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Anthem of the Seas - March 9-17, 2018


Lovetocruise2002

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2 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

It is colder and there's a lot more snow here compared to where I came from in Canada!  Note to self...no more cruising out of Jersey in the winter! Sail away is going to be a cold one tomorrow!

Dress rehearsal for a much warmer future Alaska cruise.

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3 minutes ago, twangster said:

Dress rehearsal for a much warmer future Alaska cruise.

This is partially why we have never been interested in an Alaskan cruise. Sail away in jackets and gloves seems wrong. We are a flip flops, tanks and shorts kind of a family. But like I said, march break, KSF, cheaper airfare, Anthem was the reasonable pick this time. 

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8 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said:

This is partially why we have never been interested in an Alaskan cruise. Sail away in jackets and gloves seems wrong. We are a flip flops, tanks and shorts kind of a family. But like I said, march break, KSF, cheaper airfare, Anthem was the reasonable pick this time. 

We are the same way but I'd love to do Alaska once.   I will be waiting to see if the first cold day is a deal breaker!   Glad the snow didn't mess your flights up.   Jane

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Good morning all!  In the words of @twangster, IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!

Our stay last night at Embassy Suites was quite pleasant. All in all, a very decent hotel. Beds were comfy, tons of space in the room (all the rooms are suites here), friendly staff. The bath products here are Neutrogena, that might be important for some out there ? and the bathroom here more than passes hotel snob approval.

Just sitting downstairs waiting for the kids to finish up breakfast. We are impressed, the complimentary breakfast buffet here is quite extensive. There is the usual continental breakfast items, oatmeal, fresh fruit, the usual hot items (French toast, bacon, sausages, hash browns), 24hr hot beverage station, and even a made to order omelette station. Hubby was pretty impressed by that as most of the other complimentary hotel breakfasts that we've had in the past did not have that option. There's also tons of space here for eating.

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Overall, this hotel is not a bad choice at all for a pre-cruise stay. My only complaint, and it's minor, is that you can hear the planes quite clearly at all hours. So if you are a light sleeper, that might be a problem. 

The plan for the next few hours is to pack up, check out, and head on over to Cape Liberty. It's -1 degrees Celsius (feels like -7) right now. It's a cold one!  For my American friends, it's 30 degrees Fahrenheit (feels like 19). @SeasTheDayNJ I think it might be too cold for sail away in flip flops and sandals lol. Better luck next Saturday. 

Off for now, will check back in when we get to the ship!! ? 

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16 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

The plan for the next few hours is to pack up, check out, and head on over to Cape Liberty. It's -1 degrees Celsius (feels like -7) right now. It's a cold one!  For my American friends, it's 30 degrees Fahrenheit (feels like 19). @SeasTheDayNJ I think it might be too cold for sail away in flip flops and sandals lol. Better luck next Saturday. 

 

Ha. i'm wearing flips either way! Jersey girls are either in uggs or flips -- no in-between :8_laughing: and i'm certainly not bringing my uggs!

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13 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said:

This is partially why we have never been interested in an Alaskan cruise. Sail away in jackets and gloves seems wrong. We are a flip flops, tanks and shorts kind of a family.

My thoughts exactly, who want to walk around in jeans and coats on a cruise ship, but when I read @DocLC Norway cruise comments I think I might like to cruise there, but not Alaska, I know weird.

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37 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

My thoughts exactly, who want to walk around in jeans and coats on a cruise ship, but when I read @DocLC Norway cruise comments I think I might like to cruise there, but not Alaska, I know weird.

And I don't tend to repeat itineraries as I want new experiences. Even so, we're spending two weeks in Norway by cruise this summer going as far north as the Arctic Circle/North Cape. We've also repeated Alaska for what that's worth. However, it is definitely a different style of cruising when you're traveling with winter gear. 

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Lyft Plus to Cape Liberty - $36

The sight of this never grows old. Love pulling up to the ship!

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Zero wait time at the terminal. Arrived at 10:20am, proceeded through security, checked in at suites area. Did not even have time to look around or take a pic. I don't even know what the suites waiting area looks like lol.  Right after we checked in, we were directed to the suites entrance. And made our way board.

After wandering for a bit while we waited for WJ to open we made our way there around 10:50am to find that they were already open for lunch. And it was pretty full already. We manage to get a nice table by the window to view the NY skyline.  I also found this for @Sweety:

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Word of advice...not sure if it was just for this sailing or the norm but by the time we finished lunch at 12pm the line into the WJ looked like this:

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They were actually holding people back from entering. The line was at least 50-60 people deep. I have never seen this happen before on any ship!  So eat early or elsewhere if possible.

Drink package prices on board:

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It's 4pm. Sailaway was scheduled for 3pm. We are just moving away now. Good bye NJ! Hopefully onwards to some warmer weather!

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?:Hubby

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Sorry for the late post tonight. It has been one busy night! Went to Coastal Kitchen for dinner tonight. I already knew what I was going to order before I got there. The menu is the same as CK on Harmony in August. CK did not fail to disappoint, everything was delicious. Service was wonderful. Hubby and I do agree that the views and atmosphere of CK on Oasis class ships is much more preferable than Anthem. The lack of the high ceilings and two storey windows makes CK on Anthem more like another specialty restaurant. 

Night 1 Menu:

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Food pics:

Pork Belly: A+ Love this ?

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Tomato Soup: B- Rich flavour, but I thought it tasted like warm BBQ sauce. Also a bit salty for my liking. 

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French Onion Soup: B Hubby always gets this but he says it is salty.

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Bread basket:

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Grilled Chicken Breast: D1 gives it a "B" but this might be unreliable. She says it tastes like a Chinese restaurant but she did like it.

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Filet Mignon: A for Awesome!

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Branzino: B Just ok. Slightly dry.

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Kids Burger: No rating here. D2 is very picky. It looked good and fresh to me ?

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Dessert!

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Creme Brûlée & Cheesecake: A Yum!

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Apple pie: A+ Delicious 

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After dinner we headed to the Welcome Aboard show. Clo O'Connor is our CD. I like her. She is full of energy. Quite funny. This is her first sailing on Anthem after taking over for Dennis Charles today. Checking out now. Pretty tired. Will post cabin photos tomorrow ? 

 

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45 minutes ago, rjac said:

By the way, it's 43 degrees on the coast of North Carolina now. So, getting a little warmer as you head south. Now, please, turn off your computer/phone AND START HAVING FUN....YOU'RE CRUISING! :27_sunglasses:

I'm a teacher and a mom. We are great at multi-tasking ?

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They can't fool me !  I know what a chicken breast looks like and it does NOT have a leg bone sticking out of the side of it !

LOL

So glad you guys are having fun.  Wishing you warmer weather.  Looks like you are passing just to the east of me right now !  I'm waving but you probably can't see me.

:15_yum:

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Ok...just came back from the cabin crawl. First time participating in one. Not sure how these things are suppose to run but this one way crazy crowded! There were over 40 of us. There wasn't much time for pics. A CC member hosted and they had the RLS. What a view! And a beautiful room! And in case anyone is wondering like I have, that shower in the lower level does have a pull down curtain. YouTube it and you'll see what I mean. Seeing the RLS makes me more excited for our Star Loft on Harmony next March.

So in answer to @twangster's question earlier about our initial thoughts...here goes...

- Anthem is a beautiful ship! Love the unique pieces of art.

- Fastest check in to date. 

- Great staff interaction. Our room, Simeon, attendant is amazing. Wonderful service in CK. Head waiter, Bajon, is one of the most personable and down to Earth head waiters. 

- Hubby and I would rather be on Oasis class. No question about it. Crowds do not seem to move through this ship very well. The Esplande is always a pain to move through. It feels crowded at all the hours that we've been there. The WJ is even worse. Been there twice so far and you are constantly bumping into people everywhere you go. Every station has a ginormous line. By the time you wait to get your food and get back to the table your food is cold. I told Hubby we are going to try MDR for breakfast instead. 

Currently sitting aimlessly in our stateroom wondering if we should leave the couch or stay. Love the aimless feeling!

 

 

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