) practically threw our luggage to the ground and yelled (yes yelled) at us for using their cart. It was an honest mistake on our part. We have been on many cruises and usually there are porters for luggage. I am 100% sure this was our own fault. I looked on line to see how we are supposed to get our luggage from the garage to the terminal but I am coming up empty. Hoping someone here can help. Thanks, Mark