WannaCruise Posted November 10, 2019 Report Share Posted November 10, 2019 Our Anthem cruise is in March so we probably have a bit before reservations open up, but I want to get an idea of when is best to book so I'm ready with our preference. We have 3 sea days and 3 port days, but we will probably stay on board for Nassau. So do you prefer to book North Star on a sea day or port day (i.e. Nassau)? Not sure if its better to be able to view the port, or watch the water around you. Also in terms of scheduling, do they tend to run activities at the Sea Plex on a port day? I would hate to book North Star and then miss out on a quieter time for bumper cars, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregD Posted November 10, 2019 Report Share Posted November 10, 2019 I've sailed on Anthem and ended up doing the North Star on a sea day. Even looking at nothing but blue it was quite impressive. I'll be on Odyssey next fall and plan on trying to get on the North Star during a port day. Some will say book it on a port day, others will say sea day. I would suggest book for your port day in Nassau since you are staying on the ship anyway, then keep an eye on the standby lines on sea days and then you will have experienced both. I forget the sea plex schedules, we never got a chance to do the bumper cars, the times never lined up with what we were doing for the day. I would suggest scrolling through the cruise compass section and see what you can find there. Here is the type of view you get when at sea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silligan Posted November 10, 2019 Report Share Posted November 10, 2019 We did North Star when docked overnight in Bermuda and gave us a really cool view of the whole island. I would try to schedule it for a port day right before the all aboard. You’ll have great views! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silligan Posted November 10, 2019 Report Share Posted November 10, 2019 Just now, Silligan said: We did North Star when docked overnight in Bermuda and had a really cool view of the whole island. I would try to schedule it for a port day right before the all aboard. You’ll have great views! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurenashley622 Posted November 10, 2019 Report Share Posted November 10, 2019 I did an Anthem cruise 2 years ago and we booked the North Star for a port day. If you are planning on not getting of the ship in Nassau then I would definitely book it that day. We liked being able to see the island when we did the North Star. We ended up booking it again during a sea day but I personally enjoyed it more during the port day. I would definitely suggest booking it later in the day when the sun starts to set because you get a pretty view! For the Sea Plex, I remember them having most of the activities during both sea and port days but more were scheduled during the sea days. The only down side to that is lines form very quickly, especially for the bumper cars, so I would get to the activity before it starts so you don't get stuck waiting in line. The line for bumper cars sometimes took half an hour and the bumper cars only go for a couple minutes each turn so it wasn't worth waiting in the long line. These are views we had at a port day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWofPerth Posted November 10, 2019 Report Share Posted November 10, 2019 Does anyone know when reservations open up? My Quantum cruise is 52 days away and it has not appeared in the Cruise Planner yet. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted November 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 Thanks for the replies. Both look great from the pictures! Thank you for sharing. Sounds like our Nassau day may be a good time, or even CoCo Cay maybe at tail end of it. Bet that's a neat view too. I've heard reservations via cruise planner are hard to get so will see what comes up. And thanks for the comment about the bumper cars. Unfortunately we are going during our March break so there will probably be a ton of kids on board (and thus, even longer lines). We will try and line up before it opens to at least lesson the wait. (Which is why I'm hoping it doesn't overlap with any reservations we make). KWofPerth, hope your reservations opens up soon. KWofPerth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhageerah Posted November 11, 2019 Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 11 hours ago, WannaCruise said: Our Anthem cruise is in March so we probably have a bit before reservations open up, but I want to get an idea of when is best to book so I'm ready with our preference. We have 3 sea days and 3 port days, but we will probably stay on board for Nassau. So do you prefer to book North Star on a sea day or port day (i.e. Nassau)? Not sure if its better to be able to view the port, or watch the water around you. Also in terms of scheduling, do they tend to run activities at the Sea Plex on a port day? I would hate to book North Star and then miss out on a quieter time for bumper cars, for example. We were on Anthem in March/April and we booked on a sea day, Nassau to be exact since we knew that we were not getting off of the ship. As it so happened we got on the ship early and noticed that North Star was open that day as well (it was not in the Cruise Planner) and they were taking anyone that walked up at the time, the line was maybe 15 people deep and we only had to wait MAYBE 10 minutes before we were on! So my advice would be book for a day, but try and get to the port early enough to try and get on that first day! KWofPerth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted November 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 11 hours ago, bhageerah said: We were on Anthem in March/April and we booked on a sea day, Nassau to be exact since we knew that we were not getting off of the ship. As it so happened we got on the ship early and noticed that North Star was open that day as well (it was not in the Cruise Planner) and they were taking anyone that walked up at the time, the line was maybe 15 people deep and we only had to wait MAYBE 10 minutes before we were on! So my advice would be book for a day, but try and get to the port early enough to try and get on that first day! Thank you. That's a great tip. We are always at the port early so we can get on as soon as they start letting people on. Will keep that in mind. NYC would definitely have some cool views! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhageerah Posted November 11, 2019 Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 Here are a few pictures from our experience, I wasn’t able to attach them last night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted November 11, 2019 Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 Nice pics @bhageerah. Is that at Cape Liberty before you leave port? We booked our Anthem cruise very late and only got one reservation for 2 people (party of 4) on a sea day. Hope to find availability during a port day as it would probably be more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhageerah Posted November 11, 2019 Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 14 minutes ago, Va4fam said: Nice pics @bhageerah. Is that at Cape Liberty before you leave port? We booked our Anthem cruise very late and only got one reservation for 2 people (party of 4) on a sea day. Hope to find availability during a port day as it would probably be more fun. Thank you and yes, we went before we left port, we were walking around trying to familiarize ourselves with the ship and saw that it was open and did not have a long line, and that they did not have any reservations for that period so we HAD to take advantage of that time. Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted November 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 Great shots bhageerah. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaikG Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 On 11/11/2019 at 7:34 AM, KWofPerth said: Does anyone know when reservations open up? My Quantum cruise is 52 days away and it has not appeared in the Cruise Planner yet. Thanks. For Quantum, unless you have a GS or above, there is a charge for North Star (USD 20 pp for the normal experience, USD 40 pp for the extended session) and reservations will sometimes open up in the Cruise Planner, but not always. If you choose to do it, reserve a session on the app or at the iPad kiosks onboard. KWofPerth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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