twangster Posted January 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 NextCruise Presentation this morning pushing Symphony and Celebrity Edge. Unfortunately none of my future cruises are eligible for the OBC schedule they publish. However I did win a trivia question. GTV stands for Gas Turbine Vessel. This netted me a NextCruise bag full of goodies including three neck straps two of which have Symphony bottle openers on them. I had to do a double take assuming they were made in China. Looks like I caught them changing slides as I took my panorama: PrincipalTinker, JLMoran and LetsTryThisPlace 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 17 minutes ago, twangster said: However I did win a trivia question. GTV stands for Gas Turbine Vessel. Show-off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincipalTinker Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 8 hours ago, twangster said: Time for a Windjammer breakfast. There are some small variations day to day but this pretty much represents the standard Windjammer breakfast. Breakfast Ham. Eggs Benedict most mornings and scrambled eggs everyday. Mounds of bacon everyday. Croissants and Donuts. Many items from the bakery. Omelet station: Pancakes: Cereal offerings: Parfaits: Oatmeal station: Skim, chocolate and regular milk. A variety of fresh fruit. Yogurt: Lastly a selection of cold cuts. I have to admit that I now see your food pictures in my dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/26/2018 at 6:52 PM, PrincipalTinker said: I have to admit that I now see your food pictures in my dreams. Sweet dreams, because here comes Windjammer dinner photos. Formal night tonight, decided to eat in the Windjammer for a change. Full disclosure - I've missed some food. There are too many food stations to capture it all so I've tried to capture the popular ones. I think that stick is supposed to represent North Star however objects in photos may appear larger than they are. Sweety, PrincipalTinker, Bazza and 1 other 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincipalTinker Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 7 minutes ago, twangster said: Sweet dreams, because here comes Windjammer dinner photos. Formal night tonight, decided to eat in the Windjammer for a change. Full disclosure - I've missed some food. There are too many food stations to capture it all so I've tried to capture the popular ones. Gluten free desserts: I think that stick is supposed to represent North Star however objects in photos may appear larger than they are. How do you get all those pictures ( thank you!) without having anyone else in them?Is the Windjammer empty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 5 minutes ago, PrincipalTinker said: How do you get all those pictures ( thank you!) without having anyone else in them?Is the Windjammer empty? I haven't showered for the whole cruise... JLMoran, LetsTryThisPlace, Lovetocruise2002 and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Well now we know why you have no problem eating your fill every day: All those miles walked getting every shot, from every angle, of every station and bar and stage and nook and cranny. And that’s just on the ship! The sheer effort you put into this amazes and leaves me awestruck every time. And you’re on vacation! Clearly this is no chore or job for you, it’s simple enjoyment and fun. Mille grazie!! PrincipalTinker and LetsTryThisPlace 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 2 hours ago, JLMoran said: Mille grazie!! Grazie tanto! Keep up the excellent work and, please, have fun while you're at it! twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Those pies/cakes/desserts!!! ??? and coffee ice cream! Between CK dinner and WJ recon (which I have never done but cannot miss now) I will have to stop eating now so I can completely indulge in exactly 6 weeks! PrincipalTinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/25/2018 at 5:51 AM, PrincipalTinker said: Is this common all year round? I am learning so much from your trip reports! Is this a winter issue or should I expect this could happen in April too? Coco cay was cancelled for us in late march. It turned out to be ok as the captain sped up and got us into much warmer weather. Im still disappointed we didnt get to go. Anyway, april potentially could bring a cancelled trip but hopefully not! Jane PrincipalTinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/27/2018 at 12:04 AM, mom2mybugs said: Coco cay was cancelled for us in late march. It turned out to be ok as the captain sped up and got us into much warmer weather. Im still disappointed we didnt get to go. Anyway, april potentially could bring a cancelled trip but hopefully not! Jane Here were the weather conditions as we pulled out of Nassau: This was supposed to be our CocoCay day. Watching the pilot getting off the ship displayed how bad it was. The ship turned to provide shelter to the pilot boat as the pilot got off. Even with that the pilot boat was bobbing up and down quite violently. As soon as the pilot was off we turned back on course. They have to consider everyone in such tendering conditions. From 3 years old to 93 years old. Trying to board a bobbing tender plunging up and down might be doable for healthy, physically fit 20-30 year olds but not so much for kids or elderly. Someone would likely get injured or fall in the water. It's just not worth the risk so they err on the side of caution, at least until June when the pier will be complete. The Captain made the right call, safety first so no regrets. LetsTryThisPlace and PrincipalTinker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Day 9 - Sea Day Yesterday the Captain explained that we would sail into calmer seas today and we have. Near flat out there today just off Virginia Beach. No motion issues experienced so far. Even after leaving Nassau yesterday in small seas there was little motion felt. Cool today, not many on the open pool deck. Most everyone is in the indoor pool area or 16+ solarium. ellcee, PrincipalTinker and LetsTryThisPlace 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Entertainment Backstage Tour At noon there was a backstage tour of the main theater. This is presented by two members of the technical crew as well as the dance captain for the theater. There is a separate dance captain and cast for Two70°. It was interesting to hear from the technical folks who are behind the scenes as well from one of the cast. For Broadway shows like We Will Rock Rock the cast has an eleven month contract. The first two months are spent in Miami at the Entertainment studios for Royal Caribbean. Following two months of preparation they move to a ship and begin a nine month run for the shows. The main theater on Anthem has a cast of 24 and they remain together for those eleven months coming to and leaving the ship as a group. After a short Q&A session we were escorted backstage. It was interesting to see bits and pieces of The Gift and We Will Rock You put away in storage until they are needed again. With the stage ready for tonight's Going Away show most of the sets for the other shows are secured and will be behind curtains during the show tonight waiting to be set-up once again next cruise. Here they show one of the wigs used during We Will Rock You. Luis the stage manager will be moving to Symphony soon. He's been with the company for 15 years and has moved between a number of ships and has been involved with a number of shows. His least favorite is Cat's because there is very little to do during the show with just four cues he needs to hit over two and half hours. On a show like We Will Rock You he is constantly busy with cues and there is little time between them so he is constantly busy which he prefers. Luis explained it takes around 4 weeks to move a new set onto a ship and at least two weeks to dismantle one to move it off ship. Everything comes to the ship in small pieces and they have to re-assemble it on board. When Mama Mia was moved between ships he was sent to dismantle the set which took four weeks in that case. It's very complex to coordinate because each venue offers multiple shows and there is limited storage between performances so it's not so easy just to move a show from one ship to another as it takes great planning to figure out where everything will be stored between performances. As such the average Broadway show runs a minimum of 5 years to recover the costs involved in both cast and sets. In May the next cast of We Will Rock You arrives to replace the current on board cast. They'll begin dress rehearsals in Miami next week as they begin to get ready to take the show over. During the transition both casts will be on board. The new cast will execute dress rehearsals until Luis is satisfied they are ready to assume the show safely. The cast does both The Gift and We Will Rock You so they focus on one show first, then when they have proven themselves ready to assume that show, they begin to practice the other show during the day until they take over that show as well. Only at that point does the previous cast leave the ship. The studios and stages in Miami are common to all shows across the fleet so at any given moment there are many different casts all preparing to move to a ship to relieve the current cast on board every ship. It's quite an operation when you think about not only the Broadway shows, but Aqua Theater show, Ice Skating shows, Aerial shows and shows like Columbus the Musical, 1887 or The Gift. All of these shows have multiple casts rotating onto ships, taking breaks between contracts them returning to Miami to start the cycle all over again. PrincipalTinker, Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Wines Around the World Tasting I booked this before sailing for $17.70. It was originally scheduled for day 8 but moved to day 9 for an undisclosed reason. Wines included: Chandon, Brut "Classic", California, USA Empress Sissi, Gruner Veltliner, Austria Château D'Aussièrers, Chardonnay, France Adega Dom Antonio, Reserva Blend, Portugal Oberon, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, USA Several types of cheese were offered. They were used to sample each wine both before cheese and with cheese to illustrate how food dramatically impacts flavors perceived. It was an interesting presentation. I'm glad I did it as I learn a little more about my palette. I didn't see this event offered on board, only a Caymus tasting for $50. LetsTryThisPlace, PrincipalTinker and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 For those that haven't come to this realization themselves, food coma is real. I chose the Windjammer tonight thinking I would find some of the same old food and therefore could walk away, instead of being rolled away. I was wrong. Some food was the same, but it was jerk night. Oh boy. Finally @Sweety I met the dessert of my dreams. So far on this cruise my timing was off and I only managed to flirt briefly with a red velvet cupcake, but tonight was the real deal - Red Velvet Cake. These calories are for you! PrincipalTinker, ellcee, Lovetocruise2002 and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 I meant to add earlier, the near flat seas turned very flat. It was quite a pleasant day and my cabin balcony door was open when ever I was in it. Around 4:30pm I headed out to grab a glass of wine with the intention of drinking it on my balcony when I ran into some people at a bar. Then more people. Somewhere along the timeline I heard someone's wife mention they saw a great sunset tonight. Oh well, next cruise, I was enjoying my bar friends too much. YOLO. With regerts (pun intended) no sunset pics tonights. JLMoran, mom2mybugs and PrincipalTinker 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 2 hours ago, twangster said: For those that haven't come to this realization themselves, food coma is real. I chose the Windjammer tonight thinking I would find some of the same old food and therefore could walk away, instead of being rolled away. I was wrong. Some food was the same, but it was jerk night. Oh boy. Then dessert. Finally @Sweety I met the dessert of my dreams. So far on this cruise my timing was off and I only managed to flirt briefly with a red velvet cupcake, but tonight was the real deal - Red Velvet Cake. These calories are for you! I was home sick today thinking about my country Jamaica. Thank you for the beautiful pictures of jerk food. @twangster, how was the red velvet cake. I need a piece now. It looks so good. Sorry about the calories. Come on New Year's cruise!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 5 hours ago, Sweety said: I was home sick today thinking about my country Jamaica. Thank you for the beautiful pictures of jerk food. @twangster, how was the red velvet cake. I need a piece now. It looks so good. Sorry about the calories. Come on New Year's cruise!!!! Red Velvet Cake was delicious! PrincipalTinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 5:50am I joined the self carry line. I'm around 40-50 from the front standing in the VIA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 May peace be your journey home. Thank you for the awesome pictures. twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 6:35am we started disembarking. By 6:41am I was standing outside hailing my Lyft. $20 to Newark Airport. PrincipalTinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 10 hours ago, twangster said: Around 4:30pm I headed out to grab a glass of wine with the intention of drinking it on my balcony when I ran into some people at a bar. Then more people. Somewhere along the timeline I heard someone's wife mention they saw a great sunset tonight. Oh well, next cruise, I was enjoying my bar friends too much. YOLO. Quote might not be 100% right, but: "Good friends in many a bottle of wine are found." There will be plenty of sunsets for you to capture for us, but the new friends you made and the memories made with them, even if only for the evening, are worth a heck of a lot more. 53 minutes ago, twangster said: 6:35am we started disembarking. By 6:41am I was standing outside hailing my Lyft. $20 to Newark Airport. Safe travels home! Thanks again for another fantastic live blog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 2 hours ago, JLMoran said: Safe travels home! Thanks again for another fantastic live blog! Defintely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 7:37am bag checked and through security, seated in the Delta lounge at Terminal B EWR. I had a bit of wait for a Lyft ride as the closest driver was finishing up a ride before coming to get me, other wise I would have been about 15 minutes faster. Sunday morning, no traffic. Cruise Summary It was interesting to sail into Miami and be on the inaugural visit. Getting a glass block on this cruise will remind me of this visit to Miami every time I look at it. Missing CocoCay was of course a bummer but I knew that was a distinct possibility when I booked. Bring on the pier! I actually never left the ship the whole cruise. The ship was the destination. Seeing both Nick Weir's presentation and later in the cruise the backstage tour of the Royal Theater has given me new insight and respect for the entertainment that Royal produces for its ships. I'm going to make a bigger effort to take in some of the broadway musicals I might otherwise have skipped. Maybe even Cats (or at least half of it). I know some people especially in North East wish that Anthem would get different shows but I have a much understanding now why logistically its not possible to move shows between ships more frequently. Anthem is well suited to winters in NYC and no other class of ship would work as well there in the colder months. I was very pleased to be able to use my balcony on the last day even as far North as we were in January. Pleasant surprise. I used to question why on earth would I fly to NYC to cruise when Florida is so much closer to the Caribbean but since I love sea days I've gotten over that. Nine nights was too short and I regret not doing a B2B this time however that would mess up my Symphony glass block strategy so... The changes to the diamond lounge and Music Hall were at first a disappointment but as it turns out those bartenders knew me and served many of us that remained loyal to this bar as if it was still the diamond lounge extension it used to be. Tipping them for each drink certainly helped. I figure if I'm getting free drinks and avoiding the cost of a drink package what's a handful of dollars each night? They were great bartenders who kept our glasses full. Loyalty does pay (as does tipping). Cruising solo comes with a tendency to interact with the crew more. I continued to meet new crew and this morning as I stood in the self-carry line to disembark my cabin attendant from my last cruise more than 30 days ago remembered me and came over to say hello. I still haven't met a grumpy crew member. Even our diamond concierge who lost his uncle back home while we were in Nassau put on a brave face and executed his duties without missing a beat. Given the gratuity increase this year I decided not to leave a cash tip for my cabin attendant in addition to the auto gratuities. Half the time I told him not to service my cabin and when he did it was pretty quick as I'm not a messy person. I'll be back on Anthem one day and I'm looking forward to meeting her sister next January. Until then, bring on Liberty! J_Keeble, Traveler, JLMoran and 4 others 3 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Thanks @twangster for another great round of live blogging! I always enjoy following along. You have great insight and I find I always learn something new from each of your blogs. Looking forward to Liberty with you! (assuming already that you are live blogging that one ?) twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsTryThisPlace Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Thanks, @twangster for a great live blog. Gets me so excited about our cruise coming soon. I got some practising to do but looking forward to sharing my cruise. twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeasTheDayNJ Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 On 1/24/2018 at 4:47 PM, twangster said: Day 6 - Nassau We arrived early with the morning mist yet to be burned off as the sun began to rise. First into port this morning. Can't decide which of these photos I like better so I'm including them both. Soon after we docked another Royal Caribbean ship entered the harbor. That's Independence of the Seas executing a turn so she could back into the slip beside us. Nice day here today. Later in the day I was walking laps around the ship and caught Gigi looking whimsically at me with North Star looming over her shoulder. WOW is an understatement ... and to think, I was never really interested in the bahamas! 46 more days until I'm on my way. thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 49 minutes ago, SeasTheDayNJ said: WOW is an understatement ... and to think, I was never really interested in the bahamas! 46 more days until I'm on my way. thanks for sharing! More Nassau photos can be found in my December live blog and stop in Nassau. Having just been there last month I didn't get off the ship this time, however I did in December: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/&do=findComment&comment=50112 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/&do=findComment&comment=50156 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/&do=findComment&comment=50191 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/&do=findComment&comment=50195 PrincipalTinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 As always i love your words and writing, and your pictures are amazing. For those of us who can only cruise a limited amount, your blogs provide us with mini cruises that brighten our days. Thanks so much! Jane LetsTryThisPlace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 Man, why did I come catch up so late? I'm hungry and it's bedtime! LetsTryThisPlace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted February 5, 2018 Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 On 1/20/2018 at 4:56 PM, rjac said: Hell, I'd be happy to be his personal man servant, suit case carrying, camera lens cleaning, bottle opening, food tasting (has to be the right temperature and spice level) body guard! We've been watching Downton Abbey...You could be his Valet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted February 5, 2018 Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 On 1/20/2018 at 11:32 PM, twangster said: This is why I mentioned RCCL's Chief Meteorologist. If you look at the timing his position was created shortly after an event a few years ago like NCL experienced. In an interview with him a few months ago he predicted more cruise lines would be hiring full time meteorologists. When we sailed North on my last Anthem cruise in December we took great care to avoid unpleasant seas. The Captain recorded a 20 minute video explaining everything in great detail. This to over communicate the status of the journey. With increasing fleet sizes no cruise line can afford making the national news when a Captain makes a bad choice and sails into a storm. The ships are likely safe in such storms despite the videos. The real damage comes from the news coverage afterwards. Wanna bet if NCL is considering a full time meteorologist of their own now? When I heard RC had a full time meteorologist I thought that was a great idea. I'm sure that takes headaches off of a lot of other people who had to do it part time, on top of their other responsibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted February 5, 2018 Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 On 1/23/2018 at 2:37 PM, LetsTryThisTech said: Well as someone who doesn't have kids yet but plan to soon it would be nice to see what they are like from a parents perspective to be honest. We are on the 8 day Freedom on March 3rd from Fort Lauderdale. (just over a month so freaking excited to be back on a boat) We'll be heading out on Brilliance on the same day ?. P.S. it's a ship apparently ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted February 5, 2018 Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 1 minute ago, RestingBirds said: to be back on a boat A boat is something you get on when the ship is going down..... JLMoran, WAAAYTOOO, RestingBird and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 8 minutes ago, RestingBirds said: We'll be heading out on Brilliance on the same day ?. P.S. it's a ship apparently ? 6 minutes ago, rjac said: A boat is something you get on when the ship is going down..... According to the Captain of the Indy: "A ship has a Captain, a boat has an unhappy husband". RestingBird, LetsTryThisPlace, Neaxan and 3 others 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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