Lovetocruise2002

Haha. That was my exact train of thought. We'll see...

I think we need it this time. 😄

Now if only the drink package would go down too! lol I know. I am being greedy.

I am roughing it in a JS for Odyssey. Unsure of CK availability. Grabbed it just to be safe. I might know a Genie though...lol

OMG! THANK YOU @ellcee!!! Let's hope the intern is back! I just grabbed 4 specialty dining for $0. Let's see if this sticks lol. Too bad the UDP wasn't there.

So sorry! Totally did not read your post carefully. I thought you were asking about the suites. Here is one on the Oceanview cabins: https://youtu.be/Al0nHW8pcWg

This video does a great job showing it. https://youtu.be/Cv8HDwXcTTk

That’s a little much. We only splurged in the floating cabana because it was split amongst a few of us with made it easier to swallow. I would never do it with just the two of us. In December, we grabbed the thrill park cabana because we have our kids with us and they wanted to go to the thrill park anyway. The cabana was $499 and 4 passes alone would already be a good chunk of that. That is how we justified that one.

That is a great deal for star class!!!

Haha. I have a theory on that one. Ask me in November over some Patron shots and I will share. 😉

I second that!

The more the merrier. Honestly though, I only started it now cause I did not want to back track with all the pre-cruise Genie stuff. I like to just blog it as it happens.

Funny you say that because we specifically asked to watch the show from the Aqua Theatre not our balcony the first time around. We will catch it on our balcony as well. It will be interesting to compare both perspectives.

Wow! I am putting in my request now to see how a GS can hold a family of 6. 😜 Enjoy!

Oh my goodness! Your comment about hitting the motherload in the WJ made me laugh so hard! I have a good friend who eats the entire kiwi all the time and both myself and the kids that we teach all take turns laughing at him. Little did we all know. 😆

@Pookie how do you find the motion in your suite with the wind that you mentioned tonight?

Simple solution, give your husband kid duty and you take luggage duty. 😜

That is the general consensus with Anthem suites, not just the GS. I find that even the lofts are a bit more cramped than the lofts on Oasis class. But you are right, way better than a Newark hotel! Happy sailing Raye! Glad you and Dan made it there!

I thank and blame @WAAAYTOOO for this! LOL! All I could hear was her telling me, "DO NOT SURRENDER THOSE BAGS!" I probably looked and sounded crazy last year. I feel better about next month at Terminal A because I know my way around the suite boarding already from last July. @Pookie It looks like your cruise is off to a great start! I love those tumblers with the anchor on them! Maybe you can drop a hint to Izzy that I love them. 🤣 What's the significance of the book (50 States 5000 Ideas) on the stand by the mirror? Was the from something that you noted on your survey?

@bossdog421 a bit late to the party on this one but here are my thoughts. We have sailed all 3 "versions" of those ships so here goes: After following your blog on Harmony just last week, I really feel like Freedom would be a huge disappointment for you. No lofts, no Coastal Kitchen, no Deck 17, no Royal Suite Class program at all. Does this mean that I am against Freedom class ships? No, we sailed Indy post-amp with our kids and it was fine for a 5 nighter. Our kids (10, 12 at the time) both enjoyed it but both girls said that they would be bored if it was longer. We have smaller non-OA class ships booked in our future but they are either shorter cruises, or port intensive, or without our kids. You have to know what you are getting with the non-O/Q class ships and you'll be fine. I also feel like you "might' be disappointed with Anthem as well. While Anthem has the Royal Suite Class program, the Concierge Lounge is most definitely NOT the Suite lounge on OA class ships. @WAAAYTOOO, @Jax, @CGTLH, @AshleyDillo, and many others have mentioned this many times. It is not in the best location (far aft) and seeing how much you enjoyed grabbing drinks from the suite lounge on Harmony, you will find the lounge on Anthem pretty inconvenient. Yes, Anthem has iFly, Bumper Cars, North Star, but unless you do Star, two out of the three of these require reservations and the majority of the time you can do it once, maybe twice (North Star) for your sailing. Bumpers cars share the sea plex with other activities so it is not always available. There are also long lines for this and you have to line up pretty early. Again, am I against Anthem? No. It is not my favourite class of ship but we have already sailed it twice and we have another sailing booked on her. But when we sail her, we miss Oasis class. That being said, I agree with @Ogilthorpe, WWRY is Royal's best Broadway show and Anthem has the best CK in the fleet in terms of service. That leaves me with Oasis class, which IMO, I feel is the best bet for your family. Deck 17 is laid out just like Harmony. I do not feel like the ships are that similar, especially post-amp Oasis. As others have already mentioned, there are enough differences in dining and entertainment to make it worthwhile. If anything, it's Harmony and Symphony that are practically twins. If you ask my kids, they will also tell you that Oasis class is their favourite. They have now sailed DCL Dream and Fantasy, Anthem, Mariner, Indy, and Harmony. I blogged Indy and both Anthem trips if you want to go through them. Might give you a better idea of what you are getting into. Indy: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/10227-“into-the-unknown”-…-independence-ots-holiday-sailing-–-12292018-132019/ Anthem 2018: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5780-anthem-of-the-seas-march-9-17-2018/ Anthem 2019: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/13683-cruising-with-greatness-–-anthem-group-cruise-–-july-4-13-2019/

Hmm...where should I start? - It's known as the "Gated Community" lol, the halls are very wide and quiet and the only traffic there are those staying on Deck 17. - The proximity to CK and the Suite Lounge is a huge plus for us. We make good use of that. The ATS is going to be a bit of a trek. - There is nothing like the Lofts. The wide expanse of the cabin due to the high ceilings, the views, total "Wow" factor in these cabins. This is probably the most important to us. - The loft attendants are in a league of their own. I would never have known this to be true until we experienced it ourselves. And this is not saying that other cabin attendants are not good, but the service and they way the loft attendants conduct themselves it just different.

I make exceptions for fries. 😋

My vote is actually for Chops. They use truffle oil in their fries which gives it the edge (IMO) over all the other places. And they are the skinnier kind, like McDonald’s.

It’s cruise day!!! Enjoy!

Just a note that not all cabins were redone like the ones that @KBrad posted. In fact, most retained their old decor. The ones that @KBrad posted are similar to the one that @Matt had, these are suspected to be the new spa balconies eventually.