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First Time Star Class 8 night Holiday Bahamas Cruise Anthem 12/20/19


Jax

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Johnny Rockets Lunch & Escape Room 

We only had 30 minutes before Escape Room and service was fast and food was excellent.  We had burgers, hotdog, frings and milkshakes. Complimentary for star class. 

Escape room was actually a really good time! Glad we tried it. Won’t give anything away but you are asked to solve various puzzles to return ourselves back 80 years to current time.  Only criticism was the temperature in the room. It was hot like our 2nd floor. ? Lindsay said the only thing you want to Escape from is the heat ?  It was complimentary for star class. We were joined by some ?? from Edmonton Alberta.  Best time so far is 30 minutes. We hold the 2nd best time at 40. ????  Would recommend. 

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@Jax You win the Organization of the Year Award.  I have only given out three of these awards in my career.  One for an Engineer who spent almost half of her time in remote Brazil working on a large expansion project (2018).  Another who was instrumental in building a $100M Cancer Research facility (2010).  The first who rebuilt a Oil Refinery process in just over 3 days after a major "incident" (1983).  You are in a rare company.  Thank you.  Given the schedule, here is the plan for DAY 02:

1) 4:30 to 6:00:  Drinks in the Diamond Lounge.  It is usually a zoo, but it is our best opportunity to meet "like minded" cruisers.

2) 6:00 to 6:45:  Boleros:  Jazz Bands will play a mix of Swing, Foxtrot and Rumba ... In my world this is heaven.

3) 6:45 to 7:15:  Schooner Bar:  Run to the Schooner Bar ... it is not that far.  Hopefully, there is enough room just to the side of the piano to get in a bunch of Swing numbers.  I not (sometimes the performer takes up space ... ?), we will slip quickly into the the elevator lobby and  dance there (don't laugh we have done it before).

4) 7:15 to 7:40:  Schooner Bar:  Quick Deani Marinti in the Schooner Bar (long story) and the run back to Boleros.

5) 7:45 to 8:30: Boleros:  Swing, Foxtrot and, maybe a Rumba or Waltz with the Big Band Tribute (again ... this is heaven).  If it wasn't for the need to eat, cruising would be so much fun.

6).8:30 to 10:00:  Dinner in the Main Dining Room.  Hopefully they will let us in late ... if not, we will run to the "Food Jammer".

7) 10:00 to 11:30: Music Hall:  Swing until our legs work no more ... this is where a ship delivers everything it promised.

?11:30+:  Night night ... have to get ready for tomorrow.

DAY 3:

Too tired from all the dancing ... I will figure this out tomorrow.

@Jax ... Thanks again, this was a blast..

Curt from Canada

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3 hours ago, Jax said:

Johnny Rockets Lunch & Escape Room 

We only had 30 minutes before Escape Room and service was fast and food was excellent.  We had burgers, hotdog, frings and milkshakes. Complimentary for star class. 

Escape room was actually a really good time! Glad we tried it. Won’t give anything away but you are asked to solve various puzzles to return ourselves back 80 years to current time.  Only criticism was the temperature in the room. It was hot like our 2nd floor. ? Lindsay said the only thing you want to Escape from is the heat ?  It was complimentary for star class. We were joined by some ?? from Edmonton Alberta.  Best time so far is 30 minutes. We hold the 2nd best time at 40. ????  Would recommend. 

Hi there,

Im also on this cruise too but I did not know about a escape room on board, I have tried the one on Indy last year, where is it on this ship as I can not find it an where in the compass or app?

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1 hour ago, Paul whufc said:

Hi there,

Im also on this cruise too but I did not know about a escape room on board, I have tried the one on Indy last year, where is it on this ship as I can not find it an where in the compass or app?

Deck 15 mid ship beside elevators and suite sun deck access door. Easy to miss as access is just a door without any identification. Called escape from future I think.  

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Specialty Dining 

We are really loving Specialty Dining! The quality of the food has been excellent. 

Lindsay went all in with the seafood tower followed by lobster at Chops.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reyd had NY strip and I had Ribeye ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

We visited Coastal kitchen for the first time. Reyd had NY steak, Lindsay had salmon and I had veal cannelloni. Everything was excellent ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

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Update on HVAC 

Long story short problems continue ?. We were as high as 78 last night possibly higher in bedroom on 2nd level. And as low as 61 on main floor. It sounds like we now have the right people involved in finding a resolution. In order to regulate the 2 levels we have had to give control of our thermostat over to Royals HVAC team. We communicate our needs to Andres and they work behind the scenes to try to balance out both thermostats. More discussion to happen tomorrow as the main level is still on the cold side. Lindsay thinks we should capitalize on this situation and offer up the main floor as a meat locker and the 2nd floor as a thermal suite. ?  

We are excited for our over water cabana tomorrow, visiting Labadee for the first time and  know it will be a great day!! Can’t wait to share the highlights with you! 

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15 hours ago, Jax said:

Lindsay went all in with the seafood tower

 

13 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Seafood tower...check

The challenge now becomes, "How many times can you eat it over the rest of this cruise?" lol

It's so yummy, we tried hard to maximize our SC benefits here.  Let's just say I couldn't look at seafood for a while afterwards. ?

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22 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

The challenge now becomes, "How many times can you eat it over the rest of this cruise?" lol

It's so yummy, we tried hard to maximize our SC benefits here.  Let's just say I couldn't look at seafood for a while afterwards. ?

Once was enough for us.  We even had a friend with  us to try and help eat it all but we failed miserably.  It's an inside joke now, between Dan and me.  I think everyone (if you eat seafood, of course) should try it but there is just no way we can eat all of it....even the small one.

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3 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

The challenge now becomes, "How many times can you eat it over the rest of this cruise?" lol

It's so yummy, we tried hard to maximize our SC benefits here.  Let's just say I couldn't look at seafood for a while afterwards. ?

I don’t know of a challenge Lindsay won’t accept!   Lindsay did the pineapple a day challenge in Maui 2 Christmas’s ago and let’s just say by New Year’s it didn’t end well. ?

 

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Once was enough for us.  We even had a friend with  us to try and help eat it all but we failed miserably.  It's an inside joke now, between Dan and me.  I think everyone (if you eat seafood, of course) should try it but there is just no way we can eat all of it....even the small one.

Lindsay ate it all followed by lobster meal!! My son and I aren’t big seafood eaters.  It was impressive to watch. 

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Labadee 
As you guys know this is our first time cruising with Royal so following the itinerary change from Coco Cay to Labadee I had no expectations. We didn’t really explore the island so my review is limited to the suites area. The over water cabana was great! Weather could not have been better.  The suites area was nice. Lunch was ok; hotdogs were very good.  I found the buffet selection a bit limited compared to Disney’s Castaway. It was also a bit strange that every time you ordered any type of beverage they had to take your sea pass with them. And you couldn’t use 1 sea pass for the 3 of us. Only 1 drink per person at a time. 
Andres met us on island and stayed with us until we reached the cabana. I was actually surprised that we didn’t see him again for any sort of check in throughout the day to see how our day was going. I think the one notable difference between Labadee and Disney’s Castaway was that the on board concierge take care of you while at your cabana. I didn’t realize how much we liked this personal touch until today when we had no check ins except from our cabana host who lives on the island.  Here are some pics of our cabana and the eating area. 
 

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30 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Love the Over the Water Cabanas. I am currently in negotiations with Hubby to get one again for March. ?

While I will never see eye to eye about spending the money on Grand / Owners / Loft / Villa suites, this is something I can totally get behind. Find a good price and snag it early!

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Holiday Singers Showcase 

The Anthem band plus various singers/performers sang popular Christmas music. It was outstanding, so much talent. ?? I think it was tonight only. 

Andres set us up with reserved seating and our usual popcorn, water and coke. Rather than seating us up front he and the other genie have selected seats a bit back in sections seating for and a ledge for good and beverages.  This is the 3rd night in a row we have been in the Royal Theatre and it’s been no where near full. I thought with the holiday sailing theatres would be full.  ?

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Jamie’s Italian 
This was our 2nd night there. The specialty dining has been outstanding at all venues. Excellent quality and choices and they have been happy to do any special requests.  
Lindsay has the lasagna and gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐️  Said it was the best lasagna he has ever had. 
Reyd and I requested a special order of fettuccine Alfredo. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had beef short rib with my fettuccine Alfredo.  It was very good.  

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13 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

The challenge now becomes, "How many times can you eat it over the rest of this cruise?" lol

It's so yummy, we tried hard to maximize our SC benefits here.  Let's just say I couldn't look at seafood for a while afterwards. ?

Challenge accepted!!

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Concierge Lounge Thoughts

Lounge is located on deck 12 AFT. It offers great views and lots of seating.  We have visited the lounge several random times and we have yet to see a concierge host. Hours are limited and posted below. We were surprised to learn it was bring your own beverage as nothing except coffee and tea is offered so we had to go back to our suite to grab cokes to eat with our lunch. Disney concierge included waters and  beverages for all concierge guests and you were always greeted by a Disney concierge host. 

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36 minutes ago, Jax said:

We were surprised to learn it was bring your own beverage as nothing except coffee and tea is offered so we had to go back to our suite to grab cokes to eat with our lunch.

There's no happy hour or snack served here?  I never knew that either.  I was always under the impression that it was like the Suite Lounge.

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Random thoughts on stateroom 

AFT deck is great! It offers great views and is sheltered from wind. We have been able to use this space much more than Forward decks. Would definitely do that again.  Downside on this ship is that you have to go to mid ship to reach stairs and elevators.  So that gets tiring  plus we are not use to passing by non concierge guests staterooms.  Traffic is heavier than we are accustom with many room steward carts, vacuums snd my personal pet peeve, room service trays placed outside staterooms with leftover food ?

I am waiting to offer reviews on stateroom as I want to be fair . So far our experience  with our suite has not been good given HVAC problems and as a result we have been unable to spend much time in our room. Following temperatures on both floors of 62/63 last night i requested a meeting with hotel manager. Lindsay has left the Suite and isn't returning until long underwear, thermal tops and socks are not needed.  ? The meeting with hotel maintenance manager was productive so we shall see how they do today. I will report back later in the cruise on the Suite review. 



 

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11 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

There's no happy hour or snack served here?  I never knew that either.  I was always under the impression that it was like the Suite Lounge.

Only happy hour will have beverages beyond the coffee and tea. Some snacks like cookies and fruit might be available during the day. During happy hour it will be the standard setup with the snack spread and beverages.

Oasis class SL is the exception when it comes to beverage access.

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

There's no happy hour or snack served here?  I never knew that either.  I was always under the impression that it was like the Suite Lounge.

Sorry I was referring to beverages like water bottles and cans of pop. There are light snacks there throughout the day but no beverages other than tea and coffee during the hours we visited.  That could be different during happy hour. 

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Christmas Eve ??
Andreas ordered us prime rib and lobster tails to be delivered to Coastal Kitchen last night.  Reyd just to just prime rib. It didn’t disappoint. We have had Joseph serve us twice in CK and he is the best! Charismatic, remembers our names, our favorites from last time and asks how our day was. So far he is the server that has wowed us; others seem to be going through the motions but Joseph genuinely loves people and it shows! 

 

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Headliner Adam Kario  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This show was fantastic!! He is a juggler/comedian. Appropriate and fun for all ages. Andreas set us up again with reserved seating in Royal Theatre with beverages and snacks.  Not sure if the videos will come through ok but hope so! 
 

Happy Christmas Eve everyone — even though I am posting Christmas Day (it’s been a busy couple days) 


 

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Merry Christmas guys from Nassau, Bahamas ??

Today was a great day in Nassau.  Weather was perfect ☀️☀️
No plans to get on ship. We took advantage of our deck and had breakfast brought in this morning. Lindsay hit the flow rider at 11am and had a ton of fun. Reyd jammed out. ?‍♀️ Andreas come for a visit and we gave him his gift. He rocked the ?? Toque. Lunch at Johnny Rockets was great! Andreas got us a time in North Star @ 3pm — ? totally paid off on that one. ???? Lindsay hit Flow rider @ 4pm but it was boogie board only. So he is going back tomorrow for the blended sessions (which means you can do boogie board or stand up). 
Christmas dinner at Chops was so good that I totally forgot to take any pictures ?‍♀️. The warm chocolate lava cake was one of the best desserts we have eaten.  Christian wowed is tonight and we have asked Andreas to request him on Friday night.  
We are off to 270 tonight for Spectras Cabaret.  I hear good reviews so I will let you know what we think.  

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Our HVAC issues have finally been fixed!! I am simplifying the issue but essentially the main floor thermostat was set to heat (couldn’t get it off heat setting) and was directing heat over my bed on 2nd floor.  The HVAC team tore apart some things on both levels and things are finally running smoothly. They came again today to do some A/C testing. The HVAC supervisor checks in a couple times a day and is monitoring our thermostats remotely.  He is the best!! Andreas said he would share details about a future OBC for the hastle and inconvenience.  I will update once I know more.  

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Review of Spectra’s Cabaret 

I enjoyed the technical aspects of the 270 theatre and the performances individually were good but the show lacked a storyline. I thought it was a futuristic storyline  but then it went in a completely different direction.  I was confused. 
Lindsay’s review is that it was 54 minutes too long and 55 minutes of his life he will never get back. He felt the entertainment was better watching people fight over food in the people jammer.  ?

 

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Lindsay hits I Fly & Wave Rider ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lindsay had tons of fun doing both these activities. Star class benefits really pay off as ? can book I Fly multiple times and star class gets you preferred access on the wave rider ?? 
If he can move in the morning from the workout he got today on the wave rider he is trying  stand up tomorrow. Hours are 9-5 on 2 remaining sea days.   

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Photo Package 

We bought the unlimited digital photo package. We got a great Black Friday deal for $149. I had no idea what to expect; as I only knew what Disney did. But it was definitely worth it. Evening pictures start at 5 and end around 10 with 2, 30 minutes breaks in between sessions. Most are set up on Decks 3,4&5. Throughout the day there have been pictures with Santa and the Captain and various others.  And a few times they have been at specialty restaurants.  They took some at Labadee but I didn’t see them in the suites area (I may have just missed them) The only suggestion I would have is to change up the poses. I think Disney offered more creative poses and props.  But regardless I would purchase again as they are a great keepsake of our trip.  

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We are down to our last 2 sea days ?. So glad we have 3 nights in NYC to look forward to before heading home.  We have lots more to do. More I fly, bridge tour, We Will Rock You, comedy show, Wave rider, BINGO and North Star.  
Lunch for the boys is at Izumi today with me ordering off alternate menu. 
Getting laundry done today before I start to pack. I love that laundry service is included as it would have been a budget killer.  I was a bit reluctant with my stuff but so far everything has been great. The only items I don’t send are ones that I hang to dry. In those cases I have requested dry clean. It’s all been great.  They are using our laundry pods provided. 

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Food & Beverage deliveries to Suite 

I read lots about this on other star class blogs. The only deliveries to our room were beverages. Everything I mentioned in my Pre cruise communication with Andreas that didn’t come in a can was delivered all at once. It didn’t matter whether we were in our suite to accept the delivery. The drinks had ice in them so by the time we got back they were watered down and undrinkable. It was wasteful and we asked for this to stop. None of favorite snacks were ever delivered.  I don’t think Andreas paid much attention to our genie questionnaire but rather relied on our pre cruise emails. In hindsight it seems like it was a waste of my time. 

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7 minutes ago, Jax said:

None of favorite snacks were ever delivered.  I don’t think Andreas paid much attention to our genie questionnaire but rather relied on our pre cruise emails. In hindsight it seems like it was a waste of my time. 

I really think that the reading of the pre-cruise questionnaire can really vary from genie to genie.  Even pre-cruise communication can vary.  Some Genies (I've heard) barely communicate pre-cruise and then once on board they are fantastic!

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17 minutes ago, Jax said:

None of favorite snacks were ever delivered.

Wow !  I'm stunned.  I had to read this 3 times to make sure I was reading it correctly.  This is the first time I've EVER heard of anyone getting LESS food than they wanted.

Did you ever mention snack food delivery to Andreas ?  I completely believe that he might not have read the pre-cruise questionnaire.  I think that thing is a total waste of time.  It's much too far in the future to be of any real help (at least, it seems that way to me).  ...but I would have thought that Andreas would have discussed this with you at the very beginning of the cruise.  He did not ?

It is FAR more common to have waaaytoo much food delivered vs nothing at all !  We finally instructed Joyce to cease ALL afternoon random food deliveries and only bring food that we ordered directly.  The random afternoon food would just sit there on the table and get stale.  How many grapes can 2 people eat ?

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11 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Wow !  I'm stunned.  I had to read this 3 times to make sure I was reading it correctly.  This is the first time I've EVER heard of anyone getting LESS food than they wanted.

Did you ever mention snack food delivery to Andreas ?  I completely believe that he might not have read the pre-cruise questionnaire.  I think that thing is a total waste of time.  It's much too far in the future to be of any real help (at least, it seems that way to me).  ...but I would have thought that Andreas would have discussed this with you at the very beginning of the cruise.  He did not ?

It is FAR more common to have waaaytoo much food delivered vs nothing at all !  We finally instructed Joyce to cease ALL afternoon random food deliveries and only bring food that we ordered directly.  The random afternoon food would just sit there on the table and get stale.  How many grapes can 2 people eat ?

On Sunday I asked Andreas to stop beverage deliveries to room unless they were in a can or we were there to receive them. I told him we only wanted our favorite snacks and foods delivered as per our list provided.  No food has been delivered. Really, we don’t need more food but from what I read on other reviews this surprised me. I think it comes down to the genie as Romina (another genie) is everywhere with her families. Making deliveries, meeting up with her families throughout the day. I think Andreas is just less visible and works behind the scenes. We didn’t get off to a great start onboard as HVAC issues consumed our first 4 days. I have asked Andreas to deliver chips and dip but that’s it. 

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