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Anthem & Potential Coronavirus


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21 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Slightly disappointed with our Grand Suite

I know what you mean with it feeling enclosed, we felt that way about Ovation.

I think it is having the wall instead of the open space that the older ships have.

Happy to see you are now on board any ready to party. Have a great cruise.

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2 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

@WAAAYTOOO, have a great trip!  Would you mind relating at which hotel you stayed in Newark?

We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Newark.  The hotel itself was excellent. Absolutely no hesitation or concerns. The room was comfortable and clean and the mattress was very, very comfortable.  The neighborhood.....(or maybe I should say”the ‘hood).....however, was very sketchy.  We ventured out a couple times to eat but frankly, I was not comfortable (for one thing it was effing freezing) so we mostly stayed in the hotel.  We kept having people come up and beg for money.  We picked this location b/c, as I said in an earlier post, we were under extreme duress to find a place in a hurry. Likely we could have made a better choice, but it was well within the $200/day allowance that a Royal was reimbursing so we are happy, looking back.

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We were having dinner in Chops and lo and behold up sneaks Yen to say “hi”.  She kind of startled me but it was great to see her. I have no idea how she managed to find us within hours of boarding but she did.  Those Genie tracking skills are a bit on the creepy side.  ??

She said all of her SC guests were either onboard or on their way so it doesn’t seem like there have been nearly as many cancellations as I thought there might be.

When were in the Concierge lounge earlier, Alex (Concierge host) said that, to his knowledge, only 5 suites has cancelled.  The truth is, though, they won’t really know how many cancellations they have until boarding ends tomorrow afternoon.

BTW, they are still excluding D+ from the CL even with the modified itin.

On our way to 270 for the tech presentation.  
 

??

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@WAAAYTOOO You're ability to make lemonade out of lemons, I just love the positive attitude. I have been sending positive thoughts your way as well as your fellow cruisers and the staff of the Anthem. Here's wishing you a beautiful experience for the rest of your sailing. I second @ellcee remarks,  I really hope one day to sail with you, you are an inspiration! Enjoy!

 

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@Ampurp85  I would be shocked to see if the cruise load was not close to full capacity.

One cruise we were notified 48 hrs prior to sailing, and given the same bennies.  They announced that they sailed at full capacity.  

If you think about it, especially for Bayonne sailings, many drive in.  It is audible via the accent when you get on the ship....water is WHATA.  Bottle is BODDLE.   They took the PAWKWAY, or otherwise they will tell you what exit they live at!   NO FLAMING, I may live in VA, but I was born and raised in NJ.    Thus, for many they sat at home.  

For those that had to fly in,  well than maybe, just maybe they said I will not cruise, but the thing is....on Thursday and Friday there were horrible rain storms with strong gusts of wind.  Flights out of NJ/NY were delayed and diverted.  I live in No VA, 4 hrs away and I awoke on Friday to extreme winds and rain.  My boss was at a convention in Princeton NJ (45mins from Bayonne) Weds-Fri and said yeah, it was just all rain.  Point being, if they called the airlines to rebook, they may have said, sorry Sat. a.m. is the earliest we can get you on a plane.  Do you now not cruise?

Yep it sucks that it turned to a 5 day, and especially if you wanted Coco Cay, but as someone that did the cruise divert (Bermuda sent to New England) it was probably without a doubt the best cruise.  We were like everyone.  We felt like we won.  Let me get this right, basically I am only paying 50%, and my next cruise you are giving me a 50% credit?  The passengers on that cruise thought Anthem was the Happiest Place on earth! 

I will say that 200 for a hotel was cheap for that port.  They should have bumped it to at least 300.  

 

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@Pima1988 Lol,, gotta love those "accents." As a person from Chicago people always comment on our "accent," but it is definitely not as pronounced.  I would have definitely sailed, it is basically 2 cruises for the price of one. But I had heard of some people cancelling, I am thinking maybe RC will be selling those cabins quickly to people who can drive in. Selling them at a discounted price is better than not being at capacity.

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3 hours ago, Neesa said:

@WAAAYTOOO You're ability to make lemonade out of lemons, I just love the positive attitude. I have been sending positive thoughts your way as well as your fellow cruisers and the staff of the Anthem. Here's wishing you a beautiful experience for the rest of your sailing. I second @ellcee remarks,  I really hope one day to sail with you, you are an inspiration! Enjoy!

 

Thank you !  I got ‘em (the positive thoughts). We’re having a great night on the ship right here in port !  

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3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Did they estimate how many cancellations? 

I don’t really know how they would do that at this point.  When they announced that we were being delayed by 3 days, and offered complete refunds, they said that those who wanted to cancel didn’t have to do anything.  If they no-show at the port, their entire cruise fare will be refunded, no questions asked.  So, some have called and cancelled but some simply will not show up and will then, ultimately, be cancelled....so there’s really no way to estimate, I don’t think. I will say, the ship seems pretty quiet tonite. Maybe a bunch of folks will show up tomorrow. Either way, we’re gonna have a great time !

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3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Also do you think they might upgrade some others to Suite life or keep them empty?

Interesting that you mention this.  I mentioned something about this to Alex, the suites Concierge earlier and he said it was unlikely that any upgrades would be offered b/c they just don’t know which rooms are going to be vacant until we actually sail.  It makes sense.

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We had a wonderful dinner at Chops. I was struck by how fresh everything tasted and it suddenly occurred to me that everything had to be fresh today....as it has been 3 days since the ship had had any “customers”.  So EVERYTHING was freshly prepared.  It really made a difference. The bread at Chops was really good as was the mushroom soup.  Everything, really.  We went to see The Royal Swedes in the Music Hall.  Now we’re back in the suite, relaxing. Breakfast tomorrow at the CK. Yippee !

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I

Just now, WAAAYTOOO said:

We had a wonderful dinner at Chops. I was struck by how fresh everything tasted and it suddenly occurred to me that everything had to be fresh today....as it has been 3 days since the ship had had any “customers”.  So EVERYTHING was freshly prepared.  It really made a difference. The bread at Chops was really good as was the mushroom soup.  Everything, really.  We went to see The Royal Swedes in the Music Hall.  Now we’re back in the suite, relaxing. Breakfast tomorrow at the CK. Yippee !

Please tell me you got the goat cheese salad and the red velvet cake?

 

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@WAAAYTOOO Well the most important thing is that you have a wonderful time. Are they putting on shows like normal? I assume the only thing off limits is the casino. I cannot imagine how relaxing it must be to be one of the first on a ship and for almost 24hrs. I would take super advantage of all  the ample space

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9 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I mentioned something about this to Alex, the suites Concierge earlier and he said it was unlikely that any upgrades would be offered b/c they just don’t know which rooms are going to be vacant until we actually sail.

I noticed on some sailings the casino raffled off some SC suites based on play.  Maybe they will do something similar on this sailing. 

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Shoved off right on time at 3:00 on the dot. The Captain took us for a harbor tour around the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan.  The weather completely sucked but it was still a really nice trip.  I had heard that they did this from time-to-time, but had never been lucky enough to have it happen for us.

image.thumb.jpeg.c4b7ac7de9fc97353de26625066ca1be.jpeg

 

Sorry....bad picture.  I’m no a Twangster.

 

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I just read this and it made me laugh

https://nypost.com/2020/02/08/stranded-royal-caribbean-cruise-passengers-slam-liner-amid-coronavirus-scare/

My favorite part is Darren's quote that "RCC put their profits over customers"...which would have meant they sailed without taking any threats seriously. Clearly the media wants to make everything 10x worse than it actually is.

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We decided to go to Spectra’s Cabaret tonite. We found our way to the upper deck of 270 and Dan sat down while I went to use restroom.  On my way back to our seats I just happened to spot Yen waiting by the theater door.  I said “hello” but kept on walking as I knew, from experience, that she was waiting for some Star Class pax to arrive.  She stopped me and asked if we were here for the show; I said “yes, we’re sitting upstairs”.  She asked me if we wanted to sit up front, downstairs, that she had some seats reserved that she was not going to use.  I was very surprised and touched that she would invite us to sit in her SC reserved seats.  I went up, got Dan and went back down to enjoy the show from the front row.  She even offered to get us drinks but we declined.  I would never, ever, ever ask her to do anything like that and was very flattered that she offered.  She is a sweetie.  We enjoyed the show very much, as we did twice last year.

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I read on another board that Anthem seems to have sailed with about 3000 pax. If that is the case it is actually not a bad turnout. I even had people at work talking about this itinerary/sailing. Two coworkers finally took the plunge and booked because they thought the way RCC handled everything was quite amazing.

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2 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I read on another board that Anthem seems to have sailed with about 3000 pax. If that is the case it is actually not a bad turnout. I even had people at work talking about this itinerary/sailing. Two coworkers finally took the plunge and booked because they thought the way RCC handled everything was quite amazing.

I meant to post this earlier and forgot.  Yes, we got information earlier today that the ship is sailing at about 60% capacity.  I haven’t noticed any lack of crowds or anything to make me feel like the ship is “empty”.  The casino was bustling earlier tonite. Folks who ate in the MDR said they definitely could tell that there were people “missing”. They said their section of the dining room was completely empty except for them.

I also wanted to comment on our cruise fare “rebate”.  I was stunned when I saw our account this morning. The rebate was about 4X what I thought we would get, based on our rebate last month on Oasis.  I’m now completely perplexed at how they calculate cruise fare rebates. There just doesn’t seem to be any commonality between what they gave us last month on Oasis and what they gave us yesterday on this cruise.  I’m not complaining....just totally confused.  Apparently they can rebate you anything they want to.

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@WAAAYTOOO Last time wasn't the rebate like for 1 day as oppose to an entire 50% off an entire 7 day cruise? Let's also remember that Royal is good for wonky math, just when you think you know what's what, it changes again. I think RCC also could be just being generous considering the circumstances. Your amount could also have something to do with C&A status or loyalty in general. It is not unheard for companies to treat their prime members better. I am glad your are still enjoying your cruise.

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6 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I also wanted to comment on our cruise fare “rebate”.  I was stunned when I saw our account this morning.

I was surprised by the refund/rebate we got two years ago when our 9-night Grandeur cruise was delayed (2-day delay for rudder repairs in Canaveral)

After refunding us 50% cruise fare, 2 days of DBP, & missed excursions (possibly some other $, too?), our folio at the end of the cruise showed a pretty hefty NEGATIVE balance!

It sounds like you are making the best of this delayed and modified itinerary @WAAAYTOOO! Happy cruising!

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2 hours ago, SPS said:

I was surprised by the refund/rebate we got two years ago when our 9-night Grandeur cruise was delayed (2-day delay for rudder repairs in Canaveral)

After refunding us 50% cruise fare, 2 days of DBP, & missed excursions (possibly some other $, too?), our folio at the end of the cruise showed a pretty hefty NEGATIVE balance!

It sounds like you are making the best of this delayed and modified itinerary @WAAAYTOOO! Happy cruising!

Thanks !  It seems that we have gotten all of the refunds now....dining pkg, refreshments pkg, gratuities, Beach Club excursion, port fees.  Yesterday we had more than a $3K negative balance ($500 of that was a RCCL Visa redemption and had nothing to do with the cruise fare rebate).  We took care of most of that with our first night casino visit !
 

The weather is awful today.  Lots of wind, lots of waves.  Lots of motion. Cold.  Luckily, neither Dan nor I get seasick - thank goodness ! Still enjoying the trip though.  There are a couple of C&A and suites events today which we will probably skip.  We have not received our C&A welcome amenities.  I suspect this is due to the delayed boarding. I’m thinking they waited until everyone boarded to avoid delivering gifts to rooms that were ultimately cancelled.  If we don’t get them by the end of the day, we will pay the Loyalty Advisor a visit.

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On 10 February 2020 at 1:15 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

BTW, they are still excluding D+ from the CL even with the modified itin.

On our way to 270 for the tech presentation.  
 

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Hi WAAAYTOOO

I am fairly new to the forum. My wife and I are booked on Anthem for the transatlantic sailing from Southampton on 1st November and note your comment regarding D+ not being permitted access to the CL. Just wondering if this applies to all future Anthem sailings, as we specifically booked a 4C large balcony cabin close to the CL on deck 12 so that we have easy access to the CL.

if we were not allowed access that would be a great disappointment to us. On previous cruises on Anthem and Ovation (twice) we did enjoy access to the CL and it was fantastic.

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11 hours ago, Jim S said:

Hi WAAAYTOOO

I am fairly new to the forum. My wife and I are booked on Anthem for the transatlantic sailing from Southampton on 1st November and note your comment regarding D+ not being permitted access to the CL. Just wondering if this applies to all future Anthem sailings, as we specifically booked a 4C large balcony cabin close to the CL on deck 12 so that we have easy access to the CL.

if we were not allowed access that would be a great disappointment to us. On previous cruises on Anthem and Ovation (twice) we did enjoy access to the CL and it was fantastic.

Hey, Jim

There is a great deal of discussion regarding this issue on other threads around the forum.  The truth is, nobody can say for sure if it’s a permanent situation or not.  The emails have been coming out around 1-2 weeks prior to the sailing stating that “due to the large number of high tier Crown & Anchor members on this sailing”, they are sending the D+ down to an “enhanced” Diamond Club (which means that they are opening up all or part of the Music Hall as an overflow venue during Happy Hour). Since this exact same email has been coming out for nearly every single US embarked ship recently (that still has a CL) I think we can all anticipate that this is Royal’s way of pushing the D+ out of the remaining Concierge Clubs, permanently....but they (Royal) have not admitted this to be the case.  The fact that, despite our sailing going out with only a 60% capacity, they did not re-invite the D+ back into the CL for this sailing, says a lot, IMO.

I cannot say for sure, but my prediction is, that your sailing will follow this current trend and the D+ will be restricted from going into the CL. Hopefully you can find a new stateroom more convenient to other venues.  I find the CL to be very inconveniently located on Anthem.  Even though we are permitted to go there on this sailing, we have been there exactly once and that was on day 0 to get Alex to help us with dinner reservations. 

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For those who wonder about Johnny Rockets and the dining and beverages packages...  We went to JR today for lunch (no $$ limit) and our shakes were included with our refreshments packages.  SCORE !

On a similar topic...we had dinner tonite at Chops.  I had the spicy shrimp (yummy) and Dan ordered the lamb shank being served in the MDR tonite. We advised them, when we arrived at Chops, that Dan would be ordering the lamb shank so that they would get a bit of a head’s up.  It was delivered in a timely manner and was excellent.  We decided that we were full and didn’t want dessert right then (burgers at JR may or may not have played a role, here !).  Instead, we made reservations for dessert only at Wonderland on our way back to the room. The Wonderland concierge seemed a bit confused with our request but made the reservation for us.  We intend to go to Wonderland to sample The World - finally - at 8:00. I will let everyone know that goes.  I have high expectations.  
 

So far, we have run into Yen every day of this cruise.  We’ve seen her almost as often on this cruise as we did last year when she was our Genie.  She told us that We Will Rock You has been cancelled for tomorrow (due to reduced #of pax on this cruise) and will only be performed on the last day - once in the afternoon and once in the evening.  She is such a sweetie. She told us to call her if we need anything but of course, we would never do that.

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Reporting back on The World experience.  We did it !  It went off without a hitch. Showed up at the door a couple minutes before 8:00, got a table, got our dessert and were out of there in 15 minutes !  The dessert itself was scrumptious.  Worth the effort and the wait. I still will never eat dinner at Wonderland but The World was excellent. 

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5 hours ago, YOLO said:

The Anthem GC to Norway will be our first D+ cruise.  It took us 25 years to get to this level and now we don't have the CL to look forward to.  Bummer! ?

I tend to,agree with you, we just got back from the Vision out,of San Juan  and the D+ and Diamond lounge was so small, we only tried one night to get in. We just used our drinks at dinner.

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