whenismynextcruise

Its a world class hotel. The doorman will gladly get you a cab in front of the hotel. I have done this many times. Cost was not too much or too little to make it memorable to me. Nassua is also not the safest place for tourists so looking for your cheapest option is not always the best option. Be smart and be safe.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/the-bahamas-travel-advisory.html

No cruises for us now in 2020. We would normally travel to Bermuda in Spring and Bahamas for Thanksgiving. Asia probably wont ever happen. I dont care what the statistics are or how many people say it is safe right now. The only way to stay 100% safe is to skip a few vacations. We can save up the money from this year towards Star Class next year.

Or ask another passenger. I have been asked to take pictures of folks tons of times with their cameras and I always oblige. Look for friendly faces in the crowd. Everyone is there for the same reason: to rest, relax and create and capture those wonderful vacation images and most friendly people are happy to help you out.

I would venture a guess and say that the RC official photogs are not allowed to take a picture with your camera. The pictures they take are for profit only for the cruise line so asking them probably puts them in the awkward position of maybe wanting to do it for you but really can't and now they have to explain that in a nice way.

Have a great trip!!!

On 2/14/2020 at 11:08 AM, kittysoul said:

I finished my first RC cruise last month... and have my next one coming up in May.  I was on the Facebook RC cruising pages (various ones) and it seems that the tipping questions always come up (as they do in here, I know too)...  people have made me feel nothing but horrible now...  After hanging out in these boards for months, i am still confused about the tipping stuff.... on Anthem last month, I paid my prepaid gratuities...and then put 50 dollars in an envelope and left for our cabin steward at the end.  I thought I had done right...and felt good about it... until today, I am in the Anthem of the Seas FB page, and all of these folks are in there shaming each other about what they leave... saying the prepaid gratuities dont even really get to your room steward, and so you must leave them at least 20 dollars per day extra... or at least 100 dollars at the end of the week.... it seems like no matter what you do, someone is always going to come along and shame you into feeling like it wasnt enough.   I just want to make sure I understand what the real norm is before my Harmony cruise in May.  Should I bump up my amount to 100 for the cabin steward..   I know, everyone should do what they can and think is right, but with so much conflicting information, i am overwhelmed with it all now.  

Don't feel bad about what you did at all! That was a nice tip. You seem like a very conscientious person who left a thoughtful thank you for work well done. And I would suggest you to stop reading all of that crap. Its good to be informed of the world but too much social media is just too much social media. As someone once said "If they ain't paying your bills then pay them no mind"

They are everywhere. You will never have to worry about where to find them. Even when you are having a nice quiet dinner they will be right there to interrupt it.

In South Florida we have use https://www.vipmiamilimo.com/ with great success on 3 prior occasions. Very professional, excellent drivers and service, and new well kept cars/SUV's. On the last trip we had some extra time so the driver gave us a tour of Star Island. Something I had always wanted to do and didnt cost extra.

Not sure what you are looking to do in Miami but if you are looking for a little bit of fun/music on South Beach there is a really fun place: https://mangos.com/mangos-miami-beach/ 

On the return day - depending on what time you leave the ship - head over to Big Pink for breakfast. Great place. Super friendly. Lots of locals there. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34439-d494404-Reviews-Big_Pink-Miami_Beach_Florida.html

Big Movado fan here. Depending on the ship you are on you might have a better chance on board. I haven't found Nassau to be a great watch shopping destination in the past. Do your homework before you go for 'land' pricing. 

Is this a probably or a something that will happen? I have sailed Anthem many times and have been really hoping for some changes to the entertainment.

these "parties" last for a very short time. couple hours at the most. you can easily go and check it out and if you dont like it you can leave and go do something else. As far as folks dressing up there is a good mix of that. You wont feel out of place either dressed up or not. Either way enjoy!!!

Stay onboard where instead of a private island you will enjoy your private ship 

1030 is a good time to arrive there on a 1 ship sailing day. Mind you there will still me many passengers disembarking or at least making their way out of the terminal at that time so it can seem a little confusing but they really do it well there.

Not a fan of the Gift. Spectre on the other hand does change some depending on the cast or some other factors I am not privy too. On our trip at Thanksgiving on Anthem it was a new cast/lead and it was very good. We Will Rock You is decent but I dont find it a show that I have wanted to see more than 2 times.

I do think that RCL needs to look into rotating some of the shows around though. I get the expense and all (its been discussed here before). Personally I would rather see them bring in new talent with new shows a little more often. 

On 1/12/2020 at 11:17 AM, Atlantix2000 said:

Now I'm curious which ship you were on!  I thought the only JS without walk in closets were Majesty and Empress because all the cabins are smaller and on those ships the JS is basically what every other ship calls a balcony.

Last 2 times were on Anthem. While closet space is plentiful there is no walk in closet. I dont think it varies by cabin but I am not 100% sure about that. We were in 10232 and 11232 

It should really be noted here that some things that are mentioned here are not the same for all ships. As example we have only traveled JS for the past 5 cruises and have never had a walk in closet. The "free" deliveries to your room also depend on the ship AND the room steward you have. As @WAAAYTOOO mentioned Coastal Kitchen access is nice but its not on all ships. I may have missed what ship the OP was looking at but I would probably be more specific about which ship you are looking at so people that have actually traveled on that ship in a JS can give you specific perk info.

Just for comparison sake I looked at WaterCountry for the price of admission. $62.99 for a day. That is an entire waterpark. I realize that ECL will continue to charge what the consumer will pay but I thought it worth pointing out.

On 12/31/2019 at 9:17 PM, FoxboroCruiser said:

We travel to NY a lot, wife’s family is on Long Island. At least 2-3 times a year.   We lived there for 5 years before Westchester for 3 and finally home to MA 15 years ago.  The drive is hit or miss.  Christmas Day we made it in just over three on the way down, but it took over 4 on the way back. 

I guess we thought the whole vacation might seem less stressful and a little longer if we got to NJ the day before, but we’ll have to consider the savings of not spending the night as well.  We’d need two rooms...

thanks so much for the reply!

 

 

 

Whatever you decide to do you are going on a cruise!!! have a great trip!!!

Spend 40K on cruises to get a free $15 towel. Makes sense.

On 12/26/2019 at 1:50 PM, Jill said:

Just a tip on the water park: we’re in our 50’s in excellent shape. The stairs on the tower about did me in! Lol 

The highest one really beats you up. 

We paid  $49 for our Mariner cruise last October to test it out before buying at $79/$89 for our Symphony cruise in May. 

Bottom line, the slides can be pretty intense. 

I don’t care to do it again. Glad I only paid $49 to find that out. 

Thank you @Jill - we paid $79 onboard at Thanksgiving and I have to say it was OK for a bit but the stairs are killer and really after you ride the slides a few times we were done. Not worth the money for us really.  Forget about the cabanas. As far as I am concerned RCL has out priced itself already on them. 

1 hour ago, Harper said:

We just left Bayonne yesterday and the process was amazing. Had the set sail pass on my phone, the app was weird so I used it in my apple wallet but that worked fine. Went through expedited check in and didn’t wait once. Arrive early though, we got here at 10 and had no lines, just waited about 30 mins in the terminal before boarding. Later in the day you could see the lines for coming in and they were crazy!

I would agree on the arrival time. If you plan to get there early they load the ship early in my history (5 years running on the Thanksgiving Anthem sailing) then the lines get a little backed up driving in but I have timed it a few times looking down from my perch at Johnny Rockets. The longest I have times a car from the point that you can see cars enter at the corner is 17 minutes to porter/long shoremen check in. After that it is a breeze through the actual port and you will be able to check in quickly and board the ship straight away. By the way when I have timed it that is at peak time. I would say 11-1. After that there is almost no traffic at all.

On 12/27/2019 at 10:47 AM, FoxboroCruiser said:

Any other recommendations for hotel & parking for Cape Liberty?  We are driving down from Massachusetts.  We lived in NY for a long time butt on Long Island and Westchester so don't know the Newark area quite as well.  I guess we would prefer a hotel that has at least breakfast, and a parking /shuttle solution would be ideal.  I'll keep searching through older posts too, but thought it might be worth bumping this thread back up the message board  

If you are driving down from Foxboro you are really looking at a 3.5 hour drive straight through. We drive from just north of boston, have done this trip many many times on the day the ship leaves, parked at the super convenient garage directly next to the port and have never had any problems. We, of course, watch the weather and such up to the point of departure and if there looks to be a storm then we could easily drive down the day/night before and stay in a hotel if needed. Obviously I am not sure what your reasons for wanting to travel the day before are, many here will tell you they never travel same day, but it is such a short drive you can really save on the money you will spend on the hotel with the 100% convenience of driving yourself, parking at the port and not worrying about a Lyft/Uber or shuttle where you have to schlep luggage around. Leaving the ship is even easier because you are not waiting for a ride and if you walk off the ship you can be home in Foxboro by 10:30 AM.

I am sure that you will enjoy your balcony. We never sail without one now. Even with everything that you have read here it is still a great space to be able to go outside and get fresh air or look at the views and normally noise etc are not a problem at all. most people are pretty respectful. We especially love the balcony because we keep the door open some at night. The ocean waves sounds and the breeze are fantastic for sleeping :)

Enjoy!!!

Used the app for check in at the pier as well. Found it very convenient. I did have paper set sail passes with us as a backup but probably wont bother to print them again.

We just got our Emerald pins in our cabin on Anthem at Thanksgiving. It will sit in a drawer. I actually think its still in my suitcase along with other stuff I always leave in there. I will never wear it. Its still in the package. If someone wants it send me a message directly and I would be happy to mail it in the US for you at no charge.

I was on Anthem last week and i can say that the dress code is pretty much dead. At least it is not enforced in any way. Personally when we get ready for dinner that means a shower and a change into nicer clothes. Long pants, SHOES!, and a shirt with buttons at the very least. We are frequenters of Chops and even on Thanksgiving Day there were many in shorts, flip flops and t shirts. 

If they are not going to enforce it then I say wear whatever you are comfortable in. It is clearly the trend. There are other cruise lines with much stricter dress codes and if that is your thing then go for it. Its your vacation. Enjoy it. Be comfortable in whatever you feel right in.