whenismynextcruise

Assuming this is a New England/Canada cruise there should be no customs to go thru at the port for departure in Maine. You should have more than enough time to get to your excursion.

Not sure what the hotel package offers or how convenient it is but just parking at the port for our cruise for thanksgiving week (Sat-Sun) was $176USD or $22 per day

Leaving on Anthem in the morning. Staying in a JS. Looking forward to trying CK for the first time. What is our best bet for a reservation there? How does it work? Can we go there first day and make a reservation or do we have to wait and try each day. I realize other full suite guests get priority over JS but if we make a reservation are we "wait listed"? Or is that reservation guaranteed? Any tips are appreciated. - Thanks!

I have and have not had a problem ever. I keep a few on me in my shorts pockets.

I am also a Marriott fan and I would recommend the Marriott Long Warf to anyone. Its only a short ride to the terminal by taxi or uber. It is also very close to downtown attractions like fanuel hall, the north end, its on the warf so water views and a nice area to walk around. I lived and worked in Boston for many years so this is from someone who knows Boston well here. If you are able Boston is a great walking city.Depending on what your needs and pleasures are you can walk to just about everything you might want to see in 15 minutes in that area. If you are willing to spend a little more $$$ the Marriot Fairmont is in Copley Square (also another amazing Boston destination) https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-A554-fairmont-copley-plaza/index.shtml?utm_term=mafm&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2ITuBRDkARIsAMK9Q7MvrJ8Rp9xGr0659ejmOD_HJyBoEbCj69MzxVLMxOR-w-oqwFcD1zgaAnvDEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=ppc-ach-mafm-goo-us-en-us-bro-sear-a&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=us-en-all-all&utm_source=google and has my favorite restaurant in the city in the lobby. The Oak Bar. The cheeseburgers are literally not to be missed.

Thank you @eaglesfaninfl for posting this question!! I was looking at the same cruise and had the same thoughts. We have sailed to Bermuda many times on larger ships (Bayonne and NYC on RCL and Norwegian) )and have really enjoyed the trip. What caught my eye was the Hamilton & St Georges docking as well and I wondered about the how small the ship seems. The Navy Dockyard is great but can get a little crowed and not having to take ferry's to the islands is a plus. I know this is an RCL blog but I thought this tidbit was worth posting - I didn't realize until 2 years ago that Norwegian has free ferrys to both ports.My heart is always with RCL though. I think from the always knowledgeable @twangster's post and blogs it may have turned the tide on this for me. Bermuda is a great trip to experience a new ship on I think because most of the time it is docked and we will be out and about in the ports. I LOVE ST. GEORGE's!!!! SO I am now going to book it.

As am I !!!

We have done the thanksgiving sailing many times on Anthem (its an easy port to get to for us) Will be again this year 4 weeks from Saturday!!! . Its a great time to sail. Lots of families if that interests you. As for special events I have never really noticed any to be honest. Outside of turkey being offered on the menu's the holiday isn't really a big deal on board.

I hope this is not a trend across the fleet! Big fans of JR's here. The express counters only offer a limited menu.

I have to say that without the key that is basically our experience at Cape Liberty as well. We have taken the Thanksgiving trip many times (6 years this year) and it is the FASTEST port for embarkation and disembarkation. We do sail JS level for that trip typically as a treat to ourselves so we get the bonus of the easy walk on and we are walk off people and we do get down there early and have never had to wait at customs in line. Zip right through. It has a lot to do with the set up at Cape Liberty Port. From the time we walk off and walk to the garage next door (its a 2 minute walk) and get in our car it seems less than 15 minutes.

We are fans of rooms service. Breakfast in the room daily and probably at least another snack/meal later to be enjoyed on our balcony. What we have found is if you tip well (cash) early on then the service is always great. I am not sure if because of scheduling or because we tip we get the same crew members delivering the food throughout the cruise. For the extra few bucks it costs it is totally worth it to us for the service IMO - we are on vacation and these folks are working very hard and they seem to appreciate it. And for a total of $16 (delivery charge + gratuity + cash tip) we are getting hot food delivered to our room and as much of it as we want in 30 minutes. I don't know about anyone else but I cant get that at any hotel or any restaurant near me at home! The highest level of cabin we stay in is Jr Suite and free of charge delivery room service is not available at that level but I think I have read on here that when you get into the Uber expensive cabins its free.

Welcome to the boards. So many factors go into that. The cabin you have, the ship you are on the perks that you might enjoy. If you search on the key here you will see that there are many many posts about this and you should be able to find a ton of information here to help influence your choice as to whether or not to purchase it. The opinions run the gambit from absolutely yes to absolutely no to a general maybe :)

LOL. I wasn't referring to drinks. We are not really drinkers anyway. I was referring to the the cost of the top activities and amenities that are there now. The waterpark, the cabanas, etc. And its by no means a complaint. It's their island to develop and do with what they want.

Thank you very much for the description of your experiences there. Makes CK something that is a must do!!! Everyone's advice and information on this post has been amazing and I thank all of you for that. But, your closing line literally sold me "This is from someone that was not too crazy about going until I saw the reviews on here......." The people on this blog are amazingly helpful :)

@JLMoranWOW! What a recommendation and also informational. First I will say that I had no idea that CK was in included paid for perk! I wrongly assumed it was like the other specialty restaurants and had a fee. Thanks for that information!! I really like what you said about the nights where there were only a few people and they sat you around in different areas to make it more intimate for each. That is great customer service!

I have seen many references to the joys and pleasures of CK. I have looked online for menus and they seem fine. Much on par with other specialty restaurants onboard. So it makes me wonder why such adoration for the venue? I have peaked in through the smoke glass before and it looks nice, albeit packed in tables. We are not MDR diners preferring the specialty restaurants most of the time but is it really worth all of the discussion? For our past 3 cruises we have moved up to Jr Suite so we have access for dinner but it actually seems a bother to beg/hope for an open reservation when Chops(or others) are almost always available to pre-book. So I ask.......Whats so special?

What a very cool thing this would be! We are on Anthem in November and we leave the island around 6 according to the cruise planner calendar. If they stayed there a few more hours it would be perfect for fireworks. It made me wonder why do we leave at five? Its their own island so I don't imagine there are port charges or rules to follow. Days 7 & 8 are sailing days back to Cape Liberty and it cant possible take that long to sail there for departure on day 9 so it seems feasible to me. Maybe now that Coco Cay is basically a pay-for-play port RCL is still trying to figure out how to get the guests to pay for fireworks viewing!!

I have a dining plan for Anthem for a thanksgiving cruise this year. so things must have changed or its ship based rules. You had also asked about anything special going on during that week. In my experience that would be no. This will be our 6th year in a row on Royal at Thanksgiving and they barely even mention the holiday. You will notice them starting to put up Christmas decorations on the day you are leaving the ship though. :)

There is a level of cabin where people unpack for you??? I want to travel like the 1%.....

Just another reason to get a passport if you don't already have one. Its the international form of ID. That's really all that needs to be said. You can print all of the paper work at home. Obtain a passport pic from your local CVS, Wal-Mart, Wal-Greens, etc if you don't have the means to print one at home. The cost is $145 but it lasts for 10 years. For $14.95 a year its worth it and you never have to worry if you have the right documentation or not.

I am curious as to why the holds matter at all? I always put a card on my account (AMEX) and I have never even looked at the account during the cruise. We get the final statement at the end of the cruise. I review that and then look for the charge when I get home. I have never had a problem with the 2 of them reconciling. So I guess I dont understand what the holds even really mean.

Next choice is room service on the balcony! This is particularly nice in port. We have been able to upgrade ourselves to the mini-suites when available and that gives us plenty of room to have a quiet dinner for 2 out there! We can eat at our own pace and enjoy our time before heading out to do whatever we have plans for that night.

Do you prefer to eat in restaurants that are very popular where you can see a lot of people? Or do you prefer the intimacy of a smaller venue. We never eat in the MDR. Its not for us. Too crowded and too loud for us. We prefer the smaller venues for quieter dinners. Its worth the xtra money to us. I think it all depends on what you are used to at home.

No steamers allowed either just in case you were thinking of alternatives. Besides the wrinkle releasers someone here has mentioned something about using a flat iron (hair straightener thing) as a plausible alternative. I have no experience with that myself. Maybe someone can chime in here for you.

battery operated alarm clocks work well. I bought an old fashioned looking one at Target that is obnoxious and waked us every time. And like others have suggested also set a wake up call for insurance.