cruiselife

Day 6 - Martinique
Beach and Snorkel (offered by RC)
The excursion group met in the theater and we were led down the pier to a boarding area right off the pier.  We never had to leave 'security' or use the general pier area for beach ferries that anyone can use.

Our excursion begins sailing across the bay from Fort-De-France.  Our guide informs us it will be a 40 minute trip to the first stop.



We arrive at out first snorkel stop. 


It was formerly a fisherman's village and some of the original small fisherman houses still standing are made of conch shells.
One note about this excursion.  'Beach and Snorkel' isn't so much about beach as it is about snorkel.  While we did get to see a beach, it isn't really a beach excursion.  You could swim in to the beach if you chose to, or snorkel.  This was as close as we got to the beach.  No one chose 'beach'.


In the middle of this bay it is prime turtle territory and while some people reported seeing them, I ventured towards the edge of the bay where there is more coral hoping for better marine life.






The water was full of small fish and my pictures are not doing this area justice.

There was a lot of small marine life to see but it wasn't the best snorkeling I've experienced but heck, its the ocean.  It's not a stocked fishing pond where they can guarantee marine life from day to day.
Closer to land is where I spent most of my time enjoying the coral and marine life in that area.


In the distance to the right is Fort-De-France and the ship.

Forty five minutes here before we boarded the boat to head to 'The Bat Cave' 10 minutes away.





Carved into the rock is a cave loaded with bats.  It's hard to see in this photo but we were able to swim right into the cave and there were hundreds of small bats above us.  The GoPro has a fisheye wide angle lens and it's not the best camera to use to see the bats but it is waterproof so...
You can sort of see them in the fork to the right as small white and dark spots clinging to the rock ceiling.

They warned us that this area does usually have some jelly fish.  The good news is the small ones with four dark spots don't sting and are very safe.  The other news is that there are sometimes even smaller cousins that can cause a mild sting.

These were actually quite beautiful and mesmerizing to watch.   They were everywhere around us.  It was very fascinating to watch them and this picture doesn't do them justice.  As suggested the smaller cousins do have a slight sting effect but thankfully it only lasted a minute then was gone. 
To reach the bat cave I jumped off the front of the boat due to a large number of snorkelers aggregating towards the back of the boat.  Apparently a number of them jumped in, felt the tingle of a jelly fish and immediately in mass most of the boat's passengers returned to the safety of the boat.  That's unfortunate because the stings I felt were very slight and quickly went away.  They were not like a jelly fish sting on the Florida coast.  I'd have no issue jumping in again given the opportunity.
Back on board they began serving more than just water and juice now that snorkeling was over.

Choices were light rum, dark rum, spicy rum and rum punch.  I sampled several and all were good. In fact they tasted like 'more'.
In the distance you can see Serenade and Jewel along the shore as we made our way back across the bay towards Fort-De-France.


They really should remove 'Beach' from the title of this excursion.  I couldn't see trying to swim to the beach.  Snorkeling was good but not great.  The bat cave was a cool experience and I am glad I did this excursion.

Day 6 - Martinique
The morning starts of with our approach to Martinique and a double rainbow.

We arrived to the pier downtown next to a Seabourne ship.  Martinique is very developed as Caribbean nations go.


I spotted a ship in the distance and could faintly see a Viking Crown Lounge.


Jewel of the Seas would be joining us today.  She is a sister ship to Serenade of the Seas.

Today's excursion will be "Beach and Snorkel" booked through Royal Caribbean.  I'll post photos of that excursion next.

Day 5 Dinner
MDR Menu

Tonight however I will be in eating in Chops Grille.

Dinner starts of with some fresh bread, very good.

I ordered both a Wedge Salad and a Shrimp Cocktail


Both very good.
Unfortunately this is where service slowed down and I stared at this for 45 minutes:

Finally my 9 oz. Filet arrived.  It was very good and cooked perfectly.  Sides were Mac & Cheese and Grilled Jumbo Asparagus.

While the food was great, service was not very good as illustrated by my empty water and wine glass that were never filled or offered to be during my time in Chops Grille.

This is the first time I didn't tip anything extra in a specialty restaurant.  The food was very good but the service is not what I expect when I am paying for a specialty dining experience.  This marks my fourth visit to Chops over the past few months.  It seems I am either destined to have great service but poor food (Freedom) or great food but poor service (Anthem twice and now Serenade).  
I realize this is the new cruise experience - paying more above the cruise base fare for a better dinner experience but what I'm finding is the value isn't there for me if the food and/or service is sub-par.  I'm considering cancelling my 4 night dining package on Symphony but I'm going to take some time and think about that before I do.  Jamie's on Anthem was twice a great experience  with great food and great service so there is hope and my experience there is the only thing holding me back from giving up on specialty dining.
I try not to post negative reviews like this but I can't in good faith tell people to pay extra for this experience.  If my family was about to sail on Serenade I'd have a hard time recommending Chops Grille.

Day 5 - St. Croix
St. Croix is the largest US Virgin Island but not as populous as St. Thomas where the capital of the USVI is located.  I've always liked St. Croix because it isn't the same as St. Thomas.  I like the fact it isn't as commercial and it's more relaxed here. 

I think it's the lack of a Diamond International store glaring you in the face or being forced to make your way through a maze of stores selling foreign made trinkets which are the exactly the same as the last port that differentiates the St Croix experience. 
Lacking that desire to force people through the maze means that excursions can pickup and drop off right at the ship.

There is a free pier shuttle bus that just runs up and down the pier.


Today I needed to get some work done so I just self-explored around the port area.




Fort Frederick



It does appear some trees have lost some vegetation but it's starting to come back.







They had the street blocked off for pedestrian traffic only and some vendors were set up.

Something that really struck me about the vendors here is how relaxed and easy going they all were.  There was no attempt to entice you or drag you into their tent, no hard sales pitch.  It was very refreshing and very enjoyable to stroll around without any of the usual 'harassment' that occurs in so many ports.  You could approach, look around, say 'good morning' and it was all very pleasant.
Time and again the merchandise was locally crafted and the person who made it was usually right there to talk about it.  Having visited so many other ports I've built up an immunity that usually involves avoiding eye contact, moving quickly, showing no interest and politely repeating 'no thanks' over and over again.  It was so refreshing to not require any of that today. 



I didn't make it over to the beach area right next to the port but from a distance I could see people using that area.

This end of the island doesn't show the level of damage from hurricanes although you can see a few blue tarps on some roofs along the coastline.  Talking with some of the vendors they confirmed it was more of a rain event with flooding than it was the wind event that St Thomas and St Johns had to deal with.


Several miles up the coast I could see more beaches and jet skis playing in the water.

Sadly I did have to get some work done today but this view is a lot better than my office back home.

It was a very enjoyable experience and I really got the feeling the locals were all happy to see us and were very welcoming.  I'd like to return one day soon and be able to try some excursions beyond the port area.  It doesn't have the hustle and bustle of St Thomas or many other ports and I think that is a good thing.  I'd like to come back before it becomes too popular with cruise ships and it loses it's slow, relaxed charm.  

Day 4 Dinner Menu:

After missing my reservation on account of the sunset, I headed to the MTD no reservation line at around 7:30pm.  It was pretty busy and they were handing out pagers with a lot of people waiting. 
I decided to make it a Windjammer dinner night and discovered it was Greek night.  As I walked around the WJ food sprang onto my plate.  Before I knew it my plate was full.

Yum.

Day 4 - St Thomas Departure
I had a 6pm MTD reservation but decided to skip it in favor of the sunset.  Not a bad decision as it turns out.

It started out pretty great but as the sun went down further it got a bit better.

Looking back towards St Thomas with the Windjammer Al Fresco seating area:

At this point the sun was below below the horizon but it begin to illuminate the clouds and I just couldn't stop taking pictures.

As it became darker the colors became more vibrant.

Show nearly over, I grabbed one more photo with the deck 12 slide in the foreground.

These were all taken with an iPhone 8.  I think they turned out okay.

Day 4 - St Thomas
There is no easy way to put this, this post will be photo intensive.  Sorry @Matt, in the immortal words of Roy Sheider's character in Jaws... "We're going to need a bigger boat".
I met with a friend and former co-worker before the excursion.  He reports the majority of residents on St Thomas have power back but other luxuries like cable TV are still a work in progress.  Residents on St John are still getting there.  Many areas have power but more remote areas are still without.  Despite that people are settling back into a routine.
My excursion today - St John's "All Inclusive" Beach & Snorkel
To clear up a commonly heard misconception, all inclusive refers to ferry + taxi + park admission + snorkel gear.  Nothing else.  No water, food or anything else. 
A few pictures around Crown Bay to start us off:




Our greeting committee:




Our chariot (ferry) to St Johns.


We cruised along the Southern coast of St Thomas and from a distance much looked normal but you could see many of these coastal buildings took it hard during the storm and they are a work in progress.

Twenty fives minutes later we approached Cruz Bay in St Johns.






We loaded into our taxi's to begin our way to Trunk Bay.






Our first glimpse at Trunk Bay.

After a 15 minute drive we arrived at the Virgin Islands National Park - Trunk Bay.

Restrooms and showers faired well during the storm:


Some things like the concessions are not open yet.

Chairs are available for rent.

Snorkel gear included in the excursion was available near the beach.
There is a snorkel trail underwater.


The beach is gorgeous with sugar like sand.



The snorkel course is to the left of the island with marker buoys in the water.  I set my stuff in the sand and donned my snorkel gear.
Lots of Sea Urchins.  You do not want to step on one.

If you look closely you'll see lots of minnows.












This complete and about an hour later we boarded our taxi.  Our driver stopped at several viewing spots so we could take pictures.  That's the British Virgin Isles in the distance.

Jumbie Beach

This is the Caneel Bay Resort.  Like most hotels it's closed pending restoration.  

Back on our ferry and heading to St Thomas they offered beer for $5 (brewed in Portland, ME).  

I managed to talk to a few locals this trip.  Most hotels remains closed with no word when they might reopen.  Building material and labor are hard to come by to fix them.  While some hotels have opened, tourism is swayed towards cruise ships at the moment.
While island life is settling into a new normal, the storm's effects continue.  For example, rain inundated many homes.  Appliances not physically damaged are beginning to rust and break down just now from water damage, even if minor at the time.  The storms that keep on giving.  Those that had the money built with concrete and faired better than those with older homes.  They didn't escape unscathed though, even the concrete began to saturate from the days of rain before, during and after both storms which amounted to weeks of rain.  The concrete in some cases withstood the wind but leaked water from saturation.  
I was glad to make it over to St Johns and just as happy to see life moving forward.  It's a process but the tens of thousands of dollars each cruise ships brings are very welcome.  With hotels shut many are out of work but they very much appreciate each ship and the jobs that are created from the cruise industry.

Day 2 Dinner - Formal Night
My Time MDR, same table, same great service.

My two appetizer pattern continued but tonight at my choosing.  Shrimp Cocktail & Wedge Salad.  Rack of Mary's Little Lamb for my main. 

I passed by the specialty coffee bar 'Latte-tudes' on my way back top my cabin after dinner, here is the menu:

A quick change out of my formal wear and into shorts while I checked our position.  Here is our progress:

Next stop, the pub.  Here is the beer menu:

I was thinking there might be some pub music but having been totally buried with work this week I forgot it's Final Four weekend.  It's packed in the pub!  Apparently there are more Michigan fans on board. 

My excursion in St Thomas has changed from morning to afternoon.  I'm hoping my former co-workers in St Thomas can adjust to accommodate and meet me in the morning. 
 

Playing around with a timelapse video from my balcony.  The wind blowing the tripod around makes it look like I'm on a train more than a ship but I'm traveling light and left my heavy duty 8 lb. tripod at home so my cheap but light tripod can't hold still in this wind.  The ship isn't moving very much, just an occasional gentle and slow pitch.  I don't feel it but looking aft I can see a slight up-down slow pitch.  Great day so far.
Lunch is calling, gotta run. 

IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!
Disclaimer - @SaltyNavyCruiser15 started a live blog a few weeks ago but out of respect I'm trying to avoid taking over his post and starting this.  I'm hoping they continue to blog as it will be an interesting comparison having different users providing perspective of the same sailing.  Their blog is here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5849-30-mar-09-apr-southern-caribbean-cruise-on-serenade/
This week has been a busy week for me.  Between business trips and my flight to reach Serenade there were four flights to her the day before sailing (an unexpected business trip had me flying over 6,000 miles this week).  From my 3am ET start to the day to landing in Fort Lauderdale at 1:44am ET on the day of the cruise I would have been up for 24 hours by the time I reached my hotel if it were not for sleeping on the MD88, 767, 757 and 737 it took to arrive here.  Someone today asked me what class of ship Serenade is and I drew a blank,  I couldn't even remember half the classes.  Yeah I'm tired.  A cruise starting with two sea days is perfect right now.
Itinerary
Sea Day,  Sea Day,  St Thomas,  St Croix, Martinique,  St Kitts,  St Maarten, Sea Day, Sea Day
Excursions
(booked during a recent sail event:)

Skipping St. Croix excursion due to work requirements.  I'm familiar with St. Croix from having done some work there so once conference calls are over I'll wander around a bit on my own.  Fun fact - St Croix is home to the Eastern most point of the United States (excluding the main land).   



Fort Lauderdale - Port Everglades 
I called my hotel twice throughout the day to make sure they wouldn't give away my room as a no-show given my 2am arrival.  It was nearly 3am when I crashed into the hotel bed.  I woke at 8am to re-arrange my luggage and inventory what I missed since packing for the cruise a week ago.  I did pretty good and double packed some items. 
Lyft was $12 and I arrived at terminal 19 at 10:10am. Apparently they were doing work on some terminals so we couldn't use terminal 18 or 29.   I haven't used terminal 19 since a cruise on another line in 2013.  It hasn't changed much (still small).  The terminal contractors seemed to like it as much as I did. 
Suites/Pinnacle boarded at 10:30, Diamond Plus at 10:40-ish and a few minutes later they called Diamond - the escalator can only take so many at a time so they regulate flow.  Not bad - just over 30 minutes from my early terminal arrival to boarding.  Pretty painless.  BTW - terminal 19 also has free wifi.
Lunch in the WJ.  Honey Stung Chicken and Curry and a few other things and before I knew I it my plate looked like food coma.  I need a nap.  Cabins opened right at 1pm as offered.  Cabin and dinner pictures tomorrow once I've slept.     

if I had to choose it would be Otto Bang capt of the Liberty he was so kind taking my wheelchair bound daughter for a personal tour of the ship 

Day 3 - Sea Day
MDR Dinner Menu

I actually ate in the Windjammer where I was pleased to find the Duck À L'Orange among other selections.
Some late afternoon and sunset pictures.










Viking Crown Lounge




As I was sitting in the pub this was dropped off at my table.

Windjammer Breakfast
Located deck 11 aft




Two egg stations, one for fried eggs and one for omelettes.  That's Kristen, my assistant wait staff during dinner in the MDR.

The egg stations use a ticket system unlike from what I''ve seen on other ships.  You place your order and are handed a ticket with a two digit number.  You are free to wander around and gather other food then come back when your number is up and collect your order.  It works quite well.

Mmmm, bacon.

 
 
Several flavors of pancakes kept warm under cover.


Lots of fresh fruit.


Smoked Mackerel and Smoked Salmon.

















 
 



Al Fresco Seating with aft views

If you've ever eaten in a Windjammer on any ship, you'll quickly feel at home on Serenade with the added bonus of outdoor seating.

Day 2 - Sea Day
Pretty close to a full moon last night.

Woke this morning to a beautiful sunrise

 

With that it's off to the WJ for breakfast.  Warning - excessive food pictures coming in next post

I won!  Woohoo!  At the CC Meet & Mingle they had a raffle for "stuff you'd never buy" and I won an RC backpack.  Our ship representative warned us several times they tend to fall apart but knew exactly how they could be fixed by sewing them up with dental floss.  Things you make you go "hmmm".  I should have brought my dental floss needle, but heck it's free and I won it (I never win anything).

Enjoying my balcony today... how else?

I thought I'd test out wifi calling given that this is a non-O3b ship.  I called my agent to save $400 on a December cruise.  Not bad, the call broke up a few times but in the end I saved $400 so I'll take it!
As I sat there I spotted a celebrity approaching.


Using my bot-like vision I discovered it's the Celebrity Silhouette.

Soon after some birds came along.  At first I wasn't sure what they were doing out here but then it became obvious. 



Success!  Flying fish being taught a lesson by a flying bird - better to stay in the water.

Early start to the day after getting a solid sleep.  




Walking through the solarium and around the pool deck before sunrise I observed the pool attendants at work




Here is the solarium on Serenade

Finally a post-dinner sunset:




Deck 5 Hyperlapse
 

Here is a hyperlapse of the pool deck.  I'm hoping to capture more of the ship in this way as it's a quick way to get a feel for a ship.  
 
 

Cabin Tour!
Deck 7 Standard Balcony 7028







On the Radiance class the deck 7 balconies are extended with the extension open to the sides and above.  I don't plan to be on my balcony in my underwear so this isn't an issue for me but if you are seeking a more private balcony experience you may want to accept a smaller balcony on a higher deck.

Hard to believe we are just finishing day 4 and half way done.
Today we were in St Marteen.  
Took a private tour of St. Marten with Joyce Personal Services.  We had a driver named Mack and he was quite good. We normally wouldn’t do an island tour but I chose it for my MIL.  I do prefer a private tour with kids. It’s rebuilding slowly but they are quite happy to see tourists.  Maho Beach was packed with tourist but Orient beach was very quiet.  Here are some pics: 

My husband was fascinated by the Little League field 

 
We were amazed by the destruction of the lagoons and the mess still there.  
Orient bay.  
Ocerlooking Great Bay Beach and ship: 

 
Other random notes: 
Fine Line has been cancelled every evening due to swells. They rescheduled it during port times on every port (no swells in port). They claim this first time done during the day.  We saw tonight’s 5:45 show. We all agreed it was very good and we would have loved to see it at night.
The 5:45 show messed up dinner plans so I changed the reservation to 7:30.  The show was over at 6:30 and no one wanted to wait an hour so the thinking was go to Windjammer however I think the entire audience was thinking the same thing. We made a detour to MTD and they had our table available. We were not the only ones in nice shorts (please don’t judge) and MTD was half empty.  Super quick dinner of short rib which is one of my favorites. Now I never would go to dinner in shorts but it was a quick change of heart to avoid crowds and no one said a thing.  
Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan and celebrating son’s 15th birthday. 

Here is the $25 birthday cake...choice of chocolate or vanilla and we chose chocolate.  I purchased it 2 nights ago at guest services and there was a note in my reservation.   The picture doesn’t do the cake justice.  It was quite good but of course tonight’s dessert was the chocolate molten cake.  The outside is a hard edible chocolate, the ‘beans’ are white chocolate chips.  The only frosting was the green stuff. Cake was very moist and much better than the Royal Chocolate Cake but not better than the molten cake.
The cake was brought out after dessert. That was fine as I wanted it to be a surprise so couldn’t tell people not to order dessert.  Half of the cake was left so our waiter saved it for tomorrow night. 
Really rocking tonight. Dramamine taken by 3 of us. Captain says storm in North Atlantic affecting our waves here. 
We were late leaving SanJuan due to miscommunication...Capt Johnny was not happy. We’ll be arriving late to Labadee tomorrow...Royal iq showed the change to our zip line time.

San Juan
Kids slept in and I woke them at 8:15. Breakfast in Mini Bites again. Off the ship and we took a taxi to El Morro. The trolley was supposed to be running but never saw it.  Taxi cost $16 for 7 of us.  The taxi told us it was walkable but I had a feeling my MIL would struggle going uphill to the fort.  Here are a few pics of the fort and the stairs inside the fort. 
 
 Birthday boy wanted hamburgers (same birthday dinner request since he was 3 and only day of the year I’ll eat a burger) so we headed straight to Johnny Rockets.  I also had extra OBC to use since DH cancelled his zip line tomorrow.  Little brother made sure to tell the waiter it was his birthday so they brought him a sundae and sang Happy Birthday to him. 
 
Fine Line started while eating lunch.  My 2 younger ones wanted to see show and they have the best view in the theater plus it was shaded.  

2nd formal night and lobster tonight. 

first night was Thursday and first sea day was yesterday.  We are waking up to a beautiful sunrise in Charleston today! 
So far we are having a fabulous time and our sea day yesterday was nearly perfect!  I love the quaintness of the grandeur and the feeling of always being connected with the sea.  I had gotten the BOGO dining package when it was still $30 per person.  Night 1 we ate a CHOPs and last night we ate at Giovanni’s.  We went earlier than our reservation and were able to get a great window seat at both locations.  At CHOPs, I ordered the lamb and DH got the filet, but we split them.  The filet was my favorite, but both were good.  I also got the crab cake, lobster bisque, and the red velvet cake.  At Giovanni’s,  we got the filet and veal to split and then the crab ravioli for the table.  Again, the filet was my favorite. I may have even liked it better than the one at CHOPs.   We loved our waiter at Giovanni’s, and realized it was our favorite waiter Kicki that we had when we sailed on Grandeur in 2016. We also loved the baked mozzarella appetizer, and the kalamata bread and dipping sauce.  I had purchased the sushi class and it was originally scheduled for later in the week, but it was moved to yesterday at 11:45.  We started off in the MDR for check in and then proceeded on a tour through the galley.  I had not toured the galley in a while, so this was a fun experience.  We then went up to the Viking crown lounge and had the class in Izumi.  It was a lot of fun.  We made two full rolls, a hand roll and a sushimi. We then got to eat hat we made. I would recommend the class and recommend pre-booking in the cruise planner. While, it is not discounted in the planner, you do save the added 18% gratuity that is added if you purchase the class on the ship. 
 

Final thoughts:
I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts on this cruise for a few days now.  This is probably going to come across as scattered because I haven’t quite figured it all out myself yet.  Going into this cruise, and being biased to Oasis class ships, I already knew that I wouldn’t be comparing apples to apples.  Also, keep in mind that we are all different types of cruisers.  So, read on and take my opinions with a grain of salt, as they are my own, and based on the type of cruiser that I personally am.  To wrap up this cruise, I tried to ask myself, and hubby, several questions:
Did this cruise meet all my/our expectations?
The answer here would be yes.  Everything was excellent.  Food was consistently good, in all venues.  Lots of activities to choose from for the whole family.  Staff across the ship has been excellent.  There have been a few stand out crew members and one not so pleasant one but overall, a good experience.
What did we love?
Our kids loved the SeaPlex.  Hubby enjoyed his share of it too.  I did not lol (too much like work).  The overall consensus from the kids was that Anthem is equivalent to and maybe even slightly better than DCL.  Wonder what they will think of Oasis class next March?
The shows were great on Anthem.  Same level of quality to match Oasis class.  I do miss not having the Aqua Theater and the shows that come with that.
Coastal Kitchen was also consistent with the level of service and quality on Harmony.  The one stand out thing here was the Coastal Kitchen restaurant manager, Bojan.  He was amazing!  And that isn’t even a good enough adjective to describe him.  I have never, in my cruising history, come across a head waiter/manager like him.  Some head waiters are quite “stand-offish”.  Each and every encounter with Bojan was personable and friendly.  Even if he was busy, and he was, he never showed it.  D2 is very soft spoken and each night he would bend down to eye level with her, lean in close, and have a conversation with her about her day.  On top of that, Bojan did everything.  Every single night, we witnessed him chat with each table, bus tables, serve drinks, fill water glasses, set tables, and sweep the floors.  How many of you have seen head waiters and restaurant managers do that??  I don’t even know where he found the time to supervise his crew!
What did we not love so much?
Our biggest dislike of Anthem is that she cannot seem to handle crowds well and traffic does not flow well in public spaces.  I have been trying to figure out all week why that is.  This ship is sailing at full capacity and it feels like it all the time, everywhere!  We’ve sailed Oasis class at full capacity too, in the height of summer, and it never felt as crowded as Anthem.  The conclusion I came to was that perhaps it has to do how Anthem is more narrow, compared to Oasis class?  Or perhaps there are more public venues on Oasis for crowds to disperse to?  I’m not sure I know the answer yet.
The WJ falls victim to poor traffic flow.  There was nothing wrong with the food here but the flow of traffic, the constant bumping into people, made for a very unpleasant dining experience on most days.  I wonder if it’s the way the WJ here is set up?  There are food stations in the middle as well as around the perimeter and maybe that’s why traffic doesn’t flow as smoothly?  I have been thinking the same as @twangster, in that this is a March break cruise, and hence the constant crowds.  But then I think back to all our other cruises, also during peak seasons, and traffic flow was never as bad as it was this time.
D1 also missed being able to see major “theater style” shows (not counting special guests and comedians) more often.  On DCL, there was one almost every night.  On Oasis class, you have 2 theater shows, 2 aqua theater shows, 2 ice shows.  Here, there is only We Will Rock You, The Gift, and Spectra’s Cabaret.  So again, I wonder what the kids will think of Oasis class next March?
Would I/we sail Anthem again?
Yes.  But…not under the same conditions.  One of our biggest disappointments this cruise was the weather.  This has nothing to do with RCI at all.  I already had reservations about this aspect prior to booking, and sailing this week, in mid-March, confirmed it.  We are not “sail out of cold weather” cruisers, even on a cold weather ship like Anthem.  Lesson learned.  We found that we did very little swimming this cruise compared to our other ones and we did not utilized our balcony as much as we normally do.  If we were to sail anything out of Cape Liberty again, it would be in the summer.
Am I still an Oasis class girl?
A definite yes here!  They say that your first cruise ship is always your first love.  This is not the case for Hubby and I.  Oasis ships are what we love most and that continues.  Anthem is great for families and a beautiful ship but there were things missing here that just could not be replaced.  For example, the stunning, panoramic views in the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen area on Oasis class, Central Park (270 and La Patisserie while great venues in themselves cannot replace Central Park), and the smoothie bar in the Vitality spa isn’t here.
Should everyone give Anthem a try? 
Most definitely yes!  But know what you are signing up for and then you won’t be disappointed.  Do your research, book things ahead of time, especially if you are sailing at peak seasons.
In closing this out, I want to thank all of you for taking this journey with me.  It was so much fun to do a live blog and part of the fun was sharing it with you!  Thank you for that.  I also have to put a big shout here to Hubby and kids (because they are following this lol) and thank them for taking pics and putting up with my constant “stopping to update the live blog”.  That’s all, feel free to ask more questions, I’ll try to answer what I can.  Closing out now…Next live blog…Harmony March 2019…first time in Star Class!

CK Dinner - Night 7 - 2nd Formal Night

Dinner was tough tonight as there are many good items to choose from on this menu. I started with the Classic Caesar salad and Hubby got the Iceberg Wedge and Seared Scallops.
Iceberg Wedge: This is basically a regular salad with a creative presentation. Hubby does not care for blue cheese dressing and they were more than happy to substitute for him. Rating: A

Seared Scallops: Hubby rated this an "A".  He thought these ones were way better than the raw ones he had earlier on in the cruise. 

Creamy Truffle Risotto: So delicious! I remember this dish from CK on Harmony and it did not disappoint. It was creamy for sure and heavy. The small portion it came in was more than filling. Rating: A+

By this time, we were already quite full but we fought to continue. Can't pass up amazing food!
Buttered Poached Lobster: Just the right texture, not too salty. Sometimes lobster in the MDR can be hit and miss because it has been over cooked or dry from sitting out for a while. This one was perfect!

Homemade Gnocchi: Another great dish. Problem with this one was that it was very dense. Very delicious but it was hard to eat a lot of it. Hubby polished it off but I only managed 1/3 of it. Rating: A

Dessert!

I did something really bad tonight....all desserts looked so yummy that I ordered 3! ? and ate most of it ??
Chocolate Crunchy Bar: This was amazing! Coated in dark chocolate, and inside was a rice crispy along with a chocolate mousse! I told D1 I was going to share this with her but it was more like 3/4 me and 1/4 her.  Rating: A+

Baked Alaska: Great as always. Not much else to say other than if you don't like meringue, don't order this one. Rating: A

Coconut Tapioca:  I am a sucker for anything tapioca so this was a must have for me. The coconut taste is quite faint with this one, but because of that, it makes and light and so easy to eat. It came with Mango Gelato which was even better! I want another one just thinking about it as I type this! Rating: A+

The ship is rocking like crazy tonight. Hubby and kids are back in the Seaplex. After taking Gravol (Canadian version of Dramamine) for the motion, a couple glasses of champagne (complimentary in CK tonight ?), and eating so much that I can barely move...I am fading rather fast.  Might be time for bed...and it's only 9:30pm! 
Last day tomorrow. iFly and the dreaded luggage in the hallway awaits.