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First time cruiser - questions and advice


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Hi there everyone,

Found and heard about this site by watching RC youtube blogs. I sail on anthem of the seas on the 5th June and will be a 1st time cruiser. Exciting times. I have the drinks package and wifi package already booked, and staying in a balcony room and have pre-paid all gratuities. 
I have some questions after watching some of the blogs: 

1. With the drinks package, I understand I can literally get a drink everywhere on the ship, including speciality restaurants, johnny rockets and the robot cocktail thing. Is this correct? Obviously I won’t be ordering top shelf stuff, as I presume this will get charged. I don’t particularly feel RC advertise exactly what and where the drinks package covers, but that could just be me. 
2. I recall hearing on a blog that breakfast was included as standard at Johnny Rockets, but then recall hearing only on certain class of ships. Does Anthem belong in this class and is Breakfast not charged? I do love an American style breakfast, so hoping this to be the case.
 

Finally, any first hand advice on tips and things to do in port? Not booking any excursions, and will probably do our own thing, but i’m keen to see as much as I can in the time we have. I’m thinking hop on hop off buses will be the best options where they are available. Does this sound like a good plan? Ports we are visiting include: 

Vigo

Lisbon

Lanzarote

Gran Canaria

Tenerife

Madeira 

La Coruna

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I can answer two of your questions.

The unlimited drink package covers drinks everywhere and up to $13, so some top shelf items will be included. The exclusions listed when you purchase, i.e Starbucks and room service, are the only places where it won't work.

The Johnny Rockets breakfast is only available on Oasis class ships, Anthem is not an Oasis class ship. So, no free JR breakfast. 

 

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16 hours ago, Dan123 said:

Hi there everyone,

Found and heard about this site by watching RC youtube blogs. I sail on anthem of the seas on the 5th June and will be a 1st time cruiser. Exciting times. I have the drinks package and wifi package already booked, and staying in a balcony room and have pre-paid all gratuities. 
I have some questions after watching some of the blogs: 

1. With the drinks package, I understand I can literally get a drink everywhere on the ship, including speciality restaurants, johnny rockets and the robot cocktail thing. Is this correct? Obviously I won’t be ordering top shelf stuff, as I presume this will get charged. I don’t particularly feel RC advertise exactly what and where the drinks package covers, but that could just be me. 
2. I recall hearing on a blog that breakfast was included as standard at Johnny Rockets, but then recall hearing only on certain class of ships. Does Anthem belong in this class and is Breakfast not charged? I do love an American style breakfast, so hoping this to be the case.
 

Finally, any first hand advice on tips and things to do in port? Not booking any excursions, and will probably do our own thing, but i’m keen to see as much as I can in the time we have. I’m thinking hop on hop off buses will be the best options where they are available. Does this sound like a good plan? Ports we are visiting include: 

Vigo

Lisbon

Lanzarote

Gran Canaria

Tenerife

Madeira 

La Coruna

Congrats on selecting a cruise to the Canaries!  We sailed there in 2015.  We found Lanzarote to be a great place to go to the beach, had a nice lunch at a local restaurant at our expense for an excursion that was essentially a bus ride to and from the beach narrated by a British ex-pat.  It was fun!  At Tenerife, we took an excursion to the volcano/national park, and my memory is that they only made one bathroom stop along the way, if that matters to anyone.  Gran Canaria was pretty, and we took an excursion to a local farm (finca) where wine-tasting was a real treat.  We also stopped at a small fishing village.  Loved the matriarch who hosted the event!  No trip to Madeira is complete without the tabogan ride down the hill!  I have to say that Vigo and La Coruna weren't our most memorable ports, but at one (Vigo) we took a bus ride to the Portuguese border for "village shopping".  Royal lost my wife's suitcase at the end of this trip, so I urge you to cross-pack with a companion and consider walking off the ship with your own luggage at disembarkation.  Again, the Canaries are most interesting, and I find myself wishing to return. 

PS. For an American, sailing out of Southamption is a bit of a cultural adjustment (UK food in the MDR or performers we couldn't understand), but the itinerary was great.  Our British table-mates helped us a lot.  Have a great cruise!

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We will be doing this same route at the end of September. 

The Canary Isles have a much lower sales tax than the rest of the EU and the cities of Santa Cruz (Tenerife) and Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) are big cities with LOTS of shopping opportunities. Both also have a beach nearby, walking distance from the port in Las Palmas and a short taxi ride from Santa Cruz, so you could easily make either of these days a shopping/beach combo.

Also, if you interested in religious architecture/history, you can visit Santiago de Compostela from either Vigo or La Coruna.

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